Bear's Heart: BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance (Bear Heat Book 5) (10 page)

She jumped up. “Dylan!
Oh, oh, you...you're awake! I...”

“You were sleeping,”
he whispered. “You look so beautiful, so peaceful...”

Tears sprang to her eyes.
“Oh, Dylan! I knew, I just knew that you wouldn't leave me.
You wouldn't!”

“No.” Dylan
smiled. “I won't leave you. I'm going to stay with you till
the day I die. Which won't be for a long time yet,” he added
quickly when she blanched.

“I'll get the doctors!”
she blabbered. “I have to inform the Black Bears! They've all
been so worried. They will want to know right away. I have to tell
them!”

Dylan's eyes followed her as
she pressed the buzzer for the doctors and fumbled for her phone. As
she spoke excitedly to Luke, he pulled her down to him and made her
kiss him on the lips.

Jade gasped, then gave him a
tender, lingering kiss, letting him feel all her love and longing in
that kiss. She was still holding the phone to her ear as she kissed
him, and she felt his lips curve up as Luke shouted into the phone.

“Really? I'm coming
over straight away! I'll get the clan! I'll call everyone right
now! Jade, are you still there? Jade! Can you hear me? Hello!”
Luke hollered into her ear.

“Mmm, yes,” she
answered, giving Dylan one last peck at the corner of his mouth.
“I'm here. And the doctors are here too. So is Aubrey,”
she said as the door burst open and white coats stampeded into the
room.

Aubrey ran in with a troop of
nurses, rolling some medical equipment between them.

Jade stepped away from the
bed, giving the doctors and nurses all the space they needed. As
Aubrey assisted the doctors, she glanced over her shoulder and Jade
met her shining eyes with a warm, grateful smile.

Aubrey grinned and mouthed,
He's okay!

Jade nodded, pressing
her fingertips to her lips.

He's okay. He's okay.

Jade turned and saw a bottle
of fresh orange juice, two packs of chocolate milk and some neatly
wrapped sandwiches on a corner table. Cora and the girls had left
them there for her.

Jade smiled and reached for a
sandwich. She realized that she was starving all of a sudden. Her
stomach awoke with a vengeance, and she began to eat and drink with
gusto. Her whole body came alive as her heart swelled with strength,
joy and love.

Everything was going to be
okay. More than okay, in fact.

She crammed the last sandwich
into her mouth just as the entire clan arrived. The nurses chased
them out of the room and told them to pipe down while the doctors
finished examining the patient.

Jade put down the empty milk
pack and hurried to the door. The Black Bears were fidgeting just
outside Dylan's room, craning their necks, shuffling their feet and
jostling one another as they tried to keep their voices down.

Luke was at the front of the
group. As soon as Jade stepped out the door, the Black Bears froze.
The whole clan stopped talking and simply stared expectantly at her.

She met all their anxious,
hopeful eyes and smiled.

“Dylan is okay,”
she told them. She took a deep breath but her voice continued to
quiver as her emotions overtook her. “He is awake, and he is
okay!”

Luke caught her in a fierce
hug and she let her tears flow. They were tears of sheer joy and
relief.

The clan crowded round, and
this time, she didn't push them away. She returned their hugs and
smiles, and let them fully into her heart.

They were here for her. Now
and forever.

The Black Bears weren't just
her brother's colleagues. They were his clan. And now, they were
hers too.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX

Dylan waited as Luke unlocked
the door and held it open. He was holding Jade's hand and he didn't
want to let go of her hand to unlock the door, so he had simply
passed his keys to Luke.

Dylan stepped into his
apartment and was amazed to see vases of vibrant flowers on the
shelves and a bowl of fresh fruit on the dining table. There was a
distinctive feminine touch to his home, and he loved it. He loved
that Jade had decorated the apartment and added her own personality
to the décor. It was her home too. Their home.

Baxter, Thor and some of
Dylan's team members brought up the rear. Dylan had told the clan
that he could make it home on his own. There was no need for them to
put their work and important projects on hold.

Still, a mini contingent had
shown up when he was discharged from the hospital. His team members
had grinned and lined the corridor as he walked to his car. They
opened the door for him and helped him into the backseat
solicitously, treating him with utmost care as though he were a
feeble, fragile thing. He'd huffed at them but he knew they were
just showing their concern. Bax and Thor were the only ones who
slapped him resoundingly on the back and made fun of him.

Dylan sat down on the sofa
and looked around his apartment. It felt really good to be home.

“Thanks, guys,”
he grinned. “Bax, you're temporarily in charge of my team,
right? You should get them back to work. They've been skiving long
enough.”

“We haven't been
skiving!” someone protested.

“Baxter has been
working us to the bone!”

“He's a slave driver!”

Baxter rubbed his chin. “Ah,
do I hear complaints about me? Well, it seems I haven't been working
you hard enough. You still have the energy to complain.”

That shut them up in a jiffy.

Dylan laughed. “Okay,
okay, get your asses back to the office. Thanks for coming to fetch
me. I appreciate it. But I think I can manage in my own home now.”

Baxter and Thor began to herd
the younger Black Bears out of Dylan's apartment. Thor stood at the
door and gave Luke a significant look.

“Eh, Luke,” Thor
began. “Don't you have a meeting to attend?”

“No,” Luke said.
“I don't have anything this afternoon. I cleared...”

Thor narrowed his eyes and
jerked his head at Dylan and Jade.

Luke blinked at him, then
slapped his hand to his forehead dramatically. “Oh! Oh yes, I
forgot. Ah yes, of course, the meeting...to discuss...um, something
really important.”

