The Cowboy's Dark Desires (Billionaire BDSM Steamy Romance)
Author: Irons, Rose
Date: 2016-02-04T08:00:00+00:00

Copyright 2015 Rose Irons

All rights reserved.

The Cowboy’s Dark Desires

Book design by Rose Irons

Cover Image Copyright Deposit Photos

Warning: This book contains graphic depictions of consenting adults engaging in explicit sexual activities, and is only intended for mature readers over the age of 18.

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Mina smoothed her hands over her satiny dress and looked at her curves critically in the mirror. A confident, poised, sexy woman looked back at her. Her brown hair was falling just right, a stray curl wisping free of her bun, artfully asking some kind man to brush it aside for her. The dress hugged her breasts, revealing just enough of her creamy skin to keep her date distracted. She only wished she felt as confident as she looked.

Normally, Mina could flirt and dance with the best of them, but tonight wasn't just any date. Tonight she had to swallow her pride and ask for help.

Her perfectly fixed smile faltered. Yesterday, she had realized even with her next paycheck, she wasn't going to make rent. So she called Marcus and asked him to meet her tonight. Marcus was a well-off friend who had asked her out before. But Mina was always too busy and she didn't think of him in that way. True, he was handsome, but there was always something about him, like he was holding back. She didn't know what it was, but every time he had asked, she had said no.

When she called to tell him she was ready, there had been a long pause on the other end of the line. "Really."

"Yes," she told him, hoping she didn't sound too desperate.

"Eight o'clock, then. At the Quarry House."

There it was again, that strange note in his voice.

"I'll be there," Mina promised, and hung up, hoping she sounded eager and not scared.

She certainly looked the part tonight. And Mina had seen Marcus frankly checking her out even in jeans and a t-shirt. She was sure he would approve of the outfit.

Still, she was nervous.

Forcing a smile, Mina met her reflection's eyes once more. "I'm so glad we could finally do this, Marcus," she practiced.

~

"I'm so glad we could finally do this, Marcus," she murmured as the waiter poured their wine.

Marcus smiled. "So am I, Mina. Tell me, have you been here before?"

"No, never." Mina was trying her hardest not to feel self conscious. She was out of her element; a city girl, despite the endless prairie just a short drive from her home. It was beautiful, but she never felt compelled to spend any real time there.

When Marcus had inherited the family business, a very successful cattle ranch, he had exceeded everyone’s expectations and demonstrated a keen knack for business. Mina had assumed he’d take her somewhere befitting a man of wealth, but instead she had met him at a run down dive. Now she was overdressed and trying not to make a spectacle of herself.

"You aught  to try the ribeye. All their meat comes right from my ranch.”

Mina smiled. "Why don't you order for me? Surprise me with whatever you think I would like."

His gaze hardened and turned hot for a moment. Then, just as quickly, he smiled and began to tell a story. It was such a brief look she thought she might have imagined it but for the shiver that came over her. She could feel her nipples strain against the thin cloth of her dress and hoped they weren't too noticeable.

As the night went on, Mina was surprised to find she was actually able to relax and enjoy herself. Marcus was the perfect gentleman and an amusing date. He had a flair for storytelling that more than once set her to laughing a little too loudly in delight. If he was casting surreptitious glances at her décolletage, she never caught him.

And she was definitely surprised by the food he chose for her. She hadn’t been expecting much, based on how the place looked, but the meal was absolutely delicious. Marcus explained that absolutely everything they made came from local ingredients and prepared on the spot.

As the last dish before dessert, the waiter brought forth the one dish she had been unsure of: oysters still in the shell.

"I don't know how to eat these," she confessed to Marcus once the waiter had gone.

Marcus smiled. "I'll show you. Here."

He pulled his chair close to hers and selected an oyster and a knife. "Slip the blade in like this," and he demonstrated, "give a little flick of your wrist until it comes free. Use only a small amount of pressure. Trim here, and it's done." He held the shell up to her lips, his eyes dark. "Now, take it all at once. Try not to lose the liquor on the shell; it's the best part.

"Are you ready?"

She wasn't sure why, but she shivered again. Slowly moving her lips to the shell, she nodded.

He tilted it, letting the warm oyster slip into her mouth. Mina felt one of his fingers brush her lip, and then he leaned back.

"That was delicious. Thank you."

"I'm glad you trusted me enough to try it. They’re my favorite;  it’s not on the menu, but I had them acquire some just for me " Marcus' eyes were unreadable. "Now, Mina. Tell me why you're really here."

She tried to busy herself with opening another oyster, nervous about meeting his gaze. "I need help," she admitted.

He took the oyster from her without comment, flicking and releasing it before handing it back. "I'm assuming you didn't just mean with the oyster."

"No." Mina forced herself to look at him. "I’m in trouble. My shop went under and I’ve got nothing but debt. In a few days I won’t even have a place to stay."

The words came out of her in a rush, and Mina found now that once she started, she was unable to stop. "I'm so sorry. I never wanted to come to you like this. Things have just been so hard lately, and I don't know what else to do."

"So you got dressed up and came down here to plead your case?" He raised an eyebrow.

Mina busied herself with another oyster, unsure of how to reply.

They ate in silence for a few minutes. Marcus didn't offer again to help with the oysters, and seemed content to let her struggle as he waited for an answer.

Finally, it was too much for her. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you." Marcus leaned back in his chair. "Mina, I can't help you."

"Oh." Flushed with embarrassment, Mina pushed back her chair to go.

"I can't just give you money," he continued as if he hadn't noticed her awkward attempt at departure. "I like to think I am a good man, Mina, but I'm a businessman first and foremost. That's why I've been so sucessful."

She nodded, unsure of where this was going.

"But if there is something you can offer, some service you can perform, then maybe we can arrange something."

Something about his phrasing made Mina squirm in her chair, but his face was calm and guileless. "I can -- " she stopped herself. As a beautician, what exactly could she offer to do for him? She rarely worked with men and anyway, Marcus already clearly had a good hair dresser, and maybe a barber as well. "I can't think of anything."

He arched his eyebrow again as if to say, Can't you?

"I could try to help around the house, maybe? I can clean and do laundry... I can cook a little." Mina hated housework, but faced with that stare, she needed to say something.

"I already have a staff, Mina. You know that."

It was true. Mina had met them on more than one occasion. Sophie and Gavin had been kind to her; she couldn't imagine putting them out of work.

The waiter came to clear away the oysters, and Marcus sighed. "Mina, we both know what it is you came here to offer. I want you to say it."

Mina felt her cunt give a little clench at that. Trying to get a hold of herself, she pressed her legs together firmly. "Marcus, I --"

"Say it."

The commanding tone in his voice made her tingle. "I'll sleep with you if you help me."

Marcus leaned forward, an intensity in his eyes that frightened her. "And what if it isn't sex that I want, Mina? What if what I want is you?"

Aroused, but confused, Mina shook her head. "I'm sorry, I don't understand."

He sighed again. "Mina, if all I wanted is sex, I would have had you long before now. But I was content to wait. I enjoy being your friend. But if you are going to make this offer, you need to understand that what I want isn't only friendship or only sex. I want you, Mina. The deepest core, the truth of you. I want you to need me in your soul once I finally take you. And I won't take you unless you do.

"That is what I want."

His words burned into her, setting her flesh alight. Her nipples hardened again, and Mina knew no pressing together of her legs would keep her panties from growing damp this time.

"Dessert?" The waiter was back, menu in hand.

Marcus leaned back. "That's up to the lady."

Mina took a deep breath before meeting the waiter's expectant gaze. "Yes. I'm ready."

~

Mina shivered as she looked around the bathroom. It wasn't cold, but she couldn't help but shake. Had she finally gotten herself in over her head?

Marcus had been quiet after they left the restaurant; quiet, but attentive. She hadn't been very interested in talking, either. Something between them had changed and it was going to change more. The dark promise she had made now lay between them, waiting. She hoped they were ready for it. She hoped she was ready for it.

She had been in Marcus' sprawling wooden home before, of course, but that had always been as a guest at a party. Mina had never been in the upstairs rooms, and never alone.

Before he left her in the huge guest bathroom, Marcus had squeezed her hand. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes," she answered hesitantly.

His dark, piercing eyes searched her quickly. Whatever he saw reflected back at him in her wide green ones must have been enough; he nodded once, and then he was gone.

Mina wasn't sure what the night would bring. She was already dressed and coifed, but Marcus had brought her to the guest bath for a reason. Tonight, she was going to be the mistress of the house -- or at least, a mistress in the house. She stifled a nervous giggle.

In the end, it was the tub that decided her. It was a deep cast iron and porcelain affair with more room than she had ever seen before and gently sloping rose walls. It looked comfortable, and Mina hoped that a bath would help relax her.

As the bath filled, Mina sniffed at the bottles lining the tub rim until she found a smell she liked: honeysuckle. She added the salts to the water and inhaled. Perfect.

Shimmying out of her dress, Mina undid her clasps until she was more naked than she had ever felt in her life. Gently, she hung the dress over one of the cushioned chairs and then pinned back her stray curls that had escaped during dinner.

Stepping into the bath made Mina gasp in pleasure. The water was just the right temperature and the bath salts made the water effervesce pleasantly. She slipped in and reclined until the water came up to her chin. With a great sigh, Mina relaxed for the first time in weeks.

As she lay there, her mind inevitably drifted to Marcus and the deal she had made. Truth be told, she was relieved he hadn't taken her up on her initial offer. But something about his speech still stirred strange emotions inside her. They seemed oddly familiar, but she couldn't quite place them.

But was she leading him on? Mina examined that thought worriedly. It was true, Marcus had asked her out before, but she had been clear with him each time, she felt. And this time, all she had only agreed to was giving him a chance. He had said that she had to need him in her soul before he would consider consummating this unorthodox partnership. Mina wriggled in the bath and wondered if she had ever wanted anyone that much. Something in Marcus' demeanor told her that he had.

She wondered what kind of lover Marcus would be. He was always such a gentleman, but those unexpected flashes of something else made her think that there might be another side to him, a darker side.

Closing her eyes, Mina let her hand drift lower, resting it on her cunt as she considered him. She liked the teasing feeling. It made her thoughts feel all the more real.

She remembered the look he had given her during dinner when she asked him to order for her. Remembering the heat of his gaze made her quiver all over again. Should she have asked him then what it was he needed? Should she have let him know what it was she was thinking?

What she was thinking... God. Mina imagined Marcus, his eyes knowing and sure, purposefully fumbling a piece of silverware, and dropping to his knees under the table. She imagined his hands on her knees, forcing them apart. His tongue on her thigh, his breath on her panties. And then his fingers pulling back the thin layer of sheer fabric to give his tongue free reign within her folds.

Mina whimpered at the thought of keeping herself still, so still, while the bar's bustle continued around her. She imagined the sweet torment of his mouth sucking at her clit while she tried to keep her face from betraying how every movement wracked her body with spasms of longing and pleasure. She would have reached for the wine, then, but it would have shaken in her hand so hard that she was sure everyone would have seen.

She imagined the waiter looking down at her, his eyes curious, then lustful. What if he knew what was making her tense, knew that even as he sat there with his notepad, Mina was trying desperately not to come in front of a room of strangers.

"Oh God," Mina groaned, her fingers moving in time with Marcus' imagined tongue. He would be good at it, she knew, and her cunt ached for him to prove it.

From the look in his eyes, she knew he wouldn't have stopped. And she would have begged him to, but Mina knew she wouldn't have meant a word of it. Some terrible, dirty part of her wanted the force. The idea that he could make her shudder and beg for his tongue deep inside her while strangers looked on made her so wet she could feel it even in the bath.

Working her fingers faster now, Mina gasped against the sensation. She circled her clit, rubbing it quickly before moving to long, slow strokes between her lips once more. She could almost feel Marcus' tongue inside her.

Just as she was about to come, the smell of honeysuckle rose around her, swirling, as the door opened.

"Oh!"

Mina shot upright, and looked for a towel. Marcus' maid and ranch hand, Sophie, stood at the door, blushing furiously, a bundle of fabric in her hands.

Sophie's voice was thick with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry, Miss Mina. I'll go."

"No, I'm sorry." Mina blushed herself. Marcus must have sent Sophie to check on her. How long had she been in the bath? "I was just about to -- well, I should be getting out, I suppose."

Still blushing, Sophie closed the door behind her and placed her bundle on the cushioned chair by Mina's dress. "I didn't mean to interrupt. Marcus asked me to let you know you were welcome to relax as long as you'd like, and that he would be in the library when you were through. He said that I should help you with anything you want."

"Thank you," Mina said awkwardly. It was hard for her to see Sophie as a maid; Sophie was about the same age as she was, and beautiful. She looked like a girl Mina might meet while out at the bar, except for the tailored black dress that she wore while working in the house.

Mina shook her head self-consciously. "Sophie, I'm not very good at giving orders. What would you do in my place?"

Sophie grinned, her nose crinkling. "I'd ask for a big bottle of champagne. I happen to know we have some very good champagne in the kitchen. And if you're going to relax in the bath, you should do it right."

"Well, then." Mina lay back. "I think that sounds good."

Dipping a brief curtsey, Sophie slipped back out through the door.

Mina closed her eyes and tried to relax again, but the image, no matter how sweet it was, was gone now. She found herself impatiently waiting for Sophie's return. Having someone to talk to would be nice. And Sophie and Gavin probably knew Marcus better than most, having lived with him for so long.

"Here, Miss Mina." Sophie was back before she expected it, carrying a hefty bottle of champagne. Mina didn't recognize the label, but it looked expensive. "I opened it before I came up; let me fetch you a glass."

"This is fine," Mina laughed. "It wouldn't be the first time I've had champagne out of a bottle, though probably never this fancy."

Sophie smiled again. "If that'll be all, I can take your dress to be cleaned."

"Sophie..." Mina hesitated. "Would you stay for a little? I could use someone to talk to, and I think this is more champagne than I can handle myself."

"Well." Sophie tilted her head, considering. "I'm not generally supposed to drink on duty, but Master Marcus DID say anything you want."

Mina laughed. "Then I really want you to sit and drink with me."

"My pleasure." Sophie smiled, and went to get the other cushioned chair. She brought it over near Mina, but angled it carefully. Mina wondered why until she remembered that she was naked.

"Oh. I should have gone with bubble bath," she muttered ruefully.

"No, Miss Mina. It doesn't bother me at all. If you're uncomfortable, I promise I won't be looking."

Mina shrugged, feeling the water ripple over her breasts. "Honestly, I'm still pretty used to it from college. I had a very liberal roommate."

"Don't we all, in college?" Sophie laughed again.

Taking the bottle of champagne, Mina took a long drink, feeling the bubbles tickle her nose and throat. It was good - she had definitely never had champagne this good before. She felt a little bad about not using a glass and savoring it, but this, she thought, was more relaxing. More of what she needed.

"My roommate was kind of an exhibitionist," Mina admitted, passing the bottle to the maid. "She used to like to have guys over when she knew I was going to be coming home. I walked in so many times."

Giggling, Sophie took a sip. "Now that's bad!"

"Eventually I got used to it." Grinning, Mina admitted, "And sometimes, when the guy looked good, I didn't really mind at all!"

"You're bad, Miss Mina." Sophie handed the bottle back, her fingers brushing Mina's for a moment as she passed it off.

"You've never watched anyone?"

"Aside from coming in just now, you mean?"

Mina blushed, but Sophie's tone was light and teasing. "Ouch. I think I need a long drink after that one." She put action to the words.

"I'm sorry, Miss Mina. I didn't mean to tease."

"No, that's all right." Mina handed back the bottle.

Sophie looked at it for a moment. "I'm sorry for interrupting, too. I know that's awful."

"Oh," Mina sighed. "No. It was silly of me. And I'm here now, so I guess there was no need..." She stopped, suddenly awkward and not sure what to say. How much did Sophie know about why she was here?

"Miss Mina?"

She looked up at Sophie's suddenly earnest face. "What?"

"Truth to tell, Marcus is crazy about you. He'd let you stay here forever and never lay a finger on you if you wanted it. You don't need to worry about him like that." As though embarrassed, she ducked her head. "Gavin and me like you, too."

Frowning, Mina absorbed that information. It put Marcus' deal with her in a new light. But she still intended to honor her agreement. And she had been doing just that before Sophie came in - trying to think of him in a different way.

"So you're telling me I should be upset that you interrupted me?"

Sophie laughed, and took the bottle back. "I guess so, Miss Mina."

Mina sighed theatrically. "I was thinking such lovely things, too."

"It seemed like you were, Miss Mina." Sophie's voice turned sly. "About Marcus?"

Mina blushed, accepting the bottle Sophie offered and taking another bubbly sip. "Maybe."

"About his hard chest, his big calloused hands, his firm butt?"

"Sophie!" Mina sputtered against the mouth of the champagne bottle.

The maid smirked and continued. "He has really muscular legs, you know. He likes to go riding every chance he gets, so they're very hard. You can see the muscles when he moves."

"Mm-hmm." Mina closed her eyes again, trying to pretend like she wasn't interested.

"He plays piano, too. Big, nimble fingers. Have you ever been with a pianist?"

"You're bad," Mina muttered.

She felt Sophie's hand on hers, and then the weight of the bottle was gone. "So are you. Go on, Miss Mina. Show me what it's like to watch."

Mina felt a tingle that was not only from the champagne. "I couldn't, Sophie."

"He does his workouts in the morning," Sophie continued blithely, ignoring her last comment. "He does pushups. One hundred of them."

Against her better judgment, Mina let that image into her mind: Marcus, shirtless and gleaming, perfectly toned as he rose and fell with a flex of his arms. She was, she thought, quite all right if he wanted to do that flexing over her as well.

The thought of Marcus on top of her made her cunt quiver again, and Mina blushed to be thinking such things in front of Sophie.

But the maid was still calmly reciting Marcus' virtues, pausing every now and again to take another sip of champagne.

Mina's head felt pleasantly light now, and she let herself drift, listening to Sophie's generous descriptions and adding a few of her own. The feel of Marcus' arm, large and muscled, under his suit jacket when he offered her his arm. His finger brushing her lips as he fed her the oyster. The memory of how just imagining his tongue had almost made her come.

The temptation was too much to resist, and soon Mina found her fingers stroking herself again, without any conscious direction. She let Sophie guide her, thinking of Marcus waiting for her in the library. Perhaps before the big fireplace, with a warm rug in front of it. A bottle of wine, and she was already tipsy from the champagne. What if she just went down there, still naked and slippery from her bath? Would he take her then?

She imagined his hard body against hers, the bruising force of his kiss as he would bear her down onto the sheepskin rug. His cock against her most secret of places as she begged him to enter her. Oh god, the way he moved inside her, each thrust sending her into a paroxysm of longing.

"Oh," she whimpered aloud.

She imagined Marcus as he had been at dinner: hard, commanding, and sure of himself. He'd order her to surrender herself to him as she moved underneath him, and Mina knew she would.

She felt Sophie's hand at her neck, the maid's breath at her ear. "He needs you, Miss Mina."

Mina shivered, feeling a jolt of pleasure run down her spine at Sophie's words. The maid's mouth closed on her ear, biting lightly, and Mina cried out. She could feel Marcus in her mind, and Sophie here, and her fingers slipped inside herself and she rose up and came, oh God, the pleasure rushing through her, and all she knew was need, delicious need, and then Sophie's mouth was on hers fleetingly as she whispered, "Good girl."

It took a few minutes after Sophie left for Mina to compose herself long enough to get out of the bath. Her legs were weak with the force of her orgasm, and with the memory of what she had just done in front of the maid. But Marcus was waiting; it was time to go.

After drying herself off, she investigated the bundle of cloth Sophie had left on the chair. It was the most beautiful negligee she had ever seen. As she slipped it on, she could feel the satin rise over her curves, just barely kissing her skin as she moved. The sensation, twinned with the champagne, left Mina feeling both beautiful and wicked.

She pirouetted in front of the mirror. Perfect.

A smile tugged at her mouth. Hopefully Marcus would think so, too.

~

"Mina." Marcus stood, smiling. "You came."

She took his offered hand and looked around in awe. "Marcus, it's incredible."

And it was. The library was housed in a warm room full of shelves and windows. Old-style moldings crowned windows that looked over the ranch's expansive grounds, and heavy drapes softened their edges and gave deep, lovely color to the room. There were more books than Mina had ever seen before in a personal collection, and on every topic. She could spend days here, happy.

"I'm glad you like it." He led her around the room, quietly smiling at her expression, but otherwise just letting her gape. Mina ran her fingers over the spines of familiar books, old friends.

Eventually, he brought her back to the fireplace. This was where he had stood to greet her, in front of the massive marble fireplace that crackled merrily before her. Though the flame was large, it was well-contained, and Mina smiled at the warmth of it. She had been chilly clad in just the negligee, but now she was deliciously warm. Before the fireplace lay a bearskin rug, a small table, and two green wingback chairs. She settled into one at Marcus' gesture.

"I thought you might be hungry after all that champagne."

She laughed, blushing. How did he know about that already? But of course, Sophie must have told him.

As though thinking the maid's name summoned her, Sophie and Gavin entered the room. They spoke quietly with Marcus, and Mina took the opportunity to look him over once again.

Here in the house, he was clearly in his element, as he had been in the bar earlier that evening. There was an easy air of command about him, a man who was accustomed to having his orders followed. Mina's heart skipped a beat as she remembered the intensity of his gaze and wondered what orders he might have for her.

She took a small chocolate from the table and popped it into her mouth. The dark, creamy taste went well with the lingering aftertaste of the champagne. She watched the others, nervous but excited. Somehow she knew something was about to happen.

After another moment, Marcus took the seat beside her. He leaned over and murmured in her ear, "Time for a show before bed, Mina."

The feel of his breath against her ear sent a thrill through Mina, reawakening her barely slumbering cunt. She shivered and sat upright. Show?

Slowly, Gavin began unbuttoning his short, and Mina's breath caught in her throat. He was young, Gavin was, but well-muscled and handsome. The fire set the faint sheen of sweat across his taunt stomach to shining, drawing Mina's eyes irresistibly to his firm body. It was hard not to think of those big arms flexing as he thrust into her.

She shivered again. "What-"

But Marcus' finger at her lips stopped her. Entranced almost more by his touch than the servants, Mina watched the scene unfold.

Sophie ran her hands over Gavin's now-bare chest, smiling lustfully. She murmured something Mina couldn't quite catch, and Gavin chuckled in response. He took her hand to steady her as she lowered herself to her knees.

As Mina and Marcus watched, Sophie unzipped Gavin's pants and gently pulled his cock free. Mina gasped to see it. It was not overly long, but very thick. His head was small but well-shaped, and she could see his cock was already straining against Sophie's small hand.

Sophie leaned forward and tasted him, her little pink tongue questing at the tip of his cock until he sighed and shuddered under her. Only when he was red and shivering did Sophie stop her teasing and take him fully inside her mouth.

Mina felt Marcus' hand on hers, and realized she had given a long sigh with Gavin as Sophie took him inside her mouth. Sophie worked the servant now, her head bobbing back and forth in practiced motions.

Marcus stroked the back of her hand with his thumb slowly. He wouldn't meet her gaze, but even that faint touch was driving Mina to distraction. Why were they watching? Didn't he want this for himself? Why was she here if he didn't want to take her? His thumb moved again and Mina shivered as the sensation went through her, lancing down deep into her cunt and bringing a surge of wetness. Only then did she realize his thumb moved in time with Molly's movements. Mina bit her lip.

Sophie swallowed against Gavin's cock, holding him completely in her mouth and throat for a few long seconds as he moaned at her ministrations. Her hands were busy now, cupping Gavin's balls and stroking his perineum as she took his cock with experiences strokes.

The young man rested his hand on Sophie's hand as though urging her to greater speed. She responded at once. Mina could hear the gentle sucking sounds of Sophie slurping at Gavin's thick shaft. Even though it was Sophie, not Mina, who worked Gavin to groaning, Mina could feel her body responding, growing wet and eager for someone inside her.

For Marcus inside her.

His thumb across her hand now had an electric feel to it. Every move he made communicated itself down the entire length of Mina's body, making even her toes curl and ache for more touch. But when she tried to move her hand to his lap to minister him as Sophie brought Gavin thundering towards the end, Marcus held her hand still.

Frustrated and aching, Mina watched Sophie work Gavin expertly to climax. As he came, Gavin pressed Sophie's head closer to his crotch, straining to release every drop of his cum into her hungry mouth. Mina's cunt pulsed with desire.

To her shock, as Gavin finished, Sophie stood and gestured to Marcus coyly. Mina felt the sting of jealousy as he accepted, smiling, and went to her.

"But-" she started to protest, and blushed.

"Mina, lean back and be quiet." Marcus' eyes bored into her. "I told Sophie and Gavin you would enjoy their show. Don't disappoint me."

The cold command in his voice made Mina shiver with desire. His orders awakened something in her, the dark promise of what this weekend could become, if she let it.

"But..." she tried again, softer.

"Gavin," Marcus said gently, "Mina has a question. See to her, won't you?"

As Sophie began to unbutton Marcus' shirt, Mina closed her eyes, torn between arousal and confusion. Marcus had intimated that they would wait until she was ready, but she was ready now. Why wasn't she with him? Thinking back over her thoughts in the bathtub and her conversation with Sophie, Mina blushed harder and opened her eyes, determined not to disappoint Marcus.

She saw, to her surprise, that Sophie and Marcus were intertwined, and that Gavin had knelt before her, still gloriously nude.

"Gavin, I-" Mina stumbled. She had been about to tell him no, but her body was thunderously awake, and watching Marcus take Sophie would be too much to bear without some release. Had Marcus known that? She swallowed. "Be gentle."

His response was a sweet and tender kiss on the inside of her knee.

Mina leaned back in the chair as Gavin slowly slid her negligee up over her thighs, revealing her creamy thighs and her eager cunt between them.

Meanwhile, her eyes were locked on Marcus'. He and Sophie were on the rug now, Sophie clad only in a slip. Her maid's uniform was neatly folded beside them. She ran her hands over Marcus with an easy familiarity that made Mina wistful.

Marcus sucked at first one breast, then the other, pulling aside the sheer fabric with ease. Sophie had nice breasts, pert and little, and Mina caught herself being aroused at the thought of taking them into her own mouth. She blushed again, and when Marcus' mouth moved on to Sophie's neck, her eyes lingered on the faint pink circles where he had nipped at Sophie's flesh.

She could feel Gavin's breath on her bare cunt now, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from Marcus and Sophie. Marcus was as beautiful naked as she had imagined, and his every move was filled with a well-muscled grace. With no more effort than lifting a child, he slid an arm around Sophie and deposited her on all fours, facing Mina. Mina caught a brief glimpse of Sophie's face before the girl lowered her head, letting her red locks spill down over her shoulders and to the floor.

Marcus' hands were at Sophie's hips now as he positioned himself behind her, and his eyes –

Mina whimpered at the depth of emotion she saw reflected back at her as she met them. Lust, yes, and need, but also a more primal hunger. An ache. Love.

As Marcus slowly pierced Sophie's cunt, Mina felt Gavin's mouth on her eager lips. She moaned, feeling Marcus' stare as a tangible force almost stronger than Gavin between her legs. His gaze penetrated her to her core, touching her in places beyond Gavin's reach. Some savage need uncurled within Mina's chest, and she realized she had bit her lip to bleeding. Her breath came quick as Marcus moved, each thrust a movement she desperately needed for her own. She cried out in frustration and desire.

Gavin's tongue was torturously sweet, almost agonizing in its gentleness. But he wasn't the reason she cried out, the reason she clenched the arms of the chair. Before Mina, Marcus fucked Sophie, sending the slender girl's frame to shaking with his vigorous thrusts. Mina could see his fingers digging into Sophie's hips, and she groaned at the thought of his nails on her skin, piercing her as sweetly as his cock would.

The long, slow strokes Gavin teased her with sent waves of pleasure coursing through Mina and set her to panting desperately. She could feel a trickle of sweat drip between her breasts, disappearing beneath the expensive fabric of the negligee Marcus had given her. It crinkled under Gavin's hands, and Mina desperately wished she were no longer wearing it. She knew Marcus was watching Gavin between her legs even as she watched him with Sophie, but she wanted him to see all of her. To see everything he wasn't touching.

Daring, Mina grabbed the fabric between her breasts and ripped downwards as Gavin's tongue coaxed another sweet shudder through her slender frame. The fabric, thin and luxurious, tore easily under her impatient grasp, and Mina was rewarded with a dark flash in Marcus' eyes. Was it anger or lust? Mina caressed her breasts as she watched her friend fuck his servant, twisting her nipples and making herself grasp under Gavin's skilled tongue.

"Oh, oh, oh," Molly wailed as Marcus shoved her face closer to the rug, practically lifting her ass into the air with the force of his thrusts. Mina could hear the slap of flesh on flesh as Marcus rammed against the maid, forcing yet another moan of pleasure from her. His eyes lowered, briefly, to Mina's hand on her breast, and for the first time, Mina heard his breath catch in his throat.

"For you," she whispered.

Gavin's tongue plunged inside Mina, breathing through the slick layers of fluid, and at the same time, Sophie screamed in throaty pleasure as Marcus made her cum. But Marcus hadn't yet.

Fixing his gaze on her, Mina slowly trailed her hands down by Gavin's head. One she rested lightly on his curls, urging him to greater speed.

The other she slipped between her swollen lips. There it found her eager clit, and Mina began to stroke herself. She wasn't blushing anymore. This seemed so natural to her - anything would have, under Marcus' gaze. She was drowning in him, and never wanted to surface.

Sophie whimpered. Marcus had slowed his strokes and now moved languidly, as thought waiting to see what Mina would do before he climaxed himself.

