Polar Opposites

by C. D. Gorri

  “Mmm, this is great. Is this a local IPA?” Her question jolted him from his train of thought.

  “You know beer?” He asked surprised.

  “Somewhat,” she shrugged again, and his Bear chuffed at how adorable she looked. Not to mention the way the gesture seemed to push her lovely breasts up against that tiny little top she wore.

  “Actually, I prefer a lot of local craft beers to wines. The sweetness of wine and hard liquors gives me a headache. This is good. The pizza is great too,” she took another swig before starting her second slice.

  “Yeah, I ask the Devlin’s housekeeper to set me up with a few raw pizzas like this every week. I freeze them and take them out to cook when I get hungry. I don’t normally have a lot of time for cooking.”

  “I see. Being an Enforcer and all?”

  “Yeah,” he grunted the word.

  “I see you ditched the vest?” She nodded and took another healthy bite.

  “Oh that. Yeah. My, uh, boss said it made us approachable for during the week,” he shrugged.

  “Cute,” she smiled and scooped a slice of mushroom off her dish and popped it in her mouth.

  He liked to watch her eat. She had a wonderful appetite and a clear appreciation for her food. He was pleased she didn’t pretend with him. He hated it when women, normals and Shifters alike, did that.

  Everyone had to eat. Why bother to hide it? He found himself fascinated with the way she liked a drop of sauce from her plump lips and sipped directly from the bottle of the Claws and Fangs IPA he’d handed her.

  He’d thought for sure she was going to ask for water or a clean glass at least. But nope. She surprised him again. Roxie seemed more than happy with the simple fare and he couldn’t help but enjoy her company.

  No. This is stupid. She is not for us, he told his Bear, and yet he couldn’t help but feel happy in her presence. Even his Bear was quiet, the natural aggression he’d sensed growing in his animal was decimated by simply being in her presence.

  Bowie ate and drank between bits of conversation and small talk. He found himself relaxing more and more as the time passed. Hell, he even laughed from time to time. Certainly more than he ever had in any one person’s company.

  As he moved around to clear the table, Bowie leaned over to get her dish. He halted as he took a breath and his entire world seemed to tilt on its axis.

  Bowie breathed in again, deeper this time. He was shocked into complete stillness. The scent of pure clean snow, the kind he recognized from his youth before he’d been labelled bastard and outcast, filled his senses, reminding him of a time when the world held promise.

  But it was more than that. Beneath the frosty clean scent was the hopeful fragrance of new spring grass and the promise of full blooming blossoms lurking beneath the pristine layers. The intoxicating scent tantalized his senses. And it was coming from her.

  “Bowie?” Roxanne’s questioning gaze met his, but he couldn’t speak or hear over the roaring in his head.

  His Polar Bear stopped pacing along that metaphysical plane where he resided. He turned his great, white head, eyes glowing glacial blue, and the beast growled one word in Bowie’s mind. One word that had him reeling in shock.

  Mine.

  CHAPTER 7

  “So this place, Bar None, is this where you usually go out to let off steam?” Roxanne asked.

  She bit her lip as he pulled into a vacant spot in the clearly crowded bar’s parking lot.

  “I uh, come here occasionally with my cousins,” was his reply.

  “The triplets you were telling me about?”

  “Yep.”

  “Um, how is the crowd?”

  “This place is owned and operated by Shifters. That’s pretty much the crowd,” he answered.

  “And?” She needed more information from him if she was going to make a go of this.

  Roxanne wasn’t exactly the bar going type. In between work and performing her duties to the Skulk, she had zero personal time. Literally none.

  “What?” he asked eyebrows raised.

  “Well, am I dressed right for this kind of place?”

  She wasn’t exactly self-conscious, but this was all new territory for her. Besides, what did she have to lose asking him that? She’d told Bowie her most humiliating secret earlier.

  He already knew all about her little “virginity” problem so asking him about her outfit was no biggie. His blue eyes swept over her slowly and he barely nodded his head.

  What now? She wondered. Maybe he was just anxious to go inside. He sure as heck wasn’t the only one.

