Page 42 of Stolen Mate

“Luckier than you?”

“Oh, hell no,” said Jax, heading for the door and pulling on his parka. “Nobody, and I mean nobody is luckier than me, and if I don’t go collect my lucky charm and drag her off to bed, she’ll stay up all night doing paperwork.”

Derek smiled as his boss left the office. With nothing better to do at home, he stayed at the office catching up on paperwork and ensuring their files were up to date. When there were no more reasons to avoid heading back to his empty cabin, Derek locked up the office and headed home—only it didn’t feel like home anymore. It had felt like home when Tess was there, but now it just felt like an hollow shell waiting for her to bring her life and light back to it.

When he arrived home, instead of going into the house, Derek walked down to the river and onto the dock. He stood at the end, watching the deep water rush past. He used to stand here for hours, finding great solace in the way the river rolled to the sea, sort of like a life rolling towards eternity. Only now there was beauty but nothing else. She was his solace. She was his life.

Fuck it. If he didn’t get a text or something from her by Friday, he was going after her. He didn’t care if that meant he was a Neanderthal or some kind of barbarian. Tess was his fated mate and he was not going to be denied her. After all, his brother-in-law had gone after Annie and brought her home. But Jax was right, if he was going to pull that caveman shit, he’d better see if he could get Colby Reynolds to give him the use of his private plane.

His whole body ached for her, and his cock was way past the little blue pill’s ad advising seeking medical help if the erection lasted more than four hours. He’d tried more than one cold shower and it hadn’t helped. He’d thought about using his hand to give himself some relief, but instinctively he knew that wouldn’t help, either. Oh, it might work for a minute or two, but he had faith his cock would be rigid again in record time.

Looking down at the fast, bitterly cold water, he made a decision. He called forth his bear who was in a growly, nasty mood. The only thing more pissed at him for letting her go than his cock was his bear. The chaotic storm of energy, power, lightning, thunder, and color swirled around him in an angry vortex as his bear rushed forward and Derek became one with him.

Leaping off the dock, he expected the cold to take his breath away, but it didn’t. His fur, thick skin, and layer of fat insulated him from the icy waters. Derek ducked under the surface of the water, swimming aimlessly as he came to the surface and dove again. Anything to try and quiet the sense of loneliness that had plagued him since she’d insisted on going to Seattle to see her sister.

When a particularly delectable and plump steelhead ventured too close, Derek snatched it up and headed back to shore. He stopped long enough once he was on land to clean the fish, letting the waters of Mystic River help wash it clean. Without being a bear, the frigid air and nearly freezing droplets of water on his skin chilled him to the bone. He sprinted up to the cabin and let himself in.

Normally when he returned home, there was a pleasure that washed over him at being there. The cabin was spacious and comfortable, and Annie and Sienna had done a masterful job of decorating. It was easy to see that the cabin belonged to a man, but it had a woman’s touch. He was certain he and Tess could make a life there. There was a spot by one of the windows that would give her great light to do her illustrations.

He tossed the steelhead onto a cast iron grill pan along with onions, peppers, and garlic before heading into the bath to towel off. One of the things he’d been talked into installing were towel warmers. Like most days, he was glad of the indulgence when he pulled the towel from the rack. Walking back into the main space of the cabin, he grabbed a pair of worn Levi’s and pulled them on, not bothering to button the fly.

He cut up potatoes and put them into a boiling pot of salty water, cooking them until they were fork tender and ready to mash. Draining them and turning them into a bowl, he added garlic, salt, pepper, sour cream in lieu of milk, and butter—lots and lots of butter. Once Derek had the potatoes prepared, he removed the trout from the grill pan and quickly sautéed some green beans. They wouldn’t be as good as Tess’s green bean almondine, but they would suffice for tonight.

Grabbing a beer, he ensconced himself on the couch, turning on the television and flipping through the channels until he found a hockey game. He wasn’t sure if it was live, recorded, or a game from the past. It didn’t matter. He only hoped that the food, the game, and the beer would be enough to distract him from his morose mood, which centered around missing Tess and wanting her home.

God, I’ve become a miserable, grumpy bear! He really didn’t know what he was going to do if she didn’t come back. That wasn’t true. Actually, he knew exactly what he was going to do—go to Seattle, drag her home, claim her as his fated mate, and live happily ever after. Yep, that was the plan. The fact that there were some rather large holes in that plan didn’t bother him overly much. He’d figure it out. All that really mattered was that Tess would be his and they would be together.

