The Bear Essentials (Siren Publishing: The Stormy Glenn ManLove Collection) Read online

  Casey whimpered, swamped in need.

  “We’ll only get one first time, Casey,” Rob murmured in his ear. “And I want it to be special. Not some hurried fumbling in my parent’s living room.”

  Casey gasped. “You’re a romantic.”

  “Don’t tell anyone.” Rob winked. “It will ruin my bad boy reputation.”

  Casey quickly slapped a hand over his mouth when another giggle escaped. He really needed to stop doing that. He’d have to hand in his man card for sure.

  His eyes rounded when Rob grinned. “I love that sound.”

  Casey managed a tremulous smile. “It’s not too girly?”

  Rob’s hand moved over the side of his face, caressing his skin. “It’s the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard, cub. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise.”

  In spite of himself, Casey giggled again. This time he didn’t try to stifle it. He allowed the sound freedom. When Rob’s grin grew and the big man wrapped him up in his arms, Casey knew he had made the right decision.

  Rob pressed another quick kiss to Casey’s lips before stepping back to sit on the couch to pull his boots on. “Hand me my shirt, cub. We need to get down to the river if we want to enjoy some of this sunshine.”

  Casey reached down and picked up Rob’s shirt off the floor, holding it in his hands as he watched the man finish putting his boots on. He sucked in his bottom lip and chewed on the corner. “Are you sure you want me to go down to the river with you? I could just meet you somewhere tomorrow or something.”

  Casey wasn’t sure how he felt about meeting all of Rob’s friends. He’d had one or two friends over the years but they had usually moved on, sometimes moving out of town or just getting new friends.

  The only one constant in his life had been his Aunt Viv, and she wasn’t even really his aunt. She had been a foster mother that hadn’t been able to keep him after she fell and broke her hip. Someone, somewhere, had decided that she was too old to care for him.

  “If I have anything to say about it, cub, and I do, you won’t be leaving my side again for a very long time.”

  Casey blinked up at Rob. “But my job,” he said. “If I miss a single day, they’ll fire me, and I need my job.”

  Rob’s eyebrows raised a fraction. “Aren’t you in school?”

  “I was, but today was my last day.”

  “How can you go to school and work at the same time?”

  Casey shrugged. “I need the money. The state won’t give me a check when I have to leave my foster home in three months. They just sign some paper stating I’m done with foster care and let me go. If I want a roof over my head when my foster parents kick me out, I have to work.”

  Rob’s low growl rumbled through the room. “Not anymore. I’ll provide whatever you need, Casey.”

  Casey’s jaw dropped. “You can’t be serious?”

  “I am very serious. We’re mates and mates take care of each other.”

  “If what you’re saying is true then we take care of each other and that means I still have to work. Money doesn’t fall from trees, Rob.” Casey swallowed hard when Rob’s jaw firmed. “I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I’ll do—”

  “Baby, don’t.”

  Casey pressed his lips together as he dropped his eyes submissively. He really needed his job but he needed his head attached to his shoulders even more.

  Rob sighed. “Casey, look at me.”

  Casey slowly raised his eyes.

  “Casey, I’m not going to hurt you. I realize that it’s going to take time for you to believe me, and I’ll spend as much time as you need. I have a lot of patience.” Rob’s callused hand curved around the side of Casey’s face. “I don’t want you to ever be afraid to stand up to me either. If you have an opinion about something, tell me.”

  Casey gulped and then said, “I don’t want to quit my job.”

  “Can you tell me why?” Rob asked.

  “It’s a good job,” Casey replied, a little astonished that Rob was willing to listen to him. The man wasn’t trying to strong arm him at all. “I’ve had it since I was sixteen and I’m really good at it.”

  Rob’s head tilted just a fraction, a frown pulling his eyebrows together. “Where do you work?”

  “Partly Sunny Bakery.”

  “The one down on Fifth Street?”

  Casey nodded.

  Rob groaned. “Oh man, they have the most delicious honey buns.”

  Casey felt pride puff out his chest. “Those were my creation.”

  “You created honey buns?”

