“You’re ready for this?” Levi asked, more hesitant than he had been the last time they’d made love. This time she knew she was ready.
“Yes,” she breathed.
The bear was close to the surface; she could see it in his eyes. She could see the hint of his sharp canines poking out from under his lips. It made her heart race as he slid his hands up her legs, pushing her dress back as he went.
He wrapped his fingers around her panties and began to pull them down. Juliet sucked a deep breath, her body erupting in goosebumps. His hot mouth kissed along the inside of her thigh as he pulled the panties off her feet. Juliet was a quivering pool of need, and all she could do was watch him.
He reached up and slid the zipper down her back, loosening her sleeveless dress so that it fell down to her waist. Her breasts faced him, and he pulled her dress down over her hips, leaving her naked in front of him. Her curvy form on display, she felt a shiver of self-consciousness she hadn’t felt the first time. This time was more serious. This time she was sure she wanted him. She bit her lip and looked away, her eyebrows pulling together.
He gripped her chin and gently forced her to look back at him.
“Don’t ever feel shy in front of me,” he said. “You are so fucking beautiful. Everything I am. Everything I have. It’s all for you.” He tilted his head toward her neck and took a deep breath of her scent as he cupped her breast in his big hand. “Because you are mine. You’re fucking mine, and I’ll never let you go.”
“I never want to go,” she whispered. She knew to the depths of her soul that this was right. Why couldn’t she have it all? Why couldn’t she have him? Levi, this man who was so gorgeous, so powerful and good. He really did love her. Want her. All she had to do was let him have her.
Levi kissed down her neck and licked her nipples into his mouth, making her ache for more. When he pushed her legs open and his eyes focused on her pussy, she couldn’t stay sitting anymore. She laid her back against the soft comforter as Levi’s tongue ran down her body, leaving a trail of hunger across her skin.
His fingers gripped her thighs, keeping her legs wide open as his mouth finally found her need. He licked up her slit, tasting her cream with a low growl from deep in his throat.
“You taste like honey, baby,” he growled.
Juliet glanced at him to see the light of his bear in his eyes. The sight of it swept her into another level of surrender. The animal inside of her lover was so close, so ready to take what was his. She slid her arms up above her head, her nipples taut, letting go to him. Letting him have everything she had to give.
His tongue played along her outer folds before dipping deeper, sweeping over her core and focusing on her swollen clit. Juliet arched her back, the pleasure surging inside her. He ran his tongue back and forth between her opening and her clit, wetting her already slick entrance with his mouth.
His fingers pressed against her opening, and he moved his tongue to her tight bud. As he pushed inside her, caressing her pleasure, he sucked her clit into his mouth. Juliet jolted, coming all at once, without warning.
She moaned and gripped her thighs around Levi’s head. He pushed his fingers in and out of her in a quick rhythm, letting her know what was to come. She couldn’t stand it anymore. She needed him inside her. Juliet reached down and gripped his head, pulling him up to her. Her greedy mouth focused on his, tasting her body on his lips. She groaned, reaching for his belt buckle.
Levi frantically pulled out of his clothes and slid over her, naked and hard. His long, thick cock settled over her pussy as he kissed her tenderly on the mouth, neck, and face. Juliet cupped his cheek in her hand, wanting him so close. Their connection flowed between them, moving back and forth in a passionate kiss.
She reached down and tilted his cock toward her opening. She couldn’t wait a moment longer. She needed him inside her. She wanted him to fill her with his seed. Mark her. Mate her. Make her his forever.
“Wait,” he grunted, reaching to the nightstand. He ripped open a condom and unfurled it over his throbbing member.
“But I want you,” she breathed.
“I know. I’m protecting you. This won’t be the first time.”
“I don’t care. I need you. I need you so bad.”
He slid back and pressed the head of his cock to her slick entrance. He moved inside her effortlessly. He was so big, her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open wider with each inch of him. She was nearly panting when he sank to the base of his shaft.
“Juliet. My mate,” he growled, sinking his face in the crook of her neck.
He pulled his hips back and thrust forward, sending waves of pleasure through her being. She called out to god and repeated Levi’s name as he moved inside her.
Everything in her called out to have him make her his. She was so open, so ready. All the moments of despair that had led up to this seemed to have been preparation to appreciate how wonderful it felt to surrender to true love.
She wanted him. She wanted his commitment. She wanted to let go like never before and she didn’t want to wait a second longer. Juliet could feel her orgasm barreling toward her, ready to break through and send her into the stratosphere.
“I want you to mark me,” she said, panting and holding him tight.
“I can’t. Juliet. We should wait,” he said, looking her in the eye and rubbing his knuckles across her cheek.
He wanted to protect her. But she wanted it. She wanted it now. Damn Quinn and her cold feet. That wasn’t Juliet. Juliet didn’t make impulsive decisions. She was tired of holding back and playing small.
“Please, Levi. I want to belong to you,” she said, writhing below him.
“You do belong to me, Juliet. I don’t need to mark you until you are sure.”
“I am sure, Levi. Please. I’m going to come,” she said, barely able to speak.
