Bear with Me (Half-breed Shifter Series) (3 page)

Chapter Two

Sometimes Brick could act the
part of the annoying pest a little too strongly, but at least Rhea knew she
wouldn’t be bored for the next couple of weeks. She was already glad she’d
chosen him. Her nerves had dissipated the moment he’d hugged her upstairs. His
embrace had been warm and safe. Comforting. And his company would be full of
entertainment.

“Just bring that Xbox over
here already?” she demanded, motioning him forward.

“Yes, ma’am,” he murmured in
his flirty voice, but instead of making her want to roll her eyes, the sound
stirred something deep in the pit of her stomach.

He sauntered forward, his
large muscle-packed body surprisingly graceful for a bear. Brick had always
been attractive. After he’d grown into some of his body parts, he’d probably
become the best-looking boy in their class. But his looks had never made her
want to reach out and just stroke his skin before...not like they did now.

An intense tingling spread up
the insides of her legs as he drew close and knelt beside her, setting his
gaming system between them.

With his head bent slightly
and his attention in the cardboard box as he fished around for the right cables
he needed, she studied the side of his face, suddenly wanting to just...lick
him.

“Okay, we need to plug this
one in first, into the...” His words drifted off as he lifted his face.
Nostrils flaring, he gazed at her for a moment before his eyes fell to her
lips.

When heat flooded her from
head to toe, her sex cramped and went moist. He dropped his attention even
lower to her breasts where they strained against her shirt, the nipples poking
out the front of the pale cotton.

A hoarse groan left his
throat. Lifting his hand slowly, he reached out a single digit and barely
brushed the back of his index finger over the thin material. If he’d have
licked her bare, straining nipple and then bitten it, Rhea didn’t think she
would’ve felt the impact of his touch any more intensely than she did now.

With a moan, she threw back
her head and squeezed her eyes shut. Heat pulsed between her legs. She wanted
him there. Right now. Inside her. Deep, so deep inside her.

As if reading her mind, Brick
asked, “Have you ever wondered what my cock would feel like buried in your
pussy?” His voice was low and raspy. It shot another sizzling current of
electricity through her.

Meeting his gaze, she opened
her mouth to tell him—beg, demand, whatever it took—to take off his clothes and
get inside of her that very instant. But her mother’s voice at the top of the
stairs made her jolt and wrench herself away from him.

He stepped back too and
glanced away guiltily, just as Riley Griffin popped her head out of the
stairwell and joined them in the den. “Rhea, dinner’s ready if you’re—oh!
Brick, you’re already here. Good. You’re welcome to dinner too, dear.”

He cleared his throat and
bowed his head. “Thanks, Mrs. G. I’d love some. Can’t feed a bear like me
enough, you know.”

“Well, both of you come on
up.”

When Brick moved to follow
her as Rhea’s mother started back up the stairs, Rhea hesitated, glancing at
Brick’s perfect form. Now that he was all the way across the room, she didn’t
want him quite as badly.

And it struck her what had
just happened. Shit. Her mating heat really was starting.

“Mom?” she called, her voice
trembling slightly. “I think...I think I should have my first injection now.”

Brick tensed and paused, but
he didn’t turn to look at her.

Eyes wide with surprise, her
mother did turn around, though. “Oh! Really? Damn, I wish females could smell
another female’s heat. I would’ve already known that. I’m sorry, honey. Let’s
get you taken care of, then.” As she came back down the steps, she glanced at
Brick.

He refused to meet her gaze
as he shrugged. “I must be too diluted of a shifter to notice it yet.”

Rhea knew he was lying; he’d
definitely felt
something
. He’d been just as ready to get kinky as she’d
been. She waited a second before her mother entered the back room before
meeting Brick’s dark gaze and mouthing the word, “
Liar
.”

“
I want to fuck you. Hard
,”
he mouthed right back, lifting his eyebrows in direct challenge.

