The Bear's Forever Mate (Borealis Bears Book 3) Read online

  8

  She’d been warned.

  There was no one she could complain to because she’d been warned, but dealing with Cooper in the throes of mating fever was going to make sexual saturation a reality.

  The intensity of the situation made the slightest touch more erotic. He’d been surprisingly silent since their clothes had begun to come off, but Amber didn’t mind one bit.

  He was saying with body language everything that needed to be said.

  The pressure of his tongue on her sex and clit stayed focused. A near brutal demand that her body answer the call to pleasure, and her body responded with a “hey, howdy, and hello” that would have thrilled any porn shoot director.

  She’d wondered for a moment if it was possible to orgasm from the nipple play alone.

  Amber had no doubts that a record-breaking climax was rising as Cooper upped his game and turned his tongue and fingers into a sexual torture device.

  Just enough licking on her clit to make tingles start along her spine. Barely enough play with his oversized finger at the opening of her sex. Another round, literally, with his tongue. He started a slide in then out with his finger on slow-motion repeat until she was perched on top of a rocket with a burning fuse and an impending explosion.

  Everything stopped.

  Amber’s head snapped off the mattress and she growled at him. “Cooper.”

  An amused and evil grin twisted his lips. “Just making sure you’re paying attention.”

  She didn’t have time to curse before he covered her clit with his mouth and sucked hard, driving his thick fingers into her core.

  It was as if the most incredible aurora borealis took control of the room, starting at her core and flashing outward with brightly coloured ripples. Amber swore she heard the undulating lights sing.

  Once she could breathe again, she peeled her eyes open to stare down at the big bear settled between her naked thighs. Maybe she should feel regret, or fear, or something big and scary at the huge move she’d made.

  Looking into Cooper’s heated gaze and the cocky grin twisting his lips, all she felt was anticipation.

  A week of this? A lifetime of this, and more?

  Bring it.

  It was time to return the favour. Amber squirmed, planning to inch her way under him.

  Or that was the idea. Instead, she found herself pinned to the bed by his weight as he stretched over her.

  “You taste good.” Cooper growled the words a second before he took her lips again.

  She wanted to help strip away his remaining clothes. Wanted to guide him to her and ease his pain, but his patience had vanished.

  Amber found herself in his arms, held tight to his body. Her knees rested on either side of his hips, and her very wet sex lay over his thick length like a protective blanket.

  “Where did your clothes go?” Amber demanded. “When did your clothes go?”

  “Do you really care?”

  Good question. Answer? Not. One. Bit.

  His fingers flexed on her hips, and she rose, then fell, as he deliberately dragged her sensitive folds over his cock.

  Another tingle started. Or maybe it was the lingering aftershocks of her first orgasm, but with Cooper stroking her so perfectly, round two wasn’t far off.

  A second later he rocked harder than before, and the head of his cock slipped between her folds. Amber sucked in a gasp.

  Cooper moaned long and loud as he dropped her onto his shaft. Slowly, in control, but she felt every inch of the growing connection between them.

  When she finally rested fully on his thighs, Amber offered a soft moan of her own. “Feels so good.”

  “Mm-hm.”

  Amber did an experimental squeeze of her inner muscles and couldn’t stop from snickering when he cursed and started panting.

  “Like that?” She did it again.

  Cooper tucked his fingers under her chin and lifted. “Trouble.”

  “Your trouble. Now…are we going to sit here all day, or what?”

  She should have held the teasing comment and saved her breath to deal with the avalanche of ecstasy about to arrive.

  Cooper took control. Lifting her carefully, dropping her down. Bringing their torsos close enough that his firm abdomen muscles were right there, begging for her hands. She swept her fingers over the strong ridges and muscles before leaning in all the way and making contact. His chest and her breasts meshed together, her already sensitive nipples taking the brunt of the attack.

  His cock made happy little nerve endings inside her dance with delight. Each pulse seemed more deliberate, deeper, and more intense. Slowly speeding up until Amber hovered on the final edge.