He tilted his hips back and pumped into her, drawing out the orgasm that was just below the surface. As her orgasm started to break through, she felt him stiffen inside her and his teeth brush over the skin of her neck.
All at once, he came hard into her gushing orgasm. His teeth sank deep into her neck, and Juliet launched into space. Galaxies were born, expanded, and died. The mark sank deep inside her as their bodies throbbed in time. It was a moment of singularity. Perfect bliss.
It took quite some time for Juliet to come back to consciousness. She found herself snuggled against Levi’s chest, her neck tingling from his bite and her body vibrating from their mutual orgasm.
“It’s done,” he said in a low rumble.
“Are you afraid I’m going to leave you like Quinn left Drew?” she asked.
“The thought had crossed my mind.” He turned to her, looking her deep in the eyes and running his warm hand up her arm. “If you left me now, it would break me.”
“I don’t believe anything could break you, Levi,” she said.
“Nothing else could. But you. You have that power over me.”
“I don’t take that for granted. All I want is you. I don’t know if it’s the same thing Quinn felt, but I do feel something. When I look at you, when I’m near you, when we make love, I know it’s right. I know we’re meant to be together. I’ve never had feelings this…immense. They’re too big to ignore. I’ve been trying to rationalize to be safe, but yesterday I decided I was done rationalizing. I’m done playing it safe. Playing it safe has never kept me from harm.”
“What are you talking about, never kept you from harm?” Levi said, pulling the blankets up over their naked bodies.
“Let’s just say, I’ve let myself stay in bad situations because I thought it was too risky to leave.”
“Juliet, it’s my job to protect you. I don’t take that lightly. You have to tell me, in detail, what you’re talking about so I can take care of it.”
“Levi, it’s not for you to take care of. It’s the past. I just want to think about the future. I need to go back to Portland to get my cat, Snuggles. But I hope y
ou won’t mind him living at the lodge.”
“Snuggles is perfectly welcome at the lodge. Don’t change the subject. Tell me about these bad situations.”
The last thing Juliet wanted was to bring Levi into her problems. She didn’t want to think about Ernest or her job. She didn’t want to think about how humiliated he had made her for the last three years. She definitely didn’t want Levi to know about it. But she could feel the tug of their connection between them. Since he’d marked her, it was noticeably stronger. She couldn’t keep secrets from him. She couldn’t deny his honest requests.
“I was dating this guy for a long time. He didn’t treat me very well. He didn’t hit me or anything like that, but he made me feel small. Doubt myself. He told me I was ugly and fat and no one else would ever want me. It was like he was doing me a favor to be with me. When I finally got the guts to break up with him and move out of his apartment, he was transferred to my department at work and became my direct supervisor. When I complained to his boss about it, I was just told to suck it up and carry on because a hundred other people would do my job in a minute. It’s hard to find work in my field so I just accepted it. I had to pay rent on my own apartment and rental prices are going up all the time. I played it safe and paid the price.”
“So you’ve been working under the jackass who emotionally abused you? How long has this been going on?”
“Ernest has been my boss for about a year,” Juliet said with a sigh.
She didn’t want to think about asshole Ernest while she was lying in bed beside Levi. She could rest inside his eyes for eternity and always feel safe.
“Something’s going to have to be done about this,” Levi announced.
“Levi, please, leave it alone,” she pleaded.
“Not a chance. Now, come here. I want my arms around you as you sleep. I want you to know that my strength is always there for you whenever you need it.”
Juliet signed and closed her eyes. She couldn’t argue with that.
Chapter 18
Levi laid awake and until Juliet fell asleep in his arms. He couldn’t believe how fantastically lucky he was to have her as his own. She was like a precious flower, ready to open, to bloom and show the world exactly how beautiful and magnificent she truly was.
Levi knew he was helping her unfold. He could feel it in the connection between them. Not only was she bringing something to him that he desperately needed, her sweet kindness, her compassion, her quiet strength. But he was brining something to her as well. Her tender core needed protection. She needed his alpha strength behind her so that no one would ever fuck with her sweet heart again.
God. She was so fucking gorgeous. He grew hard again just thinking of her sweet inner core. Her outer beauty, which was as brilliant as the morning star, was nothing compared to the beauty inside her. He intended to spend the rest of his life learning everything there was to know about that inner beauty and how to better keep it safe.
They woke, tangled in each other’s arms as the pink morning sunlight radiated over the lake below his window. He slid his arm out from under her head and pulled on a bathrobe before going into the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. When she emerged from the bedroom, wearing his extra robe, he had breakfast prepared and a pot of coffee ready to pour for her.
She padded over to him and raised up on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on his cheek. His heart singing, he enfolded her petite, curvy body into his arms.
“I made you breakfast,” he said into the top of her head, smelling her scent.
She pulled away and slid into a chair at the kitchen table that looked out his big picture windows. He brought coffee to the table that was already set with breakfast. He poured her a cup and she brought it to her lips, sipping slowly. She had a faraway look in her eyes as she gazed out the window, contemplating the lake in the colors of the morning sunlight. She looked back at him, her eyes smiling.
