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  Slowly, Alana turned in his arms. She dared a look up at him, but his eyes were averted. There was a soft rumbling sound in his chest, so she pressed her palm there. “Look at me.”

  Aaron grimaced, but let her see him. Green-gold eyes in a man’s face would’ve been terrifying before she met Aaron. Now, they were just beautiful. She cupped his cheek, her palm resting on the short blond scruff there. “You don’t have to hide from me.”

  He looked at the scar on her lip, but just as she grew self-conscious, she noticed a difference in his growl. It was softer. Content sounding, somehow. Maybe he wasn’t looking at her scar like everyone else did. Maybe he only saw her lips.

  Aaron dragged her waist against his and lowered his mouth to hers. His kiss was gentle, moving against hers easily. He seemed calm and steady, but inside of her, a fire had started in her middle and was expanding cell-by-cell outward. She slid her arms around his neck and parted her lips slightly for him. When Aaron brushed his tongue against hers, he tasted divine.

  Suddenly, everything felt right and warm. Aaron pulled her purse off her shoulder and eased them backward toward the couch. The second the backs of his knees hit the edge, he lowered them down, holding her legs apart so she straddled his lap. Angling his head the other way, he pushed his tongue farther into her mouth, drawing a small gasp of happiness from her.

  In an instant, he disconnected with a soft smack. “Are you okay?” he murmured in that deep velvet voice of his.

  She smiled and nipped him. Easing back, she admitted in a shaky voice, “I’m better than okay. That was amazing.”

  Aaron donned a proud rooster grin. Cocky man. She hated that on anyone else, but on Aaron, there was something so sexy about it. He should be confident. He was the most stunning man she’d ever seen in her life. Feeling daring, she slipped her fingertips under the hem of his navy fire shirt and brushed his skin right over his hip.

  Aaron closed his eyes for a moment and blew out a soft moan. God, she loved his reaction to her touch. Leaning forward, Aaron tugged his shirt off in one smooth motion, then pulled her hands toward him until her palms rested on his chest.

  “Your skin is so warm,” she mused.

  “I run hot.”

  “I’m running hot right now, too,” she said with a wicked smirk.

  His smile lines deepened with that naughty grin of his. “I knew you were a bad girl.”

  “You stop it.” She settled farther up his lap, directly over his erection, and ran her hands down his hard pecs to the rippling mounds of his abs. His muscles twitched under her hand. There was a slight trail of blond hair that led in a delicious tease from his belly button into his pants and, about now, her panties were definitely soaking. She’d never been so attracted to a man before, and Aaron was a man. A big, brawny, snarly, half-feral bear shifter who settled when she touched him.

  Aaron brushed one of her curls off her shoulder and cupped her neck, then eased her closer. This kiss wasn’t the gentle one that his first had been. This was lips colliding urgently. It was leaning back against the couch and pulling her with him until her soft breasts were flush against his hard chest. Her body took over, or perhaps it was her instinct to be closer to him. Alana rocked her hips slowly onto his, and he groaned a sexy sound deep in his throat. She could feel the thick roll of his shaft underneath her, but it wasn’t nearly close enough. She’d never wanted a man like this. Had never felt such an acute desperation to be locked up in intimacy. It was as if she couldn’t draw an easy breath until she touched his skin.

  His hands were everywhere—her back, her upper thighs, her waist—exploring, squeezing, rubbing. Aaron was setting her body on fire, touch by touch, as though he knew just how to bring her closer to the edge.

  She was rocking against him rhythmically now, the friction of their hips feeling so good. Almost too late, she froze.

  Aaron’s response was instant. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m close…”

  He grazed his teeth on her bottom lip and whispered, “Come on me.” And then he pulled her hard against his body and rolled his hips against her smoothly and, dear goodness, this was happening. He was going to give her an orgasm with her pants on!

  His rocking motion came harder and faster, and she buried her face against his neck, biting down on his skin as a snarl rippled out of him. So sexy, so perfect. Nothing had ever felt like this. Aaron gripped the back of her head, and she released his skin and whispered his name as her climax exploded through her body. Deep, throbbing ecstasy pounded in her middle as she bucked against him and clawed at his shoulders. And before her aftershocks were through, Aaron had settled her on her back and lowered himself between the cradle of her hips. As he kissed her, he stroked against her until she was sated. The snap of his button and the rip of his zipper was loud in the quiet of the room. Without a word, Aaron eased upward, his arm locked beside her head, and he unsheathed his long, thick erection.

