Wounds to Bear (Heart of The Bear #1)(13)

“Sweet.” He raised an eyebrow. “No one says sweet and Jed in the same sentence. Ever.”

He leaned in and kissed her, his tongue sweeping in to claim hers. Jenna moaned, wanting to move again, to feel him stroke her to another shattering orgasm. But there were kids still out there, in the hands of a man who could hurt them.

She eased back. “When did you want to go back out?”

A frown darkened his face. “I was ordered to stay away. Grey set up a rotating group of searchers before he even showed last night. I’m the idiot who let the kids down.” He eased out of Jenna and laid on his back. “As soon as the sun rises, I’m going back out. I know Paul, he’ll hunker down until it’s daylight, and I have a good idea where he’s taking them. This is my fault, and I have to fix it. I have to get them back.”

Jenna turned to face him, pulling the sheets up to cover her breasts. With the heat of their lovemaking cooled, she felt vulnerable in front of this gorgeous man, exposed.

“How is this your fault?”

Roman glanced at her, and went back to staring at the ceiling. “I should have told you before, Jenna. Before I trapped you.”

“Hey.” She gripped his chin, turning his head until their eyes met. “You’re a good man, Roman Black. Whatever happened, whatever you think you did, it can’t be as bad as you fear.”

He swallowed, kept his gaze on her. “Paul is a wolf, part of the pack that lives in the next valley. We grew up together, watched out for each other. Until he fell for the girl dating Grey.” He closed his eyes, and when he finally looked at her again, the pain in their amber depths tore at her. “She was a shifter, and happily played them, one against the other, like it was some damn game. I heard from Elijah that Paul had come looking for Grey, and I knew he was out with her, that there would be trouble if Paul found them together. I got to them just after Paul, and he went crazy. He shifted, and attacked them. I had to stop him.”

He yanked out of her grasp and sat, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. She refused to let him isolate, not when she had a feeling he was about to reveal some of the past he had mentioned. Crawling across the bed, she straddled him from behind and wrapped her arms around him. He stiffened, but he didn’t pull away. Instead, he let out a ragged sigh.

“Roman.” She kissed his newly healed shoulder. “I’m not going anywhere. You promised forever, and I’m holding you to it.”

“I don’t deserve you.”

“Well, you’re stuck with me, so deal with it.” A smile tugged at his lips. Good—she was getting through. “Tell me what happened.”

He swallowed, and lowered his head. “I always carried a silver knife, because of past altercations with the pack. When Paul was shifting, I stabbed him. It crippled his ability to shift, and because he threatened a female shifter, he was booted out of his pack. He came to me before he disappeared, and swore he’d take his revenge. Now he has.”


“We’ll find them, Roman. I believe in you, and I know those kids do.”

He lifted his head, surprise on his face when he looked at her. “You—God, how did I get so lucky?” He gave her an impressive display of his strength when he twisted around and picked her up with one arm, settling her in his lap. “Is it too soon to say I love you?”

“No,” she whispered, tears stinging her eyes. She blinked, and felt them slide down her cheeks. Roman gently wiped at them with his thumb, then followed with his lips. “Please make love to me, Roman. I need to feel you inside me.”

He didn’t need any more encouragement. His hands circled her waist, and he lifted her over his rock hard cock. She closed her fingers around him, feeling powerful when he twitched against her fingers, his low growl telling her that he was close to the edge. She guided his cock, until his thick head pressed into her.

The feel of him shot heat through her. She braced her hands on his shoulders, slid down his length until he filled her completely.

“Shit—Jenna—”

He captured her lips, stroking her tongue as he stroked her, slow and lazy, the heat simmering between them instead of burning hot. She was gasping by the time he freed her mouth.

“Roman—”

“I want to savor. All of you, Jenna.”

And he did. His mouth found her breast, his tongue running circles around her nipple. She dug her fingers into his muscled shoulders, her breathing ragged as he teased, tasted, then moved to her other breast. His hand took over where his mouth left off, rubbing over her already aching peak, until she felt herself clenching around him.

He freed her breast long enough to whisper against her throat. “It’s all right, Jenna. Let go, let yourself feel it.”

She closed her eyes, her hands sliding down his arms. Taut, iron hard muscle moved under her fingers. She wrapped her arms around him, one hand tracing the length of his spine, and he groaned, those lazy strokes changing, becoming faster, harder, deeper.

“God, Jenna—” He caught her around the waist and lowered her to the bed, his weight pressing her into the mattress. The new position drove him in deeper.

He thrust into her, his hands braced on the bed. Jenna gripped his arms, her body taut. Sweat slicked her skin, and she tasted it on him when she kissed her way up to his ear.

“Roman—” Every time she came close to orgasm, he backed off, like he knew, and left her panting, needy, desperate. “Roman, please—”