He looked at her. “We’ve all got fears.” She more than most, given that Theo was out there somewhere.
“And that’s what people think about when sitting out here alone in the dark for hours on end. He wasn’t really criticizing you. He was just scared for his girls. All that fear has to go somewhere, so he chose to attack you as the nearest target.”
He touched her arm to support her up the ladder, but didn’t follow through with the motion. Instead he turned her around to face him so he could study the minute shifts of her mouth.
“How did you know what to say to him?”
She chuckled. “I served for years on the PTA.”
He frowned. “I don’t understand.”
“What do you think the PTA is? It’s a group of neurotic, sleep-deprived parents who are terrified they’re screwing up their kids. Just about every ridiculous argument we had could be diffused by simple support and understanding.”
He stared at her. It couldn’t be that easy, and yet the evidence told him she was right. “Scared doesn’t give you the right to challenge your alpha. That’s just begging for more trouble.”
She tilted her chin up at him. It was a function of how close he’d stepped up to her, but he still saw it as an adorably impertinent gesture. “Did you miss the words ‘frightened’ and ‘sleep-deprived’? No one’s rational like that.”
He shook his head, his mind replaying her words and fitting them to half the arguments he had with people. What if half the times he thought people were challenging his authority, they were merely blowing off steam and fear? It boggled his mind. And in that moment of confusion, she pressed her advantage in a very bearlike fashion.
“And don’t think I missed the suggestion that shifters are more than people. Just how deep does that bigotry run?”
He shrugged, uncomfortable with the question. “You’re part of the clan. You heard him. He welcomed you.”
“Not the point. Plus, he was frightened about Detroit and Nick. What’s going on there?”
He gestured with his hand as if he could push the fears aside. “I’m handling it,” he said, praying that he was making smart choices.
“You do know that I’m not stupid, right? There’re signs of problems all over the place. Plus kidnapping frightened mothers can’t be your usual mode of operation. More like an act of desperation. I figure you’re holding the clan together by sheer willpower and nothing else. That’s impressive, but it can’t last.” She leaned back against the tree trunk, her eyes reflecting the moonlight and her pert little nose all but poking him in the eye. “How am I doing, Mr. Max? How close to the mark?—”
He kissed her.
It wasn’t a conscious act. Maybe it was just another delaying tactic, since everything she said was dead-center right. If he distracted her with a kiss, maybe she wouldn’t realize what she’d figured out. Or maybe he just wanted to taste that too-smart mouth and get up close and personal with her ski slope of a nose. Maybe he just wanted to press her against the tree trunk and possess the woman who saw things too clearly.
She was startled. Of course she was. He’d moved with shifter speed because it had been the act of his grizzly. But she didn’t fight him. After a split second of frozen surprise, she softened against him. Her gasp opened her mouth, and he wasted no time tasting her. And now was when he expected her to bite his tongue off or shove him away. Instead, she pushed at him with her tongue. Hot and fierce, they dueled while her hands gripped his upper arms, squeezing them enough to make him growl with hunger.
Then she did it. A little whimper of a sound that came from deep within her. He felt it pass through her lips and knew it for what it was: yes.
Lust roared through him, hard and hungry. His hands found her waist, tiny in his massive hands, and he spread his fingers as he pushed them upward. Her coat separated, the buttons popping free, and he felt the soft texture of her blouse. Tiny rib cage, full breasts held in an underwire bra. He hated the hard ridges that restricted the lush mounds. He squeezed her breasts, feeling the hard points of her nipples even through all the layers.
And all the while he ravished her mouth. He used his height to dominate as he invaded between her teeth and explore every part. And then he began to thrust. Not just above but below, where his groin pressed thick against her soft belly.
She’d said yes, and he was going to take her right here in the middle of his homeland at the beginning of spring. His bear knew this to be right, and the man in him was powerless to stop the drive to pin her against the tree and take her every way his beast wanted.
Soft belly. Hot mouth. Hungry lust.
Especially when she moaned against his mouth.
It wasn’t his rational mind that smelled the bear. He’d lost all thought the moment she’d opened to him. But something in him smelled another.
Male bear.
Coming near.
Young.
Easily conquered.
He spun around, using his body to keep her against the tree while he peered through the darkness.
