But how? She didn’t know what she could say that would bring Dom to the surface. Her presence alone should have been enough to bring him back, a hope she knew was foolish. It was proof that she hadn’t died, but if Dom had faded and left behind the beast, there would be no man to prove anything to.
She curled into the beast for warmth, grateful for its massive presence after the many nights alone. Her fingers tightened in its fur. There was a chance. There was still hope. She felt it when the beast set its head on her shoulder as she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Nineteen
Aimee woke to fur, disappointment making her stomach sink. In her dreams, Dom had woken her, and they’d danced in circles until the sun set. It’d been a foolish, fairy tale of a dream. She should have known better.
Sitting up, she put her hands on her knees and peered at the beast. The bear looked up at her with one eye, the other still closed as if half asleep. She imagined days in the cabin, the massive beast following her around like a lost puppy. The bear would be nothing more than a devoted pet.
It wasn’t what she wanted.
Aimee wasn’t sure she could live like that. She couldn’t wake every morning and look at what could have been. The beast would only serve as a reminder that she’d failed him. It was her fault, her recklessness, that had gotten them into this situation to begin with.
The bear nudged her. She shook her head and turned away to hide the tears finally falling down her cheeks. The beast pushed again, nuzzling into her. She couldn’t take it. Aimee shoved the bear away and got to her feet.
Dejection was written all over the bear’s face, from the pain in its eyes to the rise of its beastly brows. She couldn’t look at it. She didn’t know where to start. She didn’t know how to hold onto the hope that Dom could be saved.
It seemed every time something good happened to her, it crumbled in her hands one way or another. She was tired of losing, of the life she’d been forced to live just to cling onto a small bit of happiness. A small voice told her that this would work, and she would go back to the cabin in Dom’s arms. Moment by moment, the voice grew smaller until she could barely hear it.
“When are you going to give him back?” She turned back toward the beast. “When can I have him back?”
The beast only stared at her. She thought she saw pity in its golden eyes.
She sucked in a breath through her nose and slowly let it out again. The overwhelming panic receded. It told her she couldn’t do this for long. Struggling to bring back Dom would only destroy her little by little. At some point, she would have to give up.
***
She was struggling, his mate. He could see it in her eyes when she looked at him. The pain and indecision stirred his soul. It was a breath of life, but a small one that didn’t last. For a moment, he felt invigorated and pressed against the beast, but it took too much effort and he felt himself deflate again.
Dom wanted to tell her he was still there. He was trying.
He was fighting.
Her shoulders fell, and she turned away from him. He watched her step toward the stream. She cupped the cold water in her hands and splashed her face, a shudder rippling through her body.
She’s cold out here, Dom told his beast. She’s too small for the harsh temperatures.
The beast listened and moved to share its warmth with Aimee. She leaned away from him, eyes distant as she stared down at the water. Dom wished he could find his voice and give her some small piece of hope.
The fact that she’d come into the wilderness to find him had saved him from utter devastation. He’d thought all gone, even himself, until she appeared. At first, he’d thought she was nothing more than an apparition of guilt. Then, she opened her mouth and her trademark sass came out, assuring him this was the real deal.
The beast called for Dom. It wanted to fix Aimee’s despondent mood. Dom knew what would pull her back and make her smile again, but he didn’t have the energy. His body would not shift. He didn’t think it would even if the beast gave him full control again. His soul was too weak, too tired.
Give her a reminder that we are still here.
The beast didn’t understand. To the beast, Aimee knew full well that there was a bear standing beside her. It was a fact that was hard to ignore. Dom didn’t have the energy to correct the bear. No one could argue that a bear was present. What she needed was a reminder that Dom was present, too.
Let’s see what we can sniff out in the forest. If we can get her a truffle or some herbs, she would be able to see better.
Again, the beast didn’t understand what herbs had to do with helping someone see better, but it did as Dom asked. When Aimee called out to the beast, it wanted to turn around. Dom gripped the beast and reminded it that they had to do this. Aimee would have to wait.
They would return.
***
The damned bear waddled its ass into the woods, leaving Aimee alone. She glared at its rump before it disappeared into the woods. She could have followed it, but desolation set in and made her feel heavy.
To distract herself, she pulled her notebook and pencil from her pack. In it were the recipe ideas she’d been tweaking for her restaurant. It was a dream she clung to. Long days in the kitchen would distract her from her loss if this failed. She would gladly throw herself into the work and let herself disappear.
In the middle of wondering if she should mix miso into her mashed potatoes, the sound of crackling foliage reached her ears. She didn’t stand, didn’t try to run. There was a moment of sharp fear, flashing cold through her body, when she thought it might be a hungry mountain animal.
Then, the bear appeared. It stood on its hind legs, hands cradled in front of it. It dropped what it was holding into her lap before falling back onto all four paws. She looked down, jaw dropped. There were three black truffles, tiny berries that had survived the snow, and a bramble of thyme. She lifted the thyme to her nose and breathed deep.
When she looked up, the gold in the bear’s eyes swirled. It didn’t recede into the dark orbs she craved to see, but it filled her with warmth. Dom was still in there. He hadn’t faded completely.
