Big Bear Mountain - The Complete Series (30 page)

D
eclan’s dragon sensed her fear. His human
could sense her deep attraction to him and her overwhelming need to deny it and
fight it. His chair scraped loudly against the floor as he pushed it back and
stood, glaring at her, smoldering lust in his eyes. Like a big cat, he moved
sleekly and with amazing speed as he rounded the table to stand before her.

She held up her hands to push him away,
instead they came to rest on his impressively muscled chest and she clutched
him for dear life as his mouth covered hers with an urgent, needy kiss.

She opened her mouth to receive him, her
need and urgency meeting his with equal fervor as their tongues found one
another and danced together in each other’s mouth. Declan hungered for her and
his hands found her hips, which he grabbed with abandon and pulled her against
him with his powerful arms. Olivia couldn’t resist. Nor did she have any
intention of doing so.

Breathless and eager, Declan fisted a
handful of her hair and plundered her mouth more deeply and possessively with
his serpent like tongue. Olivia responded by grinding her pelvis against him,
the warmth from her sex radiating against the hardening in his jeans. He ached
for her. Longed to bury himself inside her and claim her as his mate.

Every inch of him burned with desire to
take this woman and impale her on his rock hard manhood and become one with her
in ways she could never even dream of.

Keeping one hand firmly gripping her ass,
he used the other to grasp her breast, marveling at the responsiveness as her
nipples hardened to pebbles in his hand. She shivered involuntarily when he
squeezed and rolled it between his thumb and fingers, and then she started
breathing again. Neither of them had even noticed that she had stopped.

Picking her up as if she weighed nothing at
all, Declan lifted Olivia and sat her on the edge of the table. His display of
extraordinary strength puzzled her momentarily before her carnal instincts took
over and she gave into them completely.

She hooked one leg around Declan’s legs,
pulling his hardness tighter against her waiting mound. She felt the heat
rising and the unmistakable dampness in her panties. Declan sensed it also and
he knew she wanted him. His dragon could smell the musky aroma of her need and
so could he. They wanted her desperately, too.

Without hesitation, he hoisted her dress
above her waist and pulled her panties aside, plunging his fingers between her
hot, wet folds.

“Oh, yes,” she murmured into his mouth.
“Yes!”

Gently, he explored her, finding what gave
her pleasure and enjoying her soft cooing when he found something she liked.
With moist fingers, he found her swollen bud and began to stroke it, first one
side, then the other. Teasing her as she tried to push her hips toward his
magic fingers.

“Ohmygod!” she wailed as he increased his
tempo on her clit and applied just the right pressure with his expert fingers.
“Oh-my-fucking-god!” She arched her neck back, ending their kiss as she gave in
to the pleasure that was building inside her.

Declan knew she was close and wanted, more
than anything, to pleasure her before taking her for himself. He continued
circling her sensitive nub with his fingers, increasing the speed gradually, in
response to her moans of pleasure.

“Let yourself go, baby. Enjoy it. This is
one is all about you.”

“Yes! Fuck yes! Don’t stop. Please don’t —”

The wave of pleasure that had been amassing
inside her smashed through her body, like nothing she had ever experienced,
causing her to convulse as the euphoria swept through her entire body .
Throwing her head back and rolling her eyes, she screamed with pure ecstasy as
her release continued to cascade through her relentlessly.

“Y
ou said you had a special power, but what
the fuck was
that
?” Beads of sweat glistened on her upper lip sparkled
as she spoke almost breathlessly.

“If you don’t know what
that
was,
then you really need to get out more. Seriously,” Declan said as he withdrew
his hand from her panties and breathed in the heady scent of her orgasm from
his fingers.

“Very funny. Seriously, that was
incredible. I’ve never had anything like it. Not even close. Now, let me do
something for you.” She reached down and unzipped his jeans, ready to free the
burgeoning manhood which bulged further at her touch.

Declan didn’t waste the opportunity.
Without waiting for her guidance, he took his cock in his hand and guided its
bulbous head between her hot moist folds, preparing to plunge it deep inside
her.

With his free hand, he cradled her chin and
looked her in the eyes. His erection stirred uncontrollably as he began to bury
his full length inside her tight, hot channel. A primal growl of lust rumbled
in his throat and for the briefest moment, his dragon glimmered within, almost
breaking free before he managed to suppress the shift.

She pulled her head back from his hand.
“Your eyes …” She shook her head in disbelief.

“What about them?” he asked, trying to
sound nonchalant.

“They … they changed color when you
blinked. They turned bright red. Then they changed back again.” Fear crept into
her voice as alarm bells started sounding in her head.

What the …

Pushing him with all her strength and
scooting herself back on the table, she forced him to withdraw from her, almost
regretting her action as she immediately missed the feel of him filling her.

“There’s something I need to tell you, but
now really isn’t the time.” He reached for her face again.

She pulled away from his reach sharply. “I
don’t even want to know. There’s something not right about you. I should have
gone with my instincts. I should never have come here.”

Reaching for her purse, Declan took hold of
her arm to stop her leaving.

She looked down at his hand on her arm
before looking him in the eyes again. “Let go! Now! I’ll break it … you know I
will, too!” she threatened, her eyes cold and unforgiving.

Letting go, Declan pleaded with her. “Just
hear me out. I want to explain, but I’m worried you won’t understand.”

“That’s the first truthful word that’s come
out of your mouth since I met you. I won’t understand because I won’t even hear
it. I’m out of here and don’t dare try to stop me.”

“If you just give me five —”

“Five minutes of my life I’ll never get
back again? I don’t think so. You’re lucky I don’t call the cops. You’re a
freak and I never want to see you again!”

