Bear His Mark: Wylde Den One (Alaskan Den Men Book 1) Read online

  Using only the tips of his fingers, Everett grazed a path up the backs of her thighs, over the naked arch of her ass and paused when she shuddered from his touch.

  “Beautiful,” he rasped. Wisps of her thoughts glanced across his mind. Colorful bursts of light that spoke to the emotions his gentle caresses provoked, but nothing as solid as what mated couples shared. The thin fabric separating him from his beast quivered, and his incisors itched to elongate and mark her as his.

  Did she feel the connection forming as well?

  She moaned a feminine sigh, and he licked his lips, hungry to eat up her delicious gasps and moans.

  He couldn’t. No more than he could sink his teeth into her tender flesh and mark her as his forever. He’d already lost too much in one lifetime.

  Everett pushed the images aside and ignored the vein in his neck as it pulsed in time with his aching shaft. Gritting down hard, he rode out the wave cutting off his air until he had control over himself.

  Every inhalation of her lavender-scented lotion, or whatever she used to get into his head, converted his blood to fire. Oh yeah, his bear loved her scent and roared long and low in his head.

  It doesn’t mean anything. Any red-blooded man who had this raven-haired beauty beneath him would not be able to resist her sweet moans any more than he could.

  It was more than the moans, though. More than how her curves molded into him.

  It was her eyes. He’d had handfuls of women, but none of them made him suffer like Pepper Cambridge and her sapphire gaze.

  They way she looked at him when she thought he didn’t notice tied him in knots for hours. One flick of her gaze his way shot his blood to a boiling point.

  Every. Single. Time.

  He hated her for it, yet loved her even more. But he stuffed it so damn deep in his mind it made him question his sanity.

  Fierce need clawed deep in his gut and he rested his forehead on her delicate shoulder to calm his grizzly.

  Pepper was his. For now. It was enough. Had to be. And God, those sweet sighs he lifted from her lips made the impossible seem like his next greatest idea.

  He needed to strip it down to what it really was between them.

  Mind-blowing sex.

  And what is wasn’t.

  Love.

  He’d be safer that way.

  Pale Alaskan golden midnight sunlight trickled in from the large window above their heads and fanned across her skin as if Mother Nature wanted to touch the rare beauty of Pepper Cambridge. His favorite time of the year, when the sun refused to sleep. And so did his bear.

  Triple panes of glass took up most of the wall instead of a headboard. He preferred the view of his ancestors' land. It also proved a challenge when tying up his willing beauty. The white knit scarf that adorned her hands provided a contrast to her honey-toned skin.

  When he’d built the cabin on the back part of Wylde den land, he’d wanted to see the beauty outside. Now he couldn’t take his eyes off the treasure it held on this side of the glass.

  The way the soft beams kissed the long locks of her hair, stroked along her sinuous bare back and dipped between her parted thighs made his bear rise to the surface, to challenge his decision.

  Raw need surged down the length of his shaft. With one hand at the base he slipped the engorged tip through the wet slit of her entrance.

  “I love the way you look when you lose all control.” He envisioned Heaven as he watched her warm body accept his full length.

  She inhaled on a gasp and let out a slow, throaty moan. “You seem to like taking it from me.” Sharp nails he loved scraping across his skin now dug into the discarded pillows adorning the head of the bed. Anything within reach fell prey to her tight clutch.

  Pulling out, he leaned over her delicate body, stroked the length of her spine with the rough pad of his thumb and took pride in how she arched beneath his touch as his hand slipped between her cheeks to replace his cock.

  “Argh, Everett! You’re the devil is human flesh.” Pepper pushed back into his waiting hand, her words muffled by the pillows propping her up as he worked to prove her right.

  “Now, don’t be modest. You like my wicked side just a little bit, don’t you?” Gently he parted her flared folds and teased her entrance as he showered small kisses along her bare shoulder. The scarlet scarf holding back her sight looked sinful playing in the long strands of her loose hair. If he was the devil, she was his forbidden angel.

