Bearly Hers: A Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance

by Maria Amor

  Oh shit.

  Blinking, he cleared the slight fog from his head, reconciling his bruin body with his human mind, still able to think and understand just as if he were in human form. Only now, instead of just seeing Gia’s shock, he felt it. Deeply. A slight trickle of fear wavered off her, followed by the initial clench of adrenaline that made it impossible for her to move.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” Xander moved next to Gia and put a hand on her shoulder. He immediately looked at Trey as if to say “Settle down.” Trey did, though the sight of his brother touching his woman was grounds for war.

  Gia finally smiled, unconvincingly, and rubbed her upper arms with her hands. “I just… I had no idea. There’s so much that I don’t know about you.” She looked at Trey while she spoke, and he wished he had the voice to tell her they’d have lots of time, if she were willing. Instead, he ambled into Hannah’s stall, careful to maneuver his big body so he didn’t step on the horse. Hannah nickered at him, her warm eyes glazing over as her belly visibly tensed.

  The scent of birth was hot on his palate. Lying down beside her, Trey glanced over to find Gia riveted to him.

  “You can touch him.” Xander encouraged her. “It’s Trey, just… fluffier.”

  She laughed, Trey groaned. But Gia came over and knelt beside him, tentatively touching his fur while her eyes roved his body. As her touch became more confident, driving him wild in the process, she settled in next to him. Her hand never left his fur, and when Hannah delivered a healthy filly into Xander’s waiting hands, tears filled her eyes.

  And Trey knew he was in deep.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  “I spend my days in a lab. I don’t get to see things like horses being born.”

  Gia couldn’t hold back the excitement in her voice, nor did she feel the need to. If anything, Trey made her feel like she could be exactly who she was, period. No hiding. No covering up. She’d never experienced the sense of complete freedom to be authentic before, and certainly never with men.

  With each of her past boyfriends, she’d been self-conscious about something: her weight; her loud laugh; her geeky love of Marvel movies, ancient Egypt and fossil hunting. After witnessing Trey shift into his bear yesterday, it seemed to melt right off of her—that need to hide. If he could be his authentic self, why couldn’t she? And honestly, she believed she wouldn’t be able to hide anything from him, anyway.

  Especially the needy little pulse between her legs from the way he was looking at her right now. He was saddling a horse, threading a strap from under its belly into a ring on the side of the saddle a couple of times and pulling it tight.

  “So, you’re saying you lead a pretty boring life?” Trey finished with the strap, giving the saddle a little jiggle to make sure it was tight, probably.

  “I wouldn’t say boring, Trey, just quiet. I like my life simple.”

  He smiled as if he knew exactly what she meant. “Uncomplicated.”

  “Slow-paced. But with a little excitement and passion sprinkled in.” She winked, even though his back was to her.

  “Just a little passion?”

  She smiled but didn’t respond right away, her mind going a mile a minute at all the ways they could take this conversation. “I think this is about perfect out here,” she said honestly and with a pang of longing. “The land, the space. It feels like the perfect home. Simple in its beauty and slow-pace.”

  Trey nodded. “Yeah. You’re right. It’s all of that.”

  “Seeing you shift yesterday was incredible.” She burst, making her own head spin at the fast change of subject. “All that bear is just… stuffed inside. No wonder you’re so tall and muscley.”

  He turned to look back at her, the heat in his eyes spreading over her like warm syrup. She probably should have held her thoughts back, considering the yummy tension between them had skyrocketed last night after the filly had been born. Trey left the barn and came back in a fully dressed man and made her dinner after the vet came to check the newborn, taking every opportunity to touch her. Not that she’d complained or tried to shy away from it. She’d welcomed his touch, and that night, laying in her soft bed, had listened for any sound from across the hall.

  Hoping. Hoping hard that he’d knock on her door… maybe just come in.

  “Muscley, huh?”

  She shrugged one shoulder. “Come on, Trey. You know you’re…” She let her voice trail off, mumbling the word that came next but not wanting him to hear it. But his eyebrows shot up and she remembered he could probably hear her whisper a mile away.

