by Sophie Stern
I’ve seen Chester shift.
I’ve touched him in shifter form.
He’s huge, and beautiful, and terrifying.
The thought of Chester taking my child makes me sick to my stomach and I feel like I might throw up, but even worse is the idea that Chester might hurt him. What if Landon gets there and Chester hurts Blake just to prove a point? What if he hurts Landon, too? What if this all ends and I’m left with nothing, with no one?
What will I do then?
I grab Fawn’s arm as she walks by.
“I’m so sorry,” she says again, shaking. Tears are streaming down her face.
“You didn’t know,” I say for the millionth time, trying to keep it together. I’m devastated, but I can’t really blame Fawn. She did her best, and she didn’t know Chester wasn’t supposed to be able to get to Blake. Honestly, the thought that he might try to take my son never even crossed my mind, so I didn’t specify that when I signed Blake up for daycare.
I should have told every damn daycare employee that my son was only allowed to be picked up by me, but I didn’t.
I screwed up.
I messed up royally and now a monster has my baby and my boyfriend.
“Listen,” I tell Fawn. “When the police arrive, tell them to go to the Riverdale Apartments complex, okay?”
“Why?” Fawn asks, eyes wide and blinking. “Why can’t you?”
“Because I have to go save my baby, Fawn. Just do it.”
I turn then and walk away. Aside from Fawn, no one seems to notice I’m leaving the area. I shouldn’t be going. I’m supposed to wait for the police. They’ll want me to give a formal report of what happened and file paperwork and give a statement, but I don’t have time for that.
When it comes to my son, every second counts, and I’m not waiting another one.
I get in my car and head straight for the apartments where Chester lives. The asshole moved into a cheap, dingy place that isn’t fit for rats: much less people. I don’t know why he picked such a terrible place to live. He’s got a job. He should be able to afford a real house or at least a livable apartment. Then again, maybe this is part of his ploy to get me to give him money.
Anyone will assume that someone living at Riverdale doesn’t have any money and needs financial help. Is this part of his plan to get the judge to rule in his favor?
I scream as I drive, and I hit the steering wheel out of pure frustration.
“Please,” I whisper. “Please let Blake be okay.”
Just before my stomach gets the best of me, I arrive at Riverdale and park my car. I get out of the vehicle and look around. Which apartment is Chester in? I know he lives on the first floor, but which room?
I don’t have to wait long because I hear a growl.
I hear a loud, terrifying growl, and I know it’s not Chester.
Jaguars don’t sound like that.
Bears sound like that.
“There’s another shifter here,” I whisper, looking around, and I get even more scared for my son. Where the hell is Blake? Is my baby okay?
“Tina!” A familiar voice calls my name and I turn to see Joyce running across the parking lot. How the hell does she run so gracefully in those damn heels?
“Where are they?” I ask. I know my face is red and my nose is snotty from all the crying and screaming I did on the way over. “Where’s my baby, Joyce?”
“I think Landon found him,” she whispers. A man appears beside her: one of Landon’s colleagues. Lyon, I think.
“Oh, he found him.”
We turn toward the sound of the growling.
“My baby,” I whisper, and take a step toward the building, but I needn’t have bothered. Just then, we hear a loud crash and the sound of wood splintering and breaking. Two animals come barreling out of the side of the building, completely destroying the wall. They both appear to be uninjured and unharmed, totally ignoring the way they just tumbled out of the apartment building.
One of the creatures is obviously Chester. The jet-black fur is a dead giveaway. Even though he’s completely evil, completely terrible, it doesn’t take away from the fact that as a shifter, he’s beautiful.
The other is a bear who is far more beautiful than Chester. He’s far fiercer. He’s much bigger.
And I know without a doubt in my soul that the bear is Landon.
It has to be.
“Landon is a shifter?” I whisper, not quite understanding what’s happening.
“I’m surprised he didn’t tell you sooner,” Joyce says. “I knew you’d be able to handle it.”
“Maybe he was scared of rejection,” Lyon pipes up, but I ignore them both and watch the way Landon and Chester are fighting in the parking lot. Chester growls and scratches at Landon, but Landon barely seems to notice. He’s got size on his side, and strength, and after some tumbling and growling, he quickly pins Chester to the ground.
It doesn’t take long at all.
“Aw,” Casa appears next to me. “That fight was over before it even started. Not fair. I was hoping for some fun. I at least wanted time to get popcorn while we watched the fight.”
I hear a cooing and turn to see Blake in his arms.
“My baby!” I take Blake from Casa and hold him, smell him, touch him. I count his little fingers and his tiny toes and then I just hold him close to me. “You saved him,” I tell Casa. “Thank you.”
Casa holds perfectly still as I give him a hug. It’s a small gesture, a small offering for everything he’s done for me.
“It was Landon, really,” Casa says, and I turn back to where my bear still has my ex pinned on the parking lot pavement. People from the apartment building have come out to stare. Several people are taking pictures with their cell phones and a few are on the phone, undoubtedly calling the police about a disturbance.
As I watch, Landon finally pulls his eyes from where he has Chester pinned down and he sees me. Our gazes connect across the parking lot, and I realize that I want to spend the rest of my life with Landon.
