Authors: Harmony Raines
Ciara’s hands roamed his body, stroking his back, and then along his arms. Down over his butt, she felt the strong muscles of his thighs bunch and then relax as he impaled her on his cock. So full, the friction of his skin along her inner walls almost too much as her next orgasm hovered in front of her eyes.
She placed her hands back on his butt, digging her nails into his toned flesh, encouraging him to push deeper and harder. Lifting her knees, she angled her body so that each thrust brushed her clit, her orgasm ever closer. Ryan straining to thrust deeper and deeper, his breathing laboured as his own climax over took him.
Deep inside her, he spurted his seed, her body joining him as he took her over the edge into the abyss. If her orgasm before had been earth-shattering, this shattered her universe. They were joined as one, as close to him now as she was to the horse that was the other piece of her. They made each other whole on a different level. A level she never completely understood was possible until now.
With Ryan still jerking deep inside her, her sex gripped him, pulsing as his essence brought the possibility of new life into her. Now she wasn’t afraid. Only happy that when they did have a child, it would know it was loved and that it had two parents who would always be there for him or her, just as her parents had been. And she would try to guide her daughter in the same way her mom had tried to guide her.
With one final strain of his body, the tension left Ryan. His body went slack and he rested his weight on his arms, his cock still buried inside her while he kissed her neck and over her shoulders. Ciara stroked his back, wanting to keep the connection between them forever.
If only they could stay like this, with no decisions to make. But that wasn’t life, at least not the life she was used to. And now she had come to one more decision.
“Come on,” she said, moving from under him.
“I was comfortable there,” he said, pulling her back to him and kissing her mouth. For a moment or two she allowed him to fill her senses once more, but then she pushed him playfully away.
“Get dressed,” she said, slipping out of bed, trying not to feel embarrassed by her naked body, which normally she kept well covered. Grabbing her clothes, she pulled them on quickly, knowing if he pulled her back into bed, she might easily change her mind. But there was something she wanted to do. She only hoped he wouldn’t object.
“What’s going on?” he asked, pulling on his jeans. She watched him as he reached for his shirt and covered his toned chest, and wondered if she really was crazy.
“I want to go out. To the mountain. You’ve seen me. Now I want to see you.” She waited for him to object, but instead he reached for her sweater and pulled it on over his head.
“Now I feel nervous. A great lumbering bear next to a horse that can run so swiftly.” He shook his head.
Ciara stood up. “That’s how I feel next to you. All toned muscles and fit. If this bond didn’t exist, you wouldn’t look twice at me. So I should be grateful about that.” Her face dropped. “Now I feel as though I’m cheating you.”
He came to her, moving frighteningly fast, pulling her into his arms. “Don’t ever say that. I love every inch of you, from the swell of your breasts to the softness of your skin. You are the most attractive, beautiful woman I could ever want. Never forget that.”
He kissed her hungrily, and she clung to him until his passion made her believe every word.
“OK. Here goes.” He felt an unusual feeling of butterflies in his stomach. He shouldn’t be nervous, but he was.
“I can’t wait.” She didn’t take her eyes off of him. “And if I change after, so we can go up over the mountain, you won’t eat me, right?”
He grinned, but didn’t say what was on his mind. Her words had conjured up the thought of her taste on his tongue, of the moist heat between her thighs, and the way she sighed so contentedly when he plunged his tongue deep into her. “No. I won’t eat you.”
“Then go!” she said, as she stood back amongst the trees, waiting for him to release his bear.
“No pressure,” he laughed nervously.
“None at all.”
He could feel her excitement and he tried to grab ahold of that and let it help him overcome his fears. What if after everything, she didn’t like this side of him. You’re a bear, he reminded himself.
A great, big, powerful bear. What’s not to like?
Ryan was about to find out.
He let his mind relax and then filled it with the image of his bear. And there his nerves kicked in again. Big bulking body, shaggy coat, usually dirty form rolling in mud and sitting in the river that flowed down the side of the mountain. Teeth that were sharp and a short snout, which usually could be found sniffing out interesting things in the dirt. Yep. What’s not to like?
Yet he stepped into the image anyway. Because no matter what, he could not give up this side of himself. The ranch, yes, his freedom, yes. But never his bear. And she would know this. Hadn’t she said she regretted keeping her horse in check for so long?
His body flowed out of this world, the atoms becoming unstuck from each other only to return as something else. Low to the ground, all four paws leaving their prints in the ground, his bear made its first appearance in front of their mate. And he did not lack confidence.
One solid paw moved forward at a time as he lumbered up to Ciara. He reached out with his snout and sniffed her, pleased with her scent. She reached out and he stuck his nose into the palm of her hand, snuffling contentedly as she stroked him.
Running her fingers through his coat made him squirm. He wondered if she wanted to scratch his back right where he needed it but decided he would look too much like a dog. He would find a tree later. Puffing himself up, he tried to look as impressive as possible while he allowed her to explore his body with her fingers. Even like this, her touch was magical.
Then she moved away. He could sense the shift in the air, and she shimmered out of existence for one moment before returning as the black mare he had seen earlier. She snorted at him, blowing air in his face, and then she turned and took off, out of the trees, heading up the side of the mountain.
