Santa Claws Read online

  “Welcome to the family!” Bo smiled.

  “Think you two can keep it in your pants long enough for us to get back to Portland?” Dex snickered, and I shoved his shoulder.

  “Thank you,” Holly said, blushing, “for picking us up.”

  “Least we can do,” Dex said, turning back to the steering wheel. “Especially when hunters are on your scent.”

  Holly stiffened beside me, and waves of sadness and guilt slamming me from the bond. More than that, bone-deep exhaustion was ready to drag her under. Making sure she was buckled, I pulled her into me, letting her lean against my torso. Rest, I urged, sending the feeling through our connection.

  “We’ll talk about that later,” I informed my brothers.

  The look on my face stopped any smart ass remarks they were about to make. Holly had been through enough today. I knew when wolves mated, the frenzy could last for days, but it seemed bears didn’t have the same kind of stamina. So I would temper my desire, keep it in check—anything for my mate.

  It wasn’t long before she’d dozed off in my arms, and I closed my eyes to join her.

  It was close to three in the morning by the time we pulled into the drive way. We still lived with my parents, and I wondered if it wasn’t time to move out and get a house of my own, like Addie did. It felt strange living there now that Holly was my mate.

  Yes, I decided, it was time.

  Without waking her, I gently pulled Holly into my arms, carrying her into the house and down the steps to my room in the basement. Our parents had designed the basement to have three bedrooms, a bathroom, and its own small kitchen—the perfect little bachelor pad for their three twenty-one year old sons.

  I nodded to Dex and Bo as they shuffled into their rooms before opening my door with a soft kick. I put Holly in the bed and snuggled up next to her, my cock twitching against her body. Fuck, I wanted her so badly. But I also wanted her to rest. If I knew anything about bears, it was that they did not appreciate being woken up from their sleep. And they needed a lot of sleep.

  I closed my eyes and wondered what else there was to know about bears—how they differed from wolves, how they best took care of themselves. I fell asleep with a smile on my face, knowing I had a lifetime to learn it all.

  Through the haze of my sleep, I dreamed of Holly, of filling her with my seed, pumping hot and heavy inside of her tight channel. I groaned, the wet heat of her exquisite. My hips jerked and my eyes opened as swipes of pleasure raked through my body. Holly was perched between my legs, my cock her luscious mouth. She swirled her tongue across the sensitive underside of the swollen head. She’d taken off her clothes and wore nothing but a pair of white panties.

  “Fuck,” I hissed, growing harder than I knew was possible at the sight.

  “Mmm,” she moaned over me, cupping my balls so that my eyes rolled into the back of my head.

  I could smell how much this turned her on, could see the way her panties had grown dark with her nectar. Her breasts jiggled as she bobbed over my stiff cock. She took me deeper into her mouth, sucking and slurping, the sensation incredible.

  Pine-green eyes met mine, and she sent waves of arousal and desire through our bond, letting me know just how much she loved sucking my cock. I rested my hands on the back of her head, not pushing, just playing with the strands of her hair as I watched her work.

  “Such a bad, naughty little girl,” I whispered, and she shivered. “Sucking Santa off on Christmas.”

  “I’m trying to be nice,” she grinned around the length of my cock, “but I can’t help it if I’m naughty.”

  I growled, needing to be inside of her. I pushed her off me, urging her onto her knees, so I could rip that underwear in two. It yielded with a satisfying rip, and I grabbed her ass, pushing her to straddle me.

  “Show Santa how badly you want to be good.”

  She bit her lower lip, eyes dark with desire before she lowered herself onto my dick. We both moaned at the first searing, aching contact. Holly’s heavy, round breasts bounced beautifully as she rode me. I gripped her hips tight, guiding her over my cock, thrusting into her even as she ground down. She threw her head back, hands resting behind her on my thighs, her tits arcing in front of my eyes.

  I filled my hands with her swollen, aching breasts, massaging and kneading the ample flesh. I twisted and pinched her nipples. She squirmed harder against my cock. Holly rubbed her hard, little clit against the base of my cock until her sweet honey flowed. As her orgasm exploded, her walls squeezed my cock so hard I worried she’d break it in two.

