Mating Dance (7 page)

He began to move, and she kept climaxing in
the most intense experience of her life.

Multiple orgasms. She thought maybe that’s
what they called this. Wasn’t it supposed to be some kind of
unattainable phenomena?

If so, nobody had told Tom. He rode her hard
and kept the sensations running hot as he escalated quickly into
his own raging climax. When he stiffened above her and she felt him
come, tears leaked out of her eyes at the beauty of the moment…and
the man.

He’d given her something she had never had
before. He’d made her feel…almost…loved.

Tom wanted roar as he came inside her, but
he did his best to leash the bear’s howl of triumph. Everything
inside him shouted
mate
, but though he inwardly crowed, he
knew he’d have to take it slowly with Ashley. The last thing he
wanted to do was scare her off.

He wouldn’t talk about mating until she had
seen Brody and Nell’s relationship at work for a while, he decided.
She needed to understand that mating was for life, and that he’d
never treat her badly. He would live only for her, but he had to
finesse her agreement. He had to show her that he was serious, and
that the mating impulse, though quick to make itself known, wasn’t
capricious in any way.

Tom rolled to his back on the wide base of
the padded bench and draped Ashley over him as they both came down
from a glorious climax. She fit him perfectly, as he had hoped she
would. She was his match in every way, and he would spend the rest
of his life proving himself worthy of her.

If she let him.

When the night air started to cool, Tom knew
it was time to go indoors. Would she stay? There was only one way
to find out.

“Shall we move this party to where it’s
warmer?” he asked, hoping with every fiber of his being that she’d
say yes.

Ashley leaned up, her hair tumbling around
them, creating an intimate space in which their gazes met and held.
She smiled, rubbing one finger along his collarbone.

“I thought you’d never ask.”

She made a move to get up, but he stopped
her, taking her easily into his arms and rising from the bench.
Kicking the wad of clothes toward the patio door, he set her down
right in front so he could open the door without fear of dropping
her.

Ashley scooped up the pile of their
discarded clothing, though he would’ve left it, and scampered into
the house before he could stop her. He followed her in, finding her
sorting and folding their clothes on the kitchen counter. She was a
neat little thing, which amused him.

But there would be time for clothes folding
later. Much later.

Tom scooped her into his arms and carried
her straight down the long hall to his bedroom.

* * *

Sometime well before dawn, Tom came awake.
Ashley was moving quietly around the bedroom.

“What’s up?” he asked, yawning as he
scratched his chest.

“Me, unfortunately,” came Ashley’s swift
reply. “Sorry to wake you, but I really have to go.”

“Go?” Maybe he hadn’t heard her
correctly.

“Yeah. I’ve got to open the bakery.
Actually, I’m already late.” She ducked into the bathroom while he
got out of bed.

Dammit. He had heard her correctly. After
the most glorious night of his life, his new lover had to
leave.

But he understood. Her family was depending
on her to take the first shift, as she always did. They hadn’t made
any prior arrangements that would allow someone to cover for her.
Events had just unfolded the night before. There hadn’t been a
whole lot of planning or premeditation.

Frankly, Tom hadn’t expected anything beyond
dinner when he issued his invitation. He’d hoped. But hope wasn’t
the same thing as certainty. The fact that Ashley had spent the
night in his arms was something he would never regret. It was a
special gift. A blessing.

And he would do everything in his power to
keep her. Forever.

Part of that kind of relationship, he knew,
involved allowing the other person room to grow, and be who they
were without interference. It was accepting them as they were, and
not trying to change them to suit his needs.

Ashley was a baker. She was a vital part of
her family’s business. She worked while most other people slept. It
was her routine.

Tom wasn’t going to interfere with that. Not
on what was, essentially, their second date. It would be up to
Ashley, if she wanted to change her schedule, now that they were a
couple.

She probably didn’t realize it yet, but in
Tom’s mind, being a couple was a foregone conclusion. He just had
to ease her into the idea. Eventually, though, she would see them
as he did—two halves of a whole.