  She gripped his shoulder with one hand, nails digging in, and slipped the other between their bodies. Teasing the line where his cock disappeared into her, getting her fingers wet. She brought them just slightly higher and made contact with her clit.

  Her knuckles grazed his abs, and his grip tightened again. Hard enough she felt each finger dig into her butt cheeks. “What do you need?” he growled. “I want to feel you come around me.”

  “Nearly. Nearly. More…” Amber opened her eyes and looked down. His strong body and hers were intimately twined together. A bit of light shone off the sweat on his naked torso.

  His forearms rippled as he slipped one hand down and laid his fingers over hers to copy her motions and add pressure.

  Those damn forearms.

  Okay, playing with her clit and the fullness of his cock were also part of it, but she was totally awarding the assist for this orgasm to his forearms.

  Amber decided that before she stopped thinking enough to be amused by the idea.

  Cooper pumped into her one last time and held her against him, cock buried deep. Her orgasm pulsed around him, and he threw his head back and roared.

  Aftershocks arrived, one rocking pulse after another, and every time her body tightened and discovered the rock-solid length still there to squeeze, she grew a little more breathless.

  “Cooper? You. Didn’t. Come?” One word at a time was all she was capable of.

  His gaze met hers and he smiled. A sweet, caring smile as he brushed her hair back from her face and slowly angled his hips. The motion moved his heavy cock inside her, and another aftershock hit.

  They both groaned.

  He leaned his forehead on hers. “I came. And will again. And again, and a few more times after that. But I don’t have to be inside you for all of them.”

  Amber blinked. The Very Blunt Talk with her friends had included this data. Sex came in a multitude of flavours, and she was going to try the entire fifty-one options before this week was over if she had any say in it.

  “Whatever it takes to make you happy,” she whispered. “Truly. I’m here for you, Cooper. Whatever you need.”

  He tilted her chin so he could examine her face carefully. Such a strange contrast of patience and pleasure, considering she was still anchored on his erection.

  “I…” His eyes widened and he swore softly. “Oh, damn.”

  Amber paused. Okay, the whole holding a conversation while sitting on an erect cock was a new experience, but so be it. “What?”

  “Birth control?” He looked moderately horrified and worried, and she hurried to reassure him.

  “Covered. Well, not literally, obviously, but I’m on birth control.” She poked him in the chest. “Come on. I know shifters don’t carry STDs, so we didn’t need a condom for that, but birth control still needs to be dealt with. You really think I’d let you near me without making you suit up otherwise?”

  He relaxed for a second before something flashed in his eyes that was a whole lot hotter and wilder. His hand swept up her back and he tangled his fist in her hair, tugging to lift her face to his. “Why are you on birth control?”

  Amber stilled. Cooper had asked sort of politely, but that wasn’t his voice. His bear, or the wild side of him in human form, clearly wasn’t pleased.

  S
he thought back to her friends’ warnings about how mating fever made guys uber-possessive. But there was a part inside her that wasn’t interested in placating a hypersensitive shifter regarding this, not even if he were in the midst of a hormonally demanding situation.

  She caught Cooper by the ears and tugged, ignoring that they were still intimately connected, and gave it to him with both barrels. “Condoms are only part of safe sex. I’m on birth control so I can have sex when I want to have sex. And I want to have sex with you, or I did until a few seconds ago. So, you can get growly, or you can get moving. Your choice, bucko.”

  It was like watching a wave roll over a shore and wipe away a mess of footprints. The tightness in his expression faded, his brow smoothed, and instead of anger, amusement rose.

  “Feisty human,” he muttered.

  “You have no idea.”

  He lifted a brow. “I look forward to learning. Now, get ready for me to get moving. I plan for us to enjoy mating fever, and I’ve got energy to burn.”

  Cooper tipped them to the mattress, rearing over her.

