“Trouble.” She stretched her arms above her head, loving the feel of his tongue dancing over first one nipple, and then the other.

  “Yeah, making the bed, cleaning up… getting dressed,” he murmured between more kisses, working his way down to her belly.

  She splayed her legs, his weight pressing against her hips.

  “I am not sure why you bothered to put on your pants, either,” she replied as she brought her hands to feel his strong shoulders.

  “Good point.” He began to kiss her inner thighs, right up to where her panties still covered her sex.

  “Yes, I think we should forget about clothing from now on…” She pressed her hips against him and brought a hand to the back of his head as he began to tease her pussy with his hot breath.

  Alena began to rock her hips when Zane pushed her panties to the side and darted his tongue into her rapidly swelling pussy. He quickly removed her panties entirely before returning to administering his kisses to her belly and thighs, though she tried to angle her hips and his head so she could again feel his mouth on her sex. Finally, he brought a few fingers up to probe at her opening as he began to lick at her clit. She rocked her head back and thrust her hips, wanting him deeper inside her.

  “Zane,” she moaned as he ran his tongue from her ass right up to her clit before gently sucking on her nub.

  She brought a second hand down to hold onto his head, and he pressed his fingers deeper inside her, stretching her just enough to send a wave of heat and pleasure through her belly.

  “Oh, my god, yes…”

  Without thinking, she wrapped her legs around his shoulders as he drove his fingers deeper inside her. She began to feel the familiar pressure building in her core as he penetrated her, but no sooner had the feeling begun than he withdrew his hand and, with one final kiss to her nether region, lay beside her.

  “Yum,” he said as he kissed her. “I hope you didn’t mind. I could have spent all day down there.”

  “Mind?” she laughed. “Don’t let me stop you.”

  “I just wanted to check in.” Zane pulled her to his chest. “I just can’t believe any of this is happening. That we are really together. Really doing this…”

  “In a bed, no less,” Alena added, springing up onto her knees and grabbing him by the shoulders to roll him onto his back. Then she began to undo his belt and helped him shimmy out of his trousers. “Now, I hope you don’t mind, but there’s something I’ve been thinking about all day…”

  “It’s going to take a lot out of me, I’m sure, but I will take my medicine,” he said, continuing their little game.

  “Oh, you’ll take it all right, mister.” She pulled down his boxer briefs, releasing his manhood. It lay fully erect against his belly before she grabbed in in her hand. Her fingers couldn’t even encircle the base, so she seized it in both hands as she positioned herself and began to lick at the head. Zane lay back, even as she could feel his hands trying to get purchase on her leg. But she scooted out of his reach for the time being.

  “My turn, you just relax,” Alena said as she spit on his cock and began to work his impressive length with both hands.

  A moan escaped Zane’s lips when she took his head in her mouth, loving the feel of him. She licked at the head, tasting him, even as she grabbed at his heavy balls gently at the same time. Spitting again on his shaft, she began to work her hand up and down his length, straining to take him even deeper in her mouth. At the same time, she shuffled to his side a little, allowing him to grab at her breast and tease her hard nipple.

  He began to rock his hips a little as she sucked on his thick cock even harder, taking him a little deeper still.

  Zane meanwhile began to pull her closer into his reach, which she allowed. She could feel him rubbing at her ass and then slipping a few fingers into her soaked pussy. She raised her ass up a bit, allowing him to rub at her clit, as well as her folds. She was soaked now, wetness dripping down her legs as she drove her head down onto his hard, swollen cock again and again.

  With a sudden, powerful move, Zane lifted her whole and planted her legs on either side of his face so he could suck at her swollen sex. He ran his tongue from her clit to her ass, alternating plunging it inside of her and darting it across her folds. He finally settled on sucking and nibbling at her, and wetness flooded her even more.

  Finally, she released his shaft and, maybe a little reluctantly, rolled off his face. Zane almost instantly made a move as if to take charge again.

