Roaring Up the Wrong Tree Read online

  Women wanted him, but he wanted her to want him. The flare of pleasure in her gaze told him that she was more than content with what she saw.

  “C’mon, Tris. Lemme make you mine.”

  “Please.”

  *

  Trista begged. Plain and simple, she begged. He was gorgeous, all cut muscles and smooth skin. His body rippled with every movement, with every contraction and release as he stepped out of his flip-flops and jeans. He helped her do the same, pausing to lick and press his lips to her skin. He growled and moaned, tasting his way down her legs and then back up as he assisted her. One particularly long, sweet kiss to her mound had her whimpering as her knees went weak.

  Later. Later she’d beg him to lick and taste her there, beg for that pleasure. For now, they needed to heal, needed to repair the damage life had wrought and come together as mates.

  Slowly he retraced his path with his lips, moving beyond her pussy and over her hips. He paused, flicking first one nipple and then the other, with his tongue. A bolt of pleasure zipped through her and she gasped. She wanted more of that, more of everything.

  His lips continued higher, pressing against her collarbone, ghosting over her neck, and then finally settling over her lips. His kisses were like wine, sweet and drugging. Over the days she’d come to love each one they shared.

  Standing now, his full length brushed her hip. He was aroused and on edge… because of her. Plump, sometimes plain, Trista. She rejoiced in his attraction and desire, internally dancing because her need was returned.

  Finally he pulled his mouth away and stared down at her with midnight eyes. His breathing came in heavy pants as he fought for air. No, he wasn’t unaffected at all.

  “C’mon.” She snagged his hand and tugged. She took a step into the cool water, toes curling, and winced when the ball of her foot connected with a sharp rock.

  Before she could even voice her pain with a low “ouch,” Keen swung her up into his arms. She released a high-pitched squeak at the sudden move while he just chuckled and shook his head.

  “I’ve got you. Trust, remember?” His voice was a deep, bone-melting purr.

  “I remember.” She twined her arms around his neck. “How far out are we going?”

  “Deep enough for water to cover you. I shouldn’t have let you strip on the beach.” He growled, flashing his teeth. “I don’t want anyone looking at you.”

  “So, you like me a little bit?” She grinned and he narrowed his eyes.

  “More than a little.”

  Leaning forward, she rubbed their noses together. “I like you more than a little, too. Now, why don’t you show me?”

  With a snarl that didn’t scare her in the least, he increased his pace, striding further into the water until it met his chest. That meant there was no way her toes would touch the bottom.

  “Keen,” she murmured and he smiled.

  “I won’t let you drown. You’re too important to me.” His eyes caressed her. “Trust me. Just a little. I won’t let anything happen to you.”

  Trista released her deathly hold and cupped his cheek. “I do. I wouldn’t mate with you if I didn’t.”

  “Good.” He brushed his mouth across hers as he relaxed his hold, moved her body as he desired and then her legs wrapped around his waist.

  His long, thick hardness was nestled against her pussy, the cool water of the lake doing nothing to diminish her heated need for him. He cupped her ass, his large hands covering her globes as he kneaded and squeezed her flesh. Each press transferring sensation to her center, arousing her further.

  Then he… Trista shuddered as he lifted and then lowered her in a gentle rise and fall. His length stroked her clit, nudged her hole, and then repeated the process. Shards of bliss assaulted her, forcing gasp after gasp to pass her lips.

  “Keen.”

  “I’ve got you,” he grunted. “Take what you need.”

  She squeezed his shoulders, fingernails digging into his flesh, but he didn’t seem to care. No, he was intent on her, entirely focused, which only served to increase her desperation.

  How much time passed? Seconds? Minutes? She had no idea and didn’t really care. Not when wave after wave of joy filled her veins and consumed her. Her pussy clenched and quietly begged to be filled while her clit rejoiced in the spears of lightning his touch created.

  But, but, but… she needed more, needed him.

  “Keen.”

  “What do you need, Tris?” he grunted, his face tightening further and further with every slip and slide.

