Desire exploded like fireworks throughout every fiber of her being.
“Zach,” she moaned, reaching her arms overhead, overcome with a hot mindless desire to strip. “I want you.”
“You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.”
But then, he pulled away suddenly.
“What is it?” she asked.
He sniffed the air.
Something was wrong. “Someone is here. Come on.”
Zach pulled Amy’s hoodie back on her, zipping it tenderly. He took her hand, and without another word they moved together out of her space toward the back of the building.
“You said you had locked all the doors.”
They could hear a squealing coming form the back of the building.
“I did. They were locked up tight.”
She pulled closer to him.
“I'm here for you.” Zach wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder, holding her near.
Zach immediately went on alert, his ears twitching, his nostrils flaring.
“I will keep you safe,” he said.
A dark form tore through the lobby. An animal!
Amy screamed.
A giant wolf stalked toward them.
The huge beast paced through the lobby, moving slowly, as if he owned the room. The wolf had startling blue eyes and shaggy silky fur.
He locked eyes with Amy, and she ducked behind Zach.
Amy shivered with fear. When she peeked out, the beast looked right at her and howled.
Zach planted himself before Amy, his arms behind him, holding on to comfort her.
“Amy, don't be scared. I need to shift. So I can protect you.”
“You're going to turn into a bear?”
“I'll never let you get hurt. Remember that. Trust me.” He turned back to see her until she nodded and choked out a “yes.”
He kissed her quickly, then leapt forward and shifted mid-flight, his clothes shredding off his body and falling to the floor. He pounced toward the wolf, then rose to full height, standing upright.
Zach as a bear was gigantic, paws as big as hubcaps and claws as sharp as knives.
Amy was terrified but also so excited; she wrapped her arms around her waist and shivered.
That giant grizzly had just been a man. Her man.
Amy fell back against the wall. She couldn’t move, mesmerized by the unbelievable scene in front of her. Her lover was a beast!
The massive grizzly lifted his arms overhead and roared, huffing air out of his mouth.
The wolf leapt forward and reared on his hind legs. He was nearly as tall as Zach. They roared ferociously at each other, pummeling their paws forward, gnashing their teeth.
Zach was bigger and fiercer. The wolf couldn’t keep up; he turned and ran toward the back of the building, and Zach chased after him.
A door slammed—and then nothing.
Amy was completely alone.
The silence was painful.
Fear coursed through her veins, threatening to overwhelm. It was one thing to fantasize about a werebear, but quite another to see the man you love turn into one! Zach was gigantic and furry and fierce.
And he’d left her completely alone.
What the hell was she going to do?
“Zach!” Amy screamed. She didn't want to be alone. She shivered. How could he leave her here like this?
Mitchell burst into the room.
“It figures I'd find you here,” he sniveled.
“Mitchell, not now! You've got to get out of here.” Then she saw the can of gasoline in his hands. “You...?”
“I already know, Amy. I know about your stupid bear man.”
“What's the matter with you?” Amy screamed. “Why do you hate me?”
“This has nothing to do with you and everything to do with bear shifters. I hate bears.”
“I don't believe you.”
“You don't know anything about him. He's an animal!” Mitchell screamed to the rafters. He dumped gasoline on the beautiful polished floors.
The scent of gas assaulted Amy, choking her. He was ruining the beautiful building.
“Stop it!” she screamed.
But when had Mitchell ever listened to her?
Never.
She had to get out of there.
Now.
Amy ran toward the front door, to fresh air and freedom, but Mitchell grabbed her hoodie and swung her back into the lobby. She fell and slid along the floor, stopping against the wall. She was trapped.
Zach said he could sense everything about her.
Amy let fear fill her, hoping that the scent of it would bring Zach to her.
All her life she had repressed her fears, pushing them away, denying them. For once, she let fear ride through her body like a drug. She didn't need to worry about it overwhelming her, even though the feel of fear ripping unbridled through her body made her tremble.
She let her body call to him. She shivered uncontrollably, her teeth chattering.
“It's a dangerous world, Amy. And I'm a dangerous man.”
Where was Zach?
“You may be a dangerous man. But today you'll face a dangerous animal.”
Mitchell grabbed paper shopping bags from a corner rack and flung them over the puddles of gasoline.
“I am an animal too!” Mitchell threw his hands up in the air, hands clutched into fists. He grunted and flinched, bending deeply from the hips as if he were trying hard to make something happen—only it didn't.
Nothing happened.
He wasn't a shifter. He just wasn't.
“You're just a man,” Amy whispered.
Zach and the wolf burst back into the lobby, moving together like a team, but Mitchell didn’t seem surprised by the giant beasts. He looked like he had been expecting them. Together, the bear and the wolf pounced on him, immediately diffusing his threat, but gently, as if he were a naughty child.
The scent of gasoline was overpowering. Amy grabbed the can and raced outside with it. She placed it on the sidewalk and gulped in fresh air until her head cleared.
When she returned, Mitchell was gone. Zach held a small wolf in his arms. The small wolf was passed out.
