Bear Bait (Hero Mine Book 1) Read online

  Octavia looked up at the moon, as it rose higher in the sky, its eerie rays shining on the close-cropped grass on which they stood. “I’m not sure I like this idea,” she said.

  “I do,” Cade murmured in her ear, or at least he must have thought it was her ear, but his breath caressed her nose instead.

  She giggled despite her reservations. “It will be interesting, for sure.”

  “Good.” Lucas clapped his hands. “We are going to retire to a nice little pub I know.”

  “Are we?” Helena asked.

  “I’m sure there is a children’s room for Tally,” Lucas said.

  “I’m seventeen, and look older,” Tally insisted as they walked away.

  “Have fun, you two,” Eva said. “Wherever you are.” She waved her hands around.

  “Right here, Mom,” Cade said, touching her arm.

  “Make lots of lovely babies. I’d love a grandchild or five.”

  “One at a time,” Cade said.

  Eva walked away, running to join the others, as Lucas waved his hands, and the three women turned into rabbits.

  “I swear that man has a bunny fetish,” Cade said.

  “Let’s not think of him now,” Octavia said, and felt for Cade’s other hand, holding it in hers. She figured she was facing him, and stood on tiptoes to kiss his lips, hitting his chin on the first try.

  “Come on. Let’s go make the most of this gift Lucas has given us,” Cade said, and led her to the altar stone, which lay on the ground, broken into two pieces.

  “Here?” Octavia asked.

  “Yes. Here.” He lifted her to sit on it, the stone cold and hard beneath her. “This is going to be easier if we undress ourselves.”

  “I agree.” Octavia looked around. “We are sure no one can see us?”

  “Positive.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. Somehow, he was right on target, unless he was aiming for her lips. “I want to make a child with you, Octavia. A family.”

  She wanted that too, with all her heart. “Trust in fate.”

  “Trust in fate,” Cade said. She heard him remove his belt, and then the sound of his zipper undoing, and decided to play along.

  One piece of clothing at a time dropped to the ground. The spell must only cover their clothes while they were being worn, because as soon as they were discarded, they became visible. Octavia hoped no security guards would be walking around, and see them, and decide to investigate.

  “I am naked,” Cade said triumphantly.

  She giggled. “I would love to see you.”

  “I would settle for you touching.” He moved closer, until she could feel his body heat close to her skin.

  Octavia reached out, and touched his chest, feeling the sprinkling of hair that led down his abdomen. She followed the trail, her hand encountering his cock. “I found something.”

  His breath hissed through his teeth. “You sure did.”

  She moved her hand up and down, while Cade stroked her skin, starting at her shoulder, feeling his way along her collar bone, before sliding his fingers across her skin to her breasts. He pressed his weight forward, and she lay down beneath him, her back against the hard stone. Cade used his hand to guide her breast toward his mouth, his lips closing over her taut nipple and sucking it in. It was Octavia’s turn to gasp, and writhe beneath him.

  She didn’t need to see him to fully experience the sensations he evoked in her body. Easing her thighs apart, he nestled his body between them, and leaned forward, as she guided the head of his cock toward her heated sex.

  Cade thrust forward, and she gasped as he filled her, in one fluid motion. He pulled back, and then thrust forward once more, stretching her aching sex. She was so wet, aching for him to make love to her, here under the ancient stones, with the moon shining her magic down upon them.

  Octavia’s invisible lover lunged in and out of her, filling her to the hilt. Her arousal grew as he touched her body, never knowing where his lips might kiss, or his fingers might stroke. In return, Octavia touched Cade, soft sensual touches, feeling, exploring, every part of him. With her eyes blind to him, she let her other senses learn to recognize his reactions.

  Tweaking his nipples made him jerk forward, stroking his arms made him shiver, and kissing his lips made him groan. She read his needs by the sound of his breath, the excitement of an inhale, the easing of tension on an exhale.

  His thrusts became harder, faster, and his body tensed. He was going to come, and she wanted to join him in a climax, here in this magical place. She adjusted her body, until he brushed her clit with each thrust. Higher and higher she climbed, up into the clouds above their heads, until finally she reached the stars and the world shattered into pieces,

  She came, arching her back, offering herself to him on this ancient altar, and he filled her with his seed, worshiping her body with his. Their bodies were bound together as one in this sacred place, just as the mating bond bound their souls.

