Page 19 of Chased Bear

Once we crossed into his bedroom, he set me down, and I hated not having his arms around me any longer. But more than that, I hated how dressed we were.

Our hands frantically roamed, tearing at clothes, desperate to feel skin on skin. Buttons popped and fabric ripped as we stripped ourselves and each other bare. There was nothing romantic or methodical about what we were doing. It was the opposite of Aydan in that way, and I fucking loved it.

My breath caught as he paused to gaze down at me, his eyes roving hungrily over my exposed body. “You’re so perfect.”

Far from it, but when he licked his lips, I forgot to sass him about it, my mind instantly focusing on what those lips… that mouth, could do.

I pulled him in for a searing kiss. This wasn’t time for a conversation. Our tongues tangled as passion consumed us. All thoughts fled my mind except for Aydan—his taste, his touch,the press of his body against mine. Nothing else mattered in that moment but losing myself in him completely.

Aydan’s hands slid down my body, stroking and kneading me as I arched into his touch. He guided me to sit on the edge of the bed as his mouth trailed lower, leaving a blazing trail of kisses down my neck and chest… heading lower and lower.

I felt him smile against my skin just before he took my hardness in his warm mouth. There was no preamble, no teasing, he just went for it, and it was the hottest thing I’d ever felt.

“Oh gods.” I moaned and arched my hips upward. Aydan’s tongue swirled around my tip, teasing and tormenting me before taking me into his mouth again. He knew exactly what it took to drive me to the brink of orgasm.

His warm, wet mouth engulfed me whole, and I thought I’d explode on the spot. White-hot pleasure coursed through my veins, straight to my core, and my toes curled in response. It shouldn’t feel this good. How could someone live a productive life knowing this was what waited for them in the bedroom?

“Aydan,” I panted, “I’m... I’m close.” I wasn’t ready for it to be over. I still hadn’t so much as grazed his cock with my hand.

He pulled back, his eyes locking with mine. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No,” I gasped out, my breathing ragged. “I... I can’t... I need...”

Aydan smirked, understanding dawning in his eyes. “Tease,” he muttered playfully before diving back in with renewed fervor. This time, I felt his fingers teasing my entrance, rimming my opening, and dipping inside just enough to send me over the edge.

“Fuck,” I cursed, my hips bucking as I came hard in Aydan’s mouth, my cum shooting onto his waiting tongue and down the back of his throat. He lapped me clean, his eyes never leaving mine.

Every time I thought this couldn’t get hotter, it did.

“That... that was...” I panted, trying to catch my breath.

Aydan’s grin was smug as he crawled back up to join me on the bed. “Told you I was good at this.”

He hadn’t, but I wasn’t going to correct him. I couldn’t even form a sentence if I tried, because if I could, I might say something stupid, something like, “I want to keep you” or “Alpha mine,” and I’d ruin everything.

Chapter 12

Aydan

Jayce had been living with the pack for two weeks now, and despite the time we spent together at my home, entwined in each other’s arms, he was avoiding me in public. It seemed I was the only person he was keeping at arm’s length. And I got it, I did. But I also hated it with a burning passion.

I wasn’t going to push. Not when I couldn’t offer him more than what we had. And the thing was, I wanted to. But it would be cruel, cruel in a way I never could be with him. It would be one thing going into an arrangement where neither of us cared andwhen a fated came along all would be right in the world. Only feelings were in the way, and the end would crush us all if we allowed ourselves to pretend this was more.

Why couldn’t this be more.

Despite all of that, Jayce was doing so well. Every time I turned around, I learned about some new project or program Jayce had proposed and was helping to organize. The den had tentative plans for next month’s Harvest Moon gathering, including a harvest festival with pumpkins and a homemade catapult. The idea sounded over-the-top to me, but Jayce had talked with someone from Greycoast who had an overabundance of pumpkins and was willing to trade for them. Though we had no immediate need for the pumpkins, they were here now, and two of my den members were constructing a catapult, citing there were only so many pies that could be eaten.

The whole thing seemed preposterous, but it was doing wonders for the den. People were excited, planning events and collaborating. There was a buzz of excitement in the air. Jayce was a natural leader, and though I found our leadership styles quite different, his approach was clearly effective.

Unlike me, he wasn’t top down. He listened and sort of helped guide people to where they wanted to be. It was hard to explain, and I didn’t see how I could do the same, but it worked for him, and honestly, really amazed me. He was constantly doing that—amazing me. Not a day went by when I didn’t ask the goddess why he couldn’t be mine, hoping that they would change their mind and he suddenly could be. If only that were possible.

“Alpha.” Finnegan had me snapping me back to the present where I was having lunch with him, as I did every other day.

I knew that eventually, I would need to let this omega down gently, but it was sadly political too, and I needed to tread lightly. The tentative partnership we had planned wasn’t going to work. He knew about Aydan. We hadn’t had a full-on conversation about it, but he did. And not for a second did I do anything that resembled more than friendship with the omega. But the understanding that this was the expectation for us was still there.

I was in a horrible position. His brother came here to mate my Corey, and when that fell flat—well, it put the pack in a really crappy position. This was both Finnegan’s and my way of smoothing that out, and I supposed it was working.

“I need to be honest with you,” he said.

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