  Braced on an elbow, he leaned in a little closer to fill his lungs with her scent as he slid first one finger, followed by a second, into her tight entrance, seeking the tight bundle of nerves hidden deep within. In the last few weeks they’d spent together he’d learned what she loved, but more importantly what her body craved. How it responded to a slow, steady teasing. The flush of excitement that swept down her back and blossomed across her cheeks let him know how much he affected her.

  What she couldn’t know was how much she affected him.

  Her channel clenched, and he slowed his rhythm. Warm, silky juices coated his fingers. Harsh moans met his ears. He flicked the small nub of nerves between her folds that had her trembling under his touch. He smiled against her shoulder and stroked his fingers back, lightly over her rear entrance between her parted cheeks.

  She gasped and turned her head to the side. Those parted lips a shy inch from his. “You don’t play fair.” Pouted lips and flushed cheeks were quickly becoming his downfall.

  “Mmm. Never have. You already know that though.”

  He brushed his mouth against hers but pulled back before she could turn his teasing taste against him. It was hard enough holding on as it was.

  “Is that so? I’m not the one that packed an ungodly amount of scarves.” He tossed a glance at the suitcase perched on the end of the dresser. “What could one woman need with all that if not looking for a little foreplay?” he mouthed against the slight dip in her lower back.

  Every time they fell between the sheets he courted the danger of losing himself to her.

  “When you blush it reminds me of sunsets in the summertime over Starr Point. A mix of sherbet and cherries. Makes me hungry.” He nibbled his way up from her lower back.

  Not that she could see how beautiful she looked all tied up and at his mercy, but every time she wiggled her ass his heart damn near tumbled out of his chest to lie at her feet, at her mercy. He’d never felt that over a woman before, but there were many things Pepper had been the first with.

  “I like scarves, that’s all.” Her eyes, still dreamy from the sleep he woke her from slowly opened.

  “Liar,” he countered as he tugged at the knots holding her wrists bound. With his free hand Everett gathered her hands and moved them to the top of the pillows while bringing her legs in closer to her chest. With her plump, rounded backside pressed back against his thighs, she parted for him willingly.

  She countered, “So what if I am?”

  “Don’t move, sweetheart.” Her lips quirked up in a half smile. “I could stretch out your...”

  “Torture session. Everett!” She groaned with a sigh, wiggling her ass.

  He smiled at the desperation in her tone.

  “Serves you right for last night.” He stroked his fingers deep into the warm slickness of her channel while pressing his thumb against her swollen clit. Everett leaned in and started working her faster. Harder until her core tightened around his fingers.

  He slowed, holding back her orgasm.

  When she regained her breath Pepper continued if a little shaky, “But you loved me in caramel.”

  Loved it? One taste of the sweet delicacy of her skin and he could not stop until he had her screaming his name. Several times over. She almost made him cave and he couldn’t have that.

  Even now his incisors ached to lengthen and tear into flesh. To mark her as his. He’d stepped out five minutes last night after a light dinner to secure the trash and returned to find her laid bare and dessert on her. Literally. Only shee
r willpower, not the dainty scarves she’d used to hold him, held him back.

  “Now, I get to return the favor.” He nipped at her shoulder then lavished the skin with kisses. He tried to convince himself he only wanted a taste of what it would be like to place his mark at the joining of her neck and shoulder.

  She skipped the ice cream they’d brought and went straight to drizzling the warm caramel over the peaks of her breast and down the soft planes of her stomach that led him to the real dessert. After she deemed he’d had enough, she took her turn and coated his shaft. When those pouty pink lips of hers parted over his engorged width, he lost all sense of reason.

  Unwilling to break contact for a second but desperate for a taste of the sweet confines of her mouth, Everett leaned forward, the girth of his shaft wedged between her folds. He dipped his head for a sample of her kiss swollen lips. He couldn’t wait to see them wrapped around him again.

