"No you don"t, and even if you did, it wouldn"t matter." When he reached down, she thought he intended to snag the rope. Hoping to outmaneuver him, she whipped her body to the side. Gripping the loop closest to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, he hauled her back in place. She was still struggling, stupidly so, when he took hold of the loose end and threaded it between her legs. That task completed, he turned her from him and pulled up so the cotton pressed against her s.e.x and settled between her a.s.s cheeks. All too soon, he"d tugged it tight and secured it to one of the d.a.m.nable loops.
"There." He held up his hands much as a steer roper at a rodeo might. "You wanted me to let go.
How does it feel?"
Like the world revolved around her body. She"d risen onto her toes in reaction to the pressure against her l.a.b.i.a. Now she slowly lowered her weight onto the b.a.l.l.s of her feet. It was just her imagination, her overloaded brain"s attempt to hold it together, but she couldn"t help but wonder if he"d chosen white rope because he knew it would contrast with her tanned flesh.
Her legs were free. She could take off, not that she stood a chance of outrunning those long, powerful limbs. Besides, every time she shifted, she became even more aware of the foreign object her s.e.x juices were dampening.
She couldn"t let him know that! Much better if he believed she loathed what he"d done to her.
He stood far enough away that she shouldn"t be able to feel his presence, yet something reached toward her, calming and exciting her at the same time.
With minimal and undoubtedly pleasurable work on his part, he"d turned her body into a s.e.x object.
The rope under her heavy, sensitive b.r.e.a.s.t.s lifted them and accentuated that part of her body. Her nipples had become tight nubs. Her arms were useless, the constant pressure against her p.u.s.s.y impossible to ignore. He could do anything he wanted to her, and she couldn"t stop him, couldn"t touch in return.
Touch? Surely she didn"t want to do that.
She always bought jeans that didn"t bind at a strategic place. Otherwise, her s.e.x had a disconcerting way of responding when she needed to concentrate on other things. So much for thoughtful purchases. The rope between her a.s.s cheeks, against her rear opening and pressing on her slit owned her. She could barely think beyond the sensation.
Ber knew exactly what he"d done to her. He might be a bear with a man"s body but undoubtedly he understood how hers was responding. What did it matter if she ignored him while taking a few experimental steps? Despite herself, she gave silent thanks for what felt more like soft cotton than a binding. If she tried to run, the strands would irritate certain sensitive places, but as long as she stood still or took slow, small steps, she felt no discomfort.
Discomfort? Hardly. More like hovering inches and moments away from losing control. Any other time, given the so-called a.s.sault on her s.e.x, pleasure would have already swamped her. She"d have embraced her s.e.xuality and leapt head and heart into a climax.
But this was here and now. Until Ber decided to end this-this whatever it was-she"d continue to dangle over the erotic cliff.
"What"s this about?" Teeth clenched and throat hot, she walked in a tentative circle. What might be endless moisture continued to soak the rope between her legs. Her juices tracked down the insides of her thighs. Her nipples ached deliciously, and she didn"t dare take a deep breath. "Why are you doing this?"
"Training you. Teaching you what we"re both capable of." Confused, she rose onto her toes then dropped back down when her experiment offered no relief. Her fingers had been clenched so long they threatened to cramp, and she wished she could think how to stop her nostrils from flaring. Except for Ber, her world had become hazy. Only he was important.
"What am I?" she demanded. "Some wild horse you roped for the h.e.l.l of it?"
"You"re wild, all right."
61.
When he started toward her, she shied just as a nervous horse would. Stopping, she bit down a gasp as he slid a hand between her belly and the rope. He hadn"t pulled or tugged, but he could.
"It doesn"t have to be this way." She hoped she sounded calmer than she felt. "You"re a man and I"m a woman. We could-"
"Am I a man?"
"All right," she amended with her attention on what was happening. She prayed he wouldn"t do anything she couldn"t handle. "You"re a shifter. I get that. What makes you think you have to"-she nodded at his hand-"do it this way?"
"You kicked me out, remember."
"Me, kick you out? Like I could pull that off. Besides, you went willingly."
"I had my reasons."
Later she might be interested in what those reasons were. "And after you did, you decided to do this why?"
For the few seconds his smile lasted, she fell in love with what it did to his features. Then he turned sober, and in his eyes, she found his grizzly half.
"Because I can. Because we both want this."