Gavin's tongue penetrated her more quickly now as he responded to her urging. Mina rubbed her clit harder, thrusting her hips against Gavin's face and wishing yet again that she were the one under Marcus. How had she ever been able to deny her attraction for him? She thought if she didn't get to touch his cock soon, she might die.

The thought of swaying submissively before him, on her knees on the bearskin rug in Sophie's place made Mina whimper. She could almost feel Marcus' hands on her, his nails clawing her back as he plunged into her again and again until she begged for release. She closed her eyes and tried to hold onto the image, forcing her cunt against Gavin's tongue. She was so close, so close, but she needed Marcus' eyes on her. She met his dark gaze and once more felt that terrible thrill run through her. He was moving against Molly harder now, using her as he watched Mina touch herself. Mina could see a faint glimmer of sweat on his well-muscled torso. His face was flushed with exertion and his cock - god, how she wanted it - was red and shuddering.

She whimpered as Gavin slipped a finger inside her. Mina needed to be penetrated, needed Marcus' cock. Her clit ached from her desperate assault, and she could feel pleasure crashing through her body, but the peak remained damnably elusive, painfully close but just out of reach –

and then Marcus dark eyes burned into her and he whispered, "Cum for me" –

and her body exploded in pleasure and Mina came in a riot of cries, bucking against Gavin's mouth and hearing Marcus gasp himself as he filled Sophie with the semen he had cum for Mina.

"Oh, God," she whispered.

Gavin kissed her inner thigh lovingly. "Now you begin to understand."

In the end, Mina's knees were too weak to walk, so Gavin carried her, sweaty and exhausted, to her suite. Mina was still feeling the champagne, and thought it would be easy to fall asleep after the day she'd had, but when Gavin left her, Mina lay down and only felt confused and bewildered. She tried to hold onto the sweet moments for the day - the dinner, her bath, Gavin's mouth on her - but though the bath had been exquisite, Gavin's tongue expert, his ministrations sublime, they weren't what she truly wanted, and now Mina felt horribly close. She felt tears welling up in her eyes and spilling over.

"Stupid," she berated herself, "Stupid, stupid, stupid."

She lay in the dark for a few minutes, feeling sorry for herself, but not really knowing why.

And then the door opened.

"Mina?"

"Marcus." She sat up and hastily wiped at the tears on her cheeks. "I thought you were going to bed."

She could hear the smile in his voice. "I am, but I wanted to say goodnight first."

"Oh. Goodnight." She pulled the covers up, frustrated, and not sure how to tell him what she had been thinking. Did she even know what she wanted?

Mina heard him approach, and then he leaned over her, smelling faintly of spice and sweat. "You did well today."

She blushed. "Thank you?"

Marcus chuckled. The sound was so familiar, so normal, that it lifted her spirits. This had been a confusing night, but he was still Marcus. She had almost forgotten that, in her desire.

"I hope you aren't regretting your promise."

She swallowed. "No. Only..."

"Only what?"

Her heart thudded in her chest. He was so close now she could feel his breath on her lips. She ached to touch him, but didn't dare. "Only I wish you would see how ready I am."

"Mina." His lips brushed the corner of her mouth. "You haven't begun to need me yet."

His words made her tremble. Mina whimpered. She couldn't bear it anymore, and reached for him.

And then his mouth was on hers. Soft, but insistent, she felt his tongue probe at her lips and she opened for him, opened herself completely as his mouth locked on hers and drowned her in a pleasure so exquisite that arrowed through her, spearing her with need. He drew the breath from her and gave his own back. Her entire body became only her lips on his, the apex, the truth of everything between them, pleasure and pain desperate and intertwined, roaring in her blood and thundering in her ears, cresting until she came again, just as his lips left hers.

"Mina," he murmured again. "This is only the beginning."

Mina spent the night in wakeful dreaming, tossing and turning as her desires tormented her. Twice she awoke; half convinced Marcus had come back and was standing in her room watching her. But when she called out, no one answered.

The bed was more comfortable than any she'd ever used before, but when she finally opened her eyes and realized it was morning, Mina fairly leapt out of bed. Her cunt was already awake, her lips still swollen and slippery from the night before. She blushed to think of Gavin's mouth on her, but it aroused her even now. The promise she had made with Marcus was more than Mina had bargained for, but it had awakened something inside her, some dark passion she had never quite known before. And now that Marcus has brought it out, Mina wanted desperately to learn from him what it meant.

Her resolve strengthened, Mina investigated her rooms. She had been too tipsy and tired the night before to really take note, but now, in the daylight, she was impressed. The whole suite was decorated in earth tones with flourishes of color, and the furniture was all handmade and comfortable. At the vanity, she found a hairbrush and comb, both new and waiting for her. Mina caught a glimpse of her hair in the mirror and grimaced. A comb would definitely be helpful.

Next to the brush, Mina found something else: a small bell, attached to a cord that ran down past the dresser and through the wall. A servant's bell? Experimentally, Mina rang it.

Moments later, Sophie knocked and politely let herself into the room. Mina felt both relieved and embarrassed to see her. Seeing Sophie brought back memories of last night, when Mina had watched Sophie's mouth and cunt be taken by two men. The memory of Marcus sliding himself between Sophie's thighs made Mina blush again.

"Morning, Miss Mina." Sophie was all business, and if she were embarrassed or ashamed of last night, she gave no sign. "How can I help you?"

The simple directness of the question caught Mina off-guard, and the answering tears in her eyes took her aback. She sat on the bed and bit her lip. Here she was: a desperate act had led her here, in search of monetary help from Marcus, and now the dark promise she had made in exchange for that help kept her here. And she couldn't truly say if she wanted to leave. The way things were in the house confused and distressed her, but they also excited her. Something in this place had awakened a passion within Mina she hadn't known she was keeping locked away. She wanted to explore it - but she was afraid to.

"Do you trust me," Marcus had asked. And she still did, but sometimes it was hard to keep the reassuring picture of his face in her mind when faced with so much. His teasing was his way of exposing her to life in his home, but she thought she would truly be comfortable if only he would take her in his arms and kiss her.

Mina took a deep breath and realized Sophie was still waiting for an answer. "I would like to see Marcus. Can you help me get presentable?"

Sophie smiled. "He won't be able to keep his hands off you."

Mina picked up her brush and grumped, "Somehow I doubt it."

~

"Good morning, Mina. I hope you slept well."

Mina tried to detect any trace of irony in Marcus' smooth tones, but he seemed sincere.

"The bed was very comfortable," she agreed aloud, leaving out the fevered dreams of him that had kept her awake long into the early hours of the morning.

He pulled out the chair opposite his. "Please, sit."

As she approached, her heart beat faster at the sight of him. He appeared rested, looking like the wealthy cowboy he was in a black sports jacket and dark blue jeans. She dragged her eyes back up to his before they could betray her, but she thought she caught the barest of smirks from him.

"Thank you," she told him, and started to sit when she saw it.

The chair he offered was no ordinary chair. Heavy and wooden, it looked almost as though it had been carved from one piece of wood; no seams or screws were visible. It was gently sloped to accommodate the back and hips –

- and a slender, artfully carved cock sprang from the center of it, right where she would need to sit.

This time, Mina couldn't control the blush. She met Marcus' gaze in confusion, and found that same hard, commanding look he had given her at dinner. It pierced her, sending her to shivering. Her cunt grew wet again, remembering what just his kiss had done to her. But now...

Marcus waited patiently, and Mina realized he was waiting to see if she would comment or complain. Flustered, she looked down at the chair again, noting how the cock had even approximated some careful details to give the shaft a realistic look and feel. In fact, it reminded her of Marcus' cock. Had he carved this chair himself?

That thought was what decided her. Taking a deep breath, Mina stepped out of her panties and offered them to him. He took the black lace thong coolly, with only a quirk of his eyebrow showing his surprise. Damn him, Mina thought, shivering. She slipped back to the chair and, using the back to steady herself, she sat.

The chair pierced her easily, sliding into her cunt as though it had been made just for her. Mina had only a startled moment to grasp how comforting the wood felt before she felt another rush of sensation: Marcus' lips were on her ear, his breath sending her shuddering against the wooden shaft that impaled her.

"You surprise me, Mina."

She met his gaze defiantly as he returned to his seat. "Maybe you don't know me as well as you thought."

To her surprise, he smiled; the warm, easy smile she knew from her earliest acquaintance. "I know you pretty well, Mina. But I look forward to knowing you better."

Her cunt clenched around the shaft inside her as she imagined all of the ramifications of that statement. She could feel herself beginning to drip down its length onto her thighs and the chair below.

Struggling to keep her voice from betraying her confused arousal, Mina asked, "What do you know about me, exactly?"

To her surprise, he seemed to take the challenge seriously. Leaning back, he steepled his fingers and eyed her. "I know you're a true and loyal friend. I know you don't back down from challenges others would turn away from. I know you are often alone, and you like it that way. Not because you don't like other people, but because you approach them with your walls up, and even the ones who don't know you do can feel the distance."

He leaned towards her, the intensity in his eyes sending an almost painful current of arousal through her. "I know there is a part of you haven't yet explored, Mina. I don't know if that's because you're afraid, or not interested, or because you didn't know it was there. The only thing I don't know is if once you've released yourself and let that passion out, if you'll want to give it free rein." His gaze was now speculative. "Maybe you liked your old life. But maybe there is something missing." He shrugged. "And so here we are."

"Here we are," Mina echoed uncertainly. His words had struck a chord in her, and not just because of her levels of arousal. She knew the truth of them, and wondered now if the real reason Marcus had brought her here was not for him, but for her - to see if she could fulfill the dark passions that she clearly awakened in him.

Her heart beat heavily within her chest. What did she want, truly?

"But that's a discussion for another time." Marcus smiled. "Your food is getting cold."

Startled, Mina looked down. In her distraction over the chair, she hadn't even noticed that there was already a plate filled for her, heaped with scones and eggs and bacon, a small cup of fresh fruit, and even a mini stack of silver dollar pancakes. Flustered, she started to reach for the salt in the center of the table, and then paused, blushing, as she was reminded of the organ inside her. "Can you pass the salt?"

Marcus didn't look up from him plate, but she could see his smile grow. "It's in the center of the table. I think you can reach it. Unless there's some problem?"

She bit her lip. She could tell by the heat on her cheeks that she was still blushing, but she knew the game now. If she wanted salt, she would have to get it herself.

Slowly, carefully, she learned forward. The wooden cock slipped grudgingly from her cunt, inch by inch. Just as she was able to reach the salt, the shaft pressed against her G spot, arresting her motion. Without meaning to, Mina whimpered.

Sliding back down into her chair was an almost painful let down. Mina's cunt burned with the memory of brief pleasure in her most secret of spots, and it begged for more. She tried to resist. The food was delicious, she was sure, but she had taken multiple bites without knowing what it was she was eating, she knew she was in trouble.

With exaggerated carefulness, Mina rose again, pretending she needed syrup. Was there even anything on her plate to eat with syrup? But the pounding of her desire could not be denied, and the thought of working herself to climax before Marcus' dark gaze made her shudder before the cock inside reached her G spot. As her fingers closed on the syrup, the shaft pressed against her once more. This time, she was ready for it, and pressed back, angling her hips. The response was a rush of sensation that threatened to overwhelm her. She froze, trying not to fall as the pleasure crashed over and through her.

"Something wrong, Mina?"

Marcus' question was innocent, but she was sure he had noticed her little trick. His eyes flicked up to hers briefly, and she whimpered again.

He smiled.

"What do you want with me?" Mina asked, frustrated. She sat down full, the shaft filling her once more.

Marcus' eyebrow quirked. "I think you know."

She couldn't help but whimper again. This was torture, being so near him, now that she finally knew, and not being able to touch. That was bad enough, but to be penetrated as he watched, to have to sit and eat breakfast while pretending she didn't need him...

"Please," Mina tried again. She had to make him see. But how could he understand the change the last day had wrought in her when she didn't fully understand it herself? "I want you."

His eyes flashed, and she thought his breathing began to quicken. "Show me."

Mina's cunt clenched at that, reaching vainly for Marcus' cock. But she was still speared by the wooden phallus inside her, and though Mina knew it could never satisfy, her hips began to move of their own accord.

She rocked desperately in her chair, feeling the shaft split her, piercing and pressing against her openings. The sensation made her groan with need, but she couldn't bear to stop. Marcus was panting now, too, his eyes searching her frankly, heavy lidded with desire, as she took her pleasure in front of him.

Mina's thighs ached sweetly from the exertion. Tired as she was, she moved faster, rocking against the chair with such force that the back legs lifted briefly. The resounding crash exploded through Mina with the force of an orgasm, sending her whole body to shaking as she dripped helplessly down the length of the wooden shaft. Each movement was pleasure, torturous and exquisite, but the wooden cock was merciless and unyielding, and no matter how she rode, Mina couldn't quite cum.

Then, through the haze of pleasure, she remembered the syrup.

Leaning forwards, Mina at once felt the pressure change. She moaned aloud, and the ragged sound of Marcus' breathing grew heavy.

Slowly shifting back and forth, Mina worked herself on the phallus. The wooden cock was amazingly suited for this, and wave after wave of pleasure enveloped Mina as it pressed against her walls, spurring her to new ecstatic heights.

If only it were Marcus' hand within her that drew the shuddering from her! Mina leaned even more, provoking another desperate gasp from both herself and her voyeur, whom she desired more than anything.

"I want you," she repeated, her words almost a whisper.

Marcus' eyes pierced her as surely as the cock. "I want to see you prove it."

And she did. With force born of her frustration, Mina slammed down onto the wooden phallus again and again, harder and harder until she thought she would split in two from the unyielding staff within her. She rocked back and forth, letting it fondle her swollen lips and feeling her own juices help her slide back and forth with ease. And through it all, Marcus' gaze held her as surely as the cock, driving her mad with desire, the cresting waves of exquisite pleasure and pain that tore through her, threatening to drown her before they crested and she broke, gasping, to the final release of orgasm that radiated through her entire body and left her shaking, but whole.

~

Mina dove into the pond, feeling the delicious shock of the cool water closing over her head. She kicked, pushing herself through the water, stroking for most of the pond's length before coming up for air, gasping.

Her limbs protested faintly at the movement. She was sore, but in places she never was after a workout: her inner thighs, a particular muscle in her lower back, her wrists. Her body knew what she had been doing, even if Mina herself still felt bewildered by it.

She moved into long, slow laps, taking her time to try and relax and unwind as she puzzled at the mystery of her host and friend.

After her performance at breakfast, Marcus had come to her, placed his hands on her shoulders and brushed his lips against her ear. She shuddered to remember how sweet his hot breath on her skin had been. Mina had almost been ready to come again right then, sure he was about to finally take her.

But instead, he whispered to her, "I'm always impressed by you," and she believed he meant it. If he meant it, though, why wouldn't he take her?

Mina swam faster, pushing her frustration against the water. She had thought she understood this weekend, that she knew what she was offering and what she wanted in return. But now she was no longer sure what it was she expected Marcus to offer her.

Mina knew what she wanted. She wanted the dark passion he had awakened in her to unfurl and be ready for indulgence. She wanted his hand on her cheek, his teeth at her shoulder, his cock inside her, his commanding voice telling her how to shape herself to his desires. But now that she was ready, how to convince Marcus? Was there some test she had yet to pass?

"Is something wrong, Miss Mina?"

She looked up, startled, as she reached the edge of the deck. Gavin stood by the water, a polite and concerned expression on his beautiful face.

"Oh. No, Gavin, I'm all right. Just thinking."

He looked young and innocent, but Mina guessed he was probably her own age - it was his demeanor that made him seem young, and given how deferent and unsure he seemed. And he was no innocent - Mina knew that detail intimately now. Remembering his soft lips at her cunt, she blushed.

"Maybe I can help?" he offered.

Mina hoisted herself out of the water and sat, dripping, at the water's edge. "I'm just confused about Marcus. It's not a problem. I'm just not good with frustration."

"Me neither." Gavin smiled. "I have to ride or work out. Gets the tension out."

"Exactly."

They sat in companionable silence for a moment, and then Mina sighed. "I should probably go get dressed. I look like a drowned rat."

Gavin's hand touched her shoulder, a light, gentle reproach. "You look beautiful.”

Mina smiled. "Thank you, Gavin."

She paused and then, daringly, leaned forward to kiss him.

Her body responded instantly, electrified by the soft touch of lips on hers. Gavin's mouth opened for her, and Mina moaned, already ready for him to taste her again, or more. She leaned into the kiss, pressing her wet body against him. Gavin let her gently bear him back onto the deck.

They lay intertwined, Mina on top of him, gently penetrating his beautiful mouth, when a voice intruded.

"Gavin, have you seen -"

Mina bolted up, feeling guilty and not sure why. Sophie met her gaze, startled, and then smiling. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

"Sophie, I'm sorry, please -" Mina started to stand, babbling, but Gavin caught her wrist and gently held her in place straddling his chest. Sophie placed a finger over Mina's mouth, stopping the words. "You were being consenting adults. In this house, that is no crime." Sophie giggled. "And after all the teasing Marcus has done to you over the last two days, I'd have ridden Gavin at least three times by now myself."

Shocked, Mina tried to process that. "You expected me to be with Gavin?"

Sophie sat beside them, ignoring the puddles of water. Her skirt hiked up as she sat, and Mina caught a glimpse of Sophie's creamy white panties. "Sure. And so does Marcus."

Mina frowned.

"He doesn't mean to be cruel, you know," Gavin said gently, seeming unperturbed by his precarious position by the two women. "It's a lonely life for him, sometimes. We understand him and we share some of it, but he can't ask you to share it with him unless you truly understand it."

"Did he test you, too?" Mina frowned. "Oh. I'm sorry if that was rude."

"In a way." Gavin smiled.

"Like this." Sophie leaned over, her breasts half straining from her shirt, and kissed Gavin. Gavin slipped an arm around her and Mina could feel his cock twitch under her.

Mina watched, hypnotized, as Sophie's hair fell about Gavin's face, brushing softly against his cheeks as they fed dreamily on each others' mouths. There was something at once pure and animal about it, and Mina felt a stirring deep inside her that had more to do with what she saw than the feeling of Gavin underneath her. Sophie was right. This was a special place.

Filled with daring at her sudden understanding, Mina slid back along Gavin's legs and began to undo his belt. He moaned into Sophie's mouth and shifted, lifting his hips to help her slide off first his belt, then his pants. Already his cock strained against his briefs, eager for her touch. Mina remembered how it had looked, slipping in and out of Sophie's pert mouth, and was filled with a longing to taste Gavin in the same way.

She pulled him free then, marveling at how beautiful all of him was. Even his cock seemed deliberate, a well-carved shaft proudly lifted against the dying afternoon light. Mina took him into her mouth quickly, as much as she could without gagging, and then pulled back slowly, letting her lips and teeth softly graze his smooth skin. Gavin whimpered.

Slowly at first, then with more confidence, Mina began to work him with her mouth, growing to understand his needs. His head was especially sensitive, and Gavin moaned each time her lips brushed over the tip of it. She could taste the first salty drops of precum in her throat. He quivered as she moved him, and Sophie shifted. Then Mina felt Sophie's hand on the back of her head, urging her down, to take more of Gavin's cock deeper inside her, deeper into her throat. Mina gagged against the cock and Gavin cried out as she rallied and pressed herself on, encouraged by Sophie's soft, demanding hands.

Gavin began to thrust his hips as though unable to control himself. Mina let herself be pinned, pressing into exciting submission between Sophie's hand and Gavin's hips. She leaned forwards, giving herself to them.

As Gavin drove himself into her throat, Mina felt something new: Sophie's other hand touched her waist now and was slowly drawing her bikini bottom down over Mina's thighs to her knees. Mina tried to moan and gagged again on Gavin's thrusts, feeling Sophie's clever fingers begin to explore her folds.

She had never felt so exposed, so alive. Every cell inside Mina demanded more, set on fire by the simple act of this, being a part of the world in which these people lived, voluntarily held as she was used and used in turn. The simplicity of it crashed through Mina as Sophie slipped a finger inside her, bringing her to shuddering on top of Gavin.

There was only this. Only pleasure. Affection and love made it deeper, stronger, and though Mina knew she still wanted Marcus desperately, her frustration ebbed as the pleasure crashed through her, waves of shivering joy at Gavin's cock, from Sophie's hand.

Sophie's finger curled, and Mina cried out, feeling the finger stroke her G spot. She was no longer able to hold herself up. Gavin's cock in her throat seemed to be the only thing keeping her on her knees, the force of his need as he fucked her mouth an almost tangible thing, pressing her head up and sending shudders of desire racing through her until they found Sophie's hand and raced back once more.

Mina was drowning, split, torn between the cock in her mouth and the insistent fingers inside her. She sucked desperately at Gavin's cock as though it could cure her confusion and hunger, but it only heightened her arousal, arching a demanding pull from her mouth to her nipples, taut against the damp fabric of her suit. She moaned, caught.

Just as Mina felt that she would surely cum or fall, Gavin withdrew from her mouth and gently helped Sophie lay Mina on the deck. He stripped off her bathing suit top as Sophie kissed her heaving breasts gently. Mina shivered and gathered up her breasts, offering them to the sweet warmth of Sophie's clever mouth as Gavin mounted her. She had never so much as kissed a woman before this weekend, but this place and these sensations would not be denied. She trusted and liked Sophie, true, but it was more than that. Mina was lost to the girl's sweet lips and tongue, and as the maid pulled first one nipple, then the other into her mouth, Mina shivered so hard Gavin had to place his hands on her hips to still her.

And then, with one thrust, he was inside her. Mina cried out to feel him, his cock gladly accepted by her wet and swollen cunt. Her whole body sighed in relief as she relaxed into the pleasure of being filled, truly filled. The wooden shaft this morning had felt good and Mina wouldn't mind it again, but what she needed was the warmth and firm touch of a cock inside her, balls pressing against her lips, the gentle gasps of desire that she could feel coming even now as he slowly moved inside her. Even just the sensation of being filled made Mina quiver against Gavin and Sophie, her whole being caught up in the sweet release they offered. As though they could put a name to her need, the two bent to her with a will, and Mina found herself drowning in pleasure from their ministrations.

Sophie suckled first her breasts, then her mouth, always as Mina though she could take no more, moving her soft mouth elsewhere, nipping Mina's ear, biting her neck, until Mina cried out, putty in her hands. Her whole body strained, eager for Sophie's touch, even as Gavin coaxed her to new heights of pleasure and desire.

He was indeed skilled, and though Mina still wished for Marcus, it was impossible not to be aroused by the sight of the beautiful young man, his smooth movements, the glorious sight of his cock, slick with juices, as it slid in and out of her hungry cunt. He wasn't being tender this time; with no Marcus to direct him, he shifted and followed Mina's moans as a guiding light, pressing his cock up into her and thrusting harder and faster to match her panting and rising desire that threatened to steal Mina completely. It filled her as surely as he did, spreading to every limb and orifice. She became only a perfect vessel for their need, this dark passion, and with Gavin's cock inside her, she rode the crest of pleasure, rode it and broke, screaming, as the sweet release flooded her and left her feeling sated - almost.

~

What Mina had planned, she told no one, not even Sophie and Gavin. She hadn't seen Marcus since breakfast and didn't expect him now, but still, she wanted no interruptions. Finally, Mina thought she had unlocked the secret of Marcus' patience. Tonight, she meant to prove to him that her promise was one she intended to keep.

She bathed first, luxuriating in the big bathtub as she had on the first night. This night, she had no need for Sophie's voice or champagne. Her whole body already felt exquisitely, almost painfully awake. The bath soothed her, but did not calm, and as she dressed and did her makeup, Mina's heart thudded within her chest. Tonight, tonight, tonight...

In the end, though, she did need Sophie's help for something. Mina searched high and low, expecting to find a secret stash that could help her, but curiously, even after all she had seen in this house, she found nothing.

Sophie smiled when she asked. "Come, Miss Mina." She offered a hand. "I have something to show you."

The maid led Mina through what seemed like a labyrinth. Mina's heels clicked across stone and parquet floors, Sophie leading her ever deeper into the mansion, and then below the first floor. Here, at the bottom of a small staircase, she paused before a small, unassuming wooden door.

"This is what you want."

Confused, Mina opened the door. What she saw made her blush and gasp.

"Yes," she said simply. "It is."

~

She surveyed the room. Perfect.

Mine fought back a wave of nervousness and wiped her hands on her black skirt. She wanted this desperately, but could she pull it off?

Marcus' face flashed before her eyes, and her chin firmed. Yes, she could pull this off. She would.

The lights dimmed at her touch, leaving only the flickering candles sending curling shadows over the small room and the metal table in the middle of it. Mina took a deep breath and hopped up onto it. It was cool to the touch, and felt good against the heat of her skin. She lay back and closed her eyes.

Her heart beat painfully in her chest, and she could feel her thighs grow damp in anticipation as she strained to hear Marcus' footsteps.

It seemed forever before Sophie brought him, though Mina knew it was probably only a minute or two. But he had finally come and now, heart fluttering, she readied herself to speak.

The door opened. She looked up.

"Mina?" There was confusion in Marcus' voice, but also a rough note of desire that made her quiver. "What are you doing?"

"Waiting for you," she said simply. Somehow all the other words she had planned left her, and she had only a few hard, bright words of truth in this darkness. "I need you, Marcus."

As she said the words, a shudder came over him, tensing his whole muscular body. His dark eyes flashed even in the candlelight. "Are you sure?"

"Sure?" Mina laughed, a strangled sound. "Marcus, if you don't take me now, I think I might die."

Their eyes locked, held, for a long, charged moment. The electricity of his gaze made Mina tremble and ache all the more. She could almost feel his hands on her. She craved his touch. But she didn't press herself to him, and for the first time, she wasn't the one who looked away.

Marcus closed his eyes and swallowed. "I know."

She sat up and swung her legs off the table, ready to go to him, but he held out a hand to stop her.

"Lie back."

And then, "Do you trust me?"

Mina thought of the last time he had asked her that question, and all that had transpired since: Sophie's kiss, Gavin's hands, the wooden cock, Marcus' gentle cruelties.

"Yes," she whispered.

His eyes flashed again. "Strip for me."

She quivered at the command in his voice. "What?"

"Show yourself to me, Mina."

Her trembling hands obeyed before she realized she had agreed to his demand. The electricity still hummed between them, and she could almost feel it as a tangible force as she untied her dark halter top. It swung free in front of her, barely keeping her breasts covered. Keeping her eyes locked on Marcus', she reached behind her neck and undid the top tie as well.

She could see his erection grow, and she felt a rush of saliva as she imagined tasting him.

Mina slipped her skirt down over her hips and revealed her newly-shaved cunt to his dark and demanding eyes. She stood before him, bare, exposed to all of his desires.

And hers.

A trickle of fluid ran down Mina's thigh. She dripped for him, ached for him. Her whole body was ready, and he hadn't even touched her yet.

"Good girl," he murmured, and she felt her cunt clench at the need in his voice. "Lay down and close your eyes."

As she did, she felt the breeze of him moving deeper into the room, towards the wall where all of the toys hung, ready. Again, she trembled; knowing what lay there, nervous but dripping for him and the dark pleasures that awaited her.

"Don't move."

She was about to protest that she wasn't moving, but then she felt his touch and realized it was a warning. She felt cold metal on her foot first: a pinprick, and then more, sharp spikes pulling against her skin, both tantalizing and nearly painful. Marcus moved his toy with skill, and it was all Mina could do to not squeak and shake as he touched her most ticklish places, always with just enough pressure to make her goosebump and quiver inside. Her nervous sang at the steel, set on fire with the sensations he rose in her.

He rolled the wheel higher and higher, past her ankle to her knee and the tender spot behind it, all the while the spokes pricking her arousal to new heights, sending shocks through her nerves that always, inevitably, found their way to the molten core of her.

She felt the cool, slick surface of the table on her back and buttocks like a lifeline. It grounded her, the familiar sensation to let her know she wasn't truly falling, only losing herself in the maelstrom of passion and pain Marcus brought her. Her whole body trembled at each touch, and when he moved his hand on the wheel, she quivered in anticipation., expecting him again and again everywhere and nowhere.

He was skilled with his toy, but that wasn't why she was so taken. Knowing that finally it was Marcus who touched her, Marcus who moved her, made every prick that much more exquisite and delicious. She craved him, and when he put down the wheel and drew a thin silken rope from the wall, she craved that lash, too. It stung across her knees like fire, a quick sting, and she moaned, lifting her hips in supplication. But he wouldn't take her, not yet.

He played the silken cord like a while, catching first her breasts, then her belly, then her thighs. Mina leapt and cried out each time as he hit her, squealing and torn between wanting more and begging him to stop. But the cord fell again and again, until her thighs were shining and red with his ministrations, and her breasts felt heavy and hot. They prickled, anxious for another taste of the lash, and sore from the beating.

And then she felt his mouth.

Good God, she wanted to die. His lips were smooth and sweet, sending the nerves running down the core of her, excited and eager. She felt her empty cunt quiver and drip, reaching desperately for him. And then he opened his mouth, his tongue finding her swollen nipple, and she gasped in relief at the cool moistness of his mouth. He must have taken an ice cube in his lips - he pressed it against her now, and the shock of it made her nipples stiffen again, and goosebumps raised her sore skin. She moaned at the sweet relief. It felt amazing after the heat of the cord, and his mouth - sweet, demanding. She moaned desperately, and it was all she could do to keep from grabbing his head and forcing him down, forcing him to suckle her and send waves of pleasure coursing through her cunt until the pleasure overwhelmed them both.

But as she finally gave in and moved her hands to his hair, Marcus pulled back. The loss of his mouth was a shock, and Mina whimpered in dismay. He held her wrists finally, and then Mina felt the silken core again. He tied her wrists firmly above her head, tying her firmly in place. She squirmed to get comfortable.