  “Not so fast, mister. Let me have my fun a little. You’ll get your chance.”

  With a soft laugh, he fell back to the bed. “God, where have you been all my life?” he huffed.

  “Oh, we’re just getting started, big boy,” Alena breathed, and she spun around and sat on his thick muscled thighs.

  Zane put a hand on each of her knees as she stroked his thick cock again before pivoting her hips up and pressing her pussy against his length. She began to slide her slick sex against his unyielding hardness. His cock was instantly soaked in her juices as she began to press her hips against him. She grabbed the top end of his cock and started to stroke him, rolling her hips against him until she began to find a rhythm.

  He grabbed at her hips and pulled her down at the same time, beginning to press his thick shaft against her. She released his cock and pressed her hands against his chest as she slid up and down along his length.

  Zane tried to angle to get his meaty head toward the entrance of her wet sex, but she artfully evaded his attempts, until finally, she paused to trap his arms under her knees.

  God, she loved the feel of his taut body splayed out beneath her. She ran one hand over his slick, hard abs as she increased her pace.

  “You feel so good, baby,” he groaned, as if reading her mind. In response, Alena paused and lay her chest on top of him, bringing her arms in to hug him close. As they embraced, she slowed her pace but still ground her pussy against him insistently. She couldn’t help it.

  He lifted her chin up and kissed her on the lips. “You are incredible,” he said as he gently caressed her arms. He took a moment to run his rough, strong hands along her back and her ass. He kneaded her muscles softly and caressed her with his fingers. For a moment, she just lay there, reveling in the incredible feel of him, his hard sex pressing against her core even as his powerful arms embraced her. She basked in the feel of his touch for a little while longer before finally lifting herself up and grabbing his girth at the base.

  Zane grunted as Alena guided his head to her entrance. It took all of her willpower not to just sit back on him, allowing his thickness to fill her instantly. But she wanted to draw out every moment with him. She wanted this to last all night. She wanted it to last forever.

  But as he pressed up towards her, she couldn’t resist anymore and sank down a little, but only enough to let his head press into her slightly. She felt an explosion of pleasure as she stretched to accommodate just the tip before she backed off and moved his cock across her entry, teasing them both. She rubbed him against her clit a few times before he grasped his member himself and pressed it once again inside her. This time, she gasped as he drove it in just past the head. She paused there, moving her hips, getting used to his size. Then she brought her hands to his and pinned him down as she began to ride him.

  He moaned, his length piercing her deeper and deeper each time. He pulled away from her grasp, grabbed her hips, and drove his length inside her as she leaned back and brought her feet beneath herself in a squat. He rubbed at her clit with one hand as she bobbed on his shaft. He was hitting her in just the right spot. He was so deep, she could hardly fathom it. She began to moan even louder now. Not quite a scream, but definitely not nothing.

  Before she knew what was happening, he was up on his knees, and she was on her back. He was pressing his weight now against her, and her legs were up against his chest.

  Looking up at him, Alena could see the dragon fire now, dancing in Zane’s eyes as he pumped his cock into her.

  Oh, god, she felt him hitting new spots and unleashing new levels of pleasure. She reached out her hand, and he took it in his firm grasp, using it for leverage as they pushed and pulled against each other. His pace was increasing, and she began to cry out as she felt her pussy stretching even more. He released her hand. She could feel his beast taking over, even as she felt her own bear being tamed. He had been increasing the pace and going impossibly deep. He lowered his hands and seized her thighs just aside her hips to pull her onto him. She thought she was going to scream, but just then, he released her, pulling himself free.

  But Alena knew what she wanted. She wanted him to totally take her. To overpower her. She wanted to feel all of his strength. Her man. Zane. Her dragon.

  Zane flipped her on her belly, and Alena spread her ass for him, lowering her chest. Just as she propped herself up on her knees, she felt him grabbing her hips, and he slid his fat cock into her wetness again.

  She let out a scream as he stretched and filled her.

