Chapter Nineteen

It was midafternoon before Alton stepped onto his brother’s porch and lifted his hand to knock. Nuria opened the door to him and Joselyn before he had a chance.

She gave them a cheery smile and held the door wide. “How was the run?”

Joselyn shut the door behind her. “Perfect. We needed it.”

“I’m sure. I made a beef vegetable soup. Why don’t you guys stay and eat? It’s ready.”

Alton set a hand on Joselyn’s back to lead her to the kitchen area. “You made soup in the time we went for a run?”

Nuria waved a hand through the air as if his question were preposterous. “No. I already had it going earlier this morning. You just had good timing.”

“This is so kind of you, Nuria,” Joselyn said as she sat in the chair Alton pulled out. “I’m in no mood to cook today, and there’s no way we would have gone into a restaurant in town.”

Nuria frowned as she returned to the table to set a giant steaming pot in the center. “I can’t blame you. This entire thing is crazy. How can people be so stupid?”

Alton sat next to his mate. The table was already set, and a loaf of bread resting on a cutting board had recently come from the oven. It, combined with the soup, smelled up the entire house, making his mouth water.

Alton didn’t know Nuria well. They’d only met a few weeks ago. He remembered her vaguely from childhood before her family moved away when she was fifteen, but he was five years younger, so nothing stood out in his mind. She was perfect for Austin, with a kind heart and spirit. He was so happy for his brother.

After the last few months of dealing with the fact that their older brother had wreaked havoc on countless members of society, Alton was glad it seemed both he and Austin had been given a gift. They deserved it.

“Austin’s on his way here,” Nuria said as she filled their bowls and then carved the bread into thick slices.

“He left the office already?”

She grinned. “Said he couldn’t stand another moment of the shouting and finger pointing. He also wanted to speak to you.”

Alton nodded.

When Joselyn leaned forward to take her first bite, he watched her face soften. “Delicious. Thank you, Nuria.”

Sure enough, three minutes later, Austin’s truck pulled up outside, and he joined them in the kitchen. His face was grim.

He nodded toward Joselyn to politely acknowledge her, and then he took Nuria in his arms, threaded his fingers in her hair, and kissed her soundly. When he finally took a seat at the table, he sighed. “Shit went from bad to worse after you left,” he stated.

Alton lifted a brow. “How the hell is that even possible?”

Austin filled his bowl and reached for a slice of bread while Nuria headed for the fridge. She returned moments later with four beers tucked in her arms. She passed them out without a word.

Alton popped the top on one and handed it to Joselyn. He then opened his own, shooting her a smirk. “You okay with this nasty swivel from Mountain Peak?”

She rolled her eyes and took a long drink. “Considering the day we’re having, I’d drink anything.”

Alton turned back to his brother but set his hand on his mate’s thigh. “Give me ten minutes to enjoy my meal and drink this beer before you add to the shitstorm, would ya?”

Austin chuckled. “Gladly.”

They all tore into the food.

Alton lifted his face only long enough to glance at Nuria. “This is delicious. Thank you again.”

“You’re so welcome. I’m glad I could help.”

“Mmm,” Joselyn added. “Heavenly.”

When the bowls were empty and everyone was on their second bottle of beer, Alton finally leaned back, tucked his arm around Joselyn, and faced his brother again. “Give it to me.”

Austin sighed. “In an interesting twist of events that I’m not inclined to think is a coincidence, guess who was not at work today?”

Alton furrowed his brow, trying to think if anyone was missing from the boardroom. “No idea.”

“Vinson.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“Who’s Vinson?” Joselyn asked.

“My Uncle Quint’s son.”

She nodded.

Austin continued. “Considering Uncle Quint is an asshole and his son doesn’t fall far from the tree, I don’t trust him. Never have. He’s conniving. I’m thinking he has something to do with the papers that were mysteriously planted in your office.”

“We don’t even know that part’s true. It’s possible Tavion never entered my office. He’s so scared of Quint, he might have simply brought them straight from Quint’s office to the boardroom without ever looking anywhere.”