He knew he could never catch her, but he wasn’t going to let her go. Not ever, so he followed all the same. Maybe that bear stamina she had mentioned might be needed elsewhere than in the bedroom.
The thrill of the chase. In any other place, she would be the prey trying to outrun a predator. Horse against bear. This was different; she didn’t want to lose him, she wanted to run with him, wild and free on the mountain.
The higher she climbed, the more alive she felt. The wind swept over the mountain, making her mane fly in the wind. She tossed her head and snorted, pausing for a moment while he caught up with her. Rearing up on her hind legs, she neighed her joy to the world before she took off again, the scents of the meadows filling her nostrils. How long it had been since her horse had munched on fresh grass and rolled in the mud!
Wild and free she ran, the weight of her human life so much less now she had found her mate. When she reached the high meadow she galloped headlong away, only to wheel around and charge back to where the big bear was entering the meadow. She stopped, only two feet in front of him, sliding, stones flicking up, only to turn on a dime and gallop away.
Back and away, she ran, until he eventually sat down and watched her. If a bear could smile, she was sure he was smiling, his short snout on the air, sniffing it, enjoying the mountain breeze. When at last her legs began to tire, she went to him. But before she sat down, she changed back to her human form, wanting to share this moment with him on another level.
Ryan changed too, pulling her into his arms as soon as they had changed from being bear legs. “You are something else to watch,” he said.
“You’re not so bad yourself. I should compliment you on your thick coat.”
“The secret is mud. Lots of it, worked down into the roots and then washed off in the river.”
“That I would like to see. And do.”
“Tomorrow. We’ll come up here when you finish work and I’ll show you all my favourite places.”
“I can’t wait,” she said, tilting her head and resting it on his shoulder.
They sat together, looking down over the twinkling lights of Bear Bluff, while above them the stars shone brightly. The moon moved across the sky, its mysterious glow lighting the meadow, giving them moonlight shadows. No words were needed. All that mattered was that they were here, the two of them together. Until at last he stood and offered her his hand.
“Come on, it’s late and I guess you have to work tomorrow. Let’s go and get some sleep.”
As he pulled her up, she went into his arms and he kissed her. Her insides turned to liquid fire. She wanted him, wanted to make love to him here in the meadow, but that would have to wait for another day. He was right; she had work, she had an early call in the morning. The practice would let her off being late one day, but two in a row might cause trouble she didn’t need, and that the practice didn’t deserve.
So they both changed, and made their way more sedately down the mountain, Ryan leading the way. Her exhilaration now passed, replaced by contentment and being here with him. The dark night was all around them, cocooning them in their own world. They worked their way down off the mountain, a light breeze ruffling her mane, whilst the occasional squawk of a startled bird broke the quiet night.
When at last they entered the trees where they were going to change, she took one last breath of the mountain air. This was to be her new home, and she wanted to spend the rest of her life exploring the mountain and the surrounding forests so that she knew it as well as she had known the meadows where her herd roamed. She would run here, with their children, whatever they were to be. Horse or bear, it didn’t matter.
“I think we could have one more glass of wine before bed, don’t you?” she asked as they walked down the rest of the way to the farm, hand in hand.
“Does that mean you aren’t driving home tonight?” he asked hopefully.
“No, Ryan, I’m not. This is my home now.”
He didn’t answer, just squeezed her hand and led her down to his house. But before they went inside she stopped.
“What’s the matter?” he asked, and the tone of his voice signalled he thought she had changed her mind.
“This way,” she said and led him to the barn. Opening the door quietly, she went inside. “Do you have a flashlight?”
“I can put the main light on.”
“No. We don’t want to disturb them.”
“Who?” he asked, grabbing the flashlight just as she had asked.
“You’ll see.”
They crept along the barn to the stall where Sapphire was. Across from her, Minty whinnied quietly. As they looked into Sapphire’s stall, they were just in time to see the newborn foal trying to climb to his wobbly feet.
“You knew?” he whispered.
“It’s a horse thing,” she said quietly.
Watching Sapphire with her foal, the attention she lavished on it as she encouraged it to stand and then drink her milk, Ciara began to understand the treasure that children were. She could feel the pride and love this mare had for the new life next to her. Ciara knew that one day she would feel that same love and pride. And by her side would be her man, her bear.
“I love you, Ryan,” she said for the first time. As she laid her head on his shoulder, she meant it. She might have started out running away from her mate, but now she would never run again. This was where she belonged, here with Ryan, her mate.
“Let’s go to bed,” he said after they made sure everything was OK.
“Whatever you say,” she answered. Because she knew he would never ask anything of her she didn’t want to do. They were bonded, true to one another. It wasn’t a one-sided deal. It might have taken her a long time to understand that, but now that she did, she would never forget.
Other Books By Harmony Raines
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Harmony Raines Author Page On Kindle
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***UK Harmony Raines Author Page On Kindle***
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The Escort (The Escort Series Part One)(Free in some regions)
The Escort (The Escort Series Part Two)
The Escort (The Escort Series Part Three)
A Curvy Christmas: Robin's Romance (BBW Romance)
His Secretary (Her Second Chance Book One)
Rescued by the Bear (Bear Creek Clan Book One)