  She did a magnificent job of keeping quiet, biting her lip and stifling her cries of pleasure. I couldn’t stop the groan, loud and deep, that escaped me when I burst inside of her. She collapsed on top of me, licking the mating mark on my neck, making my cock lurch within her. She giggled and nuzzled close into my neck. I wrapped my arms around her, savoring the contact.

  This had to be what true happiness felt like.

  I didn’t know how long I held her like that, still connected, our hearts beating in tandem. But soon, too soon, the sounds of the household waking signaled that we should head upstairs. We peeled ourselves apart from one another, and pulled on our sweats.

  “You’re always ruining my only pair of undies,” Holly said, dangling the torn pair off one finger.

  “Good,” I growled. “Maybe you’ll get the hint that I don’t want you to wear them.”

  I waggled my brows at her and she huffed in pretend outrage, her eyes twinkling with amusement. I shot up and smacked that ass, making her squeal, before I stepped into the living room. I immediately saw two sweaters folded and waiting for us on the sofa. I grinned, grabbing them before I turned back into the bedroom.

  “So my family has this tradition,” I explained, holding out the sweater to Holly. “We wear ugly Christmas sweaters on Christmas.”

  She held hers up, a look of disbelief on her face. Whoever had set these out for us certainly had a sense of humor. Hers was dark green, matching her eyes, sloppily knit with a white polar bear on it. Mine was a patchwork red and green, Santa knit into a landscape of trees and snow.

  “I think Willow put these out for us,” I explained, pointing to the other clothes left on the sofa. “Looks like she’s lent you some leggings and a pack of fresh panties.”

  As shifters, we always had spare clothes around. Stores of new underwear were especially helpful, as one more than one occasion, even I had loped back from a run in the woods unsure where I’d left my clothes. It was surprising how quickly clothes vanished that way.

  “Wow,” Holly said, her eyes growing wide. “This is incredibly generous.”

  I felt her hesitation through the bond and tugged her in for a hug.

  “You’re family.” I whispered into the crown of her head. “I know it’s not what you’re used to, but…you’re part of the pack now.”

  She looked up at me and smiled.

  Holly

  This was all very strange and new for me. I wasn’t used to being taken care of, being part of a group. So when all the Barkley’s welcomed me to the breakfast table with nothing but smiles and warm hugs, I didn’t know how to take it. A sensible part of me knew how I was supposed to react, but I’d been on my own for so long, it felt strange.

  So I smiled and hugged back.

  Sadie, the matriarch of the pack, beamed at us.

  “Two of my children mated. What more could a mother ask for on Christmas?”

  Her dark eyes crinkled at the corner, full of warmth. She pulled me in for a hug, and I fought the tears as feelings of my mother cropped up. I wished she could be here to see me happy and mated, just as she once was, long ago. Before my father died and she sacrificed herself so I could run away from the hunters.

  “It’s about time we got some more girls in the family,” Willow said. “I’m glad you got the clothes I left for you.”

  “Thank you, it was a big help.”

  “The sweater suits you,” Vincent s
aid, pulling a tray of cinnamon rolls out of the oven.

  It was funny to see the Alpha cooking up a storm in the kitchen. But one look at Sadie’s fierce eyes, and it wasn’t hard to imagine that household duties were split fifty-fifty in this pack.

  “We, uh,” Jace began, rubbing the back of his head with one hand, “didn’t get anyone presents this year.”

  Bo and Dex snickered, silenced by a look from their parents.

  “I already said this mating was gift enough,” Sadie said, sitting down at the table with a cup of coffee.

  “Yeah,” Willow chimed in, “more girl power was seriously needed in this pack.”

  The triplets went into an uproar, giving their little sister a hard time as only big brothers can. I got myself a cup of coffee and sat at the table next to Jace. Steam curled up from the brown surface, my hands warm around the cup. I felt a blast of happiness and contentment from the bond as Jace grinned.

  I could be happy here, with this pack, I realized with a jolt.

