Beaufort Creek Shifters (10 book series)
The Bear’s Arranged Mate Chapter 4

Elva

Those drops of rain felt like icicles pelting my skin. I ducked into the shack once Jermaine got the door open, shuddering as I wiggled out of my sweater. He popped the door back into place and stepped away from the rivers dribbling through the cracks. Most of the ground was dry. Mostbeing the key word.

The shack was no bigger than the main bedroom of the cabin we were destined to share for the next week. And seeing as the storm wasn't going to let up any time soon, we were also destined to share this tiny hellscape for however long it took to clear up. Two dusty windows flanked the room, both of them lighting up whiter than a sheet of paper under a lamp whenever lightning struck. Thunder roared through the tiny space, setting the hairs on my neck to stand at attention. When the windows inevitably rattled, I huddled into my shirt, bowing forward to search the ground for something to help distract me.

Dust, dirt, rocks, sticks-and then a resounding clang as my ring slapped something metal. I blinked rainwater out of my eyes as I rummaged through my pocket for my Zippo.

Three clicks later, I had a flame going. The black stove looked worse for wear, but it would do while we tried to make it through the increasingly heavy rain. Water rushed past the shack, probably flooding the trail we were just on. If we had wanted to hightail it back to the cabin, we would have gotten caught in a mudslide.

And I wasn't in the mood for all that.

The flame flickered as I searched the ground for twigs and leaves. I shoved them into the miniature stove, dousing them with the flame of the lighter.

Jermaine stepped up next to me. "That's not going to do much."

"You got any better ideas?"

"Yeah, we strip."

My heart jumped into my throat. If I hadn't shut my mouth, it might have actually hopped to the ground and burst into a million pieces.

When I managed to get my throat to loosen up, I snapped, "Come again?"

"We strip naked and huddle for warmth. I figured a temp waitress like you would know something like that since you teach self-defense and such on the weekends."

I stared up at him. "You know what I do?"

"I'm head of security. I need to know what my pack members are doing when they go into town. I know every job you've ever had."

The lighter flame licked my thumb, forcing me to snap my hand back. The motion clapped the Zippo shut, giving me the opportunity to pass off my minor injury as nothing more than me giving attitude. "Really?" I said as I stood up. "Name one."

"Penelope's Place on Main Street-you sold boutique clothes until the older ladies complained that you were being too honest."

I snorted while tilting my head back to laugh. "They couldn't handle the truth. Satin didn't look good on them. And they kept tearing the clothes trying to wear things that were way too small for them!" "Heavenly Host Bakery kicked you to the curb when they caught you sneaking cookies."

"They were going to be thrown away. Somebody had to eat them."

He smirked while stepping closer, lifting the hem of his shirt to tease the trail of hair between his zipper and navel. I tried not to look.

I tried and I failed.

My eyes flickered south of his fingers for two seconds until his voice drew my attention again.

"That dog-walking business wasn't fond of you either," he said in a low voice. "But I thought you looked cute in a collared shirt and shorts."

I raised my eyebrows as I hauled my shirt over my head. A small shiver raced up my spine. This couldn't possibly work. "Have you been watching me?"

"Didn't you just hear what I said?"

"| mean, how closely have you been watching me, Jermaine?"

The two of us locked eyes while unbuttoning our jeans. Zippers came undone. Jeans shuffled to the ground. I stepped out of my pants and teased the waistband of my panties for a second, wondering how naked he was about to get.

When he shucked his briefs without breaking eye contact, my lips tightened into a line, heat radiating from my right as the twigs and leaves did more than merely smolder.

Jermaine planted his hands on his hips. I was doing everything in the book to keep my curiosity at bay. I thought about that time my uncle butchered "Bohemian Rhapsody" at karaoke. I pretended like I was in public. I pictured how small his dick would look right now with the cold raging around us.

Anything at all to prevent me from doing what I was about to do.

My gaze dropped. My jaw went with it.

Yeah, no-the cold had no effect on him whatsoever. The guy was loaded with a third leg hanging between his thighs. Bears have always been reportedly huge, but Jermaine was monstrous.

And something about how he proudly stood in front of me made every hair on my body stand up.

It was the cold. Just the cold. Nothing else.

Once again, my poor heart lodged itself in my throat. I tore my gaze away from him, spinning around to face the window. Light flickered in the pane, blinding me from peering into the storm. It wasn't like there was much to see out there.