“We truly belong to each other now,” she said.
“Charlotte and Harry were not the only ones to commit to each other yesterday,” Levi said.
“Will we get married?” she asked, taking another sip of coffee.
“If it pleases you. My life is now dedicated to your pleasure,” he said.
She giggled at him and reached across the table to take his hand in hers.
“That’s why I love you so much. You’re like a big, hunky poet.”
He cleared his throat, her words throwing him off guard. “I wouldn’t go that far. I’m not the artist of the crew. I’ll leave that distinction to Drew or Angus.”
“I have to disagree. Look at what you’ve done here at the lodge. Look at the way you love me.”
“My love for you is like artistry,” he said with a grin. He could tell Juliet liked his words. “I will drive you back to Portland to pick up your cat and whatever you need at your apartment.”
He had something special planned for Juliet’s ex. The idea had already been working itself out inside his mind while he’d made breakfast. He wouldn’t tell Juliet about it until it was finalized. But he intended to give Juliet her revenge.
“I’d love that. I want to go in to my work and quit right to Ernest’s face,” she said with a giggle.
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
Levi went to Juliet’s room to pack up her things while she showered. She picked an outfit and dressed quickly.
“I have to say goodbye to Charlotte,” she said while pulling on her shoes.
He watched her dress, feeling closer to her than ever. He loved how she never stopped thinking about other people’s needs. They went down to the lobby just in time to meet Charlotte and Harry as they got into a limo, waiting to take them to the tiny Fate Mountain Airport.
“It was a beautiful wedding,” Juliet said, taking her friend in her arms.
“Thank you for everything, Juliet,” Charlotte said.
“Will you still go on your honeymoon?” she asked.
“The doctor said Harry’s frostbite should be fine with some topical medication. We’ve been given the go ahead to travel.”
“That was a close one,” Levi said, offering his hand to Harry.
Harry’s fingers were still bandaged, but he shook Levi’s outstretched hand. “I can’t thank you and your crew enough for finding me. I got so turned around. I honestly believed I was going to die.”
“You found one of the few places on the mountain to stay out of the elements,” Levi heard Shane say from behind him.
The errant chef emerged from the dining room and came to shake Harry’s hand. Harry shook it vigorously and thanked Shane again several times.
“I almost didn’t include Shane on this mission,” Levi admitted to the couple.
“I’m so glad you did,” said Charlotte.
“Am I on the crew now?” Shane asked, furling his brow and crossing his arms.
Everyone looked at Levi expectantly. Levi sighed. It was time to invite Shane back into the fold.
“Yes. But you have to keep that temper under control.”
“Not a problem, boss,” Shane said, making an accepting gesture with his arms. He turned with a smirk and headed back to the kitchen. “Good luck, you two,” he said over his shoulder.
“We really have to go now,” Charlotte said, leaning in for more one more hug.
Juliet waved goodbye to her friends and watched them drive away in the limo. Turning to Levi, she smiled up at him.
“Now it’s time for us to get going,” Levi said. “We have to leave now if we want to get to your work before closing time.”
Juliet and Levi went out to the truck and got inside. Levi put some light rock on the radio and they chatted the whole drive back down the mountain. When they arrived at Juliet’s apartment, Levi could see she was already stressed out.
“I’m so over it, I don’t want any of it.”
“Just pack up a few boxes that you need right now, and we’ll have the rest boxed up and brought to the lodge later.”
They packed up her essentials, the cat’s things, and her clothes and shoes. When that was done, she packed up her computer and the rest of the gadgets she used in her work as a graphic designer.
“I have no idea what I’m going to do now with my career,” she muttered.
“Don’t think for a second you can’t find freelance work on Fate Mountain. Besides, I’m fully prepared to take care of you.”
“But I love my work...”
“And now you can do it for love. Besides, there’s tons of shifter businesses in town that would love to have you redo their logos and websites. The lodge could use it, as a matter of fact.”
“Hmm. That is…so true,” she said, giggling.
“I haven’t gotten around to it. I’ve been busy saving lives.”
They took the boxes out to the truck. When they got inside, Levi gripped the wheel and looked over at Juliet. Her expression was tense and nervous.
“Let’s get Snuggles and go,” she said.
“No way. We’re going down to your work. I have something special planned for that asshat boss of yours.”
They picked Snuggles up from the kennel and put him in his crate in the back of the cab before driving downtown to Juliet’s building.
“Okay. I’ll be right back,” she said, unbuckling her seatbelt.
“I’m coming with you.”
“You don’t have to,” she said.
“Protecting you is my job. I take it seriously.”
She deflated and acquiesced. Walking into the building, hand in hand, Levi could sense Juliet’s anxiety going through the roof. She might be nervous now, but in a few minutes she was going to be so satisfied, he could barely contain himself.
They walked into an office space full of cubicles and Levi immediately felt claustrophobic. He couldn’t imagine his beautiful little goddess Juliet working in a place like this. That’s when he spotted the pinched, rat-faced man glaring their direction. Levi’s nostrils flared, taking in the man’s acrid scent.