“That’s all right. Nathan’s sticking around. Just let him know when you’re leaving.”
I could barely contain a groan when I heard the news. My disappointment must have shown on my face because Shelby looked at me in concern.
“I meant it when I said that you don’t have to clean up,” she said. “There’s very little left to do. I get why you might not want to be around Nathan. He can be a jerk sometimes. Why don’t you jump in the van and follow us back?”
“Nope.” I folded my arms. “I’m sure Nathan has better things to do than watch me tidy and there really isn’t much left to do. I’ll be gone before he even noticed I stuck around for a bit. I’ll just get those lost few glasses clean, do a final go round and make sure there’s nothing major I haven’t missed and I’ll be out of here.”
“Well, if you’re sure.” Shelby reached out and rubbed my arm reassuringly before going to join her fiancé at the van.
I waved goodbye to my tired employees before turning and heading back into the cabin. Nathan was nowhere to be seen. With any luck, he’d have gone to bed and I wouldn’t have to deal with him again before I left.
I did a circuit of the lounge, making sure that there really wasn’t anything left that needed to be put away before going outside to make sure that everything had been dealt with there.
The temporary bar we’d set up was gone, but I found a few bottles of unopened wine next to where it had been, easily missed in the night time shadows, so I picked them up and went down to the wine cellar to put them away.
I pushed open the door to the cellar and the dim light flickered on automatically. Remembering Shelby’s warning about the door locking itself, I looked around for something to prop it open and spotted a small metal statue of a bear just inside the room, presumably left there for just that reason. I pushed the door back and experimented with positions to find the best spot to leave it so that it would keep the door open. The door pushed the weight forward a little and then stopped moving.
Once I was satisfied that I wasn’t in any danger of getting locked in, I went over to the wine racks near the door and started putting the bottles back where they’d come from.
“Oh. It’s you.”
I almost dropped the bottle I was holding when I heard Nathan’s sneer.
“Yes, it’s me,” I replied, keeping my gaze firmly fixed on the wine rack instead of turning to face him. I had no interest in conversation, so hopefully he’d take the hint and leave. “Sorry to disappoint. Not to worry, though. I’ll be gone shortly. I just need to put these bottles away and I’ll be done. You won’t have to see me again until Caleb and Shelby’s wedding.”
I could practically feel his exasperated sigh brush against my skin even standing a few meters away from him. I closed my eyes and let out a sigh of my own before whirling round.
“What?” I shook my head. “What exactly do you want from me?”
Nathan opened his mouth to reply, but my eyes widened and I raced forward as I saw my worst fear come to light.
“What?”
I shoved him out of the way, not bothering to explain, but it was too late. The door to the wine cellar closed with a firm click as the bolts fell into place.
We were trapped!
Chapter Four
I banged on the door, scrabbling desperately to find some way out of here.
“Help! Let us out!” I cried, kicking at the solid door to smash it down, knowing that it was a complete waste of energy, but not wanting to believe that this was really happening. I was stuck in a cold wine cellar with the rudest man on the planet and no one around to rescue me.
“You’re wasting your time,” Nathan told me. “You won’t be able to break through.”
“Yeah, well, humor me,” I snapped, as I examined the door to see if there was some way of breaking out, feeling my way around the frame for any weaknesses. “What happened, anyway? Didn’t you see the statue holding the door back?”
“You mean this one?” Nathan reached down and picked the bear up from in front of the door. “That’s not heavy enough to keep the door open. After a while, the door automatically pushes it out of the way. It’s down here because mom thinks it’s ugly but dad likes it, so he keeps it in the cellar so she doesn’t have to look at it. it was pretty dumb of you to use it like that. Why didn’t you just hook the door back?”
I groaned, slapping myself on the forehead. “There’s a hook?”
“Yep.” Nathan seemed more amused than anything else, which was not the reaction I expected. “Shelby or Caleb should have shown you. It’s there to stop this sort of thing happening. But don’t worry. You won’t have to spend the night with me. There’s a panic button that overrides the lock.”
“A panic button?” Something else Shelby and Caleb hadn’t mentioned.
“It’s just behind this panel.” Nathan crossed over to the opposite side of the room and pressed down on the wall. A tiny panel slid away to reveal a large red button.
“How apt,” I murmured.
“The door locks automatically in case anyone’s stupid enough to attempt to steal any of the wine,” Nathan explained. “There are a few vintage bottles down here that are worth thousands.”
“Is that right?” I didn’t bother to tell him that I knew my wines and had already noticed that there were some valuable bottles tucked away at the back of the cellar.
“Oh yes. There’s quite a lot of money to be made trading wine,” he went on. “However, after the time Caleb and I managed to get ourselves locked in here when we thought we were being clever and sneaking a few sips without anyone noticing, dad had the panic button installed just in case. That was after he grounded us for a month for underage drinking.”
“Just a grounding?” I raised an eyebrow. “If I’d have done something like that, I don’t think I’d have been able to sit down for a week.”
Nathan didn’t reply as he hit the button. And hit the button. And hit it again.
