Cole's Salvation Read online

  “Fuck, Aubree. You can’t say things like that when I’m balls deep inside this perfect fucking pussy.”

  He looks into my eyes, and his once dark brown orbs are now golden in color. There’s a rawness to him I’ve never seen before, and the knowledge that I’m the one who has pushed him this far is beyond intoxicating. He laces his fingers through mine and pushes our hands above my head and thrusts into me deeper and faster while using his other hand to grip my hip. At this rate, he’s going to leave a bruise, and I can’t wait to see it marking my skin.

  “God love, tell me you’re close. Your little pussy is strangling my dick so good, and I’m seconds away from filling you up until you’re full of my cum.”

  “Yes, please don’t stop.”

  His dick hits me deeper than before, and I’m coming in seconds. He thrusts right through my orgasm and keeps going until I drag my nails down his back, making him shudder and come inside me. Growling, he bites down on me at the base of my neck. It’s not hard enough to draw blood, but the pleasure-pain is fuel to my soul, and I’m coming again, or maybe I never stopped.

  Eventually, Cole rolls over and pulls me to lay on his chest. Wrapped in his arms, I feel safe and completely at peace for the first time in my life. We lay there listening to our rapidly beating hearts slow to a normal rhythm for a while until I’m too tired to keep my eyes open. His finger traces my bite lightly, over and over. My last thought is of his bite and how I wished he would have bitten me harder, leaving a mark on me permanently.

  Seven

  Cole

  “So…?” Ruby asks, walking into my office Thursday morning. She sits down in the same chair she did a couple weeks ago, and it hits me how different my life is now after such a short amount of time.

  I quirk my eyebrow at her, knowing what she wants to ask me, but I’m drawing it out and making her squirm.

  “Cole, I already know she’s your mate. Just tell me already.”

  “If you know, then why do I have to say it.”

  She screams excitedly and jumps up from her seat, doing a cheer around my office. I laugh at my little sister and how goofy she is. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

  She claps her hands and then rushes me with a giant hug only she can give. “I’m just so happy for you. It’s even better that I love her already. You’ve got a mate and she just so happens to be my best friend.”

  “I’m happy you approve.”

  “Well, I am the one who set you two up. The longer I spent with her, the more I just knew Aubree was the one for you, I just needed to get you two in the same room together.” She says sitting back down with a satisfied smirk.

  “Speaking of being in the same room, I want to get the family together, so they can get to know Aubree. Gabe figured it out as soon as they met, but Slate is acting like an asshole.”

  “Slate is going to have his own trials to get through in the next few months. Give him time.”

  It never gets any easier hearing my sister talk about things that haven’t happened yet.

  “When are you going to tell her about our bears?”

  “I need a little more time with her. She may be human, but she’s still feeling the mating pull, even if she doesn’t understand it. The last thing I want is to scare her off when I just found her. Look what happened the last time I freaked out and went all alpha on her. Imagine what will happen when I say, ‘Hey babe, by the way, I have a bear living inside me.’”

  “You need to give her more credit than that. Yeah, she’ll probably freak out a little, but so would anyone. Don’t wait too long to tell her Cole, trust me, it won’t end well.” She says ominously.

  None of us ever talk about her ability to just know what she does, but we all know it’s there. If she says not to wait, then I need to figure out the best way to tell Aubree, and soon. “I won’t. So how about Saturday afternoon? I thought we could do a chili night and a game.”

  “Sounds good to me. I’ll tell the boys. They can’t tell me no.” She winks and walks out of my office.

  My phone buzzes in my pocket. I already know it’s my mate, telling me she’s done with work. I asked her, instead of told her like Ruby recommended, to call me and let me know when she was done with work. I can’t be with her all hours of the day, but I’ll do what I can to make sure she’s safe. “Hey baby, you done for the day?”

  “Kind of.” She says hesitantly.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well the shop is closed, and Gram has already left for the night.”