  Her voice rang out, bouncing off the stones, filling the circle with her ecstasy as wave after wave of pleasure hit her. Until her orgasm waned, and she clung to Cade, listening to the sound of his heart, beating for her, just as her heart beat for him. Now and forever.

  He chuckled. “I wonder if someone thinks the place haunted.”

  Octavia sat up, and looked around. “There’s no one here.” She sounded relieved.

  “Only us, and the ghosts of the past.”

  Octavia shivered. “I can feel the power, it resonates through the stones.” She placed her hand flat on the altar stone.

  “That is because we gave a sacrifice,” Cade said.

  She frowned. “What kind of sacrifice?”

  “A part of us. A part of our love. It will always be here, our energy, added to the magic of the stones.”

  “Aren’t you an old romantic?” she said, reaching for her clothes.

  He did the same, a weird thing to witness; as he picked up one item of clothing after another, they disappeared. “You bring out the romantic in me, the protector in me, and the man in me.”

  “And you bring out the woman in me,” she said. “The incredibly happy woman.”

  “That is enough for me,” Cade said. “Your happiness, and your safety, are what I crave.”

  “Do you think we will ever find out what Matthew knows?” Octavia asked. After the attack, it had taken her a few nights to feel safe again in the enclave.

  “I don’t know,” Cade said, and his thigh brushed against hers as he sat down on the large stone. “But whether he does or not, we just have to continue with our lives. Zinan will protect Tally and her family. While we work, we hunt, we make love.”

  “In that order?” she asked, pushing into him with her body.

  “Maybe making love should come first.”

  She sighed, and looked up at the moon, which was high in the sky, so far out of reach. Just as she thought love was out of reach before she went to the fortuneteller. The chain of events that decision had set in place might have been difficult, scary, and downright life-changing, but she wouldn’t alter a thing.

  “I love you, Cade. And I always will.”

  “I love you too, Octavia. Forever. And ever, and then some more.”

  They sat on the altar stone, in a place of ancient magic, and Octavia could believe his words. They were bound, through time and space. And no one could tear them apart. Ever.

  ***

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  SUGGESTED READING ORDER

  Bear Creek Clan and Bear Bluff Clan

  Complete Box Set

  Or available individually

  suggested reading order

  (each can be read as a standalone

  but why not start at the beginning and get to know all of the characters?)

  Rescued by the Bear (Bear Creek Clan Book One)

  Finding Her Bear (Bear Creek Clan Book Two)

  Tamed by the Bear (Bear Creek Clan Book Three)

  Snowbound With The Bear (Bear Creek Clan Book Four)

  Biker Bear Billionaire (Bear Creek Clan Book Five)

  Bound To Her Bear (Bear Bluff Clan Book One)

  Doctor Bear (Bear Bluff Clan Book Two)

  Stranded With Her Bear (Bear Bluff Book Three)

  A Bride for the Bear (Bear Creek Clan Book Six)

  Home Or Her Bear (Bear Bluff Book Four)

  Fated To Her Bear (Bear Bluff Book Five)

  Lonely Bear (Bear Bluff Book Six)

  Wolf Valley Raiders

  Complete Box Set Now Out Now!

  Or available individually

  suggested reading order

  Redeem the Wolf

  To Catch A Wolf

  Reclaim the Wolf

  Awakening the Alpha

  Biker Bears

  Forbidden Bear

  Secret Bear

  Christmas Bear Brothers

  Complete Box Set Now Available

  Santa Paws

  Christmas Catastrophe

  Bear Humbug

  Fated and Mated

  Love at First Site

  Her Scars To Bear

  Her Choice To Bear

  Her Russian Bear

  Who’s the Daddy?

