Bearly Desire: A Bear Shifter Romance Read online

  “No,” she refused softly. “Let’s just go and be with them. I’m too tired to do much more than breathe.”

  “As you wish,” Roman agreed, lifting her into his arms, he carried her down the hallway and into the parlor. Neither Robert nor Leo glanced up as they entered, their minds too occupied with the game of strategy and wits.

  Roman gently lay her on the lounge chair seated before the fireplace and then lowered himself to sit on the floor at her side. He laid his head back against the velvety material and Josephine couldn’t help but run her fingers through his hair.

  Finally, the phone rang.

  Roman jumped and raced across the room, snatching it from the receiver.

  “Hello?” he barked.

  She, Robert, and Leo all waited with baited breath as Roman remained silent as he listened to the voice on the other end. He nearly dropped the phone when he whirled around towards them.

  “He’s going to live!” he exclaimed with a relieved laugh. “I can’t believe it. He’s going to live,” he breathed and nearly collapsed against the table. “My father is going to live.”

  “Roman,” Josephine cried as she went to embrace him. He hugged her tightly against him. They’d spent all day waiting for news and the sun was now dropping past the horizon outside. In the last hours of the day, Roman’s father had been saved. Even though they now faced a new dilemma and possibly a difficult quest, the William’s family would continue and The Midnight Den would survive.

  “Let’s give them some privacy,” Robert whispered to Leo as the men ducked out of the room with knowing smiles.

  Roman’s warmth felt comforting against her. Soon, the room was cloaked in darkness. She approached a lamp to turn it on, but he pulled her back against him.

  “We can find a way to reverse this,” he told her, touching the bite. His desperate eyes searched her face. “You don’t have to be connected to me if you don’t want to.”

  She took a deep breathe, the tense air of the room nearly suffocating her. “Roman, I’m not sure that we need to do that…”

  The seconds passed between them like hours as she saw him processing her answer. Even in the darkness, she felt like her face was flustered before him.

  “I mean, what I’m saying is...Would it be alright if we stay like this for a while?” she asked softly as her hand went to cover the bite. His breath tickled her ear as he leaned towards her.

  “You’ve helped me save my father,” he reminded her. “You can have whatever you want.” Her heart jumped nervously.

  “Does that include you?” The question was out of her mouth before she could help it. Heat swirled around them. He let out a rumbling laugh as he leaned into her.

  “Only if I can have you,” he countered in a hoarse voice. “All of you.”

  She squeaked in pleasant surprise when he pounced. His rough hands moved against her body as if they were making music on her. She moaned and pressed her lips against his. He pressed her against the table behind them with a primal growl, a delicious sound that made her blood heat.

  When he rubbed himself against her, she captured his bottom lip to nibble it. His tongue pressed against her attack and he ravaged her mouth. They broke apart, panting. Her chest rose up and down, the hardened nipples peaking beneath the thin fabric of her shirt. His fingertips found them and she threw her head back to moan as he caressed her breasts.

  “Josephine!” His growl made her tremble as his hands made quick work of her clothes. Her fingers desperately tugged away his own clothing. She moaned in sweet agony as his hardness brushed up against her slick entrance. He pulled her into a hard kiss. She arched her back and pressed up against him with a satisfied groan.

  “I can’t wait any longer,” she whispered in a hoarse voice. The outline of his member against her spiked every lustful nerve within her. She wanted him. She needed him. To feel his love as he thrusted into her.

  They pressed together. Savagely, a primal urge thundering between them to touch skin against skin. Even in the dim light, she felt his hesitance. She grabbed his hand with a firm reassuring squeeze. He nodded against her, his tongue playing with the bite, earning a gasp of pleasure from her.

  He grasped one of her legs to hook behind him. Her skin was melting in bliss while he positioned himself at her entrance, yearning for him to fill her. With a light touch, he barely pushed himself into her while his fingers began to work magic just above her entrance. She gasped with pleasure and whined, writhing beneath him.

