Pema's Storm: Rowan Sisters' Trilogy Book 1 (10 page)

“We’re going to the back. I don’t want to see your pink parts, or his. Call us if you need help turning him into a toad, sis,” Isis offered then hugged her hard and quick.

“Grab hold of him and don’t let go. You deserve happiness, Pema,” Suvi whispered into her ear before following Isis to the office.

“Yeah, thanks,” she murmured as they stalked to the backroom. She had her back to the door when she heard the wind chime. Her heart began fluttering rapidly like the wings of a hummingbird. That was the sound she had heard the first time he had walked into her life and changed it forever. The sound would forever make her insides melt.

She recalled his woodsy scent, and the way one curl hung over his eye as the sunlight haloed his frame, making her long for completion. She was unprepared for the emotion the memory brought forth. She took a deep breath and steeled her nerves before she turned around.

When she saw him standing in front of her, her breath left her in a whoosh. No male had a right to look so edible. One thick eyebrow rose over his warm, chocolate-brown eyes. He nervously ran a hand through his thick, curly, brown hair. That stubborn curl dropped back down into his eye and she wanted to brush it away, cup his cheeks then kiss his luscious lips.

Her gaze traveled south in a slow perusal. She hadn’t yet allowed herself a good long look at him, and with all she had been through, she figured she deserved it. She was five-foot-nine inches and preferred tall males. Ronan didn’t disappoint. He was six feet of muscled glory.

The image of him surging in and out of her as he caged her beneath him flashed in her mind, making her ache. Her mate mark began burning and her abdomen clenched with need. Nothing in her life compared to the way the mating compulsion forced her to recognize what belonged to her. She couldn’t deny what her body wanted. That didn’t bode well for her willpower or that talk they needed to have. She had questions. Did he still want Claire? How did he feel about their mating? What did they do from here?

Yet, she couldn’t make any of that matter at the moment. He had been in the store for all of ten seconds and she wondered why he wasn’t already inside her. She prayed to the Goddess for strength. Oh right, the Goddess had placed her in this predicament. There’d be no help from that direction.

She caught him checking her out, too, and suddenly, his nostrils flared and he growled low in his throat. No doubt, he had picked up the scent of her arousal. It was thicker than the sandalwood incense. She’d be embarrassed if she wasn’t so busy watching him lick his lips. The sight of his tongue sliding across his full lips had her thinking of what he’d done to her with them the night before. Focusing would be easier if the orgasms he’d given her hadn’t literally transported her to the stars. She wanted more of that, what female wouldn’t?

Everything about him was animalistic and raw. His glowing stare saw straight to her soul. “Do you still want Claire?” she asked, wishing she didn’t sound like a jealous teenager. Tendrils of his arousal, which only enhanced his musky evergreen scent, weakened her resolve and ability to think coherently.

When he didn’t answer but only stared at her, she turned away, needing to break the growing tension. He grabbed her arm and spun her back around. When he wrapped his arms around her waist, she went rigid against his chest. Her heart told her that this was where she belonged, but she wasn’t sure how he felt.

“Why would you even ask me that?” was his response as he licked his lips hungrily.

“We can’t keep doing this.” She wasn’t going to play this game. Of course, that meant she was leaving him to another female and damning herself to a lifetime of pain. Pain, she realized, she could live with. It was the thought of him being with another female that her soul rebelled against…she’d be damned if she allowed that to happen.

“We will be doing this for eternity…
mate
,” he promised and kissed her cheek. Immediately, all thought evaporated as she sought his lips with hers, clawing to get his shirt off. He helped by pulling it over his head and tossed it to the floor. It was like a ravenous beast had taken control over her body.

“Your sweet strawberry scent intensifies with your arousal,” he murmured. “I need your taste in my mouth.”

She cut him off, “Don’t say things like that. You have to leave, we can’t do this,” she mumbled against his neck where she was licking and kissing and nibbling his flesh. She told herself to lift her head and step back, but her hands had a mind of their own and began a leisurely perusal up and down his muscled back. His groans filled her ear as he turned his head and licked the shell of her ear then began sucking on her neck.

She almost cried out when he paused to whisper in her ear. “I’m not leaving. I’m as confused as anyone, but there is no denying how I feel about you. On that subject I am perfectly clear.”

“You are mine and I am yours. There is no one else, our souls can’t deny that truth,” Ronan swore. Pema’s heart raced from panic and fear as much as it did from arousal. It was like her brain had decided to take a vacation and allow her traitorous body to run the show for the time being. Helpless, she leaned into him as he ran his hand down the curve of her breast, teasing her.

“And, I plan to bury my cock so deep inside you that we don’t know where I end and you begin,” he rumbled as he ran his hot tongue up her neck.

“Goddess, help me…” Pema never finished her plea. Ronan crushed his mouth over hers, with a kiss that was so hot and forceful that she was entirely at his mercy. He took control, owning her in a way she’d never experienced. It was forceful and demanding with a clash of teeth and tongues, and it thrilled her like nothing else. Her reservations flew out the proverbial window as she gave in, moaning her pleasure, kissing him back. She ran her fingertips along his bare back and sank her fingernails into his flesh.

The sensation of his soul wrapping around hers echoed the way his body encompassed hers, stealing her breath. Through their connection, she felt the bear prowling beneath his skin and it was erotic as hell. She had never had a male come so unhinged over her, and it emboldened her actions.

Without conscious thought, she ground her hips against his erection, bringing his animal even closer to the surface. She wanted to connect with the bear as well, and to do that, she needed to feel him right under his skin. Most shifters buried their animal deep inside while they had sex, for safety reasons. An out of control shifter was dangerous and unpredictable. She didn’t want his bear in any corner; she wanted him right under her touch.

