Page 24 of Betrothed to the Yeti

There is no hiding my trepidation in response to his words. Who will he hurt? How? Can I stand aside and allow my need for revenge to corrupt Pabu? Pabu has given his life to protect the humans after his kin shunned him. His darkness pokes around inside my soul. The scared little girl I hold inside reaches for the evil phantom and there is nothing I can do to prevent their joining. She longs for someone to be her hero… But at what cost to Pabu?

His darkness strokes the injured corners of my heart with love and tenderness.

I can’t resist him…

I caress him back and fall in love—not just with the darkness but with the entire male.

Pabu.

My confession wakes me from the mind link. I’m lying on my back, half-covered with Pabu’s massive body. Little whimpers escape his lips as his brow scrunches. He’s struggling against his baser self. Is this how I was kicked out? Do I have what it takes to love them both? Pabu’s claws pierce the pillow at the sides of my head as he fights to hold on to his civility.

He’s saved me from how many predators? It’s my turn to give to him.

I release the blankets I was squeezing to run my palms up his sides. At his ribs, I bring them together and lightly scrape my nails up his chest. I feather kisses along his brow, over his eyes, and across the bridge of his nose. My unpinned leg wraps above his knee to act as leverage against him. My hips swivel in small circles, but my range of motion is tiny. His heart slows from pounding under my hands.

“Pabu,” I whisper. “Come back to me. Follow the link and return to the present.”

A small whine escapes his lips.

“Please.” My kisses become more insistent. I squeeze my knees into his thigh and twine my arms around his neck.

His eyelids twitch. His lips form shapes, but he makes no sound.

What will wake him? I bite his lower lip.Hard.

“What?” Pabu’s eyes fly open. “Your memories—your suffering—what you have endured—I’m so sorry I doubted you. Please allow me to shelter you so you never feel pain like that again. Place yourself in my care. Let me in and I promise you won’t regret it.”

I’m lifted from the bed as he raises onto his elbows above me. When he rolls to sit on his butt, I don’t let go. I hold his head to my heart with the maximum strength of my thin arms. His eyes widen when I drop to straddle his hips on his lap. I soothe the confusion rushing through our link. Beast and phantom hold their collective breath until I brush reassurance over their fears. I want to claim them…both halves of Pabu.

I waste no words on what happened and kiss him. Our tongues duel. My flat teeth clank against his fangs. He sucks my lower lip as I nibble at his upper lip. I pour my love, longing, and loneliness into our kiss. Our world tilts as we come together in a flurry of passion. My arm twists behind me to unhook the dress clasp at the back of my neck. The dress droops forward and hangs from my elbows. Empowered by my ability to save him from himself, I cup his warm hands over my breasts. The pressure soothes my aching points. My heart pounds at a tempo matching his frantic pulse. Our bond sloshes between us like water flowing between two vessels. There is no delineation of whose soul is whose. Our connection blends us into one person…almost.

I want more, but how do I get it?

I rock my hips in different directions until his shaft extrudes within his fur. We pull and tug at the endless fabric of my skirt wedged between us. Our kiss breaks to fill the room with moans when we are skin to skin. I grind against him, chasing pleasure and commitment beyond what the cruel world has shown me so far.

What is that sensation?

The ruffles on his cock rub me in return. My body behaves in strange ways to his touches. I’m dripping. Those barbs that fueled my nightmares move like tiny fingers. He shows me how he controls their movement through our mind link. They aren’t hard like knifepoints as I feared, but scratch with the same intensity as his blunt fingernails. He draws patterns of swirls and lines as if signing his name within my labia. To be brandedtherepushes my desires into overdrive. The barbs dance over my clit and I see stars. I’m overheated when I’ve spent most of my life in the frigid snow.

“Pabu,” I whisper in a voice I’ve never used. “How do we finish what we’ve started?”

“Finish? Are you asking me to connect us further? Will you be my wife in all ways?” He pulls away from my kisses to gauge my expression. His fear of me categorizing him with those who hurt me grips my heart. He holds his breath. If I deny him now, he would tuck me against his side to hold me without asking for more and I’d also be a liar. I can’t deny the clenching, aching squeezes of my body for more contact.

“Don’t feel you must bind with me physically to continue to live as we have or to keep the lambs,” he whispers, while shame colors his cheeks beneath his fur.

“Teach me—” My voice hitches with need. “I want to bond us without the pain. Can that be done?”

Love and tenderness flowing from Pabu’s soul overwhelm me. Tears collect at the corners of my eyes.

“I’ll take care of you,” he whispers as he nuzzles his nose in my hair. “Always.”

Two of his long fingers pet their way from my navel to my slit. They widen to caress the sensitive flesh beside my clit and gently squeeze the protruding button.Oh, that feels heavenly. He flexes and releases his knuckles until I’m bucking against his hand and calling his name. His opposite hand grabs the back of my head and pulls the tangles of my hair between his digits. His gaze holds me captive while our bond accelerates the feedback loop of sensations. He asks and I answer without a spoken word. Instinct drives my body to open like clouds after a snowstorm.

He takes advantage of my pliable state and impales me on one finger. I cry out when his blunt nails scratch at my marriage barrier. “Please don’t hurt me,” I whimper against his lips.

“Shh, my treasure,” he replies. The barbs dance over my clit to distract me. “Let me take care of you. You can trust me. Feel as I do, reach in my mind, and stay there until we are one.”

I concentrate with all my might on what he’s feeling and lose myself in our mind link. The phantom is there with open arms. I bask in the love from both Pabu’s halves while searching for the sensations of his body. His cock barbs fondle my clit. Euphoria hits me like an avalanche. Petal softness lingers on his fingertips, now two of them, stroking my inner walls.

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