Healing the Bear

by Vanessa Devereaux

  She lifted up her hands and caught it by their stems. Putting the flowers up to her nose so she could take in their scent, she glanced over to see Lilly winking at her.

  Chapter Five

  He was going on a date. He still wasn’t sure how it had happened. Maybe it was the running free as a bear again. Not shifting for so long had almost killed him inside. When he’d left the wedding party and decided to shift and run down by the lake, he done lots of thinking. Maybe a woman just as wonderful as Lucinda was all he needed to heal him. Once that had been decided, he’d shifted back, picked some flowers, and gotten the courage to march back into that kitchen and asked her out.

  Yeah, he was going on a real date. He stood back from the mirror, suddenly spotting a stain on his shirt. Damn, he couldn’t remember spilling anything on it. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d worn it.

  Taking it off, he walked to the sink and pumped the top of the soap dispenser twice, letting the liquid fall into his fingers. He placed the shirt on the countertop and dabbed at it. Looked like the mystery stain was ketchup and he suddenly remembered some had dribbled down his chin when he’d smothered his burger two months ago when he’d stopped at a roadside café in Colorado.

  Speaking of which, burgers and pizzas were all he’d been eating lately. If he kept this up he’d be gaining weight, but now he was a bachelor again he was never in the mood to cook for himself. Maybe he’d run more. Maybe some of the other bears would like to come with him.

  Damn, he’d made the stain worse by spreading it around more of the shirt. Right now this was his only clean one. If you could call it clean. He’d been too busy looking for a job to get any laundry done. He’d wear his jacket over the top and keep reminding himself not to take it off. He was about to put it on again when his cell phone rang.

  He’d given Melanie his number so he hoped she wasn’t canceling on him because despite his nerves at dating again, he was looking forward to both her company and the movie. He looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Trent.

  “Hi, Dane,” the other man said before he could even say hello.

  “Hi, buddy.”

  “You still looking for a job?”

  “I sure am.”

  Dane glanced in the mirror, noticing the scar where the bullet had grazed him was still visible. He did his best not to focus on it. He wanted to stay happy and positive tonight.

  “Emily’s school is looking to hire someone to do network security and general maintenance on the computers. Sound like something you might be interested in?”

  He knew that Emily taught second grade at an elementary school just outside of Kalispell where she and Trent had settled after they’d gotten married.

  “Sure, should I fill in an application or just swing by the school?”

  “Emily has one for you and she’s already mentioned you to the principal.”

  “That’s great, please thank her.”

  “You can do that yourself when you stop at the school for your interview on Monday morning. My wife gets things organized and moving very quickly.”

  “What should I say about the year I was gone?”

  “Just say you took some time off to think about your next career move. And Aiden and I can give you references if you want.”

  “Okay, and how’s Charlotte doing? I know about her being pregnant. She looked really pale halfway through the reception.”

  “She’s resting up some more because she’s had really bad morning sickness and fainting spells.”

  “That’s too bad.”

  “Yeah, Emily’s worried if it’s because the baby’s half human half shifter that she’ll go through the same thing.”

  “Is she pregnant too?”

  “Nope, but we’re planning on making it happen soon.”

  Dane’s own baby would be seven months old now.

  “So got anything planned for tonight?” asked Trent.

  “Going to see a movie with Melanie.”

  “Melanie?” asked Trent.

  “The young woman who manages The Lodge where Christopher had his wedding.”

  “Oh yeah, I saw you dancing with her. Maybe you and I should sit down so I can tell you all about the birds and bees.”

  “Already know about them.”

  “Nope, buddy, you have a lot to learn about human women, and I hope you have condoms.”

  “No, but…hold on a minute, we’re just going to the movies and that’s it.”

  “Call me when you need that lesson.”

  Dane heard the purring in his ear. Just what the hell had he been talking about?

  Glancing at the clock on the wall, Dane realized he had to get a move on or Melanie would think he’d stood her up.

  ****

  Melanie held out both her hands. Just as she’d thought, they were trembling. She felt like a teenager about to go out on their first date. She’d even checked in with the agent and told him what she was planning to do. She felt like she was talking to her father all over again.

  “That’s fine. The more natural you act, the quicker you’ll become the person we created for you.”

  But she didn’t want to be her. She wanted to be her old self, talking to her real father again.

  She glanced at the clock. Dane would be here any minute so would she have time to change into another outfit?

  Damn, she’d already changed out of one dress into another and then concluded dresses were too formal for the movies. She’d then opted for her black pants and black and white stripe sweater. Guess she’d been out of the dating scene for too long, out of the loop of what regular people did for what seemed like forever.

  The doorbell sounded just as she was considering changing again. You were overthinking this and luckily you were saved by the bell.

  She headed into the hallway and toward the front door, spying through the keyhole and smiling when she saw Dane. Even through the fisheye lens he still looked gorgeous. She opened back the door, seeing that he had a black and white theme going on with his clothing too.

  “Sorry I’m late, but I got caught up talking about a job interview.”