  “You, only you.” She gasped and arched, depending on him to keep her from floating away. And he did. He tightened his hold, shifting one arm to brace her back, but still her pace didn’t slow.

  Then his hold changed, his grip tightened, her body was raised… Keen brought her down on his cock, his thick length filling her in one thrust and a scream tore from her throat. Not one of pain, never of pain with Keen, but one of pure undiluted pleasure. His dick stroked her inner walls, ignited nerve endings that’d lain dormant and sent a rolling wave of ecstasy through her.

  With the rapid penetration, she arched her back and stared at the sky, the sensations of his possession overwhelming her. The hand between her shoulders moved to wrap around the back of her neck. Gentle pressure had her attention dropping to focus on Keen, on his black eyes and the brown fur that lined his cheeks.

  “Oh, Keen…” She mirrored his hold, pressing one palm to his neck while the other cupped his cheek. They remained frozen, stares locked as he encouraged her to ride his cock.

  She catalogued his expressions, each emotion that flitted across his face. One after another battled for supremacy, but she latched onto the one that so closely mirrored her own. One that hinted of love even if the feelings hadn’t settled into the lasting emotion.

  Its presence encouraged her and she let her body fall into the whirlwind of sensations his shaft gifted her.

  Each glide up stroked her while each fall had her clit nestling against him. The pleasure pinged through her, lighting her blood on fire.

  “Yes. Yes…”

  He grunted and snarled, flashing a slowly elongating fang. Yes, the bear was with them as they sought their mating. She wouldn’t have it any other way.

  The next rise was slower, slower than any others, but her descent was anything but. It was a fierce, rapid tug that tore another scream from her throat as pleasure fell upon her in a tumble of bliss. “Yes.”

  He did it again, slow ascension and fierce descent.

  “Yes.”

  Again.

  “Yes.”

  And again.

  “Yes.”

  Trista was going out of her mind, lost in the pleasure and need, but she wanted more and more and more.

  No matter his rough pulls and jagged pushes, she craved more of him. And she wasn’t afraid to beg.

  “Please.”

  He opened his mouth wide, saliva dripping from his bear’s fangs. In a threat? Was he trying to scare her away from the beast? That wasn’t going to happen. Ever.

  “Please.”

  *

  Keen couldn’t resist the temptation she presented. She was slick skin and plump seduction and he wanted more of her, he wanted everything.

  This connection, this meeting of bodies, wasn’t enough for him, not nearly enough. He needed them tied together tighter than anything before.

  Which made him sound like a stalker, like he was crazed, but he didn’t care. Not when it came to Trista.

  Her pussy milked his shaft, squeezing him in rhythmic tightening that seemed to beckon his release. But he held off by sheer force of will. He wanted her to come with him, to scream as he sank his teeth into her shoulder and mated her. He wished she could do the same to him, bite him and claim him just as he claimed her.

  Then she smiled at him, gasping and whimpering while he continued to slide her along his shaft, and he didn’t give a damn about who bit whom and when.

  “Will you
come with me?” He hardly recognized his own voice, the bear having pushed forward so hard that the human had ceded some control. The bear had endured his half-life just as much as the man. They should both claim the female who would live at their sides until the day they died.

  “Yes,” she gasped as he yanked harder, slammed her down on his dick. “Oh God, yes.”

  He did it again, loving how she rippled around him, how her eyes darkened and the way pleasure transformed her face from beautiful to luminous. He didn’t think he deserved her, but he’d take her anyway.

  “I’m gonna…” A low mewl escaped her throat.

  Keen didn’t slow, didn’t alter his pace or the strength of his movements. Not when she was so near the edge. He didn’t want her pleasure to float out of reach, not when her glazed eyes shone with the promise of ecstasy.

  His own body reacted to her responses, his balls hard and tight against him while his cock twitched and throbbed inside her sheath. Yes, he wanted to come, to fill her as he sank his teeth into her flesh.

  Soon. Soon. Soon.

  As her gasps and moans increased in volume, as her chest heaved even harder, her release neared. He fed off her pleasure, drank her desire, and allowed her enjoyment to drag him in her wake.

