by Skye Jones
He filled the glass and went over to Charlie.
When he handed her the glass, their fingers brushed and a thousand tiny sparks danced along his fingertips. She raised the water to her lips, but her hand shook and she spilled it down her chin.
Bren grabbed a napkin from the tray and dabbed at her skin. His stare lingered on her mouth as he dried the drops of water, wanting more than anything to lick them from her. Her gaze roamed his face in return, landing on his mouth, only to take flight and alight on his eyes for a brief moment, before taking in his jaw and back up once more to his eyes. A bright blue butterfly, painting his skin with hot, tight lust wherever it landed.
He wanted to taste her so badly it hurt. For one brief moment, he yearned to simply forget all his rules about humans and bears. Forget his parents’ disastrous relationship. Forget everything and simply drown in this female.
Desire sparked so hot in his belly he lost the battle. Moving on autopilot, Bren stretched his arm out and grazed her jaw with his fingers. Charlotte’s eyes widened and her sexy as sin mouth rounded into a perfect little “O” of surprise.
Bastard that he was, Bren took advantage of her momentary shock and leaned in, brushing his lips against the soft skin at the side of her mouth. She stilled, frozen in his grasp, but she didn’t object or pull away. Taking this as implicit permission, he moved his lips to touch hers. Their warm softness immediately became his new favorite thing. Better than ice cream or beer or catching fresh salmon in cool summer streams.
As he deepened the kiss, she moaned and darted her tongue out to swipe at him. He responded immediately and her taste quenched every thirst he’d ever had. Like eating watermelon and drinking fresh, ice-cold water all at the same time. She both sated him and tormented him. Giving him everything he’d needed…and nothing that would ever be enough.
Charlie pulled away from him with a gasp. Her eyes were wild, her lips red and swollen, and her pale cheeks flushed a gorgeous pink. But her forehead creased and she ran a shaky hand through her hair.
“What the hell was that?”
Shit. Time to apologize for taking advantage of the situation. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have. Trust me, I’m real sorry. I just—”
“No. You shouldn’t have.” Her voice shook a little when she spoke, and he hated to have scared her. “Don’t do it again.”
Her heartbeat pulsed fast and high in her throat, and he suddenly got it. She ached in exactly the same way he did. Her body responded to him with the same fire and need, and he guessed it freaked her out.
“I don’t go around kissing strangers. I reserve those kind of activities for my boyfriend.”
She had a boyfriend? The image of her with another male hit hard. A blow to the head with a baseball bat. He moved away to the window, needing to dispel the feelings. His bear hated the idea and roared within.
“What does your boyfriend do?” He tried to keep his voice even.
“He…well, he’s…” She sighed. “We broke up. But in general, I only kiss people I am in a relationship with. That’s the point. I don’t appreciate being molested by a stranger.”
Oh, his bear liked this news a lot more.
He hoped the way she’d gotten herself all rattled came down to how fucking intense their kiss had been.
She’d felt safe. Like home. Yet, at the same time, she screamed danger and excitement. A wild thing he’d never truly know or tame. He didn’t want to tame her either. He wanted this feral, scary feeling between them to last forever. Oh, its edges may dull over time as their bond grew, but she’d always retain that part of herself capable of felling him with a simple touch of her lips. It was how the mating bond worked.
Wait! What? No. No. No. There’d be no future. No time for their bond to grow. This couldn’t be.
He only had to think of his father, still grieving the human mate who’d refused to turn, and in doing so, died many years before her mate. A bear without its mate proved a sad and melancholy creature. Added to which, Bren himself may have been unable to shift and experience his bear. Young born of a non-turned human only possessed a 50 percent chance of becoming an adult able to shift. He would not take the risk with his own young.
Needing to get away and clear his head, he muttered something about things to do and walked out of the room. He didn’t turn back to see how Charlotte took his leaving.
