She looked at him, met his golden eyes, and let her gaze fall over his thick fur and bear paws, then sped off, her box of leftovers crashing to the ground behind her.
Blair paced her kitchen the next morning, her head spinning. When she got home last night, the mix of adrenaline from fear and lust had overtaken her and she fell into an exhausted sleep. But now she was wide awake, had drunk far too much coffee, and her mind was whirling.
He’d already called twice and texted her three times. That’s not counting the calls and texts from last night. He wanted to make sure she got home okay. He wanted to see if she slept okay. He wanted to know if she was ever going to talk to him again.
She’d heard of shifters, of course. It was one of those urban legends that everyone knew about. But they weren’t real. They couldn’t be real. And Daxton? Had he really turned into a bear to save her from those men? To protect her?
Well, whatever had happened and whatever he was, she could never see him again. She wasn’t ready to handle something like this.
All weekend, she ignored his continuing texts and calls. By Sunday afternoon, they’d stopped. He seemed to have gotten the hint, finally.
“Soooooo, how was it?!” Vanessa grinned and clapped her hands together when she saw Blair on Monday morning.
“Dinner was nice,” Blair said, putting her things down in her office.
“And?”
“And we did kiss and it was nice.” She forced a smile. The kiss had been nice. So nice. And she’d never get to experience it again.
“Okay. So, why don’t you seem happy about all this?”
She shrugged. “I don’t think he’s really my type.”
“Oh no, come on! You have to give him a chance.” Vanessa tugged on her sleeve and whined. “Please don’t let the super hot honey guy get away because he’s too… what? How is he not your type?”
“I think we just have different ways of going about life.” That was true enough, right? He was a bear, after all. And she wasn’t.
Vanessa pouted, but moved onto discussing the new display for cookies that would be set up later.
That afternoon, Blair went to inspect the new display. She stood with Vanessa, looking at it from every angle. It was too close to the honey display, but it was a good set up. Then she looked again. Only two bottles of Daxton’s honey remained. She raised an eyebrow at Vanessa.
“Yeah. And that’s the second shipment.”
“What? I didn’t order more.”
Vanessa shrugged. “Well, Daxton brought more the other day.”
She crossed her arms, irritated for a moment. But, if it was selling, that’s what really mattered. “Fine. We’ll work it into our regular ordering. How’s the other stuff selling?”
“The soap is flying off the shelves.”
“Oh. Is it? I meant the other local honey.”
Vanessa spun around to look at the other display. “Not so much.”
Blair nodded. I guess if you were going to be a bear, you better be good at honey, right? Apparently, Daxton was good at honey. She shook her head at the thought. “This all looks fine. Just move it over a little.”
She headed toward her office and stopped when she saw Daxton leaning against her door.
“We need to talk,” he said. “I think you owe me that.”
She closed the door behind them and sat in the chair behind her desk.
“I had a nice time,” she said, lacing her fingers on top of the desk, “I just think we maybe go about life in different ways.” What she’d said to Vanessa had seemed true enough. Why not use the line again?
“Still in denial, huh?” He sat down and leaned on the desk. “It can take a while for some people.”
“There’s nothing to deny.”
“Blair. I turned into a bear in front of you.”
“I recall. And I appreciate you protecting me. I hope they didn’t hurt you… before… when you were fighting.” As she looked more closely, though, she saw faint bruises around his eye.
“I’m sorry it happened like that. I never would have just changed without talking to you first, but it was our first date. I would have told you when you were ready. Those men didn’t leave me with much of a choice. I had to protect you. Even if it meant scaring you.”
“And like I said, I appreciate that. Very much.” She thought of the way the men had looked at her. If he hadn’t been strong enough and changed to scare them away, the night could have ended very differently for her.
“So, is that it, then? Have I scared you?”
“No. I don’t know.” Her throat burned and then her eyes filled with tears. “How can it ever work, Dax? You’re a bear.” She choked on the words.
“Not all the time.” He pulled his mouth into a humorless smile. “I know it’s weird. Believe me. People have called me a freak all my life. That’s why we live out in the woods alone and keep to ourselves. The world hates us. They’d hunt us if they knew. Anything that’s strange or different must be bad, right? I’ve been different my whole life and there’s nothing I can do about it. It’s not like I chose this. Shifters are just born and we have to deal with what life gives us, just like anyone else.”