The dull buzz had been gradually getting more annoying as the day had gone on. It seemed to have abated a bit when he’d been in his polar bear form, but it had been getting worse since he’d emerged from the river’s icy depths. He’d told her he would wait until Friday, but that seemed like an unreachable goal. He needed and wanted her here, and he was convinced she felt the same. He understood that she didn’t have the same frame of reference that he did to accept being someone’s fated mate, but he would make her see that he was right.

Well into his second beer, but by no means drunk, he was a bit startled by the knock on the door. Normally, Derek was a tough sonofabitch to sneak up on, but he couldn’t remember hearing anything. He reached into the side table, pulling out his handgun and releasing the safety. He walked toward the door and once again damned himself for not putting in a peephole.

Opening the door, he damned himself for having a gun in his hand and quickly set it down on the small antique cabinet Annie had insisted he needed next to the door to put things on when he came home. There was a gorgeous dough bowl that was more than a hundred years old. The gun slipped in and seemed to fit perfectly.

“Hi. I’m back…”

She was home. His cock bulged, trying to get out of the open fly. She looked gorgeous and he was greeting her with a bare chest, a barely contained hard-on, and no shoes. And he didn’t care. She was beautiful. Without saying a word, he hauled her into the house, closing and locking the door behind her as he pushed her up against the door, lowering his head to hers, and capturing her mouth. He was done waiting.

His instinct was to throw her on the ground—not even bothering with the bed—rip her clothes off and shove into her, claiming her as his as quickly and completely as possible, but Derek knew better. He knew his job was not just to possess her, but to cherish her and see to her needs. Tess settled back against the door, her arms coming up to wind around his neck as she leaned into him, parting her lips in invitation. An invitation he accepted.

Derek fused his lips to hers—arousal, heat, and passion surging through his body. His fingers sank into her hair, fisting the silky tresses so that she couldn’t get away. He tilted her head into the position he wanted as his tongue surged in deep, tangling with hers as she moaned and sagged into him.

“I missed you so much,” she said when he let her come up for air.

His cock throbbed against her. “Not nearly as much as I missed you.”

Taking a deep breath, he leaned in and retook her mouth, reveling in the way her whole body surrendered to his. They were perfect together, just as he’d known they would be. Reluctantly he broke the kiss and hoisted her up in his arms, cradling her against his chest as he strode back to the bed, setting her down beside it, his mouth retaking hers.

Dragging her sweater over her head, he made short work of getting them both naked, his mouth only leaving hers when it absolutely had to and coming back to it as soon as possible. She was every bit as gorgeous as he remembered. The perfect hourglass shape with heavy breasts, a nipped in waist and hips a man could hang onto when he was pounding her from behind.

Her nipples were tight and pebbled, silently begging him to take them into his mouth and suckle. He used one hand to cup her jawline—anchoring her head—while the other came up to cup her breast, thumbing her nipple. He wanted to be slow and deliberate, but this first time wasn’t really an exploration, it was more about feeding a hunger they’d had from the time she’d awakened in his bed.

Tess’s hands roamed over his skin, tracing scars and learning every inch of it. He placed one of his hands over hers, ensuring there was mutual contact between them. The idea of not having her hands on him was one he couldn’t abide. Lowering his head, he brushed his lips over hers and allowed his feelings to flow.

Derek palmed her breast as his other hand snaked around her waist, pulling her closer. Her nipple was a diamond shard against his hand, daring him to twist and play with it. He rolled the nipple between his thumb and forefinger, making her squirm before pinching and then tugging it.

Tess trailed her finger down his torso—her hand making its way down to his cock. There was no way he was going to let her touch it at the moment. If she did, he’d come all over her hand and that was not how this night was going to go. He turned her around, nestling his cock in the swell of her backside. Tess’s arm came back, and she cupped the nape of his neck with her hand.

His hand swept down, covering her mound possessively and giving it a gentle squeeze before his fingers found her clit and began to strum. Tess’s head dropped back against his shoulder, and she moaned in anticipation and need. He nuzzled her neck as he played with her sex. She was wet and soft, ripe and ready for him. His fingers slid through her labia and stroked the opening to her core before returning to her swollen clit.

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