Like she"d ever admit that to him! It was safer if he believed she was furious and repulsed. Of course, if he reached between her legs... "Where are we?" she asked in an attempt to turn the conversation in another direction.
"It doesn"t matter."
It might be her imagination or reaction to the hint of a growl in his deep voice, but his outline seemed to be becoming less defined. Because she"d seen the same thing happen to Songan, she wondered if Ber was about to shift from human to animal. The thought of what he might do to her once he had alarmed her.
"I was wrong." She stumbled over the words. "I should have heard you out earlier. I"ll listen now, I promise I will."
"It doesn"t matter." He pulled up on the rope just enough for her to take note. "I"m not interested in talking."
"Then what?" She had to keep him calm, somehow.
His slow, searching gaze took her in from neck to feet and back up again. The pressure against her s.e.x increased. Even with the growing tension, she wasn"t sure she"d ever felt more of a woman. More wanted or wanting.
"You"re after s.e.x," she whispered. "s.e.x with me. I get it."
"Do you?"
Her teeth clenched against a whimper, she stood as straight and tall as possible. Goose b.u.mps chased over her shoulders, and her stomach muscles tightened. Even as she strained to lift her arms, she wasn"t 62 sure what she"d do with them. Loss of control meant turning everything over to this big, strong man. He wouldn"t hurt her. She had to believe that.
"This isn"t a game for you," she managed to get out. "It"s not some kinky s.e.x play." Releasing the rope, he ran his nails over her belly. "No." Gasping, she looked down at herself. Her nerves threatened to explode. Still, she noted that their surroundings were becoming darker. Was night returning?
"What?" she managed, thinking he"d just said something. "I, ah, didn"t hear you."
"You"re essential to my future and the future of others like me." His nails made another pa.s.s.
Half out of her mind, she sucked in a breath and stepped backward. His features neutral, he kept pace.
"You heard what I just said," he said. "I know you did." Praying she could regain control over her body and mind, she squared and looked up at him. "What I did or didn"t hear isn"t the point. Ber, this is insane." She made a show of trying to move her arms. "As long as you treat me like this, you can"t expect me to give a d.a.m.n what happens to the Enyeto." He lightly flicked her right breast. "You don"t like this?"
"Stop it!"
"I asked you something. Go on, tell me you hate what I"m doing." Much as she wanted to lie and tell him she loathed everything about what was happening, she couldn"t force the words. "Let me go. Then we"ll talk."
She watched, alarmed and shivering in antic.i.p.ation, as he slowly extended a hand toward her. Taking hold of her chin, he lifted her head a little. "I love seeing you like this-mine."
"Everything done your way and me having no say?" she threw back at him to keep his words from making too much of an impact. "That"s not how it happens in the human world, don"t you get it?" Waiting for his response exhausted her. Either that or her system had had all it could handle of his presence. The strange thing was that for a moment she thought she was looking at Songan. Did she need any more proof of how overwhelming this was?
"I"m not human," he said after too long. "Not in ways you comprehend." Suddenly she knew what she needed to do to get through to him, at least a little. Turning her head to the side, she slipped out of his hold. Instead of trying to escape, she leaned into him so her b.r.e.a.s.t.s grazed his bare middle. His c.o.c.k shuddered and jerked.
"So you"re more bear than man, are you? Tell me, how would an Enyeto react to this?" She rolled a little one way and then the other, keeping her b.r.e.a.s.t.s with their taut nipples against him. The nonstop electrical charges going off throughout her short-circuited her mind.
Ber or Songan and what did it matter? Bear or elk, both dominated their world-and her, if she wasn"t careful.
63.
"Enough, d.a.m.n it!" Rough fingers gripped her arms, and Ber pushed her back as far as he could without letting go, shaking her as he did.
Feeling as if she was melting, she sank to her knees. Even with him guiding her journey, she started to tip forward. She rested her cheek against his leg until she regained her balance and a measure of self-control. Only then did she acknowledge his c.o.c.k.
"Didn"t expect that, did you?" she asked, hoping to convince him she"d landed where she had on purpose.
On the tail of a deep breath, he ran his fingers into her hair. His fingertips against her scalp tore into her. She could remain on her knees before him forever, his prisoner and s.e.x slave, bound and willing.
But if that"s all she did, he"d never understand her, and he"d remain a stranger to her.
