“Bear.” I struggled to catch my breath. “I need you to take me upstairs.”

Heat flared in his eyes, rushing down the bond to electrify me. He carefully took the axe from me, replacing it safely to await its next use.

I grabbed his hand, pulling him along behind me, sparing only a quick glance for the others who had already gone inside while I was busy having my wood-chopping breakdown. “Going to shower. Be back later.”

None of them made a peep as Bear followed me up. I went straight for the study since it was the furthest point from where everyone was congregated. I closed the door behind us and shucked off all of my outer gear while Bear got a fire going, speeding it along with a little blowtorch.

He looked ready to devour me when he finally turned back. “You’re sure?”

“Yes. I want you to make me forget all the shit that popped up today. I know you can do that.”

Bear nodded his assent and I bounded toward him, tugging off his layers and letting him strip what remained of mine. Flashes of pleasure danced through the bond, his desire tumbling with mine, our needs tangling in a complex dance I struggled to follow even as he swept me away.

This was new territory for me. Wanting them close to a heat was one thing, but my heat was done and I still wanted Bear all over me. I didn’t care if that was because of the bond or not. I needed him.

His mouth was hot against mine and I poured myself into matching the passion he offered. Half-drunk on his scent, I dragged him to the leather couch so I could stand on it and be at eye level with him. Bear’s hands wandered, lifting one leg to prop my foot on the couch arm so he could tease between my thighs, fingers gliding on the slick that had already gathered. I moaned against his mouth, rocking my hips.

“Don’t let them hear me.”

Immediately on board with his mission, Bear closed his fingers over my lips and tilted my head, nipping along my throat as he drove his fingers into me.

My brain instantly filled with a lusty fog, drowning out everything except the alpha with me. I clung harder, legs shaking and skin sweating. Bear added another finger, his other hand muffling my answering groan.

Desire was still very much a foreign concept. Before coming to this lodge and meeting these alphas, I was pretty sure I had never felt it outside of a heat-induced craving. That wasn’t anywhere near the same thing as what I felt for Bear right now. I didn’t just want him close; I wanted him to obliterate me and put me back together on the mountain of shattered pieces.

Tension pulled tighter with each thrust of his fingers and I whimpered out a desperate omega song until it was all too much. I came with a cry that Bear did his best to silence. Slick dripped down his arm when he let me go so I could catch my breath.

I stole lazy, drugging kisses before whispering, “Fuck me.”

Bear lifted me off my feet and set my knees on the arm of a plush leather chair near the fire, carefully tilting me forward until my hands were braced on the other arm, leaving my hips exposed and at the perfect height. I almost lost it when his hand closed over my mouth again as his cock plunged into my cunt.

Nirvana was pretty close to how that first fuck felt. The slight sting, my body yielding as if it knew Bear belonged there, and the surge of pleasure that came from the pressure and glide along every nerve ending. Sensation crashed over me, flooding through the bond from Bear as I absorbed the barrage of his emotions on top of my own: affection, longing, lust, and a ferocious protectiveness that stole my breath.

Bear kept a firm grip on one hip so I didn’t go sailing off the chair each time he thrust in. My sweaty palms were doing a horrible job of keeping me upright, so I sank down to my forearms, taking over the job of covering my mouth so he could hold me better.

My body and mind were rarely in sync unless I got into the zone, but right now it was like music. My head wanted him as much as my pussy did. I reached between my thighs to brush my clit, losing it with a few quick strokes to send me over the edge he’d been pushing me toward.

Bear, alpha that he was, kept going. How long would it take before I was completely overwhelmed to the point my brain turned off or my body gave out?

I kept up an easy pace on my clit, surrendering to everything Bear gave me. Each rise left my throat a little more raw, my thighs dripping with slick, and my muscles trembling.

“P-please,” I gasped out.

His movements became erratic and I knew he was close. I needed his knot.

I started up a frantic pattern and as I spilled slick down my thighs, screaming into my own hand, Bear finally followed me over the edge, his knot blitzing all of my lingering capacities right out of existence.

I melted, shivering and panting. Bear gathered me up and maneuvered us so he sat on the chair, my weight resting back against him while his lips danced along my throat. He filled his hands with my breasts, teasing my nipples and making me squirm in his lap.

“Bear,” I gasped. I couldn’t move a damn inch off that knot.

“Yes, angel?” he whispered, the sound rough as he nipped my earlobe.

I didn’t have an answer for him, so he carried on, fingers gliding down my body to play with my clit while I bucked helplessly. He took care of keeping me quiet once more, drawing my mouth to his and setting about making sure I was entirely ruined.

His satisfaction blended with amusement each time I came for him. Italmostbordered on smug, but when my pussy squeezed his knot, that particular sentiment was slam-dunked right into reverence.

Sweating and sated, I let him play however he wanted, too caught up in the high of the experience to work up an ounce of embarrassment. I had asked, and he had delivered.