  Amber caught hold of his shoulders and held on for the ride of her life.

  9

  It had been a good ten years that Cooper had been taking measures to avoid the fever. There’d been weeks he’d sat in his shifted form, tormented by the fever and clouds of black flies. Or freezing his butt off during snowstorms, absolutely alone except for the little creatures shivering in the woods and watching him with trepidation.

  Getting free rein to do everything he wanted with Amber?

  Heavenly.

  He worked her over for a couple of hours that first run, most of it without a lot of talking.

  Oh, there was communication going on. A lot of shouting and screaming and groaning and gasping. He particularly liked the gasping when it involved his name with “oh yes, yes, yeeesssssss” added on.

  Amber was not a particularly quiet woman, and Cooper couldn’t be happier.

  The vigorous sex wasn’t only the thing he enjoyed, though. The fact she’d come to him—that was important and made him feel special.

  “How did you know where I was?” Cooper asked when they were temporarily paused.

  “Your calendar is linked to mine,” she reminded him. “It makes it easy to stalk you.”

  He nuzzled under her chin, curling his arms around her and pulling her closer. They were still naked, because he hadn’t had nearly enough skin-on-skin time yet. He wasn’t going to for a long time, and definitely not during the next week.

  “I had all these plans,” he confessed. “I’m glad you’re here. I’m so glad you’re here because I really wanted you to be. But I didn’t think it was going to work for another few years at the earliest.”

  Amber slid his hand from one portion of her anatomy to another instead of trying to remove it completely. “You obviously have a list of, and you need to picture this with capital letters, Things To Deal With Before Hooking Up With Amber. You want to talk about them?”

  In spite of the cuteness of her mentioning his capitalization habit, annoyance flashed. “This isn’t a hookup.”

  Amber stilled.

  Damn.

  “This isn’t a hookup,” he repeated, this time without growling. “It’s you and me working toward forever.”

  The tension eased out of her. She nodded decisively. “Poor wording on my part. I’m sorry. But I also know there’s no guarantee. Both Lara and Kaylee told me all about their situations with James and Alex, and while I’m—”

  She paused. Eyed him.

  Damn again. Cooper sighed with exasperation. He lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling as he scolded his inner bear. Do you mind? Growling is not a part of this current conversation. And I thought you were leaving me alone for the week after you cut and run.

  No talking about other men.

  Good grief. She just said my brothers’ names.

  No other men.

  You need to go away and let me handle this.

  His bear huffed off.

  Cooper tugged Amber over himself, arranging her on her back so she connected all along his front. It left her breasts available for him to palm and pet, his lips brushing her earlobe. “Okay, where were we?”

  Amber laughed softly, but she arched into his palms like a kitten wanting to be petted. “Discussing why you weren’t jumping my bones every time we saw each other in the office.”

  “Good place to start. You work for me. That’s not an ideal situation for starting a relationship.”

  “I work for the CEO of Borealis Gems, who, I believe on paper, is still your father.”

  Cooper paused. “That’s a tricky bit of double-talk. You do work for me. You just said it—our calendars are linked.”

  “If you plan on firing me for coming on to you, you’d have a war on your hands. Between your brothers, your grandfather, and all the department heads like R&D and Alex’s security teams, you try saying I’m gone and…” She rolled over and dug her elbows into his chest. “Stop growling at me.”

  “It’s not me,” Cooper protested. “It’s my damn bear.”

  The cutest frown twisted her expression.

  “You’re talking about other guys who like you. He’s jealous.”

  “Good grief…” Amber hesitated. “He’s listening to us?”

  “Why shouldn’t he? He’s me,” Cooper said before realizing that sounded a little off the wall. “It’s…complicated.”

  “Of course it has to be complicated,” she muttered softly, resting her chin in her palms. “Cooper, interoffice relationships are not a good idea when somebody’s got all the power. I like working for Borealis Gems, and I like working for you, but we aren’t your typical interoffice romance. Even considering you’re a polar bear shifter with mating fever, I will straight up say it—I feel zero concern anyone will accuse you of pressuring me into a relationship.”

