9781631054747HerstoBearHoffa

by Tamara Hoffa

  Jenna began digging in the cabinets and pulled out several vases, it did indeed take three vases to contain what turned out to be over five dozen roses. “Oh, Alice they are so beautiful!”

  Alice put her face to one of the vases and sniffed. “Yes, they are and they smell wonderful.” She smiled. “I guess I’ll have to call the old bastard and thank him.” She laughed.

  The doorbell rang and Jenna went to answer, she returned with a huge box of Godiva chocolates, once again for Alice.

  “He’s pulling out all the stops,” Jenna said. “This is enough chocolate to cure my PMS for a year.” She laughed.

  “Ha, you are so easy, that wouldn’t even last me the month,” Alice said. “But it’s a good start. Crack that baby open, let’s have a taste.”

  “It’s nine o’clock in the morning!”

  “It’s never too early for chocolate.”

  “Oh, well that’s true.” Jenna opened the box and they both stood drooling over the contents for several moments before they could stir themselves to make a choice. “Oh my God, how do I pick just one? It’s almost a shame to eat them, they’re so beautiful.”

  “Beautiful, smootiful, taste is all that counts, lemme at em.” Alice took a piece and popped it in her mouth, her eyes closed and she rolled her head back. “Oh my God, it’s almost better than sex.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” Jenna said.

  “I said, almost.” Alice laughed. “Now, I really have to call the old goat, I mean wolf. I suppose Bern has his number, right?”

  “Yes, I’m sure he does. I was just about to call him anyway.”

  “Oh, I’m sure.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s been almost eight hours since you talked to him, you must be in withdrawals by now.”

  Jenna threw a chocolate at her. “You are such a snarky bitch.”

  Alice caught the chocolate and popped it in her mouth. “That’s why you love me.” She stood up and kissed Jenna on the head. “I’ll give you some privacy.” She turned to leave the room. “Don’t forget to get the old bastard’s number for me…and give Bern a kiss for me.” She blew Jenna an air kiss as she ducked out of the room.

  Jenna grabbed her cell and dialed Bern, he picked up on the first ring. “Hello, beautiful.”

  “Hi, Bern. I miss you.”

  “I miss you too. I especially missed you in my bed last night.”

  Jenna felt her cheeks warm. “How are things this morning? Did Martin get the clan meeting set up?”

  “Yes, everything is all set. I wanted to talk to you about that. I’d like you to come.”

  “To the clan meeting?”

  “Yes.”

  “But, I’m not part of the clan.”

  “Yes, you are, little one. You are the mate of the clan leader. I’d like to introduce you to the clan.”

  Jenna twisted a strand of hair around the finger of her free hand, she was always nervous about meeting new people, she was never comfortable in crowds, had always been the wallflower. She was the fat girl in the corner, was she going to embarrass Bern?

  “What are you thinking, little one? I can feel your anxiety.”

  “I don’t know if I like your being able to sense my feelings. I don’t want to embarrass you. I’m…”

  “You are beautiful, smart, precious, and mine. Trust me, little one, they will love you as much as I do.”

  Tears pricked Jenna’s eyes. “Oh, Bern, I love you so much.”

  “I wish I was there to hold you in my arms. Will you come over? I can send a car for you.”

  “Sure, in about an hour? I need to shower and get dressed. Do you have Sebastian’s phone number?”

  “Yes, why would you need Sebastian’s number?”

  “He sent Alice flowers and chocolates this morning, she wants to call and thank him. He showed you up by the way.”

  “Oh really? How so?”

  “He sent Alice over five dozen red roses, I’m jealous.”

  “I’m sorry, little one. I have been remiss in my courtly duties. I shall have to remedy that in the future.”

  Jenna laughed. “It doesn’t count you know, if I have to ask.”

  “Oh, I will surprise you when you least expect it.”

  “We’ll see,” she said. “I better run, if I’m going to be ready when your car gets here.”

  “Okay, I will see you soon, little one.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Jenna dressed carefully, she didn’t want to be overdressed, but she wanted to look nice to meet Bern’s clan. She chose her favorite multicolored patchwork skirt and paired it with a three-quarter length sleeved cream colored blouse and hand-crocheted burgundy vest.

