Billionbear and Pair of Bears Boxed Set: BBW and Menage Bear Shifter Romance (11 page)

Then, as he had, she bent to kiss and nibble at him. His skin tasted slightly of salt. This close, she could smell his woodsy cologne, like the forests of his hometown, and a masculine musk. His scent went to her head like a shot of whiskey, making her dizzy.

Jackson pushed her back, so she was leaning against the desk, then knelt down in front of her. He pulled off her moccasins, then her pants, and finally stripped off her underwear. Paisley stood naked before him. She could still feel the heat of his mouth everywhere that he’d touched, burning in her memory.

His breath stirred her skin as he leaned in. Paisley was trembling with desire, barely able to wait for his touch. When he finally laid his mouth down on her, she was so keyed up that she jumped.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Don’t stop,” she gasped.

Jackson tasted her again. This time she managed to hold herself still, though the sensation was just as intense as before. His tongue explored her every fold, leaving her breathless. She grabbed his shoulders, feeling their muscles flex under her hands. Then Paisley felt nothing else, not the desk behind her or the floor under her feet. There was only Jackson’s smooth skin and hot tongue and her own ecstasy.

“You taste like honey,” Jackson murmured.

Paisley couldn’t reply. She was shuddering and gasping, lost in pleasure. Dizzy with it. Then it all crashed over her, like a burst of light. She had to hang on to his broad shoulders to keep herself upright.

Limp and relaxed, she sank down into his arms. He lowered her to the floor and held her tight, kissing her and stroking her hair.

“That was amazing,” Paisley said.

“Glad I could do better than ‘not so bad,’” he teased.

Paisley laughed. “Let’s see if you can do better than amazing. Take off your pants.”

Jackson scrambled out of them like he was being timed with a stop watch. His eagerness made her laugh again, and he laughed with her.

“Sex is usually so serious,” she remarked.

“Doesn’t have to be,” Jackson replied. “I lo— uh, I like a woman I can laugh with.”

“I like men who laugh,” Paisley said, realizing that it was true as she spoke.

She had always felt a little detached, a little distant from other people. Even in the middle of sex, she hadn’t felt truly close. It was just a very enjoyable physical experience. But for the first time in her life, when she moved in to press her body against Jackson’s, skin to skin, she felt no barrier between them.

She couldn’t resist saying, “I like
you
.”

“Feeling’s mutual,” Jackson said easily.

They lay together, kissing and caressing each other, side by side. Then Jackson moved over her.  His cock pressed against her mound, iron-hard. She squirmed, rubbing herself against him. If she’d been a cat, she’d have purred.

“Ready?” Jackson asked softly, cupping her cheek in one warm hand.

Paisley smiled, her breath coming fast. “Never been readier. Bring it on.”

He raised himself over her, resting his weight on his elbows. Then he cupped his hands under her head, so she had a pillow to protect her from the bare hard floor. She turned her head, nibbling and kissing his fingers. He stroked her lips with a feather-light touch.

Jackson slid inside her like a key clicking into a lock. Like they’d been made for each other.

She drew in a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of having him inside her. Enjoying the
closeness
. A distant part of her shouted a warning, urging her to back off. But before she could listen to it, Jackson bent down and kissed her. All caution left Paisley, and she abandoned herself to the delicious feeling of his warm lips, his steady thrusting, his bare skin against hers, the inexorable ripples of pleasure flowing outward from where they were joined.

He slid against her with every thrust, tipping her farther and farther away from thought, into pure sensation. She was distantly aware of his quickened breathing and movement, and knew that he was approaching his climax. Then she was falling into her own ecstasy, warm and joyous and filled with love.

They lay close together in the sweet aftermath, their arms wrapped tight around each other. Jackson pulled Paisley on top of him, so she wouldn’t have to lie on the floor. It was surprisingly comfortable.

“You make a good mattress,” she said.

“I live to serve,” he replied.

She contentedly traced the curve of his strong chin with one finger. His skin was smooth, fresh-shaved.  “This is definitely the most fun I’ve ever had on a break-in.”

Jackson bent his head to kiss her fingers. “Same here— Well, it’s also my only break-in. But I can’t imagine having
more
fun on one.”

