Aimée and the Bear: A BBW Bear-Shifter Romance (Fairy Tales with a Shift) (4 page)

CHAPTER FOUR

After that evening spent in the garden, under the starry night, the bear had become even more gentle and attentive towards me. We spent a lot of time together. I had long given up searching the mansion for Gabriel, the mysterious and oh-so-deliciously-sexy man in my dreams. Wherever he was trapped, it was not in the dungeons. I even paid close attention to Corinne and the other servants to see if any of them was taking food someplace other than the dining room or the garden, where I usually had my meals. No one did anything suspicious, and sometimes this was driving me insane. My friendship with the beast was comfortable now, but who knew how long this would last? Time was running out and I had no plan. Maybe I could escape if I set my mind to it, but I wasn’t leaving anywhere without Gabriel.

I missed father, Cécile and Diane. I missed them so much. I started telling the bear about them, about my mother, and about the misfortune that had hit us a year before. He saw how much I cared about them and how much I suffered at the thought that my father had no clue where I was, not even if I was dead or alive. That was how my honesty earned me more than my carefully devised plans. One morning, the beast simply told me I was free to go home if I wanted, on the condition that I shouldn’t spend more than a night away from the mansion.

“Are you serious? You’re really letting me visit my family?”

“Yes.”

“But… but why? I thought I was…”

“My prisoner? You’re not my prisoner, Aimée. You never were. If anything, I am your prisoner.”

I stared at him dumbfounded, trying to make sense of his words. He was my prisoner? How?

“I don’t understand.” I studied his face and eyes with caution, trying to see if this was a joke or some weird game he was playing. Maybe he was testing me? Maybe I was supposed to say that I didn’t want to see my family? That I never wanted to leave his side?

“I’m sorry I made you feel this way. You see… I’ve been so lonely for so many years that when you turned up at my doorstep, your arms full of roses you could barely carry, I couldn’t let you leave. I just… I knew you were the one, Aimée. I felt it. But I also knew you’d never accept to stay here with me.”

I didn’t know what to say or do and I decided it was best to let him finish. It was the first time he was giving me any sort of explanation. He walked to my side of the table and bent his thick neck forward to reach my level.

“But I am letting you go now. I care too much about you to keep you away from the people you love. All I ask is that you come back the next day. Then, you can visit your father and sisters anytime you want. As long as you come back to me, you are free to leave the house and the grounds, even go to town if you want.”

“How can you be so sure that I will come back?” My voice was barely a whisper. My intention was neither to threaten him, nor to prepare him for something I was really going to do. I was just curious. Curious and confused.

“I trust you. You said you needed time to fall in love with me, and I can see you’re doing your best. We’re friends now. I haven’t had a friend in such a long time that I can’t even remember anymore. People… they usually prefer to stay away from me.”

There was real sadness in his “voice”. Because he was sending his thoughts straight to my mind, I felt it so strongly that I almost thought it was mine.

“I know that if I want this to work, I have to earn your trust like you’ve earned mine. So, if you want to visit your family, you can go whenever you want. Today even. I’ll be waiting for your return.”

I looked into his eyes and gently took his face in my hands. This time, he didn’t tense under my touch. “Thank you,” I said. I wasn’t going to refuse such a generous offer. Not when I had a little theory I needed to test.

***

My father started crying when he saw me, but his tears of happiness turned to tears of anger and revolt when I told him what had happened and where I had been. I didn’t want to lie to him for two reasons: first, I truly loved him and respected him, and secondly, I needed his advice.

“You can’t go back,” said Cécile.

“She’s right, sister,” said Diane. “We should go to the authorities and report this… this beast. He kept you prisoner for more than a month! No one can do something like this and get away with it.”

I stared at my hands, suddenly finding it impossible to look into their eyes. They were right, though. Weren’t they? Then, why did I feel differently? I was starting to think it had been a bad idea to tell them about the brown bear.

“And what about Gabriel?” Yes, I had told them about the man in my dreams too, though I had avoided the details.

“If he really exists and he’s not some illusion caused by the dark magic in that place, then the authorities will find him,” said my father.

“I don’t know…”

He grabbed me by the shoulders and forced me to look into his eyes. “Listen to me, Aimée: you’re not going back. You shouldn’t sacrifice your youth and freedom because that bastard threatened you and your family.”

“He didn’t…” But my father was way past listening to what I had to say.

“He can’t hurt us, and he can’t hurt you anymore. I’ll make sure of it!”

The discussion went on and on, with my sisters begging me to stay, my father raging against the beast, and me barely managing to whisper a word here and there. It was exhausting. By the time we finally went to bed, I was wondering if this had really been such a good idea. Yes, I had missed my family, but this was not what I had expected. But… what had I expected? They didn’t know the bear… How could they have possibly listened to me when I tried to tell them he wasn’t that bad? He wasn’t bad at all, in fact.

