The Bear Project Read online

  Emmi knew she ought to be terrified. Folks would say, Cole was the stuff of nightmares, yet she couldn't bring herself to think of him as such. Even on the verge of shifting as he had been inside the caravan, she'd known instinctively that he wouldn't hurt her. Sincerity had poured off him when he re-iterated that she was his, and her insides had gone to mush at the quiet statement that there would never be another woman for him.

  To have a man as virile as he was growl those words and mean them had to be the strongest aphrodisiac ever. Emmi closed her eyes and wished with all her might that she could throw caution to the wind. To stay with him, even just for the duration of her holiday would give her a unique insight into the bear psyche. Something that would prove invaluable in her research, and maybe, if she played her cards right, he'd take her to see some real bears in the wild.

  Real bears, Emmi, really? What's he then, an imitation?

  Emmi laughed out loud. A slightly hysterical laugh to be sure, but what else was she to do? The rational side of her brain urged her to find her clothes, and to jump in his truck and find civilization. She might not be able to enter Creek Fells, but surely if she just followed the road, it would eventually lead her to the next big town?

  Away from overbearing and sinfully sexy bear shifters and other creatures who inhabited this place, yet her feet would not obey the commands of her rational brain. They seemed to be linked to her clit instead as she bent down to pick up his abandoned clothes, lifted them up to her nose and inhaled deeply. His scent, the very essence of him, invaded her senses and wrapped her in a cocoon of seduction.

  The thought of leaving him cut like a blade to the heart, and Emmi set about cleaning away the breakfast dishes instead. A photo tucked behind the bread bin caught her attention. It showed a middle aged couple embracing, and in front of them stood a little boy, of no more than eight or nine. Cole's eyes stared back at her from the picture, and her stomach tightened in unease.

  The resemblance between the man in the picture and the man that was Cole now was too uncanny. This had to be a picture of his parents, but why was it hidden away?

  There was a story here. She sensed it just like she sensed Cole's sadness invading the very fabric of her soul. He was close by. Emmi held the picture to her chest and sat down on the caravan steps to wait for her bear.

  Her bear. That had a far too enticing ring to it. Emmi smiled and let the sunshine caress her face. Sat on his doorstep like she was, the sun felt good on her bare face, and she closed her eyes and let her mind drift.

  She must have fallen asleep, for Emmi woke up to a wet nose nudging her arm. She startled awake and almost dropped the picture she was still clutching against her chest. Cole stood in front of her still in his bear form, and she lost herself in his warm brown eyes for a moment, until he broke eye contact and nudged at the picture in her hands.

  A rumble came from her bear—the sound so deep and sad —Emmi wrapped her hands into his fur and tugged his head close to her chest. Puffs of warm air heated her skin, and they sat like that for what seemed like ages until Cole withdrew and in the blink of an eye he changed back to his human self.

  Emmi handed him his clothes, and he shrugged into them without looking at her.

  "Where did you find that picture?" he asked.

  "Hidden behind the bread bin. I wasn't snooping." She was quick to add that, and Cole shrugged his massive shoulders in answer.

  "I wouldn't blame you, if you had been. This is a lot for you take in, and you don’t seem to believe a word I say to you, so—"

  "That's not fair, Cole." Emmi interrupted him and then squirmed on the step she sat on as his intense gaze connected with hers. Her body reacted with embarrassing predictability, and Cole inhaled sharply. His amber eyes flashed to his bear's and back again, and there was no smile to break the intensity of his features. Marble edged in stone he watched her, and Emmi sat on her hands to stop herself from reaching out to him.

  "I really wasn't. I was tidying up, and you've got to see this from my point of view. I go sightseeing, get stranded in a quaint little town, and then I'm whisked away by a man who can shift into a bear— a beautiful and magnificent bear—who claims I'm his mate, and then I find out that every nightmare I ever had is true. That there are creatures out there in thrall of the moon, creatures that should be nothing more than the stuff of horror movies and nightmares, and to top it all, I seem to have turned into some sort of raving nymphomaniac who even now just wants to jump your bones."