  Casey nodded. He started to smile when Rob licked his lips and his breath caught, mesmerized by the simple gesture. “I can make you some if you want.”

  “I want. I want.”

  Casey laughed as happiness welled up inside of him. “I guess what they say is true. The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

  “There are a lot of ways to this bear’s heart.” Rob leaned in to whisper in Casey’s ear. “And I’ll show you every damn one of them just as soon as we’re alone.”

  Casey shuddered as a wave of need swept through him that almost took him to his knees. He dropped Rob’s shirt to the floor and then flattened his hands on Rob’s chest, sliding his fingers through the fine layer of hair that covered his tanned skin.

  And then he leaned in and breathed.

  “You smell so good,” he murmured as he dragged his nose through the thick chest hair. The strong masculine scent made him want to rub himself all over Rob, from head to toe…and then maybe back up again.

  “All yours, cub.”

  “How?” Casey knew he should accept the good luck that had seemed to drop in his lap, but he just couldn’t, not without some answers. Stuff like this didn’t happen, not to him.

  “We believe that our Earth Mother is the giver of all life. When we were created, our soul was divided into two parts. One, we kept. The other was given to our true mate. Only when we find our true mate and claim them as ours will our souls become one again.”

  “Oh,” Casey whispered. He didn’t know what made him glance down at his chest, but he did. It wasn’t like he could see his soul or anything. He wasn’t even sure they were anything more than a mythological ideal. “So, we only have half a soul then?”

  “No, cub. We have a whole soul. I have half of yours and half of mine, just as you have half of yours and half of mine. When we mate, our souls settle back into the right body and we become whole.”

  Casey raised his eyebrow, curious. “Does that mean we would no longer have a connection then?”

  “Not at all. We believe that once a soul has been returned, it retains the essence of the one who carried it up until that point. It actually makes the connection between true mates unbreakable.”

  “Un—” Casey swallowed hard. “Unbreakable?”

  Rob’s smile was soft, but the suspicious sheen in his gray eyes spoke louder than words. “It’s forever, cub.”

  When Rob leaned down to brush their lips together, Casey eagerly leaned into the kiss. As much as he wanted to take the kiss deeper, he knew from the gentleness he could feel in the way Rob held him that this wasn’t about passion. It was about connecting.

  Casey tried to remember that Rob believed their meeting was a cause for great celebration. As much as he wanted to believe that as well, he wasn’t a bear. There was no mythological connection for him…even if he did feel something for Rob he had never felt for another living person—longing.

  “Rob, I don’t know if any of this is real,” Casey whispered when the man finally lifted his lips. “I’m not a bear.”

  There was a flash of sadness in Rob’s eyes, but then he blinked and it was gone. “It’s real, Casey.” Rob’s smile was bittersweet as he brushed the hair back from Casey’s face, tucking it behind his ear. “How about I believe for both of us until you can, hmm?”

  “You’d do that?”

  Rob’s smile this time was real and happy. “I told you, cub. I’ll do a
nything for you.”

  Chapter Five

  “Will you kiss me again?” The words were whispered with a quiet desperation almost as if Casey thought Rob would reject him.

  Nothing could be farther from the truth.

  Rob smiled as he nuzzled at the younger man before tenderly stroking sweat-damp hair from the angelic face. “There is nothing in this world that I wouldn’t do for you, cub. Nothing.”

  Rob fisted a handful of Casey’s hair and pulled gently until the man’s head was tilted back and then he lowered his head, pressing their mouths together in a gentle kiss.

  There was a quality to kissing Casey that was unparalleled to anyone Rob had kissed in the past. Casey didn’t just press his lips to someone’s and move them around a little bit. He leaned into the kiss and put his entire body into it.

  As his tongue explored at its leisure, Rob gently stroked the lissome body pressed against him. Needing just a little bit more, Rob slid his tongue inside the warm heat of Casey’s mouth, tasting him, devouring what the man had to offer.

  As he pulled back, he nipped Casey’s bottom lip with his teeth.

  “I ache, Rob.” As if to emphasize his words, Casey rocked back and forth and rubbed himself against Rob, leaving no doubt as to what he meant. Casey’s cock was like a steel rod in his pants.

