Chapter Five

Hadley

After waking up alone, Hadley figured Bal and Hunter had needed to forget. She’d had a quiet dinner with Lacey and Quinn, but didn’t say anything about the black bear, the attack, or Hunter’s confession.

“Let me walk you back to the cabin,” Quinn offered. “I saw bear tracks around the garbage cans.”

Hadley nodded but didn’t say anything. What was there to say, really?

“Lacey has been thrilled since you’ve been here,” Quinn said. His deep voice resonated with quiet reassurance. “She wants you to stay.”

“These cabins are for your friends, though, aren’t they? A place to transition from military demands to civilian life.”

“They have, yeah, but there’s plenty of room for you, too,” Quinn said. He ran his hands through his hair. “Hunter is different around you, too.”

Sadness engulfed Hadley. The life she could have stretched before her like the yellow-brick road. She longed to take the first step. Physically ached with it.

But she’d been on that road before. Knew where it ended. Hunter’s pull me push me behavior was too similar to her parents. Instead of winding up in a mythical land of happily ever after, Hadley was afraid she’d be left waiting for a birthday card in the mail.

“I’ll give it some thought,” Hadley said. “Thank you for walking me home.” She waved to Quinn and walked into the little yellow cabin. Before settling in with her crossword puzzles and gem-match games, she made sure the house was locked up tightly.

She understood Hunter’s bear a little better now. Understood his need to forget. Hadley could fight for him. Could argue and debate and present her case with the best of them. But if all he had to do was wait for her to fall asleep and slip away? Well, there wasn’t much of a future there, was it?

Amidst the sounds of crickets, wolves, and the occasional owl calling for its mate, Hadley fell into a restless sleep.

<<<>>>

It was the sound of nightmares. Roars of displeasure amid the acrid stench of fire and the splintering of wood.

Hadley woke with a start, the light from the moon long since past its zenith. She reached for her phone to check the time. Three o’clock. But what had woken her?

The sound came again. Louder this time. An animal in distress.

Still afraid of running into a bear, or wolf, or even one of those owls (like, have you seen their talons?), Hadley went to investigate. Her door, the one she had purposefully locked, still stood in the moonlight, but she could tell Hunter had been there.

The wounded animal growled again. Wait. Was that Hunter? Was that from next door?

Unmindful of only being in a nightgown, Hadley grabbed the fire poker and wielded it like a baseball bat. She left the safety of her cabin for the unknown situation next door. Hunter’s door opened smoothly, and as she entered she heard the sounds of his nightmares coming from the bedroom.

“Hunter?” she called, hoping to wake him enough to get him out of a dream. She didn’t want to be the one who woke up a soldier having a night terror.

His inarticulate growl caught her by surprise. He sat up, sniffing. “Mine,” he said, even though he appeared to be still sleeping.

“You said that the first day, too,” Hadley remarked. She stepped closer, wondering if she’d been mistaken. “Are you awake?”

Powerful arms reached out, grabbed her, and pulled her into the heavenly depths of his enormous bed. “Hunter? Can you hear me?”

“Nightmares stop,” he mumbled against her neck. “Don’t leave.”

“Shh,” she said. She wiggled a bit until Hunter rested against her chest. “Lay down, sweet man,” she said. Hadley rummaged around in her memory for a lullaby before finally settling on one she remembered from her nanny.

Whether it was the Irish melody that calmed him or the soft curves of her body, Hadley didn’t know. What she could tell, though was that restlessness stopped. And he was able to sleep. Hadley slipped into a light doze, acutely aware of the man in her arms.

But as sometimes happens in the middle of the night, control slips and desire takes over. His hands, wide, masculine, capable, began exploring the silky length of her bare legs. The loose confines of her sleep shirt. The delicate plumpness of her breasts.

Tendrils of arousal wrapped around Hadley, and she was pulled into the sensual haze he created. Powerful hands discarded her nightshirt, leaving her naked in his arms.

“Pretty,” he mumbled against her breast, making it pull high and taut.

Hadley sank into his embrace. The dream-like sensations making her float with desire. Her lips touched his, seeking his taste. His heat. His passion.