  I didn’t have to be alone anymore.

  Jace looked at me, his eyebrows raised. Sadie and Vincent shared a knowing glance. Before I could dwell on it further, the front door opened.

  “Merry Christmaaaas,” Addie sang, walking into the kitchen with Zander.

  I hadn’t seen them since Thanksgiving, when Zander and I had returned from searching for hunters. After camping together for weeks, my scent had been all over him when their mating heat struck. Scenting me on him made Addie fly into a rage. To make matters worse, I happened upon them in the woods during their mating hunt. She’d fought me tooth and nail, thinking I was laying a claim on her mate.

  Needless to say, things had been awkward between us.

  But now…I could understand where she was coming from. I was fortunate that Jace was surrounded by his female relatives. I didn’t know how my bear would have reacted if another female was here. Even though the heat had cooled for the time being, I was feeling very possessive of my mate. Just imagining another female’s scent on him made my blood boil.

  After making their rounds and giving everyone hugs, Jace shared the news of our mating. The couple was thrilled.

  “I had a feeling about you two,” Addie said, giving me another big squeeze. “You seemed awfully interested in each other last month.”

  “It’s pretty great, isn’t it?” Zander asked, to which Jace and I both nodded emphatically.

  It was more that pretty great. It was amazing. Like a piece of myself that I hadn’t known was missing had finally been put into place.

  “You know,” Addie piped up, those blue eyes, just like Jace’s, bright, “the house next door to us is for rent…”

  I could almost see Jace’s ears perk up.

  “Really? That’d be perfect! What do you think?” He looked at me, so full of hope and excitement.

  It was all too much.

  I didn’t know what to feel. And I didn’t appreciate being made to come to such an important decision so soon. What was my life now? What about the hunters? Was I now going to work at the Harvest Moon, like the rest of the Barkley’s, and become a doting little mate? I cleared my throat.

  “Excuse me,” I said, getting up from the table.

  I just needed a moment to myself, a moment to think. Mates or not, Jace and I still had a lot to learn about how the other worked. My wool socks shuffled along the hardwood floor, moving faster than necessary to get to the basement. I plodded downstairs, heading to the bathroom to splash some cool water on my face.

  I looked myself in the mirror, sighing.

  A soft knock on the door, and I knew Jace had followed me. He was the only person I could tolerate right now. In fact, the only person I desperately wanted to see. I opened the door and flung myself into his open arms, burying my face in the soft fabric of his sweater. He rubbed my back.

  “What’s wrong, my love?”

  I sniffled, mortified as tears began to leak out of my eyes.

  “It’s just…,” I paused to take a breath, “I’ve been on my own for so long.”

  He lifted my chin and brushed away my tears, eyes full of understanding. It would have been so easy for him to tell me I was broken, that I was crazy, but instead he just nodded.

  “I’m sure there are a lot of walls you’ve put up, to stay safe, to keep others out.”

  How in heaven’s name did I get so lucky? I sniffled again and nodded.

  “If you don’t want to live next to Addie and Zander, we don’t have to. We can take it slowly. I just thought…it might be nicer to have our own place instead of shacking up with my brothers down here.”

  I laughed. He did have a point. Safe in the warmth of his arms, secure and protected, I realized that it was a great idea.

  “It is perfect. We should do it. I just need some time to adjust. My life was so different a few weeks ago. Now I’m going to be playing house with my mate,” I looked into those sapphire eyes. “And I’m so happy I could puke, but it’s a lot to get used to.”

  “We’ll start with the house,” he said, his hands skimming down my back. “Then, once we have some space and time to ourselves, we’ll figure out the rest.”

  “One step at a time?”

  “One step at a time,” Jace confirmed, his hands moving to cup my ass.

  That one gesture set the heat flooding through my veins. Unlike the wolves, it seemed for us bears it ran hot and cold. The lust was satisfied until it was brought back with pounding, raging force. I threw my arms around Jace’s neck and kissed him with wild passion. He stumbled back against the wall, deftly spinning me around until my ass was rubbing against his thick length.