She felt his breath on her ear, and shivered. He spoke: "Now you're mine."

"Yes," Mina moaned. She felt her hips rise again without meaning to. "Yes, please."

His mouth found hers, and Mina learned the true meaning of surrender.

He plundered her mouth, and she opened to him, gasping in his breaths and shuddering as his tongue brushed hers, the spice of him filling her nose and throat. She was caught, lifted, rising on a crescendo of need that started and ended with his lips on hers and reached to the very core of her, piercing all that she was and making her whole.

She felt more than saw his big hands fall on either side of her. Marcus lifted himself onto the table, never releasing her mouth. She moaned as he lay himself over her. She felt flesh on hers and her cunt clenched in desire. When had he stripped? It didn't matter. She could hardly think: his presence, so close and intoxicating, overwhelmed all else.

He leaned over her, letting one hand trail down her marked and eager form. His fingers gave rise to sensation coursing through her, making her grow slick and pant. He tweaked a nipple and she gasped; she thought she could feel a smile against her mouth.

Marcus moved his hand lower, trailing a circle around her belly button, and then lower still. Mina whimpered as she felt him find the pink and shining flesh of her abused thighs. He pinched them and chuckled as she jumped. But Mina felt his cock twitch against her leg - the length of him was hot and firm, and she could almost feel his pulse as he pressed against her. She remembered his cock sliding into Sophie and groaned in anticipation.

Marcus' fingers slipped lower then and found her slick lips, sliding between them with an ease that had Mina panting. Gently, he moved first one finger, then two, between her folds and stroked her lightly, as he might a bird. Her whole body quivered, taut, ready to explode but fearing the explosion. The sensation he drew out of her radiated to her ears, her fingertips. She could feel them in the back of her throat as she kissed him and longed for release.

But he teased her still, working her with a skill that coaxed wave after wave of pleasure from her shaking form, but brought her no closer to climax. Her need was a tangible force now, a ball of desire that clenched within her and demanded all of her attention, all of her. His eyes held her firmly, and she knew, in that moment, what it was to be truly loved.

"Marcus," she whispered.

"I'm here."

It was enough.

With movements achingly slow, he penetrated her with a finger, exploring her cunt. She shuddered as he felt within her, stroking her walls and teasing her in all her desperate need. His finger - first one, then two - slid into her with ease, and out, slowly pressing the desire within her to painful heights.

"God," she moaned, "I can't take this."

His face, close to hers: "You will."

She whimpered.

Marcus rammed his fingers into her, his knuckles bruising her clitoris and making her scream with desire as he fucked her with his hand. She twisted beneath her restraints, desperate to grab him and pull him fully on top of her - it was torture, not being able to dig her nails into him and force him inside her! But Marcus had tied them well, and she was caught as surely by them as she was by his hand.

"Oh, oh, oh," she whimpered again, her sobs punctuated by the wet sounds of his hand against her cunt. He was working her fully now, forcing his way into her, curling his fingers insistently along her G spot with every other thrust. Her whole body felt hot, then chilled, the table no longer keeping her calm. All she knew was she needed him. Needed everything.

As suddenly as he had started, his hand pulled free of her folds, and Mina felt herself gaping, crying in frustration. "Please," she wailed.

When she felt the tip of his cock against her swollen and bruised lips, it was all she could do to lift her hips, an offering from the purest temple of need within her. Her passion was at terrible heights, and she could not think, could barely even breathe. She ached, lost in the crashing pleasures within her.

He stroked her lips softly, pressing his cock just between them. It shuddered and bucked at her touch, but Marcus was strong, and only placed the barest hint of himself at her threshold.

"Please," she begged.

"I like you this way, Mina," he murmured, his voice thick with longing. "Red and disheveled, begging for me."

She whimpered. "Please, please. I'll do anything."

His cock left her lips, and she felt Marcus lean over her to whisper in her ear once more. "I know."

A shudder overtook her, too terrible to control, and as her body wracked her with spasms of delayed pleasure, he finally slid himself inside her.

It was as though she had come home. Her cunt accepted him eagerly, lovingly, the space within her filled truly and completely as though it had been made only for him. They cried out as one and he held, quivering, buried to the hilt within her, his cock nudging at her womb, and they were still for long enough for Mina to feel her heartbeat slow and match his.

And then he moved. God, he moved.

Mina had fantasized about this moment for so long and now, caught in Marcus' powerful embrace and still tied with his silken cord, it felt almost surreal. Just the tiniest shift of his cock within her sent shudders of pleasure coursing through her taut form, but it was no longer unbearable, and she drifted in it, set free by the consummation of her need. He thrust slowly and surely into her, letting them both luxuriate in the feeling of his cock pressing against her satiny depths.

"You're mine," he breathed, and she nodded. Nothing more needed to be said.

He kissed the side of her mouth, tasting the tears of frustration she had wept.

Inexorably, his thrusts lengthened, became rougher. A harsher, more animalistic rhythm sped their pulses and began to drive him. He gathered himself over her and thrust again, again, and with each movement the ball of desire deep within Mina grew, hot and terrible, the apex of need. He took her, hard and fast, and she begged him never to stop. The table rocked with the force of his thrusts, each one corresponding with painful desire, his hands on her now, pinching her nipples and his teeth grabbed at her shoulder, then biting the burns from the silken cord, then her neck, harder, harder, until the crescendo seemed close, so close –

she screamed –

the dark passion coiled within her and then suddenly unfurled –

and as the candles flickered, she broke, her orgasm radiating through her as she arched her back, her whole body suffused with the heat of their love. Her limbs tingled with the sensations he woke in her, and when his cock discharged and she felt him fill her womb, she came again, the sweet pulse of his need filling her bringing her to a second, calmer pinnacle until they sighed together, spent, and he lay on top of her. His heart slowed once more, and she could feel his breath on her neck.

And then, her promise fulfilled, Mina knew she was finally home.

Her first day.

Bella felt a thrill of excitement course through her body as she smoothed down her dress. Eyeing herself critically in the mirror, she hoped she would impress her new employer.

A petite young brunette looked back at her with an expression more calm and self-assured than Bella felt. She had tucked her heavy dark hair back into a barrette, but a few curls had escaped to frame her heart-shaped face. Her makeup was even, and her clothing was appropriate, although – well, with a figure that curved like hers, sometimes even the most drab clothes seemed inappropriate.

She bit her lip. Her pert 34C breasts strained against the buttons of her dress and her hips looked a little too inviting, but it was too late to change now. She hoped her employer would approve.

Her new employer was a mysterious one. Even though Bella and her father had only moved to this sleepy town a few years before, she was already well acquainted with the strange story of Baron von Ursus. The late Baron, her new employer’s father, had been celebrated in town as a great philanthropist. His charity was well-known and no few theaters and schools in the nearby countryside bore his name in thanks for a large contribution. He had been lauded until the day he died.

His son, however, was strangely absent from the public's gaze even before the old Baron died. Young Arthur had only made a few appearances in town while his father was alive, and not at all since. Occasionally folks went to his castle to serve or sell goods, but they were always very close-lipped about what they found there. Over time, it had become something of a local hobby to speculate about the living legend of the von Ursus castle.

As soon as Bella had accepted the job as the Baron’s new housekeeper, she’d found herself in the middle of many conversations that died suddenly as the other participants gave each other knowing looks and shook their heads. When pressed, they would back away and refuse to say more. It was concerning, but Bella needed the money for her father’s care. And she had worked for difficult employers before, she reminded herself as she headed out. How bad could the Baron be?

~

The castle rose above her, high stone walls nearly seeming to scrape the sky even as they covered the countryside. She had known it was a castle, but having seen it in the distance did not to justice to the sheer size of it. Bella, used to the countryside, was simply overwhelmed.

She had worked for difficult employers before, she had reminded herself, but she had never worked for a baron.

Taking a deep breath, Bella crossed the small ornamental bridge before the gate and then knocked at the towering oaken doors.

The knock sounded smaller than the doors, and she feared for a moment that no one would come. But she had been expected, after all, and after only a moment, the great doors swung open.

She might have expected it would take several strong men to open such doors, but when they swung free, only one man stood there. By his expensive suit and carefully arranged hair, she knew he must be her new employer. Bella was about to curtsy, ready to take charge of the situation, when he met her gaze.

And then she nearly dropped her papers in shock.

The Baron was handsome. No, not merely handsome – he was beautiful in the classical sense, with a strong jaw and a large, soulful mouth. His dark eyes were distracting in their depths, and his hair, kept fashionably long, just brushed the tops of his ears in brown waves. And his suit was so well-cut it left little to the imagination in terms of how well he was muscled.

She drew in a deep breath, trying to control the sudden fluttering in her belly and the warmth between her legs. Weren’t rich handsome men all supposed to be playboys or partiers? Why would a man so young and handsome keep himself locked away from the world?

Something in his gaze seemed to hint at a deep reservoir of pain and control that Bella found herself longing to explore, but as soon as she saw the flicker there it was gone, replaced by a sense of reservation.

“Ms. Peters, I presume?”

The cool tone of his voice shocked her back to propriety. He did not sound at all as though he was pleased to meet her, or even to see her, though he was clearly the one who had need of her services.

“Yes, my Lord.” Bella curtseyed, careful to keep her eyes lowered so she didn’t embarrass herself by staring. “I am here to fill the position of housekeeper, as requested.”

“Well.” He gave her a once-over that was clinical and cold. “You’ll do, I suppose. Start with the great hall.”

Bella felt a flush of indignation starting. “Sir, my references if you please. And there is the matter of my wages.”

He took the papers from her with a crooked smile. It was the first human expression she had truly seen on him, and Bella found herself strangely drawn to it, even with how rude he had just been. “You wish to negotiate?”

“I just want to make sure the rate I offered is accepted. You weren’t clear in your letter, and I have my father’s care to keep in mind.” She tried to keep her chin firm as she met his gaze. Why did he have to be so handsome?

The crooked smile vanished as he studied her once more. “It is acceptable. Are you content?”

Bella tried to keep a sarcastic tone from her voice as she curtsied once more. “My lord, I am yours.”

“Good.” The harsh tone sounded out of place in his beautiful mouth, but the Baron cast the words over his shoulder as he pivoted and left, almost as though he was fleeing the situation entirely.

Bella stared after him, unsure of what she had gotten herself into.

But the listing had not lied. There was plenty to be done in this great castle, and whatever she may have thought of her employer, he had done a reasonable job of keeping things tidy despite the lack of a regular housekeeper for what she gathered was some years since his father had died. It was true Bella had to clean away cobwebs, and there was rather more dust than one would like to see, but the castle held no traces of having held a bachelor in the prime of his virility roaming about, getting into trouble.

As she cleaned, she couldn’t help but think of her employer once more. The Baron had been just as terse as she had expected for a shut-in, but there was something more about him, something that drew her to him. It wasn’t his looks, though they were strong and handsome. Something about his soul called out to her.

She shook her head, trying to clear it of such silly thoughts. She was here to clean his castle, no more and no less. It would do no one good if she got distracted mooning about him while she did so.

Still… it was easy to imagine those muscles doing more than flex beneath an expensive suit. Maybe flexing beneath her, in bed… or on top of her… or against the wall…

Stop it! Bella ordered herself, blushing even though no one could hear her thoughts. It was hardly her place to be thinking such things, much less to be mooning on her first day at work.

She bent to scrubbing the floor with a will, grateful that no one was there to see the pink heat of her blushes as she tried to keep her damnably handsome employer from her mind.

~

It took Bella a long time after she finished her first day’s work to actually find her employer. The sun was already beginning to slip behind the hills, coloring them a brilliant orange, by the time she found the Baron in his study.

“My lord,” she curtseyed, thinking it couldn’t hurt, “my day’s work is done. With your permission, I’ll take my leave and return tomorrow.”

He stood so swiftly she was taken aback. For some reason she had expected that he would ignore her announcement, but now he was before her, his face coloring in anger and some other, unnameable emotion.

“Return?”

“Oh.” Bella fumbled, feeling a flush of embarrassment. “If my work hasn’t pleased you, of course – ”

“No.” The Baron cut her off with a single, decisive gesture. “Your service was satisfactory, Ms. Peters. I meant that you can’t leave.”

Bella gaped. “Sir?”

The Baron turned away from her and stared out the window at the setting sun. It illuminated his face with an orange glow, filling it with fire and shadow and coloring the strange look in his eyes. “While you are in my employ, you must stay here. It isn’t safe that you leave this castle so late at night.”

“But sir…” Bella hesitated. “My father needs care.”

He cut her off once more. “Am I not paying you so that your father can receive care? I ask very little from those in my employ, Ms. Peters. This is my condition.”

Bella bit her lip. “Yes, my lord. I will be happy to stay the night. But I must make arrangements for my father tomorrow.”

“Good.” The Baron brooded, his gaze far off in the distance. “And Ms. Peters?”

“Bella, my lord. Please.” She tried a smile, but he did not look her way.

“Bella.” He said the name slowly, as though tasting it. “Do not leave your room at night. Strange things have happened in these halls, and it is my duty as your employer to keep you safe.”

A thrill of foreboding passed through Bella, making her knees weak and strangely bringing forth the inappropriate thoughts she had had about the Baron previously to the fore. “Yes, my lord,” she stammered, trying to keep the image of him shirtless from her mind. She was sure her face was red once more. “I will do as you ask.”

“Good,” he said again, never looking her way. “You may go. You will find rooms at the end of the hall have been made up for you. If you have any problems, you may let me know.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“And Bella?”

She paused, in the middle of letting herself out.

“Yes, my lord?”

The Baron turned back to her finally, a hard look in his dark eyes. “Your problems can wait until the morning. Don’t disturb me before then.”

She swallowed against the threat in his voice. “Yes, my lord. I understand.”

~

That night, as Bella lay awake wondering what she had gotten herself into, she heard strange noises long into the deep twilight hours. Several times, it sounded as though heavy footfalls were echoing through the halls. Each time she sat up, shivering, and stared at her door in a panic.

But the knob never turned. Once she could have sworn she heard heavy breathing, but the Baron’s promise seemed true: as long as she remained in her quarters, she would be safe from whatever strange beast roamed the castle halls.

But it was impossible to sleep. And more than once, as Bella lay awake, she heard a long and mournful cry, as though her own sorrow and fear were shared by something else in the night.

~

“You're being safe?”

Bella sighed and answered the question for the fifth time. “Yes, Dad. I can handle the job. And the salary is good for us.”

“All right.” Her father's voice was querulous. “But you're being careful?”

Bella ignored the question and continued packing up her father's clothes. She hoped he wouldn't need to stay at the assisted living home long, only a few weeks until she could get her employment situation settled. The Baron had been harsh, but she didn't think he would be unreasonable. Something in his eyes had given her the feeling there was a gentle side to him. She only hoped it wasn't buried too deeply.

“Bella.”

She raised her head at the sharp tone in her father's voice. “What? I'm sorry, Dad.”

“You're a million miles away. I was talking.” He gave her a long look. His blue eyes, though faded, as always saw too much. “The Baron von Ursus is supposed to be handsome.”

Bella blushed. “Dad!”

“I'm just saying.” Her father gave her another one of his looks. “Rich men are just like other men, Bella. They only have one thing on their minds, and nothing to stop them from taking it.”

“Dad,” Bella said, exasperated. “The Baron has been a gentleman. He isn't going to try anything.”

Her father gave a disbelieving noise, but he returned to helping her with packing.

It took much longer for Bella to move on from the conversation. Rich men might be just like other men, but she couldn't shake the feeling that the Baron was different.

Nor could she shake the memory of his hair falling over his eyes.

~

It was hard to keep her mind to scrubbing and dusting after all she had seen and heard. Bella had always thought of herself as a steady person any employer could count on, but even her scarce interactions with the Baron had set her curiosity afire and her heart to racing. Who was this mysterious man? Why did he want to keep her here? What did he mean that it wasn't safe - and what were those frightening noises she had heard the night before?

Her visit with her father had done nothing to settle her nerves. It took all Bella had to complete her day's work on time without ever doing more than glancing up out of the corners of her eyes to make sure no one - man or beast - was watching her as she moved.

But nothing untoward happened. Still feeling the unease, Bella sought out the Baron, wanting to let him know she was finished... and something else.

He was working in his study, where he had been hours ago as she came through cleaning. The man had hardly moved. Only an errant lock of hair had fallen out of place, making her feel the inappropriate desire to move to his side and brush it back.

"My lord?"

"Yes, Bella."

She blinked. She hadn't been expecting him to remember her name. It sounded sweet on his lips. "My lord, I've finished."

"Yes, Bella. Is that all?"

The question hung in the air, almost a challenge. Only now did he glance at her, his dark eyes flicking her way and sizing her up all at once, as though he had seen to the very depths of her soul and understood without words the question she so desired to ask.

Taking a deep breath, Bella asked it. "Sir... why is there a beast roaming these grounds?"

The Baron looked away, "You heard something last night?"

"I did." She hurried to add, "Only from my room, my lord. I stayed in ask you ordered."

"Good." The Baron sighed and lowered his pen to the paper once more, though he did not write. "A long time ago someone in my family did something foolish. The beast is a result of that. Don't let it trouble you."

"But sir..." Bella bit her lip. "It sounds so lonely."

He stared at her then in shock, his eyes wide and vulnerable. "What?" he asked, his voice harsh with surprise.

Almost again, Bella caught herself wanting to go to him. Whatever the truth of this beast was, it haunted the Baron. "My lord, I only meant..."

"Forget it." He passed a hand over his eyes, his expression returning to its normal stoic beauty. "Do you hear me, Bella? Forget it. Go to your room, if you have finished your labors, and stay there."

"Yes, sir," she whispered, and fled.

~

Her life fell into a strange sort of routine. And though Bella had promised herself she would soon ask again about returning to her apartment with her father, it somehow never seemed the right time to ask the Baron to change the terms of their agreement.

Most of the time, he was cold and brusque with her, but then there were moments he was almost kind. When he found her polishing a medal of his father's with especial care, he said nothing, but there were flowers in Bella's room that night when she retired. It began to matter more to her than Bella liked to admit, finding little things she could do for him to please him.

Those were the good times. And then...

And then there were moments when he looked at her, and her whole world seemed to disappear except for his eyes.

She found herself daydreaming about him as she worked, not only as an employer she wanted to please, but as something more. Her father's warning rang in her mind, but Bella couldn't help herself.

The way he moved, his muscles rippling under his shirt... how his hair fell over his eyes... and the way his lips caressed her name.

“Bella.”

Startled out of her reverie, Bella stood, flustered. She could feel her face burning and prayed it wasn't too noticeable in the dim light. He moved as softly as a predator stalking prey, and she had been surprised by him more than once, but never before while she was thinking such... things.

Bella cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure. “Sir?”

“I wanted to show you something.”

The tone of the Baron's voice gave nothing away, but set Bella's heart to pounding nonetheless. She nodded. “As you wish, sir.”

He turned and walked away without waiting to see if she would follow.

Bella hurried after the Baron as he lead her through Castle von Ursus' winding halls. His long strides kept him far ahead of her, far enough that she kept being distracted by his form as he walked, especially the way his buttocks clenched...

She shook her head and tried to keep pace without being distracted.

The Baron led her through the halls so quickly she was very nearly lost, even after she had been cleaning the castle top to bottom. Finally, he led her out into the grounds behind the castle from a small door she had never before noticed.

Bella tried to gather her breath to ask where they were going, but he stopped not long after, in front of a small stone cottage that must have once been the home of a gardener or groundskeeper back when the castle held a larger family.

Now, of course, it was only the two of them.

“I wanted to you to see this.” The Baron's voice was quiet and strangely withdrawn. “I know how much it's been bothering you to have your father far away. This cottage hasn't been used in some time, but I wanted you to know it was here.”

He took a deep breath. “If you wish, I will have it repaired so your father can live here on these grounds for as long as you work for me.”

Bella's heart leapt in her chest. She didn't know what to say. She had been second guessing herself, wondering if she had made up all of her thoughts of the Baron's inner gentle side, but this – she had never expected he would do something like this.

“Sir...” she whispered, overcome. “I don't know what to say.”

The Baron smiled. “Does that mean you like it?”

“Sir...” Bella stared at him, marveling.

Not daring to think too much about what she was about to do, Bella took a step forward and kissed him.

His eyes widened in surprise, and then closed. Bella felt an electric shock pass between them, a pang of need so strong she might not have believed it if, when she broke away, the Baron hadn't had the same look, dumbfounded, on his face.

“Thank you, sir.” She whispered. “I won't forget this.”

~

That night, Bella lay awake for long hours, remembering the Baron's lips on hers. How could she have been so daring? And yet, every time she thought on it, she felt a desire like she had never known and didn't think she would have ever been able to have him be so kind and not want to kiss him.

What was she going to do?

But surely the Baron wouldn't fire her – he knew she appreciated the gesture, that was all.

Bella tried to calm her beating heart and keep her thoughts from him, but it was hard, so hard not to imagine kissing him once more, sliding her hands down his muscled arms and letting him clutch her tightly. Feeling their bodies press together as they bared their flesh, drinking each other in. The way it would feel when he buried his cock deep inside her...

A mournful cry echoed through the castle, shattering her fantasy.

Whatever beast roamed these halls sounded particularly pained tonight. It made her heart ache until she could bear it no longer. Somehow she knew in her heart of hearts it was in pain. Something or someone had changed things here in the castle, and Bella had the sinking feeling it was her.

Sliding from her four-poster bed, she moved to the door on bare feet. The luxurious carpet gave no sound as she tiptoed across it, her silken nightgown brushing soundlessly against her smooth legs. She knew she shouldn't. But she had to.

The knob too worked quietly, as though the whole room was conspiring to free her. Taking a deep breath, Bella stepped out into the hall.

She could see nothing in the gloom of the night-shrouded castle, but footfalls not her own still echoed on the stone. Bella was not alone here.

Her heart beating so loudly she felt sure someone would hear, Bella took one step, then another. Still no one.

She turned the corner, and found herself face to face with the beast.

A dark form loomed before her, great and terrifying. At first, she thought it was turned away, that she might back up and it would never know, but then the great head swung towards her, and Bella knew she had been caught.

She froze, heart pounding.

Oh please, oh please, pass me by.

But her prayers fell on deaf ears, and the dark shape did not pass her by.

Instead, it loomed before her, greater even than she would have thought possible by the sound of its footfalls and the size of the castle halls. It seemed blurry and indistinct in the dark until she realized that the shape itself was indistinct. It was a great beast after all, one covered in fur.

She thought at first it stood on two legs like a man, but as it approached it was on all fours. Bella could smell it now, a deep musky smell that filled her with terror and a strange longing. Heart in her throat, she waited to die.

But the blow she expected never came.

Instead, she heard a heavy breathing and realized the beast was smelling her. She could feel a soft exhale on her belly, then her thighs, as the creature lowered its head. The thin gauze of her nightgown swayed with the beast’s breath, but Bella didn’t dare move away lest it provoke the creature into attacking.

It breathed in deeply once more, and Bella felt a cool wetness press against her legs. The beast’s nose touched her through the thin silk of her nightgown. She struggled not to flinch or scream.

The nose traced its way down her leg, until it reached the hem of her nightgown and its muzzle brushed against her bare ankle. She could feel its warm breath on her fair skin.

Her pussy tingled with each exhalation. Now she pressed her lips together not to hold back a scream, but a moan. Why was her body responding to the touch of such a beast? How could this be happening?

If the beast was smelling her, then he – and Bella suddenly felt very sure the beast was a he, though she could not have said why – he must know of her desire. The thought was strangely troubling.

She felt him exhale once more, her nightgown swaying and her traitor body responding. The beast’s head lifted, and she felt as though she was being studied.

With a low whimper she was not able to suppress, Bella closed her eyes, terror once more winning out. Whatever was happening here, she did not know if she could take it. This night had grown so strange, and she was not ready to die.

Seconds lengthened into long moments with her heart in her throat. As her pulse calmed, Bella dared to open her eyes once more.

She was alone in the darkened halls of the castle Ursus. Whatever beast had come for her, it had passed her by. She had come to no harm in the night.

~

"Bella."

She looked up from her labors at the sound of the Baron's voice, unusually gentle. "My lord?"

"A moment of your time."

Bella bit her lip and stared after his retreating form. He must have known what she had done. Or maybe he wanted to speak about the kiss the day before.

She sighed, almost too tired to be nervous. Everything in this house was shrouded in mystery, and even though she was trying to make a difference here, she couldn't help feeling she was making things worse.

Nervously, she stood, smoothing her hands on her dress, and followed the Baron to his study.

For once, he was not at the desk looking to ignore her, but rather seated in one of the great claw-footed chairs by the fire. He gestured to the other one. Her unease growing, Bella sat.

"You were out wandering the halls last night."

Bella bowed her head. She didn't see how she could deny it. "Yes, my lord."

The Baron's voice turned harsh. "Why?"

She felt a flutter in her stomach at his tone. The last thing in the world she wanted was to upset him! "I..." Did she dare tell the truth? "I thought you might need me."

"Me?"

Did he sound confused, or angry? She couldn't read the look on his face. There was something dark moving behind his eyes, something that troubled her, but also stirred something deep within her.

"Yes, my lord." She bit her lip again. "My lord, I'm sorry. I'll resign if you wish."

For several long moments, he didn't speak. Not knowing what else to do, she stood, getting ready to curtsy.

"No, Bella. I don't need your resignation."

"Sir..."

“Stay in your room, Bella.” The Baron gave her a sad smile. “This time I’m not ordering, I’m asking. It’s dangerous here, and you… you have become important to me.”

The words hung in the air, and Bella dared not think about what they meant just yet. “Thank you, sir,” she whispered.

The Baron turned away. “No one has stayed with me so long except my father. It is I who should be thanking you.”

This time she did curtsy, blindly, blinking back the sting of tears. She ached to go to him, to soothe the hurt behind those words.

She couldn't help herself. She did.

He didn't seem to hear her approach, only turning when she touched his shoulder. The Baron stared at her uncomprehendingly for a long moment.

And then he lowered his mouth to hers, and her world began. His lips were soft and hard all at once, the sweetness of the kiss piercing the very core of her. Bella trembled against his mouth, grabbing to his muscled arms to keep from falling. But he plied her with skill, his tongue flicking between her lips and coaxing a low moan from her as she clutched him for balance.

At her moan, he pressed her to him, as though he too had been holding back a dam of need. Bella crushed her breasts against his chest, feeling the heat of him as their mouths joined, feeling a rising tide of desire that she didn't know if she could withstand. His cock was now pressing against her hip, hard and long, and she ached to see it, to have him inside her.

The Baron's hands were at her neckline now, working the buttons of her dress. Feverishly, she helped him, stripping the thin fabric from her and stepping out of it all in a moment. No sooner was she standing before him in her bra and panties than he grabbed her once more, groaning as their lips joined.

Bella pulled at his jacket as they moved, stumbling, to the floor before the fire. There, on a great bearskin rug, they explored each other, her sliding her hands to finally untuck his perfect shirt, him cupping her buttocks and drawing her down beside him. They fit so well together, Bella thought, and for a moment wanted to cry.

She stroked her fingers down his well-muscled chest, tracing them lower and lower. But he caught her hand, and she looked up at him in wordless protest.

Even disheveled and dark with desire, he was handsome. He quirked a crooked smile at the protest on her face, and put a finger to her lips. "Lay back."

Heart pounding, she did as he ordered.

She closed her eyes against the cheerful crackling of the fire, wanting to savor every sensation - the fur on her buttocks, his skin against hers, the feeling of him about to fit himself inside her. But it was only his hands she felt, gently removing her bra and panties until she lay, naked and exposed, on the Baron's floor.

"Sir..." she began softly, but then he was moving on her once more, and she did not know what it was she meant to say.

It was not his hands she felt this time, but his mouth. That glorious, perfect mouth and full lips, lowered to kiss her thigh. Bella moaned and spread her legs. She ached for him to touch her with that mouth.

His probing tongue trailed along her thigh and then gently slipped between her lips. Bella whimpered, unable to help herself. The Baron's mouth was warm and firm, laving her in long strokes as he drank in her juices. He moved so sweetly and gently that she could almost no longer tell where his tongue ended and where her pussy began. He drank in her juices, suckling her clitoris and then moving again in the long, slow strokes that built pleasure within her until she needed to scream.

It was the most perfect sensation she had ever felt.

He gently pressed her thighs back into the bearskin rug, holding them firmly with his large hands. The Baron took another long lick, his skill urging her to new heights. The pleasure was building now, impossibly hot in the core of her, exquisite and aching. She could feel it crashing through her, desperate and fulfilling at once.

As he moved once more to her clitoris, she felt as though her whole body was engulfed by his mouth. Bella gasped and cried out, pressing his face deeply into her pussy. He held it there, deep inside her, as she came, cresting the wave of pent-up need that joined them both.

For long moments, he held there as her breathing slowed. And then, he began again.

Bella shuddered against him, lost in the afterglow of her climax and aching with the need to have him continue, to touch her everywhere, to drive his hard cock deep inside her. She gasped against the wave of pleasure that crashed over and through her, breaking against the tongue at her cunt and leaving her full of a need so exquisite she had trouble breathing. Her toes curled, and she fought the urge to completely succumb and press the Baron's face more firmly between her legs.

She could see the muscles in his shoulders flex as he held her still, and with each move of his head he brought her to new heights of desire she had never before known. The pleasure was like nothing Bella could have imagined. She screamed as she came once more, her pussy pulsing against the Baron's lips.

"Please," she whispered.

Slowly, slowly he rose from between her legs, his face heavy with desire but also a strange look of fear.