Blair looked at her hands for a long time. She was trying hard not to let the tears spill. She blinked and blinked, but finally, they tripped down her cheeks. All she could think of was her own childhood.
When the store had been hurting and her parents couldn’t buy her nice clothes. She’d had to wear thrift store clothing or things that were so old they were frayed and falling apart. It had been horrible having people make fun of her for it, and she got so mad because there was nothing she could do about it. Until, of course, she finished high school, got a business degree, and went into debt to make sure her wardrobe was the top of the line. She knew what it felt like to be the butt of the jokes. Not only that, but she’d also judged Daxton for having clothing and a house that didn’t live up to the same standard she’d been trying to reach her whole life.
“I’m sorry you’ve been treated badly,” she said. “I know something of how you feel.”
He handed her a tissue and, as she gave him the shortened version of her childhood, he reached out and took her hand.
“You know what it’s like, then,” he said softly. “I wish you didn’t know.”
“I’m sorry that you have to deal with this, but I don’t know how to handle it. I don’t know what it means or if you’re dangerous or not, and I don’t know if I can trust you not to hurt me. All the stories—and I know they’re just stories—but they always involve someone getting mauled.”
“Did I hurt you Friday night?”
She shook her head. He’d sat there, perfectly calm and still after the men had run off.
“Then give me a chance. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know. You can talk to the rest of the clan and ask them anything, too. And you can talk to Beck’s girlfriend if you want, to see what she says. Whatever womanly questions you might have about how… things work.”
She raised an eyebrow and he shrugged.
“I don’t think it’s any different for us, but how would I know?” he said.
“You’re all bears? The five of you who live in that house?”
He nodded.
“That’s why you’re so… big?”
“Well, we do workout, but I’m sure it has something to do with it. Shifters tend to resemble their animals, even in human form.” He stood up and came around to her side of the desk, then perched on the edge. “Blair, I know it’s going to take some getting used to. Please don’t give up on me just yet.”
She looked into his eyes, saw the glimmer of tears making the gold sparkle. Her heart surged with compassion and longing. This was still the man who’d kissed her so well. Nothing had changed about him when he was in human form. And she liked who he was when he was a human.
“Come to my place tonight. We can talk and you can really meet the guys.”
“I’ll think about i
t. I might just… need some time, okay?” She stood up and walked toward the door.
He stood in front of her and placed his palm against her cheek. “Take your time. Just don’t ignore me completely, okay?”
She nodded and when he leaned in, she leaned back and let him kiss her. It was a much shorter kiss, but still ignited something deep inside her. She couldn’t deny that she wanted him. Bear or not.
He stepped out of her office, and she stood in the doorway to watch him go. He looked over his shoulder to smile at her. And behind him, a man walked into the aisle. At first, he paid them no attention. He pushed his cart and tossed items in. But Blair recognized him and Daxton froze. It was the man in the flannel shirt who’d pulled a knife on Daxton.
The man looked up and saw them. His eyes hardened and he turned down the aisle.
Daxton came back to her, watching the aisle where the man turned. “I’m going to keep an eye on him.”
“Should I call the cops?”
He shook his head. “He hasn’t done anything yet. I’ll be right back.”
Blair closed the door to her office and paced. Maybe, despite her unavailable payroll funds, she should consider hiring someone for security. Would the man attack her in the middle of the store?
Daxton knocked. “He left. He abandoned his cart in an aisle and got into his car and drove off.”
She breathed out a sigh of relief.
“Let me drive you home tonight, or at least follow you. I don’t like this.”
“Okay.” She looked at her watch. “I was planning to leave in an hour. I just have a few things to finish up.”
“I’ll be back.”
Daxton followed her home and everything seemed to be fine. They hadn’t seen the man again or any of his friends.
“Thanks for following me,” Blair said, standing in her entryway. “Do you want to maybe... stay for a little while? We could get food or something?”
“You sure?”
She chuckled. “Not really. But I wouldn’t mind just talking.”
She got them both glasses of water and they sat on her couch, waiting for the pizza to come. Things felt a bit awkward, though. She kept changing her position, and the conversation felt stilted.