  “I didn’t even notice the time. You want to come in while I grab my keys and purse?”

  “Sure.”

  He stepped into the hallway and looked around. “This seems a nice place.”

  “Yep, comes with the job. I’ll show you around when we get back. I mean that is if you want to or have time.”

  “I’d love to.”

  She walked back to the kitchen to collect her purse and then joined him again at the front door. She armed the alarm and then opened the front door.

  “That looks like a pretty fancy security system,” said Dane.

  They’d insisted on it for her and one press of the button or the wrong code entered into it meant that agents would be on the doorstep ASAP. Or so she’d been told. Sometimes she was tempted just to test it out to see if they could be counted on.

  “Also, comes with the job. So where’s your job interview at?”

  “A school. Trent, one of my buddies, his wife works at an elementary school and they’re looking for a computer guy.”

  “She’s a teacher?”

  Dane nodded.

  “I always wanted to be one of those,” she said.

  “You still could. Never too late to live your dreams.”

  It is for me.

  “Okay, let’s get to the cinema and hope the movie is as good as they say,” said Dane opening the car door for her.

  ****

  Melanie’s hand grabbing Dane’s forearm almost causing him to spill the soda he was sipping. He noticed she’d jumped a few times during the movie. It wasn’t scary, but if there was suddenly a loud noise, she’d show some discomfort. He put his hand on top of hers, hoping the gesture would tell her he was right here.

  Maybe he’d picked the wrong movie, but she seemed to be enjoying it, and he almost got a kick out of the superheroes and some of the other characte
rs shape shifting abilities. When it was over they walked outside and both of them squinted and held up their hands in front of their faces until their eyes adjusted to the brightness. It had been a two and a half hour movie and the sun hadn’t set yet.

  “Imagine if we could have powers like that or if you could change into something else. I’m not sure if it would be fun or not.”

  Oh it’s fun all right.

  “I suppose make believe is more fun than real life,” said Melanie.

  “That’s why people go and watch these movies. You want to go grab something to eat because I’m starving?”

  “Sure, but I have lots of food at home. You’re job hunting and I know that can make things tight budget wise.”

  “I’m not exactly poor.”

  “No, I didn’t mean that, it’s just…”

  He put his hand out and touched her arm. He knew what she’d meant and she was a thoughtful person. He liked that.

  “It’s just when you work at a place like the Lodge, there are lots of leftovers.”

  “Any good ones?” he asked. They walked toward the parking lot and his car.

  “There’s some bruschetta, some chicken egg rolls, and I think some smoked salmon too.”

  Salmon, now that definitely got his attention.

  “Sounds too good to pass on,” he said, opening the car door for her.

  ****

  Melanie had always loved a man with a hearty appetite, and Dane certainly fit into that category. Mike had too. She hung her head, hoping Dane didn’t see the sadness in her face and think she was ruining an otherwise wonderful evening. She looked up, smiling once again when she saw Dane helping himself to yet another piece of salmon. It had to be his fifth piece.

  “This stuff is good,” he said.

  “Didn’t you tell me you fished?”

  “Sure, we all do. I mean me and my buddies.”

  “Would you like to be the fishing guide for the men’s retreat? We’re looking for someone and you sound like you know what you’re doing.”

  “I don’t know about that, but if you don’t find anyone else, sure I’d be glad to offer a few tips. Maybe it’s me eating way too much food and the spicy dip with the eggrolls, but it’s getting hot.” He took off his jacket and Melanie couldn’t help but notice the stain on the front of his shirt. She tried to look away but he caught her in the act.

  “Damn. I made a note to myself to keep my jacket on because it was my only clean shirt.”

  Melanie laughed and then he did too. “Okay, cleaner shirt,” he corrected himself. “Guess I’m not very good with the laundry.”

  “You want me to try? I have some stain remover we use on the tablecloths at the Lodge.”

  “What, leave it with you?”

  “Nope, take it off and I can wash it right now.”

  She hadn’t had a guy to fuss over in so long that maybe she was being a tad pushy, but when she saw him unbuttoning it she relaxed.

  Once again, Melanie tried to look away when he got to the bottom button and pulled the two sides apart but realized she was being stupid. He had no problem with stripping off so she shouldn’t be worried about seeing his bare chest. And what a chest it was. Muscles where she didn’t think a guy had them. Biceps that almost made her drool. In fact, she might be doing just that on the table. He stood, tugging at the bottom of the shirt to dislodge it from his pants. A trail of dark hair traveled down the center of his chest, over his navel, and disappeared under the waistband of his pants.

  Wonder what the bottom half of him looks like because the upper half is pretty unbelievable. She hadn’t realized she was staring and yes, drooling — she’d felt the spit on her chin — until he was handing her the shirt.

  “I won’t be long. I’ll get this in the wash and dried before you know it.” She stood and took the shirt. “Help yourself to more food and wine.”