  That got her a hint of his sinful smile, and she rushed on. Anything to get that sad look out of his eyes.

  "You claim your bite won’t change me, and yet there are others out there who do. How does that work then, and why the fuck does the possibility of turning into a bear not send me running for the hills? What spell have you woven over me, Cole?"

  A genuine smile lit up his harsh features this time, and Emmi breathed a sigh of relief. Cole ran a finger over her neck and across the place where he'd bitten her, and her skin heated under that innocent touch.

  "It's the mating bond, sugar. Humans don't normally feel it that strongly, and certainly not after just one bite." He framed her face in his hands, and Emmi leant toward him. Somehow she knew she needed his strength and warmth for what was to come.

  "So, what does it mean, this fact that I do feel it, as you say? Why me, Cole? Why now? I can't stay here. I've got a job and a life back in England. This can't be more than a vacation fling. I won't let it be more than that."

  Cole sighed and rested his forehead against hers.

  "I know, sugar. That's what makes this all so fucked up."

  The heartfelt tones settled deep in her heart, and then Cole tugged the picture frame she was still holding onto out of her hands. She held her breath at the myriad of emotions that flitted across his face as he traced the faces of the couple in the picture.

  "Your parents?" she finally asked when she couldn’t stand the heavy silence any longer. Even the surrounding forest seemed to hold its breath in anticipation of what Cole would say or do next, and when he spoke his voice was barely above a whisper.

  Low and intimate and husky as though he held back tears, it made her reach out to him, and Cole squeezed her hand.

  "Yes, this was taken the week before they died."

  Tears welled up in Emmi's eyes at the thought of little Cole losing his parents at such an early age, and she snuggled closer to him still, until she was practically sitting on his lap.

  He wrapped her up in a literal bear hug, and a sigh escaped her closed up throat.

  "What happened, Cole?"

  "They ran into a trap. Our pelts are highly sought after. The hunters didn't hesitate to kill them. I came back from school, and I knew immediately something was wrong. Mum would always be at home to greet me when I came back home, but the cabin was empty and the stench of humans was everywhere. I followed their trail, and…"

  "And what, Cole. What happened?"

  "I found the skinned remains of my parents. Their bodies were still fucking warm, Emmi."

  Cole tightened his hold on her, and acting on instinct Emmi inhaled against his neck and licked his slow beating pulse. Immediately it kicked up a gear, and she could feel him harden under her ass cheeks.

  "Emmi." Cole groaned that one word with such need that every cell in her body sighed in submission, and she tilted her head up to kiss him. He growled low in his throat when she brushed her lips against his, and he immediately took charge of the kiss. With his hands buried in her hair he turned her head to give him better access, as he fucked her mouth with his tongue. Slow and deep and with ruthless determination he explored her mouth until Emmi had no resistance left. All she could do was cling to him and kiss him back when he gave her room to do so, as his rough tongue stroked hers and the never far away burn of desire flashed to an inferno of need.

  When he finally released her, their heavy pants filled the air, and she wrapped her legs around his waist when he stood up with her.


  "I need you, Emmi. Let me claim you in all the ways I can."

  His hands strayed to her ass and delved into her cleft there, and a thrill of forbidden desire rolled over Emmi.

  She buried her head in his shoulder and nodded her consent, and his animalistic growl vibrated though her until she tingled all over in need for this man, who now rushed her indoors.

  "What did you do, Cole?" she asked, and he swore low under his breath. He lowered her onto the bedcovers, and she swallowed hard at the murderous expression on his face.

  "I hunted them down and killed the whole fucking lot of the murdering bastards, sugar."

  Chapter Seven

  Cole lost himself in the shimmering depths of her green eyes. Filled with tears, they didn’t show disgust at what he just admitted to, just a quiet understanding that soothed the savage part in him, the part that wanted to rail at the injustice and the cruelty of humankind. The part that had never recovered from finding his beloved parents in a bloody, pulpy mess on the forest floor.