"Bella," he whispered, his voice husky with need. "I have to fire you."

Bella stared at him in shock. "What?"

"I have to let you go."

"But - " But she was naked on his floor. But he had just pleasured her in ways she had not ever known she could be pleasured. But he had already told her he needed her to stay. Bella bit her lip, wanting to say all of those reasons, and none of them.

"Bella, please." The Baron's voice sounded strangled now. "Get out."

Slowly, Bella stood and gathered her clothes, feeling dirty and ashamed. She didn't know what had happened. She didn't want to leave.

Once more she turned to him before she left, wanting to speak, but the tormented expression on his face as he stared into the fire left no room for discussion. She went.

~

Not knowing where else to go, Bella found herself walking down the hall to her father's room at the assisted living facility. Was it only yesterday she had been planning how to tell him he would be able to come live with her in the castle, that they wouldn't have to be apart? How had everything gone so wrong so quickly?

She still didn't understand what had happened. Bella and the Baron had finally come together, been close, and he had given her the best orgasm she had ever known. But what she couldn't understand was the pain in his eyes afterwards. He had ordered her to leave, but she couldn't help feeling as though it was a punishment for him as well as her.

Then why make her go?

With a sigh, Bella let herself into her father's room. He was sitting by the window, staring out, but he looked up when she entered.

“Bella? What's wrong?”

“Oh, Daddy.” She knelt by him, putting her head in his lap. “I'm so confused.”

He stroked her hair, and Bella finally let herself cry the tears of hurt and confusion that she had been holding back since she left the castle.

~

The next morning Bella woke, determined. Somewhere in the night she had come to a conclusion: the Baron hadn't truly wanted her to leave. And she didn't want to leave him.

She deserved an explanation.

Steeling her courage, Bella went up to the castle as usual that morning. It was almost the time she usually arrived for work, and for a moment she was able to pretend that it was all a bad dream, that she would be welcomed inside as always.

But when her knock fell, the door didn't open for several long minutes. She hadn't been expected. For a moment, Bella worried that the Baron might not even open the door for her at all.

He did.

They stood for long moments, looking at each other. Bella thought the Baron looked as though he'd had a rough night. There were dark circles under his eyes, and his normally immaculate suit was wrinkled and looked as though it might still be the one he wore yesterday.

“Ms. Peters.”

Her heart pounding wildly, Bella held her ground against the coolness in his voice. “We need to talk.”

The Baron looked away. “I don't think that's wise.”

“Please.”

Slowly, the Baron opened the door further. Still refusing to meet her eyes, he sighed. “Just a few minutes.”

That's all I need, Bella thought. Allowing herself to feel hope, she stepped inside.

To her surprise, returning to the castle felt like coming home. The great tapestries, the wooden banisters, the silver candlesticks she had cleaned... everything felt familiar to her as the back of her hand.

Taking charge, she led him back to his study. Her eyes flicked at first to the bear rug before the first, and she hoped his did too.

The Baron hovered by the door, but Bella sat expectantly in one of the great wing-back chairs.

“I know I shouldn't be here saying this.” She hesitated, not sure how to continue. There were so many things she wanted to say, and so many questions, she wanted to ask. Finally, she chose the most important one.

“Are you the beast that haunts this castle?”

The Baron's eyes widened, their dark depths frightened and vulnerable for the briefest of seconds. “How did you know that?”

Taking a deep breath, Bella answered the question with another question. “Do you love me?”

“God!” The Baron turned away. “How can you ask me that?”

Bella held her ground. “I have to know.”

“I'm a monster, Bella.” His voice was harsh. “You can't ask me that.”

“Do you love me?”

He scowled. “It doesn't matter what I feel.”

Bella felt as though her heart was breaking. “Of course it does.” She took a step closer to him. “Don't say that.”

“LOOK AT ME!”

With a roar, the Baron lunged towards her – and began to change.

As Bella watched in horror, the man before her shifted, his form lengthening and thickening, his shoulders growing even more broad. His hair shagged out and became fur, his suit ripping as he exploded from himself.

And then before her stood a bear, snarling lightly.

Bella could see each of his great white teeth, could smell his musk. Her heart pounded wildly, but she stood her ground. This was the Baron. Arthur. With a kiss, he had touched her very soul. He would never hurt her.

“I love you,” she whispered.

Trusting with all her soul, she looked into the bear's eyes. What she saw there reflected back at her was both beast, and man.

She loved both.

Bella leaned forward and gently kissed his nose. She could feel the bear's breath on her neck. She had no fear.

And then it was a man before her once more, naked. The Baron drew her close to him and he was kissing her, holding her so tightly.

“I love you, too,” he whispered.

“I know,” she gasped, and then he caught up her mouth in his once more, and she was lost.

With a groan, he crushed her to him. His hands were everywhere, undressing her, and she pressed herself against his bare form, needing to feel all of him at once. He was at once hard and soft under her hands, and she could feel his muscles rippling as he grabbed her and lowered her to the rug where they had been what seemed like a lifetime ago.

The Baron ripped her skirt then, and Bella found herself helping him. Her clothes were nearly torn to pieces with the urgency of their desire, Bella feeling almost like an animal herself with how badly she needed to fuck him. She had been waiting a lifetime, it seemed.

And then they were naked together, their legs intertwined, and the Baron lowered himself onto her, his cock finding her swollen lips and piercing them, driving deep into the core of her.

She cried out as he buried himself to the hilt, pressing deeper into her than any man ever had before, bruising her cervix with his need.

It was perfect. In that moment, the world stopped around them. She and her man, beast though he was, together they were whole.

And then he started to move within in her, so achingly sweet that Bella cried out. She had thought he would take her with all of his rough animal need, and she needed him to – but this, in this moment, was perfect. She luxuriated in the feel of each thrust, the way his cock curved against the walls of her and making her wetter than she could ever remember being before.

“Please,” she panted, “take me.”

With a groan, the Baron forced himself deep inside her once more, and they began to rock together. He fucked her with a savagery Bella had never known he contained, taking the depths of her with every inch of him until she screamed.

The Baron cried out with her, their voices echoing through the empty castle as they took their pleasure. Bella could feel all he was doing in every part of her, pleasure cresting through her, breaking and then rising once more.

“More,” she gasped, “more!”

Savagely, his teeth locked on her throat, and she gasped at the pain, brilliant and white. It blossomed within her, matching the pleasure and crescendoing to an agonizing high that left her reeling. Another wave of pleasure grasped her as he thrust again, plumbing her depths with all of his animal need.

“Mine,” he growled.

“Yes!” Bella screamed. She drowned in him as he took her then, fucking her until she wept for release. Again and again she came as he took her, his cock pressing into her in ways she had never imagined.

The Baron groaned above her, freezing. His cock nudged against her cervix, and he held there for a moment, quivering, and she could feel his heart beat against her lips.

She saw the wonderment and love in his eyes, and smiled. He was perfect.

“I want to feel you cum inside me,” Bella whispered.

With a sound like a roar, the Baron released his seed inside her, his cock pulsing as he came. The feel of him filling her brought tears to Bella’s eyes, and her pussy quivered in response.

The Baron leaned down and kissed her deeply, and she felt her body shudder as she came yet again.

“I'm yours,” she whispered. “For this moment and for always.”

~

“Why did you come back?”

The Baron was trailing his fingers along her arm, still seeming to marvel at her naked body next to his. Bella smiled at his incredulity.

“You really didn't know I loved you?”

He sighed and rested his hand on her hip. “You don't understand, Bella. I've lived with this... curse... for so long. I didn't see how anyone could love me. Much less thought anyone ever would.”

“Can you tell me?” She propped herself up and looked at him.

The Baron looked away. “It's not a pretty story.”

She kissed him. “I'll survive.”

He sat up, careless of his beauty. Bella couldn't help but drink in the sight of him, the fire flickering across his naked form. His abs were still slick with sweat from their lovemaking, and his cock was already stirring once more.

“When I was young, my father was always taking care of others. It was admirable, and I know he was well loved for it, but he neglected me and my mother. It hurt her how he would stay away for so long, and how he seemed to care more about his causes than her. I was... bitter.”

The Baron's eyes focused on something far away. “Then one night my father was out, helping in a nearby town. It was just after my mother died, and I was angry that he couldn't even stay with me when I needed him.

“That was when the old woman came.

“I didn't know it then, but she wasn't what she seemed. She asked for food, and shelter.” He closed his eyes in pain. “I thought of my father, and I told her no. I closed the door in her face.

“That was when I heard it.

“A great voice rang out. Even though she was behind the front doors, I could still hear her as though she were before me and shouting. She said that I was selfish and unworthy of what good life had brought me, and until I could learn to love I was no better than the bear for which my family was named.”

His voice grew taut and harsh. “And I began to change.”

He was quiet for so long Bella wasn't sure he would continue at all. She reached out for him and gently took him into her hand. His cock leaped at her touch, and she worked him gently.

After a moment, he continued to speak, his voice now rough for other reasons. “It was hard. I didn't know what was happening to me. I thought I was dying.

“I missed my father more than anything.”

“And then- ” his voice caught.

Bella smiled to herself.

“It's hard to think when you do that.” The Baron didn't seem to be complaining.

“Hmm.” Bella smiled. “What if I do this instead?”

She leaned forward and took him in her mouth. Bella could taste the salt of him mixed with her own juices. He sprang to life against her lips and moaned as she took him as far into her as she could, and then even farther. She gagged against him, wanting all of him inside her.

“Bella, Bella,” he gasped, his breathing ragged.

She sucked him harder, working him with her hand. He quivered under her, tight as a harp string.

“You were saying?” she murmured as she came up for air.

The Baron groaned as she drew him back inside her.

“And then... I was changed. When my father returned I tried to hide it, but...”

His breath caught as Bella cupped his balls, working him with both hands as she swallowed against him.

“But... he knew. He found out, like you did, or guessed, I'm not sure. He told me he still loved me. He kept me safe.

“When he died, I was all alone.”

For a moment he was still, and then Bella drew him deep into her throat, choking on him, wanting to feel his seed once more, wanting to prove to him, both animal and man, that he would never be alone again.

His cock pulsed in her mouth, and then he cried out. She could taste the thick salty fluid of him and drank him down like water. He was hers now. They belonged together.

After, when his breathing had slowed once more, the Baron looked down at her. “I have one more question for you, Bella.”

“Mm?” She smiled against the languor in her bones.

“I want you to stay here.”

She laughed. “Of course I will. As long as you rehire me.”

“No.” His gaze turned hard and demanding and made her knees weak once more. “No, Bella. I want you to stay as my wife.”

~

The wedding was to be a grand affair, more spectacular than the sleepy town had seen for years. Bella’s father would be giving her away, of course, and many of the Baron’s kin from neighboring countryside would be in attendance, but what surprised Bella was that it was the Baron himself who invited the entire town, and at no urging from her.

When she asked why, the Baron had turned serious.

“I have spent too long locked away from the world in this tower. I want them to see how much you've changed me for the better. And I want them all to meet you, too.” Arthur gave the crooked, self-deprecating smile she had grown to love. “They will adore you as I do.”

Bella blushed at the simple sincerity in his eyes. Arthur always told her she was the first who could see past the beast to love the man, but for her, it was much the same. Always her beauty had been first in people's thoughts when they looked at her. Only for Arthur was it most important what she held in her heart.

The grounds were covered in lilies and hyacinths, a beautiful riot of color against the green simplicity of the castle’s yard. Bella gloried in it, seeing it even from the window as she prepared herself for the wedding. Today would be perfect. She was marrying the man she loved, and together they would break the curse. She believed that their love would do it. And then, finally, she could feel his body pressed against hers and no longer need fear spending the night with him.

They were ready.

Bella walked down the aisle at her father’s side, dreamily listening to the chords of Pachelbel in D floating over the hushed assembly. It was such a beautiful day - one she knew she would remember forever.

But as she approached the altar, her joy turned to horror. She had only the briefest of moments to register the look of horror on Arthur's face as he began to change.

No! Bella stared wildly at Arthur's twisted form as he struggled against the curse. Not here, not now. It was day; how could this be happening? They thought they had unlocked the key to breaking it.

Would Arthur never be free? She bit back a sob.

With a roar of pain, Arthur's body shifted and twisted, sinews lengthening and fur growing as he burst from his Italian suit.

With a cry of her own, Bella yanked her arm free from her father’s grasp and ran through the panicked throng to her beloved. She had to get to him before he hurt someone. She had to get to him before someone hurt him.

The transformation completed, the great bear towered over the priest and the assembled. His teeth glistened in the sun, beautiful even as they were deadly. Bella thought she saw someone faint out of the corner of his eyes. He was a massive bear and terrible, but she knew it was up to her to keep him safe. He could kill her with a careless paw, and she should have been terrified. But strangely, she wasn’t. This was her Arthur. He wouldn't harm her. They could handle anything.

She slowed to a walk as she approached, not wanting to frighten the bear that her fiancé had become. “Arthur,” she called softly. “It’s me.”

The bear roared again in response, a noise so great it nearly deafened her. Ignoring her shaking knees, Bella took another step forward, keeping her eyes on Arthur’s. “Hush, love. It’s me, you're safe.”

She reached out a hand to him. It held steady. She wasn’t afraid.

Slowly, so slowly, in a moment that felt like years, the bear dropped to all fours below her. He leaned his head forward to rest it against her outstretched hand as the crowd dissolved into murmurs of incredulity.

“I love you,” Bella whispered.

The bear sighed softly, leaning into her caress.

She turned to face the crowd, some of whom had begun to draw weapons. “No one will harm this bear. He is your lord, the baron of this town.

“Many of you have heard stories of a great tallest roaming these hills. Now you know why. But even though Arthur is not fully in control of his actions as a bear, he has never harmed anyone, only scared some unwary travelers. That is why he has kept himself locked away for so long. To keep you safe.”

Bella took a deep breath, feeling her throat clench with sorrow and worry. “We had hoped this wedding would bring an end to the curse that has haunted not only the baron but also our whole town.

“But what we did, we did not only do to break the curse. We wished to wed for love. You can see the truth of it here. Even as a savage beast, Arthur wishes only love from me.”

And then the most surprising thing of all happened.

“Well done,” came a strange voice, melodious and carrying over the hubbub of the crowd.

Bella turned to see the oldest woman she had ever seen. Leaning on a cane. But her voice was the strong and true, the voice of an actress or singer, and it captivated the crowd as Bella had captivated the bear. With a thrill of foreboding, Bella thought she might know who this woman was.

“You have taught this selfish beast the true lesson the curse was designed to impart.” The woman smiled, a smile both beautiful and cruel. “By sacrificing yourself for him, you have taught him the true meaning of sacrifice, and thus of love.

“The two of you were correct when you surmised that what would break this curse was a wedding, but what you did not expect was that love, true love, had to be at the heart of what bound you.”

The crone lifted her arms, and Bella shivered, instinctively leaning back to the safety of her werebear fiancé’s embrace.

“Behold! From this day forth, Arthur von Ursus shall live as a man. He shall retake his place among those who can walk in both night and day. He has learned love, and thus he has learned compassion.”

As though by magic, a deep tolling rang out, a sound so low Bella almost felt more than heard it. It shivered through her bones, releasing the stress and fear she had carried. Suddenly, she felt as though she truly knew all would be well. She and Arthur would be together. Forever.

“Thank you,” she whispered. And then, as though the crone had told her, she turned to Arthur, already knowing what she would see.

He was changing once more. This time, he stood on his hind legs, rearing his full beastly form towering high above her. She gazed up at him with only love, no fear, and watched as he became a man in full. His bones shortened and shifted, his fur fell away, and once more, the man she loved more than life itself was standing before her.

And, miracle of miracles, still devilishly handsome in his custom-tailored Italian suit.

“Thank you,” she said again to the crone, meaning it with all her heart.

The crone winked at her.

And then, suddenly as she had arrived, the strange woman was gone from the day. And, Bella hoped, from their lives forever.

She faced her fiancé and held his hands before her. “My lord,” she murmured, her breath coming quick at how handsome he looked, “shall we proceed?”

For a moment, Arthur had a dumbfounded look on his face, as though not knowing quite how to process his sudden transformation and then release from the curse that had haunted him for so long. Then he laughed, his joy loud and unfettered for the first time since Bella had known him. “Let’s! My lord priest, I have a passionate desire to marry this woman immediately.”

Bella took his hands, and stood before the priest. Finally, everything would be perfect.

~

Much, much later that night, they came up for air.

“Darling?”

“Mm.”

“What will you do, now that you can be a man always?”

Arthur propped himself up on one arm. She couldn’t help but eye his muscular chest as the sheet fell away from it. Married, true, and they had already consummated that marriage twice tonight, but she couldn’t help but be aroused by the firm lines of him. He was a god among men, as he once had been a beast.

“Truly? I want to be a good husband to you, Bella. And a good Baron to this town. I have sadly neglected them recently.”

She kissed him, marveling as always how well their mouths fit together. “How good of a husband?”

“Mm.” Arthur kissed her back with ardor. “Does that mean you’re ready for me again, Baroness?”

She drew him down. “Always.”

As she said the word, a shudder came over him, tensing his whole muscular body. His dark eyes flashed even in the dim light. "Are you sure?"

"Sure?" Bella laughed, a strangled sound. "Arthur, if you don't take me now, I think I might die."

Their eyes locked, held, for a long, charged moment. The electricity of his gaze made Bella tremble and ache all the more. She could almost feel his hands on her. She craved his touch.

He put a hand between her breasts and gently pushed her down. She let him, closing her eyes and waiting for everything he was going to give her.

Then she felt his mouth on her. His lips were smooth and sweet, sending the nerves running down the core of her, excited and eager. She felt her pussy quiver and drip, reaching desperately for him. And then he opened his mouth, his tongue finding her swollen nipple, and she gasped in relief at the feel his mouth.

His lips were so sweet and demanding. She moaned desperately, and it was all she could do to keep from grabbing his head and forcing him down, forcing him to suckle her and send waves of pleasure coursing through her pussy until the pleasure overwhelmed them both. He had been beast and man both to her, and loved her with an animal ferocity as both. She ached for everything they did to each other.

“I love you, my beast,” she whispered.

She felt his lips curve into a smile against her skin. “You're perfect.”

And then his mouth found hers, and  she opened to him, gasping in his breaths and shuddering as his tongue brushed hers, the spice of him filling her nose and throat. She was caught, lifted, rising on a crescendo of need that started and ended with his lips on hers and reached to the very core of her, piercing all that she was and making her whole.

She felt more than saw his big hands fall on either side of her. Arthur lifted himself over her, never releasing her mouth. She moaned as he lay himself over her. She felt flesh on hers and her cunt clenched in desire.

The Baron's fingers slipped lower then and found her slick lips, sliding between them with an ease that had Bella panting. Gently, he moved first one finger, then two, between her folds and stroked her lightly, as he might a bird. Her whole body quivered, taut, ready to explode but fearing the explosion. The sensation he drew out of her radiated to her ears, her fingertips. She could feel them in the back of her throat as she kissed him and longed for release.

But he teased her still, working her with a skill that coaxed wave after wave of pleasure from her shaking form, but brought her no closer to climax. Her need was a tangible force now, a ball of desire that clenched within her and demanded all of her attention, all of her. His eyes held her firmly, and she knew, in that moment, what it was to be truly loved.

"Arthur," she whispered.

"I'm here."

It was enough.

With movements achingly slow, he penetrated her with a finger, exploring her pussy. She shuddered as he felt within her, stroking her walls and teasing her in all her desperate need. His finger - first one, then two - slid into her with ease, and out, slowly pressing the desire within her to painful heights.

"Please,” Bella whimpered, “more.”

And then her Baron rammed his fingers into her, his knuckles bruising her clitoris and making her scream with desire as he fucked her with his hand.

"Oh, oh, oh," she whimpered again, her cries punctuated by the wet sounds of his hand against her cunt. He was working her fully now, forcing his way into her, curling his fingers insistently along her G spot with every other thrust.

As suddenly as he had started, his hand pulled free of her folds, and Bella felt herself gaping, crying in frustration. "Please," she wailed.

When she felt the tip of Arthur's cock against her swollen and bruised lips, it was all she could do to lift her hips, an offering from the purest temple of need within her. Her passion was at terrible heights, and she could not think, could barely even breathe. She ached, lost in the crashing pleasures within her.

He stroked her lips softly, pressing his cock just between them. It shuddered and bucked at her touch, but there was still beast in her man, and he was strong, and only placed the barest hint of himself at her threshold.

"Please," she begged.

And then, he finally slid himself inside her.

It was as though she had come home. Her pussy accepted him eagerly, lovingly, the space within her filled truly and completely as though it had been made only for him. They cried out as one and he held, quivering, buried to the hilt within her, his cock nudging at her womb, and they were still for long enough for Bella to feel her heartbeat slow and match his.

Then Arthur thrust slowly and surely into her, letting them both luxuriate in the feeling of his cock pressing against her satiny depths.

Inexorably, his thrusts lengthened, became rougher. A harsher, more animalistic rhythm sped their pulses and began to drive him. He gathered himself over her and thrust again, again, and with each movement the ball of desire deep within Bella grew, hot and terrible, the apex of need.

They crescendoed together, their shared orgasm radiating through Bella as she arched her back, her whole body suffused with the heat of their love.

Her limbs tingled with the sensations he woke in her, and when his cock discharged and she felt him fill her womb, she came again, the sweet pulse of his need filling her bringing her to a second, calmer pinnacle until they sighed together, spent, and he lay on top of her. His heart slowed once more, and she could feel his breath on her neck.

Bella smiled and drew the Baron down to her for a long, deep kiss. “That was incredible.”

“Mmph.” The Baron smirked. “Would you like to go again?”

Unbelievably, she felt his cock rising inside her.

Bella moaned. “You are amazing.”

“Why thank you.” His smile made her pussy clench around his cock once more.

She grabbed his hips and pressed him down into her, catching him by surprise. “Oh, Baron. Clearly there’s still some animal in you yet.”

Sheriff Joe Rivers knew he was about to die.

All about him, the flames rose higher, and the smoke was so thick he could barely breathe. He struggled to his feet despite the dozen stab wounds in his back. He had to get out of the building before the roof collapsed. He must stop his attackers... somehow.

Even as he thought the words, a shape materialized in front of him. It looked over him, taller than any man should be. He blinked at it, but couldn't quite make his eyes focus right through the smoke and blood. But he knew who it was.

Dirk Baxter and his wild gang of biker hooligans had moseyed into town about a month ago, and already half had been picked up on minor charges. This time, Joe had arrested Dirk's lieutenant and half a dozen other bikers for grand larceny, and he had enough evidence to send them up the river for a long, long time.

Apparently, Dirk hadn't liked that much.

The first sign of trouble that Joe had had that evening was from old widow Harris claiming, as she did every Saturday night, that there were men lurking around her bedroom window. How was he to know that she wasn't kidding? Sheriff Rivers had just been returning with two more biker thugs for the holding cell when he saw the station go up in flames.

And when he went inside to put the fire out, Dirk had been waiting for him.

Two hundred pounds of sheer muscle and six feet of rage, Dirk would have been a challenge even if the Sheriff weren't surprised. As it was, he barely had time to reach for his gun before the knife first hit him.

He lost track of how many times after that the knife hit him. When he finally fell to the floor, he heard his deputy scream from the holding cell. The bikers had locked Deputy Andrews in before they set the building on fire.

As Sheriff Rivers struggled to stand and go to his deputy's aid, he felt a fist connect with the side of his face, and then all he knew was blackness.

Time passed while he lay on the floor unconscious, and now that the Sheriff had managed to struggle to his feet once more, he could tell by the spread of the fire that he had been out cold for too long. Deputy Andrews had stopped screaming. He didn't know if the silence was worse than the screams. He hoped the smoke had gotten to his friend before the flames.

But Dirk's presence before him made any more thought impossible. The Sheriff was going to die. The fire might not have finished him off, but the biker would.

"I won't rest until you scum are behind bars where you belong," he shouted at the figure before him.

He couldn't quite tell through the smoke, but he thought Dirk smiled. "I think yer gonna take a nice long rest right now, Sheriff."

Dirk swung at him with one of those impossibly large arms, and pain screamed across his chest. He looked down in disbelief to see four deep gashes across his entire torso.

Somehow he found his voice. "Maybe I'm going down, but I'm taking you with me."

With the last of his strength, Joe lifted the gun - and fired.

~

Mindy's heart was pounding in her chest at the audacity of what she was about to do - but she had to know. Dirk and the others had come back late last night, smelling of smoke and blood. She hadn't given it much thought, not dreaming they were capable of such violence, but the news reports left too much to her imagination. Deputy Andrews' wife would be taking her husband home in an urn, and all that was left of the Sheriff was his star...

She swallowed a sob at the thought of Joe being dead.

They had been high school sweethearts. They had been children together, dumb and in love and full of faith that the world was kind. She thought she was going to marry him, once. But that was before her mother remarried. Once her stepfather started in on her, Mindy could never see the world in the same way. It drove her crazy that Joe still saw the world as a beautiful place. Even as sheriff, he believed in second chances. He refused to see the world as it really was.

In the end, that was why Mindy left. Maybe she was punishing him for the way he saw things, maybe she was punishing herself, she didn't know. She had worked on her own for a while, tried making it in the city before she hooked up with Dirk and his bikers and came home, in a way. She would never forget the look on Joe's face when he first saw her with Dirk. She would never forgive herself for the role she had played in bringing the bikers here, if what she feared was true.

Even though it had been a long time since Mindy believed in hope, she found herself pleading with whatever gods might be listening that she was wrong about what had happened last night.

"Dirk? We need to talk."

She was afraid he would be angry when she spelled out her accusations, but to her horror, he only grinned.

"Guess you got a brain under dem boobs after all, darlin'."

Mindy balled her fists, furious. "How could you! Do you know what you've done?"

Dirk stood, towering over her. His face turned dark and dangerous. "I've made this town ours, darlin'. And I think it's in yer best interests to be happy 'bout that."

"You bastard!" She swung at him, but he was faster than she was. He caught her fist in his hand.

When he spoke again, his voice was deadly quiet. "I think yer forgettin' just who yer talkin' to, darlin'."

Dirk squeezed her fist, and Mindy fell to her knees in pain, tears stinging her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, not even sure who she was apologizing to or why. "I'm sorry."

She had chosen this life. She had chosen Dirk. He was all she had now.

Powerful need rose in her, less to do with sex and more to do with comfort. This was all she had, here and now. Everything else she had loved was gone. At that moment, Mindy needed very much to feel alive. With her free hand, she reached for Dirk's belt. Her fingers trembled as she undid it.

Dirk hissed in satisfaction and released her other hand. She unbuttoned his jeans and then slowly slid the zipper down. She was suddenly desperate for contact, desperate to taste him and feel him inside her. Nothing would ever be all right again, but she could at least have this.

He was already hard when she pulled him free from his fly. Dirk's thick cock sprang from its confines, nearly hitting her in the face. Mindy closed her eyes and opened her lips to him eagerly, wanting to feel even for a moment that things would be all right.

The easy familiarity of Dirk's massive member made Mindy feel, just for a moment, safe. She swayed seductively before her leader, moving her head back and forth against his member, taking so much of him inside herself that she could barely keep from gagging.

Dirk groaned and twined his fingers into Mindy's hair, urging her on. She bent to work with a will, working her violent boyfriend thoroughly now. She buried one of her hands deep inside Dirk's boxers, cupping his balls and working him until the biker groaned again.

"Fuck," Dirk hissed.

Mindy began to move. Faster now she rocked back and forth, taking more and more of the biker inside her mouth until Dirk's cock was actually deep inside her throat. She grunted as Dirk began to thrust his hips into her, breaking her rhythm with a more desperate pace of her own.

Mindy tried not to gag against the violent thrusts with which Dirk took his pleasure from her mouth. She gave a moan against him, struggling desperately for air, struggling wildly until she felt Dirk stiffen. He held her head tightly and pumped himself into her throat. She struggled, trying to swallow all of the salty cum she had drawn from him.

Casually, Dirk released her head, pushing her away from his cock as he straightened his jeans. "Good to see you remembered yer place."

Mindy looked up at him, tears threatening to fall. Now that they were finished, she felt only despair, and not the release she had hoped for. What had she just done? How could she have let Dirk touch her after what he had done?

With a laugh, the biker strolled from the room.

Alone once more, Mindy finally allowed her tears to fall freely. She buried her head in her hands, trying not to think of what she had become. "Oh, Joe," she whispered, "I wish you were here."

~

He escaped somehow. He didn't know how; some animal instinct must have taken over. He crawled deep into the woods, concentrating only on putting distance between himself and the fire.

He remembered finding the cave and crawling into it, but how long had he been there? It seemed like the fire happened only yesterday, but his wounds were already healing. He would bear the scars of battle all his life, but he would live.

Live, and make Dirk pay.

That thought, more than anything, was what kept him going. He foraged by day and slept deeply by night. No animals disturbed him.  The first night, he slept with his gun at the ready, but they must have smelled his human scent and given the cave a wide berth.

Slowly, he began to venture forth. Always he was cautious of his wounds, but he still seemed to be healing at a great rate. He didn't question it, only pushed himself harder. He wanted Dirk to pay.

Dirk, and all of his bikers. Even Mindy, if she was still with them. For a moment, he saw the stricken look on her face when he had first seen her with Dirk, and then pushed it aside. So what if he had loved her? She made her choice.

It couldn't have been more than a week before he was fully healed. The Sheriff wondered again how long he had been lost to his animal senses before awakening in that cave, but it was always easy to push his questions away in pursuit of revenge. He began scouting the edges of town, careful to stay just out of sight.

That was when Joe saw him. One of Dirk's bikers, a punk the others lovingly called Knucklehead. Knucklehead was one of the bikers the Sheriff had arrested before the fire. He had been a part of the ambush that night.

