She swallowed hard.
"And you'll be mine. My mate."
Her pulse speeded up. "What does that mean exactly? Do you expect me to become a . . . a bear?"
"Only if you want to." He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "I'm not sure you can, since you're the Guardian. I can't predict the future, other than the fact that I will always love you and protect you and cherish you for as long as I live."
Her heart melted. "That's a fact?"
"Yes." His eyes glittered an intense blue. "And it won't change whether you choose left or right. I'll always love you."
She touched his face. Dear, sweet Howard. "Turn right."
Chapter Twenty-five
Howard was already growing hard with anticipation. He would jump her in the bedroom, in the kitchen, in the woods. And that was just today. Tomorrow - he realized he needed to make some calls before they drove out of range. Reception could be sketchy at the cabin. He normally took a sat phone there, but all he had now was his regular cell phone.
He called Jimmy. "You need to pick up Ian's car. It's on the main road."
"How did it get there?" Jimmy asked.
"Long story." Howard glanced at Elsa. He still couldn't believe that she'd endangered herself like that. He'd almost had a heart attack when he saw her standing on the road behind him, trying to chase the birds away. He'd leaped from the SUV to protect her, but the deer had reached her first.
She never ceased to amaze him. She'd fought for him. She'd healed the deer. And she'd chosen to be his mate. That had to be the end of the damned curse. They'd beaten it. And in another fifteen minutes, he would be stripping her naked.
He shifted his weight in the driver's seat. His pants were becoming uncomfortably tight. "I'm going to my cabin for a few days," he told Jimmy. "Let Ian and Shanna know. They won't mind. They wanted me to take some time off."
"Okay." Jimmy passed the news to his brother and they both snickered. "You're not alone, are you?"
He gritted his teeth. "Tell Alastair that Elsa is taking a few days off, too."
Her eyebrows lifted. "A few days?"
"Talk to you later." He hung up when his cousins started making strange barking noises. "Crazy kids." He dropped his phone on the console.
"I like them," Elsa said. "I gather they turn into bears like you?"
"Yes." His mind raced. Did he have any food at the cabin? Enough to get by, he hoped. He didn't want to stop to buy groceries now. In fourteen minutes, he'd be stripping Elsa naked.
Thank God he'd taken care of business that morning. He had e-mailed the rest of his incriminating evidence to the editor at Northern Lights Sound Bites. Mr. West had e-mailed back, claiming that the war on Rhett Bleddyn had begun. The first article on Rhett's embezzlement had been published in the morning edition. The mainstream media was predicting he would be arrested soon.
He's going down, Harry. You will be avenged.
Howard turned onto the gravel road that zigzagged up the mountains. Thirteen minutes to go.
"I sorta bumped into one of your cousins, and it made my birthmark burn," Elsa said. "I guess that happens with any berserker the first time I touch him."
"You don't have to worry about them," he assured her. "They're harmless."
"That's what I figured. They're really cute."
He tamped down on an urge to growl.
Her mouth twitched. "But no one is as handsome and sexy as you."
"Damned straight." His grip tightened on the steering wheel. Another twelve minutes. To hell with that. He stepped on the gas.
In eight minutes, he screeched to a halt behind the cabin. "Let's go." He jumped out and ran up the steps to the back door.
"It's very nice." Elsa approached slowly as she looked around. "Peaceful and rustic. Beautiful trees."
"This is the back." He unlocked the door. "The view is better from the front porch."
"Oh. I'd like to see it." She climbed up the steps to join him.
"Later." He lifted her in his arms and carried her inside.
She grinned. "You're treating me like a bride."
He kicked the door shut and strode through the kitchen area to the front of the cabin.
"Nice open floor plan. Can I have a tour?"
"Later." He turned into the bedroom and deposited her on the bed.
"Howard." She sat up. "You're forgetting. You need to shift to heal those wounds."
"Later." He kicked off his shoes.
"But your arms are bloody."
"Oh." She might consider that a turnoff. He pulled his polo shirt over his head and used it to wipe the blood.
She winced. "You're smearing it. Is there a bathroom where I can clean your wounds?"
"There's a shower." That would work. He grabbed her hand and led her into the adjoining bathroom.
"Very nice." She looked around as he pulled off his socks. "Lovely tile work." She removed a hand towel from the towel bar.
By the time she had it dampened in the sink, he'd dropped his pants and underwear.
She turned toward him with the wet towel. "Okay, let me see - " Her mouth fell open.
He took advantage of her surprise by unzipping her jeans and pushing them down, taking her panties with them. "Step out of them."
"Huh?" Her eyes were still focused on his erection.
He turned on the water in the shower to give it time to warm up. "We're going to shower, right?"
"I thought I was going to clean your wounds."
"You can. In the shower." He grabbed the wet towel and tossed it onto the counter. Then he pulled her T-shirt over her head and unhooked her bra. "Let's go."
He tested the water with his hand, then stepped into the tiled stall, leaving the door open for her. Quickly he rinsed the blood off his arms and forehead.
"Where do you keep the washcloths?" She peered in at him.
He pulled her inside and closed the door.
"Aagh." The spray hit her in the face.
He moved her against the tile wall, brushed her wet hair out of her face, and kissed her.
With a moan, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.
He devoured her mouth as his hands slid up and down her wet, slick body. He palmed a breast and squeezed.
"I want you," he whispered, nibbling on her lips. "I can't wait."
Her breaths panted against his mouth. "I noticed you were ready."
"How are you?" He slipped a hand between her legs and caressed the soft folds.
She shuddered.
He rubbed her clitoris as he nuzzled her ear. "I love it when you get juicy. I can smell it, and it drives me wild."
With a groan, she seeped moisture onto his fingers. "Howard."
He grasped her rump and lifted her. "Put your legs around me."
She did. "Will this work?" She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I've never done it like - ack!"
He drove deep inside her and froze. Holy crap, she was so tight and sweet.
She blinked, staring at him. "I guess it does work."
He adjusted his grip on her rear. "I don't think I'll last very long."
"Completely understandable. After all, it's" - she whimpered when he dragged himself out to the tip - "our first . . . agh!"
He plunged back in.
"Oh, Howard. You're so - " She gasped when he pushed into her again. "So - "
She gave up speaking altogether as he pumped harder and faster. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, and her heels pressed into his back. With each plunge, he ground her against him.
She tensed and her breath caught. He pulled her hard against him, and she cried out. Her body shuddered, her inner muscles spasmed, and with a shout, he thrust into her, releasing his seed.
Mine. He held her tight. The bear inside him purred like a kitten. My mate.
Elsa woke the next morning with the feel of Howard's big body pressed against her back and his fingers gently teasing her ni**les. She smiled to herself and closed her eyes. The man was insatiable.
After the shower, he'd taken her to bed, claiming he needed to thoroughly examine his mate. He'd pushed her onto her stomach, and then he'd counted her toes and tasted them. He'd nibbled the entire length of her legs, tickling the backs of her knees. He'd nuzzled her rear and licked a path up her spine. And he'd told her numerous times how beautiful she was.