Page 8 of Bearly Mine
“Very little. And I should probably question the accuracy of what I think I know,” I admitted. I wondered where he was going with this. And why he had to stop kissing me to ask.
“There’s something about shifters I need you to know before we continue. I should have already told you. I wanted to tell you earlier.” He took a deep breath. “I never thought I’d have to explain it to a human, so I apologize if I mess it up.”
“You’re making me nervous. I already know you turn into an animal. What’s harder to understand than that?”
He scrubbed his face with his hand. “Shifters all have fated mates. The person we’re meant to be with and love. Our animals recognize them instinctively.”
Oh god. He must be telling me this so I wouldn’t get any ideas about a relationship with him. That all we were was a hookup. My face burned and I couldn’t look him in the eye. Did he believe I was over here pining for him? I hadn’t been thinking about forever. I hadn’t even been thinking past the moment. Although now that I knew it was off the table, my heart ached, and tearsthreatened to rise. Like I had lost something I didn’t even know I wanted.
I swallowed, my throat thick. “I understand.”
“You do?” He looked surprised. “I thought you’d have questions.”
“No questions. You explained it well.” I peeled at the label on my beer. “Your mate will be a lucky woman. You’re a great guy.”
He swore. “Apparently, I didn’t explain it well. You’re my mate.”
I froze, my only movement a steady blinking. I even stopped breathing for a minute before the air rushed out, and I licked my lips as I tried to make sense of what he said. How could I be his mate? Was this some shifter pickup line? Tell a human she’s meant to be his and wait for her to fall into bed with him?
I narrowed my gaze at him. “Does that line really work for you?”
His brow furrowed. “What line?”
“Some women might fall for it, but I’m not that stupid.”
“You think I’m trying a pickup line on you?” His nostrils flared, and he turned my chair to face him, caging me in with his arms. “It’s not a line. It’s the truth.”
“I’m human. We don’t have mates. So I can’t be yours.” I folded my arms across my chest and fanned the flames of my anger. I’d rather be angry than hurt.
“It happens sometimes.” He growled before pausing, as if searching for the right words. “I knew the moment I smelled you. And I know you feel the connection. It won’t be as strong as for me, but it’s there.”
I thought about how safe I felt with him. How easy it was to talk to him and open up to him. Every part of me yearned for him, craved his presence. Just being near him soothed something inside me I didn’t know needed soothing. Was hetelling the truth? I met his gaze. His gray eyes were earnest and unwavering. I wanted to believe him.
He wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me closer, resting his forehead against mine. We traded breaths for a moment before he said hoarsely, “You’re my everything, Lily.”
“That’s a lot.”
“It’s the shifter way.”
I lifted my hand and laid my palm against his chest. His heart beat was steady, unlike mine, which raced and his breaths even while mine were choppy. I closed my eyes and drank in the feel and scent of him. He smelled of the woods, and something wild. I matched my breathing to his and soon my racing heart slowed, syncing with his. We were in a little bubble together, and my only thought was I didn’t want it to end.
I crushed my lips to his, and he didn’t hesitate to kiss me back. He hauled me onto his lap, his powerful arms embracing me. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my fingers twisted in his hair as our kiss deepened. He squeezed my hip, kneading the flesh, as he hardened beneath me. My core flooded in response. I rubbed my legs together, wiggling on his lap, wanting, needing, pressure against that most intimate part of my body.
He stood, shifting me in his arms until my legs gripped his sides and my throbbing lower half pressed against his stomach. He kissed me again, his tongue plunging inside my mouth, mimicking what I really craved. His fingers dug into the back of my thighs as he tore his mouth from mine. “I want you in my bed.”
He strode across the main floor to the staircase and practically ran up the steps. We passed two bedrooms and a bathroom before he pushed open the door at the end of the hallway. I barely had time to take in the masculine bedroom, thewalls and windows bare, before he laid me on the navy blanket covering his enormous bed. The only other furniture was a large wooden dresser and a chair in the corner with clothes piled on it.
He followed me down to the bed, covering my body with his. Hands stroked up my bare thighs to where my skirt bunched around my waist. He found the zipper and slid the skirt off before making quick work of my blouse, leaving me laying there in just my panties and bra. For a second, I wished I had sexy matching underwear, but the heated look in his eyes had me dismissing the thought.
I tugged at his shirt and he helped me remove it, baring his muscular chest with a sprinkling of hair. I caressed him from his shoulders to where his pants hung low on his waist, increasing the pressure as I gained confidence. Dean let me explore, and I kneaded his muscles and skimmed my palms across his nipples. He sucked in a sharp breath, but stayed still, and I moved down to press kisses against his hot skin, trailing lower until I reached his waistband.
He tugged me back up the bed. “As much as I want you to keep going, I won’t last if you do. I need to be inside you.”
Despite his words, he didn’t seem to be in a rush. He brushed his lips over my collarbone as he dragged my bra straps down my arms. Open-mouthed kisses traced a path to my chest, leaving a wet trail he blew lightly on. I moaned and wriggled on the bed, wanting more, but he continued his slow exploration, never quite reaching the buds that were desperate for his attention.
Finally, he unclasped my bra and threw it to the side, taking my breasts in his hands and squeezing. His thumbs tweaked my nipples and he bit lightly at the soft flesh before touching his tongue to the aching tips. I arched my back, offering myself to him, and he accepted by encasing my right nipple in his hot mouth. He sucked, his teeth scraping against the hard nub as his hand continued to play with my other breast. He was thoroughin his exploration, leaving me panting for air before he switched to the other side.
His hands stroked lower, gliding across my stomach and coming to rest on the sides of my panties, squeezing my hips before easing the material down my legs. He was away from me only long enough to finish getting naked before he settled with his head between my thighs. He wasted no time in reaching out to stroke me there, his fingers gliding through the evidence of my arousal.
