“Do you want to take me to bed?” she said. He let out a growl that sounded more animal than human.
“I do. I want you so much Raven. I want to do things to you all night long; to take my time to explore that beautiful body of yours.”
His arms wrapped possessively around her body, and he took her upstairs.
He slipped her shoes off slowly, pausing to admire her calves and ankles, before carefully unfastening the ankle straps. Then he laid her down on her back. As she gazed up at this big, powerful man towering above her, he stripped off his shirt, then unfastened the zipper on his jeans. Now. I have to tell him, she realized.
“Timo, wait.” He froze.
“What is it?”
“That night. When we were –” He ran a fingertip over her face, caressing it softly.
“It’s ok, Raven. Just tell me.” His eyes were understanding, his voice low and husky.
“Timo, I’m pregnant. With your baby,” she blurted out.
He stared at her. And then he flung his arms around her.
“Oh, Raven, baby,” he murmured.
“Are you happy?” He drew back and laid his hands on her shoulders, looking at her with delight.
“Are you kidding? This is the best news ever.” Tears sprung to her eyes, and she wiped them away.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes! I’m sure!” he said with a laugh. “It’s a dream come true. I just knew it.”
“You did? But how?”
“I picked it up from your scent.”
“Do you have a crazy strong sense of smell or something?” His expression turned serious.
“Kind of.” Then he pulled her into his arms again and embraced her tenderly, planting kisses all over her face. “Raven, my beautiful mate. You’re going to be the most loved and pampered pregnant woman ever.” She melted into his arms, overcome by his words.
“I can’t wait for our cub to be born. I hope it’ll look just like you,” he murmured.
“Cub?” she said. His body stiffened.
“Oh. That thing I have to tell you.” She ran a finger along the stubble of his jaw.
“Tell me.”
“I – the guys and I – we’re all bears.” She pursed her lips in incomprehension.
“I mean that we’re only half human. We shape shift into bears sometimes. All of us – all the guys you saw on stage.”
“Including Lauren’s husband?”
“Yes.”
“You’re serious? This isn’t some kind of sexual role play?” He stifled a laugh.
“I know it sounds crazy, but you’ve already seen me as a bear.”
“I have?”
“Two days ago, when you were walking in the forest. I was going for a much-needed run. I wasn’t able to shift the whole time I was looking for you, which was really hard on my bear. So I was out, feeling the earth beneath my paws, and I picked up your scent. I couldn’t resist looking for you, and I guess I got too close. To be honest, I didn’t expect your eyesight to be so good. Humans are usually not so observant.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“I could tell that you’d spotted me, so I left.” Raven narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing his face. While this was all consistent with what had happened so far, it sounded more than a little crazy. But Timo was looking at her like he couldn’t have been more serious.
“What was I wearing?” she asked slyly.
“A dark red t-shirt and black jeans. Your hair was tied up in a green band.” She gasped.
“You weren’t stalking me, were you, as a human, I mean?”
“Raven, I know this is a pretty intense thing to deal with. But I’m not some crazy fantasist. I am a bear. And I felt terrible that I probably scared you.”
“No, I wasn’t scared,” she said thoughtfully.
“That’s because you’re my mate. Your body recognized me for who I was, on a deep, primal level.” Her eyes flickered all over his face and body. She wanted to believe.
“I’ll shift for you. Just quickly.”
“Okay, she said slowly. He got up from the bed and left the room. A minute later, a long, black muzzle nosed around the door. She stifled a scream, as adrenaline charged through her body.
“Timo?” she said in a quavering voice. The door opened wider and a bear’s entire head emerged. Its jaws parted and it gave a long purr. It came right into the room, and lifted its forelegs up, onto the bed. She saw its long, gleaming claws, which looked capable of ripping a large animal apart. It lowered its head in an attitude that she recognized as submission. Trembling, she stretched out her hand toward it. She was rewarded with a lick from its long, pink tongue. She giggled. It was soft and tickly. Growing more confident, she reached a little further and stroked its head. Its fur was so thick and luxuriant, with a silver hue.
“I know that fur,” she murmured, remembering his photos on Shiftr. He’d included a photo of himself in his bear form, of course. It all made sense now. “Ok, I believe you,” she said. The bear purred again, and it backed off the bed. This time, it didn’t leave the room, but she watched as a dramatic change began to overtake its body. It seemed to contract in on itself, its fur receded, there were all kinds of crunches and snaps, it shot up onto two legs, with a particularly loud snap and a whoosh. She squeezed her eyes shut, unable to take it all in, and when she opened them again, Timo was standing in front of her, naked.
“Woah!” she said. She discovered that she was shaking badly, and she lay back on the bed.
“Raven, are you ok?” Timo said. He sat on the edge of the bed cautiously.
“Yeah. I’ll be fine in a moment,” she said weakly.
