Beth couldn’t have imagined anything so intense as this. Waves of emotion hit her, making her gasp, choking back tears. And when they passed, when she slowly came back down to earth, she knew her world would never be the same again.
Chapter Eleven – Ben
The taste of her on his tongue, the smell of her arousal filling his nose. And the sound of her cries in his ears. What more could a bear ask for, apart from being buried inside her? But that would have to wait for another day. For now, she had been taken to a place she hadn’t expected by a man whom she thought was gay.
Wow. He had missed an opportunity there, if he had played that card for the last few years, he would have had a quiet life. But his bear would never have allowed it. He was honest and true; there was no way he could ever pretend to be something he wasn’t. Ben was the last of a dying breed of men who thought that a man always had to be straight with people, no messing around and lying.
Especially with his woman. His mate. He kissed her thighs, allowing her to compose herself. Then he helped her get up from the sofa and picked her up and carried her, protesting, to her bedroom. There he waited until she was ready for bed, her nightclothes on and her teeth brushed. He helped her to get under her covers and then kissed her goodnight.
“Meet me tomorrow?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said sleepily.
“After work. Promise me.”
“I promise,” she said, accepting one more good-bye kiss from him, and then her eyes closed and she was asleep.
Ben sat on the edge of the bed, the taste of her still in his mouth. Had he done the right thing, or should he have left her alone tonight? It had all happened so fast, he only hoped she wouldn’t regret it. At least he had not slept with her; at least he had not taken her virginity. She would have some time to think it all through tomorrow.
He got up and took one last look at her before he left her room, going downstairs and making sure her front door was securely locked before he left. All that time, he didn’t allow his mind to wander back towards what he had to tell her, what he had to show her. How was she going to react when she found out that the man who wanted her to marry him, the man who had pleasured her with his mouth, was a bear!
Chapter Twelve – Beth
“Oh. What have I done?” she asked her reflection the next morning. The reflection stared back, pale, dull, and mute.
Beth had no choice but to climb into the shower and try to wash away the memories of last night. An impossible feat. All she kept remembering was his mouth on her… She closed her eyes, squeezing them so tightly she saw stars, but still the images of the top of Ben’s head, moving up and down in a steady rhythm as he pleasured her with his tongue, kept appearing. How would she face him at work? What if he had gone and told everyone?
She wanted to cry, but she couldn’t let herself go; she had to hold her head up high. This time she had done nothing wrong. Towelling herself dry, she went to her bedroom, dressed, and carefully applied her makeup. Then she took a deep breath and opened the door on Bear Bluff. Everything seemed just the same.
She walked to the hospital, dropping into the store to get a cold bottle of water. People said hello to her. Everything was the same. That was what she told herself over and over as she entered the hospital. Gradually she began to relax, until Ben loomed on her horizon. She wanted to dive into the nearest janitor’s closet and lock the door, but she kept walking. He was talking to another doctor, who held a clipboard. They were discussing a patient; he wouldn’t even notice her.
However, Ben appeared to feel her presence. As she approached, he lifted his head and smiled. A sweet, innocent smile that gave nothing away. “Morning, Beth,” he said.
The other doctor looked up. “Morning, Beth.”
Morning, Doctors,” she said naturally. It did sound natural, right. Then she kept on walking.
She went to her locker, put her purse away, and smoothed her uniform down. Business as usual. All she had to do was get through the day, as if everything was completely normal. And she stuck to that until she came face to face with a very large bouquet of flowers.
“Look at these,” Greta said. “Isn’t this the most expensive, and beautiful, bouquet of flowers you have ever seen?”
“Yes. They are,” Beth said, wondering who had bought them for Greta. Only last night she seemed hell-bent on getting her well-manicured fingernails into Ben. Now she had a massive bouquet of flowers on her desk from an admirer.
“I always knew he had a secret crush on me.” She smiled at Beth, as if taking pity on a poor unfortunate creature who would never live up to the long legs and full pout of a woman like Greta.
“I’m really pleased you’re happy. I didn’t know you had a boyfriend.” Beth picked up the notes on one of her patients and began to flick through, to get up to speed.
“Well, we’ve kept it quiet.” Greta dropped her voice to a loud whisper. “You know how it is. A doctor likes to keep his private life, you know, private.”
“It’s a doctor?”
“Not any doctor,” Greta said excitedly. “It’s Dr. Ben.”
Beth swayed slightly, but kept her outward emotions cool and professional. But inside, her mind was in turmoil. He couldn’t do this to her. She had told him of her past, and he had used her. Made her believe she could trust him, despite knowing what she had been through. Keeping her voice level, she said, “I hope you’re very happy together. I’m sure you deserve each other.”
“Oh, we do!”
***
Beth wasn’t sure how she functioned through the rest of the day. The only good thing was that she managed to avoid both Ben and Greta. At lunchtime she didn’t visit the restaurant; she just went and sat with Daphne at her desk. Daphne was so excited about her evening with Lionel, she never came up for air, but her enthusiasm made Beth smile and she forgot about her own problems for a while.
