She popped up and right into his arms. Taking a deep breath, she sighed and laid her cheek on his chest. “I am now.”
They held each other for a moment before Jess pulled back. “I have wine, cheese and smoked salmon in the cabin.”
Veronica’s lower lip disappeared between her teeth — a gesture that drove him wild — as she gazed into his eyes. He could easily lose himself in her hypnotizing eyes and he wanted to get her inside before things went any further. He tugged on her hand and led her up the steps, closing the door behind them.
“What about Fred,” she asked, her voice husky.
“Let him chase squirrels and deer for a while. Wine?”
She nodded as she looked around the small cabin. Jess had a moment of shame at how dinky and plain the place was, but Veronica seemed entranced. As he poured the wine, she peered out the small paned window and lingered at the modest fireplace, admiring the mementos he kept on the mantel. She picked up a small pink porcelain bunny and raised an eyebrow at him.
“Umm…”
“It was my mom’s,” he laughed. “She passed a few years ago and I take that with me on assignments to remember her.”
She replaced it carefully, her thin fingers brushing along the other keepsakes but not asking questions. There was time enough to get to know each other; not everything had to be learned at once.
He could barely take his eyes off her, amazed that she was actually here, with him. He imagined his hands raking along her form and felt the familiar pulse low in his groin.
Trying to maintain some self-control, he grabbed the glasses of wine and stepped close into her back as she gazed at a painting of a river scene on the wall. He nearly moaned when she leaned back into him.
“Did you paint this? The signature looks like it’s a stylized ‘Jess’.”
He nodded and reached around to place the glass in her hand. “Mmm hmm.”
“I didn’t know you were an artist, too.”
He heard a hint of accusation in her statement, as if she was really asking why he’d never revealed this part of himself to her. He shrugged and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her deeper into his body.
“Dunno. Never really thought about it. I’m sure there are lots of things we don’t know about each other. I for one am really looking forward to learning everything about you.”
He thought he felt her body tense for a split second but then she was turning in his arms to face him.
“Everything?” she whispered as she drapped her arms around his neck.
His mouth went dry. Why did she have to be so damn sexy? He’d planned out this long, sweet seduction but he couldn’t restrain himself any longer. Before his brain could so much as register what he was doing, he’d claimed her mouth.
She responded by pressing into him and running one hand through his hair, grabbing a fistful. The mild pain was exquisite but he was irritated that they each had one hand hampered by full glasses of wine. He pulled away long enough to take hers and set them on his makeshift desk, then he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bed, which was tucked into a corner of the one-room cabin.
Laying her down on the bed, Jess eased himself down on top of her, pinning her body with his. He was hypnotized by her eyes, frozen, content to just gaze into them forever. She broke the spell by lifting her mouth to his, running her fingers into his hair. When her lids dropped in bliss, his body woke up and took over.
Never breaking the kiss, Jess managed to wriggle out of most of his clothes. He groaned in protest when she pulled back to yank her own top over her head, but he took the opportunity to kick off his pants and roll on a condom before helping her out of the rest of her clothes.
Kneeling over her naked form, he was breathless. There wasn’t enough time in the day to touch and kiss and explore every part of her. No sense in rushing it. He had a lifetime to discover everything about her…and he couldn’t wait. For now he’d start with her belly.
She gasped as his lips grazed across her navel and his tongue flicked the sensitive spot. His hands seemingly had minds of their own, gliding up and down her body, cupping her luscious breasts and slicking down along her hips and legs, resting in between them for a moment before slipping up to her face.
Her body writhed under him as he kissed and stroked his way up her body. She could do little more than hold his head in her hands, and that was just fine by him. He felt owned, possessed by her. He was her property and she was claiming him.
He was totally cool with that.
When his lips wrapped around the pink tip of her breast, she arched into him, crying out his name and clutching at his hair. Through his fog of lust, he heard Fred bark outside in response.
Sorry, buddy, he thought, she’s all mine for the moment.
His teeth grazed her sensitive skin and went searching for its mate. Another cry sounded out when he found it.
Veronica wrapped her legs around his hips and pulled him toward her heat, guiding him into her. They both gasped and paused for a split second as they searched for the other’s gaze. Once their eyes locked, Jess thrust deeply into her, completing their union.
He’d been with his share of women in his life, but none had ever responded to his touch like Veronica. And none had ever set him on fire like her. He’d fallen in love with her over the internet but this was taking them to a different level completely. He’d never known this plane of pleasure even existed.
With loud cries that joined into one voice, they clutched each other as shudders roiled through them, toppling them over the edge of ecstasy and into bliss. Their pounding hearts and panting breath drowned out the world around them.
“I love you, Veronica,” Jess panted into her neck.
She pulled his face up to look into his eyes. “I love you, too, Jess.”
They were grinning at each other like fools in love when the sound of Fred’s frantic barking filtered through to their overloaded senses. “Guess he’s jealous,” Jess chuckled. “Can’t blame him.”
As he rolled over to see what was wrong with the dog, a tremendous rumbling roar sounded outside, Fred yelped loudly and Veronica was running toward the door.