As Luke scampered to the
door, Thor rolled his eyes and shook his head. Some people were just
terrible liars.

“Yep, I have to go now.
Bye Dylan! Bye Jade!” Luke called out, giving his sister a
big, exaggerated wink.

Jade glared at her brother,
and made a growling noise in her throat. “The brat,” she
mumbled.

The door closed quickly, and
the apartment was suddenly very silent. It was just the two of them.
Finally.

Jade smiled at him shyly and
cleared her throat. “I'll get you a drink,” she said.
She got up but Dylan tugged her down to him. She landed in his lap
with a gasp.

“I don't need a drink,”
he said. “I need you.”

Her blush deepened.

“Dylan...” Her
eyes widened when she felt his erection pushing against her thigh.
“You...y-you just got home. You should rest…” she
stuttered.

“I've been lying in
bed, resting and doing not much else for weeks now,” he said,
nuzzling her neck. “You've been at the hospital with me the
whole time. I love having you around. But I think I will love
having you in my bed more. Not my hospital bed,” he snapped
when she opened her mouth.

Jade started to giggle.
“Imagine if one of the doctors walked in on us...”

Dylan let out a low growl.
“No one sees my mate naked.”

Jade took a shuddering breath
and whispered, “Your mate…”

“Yes. You are my mate,
Jade. My bear knew it. My bear scented you, sensed you and found
you.”

Jade bit her trembling lip
and swallowed. “But you didn't claim me...”

“You were hurt, Jade,”
Dylan said, brushing her hair back. “You were hurt badly,
physically and emotionally.”

“And when I got better,
you got hurt,” she said, cupping his face with her hands. “You
saved me, and you saved my brother. I can't believe...”

“I protect what's
mine,” he said simply. “You and Luke, you're my family.”

Jade gazed deeply,
searchingly into his eyes and saw the depth and truth of his words.

“Dylan...”

“I want you, Jade. I
want you so much, but I will never force you. I will not take you
against your will,” he said, holding her gaze firmly.

She leaned in and pressed her
lips against his. “I am yours, Dylan. Heart, body and soul.
I do want you. I want to be with you, Dylan,” she whispered.

Dylan inhaled sharply and
fought for control. Growling, he grabbed her and carried her
straight to his bedroom.

To hell with control. He
wanted her, needed her more than he needed his next breath.

He would have her now.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-SEVEN

Jade clung to Dylan's
powerful shoulders as he carried her into his spacious bedroom and
laid her on his bed. His amber eyes were glowing with a feral
hunger, and she heard the animal growl erupting from his throat. His
bear was close to the surface, but it didn't frighten her.

His bear was a part of him.
Luke had a bear in him as well, and she knew the discipline and iron
will required for the man to control the beast. But she had seen and
witnessed Dylan's strength first-hand. She had seen the strength of
his character, his will, his heart. He had a predator in him, but he
was a protector, a leader. He would never hurt her. Jade trusted
him completely, and she willingly surrendered her body and pleasure
to him.

She unbuttoned his shirt and
pushed his shirt over his shoulders. The doctors had removed his
bandage, but she saw the jagged scars on his abdomen and down his
arm. The bear in him was strong, and once the silver was out of his
flesh, his natural shifter healing abilities had kicked in. It had
taken time to repair the extensive damage, but the doctors had
boosted his immunity with antibiotics and given him some painkillers.

Dylan's breathing was ragged
as he shucked off his clothes and loomed over her. He didn't bother
unbuttoning her blouse. He simply ripped it apart with his claws.
Her pants and undergarments were disposed off in the same way. The
tearing sound of her clothes made her shiver in anticipation and
arousal.

He was so hungry for her.
She could see it in his burning eyes, in his magnificent erection
which stabbed against her thigh as he covered her breast with his
mouth.

Jade arched her back, urging
him to take more. Dylan suckled her furiously, biting and licking
her throbbing nipples. She writhed beneath him, increasing the
delicious, maddening friction between their bodies.

Dylan moved his hands and
mouth all over her, inflaming her beyond reason. Her entire body was
on fire. His skilful fingers stroked into her, bringing her to the
peak of her pleasure.

She pulsed and screamed,
shuddering with ecstasy. She had just a moment to catch her breath
before he brought her to climax again with his tongue.

Jade finally opened her eyes,
her blood thundering in her ears. Her hair was matted to her face,
and she could only raise a hand weakly to cup his jaw. His eyes were
locked on hers as he knelt between her legs and pushed them apart.

With one powerful thrust,
Dylan was fully inside her.

Jade gasped and felt his
heart beating strongly against hers as he covered her body with his.
She whimpered in pleasure as he began to move.

“Dylan...” she
murmured, digging her nails into his back. She wanted him deeper
inside her. She wanted them joined, and she wanted to mark him as
hers. He belonged to her, and she wanted the world to know it. No
other female would touch him.

She had never felt so
possessive, so sure about anyone before. Dylan was the one for her.
Everything about him felt so good, so right. Jade raked her nails
down his back as he pounded into her, taking her faster and harder.
She loved it. She loved how he made love to her and took her. She
loved how amazing, how beautiful and complete he made her feel.

“I love you,”
they whispered together.

Jade clung to him as he took
her over the edge. She felt his teeth clamp down on her shoulder as
he emptied his hot seed into her. Dylan's body tensed and shook with
the force of his release. His teeth sank deeper into her flesh,
marking her as he claimed her heart and body completely.

Jade quivered and cried out
in his arms as the explosive, scorching pleasure burned through her
body. She lost all ability to think or speak as wave after wave of
consuming pleasure seared every nerve and set her body alight.

It was a long, long time
before she could slow her breathing and open her eyes.