Page 78 of Choose the Bears

He looked like he had something he needed to say, just there on the tip of his tongue, but there was no communication possible right now, verbally at least. There was only him and only me, moving together to become more than the sum of our parts. My nails dug into his shoulders, my hips thrusting back,meeting him stroke for stroke as they got faster, harder, deeper. We were like two sticks being rubbed together, heat building.

“Imogen…”

That bloody mouth, it had better things to do, so I tugged his head down, claiming it as mine. His kiss told me everything I needed to know and so did his frantic pants. That he was rocking my fucking world and he was right there with me. In some sort of insane freefall, this was like sex for the first time for both of us. The first time done with any kind of reverence. The first time I loved every second of it. The first time I had everything I needed and he did too. We stared into each other’s eyes, as if unwilling to believe this was happening, right up until the point we exploded.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I panted that out as pleasure slammed into me just as hard as he did, breaking me open. Every barrier, every pain, every worry or concern, was washed away by a sea of ecstasy, then when all the crap was cleared out, pure bliss followed and I surfed each wave. My head was thrown back, the sounds from my throat animalistic, but his were the same. He came with a great roar that threatened to shake the very windows, and I held him through it. His pleasure provoked yet more of my own, turning one orgasm into another, over and over, just ripples of pleasure spreading out until finally we collapsed down onto the bed.

Being heldthrough the afterglow was really very nice. I was feeling way too snuggly, but when I tried to pull back, he hauled me right back where I was.

“Stay,” he said, his tone ragged.

“If you insist.”

I tried for humour and failed hopelessly, nestling in closer, my breathing growing slower and slower to match his.

This wasn’t what I was supposed to do. I’d intended to clean up and scuttle out the door, back to my own room. This was just a bit of fun, my first foray into singledom, but that’s not how it felt. Safe, that was my first thought, then happy, so damn happy. Happier than I’d ever dared to feel, and perhaps that’s why I stayed. Also held close and treasured, the little grunt of satisfaction Lucas made when I settled my head on his chest was everything I never knew I wanted.

“You never showed me your comics…”

My eyelids were growing heavy, but I made that one last crack as the sweet lassitude took me down.

“Tomorrow,” he promised. “I’ll show you everything tomorrow.”

But if Ihoped to find solace in sleep, I was mistaken. All the warmth of before was gone, just leaving me here. The same damn forest at night, the same moonlight shifting restlessly in the dark, but this time there were no bears to protect me. A bird’s call had me spinning around one way, the creak of a tree moving in the wind spinning me back around, but it was the snap of a branch that froze me to the spot. I remembered the monstrous visage of the man who hunted me and every muscle quivered as I forced myself to look over my shoulder.

But I didn’t find Phil standing there.

Asher walked out from under the trees just wearing a pair of denim jeans. He shoved his hands in his pockets as I turned to face him.

“Nothing will ever hurt you here.”

“You don’t know that.” My reply was automatic and I looked around as if to convince myself of just that, seeing only the vague shapes of trees around us.

“I do, actually.”

“So, you’re just as bossy in my dreams as you are in real life,” I muttered to myself, but dream Asher had preternatural hearing. He snorted and then stepped forward.

“Bossy, strong, protective, obsessive.” He listed all the attributes I’d thought about when reading my books, his lips twisting into a smile. “But you already know that.”

“Why?” In my dreams, nothing could distract me. No Kyle busting in on me and Lucas, no Asher interrupting me and Kyle. I could ask the questions without allowing myself to be sidetracked. “Why, Asher? You don’t roll out the red carpet for each woman that comes here. You don’t personally oversee their protection.” He nodded, as if encouraging me to have my say. “You don’t ensure every single woman has a meal waiting for her, or give her a job when she needs a way to pay her rent.” He nodded, dream-Asher confirming all of my suspicions. “What makes me so special?”

“Everything.” Suddenly, he was standing right before me, his hand going to the back of my neck and that forced our heads together. “Everything, Imogen. From the moment I was born, I’ve known there was one woman in all of the world for me. Just one. Every step I took was one that brought me closer to her.” He stared down at me. “Towards you. I protect you because my soul screams that I must. Because…”

Asher was saying everything I’d ever wanted to hear. These kinds of grand declarations would’ve been impossible to hear in real life, but in my dreams? My greedy little heart sucked every word up. That wasn’t enough, though. He had to go and answer all the questions I’d asked and the ones that still lurked deep inside me.

I’d seen him take form as a gigantic polar bear, so that wasn’t what shocked me. Instead, it was the slow transformation. With every increment his face grew less and less human. The angles sharpened, his eyes went from pale to electric blue, and theytook on an animalistic cast as he stared. That was nothing compared to this, though. His mouth fell open not to reveal all those reassuringly blunt teeth but fangs.

“I will protect you, hunt down your enemies and kill every single one, because they cannot walk the earth, not while she does.”

I remembered then, the three men’s reference to ‘she’ in the overheard conversation.

“Who?” I asked, but I knew, and his dark chuckle made clear that was obvious. He moved and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

“The other half of my heart. The only woman I’ll ever love. My fated mate.”

I jerked awake,heart pounding, breath noisy as I just stared, trying to make sense of the dark shapes around me. Lucas’ sleepy nuzzle, his heavy exhalations clued me in. I pulled free of his embrace, feeling not a small amount of regret as I did so, but when I stared down at him, tracing the shape of his face with my eyes, his own flicked open.

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