22

Bethany hummed as she felt Cedric"s hand running up and down her spine, his warm touch spreading through her as she slowly woke up. While she could tell the air itself was cold, underneath the blankets and in his arms, she was more than warm enough. And yet, that didn"t stop her from shifting a little closer to him, wanting to soak it all in. After a few days of sleeping alone, and more days before that back at her place, she was enjoying sharing a bed with him once again, no longer feeling so alone.

It was a feeling she could get used to, this feeling of safety and strength and security.

"You"re so warm," she murmured, her eyes still closed. There was no point in opening them if it was still dark outside, as she wouldn"t be able to see in the dimly lit loft. The only light in the cabin was from the fireplace down below, and given the cool air on her ears and shoulders, she suspected it was nearly out.

"It"s the bear in me. Bear shifter. We run warm."

"So you don"t need to have a fire?" she asked, curious given how she had noticed he was always building up the fireplace.

"We do, but not as much as you do, and the heat doesn"t bother me."

She hummed again and yawned slightly, only to feel something hard press against her belly. His dick. It was a little sticky, much like her thighs were, but a little mess wasn"t something that bothered her, particularly when she was pretty sure he was about to fuck her again, and she was burning for him.

The problem was, however, that for as much as she wanted to ride his dick, her need to pee was far more demanding. She had fallen asleep after sex without going to the bathroom, which was setting her up as a prime candidate for a UTI, and if she tried to hold it while he fucked her into the mattress again, she was sure to lose control of her bladder altogether.

"I have to pee," she groaned, not wanting to pull away from him, but needing to all the same. "Don"t you dare move from this bed."

"Gonna have to, Sunshine," he chuckled, and she shivered as he threw the blanket back, exposing them both to the cold air. "Gonna need to build that fire up again, or else you"ll freeze to death before you make it back upstairs."

She couldn"t fight the logic in that. "Five minutes, or else I"ll start by myself."

"Don"t tempt me. Been wanting to watch."

Bethany"s cheeks burned as she opened her eyes to see golden ones looking back at her, even in the darkness. They were glowing slightly, and she blinked a few times before the glow faded. That was... odd.

It was still dark outside, but Cedric thankfully flicked the switch on the wall, lighting up the small staircase light fixture. She grabbed a blanket from the bed while shivering and wrapped it around herself before following him downstairs. The fire was still burning low, which would save him time on getting it going, and she felt the warmth from it as she walked by it. Only the heavy weight in her bladder kept her feet moving forward, until she reached the bathroom and sighed with relief.

She had suspected it the previous few days, but as her feet began to warm up, she knew it had to be a fact. The bathroom floor was heated. There was barely any light fixtures in the house, it was verging on off grid and had a wood burning stove rather than modern appliances, but he had a heated bathroom floor. She liked things rustic, but this was a modern pleasure she had never before experienced, and she wouldn"t complain about it.

The toilet seat itself was cold, but she quickly relieved herself before trying to clean up the sticky mess between her thighs some with a washcloth and warm water. Her hips ached, as did her throat, but not in a bad way. More in a, she would never forget the night before, kind of way.

Cedric was still in front of the fireplace when she emerged, but the grate was back in place in front of it and the fire was going strong, lighting up the room enough that she could see him pretty clearly. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was watching her, smirking. Was he expecting her to go upstairs and start without him, as she had threatened, or was he simply waiting on her?

The show would have to wait until another day, as her feet were too cold to walk the rest of the way upstairs to the bed, and he was more than able to carry her. She opened her arms from where they were wrapped around her to hold the blanket in place as she reached him, and wrapped her arms instead around his neck as he bent down to pick her up. Her legs wrapped around his waist, as best they could given that they were short and he was wide, and she kissed him, long and slow, as he easily carried her towards the stairs, then up to the loft. The temperature was already warmer than it was earlier, but she didn"t let go of the blanket as he climbed onto the bed with her, then rolled onto his back.

