CHAPTER SEVEN
Thea wasn’t sure what woke her a few hours later, but she got up somewhere around three a.m. and made a quick trip to the bathroom, then went out into the kitchen area to get some ice water. That always hit the spot when she woke up in the middle of the night. She’d had a lot of nightmares after her rescue and was familiar with the wee hours of the morning, sadly.
What she wasn’t used to was Ezra coming out to see if she was okay. He opened his bedroom door, and she spun around to look at him in surprise. She gasped. His chest was bare, and he wore only loose pajama bottoms, his bare feet peeping out from the baggy pool of fabric as he walked toward her.
“You okay?” he asked in a growly tone that made her insides quiver. “I heard you get up.”
“Sorry I disturbed you. I’m fine. Just wanted some water.” She turned resolutely back to the sink to complete her task. She would not ogle his magnificent chest. She would not.
“You seem tense,” he murmured, coming up behind her. He put his big hands on her shoulders and began rubbing in slow circles. She felt like melting into a little puddle on the floor. “Bad dream?” he asked in that same low, sexy voice.
She shook her head, unable to come up with actual words. Not when he was touching her like that.
The slow circles turned into a true massage as he worked the tension she didn’t know she had out of her shoulder muscles. She groaned as the stress released. She’d been in knots and hadn’t really realized it until they were gone.
As the tension drained away, a new lethargy crept into her body, along with an awareness of how close he was standing, how good his hands felt on her, how delicious his scent was in her nose. Everything just felt…right.
When he leaned fractionally closer and rubbed his nose along the back of her neck, she shivered with delight. Yes, that’s what she wanted. Him. Closer.
When his lips trailed along the skin beneath her ear, she squirmed.
“You smell delicious,” he told her as she tilted her head to give him greater access.
“So do you,” she whispered, unable to say anything more creative. “You always have.”
And he really had. He’d always scented of something right in her world. Something she could cling to and something that would give her strength as she gave in return.
Dear sweet Mother of All. Was he her mate?
The thought gave her pause. What if he was?
Aside from her mother’s expected joy at the news, what would it mean to Thea personally? Ezra was all that was good and true in the world, and she respected him greatly, but did she love him? Did she love him the way she’d always dreamed she’d love her mate?
Although the waters had been muddied by her capture and recovery, she realized suddenly that she probably did. She’d loved him for a long time, but with everything that had happened, she hadn’t really understood it until this moment.
She sent a prayer of thanks skyward and turned in his arms, searching for his gaze in the darkened room. It didn’t matter. They were bear shifters. They could see well in the dark, even in human form.
What she saw in his gaze gave her pause. He looked…worried?
“I’m sorry, Thea. I got a little carried away.” He tried to move away, but she grabbed his forearms, stopping his motion.
“Do you want me, Ezra?” she asked, feeling bold in the dark of the night.
She saw the truth on his face before he spoke the word. “Yes.”
“How long?” she pressed. “How long have you wanted me?”
“A long time,” he admitted. She read nothing but honesty in his gaze. “At first, I wanted to protect you and care for you. My bear wanted to drag you home to my den and keep you safe for always, but it was more than just the protective instinct. My bear recognized it well before my human half, though that wasn’t too far behind. You’re just…mine, Thea. You’re my mate.” He looked so serious as his words thrilled through her heart. “I knew it almost right away, but I also knew you’d been badly hurt and you needed time to heal. I was willing to give you time. As much time as you needed. But I would have found you at some point, and if you were able to return my feelings, I knew I would ask you to be my mate, for now and for always.”
“And if I didn’t return those feelings?” she asked, needing to know how deeply he felt, though her heart thrilled each time he called her his mate.
“Then, I would have let you go and lived out the rest of my days alone. You’re the only woman for me, Thea. I knew that from almost the first moment I scented you. Even as hurt as you were, I knew you were meant for me.”
“What would you say if I told you that I felt the same?” Now that she had come to the critical moment, she felt a little giddy with hope for their future.
