Catching Her Bear (21 page)

“Is that you or your bear talking?”

He looked up at her, his eyelids heavy. “Would it be bad if I said both?”

She grinned and grabbed a hunk of his hair. “Not as long as you hurry.”

From her breathy pants, coupled with the scent of her arousal, it wouldn’t take long to bring this beauty to climax. Kalan lowered her panties, revealing an reddish brown pot of gold. When she arched her back and widened her stance, he smiled. So sensitive. So alluring.
So mine
.

Had it not been for his bones cracking, he would have spent a long time touching and enjoying her, but since his inner animal was urging him to love her hard and fast, Kalan had no choice but to bare it all. Once he removed her panties, he tossed them aside.

“I’m gonna feast on you today,” he said.

“I thought I was getting the first crack at you.”

Her words speared him with lust. “I changed my mind.”

The first lick tasted like pure nectar and he had to take care not to let his incisors grow. It was bad enough that the hair on his face was thickening. This tasty woman was messing with every hormone in his body, and he wasn’t sure he could give her enough satisfaction before he blew.

Clutching her thighs, he buried his face between her legs and flicked her clit back and forth. The grip on his hair increased, and then so did the speed of his tongue. The problem was that her moans and little whimpers were as exciting as if she were devouring his dick. Each swipe of his tongue brought him closer to tossing her on the floor and plunging into her.

“Kalan, yes. More.”

His sweet woman was so needy that he intended to give her everything she desired. He licked and sucked her pussy until he could no longer stop himself from sinking his cock into her.

Kalan stood, swept her into his arms and carried her to his bed, before lowering her onto her back. He leaned over and sucked on her tits, his cock awaiting the right moment to take her.

‡

B
eing with Kalan
exceeded Elana’s every expectation. Each lick, tug, and twirl sent her reeling to a place she’d never been before. If only she had ten more sets of arms she could touch every inch of his sensual, muscular body.

“Take me,” she huffed.

Kalan growled, and when he plucked her other nipple, sparks of pleasure swirled and dove right between her legs. She planted her feet on the mattress and lifted her hips, hoping to entice him, but all that did was merely press the tip of his cock against her opening. She thought he would enter her right away, but he didn’t. The man seemed determined to torture her.

As if he could read her mind, he lifted his head and kissed her. Needing to turn him on even more, she reached between them and grabbed his hard shaft.

Kalan broke the kiss, growled, and slipped out of her grasp. He then plunged into her. Holy balls of fire. His girth, along with the friction, ignited every nerve ending and caused bolts of electricity to sizzle inside her. To keep from flying apart at the seams, she had to dig her nails into his hips and hold on for dear life.

Thrust for thrust, she met his driving force. He then lowered his head and kissed her neck. Was this it? More than anything, she wanted him to bite her to complete the mating process, but she wouldn’t beg. He needed to decide when the timing was right.

“I’m so damn close,” he said, his voice so low she barely heard the words.

“Me, too.”

“Then let go Elana, and I’ll catch you.”

His grip tightened, and with each stroke, her climax built. Needing it all, she wrapped her legs around his waist, dropped her head back, and let every erotic sensation wash over her. On the next thrust, her climax claimed her. Colors flashed before her eyes, and she felt like she was outside of her body. Never before had she experienced anything so intense.

“Need you so much,” Kalan said, the growl evident in his voice as his hot seed spilled into her.

Kalan’s heavy body then pressed down on her and held her as if he never wanted to let her go. After their breathing evened out, he slid out. “Be right back.”

He returned moments later and wiped her clean. When she sat up, she pointed to a wet spot on the sheets. “Missed a bit.”

His eyes widened, and then he wiped up the mess. “Fuck. I forgot a condom. I’m so sorry. I got carried away.”

“That’s okay. I’m on the pill.”

He blew out a breath. “One can’t be too careful.”

As happy as she was that he wanted to be responsible, she could also envision having Kalan’s child—assuming she could take the baby to work or have someone watch him or her during the day. She’d always made a promise that she would never abandon a child.

Don’t even go there
. Kalan hadn’t tried to bite her, which meant he wasn’t ready to be mated—assuming this whole fated thing was for real. Izzy thought it was, but maybe that only worked with wolf shifters.

Elana eased off the bed and gathered her pajamas, trying hard to not let the tear that was teetering on her lid fall. She’d seen the desire in his eyes, but somehow, he wasn’t ready to be with her.

Needing some time to think, she decided it would be best to distance herself from her desires—assuming she could. The fastest way to douse her ongoing urges would be find out more about her parents’ deaths. That was sure to be a mood killer.

Kalan followed her into the living room where he finished dressing. “Did these men say why they murdered my parents?” she asked.

Kalan’s eyes widened, probably wondering how she could go from loving to analytical in a heartbeat. He sat on the sofa’s chair arm and motioned for her to sit on the seat next to him. At first she debated sitting across from him, but she wasn’t ready to for that much distance.

“No, but I did receive a tip about a man by the name of Chris Darden who might have been responsible for your parents’ deaths. However, when Rye and I arrived at his house, he was dead.”

More deaths? If her insides hadn’t been rubbed numb by Kalan’s recent action, she might have experienced more horror. “Guess he’s not talking. Do you know who killed him?”