If it wasn’t for the fact that this was not a good sign, I’d have enjoyed seeing the usually smug, totally-in-control Nathan losing it. As it was, the prospect of spending even more time with him terrified me too much to care.
“Dammit!” he cursed, punching the wall in frustration. “It’s broken.”
“You’re kidding, right?” I hurried over and pushed the button to see for myself, but nothing happened. “I have to get out. I can’t spend the night here. It’s freezing!”
“Actually, it’s more like 45 degrees,” Nathan informed me. “So it’s cold, not freezing.”
“Gee, thanks, Mr Know It All. That makes all the difference,” I muttered, pulling out my cell to call Shelby to ask her to come back.
Nothing. Not a single bar’s worth of signal.
“You won’t be able to make calls down here,” Nathan said, watching as I made my way round the room, frantically holding my phone up and down to find a spot where I might be able to call for help. “The walls are all insulated to maintain the right temperature and in any case, we’re too far below ground to make a connection.”
He went to stand in front of the door, feeling his way around the frame. “Mom and dad are going to kill me for breaking their door,” he remarked.
“I thought you said that you couldn’t do that,” I reminded him.
“No, I said you couldn’t do that,” he corrected. “Some of us are stronger than we look.”
He held up his right hand and before my eyes, it transformed into a powerful bear paw.
“You’re a shifter.” I slowly nodded as it all clicked into place. “That figures.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“It explains everything,” I told him. “Your attitude. Your… arrogance.”
Your alpha male hotness I added silently.
“So all shifters are arrogant? Is that what you’re saying?”
“Not all of them,” I conceded. “But there was something about you I couldn’t quite figure out and this is the missi
ng piece of the puzzle. Still, from what I’ve seen, I guess you’d be an asshole even if you weren’t a shifter. I suppose I just don’t understand how Caleb can be such a sweetheart while you’re… you.”
Nathan glared at me, but I met his gaze unflinchingly.
“Turn around,” he ordered abruptly.
“What?” He might be used to bossing people around, but I wasn’t going to do what he wanted just because he’d told me to. “Why?”
“Well, you don’t want to see me naked, do you?” His usual look of superiority was back on his face. “I mean, I’m assuming you want to get out of here and as far away from my so-called assholery as possible, which means that I’m going to have to shift if you want me to free us.”
“I do. I mean, I don’t.” I gulped and closed my eyes, trying to get my thoughts in order, as a vision of what he’d look like flashed through my mind. “No, I don’t have any interest in seeing you naked and yes, I do want to get out of here.”
“So turn around then,” Nathan repeated. “I like this suit too much to tear it. I’ve lost count of the clothes I’ve destroyed over the years when I’ve shifted. I’m not losing a designer suit for you.”
“Oh. Yes. Right.”
I turned my back to him as he started to unbutton his shirt. A part of me wanted to watch and find out if his body really was as incredible as it appeared.
All right, so I thought he was hot. There. I’d admitted it to myself.
However, just because he was physically good looking still didn’t mean that I was attracted to him. I’d promised myself that was I never going to date another jerk and Nathan had proven time and again that there was no way I could get together with him, even if he were interested in me and it was pretty obvious that he wasn’t.
Still, a girl can feast her eyes every once in a while can’t she?
There was a strange popping and groaning sound coming from behind me as Nathan shifted from human to his animal form. At last, I heard a roar and I turned to see a magnificent grizzly bear rearing up before me. His fur was the same shade of rich, dark brown as Nathan’s hair with lighter shades echoing the tones in his olive skin, while his chocolate brown eyes gleamed with a bright intelligence.
He roared again and then turned to the door. I held my breath as he started to pound against it, raining down blow after powerful blow. With that combination of muscle and determination, surely it would only be a matter of moments before I could escape?
However, although it shook in its hinges with every blast, the door held firm.
Nathan cried out in frustration, redoubling his attempts to destroy it, but even his incredible strength wasn’t enough to break it.
At last, he fell down to all fours and, as I watched, his body fluidly transformed back to human. He shook his head as if to clear it from any trace of bear thinking before standing up.
Wow.
Nathan was, without doubt, the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. There really wasn’t a better word to describe him. His body was absolutely perfect in every way, almost as though he were sculpted from marble by a Renaissance great.
And his cock... Wow and double wow! He wasn’t just gorgeous. He was also the most well hung man I’d ever met. I bit my lip as I imagined what it might feel like to be with him, feel him slowly penetrating me, filling me completely…
“Enjoying the view?” Nathan grinned, making me blush at his catching me staring. “I know women usually like the sight of my body, but you look like you could die and go to Heaven.” He picked up his underwear and waved them at me. “I don’t have to put these back on, you know. I mean, if you’re having fun, I’d hate to spoil the party.”
“The party finished some time ago,” I pointed out curtly. “Otherwise we wouldn’t be stuck down here. Get dressed, Nathan, so we can figure out what to do. I can’t think with you looking like that.”
I turned my head to the side and Nathan laughed as he quickly put his clothes back on.
“Unfortunately, I don’t think there’s anything we really can do,” he shrugged. “We’re down here for the foreseeable until someone comes to let us out. Fortunately for me, that’s likely to be when Caleb and Shelby come back tomorrow morning, so we just have to survive the night and we can both get out of here.”