His eyes lit up, the magic of his bear half shining through his chocolate brown eyes. “You do?”
“I do,” she affirmed, nodding with no hesitation. “You’re my mate, too.”
Ezra leaned close and kissed her, taking her lips with authority, and a gentleness that stole her breath. He was warm and hard in all the right places, his body muscular against her softness as he drew her closer.
Her bear spirit rose up in triumph as she connected with her mate for the very first time in passion. It was about time. That was the overwhelming sense from her animal side. Her human side gasped as Ezra’s hands roamed over her body, touching her in all the right places and making her yearn for more. So much more…
Ezra broke the kiss, and before she could even protest, he bent down and scooped her into his arms. His strength was on tantalizing display as he carried her into his bedroom as if she weighed no more than a feather. He placed her on the bed, handling her like she was made of spun glass, and then, he just stood back a little and looked at her.
Their eyes met, the power of his bear swirling in his gaze as her own bear’s magic was probably showing in her own eyes. Man to woman. Bear to bear. Alpha to Alpha.
That’s what was so special about this. They were meeting as equals.
That was something that had never happened to her before. She’d changed as a result of the turmoil that had led her to this moment. She was Alpha now. She no longer fit comfortably into her family group, but with Ezra…she fit. He respected what she was now and wasn’t overpowered by it. Far from it.
He was just as strong—if not stronger—than she was. She couldn’t intimidate him, and he couldn’t dominate her. It was a perfect match, in that way, and she hoped to find out soon all the other ways they matched.
That thought in mind, she reached up and took his hand, pulling him downward, demanding gently that he join her on the bed. She was wearing only a silky nightgown she’d had in her saddlebags. He wore only those silly pajama pants.
Those had to go. She pushed at his waistband as he came down next to her, and succeeded in sliding those baggy pajamas down his hips, exposing the fact that he wasn’t wearing anything beneath them. Yes. She finally had an answer to the naughty questions that had been circling in her mind. He was just as well built as she’d suspected.
Sculpted by the hand of a loving Goddess, his body was the stuff of female fantasies. Rippling abs pointed to a hard cock that she could imagine would bring her the greatest pleasure. Reaching out, she took him in her hand, loving the growl that came from deep in his chest when she touched him intimately.
“Keep that up, and this isn’t going to last very long,” he warned her playfully.
“That’s okay,” she told him. “We have the rest of the night all to ourselves.”
“Mm. I like the sound of that.”
Ezra slid his hand under her nightie, lifting the silky fabric higher and higher, tantalizing her with his slow, deliberate motions. She still had hold of him, but she lost her ability to focus on anything but the way his hand was circling around her thigh and heading for the spot that so wanted his touch. She moved her legs apart, inviting him to check out what was hidden between, but he wouldn’t be rushed. Ezra took his time and drove her passions higher with every teasing touch until finally—finally—his fingers found the soft folds that ached to be explored.
She moaned as his hand slipped more fully between her thighs. His gaze met hers, and it was all she could do to remember to breathe.
“How do you want this, honey? Fast or slow?” he asked, all the while, sliding his finger around near her clit.
She hadn’t worn panties to bed, and now, she was very thankful for that small mercy. Had she somehow hoped they’d end up in bed together when she dressed for bed earlier that night? Yeah, she probably had. If not consciously, then her subconscious had been guiding her, the little hussy.
“Fast,” she gasped as he hit her button and made her whole body clench as delicious sensations washed over her.
“You sure?” He was teasing now, rubbing her clit with little back and forth motions that stole her breath. All she could do was nod her agreement as he grinned like a fool. A talented, handsome, sexually gifted fool. Her fool.
She had let go of his hard cock somewhere along the way, and he was free to move about, splaying her out on the bed while he ran his hands over her silky nightgown, raising it up and then over her shoulders, but leaving it on her arms. He deliberately tangled her hands in the fabric. It wasn’t any real barrier to her movement. She could have easily ripped through the silk with her bear strength. But just the idea of it acting as a restraint was kind of hot.