“Do you need me to leave you alone?” He looked so adorably worried.
“No, come here,” she whispered. He lay down next to her, propped on his arm, and she pulled him on top of her.
“I made a mess of that, didn’t I? I’ve never told anyone about my shifter nature before. I’ve never needed to.”
“No, you didn’t. It was always going to come as a shock, no matter how you spun it to me. But tell me everything, right from the beginning.”
He did. He explained how there had always been shifters living alongside humans, right from the dawn of time. How it had always been a closely-guarded secret. How shifters believed in fated mates, and would spend their lives looking for ‘the one’ if necessary. And how many shifters were finding that human females were actually their perfect match. He told her about Tamika, the creator of Shiftr, who’d fallen in love with an American werewolf when she was living in London, and how she’d come to live with him in Hope Valley and had decided to create a dating site to bring shape shifters and human females together. He said that he’d been on the app for a long time, but had never found a strong match for himself, and he’d started to wonder if fate intended for him to stay single. And then he saw her in the town hall, and he knew.
By the time he’d finished speaking, Raven had tears in her eyes again.
“That’s beautiful, Timo,” she whispered.
“I know I might not be what you expected, Raven. But shifters are very loyal mates. They form intense bonds, and the needs of their mate are more important than anything else in the world. I hope, in time, you can get used to my nature, and come to care for me.”
“I can’t deny that this is all a surprise to me, but I really don’t think it’s going to take me that long to get used to,” Raven said, curling her fingers into his.
“Really?”
“Really.” Timo grinned.
“We shifters make pretty cool partners, you know.”
“Is that so?”
“Uh huh.”
“So, our baby –” she placed a hand on her stomach and he covered it with his own. “It’s going to be part bear?”
“Yes.”
“And will it be able to shift?”
“I don’t know. There’s a good possibility, but apparently you never know for sure until they reach adolescence
.”
“So I’m having a cub,” she murmured. “I never thought that was a sentence I’d be saying, but I kind of like it.”
Timo trailed his hand from her belly, all the way up to her breasts, and lightly stroked her cleavage. When the heel of his hand grazed her erect nipple, her body gave a little jolt.
“Kiss me,” she said, and he did, arched over her, gloriously naked, his cock hard and ready for her.
“This time I get to do the undressing,” he growled, as his fingers nimbly unfastened her shirt and eased it up, off her body. Her skirt followed, and he gave a rumble of pleasure at the sight of her in matching deep purple lingerie. He made a trail of kisses from her collarbones, along the tops of her breasts, meandering down the center of her body, and all around her belly button, until he reached her panties. Then he caught the waistband between his teeth and tugged. She helped him, easing them down at the sides, burning to be naked and have him inside her. He stripped them off and then he laid his hand on her mound. She groaned, her nerve endings already so sensitized that the slightest contact threatened to push her right over the edge. He caressed the dark, silky triangle of hair, before plunging two fingers inside her. She moaned and her muscles spasmed. As he slid his fingers in and out, slowly, gently, fucking her with his hand, her breathing became ragged.
“Timo – I want you – inside me, now!” she said in between gasps.
“All in good time,” he said, an undertone of mischief in his voice. She reached for his cock, but it was too far away, and instead, he caught her wrists in his hand and held them above her head while he continued to tease her.
“If you don’t stop doing that I’m going to come,” she protested, her hips jerking rhythmically. He responded by pumping his fingers harder and faster, and before long, she felt herself falling. She closed her eyes tight as a beautiful explosion ripped right through her body. She felt vulnerable and exposed, aware that he was watching her, but there was not much she could do about it. When she opened her eyes again, he was gazing down at her, his eyes liquid with desire.
“So beautiful,” he crooned in his rumbly voice. And then he slid his hands beneath her back and unfastened the clasp on her bra, before pulling it off completely. As his lips closed on her left nipple, the tip of his cock entered her. She sighed and wriggled her hips, wanting him to go all the way in. He seemed determined to tease her, only giving her an inch at a time, before withdrawing again, but suddenly, he pushed himself all the way inside her with a growl. He was so big and thick, and he began to fuck her immediately, thrusting in and out, the muscles in his shoulders and biceps bunched hugely.
“My mate, my beautiful mate,” he murmured. It was hot, the idea of being his mate, and Raven’s clit throbbed as this huge bear man mated with her, their baby a tiny seed deep in her womb.
Soon, he lifted one of her legs up high and maneuvered her onto her side, and he spooned her, holding her hips as he buried himself in her body. His teeth grazed her neck while his hand cupped her breast, chafing her nipple. As his breath became rougher, he turned her right onto her front and took her from behind, harder and harder, until it was almost too much for her, and then he came with a roar.
“My mate, my beautiful mate. You’re all mine. You and our little cub,” he murmured. Then he collapsed on top of her, and they lay like that for a long time, exhausted by their energetic mating. He was so tender and rough at the same time. The perfect lover, she thought drowsily.