It was all the invitation she needed as she threw her leg over his waist and settled her ass on his upper thighs. His cock was still hard, but she reached down to stroke him all the same, using his precum to moisten his sticky cock, until he was groaning underneath her and his hands were reaching up to grab her. Working together, he pulled her up and onto his cock, and she sank down as he sat up, kissing her as she moaned from the fullness.

His kisses continued as she rocked her hips, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. The blanket fell around her waist, but his hands moved up and down her back as she began to move, warming her instead.

It was like she was drunk with every kiss, sharing her soul with his as they moved together, saying words she knew he wanted to hear, and he was desperate to say. She would have to tell him with her body instead, how desperately she wanted to be with him, even if she wasn"t sure for how long.

They didn"t stop for hours, until she fell asleep with her back to his chest, and his arms wrapped tight around her.

Cedric"s cock was hard and pulsing against her butt as she woke up once more, but the ache between her thighs told her he would have to wait. She was stiff and sore, and in desperate need of a shower.

Hmm, the shower. Now that was an idea...

"I can hear you thinking," he murmured against her hair as his hips rocked gently against her backside. "Say it now before I spread you open."

"Fuck, I want to," she gasped, and she really did. She was aching to be filled by him again, but her cervix and her thighs needed a break. "I really do, but you may have broken me. I"m not in my twenties, Cedric. I ache and I feel gross and—"

"And a shower will fix that," he suggested, his brain clearly going the same place hers was.

"Join me in there," she insisted, although it sounded more like begging as his cock slipped between her thighs. He was fucking her between them, his cock working it"s way closer to her cunt with each stroke, and she shivered as she spread her legs just enough for his length to run against her swollen lips and her own fluid betrayed her. "I want you. I swear I do. But if we do this again, I won"t be able to walk today."

"You don"t need to walk," he teased her as he pressed a kiss to her temple. "Not when I plan on keeping you in this bed."

"Don"t tempt me," she gasped, knowing it was a bad idea. "I need out of this cabin, before another storm sets in."

He was quiet as he stilled, and she worried for a moment that she had upset him in some way as he pulled away from her, but then pulled her to the edge of the bed and scooped her up, bridal style. She gasped as her arm went around him, and he laughed as he began to head downstairs, the air thankfully warmer than it had been the last time she woke up.

"Shower it is, then, and after you get some fresh air, I"ll spend the rest of the day licking you from clit to ass."

She knew better than to question his words—he definitely meant it.

Cedric settled her on the bathroom counter before stepping into the shower and turning the water on, and she shivered slightly from the chill on the counter as she waited. He messed with a few of the dials, then grabbed her hair towel from where she had hung it up to dry and set it on the hook beside the shower. She nearly stopped him, as she knew that going outside with wet hair was a mistake, and she refused to rush her hair drying situation, but as she ran a hand into her hair, intent on tying it up before he carried her in, she thought better of it. Some of their fluids had definitely made their way into her long curls, and while she would probably hate herself for it later, she could let it air dry some while they ate breakfast then finished the drying process with the hair dryer before they journeyed outside.

With a few more towels added to the hooks, and two washcloths tossed into the shower, Cedric returned to the counter and picked her up, this time with her legs around his waist. She clung to him as he carried her into the large space, delighted as she felt the water coming from three directions. She had noticed the twin shower heads on opposite sides during her previous two showers, but she hadn"t even realized there was a third coming from overhead, like a waterfall. The water was the perfect temperature, and she gasped as it began to run over her, soothing her aching muscles quickly.

"You wash my back, and I"ll wash yours?" he offered as he slowly set her down. She felt unsteady for a moment and clung to his forearm as she stabilized herself. He didn"t rush her, though, and as she finally released his arm, she took a step back to go directly under one of the side shower heads, soaking her hair as she did so. "Or, do you want me to watch?"

"You can wash my back," she teased as she opened her eyes and wiped the water from her face with the back of her hand. "And you can watch me wash my hair."

His grin told her he liked the sound of that.

They worked together to wash one another, him using her bodywash on the washcloth while she rubbed his bar of soap on the washcloth she was holding. She ran the cloth over his chest, from his neck to halfway down his chest and then back up, and he repeated the move, the cloth dipping between her breasts as he worked. It was a tease at first, but then they truly set about washing one another, with her lathering up the soap through his chest hair and him washing around her breasts, even under her arm pits, and then around her back as well.