For a moment, she was
tempted. Two weeks of constant sex with Brick sounded pretty damn good right
about now. She could almost feel his hands on her breasts, cupping her and
squeezing, his hot open mouth on her throat and his cock shoved deep, pumping
through her sex and bumping against her g-spot, over and over again, until—

“Rhea? Are you coming?” he
mother called.

Damn, she only wished she
was coming
.

Rhea jumped and scurried
after her mom. Once she entered the room, her senses settled a little. But then
Brick stepped inside after her, and she wanted him all over again. Bent over
and humped from behind, spread eagle on the bed, thrust against the wall, just
any and every way possible.

Stupid, freaking mating heat.
Didn’t it know she only wanted to love him like a brother, a big annoying
brother who teased her mercilessly and...damn, and looked fucking hot without
his shirt on, especially right after he’d changed from his bear form, giving it
a good run through the woods.

His skin always glistened
then, from sweat and exertion. Then he’d shake his damp hair like a dog, but it
made him look more like a supermodel. He was just so perfectly formed. She
wanted to slip her hands over his flesh and claim him as hers. Only hers.

So, yeah, she’d slipped up
and thought about making him more than a friend once or twice over the years.
But he was such an amazing friend, she’d been too scared to do anything to harm
that friendship. Ergo, brotherly companion she made him remain.

“Sit over here,” Riley said,
patting a padded slab that looked more like an examining table from a doctor’s
office.

Yanking her naughty thoughts
about her brother-like friend from the gutter, Rhea followed her mother’s
instructions. But as Riley opened a mini fridge nearby and removed a frosty
cold needle full of serum, her gaze strayed to Brick, but he was busy gaping
around the room.

“Damn, it looks like a
torture chamber in here.” His attention paused on the chains imbedded in the
far wall directly above a king-sized bed. “A torture chamber made for porn.”

Riley chuckled. “We had this
room designed years ago for Brynn and Rhea, thinking they’d still be living at
home when their mating heat hit, but...we won’t need those since these
injections were invented. Still, we asked Rhea to come home to experience it
here...just in case.”

Rhea shuddered from the
thought just as her mother swabbed a cool wet swab over her shoulder, where she
was going to get stuck.
Being stuck by a certain bear’s cock sounded so much
more appealing, though
.

Brick swerved around with a
scowl. “In case of what?”

Riley shrugged. “In case the
serum doesn’t work for some reason. We know Rhea wouldn’t want to be out there,
alone. Anything could happen. That’s why we wanted her to stay here.” She smiled
at the him. “Just in case.”

Jaw tightening, Brick
demanded. “What’re the chances it won’t work?”

With a laugh, Rhea’s mother
shook her head. “Practically zero. I think only one female—some rare breed like
a llama or something—didn’t react to the injections out of all the hundreds of
shifters who’ve opted for them. But you know how paranoid Shaw is; he wants
Rhea here anyway, until it’s over.”

Brick nodded, but his eyes
remained worried as they met Rhea’s. Her mother poised the tip of the needle
against her skin, and his mouth opened as if he wanted to protest. Worry, fear,
and longing entered his gaze. A part of Rhea wanted him to object, to shove her
mother aside and just push Rhea against the wall where he fucked her senseless.

But that was only the mating
heat talking. Right?

Before he said anything
though, the needle sank deep. When she winced, so did Brick. He turned away,
and she watched the tense set of his shoulder until the syringe was pulled
free.

“All done,” Riley announced,
slapping a Band-Aid on the tiny drop of blood that had welled up.

“Food time now?” Brick
guessed, rubbing his hands together and grinning at Riley. “You know how much I
love your cooking, Mrs. G.”

He acted as if he was back to
normal, but Rhea knew from the look in his eyes, he was still...off. He sent
her a swift glance, his gaze briefly settling on her chest before her jerked it
away again.