A hot rage built in his chest until he was blind with it. With a roar, Joe burst from the bushes, lunging for the lone biker with an animal fury overwhelming his senses.

He lost his head then, and when he regained some sense of understanding, he was alone. Or was he? Slowly, Joe realized he was covered in blood, still warm and sticky. With a sense of revulsion, the Sheriff realized it was around his mouth as well as his hands.

What the hell just happened?

He was naked, splattered in blood, the remains of Knucklehead all about him. The tang of blood was sharp to his nose, and he could still smell the foul exhaust from the motorcycle - and others like it - polluting his town. Improbably, the birds still sang. It was as though his very senses were heightened.

This time, it was his police training that took over. He moved the motorcycle and the larger pieces of what was left of Knucklehead to the bushes, cleaning himself as best he could. He didn't dare think about what had happened yet. First, to get out of there.

But the conclusion surfaced in his mind anyway. Somehow, he had become something both more and less than man, and had killed Knucklehead. Worse, he had liked it.

By the time he finished cleaning up the crime scene, his worry had solidified into grim satisfaction in his gut. This, too, was a weapon. If he was now part beast, then he could use that against Dirk, too. They all would pay.

As he wheeled the motorcycle deeper into the woods, the beginnings of a plan rose within him.

~

Dirk and the others were on edge. Knucklehead hadn't checked in in over a day, and Dirk didn't like insubordination. He was angry and ready to lash out at the smallest offense. Mindy was glad when he allowed her and a couple of the others to go to the bar. She needed a break from Dirk now that her life-affirming desire had receded, and she knew from their relieved faces that the others were happy to be away from their boss' uncertain mood as well.

They had just settled in and started on a much-needed round of beer when the grumbling sound of a motorcycle rang out in the night.

Mindy frowned and put down her beer. No one else had planned to leave their hideout that night. Had Dirk sent someone after them?

But whoever it was on the motorcycle, they didn't come in or even cut the engine. It rumbled outside, on and on. Mindy saw the others exchange glances next to her.

Without a word, they reached the same conclusion. The bikers both stood, and Mindy saw them check their knives as they went out to investigate.

They didn't come back.

Mindy took another swallow of beer. Was this one of Dirk's tests? Or was something truly wrong? Dirk didn't usually like her to be by herself - he said she was too good of a prize to rival gangs.

But there was no rival gang here. Mindy should be safe... so why was her heart beating so fast?

Steeling herself against one of Dirk's jokes, she paid for the beers and went outside.

The motorcycles they came on were still there, so the others hadn't left her. Mindy frowned, trying to peer into the dark without leaving the dubious safety of the flickering neon lights. If they hadn't left, where were they?

That was when a hand clamped over her mouth, another around her middle, and a familiar voice growled in her ear: "Don't move or you're dead!"

Mindy thought she would faint. This couldn't be real.

"I'm going to let you go, and you're not going to scream," the voice continued. "Otherwise, we're going to have to do this the hard way. Nod if you understand."

She nodded, heart in her throat.

The hands released her. Mindy turned slowly - and looked into the face of a ghost.

"Joe," she breathed. "You're alive! I'm so glad - "

His face twisted in anger. "Don't like to me, Mindy. I'm not the man you knew anymore."

He threw her over the back of a motorcycle - was it Knucklehead's? - and they sped off into the night. Mindy clung to her ex for dear life and felt for the first time an emotion she had never before felt around Joe: fear.

~

The Sheriff deposited her on the ground of the cave with no more care than if she were a sack of potatoes. Mindy rubbed her bruises gingerly as she watched him move about the cave, securing the motorcycle and starting a fire. He moved differently now than he had before. It wasn't injuries, either, she didn't think. He seemed... powerful. Dangerous.

She felt a pang at the thought, and a warmth between her legs. He looked good, and for a moment she was very lost in the thought of testing out just how powerful he had become.

Then he turned  back to her, and the hard look in his eyes reminded her that she was a prisoner here - and the Sheriff wouldn't want her any more after what Dirk had done.

"What do you want from me?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Information." He threw another log on the fire. "This isn't a social call, Mindy."

Mindy took a deep breath. "I can give you all the information you want. I know Dirk's plans and the patrols of the whole gang. But I want something in return."

The Sheriff's eyes were hard and dark. "We'll see."

She told him then, told him everything she knew. Every time a flash of anger crossed his face and she felt a pang of guilt at betraying her crew, she reminded herself of how Dirk had smiled when she learned what had happened at the station. It was enough to carry her through.

"What will you do now?" she asked tentatively once she finished.

The Sheriff's face was still closed to her. "I don't tell traitors my business."

A sob caught in her throat, and Mindy couldn't keep herself from grabbing his hand. "Joe, please, I swear I didn't know what they had planned. Dirk, everything - it was all a mistake. I wish you could know how sorry I am."

He wouldn't meet her gaze, but Mindy thought she saw, for the briefest of moments, his eyes soften. "What do you want, Mindy?"

"What do you mean?"

The Sheriff sighed. "You asked for something in return. What do you want?"

Mindy bit her lip, and blurted out, "A kiss."

He gave her a hard look, and for a long moment, Mindy thought he would refuse. She took a step toward him, and then another when he didn't back away. Reaching up for him, she wound her arms around his neck and then, daringly, raised her lips to his.

It was everything she had remembered, and more.

The sweetness of the kiss pierced her to her very core, singing through her veins and setting her whole body on fire. In that instant she was lost, once more a young girl kissing the boy she had fallen in love with so long ago.

How could she have ever left him?

"Mindy, we..." Joe began, breaking off the kiss, but desperately, she drew him back down.

Their kiss began to change, drawing urgency from the moment and for all the years they had spent apart. Mindy could feel his need rising against her, and she panted into his mouth as his hands began to move on her.

They were moving, tripping over their clothing in their haste to undress. The Sheriff lowered her down by the fire, and Mindy could feel the grit and rock of the cave floor against her bare back, but she did not care. She needed him, desperately. She wanted to feel their old love, to feel whole again.

With a whimper, Mindy drew him down on top of her, twitching at the feel of his cock against her thigh. She spread her legs, letting him press against her eager entrance. His hands held her hips, and then he was inside her, piercing her with the cock she so desired.

Mindy screamed into the night, her cries lost in the sounds of the fire and the forest. Her ex slid himself into her tight depths, aided by the desperate wetness of her need. He worked her up and down on his shaft, and she almost wept at the beauty of their bodies coming together once more. She felt pleasure in places he hadn't even touched yet in their haste. She could drown in him.

There was something animal about their need. She panted with it, and could see in his eyes that he was lost in it as well. His shaft within her was so long, and hard, and Mindy could feel the tip of him press against her cervix. She was completely filled, and the sensation made her shudder again. His cock pulsed inside her, and Mindy cried out once more, desperate to keep Joe close, have him filling her as deeply as he could.

The pleasure of the cock inside her narrowed Mindy's whole world to that moment, the sensation of her first love inside her, splitting her, making her feel so amazing that her entire body was shuddering, quivering with need. He was working her harder now, and Mindy nearly began to cry at how she needed him.

And then, in an instant, he plunged deep inside her, and they were one.

His cock pulsed inside her once, twice, and Mindy could feel the sweet sensation of her womb being filled with Joe's seed. Her pleasure crested and broke, leaving her trembling in his arms, sated - and whole for the first time in years.

"Oh, Joe," she whispered. "I love you."

It was then she saw pain in his eyes. He withdrew from her, leaving her bereft. "I wish I could believe you, Min."

Desperate, she reached out to draw him back to her. "Please. I need you to believe me. What can I do?"

He turned back to her then, his eyes filled with a fire she didn't understand. For a moment, it terrified her.

But this was Joe. She trusted him.

The Sheriff took her back in his arms, and she gave herself up to him completely. His cock had already sprung back to life, impossibly. But she was as ready for him as he was for her. She let him lay her back down, his hands on her hips, drawing her up to him. Mindy opened her thighs in supplication, but then she felt it - his cock just barely touching her virgin asshole.

"Oh God," she whispered, but it was too late.

Her whole body shuddered violently, but she held herself still, doing as she had promised. She wanted the Sheriff to have everything he needed to prove her devotion. She wanted him to know how much she loved him.

At that moment, Joe slowly began to press himself inside her, and Mindy was filled with a pain and pleasure so exquisite she thought she might die.

His cock filled her ass, and Mindy cried out at the pain. She could feel his balls pressing against her cunt. At first, the pressure was too much, but as the Sheriff slowly withdrew and began to move within her once more, his hand gently stroking her clit, the pressure gave way to pleasure. Mindy moaned as he took her virgin asshole, his hands making her shudder in pleasure against his thick cock.

As her body began to accept his thrusts, he started to move faster, giving a soft grunt each time he pressed his full length inside of her. It was so good, but it was too much.

She gazed into Joe's face. The look on his face was terrible and beautiful, so full of desire she nearly came just at the sight of the hard need in his eyes.

The Sheriff thrust again into her ass, making her arch her back and cry out in supplication. Her whole body was infused with need, consumed with the desires of the man who was taking her.

He lifted her legs higher as he rose up on his knees, his big hands finding her lips and cunt once more. Joe buried two fingers inside of her as he pushed forwards, making Mindy moan in desire. Her body was wracked with a spasm of pleasure as his other hand found her clit. He circled it, sending a thrill through her as he began to fuck her with both hand and cock, bringing her to irresistible climax.

They came as one, Mindy screaming as she strained against her ex's hand. Her ass filled with come, but it was her own pleasure that truly filled her, sending her gasping into blackness as her vision swam. She moaned as the Sheriff withdrew, her body throbbing with the aftershocks of pleasure. Now, finally, she was sated.

Drowning in relief, Mindy closed her eyes. "Do you believe me now?"

His voice was so tender she wanted to weep. "I do believe you."

She buried her face in his chest. "I'll never leave you again. I promise."

The Sheriff was quiet for a long moment. When she looked up at him, he was propped up on one arm, his face thoughtful. "Actually, love, I think you should."

~

When Mindy returned to the hideout, all the lights were still on. She could see from the number of motorcycles that a number of the gang was out on patrol, maybe looking for her. Her heart lifted. Joe had said that dividing the gang would make things easier.

Her job would be to further divide the gang as best she could. If she could send a few bikers out at a time, the Sheriff had assured her he could handle them. He didn't say how.

It was up to Mindy to figure out how to handle Dirk.

The Sheriff had explicitly told her not to tangle with Dirk, and his eyes had been so hard and mysterious when he said it that she almost acquiesced. But this whole thing was her fault. And Mindy knew Dirk. She could take care of him without needing to get Joe involved.

Holding her breath for a few seconds to make herself pant, Mindy burst through the door, startling the two bikers on guard duty.

"Oh, thank God!" She clutched at one of them, trying not to laugh at his surprise. "He's out there, he's crazy! I just barely got away. He's right behind me."

They weren't bright, but they knew she was Dirk's girl and she had been missing. They went outside to check. Two down, Mindy thought, and moved deeper into the hideout.

Another she sent to the store for a first aid kit. Mindy knew she looked bruised and disheveled - the sex had certainly helped with that - but she must still look panicked, because he took off without a question. The next two, Mindy sent out to the parking lot to check on noises as well, but then she entered the main room, and her real challenge began.

Conversation stopped as soon as she burst in. All eyes turned to her in disbelief, and then as one to Dirk. Mindy had to sell her panic. She thought of Dirk attacking Joe again, and it was easy to inject a note of fear into her voice.

"Baby, oh God, I'm so glad to see you!" she sobbed out, throwing herself at Dirk. "It was awful. He grabbed me, and I just barely got free."

Dirk motioned a couple of the crew to the door, and draped an arm over Mindy's shoulders. "Come on, darlin'. We'll go someplace quiet and you can tell me all about it."

As Mindy had hoped and feared, he led her on to his bedroom. Then they were alone.

Mindy turned to Dirk and forced herself to press up against him, her breasts heaving against his broad chest. "I was so scared, baby."

"I got you." There was a glint in Dirk's eye. "Who was in, darlin'?"

That was the question Mindy had feared. She took a deep breath, taking the chance. "It was Knucklehead, baby, he's gone crazy - "

A bark of laughter stopped her. Dirk had a psychotic grin on his face, but there was very little humor in it. Mindy began to back away, but she wasn't fast enough, and Dirk grabbed her wrist.

"Knucklehead, huh? Not yer old cop boyfriend?"

Mindy shook her head in terror. "I don't know what you're talking about," she tried. "Joe is dead - "

"I CAN SMELL HIM ON YOU," Dirk roared. He plunged his free hand into Mindy's pants and before she could squirm, his beefy fingers probed between her still-wet lips. He withdrew them as she gasped and held them under her nose. She could smell the aftereffects of her lovemaking with the Sheriff.

"Guess I was wrong, darlin'." Dirk's voice was soft and dangerous. "Yer not so smart after all."

Mindy screamed in terror as Dirk drew a knife and advanced on her.

"Dirk, baby, you don't have to do this," she pleaded, struggling against his other hand.

"No," he agreed cheerfully. "But I want to."

The knife entered her flesh clean and sharp, and for a moment, Honey felt nothing at all.

Then the pain came, and she knew she was going to die.

~

He was the bringer of death, and he dealt it out in silent fury that night. By ones and twos they fell before him until the Sheriff didn't know if he was using his hands or teeth on the bikers. He and the bear he had become had joined in purpose: to destroy the plague on this place.

He had lost count of the number of bodies he had scythed through when he heard Mindy scream.

It shocked the man in him awake. Had she gotten into trouble? Dirk must have known, somehow - if Mindy was in danger, Dirk had to be the reason why.

The Sheriff roared a challenge. He burst through the pitiful wooden door of the hideout, mauling two more guards as they backed away from him. One begged for something. He didn't care. All that mattered now was that he reach Mindy in time.

A feeling of déjà vu came over him as he rounded on the back room. As before, a great shape loomed in front of him. But this time, it was at the same height as the Sheriff. This time, he knew it was Dirk, a bear the same way he was. Whatever had happened to him, Dirk was the cause of it. And now he had hurt Mindy.

A red rage flickered over the Sheriff's eyes and he reared up, roaring a challenge to the other great bear. They charged at each other and came together in a whirlwind of claw and fury, snapping and snarling. Fur flew as they circled, clashed together, and circled again. The Sheriff felt a glancing blow ribboning his back in pain, and then roared in satisfaction as he mauled the other bear's arm.

The bear that was Dirk bellowed in pain. The Sheriff didn't give him a chance to retaliate. With a savage snarl, Joe jumped at Dirk as he staggered back, seizing the bear's throat in his powerful jaws and biting savagely through the fur until he could feel skin and bone beneath his fangs.

He held on grimly as the bear that was Dirk thrashed and bellowed beneath him. Bear and man within Joe united in purpose. Maybe the bear could heal quickly, but there was something no beast could heal from. The Sheriff clenched his great jaws and savagely twisted.

With a guttural groan, Dirk began to crumple beneath him.

And the Sheriff tore his throat out.

The hot blood scythed across the room, staining his fur and the walls with the last gasp of the thug's life, but Joe was already moving, pushing the corpse aside and running for Mindy as only a desperate bear could run.

She was still alive when he found her, but only just. His nose, so sensitive to the scents around him, could smell death on her. It would be soon.

Soon, unless...

The Sheriff remembered his first confused hours after the fire, how quickly he had healed. It was a gamble - but what else could he do? What Dirk had done, he could maybe replicate.

And if nothing else, he could at least bring death quickly to the woman he now knew he loved more than life itself.

With a defiant roar, he raised one great paw and slashes from the knife wound in Mindy's chest down between her breasts to her pelvis.

He settled back on his haunches, waiting - afraid to watch, afraid to look away. She took a deep breath and was still, and he hung his head, ready to howl out his pure animal sorrow at her loss...

But then his great ears heard her take another ragged breath, then another.

Impossibly, incredibly, Mindy was alive. She was breathing more strongly now, and even as he watched, her flesh knit itself together, leaving thin pink scars where he had mauled her. The Sheriff was lost in joy at the blessing and pure love for her - and then she began to change.

As he scented her new animal musk, there was nothing pure in his thoughts anymore. The beast in him reared its head, and stared at the she-bear with a growl of need.

She was glorious, an amazing beast. He could smell every inch of her, and wanted more. Her nostrils flared, and he knew she could feel the same.

They came together in a clash of titans, and then the Sheriff found he was holding Mindy again, Mindy alive and whole and human. She was naked in the aftermath of her bear form, and he leapt in desire. She smelled amazing even to his human nose, and as he caressed her scars, he found himself unspeakably aroused.

"You're alive," he breathed.

And then their mouths met, and he felt the bottom drop from his stomach into a pure pit of desire.

They stumbled into each other, the Sheriff pressing his lost love into the wall with a violence more suited to his bear self than his human form. She took it eagerly, growling back at him. He bit at her neck, his hands slipping to her sides, and then her generous hips.

Mindy's hands were in his hair, urging him downwards. Something about her touch mesmerized him, and he went to his knees, seeking the sweetness between her legs that he could still scent.

"Please," Mindy breathed.

He wasn't sure what she was pleading for, but he would give it all to her.

~

She moaned, her senses still singing with the new awareness her bear form had leant her. Even as a human, Mindy could scent the sex on the air as the Sheriff leaned forward. She could feel him, his hot breath on her lips, and then his mouth was on her, enveloping her.

His tongue moved, lapping audibly at her hips. It was warm, and the sweetest thing Mindy  had ever experienced. Dirk had never touched her like this! She shuddered against Joe's mouth and hands as his tongue explored her folds, tracing her pussy until she whimpered.

Every time he flicked his tongue, a new rush of longing shook her, and she moaned whenever he stopped briefly. But he always returned, his tongue skilled and sweet, tracing undeniable rings around her swelling clitoris.

She gasped against the wave of pleasure that crashed over and through her, breaking against the tongue at her pussy and leaving her full of a need so exquisite she had trouble breathing. Her toes curled, and she fought the urge to completely succumb.

But there was more she wanted from Joe first.

She moaned into the night air, feeling the waves of pleasure break over her as she shuddered, her climax fading in the rush of sensation that shook her legs and threatened to leave her falling to her knees.

The Sheriff's tongue fucked her now, drawing her on even beyond her orgasm until, trembling, she felt herself collapsing against his mouth in agonized delight. Only then did he begin to slow, gently ceasing the assault on her eager body.

And then she felt his cock against her wet lips, and she moaned in desperate need. She needed Joe to take her, to violate her in passionate love, until both beast and woman inside her were sated.

"Now," she urged. "I need you!"

The Sheriff rammed his massive cock into her pussy so hard she squealed, and then he did it again. Again and again he buried himself in her, and each time Mindy could feel pleasure rippling out through her body until she felt lightheaded, no longer human. All she knew was his hands on her hips, his cock inside her, the harsh wood of the wall splintering against her ass and face. She was his now, and he was taking every inch of her, and she needed it, needed the pleasure, needed to cum all over his massive shaft and feel him spill inside her once more. She was rising towards the peak of pleasure again, and it was her beloved Joe who was bringing her there.

Joe fucked her harder and harder until Mindy screamed again. Her whole body clenched and released around his cock. She felt herself cum, her whole body shaking in sated desire. As the pleasure washed through her, the Sheriff moaned. He drove himself deeper into her than he had before, pressing his cock into her very cervix, and then he held still, quivering.

She could feel Joe’s cock pulse inside her as he came. He gripped her hips tightly as he spilled his cum in her. She could feel it filling her womb and groaned at the aftershocks of need.

He held her then, perfectly tender and solicitous, his lips at her neck as he rested inside her.

Mindy moaned and leaned into him, feeling blessed. "You saved me."

He nuzzled the nape of her neck. "I couldn't let you die."

She gestured to her scars. "I didn't mean this. I mean coming back here, being with you again... You saved me from myself. I can't ever repay you for that."

The Sheriff bit at her neck gently. "Yes, you can. Stay here and be my deputy. Never leave me again."

"Oh, I couldn't leave you." Mindy shivered pleasingly under his teeth and nipped him back. "After all, bears mate for life."

One

“Shit.” Daphne leaned over the cliff and squinted down, considering. Her pack had fallen a long way and now tangled in the snarl of bushes she had pushed through hours before. It was too far to recover tonight. Tomorrow she would have to start the long trek down the mountain.

She chewed her hair, frowning. This trip hadn’t been what she expected so far. True, Daphne had never gone camping by herself before, but once the idea had occurred to her, she hadn’t been able to let it go. She was burnt out and she knew it. Working late hours meant she had no time for a social life or for herself. She felt like she was drowning.

But out here, all of that faded away. The birds singing, the soft breeze through her brown hair, the way the sun warmed her shoulders. Everything seemed right for once.

With a sigh, Daphne headed back to her campsite. The bag she’d lost didn’t hold all of her supplies, thankfully, but it was still a loss and it meant she’d be cutting her trip short after only one night. Most of her food was now gone. All she had in her other pack was a bottle of Jack Daniels and some granola bars. A very filling dinner, she thought wryly. Not exactly the relaxing vacation she had planned.

As she hiked, Daphne felt sweat trickle between her ample breasts. The forest would cool as night fell, but now, with the sun beating down on her, she was burning up. Plucking at her shirt, Daphne wished she could just strip down now so she could better feel the breeze.

“Well, why not?” she laughed. “I’m alone up here.”

Saying the words aloud electrified her. A thrill ran through her as she lifted the hem of her shirt over her generous curves, exposing herself to the forest. Daphne had always been a little shy about her body as a girl, but years later, after several men had told her that she was big and beautiful, she was finally a growing comfortable in her own skin. Besides, who was there to see?

She unzipped her shorts and began to pull them down, feeling them catch against her cotton panties as she did. Daphne felt a twinge of nervousness as she stepped out of those as well. Delighting in how naughty she felt, Daphne gathered up her clothing and continued down the path, giggling a little at how bad she was being. It had been a long time since she had worn anything other than a suit for work; this morning, she had counted herself lucky for getting to wear a plaid button-down. But this was better. She felt free. Daphne’s breasts bounced as she walked and the breeze against her ass was wonderful. She took in a deep breath and slowly let it out.

After a few minutes, Daphne felt the back of her neck prickle as though someone was watching her. When she turned, though, she saw no one.

“Hello?”

No answer came.

She wondered anxiously if she should get dressed. She didn’t think there was anyone else on the mountain. The ranger she had passed on the way in had said this was not a popular place to hike for some reason. But still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there were eyes on her, exploring her every curve and fold.

Defiantly, she spread her arms. “Like what you see, pervert?”

Again, the woods kept still, refusing to reveal their secrets.

If someone was watching her – and she felt a warmth between her thighs at that thought – then what could he possibly want, staring at her like this and not coming out?

She had to be imagining things. Trying to get herself under control, she took a deep breath, hoping to calm her fluttering heart. Forcing herself to drop the pitiful protection of her bundled clothes, Daphne spun. She saw no one. Emboldened, she ran her hands over her breasts, feeling the luscious skin still covered in sweat. Kneading her breasts, she stared into the undergrowth. “Do you want a show? Is that it?”

She pinched a nipple, feeling a sharp pain course through her. With a little gasp, she twisted, and her lips grew damp. She felt silly, but also excited. There was something so tantalizing about the thought that she was touching herself for a stranger.

Her knees grew weak at the thought of him, a strange man watching her from the trees as she violated herself. Slowly, her hands drifted lower until they reached the hair between her legs and the slick wetness there. Imagining his piercing gaze, she slipped a finger between her lips. She bit her lip at the thought of his cock hardening for her.

Forgetting that she had wanted to be alone only moments before, she indulged, letting her imagination run wild as her fingers moved faster. Her heart pounded in time with her motions as she thought of him aching for her, desperate to see if she tasted as good as she looked.

Sensation coursed through her, a sweet pulse in time with her eager fingers. She worked her hand faster, wondering how it would feel with other, more calloused hands against her clitoris. As the pleasure rose within her, a branch cracked from somewhere to her left.

“Oh!” Daphne whirled to face whoever it was, her face flushed and red.

She saw movement in the trees. Her throat tightened. She crouched, fumbling for her clothes, suddenly afraid of what she would see.

But instead of a man, a bear sauntered out between two trees a little ways down the path.

Daphne laughed aloud in relief. So she was alone, mostly! The bear turned to consider her briefly and then trotted down the path. She smiled to see it go; it was beautiful. The fading sunlight turned the lighter parts of its coat into a golden halo, and it looked almost unearthly as it moved.

“Good night,” she called after it.

It turned its head briefly to look at her once more, and for a moment, she could have sworn she saw amusement in its amber eyes. And then it was gone, disappearing into the trees on the far side of the road.

Shaking her head, Daphne gathered her clothes and headed back to camp. Her thighs were still wet from her interlude, and she pinkened a little to think of how foolish she had been. But she couldn’t be upset for long; the sunset was beautiful, and after all, she had come into the woods for a vacation, hadn’t she?

She made it back to camp just as the sun began to sink behind the last peak, taking the golden hues with it. In the last few moments, the forest had come alive then around Daphne, full of cicadas and calls as the nighttime denizens moved about. It didn't take long to start a fire and take stock of her few remaining supplies. Munching on a granola bar, Daphne unpacked her bedroll one-handed and sat.

She watched the flames of her campfire crackle against the darkness and smiled. It was true that in the morning she would have to cut her trip short and go home early, but this night was almost perfect. True, it would have been nice to have someone to share it with. But Daphne was alone, and had been for some time. It had been a long time since the last man in her life. She was used to being alone, which was why she worked so much. But even she could admit at times that she would have done better with someone to help her relax.

With the fire crackling merrily and the night finally having fallen in earnest, Daphne began to enjoy herself. The flames threw up sparks against the dark forest, looking for all the word like thousands of fireflies. She took a pull of the Jack and coughed. It burned as it went down, fire within her, and she smiled at the symmetry. After another mouthful, she decided she liked the burn. After two, she was actually starting to relax. She kicked off her shoes and wiggled her toes before the fire.

As the night went on and Daphne grew tipsy, she found that she was no longer concerned about losing her pack, or having to cut her trip short. She was here now, and that was what truly mattered.

The flames had begun to die and she was just trying to decide if she should let them die or build them up again when she realized there was a pair of eyes staring at her across the flames.

Daphne sat up straight, scrambling backwards and nearly knocking over the flask. “Who are you?”

No answer came, but after a moment, the figure stepped forward. She almost laughed in relief. It was the bear! He was watching her again, with no sign of fear or aggression in his amber eyes.

“I’m sorry, Yogi,” she told him. “I haven’t got any food.”

He tilted his head as though considering her. And then before her eyes, he began to change.

Bones creaked, muscles stretched, sinews roped and lengthened. His silvery fur became tawny and softened into skin. He stood, slowly drawing height from the darkness. Only his eyes remained the same, an amber that shone in the fire light.

“Actually, it wasn’t the food I was looking for,” he replied calmly.

Heart pounding, Daphne couldn’t help but stare. Her tipsiness deserted her as she ran her eyes over him. The dying firelight flickered over his well-toned body, and he was starkly, gloriously nude. She could see every muscle as he rose above her. Tall for a man, his arms seamed massive, and his chest big and firm. His tight stomach curved down into a well-defined muscle at his waist, and then lower…

She blushed, but it was impossible not to look. Curving up out of the thatch of dark hair at his groin was a cock so thick and beautiful that she ached to touch it. It rose into the night, starkly lit by the fire. It was the largest cock she had ever seen, and Daphne blushed again as she caught herself wondering how it would feel deep inside her. She crossed her legs against the surge of sensation.

“Did I surprise you?”

She swallowed, trying to drag her eyes back up to his. “You’re a werebear.”

He inclined his head. “I am what I am. Does that frighten you?”

Daphne searched his eyes. She saw power there, true, but no malice. “No,” she whispered.

He smiled, and she felt her cunt clench anew. “Good.”

“So what were you looking for?” Daphne was amazed at how normal her voice sounded. As though she conversed every day with naked werebears who looked even better than the men in her imagination.

“For you. What else?”

“Me?” Daphne floundered. “But why?” She felt childish, questioning him like this, but she could hardly think.

He took a step toward her. “I think you know why.”

Hardly daring to breathe, Daphne shook her head. Bear or not, this beautiful creature couldn’t possibly be interested in her – could he?

“I’ve wanted you since I first saw you.” Another step. “I couldn’t get your little performance out of my mind.”

Daphne thought she might die of embarrassment. Her throat prickled uncomfortably. “I didn’t think anyone was watching.”

He raised an eyebrow as if to say, Didn’t you?

She shivered at the knowing look in his eyes. He was close enough now that she could feel the heat of him, even warmer than the fire, her body aching to touch him and to be touched.

“You called me here,” he whispered, the intimate tones caressing her ears. “You wanted me to be real. The beast in me could feel your hunger.”

His eyes traveled frankly down her, lingering on her belly, her ample hips, her curved thighs. “I can still feel it.”

“But,” Daphne stammered, “why me?” She stopped herself, flustered and confused, and not knowing how to tell him that she was afraid he only wanted her because he knew she was here alone.

She ached to taste him. A man like him would never look twice at her in the city, and knowing that made her pause. She wanted to be wanted for who she was. But her body was trying very hard to make that decision for her. Daphne bit her lip.

The werebear laughed then, a gentle laugh with no trace of mockery. “Do you really doubt I desire you? Do you think I would appear to just any human? Most would run from me. But you,” and he stepped so close she could feel his breath on her cheek, “you did not. I knew you were special.”

Leaning forward, his lips barely touching the lobe of her ear, he murmured, “Besides, I like a little meat on my bones. All the better to eat.”

