And then his hands pulled my legs apart, and he pressed his mouth to my pussy.
I cried out, fists clenching at my sides.
He jerked away as if scalded. His anxious gaze met mine. “‘Lina? Too much?”
“No,” I sobbed, and my hand went to the top of his head and I shoved him back down again. “It’s good. Keep going!” God, I didn’t want him to stop. That had been the best thing I’d ever felt.
“Jesus, you scared me, screaming like that.”
“I’ll be quiet,” I told him, and obligingly bit down on one knuckle. If I had to be quiet to get him to put his tongue there again, I’d shut up even if it killed me.
He bent over me again, pushing my thighs over his shoulders until they were cradling his head, and he knelt between my legs. I watched, fascinated and trembling, as his mouth descended onto my pale blonde curls again, and then I felt his tongue slick between the lips of my pussy again.
And then it swiped over my clit.
My entire body jumped, and I groaned, biting down on my knuckle. Must be quiet. Must be quiet.
“Ah, damn, that’s so good,” he murmured, and I felt his tongue flick over my folds again. “I can’t get enough of you.” His mouth pressed to the top of my pussy, and I felt his tongue push against my clit, rolling it against his teeth like he had my nipples.
I bit down harder on my knuckle, keeping back the cries that threatened to spill out again. My thighs trembled in response, my body alive and aching with desire at his touches.
He continued to tongue at my clit, fascinated at playing with the small bud of flesh and the way I jumped in response. I felt his thumb press against my core, and then he began to move it in and out, even as his tongue rolled against my clit in teasing circles.
I bit so hard that the coppery tang of blood filled my mouth. My cheeks were moving like bellows as I struggled to breathe and retain control, but I was slipping close to the edge. I didn’t want to, though; I didn’t want him to stop.
It felt way too good for him to ever stop.
His hand reached up and dragged my hand out of my mouth. “Don’t hurt yourself, ‘Lina. If you need to cry out, I want to hear it.” And then his mouth descended again.
I screamed as the orgasm shattered through me again, as hard and violent as the one I’d had just a short time ago. As the pleasure spiraled through me, my thighs clenched against his shoulders, and I could feel my pussy clamping down on his thumb, trying desperately to milk it.
Then, I was left panting, the ache between my legs intensifying. I’d had an orgasm, but the heat demanded more. “Leif—“
That was all I needed to say. Leif surged forward, covering me again, and my legs remained trapped over his shoulders, my calves resting there as he leaned forward, pushing deep into me again, my body bowed like a V under him, my legs in the air.
I cried out again at the feel of him, seated deep inside me.
“Tell me if I’m hurting you,” Leif growled, and the feral edge was back in his throat. Oh, that just made me all the more aroused.
I bucked my hips in response. “More, damn you. More.”
He groaned, and then began to pump furiously into me, pushing forward. I was trapped under him, my legs in the air as he fucked me. There was no tenderness or carefulness with this second round; it was pure need and adrenaline. I screamed my pleasure every time he thrust deep, and with the angle we were at, he was so deep inside me that I felt impaled against him.
I’d never felt anything better. I clawed at the floors, the blankets, trying to find a way to anchor myself against his wild, frantic pumping that was driving me across the flooring. God, I loved it.
Then I was coming again, the force of it hitting me like a freight train. I screamed once more, the pleasure shooting through me like stars in the midnight sky, bursts of light flooding behind my eyes. Every muscle in my body responded, clenching and tensing as I came, and Leif’s movements grew more savage as he worked fiercely toward his own orgasm.
And then he came with a roar of my name that had been almost as loud as my own scream. I felt the flood of his come inside me once more and then he stilled, my hips pinned to his as he filled me.
This time, I didn’t miss the flash of possessiveness in his blue eyes. Were all males like this when they claimed a mate?
He groaned as he came down from his own orgasm, and slowly let my legs down before sliding down to rest his weight atop of me. He burrowed against my neck, and I felt his mouth lick at the mate mark he’d left on my skin, as if renewing his claim.
I clung to him, exhausted and pleased. “Thank you,” I murmured against his skin.
A soft chuckle escaped his throat. “Why are you thanking me?”
“Because that was…really good,” I said, feeling a bit shy. How could I possibly describe to him I think a supernova burst behind my eyes, I came so hard?
He lifted his head and grinned down at me, then pulled my hand to him, studying where I’d bit down and broken the skin. Then, he gave me a reproachful look. “You’re noisy when you come.”
“Excuse me,” I huffed. “I wasn’t exactly paying attention to what kind of noises I was making.”
Leif grinned. “I don’t mind. I’m just thinking the penguins are probably scared.”
I smacked his shoulder. “That’s not funny.”
He only kissed the marks on my fingers, but he was smiling his pleasure.
We had sex at least five more times that day, though after a while, the sessions began to run together. The heat was relentless. Every time I thought I couldn’t take any more, that familiar itching need would return and I’d touch Leif to let him know I needed more. He was always ready for another round. He couldn’t get enough of me either, and I liked that, liked the possessive flash in his eyes when I screamed out his name at my climax.
Eventually, we fell into an exhausted slumber that even the heat couldn’t disturb, and when I woke up the next morning, the fire in the fireplace was out, snow had risen to the ceiling in the small corner of the cabin where the roof had caved in, and the floor was freezing cold.
I was also sore in every muscle, and feeling a bit raw and abused between my legs.
But happy. I was so, so happy. So content.
Things had worked out beautifully. I had Leif, I’d had my heat, and inside me, our child was growing. I’d gone from having nothing overnight to having everything.
It snowed and stormed for three days straight. That suited me just fine, because it meant we were trapped in our cabin together. We had food in the form of protein bars, some firewood, and mostly we just snuggled under the blankets and let our shifter metabolism do the hard work of keeping us warm. When nights got too cold, we shifted into bear form and cuddled together. Every time Leif shifted, I was a little afraid that he’d up and leave, letting the animal take over his brain again. But he’d only nose me and protectively herd me into the warmest corner of the rickety cabin, and then curl up next to me.
It was as if we’d truly mated.
The days in the cabin were my favorites, of course. In human form, we’d frolic in bed, explore each other for hours, and just talk. I tried to fill Leif in on everything that had gone on for the past sixteen years, from advances in the internet to politics to which bear shifters recently married and had children. As I talked, Leif borrowed my knife and carved small things in wood, keeping his hands busy. I’d watch, fascinated, as the curve of a woman’s hip came to life under the blade, and I wanted to keep all the carvings he made. They were all beautiful. But Leif would only laugh, claim that he was rusty, and toss them into the fire.