Somewhere in Bear Mountain…
Cotton writhed under a straining Dillon. He met thrust for thrust, loving the feel of Dillon stretching and claiming his body. Gripping the sheets, he roared in pleasure, tossing his head from side to side. Dillon gripped the base of Cotton’s cock and began to stroke the length in his tight fist.
“You’re so fucking hot,” Dillon whispered amid his thrusting.
Cotton stared up at the most gorgeous male he’d ever laid eyes on. All muscle, all sex, and all masculine beauty. He was heavenly to watch, especially in moments like this when his body was coiled and ready to explode.
He loved hearing the roar the bear shifter made when the male came. The look of utter pleasure, and knowing he was the cause… it thrilled him to his core.
His legs were hooked over Dillon’s strong forearms… and he was nearly bent in half as Dillon drilled into his body. They were both covered in sweat, groaning and moaning together as they sought release.
“You feel so good,” Dillon groaned as he began to quicken his movements.
“Come for me,” Cotton whispered as he grabbed Dillon’s hips and urged him even faster. He loved the rough fucking Dillon always gave him… hard and fast. But what he loved even more were the quiet moments just after they’d both come.
That’s what he wanted now… to bask in the aftermath of his lover’s fierce need.
When he lay against Dillon’s strong body for a little bit and could pretend they were more than this. More than just sex. In those moments, Dillon held him tight and ran his hands tenderly over Cotton’s body as if they were more than just lovers.
He knew in his head that this was just two bodies coming together. Dillon had been upfront and honest from day one. But when one night of sheer bliss had evolved into six months, it was easy for the head and the heart to have a difference of opinion.
Cotton met Dillon’s stare and held it, pouring all the love he had in his heart into that glance, hoping that somehow Dillon would feel it. He felt the rising tide of lust wash over him in a crushing wave that threatened to take his very breath.
Dillon held his gaze and lifted a hand to cup Cotton’s cheek. When he ran his thumb over Cotton’s lower lip, it was the end. Cotton’s body bucked, and he came in a rush of fluid and feeling. Seconds after he came, Dillon followed. He roared, that big, engulfing sound that vibrated right into his very soul. He filled Cotton with a thick load, the heat of it warming him from the inside out.
When Dillon finally withdrew, Cotton hated the empty sensation. He wanted to be bound to his bear forever.
Not my bear.
He rolled to his side and lay against Cotton, his firm cock still showing signs of life. “That was as amazing as ever,” Dillon murmured as he wiped sweat from his brow. He smiled and Cotton’s heart sped just a bit more… and it was already pumping pretty quickly.
They lay there silent for a few minutes. Cotton worked to slow his heart and lungs… and revel in the sensation of Dillon at his side. The bear stroked his flesh almost reverently and he felt cherished. Cotton closed his eyes, wishing he could draw out this moment forever. But then it was over. Dillon stretched, and then he rose to sit at the edge of the bed and began drawing on his briefs.
“Did you hear about the movie theater that’s being built?” Cotton asked.
Dillon glanced over one shoulder. “No shit?”
“About time. This place is a snooze fest,” Cotton said.
“Not like we can’t get movies online.”
“True, but it’s fun going out on occasion,” Cotton murmured, getting close to the reason he’d started the conversation. “We all like spending time with our friends. Going out… dinner and a movie. It sounds like fun. Doesn’t it?”
Dillon grabbed his jeans and began dragging them up his muscled legs “Yeah. It does.”
“Maybe we could go once it opened. You know… together?”
Dillon grinned as he buttoned his jeans. “You mean… like a date?”
Cotton shrugged. “Maybe,” he said quietly. “Maybe we don’t have to wait for the theater to open,” he said as he looked down at the bed they’d just shared. After all these months, he wasn’t sure why it was so hard to ask this when they’d been getting naked together so long. “I’d like to spend time with you. Away from a bed.”
He lifted his gaze and met Dillon’s stare.
The bear sat down on the side of the bed and grabbed his hand. “I would be happy to go have dinner and a movie with you…”
Cotton’s heart soared. A smile spread across his face.
“As friends.”
And that quick, the smile was gone.
“We walked into this as friends. We both know why it can’t be more.”
“Because we’re not mates,” Cotton spat. He’d heard the statement so many times, he heard it in his nightmares.
Dillon cupped Cotton’s cheek. “I know it’s not the answer you wanted to hear… but honestly, Cotton. What happens if we take this farther, we both become invested… and then your mates show up? They take you from me… and then I have to nurse a broken heart.”
Cotton knew it would likely be the opposite. He would fall even harder for the bear and then Dillon’s mates would show up… and he’d be the one left shattered. Even knowing it would likely happen, he couldn’t ignore the feelings he had for Dillon. Better to have loved and lost…
Cotton wasn’t sure he could survive the lost part. He knew in his head that Dillon was right.
Yet…
“I love you, Dillon.”
Dillon met his stare, his whole body tensing. The silence grew between them until Dillon finally spoke. “I care for you, Cotton, I do… but love? You don’t love me.”
“I do,” Cotton said, leaning closer. “I love you.”
“We barely know each other outside this bedroom.” Dillon lowered his hand and sighed. “You just asked me on a date. We’ve never done anything together but…” He pointed at the bed. “But this.”
“Which is why I asked you on a date. I want to know you, Dillon.”
Dillon’s face took on a pained expression. “That’s not a good idea, and you know it.”
“What if neither of us have a mate? Neither of us have brother bears… so perhaps this is the most either of us could hope for.”
“You’re an omega. Of course you don’t have a brother bear. Me?” he asked, pausing. “I wasn’t allowed a brother bear. It would’ve been a way for me to escape my fathers’ clutches… and they couldn’t allow me any control over my own life. None of my brothers had brother bears… but they found them later.” He paused again, catching Cotton’s stare. “There could be fated mates out there for us both.”
Cotton remained silent. The head and the heart were at war, and nothing he said would make sense in that moment. What he wanted and what he should want were two different things and he couldn’t reconcile them.
“I care for you, Cotton. I enjoy spending time with you. I value our friendship. I want nothing but the best for you.”
“What if you’re the best for me?”
“I’m not,” Dillon said, a little too forcefully. “You deserve someone who can love you the way you deserve. All of you and then some.” Dillon closed his eyes and let out a trembling breath. “The way I wished I could love you.”
Cotton met Dillon’s tortured stare when he finally opened those beautiful eyes again. After swallowing the lump in his throat, Cotton scrambled from the bed. Once he’d snatched up his clothing, he headed for the door without another word.
He wrenched open the door, but before he could get it open more than a few inches, it slammed shut. Lifting his gaze, he saw Dillon’s broad hand in the middle of the door, holding it closed.
Cotton spun to face Dillon, ready to vent his frustrations. When he saw the look on Dillon’s face, it quieted him.
“What we share has been a balm in a storm for me. You were there when I needed it… when I needed something to vent my emotions before I erupted. You are special to me. Very special.”
Cotton didn’t know what to say to that.
Dillon took a step closer and cupped his cheek again. “If this world was different and we could choose who we shared our forever with…” He sighed and took a step back. “But there’s no point in thinking about what won’t be.”
Cotton stood there motionless for a moment, absorbing what Dillon had just said. Unable to take another second, he rushed from the room before Dillon saw his tears falling.