Bear Naked and Bite Marks (13 page)

“I’m going to come, Declan. God, I’m
going to come.” He grunted as she clenched her pussy around his erection. He
slowed his thrusting, as if torturing her was his ultimate goal. Placing his
hands on her inner thighs, close to her ass, he pushed her legs up and pressed
them to her chest. Muscles that she didn’t even know she had protested from the
act, but it had him going even deeper inside of her. Curling her nails into her
palm until she felt pain spear up her arms, Melissa had never needed to come
more than she did right now. Even after she had already gotten off it felt like
she hadn’t come in years, and only this bear could give it to her.

“You’ll come when I say you can,
mate
.” He slammed his cock inside of her
so hard she had to wrap her hands around the slats of the headboard so she
could stay stationed. Over and over he did this, hitting something deep inside so
that it felt like fireworks were going off in her. And then he was bent over
her, running his elongated incisors over her neck, down her collar bones, and stopped
at her breasts. He bit at her flesh, caused a cry of pleasure/pain to leave
her, and then licked the hurt away. He did this multiple times, but then
started sucking at the bite marks, drawing the blood up and then dragging his
tongue over the brand he had created. Melissa wanted to come, was almost there,
but his languished thrusting had her on the precipice of exploding once more.
Moving his teeth and tongue back up the same path he had descended, he took
root at the base of her throat, right where her shoulder and neck met. And then
he really started fucking her.
 
“Now, baby,
now you can come all over my cock.”

That was all it took for Melissa to get
off. She arched her head back, closed her eyes, and let out the noise she had
been holding inside. It didn’t matter that she was loud, because Declan grunted
out for more, and she was all too pleased to deliver. As her pleasure grew to
that toe and finger numbing peak she felt the flash of burning pain when
Declan
finally marked her. The feel of his incisors sliding
into the tender spot at her shoulder, the way he slammed into her and then
rotated his hips against her clit, was a plethora of sensation. This male had
ruined her for all others, but then again she had no intentions of being with
anyone else. When he pulled his mouth away from her, looked down at her, and
she saw the smear of her blood on his bottom lip, Melissa leaned forward for a
kiss. Declan had the same thing in mind because met her halfway and captured
his mouth with hers. Their combined flavors mixed together as they pressed
their tongues against each other, and then Declan was thrusting into her three
more times in quick, hard strokes. On the fourth thrust he buried himself all
the way inside of her. The fact she felt him swell even further, felt the way
his monstrously hard body shook atop hers, and heard the deep rhythmic sound of
pleasure he made, was almost enough to send Melissa into another orgasm. But
seconds later he started breathing easier, and his body grew less taut above
her. When his weight almost became too much for her, he rolled off. He quickly
untied her hands, and even rubbed her wrists to get the blood flow to return.
His hands moving across her skin were gentle and soft, and all she could do was
stare
at him in wonder. After several seconds he
leaned down and kissed her head, and then climbed off the bed. The bathroom in
her room was right across from the bed, and he made his way inside. Melissa
stared at the ceiling, feeling deliciously sore in all the right places, but
exhausted all the same.

Closing her eyes and still trying to
catch her
breath ,
had Melissa almost feeling like she
was almost in a trance. She didn’t even sense or hear Declan come back into the
room until the bed dipped beside her and he was pulling her over toward the
hardness of his body. For several seconds they did nothing but lie there
side-by-side, their breathing eventually picking up a relaxed rhythm. With the
stillness and silence surrounding
them,
and the glow from
one of the streetlights coming through the blinds being the only illumination,
a lot of things were passing through Melissa’s mind. She tilted her head back
and looked up at him. His eyes were closed, but her wolf sensed he was fully
alert to everything around him. It never went past her that this male was a
trained killer, had probably taken out more lives than she cared to know, but
that in just a short amount of time she had given herself to him completely. Of
course it was far too early to be in love with him, but being in lust with this
male was going hard and strong, and she could easily see herself losing herself
in him.