He wandered about the house aimlessly until the scent of food drew him to the kitchen. Aiyana and Eric worked side by side. They moved around each other in a choreographed dance. Close, but not getting in one another’s way. His heart stuttered for a moment. Charlotte offered him a chance at this, but she also came wrapped up in a huge risk. One he didn’t want to take.
“Stop thinking so loud. Come over here and help us.” Aiyana turned to him.
“Sorry.” He didn’t want to ruin their moment with his depressive mood.
“Don’t be sorry. Here.” She pushed the chopping board at him and some sticks of celery. “Be a sweetheart and cut these up.”
He did as told and chopped the vegetables, the repetitive movement soothing.
“You know, what your father went through is rare.” Aiyana kept her voice low and gentle. “I turned. All the other human mates I know did, too. Jacob turned. As did Clara. Your mother…she’s not usual.”
“I know. But it’s a risk I can’t take. When you’ve seen it up close…what it does to the mate left behind… My father…he’s a ghost of himself. Less than a shadow. I can’t risk it.”
“I understand. But a bear without a mate isn’t much better. And who’s to say such a match will cross your path again? The chances are this is it for you, Bren. Walk away and your bear may never want another. Those relationships you had in the past won’t work for you going forward, it would be like eating the worst meal in the world after gorging on gourmet food. You won’t want others in the same way if you let her go.”
He sighed and threw the knife down. He was done talking about this and needed to work out some of his angst. Not waiting to hear any more from Aiyana, he grunted a “later” and headed out of the room and toward the gym at the end of the downstairs hallway. Once there, he set about lifting some heavy weights. At least he didn’t need to change, thanks to already wearing sweats and a T-shirt. Within five minutes, his muscles burned pleasantly and his skin ran slick with sweat.
His burning need for Charlotte receded as he punished his body with the most intense workout he’d done in months. If he needed to come and work out five times a day to beat this, then he’d do so. And tomorrow, he’d take the damn four-wheel drive out no matter what. He needed the female gone. The sooner, the better.
Chapter 5
Charlotte threw the bed covers back and got to her feet. She wore only her strappy camisole and her panties. But her sweater and jeans were laid over a radiator under the window, drying. She crossed to them and put them on, relishing their warmth against her skin in the chill air. She glanced out the window and her heart sank when she looked out over snowfall so heavy she couldn’t see more than a foot beyond the pane. But below the window lay possible salvation in the form of a large, off-road vehicle. If anything seemed capable of navigating the snow, it was the behemoth in the driveway.
She needed to get out of there. Something strange and sultry lay over the house. Over the gruff man who’d kissed her so headily she’d actually come. A small orgasm, and one she’d managed to hide, but an orgasm nonetheless. And from a mere kiss. It didn’t seem remotely conceivable, but there it was.
His lips on hers had been, hands down, the best sexual experience of her life. Admittedly, she didn’t have much to compare it to, but still. Wow. That kiss. She wanted more. She wanted things she’d never really thought about before. Things like big, callused hands holding her. Her own hands touching hard, solid flesh. She’d noticed the bulge in his sweat pants and wanted to see what lay behind the soft cotton. More than anything, she wanted the big, scary man to…what? Make love to her? No, someth
ing coarser, more elemental. In truth, she wanted him to fuck her. Dear God. She’d turned into some sort of sex maniac.
One kiss from a big, rough man and she’d taken off her glasses, let down her hair, and transformed from uptight secretary to shameless porn star. Speaking of glasses… She looked around the room, relaxing when she spied them by the bed, on the other side, placed carefully on the second bedside table. She’d need them to drive out of this strange place, and if it meant stealing the keys and risking it in this hellish snow, she’d do anything to get away. Something, some newly born sixth sense she’d never experienced before, told her if she didn’t leave now, she might not get away.
Odd, disturbing feelings grew all around her, sticky, emotional vines clinging to the house of her skin and trapping her within. Yeah, if she didn’t get away, she’d end up living her life in this otherworldly home.
