Page 15 of Bearing North
She rode him that way, deeper and hotter and desperate until she cried out and clenched hard. Orson rolled her over for the last strokes, thrusting and clutching at her, growling and grasping as pleasure coursed through him.
She was his.
She was his mate and he was utterly hers, one with her body for the moment. He could feel her heartbeat inside of her as he took those last, spiraling strokes and finally they both lay in a haze of happy aftermath.
12
ALEX
Alex had been right about Orson being dangerous.
He was gorgeous and built, and she could have caressed his skin for hours without getting bored.
She’d guessed he would be good in bed, but she hadn’t expected him to be so muchfun. He was there for her pleasure, and he tortured her with tickles and teased her to impossible heights before releasing her at last. It wasn’t mechanical or selfish; he was there, laughing with her, finding the places that drove her crazy, challenging her boundaries but respecting them, and at the end of it, she had no defense against him.
He cradled her close as they finished, his breath on her neck, his cock still throbbing inside of her as the aftershocks of bliss ebbed away.
“Alex,” he breathed near her ear. If he felt emasculated by the name, he certainly hadn’t shown it when he claimed her.
Alex loved how strong he was, how silly he could be, and how tenderly he held her, like she was a treasure, not a tempest.
“Alex,” he said again. “Mymate.”
The word resonated inside her. “Mate? Like…an animal’s mate?” He was abear,Alex remembered, and that seemed the least insane part of all of this.
He brushed her hair back from where it had been tickling her face but she’d been too lazy and comfortable to move. “Like that, but also not. I’m a shifter.”
“That much is obvious.”
He chuckled. “It comes with some perks.”
“Like being able to change into a bear. I can think of times that would be useful.”
“I also have a shifter’s sense of instinct. It’s like a sixth sense that tells me when I’m walking into trouble, not that it can keep me out of it.”
“Like a bird’s ability to navigate? Or a bear’s need to hibernate?”
“Or like knowing when I meet the one person I’m supposed to be with forever.”
That, and the sweat drying on her skin, sent a chill running over her. Alex backed away on the bed. “Forever?”
What did that even mean?
Orson kept a hand cupped around her face. “Forever,” he said firmly.
Alex sat up, drawing back from his addictive touch, and folded her arms around herself. “We didn’t talk about forever.”
They hadn’t talked about anything. He’d told her to call him by his name and then kissed her, and she was simplylost.
“I’m not like this,” Alex said, scowling. “I don’t usually do this. Ineverdo this.” Had she led him on?
“That seems to be a theme between us,” Orson said thoughtfully, rising to one elbow. “I’ve also been trying to be someone I’m not.”
“You’re not very good at it,” Alex couldn’t help but observe. Sandra would have pinched her if she’d been there and reminded her that she wasn’t supposed to insult the guy who could fire her.
Orson didn’t take offense, that easy smile on his mouth again. “Neither are you.”
Shouldshebe offended? She wasn’t. “I’m going to take a shower,” she stated, getting off the bed altogether. She wasn’t blind to how he watched her, full of hunger despite what they’d just done.