  “Right, bear hearing. You know, the science behind all this is really thrilling to me. I—“

  “So you think I’m hot?” He moved until his chest was nearly touching hers, a cocky, teasing grin on his lips.

  Wanting to touch him, but afraid of how far it might go if she did, Gia shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and gave a nonchalant wave of her hand. “Well, I mean, you’re certainly above average.”

  Trey’s narrowed eyes became heated azure pools. “Because seriously, Gia? I think you’re beyond hot. Amazing. Simply beautiful. If that’s boring, I’ll take it. If I had my way, I’d mark you and make sure you never left my bed.” Gripping her wrist possessively, Trey pulled her to him. Gia squeaked as their bodies made contact with a thump, her free arm instinctively going around him to steady herself.

  “Mark me?” She’d seen the marks on women in town—the curved scar left behind from a bite to the neck that was akin to a wedding ring to plain old humans. She shuddered, not so much over the implied pain of such a bite, but the permanency of it. Then again, everyone knew shifters didn’t divorce. And you never heard their women complaining, so something must work. Bonded for life, and all that. But it seemed they made it a happy life.

  Something mere humans hadn’t yet mastered. Passion and a long, happy, married life? A giddy streak went through her. Who wouldn’t want that?

  Trey seemed to be reading her mind, if his amused smirk were any indication. “One little bite, right here…” He leaned down and kissed the curve of her neck. “Would mark you as mine. My mate.”

  Gia moaned and leaned into his kiss. “That’s a little forward, don’t you think?”

  The kisses he continued to place over her neck, behind her ear, to her temple, seemed to think otherwise. “Shifters don’t worry about being forward. Or moving too fast. When we know, we know.” He released her wrist and gripped her chin, gently tipping her face up for the kiss he melded onto her lips. She opened for him, the warm glide of his tongue along hers flaming every part of her body into needy awareness. His palms ran over her shoulders and down her upper arms, dropping to her waist and gripping her there. She leaned her hips in, bringing her pelvis against his. Trey groaned something behind her lips, one big hand curving around to her ass to palm a cheek and jerk her harder against him. His rigid length pressed into her belly, and she wished they were alone so she could rid him of the offensive denim that separated her from that glorious --.

  With a start, Trey pulled back, his eyes wide, almost as if he were startled. Setting her until she was steady on her feet, he brushed the back of his hand against his mouth and turned back to the horse.

  Hands and feet tingling, she felt rooted to the spot, unsure what had caused this sudden ice front. She liked him. A lot. In each relationship she’d had, she’d been waiting for that falling sensation, that alternating sudden and slow drop that left you so deeply wanting and invested, there was no way out. From the moment she’d met Trey, she’d known that falling was a real possibility, and here she was with her toes over the edge, ready.

  But that was silly. She’d known him a handful of days, but it didn’t diminish what was growing inside her. Not in the least.

  “Trey?” She called softly, running her fingers over a small space on his back. There was a hard ridge there, from his shirt probably. Regardless, she wanted more. To touch, to feel. To open him up by layers and see what lay beneath.

 
; His hands dropped to his sides and he turned with an apologetic set to his lips. “I’m sorry, Gia. Look…” He reached for her again, gripping her hips. “I like you. I want you. Damn it… you’re perfect.” She sensed a ‘but’ coming on. So, she finally met a guy she could fall completely in love with, and he was going to reject her, sweet words and all.

  When he didn’t finish, she prompted, “But?”

  He shook his head and swore. “No, there is no, ‘but.’ I just hope that when you get to know all of me, that you’ll still be interested.”

  She sensed there was more, but he didn’t continue. Instead, he smiled wide, with a flash of perfect teeth, and moved her in position beside the horse. “Come on, time to go.” He helped her get her foot in the stirrup, and guided her up and onto the horse. In a flash, he was mounted behind her. When he’d asked if she wanted to go for a ride, she expected separate horses. But the way his thighs pressed into the backs of hers, and her ass settled in the V between his legs, she wasn’t complaining.