The giant wolf crouched down and flung himself onto his back on the floor, shifting into Liam.
A very naked Liam.
He pulled on sweatpants and a shirt from a backpack stowed on a chair. He reached into the backpack and pulled out a leash, which he attached to the small wolf. He placed the small wolf on the ground, where he woke up and cowered.
“Stay down,” Liam scolded.
It was Mitchell.
His clothes were in a little pile.
“Amy,” Liam said. “Nice to see you again.”
“You’re a wolf shifter! Cleo will be so excited.” It was a dumb thing to say, but she couldn’t help herself.
“Cleo has a thing for shifters, but I already have a fated mate. And I'm not going to let her get away a second time.”
“Mitchell...How did he—”
“Mitchell has a disease, but he’s a wolf shifter, just like me. He can't shift without a lot of help. It made him crazy. I'm taking him back to the den, where he can heal. And someday he will apologize to you for what he's done.”
“Are you his father?” Amy asked.
“No, it's much worse. I'm his alpha.” Liam chuckled. “I hope to see you again soon.”
Amy just nodded. A real wolf shifter!
“Sorry for the mess,” he said to Zach with a wry smile. “Send me the bill, as usual.”
He pulled Mitchell's leash and they left through the front door.
Zach bounded to Amy, and nuzzled her with his soft muzzle. She threw her arms around her bear, and he was both as comforting as a giant teddy bear and as powerful as a dragon.
His fur was scruffy but soft as a puppy, and she could feel his warmth and power pulsing through his coat. She felt the excitement of touching him rise inside of her. He was her bear shifter.
She nodded.
He took a step back and without losing eye contact with Amy, shifted into a man.
A huge, naked, beautiful man.
“Zach!” She ran to him and he embraced her, holding her close.
“My love…” He kissed her passionately and she felt his cock rise between them.
“Now where were we?” Zach said.
“We were in Peace, Love, and Chocolate, but right now I'd love nothing more than a safe, cozy bed.”
“I know just the place. And we should get there before the cleaning service arrives here.”
He took her by the hand and they walked together to an elevator in the rear of the lobby. He was still completely naked.
“Why didn’t you tell me it was you? 152 Market, I mean.”
“I didn’t want to tell you until I was certain you didn’t hate me.”
“How could I hate you?”
“I made it pretty easy. I took away everything you cared about.”
“Except my friends.”
“Except your friends.”
He punched a code into a control box and pushed the button for the top floor. As soon as the doors closed she was in his arms.
“When did you know I was Cocoa Girl?”
“I figured it out on Friday—that’s when I offered you the space at a discount. And as soon as I realized you were my mate, I knew what to do.”
She pressed closer to him. “Do you know what to do now?”
“I know that I want to make love to you. And then I’m going to ask for your hand in marriage. A few cubs. And the happily-ever-after we both deserve.”
Amy ran her hands up his arms and caressed his face.
She didn’t know if it was harder to believe this man was a bear, or that he was her man.
He leaned down and kissed her again.
“This is where we belong,” he said. “Together. Forever.”
She could tell that he meant every word.
At the top of the building, the door opened to reveal a stunning loft apartment, with a breathtaking view of the Sound.
“Is this where you live?”
“When I’m in town. Do you like it?”
She did. But nothing was more awe-inspiring than Zach.
A real fucking bear shifter!
And still naked.
“Shall I get dressed?” he asked. “Or you get undressed?”
He pulled her closer and she felt her whole body light up with desire. His huge cock arched up to her as he kissed her again.
“I vote for undressed.” She unzipped her hoodie.
He picked her up by her ass and she wrapped her legs around his hips. Zach carried her into the bedroom, kissing her as he walked.
He placed her onto his bed and slid beside her, enveloping her with fervent kisses and caresses, stretching his powerful length against her.
Amy leaned into his warm skin, running her lips up his body, inhaling the delicious scent of him. He released her breasts from their bra and devoured her nipples, kneading one in his hand while he captured the other in his mouth, sucking and nibbling until her nipples hardened and she moaned, delirious with pleasure.
He went back to her mouth, plunging his tongue into hers in a steady rhythm, sending a deft hand down to her wet pussy, cupping her mound with a gentle pressure that drove her mad.
Her hands ran behind his back, every inch of him was more beautiful than the last, hotter, more intoxicating. She wanted him inside of her, needed him to merge with her.
Amy would never believe he was hers until the moment they were completely together. She needed to come apart in his hands, and have him come apart in hers.
She lay back and pulled Zach to her, their lips locked together. His hands peeled off what remained of her clothes as they melted into each other's body.
“Oh, god,” he said. She was completely naked and completely his. “You're so beautiful.”
She felt him quiver with passion, and her racing pulse matched his, caress for caress, stroke for stroke.
“Open your legs for me,” he said.
She did.
He palmed her breasts as he kissed his way down her body, trailing heat over her belly, tonguing her navel, and sliding his mouth over her clit. She moaned as hot desire jolted through her entire body. He thrust two fingers into her slit and curled them upward until she bucked against his hand.