Warm pleasure resonated within her and she reveled in their mutual touch. Her breathing grew ragged. Carnal. In need.

Hadley’s hands explored, finding the treasure trail of hair leading to the thick ridge of his dick. The heavy sack of his balls. The petal-soft head of his cock.

Something dark and sensual flooded her body, drenching her core. Her thighs rubbed together seeking to ease her own powerful arousal. Nothing mattered to Hadley except getting Hunter’s cock in her mouth. And yet. He still slept.

It was wrong. Hadley knew it. And yet Hunter’s sleepy kisses trailed down her neck. Traced her collarbone. Nipped on her tender nipples.

“Hunter, what are we doing?” Hadley said, tears forming in her eyes. Her body ached with the voluptuous need for completion, but it was wrong. The rough slide of his body hair was addictive, and she writhed against him. Silently begging for completion.

Hadley slid the soles of her feet up along his calf and then down again, savoring the strength of his muscles. The palms of her feet tingled from the downy hair of his legs.

“Please be awake,” she whispered against his chest. His lips pulled on her earlobe, nipping at it. Shivers descended her body. Tightening it. Preparing it for him.

But still, Hunter didn’t say a word. He flipped Hadley on her stomach, pulling her beneath him. His panting grew ragged, his hips arching his thickness against her hips. The rasp of his whiskers trailed down her spine. His tongue tasting the rise of her bottom. Exploring the dimples in her low back.

Like a cat in heat, Hadley moaned, pulling her knees under her. Raising her hips. His mouth. Hands. Skin. He was everywhere and yet. It. Still. Wasn’t. Enough. She was empty without him.

Hunter rose behind her, covering her body. Hadley felt the broad, wide head of his cock as it sought entrance within the silky, sultry depths of her body. “Hunter?” she cried. Was it possible to want something so badly and still be afraid?

Because every cell in her body wanted him inside of her. And yet, the sheer pressure against her core worried her.

“You are exquisite.” Hunter trailed licks and bites up her spine.

“You’re awake?”

Hunter snorted with laughter and turned her to face him. He settled into the cradle of her thighs. “I’m awake,” he confirmed with an amused smile. Large hands caressed her breasts. Pushing them together so he could taste them both. “Men can do lots of things asleep, sugar.” He paused in his ministrations and looked at her. “But making love does require a few working brain cells.”

Hadley luxuriated in his words, arching and stretching beneath him. “I didn’t want to take advantage of you,” she admitted shyly. She buried her fingers in his dark hair. “Kiss me,” she demanded.

Their kiss was hot. Sultry. Carnal. A helpless groan escaped, but neither knew who had groaned and neither cared.

“Make love to me,” she begged.

He shifted his weight, brought his cock to the entrance of her body. Warm, velvety lips parted, kissing the smooth head. “You ready, sugar?

“I, I think so,” Hadley stuttered. Oh, please let her be ready, she thought, her body tensing in the seconds leading up to the first thrust of his hips.

“Fuck,” he said, teeth gritting as he pushed the first inch in. “You’re as tight as a fist, aren’t you, baby?” His hips pulled out, and her legs rose to tangle around his hips.

“Don’t leave,” she begged. Hunter was so close. So damned close.

“I’m not going anywhere, sugar,” he soothed. His gravel-deep voice tickled along Hadley’s senses, relaxing her. “You can take me, right? You’re not going to leave me out in the cold are you, Hadley?”

“Never,” she vowed.

He pulled back, the tip of his dick just barely within the tight confines of her pussy. And thrust, piercing both the barricade to her virginity and the wall she kept around herself. She stiffened and whimpered in distress.

Finally, at last, they were one.

Hunter

“Oh, baby.” Hunter ground his back teeth, fingers twining in her hair, his hips pumping reflexively. “Fuck, baby, you’re so tight. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t. I don’t know.” She thrashed on the bed, raising her legs to cradle him deeper within her. “Don’t stop,” Hadley begged.

“Am I hurting you?” He buried his face in the crook of her neck and shoulder. “Fuck, baby, please tell me I’m not hurting you.”

