Elise opened the porch doors, smiling her most apologetic smile, and Dietrich jogged his way up to them. He panted at first, worked up from his run, and Elise couldn’t tell if the pink flush to his cheeks was down to exhaustion or embarrassment. When she guided him into her kitchen-diner, he sat down on a wooden chair, looking at his hands. Silence fell between them, and Elise felt all of her hope slipping away again. She had to do something. She couldn’t lose the potential they had together.
“Have you heard of a model called Chantelle Picard?” Elise asked.
Dietrich looked at her, one dark brow quirked.
“What does that have to do with-?”
“Humor me,” Elise cut in. “Have you heard of her?”
“Sure, who hasn’t?” Dietrich replied. “She’s the one with the huge… uh… Well, the huge everything.”
“Surgery, surgery, surgery,” Elise confirmed with a nod. “We were both at the same awards ceremony a couple of nights ago, the Shine Awards. I was just a guest, there to do some networking and show my face to a few companies, but Chantelle was claiming a big award for beauty.”
Elise crossed the room, sitting down in a chair opposite Dietrich. She gave a little sigh.
“And me, not being used to being watched by the press, well I said something stupid. I said that Chantelle wasn’t natural. She’d had to be augmented for people to call her beautiful. And I don’t think that’s right. I think she was beautiful anyway, before all the surgery. She didn’t need it. But the press took it all the wrong way, and now I’m all over the internet.”
“So,” Dietrich began, and Elise could see the thoughts connecting through his eyes. “So you’re not… augmented?”
Elise’s eyes widened.
“Oh no! Not at all,” she answered. “That’s my gimmick, see? The natural girl. My gigs are all skincare, vitamins, stuff like that. I’m aiming at the woman who wants to celebrate what she is, not change it all.”
Dietrich smiled, and it was the greatest sight in the world for Elise.
“There should be more models like you,” he said.
Silence again. Elise felt a little better, having finally got her faux-pas off her chest, but she knew there was more to come. With Dietrich’s shoulders curled like that, Elise could almost see the bear within the man, the way that his dark features must expand and increase in power. He still looked tense. Elise reached out, one hand coming to rest on his forearm. His sleeves were pushed up, and she dared to toy with the soft, dark hairs on his arm, drawing small circles.
“You must think I’m such a coward for freaking out like that with the press,” Dietrich said quietly.
He shook his head with a rueful grin, and Elise gave his arm a squeeze.
“I don’t know what to think, yet,” she admitted, “but I never thought that.”
“Clan Best is a really private group,” Dietrich began to explain. “Most shifter clans try to keep to themselves nowadays, because previous generations were wiping each other out with their pointless turf wars. But not everyone is pro-peace, even now. We do have enemies, and I’m the eldest male bear in Fairhaven. It’s my duty to protect everyone else.”
“I didn’t realize it could be so dangerous,” Elise replied. “I’m sorry I put you in that position.”
“You couldn’t help it,” Dietrich said. “How can you control a huge mass of media people like that?”
“No-one can,” Elise answered with a sigh.
It all felt so hopeless. Dietrich couldn’t be in the public eye, and with the scandal afoot, Elise couldn’t stay out of it. She wanted desperately to find some way out of the situation.
“I don’t want to not see you,” Elise said firmly. “I think we’ve got something going here. I need to see how it plays out.”
Dietrich shifted in his seat, and he took both of Elise’s hands in his. His huge, warm palms enveloped her, and she could feel his pulse through his fingers. His heart was hammering.
“I’ve met a fair few women since Gram made me join Karina’s agency,” Dietrich admitted, “and I was just about ready to give up. But you and me, we click. You’re right. There’s something here.”
Elise felt her breath catch in her throat, and she knew she had to take the moment. She leaned in, holding onto Dietrich’s hands to keep him in place, and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was warm and firm for a long, sweet moment, before Dietrich seemed to realize what he was supposed to do. Elise felt his hands slide along her arms, and his lips opened to allow their tongues to meet. A flush of heat rushed through Elise’s whole body.
But then Dietrich pulled away.
“Wait,” he said breathlessly. “There’s more. We can’t go forward unless I explain it all.”
“Could you make it quick?” Elise quipped.
She licked her lips and Dietrich flashed his shy grin, but it faded a moment later. He hung his head, not meeting her eye as he talked.