  It was a big saddle, giving them room but just enough that they still had to be pressed together. Heaven.

  Her cell phone rang. Jerking a little, forgetting she had it in the back pocket of her jeans, Gia reached for it, her fingers pressing against Trey’s crotch. “Hey now,” he chastised with faux sternness, tempting her to ignore the phone and touch him again. She chuckled and peeked at the incoming number. Momentarily unsure who it was, recognition kicked in with a heavy helping of disgust.

  Not wanting to set Trey off to her discomfort, she plastered on a smile and answered Mack the mixer guy. “Hello?”

  A pause; the sound of breathing. “Gia?”

  She rolled her eyes. Suddenly, the horse made a small lurch forward. She gasped and grabbed for the saddle horn with her free hand. “What… what can I do for you?”

  “Are you all right? What is that sound?” The level of protective concern in his voice unnerved her. She should have left a bad review on the comment card she’d filled in on her way out of the mixer last weekend.

  “I’m fine.”

  One of Trey’s strong arms came across her middle, holding her tight against him as the horse started to walk. His other arm was parallel to her, holding the reins while his forearm bumped into hers. She glanced at the length of corded muscle and honeyed, sun-kissed skin with a dusting of light blonde hair, remembering how his golden persona had faded into the midnight coat of a powerful bear. How she wanted all that power underneath her… better, on top, pinning her down while his wicked mouth did even wickeder things to her body.

  “Gia, are you listening?”

  Only if the cadence of her heart mattered. It was beating a song of, lick-Trey-head-to-toe. “Sorry, what did you say?”

  Mack cleared his throat, his voice going firm and scolding. “I said, about our meeting when you return. I’ll pick you up at seven p.m. Tuesday evening.”

  A soft flutter against the back of her neck. Gia shivered as Trey moved her hair over her shoulder and staggered little kisses along her skin. Pleasure pumped through her, weakening her muscles, easing the tension until the phone nearly slipped from her hand. Except what Mack had said seeped in, and she tensed.

  “We don’t have a meeting.” She shot back. “I need to go.” Not waiting for a reply, she hung up the phone and shoved it back in her pocket. Trey nibbled on her earlobe and Gia sank back against him. The feel of his lips rendering little zaps of electricity over her, the bump of his pelvis against her backside and the sway of the horse had her stomach tied up in passion-filled knots. Whatever this was between them needed to go to the next level. Like, now.

  Impressed at her own impulsivity, Gia palmed his thighs and ran her hands behind her, smoothing along his jeans until she couldn’t reach any more.

  “Who was that?” Trey asked with a tight voice. She kneaded his thighs, awed and impassioned by the hard feel of muscle beneath her hands.

  “No one I want to talk about right now.” Gia scooted back, nearly sitting in his lap. His hand flattened against her belly as he shifted forward to meet her, pressing them tightly. Intimately. A small fleck of self-consciousness went through her at his hand pressed to her soft middle, but she brushed it away. If Trey cared about her lush body, he wouldn’t be here like this with her now. His hand slid up, caressing the architecture of her ribs, running lightly between them before he caressed the outside of her breast. She jumped at the contact, her nipples pulling hard.

  “Later?” He murmured into her ear. Desperate for his touch on her breasts, Gia leaned into him, twisting a bit to encourage his hand to fully cup her.

  “Later, what?”

  His thumb ran lightly over her taught nipple. She swore her eyes rolled back into her head. Holy shit.

  “You’ll tell me about the phone call later.”

  “I will?”

  “You will. I want to know all your secrets.” Trey pulled her nipple between his thumb and forefinger, and then lightly circled his palm there, causing a whirlwind of sensation. Her other breast begged for the same treatment, aching to be touched. Secrets, huh? God, she’d give him anything if he’d just keep doing this… more… so much more. Too bad she didn’t have any secrets to share really.

  “I pretend to be texting when I’m in a crowd so I don’t have to talk to anyone.” The words spilled out as Trey’s hand crossed to her other breast. Oh, yes, yes, yes. She needed him to touch, just there—but instead of giving her desperate nipple some loving, he chuckled. Gia squirmed, careful to hold onto the saddle, but so needy for his touch.