“Do you ever regret the things you’ve
done in life?”

She was still staring at him when he
opened his eyes and looked over at her. He took her hand and placed it on his
chest. His heart beat a steady and powerful rhythm. Resting her head on his
shoulder and staring at the wall across from her, she thought about his
question.

“There
are
always things people regret doing in their lives. But for me, I’ve learned to learn
from my mistakes, and hopefully never repeat them.” He continued to stroke her
hand and arm. “What about you?” Tilting her head back to look at him again, she
waited for him to answer. It took him a minute to speak, but she could see on
his face that he was thinking hard.

“There are a lot of things I regret, a
lot of things I wish I would have done differently,” he looked down at her and
lifted his hand to run the pad of this thumb over her cheek. “And then there
are things that I want to experience over and over again.” He didn’t have to
tell her he was talking about her, because she could feel it in his words, and sense
it from his bear, too. “I’ve done a lot of heinous shit, Melissa, but I’d like
to think that the things I’ve done have always held something positive about
them.” He continued to brush his thumb along her cheek in a mesmerizing motion.
“But the fact a bastard like me found a female like you.” He stared deep into
her eyes, and his irises flickered from dark to light blue. “Makes me want to
try really fucking hard to be a good guy.” He leaned down and kissed her on the
forehead. “And I will be, baby. I’ll protect you, watch over you, and make sure
you are always smiling.” He leaned back but kept his hand on her cheek. “I
won’t say that I won’t piss you off, because I will, plenty of times. We butt
heads, and you give as
good
as you take. We’re a good
match for each other, and I couldn’t have asked for a better mate.”

Emotion clogged her throat. No male had
ever spoken to her in such a deep, meaningful manner.

“I wouldn’t call me anything special,
Declan.” He smiled, and she knew he was going to argue that fact so she
continued speaking. “No one is perfect, least of all me. But I want to try this
with you. I’ve wanted a mate, wanted a family, and the things I feel for you
are real. I know, and so does my wolf, that over time what I feel will only grow.”
This time she was the one to lean in and kiss him. “But I’m pretty sure I’ll
piss you off just as much as you piss me off.” She murmured against his mouth,
and his deep chuckle had her smiling, too. But before they could go for round two
there was a pounding on her door. Melissa leaned back, felt her eyebrows knit
as confusion settled in, and went to get out of bed. Declan was already
standing and getting dressed. She grabbed a pair of sweats and put them on, and
before she could take another step there was another round of pounding.

“Are you expecting anyone?” She shook
her head, and she could feel how alert Declan had become. Not bothering with a
shirt and just grabbing her robe, she tied it around her waist once it was on
and headed out of her room. The front door was right down the hall, but Declan
was already in front of her, striding toward it. Her wolf was right there,
feeling uneasy as she paced inside of Melissa. Declan also seemed a bit uneasy,
but she didn’t know why their animals were suddenly so alert. It wasn’t the
middle of the night, and she didn’t live in a bad part of town. So who in the
hell was knocking on her door like a damn freak? As if the person on the other
side heard her they pounded once again, but just when Declan went to open it
she placed a hand on his to stop him. “Please, I think I can handle this.” She
wasn’t trying to be stubborn, but she could handle herself, had for the last
thirty-seven years. She appreciated the fierceness that Declan was currently
exhibiting, warmed even by the thought that he felt this need to protect her,
even when someone was banging on her door, but she could step up. She smiled
again, and after a second of his bear trying to take over, and most likely
wanting to pull her behind his body and be the badass solider that she knew him
to be, he exhaled, let go of the handle, and took a step back. “Thank you.”
Melissa tightened her robe around her body. What she needed was a peephole, or
at least a window by the door, but she had neither. She had the chain lock on
the door, and she opened it the few inches that the chain allowed. The male on
the other side was drunk, and the scent of the alcohol coming from him nearly
made Melissa intoxicated just from inhaling.

