10. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine:

~Lochlainn O'Hare~

~ Lochlainn~

My list of vices wasn't particularly long, but it was specific. I liked my partners to be fiery and passionate with a love for being bound in nature and taken as it intended. Rough passion with lots of biting. I enjoyed when they squirmed, but the fight was for play. I liked when they ran but half the fun was being captured. I liked the look on their face when their thoughts cleared like the sky after rain, and there was nothing but bliss between their ears. Of course, the added bonus that Valerie desired breeding when my exact delight was putting baby druids in the bellies of my partners was the cherry on my proverbial cake.

"So…we should…talk," Valerie's hesitant sigh put me on high alert. I was halfway through setting a buffet of food on the table when she dropped into the chair across from me.

"Are you hurt? Have I upset you?" My strangled voice filled the air. Her eyes widened and mouth dropped open.

"No! no, not—not a ‘this isn't going to work, we should talk'. I mean, ‘how does this work, we should talk'."

The weight of worry dropped off my shoulders immediately. I chuckled, "Indeed, a topic worthy of discussion. However, coffee first."

"Coffee indeed," she moaned softly, her cheek already in her palm. I considered lightly jabbing at her lack of sleep despite our activities, but the peaceful, post-orgasm look on her face stole the air from my lungs. I placed a steaming mug of dark liquid before her, pulling out the cream and honey next. I felt less bad about teasing her when she took one look at my honey jar and snorted. "Honey?"

"Sleepy witches who stay up late touching themselves instead of just coming to me to fix it, don't get to mock my choice of sweetener." I sank into my own seat.

She scoffed, "I was not!"

"The woods would like to differ," I retorted with wickedness glittering in my eyes.

She scrunched up her face before snatching the honey wand from the jar. If it wasn't for the blush and smile on her lips, despite her sass, I would worry she was actually offended. Yet, I knew my little witch liked it…liked when people didn't tiptoe around her. Taking up a piece of crusty bread with cheese and other spices spread over it, I wiggled my brows at her suggestively. She stuck her tongue out swiftly before hiding it behind her coffee mug. "Anyway, how does this work? How do we work?"

"How do you want this to work?" I bit down into my breakfast before breaking off a piece of smoked salmon.

"If I tell you, will you tell me what you want out of it?" she countered, putting down her mug gently.

I nodded in response before motioning for her to speak. She didn't want to hear what I had to say first. If we went by what I wanted, she'd never leave my room again nor would she ever wear another piece of clothing. I was a simple bear. I wanted her in my bed, in my arms, and in my lap at all times.

She was the one who had homework to finish and an apothecary to build from the ground up.

"I want to finish my degree. I've only got a year left and I don't want to lose momentum."

"Agreed, it would be a shame for you to lose sight now," I raised my mug of coffee to her.

"Which means we probably can't be public." She grimaced, picking at the skin of a grape.

"I do not see a reason where it needs to be public knowledge. I don't know if you noticed, Valerie but…I'm not exactly a flashy person." I arched a brow as she rolled her eyes, snickering to herself.

"But you are an open book," she countered, jabbing a finger in my direction.

"True, but an open book and a bard making proclamations of their love to any who would hear are two different things. Let's say someone asks me if I'm with someone. I'll say I am currently seeing a partner, as I have in the past, but they need not know it's you." I threw back the last chunk of my bread before dusting off my palms over my crumb filled plate. "As for partners, prior to now I was not in the reasonable mind to ask, do you currently have a partner, Valerie?"

She wheezed, "You wouldn't have found me masturbating like a horny bastard in the woods if I did. No, I didn't have time for partners. Why?"

"Well, the conversation of partners should be had, as I do not expect to be your only partner. If you're comfortable, you may seek partners as your heart desires. My heart follows its own path."

She frowned, popping the mangled fruit into her mouth before glancing up at me. "Are you…do you have other partners right now, then?"

I shook my head, a somber look crossing my face. "No."

"Oh." Her gaze was miles away, cogs clearly turning behind them. I couldn't be sure if it was my answer that sent her into her thoughts, or if it was self-reflection.

There was a moment of tension while she spread some creamy cheese across bread and decorated it with sliced tomatoes and basil. After a moment, she sat her breakfast down and glanced up. "I don't know if I can sustain more than one partner at a time. I'm pretty, you know, focused. Hyper focused. I'm a hungry dog chasing a bone and I don't see anything else unless I'm forced to. And, being really honest, I don't think my frenzy will need anyone else."

"I am glad to hear it. But, should other partners present themselves, we can revisit this conversation again." I took up my mug again and took a long sip. "I can tell you, I am rather invested in you and I don't see my heart stirring for any others. Not for the foreseeable future."

She took a big bite, chewing on her thoughts as well as her food for a minute. Then, after a swallow, she spoke up. "I'm pretty comfortable with the idea of it, but like you said, we can revisit this conversation if that even happens. I mean…you're about to have a herd of baby bears on your hands."

"Pardon?" I choked on my own tongue.

She arched a brow, "Oh, is it not a herd? Pack? Hmm, what do you call a collection of baby bear druids? You sure are breeding me enough to produce a gaggle of them, I ought to know the right term."

She cutely tapped her finger against her nose in contemplation as I tried not to inhale my coffee up my own. I cleared my throat, "Little witch."

"Hmm?" She cutely blinked rapidly. "I hardly doubt my grandmother will let me just give them just one…and let's not pretend like you're not getting off on this. I saw how you looked. You're in the breeding kink deep with me, professor. So, a sleuth of bear cubs?"

I scowled, moving her hand full of her breakfast to her smart mouth. She happily, eyes lit up in mischief, took bites into it. So, I picked up another piece for myself, adorned it with delicious toppings, and joined my salacious witch. It wasn't till she'd finished off her first set and downed most of her coffee before she spoke again.

"I'm not usually this self-conscious, I tend to live my life without regrets and shame but if I don't ask now, I'll worry about it till the end of time. Before we do this more—before I let myself want this—I need to know you want this."

I reached a hand over the table, taking up her clenched fist she'd left against the tabletop. It immediately softened, opening up to me. I squeezed it affectionately. "I want this, Valerie. I want you."

"Good, because…I want you so bad I can't stand it."

"That may be the frenzy talking," I rubbed my thumb against the top of her hand.

She snorted, "Lochlainn, I don't think you understand yet just how strong willed I am. I was fully willing to rub it out all breeding season and suffer in the woods alone until you came putting your muzzle between my thighs."

I raised my coffee to her in acknowledgement. She clinked hers against it before downing most of it and going back for more out of the pot. My eyes followed her, hungry for something that wasn't on the spread before me.

Muzzle between her thighs? I've yet to actually shove my muzzle there yet, but I'm about to. I kept the comments to myself, because it would only get her dragged over the table. And she needed a full belly of actual food if I was going to be able to chase her through the trees again…and I wanted to hunt her more than anything.