“But where did Quint get them?” Joselyn asked. “That’s the real question. I’m so much more curious about who gave them to someone in your family in the first place than anything else. Those were early mockups of my marketing plan. From months ago.

“It’s possible they were the first thing stolen. Or, they could have been the only thing stolen. There was enough information on the mockups for your brewery to run with it. It’s not like you needed a formula for lemon or orange malt beverages. No one cares how the taste compares. What matters is that you knew what we were working on and when we planned to launch. All of that was in the mockups.”

Alton nodded. “She has a point. Someone’s goal was to beat Glacial to the starting line and make them appear to be a day late and a dollar short.”

“Exactly,” Austin agreed. “And I’m inclined to believe neither Uncle Quint nor his son Vinson are innocent in all this. I seriously doubt Tavion is involved at all. He’s too young and too stupid. He probably never even looked at those mockups. Quint handed them to him and instructed him to interrupt the meeting as if he’d just found them lying around.”

Alton agreed. “Not to mention the fact that Tavion wouldn’t have had the first clue what he was looking for. He’s eighteen, for Christ’s sake. He knows nothing about the business. He’s only been working in the brewery for a few months.”

Joselyn sat forward, breaking the contact Alton had with her shoulder to set her elbows on the table. “Assuming your uncle and his son had something to do with all this, who gave them my mockups?”

This was the million-dollar question. Alton knew they weren’t going to solve it today. He took the last long swig of his beer and pushed off from the table. “We’re leaving,” he announced, anxious to be alone with Joselyn again, putting this mess in the backs of their minds. “Please let me know if you find out anything else. Is someone looking for Vinson? Anyone know where he was?”

It’s not like the man stayed home sick. Shifters didn’t suffer from any of the normal maladies humans could catch. They were created with better immune systems, and their bodies could fight off most things that got in the way, often without them ever being aware.

If someone took a day off work, it was for personal reasons. It didn’t happen that often, and even rarer was for someone to call in with no notice. Unless the man met his mate the night before and intended to spend the day binding to her, he was probably up to no good.

“Dad has some people snooping around Vinson’s place. No one has seen him. He wasn’t at home. I’ll get ahold of you if I hear anything,” Austin stated as everyone stood.

Alton hurried his mate toward the front door, grabbing their coats on the way and nearly rushing her arms into the sleeves. He was done with family squabbles for the day. He was done with arguing and thinking and being accused and having his mate grilled.

What he wanted was to be alone with her. Naked. His hands on every inch of her body. After four months of sneaking around meeting her in caves, cabins, and hotels, he didn’t have to do that anymore. For the rest of his life, he would have her anytime he wanted anywhere he wanted. No one would stand in his way. And he no longer gave a single fuck if anyone approved or not.

He couldn’t figure out why he ever cared what anyone else thought.

Yep. They had an uphill battle that might not end with a house overlooking his favorite spot on earth, but none of that mattered as much as having Joselyn with him every single day.

When he really thought about it, he wasn’t sure he wanted things to work out smoothly, resulting in both of them continuing to work for their respective families. It had seemed simple two years ago, but now? Not at all. Now, he didn’t see a future that included secrets and an inability to discuss their respective workdays.

Their initial goal had been based on the hope that both families would get over their incessant need to feud. They had wild pipe dreams of being welcomed with open arms into a united unit where both packs dropped the squabble and came together.

That no longer seemed reasonable. After the morning he’d been through, he’d say the divide was wider than he expected. He’d known some members of both packs would grumble. He hadn’t expected half or perhaps more than half of both families to actually voice outwardly their sick disdain for the other.

It made his stomach churn remembering the looks on the faces of half her family and then half his. Both of them could take their stupid feud and go to hell for all he cared. He’d be sleeping soundly with his mate tucked in his arms.

∙•∙

Joselyn was fidgety by the time they got back to Alton’s apartment. Her skin was crawling with the need to be with him again. It was unthinkable for two grizzlies to bind together and then spend the next day in public at all, let alone getting a verbal undressing from both families.