  “Please!”

  “I love you,” he said. Slow and soft, before he thrust inside of her with a husky groan.

  “Again,” she begged him. He was quick to follow her lead, thrusting in and out of her. She felt the pressure building in her as she began to respond to his movements with her own rhythm. Their breaths became quicker together as the starlight began to cloak them in a dreamy haze.

  “Fuck,” he groaned. His pace quickened. She felt a sudden rocketing in pressure as her muscles squeezed around him, a sensation that brought her to her peak.

  “Roman!” She cried out for him and threw her arms around his neck. She needed to feel the deep rumbling of his chest as he growled against her. He threw his head back with a deafening roar as their pleasure peaked together.

  “Josephine!” he screamed her name as they rocked against each other into blissful ecstasy. They collapsed against one another, the desk cold beneath them.

  “Bed?” she suggested weakly. He nodded, sweaty forehead slick against her naked chest. He grabbed her in his arms and carried her down the hall to his room. He dropped her gently with a grin on the soft bed. She moaned gratefully as she buried her face in the fabric and felt him lay down beside her. His hands trailed her sides.

  “You can continue to research the Midnight Den,” he said. “I can help you prepare documents. We just need to leave out certain parts.”

  “I wasn’t planning on revealing the bear magic,” she teased with a smile. His dazzling eyes seemed to glow in the faint moonlight.

  He smirked. “Do you remember what I told you in the beginning?”

  She furrowed her brow. “What?”

  “Not to fall in love with me,” he said slyly as his hand want to cup her face. “Here you are, though.”

  “I don’t see you complaining,” she pointed out as she propped herself up on her elbow. His wicked grin fell to her naked breasts, exposed as they slipped from beneath the sheet.

  “No, I can’t complain. Not even about my mother’s trickiness.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked with a frown.

  He pulled her into his arms as they rested against the pillows together. She listened to the steady beat of his heart as he played with her hair.

  “Her craftiness caused some stress,” he admitted. “But, it did lead to some valuable discoveries.” When his handsome eyes rested on her face, she blushed.

  She’d discovered more than she thought possible too. The journey to discover the secrets behind the Midnight Den had led her to love. Strange, unpredictable love that was worth discovering for years to come.

  THE END

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  Excerpt of Lion Lord’s Kiss

  Jay was feeling uncharacteristically restless this morning. He had slept poorly and awakened early with a pounding headache, courtesy of a long flight and a case of jet lag. He had showered and donned his human camouflage, a Hugo Boss suit tailored to his muscular, six foot four inch frame. Nothing could truly make him blend in here though. His obvious height, broad shoulders, and handsome face were only a part of what caught people's attention. Less obvious, but more compelling, was the way he moved: like an arrogant predator among sheep, supremely confident in his ability to master anything under his golden gaze.

  Now here he was, pacing with the nervous energy of a caged animal, his long strides carrying him back and
forth in front of the large window overlooking the city. It was almost two hours before his meeting so Jay decided to walk the ten blocks or so to the office building where his meeting was to take place. Hopefully he would be able to sit still through what promised to be a tedious morning and afternoon.

  He stepped past the doorman dutifully holding the door for him to exit, and stopped to get his bearings just short of the stream of humanity bustling passed on the sidewalk. The sheer volume of people, the noise, and odor of vehicle exhaust threatened to overwhelm him. He had an animal’s inherent mistrust of anything that drowned out the senses he depended on for survival. Once he felt like he had a handle on the sensory input, he joined the river of people heading the direction he needed to go. There was nothing outwardly threatening about him, but even in the crush of New York City pedestrian traffic, people unconsciously allowed him extra space, a small buffer between themselves and the man who seemed to radiate an aura that repelled casual touch.

