CHAPTER EIGHT
Beth met Trevor for dinner, unsure what his beach picnic might imply, but willing to see where it led. She was feeling adventurous and willing to take a risk. That was a mood she hadn’t been in for a while, and she welcomed the little spurt of bravery. Jonathan had tried to crush her free will, but every now and then, she found the courage to step outside the small box he’d made for her and try something wild.
That seemingly un-crushable sense of adventure had pushed her to run away and seek the safety of the pod. It had made her try her hand at being a hunter, when staying safely hidden with the bulk of the pod would have been the more prudent course. And now, it was leading her toward a man…a bear shifter…who was unlike any other man she’d ever known.
He was certainly as tough and scary as the men in her past. Those hard-eyed mercenaries had been her stepfather’s thugs. They hadn’t been allowed to touch her, but they’d looked at her, and just their glances made her feel soiled. They weren’t nice men. Not like the gentle giants she’d met since coming to Grizzly Cove. And especially the kind-hearted Trevor.
Trevor greeted her with a smile and walked by her side toward a spot on the beach that wasn’t quite visible from the road, but it wasn’t so hidden that she felt isolated or afraid. He had a small hibachi grill set up, the coals already glowing a cheery red-orange. Some kind of fish wrapped in tin foil on top of the grill was giving off the most delicious aroma. Salmon, she thought. Yum.
“This is much fancier than I expected,” she said as he motioned for her to take a seat on the soft blanket he’d spread over the sand.
“Well, I couldn’t serve you take-out sandwiches,” he said, grinning as he turned to check on the portable grill. “And I do have a few recipes that turn out well enough to cook for other people. This salmon is one of them. I hope you don’t mind cooked fish.”
“Mind?” She laughed. “I love fish in all its variety. In mer form, it’s always raw, but when I’m on land, I love the way human chefs find different ways to season and cook it. Whatever you’ve got going on over there smells absolutely scrumptious.”
The meal was as good as its appetizing aromas, and they ate from paper plates while sitting on the shore, watching the waves. And it wasn’t just fish. He’d packed a salad and some tasty side dishes. They talked about the town and the people in it. Pleasant conversation. Nothing too deep, which suited her just fine.
Something was happening here, between them. Something almost electric in the air was drawing her closer to him. They sat on the blanket, facing the water, the shushing lap of the wavelets a pleasant background sound. Even though they were on the open beach, they were situated in such a way that it would be hard for anyone from town to see them.
Public, yet private…and perfect for what she had in mind.
The night deepened all around them, the only light the soft red glow of the dying coals, and the bright pinpoints of the stars in the heavens. They were all alone…yet surrounded by life everywhere. Beth’s people were settling in for sleep in the cold embrace of the cove waters while, all around in the woods, night creatures prowled, and the good folk of Grizzly Cove settled in for their night shifts—either hunting, sleeping or protecting the cove and all who lived there.
On the beach, it was just the two of them, isolated in their togetherness, under the stars. Beth felt closer to Trevor than she’d been to any man, and she wanted to experience all there was to feel between a man and woman. For once in her life, she wanted to be free of constraints and expectations. Free from worry and anxiety. Free to just feel and enjoy.
She thought she could do that with Trevor. She trusted him enough to think he might just be the one man she could be with who would expect nothing in return but her company. There would be no strings leading back to her stepfather. No political maneuvers. No business deals.
With Trevor, she very much thought what you see was what you get. It was comforting to know he was genuine. He might be scary—the Wraiths hadn’t earned their reputation by being gentle—but she also believed he would never use his skills against her. At least not without good reason. And an honorable reason.
Trevor might be employed as a mercenary, but he had honor. She truly believed he wouldn’t betray her to Jonathan for any amount of money or power. She didn’t know why she felt so strongly about this particular point, but she did. He wouldn’t betray her. She knew it deep in her soul.
As for where this night might lead, she didn’t want to think about it. She just wanted to live for the moment, for the next few hours, which she hoped she would be spending alone with Trevor. Hopefully, skin to skin, in his arms, his body warm over hers. She wanted that more than she wanted her next breath, but he was taking things slow. Too slow for her nerves.