  She had five days left before the winter solstice. Hopefully, she’d be able to negotiate terms with the Barvale Alpha and solve her problem before then. Bowie was an integral part of her plan. Not that she expected him to jump up and offer to sacrifice himself on her bed, but still, he didn’t have to go all quiet on her.

  He’d hardly spoken a word since they’d finished eating dinner. After sending a few emails to her family, she was able to really enjoy herself with the big man. It was her favorite meal too. Pizza and beer. She sighed and patted her full tummy.

  How many times had she been forced to sit through beautifully plated, thoroughly elegant, and completely tasteless meals at the intro of every one of these visits?

  Ugh, groaned her Fox. Too many to count. She’d much rather have a nice crisp IPA and a slice of succulent pizza dripping with meat and veggies. Yum.

  As a Fox Shifter she loved all foods. Her little red-furred beastie was an omnivore, much like her new bear-y friend. He’d told her a little bit about himself, including the fact he was a Polar Bear Shifter, not a Black Bear like she’d originally thought. It made perfect sense now, looking at him. He was taller and broader than most Shifter males she’d seen and there was also his unique coloring.

  The white hair, blue eyes, and caramel skin. He was exotic looking, simply gorgeous, but he was more than that. He was quiet and thoughtful, smart beneath his gruff exterior.

  If only he was interested in her. Sigh.

  Having a man, Shifter or human, ignore her was nothing new. Men often found her straightforward attitude off-putting. But to be fair, he did seem to enjoy himself at dinner. Then he’d gotten all weird.

  Oh well. Before she could stop herself, her teeth worried her lower lip and she was gripping her hands together in her lap.

  “You having second thoughts?” He asked.

  “No. I’m just a little cold,” she wasn’t lying exactly. Shifters could tell when someone was lying. It was cold. The temperature had dropped dramatically since earlier in the day.

  Stop it, Roxie, you’re just making excuses.

  Tonight she was going to let her hair down the way she was supposed to on the white sand beach she’d only glimpsed from the airport that morning.

  Tomorrow she would worry about being Miss Prim. She’d scheduled her meeting with the Alpha for early in the afternoon. Roxanne was confident she would secure her Skulk’s rights to run on Clan land, and then she would get herself a mate.

  Good pep talk, but you still have one problem, Roxie. No man from the Skulk is going to touch you if they still think you’re the Ice Queen.

  “You sure you’re ready?” Bowie asked his ice blue eyes raking over her as she stood outside the club door, “Maybe we should just forget this-”

  “No,” she interrupted.

  He seemed to be having second thoughts. Strange, but maybe he had his reasons. Still, there was no way she was going to let him back out of this. If he wanted to leave he could, but she was going in there.

  Of course, the rows of motorcycles and muddy tired pick-up trucks left no doubt she was about to enter alien territory. Gulp.

  You got this. I’m Roxanne Winters, the Ice Queen. I’ve faced Alphas of all species for my Skulk. One little Shifter bar in the middle of South Jersey is not going to scare me.

  She straightened her shoulders and nodded her head, walking past Bowie who sucked in a breath and fist
ed his large hands at his sides. Roxie wondered what the heck his problem was, but she didn’t have time to ponder it as someone fell out of the door, opening it in the process. Roxanne could hardly believe what was happening before she was suddenly in the air.

  “Shit,” Bowie growled and pushed the drunk Shifter out of the way while lifting Roxanne off her feet and hustling her inside.

  He pulled the door wider for the two of them and she got her first glance at what people truly meant when they said they were walking on the wild side.

  Holy crap!

  The place was chock full of big, hulking Shifters, and all of them were doing one of four things. Drinking. Talking. Kissing. That is if you could really call the rough tonsil hockey with a little dry humping mixed in that was going on all around them kissing. Or they were Fighting.

  Roxanne was fascinated. Her nose was going nuts. Huge, meaty looking men in leather and jeans played pool and chugged beer as scantily clad women sat on their laps and twerked their asses in front of them on one side of the room. In another corner, a pair of women with too much makeup and jeans and tiny tank tops were arm wrestling while their men cheered them on.

