By the time Nina found the safe house tucked among the trees, the sun had gone down and her headlights provided the only illumination. The small log cabin was quiet and secluded, tucked away at the end of a gravel road a mile or so from the main highway.
She left her headlights on and approached the door, tentatively turning the handle. Just like Hannah said, it was unlocked. She reached inside, feeling around for a switch and finding one. She flipped the switch and a warm glow filled the small and cozy space.
After turning off her headlights, she went inside. In addition to electricity, the one-bedroom cabin had running water, a small bathroom, and a kitchenette with a well-stocked pantry. The living room furniture was well worn yet comfortable. Under less stressful circumstances, the cabin would have served as an amazing lover’s retreat. After putting some water on to boil for tea, Nina sat down to wait.
~~~
She must have dozed off because she was startled awake by a faint, far-off rumbling that shook the floorboards under her feet.
Alex!
She opened the cabin door and darted outside, where she saw nothing but her own car and darkness. Yet the rumbling sound was getting louder and closer. She ran part of the way down the gravel road, looking, hoping, wishing that her bear biker would break through the trees.
When he did, her heart nearly burst with joy.
“Alex!” she cried, racing toward him as he parked his bike and took off his helmet. She flung herself into his open arms and they clung to each other as their lips collided, unleashing some of the pent-up passion that had been building since the night they first met.
When she pulled back to catch her breath, she let her hands roam along his arms, across his chest, and down his torso, searching for injuries. “You’re okay,” she whispered, relieved and breathless. “I was afraid the hunters...”
“Shhh. I’m fine. Not even a scratch.” He smiled and pulled her close again.
“I shouldn’t have left you, Alex. I didn’t want to go, but Hannah made me.”
“She knew I needed you safe so I could focus on the enemy.”
“What happened?” Nina asked.
“After I led the Hunters away from you and the Guardian, she framed them for the fire somehow and called the cops. A dozen police cruisers showed up, but not before I managed to get my claws into one unlucky fellow before he ran away, screaming and bloody. I bet it’ll take a hundred stitches to close him up.” Alex chuckled. “After that, my bear hid in the woods with the Guardian until the commotion was over.”
“Your bear,” Nina said, hanging her head in shame. “I should have believed you, Alex. I’m sorry.”
He tilted her chin up and brushed his lips against hers. “You have nothing to be sorry about, Nina. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t have believed me either.”
“What happens now?” she asked, her eyes shining bright.
“Now, if you’ll have me, you become my mate,” Alex said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the vine rope he had made earlier that day and tied it around her left hand ring finger. Then, he took Nina’s trembling hands and dropped down on one knee. “I can’t give you the wedding you want, Nina, at least not now. And I don’t have a diamond ring to slip on your finger. But I can promise to give you my heart, my soul...my everything.”
Nina cried then, tears of happiness spilling down her cheeks. “Even though I have no idea what I’m getting myself into, for once in my life I’m willing to take a chance on fate. You are my everything, Alex, and I want to be your mate!”
With a powerful roar, Alex rose up from his kneeling position. He swept Nina off her feet and into his arms. She squealed in delight as he strode toward the cabin, carrying her over the threshold and using his foot to close the door behind them.
Without missing a step, he carried her to the small bedroom. Almost reluctantly, he set her down so he could discard his leather jacket and peel off the white t-shirt that kept her hands from touching his bare skin.
Nina let her fingertips roam across his broad chest, the warmth of his body sending bolts of heat to her core. He slipped his large hands under her shirt and she gasped at the pleasurable sensation of skin on skin. He tugged her shirt off over her head before reaching around her back and releasing the clasp of her bra, which she let fall to their feet.
His palms, rough and hot, cupped her full, heavy breasts and she swayed slightly as his thumbs strummed across her nipples. His touch made her feel faint. “Your breasts are amazing, Nina. Beautiful, just like you,” Alex said, worshipping her with his hands, his eyes, and then his lips.
His mouth, warm and wet, laved her breasts before trailing down her belly, licking, tasting, nipping, as his hands fumbled with the button of her jeans. Suddenly shy, she folded her arms across her nakedness.
“What’s wrong?” Alex asked, his voice thick with desire. He gripped her hips and pulled her forward so he could bury his face in the denim fabric between her thighs. When he deeply inhaled her scent and then smiled lustily, her insecurities melted away.
She shook her head. “Nothing. Everything is...wonderful.” He slid her zipper down and she wiggled out of her jeans, kicking them out of the way. But before he could peel her panties off, she pushed his hands away. “Not so fast, mister,” she said, returning his lusty smile.
Her soft hands were shaking slightly as she let them trail over the enormous bulge behind his zipper. She pressed her palm against his length through the denim fabric and smiled as he groaned. Emboldened, she undid his button and zipper, slipping her hands inside to push the material down the length of his long, strong legs.
Nina sighed when she lifted the elastic waist of his boxers up and over his erection, freeing his enormous manhood, which bobbed proudly in her direction. She couldn’t resist wrapping her fist around the thick shaft, scaling its full length, down, then up, then down again.
Alex put his hand on hers, stopping her from continuing. “I’ve wanted you for so long,” he whispered, his voice husky, his breath labored. “If you keep that up, I’ll be done before we get started.”
Nina bit her lip to stifle a laugh. “We wouldn’t want that,” she said, giving him one more firm squeeze before releasing him.