  Jay strode along the streets of New York, carried about by the flow of the crowd, in no real hurry to get to his destination. He had plenty of time to take in the sights of the morning commuter crush: the blaring horns from the traffic, the people engrossed in their phone conversations, or just staring mindlessly at their smart phones, totally unaware of their surroundings. The one thing he did enjoy was the smell of exotic foods coming from small eateries and carts spaced out along the streets. They reminded him of the fact that he had left the apartment with an empty stomach and it took a lot of food to fuel an animal his size. He was only a couple of blocks from his destination and still had some time to kill, so he decided to find something to quell the gnawing in his belly.

  He scanned the small establishments that catered to the on-the-go crowds and chose a bagel shop based on the pleasant aromas wafting through its door. As he entered, he breathed deeply of the smell of coffee and baked goods. Stepping into the long, but swiftly moving line of people awaiting their turn at the counter, his eyes fell upon the woman at the front of the line. She was tall for a woman, dressed in a form fitting skirt that did nothing to hide the fact that she had a gloriously shapely backside. The fall of her rich, auburn hair reached nearly to the nip of her waist, accentuating her hourglass shape. If there was one thing he had a real weakness for, it was a woman with soft curves and a lush figure, and from behind, this woman fit that bill perfectly. As she turned toward him, juggling her purse, a cup of coffee, and a pastry, he noticed that the view from the front was excellent also. He appraised her from the floor up, her gloriously lush thighs, the generous swell of her hips, and good god, those breasts! He ached to feel the weight of them in his hands. What really stopped his heart though, were her eyes. They were watching him with frank amusement at his not so subtle appreciation of her figure. If he had not been so stunned, he would have thought to feel chagrin for being caught so obviously ogling, like someone’s lost village idiot. As she passed him, headed for the door, he couldn't help but avidly watch her progress. She paused in the doorway, turned, and flashed him a sunny smile. She stood there just long enough for him to think to himself, “Go after her, you idiot!”, when she was suddenly jerked through the door with a loud yelp.

  That broke his paralysis, and he leapt for the door after her, jerking it open on to a scene that momentarily baffled him. She was standing on the sidewalk clutching the straps of her purse with her left hand and thoroughly beating the piss out of a man who was desperately clinging to the rest of her purse. He wasn't a large man at all, barely five foot seven, and scrawny. He had chosen his victim poorly, as she outweighed him by a good forty pounds, and obviously was not going down without a fight.

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  Claimed Bride

  Chapter One

  “What did you just say?” Jax spun and snarled at the mousy little man behind him. Samuel, his personal assistant lowered his eyes when Jax’s lit a luminescent yellow. Samuel knew from experience that when his master’s eyes held that tint, it was best to proceed with extreme caution.

  So, the short, balding man cleared his throat and while keeping his eyes trained squarely on the floor, he repeated the message he’d been trusted with delivering.

  “The High Council has sent word, summoning all four factions to a meeting tonight.”

  Jax inhaled a deep breath and held it for a few moments. Calming himself would keep him from striking out against Samuel; the man was just doing his job. Slowly, as each second ticked by, Jax felt the hot rage dim to a smoldering pile of ash. Apparently his eyes had gone back to their normal shade of dull brown, because Samuel immediately relaxed his shoulders and finally met his master’s eyes once again.

  When the last of Jax’s lava-hot rage ebbed, a splitting pain spread throughout his forehead; a repercussion of holding his anger in check. Of course, he’d let his leash slip in the first place, so perhaps he deserved the headache. He reached up and pinched the bridge of his nose in a small effort to ward off the worst of the pain. When he felt like he could carry on a normal conversation without killing or maiming anyone in his vicinity, he turned and moved around behind his large, wooden desk and sat in the comfortable brown leather chair.

  “And what, pray-tell, did they say this “summons” was about?” he asked lightly, monitoring each word carefully.

  Samuel shifted nervously from one foot to another before clearing his throat once again. This next bit was what he’d feared worse. Jax wasn’t going to be happy to say the least, Samuel just hoped he lived long enough to see his sixty-fifth birthday next month.

