Cody’s face fell, and his amber eyes dimmed, letting me know that wasn’t the answer he’d been hoping for.
Ash’s expression, however, remained neutral. “Deal,” he said with a measured nod. “You’ll let us attend to you during your estrus cycle, and we promise not to bite?—”
“This is bullshit!” Mak cursed, cutting Ash off mid-sentence. His voice exploded like a thunderclap, echoing through the den.
I flinched as he stormed toward the set of stone steps that led to a large wooden door.
There was no goodbye. Mak just stomped up the stairs and slammed the door behind him with such force the entire cave seemed to shudder. If this had been any other house—not one carved from solid stone—I had no doubt the frame would have splintered.
His anger made the presence—the bear—roil inside me, whimpering with the sense that I’d done something terrible and wrong by not agreeing to forever mate with three guys I’d just met after waking up in their crazy cave den.
(Real talk: I still couldn't be completely convinced this wasn’t some weird sex dream I was having while recovering from hypothermia in a hospital bed after my car crash.)
Guilt clawed at me in the wake of the biggest bear’s departure. What if I’d ruined something? What if Mak was right, and I’d destroy what he, Cody, and Ash had here by not agreeing to forever?
“Don’t think about him. Look at me, cocoa bean.”
Cody’s voice cut through my tumultuous thoughts. One large hand cupped my cheek, turning me back to face him. His amber eyes were no longer disappointed but steady and resolute, burning with quiet intensity. “I’ll take your yes any way I can get it.”
With that, he lowered his mouth to mine.
His kiss was tentative at first, careful and sweet, like he couldn’t believe this was actually happening. As hard as he was against me—his fabric-covered erection pushing insistently between my drenched folds—he held back, taking his time. He tasted my lips before teasing them open with his tongue, each movement deliberate, like he was savoring every second.
But then his hands slid down my back, pulling me closer, and I felt the strength behind his gentle kiss. My body responded instantly, warmth and need flooding through every nerve like a tidal wave.
His tongue pushed into my mouth, tangling with mine—wide, stronger, and longer than I expected. The texture was rough—unexpectedly so—but not in a bad way. It sent a jolt of heat straight to my core, and for a dark, lustful moment, I wondered what it would feel like to have a tongue like that between my legs. Licking me there. Pushing into me...
Cody groaned into my mouth, and the bond mark on my shoulder tingled as his bear voice rumbled through my head."This won’t last long if you keep thinking thoughts like that, cocoa bean. And neither of us is going to be happy if you make me come in my boxers before I even get inside you."
My heart fluttered.The thought of going down on me turned him on that much?
"Course it does,"he answered, his lips and tongue devouring mine."If your mouth tastes this sweet, I can only imagine getting my head between your legs, cocoa bean. I might pass out from how delicious you are."
His words were ridiculous—almost silly—but they lit me up anyway, heating my skin and other, much wetter places.
I gasped as his kisses grew more insistent, his tongue twisting deeper, matching the rising storm inside me. I whimpered, my body pressing into his, needing more—of him, of this, of us.
That was when Cody began kissing me like I was his air, his lips soft but urgent, trembling slightly as his huge hand cupped my face. His tongue delved and explored. This wasn’t just a kiss—itwas a discovery. Tender and all-consuming at once, like he was trying to memorize me with every brush of his mouth.
Suddenly, I was on my back, his big body pressing hard between my legs, forcing them to curl around his waist—or at least try to. He was so wide that my knees had to slide lower down his massive torso, draping over his tree-trunk thighs.
Making a coarse, grunting sound into my mouth, he dragged his hands to my hips, holding me in place. He mauled me with his kiss, his hips moving in clumsy, eager thrusts against the soft nest of bedding beneath us. The pressure was overwhelming, almost too much, but it felt so good that I couldn’t summon the reason to care.
One huge hand rose to my chest, covering the entire globe as he trailed ravenous kisses down the left side of my neck. Something sharp grazed my collar bone, making me shiver,
Then, suddenly, he stopped, pulling away abruptly.
Blinking, I felt like I’d been yanked out of a trance. Then I blinked again as Ash came into view, kneeling above us. Completely naked.
But his lack of clothes wasn’t what made my breath catch. His hand was fisted in Cody’s rust-brown hair, pulling back so hard that his leanly muscled arm flexed with the effort. It didn’t take long to see why.
Cody still looked like the same sweet guy—at least, in the face. But in the mouth...
His teeth were fully distended, sharp, and gleaming, dripping with saliva.
“Sorry,” Cody mumbled around his bear maw, his voice rough and deeper, like the one he used when speaking inside my head. “I kind of got carried away.”
“Sometimes, bears have the impulse to bond bite again,” Ash explained calmly, as if discussing the price of tea in Canada. “Especially when the first one was administered without a claim.”