“Oh, yeah,” he said. “That’s the spot.”
He sucked and licked her clit as he moved his fingers up and down as she pulsed and throbbed against him. With his other hand he grabbed and released handfuls of her ass. She twined her fingers in his hair, gasping, and begging him to never stop.
“Come for me.”
And she did, falling into a million pieces, her body rocking toward him.
“I need to feel you inside me.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Now,” she urged. “Do it!”
He grabbed a condom from his bedside table, ripped the package open with his teeth, and seconds later was ready.
He slid up her body until their mouths merged once more, kisses so boundless that her mind slipped away. He plunged his engorged cock into her deepest self. Zach stretched and took her, sliding in and out, stroking them both beyond the edge of reason.
“I want you so bad,” she moaned as they came together.
Zach was her reality now. She kissed him hard and deep.
A bear?
A man?
All she knew was, yes.
* * *
Let's keep in touch. To be the first to hear about Truli’s new releases, sign up for her newsletter here.
Bear with Benefits
1
Steph had already polished off her first chocolate margarita and was deep into the second when the brilliant plan hit her.
No. More. Love.
She was done. Finito! Kaput!
“From now on, it’s friends with benefits!” she announced to her roommate, Cleo, as they stood near the bar in the middle of a boisterous party.
Steph’s long black hair shimmered over her shoulders in gentle waves. Cleo’s pale skin and green eyes sparkled. Bear shifters to the left of them and billionaires to the right, the two curvy women focused on their conversation and on each other.
“Love works for most people, but not for me because as the brilliant Boris has pointed out: I’m emotionally damaged! Hear that people and bears? I’m damaged.”
Cleo patted Steph’s shoulder, and not gently. “Just keep it quiet, okay, doll? Geez. It’s Amy’s freaking engagement party.”
This was true.
Steph and Cleo were surrounded by a happy Seattle crowd wearing posh attire, drinking cocktails and scarfing savory chocolate appetizers. Bear shifters and billionaires.
For real.
The new mall had just opened in downtown Seattle and tonight’s party to celebrate Zach and Amy’s engagement filled 152 Market nearly to bursting. Amy was currently standing in her gorgeous new store, Peace, Love and Chocolate, presiding over a freaking chocolate fountain and offering truffles to all her friends and future-relatives.
Steph should be happy. She should be celebrating her friend Amy’s bliss. She also should have eaten dinner before starting on the cocktails.
Honestly, Steph was thrilled for Amy. She was.
After Amy had fallen madly in love with Zach last month, her new store had opened with a bang and she and Zach were totally, completely happy.
Usually, nothing made Steph feel better than seeing a friend get everything that she wanted in life. And Amy had it all. True love, professional success, and if her stories were true, incredible, mind-blowing sex every single day and night of the week.
It was all so great.
But thanks to stupid Boris, Steph almost felt like crying.
Cleo put her arm a
round Steph and led her away from the bar to a quiet little table under an awning. “Doll, tell me what happened.”
“I ran into Boris. Remember Boris? From last year?”
Cleo nodded. “Yes, everyone remembers fuck-face Boris from last year. He was the computer nerd fuck-face you were madly in love with. Who freaked out because you admitted to wanting him to call you the day after you slept together and then broke up with you over it. We hate fuck-face Boris.”
“Right. That Boris. On the way over here, I bumped into Boris at the park with his pregnant wife. Pregnant! Wife! And he told me I was too emotionally damaged to have a real relationship.”
Steph burst into tears.
“What the fuck? I’m going to damage him and his little nerdy arms.” Cleo had a unique way of comforting her friends.
“You can’t damage him,” Steph sniffed. “The nerd is married now and expecting his first child. He has a child to raise.”
Cleo handed Steph a napkin and she blew her nose loudly.
“There is absolutely nothing damaged about you,” Cleo said. “You’re the most freaking perfect person I’ve ever met. The best nurse. The best friend. You’re freaking flawless!”
Cleo was enraged. This calmed Steph down and forced Steph to comfort Cleo, because that’s the kind of friend she was. “There there, Cleo. It’s okay.”
“Where is fuck-face Boris? Give me his number.” Cleo still fumed.
“Let’s face it. He’s right. I don’t know how to do romantic love. I’m a great friend, yeah, but I want too much when I’m in love. I want a knight in shining armor. And no one can be that great. Boris said the pressure was too much.” The tears started again, giant drops sliding down her pink cheeks.
“He’s an emotionally stunted nerd! A dweeb with a goatee! Don’t listen to him. You just haven’t met the right person yet, Steph.”
“Romantic love is toxic for me.”
“Doll, you’re too young to be making that kind of statement. But I understand if you want to take a break from love.”
“I do.”
Cleo gripped her heart like she was having an attack. “Geez, Louise. I just thought about something. What about sex? Is that toxic too?”
“Are you kidding me?”
“No. I didn’t think so.”
“I love sex.”
Shifters in Seattle: Box Set Books 1 - 5 Page 7