“I am so pleased you and Lionel hit it off. Have you known him long?”
“Yes. Like forever. He and I have fooled around, you know, flirted, but we met up at the book club Drew’s mom and Eirik’s dad organised. You know, the couple you met last night.”
“Oh, yes. So are they an item? Just seemed a bit strange when their kids are getting married.”
“Oh, not strange at all. They were both lonely, having lost their partners. Is nice to see them happy again.”
“Ah. That makes sense, so I guess I am the only single one.”
“You and Dr. Ben,” Daphne nudged her, “make a fine couple. How did the walk home go?”
“OK,” she lied. “But he’s seeing someone already, isn’t he?”
“No. I told you.”
“Not someone in secret?”
Daphne thought for a moment. “Do you know something I don’t?”
“No. Not really. It was just something Greta said.”
“Take no notice of that one. Lives in a fantasy world.”
But Beth couldn’t ignore it and she had already made up her mind not to meet up with Ben. She didn’t need the aggravation of a relationship with him if he was also leading Greta on. So when her shift ended, she was changed and out of the door, heading home as quick as she could. And to her relief, she managed to avoid Ben Hansom completely
Chapter Thirteen – Ben
He waited for her but she didn’t arrive. After looking at his watch for the thousandth time, he went back into the hospital. Where Greta pounced on him.
“Thank you for the flowers, Ben.”
“It was the least I could do after last night.” He smiled at her, but was casting a glance around for Beth.
“Oh, you have nothing to apologise for,” said Greta loudly.
Ben groaned. He shouldn’t have bought the flowers. “It was for spilling my drink on you.”
“You could have come home with me in that taxi, Ben. I could have done with a blanket bath, you know, these capable hands of yours could have washed my naked body.” She grasped his hand and stroked the insid
e of his palm with her finger.
Ben pulled it away. “I’m looking for Beth,” he said, trying to get past Greta.
“Beth? Why are you looking for her?”
“We arranged to meet after work.”
Greta fell silent, his words registering on her face, but before she could react, Daphne walked up behind them. “I saw Beth heading home about twenty minutes ago.”
“There, she’s stood you up. I wouldn’t dream of doing something so disrespectful, Ben. I finish in twenty minutes; if you want we can go for dinner.”
“No, thank you, Greta. I’ll catch up with Beth.” He ran out of the hospital, heading for his car. Normally he walked to work, but he had wanted to drive them up to the highest point a vehicle could take them on the mountain. That would still leave them a good walk to get far enough away from prying eyes for him to show her his bear.
If he had felt nervous before, he felt worse now. What had happened to make Beth so upset? Maybe she was regretting last night. He thought he had pleased her, he thought he had gained her trust. Ben needed to know why she hadn’t met him. It was so important to him. It was the most important thing in his life.
Trying to keep calm, he drove to her apartment. Getting out, he ran to the door and knocked. No answer. Was she in? Perhaps hiding from him, or hadn’t she arrived home from work? That made him worry. What if she was going somewhere else before she came home? He wished he had her phone number.
One more round of knocking on her door, and the he retired to wait in his car. He wasn’t moving. If he had to, he would wait all night for Beth to come home. But he had just got himself settled when he saw her in his side mirror, walking rather forlornly up the street towards him.
Ben sat still, not wanting to scare her off. He waited until she was about to put the key in the lock before he got out. He didn’t approach her; he simply stood and quietly said, “Beth.”
“Ben. What are you doing here?”
“We had a date, remember? Or at least I thought we had a date.” He was trying to read her expression, without much luck.
“Ben, please go. I told you last night I didn’t want a relationship with someone at work.”
“Beth, I thought you were going to give us a chance.”
“I changed my mind, Ben.”
He walked up to her. He needed to know why she had changed her mind. He needed to know if there was a chance she would change her mind. But she turned from him. In an anguished voice he asked, “Why, Beth? What did I do wrong?”
Chapter Fourteen – Beth
Beth didn’t know whether to be mad or sad. Both emotions battled for supremacy in her mind. Why would he come here and behave like this? He must know how much he was hurting her. Was his good doctor routine all an act?
“You must know why.”
“No.”
“The flowers, this thing you have going on with Greta.”
“Greta.” He shook his head. “This is about Greta?”
“Yes, she told me you have this thing going.”
“No.” He shook his head, and then took hold of her hand and held it firmly in his. Looking straight into her eyes, he said, “Beth, you are the only woman for me. I sent Greta those flowers because I felt bad I had ruined her evening yesterday by knocking my drink all over her. I’m sorry if that upset you, but it’s the kind of guy I am. I guess I’m a little too courteous.”
“Too courteous? Ben, that was the biggest bouquet of flowers I’ve ever seen.”
“It seemed like a nice gesture.”
“A nice gesture,” she repeated, folding her arms across her chest. “Ben, I can see why the ladies love you.”
He shrugged. “I’m old fashioned. I like to treat everyone well.”
She sighed. “I don’t know. Today just reminded me of every reason I should not go out with you.”