“Oh god,” she whispered, and then his mouth met hers.

The softness of his lips belied the bruising force with which he kissed her, as though his passion could not be contained. Daphne surrendered to him, letting her body curve against his and finally encircling him with her arms. He was hard and muscled under her fingers, and she explored him as his tongue opened her.

She shivered as he moved his mouth to her ear and then her neck, nipping and licking. As his teeth suck into her, she felt her knees give, but she was held, caught, trapped within his viselike grip. He lifted her as though she weighed no more than a child before easing her down onto her sleeping roll.

There, for a moment, he paused, his eyes locked on hers. Daphne felt as though he studied her, knew every one of her innermost secrets, and accepted her for them. The gaze that met hers was at once wild and tame, and she thought for a moment she would weep at the strength of the emotion therein.

His right hand – large even on her generous hip – moved then, and she felt his thumb press between her legs. The touch was electric, and sent a shock through her very core. With a whimper, she opened her thighs. Daphne didn’t need to see the smile on his face to know that he was pleased at her reaction.

He paused then, his thumb against her pubis and his other fingers deliciously lower. Holding her captive, he lowered his mouth to hers once more. Then her collarbone, and then just at the neckline of her shirt.

Daphne thought she might die if he didn’t touch her again with his mouth. She thought she might die if he did.

Slowly, with aching tenderness, he gripped the hem of her shirt in his teeth and pulled. The buttons gave way eagerly, most willing to slide free and expose her heaving breasts, but she heard one pop off and skitter against the dirt. He stared down at her ample chest, and she could feel him grow harder against her leg.

Trembling at the lustful look in his eyes, she reached and undid the front clasp. Her breasts sprang free, offering themselves to him for the taking.

And he did. Gently at first, but then with heightened urgency, he sucked her nipples, first one, then the other. Daphne gasped as she felt his teeth score her tender flesh. Teasing, he circled the areola with his tongue before nibbling again. She cupped her breasts and pushed them further into his mouth, and with an eager moan, he took as much as he could, staining her pink flesh red with desire. She panted and raised her hips, trying to press herself against his thumb between her legs.

He leaned back, and she cried out as the pressure against her cunt ceased. Rocking back on his heels, he ignored her whimper of protest. “Let me see you.”

She had no will to disobey him. Her fingers shook as she unzipped her jeans, wiggling out of them and then out of the cotton panties beneath. Finally, she lay as naked as she had been before him earlier that day. But this time, he was no fantasy. He was real, and the knowledge of it was almost painful in the most secret place within her as she ached for his touch.

She wanted to beg him to fuck her, but instead she bit her lip, trying to wait. Drinking in the sight of him as he crouched between her legs, beautiful as ever, his muscles clenching with need. She could see a small dip on his thigh from where his cock had dripped for her.

Reaching for him, she wanted to touch it, to lick it off him, but he backed away from her with a small smile. “Lay down.”

Wordlessly, she complied. The night breeze stroked and shivered her flesh, raising goosebumps in agonized anticipation of his body on hers once more. But it was not his hands she felt at her hips, or his legs on hers. Instead, he lowered his mouth to her nether lips, and slipped his tongue between them.

“Oh god,” Daphne moaned, unable to help herself. His mouth was warm and insistent, an extension of everything she needed. She could feel him drinking in her juices and could not longer tell where his tongue was. It seemed to be everywhere, drawing cries from her as he suckled her clitoris as he had done to her breasts only moments before. She felt his hand below, thumb against her and shuddered as he coaxed another cry from her. It was the sweetest sensation she had ever felt.

Pressing her thighs gently against the ground, he took another long lick, his tongue stroking her to new heights. She could feel each movement deep in the core of her, exquisite and aching. Wave after wave of pleasure crashed over her until Daphne begged for release, but he took her to the pinnacle and made her scream as he continued, his face buried deep in her cunt. She came, and came again, and still his tongue devoured her, a savage animal prizing his mate. She shuddered against him. His thumb at her opening was torture, but she had lost the words to beg him to penetrate her and could only gasp, her wide eyes full of fireflies in the night.

When she finally shuddered to her third climax, he lifted himself, sweaty and wild, to hover over her. She felt the top of his cock against her and whimpered, lifting her hips in supplication, but when he moved it was not to bury himself inside her, but to slide, ever so gently, between her swollen and gasping lips. Daphne whimpered in protest as the passion in her rose anew, damnable and desperate. She could feel how hard he was, and could see that his cock was a violent red, but he gave no sign of any conflict as he rocked back and forth over her, slowly and surely.

It was torture, but it was so sweet. Daphne's world narrowed only to him: his thighs over hers, his hair across his brow, and the desperate need for him that was building between her legs. She clutched at him, pleading, but still he moved only against her lips, denying her the release she craved. She wanted to cry. "Please!"

He moved then, but not inside her. Instead, he moved forwards, his cock slick with her juices as it hovered over her chest. Daphne cupped her breasts and lifted them to his swollen member, and with a groan of relief, he slid between her breasts. Her body shook as he fucked her chest, his cock disappearing between her breasts and reappearing, tortured and red, under her chin.

Daphne lowered her chin, trying to catch a taste of his glorious cock. Understanding what she was doing, he slowed, and she felt him barely nudge at her lips before moving away. She licked her lips, aching at the salty taste of him.

Again he moved forward, and again barely touched her.

It was as though she hadn’t already come – three times. But she still hungered for him. Daphne whimpered in frustration as his cock pulled away. Dropping her breasts, she reached for him, grabbing his taut buttocks and pulling him down to her.

He stiffened in surprise, and she felt his cock leap against her tongue as she swallowed against him, trying to wrap her lips around his member. He was much larger than any man she had been with before, but the taste of him intoxicated her as surely as the whiskey had before, and she was desperate to taste him. She sucked on his cock, tasting traces of fluid that had been seeping from him since the moment she lay beneath him.

It was his turn now to shudder, his turn to groan and bury his hands in her hair. He was gentle, and let her work his cock as best she could, one hand on his shaft below her lips and the other on the smooth skin between his legs. She stroked him with hand and tongue, gagging against him but refusing to let him go long enough to catch her breath. She needed him, all of him.

Slowly at first, then more quickly, she dragged her tongue along the base of his cock as she swallowed against him, feeling him jerk with surprise and need. Daphne glanced up to meet his eyes, seeing them closed with pleasure. Even in his need, he was beautiful.

She wanted to make him come, to beg for reprieve as she had, but as she sucked once more at his cock, he withdrew, longingly, through her lips. She murmured in protest, but let herself be silenced by his finger at her mouth.

His finger too was salty, and she tasted it gently, meeting his gaze as he stared down at her. There was a new look in his eye now, one that made her cunt drip to see it. Need. Raw, animal need.

“Take me,” she whispered.

With a groan, he lowered himself onto her, his cock finding her swollen lips and piercing them, driving deep into the core of her. She cried out as he buried himself to the hilt, pressing deeper into her than any man ever had before, bruising her cervix with his need. His cock curved against her as he pulled out and thrust again, sliding along the walls of her and making her scream.

The werebear cried out with her, his voice rising above hers in the night. Savagely, his teeth locked on her throat, and she gasped at the pain, brilliant and white. It blossomed within her, matching the pleasure and crescendoing to an agonizing high that left her reeling. She blinked against the darkness, unsure of whether she could see at all. Another wave of pleasure grasped her as he thrust again, against the core of her, pressing every inch of his need into her cunt.

He held there for a moment, quivering, and she could feel his heart beat against her lips.

“Please,” Daphne begged.

Meeting her gaze, he smiled once more, but this time in wonderment. As he drew back, so far the tip of him barely touched her at all, Daphne whimpered, and then cried out. “Please!”

And then he was inside her, fucking her, taking every inch of her and ravaging her cunt. The force of him shook her whole body, her breasts quivering against him, and still she felt him press, his balls slapping against her, the force of his need making her scream again and again. Once again she felt his teeth at her throat; once again she begged and didn’t know what she was begging for. She was split, renewed. She was whole, and broken. She needed, and he gave.

With a sound like a roar, he buried himself deep within her once more, his cock pulsing as he came. The feel of him filling her brought tears to Daphne’s eyes, and her cunt quivered in response. He leaned down and kissed her deeply, and she felt her body shudder as she came yet again.

“Mine,” he whispered.

“Yes.” She would have agreed to anything at that moment. It was no stretch to tell him the truth: she was his, now.

He kissed her again then, slow and lingering, his tongue against hers. She closed her eyes to the night and felt the aftershocks of pleasure course through her. His cock within her was quiet now, but she could still feel his heart beating.

“Yours.”

Two

"Damn." Daphne buried her head in her soft arms, trying to keep tears from pricking at her eyes. She had only been back to work for a few days, but that was more than enough time for the idyll she had found in the forest to be broken. Despite the fact that she was originally scheduled to be out for more time, her supervisor lost no time in putting a project on her lap for early completion. Daphne had been working non-stop since she got home.

Now, letting her mind wander, Daphne wished more than anything that she was back in the woods. Strange as it was to her, spending time with the werebear had kept her grounded, and she missed that. All from a man whose name she had never learned.

Daphne blushed as she thought of just how intimately she had gotten to know him without that name. His cock in her mouth, between her breasts, and deep inside her. It had been days since the tryst, and her cunt was still gasping for him.

With the pack containing all of her food lost, though, Daphne had little choice but to go back down the mountain the morning after they slept together. She had woken slowly, dreading what she had to do and wondering if it had been a dream. But it was no dream; her new companion lay in bear form, with his strong arms wrapped around her. When he saw her open her eyes and sit up, he winked and stretched.

And then before her eyes, the bear had become a man again. His limbs shifted with the ease of long practice, and she once again found herself staring into the amber eyes of her achingly handsome companion.

"I thought you might be gone," she had told him then.

He took her hand in his, bringing it to his mouth and biting lightly on her wrist, sending shivers through her. "And miss this?"

Trying to ignore the sensations that coursed through her at the feel of his mouth upon her anywhere, even at her wrist, Daphne asked, "Am I going to become a bear now, too?"

He had laughed at her then, and she felt a flash of regret as he removed his mouth from her. "Not from a bite like this, no."

"Then, if I'm not a bear, I'm going to have to start heading home," she had said in mock disappointment.

"Oh," he moved his body to cover hers, "so soon?"

Daphne blushed again furiously, her head still buried in her arms, as she thought of how quickly he had made her drip for him all over again. He had moved within her so skilfully; his cock slid past her lips with ease, in and out, sending rising tides of passion coursing through her. She could almost feel him brush against that most sensitive of spots as she cried out.

The werebear lowered his mouth to her flesh once more, his sharp teeth nibbling her neck, making her shiver and beg. With the sound of her voice, he bit down in earnest, and Daphne moaned. Shudders of pleasure ran down her spine, setting every inch of her aflame with need.

At her desk. lost in thought, Daphne found that she couldn't keep from touching herself. The memory of his body was too strong. She could almost smell his sweat on her still. Hesitantly, she slipped a finger over her clothed cunt. Even that slight pressure made her eager cunt gasp. She had been aching ever since she left the werebear. She had never needed anyone so badly.

She poked her head over her cubicle. No one was around; as she expected, most of her coworkers had left at five. Not Daphne; she was staying late, as usual.

Feeling relieved, but still somewhat guilty, Daphne settled back in her chair. She tried to focus on her work, but it only took a few moments for the werebear's piercing gaze to flash before her eyes, making her whimper once more. Without thought, her fingers found her cunt again. This time, she slipped them through the waistband of her skirt, glad she had worn something loose fitting.

Desperately, she worked her fingers against her vagina, tracing the outline of her eager lip before circling her clitoris. She felt a wave of shame and excitement was over her. It felt so wrong - but who would know?

Since she had left the forest, it was all she could do to keep her hormones in check. Now, with the stranger’s chiselled body in her thoughts, she couldn't bear to go another moment without some kind of release.

Daphne clutched her chair with her other hand as she stroked her cunt, closing her eyes against the rush of sensation. She had always known how to make herself climax, but now even that peak seemed shallow compared to the heights he had brought her to. She moaned, remembering the piercing sweetness of his tongue on her cunt, his hunger at devouring every inch of her. When he first tasted her, she thought she might die. Now, Daphne was terrified she would never feel so good again.

Moaning, she rocked against her hand, almost able to believe it was his hand touching her, his calloused fingers slipping into her aching cunt. She panted, feeling herself grow closer and closer until she cried out, remembering the moment when he came inside her, filling her completely.

"Yours," she whispered again, but she was alone now, and there was no one to hear but her.

~

The bar was smoky and dark, but it didn't matter to Daphne. She was here for one reason only, and darkness worked for her just as well as light. The music pounding around her made her shiver inside.

Eyeing the men boldly, she made her way to the bar. "Whiskey sour," she ordered, settling her curves over a bar stool and hoping someone would catch her eye.

"Buy you a drink?"

Daphne turned to see a man settling onto the stool beside her. Tall, with broad shoulders, and a wide chest, he would have set her heart to racing only days ago. Now, she met his smile and tried to hold your own. "I have one coming already, but thank you."

"Oh."

He was quiet after that, so she hastened to add, "I'm Daphne."

"Clint." He smiled again.

"Clint." She tasted the name. It suited him.

He held out his hand. "Want to dance?"

Daphne looked him up and down as he stood. His body clearly showed that he worked out: big arms, hard stomach, and she couldn't help but think of giving him a workout of her own.

She took his hand. "Yes. I think I'd like that."

She did like it. Clint's body moved well against her curves, and he seemed to enjoy losing himself in her, his hands at her hips, then his fingers in her hair. He frankly stared at her voluptuous chest as she moved, and Daphne let him. It felt good to be out like this. It stilled some, but not all, of the ache inside her.

Afterwards, she let him buy her a second drink, and then a third. They kissed, almost chastely, and Daphne liked that as well. But it awakened the animal now within her, and she wanted more.

Stumbling through the door of his apartment, they kissed again, this time with tongue, and more urgency. Daphne unveiled her curves, too impatient to let his fumbling fingers try the clasp of her bra.

Clint sucked in his breath at the sight of her. "You're beautiful," he started to say, but she tackled him onto the bed.

She drove her tongue into his startled mouth and felt him open for her. Running her hands down his sides, Daphne caught herself comparing him to the werebear's chiselled build, and tried to push the thought away. She was here now, and she wanted to enjoy this. Teasing Clint's shirt off between kisses, she pushed her flesh against his, feeling her nipples harden with the contact.

Daphne tried to unzip his pants next, but he rolled on top of her. One of his hands pushed hers aside while the other clutched at her ample ass. "God," he groaned, pulling his cock free, "you're magnificent."

His fingers dug into her, and Daphne squealed as the pinch sent pleasure coursing through her. Clint grabbed her more tightly against him as he pulled down his pants. She felt his cock against her stomach and shivered sympathetically as it trembled.

She helped him, and soon they were naked together. Daphne normally would have blushed the first time with a man, but today she was seized with a wildness. There was no need to blush. Not when they both knew what they wanted.

Daphne rolled to her side, her belly fitting perfectly against his hips. She took his cock in her hand and felt it leap, a drip of moisture seeping from the end as she stroked him. He wasn't as thick as the bear, but he was hard and eager, and Daphne realized that she was dripping herself. Pressing a leg between his, she moved her hand more urgently.

His face, when she looked, was read, his eyes half-closed as he breathed heavily. Smiling to herself, Daphne reached out with her other hand and gently cupped him below his cock. He pulsed in her hand, shuddering for her as she moved him against her palm. His balls were heavy with the come he was aching to spend. Thinking of it made Daphne salivate. She glanced up at him again.

Then, to her surprise, she felt his hand on her. She had thought he was too distracted to touch her, but now she knew he was just distracted enough. She whimpered as he slipped a finger between her ample thighs, losing it within her depths.

As his finger entered her, Daphne gasped. The sudden penetration sent a flood aflow between her legs, and she bucked against his hand. It almost hurt, but it felt so delicious to have someone within her again. Daphne needed more.

Clint was still flushed, but he smiled slyly at her expression. "Something you want?"

"Oh," Daphne moaned, "please."

"Please what?" A second finger rested just at the edge of her cunt, lightly probing.

Daphne was having trouble thinking, too lost in the torment of him working his finger in and out of her so slowly as his other finger continued to tease at her opening. "Um."

"Do you want me to bury my hand in you?"

A jolt rocked Daphne to her core, and set her to shuddering against his hand at the thought. She heard herself whimper again. At that moment, it seemed like nothing else could satisfy the aching need in her cunt.

"Say it."

She forced herself to meet his knowing gaze. "I want your hand inside of me."

A second finger slid into her. Then, slowly, a third. She trembled and shook anew. Clint was moving his hand again, slowly drawing his fingers out of her cunt only to press them deep within her again. Each time he lost them to her depths, she could feel his palm press against her clitoris, sending a new pang of pleasure through her. It was incredible, erotic, but oh god, so sweet and tender that Daphne almost couldn't bear it.

Then she felt the tip of his pinky pressing into her.

Her cunt spread eagerly before the assault. Daphne grabbed his hand and slammed it against her folds, driving him deeply inside herself. Catching a cue from her, he drew back and then slammed into her again, fucking her with his hand. She felt her whole body rock with his efforts. She pushed herself to meet his thrusts, crying out as he left her only to bury himself again in her cunt.

"I need you inside me," she groaned.

Without another word, he pulled back, letting her choose the position. Feeling wicked, Daphne leaned forward on her forearms, pressing her ass up into the air. She couldn't help but think of her bear, and wondered if this was the way he preferred to take his mates. Just the thought of it made her whole body clench in longing.

At that moment, Clint drove into her, burying his cock all the way inside her swollen cunt. The thrust shook her whole body, sending a flush to her breasts hanging heavily below her. Daphne groaned. It felt good, so good, to have someone inside her, and yet, and yet...

"Harder," she heard herself groaning.

A shiver rocked him; she could feel it in his hands at her hips and the pulsing of the cock within her. With a savage growl, he complied.

Daphne swayed underneath him as he fucked her, his balls slapping against her cunt. Wave after wave of pleasure filled her, born from his cock and touching every inch of her body. Her breasts swelled with the motion of his assault on her body. Daphne moaned as he rode her.

"Harder, harder, harder." She realized she was chanting the words, like a plea or a prayer.

Clint's fingers were buried so deep in her skin no w that she knew she would have marks on her hips for a week. The thought of that, a lasting sign of her need, made her smile against the fierce pleasure.

As he rode her to his finish, Daphne let the sensations take her mind away, bringing to another place, another man, another cock inside her. And when she finally came, shuddering, it was not Clint she felt inside her, but the bear.

~

She lay awake as Clint breathed beside her, counting tiles and wishing she were somewhere else. Anywhere else. The alcohol had long since burned off her system, and now she felt alert and impatient as though she was waiting for something to happen.

She was, wasn't she?

Daphne was up and dressed before she full considered what it was she was doing. A sense of urgency filled her, and she padded to the door hurriedly, trying to find her shoes. She was out and back to her car in moments.

The forest was an hour's drive away, but being on the road again finally calmed Daphne. Dark and twisted trees passed her by, silent heralds of her proximity to the mountain  - and her werebear lover.

With the windows down, Daphne breathed in the heavy night air and rejoiced to smell the earth, leaving behind the familiar scent of concrete and people. The road began to climb, and she leaned into it as if urging her car to go faster. Her breasts twinged, still sore from hanging while Clint fucked her. She didn't care. Her whole world was consumed in just getting to the forest.

As she stopped her car by the gate and got out, Daphne briefly wondered what exactly she would do if she couldn't find him. What if he didn't know she was here? How long would she wait?

But the thrumming inside her told her he would know, he would come - he had to. Her cunt had been awakened, too, and she could feel it pulse at the thought of his approach. Daphne stepped around the gate and followed the long path up the mountain on foot.

For a time, all she heard were the normal noises of the forest at night; a few bats swooping overhead, the crackle of twigs as animals moved, insects seeking their mates. She gave a little smile at that. She was seeking her mate, after all. Daphne strained her ears to catch his approach, but she hadn't heard him before when he came to her. She didn't expect to hear him now.

"You are not lost, I hope?"

She almost cried out in relief to hear his voice. Daphne stopped, still, and looked around for him, trying to find his amber eyes in the dark. "No. I'm not lost."

"It's very late to be wandering alone in the woods." She thought she could make him out now, a shape darker than black moving towards her.

She smiled. "I was hoping to not be alone for very long."

"Your other lover wasn't good company?" His tone was amused, not angry.

Daphne wondered how he knew about Clint. Maybe he could smell it on her. Still, if he wasn't angry, she didn't care.

"No." She took a step toward him. "There was something else I needed."

"Oh?"

"Someone else I needed," Daphne admitted.

He approached her then, and she was finally able to see his eyes shining at her in the dark. She thought there was a suggestion of a smile at his lips. That was all she could make out before he bowed his head and kissed her.

Daphne shivered. The kiss pierced her to her very core, sending pleasure coursing through every fiber of her. Her body had been craving him, and now he was here, and it was all she could do to hold herself up as his tongue entered her mouth. She moaned, leaning into his arms, eager to feel the pressure of his cock on her belly once more.

He held her, pressing her generous breasts against him. One hand kept her steady while the other roamed, exploring her flesh once more. He moved his mouth to her shoulder as he slipped one of her straps down.

"Please." Daphne heard the word come out of her mouth and realized she was begging him already. But his mouth on her felt so good.

She felt him nip at her shoulder, and then his lips curved into a smile.

"I need you to bite me."

His teeth were on her then, and she thought she might die. Impossibly sharp, they grazed her skin, sinking in just enough to keep from drawing blood. Just that light touch made Daphne's cunt clench with need. As he moved his mouth, she felt her thighs grow damp in sympathy. She needed his mouth on her everywhere, all at once. Already she was helpless, shuddering beneath his mouth.

He slipped off the other strap of her dress and then moved his hands to her zipper. No fumbling here; he was smooth and sure, and kept his mouth on her as he slowly lowered the zipper and undid the clasp of her dress.

She eagerly leaned into him, letting her hands explore his muscled form as he undressed her. He rippled under her hands as she moved, smooth and hard and tense. She could feel his skin raise in goosebumps as she slid her hands down to his buttocks and gripped them tightly. The werebear grunted, and she could feel his cock spring against her in response.

Daphne stepped back then, letting the dress fall from her curves and puddle around her feet. She slipped off her panties as well, wondering if he could see her in the dim light. The night breeze tickled her bare skin, but she was still flushed with the heat of his body against hers, and didn't care.

He gathered her up in his arms again as though she was very light. She hugged his muscled chest as paced forward once, twice, and then Daphne felt the bark of a tree scraping her ass and thighs as he pressed her into it, his mouth at her collarbone once more.

"Oh," she managed, and then words became impossible.

His mouth moved lower, stopping briefly in the hollow of her throat before he caught her nipples in his mouth, suckling one, and then the other. Pleasure coursed through Daphne, and she felt a corresponding wetness between her nether lips.

He knelt before her then, and pressed his mouth to her full thighs. His fingers pressed lightly on her hips, where Clint's had been only hours before, and she spread herself for him.

His tongue found her clitoris with ease, and he took his first long lick there without any guidance. Daphne moaned again. His mouth was sweeter even than her memory of it, an aching, piercing sweetness that made her cunt swell with need. He moved lower, slipping his tongue along her inner folds and stroking gently back and forth until Daphne arched her back and pressed herself into the tree, desperate for more.

She didn't even have to say the word; he moved faster. He buried his face in her thighs, suckling her clitoris and scraping her ever so maddeningly with his teeth. Waves of pleasure crashed through Daphne, and she panted, trying desperately to bring her cunt closer to him, closer to the tongue that teased but would not satisfy.

The assault was so sweet she nearly cried when he raised himself up once again. The sudden loss of pressure at her hips almost made Daphne fall before the werebear put his arms around her once more. He kissed her again, hard, and she could taste herself on his lips.

His cock rose against her, and Daphne spread her legs eagerly, trying to lift herself onto her toes and not caring how the bark scraped at her. As she moved, he pulled back, until just the tip of his cock pressed against her folds.

The bear brought his mouth to her ear, and she shivered to feel his breath on her. "I was hoping you'd come back."

"You were?" she whispered, scarcely daring to believe him.

"I needed you, too."

With those words, he pierced her, and Daphne cried out, almost coming from the relief of his cock inside her once more. It moved into the depths of her, filling her and giving her a sense of completeness Daphne hadn't realized she was missing. He held himself there for one long moment, his cock shuddering inside her.

And then with one long, slow movement, he withdrew almost to the tip once more before slowly sliding back into her. Daphne wept at the beauty she was feeling, the tender ache that suffused her and made her calm even as the pressure was rising inside her. He leaned his cheek against hers and gently licked a tear away. He pulled back and then thrust again, moving ever deeper, one long motion at a time.

Her cunt quivered each time he slid out of her. Daphne gasped the next time he moved inside her; the angle had changed, and now his cock rubbed against the rough place just on the front wall of her that made her moan and set her knees to buckling. No one had ever pressed his cock into her and been able to make her feel this way. Daphne doubted anyone ever would again.

She could feel him smile at her gasp, and he moved again, no longer changing the angle. Each time he slid his engorged cock into her, he pressed against her most sensitive of places, and Daphne shook. The bark against her back was the only thing keeping her grounded. She wanted to dissolve into the sensations he was giving her. She never wanted to move.

And then his cock pressed against her cervix, and she cried out.

The forest went still around them at Daphne's cry. As though he had been waiting for her cue, the werebear suddenly withdrew and then forced himself even deeper inside her, firm against her cervix once more. Daphne spread her legs further in supplication and he lifted them to wrap them around his waist, his big arms holding her up with no problem. She wrapped herself around him as he buried his cock to the hilt in her.

The bear fucked her hard with his need, and she hear his voice join hers, a throaty moan as she took what they both had been craving. Her whole body shook as he violated her innermost parts, bringing her need to new heights.

Just as Daphne was about to come, she felt his mouth on her shoulder once more. His teeth did not graze this time; they caught and held, and she felt the sharp sting of pain, thrilling and sweet, through the haze of her pleasure. She shuddered as she came, her entire body wracked with the highest peak of pleasure.

He stiffened inside her, pulsing, and she could feel him come, his cock responding to the way her body clenched about him. The werebear moaned against her skin, and Daphne leaned her head against his.

His come filled her, and Daphne felt another wave of pleasure as his cock throbbed. Her cunt was heavy with him, and she could feel some of their juices flowing out of her and onto his thighs.

She kissed the top of his head as he slowly released her shoulder. "Thank you," she murmured.

He gave a faint laugh, sounding out of breath. "I hardly think thanks are in order."

"No, they are." Daphne smiled as she met his amber gaze. "After all, you finally got me to relax."

Three

"Fuck." Daphne rolled over to lie flat on her back, exhausted from the werebear's ministration. They had already had sex three times in the last hour, and as much as she wanted more, she was exhausted and knew that work tomorrow would be painful without any sleep. And she had a long drive ahead of her.

"We did that, I believe." She turned to see a smirk on the face of her companion. "But if you insist..."

He rolled his powerful body on top of hers, both still sticky with sweat and covered in bark and dirt. Daphne could feel his cock beginning to stir again between her legs.

The werebear kissed her, a deep and lingering kiss, and she felt her body responding. Her well-worked cunt was still slick with the last time they had been together, his come still filling her. But her body ached for him nonetheless. Daphne didn't know how.

"No, I meant 'fuck, I have to go back to work.'" She half-heartedly pushed at him, but relented as he nipped at her neck, sending shivers down her spine. "Oh, do that again."

Wordlessly, he complied, his teeth just grazing her skin.

The small pinch made Daphne shiver. His slightest touch still threatened to overwhelm her, but she tried to shake off the urge to become one with him.

She looked up into his luminous amber eyes. "I wish I didn't have to, but I should go."

His mouth covered hers, drinking away her protests as he entered her.

Daphne moaned into his mouth as she felt his cock slide easily between her folds. Her swollen cunt accepted him eagerly, and she was overwhelmed with a now-familiar sense of relief as they became one. She belonged here, with him. She shuddered as he moved, her body suffused with need.

He rocked back and forth over her, his cock working her with ease. Daphne arched her back and pressed her ample chest against him, desperate to be as close to him as she could. She could feel his chiseled stomach against her soft belly, his arm against her shoulder as he held himself up over her, moving in leisurely strokes.

"Faster," she groaned.

The werebear chuckled, only to gasp as she clamped her cunt down on his cock. She grabbed his taut buttocks with both hands, pulling him into her, hard. With a low groan, he thrust into her, moving faster as she urged him on. Leaves crackled and broke underneath them as he brought her, quivering, to the edge of pleasure.

"I don't want to go," she whispered, unsure if he heard her through their passion.

He made no response except to fasten his teeth at her neck once more, the pain coursing through her to merge with her pleasure as she came, shuddering and crying out into the early morning woods.

He held her as her breathing slowed. "Then don't," he said quietly.

"What?"

"Don't go." His face was unreadable, but she thought she could see hope in his amber eyes. Hope that she might stay.

Daphne sighed and sat up, beginning the long process of retrieving and dusting off her clothing. "I have to. I already told work I was canceling the rest of my vacation."

He sat up and watched her, making no move to help. "You don't owe them anything."

"Maybe not, but I still need a job." She stepped into her skirt. "I'm not a bear; I can't just live in the woods." She looked around, wondering where her bra ended up.

The werebear trailed a hand up her calf, distracting her momentarily from her search. "You could, you know."

"Could?" Daphne frowned. "Could what?"

"Be a bear. Stay here." His eyes bored into her. "If you wanted to."

Daphne was surprised by the wave of longing that overtook her. To run free, with him as her mate, to never have to worry about her boss or apartment again. She took a deep breath. "Maybe. I have to think about it."