  “That easy?” He stroked his fingers through her hair, letting it rest over her shoulder. “Okay, as long as you promise to never leave Borealis Gems to work for anyone else without letting us counteroffer to increase your benefits and salary package.”

  Amber laughed softly. “Lara already tried to steal me away and I told her no. You’re safe.”

  He’d been joking. “Seriously? Lara tried to poach you for Midnight Inc.?”

  “Oops.” She slapped a hand over her mouth, then winked. “Okay, let’s move on to the next concern you had.”

  “You’re trouble,” Cooper said, with something near delight dancing in his belly. “And you’re young.”

  Her eye roll was big enough to be a statement all in itself, but she followed it up with an enormous sigh of exasperation. “I can’t believe you’re going to try that one.”

  “I’m thirty-six,” he pointed out.

  “Congratulations.”

  “Amber.”

  “Cooper,” she repeated back with the same tone. “I’m twenty-five, which is younger than you, yes. But it’s old enough to know my own mind. Besides, women mature faster than men, and humans definitely get smarter far sooner than bear shifters.”

  “Hey.” Both Cooper and his inner bear smarted at that one.

  She patted his cheek saucily. “Just means you need to eat your veggies so you can keep up with me.” Her expression grew solemn, sadness rising rapidly. “I can’t do anything about the fact that I’m human. As far as I know, and I’ve done a ton of research, all those tales about finding a way to turn into a shifter are just that. Fairy tales.”

  “Definitely not a problem,” Cooper assured her. “I have no objections to you being human, and my bear doesn’t mind one bit either.”

  Her eyes widened for a moment, then she nodded firmly. “It means I can’t share activities with you the way Kaylee and James do, or Lara and Alex. If we want to go out into the wilderness—”

  “Then we find a way to go that works for us.” Cooper sat up, bringing her beside him so he could look her in the eye more easily. He folde
d his hand around hers. “I’m not my brothers, and you’re not your friends, and what we will have will be unique to us. But I already know of a very successful polar bear and human combination. They’re people I look up to very much.”

  Amber’s gaze remained fixed on his. “Your grandparents.”

  “Yes. And considering how long they’ve been together, I’m pretty sure your being human isn’t going to be a problem.”

  He really wanted to keep talking, but it’d been nearly fifteen minutes since he’d made her squirm, and with the mating fever burning through him, that was a good fourteen minutes too long.

  Besides, it seemed she’d erased most of the bullet points on his Items To Be Dealt With list in one fell swoop.

  Not even twenty-four hours later, Amber took control of their food and drink situation. She’d slipped out of the shower ahead of him, and somehow by the time he reentered the main room, she was hauling a massive pile of boxes through the door.

  “What’s this?” He hurried to help her bring in her haul, humming in approval as the rich scent of ribs from his favourite barbecue house drifted on the air. “Oh my God, you got takeout.”

  “I don’t know what you were thinking when you packed those coolers, but you didn’t bring in enough calories for a mouse, let alone the two of us.” She gestured to the porch with an imperative wave. “Go get the rest of them.”

  Cooper chuckled. “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Don’t you give me sass,” she warned, “or you’ll be doing a whole lot more yes, ma’am-ing.”

  “Promises, promises.” He snapped at the bun she threw at his head, snagging it between his teeth then growling lustily as he shook it.

  Amber regally ignored him.

  He moved to haul in the rest of the supplies, pausing only when she poked him with her fist. The one holding an oversized robe she’d grabbed from somewhere.

  “Put this on. I like how naked looks on you, but we don’t want to make anyone wandering past the cabin jealous. You’re all mine.”

  He liked how possessive that comment sounded.

  After they’d filled their bellies, he reconsidered the idea of keeping her naked all the time and ordered her to pull on some clothes. “We both need to get outside for a while.”