When bears bound themselves together, they didn’t usually come up for air or step out into public for a few days if they could help it. It was their nature. Even if they found themselves in a situation where they entered into a binding unexpectedly, they still didn’t leave the house.

The overwhelming need to mate over and over again was insatiable. Once or twice wouldn’t put them at ease. Maybe for a few minutes, but not for an entire day.

It didn’t matter that she’d had sex with Alton before the binding, their status had changed. Their chemistry had altered. They were one now. And something in their pheromones drew them closer, a mating call of sorts that demanded attention.

Once again, she jumped down from the SUV before Alton could round the hood and help her out. She rolled her eyes and grabbed his hand to tug him toward the front door as if she had the strength to move the man anywhere if he chose not to follow.

She didn’t expect him to resist, and naturally, he didn’t. After all, they were going to strip down and have sex the second the door shut behind them. No way was Alton feeling less urgency than she was.

He followed her to the building and didn’t say a word as she continued to lead him inside and toward the stairs. She had no intention of waiting for the elevator. He lived on the third floor. It wasn’t like they needed to climb a mountain.

One minute later, they were inside his apartment, dropping their coats, kicking off shoes, and peeling off clothes without a word. She watched every move he made, his lean body unveiling to her view while he did the same to her, heat in his eyes.

Her skin was on fire as if she had a fever. Maybe she did.

When the last of her clothes hit the floor before him, she reached for his cock and held it in her palm. “Need you.”

He covered her hand in his larger one and stroked up and down, moaning. He wrapped his free hand around her neck and tugged her forward. His forehead hit hers. His eyes were closed, his face flushed. “Need your mouth on me.”

She swallowed and then licked her lips. She craved the same thing. Now.

As he leaned against the door, she dropped to her knees, grabbed his thighs with both hands, and sucked him as deep into her mouth as she could.

He groaned, his hands flattening on the door. “Jos…”

She drew her mouth almost off and then sucked him back in deeper.

“Jesus, baby… It’s never felt like this before.”

She knew what he meant. She was as aroused as him. Her nipples tingled, begging for contact. Her pussy was wet and swollen. He hadn’t touched her.

As she flicked her tongue over the tip of his cock on the next pass, her clit throbbed. She needed more.

Releasing his thigh with one hand, she reached between her legs to stroke her clit. A soft moan escaped around his cock.

Alton grabbed her biceps with one hand and pulled. “Give me your hand.” His voice was gravelly from arousal, but firm.

She moaned, unwilling to stop touching herself. Given thirty seconds, she would come. Why was he stopping her?

He tugged harder. “Jos, your hand.”

She pulled her wet fingers from between her legs and set them in his. Her mouth was still wrapped around his cock as he drew her hand over her head, reached for the other from his thigh, and then combined the two, wrapping one strong hand around both wrists and pressing them against his chest.

She froze, releasing his cock to tip her head back. Her legs shook. She was so aroused and so close to coming, it hurt. And the way he now held her wrists above her head didn’t make things better. It amped up her desire.

“Spread your knees wider. I don’t want you to masturbate while I can’t watch. Keep sucking.”

She stared at him, her mouth watering. Could a person die from arousal? After blinking several times, she turned her gaze back to his cock bobbing in front of him, glistening with her saliva, and she wrapped her lips around the head again and sucked, tasting his precome.

Salty. Musky. Alton. Hers.

Her nipples brushed against his thighs as she sucked him deeper. The drive to swallow him was strong. The need between her legs was intense. He knew what he was doing. Driving her crazy.

“Payback,” she communicated into his head.

“I wouldn’t make threats if I were you,” he returned.

His tone in her head made her ardor amp higher. She wanted more. This was so hot. The way he held her firmly, her raised arms making her breasts stand at attention.

Sexy as hell.

Suddenly he was grunting incoherently, and he thrust forward one last time, grabbing the back of her head to steady her.