  “I’m close, too,” he whispered as he pulled the first stroke, and damn, Alana couldn’t pull her gaze away from the swollen head of his cock. She’d never watched a man do this to himself before, but her body was revving up again.

  His abs flexed with every stroke, his arms were hard, his tattoos stark, and Alana wanted nothing more than to feel his warm seed spill onto her skin.

  Desperately, she unbuttoned her blouse and pulled it open.

  “Fuck, you’re so beautiful,” Aaron rasped out, his eyes blazing so bright. “Ah,” he grunted, his eyes on her breasts. He shot creamy warmth onto her stomach, reared back, and pushed into his hand again. Over and over, he pumped until he was empty. His stomach muscles twitched as he locked his arms on either side of her face and lowered his forehead to hers. He sighed and sipped at her lips, and when she rolled her hips toward him, he smiled against her mouth. Without her having to ask, he unsnapped her jeans and slid his palm into her panties.

  “You’re so wet,” he murmured. Was that pride in his voice? Cocky.

  “Aaron, please,” she begged, rocking her hips against his palm when he pushed his fingers down her wet folds. He brushed her sensitive nub, and now she was panting for more.

  Aaron pushed two fingers into her slowly, and Alana was gone. She let off a needy sound and arched her back against the couch, desperate to be closer to him. Desperate for release under his clever touch. He filled her again and again, faster and smoother until she cupped her hand over his and clutched onto his arm with her other. “Aaron, Aaron,” she chanted mindlessly as he drove her closer to climax. So much pressure. So much pleasure with every stroke, and how could anything feel this good?

  She dug her nails into his arm, and his growl was unexpected. He lowered his mouth to her shoulder and clamped his teeth on her, almost deep enough to break the skin. Pleasure and pain, pleasure and pain, and oh! Her body shattered around his fingers, gripping him with each pulse of her release.

  Aaron’s teeth bit down harder, but it was too much. “Ouch.”

  Her man’s response to that tiny, pained sound was instant. With a muttered, “Shit,” he pulled away from her so fast he was on the other side of the room before she even registered that he’d moved.

  He paced the back wall like a caged animal, his eyes blazing, his chest heaving, his cheeks flushed, and his bared teeth looking sharper than she remembered. The sound that emanated from him now drew gooseflesh up across her arms.

  “It’s okay. It’s okay,” she told him, but really, she didn’t know what was happening.

  “I almost bit you. I almost Turned you, Alana! It’s not okay!” He paced back along the wall and grabbed his hair like he wanted to scream. “We didn’t even have sex, and I wanted to bite you. I was careful, and my bear still wants to mark you. I can’t do this. I have to go.” He eyed his shirt on the floor beside her, but shook his head and bolted out of her house shirtless instead. “I’m sorry,” he choked out right before the slamming of the door.

  Alana sat on her couch completely stunned and rubbed her a
ching shoulder. She could feel the indentations of Aaron’s teeth in her skin, and how terrifying that just millimeters deeper, and she would be Changing right now. Changing into a grizzly bear, like Aaron. She hadn’t thought about claiming marks. Sure, she’d known about them, known about the shifters’ instincts to mark their mates, but it hadn’t even crossed her mind as she’d fallen for Aaron. He’d taken up too much headspace. Maybe he was right. Maybe she was just as dangerous to him as he was to her because whatever was happening between them was bringing out Aaron’s feral side.

  I’m going to be the one to hurt you.

  She hadn’t really understood his fear until now. A bite would change the course of her entire life and bind her to him completely. It would take away her plans for her future, but even scarier, it would take away her humanity.

  This growing obsession between her and Aaron had the potential to burn them both up.

  Chapter Nine

  Coward! Aaron hit the throttle on the straightaway, then slowed for the turn-in to Harper’s Mountains. He sprayed gravel as he took the corner too fast, but fuck it. He evened out again and blasted up the dirt road, through the open gate, and right past 1010. He flipped off the raven flying above him, then slammed on the brakes in front of his cabin.