  She opened her mouth, fighting for air, and flashed her teeth. She licked the blunted white fangs that filled her mouth. Without an animal, they weren’t sharp and fierce like his, yet he still wanted them in his flesh.

  “I want you to be mine,” he snarled, his bear taking over as he squeezed the back of her neck. “Mine.” The aggression he normally carried was directed at her, but instead of anger and rage, it was pure need and desire that spurred his animal into action. “Belong to me.”

  He opened his mouth wide, exposing his fangs fully, and she didn’t shy from the threat. No, she released him long enough to brush her hair aside as she tilted her head. His goal was exposed, pale and glistening beneath the bright warmth of the sun and the coolness of the wind.

  “Yes.” She licked her lips. “Now.” Her grip tightened, spears of pain adding to the bear’s thirst for her.

  The first scream from her throat, filled with pleasure and need, had him striking. He sank his teeth deep into her, savoring the sweet flow of her blood over his tongue. His cock pulsed, reacted to the sudden tightening of her pussy, and then she cried out again as she came. Keen’s body overrode his desires then as pure bliss consumed him. The coppery heat of her blood filled his mouth while his release overtook his control.

  Ecstasy like he’d never known overwhelmed him, stole all thought from his mind until he was nothing but pure animal emotion.

  Suddenly, pain seared his shoulder—harsher than the sting of Trista’s nails— and it added to the bliss of his orgasm. It forced his body to continue shuddering with the joy. His bear rejoiced, seeming to know something Keen’s human mind did not, but he couldn’t focus on the animal’s happiness. Not when he filled his mate, not when he’d finally, truly made her his mate.

  Mate. Mate. Mate.

  Trista’s tremors finally slowed to shadowy shudders and then she lay heavily against him, giving him her weight. Trust. Something they hadn’t had and now they did. Maybe not entirely, but more than she’d shown others. And he’d take what he could get.

  Gently, he slid his fangs free of her shoulder, softly licking and kissing her abused flesh. It was purple and bruised, blood welling to the wound and escaping her flesh. He hated that he’d hurt her, but he was thrilled that it was done.

  A stinging ache scratched at his shoulder and he turned his head enough to spy Trista in his periphery. To spy her licking a wound that now marred his own shoulder. It wasn’t as deep and damaging as the one he’d caused, but it was hers. Hers.

  She gave him one last lap and then met his gaze, blood still staining her lips. Her eyes seemed more copper than gold, as if her animal had pushed forward as hard as it could in order to join their mating.

  Trista’s irises flashed even brighter, and her voice was hoarse and raspy when she spoke. “Mine.”

  Keen captured her lips, tongues tangling, teeth colliding as they kissed. He tasted his own blood on her tongue and remembering how it’d gotten there had his cock twitching and fighting to come back to life.

  For the first time in his battered and unsteady life, his bear was at peace, damn near happy. It sighed in contentment, relaxed now that she was theirs and they belonged to her. He moaned against her mouth, holding her tighter, wanting to consume her with his need. His. His. His.

  Trista tore her mouth from his and bracketed his face with her hands. Her gaze was still coppery tinged, but it was intent on him. “You’re mine now. I didn’t think…”

  He hadn’t either, and the bear was damned pleased. “And you’re mine.”

  Tears sprung to her eyes and he was quick to kiss them away. “Hush.”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t think I’d ever— And you’re—” She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face against his shoulder. “I didn’t think I’d ever feel safe.”

  His heart broke for her, shattered there on the rocks of Grayslake, as he thought about the fear and worry she’d lived with her entire life. “I won’t ever let anything happen to you, Tris. Ever.”

  She nodded and with a final shudder, stilled in his arms. He welcomed the weight of her, the feel of her curves against his body, and the thought that someday she’d be full and her stomach stretched by their cub.

  Much like… the very pregnant woman on the shore not fifty feet from them.

  Mia shaded her eyes with the flat of her hand while waving at them with the other. “Are you two done? Even better, do you know how unsanitary that is? I mean”—the Itana shuddered—“really icky.”

