Husband Fur Hire (Bears Fur Hire #1)(33)

His response was instantaneous, and so was the curious humming in his throat. He pushed his finger into her, and she cried out at how good it felt. She hadn’t been touched like this in so long, and Ian had been building a slow burning fire inside of her since the day she’d met him.

“Noisy mate,” he said.

Mate? Her thoughts were swirling. His words didn’t make sense, but right now, with him moving his finger inside of her, it was hard to care. She moaned and closed her eyes, tilted her head back to give him access to her neck.

A low feral sound filled the air, and he whispered, “I like when you give me your neck, woman.”

Desperate to feel more of his skin, she pushed the hem of his shirt upward, over his head, and threw it on the ground beside them with a wet sound. His arm and chest were flexed as he worked her closer to release, but the hard definition of his muscles weren’t what had her drawn tight like a bow. He was marked up by dark red scars. Four long ones across his chest, and a mess of them across his ribcage. She wanted to know what happened—wanted to know everything, but not when she was so close to release. Right now, she wanted to appreciate his rugged sex-appeal. Burly, dominant, scarred-up man who had softened for her.

He pushed into her again, making sure to touch her clit every time until the pressure that built inside of her was blinding. So good. His touch was perfect. Just what she needed. He cupped her hard as she writhed against his hand, and then he pushed a second finger into her. She bowed against him and cried out his name as her body pulsed around him. So fast and so good, she was overwhelmed as he continued to stroke until every last aftershock was finished.

And when her legs locked under her, Ian was there, arm around her back, holding her against him and pressing his lips against her hair. Elyse hugged him as tightly as she was able. He couldn’t understand how much that had meant to her. No one had ever cared about her pleasure before. They’d just taken from her, but not Ian. He was laying sweet kisses against her and holding her close, completely content not to take it a step further until she was ready. And something deep inside told her that Ian would only push for more if she was verbal about her needs.

“Ian?” she asked.

“Mmm?”

“I’m ready for more with you.”

Ian eased back and smiled down at her, but when he opened his mouth to say something, he jolted to a stop and lifted a hard gaze to the woods instead. His nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply. Slowly, he maneuvered her behind his back and eased her toward the waterfall.

“What’s happening?” she whispered, adrenaline dumping into her bloodstream, making it hard to move slowly as Ian was urging her.

“She has cubs,” he murmured low.

Cubs? Elyse dared a peek around his wide shoulders and stifled the scream clawing its way up her throat. An enormous grizzly bear was walking slowly toward them, eyes intent on their pile of fish. And behind her followed two small cubs.

A whimper came from Elyse’s throat as she tripped over the rocks that lined the bank. Ian didn’t catch her or even turn around as she fell. He was unbuttoning his pants in what had to be the most inappropriate reaction to being stalked by a momma brown bear. Flashing his dick at the animal was not going to scare her away!

“Ian,” she whispered, frozen to the rocks.

“Elyse, run.”

“What?” You were definitely not supposed to run from a grizzly. Play dead. That was brown bear survival one-oh-one.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered in a broken voice as the bear stood on her hind legs and roared. “Run!”

Elyse watched in horror as the bear charged, but Ian’s neck snapped back and his shoulder joints hunched forward with the painful crack of breaking bones. He grunted an agonized sound as Elyse scrabbled for the rocks and up onto a higher bank. The bear skidded to a stop in front of Ian, but the second Elyse took off on level ground, she could hear paws pounding through the brush and the heavy breaths of the bear chasing her.

She let the scream out now because it didn’t matter. Ian was broken on the bank and nothing would save her from this bear’s wrath. Elyse pushed her legs harder than she ever had until she was almost flying through the forest, but still, it wasn’t nearly fast enough. The bear was gaining and was so close, Elyse could almost feel her breathing down her neck, right behind her. Any step now, she was going to be on top of her. Terrified, she reached out, hooked her hand on a tree, and pulled herself sharply out of the animal’s path. The bear skidded to a stop and gave chase. Elyse had only bought herself a few seconds at most. Damn it all, she’d been afraid of dying alone, and here it was—her death come early, and it was about to mean excruciating pain.

The bear clipped her leg with her long, curved claws, ripping her skin as she tripped her. Elyse hit the ground hard and shielded her face from the long canine teeth she knew was coming for her. But in the second she should’ve felt the puncture wounds, something huge barreled into the bear with enough force that their impact made a sickening thud and shook the air around her.

Elyse looked up in horror as another bear roared and slapped and sank its teeth into the first one. This one was much bigger than the other. A brawler if his torn ear and scarred body were anything to go by. She’d never seen such raw violence as the massive dark brown bruin pushed the smaller bear farther away from her.

She had to find Ian. She had to get them both out of here before the bears turned their murderous attention back on them. She tried to stand and cried out as her leg wouldn’t bear any weight. The scent of iron was strong in the air, and her ankle was warm with the blood that was now soaking her tattered jeans. Sobbing, she crawled away as the roaring of the bears echoed through the forest. The best she could do was drag herself behind a tree and cover her face with her hands to quiet her panicked crying.