  "It took me years, but I tracked them all down eventually." He had to clear his throat several times to project his voice with any authority, and Emmi swallowed hard when he started to shrug out of his clothes. Her scent increased, and her eyes darted to his cock. Already hard for her, he took himself in hand and stroked slowly along his length.

  A moan slipped out from Emmi, and his balls drew tight in anticipation, as she, too, lost what cover his old shirt afforded her. She licked her lips, her gaze riveted on his erection, and he grinned. A primitive sense of ownership grabbed him, and he bent down, and grabbing her ankles, pulled her down the bed until her ass was half hanging off it and he could step right between her legs.

  This position opened her cunt for his inspection, and her scent grew in potency as her juices coated her pussy lips. Cole stroked himself harder in response to that sight, and she whimpered. That tiny sound pitched his need to claim her to new heights, but he wanted her begging for his cock and so wet and ready that she couldn't stand it anymore.

  A vision of keeping her like this, naked and at his mercy, filled his vision. Her curves would look so beautiful bound by Shibari rope, as she begged him for her orgasm.

  His dick jumped at the thought, and he used the natural lubrication of his pre-cum to aid the ever faster up and downward glide of his hand.

  "Cole, let me…"

  Emmi looked up at him, her eyes so dark with her own need it took his breath away.

  "No, I want to watch you come for me." A fierce blush spread all over her skin at his husky words, and she bit her lips hard enough to draw blood. The metallic smell filled his nostrils, and his bear roared. "Use your fingers to spread yourself wider, so that I can see what you're doing. Tell me what it feels like, and how much you want my cock, sugar."

  Emmi shivered and closed her eyes, but her hands did slowly slide down to the apex of her thighs.

  "Use your words, baby. I want to hear you."

  "Oh God." Her groan matched his when she spread her labia wide and circled her clit with one finger. The little nubbin swelled under her ministrations as all the blood rushed to the surface.

  "That's my girl. Fill your hole with your fingers, and imagine it's my cock, sugar."

  Emmi complied, and the little needy sounds she made at the back of her throat were pure music to his ears.

  "Words, Emmi, use them."

  "I … I can't. I just … I want to come so badly. My fingers are not enough. I'm gripping them imagining they're your cock filling me, thrusting in. I want you so badly."

  He growled, and she pumped her fingers faster until the wet sounds of her greedy pussy filled the room. The trembles started as her orgasm took hold, and Cole grabbed her thighs and took over.

  Emmi screamed when his tongue replaced her fingers, and her essence flowed freely into his waiting mouth. His bear grunted his approval, and Cole blew against her slit and then bit down on her clit. The action sent Emmi over the edge, and he pushed two of his fingers into her clenching pussy hole. She rode those fingers as her whole body bowed off the bed and tightened before she slumped back down, moaning and writhing under his fingers and tongue.

  Cole kept up his assault until the last tremors stopped and then crawled up her limp and sweat slicked body to kiss her.

  "You're not playing fair." She mumbled the words and ran her hands over his chest, up to his shoulders and then down his back until she could reach his ass. With his body cocooned between her thighs, his cock slid up and down her wet slit and he indulged himself by thrusting into her just once.

  Her cunt closed around him like a velvet fist, and Emmi pushed her feet into his calves and lifted up to meet his thrust. Their gazes locked when he pulled out and then pushed into her wet heat again.

  "Oh, God, Cole, you're driving me insane."

  His little human bucked against him, and her vaginal muscles clenched and released around his dick in an effort to hurry him along. It took all of Cole's willpower and self-control to not simply give her what she wanted, but he withdrew again until just the tip of his dick remained inside her entrance.

  Emmi shook and groaned and pleaded, and he ground his teeth to stop himself form coming.

  "No, we'll do this my way. Stop trying to hurry me, sugar, or I'll tie you to this bed and leave you hanging."

  Her sharp intake of breath made him smile, and he paused half in half out of her sweet cunt, until he could nudge her sweet spot with short, shallow thrusts that had her luscious body climbing again. He could see it in the way her eyes clouded over, and her breathing quickened. Her fingernails scored his skin hard enough to draw blood, and Cole welcomed the slight pain, as he pushed her over that edge again.