She didn’t say anything as
she followed Brick and Riley back up the stairs. Her mother called Shaw to the
table, and once he entered the room, the four of them sat down to eat.

“I’m so glad you decided to
take out a few weeks of your time for Rhea, Brick.” Riley smiled at him as she
passed him a bowl full of mashed potatoes. “With Brynn and Ari also going
through their mating heats right now, I’m relieved a friend can be here for
her. Plus, it’s been forever since I’ve seen you. I’ve missed having you
around.”

Something warmed in Brick’s
eyes, which made another warmth spread through Rhea. She knew how much it had
hurt him to lose his own mother. She’d always wondered if he thought of Riley
as his second mom.

Fern, the old widow who’d
taken him in when he was thirteen, certainly hadn’t been nurturing. She’d only
agreed to house him because she’d needed someone to do all the manual labor and
chores around her house for her.

But Brick being Brick didn’t
turn all gooey and tell Riley how much he adored her. Instead, he tipped his
chin toward Shaw. “Here that, old man? Your wife totally wants me.”

Shaw narrowed his eyes. “Test
me one more time, boy. I’ve always wanted a bear rug in the front room.”

“Shaw!” His wife gasped. “You
know he’s just teasing.”

“All the punk ever does is
tease. It’s getting old.”

“Dad.” Rhea rolled her eyes.
“He only does it because he knows it bothers you. He’s immature like that.” She
sent Brick a hard look, silently telling him to behave. But he merely wiggled
his eyebrows at her and then winked.

She sighed and left him
alone, glad the serum was running through her bloodstream and she no longer
wanted to jump his bones, because that would’ve been...yeah, she probably
wouldn’t have been able to look him in the eye again if she’d ended up fucking
her best friend in the basement just now.

Actually, he’d probably never
want to look
her
in the eye again because he didn’t think of her that
way. Then she’d never see him shirtless again, or she’d never be able to
not-so-accidently rub her breast against his hard, packed chest whenever he
hugged her again, or she couldn’t pretend to hate it when he touched her ass,
or—

“Jesus Christ!” Her father
exploded, yanking her from her declining daydreams. “The rest of us would like
some mashed potatoes too, asshat. Don’t eat them all.”

Lifting her attention, Rhea
found that three-fourths of the mashed potatoes now sat on Brick’s plate. She spurted
out a laugh and covered her mouth. He’d always had a huge appetite. She bet he
could dine on a woman...all...night...long.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Griffin,
sir,” Brick said in his innocent voice he used right before he said or did
something to totally piss her father off. “Did you want some of these?” Then he
swiped out his tongue and licked the next spoonful he was going to plop onto
his plate.

As Shaw pounded his fist on
the table and commanded Brick to grow up already, Rhea squeezed her hands into
fists under the table because she couldn’t stop thinking about how long Brick’s
tongue had been when it had swooped up all those mashed potatoes. It had looked
like the kind of tongue that could lick and lick...and lick.

Her pussy throbbed, craving
Brick’s tongue there, and craving it bad.

When he noticed a glob of
potatoes on his knuckles, he frowned and popped the finger into his mouth. She
nearly came out of her seat, imaging that thick, long digit diving into
something else dark and wet...while his tongue worked in tandem against her
clit.

She breathed out a breath and
shifted in her chair, which must have rustled up her scent because Brick
immediately stopped what he was doing and shot his gaze her way. His eyes
burned with awareness.

Oh, shit. He knew exactly
what she was thinking, what she wanted.

Distractedly, he passed the
potatoes to Shaw as he kept staring at Rhea. She restlessly shifted again,
crossing her legs tightly together to ease some of the ache between her thighs,
but that seemed to only make him more aware of her arousal.

His eyes sharpened and
dropped to her chest. Then his tongue—God, that long, capable tongue—flickered
out and caught a stray piece of potatoes clinging to his bottom lip.

She wished she was smothered
in mashed potatoes so he could lick it all off her.