Owen (BBW Western Bear Shifter Romance) (Rodeo Bears Book 2) (66 page)

Iris' eyes widened, and she scurried hastily up the stairs, her heart slamming against her ribs. He said he would never do it again. Why now? Was it her? She dragged herself back to Ian's room, finding the door unlocked, and collapsed inside. As soon as the door was shut, she pressed her ear up against the wood and tried to make out what was happening on the outside.
 

She could hear snarling and snapping, but nothing conclusive, she couldn't tell whether the wolf or Ian had the upper hand. And the fight was still going on downstairs-she could make out the sounds of a conflict. She squeezed her eyes shut, and the first face that popped into her mind was Abby's, oh God, Abby. Panic washed over her like ice water. She needed to get back to her as soon as she could, she needed to cradle her in her arms and promise her than she would never let her get put in the danger she was in. Ellie had been right, and Iris wouldn't be surprised if she knew something was going on right at that very instant. How had it come to this? This was meant to be nothing more than a wedding, a trip away to give Iris a break from the banality of her life. But now all she wanted was the normalcy, the averageness. She would have given anything to have all of that back.
 

Suddenly, the door burst open, she jumped back, landing on her bad ankle, and fell against the bed. She tried to scramble to her feet, reaching for a hairbrush that was sitting on the counter next to her, anything to defend herself with, until she felt a pair of familiar hands on her, comforting her.

"Hey, hey, it's alright, it's me," Ian soothed her as she tried to twist out of his grip. It took a moment for the panic to dissipate-and then she looked up into his eyes, and she felt safe.
 

"Are you, what happened-I-" She stuttered, unable to get a grip on her words.
 

"It's fine. The wolves, they're gone. We don't think they're coming back." He spoke softly, holding her arms gently. She was glad for his grip, she felt as if she might have fallen to her knees without him holding her.

"Really? Already?" She needed to hear it again, to be sure, before she could let go.

"Yeah, already," he nodded. "I think Freddy had the wind knocked out of him, he expected Dina to give in and go with him, considering…you know. Everything."

With everything that had happened, Iris had almost forgotten the biggest revelation of the night, that Dina was a shifter. She shook her head in disbelief, falling back on the bed behind her.
 

"How did none of us know she was…like that?" She murmured, half to herself and half to Ian. "I mean…we all…"

"I've got no idea, but she's hidden it well," Ian agreed. "She's a fierce fighter, too. You should have seen her out there."

"So where are the wolves now?"

"Gone. Back to the caves, I think. And the storm's lifting, so we should be able to get away tomorrow morning." He explained. "Thank God."

There was genuine relief in his voice, and Iris knew it was about more than just the wolves.

"You shifted," she whispered, looking up at him, and he came and sat next to her on the bed.

"Yeah."

"For me."

"I couldn't in good faith let someone's mother get hurt by one of those things," he shrugged. "It just sort of…came over me, all at once. I didn't have a chance to think about it, and by the time I had shifted, I just knew I had to take him down."

"But you didn't lose control?" She prompted.

"Not at anyone but that fucking wolf," he replied, his voice harsh. "It just confirmed to me what I already knew, I don't like the thing I become when I shift, and I don't want to make a habit of it."

"Thank you," she murmured. "Thank you for protecting me."

"What else was I going to do?" He shrugged. "Daughter of a bear shifter, I owe it to my kind."

Iris cocked an eyebrow at him.

"How do you know?"

"I can smell it on you. I didn't know for sure until I had shifted, but I felt this…
draw
towards you. And that's when I knew."

"Sorry I didn't tell you." She sighed. "I don't know why."

"Hey, we all get to have our secrets," he smiled at her, and took her hand once again. She couldn't put her finger on why, but she felt calm with his hand covering hers. There was something comforting to his touch, and she savoured it. He skimmed his thumb over her knuckles, and a shiver danced down her spine, what was this? It had been such a long time since she'd felt those butterflies in her stomach that she'd practically forgotten what they felt like. But, as Ian leaned over to her and carefully placed his lips against her's, she knew exactly what she was feeling.
 

The kiss was gentle, surprisingly tender, given the situation. She'd always imagined thank-God-we're-alive sex to be more passionate and wild and crazy, but all she wanted at that moment was to be cared for, to be looked after. She tentatively opened her mouth, twisting her head to allow him more access, and slid her tongue past his lips. He tasted good, God, she couldn't remember the last time she'd been kissed like this, the last time she'd felt truly desired. He slid his hands down from her arms and on to her waist, weirdly chaste yet at the same time intimidate. She shuffled a few inches closer to him, feeling like a teenager making out with the door open. She draped one leg over his and drew him closer, cupping his jaw in her hand, his stubble felt rough and satisfying against her skin.
 

He deepened the kiss, letting out a long breath through his nose as he gently licked around her lips. It was a motion that made her shiver, made her feel as if she was entirely at his mercy-she ran a hand through his hair, enjoying the feeling of the gel and the spikes against her palm. Everything felt so new, but so familiar, and Iris couldn't get enough.
 

The hands around her waist moved across her back, pulling her closer, till the two of them were chest-to-chest. Ian slowly pushed her down on to the bed, straddling her, and meshing a hand in her hair as he kissed her once again. Every single one of his movements was deliberate and careful, as if Iris was some delicate toy he didn't want to break. After everything that had happened that day, it was a relief to be with someone she trusted so implicitly, someone she knew would never hurt her, someone who would protect her. It was the fact that Ian had gone back on the one thing he had sworn he would never do again, shifting, just to protect her. That spoke to a connection beyond just the superficial, and Iris was happy to explore it.