She went to the bedside table and retrieved her glasses. Once they were on, she looked around for her boots. Spying them in the corner, she gave a prayer of thanks. Pulling them on quickly, she tied the laces with brisk, efficient movements. Standing, her leg complained and she rubbed at her thigh through the denim covering it. If the car broke down, she risked freezing in these clothes. Maybe the people here owned better coats than the frankly useless item she’d brought with her. God, she’d turned into an amoral thief as well as a wanton hussy. Stealing coats and cars. Although, she only intended to borrow both. Not such a bad crime, right?
She’d drive herself out of this place and keep going until she found a main road. This was Wales, for pity’s sake, not Australia or somewhere with vast expanses of empty space. She’d find civilization soon enough.
Heart hammering a rapid tango, she cracked open the bedroom door and glanced out. No one around. Tentatively, she took a step out of the room and crept along the corridor. The stairs scared her. Stairs tended to creak. Taking a deep breath, she began to descend one step at a time, pausing on any noise, not matter how tiny, breath stalled in her throat. As she neared the bottom, she heard voices coming from a room to the right of the staircase. Aiyana’s she recognized, and on reaching the bottom of the stairs and rounding the corner, she spied her in a large kitchen talking with the red-haired man whose name she forgot.
“He ought to tell her,” Aiyana said. “If she knows, then she can make an informed choice. Not telling her is cruel. Wrong.”
“Why?”
“Oh, Eric, don’t be obtuse.”
Eric, of course. She turned to head toward the porch leading outside, where she hoped to find some gloves, a coat, and some car keys for the big off-roader she’d seen.
“Charlotte may deserve to know, but Brenin won’t tell her. You know his deal with human females. He’s messed up.”
Oh my God. They were talking about her. She stopped, one foot in the air, and didn’t move a muscle. Slowly, she lowered her foot to the ground and focused on listening.
“So then we tell her,” Aiyana said.
“Are you crazy? Bren’s our leader and our family. Our loyalty lies with him.”
Leader? Weird word. It lent credence to her worry of them being some sort of cult. And it also added to her fear of this place and these people. If she didn’t know any better, she’d say she’d entered some magical, otherworldly domain. But she did know better. Science was one of her pet loves, along with photography and reading and her other geeky interests. Most months, she read two science magazines cover to cover, and she believed that magic was superstitious nonsense. Their conversation continued, and she focused on their words.
“Of course it does, which is why we should tell her. He won’t make a move. But he ought to. She’s perfect for him. Even beyond the mating thing. They are meant for one another.”
Her and Bren? Meant for one another? And what did they mean by the “mating thing”?
“She’s a good person. I deciphered as much when I held her hand. She’s grounded and sincere, and stupid and cruel boys have messed with her. Bren and her…they’d work.”
Charlotte’s mouth hung open as her brain scrambled to catch up with some pretty out-there intel. Firstly, it seemed Aiyana was psychic or some shit, so yeah, she didn’t have a rational sciency explanation for that. Secondly, she and Brenin were meant to be together. Thirdly, and the thing she kept coming back to, why call her human? As opposed to what?
“Shapeshifters, dear. As opposed to shapeshifters.” Aiyana appeared in the doorway right next to her.
Charlotte screamed and leaped about a foot away.
“Hey. It’s okay. I didn’t mean to scare you. So…you heard.”
“S…s…s…shape s…shifffterssss?” Her teeth clacked, and her mouth shook so badly her words came out all stuttered and mangled.
“Yes. Shapeshifters. Bear shifters, to be exact.”
Fear ran around her body on an endless loop, but at Aiyana’s last words, anger decided to join the adrenaline race, too. “I knew I’d seen a blasted bear. You all lied to me.”
“Brenin had good reason to withhold that little bit of info.” Aiyana tried to put a hand on her arm, but Charlotte moved back.
“Don’t touch me. What are you? A witch? Do you change shape, too?”