The first pulses of come to hit her throat were shocking. She’d never been in a position like this before. He knew it too. After all, he was her one and only partner. Every experience she had belonged to him.

When she found a few brain cells, she managed to suck him down, swallowing his come until it slowed and subsided. His erection remained intact, but he released the grip on the back of her head and tugged her hair to pull her back until he popped out of her mouth.

Still holding her hands, he helped her to her feet, pressed her wrists to the center of her chest between her breasts, and kissed her lips. “You’re so damn sexy. How do you get hotter every day?”

His words warmed her soul. She felt the same about him.

“I want you to let me spank you. I want to take you over my knee and spread your legs and spank your sweet bottom until you squirm and can’t keep from coming at the touch of my hand.”

She blinked. There was no way to hide how fucking hot she found the idea.

He smiled. “You like the idea.”

Did she ever. He’d swatted her ass just the one time before, and she thought she’d orgasm from the one simple spank.

Was he needing to blow off steam, and this was his method? Or was it her that needed to blow off steam, and this was the chosen way to get it out of her? She didn’t care. “Do it.”

He led her to the couch, sat on the cushion, and bent her over his lap. The sway of her breasts alone was enough to make her moan. When he grabbed her arms, pulled them to her lower back, and clasped her wrists together, renewed wetness leaked between her legs. She squeezed them together.

“Spread your legs,” he demanded in that new commanding tone of his that she loved. “Wider,” he added when he was apparently unsatisfied with the space she created.

The position was so erotic she made an unrecognizable sound.

He rubbed a hand over her butt cheek. “How did we go so long without me realizing you liked a little kink?”

She had no response. She was sure no response was needed. He could see her thoughts. And she hadn’t been aware of her desire for rough sex until recently. It wasn’t as if she’d been holding back.

“Keep your legs parted, Jos. I don’t want you getting yourself off by squeezing your thighs together.” His first swat landed high on her left cheek, making her stiffen for a moment before the heat spread through her body, and she moaned.

She should be embarrassed at her reaction. He could smell her arousal. It wasn’t as if she could hide it.

“Oh, baby.” His second spank landed on the same place on her other cheek. Matching warmth coursed through her, but she was more prepared and didn’t stiffen.

His hand smoothed over the hot spots, caressing her before traveling down her thighs.

She expected him to stroke between her legs, so she was disappointed when he instead lifted his hand to swat her thighs, one at a time.

She was going to come. Holy shit. It wouldn’t take much more.

“Give me the first one, baby.” His next spank landed harder at the junction between her thighs and her cheeks.

She shot off, her orgasm taking over fast and hard. The pulsing of her clit made her gasp. She’d never come like that without contact to her pussy. Her cheeks heated, making her glad they were shielded from his view by her hair hanging around her face and her gaze toward the floor.

Still gripping her wrists at the small of her back, he finally stroked a finger through her lower lips after her orgasm subsided. She was fully aroused instantly. Needing him inside her.

Instead of giving her more of what she wanted, he audibly sucked his finger clean of her juices.

She arched her back, lifting her head, squirming in his grip. But she said nothing. The only thought in her mind was to beg him to fuck her, and she wouldn’t do it.

Her butt burned, but she wanted more.

As if he read her thoughts, he swatted her butt cheeks again, several times in rapid succession.

She inhaled a sharp breath, wiggling against his lap.

When he rubbed his hand over the burning sting, he soothed her with his words at the same time. “You okay?”

He knew the answer, but she liked that he was looking for a verbal. “Yes,” she breathed.

“More?”

“Yes.” How had she found herself wanting her mate to spank her like this? It was so damn hot, though. She didn’t want him to stop.

He hit that sweet spot again, the junction of her thighs with her butt. More wetness leaked from her pussy. Several more swats to the same spot had her on the edge, her body tight and throbbing.

Suddenly she found herself on her feet, her hands released, her belly in front of him. He held her up by her hips, or she would have swayed.

His lips grabbed one of her nipples before she could focus on him.