“Can I remind you of every reason you should?” He leaned in and kissed her neck, trailing kisses along her collarbone.
“Not fair.”
“If you want me to play fair, I will march back into the hospital with you right now and announce to everyone, including Greta, that I am in love with Beth Andrews.”
“Ben, don’t!”
“Why not? It’s true.”
“Because it’s too soon.”
“Not for me,” he said, and when he pulled back and looked into her eyes, she knew what he was saying was true. Or at least he believed it was true; Beth, on the other hand, could only hope. “Come with me. Let me show you. Prove it to you.”
“How?” she asked, uncertain, but filled with hope by his excitement.
He held out his hand. “No more explanations until we are on the mountain.”
“The mountain? Why are we going up there?”
“No more questions,” he repeated, kissing the back of her hand and leading her to his car.
She followed him, allowing him to open the car door for her and getting in. She figured she had nothing to lose. But there was no way he could prove to her that his feelings, or his words, were true. These things had to be earned, over time. And they had known each other one day.
He got in beside her and started his engine. He pulled out onto the quiet street and made his way to the outskirts of town before turning off onto a single-track road that wound its way up into the mountains. She had never been any further than the gentle slopes surrounding Bear Bluff. That was high enough. Bear Bluff was situated about a quarter of the way up one of the steep mountains; it was where the name came from. The Bluff was a steep cliff that towered in the distance, as if watching over the little town.
Now they were going above that, Ben’s car easily coping with the sharp inclines as they made their way ever higher. Beth was glad she didn’t have a problem with heights, especially when he stopped the car at the end of the road, where there was a wide parking area. When they got out of the car, the mountain air was definitely thinner, telling her just how high they were.
“Why are we up here?” Beth asked.
“Like I said, I have something to show you.”
“That you couldn’t show me in town?”
“No.” He took her hand and led her along a track, in amongst some trees that clung to the mountainside. It wasn’t an easy place to walk, but he kept hold of her hand and managed to keep her upright when she slipped. “Not much further.”
She followed him, but part of her was regretting coming here with him. If she took away the part about him being a doctor and a fine, upstanding citizen of Bear Bluff, then this might seem a little odd behaviour for a man. Taking a woman he hardly knew halfway up a mountain to show her why she could believe he was her perfect, loyal partner?
“Ben. How much further?” she asked at last, about ready to turn around and insist he take her back to the car.
“Not much. It gets easier in a moment, just wait.” He turned to her and smiled that enigmatic smile that made her heart skip a beat. And then he stopped, letting her take in the breath-taking view. “Here.”
They were high above the town, looking down on it with a bird’s-eye view. Off into the distance you could see Bear Creek to the left, and way over to the right she could just make out Wolf Valley. Surrounding it all was forests, high meadows, and lush fields the size of postage stamps from up here.
“Wow. That is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”
“Impressive, isn’t it? But what if I told you I could show you something more amazing and more impressive.”
With some reservation she said, “Show me.” Because that was what she had come up this mountain for. He had told her he would prove himself to her, and she wanted to know how.
An excited nervousness passed across his face. For a second she thought that he wasn’t going to show her, either because he couldn’t or he had changed his mind. Eventually though, he simply said, “Whatever happens, will you please stay where you are? Don’t run.”
“Why would I run, Ben?” Her nervousness kicked up a notch. What the he
ll was he going to show her?
“I am going to change.”
She looked around, but he had brought nothing with him. Not even a bag containing clothes that he could change into. “Is this a magic trick? Are you going to change what you are wearing as if by magic?”
“No. Not my clothes. My body.”
“Ben, this is starting to creep me out.”
“Then just watch. And remember that I love you and I will not hurt you.”
Before she could say another word, before she could tell him she had changed her mind and wanted to go home, he had walked a little way away from her. There he stood and faced her, smiling that smile of his once more, trying to put her at her ease. Which at this point was impossible.
But she had to stay and see what he was going to do. Because she had the feeling it would make or break their relationship. She prayed it would not break it. She wanted to be with him, and images of his hands and mouth on her body made their way into her head. Her fear and excitement mingled with her arousal now. Beth felt mixed up, almost perverted in some way.
Then Ben changed. Her head snapped back to attention, In front of her, Ben began to shimmer, the hard edges of his outline fading from sight, the air charged with electricity, which sparked through the air. Beth stood still. So still, it was as though she was frozen in time, while all around her the world moved. Yet she could only focus on the thing in front of her as it faded from this world, and then something different came back. Something big and broad, low to the ground, and covered in brown fur. A bear.
She staggered back, her foot catching on a tree root, making her fall on her butt. She yelped in pain, and the bear reacted, taking two quick steps towards her. At this angle, he looked fierce and aggressive. Opening her mouth, she was about to let out a long, piercing scream, when she caught his eyes, Ben’s gorgeous blue eyes, looking at her with concern.
Her addled brain processed this information: bears don’t have blue eyes. That’s right, she had never seen a bear with blue eyes; it was impossible. This could only mean one thing. Ben really had changed into a bear.
Doctor Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Bluff Book 2) Page 5