Only she wasn’t Veronica anymore. She was a bear.
~ * ~ * ~
The endorphins coursing through her veins after making love with Jess were crowded out by adrenaline. Fred was being attacked by a bear — a werebear! Instinct took over and she morphed as she ran to save him, heedless of the clan’s mandate to never shift in front of humans.
Her hand changed into a paw a split second after opening the cabin door, and then she was on the other bear, tearing at the flesh of his back with her teeth and claws.
Fred lay motionless on the ground near the bear and the sight sent her into a fury. How dare this bear attack a defenseless pet! Weres knew better than that. Only brutes hurt pets like that and she wouldn’t stand for it.
The bigger male reared back onto his hind legs in a futile attempt to shake her but she was relentless. Her mouth was full of fur and she wasn’t about to let go, not even to scream her rage at him.
They rolled around on the ground, the male trying to bat her off his back and her digging her claws and teeth ever deeper into his flesh. Her senses were heightened and she realized that this was the same were she’d scented in the alley. He must have followed her. Now that really pissed her off!
She shook her massive head, tearing a chunk of flesh out of the bear. He howled in pain and anger, ripping free from her grasp, and backed away from her, hackles raised, a loud growl rumbling from his gut. Without a thought for her own safety, she let out a bellowing scream of rage and rushed at him. The crazed look in her eyes must have made an impression because he turned and galloped into woods, spattering blood as he ran.
Veronica scudded to a halt at the edge of the woods, unsure if she should continue chasing him. If he followed her from the alley, he undoubtedly knew — or could easily find out — who she was. But what good would it
do to follow him? If he wanted to report her to the elders, he would do it either way. The only way to stop him would be to kill him, and that wasn’t going to happen. She’d have to let the chips fall where they may.
She turned back to go attend to Fred and stopped in her tracks. Jess was standing on the porch, naked, staring at her in horror. He’d seen her shift, seen her fight that other bear. He knew. A dread deeper than any she’d felt since Keith’s death filled her to the core. The fear she’d felt while fighting that were was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. The look on Jess’ face said it all.
There was nothing for it, so she swallowed hard and shifted back to her human form. Keeping one eye on him, she moved over to Fred, kneeling down next to him. Jess just watched, mouth gaping.
The dog’s pulse was strong, but there was a small scratch on his ribs. If he was lucky, the were had only knocked him aside, leaving him unconscious but otherwise fine. She whispered in his ear while she petted his head. “Fred. Hey, buddy. Wake up for me, okay? C’mon, Fred, wake up.”
His ears perked up at her voice and he started coming around. He whined a little, then turned his head to lick her face. She pressed her hands along his body, checking for injuries but he just continued to wag his tail and lick at her. A minute later he was up and nuzzling her, still a little dazed but clearly in good health.
“Get away from my dog.”
She sucked in a sharp breath, choking back the cry her soul made. She looked up at Jess, who had finally recovered from the shock of seeing her shift — twice — and had moved down the steps to face her.
“Jess—“
“You heard me. Get away from him. C’mere, Fred.” He patted his leg, never letting his eyes waver from her. Fred slowly obeyed, looking back at Veronica as he did his master’s bidding.
“Jess, I can explain.”
“What the fuck?! You can explain…what, exactly?”
He was trembling all over. She wanted to soothe him, wrap her arms around him and make him feel better. But she could see that wasn’t a very good idea at the moment. Her only hope was to make him understand.
“Jess, I understand what you’re feeling. I—“
He chuffed at her.
She took a deep breath, trying to find the words. “This isn’t how I wanted to you to find out. I was going to tell you but—“
“When?”
“What?”
“When, exactly, were you going to tell me? After we made love? After we moved in together? After we got married? When we were old and gray? When were you going to tell me?!”
His volume got louder and louder until he was yelling at her. She felt her inner bear grumbling but ignored her. Instead she nodded and replied calmly, her eyes pleading up at him.
“I was planning to tell you long before we made love but things just happened so fast. I’m so sorry. It wasn’t my intention to deceive you, Jess. You have to believe that.”
He chuffed again, crossing his arms and looking away. Fred’s sweet brown head was ping-ponging between them.
“I can’t make you believe me, but it’s true.” She took a deep breath and continued. “I’m a werebear, Jess. Kind of like a werewolf but, as you saw, I shift into bear form. I’m still me, Jess. I’m still Veronica.”
“The Veronica I knew would never have kept something like this from me. Especially if it could put me in danger. Am I going to turn into a mutant now, too?”
His words cut her like a knife. It took all her self-control not to snap at him, but he’d just had a major shock. He was entitled to be angry. She on the other hand…
“I’m not a mutant, Jess, and I’m not infected. I’m just…a werebear. Nothing I do could turn you into one of my kind.”
He glared at her for a moment, then stormed into the cabin. She moved to follow but he was back on the porch a moment later, his arms full of her clothes. He dumped them onto the ground at her feet, holding his hand up at her.
“Don’t come a step closer. I want you to leave. Now.”
