by Amelia Jade
Robyn sat back in silence. He tried to tell if it was a comfortable silence or not, but soon after he saw her looking out the window, enjoying the view.
"Beautiful out here, isn't it?" he commented as they crested a small hill and then began to descend down into the valley that lay next to where Bear Bluffs was situated.
"Gorgeous," she said with awe at the spectacle before them.
The mountains rose up to their left, wearing away until they were no more than very large hills that enclosed the other three sides of the large valley. Greenery was everywhere, split down the middle by a massive river running down from the mountains out onto the plains to the east.
The signs made reference to a place called Lions Head Mines.
"What's that?"
"Huh?"
"The sign back there," Robyn explained. "Who names a mine Lion's Head?"
"Ah," Andy chuckled. "Well, this isn't public knowledge, so don't go spewing it around, because the government doesn't know they exist yet."
"Who?" Robyn asked before he could continue.
"I'll explain!" he laughed, enjoying her enthusiasm. "So, this whole valley, the mountain territory around it, it's all owned by two brothers. They are also, to my knowledge, the only known gryphon shifters to exist."
"Gryphon shifters?" she exclaimed in surprise. "I thought they were just a myth, like the dragon shifters!"
"Dragon shifters are no myth," Andy said, glancing over at her.
"Have you met one?"
"Once, about seven or eight years back. There are more than you might think, but they are very private about it. It was a big shifter get-together."
"Wow, apparently I've missed a lot over the past few years," she said, leaning back in her seat thoughtfully.
"Anyway," he said, continuing on with his explanation, "the name is an inside joke to them, because, they obviously don't have a lion's head, but a lion's body. They thought it was quite funny when they decided to name their mine."
"They must have an awesome sense of humor! What do they mine?" she asked curiously.
"So it would seem. They mine for precious stones. I didn't think that these mountains were rich in such deposits, but they keep buying more and more land, so they must be doing okay."
They passed another sign that said the mines and a town were straight ahead. Andy took the next right, however, turning onto a gravel road. They began to slowly climb up into the mountains, following the trail as they went. At one point, the road appeared to end, but he expertly threaded the truck between several trees until it opened up onto what looked like a wildlife trail.
"Okay, we have to hike the last few hundred feet," he said, killing the engine and hopping out. Moving to the truck bed, he grabbed several items from it, fastening a hiking backpack into place and grabbing a soft-sided cooler.
"What is all that?" Robyn asked in surprise as he rounded the truck into view again.
"Supplies," he said cryptically. "This way."
He led them on foot through the forest, until they emerged from the underbrush at the top of a small hill. Below them an open space appeared, leading down to a section of river that was, in spots, giving off steam into the air.
"Are these hot springs?" she said with delight.
"The best," he replied, unable to keep his satisfaction at her delight off his face.
Reaching the edge of the little beach that led down to the slow moving river, he divested himself of the backpack and cooler. He didn't unpack anything yet. Instead, Andy quickly pulled off his shirt and stripped down to his swimming trunks.
"Hey, let's go, slowpoke! Last one in is a rotten egg!" he teased as she swiftly doffed her own shirt and began to hop after him while removing her pants.
"No fair, you cheated!" she cried, finally freeing herself.
Andy had to stop and stare for a moment. She was wearing a red two-piece that showed skin in all the right places and covered her where it needed to. It was modest in that she wasn't exposed, but Robyn was simply tall and curvy, and it made him acutely aware of how much he wanted to run his hands across her body.
Then she was past him and splashing into the water with a shriek.
"It's so cold!" she yelped, making her way back toward the beach.
"Keep going, the warmth stays out farther," he said, wading into the chilly waters.
It was unlikely normal humans could have tolerated the water for very long, but as a shifter his core ran hotter and he shrugged off the cold, pushing past it until he hit the warm part of the water.
"Ahhh," he sighed, the warmth infusing his body, relaxing him.
That ended as Robyn swam up to him. It was shallow enough where they were that she could touch and still have her head above water. Her body brushed against his as she moved slightly upstream from him. The slight connection of skin on skin was all it took to rush blood back to his cock.
Andy was extremely glad that they were in the water, where it was hard for her to tell that he was aroused. They had only kissed once, and that was almost an accident. He felt so awkward around her. The only thing Andy knew was that he wanted to spend more time with her alone, like today. But how was he supposed to know when she was ready for more? Was she going to give him a clear sign? The dating rituals of humans frustrated him at times. Like his bear, he just wanted to pick her up, kiss her, and take her to bed where he could pleasure her as much as possible.
"This is wonderful, Andy. The whole place is perfect, really."
"What place?"
"The Bluffs, the people here, just everything about it. I can see why you like it here," she said with a gentle splash of water in his direction.
"It is quite nice, I agree. Much better now than it was before, that's for sure," he said with a frown.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, pre-outing it wasn't much of a town to begin with. That was what, seventeen years or so ago now?"
She nodded.