  “But…”

  “We had a special order come in this afternoon for tomorrow morning. I’m working on it, and when I’m done, I’ll get out of here.”

  “What time do you think you’ll be finished?” My bear and I both are growing agitated knowing our mate won’t be home and protected.

  “Just a couple of hours.”

  I recheck the clock, knowing I won’t be able to make it in time to pick her up since my siblings and I will be finishing a meeting with our financial advisor at the bank.

  “How about I meet you there when I’m done, and we can grab dinner, make a date out of it since I’ll be in town.”

  “Oh, I don’t want to put you out, Cole. I know your family has that meeting this evening. I’ll be fine, don’t worry about me, I’m a big girl.”

  “I’ll always worry about you, Aubree. You’re mine, and it’s my job to take care of you. I wouldn’t be worth a damn as a man if I didn’t check on you and make sure you were safe. Plus, I get to see you, it’s a win.”

  “If you don’t mind, I’d love to see you too.”

  “Then it’s a date. See you soon love.”

  ∞∞∞

  I ended up calling the meeting short because I couldn’t wait any longer to get to Aubree. I know she’s locked in the kitchen, but I still don’t like her being unprotected and alone. I’ve been uneasy about this whole thing since she told me she was staying late. I’m going to need to get a security system installed, tomorrow, because the not knowing is killing me.

  When I pull up into the back parking lot, I notice Aubree’s Jeep is sitting a little funny. Walking over to it, I circle around noticing she has two flat tires in the back. I come up short when I scent something that’s been haunting me for nearly a year. Why the hell would I smell that, here? After Sheriff Cusack released my father’s murder scene, we wasted no time in doing our own investigation. We never believed it was as simple as an accidental animal attack. What we weren’t expecting was to smell wolves, at least six of them. My father was a black bear shifter and an alpha at that. He’s built bigger than most, and there aren’t many things that could maim him the way he had been, but a pack of wolf shifters could have done it. Since then, I haven’t smelled them around here. When my siblings acknowledged me as their new alpha, my first order was for us to go on runs hunting for any trace of that scent.

  Pulling my phone out of my pocket I call my brother who was pissed when I cut the meeting short to go and see Aubree.

  “Yes?”

  “Cut the shit Slate. I just smelled them.”

  “Where?” He asks, suddenly very alert.

  “I only smelled one of them. They cut the tires on the back of Aubree’s Jeep. Grab Gabe and get out here. See if you can follow the trail anywhere. This is the first lead we’ve had, and I don’t want to lose it.”

  “On it Cole. What are you doing?”

  “I’m getting Aubree back to my place, where I know she’ll be safe. Give Ruby a call and tell her to stay inside. I don’t want her alone and vulnerable.”

  “Will do brother. Hey, be safe tonight.”

  “You too. Call me when you find out anything.”

  I hang up and pocket my phone. Knocking on the door, I hear her check the peephole before unlocking and opening it.

  Aubree jumps into my arms and peppers my face with kisses.

  “Someone sure is glad to see me.” I laugh.

  “I didn’t get to see you this
morning because Ruby stopped by instead. I missed you.”

  I walk us into the bakery and close the door, lock it behind me. “I missed you too baby. Come here, let me show you how much.” I growl and stalk her around the kitchen. Backing herself into a corner, she waits for me, her eyes dancing with desire.

  I lean in close and place a soft kiss on her waiting lips. Slowly, I kiss up to her ear. “What if we had dinner at my place instead?”

  “Please.” She moans.

  Eight

  Aubree

  “Cole, you outdid yourself. Dinner was amazing.”

  Cole has been quiet all night. I’ve tried talking to him about what’s wrong, but he won’t tell me, and it’s driving me crazy. “Earth to Cole, you in there?” I ask waving my hand in front of his face.

  Cole snatches my hand from in front of his face, and he pulls it to his mouth and places a kiss on the palm of my hand. “Sorry love, I’m a little bit distracted tonight.”