  One Bear and a Baby

  Her Bear and a Baby

  Second Chance Bear and a Baby

  Baby Protector Bear

  Return to Bear Bluff

  The Bear is Back in Town

  His Bear’s Necessity

  Black Bear Down

  Who Bears Wins

  When Bears Collide

  Wish Upon A Bear

  Christmas Bears

  Sleighed

  Claused

  Wrapped

  Cowboy Brother Bears

  Cowboy Bear Blues

  Cowboy Bear’s Mate

  Cowboy Bear’s Fate

  ***

  Other Books Set in Different Worlds

  Shifters Prime Sleeping Lions

  Complete Box Set Now Available

  Living a Lion

  Freeing a Lion

  Fighting a Lion

  Chosen by the Karal

  Complete Box Set

  Or available individually

  Deceit

  Love

  Power

  Hunger

  Devotion

  Warriors of Karal

  Stranded

  Found

  Taken

  Hunted

  Allies

  Sci-Fi Romance

  The Princess and her Alien Rogue

  The Princess and her Bounty Hunter

  Her Dragon's Bane Serial

  Soul Of The Dragon

  Blood Of The Dragon

  Heart Of The Dragon

  Love Of The Dragon

  Fate Of The Minotaur

  Mate Of The Dragon

  Bound To The Flame - A Virgin For The Dragon

  When the dragon egg hatches for Trinity she becomes the Dragon Princess and must remain pure until the dragon comes back to claim her as his mate on her twenty first birthday.

  An Heir For The Flame (Dragon Fantasy Romance)

  The elder dragons have predicted that Trinity will conceive the new dragon child tonight. So she mates with ShanRohit under the full moon.

  Waiting For Curves (Curves For Her Wolf) (BBW Erotic Romance)

  Curves For Her Wolf Doctor (The Greystone Wolves - BBW Paranormal Erotic Romance)

  Mistaken Curves (Her First Time With A Wolf) (BBW Erotic Romance)

  Sold To The Wolf (Auctioned Curves For The Werewolf) (BBW Erotic Romance)

  Curves For The Lone Wolf (BBW Erotic Romance)

  An Auction Of Curves (BBW Erotic Romance)

  Anna (Curves in the Family (BBW Erotic Romance))

  Heated Curves (Curves For Her Firefighter) (BBW Erotic Romance)

  Words Unwritten (Curves For Her Soldier) (BBW Erotic Romance)

  Christmas Curves (BBW Erotic Romance)

  Winning Her Curves (previously titled Virgin Curves)

  Returning For His First Love

  For The Love Of The Wolf (Erotic Romance Fairy Tales)

  Marianne : Unmarked (His) (Paranormal Shifter Romance)

  Bred By The Unicorn (Virgin Paranormal Erotic Romance)

  The Escort Box Set

  ***

  The Escort Series

  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)

  Helen’s story:

  His Secretary (Her Second Chance Book One)

  His Secretary (Her Second Chance Book Two)

  His Secretary (Her Second Chance Book Three)

  Captured By The

  Hannoth Barbarians

  Captured By The Barbarian: Cilla Part One

  Claimed By The Barbarians: Cilla Part Two

  Taken By The Barbarians: Dinah

  Tilda - Captured By The Hannoth Barbarians

  Thandor - Captured By The Hannoth Barbarians

  Princess Yolanda - Captured By The Hannoth Barbarians

  Bound By The Barbarian: Tirim

  Bound To The Barbarian: Tirim Part 2 (Reluctant Gay Sex)

  Captured By The Barbarians: Scarla

  Tamed By The Barbarian: Shona Part One

  Hunted By The Barbarian: Shona Part 2

  Teaching The Barbarian: Petra

  ***

  Saved By The Pack

  Alice

  Sarah

  The Dualis

  (Mate of the Cave Bear)

  Found (Book One)

  Lost (Book Two)

  Return (Book Three)

  Shifters Of Spellholm - The Bears

  Her First Time With A Bear (Book 1)

  Too Much To Bear (Book 2)

  Bear With Me (Book 3)

  ***

  Curves

  ***

  Curves For Her Bears (BBW Shifter Erotic Romance)

  Saving You, Saving Me (Bad Boys Love Big Girls (BBW Erotic Romance))

  Rachel (Curves in the Family Part One (BBW Erotic Romance))

  Snowbound Curves (Curves For Her Brother's Best Friend BBW Erotic Romance)

  BBW - Curves For Her Soldier

  Longing For Her Soldier (Curves For Her Brother's Best Friend BBW Erotic Romance)

  Return To Sender (Curves For Her Soldier) (BBW Erotic Romance)

  BBW - Greystone Wolves

  A Virgin For The Wolf (Curves For Her Werewolf Boss) (BBW Erotic Romance)

  ***

  Curves For Her Cowboy (BBW Billionaire Cowboy Erotic Romance)

  Betrayed Curves

  ***

  A Virgin For The Billionaire