  "That's my girl. Come for me again. Beautiful."

  He withdrew and flipped her over, so that she was bent over the side off the bed. With her knees on the floor, and her legs spread wide, her ass was there for him to play with, and Cole smacked one cheek and then pushed his fingers back into her vagina.

  A rush of air escaped Emmi's lungs, and she groaned into the bed covers and lifted her ass up to give him better access.

  Cole rubbed his stubble along her shoulder blades and kissed her spine. A shudder went through her body, and she sighed his name when he withdrew.

  "What, baby? Do you want me to spank you again?"

  He delivered another open handed swat to her other cheek with enough force to leave a bright mark on her pale flesh as the blood rushed to the surface. His possessive bear urged him to do it again, to mark her body with his hands and claws and teeth, but the man needed to be sure she was on board with this.

  "Yes, God, yes, please, Cole, anything. That feels so fucking good."

  ****

  Emmi barely recognized the voice coming out her mouth. She'd already come twice, yet her body craved more. Pinned over the bed as she was with Cole's heavy body on top of her, his hands smacking her ass, was the most erotic thing ever. Emmi had fantasized about this, had wondered if it really could be as arousing as the books she liked to read made it out to be, but nothing could have prepared her for the reality. If she got any wetter she would leave a puddle on the floor. As it was her juices trickled down the inside of her thighs with every well placed open handed swat to her ass by Cole's hand.

  He stopped every two swats and pushed his thick digits into her pussy until she wanted to scream. Her arousal built and built in direct correlation to the heat in her butt cheeks. Heat and pain that morphed into intense feelings of bliss that radiated out from her ass to every part of her body.

  "You're so fucking wet for me, baby."

  Cole's reverent growl into her ass cheeks, his hot breath against what felt like her obscenely swollen pussy lips made her bite into the covers to stop herself from screaming. It was useless to try to hurry him. He seemed determined to draw this out, and when his rough tongue licked her from slit to clit Emmi came for the third time.

  When she came down from that high, a strange sensatio
n in her ass brought her head up, and she looked over her shoulder to find Cole watching her from under hooded eyes. He looked on the verge of shifting, his muscles straining with the effort to hold back his bear.

  "Relax for me, sugar. It's only my finger in for now. That's my girl. I'm going to add another."

  Sure enough he slid another finger through her soaked slit and inserted that, too, into her forbidden hole. Excitement coursed through Emmi's veins, obliterating the slight burn where no man had ever touched her before.

  "You're so fucking tight, sugar. Have you ever taken a man back here before?"

  Emmi shook her head and dropped back down on the bed, the sensations too intense to form coherent words, let alone leaving her capable of holding her weight up.

  "Good, I love the fact that I'll be your first. I'm going to make this so fucking good for you."

  He smacked her again with one hand whilst the pressure in her butt increased, as he added another finger, and Emmi groaned.

  Her ass felt so full already, and then he began to thrust his fingers in and out of her tight hole, and discomfort gave way to bliss.

  She pushed her hips into the edge of the bed, to rub her aching clit against it, and the sweet pressure built again.

  "God, yes, yes, Cole, I want more."

  His chuckle filled her ears as he bent down and bit her earlobe. He withdrew his fingers and then licked a path down her spine until he reached her smarting ass cheeks, and pulled them apart.

  His nails dug into her soft skin, and the cool air against her puckered hole made her shiver.

  "You're so beautiful. Your little hole is gaping at me, just waiting for my cock to fill it. Is that what you want? Do you want my cock to fill your ass, sugar? Do you want my cum to fill you up, until there is no doubt who you belong to?"

  The dirty words pitched her arousal higher still. Jesus, she could come from listening to his deep voice alone. It held an edge of command that Emmi found utterly unable to resist, and she simply raised her butt up in silent assent.

  He smacked her several more times, until she whimpered into the covers, and then something cool dribbled into her cleft. His fingers were back pushing the lube into her anus. Tears sprang into her eyes at the care he took to prepare her, and when she finally felt the pressure of his cock pushing against her, she let out a breath and made a conscious effort to relax her sphincter.