His arms pulled her roughly against him as he captured her lips hungrily, his hands caressing her curves with urgency. She met his demand with her own hunger, their tongues sparring as she rubbed against him, teasing, taunting. Alex growled against her mouth, using his weight to guide her down into the soft mattress of the bed, their bodies fitting together perfectly, like two pieces of the same perfect puzzle.
Nina’s fingers threaded through his thick dark hair as his lips drifted away from hers to explore the gentle curve of her neck, the rounded flesh of her breasts, the taut peaks of her hardened nipples.
All too soon – and yet, not nearly soon enough – his lips traveled down her body, stopping when they reached the narrow elastic at her hips. A mewling sound escaped from deep in her throat as he hooked his fingers around the sides of her damp panties and slid them down her thighs.
She was already wet and ready for him, but he wanted to taste her before taking her. With his hands on her knees, he spread her wide, admiring the beauty before him. With little preamble, he buried his face between her legs, his tongue instinctively knowing where to lick and swirl to heighten her bliss.
With an abandon she had never known before, Nina panted and writhed, swept away by the most exquisite pleasure imaginable. Her hands grabbed fistfuls of bedding as her body soared higher and higher until it finally shattered into a million pulsing sensations.
“Oh, oh, OH!” she cried out, her voice piercing the quiet night, sounding like music to Alex’s sensitive ears.
Then his lips were on hers again and she could taste herself on his mouth, a heady reminder of how thoroughly he wanted her and how much she wanted him, too. She felt his hot, throbbing manhood nudge the center of her opening and she lifted her hips, giving him a silent invitation to enter.
“MINE!” he roared as he plunged his length inside her, stretching her slick channel, claiming her completely. She felt his sharp teeth on her neck as he marked her, hard enough to bruise but not deep enough to break the skin. In that moment she knew that they did belong together, that he was her everything.
He moved inside her, pulling out and gliding back in, over and over, their bodies dancing to a passionate rhythm that was as old as time. Nina lifted her legs and wrapped them high around his waist, meeting his thrusts as he called out to her. “Nina! Mate! MINE!”
She couldn’t, wouldn’t stop the whimpering cries that came forth as her body soared upward again as his pace became almost frenzied. Then, in explosive, synchronized waves, her inner walls pulsed around his rod as he reached his own peak, his climactic finish pulsing inside of her, hot, wet, sticky.
When he was fully spent, Alex collapsed onto the bed, rolling over and pulling Nina on top of him, their bodies still connected in the most intimate of ways. They stayed that way until their breathing had evened out and Alex had softened inside her. They both climbed under the covers, and Alex tucked Nina under his arm.
As they basked in the afterglow of their lovemaking, her fingertips played lazily on his chest. “Are we mated now?” she asked.
Alex smiled, bringing her fingertips to his lips. “Yes. Forever and always.”
“We probably need to leave the city so the hunters can’t track us down.”
Alex nodded in agreement. “My grandfather told me about another clan of were-bears that live somewhere in the Colorado Rockies. You interested in a road trip?
“Sure,” Nina said, yawning widely. It had been a long, yet ultimately satisfying, day. “I think my dad has some distant relatives in Colorado. Do you think that’s where I got my bear blood?”
“Maybe so,” Alex chuckled, closing his eyes and letting his mind drift. “Maybe so.”
~~~
In the morning, Nina woke up alone in bed, surrounded by the smell of freshly-brewed coffee. Wrapping the sheets around her naked body, she padded out to the main living area of the cabin where Alex, dressed in nothing but his boxers, was cooking breakfast.
He pulled her into his arms and gave her a long, lingering kiss. “Good morning, mate. If we had more time, I’d drag you back into that bedroom for a repeat of last night’s performance. But the Guardian was just here and said we needed to hit the road soon.”
“I think we’ll have plenty of time for repeat performances,” Nina responded, grabbing a cooked sausage link and popping it into her mouth. It had been a while since she had eaten and she was starving.
“The Guardian brought you a helmet and some clothes from your house,” Alex said, nodding in the direction of a small duffel bag. “She said to tell you that she’ll finish packing up your condo and will put all of your things into storage for now.”
“I wasn’t very nice to her when I thought she was nothing more than blonde boyfriend-stealer,” Nina said sadly, realizing that the only thing Hannah had really stolen was her scarf. “I wish I could have apologized to her in person.”
“Somehow, I think she knows how sorry you are, and how thankful we both are. Breakfast is almost ready. Have a seat and I’ll dish it up.”
Nina reached up and gave Alex a quick kiss on the cheek. “What’s that for?” he asked.
She wanted to say because I love you but wasn’t quite ready to say the words out loud, even if it’s what she felt in her heart. “For being my everything,” she responded, “and so much more.”
“RAWR!” Alex grinned, his bear finally content now that he had claimed his mate.
~~~
After breakfast, Nina did the dishes and tidied up the kitchen while Alex made the bed and stashed her extra clothes in his motorcycle’s saddlebag. Soon, they were ready to hit the road.
Nina put on the helmet and climbed onto Alex’s bike behind him. She didn’t know where her bear biker would take her, but she did know that she would do whatever it took to hold on tight and never let him go. No matter what dangers they encountered on the road ahead, for now she was safe, content to have her arms wrapped around the man she loved.