Page 55 of Mated to the Mountain Bear (Bear Protector #1)

ZARA

J erry scratches at the door, whining pitifully, but neither of us acknowledges him. We’re lost in this moment. In each other.

The first press of him against my entrance makes me gasp. He’s right there, so close to being inside me, but he pauses.

“So how does this work?” I ask, suddenly nervous now that the moment is here. I can feel him throbbing against me, thick and intimidating. “The marking, I mean. Does it hurt? Will I... will I feel different after?”

Before I can spiral completely, Ben slides his hands underneath my back. With his palms rough against my skin, he flips us so I’m on top, and he’s resting comfortably with his back against the headboard. The movement is so smooth, so effortless, that it takes my brain a moment to catch up.

Disoriented now, I throw my hands out to steady myself against his chest. At my touch, he rumbles, and I can feel his bear’s approving vibrations in my fingertips as they travel up my arms. Curling them into the smattering of dark hair on his chest, I relax marginally.

From up here, I have control. I set the pace.

Ben’s tight but careful grip of my hips lifts me onto my knees above him.

His hands span my waist completely, making me feel small but safe.

He swipes his fingers across my entrance, gathering my wetness, and I shiver at the touch.

When he uses it to coat his cock, I watch, mesmerised by the sight of his large hand working over himself.

“When you’re taking my cock like a good girl…”

Ben notches himself at my core, making my breath catch at the first press of him against me. His thumb finds my clit, and he strums, even and firm, the calluses on his thumb creating delicious friction.

I melt above him, my eyes falling closed as I forget about the weapon below me that’s ready to split me in two, and I concentrate on the warm pleasure that’s coursing through my veins.

“I’m going to bite you. Right here.”

Ben’s deep voice has me quivering, each husky word making my core coil tighter. When his lips dance where my neck meets my shoulder—barely touching, just breathing hot against my skin—I tilt my head automatically and let my chin fall to the side to give him better access.

“My teeth...” He drags the points along my skin, sending a shiver down my spine. “Will embed my scent in your skin. My smell will mingle with yours, permanently.”

I can feel the tremor in his muscles, the way he’s fighting for control, like even talking about it is affecting him.

“Any shifter who comes near will know you’re mine.” His satisfaction is clear in his voice, in the way his hands possessively stroke my hips, digging into the flesh there as he keeps me still.

This grumpy mountain man wants me permanently. No take backs. No second thoughts.

“Do it.” I beg, tired of talking. I ease my body down slightly, so the head of his cock pushes into me just an inch. The stretch is immediate and intense, but I’m so wet, that he slides in smoothly.

“Fuck,” Ben groans, his hands leaving my hips to grip the bedsheets. The sound of fabric tearing fills the room as his claws appear, shredding them into ribbons. Every vein in his body stands out, and his jaw’s clenched so tight, I can see the muscle jumping. “I wasn’t finished explaining.”

I wiggle my hips, adjusting to his size, before sliding down further. The burn of the stretch mixes with pleasure, making me gasp. It’s a lot, and more than I remember, but I’m eager for more.

“The feeling of the bond snapping into place is supposed to be intense.” His words come out strained as I rock slightly, testing. His hands hover near my hips, not quite touching, letting me take what I want. “If it’s too overwhelming, just tell me to stop.”

Lifting my gaze to his, I see the war in his eyes. The man is trying to be gentle, but the bear is demanding to claim. I rock my hips and take another inch of him, feeling bolder than I ever have before.

The emptiness I’ve felt since we parted is finally being filled.

“I won’t need you to stop,” I promise, continuing to lower myself onto him in a single sure movement. My thighs burn with the effort of going slow, but I want to feel every inch as I take him. When I’m finally fully seated with his cock buried deep inside me, we both freeze.

Ben’s hands ball into fists as he presses them to his eyes, and a string of curses that would make a sailor blush tumbles from his lips. His whole body is rigid beneath me, every muscle locked tight.

“Give me a second,” he grits out. “You feel too good. Too perfect. If I move right now…”

Leaning forward, I press my breasts to his hot skin and sigh in relief at the contact. My nipples are hard points against his chest, and I can feel his heart hammering beneath my palm.

I kiss up his neck, tasting salt and Ben, and across his jaw, where his beard tickles my lips. When I nuzzle his arms out of the way, he resists at first before letting me see his face. His eyes squeeze shut, his expression almost pained.

“Look at me,” I whisper, pressing soft kisses to his eyelids until they flutter open. The gold is back, swirling with the brown; his bear is so close to the surface. “I said do it.”

My words are whispered in his ear, but my tone is laced with challenge. I punctuate them with a deliberate clench of my inner muscles around him.

Immediately, I feel the change in him, like a switch has been flipped. One hand snakes into my hair, gripping tight enough to make my scalp tingle, before he pulls me back upright. The other hand grips my ass hard enough to leave marks, dragging me back and forth on his length in rough pushes.