She pulled back and saw his eyes clearly this time, they were glowing a brilliant cognac, heavy with lust. Pema arched her back, pressing her body against his hairy chest. He ran his hand down the side of her throat and bare shoulders. His fingers slid into the top of her peasant blouse and slowly pushed it down, revealing her to his gaze.

Her nipples tightened under his scrutiny, a silent plea for attention. She pressed back against him needing the contact, the friction. Each breath she took made her breasts heave, rubbing her nipples tantalizingly against his skin. It caused a flood of wetness to seep from her core. Her craving was intense and undeniable and he had barely touched her.

There was no way she could have been prepared for how intimacy was between mates.

He pulled back and stared at her in shameless hunger. His eyes told her that he wanted her and only her. She loved how her body captivated this male. His fingers danced from her shoulders to her pebbled tips, then pinched and pulled, elongating them further. “Goddess, that feels so good, Ronan. So damn good, it has to be a sin.”

“Not a sin, love. Right,” he declared and sucked her nipple into his mouth. He was working her flesh like a violin and she loved it. Pema grabbed at his pants and fumbled with the zipper.

He kissed his way to her other breast and pushed her long flowing skirt down over her hips. Her body was on a triple-loop rollercoaster as he skimmed his fingers under the edge of her silk panties. Yes, she silently pleaded. She had been aching for him for two days, and last night hadn’t been enough.

She shimmied and the fabric fell to the floor. A bright light blinded her momentarily, reminding her they were in her shop in front of a large picture window. She looked around in a sensual daze, searching for a private place and spotted a fabric chair off to the side. She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward it as she lowered his zipper, freeing his erection, making her mouth water.

Right now, she wanted this male, regardless of anything else. She shoved aside his pants, to fully embrace everything Ronan had to give her. She placed the hand he was teasing her with between her legs. “Feel what you do to me. How hot and wet you make me. It’s like that from one glance. I need you…now.” He stroked her and the moan that escaped her was deep and throaty.

She reached down and palmed his long, thick cock. “Harder,” he demanded. “Squeeze it. Stroke it.” His head fell back and he groaned, pumping himself into her hand. Her free hand reached under his shaft and cupped his balls. A firm squeeze had his head snapping forward. He growled as she ran her thumb along the slick slit and increased her rhythm. He impatiently pulled her hands off him and picked her up.

She squealed when he lowered her down onto his cock. The hot wet slide of her flesh over his shaft brought her tantalizingly close to climax. It was nothing for her strong mate to stand there holding her with his cock buried to the hilt inside her core. He nestled his head in the crook of her neck and stood still. Given his labored breathing, she guessed he was trying to regain control of himself.

“Chair…fast,” she pointed to the corner. “Goddess help us, but if you don’t move soon I may die,” she mumbled as her pussy clenched and unclenched around him while he walked to the chair.

“Yes,” she hissed out, the motion driving her over the edge as she cried out from her climax.

“That’s it, come hard for me, baby,” he replied, licking her nipple as he sank down into the chair, keeping his cock seated inside her.

*****

Ronan was inside his mate and she had just come on his aching cock. The hot slide in and out of her sweet pussy brought him unimaginable pleasure. He wanted to remain buried inside this perfect female for days. He had been afraid and confused after they had been together. He’d had a carefully laid out plan to win Claire back, but all that changed after he discovered she had poisoned Pema. And, then he learned Pema was his Fated Mate.

He refused to hold onto the past and was determined to be with Pema. He’d been given the gift of his Fated Mate and didn’t plan on squandering it. He hated that his previous relationship with Claire was placing walls between them. He planned on tearing them down brick by brick because every moment he spent with Pema made him fall for her even more. He wanted to claim his mate and all that entailed.

He wrapped his arms around Pema as his protective instinct took hold. No one would harm her ever again. He would die before he let that happen. In the meantime, his hands slid down and gripped her ass, moving her up and down. His pace was slow, but when she gasped and dug her nails into the flesh of his back, he increased his pace, pounding into her. Her channel rippled around him, and that fast, she was close again.

She may deny what was happening between them, but her response gave him hope for the future. She was as affected by him as he was by her. She threw her head back and took control, riding him hard. He leaned down and sucked her nipple as he reached between their bodies and found her clit. He gave it a pinch and she came with a rush, screaming his name.
His name
. He wanted to pound his chest in triumph.

He closed his eyes. Nothing existed in that moment but them. As the hot wash of Pema’s climax drowned his cock, Ronan knew the true feeling of love and family. His teeth elongated into his bear’s fangs, and for the first time, he realized the true pain of needing to claim his mate.

He gritted his teeth against the desire. She would never forgive him if he proceeded with the mating and took her blood. His arm was on fire, but none of it diminished his pleasure and was easily pushed aside. They didn’t belong in that moment. They would complete the mating soon, he told himself.

He watched his cock disappear deeper into the slick haven between her legs. He caressed her ass cheeks and slid his finger into the crevasse. He reached her core and coated his finger in her moisture. He wasn’t going to begin the blood exchange like his body demanded, but did he dare give into his animal and claim her dark passage? She went wild, bucking when his finger teased her backside and slowly entered the tight opening. He worked her clit with one hand and finger-fucked her ass with the other while he sucked her breast and thrust into her.

His spine tingled and his seed surged into his shaft. The middle of his cock filled with blood and the mating knot became engorged, locking him to his mate. The mating knot enhanced his pleasure to an unbelievable level. “Someday, Pema, I will have all of you,” he vowed, his breath coming in pants now. He pistoned in and out of her as much as the knot allowed.