“I didn’t willingly transform when the press found us the other day,” he revealed. “The camera flashes and all the shouting… I’m not used to that stuff. What you have to understand about shifters, is that the animal is within us all the time. We fight against its urges when we’re in human form, and we have to let it out sometimes to run free, otherwise it’d drive us crazy.”
“So the bear is here, right now?” Elise asked in fascination.
Dietrich gave a little nod.
“All that power and instinct,” he confirmed. “It’s like having another voice in your head, a voice without words. When the media had us surrounded, the animal part of me needed to get out.”
Elise remembered the look on Dietrich’s face when he was in bear form. His eyes were filled with anxiety, and she’d felt so sorry for him.
“You need to know that I can’t always control that part of me,” Dietrich added.
Slowly, Elise pushed herself off her chair. She came to stand before Dietrich, stepping into the gap where his knees were splayed. Gentle fingers caressed the back of his neck, and he looked up at her with deep, soulful eyes. This close, she could see the different tones of gold swirling in his gaze. His hands came to rest on the small of her back, and when he straightened up, his head was almost level with her shoulders.
Elise leaned in again, and when their lips were close enough to brush against one another, she whispered.
“Can you stay in control right now?” she teased.
“I can sure try,” Dietrich answered, grinning into her kiss.
And that was when the doorbell rang.
“I didn’t even know these cabins had a doorbell,” Elise mused.
She and Dietrich had walked through the room to reach the door, hand in hand.
“It’s Gram, I know it is,” he supposed. “She’s come to hunt me down. It’s the old Mamma Bear instinct.”
“Mamma Bear?” Elise asked with a giggle. Her hand was on the door handle. “I hadn’t even considered that she’s also a-”
The sentence died on her lips, for the moment she opened the door, the old familiar chorus was back.
“Are you aware of IHateDavenport.com, Elise?”
“Any comment on the recent developments on Twitter?”
“Is that your new man, Miss Davenport? What’s his name?”
Elise slammed the door again at once, pressing her back against it. Her body flooded with rage and disappointment, her breath catching in sobs in her throat.
“I’m so sorry,” she said at once, looking to Dietrich. “Maybe we can escape out the back?”
But it was far too late for that. Now that they knew they had found the right cabin, the press pack was planning its siege. Dietrich rushed to the double doors of the porch and closed them tightly, drawing the curtains over the wide windows. Elise did a circuit of the large, open-plan room, closing shutters and plunging them both into darkness. She fumbled for a few lights, bathing the room in an artificial yellow glow.
“We’re trapped,” Dietrich tried to say, but it came out as a
growl.
Elise froze, staring at him. She could see the terror on his face, that same fury and anxiety that had hit him out in the woods. But now, there was nowhere to run, and Dietrich was beginning to shake. He shook his head, growling at himself with fury. His massive arms held onto his body, crossed over like a straight-jacket.
“No, I can’t…” he snarled through gritted teeth. “I don’t want to…”
But there was nothing to be done. The media had set him off, and the animal within wanted out. Elise backed up to the counter, watching in amazement as the shift began.
Dietrich’s grey sweat-suit was ripped apart. The hoodie went first, tearing in a straight line down his back as the arch of the bear’s spine began to grow. Smooth, glossy fur sprouted from his taught skin, spreading all over as his arms lengthened into limbs. His hands were paws before Elise had even noticed them changing, and long, sharp claws extended from each one. He was easily five times his usual size by the time the transformation was complete, yet Elise could see him present in those golden eyes. His bear form was growling continually under his breath, a mournful and regretful noise.
“Listen,” Elise said gently, daring to approach him. “You told me that the animal was inside you all the time. Well, I figure that means the human is there all the time too. Forget about what’s outside. We’re safe in here, Dietrich. It’s just you and me.”
The growl abated, and it gave Elise more confidence. The bear cocked its head to one side, tense but attentive. Elise stepped closer still, and placed a gentle hand at the side of Dietrich’s neck. The muscles were superbly powerful, frightening even, but Elise pushed back her fear. Inside this strong animal was her man, they were one and the same.
“Come on, now,” Elise soothed. “Take control.”
Slowly at first, the bear began to shrink. This time Elise did see the claws retract and vanish, hairs receding into skin as a paw became a palm once more. Dietrich was soon lying on the floor on his front, gasping from the speed of two transformations.