“Fortunately for you?” I snorted.
“Yes, me,” he said smoothly. “You’ve made it perfectly clear how you feel about me, but has it ever occurred to you that I have feelings too? Why would I want to spend the night with a woman who hates me?”
“I don’t hate you. I’m indifferent to you,” I pointed out.
“Oh really?” Nathan snorted, stepping closer. “I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but us shifters have heightened senses. I can tell from the way your heart beats faster that I have an effect on you, as if the way you look at me wasn’t enough of a giveaway. And the pheromones you’re giving off…” He leaned forward and inhaled deeply. “The scent would be enough to drive any man wild. That’s not the reaction of a woman who could care less.”
I gulped, but held my ground, glaring at him.
“Sure, you’re indifferent all right,” he laughed, stepping away again. I itched to wipe the smug look off his face, but I couldn’t come up with a smart retort so I settled for changing the subject.
“You said earlier that you wanted to talk about your parents’ vow renewal,” I reminded him. “We’ve got a long night ahead of us. Why don’t you tell me what you were going to say?”
“I was just going to ask if there was any way I could change your mind,” Nick replied. “I figured that everyone has a price. I just needed to find yours.”
“Typical!” I scoffed. “There are some people who can’t be bought you know.”
“In my experience, there’s never been a woman who wasn’t interested in my money,” Nick told me.
“Then I feel sorry for you,” I shrugged. “It must be very lonely in your world. Well, if it makes you feel any better, I’m not interested in your money at all.”
“No, you just want me for my body, right?” he leered.
“Gah!” I threw up my hands in despair. “You know, maybe, just maybe, it’s possible that I don’t want you at all.”
“I told you. I know that’s not true. I’m just trying to figure out what’s really going on in that fascinating mind of yours.” He stepped closer, his dark eyes seeming to look straight through me. “You’re definitely not like any other woman I’ve ever met and that’s what makes you so interesting.”
“What – because I don’t just fall over and beg you to take me?” I joked, fighting the urge to step backwards.
“Something like that,” came the reply.
A shiver ran through me and it wasn’t just because of the low temperature. Was it me or was Nathan Love coming onto me?
“You’re cold,” he observed, taking off his jacket and putting it around my shoulders.
“Thanks, but I don’t need anything from you,” I replied, taking it off again and holding it out to him.
“Seriously, woman – do you have to be so stubborn every step of the way? It’s just a jacket. I don’t feel the cold the way you do. Take the damn thing, will you? You’re not going to be able to do any catering if you catch a chill, are you? And you’ve made it very clear how important your business is to you. Would you really want to disappoint your clients because you were too proud to borrow a jacket from a man you hate? Sorry, are indifferent about?”
I sighed and wrapped the jacket around myself again. “There? Are you happy?”
“Blissfully,” said Nathan seriously, but he couldn’t have looked more frustrated.
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. All the tension of being locked up with Nathan indefinitely came flooding out. After a moment, Nathan laughed with me.
“Feel better?” I asked when we’d both calmed down.
“Yeah,” he nodded. “Look, Abigail, sorry, Miss Palmer, it seems to me that we got off to a bad start. We’re goi
ng to be together for a while. Why don’t we start again, get to know each other a bit better? You might even find that you like me. Stranger things have happened.” He held out his hand for me to shake. “I’m Nathan. Nathan Love.”
I hesitated for a moment, then took his hand. “Nice to meet you, Nathan. I’m Abigail Palmer, but my friends call me Abi.”
“Good to meet you too… Abi.”
I could feel my cheeks reddening as we continued to shake hands way past the point of politeness.
“Right.” Nathan finally let go of my hand, his fingers brushing against mine as he slowly moved his hand away. “Well, here we are, trapped in a cold cellar surrounded by bottles of wine. What say you we open one up? I don’t know about you, but I could do with a drink.”
“That sounds like a plan,” I nodded as Nathan went and grabbed a bottle from a nearby wine rack. “But aren’t you worried your parents will ground you again?”
“Ha!” snorted Nathan. “This is one of the ones that was supposed to be for Caleb and Shelby’s engagement party. Even if it wasn’t, as long as I don’t take one of the expensive bottles, mom and dad don’t mind. Anyone who stays here is welcome to treat the place as their home.”
He turned and selected a bottle at random, grabbing a corkscrew from on top of the rack, before sitting down with his back resting against the wall.
“Come. Sit next to me. I won’t bite.” He patted the ground next to him and I crossed over and sat down. He uncorked the wine and passed the bottle over to me.
“Sorry,” he apologized. “We don’t keep any glasses down here, so we’re going to have to be uncivilized and drink straight out of the bottle. If you’ve got a problem sharing, I can always open another bottle, but you’ll have to finish that one yourself – dad would kill me for wasting good wine.”
“I couldn’t drink a whole bottle. Sharing’s fine,” I reassured him, as I took a sip of the wine and then a deeper drink. The wine was smooth and full bodied, and as I felt the initial hit of alcohol flowing through my body, it took the edge off the cold.
Healing Bear: A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Love Laid Bear Book 3) Page 3