  She left her hair down and curled around her shoulders, as that was the way Bern appeared to like it best. She was applying the last touches to her make-up when the doorbell rang. Tossing the mascara back into her purse, she jogged to the door.

  “I’m heading out,” she called to Alice.

  “Kiss the bear for me,” she replied. “I’ve got plenty of work to keep me busy.”

  “Okay, there are frozen meals in the ‘fridge.”

  “Gotcha. Have fun!”

  “Love ya. Bye.”

  Hans waited on the doorstep. “Hi, Hans. How are you?”

  “I am well, Miss Raynes.”

  “How many times do I have to tell you to call me Jenna?”

  Hans blushed. “Jenna.” She grabbed his arm and walked toward the car. “Let’s go.” Jenna refused to sit in the back and sat herself in the front seat next to Hans. “I don’t know if Bern would approve Miss…”

  “Shut it, Hans. Bern won’t mind my sitting in the front seat. I would feel stupid sitting in the back seat all by myself. This way we can talk.”

  Hans walked around to the driver’s side, slid inside the car and turned over the engine. He cleared his throat. “Alice is not joining us?”

  “No.” Jenna laughed. “She’s working. So, what time is the clan meeting?”

  “Four o’clock, ma’am.”

  “Ma’am? Really? Hans, that’s not any better than Miss Raynes, is Jenna so hard to say? Try it now. Jenna, J e n n a. You can do it.”

  Jenna was trying very hard not to laugh, but Hans’ face was turning a peculiar shade of purple.

  “Jenna,” he mumbled.

  “See! I knew you could do it! From now on if you don’t call me Jenna I’m going to flick you on the nose. Don’t think I won’t,” she said waving her finger in the direction of his face.

  She couldn’t hold the laughter in any longer and burst out a loud guffaw. Hans gave her a stern look and then joined in the laughter. “Okay, I give, Jenna. I think you will be good for Bern and our clan.”

  Jenna reached across the car and took his hand. “Hans, I love Bern. I don’t know you that well, or most of your clan, but I want only the best for you all.”

  Hans was stopped at a stoplight and he looked deeply into her eyes. “I can see that, Jenna.” He squeezed her hand and turned his attention back to the road.

  “Do you have a mate, Hans?”

  “I think I have met my mate, but it’s complicated.”

  “I’m sorry. Doesn’t she return your affections?”

  Hans laughed. “Um, it isn’t a lady. Ladies aren’t, um, my preference,” he mumbled.

  It was Jenna’s turn to blush. “I’m sorry, Hans, I shouldn’t have made an assumption.”

  Hans smiled self-deprecatingly. “It’s all right, most people assume, because of my size and position that I’m straight. I don’t take offense.”

  Jenna patted his hand. “Well, I shouldn’t have assumed, and I’m sorry. Is there a stigma in the were community about being gay, like there is in the human world?”

  “Surprisingly, not as much. I guess we have so much other prejudice, we don’t look for more reasons to hate.”

  Jenna ran a hand down Hans’ cheek. “So, what is the problem with your mate?”

  “He is of a higher rank then me, and not
of our clan. He didn’t even acknowledge me when we met. I don’t know what to do.” Hans looked crestfallen.

  “Maybe you should approach him,” Jenna said.

  “That wouldn’t be appropriate.”

  “More of this political crap, right?”

  Hans looked uncomfortable. “Yes, I’m afraid so.”

  “I’m sick of politics. You want me to talk to him?”

  “That is very sweet of you, m…Jenna, but no, thank you.”

  “I will, you know. I’ll kick his bear ass. Well, that didn’t come out quite right.”

  Hans laughed. “He’s not a bear,” he mumbled. “You are very sweet, Jenna, and thank you again, but it wouldn’t be…”

  “Appropriate,” she finished. “Yeah, I get it. If you ever need to talk I’m here, Hans. I mean it.”