“Manny?” His eyes were red rimmed and glossy,
but he was completely disheveled. His mussed hair, rumpled clothes, and overall
presence were so totally unlike him, that worry claimed her. Shutting the door
and unlatching the lock, she opened it fully. Declan was right beside her, but
the door had his body blocked from Manny’s view.

“Are you okay?” He swayed a little and
braced a hand on her doorframe.

“Uh, yeah, I’m good. I should be the one
asking you if you’re okay.” Wrapping her arms around her middle she stared at
Manny with concern.

“Sure, I’m doing fan-fucking-
tastic
.”

God, Manny was trashed. He never said
shit like that. She looked around his shoulder and saw his car parked sideways
in her driveway.

“You drove here in your condition?” He
blew her question off with a wave of his hand. “Manny, what in the hell are you
doing driving drunk, and then coming here wasted and pounding on my door?”

“I just wanted to talk to you, to see
you. I’ve missed you, Melissa.” His words were slurred, and concern grew
thicker inside of her.

“Manny, we talked about this. I said I
needed some time to myself, time to get to know Declan.” Manny’s nostrils flared,
and his already crazed looking eyes took on an even more insane expression.

“The scent of him is all over you.” His
eyes lowered to her neck, and she placed a hand over Declan’s mark, as if she
could protect it somehow. Manny was so unstable right now, and seeing him
unraveled like this made her question if she knew the meerkat at all. Declan
moved up behind her and placed a very possessive hand on her hip. That didn’t
go unnoticed by Manny, and the jealousy that came from her lifelong friend
slammed into her as if he had reached out and slapped her. “So, looks like the
two of you have finally solidified the whole mating bullshit.” He didn’t state
it as a question, and swayed on his feet.

“Manny, this is completely unnecessary.”
He lowered his head and closed his eyes. For a moment all he did was stand
there, but she finally felt his resolve. When he looked up at her there was an
apologetic expression on his face.

“You’re right, and I’m sorry.” He
straightened to his full height, which wasn’t any taller
than
her own,
and ran a hand over his face. “I guess I let the alcohol do the
talking.” When he dropped his hand there was a strange expression on his face,
as if he had just come to the conclusion he had been searching for. “I
shouldn’t have come here acting like a jackass.” Declan grunted behind her and
tightened his hold on her hip. The scent of his grizzly was powerful, and she
knew Manny picked up on it as well. “I’m sorry, both of you.” He turned to
leave, but she called out to him.

“Manny, come in for some coffee. I’ll
call a cab.” No way was she going to let him drive away.

“I’m good.” He looked over his shoulder.
“Seriously.
I’ve already came here unannounced and acted
like a fool.”

“I’m not about to let you drive in the
state you’re in, Manny. Please, come in for some coffee and sober up.” Fortunately,
Declan didn’t argue about letting Manny come in after the shit he pulled at the
restaurant and now, but Declan wasn’t an asshole like that, and knew that
sobering up the meerkat was the right thing to do. Manny exhaled, nodded, and
turned around to come into her house. She moved out of the way, or more
specifically, Declan pulled her away from the door and into the hardness of his
chest. Manny didn’t look at either of them as he all but stumbled inside. “Just
go sit in the living room and I’ll make you some coffee.” Manny nodded again
but didn’t look at her. She shut the door and sighed. God, the drama was ridiculous.

“Hey, are you doing okay?” Declan turned
her around and kept his hands on her waist. She looked into the living room and
saw Manny sitting on the couch. He had his head resting in his open palms.

“Yeah.
I’ve just never seen him this way, and I know it’s because of me. Maybe I was
too hard on him?” Declan was shaking his head before she even finished. He tilted
his head back with a finger under her chin.

“Baby, when someone gets like this it
isn’t anyone’s issue but theirs.” He stroked the edge of her jaw with his
thumb. “Clearly the male is in love with you, and there isn’t anything you
could have done to make his reaction to you wanting to step back any less
fucked up.” His words, although trying to comfort her, didn’t make her feel any
less responsible for the clear hole Manny had fallen down.