Claimed by the Grizzly (11 page)

She nodded, her hand running up and down his chest.

“I know you and your brothers were devastated when your dad was killed. Then the attacks happened.” She paused as if unsure how to ask what she really wanted to know.

“Why didn’t Laramie do more in the aftermath?” Koby offered.

“Yes,” she agreed, rolling over so she half-lay on him, fist propped on his chest while she met his gaze. “Why just let everything go? I get that you all thought the females in the pack had been wiped out. But there is still a pack without us, and that pack still needs its alpha. Probably even more so.”

“Laramie called all the families. He was hell bent on finding out how our father had been captured. It didn’t make sense that the great Mathew Holloway could be taken by hunters. Not him. Never him. It didn’t add up. We were still looking into that when the attacks happened. Calls came in. People reporting the dead. We went to the closest homes, but it was the same. All the females, no matter their age, had been killed. The young, the old, the already mated. Entire families wiped out. I’ve never seen my brother so angry.”

“So what happened? Why has it been five years with no real response from Laramie?”

“Why would you think we didn’t respond?” Koby asked.

“You did? Nicholas never said anything.”

“My guess is he couldn’t. He was ordered to protect you, and part of that protection was keeping you hidden from us. We went to every family, checking in with them, seeing what if anything they needed. We spoke with the elders. I spoke with Samuel and Donovan myself. I never had a clue they were hiding someone. They both looked me in the eye and lied. A lie of omission, but still a lie.”

“I didn’t realize,” Sidia whispered.

“You were hidden. Laramie himself went to see Nicolas. He was there, on the mountain, while you were hidden somewhere his senses couldn’t pick up on you. There’s no excuse for Nicholas not coming forward then. No matter what excuse Lawrence fed all the elders, they should have known better. Laramie may not have had a formal ceremony when he took over as alpha, but they all knew he’d accepted his role. They saw it in the aftermath. What the elders did was another betrayal. We can put the blame squarely on Lawrence, but they all have to accept their responsibility.” He didn’t waver as he held her gaze. “Nicholas knew that.”

She nodded, a tear slipping from her eye and trailing down her cheek. “He did.”

“He found out who was responsible. I’m not sure how without talking to your brother, but something Malachi told him about this other pack tipped off Nicholas. I’m sorry Lawrence got to him before he could get you both here.”

“Me, too.”

She lay back down on him, cheek resting against his chest, one leg thrown over both of his. He held her until her breathing evened out, and he knew she was asleep. Still, he held her, not wanting to move and risk waking her.

He woke to soft kisses on his neck and the soft nuzzling of his mate’s nose. Her hand stroked his shaft through his jeans. He was hard and ready. He blinked his eyes open and caught his breath at the vision beside him. Sidia had stripped off her clothes while he’d been out.

“I see you decided to wake up,” she murmured at his ear then nipped the lobe with her teeth. Her hand tugged his snap undone and slowly lowered his zipper. She slipped her hand inside, and he groaned as flesh met flesh. Her palm cuddled his dick while her thumb rubbed over the head.

He hissed out his breath, wanting nothing more than to thrust into her touch.

“I’m feeling overdressed,” he muttered, running his palm down her side.

“I can help with that.”

She released his cock, making him groan as she straddled his hips and settled her sex along his ridged length. The minx rubbed against him as she reached for the hem of his shirt and tugged it upward. He half rose, abs flexing as he took a hold of his shirt and jerked it over his head. She leaned forward, tongue tracing his muscles while his head was buried in cotton.

He tossed the shirt aside and reached for her, but Sidia shook her head and slid down him until she was at his feet. She took off his socks first, and he almost spilled his seed when she took his big toe into her mouth and sucked wantonly on it. His dick flexed with need.

“Sidia,” he moaned.

She smiled at him, reached up to grip the waistband of his jeans and pulled both them and his underwear. He lifted his hips, reaching down to free his cock as she tugged. He glided his palm up and down, squeezing it to hold back the release boiling up in his balls.

She tossed his clothes on the floor and crawled back up him. She nuzzled the insides of his legs, kissing along his thigh until she reached the crease of his hip. She rubbed her cheek against him there, her tongue flicking out to lick over his shaft.

“Sidia.” This time her name was a command, and his mate responded with a laugh. Her mouth brushed the mushroomed head of his cock, her tongue rubbing over it before her lush lips wrapped tightly around it, and she sucked him in. He groaned, low and deep, the sound rumbling up from his chest. He reached down and ran his fingers through her hair, capturing some of the locks and holding her, watching as she worked up and down his length.

