Page 36 of Grizzly's Grump
The initial stroke of his tongue is gentle, exploratory—a claiming and a promise. My hips jolt, a ragged gasp spilling from me as pleasure spirals outward, sharp and liquid and hot. He moans against me, the sound vibrating straight through my core, then licks me again, slower this time, more deliberate. Like he wants to memorize every inch of me from the inside out.
He doesn't stop. His mouth is relentless, devoted, coaxing cries from my throat I didn't know I could make. He licks and sucks and slides his tongue over every sensitive place with aching precision, his stubble grazing the insides of my thighs just enough to make me shiver. My hands fist the sheets, legs trembling, as he drags me closer and closer to the edge.
His fingers anchor me—thumbs pressed to my hipbones, holding me open while his tongue works in slow, punishing circles. Every motion is reverent and ravenous all at once, a worship and a taking. He groans into me again when I moan his name. Something in that sound snaps loose inside me—like the ley lines themselves are listening, waiting. For one suspended breath, it’s not just Calder’s mouth on me—it’s everything. The heat, the bond, the wildness pressing in from the woods. I let go with a cry I don’t recognize as my own.
I grip the sheets, gasping for air; my thighs shaking around his head as his tongue circles and flicks, enticing me to the brink. He hums softly in his throat when I scream out—an approving vibration coursing through my core.
When I climax, it overwhelms me like a tsunami: unstoppable and all-consuming. I call his name; my hips bucking; but he doesn't relent—he surfs the wave with me, extracting every last quiver from my body until I cave in, limp and exhausted.
He eventually rises, eyes hazy with passion; his mouth gleaming with the proof of his dedication. He hovers over me for a moment, supporting himself on his arms, his heavy breaths brushing against my cheek.
My body is still trembling from the aftershock, but the craving in his eyes ignites a fresh spark within me. He doesn't speak—not yet—but the way he looks at me communicates everything. He craves more. We both do.
He kisses me—gently and deeply, allowing me to taste myself on his tongue—and I moan into his mouth, drawing him nearer. His body slides against mine: all heat and sinew; every inch of him pressing into me with barely restrained control.
When he eases between my thighs, I open for him instinctively; our bodies fitting together with breathless ease. He grinds his hips against me; the head of his cock is slick andpulsating where he presses against my entrance. I wrap my legs around his waist, pulling him closer, and he doesn’t waver.
With one powerful thrust, he’s inside me—thick, deep, perfect—and I cry out, nails digging into his shoulders as my body stretches around him, overwhelmed by the raw, exquisite fullness. He groans low, the sound dark and guttural, his forehead pressing to mine as he begins to move.
“Now,” he growls again, voice rough with hunger and need.
He doesn't hesitate. He grips my hips, shifting us into perfect alignment before driving into me again. I gasp, his name a fractured plea as he fills me over and over. He's everywhere—inside, around, surrounding me completely. There’s no space between us, no air—only heat and the relentless rhythm of us coming undone together.
My back bows with every thrust, his body pounding into mine with a rhythm that feels primal, unstoppable. Each stroke is fierce and claiming, like he’s carving himself into my core, branding every part of me with his need. I meet him without hesitation—hips rising, fingernails raking down the taut muscles of his back, my mouth parted on a moan that sounds more like a cry. He lowers his head, his breath scorching against my skin before his teeth graze the shell of my ear, a possessive scrape that sends a lightning jolt straight to my core.
"You're mine," he growls. "Say it."
"I'm yours," I gasp, uttering the words from a deep-rooted place within me.
"Again."
"Yours, Calder. Yours."
Something inside of him shatters then; his rhythm turns wild—controlled solely by the fierce force of his will. I climax intensely, shouting out as he follows suit—a guttural noise tearing from his chest as he collapses onto me.
We lie there in the aftermath, tangled and breathless, hearts still racing in sync.
He brushes his lips over my forehead, breath still uneven. “You wreck me,” he murmurs.
I slide my fingers through his hair, nails lightly grazing his scalp. “Good. I want every piece.”
I don’t know what stirs me first—the scent of him on my skin or the weight of his body still draped over mine. Calder’s arm is heavy across my waist, his breath steady against the back of my neck, anchoring me in a way I didn’t know I needed. But the moment I shift to turn toward him, he moves, too.
His hand slides up my side, palm warm against my skin. “There’s something I need to tell you,” he murmurs.
I turn fully, meeting his eyes. There’s no evasion in them now—just honesty, thick with vulnerability.
“I was born like this,” he says quietly. “Me, my brothers, the other shifters—we’re born shifters. It’s hard-wired in our DNA. It goes all the way back to when the ley lines first split the world—when something ancient carved a path between wild and human. That’s when our kind began.”
I stare at him, breath caught somewhere between awe and disbelief. “So… it’s inherited?”
He nods. “Mostly. But shifters can claim humans, too, in various ways—with canines and felines, it's a bite. With bears, it's through a ritual mingling of our blood. The shifter DNA overwrites the human DNA. The ley lines recognize the bond—blood of my blood. It doesn’t just tie you to the person. It awakens something inside. It changes you.”
"How does it work?"
"Generally, we have a bonding ritual similar to a wedding. At the end of the ceremony, I would take a ceremonial knife that's been in my family for thousands of years. We cut a small X in each of our palms and then bind them together with aceremonial chord. My blood transfers to you and initiates a change in your DNA."
"Does it hurt? Hey wait, did you just ask me to marry you?"