She squealed, throwing her arms around the bear’s neck. The bear fell back and hugged her in return.
How much longer would it take for Dom to come back to her? What else did he need from her?
“I love you,” she whispered. It might not be enough, but it was the least she could do. There were no magic words that would pull the man from a beast. None that she knew of, at least. This was as close as she could get. “Even though you’re a silly ass.”
The beast snorted. It blew her hair and brought laughter bubbling through her.
“Just so you know,” she whispered, “I hate truffles.”
The bear grunted and dropped back on its rump. The glare it gave her was more human than ever. She just shrugged.
“I didn’t ask for them. You did this on your own, so you can’t be mad at me.” She gathered the truffles into an empty bag. They would sell for a good price later. Any cash she could scrimp and save would go toward her future restaurant. When she was finished, she sat back down with her notebook and looked to the beast. “What do you think about miso in mashed potatoes? I’ve seen others do it. Do you think I’m being original or imitating?”
The beast had no answer for her, but she knew Dom would let her know how he felt when he could finally shift back to human form. She didn’t know when or how it would happen, but her hope was brighter now. Dom would come back. She wished it would be sooner rather than later, but there was nothing she could think of that would expedite the process.
Well, she considered stripping and appealing to his human male appetite, but it was too damned cold outside. The nearby brook offered clean water that she could have cleaned herself with, tempting since she hadn’t showered in days. Aimee refused to expose herself to the elements for a plot that most likely wouldn’t work. All she could do was wait beside her man and give him the ti
me he needed.
Aimee reached and touched her greasy hair. “Oh, man. I must smell absolutely rank to you!”
The bear huffed, its version of a laugh, and rested its head on its front paws. Aimee inched away from her mate to keep him from being able to smell her. She couldn’t wait to take Dom home and have a relaxing bubble bath. She would make him massage her scalp with scented soap. It was the least she deserved for leaving civilization behind to track him down.
Eventually, while Aimee was dreaming of bubble baths and warm bed companions, the sun set. She had to scoot closer to the beast for warmth. She tugged her hood over her head to cover the scent of her hair, but the hole in the back of it let a draft through that raced down her spine.
The bear reached and covered the hole with a massive paw, cradling her head in the process. The safe and warm embrace coaxed her to sleep. When she woke, her head throbbed, and her neck protested in anger.
Beneath her head was not the soft fur of a bear. Instead, it was wiry and narrow. Suddenly, she became aware of the lack of warmth. A wind brushed over her, no longer blocked by the beast’s body. Her eyes snapped open.
Her breath caught in her throat. Dark eyes watched her, swirling with gold every few seconds. She didn’t move, didn’t dare speak. All she could do was stare into Dom’s familiar face while her heart thumped inside her chest.
“Good morning,” he whispered.
Aimee couldn’t stop herself. His voice broke the spell over her, and she threw herself into his body. He hugged her close, laughing as they rolled over the ground.
“When did you shift? How did it happen? Aren’t you cold?” Questions slipped from her lips at a rapid-fire rate, not even giving him the time to answer. She reveled in the feeling of a man between her legs. Not just any man, but Dominic.
He just grinned up at her, letting his hands roam up and down her thighs. She could see the exhaustion that lined his face. The bags under his eyes were dark, his movements slow and lazy. The shift had taken a lot out of him. She leaned down and touched his cheek, just to remind herself he was there.
When his hands slipped beneath her coat and shirt, she let out a shrill cry and leapt away from him.
“Why are your hands so cold?” She snapped.
“Maybe because I’m starving and naked?” There was no venom or sarcasm in his voice, just a tired honesty.
Aimee shook her head at his audacity. Her skin was not for warming his hands. Not when they were that close. She snuck glances in her mate’s direction, eyes travelling up the perfect lines of his torso and along his muscle-bound arms. Her core tightened, growing molten, but she worried about the grime and odor that must have clung to her. He wouldn’t want to lie with her while she reeked. To distract herself, she bent and retrieved a small bit of leftover salmon from her pack and tossed it to him.
“That’s the last of it. We need to head back to the cabin if we want more.” She looked out over the woods, worried that she wouldn’t be able to get Dom out of the woods before his exhaustion dropped him again.
He needed sleep, but they also needed more food. She could hunt, as an otter, but all she would be able to scrounge up would be small animals and tiny fish. Maybe some mollusks if they lived in freshwater. She wasn’t really sure.
Dom pried open the bag of salmon and devoured it in one quick bite. She should have known it wouldn’t be enough to satisfy him. He needed a lot more food to replenish his energy. While she enjoyed admiring her naked mate, she wanted him in perfect condition before she straddled his lap again.
He crumpled the bag in his hands and stalked toward her, hunger written across his face. Aimee reached for the nearby backpack. Dom’s approach distracted her. His cock waggled happily despite the low temperatures. It brought a heat to her face, one that slipped down her skin.
“Like I said,” Aimee managed to spit out, “that is the last of the food.”