And totally naked.
“Stop peeking,” he said wryly, “and get me a blanket or something.”
Elise did as she was told, but not before she’d taken a mental picture of the strong, defined line of his spine, and how it lead to a pair of taught, muscular buttocks. When Dietrich was wrapped up in a throw from the couch, they sat together on the floor in the dimly-lit cabin. Dietrich rested his head on Elise’s shoulder, and she ran her fingers gently through his hair.
“No-one has ever calmed me down like that before,” Dietrich said in amazement.
“I live in LA,” Elise said with a shrug. “Everyone’s anxious there, twenty-four seven. You get used to handling it. Although this was a very different kind of challenge.”
The mention of LA was a small mistake, for it brought the noise outside back into focus. The press were still rapping at the doors and windows, still shouting their questions through the wooden walls.
“We need to do something about that,” Elise mused angrily.
“You know, I might just have an idea,” Dietrich replied. He kissed Elise’s cheek, his long stubble tickling her cheek. “Pass me your phone.”
“I can’t actually believe my luck right now,” Elise said into her cellphone.
“I know,” Jane answered proudly. “I told you that no press was bad press. We’re set up, honey. It’s relaunch time.”
“Okay, well you get the details together and call me tomorrow,” Elise replied.
“Not later tonight?” Jane asked.
Elise felt her cheeks flush red, and she was glad that her agent couldn’t see them.
“I’ve got plans tonight,” she said as discreetly as she could.
Jane said her goodbyes, and Elise was hanging up the phone just as Dietrich entered the room. They were in the lounge at the Rangers’ Lodge, the same place where Anina had first introduced them, and it was dark outside the windows. The fire was crackling in the hearth, lending a warm glow to the room, and Dietrich seemed more relaxed than Elise had ever seen him.
“Was that your agent?” he asked.
Elise nodded with great enthusiasm.
“You won’t believe it,” she said, beaming. “Some activists for natural beauty got hold of the Twitter war and started fighting on my side. And now, the cosmetics company Naturalis has offered me a huge contract! Natural beauty is on trend, and I’m going to be the face of it.”
Dietrich leaned in and kissed her gently.
“You already are,” he said softly.
He crossed the room, settling in one of the wide easy chairs by the fire. Elise watched him with interest as he put his hands together eagerly.
“I have news too,” he began. “After I started making those calls to the different wildlife federations, their lawyers got together. Fairhaven Park officially has a ban on all commercial press and media entering its gates.”
“No press?” Elise exclaimed.
“It’s bad for the grizzly bears,” Dietrich replied, grinning.
“So that means my career’s not over, and you’ll never be bothered by the media again?” she asked.
She crossed the room, settling herself on Dietrich’s lap. He pulled her in, his warmth spreading into her skin.
“Aren’t we lucky?” he whispered against her neck.
He began to kiss her there, trailing ghost-like pecks down her throat. When he reached her collarbone, Dietrich lingered, tracing his lips and tongue over the ridges. Elise felt a shiver that was nothing to do with being cold, and she glanced to the fireplace, and the rug that lay before it.
“Did you say that Anina and the boys were out tonight?” she asked.
Dietrich paused in his kissing to give her a thoughtful look.
“Kurt goes down to LA overnight for some downtime, now and then,” he explained. “This time Gram wanted to go with him to get some shopping done, and she’s got Ben helping her to carry it all.”
“And Hart and Reinicke?” Elise pressed.
“Night patrol,” Dietrich answered. “Reinicke loves the high mountain outpost, he practically lives there. Hart’s down at the campground for the night.”
Emboldened by this news, Elise rose from Dietrich’s lap. He frowned, opening his arms as if to invite her back in, but she shook her head. She moved to the rug in front of the fireplace, trying to look graceful as she lay down before it on her back. Dietrich remained in his chair for a moment, his mouth a little open in surprise.
“Are you sure it’s not too soon?” he asked.
Elise shook her head, her face warmed by the fire.
“Everything has worked out for us to be together, Dietrich,” she said softly. “This is right. And I can’t wait any longer for you.”
Dietrich pushed off from the chair, down onto his hands and knees. He began to grin that shy grin of his as he crawled across the floor, approaching Elise.
Knox (BBW Bear Shifter Moonshiner Romance) (120 Proof Honey) Page 14
