Free Gray Back Ghost Bear by T. S. Joyce Page B

herself.
    Mindlessly, she sank her teeth into his shoulder, right over Tessa’s claiming mark.
    She bit down until she tasted iron, and Jason threw his head back and roared an inhuman sound. His hips jerked as he shot jets of warmth into her, over and over until it trickled out of her, too much for her to hold.
    The air was heavy, and the strands of lights grew brighter until they blinded her. She closed her eyes against it and released him from her bite. Chest heaving, she held onto Jason as he buried his head against her neck, hiding his eyes.
    What had she done? The torn flesh where she’d bitten him was bleeding, streaming down and pooling in the space just above his collarbone.
    “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
    Jason had emptied himself completely into her, but was still moving slowly within, his hips rolling gracefully.
    A low chuckle took his throat as he eased his face back to look at her. His eyes were almost as white as the falling snow outside the window. Her breath caught in her throat as she brushed her finger across his cheek under the beautiful, inhuman color.
    “Don’t be apologizing for that, Ranger. You bitey”—he nipped her lip—“sexy”—he kissed her—“beautiful mate.”
    “Mate?” The word came out a trembling whisper since Jason was building another release between her legs.
    He pushed into her harder, then eased out slow. “Yeah, Georgia. Mate. You bite me like that, I’m yours.”
    He thrust into her again, and she teetered over the edge, her body pulsing around him as she moaned his name. Breathlessly, she leaned her forehead against his.
    Jason bucked into her slowly, drawing every last throbbing burst of pleasure from her. “And now you’re mine. Three.”

Chapter Eight
     
    Jason traced his finger lightly from one freckle to the next on Georgia’s back. He smiled as she giggled. He pressed harder as he connected her spots so it wouldn’t tickle her so much.
    She lay on her stomach on a pile of blankets that had been stashed in the treehouse. Dinner was long gone, eaten on the floor as she’d sat between his legs, talking and laughing. This woman, his woman, eased his soul in ways he couldn’t ever explain to her. And not once tonight had he seen Tessa. For a moment, watching Georgia’s slow smile and her lips move with her words, he forgot he was broken at all.
    Georgia didn’t know it yet, but she possessed magic. It’s the only thing that could explain how normal he felt right now, propped up on his elbow, lying beside the woman he’d do anything for.
    His attraction to her had been instant and shocking, but after tonight, his fate was sealed to collide with hers for always. His heart and body already belonged to her, but he wouldn’t say such things out loud. Georgia was human and didn’t understand how fast a bond worked. He was a simple man who didn’t know much, but he knew one thing. Georgia was his in all the ways that mattered.
    This wasn’t like with Tessa. It wasn’t hard love or painful affection. It wasn’t waiting for a rare compliment and enduring so much bad. It wasn’t fighting and throwing hateful words like grenades. It wasn’t absorbing animosity because the words “I love you” had been used. It wasn’t sticking around out of stubbornness or a fear of failing a relationship.
    Being with Georgia was easy. It was a song his heart had memorized that he could sing without thinking about the lyrics. Two weeks ago, he’d been headed to hell, but Georgia had caught him. She’d hugged him close and stopped his freefall.
    “If you were a shifter, you’d be a leopard.” He traced another shape into her freckled skin.
    “Or perhaps a cheetah,” she said, her full, petal-pink lips spreading in a happy smile. “Not a scary bear.”
    “Never a bear,” he agreed, his mind skittering away from the thought of her with silver eyes.
    “Never?”
    Gooseflesh rippled across her back and arms, so he pulled the blanket firmly over her to keep in