Ashley came out of the bathroom, a towel
wrapped around her and a fragrant cloud of steam following on her
heels. She’d used his soap and shampoo. His bear scented the
familiar fragrances, plus the essence of Ashley that made those
plain scents much more alluring. Tom liked that she would wear his
scents—his soaps and his touch—all day.

“I hope you don’t mind. I won’t have time to
clean up when I get back to the bakery. The bread has to go in the
oven as soon as I can prepare it, or I’ll have a few angry patrons
in a couple of hours.”

“No problem,” Tom said, gently reassuring
her. He wanted to be supportive, even if he would rather have slept
until morning, with her in his arms. “I’ll drive you back.”

Tom ducked into the bathroom, pausing only
to place a smacking kiss on her lips as he passed her. He saw her
head out of the bedroom and figured she was going after her
clothes.

He grabbed some clean clothes out of his
wardrobe a few minutes later, dressing quickly. Venturing out in
search of Ashley, he found her in his kitchen, fully dressed, if a
little rumpled. She looked nervous, and he hated the uncertainty
that marred her pretty face.

“I’m sorry,” she said, as he came into the
room. “I know this is a strange way to end the evening.”

“Don’t worry.” Tom walked up to her and took
her into his arms, rocking her gently. “I didn’t exactly plan last
night either, but I’m really glad it happened. I want to spend more
time with you, Ashley. And I don’t mind if I have to do a little
readjusting of my schedule to make it work. I’m mostly an artist,
these days. I don’t have to be anywhere at a particular time, most
days. And my legal work is mostly paperwork, which can be done in
the middle of the night, if need be. I’ve got more flexibility in
my hours than you do. We’ll figure something out.” He kissed her,
then moved back to meet her gaze. “That is…if you want to continue
exploring this thing between us. I know I do.” He smiled at her,
hoping she’d give him the answer he really wanted. “How about it,
Ash? What do you say?”

“I say…yes.” She reached up to kiss him
quickly, smiling brightly. “I want to see where this leads, but
right now, it better lead me to the bakery pretty soon, or the
morning’s bread will never get made.” She stepped out of his arms,
and he felt momentarily bereft. He craved the feel of her in his
embrace already.

But she hadn’t told him to get lost. That
was a plus. He could work with it. He just had to be cautious and
not rush her.

Chapter Nine

Ashley had expected Tom to just drop her
off. Instead, he’d come into the bakery with her, keeping her
company as she rushed through making the day’s bread. He was a good
companion. He didn’t get in the way, and his conversation was both
interesting and subdued, befitting the early hour.

When she had the first batch in the oven,
they took a break together. He’d made the coffee and poured her a
cup when she came out from behind the oven door, ushering her to
one of the tables, where they could look out at the view. They
sipped the hot liquid in companionable silence for a few minutes as
the sun’s first faint rays began to make an appearance.

“If I didn’t say so before, I had a lovely
time last night,” Ashley finally opened the topic she’d been
avoiding for the past hour. When it came down to it, she was
actually somewhat shy, even if she had jumped Tom’s bones a few
hours ago.

“So did I,” he agreed amiably. “Want to do
it again tonight? I can get some fresh fish from Sig, if you like
grilled salmon.”

She felt a smile bloom inside her soul. “I’d
like that.”

“I’ll come by and pick you up again?” he
asked, though it wasn’t really a question.

“Sounds good.” She grinned. Just like that,
she had another date with him. Another chance to prove to him that
they were good together. No. Not just
good
. Spectacular.

Tom stayed for breakfast, sharing what was
fast becoming a ritual with them, of feeding Gus the seagull and
sitting outside for a bit, watching the sun rise. When the first
customers started trickling in, Tom sat quietly at one of the
out-of-the-way tables, reading email on his cell phone while he ate
a Danish and drank coffee.

Everyone greeted him in some way, either
nodding or going over to shake hands, and she got the idea that a
great deal of speculation was flying as they looked from him to her
and back again. Ashley didn’t know what to make of it. For her
part, she didn’t mind anybody knowing that she was dating Tom, but
she didn’t really know how he felt about their possible notoriety.
It was a very small town, after all.