  Rob swallowed hard as the lust igniting in his gut burned away his ability to breathe. He glanced toward the kitchen where he could hear his parents talking in low voices. He knew he would get his head handed to him if he took Casey upstairs and claimed him as he really wanted to do. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t take the edge off until he could find a more suitable place.

  He lifted Casey up in his arms and carried him out of the living room and down the hallway to the guest bathroom. He stepped inside and set Casey down on the bathroom counter before turning back and locking the door.

  Once he turned back to Casey, he leaned in for another kiss. Their lips met again, but this time it wasn’t the slow tender and gentle thing it had been before. This time it was out of control, maddeningly frantic, needy. Blood pounded in his brain, leapt from his heart, and made his knees tremble.

  Casey’s skin was flushed, his beautiful face transformed by the heat of the desire burning between them. Rob hadn’t thought Casey could get any better-looking, but staring down at the man, he knew he had been wrong. His mate was breathtaking.

  He was one lucky bear.

  Rob leaned forward, inhaling Casey’s scent from collarbone to ear, taking in the scent of cinnamon and apples. The sweet fragrance rushed back into Rob in a wave of intoxication. Smelling Casey was hardening his cock. Rob loved the smell of the man, was addicted to his delicious flavor.

  There was a pull that was almost maddening in his mind. Rob wanted to sink deep into the man’s soul and never come out. It was a need so strong that Rob let it wash over him and carry him under.

  He glanced down at his mate, staring as he snaked his hand into Casey’s jeans and massaged the heated flesh tenting up his pants. It was hard, but felt like liquid silk under his fingers with the pre-cum leaking over Rob’s fingers.

  Lifting his hand to his mouth, Rob sucked his fingers in, the tangy flavor rolling over his taste buds like nectar to a bee. He groaned, licking each finger clean before he pulled at the waistband of Casey’s pants, chasing the material down Casey’s body until he could toss the fabric aside.

  Casey lay there on the counter, stunningly naked, exposed to Rob’s appreciative eyes. He drank the man in as he pushed Casey’s thighs apart.

  He found himself wanting to rub his scent all over Casey again. The urge was strong, compelling him to lean forward until his stomach was touching Casey’s erection. He rubbed his body over Casey’s length, feeling the pre-cum trailing over his skin.

  “Rob?” Casey asked.

  Rob grinned as he dropped down until his head was even with Casey’s weeping cock. He licked a path down Casey’s abdomen to his cock. He nuzzled in the wiry curls before licking his way up the fully hard shaft and sucking at the engorged head to savor Casey’s pre-cum.

  Casey groaned out his pleasure as Rob swallowed the erection to the root. Using his tongue, Rob laved the tender depression beneath the swollen crown and then tongue-fucked the tiny slit, licking away the salty taste of Casey’s desires.

  “Please,” Casey hissed as he gripped the edge of the countertop until his knuckles turned white.

  Rob placed Casey’s feet on his shoulders and then pushed his knees apart. He wished he had a camera to take a picture of what was most definitely the most erotic sight he had ever seen. His jeans became tight, quickly growing uncomfortable.

  Rob splayed his fingers over Casey’s nicely rounded ass cheeks and pulled them apart before abandoning the man’s cock and lowering his head to lick at his tight puckered hole. The high keening cry that came from his mate made Rob’s bear rumble. The desire to take Casey and claim him was riding him hard and it was all Rob could do to keep his bear at bay.

  He concentrated on pleasing his mate, which seemed to satisfy his bear. Making sure he left plenty of spittle behind, Rob swallowed the man’s cock again. At the same time, he pushed his finger into Casey’s ass, curving his finger up to reach that special spot.

  Casey bucked, driving his cock deep. Rob sucked harder. He wanted, needed, his lover’s seed in his mouth. When Casey cried out and filled Rob’s mouth with his release, Rob swallowed greedily, savoring the salty taste of his lover’s cream.