I want to spend the rest of my life loving this bear.
I want to spend the rest of my life by his side.
And the realization makes my heart sing.
Chapter 12
Landon
By the time we get back to Tina’s house, it’s late. After being interviewed by the police, answering questions, filling out paperwork, and getting checked out by the paramedics, it’s nearly midnight when we get back to her house.
I help her tuck Blake into his bassinet, and then Tina and I sit on the couch together.
“You don’t have to be worried anymore,” I tell her.
“I guess the custody hearing is off, huh?”
“Seeing as Chester will be in jail for a long, long, long time, I think that’s safe to say.”
“You don’t think he’ll come after me when he gets out?”
“Not if he knows what’s good for him,” the idea makes me pissed. “I won’t be as gentle on him next time.” I should have killed him tonight, but I couldn’t bring myself to. Besides, the paperwork on that would have been even more of a nightmare.
“You saved my son, you know.”
“No,” I whisper, kissing her forehead. “I saved our son.”
Tina looks up at me, her eyes wide. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“What do you think I’m saying, princess?”
“That you…that you love me,” she whispers. “That you love us. That you want us to be a family. That you want us to all be together.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying, beautiful. I love you so much, Tina. I wanted to take things slow because I know your divorce is still so recent. I didn’t want you to feel like I was rushing into anything with you. The idea of hurting you breaks my heart. I just wanted to take care of you. Now I realize I should have told you that first day how I felt. Fuck being crazy. I should have told you that I want to love you forever, that I want to marry you, that I want to help
you raise this sweet little boy, that I want us to have more babies.”
“Maybe that would have scared me off,” she whispers. “I think you did just fine, Landon. I think you did just fine. Although,” she adds with a smile. “I was surprised to find out you’re a bear.”
“I’m surprised I didn’t notice your son was a shifter,” I admit. “I should have noticed his scent the first day.”
“Were you overwhelmed by his total cuteness?” She asks, taking my hand. “I know I am.”
“I think I was overwhelmed by his beautiful mother,” I say, and then I kiss Tina. “It’s been too long since I held you in my arms,” I tell her, touching my forehead to hers. “It feels like a lifetime.”
Tina kisses me again, wrapping her arms around my neck. She strokes my cheek and runs her hand down my jaw as she shows me how she feels about me. My heart fills with joy in this moment because Tina is incredible.
I don’t know how I’ve made it a lifetime without her.
Now I can’t stand the thought of being apart from her.
I can’t stand the idea of not being near her.
“Marry me,” I whisper.
“What did you say?” She asks.
“Marry me,” I say again. I’m not going to shy away from the question, from telling her what I want. I’ve spent weeks being careful, being reasonable. I’ve spent weeks coming to terms with the fact that Tina is my mate.
She’s the woman I love.
I’m going to love her forever.
“I want to spend my life worshipping you. I want to spend the rest of my days taking care of you and Blake. I want to help you raise him. I want to be by your side. I want to honor you, Tina. I want to love you. Please, tell me you’ll be mine.”
“I’m yours,” she whispers without hesitation, and she kisses me again. “I’m yours, Landon.”
The way Tina opens her heart to me without fear is incredible. The way she accepts my offer without making excuses about how she’s scared or needs more time or just isn’t sure is amazing.
She’s perfect.
And I want to show her this in a way that’s much more intimate than kissing.
“Come upstairs with me,” I whisper, and that’s when Tina hesitates. “What’s wrong?” I ask.
“It’s just that…” She takes a deep breath. “The reason I sleep on the couch is because Chester…Chester cheated on me upstairs,” Tina says, and I hate the way her voice trembles a little bit as she says it. I hate the way she sounds scared, worried. “I’m nervous about sleeping in that room. I haven’t slept in there since he moved out.”
“What Chester did to you is terrible. He’s a world class asshole.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s just that…I hate knowing I wasn’t good enough. He’s such a huge idiot, you’re totally right, but I can’t help feeling that it’s my fault.”
“Tina, what happened isn’t your fault. You’re incredible. You’re the most fantastic woman I’ve ever met in my life. You’re brave and bold and sweet. You’re lovely. You’re beautiful. Chester has already taken so much from you. Let’s not let him take this, too.”
I stand up, and I take her hand, pulling her to her feet.
“Will you come with me upstairs?” I ask her. “Will you let me reclaim your bedroom? Let’s not let him ruin what we have, baby. Let’s take back that room for us. Let’s claim your house as our own. Let’s do it together.”
“What about…what about Blake?” She looks at the bassinet where her infant is sleeping peacefully. “We can’t leave him down here.”
“Does he have a room upstairs?”
“Yes.”
“Do you have a baby monitor?”
“Yes.”
“Come on, princess.”
Carefully, gently, I lift Blake from the bassinet and hold him to my chest. Tina leads the way upstairs to Blake’s bedroom and I lay him down in his crib. We set up the baby monitor, make sure Blake is comfortable, and carefully sneak out of the room to the master bedroom. Tina sets up the baby monitor receiver on the dresser, and then she turns to me.