When their upper halves were washed, he knelt down in the shower and began running the cloth up and down one leg, starting at her ankle and working his way up to her knees. She wondered why he would start so low, while also skipping her feet, but as he eventually reached her inner thighs, she relaxed when she realized how gentle he was being. Any time she tensed as the cloth ran over the inside of her thighs, he move it around to the outside of her legs, her butt, even up to her lower back. Back and forth he went, until she no longer felt sticky, and he gently pressed the cloth against her sore cunt. She sighed a little and relaxed, now clean save for her head and her feet.

She did the same to him in turn, from his legs up to his backside and then around his cock. He groaned when the cloth wrapped around his swollen length, and she let the cloth drop from her hold to be replaced by her hand. His eyes closed as he groaned again, and she stroked him slowly, watching his face as she worked her hand up and down. She was in no rush and wasn"t gripping too tight, which was apparently not what Cedric needed, as he covered her hand with his own, helping her stroke him.

"Fuck, Sunshine, you"re gonna make a man beg," he groaned before leaning down to kiss her.

And just like that, she was ready to go again, even with how tender she felt. She pulled her hand from his dick as she pressed her body against his, and he groaned as his hands moved to her butt, tugging her against his body. It was different, to kiss him while standing on her own two feet rather than lying or sitting down, or even jumping into his arms. Their height difference was apparent now, given how much he had to bend down to her, and she moaned into his kiss, ready for him to pick her up and slide home.

"No," he growled as she rubbed herself against him, and pulled away. He even took a step away from her while putting up a hand between them, keeping her from following. "Fuck. I told you, you were a damn temptation, but I know you"re hurting right now. You might think you want to go again, but you were wanting to do more than spend the day on your back, so I"ll make sure that happens."

Bethany giggled as her eyes drifted from his hand down to his bobbing cock, now a dark red and waiting for her hand to return. Was he really going to deny her? "And what are you going to do about that?"

Cedric groaned as his hand moved to cover his length, which was impossible, despite how large his hand was. "You let me worry about that. You finish washing up."

She laughed again while reaching onto the floor and grabbed one of the dropped washcloths, quickly shifting from one foot to the other as she cleaned her feet with the soap that remained on it. She felt so much better now, and would wash her face once she was out of the shower, and with a clean washcloth.

Cedric watched her as she worked, and she turned to face away from him as she reached for her shampoo, trying to not sigh at the thought of washing her hair without first detangling it or having a deep mask on it. Her curls would survive the rough treatment, she hoped, and worst case, she would have a conversation with him about proper curly hair care.

Her fingers combed through her hair as she lathered it up, not giving it the proper time to work as she was used to before rinsing and reaching for a conditioner. Not even going for a second wash, who was she? Oh right, a woman who wanted to hurry up and get this done, knowing she was already doomed on time given she would have to blow dry if she wanted to step outside.

In the future, she was going to need to put her hair up before vigorous rounds of sex, because there was no way she was going to start washing her hair daily, particularly in winter.

She turned around to face Cedric as she started her final rinse and was surprised to see he was still watching her, his hand on his cock but not stroking. He looked mesmerized by her work, and she smiled at him as she squeezed the last of the conditioner from her hair. His eyes flickered up and down, as though taking in all of her rather than just her bare breasts and sex. She felt empowered from his attention, and she squeezed one more time before reaching her hand out of the shower to grab her hair towel to start, ready to put it on right as she stepped out.

"See something you like?" she teased before stepping out of the shower, leaving her bear behind with his ignored dick and gob smacked look.

Oh, if only it was always that easy to leave him speechless. Maybe then, he would stop saying things she was sure he didn"t mean.

The shower stayed running as she continued her after shower routine, quickly rubbing her skin dry before wrapping the giant towel around her body and plopping her hair up on top of her head. The counter still held her skincare products from the day before, and she washed her face and brushed her teeth before applying her various creams. If she was going outside, she was sure to get a little sunburnt and maybe even wind burnt, and she wasn"t cute with a burn on her nose. She wasn"t going to apply makeup or anything, as Cedric had seen her without it many times before, but she was still going to take care of herself.