"I take your silence as a no," she said. "You figured you had to rope and tie me in order to get me to listen. What you didn"t count on is how I"d react, the whole female response thing."
"Go on."
"My reactions, d.a.m.n it. I"m not some sow bear in heat. I"m not going to stick my rump in your face."
"I didn"t say you would."
"You"re sure as h.e.l.l acting like it. But you"re wrong. For one, I"m not in heat. There"s a lot more to me than the instinct to procreate."
"I know that."
Maybe, maybe not. The only thing she was sure of was that she was no longer interested in what he was thinking. How could that matter with his feet, legs, hips and c.o.c.k scant inches away? Licking her lips, she touched them to his erection. He rocked back on his heels but didn"t shove her away. G.o.d, but he was beautiful! s.e.xy in a rough, untamed way. Stimulating parts of her that hated the word no.
Filling her lungs, she opened her mouth, leaned forward and brought him into her. She made no comparisons, lived fully in the moment. Ber tasted like the wilderness and more, the more beyond her ability to find words for. His veins were so swollen she wondered if they might burst, prompting her to bathe them in warm saliva. Dizzy and light-headed, she withdrew. Then, moving so fast her head didn"t stand a chance of clearing, she again housed him. Laid claim to him much as he"d done to her.
His hold on her hair tightened. Beyond caring what he might do, she turned her head to the side, taking him with her via the strength in her lips.
Groaning, he relaxed his hold. She did the same. Then, propelled by her clenching s.e.x muscles, she worked more of his length into her until his tip pressed against the back of her throat. Gagging, she paused before coming at him again. She"d swallow him, that"s what she"d do, take him so far into her that he"d never find his way out.
As for why she wanted to do this-no, she wouldn"t go there!
64.
Light-headed was good. Light-headed made mouth-f.u.c.king Ber easy. Her thoughts swimming, she worshipped his width and length, smelled him, tasted him.
He started working with her, arching into her and pulling back, guiding her head one way or the other by his hold on her hair. Her belly tightened and stayed that way as she pummeled and was pummeled.
Moisture dribbled from the corners of her mouth. Wet heat flowed from her p.u.s.s.y. His harsh, erratic breathing pounded through her.
A gust of cold air struck her right side. She went still.
"Winter"s coming," Ber said. "That"s all. Nothing to concern ourselves with." How right he was. Nothing and no one else mattered. Dismissing the chill, she pushed his foreskin back with her tongue.
He might be saying or trying to say something, but as long as his b.a.l.l.s pressed against her chin and her teeth lightly raked his length, she didn"t care. Unfortunately, bobbing about with her jaws wide open was getting to her. Not sure where the idea had come from, she turned her head to the side so his tip pressed against her cheek.
Feeling like a dog with a bone, she growled. Releasing her hair, Ber clamped his hands over the sides of her face. Once more his tip grazed her throat.
Was the crotch rope getting tighter? Maybe her s.e.x juices were making it shrink. No matter. She loved having her body"s heat trapped inside her. Determined to increase the sensation, she pressed her thighs together. The soft fibers against her l.a.b.i.al lips belonged there.
Tightening his hold, Ber pushed her back a few inches. Holding on with all the strength left in her aching jaw, she met his gaze.
"d.a.m.n you," he muttered. "d.a.m.n you."
Sensing the truth behind the curse, she pushed him out and licked his b.a.l.l.s and c.o.c.k. Moisture beaded on his tip. Thirsty, she lapped. She"d become a cat, an insistent, rough-tongued cat.
Ber groaned. The pressure against her cheeks abruptly ended. Eyes closing, she once more claimed his c.o.c.khead and leaned back. A moment later, she rocked forward.
It didn"t matter who or what he was, what name, if any, he went by. His agenda.
Back. Forward. Back once more. Her p.u.s.s.y hot and tight.
"Ah! Ah!" he bellowed. "s.h.i.t, yes!"
Sticky heat filled her mouth. Unexpected tears burned behind her lids. Crazed, she stayed with him.
"Ah yes!" His fingers pressed against her temples. "Oh s.h.i.t, yes!" Her mind spinning and v.a.g.i.n.al muscles twitching, she swallowed what she could of his discharge.
The rest ran down the sides of her mouth. When he"d given her all he had, she slowly freed him. Remained drunk on his taste.
She wouldn"t open her eyes, not yet! Not until-
65.