“Yes. But only because I mated with Eric and allowed him to turn me. Before, I was the same as you. A human woman, except I possess the sight, so I’m kind of different.”
“Yeah, right.” The bitter, corrosive acid of fear, anger, and hurt all mixed together to come pouring out in harsh, hurtful words. “Like my great-aunt Geraldine? She had the sight too. Of course, all her predictions were utter bullshit. She told me I’d be married at twenty-two to a dark-haired man called Gregory. She also said my mum would win the lottery. Neither happened. The batty old thing made a fool of herself, and we all indulged her because none of us wanted to hurt her feelings. But we all knew she was nothing but a dreadful fraud.”
Aiyana snaked out her hand and grabbed Charlotte’s wrist, quick as a flash. Charlotte gave a small, choked sob as tight fingers closed around her skin. Oh, God. Why did she say those things? Now, they’d probably want to punish her.
“It must have hurt.” Aiyana’s low voice carried with alarming resonance. “When he did that to you. Secretly filming you dancing. And you so happy, so carefree, doing something you loved. Out on a date with a boy you liked, who you thought liked you back. You haven’t dated since, but more tragically, you haven’t danced either. You need to dance again, Charlie.”
“What the fuck?” She yanked her arm free and took four faltering steps back. Utter horror swamped her. Horror at the scary facts making themselves known. How did Aiyana know the reason behind her not dancing or dating anymore? It wasn’t possible.
Aiyana watched her closely. “There’s no need to be scared. Honestly, Charlie. Calm down. If you knew about us, you wouldn’t be scared. We can shift into bear form, but we also retain our human mind when we do. We live in most ways the same as you. Except we change form every now and again, and unlike humans, when we take a life partner, it really is for life. We call them our mate and the bond is strong. Other than that, we’re very ordinary. So don’t panic.”
Don’t panic? As if. This world wasn’t ordered, boring, and humdrum. Scary women with the power to read your past walked this earth. So it seemed, did men who could change from human to bear. To top it all off, the strange voices returned, mocking her, taunting her.
Get away. Get away. Get away. They will hurt you. Come to us. Be with us. We want you here. The chant became deafening. It drowned out her reason, her very sanity. She took off down the hall toward the porch at a hundred miles an hour. She pulled the glass door open and stepped onto the flagstone floor. She grabbed the first thing remotely usable as a weapon and pointed the sharp-tipped umbrella in front of her, waving it around. She searched frantically for car keys. She spied four sets hung on a hook and with shaking fingers desperately rifled through them, trying to figure out which ones would fit an off-roader.
Lan
d Rover. They made big utility vehicles, right? She chanced it. Grabbed the keys and jabbed forward with the umbrella as Aiyana edged nearer. “Don’t. I mean it. Fucking don’t. I’ll run you through.”
Run you through? Since when had she started talking like the villain in some swashbuckling movie?
Eyes on Aiyana, she opened the door and edged outside. Then she slammed it shut behind her and ran to the car, wildly pressing the key ring as she went. To her relief, the familiar beep-beep-blurp of a car unlocking rang out. She almost sobbed.
Once at the door, she opened it, clambered in, and slammed it shut. She pressed the central lock immediately. Shouted voices tore through the closed door, but she ignored them.
It took three attempts to get the key in the ignition, her hand shook so badly. Finally, she did it. The door handle rattled and she ignored it, putting her foot to the pedal and gunning the engine. She’d only driven her ten-year-old Ford Ka before and this was one big machine, but it presented her only chance of escape.
She looked up and swore. Brenin stood bang in front of the Land Rover. Feet set wide apart, hands on the front of his hips, and his face set in a thunderous expression. His normally warm eyes looked as cold as the snow falling around him. She doubted if she went at him full force with the car, he’d move. In fact, she wondered if the car would come off the worst in a confrontation with Brenin. He seemed as solid as the land he stood on. A big brute of a man unwilling to back down.
“Get out of the car, Charlie,” he demanded.