“Okay, Landon. We’re here. What happens now?”
I walk over to her and kiss her, running my hands through her hair. “Now I’m going to take care of you, Tina.”
“I might be sore,” she whispers. “I haven’t…you know…not since before Blake was born.”
“We can take our time, honey. We have all the time in the world, you and I. Will you trust me to make this good for you?”
Desire and fear wrestle in Tina’s eyes as she tries to decide. Even as she debates with herself, I can see her wanting to be brave, wanting to be bold, and then, after what seems like an eternity, she nods.
“I’m ready, Landon. I’m ready.”
Chapter 13
Tina
I’ve never considered myself to be brave.
In my life, I’ve gone through many hardships and many battles, but “brave” is not a word I would ever use to describe myself.
Until now.
As much as I hate to admit it, giving myself to Landon in this way requires a certain amount of bravery I didn’t know I had. I didn’t realize just how scared I’d become of something as simple as a bedroom until I stepped through the door with him.
And then I realized how stupid it was.
I’ve been sleeping on the couch because of a bad memory. Staying away from the room hasn’t dimmed my memories of what happened. Staying on the couch hasn’t made me forget what Chester did to me. All it’s done is make the problem bigger and longer-lasting.
Staying away from the room has only made my fear greater, and Landon is right: it’s time to conquer that fear.
I close my eyes for a moment and breathe him in. Landon smells nothing like Chester. They might both be shifters – which, I’ll admit, came as a shock – but they’re nothing alike.
And they smell different.
Landon smells good, strong. He smells like honey and happiness. He smells like contentment. He smells like safety and love and comfort, and I’m ready for all of those things.
I’m ready to stop denying myself and letting Chester win.
I’m ready to take hold of my life again.
And I’m starting with this moment.
I lean up and kiss him. He’s taller than me. I stand on my tip-toes and press my mouth to his, offering everything that I am. I offer myself to Landon with the knowledge that he will take care of me.
He will protect me.
He will care for me.
He will guard me.
No matter what else happens in my life, I know that Landon will be by my side. He’s not going to get scared and run away. He’s not going to ditch me when things get hard. No, he’s going to be here for me. We’ll have problems and issues as all couples do, but Landon and I will communicate. We’ll talk. We’ll work through our problems as a team because that’s what people in love do.
They face the world together as a unified front.
And then he picks me up.
“Woah,” I whisper.
“Yes, I’m very strong,” Landon winks at me.
“No one’s ever carried me like this before,” I tell him. “I feel special, like royalty, like I’m a princess.”
Landon just chuckles and takes me to the bed. He lays me on the covers and just looks at me for a second.
“You’re so beautiful.”
“As are you,” I tell him. “And I know it’s been awhile, so correct if me I’m wrong, but I think you’re wearing way too many clothes.”
He glances down at the jeans and t-shirt he’s wearing. He ruined his clothes when he shifted to fight Chester, but one of Chester’s neighbors offered Landon a set of clean clothes to wear when he shifted back.
“Oh my,” he says in mock surprise. “You’re right. What should we do about this problem, sweetie?”
“Take it off,” I say in my sexiest voice. “Take it all off.”
He teases the bottom of his shi
rt up and down, revealing his abs and then hiding them again.
“No, don’t tease me,” I say. “I’ve waited long enough.”
“You’ve waited a long time,” he admits. “So what’s a few more minutes? Let’s make this fun, Tina.”
He’s going to kill me.
He’s literally going to kill me.
I’m going to die from horniness and excitement and arousal if he doesn’t take off his damn clothes soon.
Landon seems oblivious to my suffering as he continues to strip slowly. He finally takes his shirt off, revealing his cut abs.
“Wow,” I groan. I want to lick him. I want to reach for him and touch him and just lick his body, and then I realize there’s no reason I shouldn’t. Quickly, I move so I’m on all fours facing him.
“What are you doing, Tina?”
“Whatever I want,” I tell him, and then I lean forward and swipe my tongue over his abs. He groans, and for a second, I think he’s going to push me away, but he doesn’t. Instead, he touches my hair and pulls me closer, and I keep going. I lick his stomach, nibbling and biting my way down to his pants. “These are coming off,” I say firmly.
I unbutton the top of his jeans and pull the zipper down.
“No boxers?” I look up at him.
He shrugs. “I wasn’t about to wear a stranger’s underwear.”
“I like it,” I push his jeans down and he steps out of them, kicking them aside. Then he stands directly in front of me.
“What do you want to do to me, Tina?”
“This,” I don’t grab his cock with my hand. I’m too anxious for that, too excited. I’ve waited too long to just rub his dick. Today, I’m ready for everything. I’m ready for all of him. I’m ready for all of this. I lean forward and take his length in my mouth, and I slide it down my throat.
“Fuck,” he growls. “Holy dragons, woman. You didn’t tell me you were so good at this.”
“By the way,” I smile up at him. “I’m really, really good at this.” I take him in my mouth once more, licking and sucking his dick. I reach for his balls while I suck his cock and play with them in my hands, gently running my fingers over them and squeezing softly while I lick him.
