Saving Briar

He’d gotten her down from the chair, his heart half in his throat because he’d been afraid she was going to fall. Off of a chair. In his kitchen. He wanted to scold himself, give himself some sort of a lecture and remind himself that she wasn’t made of glass. She was a shifter too and after all she’d gone through he needed to keep in mind that she was a good bit tougher than he was giving her credit for. But the Beast inside of him, the beast that was part of him, wasn’t having any of it.

He liked this little female, more than he liked just about anyone he’d ever met, and he wanted to keep her safe. Honestly, Torin thought that if the Beast had his way he’d have Briar in his den and would convince her to stay there all winter without setting foot outside.

It was a good thing that the human side of the shifter was always in control, or at least he had been for the better part of a decade. He hadn’t lost control since the fortnight after he’d lost his mate. There had been two weeks then, when he had let the beast consume his human side. And for a time he’d wondered if he would ever come back.

He wasn’t sure he wanted to.

If the bear hadn’t wanted him too, as so often wolves were prone to do, getting greedy and deciding they were better off on their own, he knew without a doubt that he wouldn’t have found his way back into his own mind. But the great oaf that was part of him, didn’t want to make a go of it on his own. His other half needed him every bit as much as he needed the Grizzly who had shared his loss.

And so it was especially interesting now to see the Bear acting so foolishly enthralled with this Wolfing. Not that he was any less interested in her, although he was certainly hiding it better, both from her and from himself. It was merely the Grizzly that had no tact.

He spent a brief moment giving silent thanks that the Beast was hidden so completely from sight, at least for the time being. He wouldn’t be making a fool of either of them.

Torin had her settled on the couch and wrapped her in several of his most toasty blankets so that the nest he’d planned on making her was almost a cocoon, when she brought up what Ted had said a second time. He knew that the conversation had to happen, but he’d almost hoped that they might avoid it. Maybe her asshole of a mate would fall off a cliff or repent and join a monastery. Torin wasn’t really certain which he preferred. Anything that freed the little Wolf before him of the man who clearly did not deserve her, would please him.

But she wasn’t going to let go of the conversation that they needed to have that easily and for that he was at least a little bit grateful. After all, they needed to talk about this sooner rather than later.

Except apparently that bastard mate of hers didn’t waste anytime and then he was cursing himself for the time that he’d wasted, not having broached the subject the moment he’d gotten off the phone as her back arched in pain, her head thrown back. She clenched her teeth, pushing down the edges of the blanket as she balled up the edges in her tiny fists.

“Again?” He asked, and when she nodded a string of profanity slipped from between his teeth. “Ted. The doctor. He said medicine doesn’t work. But if you had pleasure, if we-” his voice trailed off for a moment, but when she let out another whimper he forced himself to find the words- “If I make you feel sexual pleasure it should dull the pain. It might stop it altogether. He said it was the only thing that was said to work. No pain medications worked for what you’re going through.”

“Help me, please.” Her cheeks had turned a pretty pink and she barely managed to get the words out and then he felt her body tense as the agony ripped through her again, the color draining from her face as he began to peel back the layers of blankets he’d wrapped around her.

“You’re sure, Wolfling?”

“Yes. Please make this stop. Help me.” Her voice was hardly more than a pleading whimper at the end. It wasn’t a romantic request and he tried to keep that in mind as he pulled away the last blanket, his beast pushing to the front of his mind, suddenly very much there with him, as he pulled her hips to the edge of the couch, pushing up the white cotton t-shirt she was wearing and revealing the lower half of her body.

Glancing up he saw that she was watching him, her wide eyes urging him on. He struggled with himself for only a moment. He wanted her, the steel rod that was making his pants uncomfortably tight left no doubt of that in his mind. While he also very much wanted to take away her pain, he found himself momentarily frozen. But then she arched her back even harder, her fingers curled into fists as she tried not to make a sound, and he found himself leaning forward over her, pushing the shirt higher, up over her head and out of the way so that he could see her entire gorgeous form laid out in front of him.

He didn’t kiss her lips, although they were there, tempting him, but instead began at her jaw bone, kissing his way down her neck. Almost immediately he felt her body relax, even though only his lips had touched her. He worked his way lower, catching one of her nipples between his teeth and giving it a quick nip before he began to lathe it with his tongue, reaching over with his hand to play with the other nipple and then switching, noticing how quickly the sounds of pain she’d made had changed to little gasps of pleasure. Could it really be this easy?

Once he’d showered both nipples with more than enough attention, he kissed his way down to her navel before pausing and looking up at her. “How are you feeling Wolfling?”

“Better. Mostly better.” Her voice was breathless and if it was possible he grew even harder at the sound.

“Do you want me to stop or do you want me to make all the pain go away? It’s up to you.”

“Please don’t stop.” It was the answer he’d hoped for and he gave her a small smile and a little nod before he began to kiss his way lower, pushing her legs wide enough that his broad shoulders would fit between them.

“So fucking perfect.” He murmured as he settled himself before her, with her legs spread wide over his shoulders. He met her eyes, and kept his gaze locked on hers, loving the way her cheeks were colored with the most perfect blush, as his tongue began at the bottom of her slit, before working his way up. She gasped, her hands coming down to tangle in the short strands of his hair as her hips rose to meet his tongue, and it took all the control that he had not to laugh with pleasure at her reaction. Everything about this girl was so pure and beautiful and wonderful.

The man who had let her go was a fool.

He eased one finger inside, managing to slip it in, inch by inch as she let out small moans each time he moved deeper, not entirely surprised by how narrow she was. Her tight little cunt squeezed his finger so hard he wasn’t sure he’d be able to work a second finger inside, at least not this time, so instead he began to slip that one finger in and out as his tongue searched for and found the sweet little pearl of nerves that he was almost certain she had never have explored before this moment.

The gasp she gave, and the way her eyes widened in surprise, told him that that was a very real possibility. Curving his finger until he found the spot inside her that would make her feel just as amazing, his tongue began to work its magic around the spot on the outside, bringing her closer and closer to the brink. He could feel it as her core began to tight around his finger over and over again. And then she was coming, her back arched, her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer as she cried out in pleasure, as he lapped at the sweet tasting juices that flowed past his fingers, wetting his lips and beard until she lay still, spent and sated but most importantly not unconscious and in pain.

When she finally lay still he sat back on the heels of his boots, bringing his fingers to his mouth, almost unconsciously, to taste the last remnants of her juices on his fingertips. The beast inside of him wanted more of her and if he was entirely honest with himself, so did he. He was in desperate need of an ice cold shower and the help of his hand and space so that he could remember how dangerous getting close to members of the opposite sex could be, especially when they were as attractive as this little female was to both to him and to his beast.

But he couldn’t just leave her after what happened. She looked so beautiful, legs still spread wide, lips glistening, her eyes closed now, with the sweetest of content smiles. And best of all, she looked relaxed, for the first time since he’d met her.

He was almost convinced she was asleep, when she opened her eyes and smiled at him, a smile that he couldn’t help but return. But then the smile disappeared. And she screamed.