I was so distracted by him naming my old jobs that I hadn't realized how hot it had gotten in here. Maybe it was from talking. Or maybe it was something else.

Something I really didn't want to consider.

"Elva?" he whispered gruffly. "Something wrong?"

My eyes cut to his. "Nope."

"Come here. I'm not going to hurt you."

Odd. It wasn't Jermaine that said those words.

Yet it was him saying those words.

I blinked rapidly.

Ancient words surfaced from deep within. It was a chorus of voices. It was the smell of vodka hanging in the air and the weird crack in the bedroom door. It was a snarl. It was a snarky comment. It was a bottle smacking the wall over my head. Hot arms circled me. As big as they were, they were incredibly gentle, folding me into an embrace that I couldn't have possibly described as anything less than secure.

Protective.

Safe.

Just as my nervous system sprang into action, the rest of my body slacked, relaxing into the grip of the bear shifter holding me. As big and broad as his chest was, it felt like I was disappearing into a sea of muscle. Not that I was complaining. I'd been with plenty of buff guys, but Jermaine took the cake.

Not that I'm hooking up with Jermaine or anything like that, I thought timidly. We're just trying to get warm.

"Breathe, Elva. Just breathe." His words inspired a current of comfort.

Nobody had ever done that before.

It wasn't something I'd ever thought I deserved.

I turned my head, peering at the fire growing in the woodburning stove. It must have had some wood left over, because a fire now sprouted from the burnt leaves and twigs. Jermaine cradled me like a precious cub as his chest rumbled with something that couldn't have been described as anything other than a purr.

While locking my fingers together, I ignored the heat glowing in my core. My channel ached with a hunger I had long forgotten since we got up here. It had never dawned on me that part of mating would be coupling, but then again, why would I ever do such a thing with my enemy?

It wasn't like he wanted me.

His hand fell to the small of my back. It forced my eyes back, turning the room into a blur of mahogany and scarlet. My head lolled back just as he bent forward, his breath coming in ragged waves on my neck. Uncontrollable. Overwhelming. Totally ravenous. Maybe he did want me.

The way he arched into me was undeniably hungry. With my heart battering the inside of my ribs and my thighs easing apart, there wasn't a logical thought in the world that could convince my inner tiger to stop this nonsense. Warmth he promised. Warmth he gave.

And more heat was coming.

One brush of his lips was all it took. He hadn't even said a word. He wasn't even hard that I could tell. He was testing the waters of something I had thought about maybe for a split second back at the farm and never once considered again.

Liar. You've been dying to kiss him since he showed up on your porch.

My head snapped up with a growl. Jermaine cupped the back of my neck to lock me in place as his free hand combed a path along my side. More shivers. More goosebumps. More uncontrollable feelings.

I clutched his chest. "If we're going to do this, I call being on top."

A lustful snarl came with his bruising kiss. He nipped my lower lip while his hand dove between us, parting my thighs with a long swipe over my slit. Some part of me understood that giving in to him was the right thing to do.

And no, it wasn't the ritual. It wasn't the promise of sticking by his side. It wasn't even the way our elders embraced. It was deeper than that-far more primitive.

"That's fine, sweet pea," he rasped as he dove for my throat. "As long as I'm still in control."

Nothing else existed the moment his lips sank beneath my bra. Every bit of heat he harbored darted forward with his curious tongue. Miniature zaps coated my skin where his fingers roamed, producing moans I hadn't ever heard come from me, moans so unfamiliar that they actually frightened me.

My slit pulsated as his fingers swept under the fabric of my panties. Enough fluid to soak the ground gushed around the digits, making them slide easier. He scrubbed diligently, soft strokes that made me lose the ability to speak, to even blink. Every experience from the past dissipated like I was a virgin getting touched for the first time in my life.

Then, my knees gave out.

And I knew I was his.

He groaned low, the sound vibrating my flesh. "That's it..."

"How are you doing...? Oh."

Rough exterior meant rough encounter, right?

No, that didn't seem to be his style. Jermaine was brisk, sure, and his personality grated me. And his rebuttals. And his defensive nature.

But his touch was far from abrasive. Being as gentle as a bear suddenly took on an entirely new meaning. What kind of man was he deep down, to hide this side of himself from me for so long?