  Roxanne flushed when she caught the silhouette of a man and woman embracing. The couple clung to each other against a wall in the far back of the room. To her Fox’s eyes, they were clearly visible.

  Their passion and hunger evident in their fiery kiss. Roxie experienced a tendril of envy as she watched the way his body molded to hers, shielding her from the rest of the room. It wasn’t long before he picked her up and left through the back door. Wowza.

  She exhaled and followed Bowie. Her head turning to the raunchy looking band made up of huge shirtless men with various tattoos all over their torsos. They played loud rock music from a small crappy looking stage.

  Roxanne’s eyes widened as the lead singer grabbed the microphone and tossed the stand into the crowd with measured violence. It looked as if the entire stage was about to collapse if the man stomped his booted foot across the cracked wood flooring just one more time.

  She whipped her head to the dance floor and was taken aback by the number of barely dressed couples writhing against each other. How anyone could dance to this, she had no idea, but they were.

  Wasn’t that the point of this whole exercise? To step out of her comfort zone and make herself more accessible to the men in her Skulk. To lose her hated nickname, Ice Queen, once and for all.

  Why do you want the same men who have been ignoring us for years? Grrr. Her Vixen barked the stray thought into her mind and Roxie wondered as to the beastie’s suddenly adverse attitude.

  Wasn’t she the one pining for kits of her own? Hadn’t her feisty Vixen been giving her fits over not being mated and claimed?

  Roxanne snapped a leash on her inner Fox and continued her perusal of Bar None. The place was raw and dirty. Danger hovered all around her and she couldn’t help but press back into the man she knew instinctively stood behind her. How their positions reversed she wasn’t sure, but she practically purred when his big hands gripped her upper arms and squeezed.

  “You okay?” His breath tickled her ear as he spoke over the noise.

  God, that felt good. She tilted her neck more, giving him space and she swore she heard his own breath shudder as he sniffed her neck. Eyes nearly closed, she waited, anticipating the feel of his hot mouth on her skin, but before that happened he stepped back.

  She turned questioning eyes at him, but he simply looked straight ahead. He nudged her gently and she turned away. Confusion warred with common sense inside her brain. Maybe her hormones were getting the better of her. Signs that her heat was coming on strong and fast. What was she thinking throwing herself at him that way? Hadn’t he already refused her once?

  She looked to where he’d pointed with his chin and saw an open path to the bar. One cold beer coming up. She supposed he wanted a drink too and decided to order two.

  The lights glowed a dark reddish gold as she squeezed through the crowd trusting Bowie to follow. She took short, shallow breaths a little overcome at first by the scents of lust, anger, liquor, and sweat that wafted through the crowded room.

  She glanced behind her and sure enough, Bowie dogged her steps as she ambled through to the bar. Her mouth went dry as she watched the play of muscles underneath his plain black tee shirt and jeans. The material was well worn and broken in. The denim hugged his muscular thighs, and she could make out the hard outline of his manhood despite the dim light.

  Dayum. He was the most gorgeous man she had ever seen. From the top of his thick, gleaming white hair, to his electric blue eyes, the full sensuous curve of his lips, to the broad shoulders, tight abs, and solid thighs, all the way down to his booted feet.

  He was positively drool-worthy, and that was fully clothed. She could almost imagine what he would look like naked. All those muscles corded around his long, thick frame. If she peeled off his shirt she’d surely get a glimpse of all that gleaming tanned skin.

  Mmmm. Roxie would love to explore every inch with her hands and lips. Was he hairy or smooth skinned? Did he like to be petted and kissed? Would he taste salty or sweet?

  Hot damn! Her vivid imagination and all that time spent reading romance novels was really catching up with her. If she had to choose anyone to initiate her into the physical world of sexual pleasure it would be him, she confessed to herself. Gulp.

  Just thinking about all the possible ways the big, gorgeous Bear could make love to her was enough to leave her panties dripping and her heart pounding. Feeling a little lightheaded at the mere idea of sex with Bowie, Roxanne decided to take a deep breath.

  A mistake in a place filled to the max like Bar None currently was. She shook her head and concentrated on everything around her. Besides, it was useless to indulge in fanciful daydreams about the sexy Polar Bear. He was her guide. Nothing else.