  “We have to be quiet,” he whispered in my ear, making me shiver all the way from my neck down to my clit. “And I’m going to do everything I can to make my bad, bad girl squeal.”

  So naughty, so devious, I already suppressed the moan that bubbled up. I grinned to myself. Two could play this game. I bent over far, resting my fingers on the back of the sofa in front of us, and began to shake my ass, rubbing and grinding the thick globes over the erection tenting Jace’s pants. I flashed him a look over my shoulder. I enjoyed the way his eyes were transfixed on my ass, these leggings fitting like a second skin.

  “Fuck,” he hissed, hands grabbing my hips as I taunted him. “Show me how bad you are, Holly.”

  “Mmm,” I moaned softly, “I’m the naughtiest girl you’ve ever seen, Santa, baby.”

  In the same movement, I reached back to pull the leggings down to my ankles and then bent over to touch my toes. My back arched and my ass popped up. Jace’s breathing grew ragged, and I heard the metallic sound of his zipper before I felt the thick weight of his cock thud against my ass. Then those hands circled around my waist, fingers finding my clit, searing it with pleasure.

  I gasped, unable to stay completely silent as Jace thrust inside my dripping entrance. I gripped the back of the sofa. My ass was high in the air as Jace fucked the living daylights out of me. The sofa moved forward a few inches with the power of his thrusts. His fingers never left my hard little bud. They rubbed hot, wet circles as his strong girth worked me from the inside.

  I bit my lip to stifle the scream that bubbled up as the orgasm hit me fast and hard. My entire body shook with pleasure.

  “Ride Santa’s cock, you naughty girl,” Jace gasped.

  Still bucking against him from my mind-bending orgasm, I brought my hips down around his cock with force as he stopped thrusting. His hands gripped my waist, but I was in control. I moved faster and faster. Incredibly, that pressure, that tingling, began to build again, pooling hot and liquid in my core. Jace grabbed my ass, spanking it playfully before he moaned softly.

  “Fuck, yes, Holly. God, your ass is…”

  Whatever it was, I didn’t get to hear, because with a wild jerking, Jace came, thrusting deep. I felt every considerable inch of him buried to the hilt, and convulsed under the weight of a second orgasm. Both of us were bucking against each other like wi
ld animals, panting and feral, biting our tongues for fear of being discovered.

  After a few moments, we parted. We went into the bathroom, many love bites and kisses interrupting the short journey, to clean ourselves up.

  “How obvious are we?” I asked, my face turning red as we climbed the stairs.

  “Very,” Jace laughed. “They understand, though. Remember Addie and Zander?”

  I rolled my eyes. Did I ever. That was the most uncomfortable Thanksgiving dinner ever.

  “I’m glad our heat isn’t that…volatile.”

  Jace gave me a look as if to say: Maybe for you it isn’t.

  I giggled, running ahead of him on the stairs to taunt him with a view of my swaggering ass. His growl was all I needed to hear to know it worked.

  “Bad, bad, girl,” he grumbled before we opened the door.

  Jace

  Christmas was my favorite holiday. And this was, by far, the best Christmas I’d ever had. Mated, surrounded by my family, and safe. Watching Holly sit on the sofa, sucking on a candy cane like the naughty girl she was, I knew I’d do anything to protect this. To keep my pack safe.

  I also knew that I was ready to taste her again. Our tryst in the basement had been a few hours ago now. I watched a chestnut roasting on our open fire, getting hot enough it bounced and sizzled, ready to pop. I sympathized with it as I took it from the flame to let it cool. I used my claws to crack it open and slurped up the meat inside.

  Holly stared at me, mesmerized as I licked the shell clean.

  She cleared her throat and excused herself, giving me a knowing look. I was about to jump after her when my siblings descended, glasses of eggnog in hand. Zander gave me a cup, and from the smell of it, it was heavily spiked. I sniffed it.

  “Rum?”

  “My favorite,” Willow said.

  “You’re nineteen,” I began, ready to reprimand her. Then I remembered myself at that age, and just shook my head.

  “So how does it feel?” Dex asked, sitting next to me and clapping a hand around my shoulders.