  “Oh, Zane,” she cried as he drove deep into her pussy.

  “Alena,” he managed to grunt. But they were beyond words. She was his. Completely and utterly, and she loved it.

  He drove himself in again, then paused as he gently let his weight rest on her. She collapsed willingly onto the bed, thrusting her ass up to receive him even as he nuzzled at her neck.

  “I will do whatever I must to be with you, Alena. You are my everything…”

  She interrupted his words by bringing her arm up to cradle his head.

  He thrust deeply into her. His big balls were slapping against her clit as he began to drive inside her with all his strength.

  Alena buried her head in her pillow as he raised himself up, grabbing onto her hips. With each thrust, she began to grunt. Soon the grunts were turning into soft screams. She released any sense of control as he owned her.

  “Zane, baby,” she mewled. She felt her climax building now. “Yeah, Zane, like that, yes, baby, right there.”

  “Yes, Alena.” He pounded against her even harder until she felt his hands grasp her hips hard.

  She pressed her ass against him even as she felt him spasm. His hot seed shot inside her as she screamed, her own orgasm unleashed. Her body began to shake. A few more gushes of his come filled her before he collapsed on top of her, brushing the hair off her cheek.

  Alena lay there panting, her body glowing with the same near nirvana sensation she had experienced with him before. Only this was next level.

  Zane kissed her softly on the cheek as he fell to her side, pulling her in to spoon her.

  This was the closest she had ever felt to heaven, she thought as he gently ran his hands over her shoulder, then hips and thighs.

  “You are the most beautiful woman in the world, Alena. The most beautiful she-bear. Most beautiful she-anything,” he said.

  “You keep making love to me like that and whispering sweet nothings in my ear, and you are gonna have a hard time getting rid of me, Zane Livingstone.”

  He kissed her once more. “Lucky for me, that is all part of my plan.”

  They lay in silence for a long while. Alena had nothing to say, and no reason to say it. Not for a good ten minutes or so, at least. She just wanted to savor the feeling of being safely in Zane’s arms.

  Finally, her mind began to move forward to all the possibilities. She could picture it so clearly—her nature center and his adventure tours, two sides of the same coin. It was like they both had the same vision… or at least complementary ones.

  “You know,” she mused, half to herself. “Someday I would like to think that both bears and dragons will be able to enjoy my nature center. And your adventure business,” she quickly added.

  Zane pressed a kiss to her temple, his voice soft with wonder. “Wouldn’t that be something? Like when our great grandparents built the Grand Lodge, right? If only we had one tenth of that unity…”

  Alena nestled into his side, her mind spinning with dreams of the future. Their future.

  “You know what?” Zane gently nudged her to turn to face him.

  “What, babe?” she questioned, her curiosity piqued.

  “I have a crazy idea…”

  “Out with it, then.”

  “The way you were, with Amelia, and the way the girls were, Abi and Nora… it’s not so crazy. We can do it. We can make Misty Vale whole. I know we can,” he said with a calm conviction in his voice.

  “Of course we can. That’s what we are working toward, isn’t it?

  “Why not now? Let’s tell our families.”

  “Wait, what? Tell them what?”

  “About us. I don’t ever want to be apart again. I can’t stand it. I want to declare it to everyone… How can they stand against our love?”

  For a moment, Alena was just stunned by the thought of it, but as the shock of the idea wore off, the calm rightness of their connection took over, and her heart swelled to almost bursting.

  “You’re right, Zane,” she said, gazing into his eyes. “You’re sure?”

  “Absolutely, babe.”

  Wow.

  “I’m just so grateful to have you,” he said. “And I want everyone to know. It will all work itself out somehow.”

  “I agree, let’s do it.”

  “Tomorrow then,” he stated.

  “Tomorrow.”

  With that idea warming her heart, she nestled herself back into his arms and drifted off to sleep.

  CHAPTER 13

  The next morning, Zane slipped out of Alena’s bed in the early morning so he would have time to stop by his own home to shower and change before heading to the Livingstone offices. It was a big day, as he was finally going to come clean with his family and clan about her.