  Rob fumbled with the buttons on his jeans, frantic. His balls burned, and at this intensity, Rob knew he wasn’t going to last long. He jumped to his feet and shoved his jeans down his thighs. Grabbing his aching shaft, Rob began pumping his hand at a frantic rate.

  “Rob.”

  Rob’s eyes snapped up to Casey. He felt his balls draw up tight to his body when the man ran his hands up his stomach and chest as if to bring Rob’s attention to his beautiful skin. “Come on me. I want to smell like you.”

  His mate’s simple request was all it took for Rob to find his release. Rob came with an incoherent, hoarse shout. He spurted hot jets of cum all over Casey’s naked skin, marking him in a way that every bear would understand.

  His body languid, Rob collapsed down on top of Casey, holding himself off the man by his arms. He planted little kisses against Casey’s neck as he waited for his heartbeat to return to normal. He didn’t want to move but he knew he needed to.

  “Come on, cub,” Rob said as he shook Casey’s shoulder. “We need to get dressed and get on the road.”

  Casey groaned. “Can’t we just stay here?”

  “Sorry, cub,” Rob said. “The guys are waiting for us.”

  Casey groaned again as he reached for his clothes. “I don’t wanna.”

  “Please?”

  Casey’s shoulders slumped, a slight flush filling his cheeks. “I don’t know any of these people, Rob. What if…what if they don’t like me?”

  “Cub, I would never take you to meet anyone that I didn’t feel was safe. These are my best friends. Not only do I think they will like you, but they will be ecstatic that I found my true mate.”

  True mates were so very rare in the shifter world. The stronger the bond between true mates, the stronger the bear. For Rob to have found his so early in his life foretold a great future for the both of them.

  “They’re bears, too?”

  “They are. Billy Ray and Jed have been my best friends most of my life.” Rob had an odd smile on his face as he stared down at Casey. “They will adore you.” Rob winked at Casey, delighting when the man laughed. “Just not as much as I do.”

  “Okay, Rob. I trust you.”

  Sweeter words had never been spoken.

  “Thank you, cub.” Rob pressed a small kiss to Casey’s lips before letting the man go and standing back. He hated the fact that Casey had to get dressed. If he had his way, the man would stay naked for the rest of their days.

  Rob grabbed a wet rag and c
leaned himself up and then tucked his dick back into his jeans. He moaned when he caught just a glimpse of rounded butt cheek as Casey pulled his pants up. That ass was perfect. Rob couldn’t wait to sink his cock into it, and maybe his teeth.

  “How do you feel about biting, cub?” Rob was pretty sure he had just become a biter.

  “Um…” Casey glanced over his shoulder. “I guess I’ve never really thought about it.”

  Rob groaned.

  “How hard are we talking here?”

  Rob swept Casey’s delicious body with his eyes. “Oh, I can guarantee you that your mind will be on other things.”

  Casey stumbled as he took a step forward. Rob reached out and caught him before he could hit the floor, or anything else. He lifted Casey up until they were eye to eye. “I take it you like that idea, cub?”

  Casey’s face flushed but to his credit, he didn’t drop his eyes. “Maybe.”

  Rob brushed a finger over Casey’s heated cheek. “I think it’s more than like.”

  The red in Casey’s face deepened. “Maybe.”

  Rob chuckled, totally enchanted by the small creature the Earth Mother had granted him. He leaned closer and rubbed his nose just under the edge of Casey’s jawline. “Mmm, apples and cinnamon. Perfect.”

  Rob was totally impressed by the eye roll Casey gave him.

  “You are so weird,” Casey said.

  Rob cocked an eyebrow. “So says the man that doesn’t have his feet on the floor.”

  His jaw dropped when Casey simply wiggled until he could wrap his legs around Rob’s waist, bringing their cocks together.

  Casey beamed up at him. “Problem solved.”

  Rob chuckled as he turned and carried Casey out of the bathroom. He started to head toward the stairs until he realized that the little interlude in the bathroom had shown him taking Casey up to his room where there was a bed, and they would be alone, was a very bad idea.

  He set Casey down on the couch before squatting down in front of him. “I’m going to run upstairs and grab a shirt. I’ll be down in just a moment.”