One hand rode his shaft while the other cupped and played with his sac. Her mouth swirled and sucked, her tongue tracing around and over the head with every bob.

“Ease up,” he said. “I’m going to come in your mouth.”

“Come,” she ordered, taking her mouth away but still using her hands. “I want to taste you.”

“Then turn around and straddle my face so I can taste you,” Koby suggested.

His mate’s eyes lit up. She liked the idea. With some maneuvering, he helped her get positioned so her knees were beside his shoulders, her sex perfectly placed above his mouth. Her pink folds glistened with her juices. Her breasts brushed his stomach, nipples grazing over his taut abs as she settled her mouth back on his cock.

He gripped her hips and pulled her closer until his lips kissed her folds. He ran his tongue over her, rubbing her opening then sliding it up to sweep her clitoris. The small bud was distended, peeking out as if asking for his attention. He enveloped it and moaned with pleasure as she bucked against his face. He wrapped one arm around her hips, anchoring her to him. He traced her opening with one finger then pushed it deep as he sucked her clit into his mouth.

She paused on his dick, freezing and moaning as he worked her. He lifted his hips, thrusting his cock toward the back of her mouth to regain her attention. She whimpered, grinding against his mouth before sucking him with renewed fervor.

They were both close to the edge, ready to fly. One finger became two, and he rubbed his pinkie along the seam of her ass, tapping her anus with every thrust of his hand. He licked and sucked her clit, pleasuring the straining bud.

She synced her hand and mouth, taking as much of him as she could and working the rest with her hand. She moved faster, her mouth surrounding him, tongue rubbing the underside. He was coming. It tingled at the base of his spine, and his cock thickened as orgasm approached. He rumbled, letting the sound vibrate her clit, and felt her come undone.

He switched his hand and mouth, using his tongue to soak up every drop of her release while she continued to milk his with her lips and hands. Only when they were both sated did he ease up. She had her head nestled on his hip, his spent cock resting on his belly. He turned his head and nipped the inside of her thigh then gave it a sucking kiss that left the flesh red from his mouth.

“Come here,” he said, easing one of her legs over his head and reaching down toward her. She turned and crawled up his body, collapsing on his chest and tucking her head into his neck.

He thought she’d fallen asleep again and knew he should wake her so they could clean up.

“Koby,” she whispered.

He glanced down and met her gorgeous green eyes. “Yes.”

“The other morning, when we made love…” She paused as if choosing her words carefully. “I felt a warmth inside me.”

He stared at her for a moment, uncertain what she was saying at first. When understanding dawned, he jerked up, pulling her with him.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded. She hadn’t planned to tell him yet, but she couldn’t keep it inside. “I can’t tell you when it will take root in my womb, but we definitely created a new life.”

He stared at her in wonder, not believing how incredibly fortunate he was. First, Sidia. Now, a child. There was life inside her, though with bear shifters the female could hold a fertilized egg inside for months before her body allowed it to begin developing in her womb. It was the bears’ way of ensuring the survival of their offspring. The child would come when the bear felt it was safe, and not a moment sooner.

“Are you happy?” Sidia asked, and he realized her emotions were too high for her to pick up on his at the moment.

“I can’t begin to describe how I feel,” he said. “I thought finding you was the best moment of my life. You’re so much more than I deserve. To think that we’ve already been blessed with a child, that we’ll hold that babe sometime in the next year, it’s more than I can grasp.”

“I knew exactly what I wanted the moment you walked out of those woods. You. I wanted to be claimed by the grizzly I saw coming toward me. There will never be a day when I don’t want that.”

She might not realize it, but she was the one who’d claimed him. With nothing more than a look, she’d tugged at his heart and wrapped around his soul.

“You want to be claimed?” he rumbled, running his hands down her sides to cup her hips and pull her more fully onto his lap.

She shifted her knees until she straddled him, using her hand to guide him where she wanted then slowly sinking down while they both held their breaths at the intense pleasure.

“Oh, yes,” she moaned.

Hers. He was all hers. And there was nothing else he’d rather be.

About the Author

Lacey Thorn is a National Bestselling Author of over fifty romances, including the award winning Awakening Pride Series. She has a passion for romance and demands stories that end happily. As a single mom to three teens, she knows exactly how easy it is to be pulled in multiple directions, always on the go. There’s nothing better to relax with than a glass of wine, a hot tub of bubbles, and a great book. So sit back, relax, and let her take you on an adventure destined to help you unlace and leave the rest of the world behind.

Lacey loves to talk to her readers and can be found at
http://lacythorn.com

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