  Trista squeaked, Keen snarled, and Mia just laughed. If she hadn’t had some weird, uncanny ability to know when someone cursed inside their head he would have said something. Instead, he settled for gritting his teeth and glaring at her for ruining his mating. His mate—mate—trembled in his arms and then he truly was tempted to tell the Itana what he thought. But then Tris raised her head and he looked into mirth-filled eyes and she flashed him a wide, blinding smile.

  That saved the Itana, but he still wanted to hit something.

  The rustle and snap of branches reached him, the sounds so loud they overrode the giggles from Trista. “Who else is out there, Mia?”

  Mia sighed and rolled her eyes before turning toward the tree line. “You might as well come out. Hiding will just get his dander up and then where will we be?”

  A glaring Ty emerged from the forest, followed closely by Keen’s—he sighed—father.

  “Have everyone turn their backs.” He nearly growled when Ty rolled his eyes, but that snarl turned into a chuckle when his dad whacked his brother in the back of his head. That was immediately followed by a muffled “language” from Mia.

  But the moment they averted their gaze, he changed his grip on Trista. “I’m sorry we had to cut this short.”

  She nuzzled his neck, pressing a kiss to his skin and then licking his flesh with a soft moan. “We have the rest of our lives. This was… perfect.”

  Water sluiced from their bodies, doing exactly what Trista had predicted; it washed away the pain he held. The guilt remained, it probably always would, but the agony that tormented his bear was soothed by the lake… and Trista.

  Dressing took little time, their clothes stuck to their wet skin, but they managed to pull everything on. Once done, he focused on his father. Not his Itan—or even his Itana—his father.

  “Dad.” The word was a croak so Keen coughed and swallowed, trying again. “Dad.”

  His father looked to him, hope accompanying his raised eyebrows. “Yes?”

  Keen focused on the mouth of the cave and then turned his attention to Trista, seeing his emotions mirrored in her gaze. Without looking away, he spoke again. It was time to lay the past to rest and move on from this moment. It was a blank slate and he
welcomed it with open arms.

  “I’d like someone to clean the cave.”

  Ty’s words were right on the heels of Keen’s “The cave? What about the—”

  Another smack cut off his eldest brother and Keen smiled, imagining Ty rubbing the back of his head. Trista’s smile was just as wide and just as warm as his own.

  Yes, it was time.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Trista hadn’t even thought that the Itan and Itana along with Keen’s father would come looking for them for a reason. It just… hadn’t registered that there was a purpose or a goal to their search.

  Unfortunately, the reason became blatantly clear the moment Keen drew the SUV to a stop before the clan house. Cars littered the graveled driveway, all lined in a pretty row off to one side. A sense of foreboding fluttered in her stomach and a hint of unease snaked down her spine.

  Her mate reached for her, his hand grasping hers and giving her a soft squeeze. “We’ll be fine.”

  “You don’t know that. We really should have listened to Ty.”

  “I couldn’t stand around and hear what Ty had to say.”

  Trista could understand Keen’s feelings after what they’d shared, the events of the last few days, and she could empathize with her mate. “Okay. And we didn’t hear out your dad because…”

  He didn’t answer and instead released her and climbed from the SUV, narrowing his eyes at her before he slammed the door shut. If she wasn’t so nervous, she’d smile over the fact that they were having their first mini-tiff.

  She waited for him to come around to her side of the vehicle and allowed him to help her down. Her shoulder stung, aching from Keen’s bite, but there wasn’t much to be done now. It’d heal at its own pace. At least she had her half-shifter abilities to hasten the process.

  Just after he pushed the door shut, she reached for him. She managed to tug him close and wrap her arms around his waist before he could stride away. “Keen?”

  He grunted, much like his father. She wondered if he realized they were very much alike.

  “No matter what, I’m not leaving you. I…” She looked at the house, watching Mia, Ty, and his father George file inside. “They came looking for you, for us, and no matter what waits for me and you, you need to remember I’m yours and you’re mine.”