“No.” Kalan explained that while he and Rye were there, a man came looking for the address to her parents’ home. Most likely, he didn’t want the evidence lying about.

“Do you think he killed this Chris guy?”

“No, but the next question is, who did?”

From the way he kept looking off to the side, he wasn’t telling her something. “What is it? And be straight with me, please.”

Kalan blew out a breath. “Mind you this comes from a man who was an accomplice to murder, if not the murderer himself, but he said he’d offered to buy what appeared to be the piece of sardonyx your parents gave you.”

She sank back against the sofa. “They were murdered over a piece of stone?”

“Seems so.”

“It’s that valuable?”

“I wish I knew, though Izzy might be able to shed some light on the power of crystals and rocks.”

Nothing was making sense. “Why give it to me if they already had a buyer for it?” His lips pressed into a thin line. That wasn’t good. “Unless they’d brought back two pieces.”

Kalan shifted uncomfortably on the arm. “That I don’t know. According to the second man, Hank Melton, your parents claimed they didn’t have any of the stone, but that they could get it. They were trying to raise the price. Rye and I think they gave it to you for safe keeping.”

Her stomach cramped as waves of lost hope washed over her. “I guess leopards don’t change their spots after all. I can’t believe they were planning to ask for it back.”

Kalan shrugged. “We’ll never know.”

“So now what happens?”

He motioned for her to scoot over and then he slid down onto the spot she’d just vacated. “I know you want to resume your life, and I can’t blame you, but your apartment needs a bit more work. Do you mind staying here until then?” He picked up her hand and kissed her knuckles.

How his touch could twist her insides so soon after the explosive sex, she didn’t know. “Okay, thank you, but is it safe to go back to work?” A killer, who might something she had, was on the loose.

He stroked her cheek. “Yes, but you’ll need to be careful.”

“I will. I understand that whoever wanted to buy the stone could still want it.”

He nodded. “Which leads me to ask if you’d be willing to leave the stone in the safe?”

“I have no emotional attachment to it anymore, especially now that it hadn’t really been a gift from my parents.”

Kalan’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “I’ll ask Dad to keep an eye on you while you’re at the shop.”

Her initial reaction was to say no, but in light of the recent circumstances, she’d welcome the added protection. “I’m good with that.”

“Thank you. I’ll call him. Then I need to set up a reading by Deanna Landon at your parents’ house.”

She’d met Deanna, but didn’t understand why he’d need a reading. “Have you used her before?”

He rubbed her arm. “Not personally, but her psychic abilities have helped in other cases.”

That was pretty cool. “I thought you said the case was closed since you found the murderers.”

“As far as the police are concerned it is closed. But there is still the murder of that Darden fellow.”

That made sense. “Hence the reason why your father will be my invisible bodyguard and why you want to see if Darden’s killer might have been in the house, right?”

“You’re a smart one.”

“Given you came here directly after arresting that man, I’m guessing you haven’t told Brian anything about capturing the killers?”

He dragged a hand down his jaw. “Not yet. There are a few things that aren’t fitting neatly into place.”

She didn’t like the sound of that. “You don’t believe Brian was in on it, do you?”

“No, but I think somehow he might have unknowingly seen who they were right before the home invasion,” he said, expressing his concern.

“If I didn’t know Brian was my brother, how would they have figured it out, unless my parents told the killers?”

Kalan snapped his fingers. “Your brother said company arrived at your parents’ house that first night, which was why he left before he was finished speaking with them. That company might have been Darden and Melton.”

“Only one way to find out,” she said.

“Ask him. Trust me, I intend to.”

As curious as Elana was about Brian, she was still thinking about what to say to him. Maybe after Kalan had his spoke with her brother, she’d ask to see him too.

*

After dinner, Elana
insisted she clean up, so Kalan ducked into the bedroom and called his dad to ask if he could help keep an eye on his mate—or rather his soon-to-be mate.

“Are you still expecting trouble? I though you said you caught those two Changelings?”

Kalan had not specifically said who they were, but the assumption was valid. He went through the series of events and how someone had killed Darden. “I’m thinking this killer might have been planning to kill Melton before he did something stupid, only we got to him first.”

“That sounds reasonable. You’re right to be careful. I’ll make sure no one gets near Elana. You can count on me.”

“I wasn’t able to count on you to keep your mouth shut about Elana being my chosen mate. What were you thinking?” Once the words were out, he realized this call might have been an excuse to chastise his dad.

The long silence told him volumes. “I don’t keep anything from your mother. If she ever found out I knew something and didn’t tell her….let’s just say I would be sleeping on the sofa for a long time.”

His parents having sex wasn’t something he even wanted to consider. “Telling Mom is one thing. Blabbing to Elana is another. Didn’t you think it would be awkward for her—a human—to be told she was destined to be with a bear shifter?”

His father cleared his throat. “She seemed so taken with you that I thought it would be okay.”

It wouldn’t do any good to rebuke him any further. The harm had already been done, though he had to admit Elana had taken the mating thing a lot better than he’d expected. Then again, he hadn’t bitten her yet, so nothing was set in stone. Having his urges grow exponentially as soon as he did bite her wasn’t something he could handle right now. “I’ll text you tomorrow when we leave the house.”