  Guessing she was too young for hot flashes, she assumed the burning heat in her cheeks was due to embarrassment. She’d been caught staring, caught drooling, and it wouldn’t happen again. She went into the kitchen and opened up the cupboard under the sink and pulled out the stain remover. Placing his shirt on the countertop she gave the front of it a quick spray, waited for a few minutes, and then took a clean paper towel and began dabbing at the stain.

  Dane’s scent lingered on it, part spicy aftershave, part something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Musky and she liked it. The stain was stubborn or maybe he’d left it too long, so she had to put more action into rubbing it.

  Dane coughed and she turned around to see him now standing in the kitchen, leaning against the doorjamb. How long had he been there watching her, hearing her mutter about the damn stain?

  “You have the cutest butt and it wiggles when you wipe my shirt,” he finally said.

  Wobbly ass, oh god, he’s been standing there the whole time.

  “Yeah, I probably need to cut down on the amount of food I eat and start exercising.”

  “Nothing wrong with your butt or the rest of you for that matter.”

  He walked toward her, the bare chest attracting her to him like a beacon to a lost ship about to wash up on the rocks. Dane was in reaching distance now and she put her hand up and touched the center of his chest. His muscles felt firm to the touch.

  “I’m guessing you work out all the time,” she said.

  “In fact, I just started running again. Your fingers are very soft, pretty too,” he said pulling them up to his lips and kissing each one of them in turn.

  So simple, nothing overtly sexual, but her panties were getting damper by the second.

  “Maybe I can go with you one day. It might give me the motivation I need to get in shape.”

  “I’ll take you, but I just want to say that there is nothing wrong with your body,” said Dane.

  She wasn’t prepared for what he did next. He pulled her in close, wrapping his arms around her and bringing his lips down upon hers. She felt suddenly tiny, engulfed by his big, strong body. Her tiny, when had she ever been tiny? She wasn’t. He was a giant compared to her. Dane, Great Dane.

  This was all happening so fast. She hadn’t really had time to think about being physical with a man again. Maybe that was a good thing because if she did, she’d overanalyze it like she had everything else in her life since she’d become Melanie.

  Yeah, it was happening at lighting fast speed because his tongue was teasing hers and finally she relaxed. She let go and let him enter her mouth. It felt right; it felt good as he backed her up toward the sink, grinding that big gorgeous body of his into hers.

  Her heart hadn’t beat this fast, well besides from being scared, for as long as she could remember. She even felt her blood pulsing through her veins as her pussy pulled and ached.

  Dane finally stepped away and put his hands on either side of her face.

  “That was good,” he said.

  “Better than good,” said Melanie.

  He leaned in and kissed her again. This time pulling her sweatshirt out of her pants and running his hands up and down her back. It tickled, it was sexy, and she was pretty sure she was going to let him sleep with her. Well, if that was his intention which she damn well hoped it was because she’d crossed the point of no return a good five minutes ago.

  Dane pulled away again but kept his hand on her skin.

  “I’ve never done this before.”

  She knitted her eyebrows together. Hadn’t he told her he was widowed? Maybe it had been a no sex marriage.

  “No, I don’t mean this, but I haven’t gone this far with a woman on a first date.”

  “Me neither. I mean with a man not with a woman.”

  They both burst out laughing.

  “We make such an odd but ideal pair,” said Dane.

  “Yes, we do. And I don’t want to sound pushy or whatever it is, but are going to make love?”

  “I’d really like to.”

  Melanie nodded. “You have protection?”

&n
bsp; “Protection?” he asked.

  “Condoms.”

  He hesitated for a bit like he was thinking about it, maybe wondering if he had the odd one in his wallet.

  “I don’t.”

  “No problem because the Lodge has a box of them for couples who feel amorous at an event and get caught without them. You’d be shocked just how many we’ve handed out in the last year. I think it’s something to do with the romance of this place. You wait right here and I’ll just go grab one or maybe two.”

  Chapter Six

  Dane paced up and down. He wanted sex. He wanted it soon. He’d almost slipped up when he’d said he’d never done this sort of thing before. He’d meant with a human, but luckily he’d quickly saved himself. He ran his hands through his hair. What had Trent meant by teaching him about the birds and bees? Maybe he was rushing into this, not only sex after a year or more of abstinence, but also choosing a human as his partner. Nope, a man knew when he needed sex. He dug out his cell phone to call Trent for a crash course in all things human female, but then he heard the front door opening and knew that Melanie was already back.

  Condoms, he’d never used one, hadn’t needed to because not having sex with a woman during her heat cycle was all a shifter needed to do to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. Damn, maybe he should have stuck to his own kind. Perhaps he should tell Melanie he’d forgotten he had to be somewhere, but here she was standing in the doorway and his cock told him he was ready and nothing was going to stand in his way.

  She lifted three black packages in the air. “Hope they’re the right size for you.”

  He swallowed. He was going to look like an amateur and maybe she wouldn’t want to see him again. Nope, he wouldn’t think in such a negative way. He was a big alpha bear and he was going to act like one.

  Taking two big strides over to Melanie, he scooped her up in his arms, feeling her warm sexy body push against his bare chest.

  “Which way to the bedroom?” he asked.