She watched him carefully as each new person
said hello, but he didn’t seem to care that the other townsfolk
were putting two and two together and coming up with four. Maybe he
didn’t mind that they knew. Or maybe—and this sort of speculation
could get her in trouble—just maybe, he
wanted
them to know
that he and Ash were an item.

Maybe his very obvious presence in the
bakery this morning was meant to stake some sort of claim, or warn
other men off. A little thrill of excitement sizzled down her spine
at the thought, but she had to be careful. She could be totally
misreading the situation. Maybe he just wanted to hang out, drink
coffee, and eat pastries. It wasn’t all that uncommon.

Although…up ‘til a couple of days ago, Tom
hadn’t even set foot in the store before. And now, it seemed he
couldn’t get enough of the place. At least in the morning, when she
was there.

Nell showed up mid-morning. Brody dropped
her off and stopped by the table Tom had claimed to chat. Tom
wasn’t sure he wanted to talk about anything serious just yet, but
if anyone would understand how he felt about Ashley, Brody would be
the man.

“How’s it going?” Brody asked casually,
taking one of the empty seats at the small table. He placed his cup
of coffee on the table and bit into a honey bun he held in his
other hand.

“It’s going really well, I think,” Tom said,
his gaze following Ashley as she moved behind the counter.

“You got it bad, bro,” Brody commented after
a short interlude where he devoured the rest of the pastry while
Tom sipped coffee and watched Ashley.

Tom put down the coffee cup and looked at
his friend. “Yeah, I do,” he admitted. “You got any advice for
me?”

“Don’t fuck it up,” Brody answered
immediately, capping off his words of wisdom with a shit-eating
grin.

“Perhaps I should have said, do you have any
advice besides the obvious?” Tom clarified. They’d been friends for
a long time, and he was used to the kind of banter Brody
enjoyed.

“Treat her right,” Brody added, pausing to
think. “Don’t rush her.” He sipped his coffee. “And make her
happy.” He placed the empty coffee cup on the table. “Do those
three little things, and you should be okay.”

“What’s it like, mating a human?” Tom felt
the need to ask. He knew it was more common for bears to mate with
humans than most other shifters, but none of their immediate
friends had mated until Brody found Nell.

“She’s more fragile than a shifter woman,”
Brody answered honestly. “But my Nell has a core of steel. She’s
stronger than she looks—both emotionally and physically. I’m afraid
sometimes, that my strength and size is too much for her, but she
promised to let me know when I go too far. As of this morning,
she’s only had to do that once.”

Tom frowned. What had Brody done that his
mate objected to?

“She doesn’t like the teeth every time,”
Brody explained without Tom needing to ask. He pointed to his own
neck. “She said she’s proud to wear my marks, but not every single
day. And she did have a good point about not knowing who might
wander into the bakery. She can’t pass in the human world with bite
marks on her neck very well, and this town is open for visitors,
even if we still control who stays.”

“Wise decision,” Tom agreed, seeing the
logic of Nell not wanting to wear visible bite marks that would
raise questions if humans saw them.

Brody stood, collecting his trash. “Are you
going to John’s for the planning meeting?”

“Yeah, I was just about to head over there.”
Tom stood also, noting the way the business in the bakery had
picked up in the past few minutes. “I’ll go with you,” he told
Brody, since they were headed in the same direction.

Not wanting to interrupt Ashley’s work, he
waved to her as he walked toward the door with Brody. Ashley smiled
and waved back, even as she waited on a customer. Tom went out the
door with a feeling of joy in his heart. She had put it there.
Ashley. His mate.

Chapter Ten

The planning meeting was something they held
every week. It usually started just before noon and went on most of
the afternoon. Tom’s date with Ashley wasn’t until later. He
calculated he’d have just enough time to drop by the fish market
and pick up the salmon from Sig before picking her up.

They discussed the applications for business
permits that had come in over the past few weeks and the plans for
further construction John had initiated. They were going to do most
of the building themselves, but for the new town hall, John had
sought proposals from two different construction companies, both
shifter-owned.