Page 55 of On Tap for the Bear
"I am desperate...” My words cut off on a moan as he adds his mouth to the mix, tongue and fingers working in tandem until I'm clutching the sheets and saying his name like a prayer.
The orgasm crashes over me sudden and intense, amplified through the bond so I feel his satisfaction along with my own pleasure. He doesn't give me time to recover, just kisses his way back up my body and positions himself between my thighs.
"Look at me," he commands softly.
I meet his eyes as he pushes inside, slow and steady and overwhelming. The stretch, the fullness, the rightness of it—the bond flares brilliant between us, sealing the connection. I can feel him inside me and feel his pleasure at being inside me, and it's almost too much sensation to process.
"Eli...” My nails dig into his shoulders, urging him deeper.
He groans and begins to move, setting a rhythm that's controlled at first but gradually loses its restraint. His hands grip my hips, angling me so every thrust hits deep. The bed frame creaks with the force of his movements, and I meet him thrust for thrust, chasing the pleasure building between us.
"I've waited so long for you," he says against my throat, voice raw with emotion. "Didn't even know I was waiting until you walked into my life."
"I'm here now." I cup his face, making him look at me. "I'm not going anywhere."
Through the bond I feel his control finally snap. He moves faster, harder, one hand sliding between us to where we're joined. The dual sensation—him inside me, his fingers on the bundle of nerves that makes me see stars—sends me over the edge.
My release triggers his through the bond, his pleasure feeding back into mine in an endless loop. He buries his face in my neck with a roar, hips jerking as he finds his completion deep inside me.
We collapse together, breathing hard, the bond humming with satisfaction between us. After a moment, he rolls to his side, pulling me with him so we're tangled together.
"That was...” I start.
"Yeah." His hand traces lazy patterns on my back. "It was."
Later,wrapped in warmth and contentment, I trace patterns on Eli's chest. The bond between us hums softly, satisfied.
"I can feel you," I whisper. "Your emotions. It's intense."
"It'll settle. Get easier to separate your feelings from mine. But for now...”
"It's amazing." I prop myself up to look at him. "Overwhelming. But amazing."
He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "No regrets?"
"None. This is exactly what I want."
We're quiet for a moment, just existing in this perfect bubble of contentment. Then I take a breath.
"I need to tell you something. About what I want to do. Professionally."
"Okay."
"I want to start a magazine. Online to start, maybe print eventually.Small Batch—focusing on craft food, craft beer, authentic stories from small producers who actually care about what they make." The words come faster as excitement builds. "I want to tell real stories. Give credit where it's due. Create something that's mine, that no one can take from me. And I want to run it from here. From Redwood Rise."
Eli's smile is slow and warm. "Then you're home."
Those three words settle over me like a benediction. Simple. True. Perfect.
"Yeah," I whisper. "I am."
I fall asleep in his arms, the bond humming contentedly between us, the ley lines finally quiet beneath the earth.
For the first time since Vanessa's betrayal, I sleep without nightmares. Without fear. Without the crushing weight of believing everything I'd built was gone.
I sleep deeply, dreamlessly, wrapped in warmth and safety.
I wake to darkness and the sound of Eli's phone buzzing urgently on the nightstand.