“Maybe if we had sex twice,” Paisley suggested.

“That would do it.” More seriously, he added, “I hadn’t expected this to happen. I thought you’d never respect a man who’s scared of
ventilation ducts.
”

“Everyone’s scared of something. It’s not like you panicked and refused to come with me. You went in. You just didn’t like it.” She kissed him. “It was brave of you. It doesn’t take courage to do something you’re
not
scared of.”

Jackson regarded her quizzically, his dark eyes as intent as if he was reading her mind. “I know you’re not scared of enclosed places, or heights, or breaking the law. So what would it take courage for
you
to do?”

Fall in love,
Paisley thought.

She couldn’t bring herself to admit it to him. She was already getting uncomfortable with the intimacy they’d shared. It felt dangerous, as if she’d stripped off a suit of armor she’d been wearing for years.

“Kiss a tarantula,” she said flippantly, then scrambled into her clothes. But even dressed, she felt as naked and exposed as when she’d been nude.

Jackson got dressed too, then checked the computer. “Perfect timing.”

He typed swiftly, then put his earbud back in. “Eli? We’re almost ready for you.”

Paisley replaced her own earbud, just in time to hear Eli say, “Good work, Jackson. Ever thought of becoming a SEAL?”

“You couldn’t pay me enough to get me to crawl around in a tunnel again,” Jackson replied. “But Paisley wouldn’t mind. Recruit her.”

Paisley rolled her eyes at him; she knew the SEALs didn’t allow women. “I’m a cat, not a seal. We don’t like water.”

“Their loss,” Eli said. “We make a good team.”

In the brief silence that followed, Paisley was sure he was wondering what she and Jackson had been doing while they’d had their earbuds out. She hoped he wasn’t regretting that he’d said he wouldn’t mind. Though she hadn’t had the same chance to get to know him that she’d had with Jackson, she liked what she’d seen of him. She’d hate to make him jealous, or hurt his feelings, or leave him out...

Jackson interrupted her thoughts, giving Eli the directions to Research & Development that he’d obtained from the computer.

“And you’ll have to move fast,” Jackson added. “When I say go, you’ll have a twenty-minute window to get to R&D. After that, the lasers will come back on. And once the lasers come back on, the only way to get them off is to run the entire program again. Once you get to R&D, you’ll be stuck there for an hour.”

“Got it,” Eli said. “On your mark.”

Jackson’s fingers flew over the keyboard. “Go!”

Eli

––––––––

E
li walked quietly through the dimly lit corridors, watchful and alert. The building was silent, but Paisley and Jackson’s conversation came in softly through the earbud.

“...so I built a device that emitted a high-frequency sound that I thought would drive away bees,” Jackson said. “Guess who I convinced to test it by promising him two-thirds of the honey?”

Paisley’s clear laugh echoed in Eli’s ear.

He smiled, enjoying the sound of his mate’s laughter and the memory of padding through the forest as a grizzly bear, even if that particular time had ended with him getting chased by a swarm of enraged bees. He’d had to leap into a lake to escape.

Then, reluctantly, he pulled out the earbud and put it in his pocket. He was on a mission, and missions required a pure, clear focus. He needed to listen for guards and look for traps, and Paisley and Jackson’s chatter would distract him.

Instead, he was distracted by his own thoughts.

He’d always believed that he’d find his mate some day, but he’d figured that she’d be a bear shifter like him. He’d thought he’d meet her at some gathering of shifters, the two of them would immediately know they were meant for each other, and it would all be simple and easy and wonderful.

It
was
wonderful. More wonderful than he’d ever dreamed of. But more complicated and strange and nerve-wracking, too.

Some things can’t be imagined
, he thought.
You have to experience them to know how they feel. I’ll never be able to explain to someone who isn’t mated what it’s like to meet your mate, any more than I can explain combat to someone who’s never gone to war.
 

Eli had a pretty good idea of what Paisley and Jackson had been doing in that hour in the office before Jackson’s program could let Eli into the building. He wasn’t jealous, exactly— the mate bond seemed to prevent that— but he couldn’t help worrying that Paisley would only want Jackson, and not Eli too.