  “I’ll say. Maybe if you talk about it, you’ll be able to work through whatever you can’t figure out.” I try hoping he lets me in.

  He makes a groaning noise but says nothing.

  “Cole you said I was yours. You’ve been telling me all week how I’m the only woman for you. If you expect me to believe you, to trust what you’ve been telling me, then I need you to let me in.”

  “I can’t.” He stands and grabs our dishes then walks into the kitchen.

  I don’t give up that easily. “Why not? Why can’t you tell your girlfriend what is going on with you? Or is it that I’m good enough to fuck, but not good enough to confide in?”

  He laughs humorlessly. “You’re more than my girlfriend Aubree, you’re my mate.”

  “Then prove it.” I grind out between my teeth and slap my hand down on the counter, so he’ll look at me.

  “Fine!” Grabbing my hand, he walks us through the house and grabs my coat on the way. “Put this on.” He orders handing it to me, then walks out of the front door.

  When my coat is on, and I get outside, Cole is standing in the yard undressing in the moonlight. “What the hell are you doing?”

  “You want me to let you in? Fine, but I swear to all that is holy if you run, I will drag your ass back here.”

  I nod, staring at his crazy ass. There isn’t anything that would drive me away from him.

  “Promise you’ll stay?” He asks, this time vulnerability lacing his words.

  My heart clenches seeing him like this. I’d do anything for this man. “I promise.”

  I watch in confusion as he loses the rest of his clothes. He stands there for a few seconds before the air around him becomes a little hazy. His body begins changing right in front of my eyes until he’s no longer a man, but an enormous black bear. Of all the things I thought he might tell me, this was nowhere on my radar. While I’m speechless, and yes, a little bit unsure, I know, he would never hurt me. Cole is in there, inside that bear who is staring directly at me.

  The bear ambles in my direction until he’s standing a foot in front of me. He lowers his head so its inches from my fingers, but I stand stock still unsure of what to do. He chuffs, making me laugh. This bear is as impatient as Cole is. I run my hand up over his nose and over his head. I’ve never touched a bear before, never thought I would, but his fur is softer than I’d imagined it’d be. Stepping closer to him, I begin scratching behind his ear when all of a sudden the bear morphs back into Cole.

  I look up into his dark eyes, and I can tell he’s worried about my reaction.

  “I guess there’s more to this mate thing, huh?”

  He grins and snags me around the waist, pulling me against his naked body. “Yeah love, there’s a lot more.”

  “Obviously the cold isn't affecting you any,” I say looking down at his very erect cock, “But I’m freezing. So let’s talk inside.” I place a kiss in between his pecs and walk back into the house to wait for him.

  A minute later Cole is following me inside, dressed in his jeans and carrying the rest of his clothes. He stokes the fire and adds another log before sitting beside me on the couch.

  “I feel as though you gave me the very watered-down version of what I mean to you. Why not give me the whole thing this time around?”

  “You’re surprisingly calm for a human.” He says quirking his eyebrow at me.

  “Got to admit Cole, that sounds crazy weird, you calling me a human. And what do I call you, manbear? Werebear?”

  A smile twitches at his lips, and he grabs my hand in his. “My family are black bear shifters, which means black bears are living inside us. I can shift at will, but I pay attention to what he needs. Being that it’s almost winter, he’s in hibernation mode, and I only need to shift once or twice a month. During the summer I may shift several times a week. Most of the time I am just me, sharing my soul and body with a black bear. The best way I can describe it is like he’s my other half.”

  “Do you have any powers? That’s dumb, sorry. It’s just that I’ve read books about shifters, so I’m not really sure what’s accurate here.”

  He laughs and squeezes my hand. “Because shifters are a secret from most humans, we don’t go to the doctor. If we did, they’d figure us out. We don’t normally need to go though because we have special healing abilities and we don’t usually get sick. If something does happen to us, it takes only a fraction of the time for us to heal.”