  She’s my mate.

  He had known it, but he’d fought it at some level. It was only this morning, waking up beside her, that he had finally felt it sink in.

  He realized he had been afraid to proclaim it, even with her. He was afraid it would only put her in danger. But now they were going to declare it. There was not fighting it, and no turning back.

  His dragon practically purred with satisfaction, still reveling in her, their mate’s scent lingering on his skin. He reached for his phone, eager to share his newfound resolve with Beth, who had proven an invaluable sounding board. After sharing every step of the way, it just felt like he needed to check in.

  She picked up on the second ring, her voice bright and chipper. “Morning, Romeo! How’s life in the land of forbidden romance?”

  Zane chuckled, pushing himself up to sit against the headboard. “Pretty damn good, actually. But maybe don’t call me that, okay? I don’t want to jinx it! I mean, you know the story, I assume. But yeah, I am good. So good, in fact, that I’ve decided to tell my family about Alena.”

  There was a beat of stunned silence before Beth spoke again, her tone a mix of surprise and concern. “Whoa, hold up. You’re going to tell your brothers, the uber-proud dragon shifters, that you’re shacking up with a bear?”

  “Yep,” Zane confirmed, popping the ‘p’ for emphasis. “I know it’s a risk, but I can’t keep living a lie. Alena’s my mate, Beth. My future. And my family is going to find out at some point. Why not now?”

  Beth let out a low whistle. “Damn, Zane. If you feel that’s the right thing, I guess I get it.”

  “I have to do this,” he insisted, his jaw set with determination. “It’s driving me crazy to be away from her. If my brothers can’t accept her in my life, then…”

  “Then what? You’ll just walk away from your clan? Your family?” Beth asked gently.

  Zane closed his eyes, his heart clenching at the thought. “I don’t know. I hope it doesn’t come to that. But I have to do what I must.”

  “Well, far be it from me to stand in the way of true love,” his friend said, a smile evident in her voice. “If you think this is the right move, then I’m behind you 100%. Just… be careful, okay?”

  “I will do my best, but I am tired of hiding our bond. I don’t even know if I can at this point. And I think I can get through to them.”

  “It’s obvious your mind is made up,” she laughed. “But good luck.”

  “Thanks, Beth.” An incoming call from Dash interrupted his train of thought. “Hey, speak of the devil. I’ll call you later, okay?” After a quick goodbye, Zane picked up his brother’s call. “Hey, Dash. I was just about to head over to the offices to talk to you and Striker about something—”

  “Not now, Zane,” Dash snapped, his voice tight with barely contained anger. “Sorry, tell me later or whatever, but right now, I need you to get downtown.”

  “What? Why?”

  “You know Brandon’s shop? Well, he’s freaking out and causing a scene, raving about how dragons vandalized his tools or something. I don’t know, but it seems he’s threatening to storm into our offices.”

  Zane’s brow furrowed, confusion and unease settling in his gut. “Vandalized? What the hell are you talking about?”

  Dash let out an exasperated sigh. “I’m not sure, but you better get over there and deal with it before things escalate. This is the last thing we need right now.”

  “Shit, all right. I’m on my way.” Zane hung up, his mind racing as he hurriedly threw on some clothes and headed out the door. All thoughts about his grand reveal were pushed aside as he turned his attention to standing with his clan.

  When he arrived at Brandon’s Mechanics, the tension in the air was palpable. The dragons who had alerted Dash stood outside squaring off against a group of bears, and it seemed more were arriving for both clans. Zane passed into the garage, where he saw Brandon pacing like a caged animal, his face twisted with fury. Archer Savage stood off to the side, arms crossed and brow knitted in consternation.

  “What the fuck, man?” Brandon snarled as soon as he caught sight of Zane. “You dragons have some nerve, breaking into my shop and trashing my tools with your goddamn fire!”