Carla.
Last night.
What we did.
What Ialmostdid.
What I want to do again.
I ease away carefully, not wanting to wake her. She needs the rest, her body finally peaceful after the fever broke in the early hours. My forearm throbs where I bit myself, the wound already healing, but the memory is still sharp.
My bear paces restlessly beneath my skin, dissatisfied and agitated. He still wants to mark her. To complete what we started. To claim her as ours in the most primal, permanent way.
Except that wasn’t part of what Carla agreed to.
The urge had nearly overwhelmed me in the heat of passion. Her scent, her sounds, the way her body moved with mine.Everything had pushed me to the edge of control. We fit so perfectly together. I’ve never experienced anything like it. I’m still stunned by the strength of emotion that overtook me as we made love.
When I ducked my head to her neck, breathing in her scent at the source, my teeth had lengthened, ready to sink into the soft skin where her neck meets her shoulder.
The mating mark. One bite, and she’d be mine forever.
At the last second, I’d turned away, sinking my teeth into my flesh instead. The pain had cleared my head just enough to stop me from making an irrevocable decision for both of us. But not enough to stop me from burying myself deep inside her and filling her with my cum.
She hadn’t asked for a lifelong bond. Just relief from the heat that plagued her, that made her skin clammy, and her face pale the entire ride here from our meeting point with Beau.
But she’s ours,my bear insists.She belongs with us.
I shake my head, trying to clear it. This possessiveness isn’t like me. I’ve never felt this kind of pull toward anyone, this desperate need to protect, to claim, to keep.
What the hell is happening to me? The heat is more powerful than I ever realised.
I dress quietly and step outside, needing the cold air to clear my head. The world is transformed, the storm’s replaced by crystal blue skies. A perfect day for travel. For taking her to Grey Ridge.
Away from me.
The thought brings a physical pain I’m not prepared for. I lean against the motel wall, struggling with emotions I have no right to feel. She’s not mine. Not really.
Not yet, my bear whispers.
Maybe not ever, I correct.
She’s just escaped weeks of captivity. The last thing she needs is some possessive bear making demands when she needs to recover.
Mine,my bear growls, rejecting this line of thought entirely.
I groan. It’s too early for this.
I find a vending machine at the end of the building and buy a coffee. As I’m returning to the room, my phone buzzes. Beau.
“How is she?” Beau asks without preamble when I answer.
“Better. The worst of the fever broke around dawn.”
“Good. That’s good.” There’s a pause. “Listen, I need to give you a heads up. Word’s already spreading about what you did. Marcus says there’s a lot of anger in the clan right now.”
“I expected that.”
“It might be smart to give things a few days to cool down. Let Mitch get a handle on the situation before you show your face anywhere near Black River.” Another pause. “Besides, Carla probably needs some time after everything. Three weeks with Leon, then this... that’s a lot to process.”