  Weston Novak stretched his wings wide, shifted gracefully into his human form, jogged a few steps on impact, and skidded to a stop beside Aaron. His eyes blazed with fury. “I fucking told you!”

  “Back off!” Aaron shoved past him and escaped into his cabin, slamming the door behind him. Or at least he thought he escaped, but the door creaked open immediately and Aaron reminded himself to replace the broken lock the second he had a chance.

  “Two dreams, and it’s not like I kept them to myself, Aaron!” Weston’s eyes were the color of rich earth, proof that he hadn’t managed to tuck his raven away completely. “You think I like this, Aaron? It fucking sucks!”

  Aaron had been pacing the kitchen, hoping Weston would wear himself out, but nope. The Novak Raven was awesome at stripping people down.

  “I want to go back to normal and not think about shit I can’t control, but I can’t. I hit the genetic tar-hole, and now I can’t stop seeing that woman’s face. This is your fuckin’ fault.”

  “I’ve been trying to stay away from her—”

  “Not hard enough. Two dreams, and this morning I had a vision in fucking broad daylight, Aaron. You’re making this worse. Her face with your color eyes, and this time she was crying, man. Tears streaming down both cheeks, looking completely terrified. You’re going to Turn her against her will and ruin her entire life. Leave her alone!”

  “You don’t’ understand, Wes. You don’t. You haven’t felt the pull of the bond yet. A few days ago I would’ve been like, ‘all right, done. Leaving girls alone is easy.’ But Alana’s different.”

  “How?”

  “She’s…”

  “Say it, Aaron!”

  “She’s mine! She’s mine, okay! And don’t give me that look. Don’t roll your eyes like you’ve never seen this before. It happens. Maybe you’re jaded and don’t want a mate, and hell, maybe you can convince your raven your whole life that you’re better off alone. I wasn’t successful in doing that! Bear wants more.”

  “But her? A human, Aaron?” Weston’s eyes softened, and he rubbed his hand over his short, dark hair. “You could’ve picked any other shifter.”

  Aaron stared out the window and shook his head. “Weston, it’s not like you think. It’s not like you lay eyes on your mate and decide whether to walk away or not.”

  “You’ll Turn her.”

  “I won’t.”

  Weston slammed his open palm on the countertop. “Dammit, Aaron. You aren’t listening. I’ve seen it clear as day. It won’t be on purpose either. It’ll be bloody and painful, and she’ll be terrified of you. Terrified of the bear you put inside of her.” A muscle twitched under his eye. “The best thing you could do for that woman is to let her go.”

  “What’s going on?” Harper asked from the open doorway.

  Great. “Nothing,” Aaron muttered as he turned to wash his hands in the kitchen sink. Harper would draw in her mate with the commotion, and Wyatt would smell Alana on Aaron in seconds.

  Sure enough, Wyatt shadowed the door next, then Ryder, and now the whole crew was in Aaron’s tiny cabin, staring at him like he was supposed to explain every feeling he’d ever had. Sometimes he really missed the Breck Crew.

  “Aaron’s going to Turn a human,” Weston said, his black eyes sparking in a challenge.

  Fuckin’ little fucker.

  “What?” Harper asked. “No, no, no, we’re trying to settle here, not stir up fear. You know Turning humans is still a touchy subject, Aaron.”

  Weston raised two fingers in the air. “I vote he picks someone else fast before he gets in too deep with Alana.”

  “Someone else like who?” Aaron asked, appalled.

  “I don’t know, Aaron! Pick literally anyone with an animal. There are a dozen eligible bachelorettes in Damon’s Mountains.”

  Wyatt’s eyes narrowed on Weston, and Ryder snorted.

  Red eyebrows arched high, Ryder said, “Dear dumbass, a mating bond doesn’t work like that. Don’t you think if any of those females interested Aaron, he would’ve picked one during any of the ten summers he spent in Damon’s Mountains?” He swung his attention to Aaron and grinned. “Is she hot?”