“Jess, can’t we just talk about this?”
“No. You’re not even human! I don’t know what you are, and I don’t want to know. I just want you to leave.”
“But—“
“Leave and never contact me again!”
The tears streamed down her face unchecked. He was really kicking her out. Her worst fears had come true, and now not only had she lost him but it was only a matter of time before her whole clan knew about what she’d done.
She’d be ostracized. She’d have no one and nowhere to go. She could have handled a shunning if she’d had Jess’ quiet strength to help her through it but she’d screwed that up royally. Bethany had even told her to tell him right away, but did she listen? Her world was crumbling around her and it was all her fault.
Breath hitching in her chest with each piece of clothing she picked up off the ground, Veronica walked to her truck. Jess remained on the porch, arms crossed, monitoring her every move. Was he afraid she’d shift and attack him or something? Maybe so, but there was nothing she could do to change his mind at this point.
Rather than humiliating herself by taking the time to get dressed — it could wait until she was out of sight of his cabin — she just climbed in and started the engine. She backed and filled until the nose of her truck was facing out the way she’d come in, then stopped even with Jess and rolled down the window.
The sobs that wracked her body nearly robbed her of the breath to speak, but she finally caught a deep lungful of air, enough to say what she needed to get off her chest.
“I know you’re not going to believe me, Jess, and I honestly can’t blame you, but everything I told you was true.” She caught his gaze, knowing he wouldn’t be able to look away until she released him. “Every. Single. Thing.”
She nodded once, then turned and did her best to drive home through a blur of tears.
“How’d it go today, babe?” Max had been waiting for her outside the hotel when Veronica dropped her off, escorting her up to their room. He opened the room door, pausing to sniff before entering.
It was hard not to roll her eyes at how overprotective he was but it also warmed her more than a little. As unfeminist as it sounded, having a big, strong, alpha male watching over her made her feel safe. Not that she would ever admit that to him!
“Really great! They met up at the diner, made out in the alley and then went back to his place.”
The scandalized look on his face made her laugh. “Chill out, gramps. They’re in love.”
He pulled her into his arms and nuzzled her neck, sending tingles across the sensitive skin there.
“I know how that goes,” he mumbled.
“Only trouble was that she apparently smelled another were while they were making out,” breathed Bethany, barely able to form the words from the delightful sensations he was supplying. But as soon as they left her lips, Max froze.
“What?” He pulled back to search her face. “Tell me everything.”
“It was no biggie, Max,” she said, glancing at the bed longingly. As soon as they’d walked into the room, Bethany realized she was bone tired. Until that moment, she’d been running on the excitement of helping Veronica, but now that she was home, she crashed.
Max must have sensed her exhaustion and helped her onto the bed, pulled her bright green Crocs from her swollen feet and started rubbing. The ugly shoes were about all she could fit into these days.
“Now tell me what happened.”
“Oh God, Max,” she breathed in ecstasy, ignoring his request. He chuckled at her response, his fingers working magic on her soles.
“Spill, Mills.”
Bethany cracked open one eye and saw he was serious. Sighing, she tried to remember exactly what Veronica had said, which wasn’t easy with Max’s fingers taking her feet to previously unknown heights of pleasure.
“Um, she said they were going at it pretty good, uhhh, ooh, yeah, right there, babe.”
She
collapsed back at the exquisite release he was providing. As each day of her pregnancy passed, her feet grew more and more weary. This was heaven.
“B? Keep going or I’ll stop.”
She mustered enough energy to prop her head up and glared at him before falling back against the covers again.
“Fine. Um, she said she smelled a male bear walk past the alley they were in. She hid herself against Jess, but assumed the bear could smell her, too. As soon as his scent faded, they left to go back to his place. Well, she dropped me off first, of course.”
“Did she recognize this bear?”
She shook her head slightly; it was all she could muster. “Uh uh. She was relieved about that.”
“Yeah, no doubt.” Max kneaded her foot for a moment, then switched to the other.
“Mmm, gooood…soooo goooood,” she moaned. How had he never given her a real footrub before? She made a mental note to request one every night from now until the baby was born. Seemed like it was the least he could do, especially when he did it so well.
After a few minutes in heaven, she realized she hadn’t asked about his day.
“It was pretty good,” he responded when she could form enough words to ask the question. “I met with the local clan elders and reviewed my subject’s file. Even had a short interview with him.”
“Mmm? What’s he like?” It was becoming increasingly difficult to form coherent thoughts, much less complete sentences. She felt, rather than saw, him shrug because her eyes were rolled back in her head in bliss.
“He’s a good prospect. A little arrogant. Reading between the lines, I think he’s been a bit of a player but he’s ready to settle down. He’s good looking and does quite well with the cannery he owns, so I don’t see any issues with finding him a mate.”
“If…he’s…so…great—“ She had to pause to catch her breath to finish the question between grunts. “Why…can’t…he find…his own…mate?” She finished with a loud sigh as Max dug his thumb into her instep.
Laid Bear 2: The Kodiak Clan Page 9