  “Please, Trey,” the whisper was barely audible to her own ears, but she knew he heard.

  “One more, baby. One more dirty little secret.”

  Bastard. So mean to deny her. “I… I’m afraid of those little metal bells on store counters. I hate the way they sound.”

  Trey cupped beneath her breast, lifting the heavy weight in his palm. Gia pressed back against his chest, wishing she could blink and make her clothes disappear. He kissed her cheek and she turned just enough that he could capture her mouth in a deep, hot kiss.

  “That wasn’t dirty,” he said with a grin. “Dirty, naughty, shocking… hit me.”

  The horse made a little sidestep, causing Gia’s body to shift and Trey’s hand to slid, mercifully, over her breast. She clasped her hand over his, relishing the feel of him there, behind her, around her—everywhere.

  “I used my mad French kissing skills to con a guy out of his watch.” Foggy from the feel of all things Trey, she chuckled lightly at the memory, noticing that Trey tensed behind her. “… I told him he could have it back by answering one little question.”

  “Really.” His bland tone cut through the pleasure.

  “I asked him to tell me what the largest living bacteria on the planet was.” She rolled her head against his shoulder, suddenly aware that his hand was dropping away and he’d sat up a little straighter. “Thiomargarita namibiensis. That’s what… that’s the biggest bact...” Gia turned as best she could to see his expression—it was hard, stony.

  She put a hand to the side of his face. “Trey, I was twelve, and I gave the watch back. I’m sorry, that was a bad example. I was trying to be witty—I’m not witty, I know.” So much for being drunk on passion and not caring what came out of your mouth. Even so, it seemed she was walking a hot/cold line with him and despite all the things she really liked about him, that wasn’t one of them.

  Trey didn’t respond, just replaced his arm around her middle and kicked the horse into a run. She clung to the saddle for dear life as they came up a small hill dotted with purple and pink flowers. Then down to a valley with a creek winding through the land. Trey stopped the horse near the water and dismounted. He circled her waist with his hands and pulled her down, holding her arm’s length away. His chest rose and fell hard, his shoulders tense.

  “Trey—“

  “One question, Gia. One question. And it has nothing to do with bacteria.” A corner of his mouth
pulled up into a shadowy smile. She couldn’t help but follow suit.

  “Okay. One question.”

  “Are you a thief?”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  He was only going to ask her once, and for the love of everything sacred, he hoped she said no. His body was calling out to her so hard, so potently that he was having a hard time restraining himself. The bear inside walked in circles, anxious to claim a mate. It wanted Gia. He wanted Gia. And maybe, if she admitted to the crimes, but shared a reason that he could maybe understand -- a reason he could overlook, help her overcome--then he could forgive. They could right what had been wronged, and start fresh.

  Man, that was a lot of maybes.

  She backed away from him, bumping into the horse and crossing her arms. “What did you just ask me?”

  “The mixer -- a couple clansmen attended the same mixer and were robbed, drugged, by a woman matching your description.” He put his hands up, palms out as her mouth fell open and fury crossed those pretty eyes. “Now wait a minute, Gia. Hear me out.”

  “You brought me out here to accuse me of theft?”

  “No. No, that wasn’t the plan. I just… I just need to be sure, Gia.”

  She sidestepped away from the horse and stormed past him toward the hill. Ah, hell. One minute, he’d been in heaven feeling her body, imagining all the things he was going to do to her. He dropped the horse’s reins, a sign to stay put, and spun on his heel to follow her. The buzz of her cell phone cut through the chirping of birds. She pulled it from her pocket, swore, and put it back.

  “Gia. Gia!”

  “I’m going back, Trey.”

  “Just tell me that you’re not her. And if you are, then… then we’ll talk about it. Okay? Let me help you set things right.”

  She turned to him and spread her arms wide. “If I admit that I stole from your men, you’ll help me?” Her arms dropped, her head tipping to the side. He moved to touch her, but she spun away. “Don’t touch me. What did I even do to bring on suspicion?”