  “Thank you,” Aaron told Ryder, grateful for an unexpected ally, “and yes.”

  “So on a scale of one to ten, you would rate her tits at a…?”

  Harper shoved Ryder in the shoulder. “Stop talking.”

  “So like a nine? Please say a nine.”

  Aaron scrubbed his hand down his face tiredly. “A ten. Alana’s a ten.”

  “Cool, cool.” Ryder’s grin grew obnoxious. “Your pants are undone.”

  Shit. Aaron fastened his pants and avoided everyone’s gaze.

  Ryder cupped his hands in front of his chest. “So like a D cup.”

  Harper glared at the red-headed snowy owl shifter. “I’m literally going to eat you if you don’t shut up.”

  Ryder placed a hand beside his mouth and whispered, “She’s on her period.”

  The single click of Harper’s firestarter echoed through the cabin, and Ryder yelped and bolted out the door.

  One down, three nosey crewmates to go.

  “Look,” Wyatt said, yanking the door to Aaron’s refrigerator open. “It sucks that she’s human, and it complicates things, but Wes, this one isn’t any of your business.”

  “Except I get to have all these visions about it.”

  “And that’s unfortunate, but you are clinging too hard to the idea that you can change the future, destiny, fate, whatever. Beaston never does that.” Wyatt shut the door and popped the cap off a bottle of beer. “It’s not your job to change the future, Wes. I know you’re struggling to adjust to the sight, but you can’t control what Aaron’s going to do any more than I can control what that one is going to do.” Wyatt gestured to Harper and offered her a wink. “From my experience—”

  “Oh, you have visions often?” Weston asked, fury tainting his words.

  Wyatt took a long swallow of beer, gulped, and then continued. “From my experience with the bond, running from it, or trying to tear yourself away from a mate your animal has chosen, is pointless. If Aaron’s in it, he’s in it, and there is nothing you or I or anyone else can say to stop it.”

  “Harper could order him away from her,” Weston said low. He stared at Harper’s sneakers instead of meeting her eyes.

  “But I won’t, and you know it,” Harper said softly. “That’s not what an alpha does, Wes.”

  “You don’t protect human life? Because that’s what I’m trying to do. I don’t want more attention on us. We have the vamps and wolves lying low right now, but you and I both know they’re just biding their time. The last thing we need right now is the humans turning against us,
too.”

  Harper gathered her long dark hair at the nape of her neck and sighed. “I’m not ordering you away from her, Aaron, but I think you should bring her here and let all of us meet her. Show her what your life is really about and give her a choice to be a part of it or not. And if you Turn this woman without her consent, you will pay in a pound of flesh. Are we clear?”

  Aaron angled his jaw, exposed his neck, and nodded. “Yes.” He dared a look directly into his alpha’s oddly colored eyes. “We’re clear.”

  Chapter Ten

  “Did you add the extra gravy?” Alana asked, narrowing her eyes teasingly at the short-order cook who manned the kitchen of Drat’s Boozehouse. “Last time you forgot my extra gravy, and I still haven’t forgiven you, Carl.”

  “Woman, let me live that down! Damn.” The stout, thin-haired man gave her a megawatt grin and said, “I added two sides of gravy just for you.”

  Alana peeked into the paper bag and said, “Oooh, Carl, you’re an angel sent straight from heaven.”

  “Uh oh,” the dark-headed man beside her said. “Extra gravy?”

  “Don’t judge me, Kane.”

  “No judgement here,” he said from behind his sunglasses. He always wore them, even at night, and even inside. Rumor was he had some scary-ass dragon eyes, but no one had actually seen his inner beast. Kane jerked his chin at the to-go bag on the counter. “The only time I’ve ever seen you order Carl’s chicken fried steak and extra gravy was because something had knocked you on your ass.”

  “Okay, first off, aren’t bartenders supposed to be like therapists? Hush hush with their client’s problems and not rubbing them in their faces?”

  Kane ran his hand through his dark hair, flipped it to the other side, and then looked up in the direction of the television behind the bar. Women’s soccer was on. “Well, I’m not a bartender anymore, so now I don’t have to mind those rules.”

  Alana frowned and sank onto the barstool next to him. “Did you get fired?”