  “Were your parents bear shifters?”

  He nods solemnly. “We can heal from a lot of things, except a fatal wound. When my Mom had the twins, she lost too much blood for her shifter blood to be able to heal her.”

  “I’m sorry you had to lose her Cole at such a young age.”

  “It was worse for my Dad. He had to live without his mate, which is so unbearable most mated bears die within days or weeks of each other, like my grandparents. Bear shifters usually mate with other bear shifters. It’s rare to find your mate in a human, but like us, it does happen.”

  “Is that a bad thing?” I wonder aloud.

  “No, the bond is just as intense for everyone.”

  “Are we mated then?”

  “Not exactly. We need to give each other our claiming marks.”

  “How do we do that?”

  “I’ll bite down on your neck, right here. I’ll have to bite hard enough to draw blood.” He says, rubbing a finger over the spot he bit me the first time we made love.

  “Then you’ll bite down on mine. Once we’ve exchanged blood, we’ll be completely mated.”

  “What will happen after that?”

  “We’ll be tied to one another for eternity. Our souls will be linked, and other shifters that encounter us will know we are mated.”

  “Oh, you’ll love that.” I laugh, and he rolls his eyes and then tickles me. “Wait, is this why I’ve had this crazy urge to bite you every time we’re fooling around?”

  He grins smugly. “That’s the mating bond. Your body knows that you’re mine. She’s just waiting and pushing you to be ready.”

  “What if I told you I was ready now?”

  “Once I bite you, you’ll become a shifter too. You’ll change into a bear just like the rest of my family.”

  “What about Gram?”

  “You’ll still be able to see her, you’ll just have a bear living inside you.”

  “Will I be able to control it? Will I change, be a different person?” I’m freaking out. “What if I don’t want to be a bear?”

  Cole looks hurt that I would even suggest it. “Then you don’t have to be. You’ll still be my mate…”

  “But we won’t be mated, as shifters are?”

  “No love, we won’t.”

  I pull away and begin pacing in front of the fire. This is a big decision, one that will take me forever to make. It’s not like I’m deciding what tattoo to get, I’m changing who I am to the core. What if I chose not to complete our mating? I can only imagine what that would do to us, living together, but never fully mated.
I’ve been dying for his bite for days now, there’s no way I’ll be able to deny it now that I know why.

  Reaching down, I grab the hem of my t-shirt and pull it over my head then drop it to the floor. I unclasp my bra, and that goes too. When I go to pull my leggings down, Cole is kneeling behind me, holding my hips tightly.

  Nine

  Cole

  I don’t know what possessed me to show her my bear tonight. Maybe it was Ruby’s warning, or perhaps it was the threat that I have yet to tell her about. One thing is for sure, once she has a bear living inside her, she won’t be as vulnerable to an attack.

  She paces in front of the fire silently for a while and then stops. I’m shocked when her t-shirt hits the floor, but when her bra goes, I’m up and moving toward her. This woman has no idea what she does to me. Over the last week, we have spent hours together every night, learning everything there is to know about one another. Now that she finally knows all of me, who I really am, I can show her in more ways than one.

  “Bend over and put that sweet ass in my face.” She hesitates, so I spank her hard on the globes of her ass. I love her little gasp of surprise and the way her ass jiggles when I slap it. I wait until she bends over like the good girl she is before I grab her cheeks in my hands and squeeze them together. “Fuck Aubree, I love this ass. One day you’re going to let me claim you here too, aren’t you baby?”

  She moans, telling me how bad she wants me there. Grabbing her leggings in my hands, I tear the fabric down the middle, so I can get a better look at her ass. I slap her ass three more times. “Where the hell are your panties?” I ask after the third one.

  Her pussy is glistening with her arousal, and I’m dying to lick her clean. I watch as a drop of her dew drips down her pussy lips and down her leg. I spank her again when she doesn’t answer.