She pulled her legs up, resting her feet against him and grinding her body up against his. Waves of pleasure spread from between her legs and out across her entire body, and it felt different than the last time she'd done this, different from all the other times she'd done this. She couldn't put her finger on it for a moment, but then it clicked in her brain, it must have had something to do with him being a shifter. She had never (knowingly, at least) been with a shifter before, but here and now, it felt as if he was extra in-tune with her body, as if he knew exactly where to touch and move and stimulate. He slid his hand down her side, and it was as if his touched fulfilled some long-standing craving within her that she never even realized she had. Is this what she had been missing all along? Falling for a shifter?

She barely had time to contemplate it further before he flipped her on top of him, leaving her staring seductively down into his eyes. She greedily took in his body, she wanted him naked, and she wanted it now. She slipped her hands underneath his t-shirt and pulled it up over his head, it got caught on his chin, somewhat ruining the sexy effect she had been going for, but he just laughed, and quickly threw it aside. She had to suppress the urge to lick her lips when she got a look at his body, it was as good as she had imagined, muscular and strong and toned. She ran a hand across his chest and along his arms, marvelling at the perfection beneath her.
 

She could feel his erection straining against her through her dress, and she reached down to massage him through his jeans-she felt powerful, taking control like that, and couldn't help but smile as she saw the look of pleasure pass over his face. Feeling brave, she slipped her hand into her own panties, surprised by how wet she already was, she guessed that it had been so long that her body wasn't willing to wait another second to get what it wanted.
 

She quickly undid his jeans and slid them down his body, moving her fingers against her pussy as she did so-usually, when she masturbated, it was a quick, perfunctory thing, but here she wanted to savour it, to lose herself in the feeling of her fingers against her clit. Pulling back his boxers, she wrapped her hand around his thick erection, and slowly began to jerk him off. He pulled her dress aside, so he could see her hands at work in her panties, and glanced between her and her busy fingers as his mouth fell slightly open.
 

It wasn't long till she found herself teetering on the edge of an orgasm, it had been a long time since she'd felt turned on, really turned on like this, and she couldn't get enough of it. Even as she tried to stave it off for a few sweet moments longer, the orgasm crested and broke inside her, and she stilled her fingers as she allowed it to wash over her. She sighed softly, a sigh of relief and pleasure and a desire for more, and before she knew it Ian had taken the hand that was in her panties and raised it up to his mouth. Iris could do nothing but stare as he circled his tongue around her fingers, tasting her, licking her, sucking her. She immediately felt desire consume her once again and, before he'd so much as finished with her fingers, quickly straddled him, pulled her panties aside, and began to lower herself down on to him.

"Condom..?" He began, but she shook her head.

"I'm on the pill," she reassured him, unable to elaborate any more than that. She had been on strict birth control ever since condoms had failed her at a rather key point in her life, and she was glad for it at that moment. She was so lost in the flow that she wasn't sure she'd have been able to stop to get one either way.
 

She slowly lowered herself down on to him until he was buried deep inside her. She paused for a moment, taking a long, slow, deep breath and exhaling, before she began to move. He grabbed her, one hand around her waist, one hand on her ass, and propped himself up on his elbows, staring up at her like she was some kind of goddess. She couldn't remember one point in her life when she'd felt more powerful than she did at that moment, with him inside her, spreading her open, her body coaxing him in and desperate for more. She snatched at his hand and guided it to her clit, he quickly obliged, working his index finger expertly against her sensitive nub, and staring up at her as she lost herself to the sensation.
 

He felt so indescribably good, as if he was the perfect fit, as if the two of them were meant to be in some way or another. She rocked up and down against him, circling her hips, dipping on and off of him, pulling out every trick in the book just to see the look on his face with each one. And God, was it satisfying, knowing she was turning him on so much, knowing exactly what he wanted, and knowing how to give it to him. Her heart began to beat faster, but this time, it wasn't danger, it was passion, lust, maybe a little bit of love. She slid down on his full length, enjoying the feeling of him buried deep inside of her, and rocked back and forth urgently, her body begging for some kind of release.
 

And suddenly, it arrived, gentler than the first, but just as powerful, building slowly until it was the only thing she could focus on, her body going limp on top of his. He gripped her hips and trusted into her a few more times, pulling her down on top of him so she could hear his frenzied breath in her ear, and then he came, his cock twitching inside her before he slowly slid it out.
 

The lay next to each other on the bed for a moment, until Iris looked over at him, and started giggling.

"What? What is it?" Ian asked, pulling his jeans back up and trailing a lazy hand along her leg.

"Nothing," she shook her head. "It's just…that was different. I've never done it with one of you before."

"Think you might do it again?" He asked, pulling her on to his chest and stroking down her back. "And that I might be able to get you out of these clothes this time?"

She propped her head up and looked at him, then placed a small kiss on his jaw.

"I might be tempted."
 

Joel

Grizzly Groomsmen V

by

Becca Fanning

Lisa had only felt time stop like this one time before in her entire life. It had been when she was eight, and Tom was ten, they were in the car, their parents arguing in the front seat, when the back wheels had caught on a patch of ice and spun out across the empty road, sending the car careering towards a patch of ancient trees standing only a few feet away. It was late, there was no-one else around, and Lisa remembered staring out at the trees speeding towards her side of the vehicle. She felt calm, strangely, totally calm, feeling as if her breath was coming in long, slow gasps, as her brain desperately tried to come to terms with what was about to happen. As it turned out, the car had drifted to a stop a few feet further down the road, leaving her father cursing in the front seat as he tried to get it restarted. She and Tom had exchanged a look, a long, silent stare in which both of them seemed to acknowledge what had just happened, noting their mutual relief and the fear that was still pulsing through their systems. That was the only other time she could remember anything like the feeling she had at the moment she saw one of the wolves lunge towards her brother.