"Anyway, back then it was a bit of a shithole, and there was a lot of drama as well. Several shifters were killed outright when they went public with it. But over time, more and more of us came to live in the area, living up to the name Bear Bluffs."
They both smiled at that, before she gestured for him to continue.
"Anyways, as time went on, we invited other bears to join us and the last of the folks who didn't like us were finally driven out. Now it's quite nice, lots of mated couples," he finished awkwardly, realizing what he had just said.
"Yeah, I met some of them last night," she said quietly, clearly thinking about what he had said as well.
Before he could respond, though, she smiled suddenly and splashed him with as much water as she could.
Sputtering, he chased after her as she waded upstream, shrieking with laughter. It took him several strides for his long, powerful legs to drive him through the water, the liquid flowing around him like he was a rock. A living, breathing, muscled mountain of moving rock.
"Gotcha," he roared, picking her up from behind as he got within range.
"Put me down, you behemoth!"
She shouted for mercy and kicked her legs relentlessly, but his strong arms were too much for her. At point she managed to spin in place, until she was facing him. This had the fortunate side effect of placing his face right in her plentiful, bouncing chest. With an embarrassed grunt he set her down, though he didn't let go.
She pressed up against him. There was no way she couldn't have felt his cock pressing into her. It was so solid it almost hurt from the blood throbbing through it. Robyn never gasped, never twitched, but she also never pulled away from him.
Instead, she ran her hands down his sides. His eyes closed involuntarily as shivers ran through his body. Everything about her felt so good. His bear was growling and roaring inside of him, demanding that he mate with her right then and there. Andy knew that to be a bad idea because of where they were, but it didn't mean it was an easy fight to win.
To win, he realized he would have
to compromise with his bear.
Looking down at Robyn, he cupped her chin in his hand and raised her face as he brought his lips down, lightly brushing them against hers. He heard her inhale sharply, before she pressed herself firmly into him, meeting his lips for a second time.
It was a fierce, urgent kiss. The surprise from Robyn faded quickly as she allowed herself to flow into the kiss, her passion and desire catching him off guard. Her hands wrapped around his neck so that she could pull herself tight to him. She was soft, warm and utterly perfect as they stood in the heated waters of the river, ignoring everything around them.
Until a branch snapped loudly in the forest.
Andy drew back from Robyn abruptly, looking downstream, away from the direction they had come, toward the town of Eagles Rock. While the trees were thin where he and Robyn had emerged, as the river flowed onwards, the trunks grew closer and underbrush filled the space between, making it impossible for him to see anything there. But he knew what it was.
"We need to go. Now," he said, pulling her along urgently after him as they pushed toward the edge of the water. To her credit, Robyn did not protest or ask any questions. She seemed to catch on to his tone immediately, trusting him that perhaps they were somewhere that they should no longer be.
They had just reached their clothes when brush and branches began to shudder and tremble only a few dozen feet away from them. Something was coming.
"Damn it," he swore, dropping his clothes nearby.
"What is it?" Robyn asked, speaking up for the first time since he had abruptly killed their intimate moment earlier.
Andy wasn't given time to respond, for out of the brush came two large bears, blacker than night, charging straight at them. They worked in tandem, the larger of the of the two angling for Andy, while the smaller eyed Robyn.
"Those are shifters!" she gasped in recognition of the way their movements identified them.
Andy didn't waste time responding. He had known this might happen, but had banked on them being okay for a few hours. It was his responsibility to deal with it.
In a blink, his massive grizzly tore out of him, huge paws churning under him, claws leaving deep rents in the ground beneath him as he gained speed to meet the charge of the smaller black bears. They were big, but Andy had both size and weight on both of them. He could take each individually without too much of an issue, but both at once would be very difficult indeed. There was no way to count on Robyn, so he had to prepare for it. Making his decision, he veered slightly into the path of the large one.
The two titans met with a thunderous clash as they reared up at the last second, muscles bulging as they batted at each other with paws bigger than a human's head. Each time they connected, a big, meaty slap echoed out through the air. Growls, snarls and roars of pain dissolved into one loud noise. In seconds both of them were battered and bleeding from dozens of cuts.
Andy used his larger size to force the other bear back and over onto its back. He didn't leap on top, instead darting in far more quickly and more agile than a beast his size should have been capable of, and tore a huge wound along the exposed flank of the bear.
Behind him he could hear the other bear closing in. He had to finish this quickly if he had a chance. But in front of him, the black bear, its fur matted with blood, rolled quickly and regained its feet. He was in trouble now, Andy knew, bracing for the impact of the bear about to hit him from his blind spot.
There was a tremendous, earth-shaking clap, a roar of pain, and then the other bear was tumbling past him in his peripheral vision as he circled the large bear. He blinked, wondering what happened, until a huge grizzly went flying by as well, ripping at the other bear.
Andy turned his attention back to his foe. The battle was over now that Robyn had entered the fray. The black bear knew it, too. It held up a paw to stop Andy in a very humanlike gesture, a loud roar gaining the attention of the other two combatants.