He nodded, and abruptly stood. "You should be going."

Completely confident in the pre-dawn light, he stalked down the hill, leaving Daphne to hurry after him, bra still unfound.

As they walked in silence, she wondered about his offer. It sounded so fantastical, and yet would it be so crazy? Both of her parents were dead, and she had no brothers or sisters. She had friends, of course, but she worked such long hours it had been a while since she'd seen any of them. Daphne shivered at the realization of how easily she could take herself out of the world. Who would there really be to miss her?

Her werebear would miss her. He had said it, and she believed him. It was strange, but after only a few days, this connection felt stronger and more real than anything she had known before. Daphne still felt the pull to be with him, even when he was only a few feet away. No, she didn't think this was so crazy. This had been her desire: freedom.

Hurrying forward a few paces, Daphne reached for his hand. "Yes."

Startled, he looked down at her hand in his, then met her eyes. "Yes?"

"Yes." Daphne took a deep breath. "Just let me get a few things from home. And then I'll stay."

The smile that burst across his face was so joyful it made her knees weak. Daphne could never remember feeling so completely loved and wanted.

"Yes," she repeated again, smiling back.

~

He kissed her goodbye before they made it to the road, promising to watch for her return. Daphne wondered if he believed she was coming back. Something in his eyes told her that he felt the connection she did, though. He wouldn't doubt her.

As Daphne finally broke out from under the trees to reach the road, she heard a voice.

"Is this your car, miss?"

A park ranger was standing by her car - her illegally parked car, Daphne was sure.

"Oh. Yes, I'm sorry." She blushed as she approached, suddenly very aware of how much her ample bosom moved without a bra. She could see that the ranger had noticed, too.

"I didn't mean to cause a problem," she said, wondering how to explain. "I just wanted to go for a walk before work."

He eyed her up and down, and Daphne wondered if he could tell how hastily she had dressed. She was sure there were dirt stains all over her. She frowned nervously.

"I'm sorry, miss, but you can't park here." He reached for the pad of paper at his waist. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to issue you a citation."

"I'm sorry!" Daphne was horrified. "Please don't, I promise I won't do it again."

The ranger paused, his pen hovering over the pad. A speculative look came over his face, and when he met her gaze again, he had a strange look in his eye. "Look, miss, I can't just not do my job. Why don't you tell me what you were really doing up here?"

Daphne flushed. "I was..." What could she possibly say? She thought frantically, and then noticed something: the ranger eyeing her again, a growing bulge at his crotch.

Nervously, she licked her lips, and saw his gaze flick to her mouth. A thought came to her mind, but it made her blush horribly just to think of it. Still, what did she have to lose?

"I like to walk naked in the woods. I know I shouldn't, it just feels so nice on my bare skin."

The look of lust that he gave her emboldened Daphne, and she went on. "I like to feel the leaves under my feet, the breeze against my breasts. It makes me feel free."

She saw him lower his hand to his cock and begin rubbing slowly through the cloth, a glazed look in his eye. She felt a tingle at the idea of how eager this stranger must be for her that he was willing to rub himself in the middle of the road.

Warming to the story, Daphne continued, "I was a little cold this morning, though. My nipples got all hard."

She injected a pout into her voice, and saw him swallow as he rubbed faster. Daphne was surprised to find she was aroused by the story, and by his response to it. Her panties grew damp as she continued.

"And I couldn't find my bra when I got dressed, so they're still hard." They were; Daphne could feel them pricking against her shirt. She trailed a hand up her front, watching his gaze follow and lose itself in her cleavage. She contrived to accidentally undo her top button, letting even more of her breasts hang free.

"I'm really very sorry, sir. I didn't mean to cause any problems." Daphne licked her lips, watching him sweat. "I just can't help how much I like to be naked."

"Well, ah..." The ranger seemed to be having trouble thinking of what to say to that. He left off stroking himself for a moment as though trying to pull himself together. Breathing heavily, he met her gaze and tried to look stern. "How do I know you're not just trying to get out of being in trouble? You might have been off drinking or something. I mean, if you were really a nudist, you wouldn't be wearing clothes now, now would you?"

Daphne was aroused at the idea of stripping for him. She wondered briefly if the werebear was watching from the safety of the trees. Well, if he was, he would have a show, too.

Feeling naughty, she unbuttoned her shirt the rest of the way, holding the ranger's gaze. She was rewarded as he audibly swallow, his hand drifting back to his cock.

She draped her shirt over the hood of the car, shaking her hair back and off her generous breasts. She unzipped her skirt and stepped out of it, then her panties, leaving her curves bare to the wind, the world, and the ranger's eager eyes.

"This is how I like to go walking," she murmured. She strutted a few paces, feeling her lips slide against each other, slick with her juices. She wondered if the ranger could see how wet she was from where he stood.

He ogled her as she moved, his hand working himself faster and faster through his pants. Daphne felt a tingle as she pirouetted for him. A week ago, this might have made her blush horribly, but now, she felt empowered and wild. She would never see him again. But he would always remember this, how much he wanted her.

As she spun, she felt her ass jiggle, and the ranger made a low moan in the back of his throat, followed by a short gasp. He had come after all, just from touching himself through his pants.

With a wicked smile, Daphne bent to gather her clothing. "Am I free to go?"

"Yes..." He cleared his throat. "Yes. But don't let me catch you doing it again."

"Well," Daphne smiled, knowing it to be the truth, "if you do see me again, I can promise you, I'll be naked."

Werebears didn't wear clothes, but he didn't know that, now did he?

Smiling to herself, Daphne got into the car. Her cunt tingled as it touched the hot leather seat, but the sensation felt good. Trying not to laugh with joy at the freedom she felt, Daphne put the car in reverse and began to back out. As she pulled away, she saw the ranger staring after her car, a bemused expression on his face.

~

It didn't take long to make her escape from mundanity. She emailed her work and a few friends, calling it a sudden sabbatical; she doubted she'd have a job long, and found herself growing lighter as she realized how freeing that was. She cleaned out all of the perishables, and tidied up, then looked around. What else? All of the bills paid out automatically, and she had enough in her bank account to cover them for a few months at least, if...

If she came back?

Daphne looked around at what she was leaving behind, and wondered.

But she hadn't been able to sleep ever since that night on the mountain, and she knew now she could never walk away from the werebear. He had awoken something inside her, some primal desire, and she felt the hunger for the wild freedom he offered almost as much as she hungered for him.

And in truth, there was not much here that she would miss. Daphne hadn't hated her life, but now, as she looked around, she wondered if she had really liked it very much.

In the end, all she packed were a few mementos from her parents, a small wad of cash, and a couple changes of clothing. How do you pack for something like this? Daphne wondered and smothered a nervous giggle.

Through it all, she felt as though the werebear's amber eyes on her, following her every move with an intensity that made her tingle. But he was back in the woods waiting, believing she would return to him.

Daphne looked around once more, taking a deep breath. "All right," she told herself, "I can do this."

~

Her bear met her at the head of the trail as he'd promised, a dappled grey among the green of the trees. Daphne looked around anxiously as she parked her car, half expecting to see the park ranger again, but she'd passed no one on the road up.

"I'm ready," she told him.

The werebear took a step towards her, shifting as he did. It was over in a moment, his fur receding, limbs twisting and lengthening. The man before her regarded her with kind eyes, and then gently kissed her forehead. "You're very brave."

"Stop it." She flushed. "Let's go."

He nodded and changed again. Bear at her side, she left her life behind.

As they hiked up the mountain, Daphne tried to focus on the birdsong and relax. With her companion in bear form, there was not much to say. And honestly, she was consumed with thoughts of all she left behind, wondering at how she could be so happy to be rid of it. But the promise of relaxation, true calm, the way she had felt that first night on the mountain, kept her going. Even if she wasn't fully able to enjoy the birdsong now, she thought that soon, she could.

After all, this was going to be her home?

As they crested the mountain, she saw a dark spot through the trees, and knew it had to be his lair. They approached, and Daphne saw she was right: a cave, deep and snug and out of the way, there was no chance that even the ranger would stumble across them by accident. And judging by the distance they had hiked from the road and the amount of underbrush, anyone approaching would be heard long before they could see the cave.

She smiled. Now they were truly alone.

As a courtesy, the werebear built a fire for Daphne, leaving her to tuck her belongings away in a small nook and then explore her new home. Just tall enough for him to stand in human form, it felt wide and open to Daphne despite the small entrance. She also noticed a small exit in the back. And though it was a cave, it was dry and seemed well-kept. She saw a small pile of leaves and moss, and wondered if she would be comfortable sleeping on that every night. Her back still hurt from the night before. But then again, they hadn't exactly done much sleeping.

She felt a touch on her arm, and looked up to see the werebear, an intense expression on his face. "Are you ready?"

Daphne nodded, unnerved by the way the fire shone against his eyes.

"You'll want to be naked," he told her gently. "Once I bite you, you won't be able to help but change."

She disrobed. This time, he didn't help; only watched, solemn. He gestured for her to lay down, and slowly she did, on the mossy bed.

It was more comfortable than she had expected, but was still cool from the cave air. The moss was soft against her bare skin. Daphne's feet brushed against the stone, and she shivered, not just from the cold.

When she looked up at the werebear, she found he had shifted again. A bear met her nervous gaze, and stalked forward to stand at her feet. Daphne suddenly couldn't help being aware of his cock; even in this form, it was beautiful. It was imposing, curving against his belly. She could see that he was aroused by her even now.

He leaned his head forwards, and Daphne closed her eyes. She felt his hot breath against her naked cunt, and felt a corresponding wetness between her legs. Even in this form, she wanted him. Dimly, she wondered at the thought, but as he moved to stand over her, she found it hard to think of anything else.

She felt his nose against her thigh, and couldn't help but spread her legs as he touched her. But he made no move to take her. Instead, she felt the gentle touch of his tongue against her leg, and then his teeth.

As his teeth pierced her skin, Daphne felt a rush of pleasure and pain sweeter and sharper than anything she had ever known. She cried out, rocked by the force of it, the tidal wave of passion that overwhelmed her. Torn loose from herself, Daphne felt pain, then more pain, sharper and a discomfort as the world around her began to shift. Or was she the one shifting. Her gaze titled crazily, and she tried to stand. His jaws held her, and then she tried to stand. His jaws held her, and she toppled down again, falling to her stomach as he released her suddenly.

She cried out, and the sound faded into a whine. She, she had been Daphne once, and was still, but this - some newer, rawer form of herself. This was who she was now. Her leg ached from the bite, and now she could smell the blood, not just feel it; she could smell everything - and him.

A rush of pheromones overwhelmed the bear Daphne as she sniffed, inhaling the scent of her mate. There was something so powerful about it, and she had no words to describe the sensation - but she no longer needed words.

She leaned forwards, lifting her rear for him, knowing that he would understand. His heavy paw settled on her back, and she felt it change into a human hand. Somehow, her body knew to change as well and she followed him back into human form.

With a full-throated roar, he lunged forward, burying his cock deep within her. Her voice rose to join his as the pleasure washed over her, the same pleasure as before, but with more urgency. She knew she was still in human form, but her mind was filled with a cacophony of scents and feelings she’d never experienced before. She moaned, low, as he fucked her.

Harder and faster, his cock plunged into her cunt. It was no strain to take the weight of his body on top of hers, but she shuddered with the force of his thrusts, and the depth of his need. She bucked against him as he moved, trying to force him deeper into her, trying to take everything to sate her savage need.

As the werebear took her, she felt herself slowly rising to the surface, Daphne once more. The bear was still there, strong in her mind, but she remembered her speech, and knew the whole of the moment, and not just his cock within her.

Daphne pressed herself back against his cock, timing it with his thrusts so that he penetrated her ever deeper. She could feel him pressing against her cervix as he rode her, and she cried out in encouragement. Her cunt was on fire with need. Her whole body shook with wanting him.

She fell to her elbows, pressing her ass further up into the air. With a low cry, he withdrew and then buried himself to the hilt in her folds. Daphne could feel his balls against her lips, could feel her come dripping down the place where their legs met.

And then he thrust again, and again, and she lost who she was. She was Daphne, and a bear, and some part of her wondered which she was anymore, or both, but he was within her, around her, and that was what mattered. She was adrift in pleasure, drowning in the bliss that rose inside her as he moved. The pleasure built within her until her body couldn't contain it anymore. With a final, shuddering cry, she came.

The werebear pulled out as she did, and she moaned. Suddenly bereft of the anchor of his cock, she let herself fall forward so she lay face down on their bed of moss, exhausted.

With a throaty cry, she heard him climax as well, and then warmth blossomed along her back as he spent himself on her back and ass, marking his territory.

After a moment, she felt him lay beside her, gently draping a leg over hers. "How do you feel?"

Daphne smiled, rolling over to kiss him. "I feel like I'm home."

Warning: This book contains graphic depictions of consenting adults engaging in explicit sexual activities, and is only intended for mature readers over the age of 18.

“You fucking snake!”

Andrea Barret heard her words echo over the grunts and moans of Jacob and the skinny bitch he was balls-deep inside.

She had been frozen in the doorway to the bedroom they shared, watching in disbelief as his thick cock slammed into the tiny woman. They were oblivious to their audience until she’d shouted.

The woman grabbed a blanket - her blanket, Andrea thought – and tried to cover her nakedness. Jacob spun around to face the irate woman.

“Baby, its --”

“Shut your lying fucking mouth” Andrea screamed. “What? It was an accident? You just happened to find this skinny, naked, woman in our bed? And then you tripped, right? Because your pants fell down. And her cunt was just so loose you couldn’t help but land with your dick in her?”

Jacob tripped as he tugged his pants up one leg and fell face first onto the floor. He rushed to his feet, his pants still only half up and scurried over to the furious woman.

Andrea eyed his rapidly deflating cock, still wet with the woman’s juices.

“No fucking condom?” She yelled.

“Did you not learn your fucking lesson?” She said pointing to her belly. Andrea winced; in the heat of the moment, she’d almost forgotten the pain of the miscarriage just a week before.

Jacob reached out to her and took hold of her shoulder. She reeled back and punched; her fist connected with his face and tripped backwards and crashed to the floor. Blood spouted from his nose, and Andrea continued her tirade.

“Do you want a baby you can’t fucking afford?” She looked to the woman, who scrambled to find her clothing.

“And who the fuck knows where that skanky bitch has been? How fucking long has this been going on? Is this what you do while I’m at work all day?”

Jacob was still laid out on the floor, struggling to staunch the flow of blood gushing from his nose.

“I’ve had enough of your bullshit, Jacob! We’re fucking done.”

Andrea stepped forward and kicked him square in the balls. The last thing she heard from her former boyfriend was his cries of pain as she turned and walked out the door.

~

Andrea sat quietly in the bus seat a stranger had given up for her when she boarded. She was strong and self reliant; she hadn’t planned on having a baby this early in her life, but it’s not like she was one of those poor girls who got knocked up in high school. She’d had a good career, and she thought she’d had a good man. Andrea decided to keep the baby, and she was confident she’d be able to provide for her family even if Jacob was out of work.

Complications arose with the pregnancy, and she’d needed to take an extensive break from work. Eventually, they’d had to let her go. She lost her health insurance along with the job, and she’d quickly burned through her savings with doctor’s appointments and tests.

Then she miscarried and Andrea was devastated, she’d given up everything to have this child and now the doctors said she’d never be able to get pregnant again.  She was now stuck working part time for minimum wage. After walking out on Jacob, she had nowhere to stay. She had no family and had been too career driven to make any close friends.

The only person she felt she could ask for help was an old friend from high school, but they’d hardly spoken in years. Jake was a scrawny boy with a quick wit and a penchant for trouble. By the time they’d graduated, they had become close friends, but then she’d gone to college and he’d enlisted with the marines. They wrote each other now and then, but they hadn’t really spoken since school.

From his letters, she knew that he had saved up all the money he’d made while deployed and invested it wisely. He was now running his own environmental consulting company, and had become a self made billionaire.

Andrea hated to ask for help, but knew she had no other options. She had called Jake and asked to meet with him, now she was on a bus to the airport. She had spent the last of her saving on a plane ticket, and she desperately hoped Jake wouldn’t turn her away.

~

Andrea disembarked the plane and collected her luggage; the handful of possessions she’d thought important enough to take with her from her old apartment were all packed into a single bag.

At the baggage claim, a man in a suit held up a sign with her name on it. She’d seen such things in movies, but never thought she’d be important enough to warrant something like that. Normal people just pick each other up from the airport; in fact, it was almost a test of friendship. She wondered if she should be flattered that he sent a driver just for her, or insulted that he didn’t come himself.

She introduced herself to the driver; he took her luggage and beckoned her to follow him. Andrea was a little worried about how far Jake might live from the airport; she was generally a quiet person and wasn’t looking forward to a long drive with a stranger.

Once outside, the driver led her to a limousine and placed her bag in the trunk. Andrea had never ridden in one before; her friends had rented one to take to the Prom, but she’d thought it was much too expensive and insisted on saving the money for college instead.

The driver held her door open for her, and rather than feeling like an invalid, she felt like royalty. The inside was luxuriously furnished with black leather seats and wood trim. An ice bucket held a bottle of champagne, and two glasses were secured next to it. With regret, she tore her eyes from the bottle – she could really use a drink right now. I’m not pregnant anymore, she painfully reminded herself. She popped the bottle open and poured herself a drink.

She was relieved when the driver took his seat and left the partition up as he drove off. She was grateful for not having to make small talk with the man. She didn’t want to talk about herself at all; hell, she didn’t even want to think about her life right now.

Instead, Andrea tried to figure out the best way to plead her case to Jake.  She was terribly uncomfortable with the situation; in the past, she’d never been one to ask for charity. She had paid her own way through college, hell, even when she was a kid she never liked borrowing money from her parents. Now she had to ask a man she hadn’t seen in years for more help than she’s ever needed in her life. Andrea had always been so careful to avoid debt, but when you’re pregnant and need medical attention the bills pile up real fast. There was no way she’d ever be able to pay them off now that she was out of a job.

All too soon, gravel crunched beneath the tires, as the limousine slowed to a stop outside a surprisingly modest country house. Andrea had been so occupied running line after line through her head, that she hadn’t even noticed when the car had left the city. The asphalt and skyscrapers had given way to mountains and forests, and the car had pulled off onto an unmarked driveway.

The house was by no means tiny, but it was a still a great deal smaller than what Andrea had been expecting. It bore no resemblance at all to the stately mansion she had envisioned, and she couldn’t decide if she was disappointed or charmed.

It looked to be a normal, well kept country home. The siding was wood, painted white, and the windows were adorned by ornamental blue shutters. Flowers blossomed in beds all along the front of the house, and they were alive with butterflies and hummingbirds.

Not a moment after the vehicle had arrived, the large front door had opened and Jake was standing on the rustic porch. Andrea’s breath caught in her throat. The awkward looking, scrawny boy she had grown up with had turned into quite a man. His time as a marine was evident; he appeared impeccably neat with closely cropped hair, just barely long enough to part to one side. He was casually dressed in just a pair of blue jeans and a T shirt, but she could easily imagine him filling out a finely tailored suit. His biceps bulged from the sleeves of his shirt, which was stretched taught across his muscled chest.

Andrea was grateful for the minute she had to compose herself before the driver came around to open her door. She got over her initial shock at seeing the gorgeous man her childhood friend had grown into. Damn she thought, before pushing it from her mind. She realized that beneath the anxiety she’d been suffering from for the better part of the day, she was actually more than a little excited to be there.

Jake was one of the only things left from her childhood, and seeing him again filled her with a sense of belonging. As she stepped from the limo, he smiled at her. It was the same smile he’d had as a boy, and she’d seen it a million times. Usually right before he got her into some kind of trouble. His eyes were the same too, though as he looked her up and down, she sensed something new in his gaze.

He glanced back up and met her eyes, and knew he’d been caught giving her the once-over. Instead of blushing, he only smiled wider. Jake offered her his arm as she approached the porch steps.

“I can’t believe you’re really here,” he said. “It’s been ages since I’ve seen you.”

Smiling, Andrea took his arm and climbed the steps onto the porch. Instead of annoyance at being offered assistance for such a simple task, she was glad for the excuse to touch him. Her body filled with warmth as she felt the firm muscle beneath her fingers. With some regret, she reached the porch and had to let him go.

Instantly, the regret vanished as he wrapped her body in his powerful arms. His muscled torso pressed against her, and she loved the way he held her tight. It had been ages since she’d felt a proper embrace, even her boyfriend (ex-boyfriend, she reminded herself) had hardly touched her once she began to show. People were always cautious about hurting the baby, so they tended to keep her at arm’s length, and maybe give her a peck on the cheek. It was strange how lonely you could feel, even with someone you loved, without their touch. Despite the uncomfortable situation she was in, and the desperate circumstances that drove her here, this was the most normal she’d felt in months.

The embrace eventually came to an end, and Andrea was suddenly aware of her heart pounding in her chest. God, it feels so good to be touched, she thought before returning her focus to the man who stood before her.

“I’m so glad you had time for me to visit.” She forced herself to say something, to take her mind of the way his body had felt pressed against her. “You must be so busy these-”

“Actually, most of the day to day oversight has been delegated out to various department heads.” He interrupted.

“Most days, there’s only a thing or two that needs my attention. I work from home now, more often than not.”

He smiled at her and gestured to the house. “I’ve been living out here at my country house all spring, and I’ve hardly seen a soul. I’ll be glad for the company.”

His head turned slightly, and he looked past her to the driver. “Peter” he said, “please take the lady’s luggage into the guest room.”

Jake took her by the hand and led her through the open door. Inside, the house had a beautiful rustic look with exposed beams and a vaulted ceiling. A large stone fireplace dominated one wall of the living room, and an array of comfy looking chairs and couches formed a half circle around it. The dining area was filled by a large table made of dark, gleaming wood. It was only separated from the kitchen by a high counter, lined with tall stools on this side. Everything appeared clean and orderly.

He led her through a hall off to the left, and into the guest suite. The room was largely empty, the only furniture being a king sized canopy bed, a single nightstand, and a dresser. There was a door off in one corner.

“You’ve had a long day of traveling, why don’t you soak awhile while I prepare dinner.” He pointed toward the far door. “Then we’ll catch up.”

Before she could respond, he had turned and left. She closed the door after him, and pulled off her shirt. A bath did sound good…

The door opened as she had her hands behind her back, unfastening her bra. Peter froze in the doorway, and Andrea could feel his eyes upon her exposed flesh. She hugged the cups of her bra to her breasts and suddenly felt very self conscious.

After she’d gotten pregnant, her boyfriend had seemed less attracted to her. She had felt oddly ashamed, as if it were a deformity and not something wonderful. Now that she was free of the cheating scum, she realized how ridiculous it was for her to feel that way. Bearing children was one of the most beautiful things a woman could do.

Peter apologized profusely and set her bag down just inside the room, and then he disappeared behind the closing door.

Andrea let her bra fall to the floor and finished undressing. She dug through her suitcase, found her nicest sundress, and laid it out on the giant bed. It was a bit wrinkled.

She found a hanger in the empty closet and hung the dress from it, and then she carried it over to the bathroom door. She opened the door and froze. White marble tiles led the way to the biggest Jacuzzi tub she’d ever seen in her life. On the opposite wall, a large walk in shower area was segregated by a chest high stone wall.

Andrea hung her dress from a hook to let the steam work out the wrinkles, and ventured over to the tub. There were half a dozen knobs; she tried one and a jet of water shot out across the room and splashed against the mirror above the sink. She screamed in shock and turned the knob the other way, but the water kept coming.

She scrambled to make it stop, and was soon interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Andrea, are you okay in there?” Jake’s voice asked from the other side of the door

“Uh-yeah, little problem though!” she called out. “I turned the wrong knob...”

A laugh answered her from the bedroom.

She scrambled around, looking for something to cover herself with but she’d left all her clothes in the bedroom. Except for the sundress, which was now soaking wet. The water continued to spew from the tub, so she quickly pulled it on.

Andrea opened the door, and Jake was standing there in a trim black suit, an amused smile on his face. Then his eyes took in the sight before him.

Her dress was white and yellow, designed to be loose fitting and summery. Now the wet dress clung to her shapely figure, and her fair skin showed through even the yellow fabric. Her body shivered, and her erect nipples were clearly visible through the material. Her hair was soaked and plastered around her face.

Jake stared at her, taking it all in. Before the moment turned awkward, he squeezed through the doorway, brushing his body against hers as he entered the bathroom. He moved purposefully toward the tub, the water spraying against his chest as he moved in. He turned off the flow, and took a few sodden steps back towards Andrea, still frozen in the doorway. His leather shoes squished as he walked.

Their eyes met, and for a moment they looked at each other. Then they both exploded in laughter. Andrea couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed this hard; she felt young again. The two of them, all dressed up and soaking wet, this was exactly the kind of situation they’d have gotten into back when they were kids.

Jake leaned in and kissed her. The laughter stopped.

His tongue was insistent, it slipped into her mouth and she moaned. She hadn’t been kissed like this in ages. She returned his passion and kissed back deeply.

He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her body against his, harder than before. Her nipples rubbed against his chest through the wet fabric and she shivered in delight. He felt so solid, so real, as he hugged her tight.

The cool air rushed between them as he broke off the kiss and drew his body back.

Jake looked into her eyes.

“I’ve always loved you.” He said.

Andrea looked back at him, her oldest friend, professing his love in a soaking wet three piece suit. That’s just like him, she thought as a smile crept across her face. He grinned back, and a moment later they were laughing again.

Through the laughter, they kissed, and it gradually subsided. Soft moans and whimpers took its place as they gave in to their passion.

Jake began exploring her body with his hands, running them over her back and then down to her butt. He cupped her flesh and marveled at how she could be both soft and firm. His hand slid beneath the hem of her dress, and she moaned at the warmth of his touch.

Andrea took a step backwards, and then began to peel the wet dress off her body. Jake watched as she pulled the material up off her thighs, then higher, until her pussy was exposed. She hesitated, and then continued to lift the dress up over her stomach.

She looked to his eyes as she exposed her belly, waiting for some sign of rejection, but none came. Soon her dress was pulled up over her breasts and they bounced free. She tossed the dress to the floor, and looked back to Jake.

Silently, he took in every inch of her body, and seemed to be appreciating all of it. Not once did she catch a look of distaste clouding his expression.

Jake smiled at her adoring, and then scooped her up into his arms. He lifted her easily, his muscled barely straining, and carried her the short distance to the bed. He laid her down on her back and stood over her.

Andrea shivered as he ran his hand alongside her face, and then down her neck. His fingertips brushed over her erect nipple, and then he gently cupped her generous breasts. Her pale flesh spilled over his pale fingers; even his large hands were unable to hold all of one breast.

He released her breast and the flesh rippled as it came to rest against her chest. His hand trailed its way down to her belly, and he stroked it lovingly.

Andrea gasped as his hand moved lower and his fingertips brushed over her mound. He stroked her gently, and her back arched in pleasure. A single finger slid between her lips and slowly rubbed against her clit. She moaned in response.

She felt the bed shift beside her and the finger disappeared from between her lips. Andrea whimpered in protest, and opened her eyes.

Jake stood beside the bed, stripping off his wet suit. The jacket was already crumpled on the floor, and Andrea watched as he slipped off his vest. The white oxford button down clung to his muscular torso, outlining every ripple. He removed his tie and began undoing the buttons. Slowly, his gleaming chest appeared and hey eyes drifted down over every muscle until the shirt joined the jacket on the floor.

Her eyes fixed on the muscles below his stomach that formed a V; it disappeared below the waistline of his trousers and she ached to follow it all the way down to his groin.

He stepped out of his shoes, and then undid the button on his pants. They dropped to the floor. He bent down and smoothly removed the pants as well as his socks. He stood back up, clad only in a pair of tight fitting briefs that outlined the large bulge beneath them.

Jake moved to her, then grabbed her ankles and pulled her to the foot of the bed. Her legs hung over the edge, and he knelt between them. She draped her legs over his shoulders as she felt his warm breath upon her moist lips.

He hesitated only a moment, as if he had considered teasing her first but couldn’t wait, and his tongue slipped between her lips.

Andrea whimpered as his tongue found her clit and began darting teasingly over it. Then she moaned as his lips closed over her. His mouth was talented; his tongue felt as if it was everywhere all at once, and occasionally his lips would brush against just the right place.

Then he began to suck gently on her folds, pulling first one lip and then the other into his mouth, before reaching her clitoris. Her back arched in pleasure and she couldn’t help but scream. An orgasm washed over her but he didn’t let up.

Finally, when he hated sated himself with her juices, he climbed to his feet. Andrea watched hungrily as he slipped off his briefs. She gasped as his cock bobbed free; it was long, thick, and beautiful with a well tended thatch of hair at the base. She ached to feel it inside her.

Jake climbed onto the bed and she eagerly wrapped her creamy thighs around him. She took his thick cock in her hand and marveled at its girth, knowing it would soon be stretching her to her limits. She stroked him gently, spreading the pre-cum from the engorged tip along the shaft. He grew harder in her hand with every stroke, but he appeared patient.

Andrea drew him closer and gasped as his thick head brushed against her lips. She held the base of his cock and slowly rubbed the tip between her lips. Her fluids mixed with his and he glided easily over her soft skin. She softly moaned each time it brushed over her clit. She smiled at the look of ecstasy on his face as he felt her lips parting around him.

When she was ready, Andrea slipped his cock lower and felt it pressing against her opening. Taking his cue, Jake slowly pushed the tip inside her. She moaned as her flesh parted around him. He drew back and slowly reinserted the tip, just a little bit further than the first time. She opened more easily with the second stroke, and with the third he went deeper. Her fluids coated his length and soon he was buried to the hilt within her tight cunt. He gently rocked against her, and his pelvis pressed against her clit. She moaned.