“What’s wrong?” he finally said. “You’re not acting like yourself.”
“Maybe we just need to talk more about the elephant in the room. Or bear, as it were.” Her cheeks flushed, but he laughed.
“Right. You have questions?”
“You said you don’t choose to be a shifter.”
“It’s hereditary. But it’s not 100%. They say if one member of a couple is a shifter, there’s about an 80% chance the kids would be, too.”
She nodded. Did it skip generations? Like blue eyes and blonde hair could?
“Does that bother you?” he asked.
“Why would it?”
He shrugged and looked at the carpet. Then she realized what he was implying.
“Oh,” she said. “I hadn’t really thought about it. I guess if we…” If she did keep seeing him, and ended up sleeping with him, any kids they might have would very likely be bear shifters, too.
“It bothers a lot of women,” he said. “That’s why none of us are married.”
That idea settled over her as there was a knock at the door. “Pizza,” she said.
He stood to get the door and took out his wallet. But when she heard the door open a second later, something didn’t sound right. She got up and peaked around the corner.
“So, we found the shifter after all.”
It was one of the men from Friday night. And from what she could see past him, he had friends with him.
The door banged open. Daxton called out, “Blair, run!”
She backed away in shock and locked herself in her bedroom. The instant fear made her tremble. She realized then that she’d left her phone on the living room table after ordering the pizza. She really needed to keep it closer.
A loud crash made her jump. She opened the door a crack. She had a decent view of the living room from here, and she saw the large black bear pick up one of the men in his mouth and toss him to the side of the room. The man landed with a thud and didn’t move.
She counted seven men, all coming at Daxton with fists and knives. A man dove at him, knife extended, and Daxton swiped him to the side with his large paw. Another man tried to stab his leg, and it looked like he only managed to scrape him by the time Dax shoved him down and stepped on him. The man cried out, and she could hear the sound of his bones breaking.
The fight ended much faster than she would have thought possible. Daxton sat in the middle of her living room, her coffee table in pieces in front of him. The seven men lay scattered around the room, most of them unmoving. The ones who did move, did so slowly, and sounds of pain filled the air.
One of the men staggered to his feet. Daxton roared at him, and the man ran out of the house, followed by another man shortly after. Two others, Daxton picked up in his mouth and carried to the door. Of the three that remained, two were moving and trying to stay away from Dax. They each took the arm of their friend, who didn’t seem to be moving at all, and drug him out the front door.
Daxton sat for a long time alone in the living room. Blair opened the door slowly and crept out. She went to the front door and locked it, then secured her deadbolt. She’d have to clean up the smears of blood later.
She came back to where Daxton sat and stared at him. He stayed seated, watching her. One step at a time, she made her way to him. She reached out and stroked his fur, petting him like a dog. He closed his eyes and made a murmuring sound that she thought meant he liked it.
“Can you change back? Or does it take a while?” She stepped back to give him room.
After a few minutes, he curled onto his side and his fur faded into skin. She hadn’t seen him change, and had forgotten about the explosion of clothing from Friday night, but now, as she looked at him naked, she remembered.
But she couldn’t stop looking at him naked. He sat with his knees bent and feet out in front of him, covering himself with his hands.
“Sorry about your coffee table,” he said. “And your floor. And your walls.” He gave her a sheepish look.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt at all?”
“Maybe a scratch or two. Nothing serious.”
“You just took out seven men and barely got a scratch on you?” She was impressed, despite the destruction and her lingering fear. He was practically invincible. And he was there to protect her.
He pulled his mouth into a half smile. “There are some benefits to being a bear.”
“I think our pizza man got scared away,” Blair said, looking toward the door.
“We can order another if you’re hungry.”
She shook her head. She could not take her eyes off the way the muscles bulged out of his chest and arms. Maybe it was the bear in him, but his chest was covered in black curls that begged for her touch. She wanted to eat him and nothing else.
He got to his feet, still covering himself. “Usually, I keep a change of clothing with me. I have some things, but they’re in my car, and I probably shouldn’t walk outside like this.”
Joel (BBW Bear Shifter Wedding Romance) (Grizzly Groomsmen Book 5) Page 72