  He reached across and squeezed her hand. “Thank you, Jenna. I see the look of peace on Bern’s face when he holds your hand… something I haven’t seen since his parents died. I long for a mate to soothe my soul.” A dreamy, wistful look crossed Hans’ face and the realization struck Jenna that mating was more than just the coming together of two people to the were community. It was something sacred.

  They pulled into the driveway of Bern’s house and he was in the open doorway before the car had come to a complete stop. Han’s jumped out and came around to her side to let her out. She and Bern met halfway up the walkway, just like a scene in one of those romantic commercials, he rushed toward her as she rushed toward him, all that was missing was the field of flowers.

  He picked her up, spinning her in a circle as he devoured her lips in a burning kiss. “God I missed you, little one,” he mumbled against her lips.

  “It was only one night.” She laughed.

  “One night too long. I can’t stand to be away from you.” He set her on her feet, keeping his arm securely around her and led her into the house. “Is Alice settled?”

  “Yes, thanks. After much yelling on the phone, which I assume was with Bastian. She informed me, she’d had enough of shifters for the day. She’s working, as usual, from her laptop at my house. Hans said the clan isn’t coming until four?”

  “That’s right, but Sebastian is coming at two.”

  “Really? You’re going to bond today then?”

  “Yes. It’s been decided, and we need to go over all the details with our inner circles.” He looked at his watch. “Which gives me three hours to enjoy with my mate before business takes precedence.”

  He scooped her up in his arms. “So, where shall I take my sweet morsel?” He nuzzled her neck. “My office? I haven’t ravished you there yet.”

  “No!” Jenna shrieked. “Someone could come in.”

  “Not unless they have a death wish,” Bern growled. “The bedroom then?” Jenna nodded against his shoulder. “Mmm, sounds good to me, more room to play,” he growled. Bern threw her over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and took the stairs two at a time until he reached the bedroom. He slammed the door shut with his foot and placed Jenna on her feet in front of a low dresser with a mirror attached. He turned her to face the mirror.

  “Look at this, a present for me to unwrap,” he said as he placed his hands on her shoulders and slowly slid the vest from her arms. He tossed the vest toward the chair in the corner of the room. He pulled the blouse from the waist band of her skirt and skimmed it up and over her head, Jenna lifted her arms to assist him.

  She watched her image in the mirror, flushed with arousal, she was naked from the waist up, save for her beige lace push-up bra. Bern tucked his thumbs into the elastic waistband of her skirt and eased it to the floor, following it down until he was on his knees. “Lift,” he said, tapping one foot and then the other. “Oh, I like these boots,” he said, indicating her knee high brown suede three-inch heels. “I think I’ll leave them on.”

  He licked the skin above the top of her boots, the back of her knees and up the back of her thighs. Bern slid his hands up the front of her legs, letting them rest at the top of her thighs, teasing the crease where her thigh met her mons. He lightly bit one juicy butt cheek, eliciting a squeal from Jenna, then licked away the sting.

  Bern kissed the dimples at the base of her spine and twirled his tongue in the small depressions. “Put your hands on the dresser and spread your legs,” he instructed. Jenna shivered as she complied. Bern traced the seam between her rear cheeks down to her sex, he licked from her clit all the way back, spreading her cheeks and tickling her rosette with his tongue. “I’ll take you here one day, little one.”

  Jenna gasped.

  “Nothing to say to that, little one? Does that thought frighten you? Excite you?”

  “Both?” Jenna squeaked.

  Bern slapped her cheek. “Good answer.” He licked her sex again. She could feel her cream flooding her channel. Bern dipped a finger inside and tickled her clit with his tongue, Jenna could feel her orgasm climbing closer.

  Bern shifted positions, moving his hands to the front of her body, he kept one hand teasing her clit and moved the other to fondle her breast, he kissed and licked his way up her spine, until he reached the mating mark on her neck.

  “My bear is riding me hard, little one. He wants to mark you again, wants his scent and mark clear for all to note.”

  “Yes, do it. I need you.”