When he started talking about the constellations, she leaned closer—ostensibly to follow the line of his pointing fingers as he explained the intricacies of celestial navigation. Or something like that. To be honest, she wasn’t really listening.
She was just enjoying being close to him, sharing his heat and drinking in his scent. Her mer side was cold at times, but when it felt the urge to mate, her blood could run as hot as any land shifter. Desire was building in her now, and if he didn’t make a move soon, she just might take the initiative. Beth almost smiled, wondering how Trevor would react to being pinned down and ravaged.
As the thoughts blossomed into heated images of them entwined in her mind, she found she couldn’t wait any longer. Turning to him, Beth covered his lips with hers, startling him into silence. But he didn’t remain startled for long.
Trevor took her up on the kiss and joined in as a full participant after only the slightest moment of stunned hesitation. After that, he didn’t take much coaxing—which is to say, no coaxing at all—to lie back on the blanket and let her have her wicked way with him.
It had been so long…and never with a man she respected like this. Oh, she’d had a relationship with one of her stepfather’s guards, but only after giving her virginity to the man had she learned that the whole arrangement had been carefully organized by Jonathan. It had been yet another way to keep Beth under his thumb.
The guard had been a young protégé of Jonathan’s that he was grooming for a more important position in his organization. Seducing the boss’s stepdaughter and keeping her in line had been just another part of the job. Another rung on the ladder of success, as it were.
The minute she’d found out about her lover’s duplicity, Beth had begun plotting her escape. She knew her weak-willed mother would never be able to leave Jonathan, but Beth had a shot. Maybe. Letting Jonathan believe she was still happily enjoying her first real romance, Beth had been working toward her own freedom, and when the chance had come, she’d taken it and run with it.
Like she was running with this feeling now. This incredible feeling of joyful rapture…wholesome desire. There was no subterfuge with Trevor. He hadn’t been colluding with her stepfather. She was certain he liked her for her, not for what her stepfather could do for him.
It was freeing. And very, very sexy. He made her feel more sure of herself and able to pounce on him and demand what she wanted in a way she never had before. As she was doing now.
She pushed at his clothing, wanting it gone. She kissed him with wild abandon as she squirmed to get closer to him in any way possible. Straddling his hips, she rubbed against him, noting with pleasure the hard ridge of his cock straining against the fabric that separated them.
Too much fabric. It had to go.
Breaking the kiss, she worked her way down his body, her breathing heavy as she labored toward her ultimate goal. She unbuttoned his shirt, placing her lips on his muscular torso as she went. He really was the most beautifully built man. Big as a bear, fit as an athlete, warm and welcoming as she could have hoped for. He heated her sea-cooled skin and made her want to stay on land with him…forever?
The thought made her pause just slightly, but the temptation of his skin was too great to be ignored for long. She kissed her way down his torso, but when she started unbuttoning his pants, he stayed her hand. She looked upward to meet his gaze and found his brown eyes, molten in their intensity, focused on her.
“You keep going, and this is gonna be over before it begins, sweetheart,” he said, his voice pitched in a low, sexy drawl that she’d never heard from him before. She liked it.
The rumble of his words sent a delightful shiver down her spine. She couldn’t help but smile at him.
“Smile like that at me some more, and we might achieve the same effect,” he teased, rolling them over on the blanket until he was on top, his muscular thighs between her upraised knees. She loved the delicious friction of his hardness against her soft spots, even if there was still too much fabric between them.
“I like it when your voice gets all growly,” she said, realizing as she spoke that she was no longer afraid of him. Not by a long shot. To her, he was a big ol’ teddy bear, not a scary grizzly, though she knew he could be scary to other people. Just not to her. Not anymore.
The simple truth was, she knew in her heart that he would never hurt her. Not for any reason. He smiled down at her, moving his body against hers in a sultry sway that made her breath catch.
“Well, I like the way you’re all soft and warm beneath me. Or on top of me. Or any positions you want, as long as it’s next to me,” he clarified, looking at her in that sexy way he had.