A rapturous moan broke my controlled silence. I gave him my weight-he could handle it, of course-and let him cradle me as he thrust between my thighs. Each dive sent goosebumps up my chest, tickling my nipples and caressing my neck without him even needing to touch me.

No one had ever been able to do that to me. How was he able to do it now?

While digging my nails into his bare shoulders, I rolled my hips to his rhythm, eager for what was to come. Which was most certainly going to be me in about half a second. This place was abandoned. We were stuck. Nobody would accidentally stumble across us. Our phones were likely useless, too.

It was just Jermaine and me.

Without interruption.

His thumb circled my clit, firm rubs that made me lose sight of everything. I rode his fingers like my favorite toy, unabashedly hugging him closer, and closer...

Until I came apart.

As I shivered, he tugged me to the ground and planted himself between my legs, rubbing the head of his cock to my throbbing slit. I'd hardly finished when he plummeted into my channel, sending my body into another dimension with one firm thrust. "Oh, sweet gods, merciful and generous-" I threw my head back. "I didn't think I could take you like this."

He gripped my hips, guiding me slowly back into place. He fit me like a glove. It was unreal the way he slid right into place. How the hell was that possible?

I steadily rose. "Let me-"

He grabbed my shoulder to keep me from riding. "No, sweet pea. You have to wait."

"But I-"

His grip tightened, sending a wave of pleasure through my core. In the same instant, he snapped my bra off, releasing my breasts for him to see. He cupped them gently, a rumbling sound of approval resonating in his chest. With hypnotized eyes, he swept his thumbs over my nipples, forcing them to harden all over again.

I clutched his chest. "Please."

His eyes snapped to mine. "Not yet..."

I practically whined when he arched his hips toward me. That pushed him deeper. Was it possible for him to go deeper?

He glanced at our point of contact, a crooked smile appearing as he dragged his thumb over my swollen clit. The kind of shock it sent through my body made it feel like my heart was about to stop. He was teasing me in the worst kind of way. And I knew he was enjoying it, too.

"Jermaine," I whispered, and he looked at me again, pupils blown to the extreme. "I want to ride you."

He bucked. "How badly?"

My hips responded in kind, causing more arousal to coat his c**k. "I'll die if you don't let me ride."

He chortled. "Is that so, baby?"

"It is," I whined, drunken lust infecting my voice. I bowed toward him, pressing my tits together to sweeten my request. My voice dropped an octave as desire took over. "Don't make me beg, sir. I just want you. Pretty please?"

He sat up, the motion inspiring me to roll with him. As I draped my arms around his shoulders, he circled my waist, angling himself into a comfortable position so I had room to ride.

"Since you asked so nicely..." he teased. "Though I love hearing you beg."

More whimpers accompanied my hotly whispered requests. Once my hips got going, I couldn't stop myself, lust infecting me like a parasite. Nothing would make it stop. I wasn't even sure if he could stop himself either. Was this what it was like to be mated?

The thought faded once I felt myself peak. And then I was falling again, tumbling to the great green earth, soaked with rainwater and mud, completely doused in all things Jermaine. An aroma of aloe joined the air around us as he buried himself deep, clinging to my shoulders to keep me in place.

Our explosion must have echoed through the galaxy. Surely the entire mountain felt the very ground shake with our collective eruption. As soon as Jermaine came, I rode the wave with him, following him back to the ground.

The windows had fogged up. The room seemed much smaller with the thick, humid air. I slung my arm over his broad chest, coarse hair greeting my fingers. Idly playing with it felt like the natural thing to do.

"Gods, I haven't been banged like that since spring break," I grunted. "You drive a hard bargain, mister."

He burst into chuckles. "Do you always talk like that?"

"Only to people I like."

He propped his head into his hand. "You like me?"

My eyes snapped a few times. "Well, I wouldn't say that."

"Wow, I can't wait to tell everyone that my wife likes me."

"I'm not your wife. I'm your ma-" Nope, I wasn't about to admit a silly thing like that. We were mates on paper, not in practice. And now, we were f**k buddies, too. "I'm your partner, okay?"

He thoughtfully observed me. "Sure, we're partners. But that means we have to decide who gets the main bedroom. Together."

I threw my hands in the air. "Goody. I can't wait to see how that turns out."

Part of me actually couldn't wait.

Part of me was thrilled at the prospect of having a connection with Jermaine.

All these years around each other had been spent bickering. What would it be like to get along with him? Could I handle it?

Or the better question was would we even like it?