He was so big, he filled her in ways she’d never known. Nerve ending she didn’t know existed were set afire as he moved within her. She wrapped her thighs around him, holding him there within her. Again, he began rocking against her with his cock buried within her cunt. The pleasure built torturously slow, but he ignored her urging.

Jake sensed that she was close and withdrew until only his engorged head remained within her, her lips clinging to him as if to draw him back into her folds. Andrea cried out against the overwhelming feeling of emptiness, but the cry turned into a moan as he slid back into her.

That was all it took and the slow boil of pleasure within her roiled over. Her body shook and her mouth formed a silent O, as she found that she lacked the coordination to even moan. The walls of her cunt squeezed down on her lover’s cock and he grunted as he began to convulse inside her. A rush of warm semen filled her as Jake emptied himself within her depths.

“I love you.” He Jake whispered.

When their breathing returned to normal, Jake reluctantly pulled himself from her. He hopped from the bed and disappeared into the bathroom. The sound of water running reached Andrea, as she lay on the bed.

“How about that bath” he called to her.

~

As they soaked in the tub, Andrea wrapped up in Jake’s arms, she had broken down and told him everything. Through her tears, she explained her pregnancy and eventual miscarriage, her job loss, and finally her cheating ex boyfriend. It felt so good to get it all out. She felt safe in his arms and for the first time since she lost the baby, Andrea felt hope.

When she woke the following morning, she was alone. Andrea pulled on a robe Jake had provided for her after their bath, and left the room. She wandered the house, finding it empty. She began to worry about Jake, maybe he regretted last night and had run off. He had been quiet, just holding her and listening, occasionally interjecting that everything was going to be all right.

Then Andrea remembered the way he had looked at her, and she knew she was just letting her irrational fear get the better of her. Surely he was around somewhere.

Sunlight warmed her skin as she stepped out onto the porch. There was no sign of Jake outside, but it was such a nice morning, so Andrea decided to wait on the porch swing.

As she rocked back and forth, a great brown bear emerged from the forest a little ways from the house. Andrea’s heart began to race; she was a city girl and knew nothing of such creatures. Every once in a while, she’d catch a segment on the news about some poor hiker getting mauled to death. She thought the animal was too far away to be any danger, but still, she glanced over to the door and mentally judged the distance and how long it would take her to get safely inside.

Judging it safe, at least for now, Andrea remained on the porch and watched the beast trundle through the underbrush. It looked up at her, and she would have sworn a look of recognition crossed its face. Then the bear disappeared into the trees.

She waited several minutes, but the bear did not return. She heard some noise from inside the house and saw Jake moving in the kitchen through the sliding glass door. He wore only a pair of blue jeans; she watched the muscles on his chest ripple as he moved. He turned to her and smiled, then set about making breakfast. Andrea sat silently, watching her old friend with new eyes.

He joined her on the porch with a tray and they ate together, wordlessly enjoying each other’s company.

When they had finished, he said “Come with me, I have something to tell you.”

Jake walked down the steps into the backyard and led Andrea into the trees. She was worried at the serious tone, but couldn’t think of a reason he would possibly need to take her into the woods to deliver bad news. They reached a small clearing and he turned to face her.

“When I was -” he began, “-well, I guess it’s just easier if I show you.”

He took a few steps away from her and unbuttoned his pants. Andrea was now completely confused, but admired his toned backside as his pants dropped to the ground. He stepped out of them and kicked them to the side.

“Are you ready?” He asked.

Ready for what? She thought, but instead only nodded.

Before her eyes, the muscles of Jake’s back began to ripple and grow. He leaned forward, and then tufts of thick brown fur erupted from his skin. In just moments he had grown to three times his size and was hunched over on all fours. A small bobbed tail sprouted from his hind quarters and then his body stopped shifting.

The great brown bear from earlier stood before a speechless Andrea. She had seen such things in movies, but never once thought they were for real. She didn’t know what to say or even if he could understand her now.

The bear turned to face her, and Jake’s loving eyes shone in the morning light. She wasn’t afraid.

Then he shifted once more, and his body returned to its original shape. He turned to Andrea, looking apprehensively at her face for some sign of what was going on in her mind. He’d never shared his secret with anybody, but he felt safe with Andrea. His childhood friend knew him better than anyone, if anybody could be accepting of his nature, it was her.

“How?” Of the million words rushing through her mind, that was the only one she managed to say.

Jake visibly relaxed, seeing that she wasn’t freaking out just yet.

“I was on a training mission and got separated from my squad.” He said, standing nude before her.

“I was lost for days in the wilderness; the whole time, I had this creeping sense that something was watching me. Hunting me. Then it attacked.”

He traced a line from the left side of his neck all the way down to his right hip. Andrea picked out a scar so faint she hadn’t even noticed it earlier.

“I barely survived,” he continued. “I was left bleeding in the dirt, but then the blood stopped. Over the next several days the wound healed and all but vanished. I began noticing things I’d never picked up on before; faint scents and distant noises.”

Andrea stood in rapt silence. If she hadn’t just seen him shift, she never would have believed it. Even with the proof right in front of her, it strained credulity.

“I must have wandered into enemy territory,” he said. “I was attacked.  Shot once, in the shoulder. And then I shifted.”

His face grew pained, and Andrea resisted the urge to take him in her arms.

“When I regained my senses, they were all dead. My wounded shoulder was already beginning to heal. I don’t remember anything from that first time. Since then, I’ve learned to remain in control when I change.”

He walked over to her and took her hands in his. “Andrea,” he said, “I’m telling you this because I love you, and if you’re going to love me, I need you to love all of me.”

“But also because I think I could help you. I am blessed with extraordinary healing powers. If I shared this with you, you would gain them too. You could bear my child.”

Andrea felt her knees go weak. Jake sensed it and caught her just in time, pressing her soft warm body against his.

Her mind reeled; just yesterday she had been drowning in despair, now the one thing she yearned for more than anything was within reach. She looked at the gorgeous man who held her, who offered her everything she had ever wanted. How could she have known him all these years and never realized? She thought back over all the time they had spent together, all the letters they had written each other, and felt a fool for not realizing how much she had loved this man.

“Please…” The single word was filled with all her hopes and desires.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

Tears of love and hope filled her eyes, and Andrea nodded. Jake slipped the robe off her shoulders and she let it fall to the floor. The bright sunlight and warm breeze felt wonderful against her bare skin. Jake moved behind her and brushed her long hair back from her neck. She felt him shifting behind her and then there was a moment of silence before his teeth sunk into her exposed neck.

She had braced herself and he was gentle, but still it hurt. She knew his teeth had only just pierced her skin, but she couldn’t help but feel helpless between his strong jaws. And then she could smell her own blood. And him.

His scent was exquisite, and she was suddenly in heat. The scent of her mate drove her absolutely wild, and she couldn’t believe everything she had been missing with her human senses. He released her neck, and she turned to find him once more in human form.

Jake saw the look in her eyes and pounced. His mouth closed over hers and their tongues intertwined. Then he released her from the kiss, only to press her body against a tree. Andrea arched her back and angled her ass toward him. Jake wasted no time; he mounted her like an animal, his thick cock sliding between her slick lips and nestling against her opening. With one thrust, he drove himself to the hilt inside her. She moaned and thrust her body back to meet him.

The scent of their arousal filled her nose and drove her to even greater levels of need. Her mate’s monstrous cock filled her completely, and she was overwhelmed with the need to feel his warm semen filling her. She could almost feel the emptiness in her womb and the animal inside her needed to mate. She would bear his cubs.

Andrea pushed her body back to meet her lover, forcing him even deeper inside her. They moved quickly, filled with raw animal need. All the tenderness of the night before was gone, as they fucked with wild abandon.

A scream rang through the forest as Jake once more bit down on her neck. The sensation of pain mingled with the pleasure within her and all the sights and sounds that overwhelmed her senses. It was too much for her and her climax hit her like a tidal wave. Her thrusting mate and the tree he had pinned her to were the only things keeping her upright.

Jake felt her body writhing under him, and the soft walls of her cunt contracting around his cock. With a roar, he climaxed and filled his mate with his seed.

Andrea felt the first warm splash of semen within her and imagined she could feel its heat radiating within her. As they came down from the peak of their pleasure, the warmth remained. She would soon be carrying his cub.

Warning: This book contains graphic depictions of consenting adults engaging in explicit sexual activities, and is only intended for mature readers over the age of 18.

Marissa couldn't control her excitement. Today she would be interviewing for her dream internship. As only a sophomore, everyone had told her not to get her hopes up, but here she was about to prove them all wrong. She had been preparing for this interview for months. She was ready and she knew she could do this job and do it well. It was her passion to work on forest conservancy and she had heard so many good things about the company and its founder, Russell Branch.

And it wouldn't even take her away from her fiancé for the summer. She and Jake would be close enough that they could still visit. Everything was definitely going to be perfect.

She dressed carefully for the interview, wanting to give the manager a good idea of her professionalism. But when she arrived, it wasn't an HR manager who met her at all. It was Russell Branch.

"Sir," Marissa stammered, feeling almost like she should courtesy. "This is a huge honor."

"Please call me Russell." He smiled, and she found herself immediately drawn to his warm green eyes. "And it's my foundation after all. I oversee all hiring. I only want people here who really care about the wilderness. This forest we oversee is very dear to me for personal reasons."

"Oh, I do love it sir. Russell." Marissa forced herself to stop babbling.

He laughed and offered her his hand. "And you are?"

"Marissa Edward, sir. Russell."

She took his hand to shake it. The connection immediate and electric. Something was between them. She couldn't have said what, but it made her weak in the knees.

She forced her mind back to the interview. What was wrong with her? She was happy with Jake and this man would be her boss, for goodness sake.

"Shall we begin?"

He held the door open for her, still smiling. And though Marissa couldn't have said in what way, his expression had changed subtly as though he had noticed something about her, too. Maybe it had been her imagination.

It didn't matter. She was here for her dream job.

Marissa squared her shoulders. "Yes. I'm ready. We have a lot to cover, Russell."

His delighted laugh followed her into the room.

~

First day. Time to get up.

Marissa stared at the ceiling and tried to summon the passion she had felt only a few short months ago. Where was her drive, her enthusiasm?

Or maybe Jake had taken those from her, too.

It came out of the blue two weeks ago. "I don't love you anymore," he'd said, and taken back his ring. "I don't think this can work."

He left then, and left her devastated. Worse, she knew the real reason he was leaving, and it made her feel even more like a fool.

She was pregnant. She had only told him a few weeks ago, but she had expected Jake to be happy that they were starting their family so soon. Instead, he had blanched and asked her if she was really going to keep it.

Marissa couldn't even think off giving up her child. Even though she had only been pregnant a short time, she already loved her child with a fierceness that was frightening in its depth and intensity.

But she had truly thought he would come around. She had never thought he would leave her.

Swallowing against tears, Marissa forced herself out of bed. Her baby needed food, and her amazing internship awaited her. Everything would amazing again, she just had to remember that.

And Russell Branch had been so kind to her. It would definitely be a pleasure to work with his team. And for such a good cause. Her baby would be proud of her someday.

Feeling reassured, Marissa went to get dressed.

~

To her surprise, Russell came himself to welcome her. She blushed at the warmth in his smile, feeling like this whole job was a dream. How was a billionaire - a busy billionaire, with his own company and non-profit - so down-to-earth and willing to talk to her? She had been certain he would have forgotten her, or would at least take a moment to place her, but here he was, welcoming her by name.

It was then she saw him take in her condition. Marissa couldn't help but feel a thrill of fear. After Jack's reaction, she now felt a moment of panic that her pregnancy would ruin things here, too. But somehow, warmth still lingered in her new boss' voice when Russell clasped her hand. "I see congratulations are in order!"

"Thank you." She felt a thrill at his touch and had to force herself to let go.

"You are your fiancé must be excited."

Being reminded of Jake hurt. But then, she was always reminded of him. "I am. Jake is... no longer in the picture."

"I see. I'm sorry." Russell did look genuinely sorry for her sake, and seeing his concern made her heart skip a beat. How could such an important man be so down to earth and thoughtful?

"It's fine." She forced a smile.

He didn't look as though he believed her, but he was a gentleman and didn't press. "Let me show you to your desk. I hope you'll be happy here."

Seeing the earnest hope in his face made her smile again, this time for real. "I'm sure I will be."

~

Marissa threw herself into her work. It was easy - she had always been passionate about conservancy, but now she had a new reason to push herself. She wanted to forget the spring, to forget Jake and the look on his face when he told her he didn't want to be with her and her child.

Over the next few weeks, it began to dawn on her that she might have some other reason for working hard.

Her billionaire boss continued to pay special attention to her, even though she was sure he was a busy man, trying to run both his company and the non-profit. Yet he seemed to be more often working to save the forests than trying to make money, and Marissa began to feel like he might be spending more time in her department particularly than he might have otherwise.

She tried to convince herself she was imagining things, but every day, Russell dropped by to say hello, even if he was too busy to have a real conversation. He brought her flowers for Mother's Day and left her little notes at times when he came by while she was in another desk. Once, one had a little doodle of her as a superhero fighting to save the forest, and she laughed until tears came to her eyes.

Those were the good times.

It was hard to admit to herself that she was beginning to look forward to Russell's visits more so than even her internship - which she loved. But it was hard not to notice how her heart skipped a beat when he smiled at her, and when he gently touched her hand. She began to notice him as a man, and more than anything, that terrified her.

It was embarrassing that she couldn't stop thinking about him. He was such an important man - he was her boss - but whenever she met his eyes, she felt a heat growing between them that was hard to deny. At the office, she forced herself to look away and tried to think of her unborn child, but at home... at home, sometimes she couldn't help but dream about his burning gaze, his soft lips, the way his hands would feel around her...

Closing her eyes, Marissa let her hand drift lower, resting it on her most private places as she thought about Russell. She remembered the look he had given her during her presentation that day. Remembering the heat of his gaze made her quiver all over again. Should she tell him what it was she was thinking?

What she was thinking...

God. Marissa felt herself blushing at just the thought. She was only an intern, and he was a rich and powerful man. He would never be interested in her. No, this was just a fantasy.

But in her fantasy, he held her close and whispered sweet things to her. He kissed her lips, her neck, her breasts, and her belly. He called her child theirs and promised to be with them always.

It was as though she could really feel him with her. His tongue on her thigh, his breath on her panties. And then his fingers pulling back the thin layer of sheer fabric to give his tongue free reign within her folds.

Marissa imagined the sweet torment of his mouth sucking at her clit while every movement wracked her body with spasms of longing and pleasure. He would be good at it, she was sure, and her pussy ached for him to prove it. She could almost feel Russell's tongue inside her.

She could imagine the long, slow licks he would take, as though he was tasting the very core of her. Her whole body shivered in forbidden delight as she lay alone in the darkness, wishing that she dared hope for her dreams to come true.

~

Nervously, Marissa waited for her billionaire boss to reply. She had just shown him a new program she had designed to try to track illegal logging activities. It was the most important project she had ever worked on, but all she could think was how she wanted him to be pleased with her.

"I'm very impressed with your work, Marissa."

She felt a blush rising from her cleavage up. He was pleased!

"I think we should implement your app immediately," Russell continued. "I'll get a meeting set up with IT for tomorrow morning." He handed her back the files and started to leave.

On his way out of her cubicle, he paused. "You're going to save a lot of trees, Marissa. You've made me very happy."

Marissa shivered at the look in his eyes. It was so close to the look she had been dreaming of only last night - but she had to be imagining things. He was her boss!

She forced herself to look away and tried to pretend that she was only glad about the trees, and not that she had made him so happy.

True to Russell's word, she met with the IT department the next day, and before she knew it, the entire company was using her app. Her boss even called together a surprise party in her honor. She was so shocked when they appeared at her cubicle with cake and fruit punch that she nearly shrieked.

"Let's all toast Marissa. Two months in, and I'd already be lost without her!" Russell's face was bright and happy, and she wished she could kiss him.

But the twinkle in his eye was just for her, and that was enough. He raised a glass of fruit punch. "To her future here at Branch Industries."

"To her future!"

The chorus rose around Marissa. For the first time since she had lost Jake, she felt truly at home.

~

Only a few days later, Russell stopped by her cubicle with some exciting information. "Your app has been picking up some unusual activity in this area." He pointed to a quadrant on the forest map that hung over her desk. "The police say they chased off some illegal loggers a few days ago. I thought you might like to go with me to see the trees you've helped to save in person while I check things out."

"Oh!" Marissa blushed. "I don't know." Days alone in the forest with her boss? Did she dare?

"Unless my company is so terribly unpleasant that you would rather sit behind a desk for three days than be around me." His eyes twinkled.

Marissa laughed then, deeply and truly - what felt like the first real laugh she had had since her fiancé left.

"Of course I'll go with you." She smiled up at Russell. "I'd love to."

~

They hiked through the lush and green undergrowth, reveling in the majestic forest they'd helped save. Russell paused often to be sure Marissa wasn't straining herself on his account, and she always told him how she would have such stories to tell her child. He'd point out grouse and once, a turkey, as they walked. The first night, they huddled before a field Russell had built before a makeshift lean-to. Marissa couldn't remember ever being so happy

"This is perfect," she said aloud as a wolf's howl rose over the teeming woods.

Russell nodded, his face surprisingly closed. "I know. I love it here. Since the moment I stepped foot here first ten years ago, I knew I loved it. I would do anything to keep them safe. But these woods have done more for me than I could ever repay."

Curiosity ate Marissa up. What a curious thing to say. But she could tell by the look on his face that he meant to say no more. "I love it here too," she told him quietly instead. "I promise I'll help you keep these woods safe."

"I know you will. That's why I hired you."

"Russell..." She bit her lip, and then forced out the words she had been worried about for weeks. "I was so afraid you wouldn't let me stay when you found out I was pregnant. Why did you hire me?"

"You were right for the job." Russell's eyes wrinkled as his face finally relaxed into a smile. "And you told me so."

Once more she laughed, the sounds of her joy ringing out over the forest. Here, she felt freer than she had in months. And safe. Was it just the forest, or was there some other reason?

"Marissa." Russell's voice was suddenly very serious. "I want to ask you something completely improper."

Her heart beat a little faster. "What is it?"

"You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but I wonder why your fiancé are no longer together."

"Oh." There wasn’t anything in particular that she had wanted him to ask, but she felt strangely disappointed anyway. "It's a long story. I guess he just didn't want the responsibility of a child." She forced a smile. "She can just be my child, and she'll always know she is loved, by me if not by him."

Russell stood, looking angry. "I'm sorry to say it, but your fiancé is an idiot. Any real man should be proud to be by your side."

A flood of emotions washed through her. No longer disappointed - instead, she felt a rush of... desire?

"Thank you," she managed, not daring to meet his eyes lest he read something in hers she wasn't ready for him to see. "It's nice of you to say."

"Marissa," he began and then stopped, his face twisting. She opened her lips to ask what was wrong, and then he was kissing her. "I was not just saying it. You are incredible, Marissa, and you deserve someone who knows it."

"Russell," she moaned against his mouth. "Please."

"Please what?" He pressed her back against the ground.

Marissa felt leaves and twigs at her back, but her whole world was caught up in him, and how badly she needed him. "Please make love to me."

It was all she needed to say.

With aching, infinite tenderness, Russell kissed her once more. Slowly, his hands slipped down about her shoulders, and then to the buttons of her shirt. He undressed her then, kissing each part of her as he revealed it until she was lying underneath him, completely naked.

"You are perfect," he murmured.

Marissa felt a sob catch in her throat at the utter truth and love in his voice. He was looking at her as though he had never seen anything so beautiful, even with her big belly.

"I'm pregnant," she forced out.

Russell kissed her belly. "And?"

She shook her head, hardly daring to speak. "What have I done to deserve you?"

He laughed then, and she raised her head, almost ready to be angry. "Why are you laughing?"

"Because," he kissed her again, "you didn't have to do anything other than be yourself. Who you are is amazing, Marissa."

"You're crazy," she whispered, but without much conviction.

He captured her mouth again then, and she gave herself up to him completely. With Russell as her guide, she rediscovered the beauty of her body, even the belly she hated as much as she loved. He trailed his fingers down between her breasts, showering her with soft kisses and tasting the very salt of her skin. She shivered under each touch, feeling as though he were opening her like a precious flower.

When he finally undressed and pressed his body against hers, Marissa awaited his cock eagerly. But for long moments, he just held her close, gently stroking her hair.

The intimacy undid her. It was as though a dam had been locked inside her ever since Jake had left, and now, finally, she could be free.

She ran her hands down his muscled chest and reached for his cock. It was thicker than she had imagined it would be, and it was hard and straining under her touch. She could feel the first drops of his need on the tip of it and felt a rush of excitement knowing that he could soon be inside her.

"Please?" she whispered, looking up into his face. "I want you to feel every inch of me."

"Anything you want," he murmured.

They lay, side by side, as he gently guided himself into her. Marissa felt her breath catch at the size of him pressing into her warm pussy. He was so big for a moment she was afraid he wouldn't fit - but her body was ready for him, and when she drew him into her tight sheath she heard him gasp in pleasure.

"Marissa," he moaned.

They rocked against each other, Russell thrusting in and out ever so slightly. She whimpered at the teasing feeling of it. She needed him, all of him. She never wanted him to stop touching her.

He stroked her back and neck as he moved inside her. She could feel every thrust of his cock. Each movement was sweet torture, sending shivers throughout her entire body. Every few thrusts he would hold, deep inside her, and she could feel him pulse against her.

Marissa whimpered in need. Her whole body was full of him, aching with desire. She could feel how he moved within her, but it was also as though he was all around her, protecting her, drawing the deepest desires and passion from her and breathing it to life.

Her whole body shuddered as he thrust again and again. One of his hands slipped lower, gently parting her folds above his cock and stroking her in time with his movements. Marissa cried out as he found her clit, massaging it.

As Russell pressed deeper inside her, his fingers circled her clit, working her harder now as she drowned in pleasure, lost in his embrace. Her whole body was shuddering against him now, and she was crying out in need. Each movement threatened to drown her in pleasure until she came in a riot of cries on his cock.

He held there for a long moment inside her, and she could feel his member pulsing inside her in time with her own orgasm.

"You are perfect," he repeated.

This time, she believed he meant it.

~

Marissa was shy at first the next day, but her boss was a perfect gentleman. He made her breakfast, and smiled when she helped clear their tent. "You are perfect," he murmured.

"You're just saying that because of last night." She tried a laugh, but it came out high and tight.

"Marissa." Russell's face was unwontedly serious. "Last night meant everything to me."

"Oh," she whispered, feeling her heart thump painfully against her chest. "To me, too."

He stepped toward her with a look of such love on his face that it shook her to her very core. She reached for him, eager to kiss him and feel his soft mouth on hers once more, but then he stopped.

Russell suddenly froze. His nostrils flared and he looked about them wildly. Marissa caught an expression on his face she had never seen before. It looked like death.

"Run."

"What?" She stared, not sure she had heard him correctly.

"Go!" he shouted at her. "Get out of here!"

Only then did Marissa hear the crackling of the bushes. She froze, terrified, as several rough-looking men appeared before them. They carried chain saws - and guns. These must be the loggers the police had chased off only a few days ago.

Slowly, she tried to back up, but one of them was already drawing his gun. She heard Russell shout, and then there was shot.

Marissa stumbled backwards in shock, and collapsed to her hands and knees. Before her, Russell fell to the ground. "No," she whispered. "No."

The logger stepped forward.

Her heart raced, and Marissa held her belly, certain she was about to die. Forgive me for not protecting you well enough, she thought to her unborn child.

One of the loggers leveled his rifle at her, and she squeezed her eyes closed.

As she waited for the shot, she heard instead a mighty roar, so loud and fierce it shook the very ground beneath her.

In shock, Marissa looked up. She couldn't believe her eyes. A great bear had appeared, as if from nowhere and it was attacking the loggers. She knew she should be afraid, but she found herself urging the bear on. She felt strangely drawn to its power. She felt... safe.

"We're going to be okay," she whispered to her child. "We're going to make it."

One of the loggers stumbled and fell. Marissa had to turn away as the bear ripped into him. His screams echoed in the forest where only minutes before the birds had been singing. How had everything gone so wrong so fast?

Her eyes flew open in sudden realization. Where was Russell?

Panicked, she searched for him, but he was nowhere to be seen. Had he run off into the jungle? The last of the loggers was running as fast as he could to get away from the bear, and Marissa didn't blame him - and yet, somehow she felt sure Russell wouldn't leave her.

But where was he?

The bear took one step after the fleeing logger. As Marissa watched in horror, he growled once, and then fell. The crash seemed to shake the forest around them. Only then did she see the bullet wound in its chest, bleeding into its thick hair.

But the bear hadn't  been shot. It was Russell who had...

Slowly, Marissa took a step forward. "Russell?" she asked the bear. "Is that you?"

With a groan, the shape before her rippled and changed, and became the man she knew. The man she loved, bleeding to death at her feet.

"Oh God," she choked out, hurrying to his side. "Stay with me."

She covered his wound with her hands, desperately trying to staunch the flow of blood. She could feel the heat of his life slipping through her fingers. "No!" she screamed. "No!"

Inside her womb, her unborn child kicked as if feeling her grief.

Russell's breath rattled in his chest, and then he was still.

Marissa screamed aloud, crying out in anguish to the skies. The birds and trees were her only witnesses, but they knew the full extent of her grief. She had only just found him, and they had only now begun to be together! It wasn't fair to lose him like this. Not now.

Breaking down, she leaned over his chest and sobbed. Marissa could feel his blood on her chest, but she didn't care. She was too lost in sorrow.

A s she cried, the forest returned to normal around her. Birds began singing once more, and she found herself hating them for continuing with their lives when her world had just fallen apart.

And then a hand smoothed her hair.

Marissa closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of being comforted for the briefest of moments before she realized what that must mean. She jerked up and stared, wide-eyed, at Russell.

He was alive.

He was pale and still covered in blood, but smiling at her with that damn smile she loved so much, and he was holding his hand to the back of her head and then she was laughing and crying all at once and holding him tightly. "I thought I'd lost you."

"You did, for a moment." He propped himself up. "But here I am."

Marissa stared. Where before there had been a weeping gash of a bullet hole in his chest, now there was only clean pink skin. She could still see the blood on him, she could still feel it all over herself, but his skin was unbroken. "How?"

Russell was quiet for a long moment. "You saw what I became."

The bear, he meant. Slowly, she nodded.

"Along with the power and ferocity of a bear, I also heal at a greatly accelerated rate." He looked down at his chest. "I guess that saved me today."

Marissa nodded, still crying. "I'm so glad it did."

"Marissa?" His gaze turned hot, with a hint of something she didn't recognize.

"Yes?"

He reached for her. "I also have the desires of a bear."

"Oh," was all she managed to gasp before he engulfed her mouth in his.

He ripped his shirt from his chest as he pulled her down on top of him. Marissa felt her belly press into his abs as he moved his mouth lower and lower, first biting at her neck and then reaching for her breasts. Eagerly she unbuttoned her shirt for his warm mouth, feeling him nip at her with the savagery of a beast.

He suckled at one breast, then the other, grunting in pleasure. Marissa felt waves of delight course through her body, rushing through parts he hadn't even touched yet. She needed everything he was going to give her. Where before they had made love, now she desperately wanted him in every way possible. He was alive, and she wanted to feel his vitality.

Somehow they were naked now, intertwined. She could feel his hard cock rising against her as he moved, sliding down her fertile body towards the pot of honey between her legs. Russell had laid her on her back, and now he took advantage, spreading her legs and tasting her with a long, slow lick.

Marissa screamed in desire. His tongue was more than she could ever have imagined, and now as he moved his mouth against her, she felt a crescendo of need washing through her. As he touched her clit for the first time, she came, her wetness inside his mouth as he bathed her in kisses.

And then he gave another long lick, and then another.

Russell drew her back to the heights of her need as he slid his soft tongue between her folds, working every inch of her womanhood with his animal instincts. Marissa could feel the pleasure coursing through her. She was lost to it, lost to everything in the world except for the sweet agony of his tongue piercing her, making her whole.

She came again, and then again. As he began to taste her once more, she screamed out, "Please fuck me!"

With an animal growl, Russell rose over her. The look in his dark eyes was hot and violent, but she could still feel the love between them pulsing. This was her place, this was where she belonged.

In one swift motion, Russell was inside her. She felt the full length of his cock deep in her pussy, pushing against her cervix and filling her more completely than anyone ever had before.

"Please," she begged.

And there, in the middle of the forest floor, her boss took her pussy, thrusting hard and fast into her until all she could do was scream. She could feel him throbbing with need with each stroke, and she begged him for more and more. Her whole body was suffused with pleasure. She was lost to him completely.

With each stroke, she could feel the rising tide of need within her. Russell matched her in intensity as she cried out, and together they held for one long moment, hearts beating together, as they both came.

In a sweaty tangle, he collapsed beside her.

"I love you," she whispered, still throbbing with the aftereffects of their need.

"I love you." Russell kissed her.

"You are amazing," she told him. Her fantasy had come to life before her, and had withstood death. She had never known any man could be like this.

"Oh?" Russell smirked at her. "You haven't seen anything yet."

He was insatiable. Like an animal, he took her again right then and there. Marissa knelt on all fours for him, feeling her belly swing low as he mounted her. The tip of his cock pressed against her warm wet pussy, and she cried out in need as he drove himself into her.

In the moment he was fully inside her, it was as though they had become one. Truly and wholly, Marissa knew she was his forever. The bear inside of him had found his mate, and he would make her his and never, ever let her go.