“I can agree with that,” she told him, knowing she was still smiling. She had been since this all started, and she doubted anything could wipe the outward sign of happiness from her face right now. She was too joyful to keep it bottled up inside.
“Do you also agree that we’re wearing too many clothes?” he asked, a mischievous light in his eyes.
“Oh, yeah. I totally agree there.” She nodded at him, going along wherever he wished to lead her.
“What should we do about it, then?” His gaze narrowed as if he was considering different ways to remove her clothing. She liked that look in his eyes. Really liked it.
“I think we need to get naked,” she replied with mock-solemnity, still unable to wipe the smile from her lips, even as they played. She’d never played with a man like this. Never teased at such a moment. Never romped.
Now was the time. This was the man. She was going to have fun, for once in her life, and share some moments she would never forget. She was sure of it.
“You know, I think you’re right.”
He rose slightly so he could shrug off his shirt, and she watched the movement of his muscles with parted lips. Oh, yeah. She wanted to lick him all over.
He lifted onto his knees, helping her sit up so he could rid her of her top, as well. That went quick, but when it came time to remove her bra, he laid her back down on the soft blanket after just undoing the hooks at the back. He looked into her eyes as he lowered the straps over each shoulder, and then, his gaze went to her breasts as he bared them…slowly.
He lowered his head, and suddenly, his lips were there. And there. Right where she wanted them. His tongue teased her excited nipples, and her whole body shivered in delight.
She whimpered when he left, moving down her torso, dragging his lips and tongue over her skin on his way to her waist. When he encountered the waistband of her pants, he paused to trace her skin with feather light touches before removing her pants and panties all in one go.
Her breath caught as he knelt between her legs, spreading them wide. He slid a finger into her wet heat, sliding in and out a few times before adding another finger, stretching her, making her ready to take him and igniting a fire in her blood that had never felt this hot or out of control. She watched him watching her, loving the intensity of his gaze as he rubbed his thumb over her clit, and she came apart.
The small climax hit her out of nowhere, the pleasure intense but short-lived. She wanted more. So much more. And she knew, without a doubt, she would get what she needed from Trevor. Only from Trevor.
He must’ve taken off his pants while she floated in the mist of ecstasy, because the next thing she knew, he was naked. His cock jutted out proudly as he retook his place between her thighs.
“I’m sorry this is so fast,” he said, and only then did she realize his shoulders were trembling just the tiniest bit. He was holding back, needing her as much as she needed him.
“Not fast enough, Trev,” she managed to gasp out as she tried to catch her breath. He really was the most amazing man. Nobody—in her admittedly limited experience—had ever made her feel so much, so fast, so intense. Only Trevor.
“Really?” He met her eyes, seeming to search her gaze for the truth in her words. “I feel like I’m rushing you,” he admitted, that crooked grin making her desire rise yet another notch.
“Any slower and I’ll be jumping you, mister,” she told him, loving the way they could talk so freely, so fondly during this most intimate act. She’d never had that before. Sex had been a mostly silent affair for her until now. Until Trevor.
“Let’s save that for another time.” His devilish expression held promises she would definitely take him up on.
This wasn’t going to be a one-time thing. Even now, before they’d actually joined their bodies together, he was planning for future encounters, and she was right there with him. It was so good to know they were on the same page.
“Just do me already,” she gasped, putting her heels against his back and trying to draw him closer.
“Well, when you ask so nicely…” He came down over her, his cock zeroing in on the spot that needed him so badly. He bit her lower lip playfully. “I like it when you talk dirty like that, honey. You just poked the bear, and now, the bear is going to poke you.” He laughed against her lips as he took her mouth in a potent kiss.
At the same time, he was pushing in below, gentle at first, seeming to gauge her comfort level as he went along. He was a considerate lover who gave more than he took—at least so far. She couldn’t wait to turn the tables on him, but for now, this traditional position and possession was just what she wanted for their first time.
He slid in to the hilt, and she thought she might just die of bliss right then and there. He fit her perfectly. As if he’d been made just for her.
The thought occurred… Maybe he had been. Maybe he was the one she’d dreamed of but never thought she’d find. Maybe he was her…mate.