With only her hair left to attend to, she untied the towel and squeezed out the excess moisture, shaking out the curls as she heard the shower turn off. Cedric had been heavily panting there at the end, confirming her suspicions on what he had been up to. She said nothing as she began combing her hair, carefully separating out the various curls before adding an oil, adding a little more than normal since she knew she would be pulling a wool beanie on soon to keep her head warm, and then she looked around the bathroom only to remember she had tucked her hair dryer, which she rarely used, in the cabinet underneath the sink.

Cedric, now wearing a towel wrapped around his waist, stepped up behind her in the mirror, and she smiled as he wrapped his arms around her shoulders, pulling her back to his chest as they looked at their reflection.

"Damn, Sunshine. Always so beautiful, but right now, you"re radiant. Being fucked by a bear looks good on you."

Bethany couldn"t help herself as she laughed and playfully shoved Cedric away from her. "Go make breakfast, silly bear, while I attempt to dry my hair before we go outside. I don"t want it freezing off the second we open the door."

He gave her a nod and left the bathroom, leaving Bethany to search under the cabinet for the appliance, and to her thoughts about bears and sex and how much she could get used to this.

"Oh, Cedric, she"s beautiful," Bethany gasped as she stepped into Dorothy"s stall and she got a full look at the cow Cedric had mentioned while they trudged over to the barn. "Look at her. I know you said you trained her to not be afraid of your scent, but she"s actually looking for you already."

Cedric was filling two buckets with water, preparing to feed and water the animals, but Bethany had been unable to resist stepping in when Cedric had invited her to, promising she wasn"t skittish. In fact, Dorothy had barely noticed her at first, but when Bethany reached out her hand, the cow had immediately nudged it as though looking for scratches, which she would gladly oblige. Bethany tugged off her gloves quickly and shoved them in her pockets before offering them again, and Dorothy leaning into her touch. She gingerly petted the cow, running her fingers up and down her nose and cooing at her.

She was used to animals, farm animals included, but it was one thing to visit someone else"s farm where they happened to have a cow, and another entirely to climb into the stall and pet one.

"She"s from good stock and always reliable," Cedric confirmed as he entered the stall, carrying the buckets of water for Dorothy with him. He moved over to the water trough and poured the two buckets in before setting them down on the ground and moving to join her. "She"s a good girl, our Dorothy is."

Fuck, he was saying that to a cow, and yet Bethany, who decidedly did not have a praise kink, could feel her cheeks turning red. It had to be a reaction to the heat lamp in the stall.

Dorothy moved her attention from Bethany to Cedric, and Bethany couldn"t even judge her, as she rather enjoyed Cedric"s attention as well. He was gentle as he ran his hands up her face, around her eyes, over her ears, and down her neck. She could tell that it wasn"t just him petting, but also checking her over, caring for her. Something about it was so tender and gentle, it made Bethany"s heart ache. He completed a full inspection, then stepped around her to head out of the stall, leaving Bethany and Dorothy behind.

She could feel a thought bubbling in the back of her mind, but she couldn"t quite define it. The thought was hopeful, something that would probably embarrass her out loud, and yet she couldn"t quite put it into words.

Cedric returned with a large bundle of hay in his arms, and he set it down in the ring to one side, then grabbed a bucket and moved to squat beside Dorothy while she moved to eat, no longer paying them any mind.

Watching Cedric inspect Dorothy"s udders before he began milking her, it made her heart ache suddenly as she realized what the thought was.

Simple actions, something he had probably done hundreds of times before, and yet he was being so gentle and calming, now talking to Dorothy as he worked.

She was quickly forgetting visiting the chickens, which she had been very eager to check in on because she had always loved them since she was a young child, and instead, all she could think was one thing, over an over.

This was a man who would make a good father. This was a man who would be a loving partner.

A good father. A good partner.

A good man.

He was a good man.

And Bethany was unable to look away.