  Bern pulled her hips toward him and entered her in one swift thrust. Jenna cried out in pleasure, grinding back against him. Bern’s arms surrounded her, holding her hips as he pounded into her. Jenna grasped the edge of the dresser and held on for dear life. Her breasts bounced madly, and watching the scene was the hottest thing she had ever seen.

  She could tell Bern was nearing his peak, his thrusts were becoming erratic. “Bern, I need…”

  He growled and his fangs elongated, he struck in exactly the same place as before, re-piercing her mating mark, and Jenna came with a scream she was sure the entire household heard. Two more thrusts and Bern followed her, only his arms around her kept her from collapsing in a heap to the floor. She didn’t faint this time, but she was damn close. Bern withdrew from her and lifted her in his arms, carrying her to the bed, placing her in the center and crawling in to spoon up beside her.

  He held her tightly, her back to his front, while she floated back to earth. He stroked her hair and kissed her temple and cheek, the only places he could reach in that position. When her breathing finally returned to normal she turned her head and caught his lips in a sweet kiss. “I love you,” she whispered.

  “I love you too, little one.”

  “I think I need a nap.”

  Bern chuckled. “Sleep, my sweet. I will hold you while you dream.”

  Jenna closed her eyes and was asleep before her next breath.

  She awakened to someone gently kissing her neck. “Mmm, that’s nice.”

  “It’s time to wake up, Sleeping Beauty.”

  Jenna rolled to her back and stretched. “What time is it?”

  “One-thirty.”

  “One-thirty! Crap, I need to take a shower and fix my make-up!”

  “No shower. My bear wants his scent on you.”

  “Seriously? You want me to go out there and meet all those people smelling like sex?”

  “I most certainly do.”

  Jenna sat up in bed and gave him the evil eye. Bern would not back down. “I’m guessing this is a bear thing?”

  “A were thing, you could say.”

  “All right. I don’t like it, but for you I’ll do it, but I’m at least washing up.”

  Bern laughed. “Yes, my little one. You know where the bathroom is.”

  “Where is my purse?”

  “I think you dropped it somewhere downstairs.”

  As Jenna scurried for the bathroom, she shouted over her shoulder. “Well, will you please go down and get it? I need my makeup.”

  “I don’t think you need makeup, you are beautiful without it.”

  “Bern, I’m not going to argue with you. Go ge
t my purse or I’m going to do to you what I told Hans I was going to do to him and flick you on the nose.”

  Bern laughed. “Oh my God, I would have loved to have seen Hans’ face when you told him that. What did he say?”

  “He agreed. He did turn a pretty shade of purple though.”

  “Agreed to what?”

  “To stop calling me Miss Raynes, or ma’am and call me Jenna.”

  “Oh, that will be hard for the clan members, little one. There is a lot of formality in clan business.”

  “I get that, that’s why I’m starting now. My momma always said ‘start the way you intend to continue.’”

  “Your mom sounds like a smart lady.”

  “She is, I can’t wait for you to meet her.”

  “I’m looking forward to it. When are you going to tell them about us?”

  “I was going to tell them today. Maybe we can call them tonight, when things calm down?”

  “That sounds like a plan.”

  “God, I’m so nervous. What if your clan doesn’t like me?”

  “I’ve already told you, they will love you. Besides, you’ve already won over the toughest members, Martin, Guiles, Hans and Julia.”

  “Julia is tough?”

  “Are you kidding? She is terrible! No one has ever been good enough for me up until now, yet she sings your praises like you are Mother Teresa.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far.”

  “You haven’t heard her when you’re not around.”

  Jenna came out of the bathroom, running her fingers through her hair. “Really? That’s so nice. I like her a lot too. Sarah is the cutest thing! And little Jimmy is adorable too, I can’t wait to meet all your nieces and nephews.”

  Bern stepped close and pulled her into his arms. “I can’t wait to start making a few babies of our own.” Jenna rubbed her face on his still naked chest and looked up into his eyes. “Really?”

  “Yeah, really.”

  They kissed sweetly and then she pulled back. “Where’s my purse?”

  Bern sighed. “Hans should be here with it in a minute.”

  “You better get dressed,” she worried.

  “Hans has seen me naked before.”