The Bear's Reluctant Wolf (4 page)

He took a step closer until he felt her
body heat spear right into his bones. He wrapped a hand around her waist, and a
guttural groan left him when he touched his mate for the first time. She was
soft and curvy, and all fucking his. He spun her around at the same time a startled
noise left her. It was just a tiny mewling sound, but it was one that had his
cock jerking in his pants. Her hair was a fan of strawberry strands, whipping
around and intensifying the scent of peaches.
I bet her fucking pussy tastes as sweet as she smells.
Her chest
was now flush with his, and his throat tightened at the feel of her large
breasts pressed against him. The moment their eyes locked he swore the ground
tilted beneath him. Her blue eyes slowly widened, and he sensed the very moment
she realized what he was to her. Mouth parted, all Trace could do was stare at
those succulent pouty, red lips. She licked her bottom lip, just fucking
dragged her tongue along the swell of it so slowly, so innocently that need
slammed into him. For several seconds all they did was stand in that position:
his hardness to her softness. He fucking knew she could feel his cock, because
he wasn’t making it a secret what she did to him.

“Get off me.” There was no heat behind
her words, but he smirked nonetheless. So she was trying to deny him? Not
fucking likely. He pressed his crotch into her belly more insistently and let
his grin spread across his face when a shocked gasp left her. He was blatant
and obscene, but beneath her outrage over his dominating manner, he also
smelled the instant she became wet. Her body and wolf knew he was her mate, and
instinctively those two yielded to him irrevocably. Her mind might be trying to
make sense of what was going on, but he wasn’t a patient male, and would show
her rather than say words on what the hell was going to go on between them.
There wouldn’t be any reason for her to contemplate and second-guess what the
fuck was happening. Just looking into her gorgeous face, he knew that his
little wolf mate was going to be a handful.

“You’re feisty.” He ground himself
against her again. She placed her hands on his chest, and he knew it was to
push him away, but instead she curled her fingers inward. An involuntary grunt of
lust left him. She closed her eyes, and the crescent shape of her lashes, ones
that were a shade darker than her hair, looked so delicate against the fairness
of her skin. “Tuesday’s Gone” started playing, and he slipped his arm around
her lower back, and pulled her impossibly closer.

“Who are
you,
and what are you doing?” The way she spoke, all soft and hesitant like, made
him think that she would sound like that after he fucked her good and hard. He
would take care of his mate, make sure she was thoroughly pleasured, and after
it was all said and done she would be too fucking exhausted to speak in a
normal tone. Fuck, he really needed to quit thinking about this shit right now.
All it was doing was making his dick throb and his pants become tighter.

He leaned in, wanting to get as close to
her as possible. This need to have her was bordering on insane, but he was on
autopilot, letting his animal take control and lead the way. And to think he’d
said he didn’t want a mate. It sounded fucking ludicrous now. Pushing her hair
away from her neck, he felt her tense against him, and that had him smiling
again. His lips barely brushed along the shell of her ear, but when they did
she shivered. As much as she was trying to understand what was happening, she
also couldn’t deny the pull between them. It was something only mates shared,
and undeniable in every shape and form.

“You know who I am and what I’m doing.”
He took the lead and started swaying to the music. Their bodies were pressed so
close not even a piece of paper could be wedged between them, but that was how
he fucking liked it. Letting his eyes slide shut and reveling in the feel of
his female pressed against him, Trace lowered his head, brought the tip of his
nose to the side of her neck, and inhaled deeply.
Perfect. Just.
Fucking.
Perfect.
In a
guttural voice he said, “I’m your mate, and the only fucking male that will
ever touch you again.”

****

It took all of Candace’s strength to
push this male away. He was demanding, controlling, and thought he had some
kind of claim on her because, what, he was her mate? No, this was not
happening. She was so lightheaded, and the longer she stayed pressed against
him, inhaling the spiciness that surrounded him, the deeper she fell into this
haze. She knew what he was to her as soon as she had looked in his deep green
eyes. The wolf in her started to get all excited, and the bitch wanted to roll
over and present herself to him like she was in heat. This wasn’t just a male
though. No, he was this big, scary looking polar bear shifter, and wore an intense
expression on his face that said don’t fuck with him. He also had a scar that
ran the length of one side of his face, which only seemed to make him appear
even more intimidating. Candace placed her hands on his chest, felt his hard
muscles flex beneath her palms, and pushed away from him. But Candace knew that
she only put distance between them because he had allowed it. She took a step
back, and then another one, and watched him warily. When she decided to let
loose, enjoy
herself
, and to forget about her uptight
life, this wasn’t what she had been talking about.

A look to her side showed Melissa
dancing with some human, her eyes closed and her body practically fused with
his. Okay, so she wouldn’t be any help right now, because Candace definitely
needed help. The magnetism she felt with this male was intense, and nearly all
consuming. Looking back at the polar bear she was struck by how closely he
watched her, as if he thought she’d try to escape. Well, the thought had
crossed her mind. She wasn’t ready for something of this magnitude, right?
Yeah, the attraction was there, like really, really there, but she could
already tell that this male was way too much for her. Just looking at him had
her whole body tightening in awareness. He would rock the steady, perfect boat
that was her life, and that’s not something she wanted, not after she had put
everything back in its rightful place after the Chad incident.

His jeans were faded, but they weren’t
like that because that was the current style, but because they were broken in
and worn. They looked damn good on him. His black t-shirt was snug from the
layers upon layers of hard muscles right below his skin. It was like the material
couldn’t quite contain all of him. God, she felt like a Smurf compared to him.
She was only five-foot-three, and this guy stood at least a foot taller than she
did.