  Grrr. Roxie pushed her little beastie back down inside her. No matter what her inner Vixen thought, Bowie was not up for grabs.

  Sigh. She needed a drink. Maybe two. Whoever invented the term Dutch courage was a genius as far as she was concerned. She headed towards the crowded bar, the smile from her face dissipating as she made eye contact with the very pretty female who worked there.

  The Shifter woman was smoking hot, and totally pissed. For some reason she was glaring at Roxanne. Well, what the heck was that all about? Then the woman looked behind her and Roxanne’s heart dropped into her stomach. The stranger obviously knew Bowie.

  Ah. So that was it. She ignored the woman’s unfriendliness and moved to ask for a drink, but before she could get a word out, the female plastered a wide feral smile on her face and passed a glass bottle over Roxie’s head. Leaning over the bar in her ridiculously small top, the woman crooned to Bowie in a voice that set her Fox on edge.

  “Hey lover, I wondered when you were gonna pay me another visit,” the woman simpered.

  “Uh, hi Sheila, nice to see you,” he said politely avoiding her searching hands and taking the proffered bottle.

  “We got that IPA you like so much. So, what took you so long? I thought you would’ve come by long before now,” she said in a supposedly sexy pout that made Roxie want to tear her hair out.

  Bowie cleared his throat. His blue eyes widened as he looked from one female to the other. Clearly he was uncomfortable. She didn’t need her Shifter senses to tell her that much. Maybe next time he’d think twice about taking someone to a place where he’d already been through half the staff!

  Ouch. That was catty. She took a long, slow breath and tried to release her jealousy. After all, Bowie did not belong to her.

  He watched her a beat longer than he’d looked at the bartender. His gaze seemed to soften as he did and Roxanne’s Fox growled softly, appeased by the attention. Shit. This was not good. She couldn’t get attached to him.

  “Thanks. Can I get another cold one?” Bowie asked the woman named Sheila as he handed the first cold bottle to Roxanne. He dropped
a fifty-dollar bill on the table and waited for the woman to grab it before turning around to fetch his beer.

  “So, you know her,” Roxanne couldn’t help the next stab of jealousy as it pierced her heart.

  “Uh, yeah. I, uh, knew her,” he muttered.

  She shouldn’t be angry, but since when did she ever try to justify her feelings. Even if only to herself. Besides, he was a man, a Shifter, and he had needs. And the woman really was spectacular looking in a hard kind of way.

  Roxie sniffed the air, trying to get a bead on what kind of Shifter she was. Bear, her senses told her. But a Black Bear, not a Polar Bear like Bowie. He was unique to this predominantly Black Bear Shifter Clan.

  He tapped the bar with his large knuckles while he waited for Sheila to fill his order. Roxie sipped from the bottle he’d handed her, content to sit near him. She couldn’t help but admire the woman called Sheila. She was blonde and thin, long-legged with a flat stomach Roxanne could only ever dream about having. Sigh.

  No wonder he wasn’t interested in helping her solve her little problem. Maybe he’d have given her the time of day had she not been a virgin. That was the story of her life. The Shifter males in her Skulk were all intimidated by her. Not one of them had the balls to bed the Alpha’s daughter. Not even during solstice!

  Hmm. Being hymen-challenged was a real bummer. But, that’s why she was there. To fix that one small problem. Then she could move on with the winter solstice mating ritual and hopefully get herself truly mated.

  She took another sip of the cold and deliciously bitter brew, ignoring her Vixen’s urge to scratch the eyes out of the Sow who’d returned and was now bending over the bar to show off her dazzling cleavage to her Bear!

  Her Bear? No. Bowie was not her Bear. He wasn’t her anything. So what if she suddenly had a predilection for bad boys in denim? He was not hers. Period.

  Grrrr. Our Bear, snarled her Vixen.

  NO! Not ours!

  Not yet. Get closer. Bite.

  No! Bad girl! She pushed the beastie back in her mind’s eye, unsettled by her animal’s sudden resistance to her command. When had she gotten so strong and independent of her human half?