They stopped and looked over. The black bear motioned to his partner, and they pulled back, moving slowly back into the forest, each bleeding profusely from several spots and cut in many more. The big bear gave Andy one last look, growled at him warningly, and then departed.
Robyn lumbered over to his side, still in bear form. They waited for several minutes, before shifting and heading over to the river.
Chapter Eight
Robyn
"What the fuck was that all about?" Robyn asked as they waded into the water. This time, neither of them commented about the cold.
"Territory challenge," he growled deeply, letting water sluice off the blood. Many of their smaller wounds were already healing. The larger ones continued to bleed for a few more minutes, but the flow was already so low as to not matter.
"Really? There are still shifters who act like that?" she asked in surprise. Robyn had thought most of the old style was gone these days.
In days past, bears had formed clans, and they had claimed territory for each clan. To wander onto someone else's territory was not permitted, and bloody battles broke out often over disputes. She had thought that style all but gone in this day and age, but apparently she was mistaken.
"Yes, all the bears in the valley here live by the old ways."
"So, now what? We won. Are we allowed to stay?" she asked, unsure of how it worked.
"No, we still need to leave. Those were just a patrol. They'll go get more, and be back in a bit. We should be gone by then, or it could get very messy."
"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea," she said, hissing in pain slightly as the water flowed into a deeper cut on her shoulder as she sunk into the water.
When she stood back up, Andy was staring at her. His eyes were intensely focused on her body.
"What?" she said, looking down. It was then that she noticed that her bathing suit was ripped and torn. The flow of the water had completely exposed one of her breasts to his view. The fury of battle had completely inured her to the fact that in a few places the water was colder than before.
She thought about covering up, but the look on his face was one of sheer lust. It made her feel attractive, wanted. Moving closer to Andy she screwed up her courage and stuck her hand out, rubbing it softly along the rock hard bulge in his shorts.
Andy hissed in surprise and pleasure, tearing his eyes away from her exposed skin and looking at her directly, while she continued to fondle him.
"I think we should get out of here," she whispered, licking her lips in anticipation of what was to come.
She was scared. They packed up quickly and were now clothed again, his truck moving swiftly from the river. Trees blurred by on either side of the truck, each individual branch morphing into a constant stream of color interspersed with patches of green as pines and brush broke up the continuity.
Sex.
It had been so long since she had last been with a man that Robyn wasn't even sure she remembered how to do it properly. Now she had gone and all but told a man he needed to take her home and fuck her. It was scary to think about, though her body sang with desire. Her nipples had been rock solid since Andy had ran his hands over her body as they packed, exploring her curves ever so tantalizingly briefly.
Between her legs, her clit pulsed and throbbed, begging her for attention. She swallowed hard, wondering what it would be like with Andy. Was he gentle and tender, or rough and commanding? There were parts of her that wanted both, though she couldn't understand it completely, having ignored her desires for so long.
"Robyn," Andy said from next to her.
"Yes?" she replied nervously.
"You know, you don't have to do this," he said awkwardly.
Gentle and tender.
"I know that."
"Okay, I mean—"
"Be quiet, Andy," she said. It was nice that he was giving her an out, but for once, Robyn was positive this was what she wanted, and she was going to get it.
The doors slammed behind them as they exited the truck and walked slowly up to the house. A
ndy only fumbled with his keys once in opening the door, letting her proceed.
"You know," she said with a grin, "sometimes I think you men only do that so you can stare at our rear ends without us seeing."
Andy smirked at her for a brief moment before giving her his best innocent smile. "It's just polite," he said with false modesty.
"What, are you telling me you've never done it?"
"Done what?" he said, still pretending to have no idea what she was talking about.
"Looked at my ass after opening the door," she teased playfully, taking off her jacket and shoes.
"After opening a door for you? Not really," he said, a twinkle in his eye.
"So, when have you looked?" she said, pointing a finger at him questioningly.
"Well, in the river, after the fight, you had a bit of a wedgie," he confessed. He blushed a little as well.
Definitely gentle and tender.
"Andy," she said huskily, thinking back to what he had all but shown her in the river.
"Yes?" he said, his voice all of a sudden thick with tension.
"Take me."
He had been waiting for that moment. For the confirmation that even after the drive, Robyn was still set on this course of action. The aching of desire from her cunt could not be ignored much longer: she needed him inside of her.
Tremors of anticipation ran through her body from head to toe as Andy took two quick steps across the hallway toward her, sweeping her up in his massive paws as he pushed her against the wall.
Their lips met fiercely, no longer concerned with appearances, but simply of satisfying a hunger that she sensed filled him as much as it did her. This had been a long time coming, and the electrifying connection she seemed to share with him only heightened her senses. In a small corner of her brain, Robyn realized this was the first time she was truly allowing herself to believe that there was, in fact, something happening between them. She didn't dare to let herself contemplate what it meant for the future, instead, she sunk fully into the moment, taking it all in to hold onto for the future.