  “You said you had a craving for something sweet. I was only trying to help.” Despite the blindfold and having her hands tied, she looked the picture of innocence lying before him with her lips pulled between her teeth.

  “But you said nothing about what caramel does to you. Wanna talk about dirty tricks. You, my captive, are queen of dirty tricks.” And blow jobs. He didn’t care to admit it, but every second her tongue whipped against his throbbing cock his blood pressure nearly killed him.

  Crimson brushed a wide length up her spine and settled in her cheeks. “I do have a soft spot for the stuff. I should have warned you I like it on everything.”

  God, he could devour her night and day.

  Could this be love? He shook his head and dashed away the joke his senses were playing.

  No way. He saw it every day between his older brother and his new mate. It looked nothing like the fling he and Pepper shared. He had to admit, having her at his mercy, beneath him and calling to his bear flared something else to life in the pit of his soul. He dared to let his gaze slide down her arched back to fall on her exposed bottom.

  No, this was only lust.

  With a hand around her waist, he flipped her over to land in the soft bedding. Having her ass up in the air affected his senses.

  Harsh breaths tore from him, and as he stared into her eyes, the surprise he saw gunned his instinct into overdrive. Everything—the wind, the faint birds beyond the windowpane and even the elk grazing a few hundred yards away—hit his heightened senses. As did the faint uptick of Pepper’s heartbeat.

  She draped her arms around his neck, her tied wrists pressed into the back of his neck. He let loose a chest deep growl and jerked away her blindfold. He bent over, pressing their combined weight into the mattress. “I’m going to fuck you until all you know is my name and the way I make you feel as you reach your end. God, Pepper, stop looking at me like that.”

  Another whisper of her thoughts brushed his mind and he jerked back, eyes wide. Instead of vague lights and colors this time he saw more in-depth images. Images of him with her with a look on his face that didn’t say weekend fling by a longshot. “That’s not supposed to happen.”

  She stared up at him in confusion before her eyes slipped closed. Their thoughts momentarily synced and her pleasure became his. He watched as Pepper realized what was happening.

  “What was that?” Pepper tightened her thighs around his waist while her fingers buried into the long lengths of his hair.

  He jerked to his knees, taking her with him, and the connection snapped.

  “Your eyes. They’re gorgeous. What’s going on, Everett?” Her voice barely above a whisper but crystal clear to his keen hearing. Hunger and need burned bright in her bright blue eyes. Lava would be colder than the hellfire that flowed through his veins. Heat beyond what a normal man would bear carved a path through him, and his mind shut down for a brief second. One second too many.

  Pure instinct filtered his every thought and movement. Blinded by the need to mate, he drove forward and sank his full length into her waiting channel.

  Starbursts of lights shattered any remnants of control, and he let the wave of ecstasy carry him through.

  Talons cut into his back and the sharp inhale of pleasure from his mate snapped his eyes open.

  His heart rate rattled and thumped wildly. Every breathe just as haggard. A sweet ache in his mouth told him his bear was serious about this one.

  Hell.

  Was this it? It couldn’t be. As though anchors moored his eyes closed, he fought back the encroaching takeover of his body and slowly regained enough control to withstand sinking his teeth into her flesh and bonding her to him.

  That could never happen. Not if he wanted to live beyond loving her.

  He pulled his gaze away from her. “Just feel, sweetheart. Let me carry you away. Trust me.” Though he didn’t recommend it. Tying her to him meant she’d lose in the long run. Offering her all of him meant more than he could sign on for.

  As he spoke, his lips moved against hers. He captured her moaned acceptance as he delved into the sweet confines of her delicious mouth.

  With an arm around her waist, he held her close and groaned when her fingers tightened in his hair as he took their kiss deeper. He slowly relented control and gave over to her curious exploring. Anything to have her focus shifted from what just happened. He didn’t have answers to give. But he did know how to answer what her body asked from him.

  She met his thrusts as he drove into her long and slow.