“I’m just. Full,” Hadley said. Long limbs twined around his hips and shoulders. “But it feels good, too.” She hissed under her breath when his hips moved.

“Is that a good sound or a bad one?” Hunter fought for control, the overwhelming need to thrust, and claim, and own.

And yet, when he finally opened his eyes and looked down, he was swamped with tenderness. Hunter couldn’t resist the lure of Hadley’s lips. He nipped the bottom one. Then the top. Finally, he took her mouth in a deep, searing kiss that consumed him.

The sultry pulse of her pussy around his cock, the deep heat of her mouth, the silken texture of her skin. He surrendered to her Siren’s call until he wasn’t sure where he ended, and she began.

Because, finally, at last, they were one.

Hunter tested the depths of Hadley’s passion. The further he went, the more profound their connection. She was decadent heat, starry nights, and breathtaking pleasure.

Words of love bubbled up in his throat, but something held him back. Instead, he yielded to sensation.

Hunter couldn’t stop kissing Hadley. Her lips. The swell of her breasts. The curve of her shoulder. And still, his hips and his cock took all she offered. Demanded more. Took that too.

“More,” Hadley said, fingers tracing down his spine. Pressing against his ass. Stroking the hotly-forbidden area between his ass cheeks.

Hunter chuckled at his woman’s command. How foolish he’d been to think he was in control?

“Always,” Hunter vowed, letting her sensual cries cascade around them both as he gave her all her body craved.

And then just a little more.

<<<>>>

The night air was quiet except for the harsh sounds of their breath as they lay, still joined.

Hadley giggled a little nervously. “That was worth waiting for.” The grip around his body loosened, grew slack as their muscles relaxed.

Regret hit Hunter like a heart-punch. He hadn’t been overly promiscuous with women, but still. As Hadley had claimed. Their joining had been something worth waiting for.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered, in awe of the gift she’d bestowed upon him. He propped himself up on his forearms. “Let me clean you up,” he offered. He got out of bed and padded nude into the bathroom.

A prickle of awareness went up his spine. “Are you looking at my ass?” he asked, throwing a grin over his shoulder.

Hadley propped herself up on one elbow. “Could be,” she teased. “It’s not every day I see a naked bear shifter walking around the bedroom.”

Hunter laughed as the water warmed up and he got washcloth out for her. “Seems to me, you’ve seen me naked almost every day since you met me. You know, come to think on it, this is the first time I’ve gotten to see you without any clothes on.”

He returned to the room and knelt on the bed. “Let me,” he whispered, one hand parting her thighs, the other trailing the warm, soothing wash cloth across her thighs. Between her legs, soothing away the last traces of her innocence. “Such a beautiful gift. One I will treasure for the rest of my life.” His gaze met Hadley’s, and he smiled at her pretty blush.

After putting the wet towels in the sink for later, Hunter crawled under the covers and pulled Hadley close to him. “Not that I don’t appreciate waking up next to you, but what happened?”

“You were having a nightmare,” she said. Hadley sighed and relaxed into his arms. How different their bodies were from only twenty-four hours earlier.

“Taking on a thousand-pound bear shifter in the throes of a night terror might not have been your brightest move,” Hunter said. His arms tightened around her, and he sent a silent thanks to Bal for not hurting her.

Bal! For the first time in the fifteen years since he’d undergone DNA splicing, Bal had been completely dormant. Hunter looked into himself and found the bear calmly sleeping. And… was he purring?

Bears don’t purr, he said to Bal.

Bal stretched, realized the effort was too much and curled back up to sleep. We do when we’re happy, asshole. Enjoy it while it lasts.

Hunter snorted.

“What’s wrong?” Hadley asked with a yawn.

“Bal. He fell asleep and started purring.”

“Bears purr? Who knew?”

“I know, right? That’s what I said. He told me he was happy and to enjoy it.”

Hadley, tightly ensconced in Hunter’s arms, reached behind her and patted whatever bit of skin she could reach. “Thank you, Bal.”

Tears formed in Hunter’s eyes at how perfectly Hadley fit him. He tightened his arms, reveling in her feminine curves as he pressed her against him. It was perfection. Like a too-large hand that had finally found the perfect glove.