She glared at him, not totally finished
with her rant, but words failed her. She simply shook her head and said, “Wow!”

And with that, Olivia stormed out the front
door, slamming it shut as she stood at the top of the stoop and wondered how
the hell she was going to get home without enough cash for cab fare. Her lip
trembled and tears stung her eyes. She thought how she’d been taken for a fool
again, falling for a guy who couldn’t possibly be interested in her.

H
e knew going after her would be a huge
mistake. When a woman looks at you like that and says ‘Wow’, there’s nothing
that can be said or done to put things right. Declan had many attributes, but
stupidity and insensitivity weren’t among them. Instead, he dialed the local
cab company and asked them to send a cab over to pick up the woman sobbing out
front of his brownstone.

With the kind of fierce determination that
is a very common trait among dragon shifters, Declan set about making a plan to
set the record straight. He had no idea how to make that happen, but if raw
determination held any weight, then Declan was in with a good chance.

But first, he had to work off some
frustration after having his mating urges foiled at the last moment. And the
only way to do that was to fight.

B
y the time he got to the gym it was
mid-afternoon, leaving Declan the run of the place, at least until the after
work crowds started to converge on the tiny suburban club.

“Feel like sparring?” he asked one of the
trainers, known as Mack because he was built like a Mack truck. He hardly
looked like he had anything better to do.

“With you? No ways. I’m still recovering
from the last round we did,” replied the broad shouldered trainer with a tribal
tattoo across his shoulders.

“You’re a pussy. I hardly touched you. How
about a few non-contact rounds with the fighting sticks, then? Unless you’re
scared, of course.”

He took the bait. “I ain’t scared of
nothin’. Your puny ass is the one that should be afraid,” he said as he grabbed
a pair of Escrima sticks from a nearby box.

Despite appearances, Mack and Declan were
good friends, but they were both fiercely competitive and although he didn’t
know it, Mack was always at a disadvantage against Declan’s dragon. Sometimes
he felt like sharing his secret with his friend, but he’d never shared it with
anyone else. He didn’t know how to tell them and hated the thought that his few
friends would abandon him if they found out who or what he was.

Wearing body armor and headgear, Declan and
Mack warmed up for a few rounds before really going at it. Before long, Mack
was backed into a corner struggling to fend off the lightning fast strikes from
the blur of Declan’s sticks.

“Hey man! What’s got into you today?” Mack
demanded, removing his headgear and taking out his mouth guard. You not getting
any action at home or somethin’?”

“Sorry, man. I got a bit carried away in
the moment. Had some frustration to work out. Didn’t mean to take it out on
you. Well, actually, I did, but I knew you could handle it.”

“So, wassup?” asked Mack. His concern for
his friend was in his voice, even if he wasn’t showing it on his deadpan face.

“It’s nothing. Really, I don’t want to talk
about it. Besides, there’s nothing you can do. I’ll sort it out myself. Or make
a bigger mess than I already have. Either way, I’m right on it, having done
such a great job so far.”

“You better spill the beans fella or you’re
gonna get another ass woopin’. Now get on with it.”

“Another what —?” Declan burst out laughing
before he could finish. When he regained his composure and Mack stopped
laughing along with him, Declan told him about the girl he met at the diner,
the story she told him and how their first date ended with her rushing out in
tears.

For the next 10 minutes, Declan listened
with admiration as the two hundred and twenty pound fighter shared with him
some wisdom that Declan knew in his heart would turn things around and allow
him to claim the mate of his destiny.

W
ith little sleep and a lot of distracting
thoughts going through her mind, Olivia could think of a lot of places she’d
rather be than waiting tables and listening to people’s problems at the diner.
Uncharacteristically, she was getting orders wrong and generally not in the
best of moods.

“You really shouldn’t be here, Olivia. If
you’re sick, go home. I’ll get someone to cover for you,” Mal said, concerned
that she might be feeling ill. She looked like crap.

“Sorry. I’ll be fine. Haven’t slept, is
all. I’ll crash when I’m done here and I’ll be as good as new tomorrow. I
promise.”

Mal looked uncertain and raised his
eyebrows.

“I’ll be fine. Stop fussing. You cook, I’ll
take the orders … now get back to work, boss.” She tried her best to smile but
managed only a highly unconvincing grin and her tired eyes looked sad and
beaten.

Trying to put on a brave front, Olivia
opened her pad and walked as fast as her aching feet would let her, toward a
booth occupied by a couple of regular cab drivers.

“Hey Liv, you look like you could use a
holiday,” one of the cab drivers laughed as she approached and he noticed her
drawn, tired features.

“Tell me about it. This,” she looked around
the diner, “is as good as it gets for me as far as holidays go. Thanks for
mentioning it, though,” she responded without a glint of humor in her eyes.

The other cabbie tried to fill the awkward
silence, “The usual times two,” he ordered.

With a flourish, Olivia tore the order from
the pad before flipping closed and hurriedly poking it in into her apron as she
made her way to the kitchen to place the order. As she spiked the order, she
noticed a thumbprint of blood on the order. Paper cut. She hadn’t even felt it,
but proceeded to the first aid kit for a band aid before she ended up putting a
big bloody thumbprint on someone’s breakfast plate.
That wouldn’t be cool.

A quick wipe with disinfectant cleared the
dried blood, but beneath that, there was no cut. Not even the tiniest scratch.
Yet the blood all over her order pad and the blood red cotton ball she held in
her hand told a totally different story.

Something weird was going on, but she
couldn’t quite work out what it was. All she knew for sure was that there were
a few things that weren’t adding up and it all started the night
he
walked into her diner. And her life.