She smiled up at him as he placed his big hands over her breasts, learning their curve and feel. He played with her nipples before bending to take each one in his mouth, licking and sucking in a way that made her squirm. Her hands were up above her head, and there was a feeling of imagined vulnerability that really worked with Ezra, where it probably wouldn’t have worked with any other man.
She could allow herself to feel vulnerable with him because she knew in her heart of hearts that he would never hurt or betray her. She’d already trusted him with her life. Trusting him with her body was a no-brainer.
She was happy to let this encounter develop in any direction he wanted it to go. There would be time for her to lead their love making later. This first time, she wanted to be the damsel to his dashing Alpha presence. Her inner bear wanted it, too, which meant it was definitely the right course of action for this moment out of time.
She loved looking at him as he prowled above her. She’d never been much for the missionary position, but then again, she’d never really had sex with a man who matched her so well, body and spirit. All of her previous experience—what little there was of it—had been with humans who hadn’t had a clue about her bear half. They’d thought her adventurous and a little wild, but none of the men she’d dated seriously had ever stirred her bear to anything other than mere tolerance.
It was kind of sad, actually. She’d thought she might go through life drifting from one man to another, never finding the one who could stir her animal side into the kind of devotion she saw in her parents’ relationship. They were true mates. She wanted that for herself.
And now, she had it. She had him. Ezra. Hunky bear of a man who both challenged and coddled her. So far, he’d been a genius at knowing which to do at just the right time.
He was also proving to be a genius at bringing out the most of her sexual responses. The light trailing of his fingers over her skin did more to rouse her passions that the most intimate touches from any of her other lovers. They were total amateurs when compared to Ezra. He played her body like a master conducting a symphony of his own creation.
She moaned and writhed under his skilled fingers, until finally, he came down over her, positioning his muscular legs between hers, the head of his cock just grazing the place she wanted him to enter so badly. He paused, looking deep into her eyes.
“Do you want me, Thea?”
What was he, kidding? He’d have to be both blind and deaf to doubt her need for him at this moment. But maybe he needed verbal confirmation. Maybe he was wary of pushing her into something she didn’t fully understand? That was kind of sweet. Even if it meant he was keeping her waiting.
“I do,” she assured him. “I’ve wanted you for a long time. I’ve dreamed of this, Ezra. Now, will you please just give me what I want?”
He chuckled as he shook his head. “Well, that couldn’t be any clearer,” he muttered, smiling. “Hold on to my shoulders now,” he coached her as he began a slow slide within that didn’t end until he was completely sheathed in her welcoming warmth.
Dear, sweet Goddess! That felt good.
“All right?” he asked, his breathing a bit unsteady as he seemed to be trying to hold himself back.
She nodded, unable to really speak at the moment. Things were just a wee bit overwhelming in the best possible way. Then, he began to move, and she lost her mind entirely.
He stroked deep, pushing her higher with each motion. Her body trembled and then bucked and shivered beneath him as climax after climax took her over. He rode her through each, taking her higher on the next until she nearly blacked out.
Thea had heard about multiple orgasms, but she had figured they were like unicorns—the stuff of legend. Not so, she was surprised and very pleased to learn. Perhaps she’d been waiting for this moment for so very long, her body was primed and ready. She was overdue for a release the likes of which she had never experienced.
She came with a moan of delight as Ezra finally stiffened above her, emptying himself, body and soul, into her waiting arms as they joined together in the most intensely passionate experience of her life. The bliss lasted long moments, shooting her higher, pushing her body farther, lengthening the pleasure until she wasn’t sure where she began and he ended. The only thing that mattered was that they were together.
As it should be.
They dozed and then woke to make love once more. This time, Thea took the lead, showing him what she liked from the top and learning what he liked her to do for him. It was a lesson she would spend the rest of her life happily repeating.
They slept again afterward, Thea snuggled deep into Ezra’s arms. She’d never slept better in her life than she did with him next to her.