Page 15 of His Determined Mate

His hands were everywhere on her. On her hips, pulling her back onto him as he thrust into her repeatedly. On her glorious breasts as they hung down, squeezing her sensitive nipples until she moaned. One hand reached beneath her, his fingers dancing across her swollen clit, pushing her to the brink, then withdrawing just as her thighs tensed with the promise of climax.

“Rick, please, let me come,” she begged, her voice ragged. The sound of his name from her lips was both a plea and a declaration, one that he intended to answer.

“Come for me, Hannah,” he growled roughly, harshly circling her clit with one hand as his cock filled her snug pussy.

Rick gave her what she needed, what he needed. Her release was powerful, washing over her in waves that clenched around him so tightly it almost bordered on pain. But it was the kind of pain that just spurred him on, the kind that made every nerve ending sing.

Her pleasure was his victory, her surrender the prize he’d been chasing since she’d first walked into the diner. He rode out every spasm, every aftershock, each one imprinting her onto him—body and soul—until there was no distinction between where she ended and he began.

He drove into her with a final, punishing thrust, his breath ragged and hot against her neck as he held her to him. With everything inside him teetering on the edge, he pressed deep, holding himself there, buried to the hilt inside her trembling body.

A guttural sound tore from his throat as he came, heat surging through him, marking her in the most primal way possible. The thought flickered through his mind that he might have pushed her too far too soon as he flooded her sheath. A civilized part of his psyche recoiled at the ruthlessness of the idea, but a stronger, darker urge whispered satisfaction at the permanence it promised.

Her gasps filled the room, mingling with the sounds of their bodies locked in the most intimate of embraces, and he realized then that he’d crossed a line he couldn’t step back from. She was his now, fated and mated.

He vowed he’d never let her go. Not when he’d finally tasted what he’d been starving for. The knowledge settled in him, heavy and undeniable. They were tangled up in each other, past the point of no return, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

CHAPTER 8

HANNAH

Standing there, gripping the table, the realization of what she’d done—they’d done—washed over her. She knew she should have regrets, knew there was so much that needed to be said, and yet all she could feel was a primal satisfaction in feeling him lodged deep inside her. When he withdrew, there was only loss, and a need to have him again.

As he stepped back, she straightened and turned to face him, but before she could say anything about the way she was feeling, Rick swept her up in his arms and took her to his bed. He settled her under the covers before stripping out of his clothes and joining her there. He pulled her to him, seemingly content just to hold her, although the state of his hardening cock said that wouldn’t last long.

“There are things you should know,” he started. “Things I should have told you before now, before…” he nodded toward the table, “… this. For the record, I just had my annual check-up, and I’m clean.”

She nodded, rubbing her head against his chest. “Me, too, and I’ve been on birth control for years.”

“I’m not exactly sure how to start this, and I think it goes without saying that what I’m about to tell you is secret, and if you tell anyone, it could endanger us all.”

Confused, Hannah sat up and looked at him. “Secret? Endangering people?”

“I can explain,” he said, getting up to light a fire in the huge fireplace and pulling on his jeans again.

He came back to the bed, scooped Hannah up, wrapped her in what appeared to be an antique quilt, settling them both in the large, comfortable leather chair.

The storm outside battered the cabin with relentless force, the wind howling and snow piling up against the windows. Inside, the fire crackled warmly, casting a comforting glow over the rustic interior. Hannah sat in Rick’s lap, her mind still reeling from the events of the evening. Rick’s insistence on bringing her here had been infuriating, but now, wrapped in the thick quilt, she felt a sense of security she couldn’t deny.

Rick was restless beneath her and finally rose, putting her on the couch so she could draw her legs up underneath her before he went to lean against the stone chimney. Straightening, he began to pace back and forth in front of the fireplace, his brow furrowed in deep thought. He seemed more agitated than usual, a storm of his own brewing behind his eyes. Hannah watched him, curiosity mingling with her frustration. Why hadn’t the sense of peace and rightness of being together cast its tranquility over him the way it had for her?

“Rick, what’s going on?” she asked finally, her voice breaking the tense silence. “You’re acting weird. We’ve been friends ever since I came to Kodiak. If what happened earlier was a bridge too far for you, it can be just a one off...”

He growled as he stopped pacing and looked at her, a mix of resolve and uncertainty on his face. “Hannah, there’s something I need to tell you. Something important.”

She sat up straighter, sensing the gravity of his words. “You can tell me anything. What is it?”

He took a deep breath, the firelight dancing in his eyes. “I’ve been keeping a secret from you, but so have a lot of other people. It’s... not easy to explain, but you need to know. Especially now.”

Hannah’s heart pounded in her chest. “Rick, you’re scaring me. Just tell me.”

He stepped closer, squatting down in front of her, taking her hands in his, his gaze unwavering. “I’m a bear-shifter, Hannah.”

The words hung in the air, almost surreal. Hannah blinked, trying to process what she’d just heard. “A... what?”

“A bear-shifter,” Rick repeated. “I can transform into a bear. It’s something I was born with, a part of who I am.”

“Prove it,” she said without thinking.

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