The change in angle makes us both groan. He’s so deep like this, he hits places inside me that make stars burst behind my eyelids.

“Yes, Ben. Yes. That’s so good.” I sigh, getting lost in the rhythm, as he lifts his hips in time with my movements and thrusts up into me. The wet sounds of our joining mix with our harsh breathing and the crackling fire in the other room.

I smooth my hands over his rippling abs as he moves, each crunch showing an eight-pack I plan on running my tongue over later. For now, I just enjoy the play of muscles under my palms, and the way his body works to bring us both pleasure.

His thumb finds my clit again, and he watches my every move, his eyes tracking the bounce of my breasts, and the way my mouth falls open on each downstroke. He groans with every breathy moan and high-pitched whimper that escapes me, like my sounds of pleasure are a drug he’s addicted to.

“That’s it,” he encourages, his voice rough. “Take what you need. Show me how much you missed this.”

The buildup is slow and delicious as he toys with me, bringing me to the edge then pulling back just when I think I’m about to tumble over. His control is maddening. The way he can read my body so perfectly, knowing exactly when to ease off and when to press harder.

I’m a writhing mess by the time he puts me out of my misery, sitting upright, so I can grind my clit against his body on each roll of my hips.

“You’re mine.” His voice is more bear than man. There’s something building between us, like an electric charge in the air. “You belong to me now, Zara, and me to you. Show me. Show me that you want this.”

His teeth graze the sensitive skin on my neck, not breaking skin yet, just teasing. The threat of it, the mere promise, sends me spiralling.

“Please.” I gasp, not even sure what I’m begging for anymore.

Everything. All of it. Him.

When his teeth finally strike, it’s at the exact moment my orgasm slams into me.

The sensation of my climax immediately overwhelms the sharp stab of pain as he bites down, burying his teeth under my skin.

A deafening growl fills the room, vibrating through his chest and into mine, where we’re pressed together.

It hurts for a second, bright and sharp, before the feeling transforms completely.

Warmth replaces the pain, spreading out from the bite, like whiskey through my veins.

Then comes something else, like an electric current coursing through my body, setting every nerve ending on fire with sensations I’ve never experienced before.

It’s like I can feel him. Not just his body, but something deeper.

His satisfaction, his possessive joy, and his relief that I’m finally, permanently his.

“Ben.” I gasp, my fingernails digging into his shoulders hard enough to draw blood.

His hold on my shoulder tightens for a moment, with his teeth still embedded in my flesh, before he releases me. There’s a faint trace of blood on his lips when he pulls back to stare up at me in wonder.

But I barely notice because wave after wave of climax continues to wrack my body. It’s not one orgasm, but many rolling through me, back-to-back, each one triggered by the pulse of our new bond. My core clenches down on his cock, over and over, milking him and demanding his release, too.

“Fuck,” Ben shouts, and suddenly, the world spins.

He flips us once more, so he’s on top, and his massive body is nestled between my thighs, without ever breaking our connection.

When he moves, his hips slam into me with new urgency, and I cry out.

Every drag of him inside me sets my oversensitive channel alight.

“Fuck, Zara. I can feel you. I can feel everything you’re feeling. ”

My arousal feeds his through whatever this bond is. His eyes glow solid gold now as his thrusts become harder and more frenzied.

The bed protests beneath us, headboard banging against the wall with each powerful thrust. Somewhere in the chaos, a glass of water tumbles from the nightstand and lands with a thud on the pile of discarded clothes.

Through the haze of lust, I can feel him differently now. His desperate need to fill me, to mark me inside as thoroughly as he’s marked me outside. His determination that everyone will know exactly who I belong to.

Lifting my legs, I wrap them around his back and tilt my hips to give him an even deeper angle. The change makes us both grunt, his movements becoming more ragged as he nears his release.

I slip my hands into his dark hair to scratch my nails along his scalp the way I know he loves, and then I tug.

The action elicits another possessive snarl from my bear.

“Mine. My mate,” he roars, his voice barely human anymore.

Ben thrusts into me one last time, burying himself to the hilt completely, as his body goes rigid. His hands clamp my hips tightly to his as he stills, and I feel it, feel him pulsing inside me, each jet of his release coating my insides with heat.

The sensation, combined with feeling his pleasure through our bond, sends me over again. I whimper, panting hard, and struggle against the dizzying intensity of it all.

For long moments, we stay frozen like that, with our bodies locked together, both of us trembling with aftershocks.

Then Ben’s hands find my face, infinitely gentle now, and he cups my cheeks. He presses a soft kiss to my lips, then pulls back to stare deep into my eyes. Concern creases his brow as he studies me.

“Are you okay? Was it too much? The bond, I mean. Some people say it’s overwhelming at first and…”

“Mmmm.”

I interrupt his worried rambling with a lazy smile and another soft kiss. Then, I turn my head to kiss his palm where it’s resting against my cheek.

“I’m more than good, Ben. I’m yours.”