Page 54 of The Bear's Mail Order Mate

Cassia leaned in and kissed him again, this time with a boldness that set his blood on fire. Her lips parted, inviting him deeper, and Kris responded with a groan that seemed to rise from his very soul. His hands cupped her face, thumbs caressing her cheeks as he savored the sweet taste of her.

When they finally pulled apart, Cassia’s eyes were hazy with desire, her breathing uneven. “I’ve been thinking about this all day,” she confessed. “About you.”

“In what way?” he murmured huskily as he ducked his head and kissed her neck, inhaling her scent.

“In every way,” she whispered, her fingers tracing the line of his jaw. “I keep thinking about how it felt when you held me, when you kissed me. When you…” She took hold of his hand and guided it down over her body and between her thighs.

Kris rubbed his hand over her mound through the fabric of her jeans, feeling her heat even through the denim. His bear growled, urging him to stake their claim, to make her theirs completely.

“Cassia,” he breathed against her neck, his voice strained with need. “I want you so badly it hurts.”

She arched against his touch, her body responding instantly. “Then take me,” she whispered. “I’m yours, Kris. Aren’t I?”

“You are,” he growled.

Something primal and possessive roared to life inside him. In one swift movement, he pressed her back against the trunk of a nearby pine, his body flush against hers.

As he bent his head and kissed her, it was as if a primal part of him had awakened. A part that wanted, no, needed, to claim his mate. And roar from the highest peak that she was his. Forever.

And nothing, especially no cheating ex-fiancé, could change that!

Chapter Twenty – Cassia

With her back pressed against the tree, Kris kissed her, his hand between her thighs, stroking her through her clothes, making her whimper softly against his mouth. Beside them, the stream gurgled and babbled as it made its way through the trees toward the vineyard, and Cassia felt as if she were drifting, too, carried away by the current of sensation.

Her breath caught in her throat as his lips traveled down her neck, tender yet insistent, and she curled her fingers into his hair. She’d never wanted anything as much as she wanted Kris right now.

It was as if she burned for him and only him. As if she craved him like air itself. Her body hummed with need, with a fierce, primal hunger that threatened to overwhelm her senses.

“Kris,” she whispered against his ear, her voice trembling. “I need you.”

He growled softly in response, the sound vibrating through his chest and into hers. His eyes, when he pulled back to look at her, were tinged with amber, as if his bear were shimmering just beneath the surface.

“Here? Are you sure?” he asked, his voice rough with restraint. “We could go back to the house...”

Cassia shook her head, fingers tracing the strong line of his jaw. “No. Here.” To back up her words, she reached between their bodies and tugged at his belt.

Kris’s eyes darkened further, his breathing ragged as he helped her with the buckle. Then the buttons of his jeans. As the last one popped open, she curled her fingers around the denim and pushed them down over his hips, taking his boxers with them. When they pooled at his feet, Kris stepped out of them and kicked them aside. His hardness pressed against her thigh and she curled her fingers around his length, stroking him, reveling in his sharp intake of breath. He bit his bottom lip as she caressed him, moving her hand up and down while he rocked his hips back and forth.

What a sight he made, as he groaned, deep and guttural. A sound that made her stomach clench and her body ache for him.

“Your turn,” Kris whispered with reverent slowness. He hooked his fingers into her waistband and inched them down. Cassia lifted her hips slightly as he slipped her pants and underwear down over her curvy thighs. The cool forest air kissed her heated skin, making her shiver with anticipation more than cold. Kris helped her step out of her clothes, then gently pressed her back against the tree trunk. The rough bark against her shoulder blades was a delicious contrast to the softness of his touch.

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured, his gaze traveling over her body with such raw admiration that Cassia felt herself flush. “So damn beautiful.”

He kneeled before her, pressing soft kisses to her stomach, her hipbones, and the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. Cassia threaded her fingers through his dark hair, holding on as if she might float away without his anchoring presence. When his mouth found her most sensitive bundle of nerves, she gasped, her head falling back against the tree trunk with a soft thud.

The world narrowed to just this—Kris’s talented tongue exploring her most intimate places, the whisper of leaves overhead, the distant call of birds, and her own quickening breath. She was vaguely aware of her soft moans echoing in the forest clearing but couldn’t bring herself to care who might hear. Let all of Bear Creek know she belonged to this man, and he to her.

She was vaguely aware of his hand on her knees, urging her to inch her feet apart, exposing herself to him. Cassia complied. Any other man would have left her feeling vulnerable, but she trusted Kris completely. With her body, with her heart, and her soul.

And right at this moment, with her pleasure.

His tongue circled her mound, gently at first, then with more pressure as her fingers tightened in his hair. Cassia’s breathing grew ragged, her thighs trembling as he slipped a finger inside her, then another, curling them upward as he brushed his fingertips against her inner walls.

She rocked her hips, her orgasm so close now…

But then he eased off, letting her come back down.

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