  “Well your Highness, it appears as though the population has diminished so severely that the High Council has decided it’s time for each of the four leaders to take a mate in order to replenish our ranks.”

  The word “mate” jumped out and smacked Jax clean upside the head. Never in his seven-hundred plus years did he expect this. Before now, each leader was left to choose his or her own mate at his or her own discretion. Of course, throughout time, battles were fought, war was waged and numbers were lost.

  When his father had died and the mantle of reign fell to Jax, he sworn he’d never subject another person to his lifestyle. And now, the High Council - those pompous, high and mighty deities of fate - were going to demand he sever his own life-force in order to bring more children into a world they’d never be accepted much less survive? Not to mention there were not that many females left in any of the four factions.

  Jax could think of only one in the Wind’s and perhaps two in Fire’s. But neither Air nor Jax’s own Earth sect had any. They couldn’t interbreed, that went against the laws of nature. So, what exactly did the higher-ups expect them to do?

  Sensing Samuel’s increasing anxiety, Jax waved a hand to dismiss the man before he fainted. He really couldn’t hold the elder man’s delicacy against him. He was only human in a world full of dragons.

  Chapter Two

  Oliva Williams was a woman on a mission. Enlisting in the Army directly after high school graduation, she’d endured the years of hellish torture Uncle Sam’s best threw at her.

  Ten years later and at twenty-seven years old, she’d finally obtained her rank as Master Sergeant. A week after her promotion she’d been deployed again. It had been her third deployment but first as a senior NCO. The mission had lasted a little over a year. Luckily she’d returned with her entire unit, with not a scratch or bruise evident among them.

  She assumed her summons to the Pentagon had something to do with that. She sat in an otherwise empty waiting room and counted the minutes until she was called back.

  She’d never been in this particular wing of the Pentagon so when a sliding panel opened across the room from her, she stood abruptly. She’d been staring at the same spot for an hour and never realized it was, in fact, a door.

  The officer beckoned her to enter and once across the threshold, the revelation of her exact location hit her like a bolt of lightning.

  It was a
war room. A war room filled with men and women of the very highest of military ranks and positions. The all sat around a large, oval table - the middle illuminated with a map of the entire world. Once she stepped within view, all conversation ceased abruptly and the man sitting at the head of the table stood to greet her. She nearly fainted as the President of the United States held his hand out for her to cross the room and sit at his right side.

  She didn’t miss the looks of animosity and general bias that always accompanied woman of her rank and stature. Although centuries old, the U.S. Military still lagged behind in some aspects - gender equality being just one of them. Another was the fact that despite her murderous physical training, she still couldn’t shake that extra twenty pounds off her body. She wasn’t fat by any means - just healthy with plenty of curves. At six-feet-two-inches tall, she weighed around two hundred and five pounds. About sixty-five pounds too much according to her physician. But no matter how much she pushed her body beyond its limits, those extra pounds stubbornly hung on.

  In the end, she’d decided to just let sleeping dogs be. That extra weight didn’t hinder her in her duties - hell, she performed better than half the young meat-heads serving under her command.

  “Sergeant Williams?” The President’s gravelly voice prompted her attention back to the strange situation she suddenly faced.

  “I’m sorry, Sir,” she rushed out, embarrassed at her sudden distraction. “What may I do for you, Sir?”

  The older man smiled, a sudden gleam coating his wrinkled face.

  “Sergeant Williams, I’d like you to meet Jaxen Monroe,” he drawled and Oliva’s eyes suddenly diverted to a shadowy corner across the room from her. A black silhouette of a man separated itself from the dark wall and approached the table with a predator-like swagger. Olivia couldn’t help but gawk at the man. Tall, probably somewhere around six-feet-four - possibly more - and muscular; danger radiated off him in loud, blasting waves.