Dom grinned wide. A bit of the shadows that darkened his face disappeared. A brightness replaced them, as if the heat inside him could glow through his skin. She held up a hand with the intention of stopping him, but when her skin touched his, a groan slipped up her throat.
“You never gave up,” Dom breathed as his head ducked toward hers.
“I thought you knew how stubborn I could be.” Her breath was shallow with Dom this close. She wanted to run her hands over every inch of him and savor what she’d thought long gone.
He was hers.
The small beast inside her rose with ferocious hunger. Aimee tried to quiet it because they were in no condition to get freaky, being covered in three days’ worth of camping, but her beast would have none of it. What they’d thought lost had returned to them. They were not going to let go.
The beast’s growl touched Aimee’s lips as she wound her hands behind his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. Dom’s fingers deftly unzipped the front of her coat. The longer they touched, the warmer his skin became until he was like a furnace blazing around her. She no longer felt the chill touch of the winter winds. Not while Dom’s fingers slipped like hot coals down her spine.
His tongue pressed past her lips. He tasted like something long forgotten, a cherished memory come to the surface. She wanted to drown in it. Leaning into him, she took his tongue deeper. Dom’s growl rippled into her mouth like the fizzy bubbles of an intoxicating drink.
“Thank you,” he whispered against her lips. His breath was warm, the spark that ignited the blaze inside her.
She couldn’t be free of her clothing fast enough. Dom chuckled and assisted her in removing her coat. When she reached for her sweatshirt, he stopped her. His hands lowered to the waistband of her pants while he nestled his head into the crook of her neck.
His lips wandered over her skin, teeth finding purchase and sending jolts to her core.
“I need you right now.” His teeth sank into her shoulder and she cried out. His fingers tightened on her hips, jerking her into his groin so she could feel the strength of his need.
Her mind spun. Aimee knew she couldn’t have smelled good. This wasn’t going to be pleasant, at least not on the nose. She should have made him wait, should have pushed him away, but the moment his warm hands touched her skin, Aimee lost the fight.
She wanted him as bad as he wanted her. She couldn’t stop her hands from exploring his skin. Her nails found the curve of his muscles, trailing over the dimples and hills. Slowly, they sank to cup his manhood. Dom growled into her shoulder.
She couldn’t help but grin. Her control was shattered when his hands glided beneath her sweatshirt and found the small mounds of her breasts. Aimee groaned and leaned into him. Outside in the snow was no place to make love, but neither of them seemed to care.
They had denied each other for too long and this was the result. Their pent-up need blazed through them and drove their beasts wild. Soon, her pants dropped to her ankles. The winter wind tried to freeze her skin, but Dom lifted her from the ground and wrapped her legs around him. Together, they stumbled toward a nearby tree.
Dom found her opening with ease. She was warm and ready. When he entered her, a shudder of pleasure tore through her. With her mate inside her, Aimee knew there was nothing else in this world she would ever want more. In his eyes, she could see all her dreams and desires reflected. He would walk beside her in all things as she would for him.
Together, they were so much more than when they were alone.
Dom pumped, and her thoughts shattered. She threw her head back and released the scream building in her throat. Each thrust sent pleasure rocketing through her body. It ricocheted in every direction like the burst of fireworks. They danced behind her closed eyes, lighting up the darkness.
Dom cupped her face, thumb gentle as it brushed her cheek. “I never want to see another day without you.”
She gripped his waist and pulled him closer. “You won’t.”
They made the promise to one another, witnessed by fate and mother nature.
The pleasure b
uilding inside her grew and grew until Aimee didn’t know if she could contain it any longer. It pressed against her from every direction. She thought she would break into a million pieces. Just when it was too much, the pressure burst.
At the same time, Dom shuddered in her arms. He pulsed inside her. It brought a cry to her lips. She sank into the pleasure, unable to breathe, unable to do anything while it consumed her.
The tree behind them rattled and shook with each thrust. Branches and leaves rained down over their heads, as if mother nature were celebrating their union.
Dom cupped her head and held her close while her orgasm shook through her. She clung to his skin, to the scent of her mate and the knowledge that he would no longer run from her. They would face everything together, hand in hand.
A small laugh escaped her. She let her head fall back and a smile curl over her lips. Dom cradled her, holding her close for a moment that seemed to stretch forever. Aimee reached for the base of his skull and drew him in for one last kiss before she jumped down from his arms.
Aimee hadn’t wanted to make love until she’d been scrubbed clean, but she felt no regret for what they’d done. It had been an affirmation of love. Dom had finally given himself over to their bond. She no longer feared he would run from it or foolishly try to protect her from himself. She was there to help him through those parts. Just like he was there to help her through life.
“Aw, damn it. My pants are wet now.” Aimee looked up, thinking they should have hung her pants on a tree branch. Maybe then they’d be full of bark, but they wouldn’t be wet.
“The trip back shouldn’t take too long,” Dom mentioned.
“Huh?”
He looked over his shoulder, and Aimee followed his gaze. A thin trail of smoke drifted into the sky not far away from their little camp. When they stopped talking, she became aware of the distant sound of an engine firing.
To Tame a Bear Page 12