On that shocking thought, he began to move. Slowly at first, his tempo rose quickly, as did her passion. She’d had a little taste of the pleasure he could bring already, but she wanted it all this time. She wanted him to come with her, burying himself deep in her body while she quaked in delight.
She wasn’t worried about consequences. Mer were notoriously hard to conceive, and she knew shifters didn’t carry diseases the way humans could. There was nothing to stop them from enjoying each other with no holds barred, so to speak, which was good considering the thirst she had developed for this surprising bear shifter.
A thirst that seemed unquenchable in this lifetime, but she’d spend the rest of her life happily trying. If he felt the same.
And then, suddenly, it was real. She knew she wasn’t playing around with Trevor. The indefinable something about him that had attracted her from the get go resolved into the certain knowledge that he was the closest she’d ever come to meeting her mate.
Sweet Mother of All. In all probability, he was it. Her mate.
The next few minutes should prove the point one way or another. Shifters often recognized their mates after having sex for the first time. Some knew before, and she’d heard that some took longer, but she figured she’d be right in the middle. If he blew her mind and rocked her world the way she thought he would, she’d never be the same again after this climax.
It was both a scary thought and one she cherished. Some shifters went all their lives without ever coming close to true mating. The lucky ones found their mates young and spent all their years side by side.
Beth wasn’t sure what was going to happen here, but she was open and willing in a way she hadn’t ever thought she’d be. In this amazing moment with the man she’d come to admire like no other pounding into her receptive body, she wanted him to be the one.
And then, there wasn’t any more time for thought as Trevor’s pace changed. He shifted just slightly, altering the angle of penetration and hitting some heretofore unknown spot inside her that made her want to scream. She couldn’t, of course. They were on the beach where screams might bring people running, but she wanted to. Instead, she clutched at his shoulders, her nails sinking into his flesh as he strained above her.
“Come on, Beth. I can’t hold it together much longer. Come for me now, baby,” he chanted, his words puffing against her skin in hot panting breaths.
She moaned as she came, unable to bite back the sound that might betray them to passersby, but she didn’t really care. Not then. Not while her world was being blown apart and put back together again by one man. Trevor.
Her mate.
They lay side by side under the stars for a while, not talking, just enjoying the moment and catching their breath. Beth wasn’t sure if Trevor had been as deeply affected as she’d been by their joining, and she was a bit too shy and uncertain to ask. She didn’t want to wreck the mood by saying something wrong, so she just kept her own counsel.
“I was going to say something about how those pretty stars up there had nothing on you, but the minute I touched you, I was lost,” Trevor admitted on a sigh. “I was trying to be all Joe Cool, and instead, I turned into Speedy Gonzalez.” He turned to face her, lying on his side on the blanket. He was nude. Deliciously so. “I’m sorry, honey.” He put a hand on her waist and rubbed his thumb over her skin in an almost hypnotic way.
She had to chuckle. “Do you hear me complaining, Speedy? I was right there with you. In fact, you could’ve gone a lot faster, and I’d have been more than okay with it.”
He smiled, gazing deep into her eyes. “Well… If you’re sure. But will you give me another chance to prove the name Speedy should never become my nickname?” He laughed as he lowered his head to blow a gentle raspberry on her shoulder. Then, he kissed it, melting her heart as he looked up at her from beneath his thick eyelashes.
Damn. The man was just too appetizing for words.
“Come back to the hotel with me tonight. Stay with me and let me make love with you again, Beth. Once is just not enough.” He kissed his way over her collarbone as she sucked in a breath. He was seduction itself, but he didn’t have to say much to get her agreement. She’d wanted to extend this night as much as she could, anyway.
It all might go to hell tomorrow, but at least she’d have tonight. That’s the way she looked at it. That’s the way life had forced her to look at things for too many years to count.
“I like the sound of that,” she whispered as he lifted his head, blocking out the stars.
“I’ll make sure you don’t regret it,” he promised, and then, he kissed her again. The stars were behind her eyes as he woke passions she’d thought would remain dormant for a little while longer.