  Damn the Draeonians and their meddlesome ways. As first otherworldlies, they discovered the power hidden within the ley lines that crisscrossed the planet and bound the strongest of spirits to the human race fierce enough to wield their energy. Dragons, witches, shifters, fae—they all derived from the same forces of magick. In order to keep a balance within the energy gifted by the supernatural forces of their planet the Draeonians also destined werebears to mate with humans. But no one ever said finding their true mate would be out of his control and damn near instant. That was the part he didn’t like. Instinct didn’t need to drive him into the arms of a woman. That part was his choice, not some invisible force he had no control over. And no desire for.

  He pulled out and peered down his chest to see the crest of his cock slip from her channel, her swollen folds parted around him.

  Spread wide, he ran the tip of his cock along her seam and groaned when the scent of her arousal hit him full force. It was all he could do not to slam into and ride her hard, all finesse shoved aside for another time.

  He reached beneath her and cupped her ass, angling her up, and in one thrust settled his full length in her tight sheath. Muscles trembled around him and nails bit into shoulders.

  He broke their kiss and reached behind him to free her hands.

  Even though they didn’t share a full connection, he could feel the hum of her thoughts as they reached out, searching for the connection he knew she didn’t understand. As if his bear worked on forging a bond despite his efforts to stay disconnected.

  He rose to his knees, and emerald eyes warmed a point on his chest and begged him to look her way. He could feel what she wanted without the words. His breath quickened, and his heart damn near tumbled out of place. But he kept his gaze glued to his cock as Pepper took his full length.

  He eased back and thrust home.

  “Like what?”

  He worked his dry throat while she took all of him into her.

  “What?” He brought his head up. How could this woman keep any thought straight at a time like this? What did he miss?

  Pepper waited patiently, watching, hopeful and waiting. “Don’t look at you how? Like I want you to promise you’ll erase all my memories of sex with anyone else?” She reached between their bodies and wrapped her delicate fingers around his shaft. Sweet heavens. He groaned and nearly lost himself when he pushed back in. Her channel clenched around him, replacing the tight grip of her hand. She nearly had his eyes rolling out of his head.

  “Seems fair if you don’t stop unti
l I’m all you can feel beneath you. Until you can’t think anymore, no?” she continued, unaware of the internal war tearing him apart. Otherwise, he was pretty sure she’d be trying to give him CPR.

  Instead, she gathered handfuls of cotton as he tightened his fingers around her sun-kissed thighs and buried himself deeper.

  Tingles of magick coursed through him, and the mark on his arm flared with invisible current.

  Fuck.

  Balanced on his knees, he pushed forward as he pulled her in closer, her legs wrapped around his waist. His efforts returned with a deep moan and the sight of her beautiful breasts thrust in the air sent a surge of blood south to engorge his cock further.

  He’d meant to take things slow. Enjoy a nice plane ride, show her the sights while she performed her job as a wildlife veterinarian. The second her pink lips wrapped around his shaft at three thousand feet over the national reserve, slow was no longer an option, and his meticulously laid out plan to distance himself took a steep nosedive.

  “God, woman, you’re so fucking tight and wet. Fuck... so wet.”

  He hauled her into his arms to rest on his spread thighs. She sank deeper onto his shaft, and he marveled at how the dusky tips of her breasts beaded under the soft, warming sunlight.

  Anchoring her thighs tight around his, and with his hands firmly on around her waist, he lifted, driving in as she tightened her hold with her thighs. Everett spoke her name on a whisper. Just like yesterday she loved taking control as much as she loved giving it.

  He rewarded her wicked, daring look with a flicker of a smile. “If you make me come too fast, I’ll fuck you again and this time I won’t untie you until I’ve had my fill.” It would kill him, steal every ounce of control he harbored but anything to see the look of pure, unabashed ecstasy in those deep green eyes.

  Desperate, he ground his knees into the bed and fought the urge to come until every breath they took came out ragged and torn and they were both coated in a fine sheen of sweat. Claws raked over his shoulders and back. He drove into her harder, earning him a few more love marks. His balls drew tight against his body.