Her hands were in his hair as she tipped her head back, her eyes closing. Damn, it felt fantastic to have him sucking her nipple into his mouth. He didn’t simply lick the tip, he sucked hard. A sharp pain that quickly turned into pleasure spread through her body.

He gripped her hips tighter, holding her in that position, a knee situating itself between her legs, forcing them wider.

She must have tugged his hair too hard. His voice rang in her head. “Put your hands behind your back, baby.”

She released him and did as he asked, forcing her chest to arch more fully toward him.

And then one of his hands slid to her ass and gripped the warm flesh. The other reached around from behind and stroked her pussy.

She lifted onto her toes, afraid she might fall. But he had her.

When he thrust two fingers into her, she cried out. The feelings were so intense. Was it because of the binding or from the dominance? She didn’t care. It didn’t matter. As long as it felt this good, who cared?

With a few fingers straying to stroke her clit, he continued to fuck into her with his thumb, pressing toward the front of her channel with each pass.

She whimpered, afraid she might shatter into pieces, while her legs threatened to buckle.

But he knew that. His grip on her ass was firm. She wasn’t going to fall on his watch. He continued to work her hard. Stars danced behind her closed eyelids. She felt like she might break free as if from a tether and float away if she came. But when her orgasm hit, it hit hard. And she didn’t fly off. Instead, he grounded her, fucking her with that thumb and strumming his fingers over her pulsing clit.

She made incomprehensible noises, unable to share specific thoughts with him, but hoping he read her well enough to know how much this meant to her.

Before her orgasm was fully complete, he removed his fingers, lifted her into his arms, and carried her in a cradle position to his room.

Thank God it wasn’t far. She landed with a bounce on her back, but before she could focus on him, he dragged her by the thighs to the edge of the bed, spread her open wide, and lowered his face to her pussy.

She collapsed onto the mattress, her arms giving out where her elbows held her up. His lips suckled her clit, his tongue flicking repeatedly over her sensitive bud that had spasmed only moments before with the best orgasm of her life. Now it was growing again.

She wouldn’t have thought it possible, but she needed him inside her as if she hadn’t been permitted an orgasm for weeks or months. A breathy, hoarse voice she didn’t recognize managed to come from her. “Alton…God…inside me.”

He ignored her, thrusting his tongue into her channel, his nose nuzzling her clit.

She screamed. Her body trembled, needing release as if it had been denied. Her feet hung limp when he reached under her knees with both hands to hold her thighs open wider. There was no way to command any part of her body to do a thing, so her arms lay at her sides doing nothing.

In a split second, just before she thought she might seriously come for a third time in minutes, his mouth disappeared, his arms reached under hers, and he hauled her body farther across the bed. “Don’t come until I tell you to.”

She opened her eyes, searching for him in the dim light of dusk. She should have been able to see him fine in any light, but her vision was distorted by lust. Was he serious?

He climbed between her legs, and his cock lodged at her pussy while she was still trying to grasp the meaning of his words.

“I mean it, Jos. Don’t come. I’ll tell you when.” And then his cock was inside her, filling her so full she gasped.

She grabbed his biceps and held on to keep from being pounded across the mattress and flying over the opposite side of the bed. She blinked. Don’t come? Was he crazy?

She couldn’t breathe. It took all her energy to focus on his thrusts in and out of her while she gritted her teeth against the need to come. If she had fully comprehended how it would be to be bound to him, she would have thrown caution to the wind and completed this binding years ago. What the hell had they been missing out on?

Because no way would she believe the binding wasn’t the primary reason for the hotter-than-fuck sex that kept getting better by the hour.

His cock felt like it touched her soul. And he was panting with every thrust. When his breath finally hitched, he tipped his head back and shouted into her mind, “Now, baby. Come with me.”

The moment his semen shot against her cervix, she came with him, her pussy gripping the hardest erection she’d ever known him to have.

The world stopped spinning. All their problems disappeared. They were one being. United. Powerful. At peace with the universe.