Chapter Twelve
“I can’t believe I got you pregnant that night,” Timo said the next morning, as Raven snuggled against his body after another mating session. He also couldn’t believe that she was his. She was so soft and lovely and sassy. And she had such a wild appetite for sex.
“I remember you trying not to,” she said with a grin.
“I was. As much as I felt like you were my mate, and I wanted you to have my cubs, I knew I had a responsibility to not take advantage of you. But it looks like it didn’t work.”
“And isn’t that great?” she said with a grin.
“It is. How long until it comes?”
“About eight months, unless shifter babies don’t take as long to come out?”
“I think they take eight months, actually, now I think about it. I’ll have to check with Lauren.”
“So, how are we going to keep ourselves occupied until the baby comes?” she asked, kissing his fingertips.
“Mmm, I’m sure we’ll think of something. And the first thing is for you to come and live here with me.”
“It is?” she asked playfully.
“Yes. I want to have you here with me all the time, so I can love and protect and adore you. You’re my mate, Raven, and that’s the strongest bond there is.” Her expression turned serious as she looked into his eyes, hers green and clear.
“Oh, Timo, you make me feel so happy,” she said, and his whole chest warmed with joy as he hugged her tight against him.
He was surrounding her, and her body was surrounding their unborn baby, and together, they were a complete family. Which was all he’d ever wanted.
THE END
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Hi, thank you so much for reading Timo and Raven’s story! I really hope you enjoyed it and if so please consider leaving a review; even if it’s only a line or two, it’ll make all the difference, and it will be greatly appreciated.
I’m already working on the next book in the series, which will be available for purchase very soon! If you haven’t read my three Winter Bear Shifter stories, I’ve included a free copy of the latest one, Bear My Perfect Gift, here. Make sure to check it out, readers are telling me it’s a perfect winter tale!
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Ariana Hawkes
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The third standalone book in the Winter Bear Shifter Romances
Chapter One
All was quiet on Stonybear Peak. Caleb Ridgeman gazed over the frozen world of his clan’s territory, all the way to the distant horizon, the line of pale yellow light glowing above the snow, and wondered again why he hadn’t slept right through the day. It was the winter solstice, the shortest day of the year, when the sun barely rose from its bed before sinking back and plunging the land into blackness once more. Caleb’s clan semi-hibernated during the bitter winter months, sleeping up to 23 hours a day, and sleeping right through the solstice was a tradition for them. In fact, it was more than a tradition – it was a superstition. There was a story, which has been passed on for generations, that dark spirits awoke on the shortest day, and if you went outside, they could whisper in your ear and lure you into all kinds of mischief.
All the cabins of his clan members were in darkness, not a single light showing in any of the windows. Caleb sighed. He was outside because something had jolted him from his sleep like a thunderbolt hitting his cabin, and he’d leapt
out of bed and stood in the middle of the room staring into the darkness in bewilderment. He’d decided to go outside and get some fresh air to see if he could figure out what it was.
As the sun sunk further beneath the horizon, draining the last yellowish tinge from the clouds and returning them to slate gray, he rubbed his head, thinking hard. What was it? It was like a half-formed idea, or one of those dreams that you remember for a second when you awake, but then they’re gone, like ghosts.
A night bird gave a long, throaty call, welcoming the darkness back, and Caleb shouted out in realization: he had to leave Stonybear Peak. That was it! A voice had spoken to him in his sleep, telling him that he had to leave his home to fulfil his destiny. Wow. It’s not surprising that I jumped out of bed like someone had lit a fire underneath me, he thought. That’s about the craziest thought I’ve ever had.
Then he shook himself. He’d never lived anywhere other than Stonybear Peak – hell, he’d barely visited any other town. The small community was the center of his world. How could he even think about leaving it?
But the truth was staring him right in the face. He hadn’t found his mate, and, with every winter that passed, he became more and more aware of it. More and more despondent, more certain that it wouldn’t happen. All the other members of his clan were either mated, or were several years younger than him. No-one could understand why he was still single. He was always hearing what a great guy he was, and how any lady bear would be lucky to have him, but he just hadn’t found the one. It was particularly hard on him as he was a sociable guy, and yearned to share his life with someone special. But he was beginning to resign himself to a life of solitude – and that was exactly why he knew that leaving town was the right thing to do. He opened his huge jaws and let out a roar that tore through the woods and across the snowy plains. Birds took flight from the trees, and, half a mile away, small mammals dashed back into their burrows. It was a sound of shock and joy and pain, all rolled into one. For the first time in he didn’t know how long he had a purpose. He didn’t have to wait for life to happen to him, as one year rolled into another. He didn’t have to hope that somebody new might move to Stonybear Peak and magically turn out to be his mate. He was going to go out and make it happen!
Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love Page 10
