He takes me right there against the ancient pine, one hand braced on the bark and the other covering my mouth to muffle the sounds I can’t seem to stop making. Every thrust drives us both higher, the bond amplifying everything until I can’t tell where my pleasure ends and his begins.
When I shatter again, I feel his satisfaction as if it were my own. When he follows, groaning against my marked neck, I understand for the first time what it truly means to be complete.
We stay tangled together, both breathing hard, afternoon sun filtering through the canopy above us.
“They’re definitely going to know what we were doing,” I manage, looking down at my disheveled state. Bark in my hair. Shirt hanging open. His mark throbbing on my neck.
“Good.” He presses a kiss to my forehead. “Then they’ll know to leave us alone.”
He carries me back to the cabin because my legs genuinely won’t cooperate, and he’s too smug about it to let me try. A few clan members spot us as we skirt around the edges of town, and the knowing smiles that spread across their faces should embarrass me.
Instead, I just bury my face in his throat and let myself be carried home.
40
EMMA
Aknock comes mid-morning.
I've been existing in a blissed-out haze, learning what it means to be mated to a bear shifter. The good stuff, at least. I can't get enough of his hands on me at every opportunity, his growl when anyone gets too close, and his careful attention to every flicker of emotion. This is more cherished than I've ever felt in my life.
I'm curled on the couch with a book I'm not really reading when a knock makes me tense. Always alert, Bodhi hurries in from where he's making lunch in the kitchen.
"It's Mason," he says, before I can spiral, wiping his hands on a dishcloth as he crosses to the entrance. "And someone else."
He crosses to the door while I set aside the book, curiosity replacing the brief flash of anxiety. His brothers have become regular visitors, stopping by to update Bodhi on clan business or just to give me a hard time about keeping their brother locked away from the world.
But when Bodhi opens the door, it's not Mason's face I focus on.
Jake is standing on the porch, hands shoved in his pockets, head bowed. There's color in his cheeks instead of the sweaty grey pallor I remember from the last time we saw each other face to face. His eyes, when they finally lift to meet mine, are clear and steady.
"Em." He shifts his weight nervously. "Thanks for seeing me."
Behind him, Mason leans against the porch railing, watching for Bodhi’s reaction. "Ran into him at the compound. Figured I'd give him a ride out and show him around."
Which means Mason was checking up on him, making sure my brother was doing okay because he’s part of the family, even if he’s the black sheep for now.
The protectiveness of this clan still astounds me.
"Has something happened?" My mind immediately spins through worst case scenarios. Dimitri found him. He still owes more money. The police want more information on what happened.
"No. Nothing like that." Jake takes a breath. "I came to tell you Chase is putting together a team, to hunt down Dimitri, and I'm going to be part of it."
Dimitri and Amber. And the elusive Mr. Black.
She's still out there somewhere, and the not knowing must be torture for her loved ones.
"Come in," I hear myself say.
Bodhi steps aside, coming to wrap one arm around my back as Jake enters. The touch grounds me, reminding me I'm not facing this alone. He remains watchful, not hostile, but ready to intervene if I need him.
Mason catches my eye and tips his head toward the door. "I'll wait outside. Give you some privacy."
The cabin feels strange with Jake in it. And that in itself feels odd.
He hovers near the entrance, not quite willing to come further without an invitation, while I settle back on the couch. Bodhi positions himself where he can watch us both, arms folded, expression unreadable.
"Chase and Beau are planning a new operation," Jake continues. "I’ve been to some of these fights, know how they work, and if that can help even a little, well, I owe it to you, and to myself, to do something useful again." He swallows hard. "I can't take back what happened, Em. But maybe I can help bring someone else home."
