Page 62 of Coveted By the Bear

But out of the muck, I got Caleb.

A distant smile tugged his lips. “My mom used to take us to this swimming hole in the summers when we were out of school. We’d spend the whole day there. She never got in the water. Said she didn’t trust water she couldn’t see to the bottom of. I think she was scared of the catfish we would catch out of the tank with my dad. Anyway, I remember she used to collect bathing suits, and I never figured out why. She’d wear a different one every time we went to the tank, but none of them ever got wet as far as I could tell. And all colors, too. She liked bright colors, like Sadey does. It matched her personality. She was happy.”

“I wish I could’ve met her.”

“You would’ve liked her. My dad was really different when she was alive. He wasn’t so…hard.”

I tried to imagine living without Caleb and decided I’d be really closed off, too, if I sustained that kind of damage to my heart.

I was in awe of Caleb’s ease in his own space. It settled something in me, as well. The fire crackled as we cleaned the dishes and put away the leftovers. His hungry eyes fell on me as I emerged from the restroom, newly showered and wearing one of his old T-shirts that draped down to my knees.

I held up my flour dusted clothes. “You mind if I wash these?”

Caleb jerked his head toward the room off the kitchen. “Let me show you how to use the washer and dryer.”

I was grateful for his patient teachings. I hadn’t ever used a washer before. Uncle Brady had been more of a use-the-sink-and-line-dry type of guy.

While we waited for my clothes to finish their cycle, he turned on a movie, of which I couldn’t remember a single scene because Caleb-the-Adonis-McCreedy ran a light touch over the tops of my thighs, draped lazily over his lap for the entirety of the show. He had worked me up to quite the inferno by the end credits.

His attention left the show as I parted my knees and grinned at him. His eyes went round and serious as he ran his hand up the inside of my leg.

“You said you wanted to wait to make our first time special,” I said.

“I did.” He hooked his finger on the lacy material and pulled my panties down my legs until they reached my ankles. Then, he slowly removed them like he had all the time in the world. I lifted up and pushed his shirt from his shoulders, exposing the long, curving scars on his chest and neck.

“I like the way you look.”

“Even marked up like this?”

I couldn’t take my eyes from him if I tried. “Especially marked up like this. They are a reminder of what you went through. What we went through the day we really met. These marks are part of our story.”

His abdomen flexed with every breath as he stared down at his torso with a frown. “I hadn’t thought of them like that.”

“How do you see them?”

“They always remind me of what I am now. They don’t let me forget the animal Eli put in me.”

“Caleb, I love you. And I love your animal, too. That part of you doesn’t bother me at all.”

“I watch you,” he said in a rushed voice. “When I change, I go to your house, and if you’re outside working, I watch you from the shadows. When I’m an animal, all I can think about is protecting you and being near you.”

“Of hunting for me?”

“Yeah, that too. You aren’t mad?”

“I felt you watching me. It scared me at first, but when I knew you were really a bear shifter, I wasn’t so scared anymore. I knew you wouldn’t ever hurt me.” I closed my eyes briefly as he lifted my oversized T-shirt over my head. My nipples puckered as he palmed the weight of my breasts in his hand. God, the man knew how to touch me. Leaning forward, he drew my nipple into his mouth and lapped at it until a warm, tingling sensation zinged rhythmically down my stomach and toward the apex between my legs. I spread my legs wider as he ran his hand down my side and gripped my hip. Slowly, he moved to my other nipple and worked it with his tongue until it was an impossibly tight bud. Sensation flooded me as he unbuttoned the clasp on his jeans and unsheathed his erection. His shaft stood long and thick as he pressed his pants down. I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth in anticipation.

In a graceful movement, he folded me into his arms and carried me into his bedroom. There, he set me gently on his bed and tugged my ankles until my backside reached the edge. Without a word, he lowered himself between my legs and kissed my sex. I gasped.

I should feel shame or discomfort, anything. But right now, all I felt was the tingling sensation Caleb was causing by sucking on my sensitive spot. His tongue plunged into me, and I gripped his hair as my body threatened to shatter to pieces. My legs rested over his shoulders, and my toes curled with every lap of his tongue.

Just as I neared the edge, he eased back. The sound of a foil wrapper filled the room. Could I actually have an orgasm after he stopped touching me? Because right now, it was close.

“Caleb?” I breathed.

“I’m right here, baby,” he said, lowering his weight on top of me.

I parted my legs farther to allow him into the cradle of my hips. The tip of his erection pressed into me in a slow, shallow thrust, and I arched against him. “Please. I’m ready.”