“Your name, little wolf.”
When she didn’t say anything for several seconds he spoke again. “Tell me your
name.”

Tongue suddenly so thick, Candace opened
her mouth. Was she actually going to tell him? Never had she been intimidated
by someone, but this male made her feel so off balanced, and that was not
something she cared for. She swallowed, trying to wet her too dry throat, but
it didn’t make a difference. “Candace.”

He made a humming noise, like he had
just gotten off from hearing her name. As strange as that sounded, it would be
a lie if she didn’t admit that it kind of turned her on. He lowered his eyelids
just a fraction, so all she could see was thin slits of emerald.

“Is that all you’re going to tell me, or
do I have to find out the rest on my own?”

Her heart was beating so fast and hard,
and the deeper she breathed, the more she inhaled his scent. She was slowly
unraveling from the inside
out,
and all because her
mate, who just happened to be this demanding, dominant polar bear shifter, was
standing right in front of her. All of this was just too much, and far too
fast. She needed out of here, needed to get her thoughts together, because this
bear was crowding her, and she knew that he wouldn’t let up until he got
exactly what he wanted. Looking over at Melissa, she willed her friend to
glance her way. She needed to get out of here, because as much as her body was
on fire right now, drawn to him in a way she had never been to anyone else, she
needed the fuck out of the bar. What happened to things going smoothly?

That
just went right out the damn window at the first opportunity you decided to let
loose from the plan that is your life.

“I—” Licking her lips had been a bad
idea, because that just drew attention to her mouth, and that was exactly where
he dropped his gaze.

“What is it, Candace?” A shiver worked
over her spine at the way he said her name. Candace could imagine hearing him
grunt and groan out her name as he fucked her. Shaking her head at the very
vivid thoughts that slammed into her mind, she knew that her mate, this male
that looked at her like he wanted to tear her apart in a very good way, was far
too much for her.

“I have to go.” She turned before she
gave into temptation and threw herself at him—which was a very real possibility
given how aroused she was at the moment. Not thinking, just reacting, she
prayed he didn’t make a grab for her and try and talk her into doing … whatever
he planned on doing, and rushed over to Melissa. She took her friend’s hand and
all but dragged her over to their both to get their purses.

“What in the hell, Candace?”

She threw some money on the table, and
the sense of being watched was so thick it felt like a cloak around her.
Without answering Melissa, she took her hand again and started for the front
entrance, but her steps faltered when she saw the polar bear making his way
toward her with unhurried, yet determined steps. She picked up her pace, and
all the while heard Melissa grumbling behind her. She couldn’t do this, and as
immature as it was to run from him, that was the only logical thing she could
think of doing. He rattled her with his piercing green eyes, and never had she
met a male that was so completely
alpha
she felt it
right down to her bones. And
all of that
animal
prowess was directed right at her. She knew enough about mates to know that he
wouldn’t give up, so that meant she just needed to leave, get her bearings, and
try to figure out how in the hell she was going to deal with this. It certainly
was a complete one-
eighty
on how her life had been
going. He didn’t know her last name, and there had to be more than one Candace
in Sweet Water, surely. But her thoughts, the ones trying to rationalize that
this male would give her room, weren’t even believable to herself. Fortunately more
people had made their way onto the dance floor, so he had to push through them,
and that was exactly what he did, just shoved them aside while keeping his eyes
trained right on her. Candace could even hear his grunts, curses, and his
growls over the loud music. He was pissed, that much was clear by the spicy
scent that filled the air. It was mixed with his woodsy aroma, and had a gush
of moisture leaving her.

Shit.
You know all you’re doing is making him want to chase you, to come after you
until he can stake his claim.

No. No, she needed time to process this.
But one more glance at him showed that he wasn’t slowing. He liked chasing her,
even tilted the corner of his mouth in a grin when their eyes locked. Yes, as
it usually went with any kind of wild animal, they loved the hunt, and although
Candace was a predator naturally, she was running like the prey.

But
isn’t that what you are?

She had wanted him the moment she saw
him. God, she didn’t even know his name, just knew he was her mate, and the proprietary
claim over her that came from him had sucked all of the air from the room.

“What in the hell is going on?” Melissa
had an annoyed tone in her voice, but Candace didn’t stop as they burst through
the doors, nor slow as they made their way with ridiculously fast steps to
Melissa’s car. Candace stumbled she was going so fast, but right when she was
only a foot from the car a scuzzy looking, leather wearing human male stepped
right in front of her. She halted suddenly, which caused Melissa to slam into
her back.

“Where’s the fire, honey?” He took a
long drag from the cigarette hanging out of his lips. His beard was long and
streaked with grey, and his hair was greasy and hung in chunks around his
shoulders. Candace didn’t have time for this.

“Excuse me.” She tried to side-step him,
but he followed suit. Melissa was still mumbling about what in the hell was
going on. “Move out of the way, please.” Candace could hear her heart
thundering in her ears and feel the damn thing in her throat.

“There’s no rush. I brought my pick-up.
If you need a ride some place I’d be more than happy to take you there.” He took
one more drag from his cigarette and then flicked the butt to the ground. He gave
her the slowest and most disgusting once-over. She felt like she was naked
before him. The sound of the front door slamming open and bouncing off the side
of the building came from behind, and she knew it was
him
. As she went to make another go at getting around this guy who clearly
couldn’t take a hint when a woman wasn’t interested, he gripped her upper arm
and pulled her roughly forward. “How’s ‘bout you and I go back to my truck for
a little fun? I saw you dancing in there earlier. You caught my eye, and I can
tell you that I like what I see, and want a taste.” His breath smelled like
cigarettes and stale beer, but before she could say or do anything a low growl
came from behind her. The vibrations could be felt right down to her bones.