Women always love Jackson,
Eli thought glumly.
He’s brilliant and funny and sensitive and rich. He can put on a suit and take them to a fancy restaurant and make them laugh all evening. I’m just a bruiser with a lot of scars and no job.

A rustle stopped him in his tracks. Eli held still, barely breathing, all his senses attuned to the sound. Another rustle up ahead, and a barely audible weary sigh.

A guard. Maybe two.

Eli took off his backpack and laid it gently on the floor. Then he crept forward, his feet noiseless on the floor, until he was close enough to hear the breathing of two men. From the sounds, one was positioned on either side of the four-way intersection of corridors he was coming to. He’d have to move fast, to take them both out before they had a chance to yell for help. One false move, and all hell would break loose...

...and come down on his mate and his best friend, waiting in the office upstairs. Eli had to protect them.

He lunged around the corner, fist lashing out the instant the startled guard came into view. His punch connected solidly with the man’s jaw.

Eli didn’t wait to see him drop, but spun around to face the second guard. That man’s mouth was opening to yell, his arm rising to aim his pistol at Eli’s heart. Eli slammed his left hand into the guard’s wrist, sending the pistol flying, and delivered a quick uppercut with his right hand. Eli’s fist crashed into the second guard’s jaw, knocking his mouth shut before the yell could emerge.

The guard’s teeth clicked together, and he collapsed to the floor with a thud.

Eli again stood still and poised for action, waiting to see if the noise of the fight had caught anyone’s attention. But seconds ticked by, and he heard nothing.

He returned to his backpack, took out rope and cloth, bound and gagged the unconscious guards, and went on his way. The pleasant tingle of adrenaline still coursed through his nerves. It had been good to fight again, and better since he knew it was for a worthy cause.

But he hadn’t only fought for the memory of Ryan, and for all the men and women in uniform who’d be in danger if his mission failed, or even for his best friend. Though Eli hadn’t shifted, he’d fought as a bear fights, knowing nothing but the primal urge to protect his mate. He’d have laid down his life for Paisley without a flicker of regret.

Eli replaced his earbud. Softly, he said, “Paisley? Jackson? What’s your status?”

To his relief, they both answered immediately.

“We’re good,” said Jackson. “Still downloading the data. There’s a lot of it.”

“Are you all right?” Paisley asked.

“Sure,” Eli replied automatically. “Well— I just knocked out two guards. But I’m fine. How did you know to ask?”

He imagined that he could see Paisley’s shrug as she replied, “Just a funny feeling. I’m glad you’re not hurt.”

Eli smiled to himself as he said, “Same here. I’m taking out my earbud now. I need to focus. Yell loud if you need me. Eli out.”

He went on, following the directions Jackson had given to him, until he neared Research & Development.  Eli slowed. There were sure to be more guards there. He listened carefully as he crept forward, his ears attuned for the slightest rustle.

Voices came to his ears, drifting through the closed door up ahead. These guards weren’t bothering to keep quiet. Eli carefully set down his backpack, then reached into it as he listened to four men arguing over the latest NBA draft picks.

He hadn’t bothered to arm himself to fight only two guards, but even he couldn’t take out four men barehanded before a single one could yell for help. With a pang, he missed his SEAL team. And Ryan. SEALs worked in teams or pairs. They didn’t fight alone unless they were the last one standing.

I’m not alone,
Eli reminded himself.
I’m with my mate and my best friend. They’re right here with me.

He touched the earbud in his pocket, then found his hand drifting to his heart. Eli jerked his hand down. He couldn’t be distracted.

He took a rapid-fire tranquilizer gun from his backpack, then crept to the door. Eli held the dart gun ready as he kicked in the door. He fired in a semi-circle, spraying the room. Then he dove through the doorway and rolled.

Eli fetched up hard against the leg of a lab table. A shock of pain jolted through his ribs. He ignored it and swung his pistol around. Three guards had collapsed in drugged heaps on the floor, but the fourth was lunging at a red alarm on the wall, his hand outstretched to hit the button.

Eli fired. The dart hissed through the air and smacked into the guard’s hand. The man yelped, jerking his hand back. Then he staggered, his eyes rolling back in their sockets, and fell to the floor.

Eli surveyed the scene. Four guards unconscious, no alarm sounded. He didn’t bother tying the guards; they’d be out for hours.