***

Morning came quicker than I thought. In the evening, I was supposed to go back to the old mansion. At least, that was what I had promised the bear. By noon, I still hadn’t made up my mind. I did, however, manage to convince my father to wait a few more days before going to the authorities. I needed time to make a decision, and I wanted to have my family with me. It was while we were having dinner that I realized what I was actually doing: I was stalling. My decision had long been made. The second I woke up in the morning, I knew what I was going to do, and I also knew why. My little theory. I tested it, and it failed… or succeeded. I had no idea if the result was good or bad, but I did know what it meant: I was going back to the beast.

The night before was the first one in over a month when I hadn’t dreamed Gabriel. I didn’t even dream the ball room, let alone the man I had fallen in love with. In my dream, I had found myself in a lush forest, running from something I couldn’t describe. Or, maybe, I was running towards something. I had woken up tired and a little panicked, feeling like I had just lost something or someone very dear to me. No, I couldn’t go through that terrifying experience again, and I knew it would happen if I spent a second night at the farm.

Long after the sun had set, we were all still gathered in the kitchen, around the empty table, debating what I should do the next day. It was nearing midnight, and I felt like I was trapped in the house. I couldn’t just stand up and announce that I was going back to the mansion right then, because they would have done everything in their power to stop me. My father would have probably restrained me and claimed the dark magic had messed with my mind. As much as I loved them and appreciated their dedication to keeping me safe, this time they were wrong and I wasn’t going to listen to their advice.

As I stared at the window that showed a perfect reflection of our small kitchen, waiting for my father and sisters to grow tired enough to call it a day, I tried to analyze my own feelings. Why did I want to go back, after all? The night before I had realized I couldn’t live without Gabriel, without feeling his soft lips on my skin, without melting into his strong, possessive embrace. Today, however, I realized how much I missed my long conversations with the bear. Sure, I had had breakfast, lunch, and dinner with Cécile, Diane, and father, but they had gone on and on about how the beast should suffer for what he had done and how I should have tried to escape, that I eventually grew tired of the whole thing. I would have very much preferred to discuss philosophy or literature with the bear.

So, which was it? Was I going back to Gabriel, or was I going back to the beast?

CHAPTER FIVE

The sun was rising when I finally reached the gothic mansion. As I climbed the pile of bricks that had allowed me entrance the first time, my heart beat wildly in my chest. My foot slipped on a brick and I almost lost my balance. I could have gone through the main gate, of course, as I knew it would be open for me, but for some odd reason I wanted to do it like this, to take the exact way I had taken when I first entered the beast’s life. Or Gabriel’s life… By this point I wasn’t even trying to figure out why I was coming back. I was returning, and that was all that mattered.

I ran through the sea of blood red roses and rounded the building to reach the front door. I threw it open, and ran straight to the dining room. He wasn’t there.

“Corinne?” I called for the maid who had become a sort of friend to me even though she had always kept her cold attitude. When she didn’t answer, I ran to the kitchen. Halfway there, we bumped into each other, and she caught me before I fell. It was the second time in the last five minutes that I had almost hurt myself.

“Where is he?”

“You’re late, my lady. What took you so long?”

“Late?” A feeling of dread swept over me. “I mean, yes, I’m late. I couldn’t get away sooner. Is everything all right? Where is he?”

“Calm down, my lady, he’s upstairs. He’s waiting for you.”

I looked at her confused. What was that smile on her face? Was she just happy to see me, or was there something else? This was strange.

“Corinne, is there something you want to tell me?”

She smiled again, wider and brighter this time. “Why don’t you go to your bedroom so he can tell you himself?”

“You’re frightening me…”

Nonetheless, I turned around and started running back to the main hall, then up the stairs. When I reached the door of my bedroom, I stopped for a second to catch my breath and try to compose myself a little. My dark, curly hair was disheveled, my dress was a mess, and my shoes were covered in the thick dust of the road. I took a deep breath, tucked as many strands of hair as I could behind my ears, and finally squeezed the door handle in my sweaty palm.

What was this feeling swelling inside my chest? Was it impatience? Excitement? Fear…? I guess I was a little afraid that he’d be upset I was late. He had said he trusted me. Hadn’t I just broken that trust? I gathered my courage and pushed the door open. My eyes found the bed and the person who was sitting on its edge, waiting for me. I froze midstep and both my hands flew to cover my mouth and muffle my gasp.

It was him. Gabriel.

Gabriel was there, in the flesh, waiting for me.

***

“You…” I whispered.

“You came back…”

He stood up and closed the distance between us. In a fraction of a second, I was in his arms, pressed up against his wide chest. And yes, it was a fraction of a second, or even less. I literally hadn’t seen him move. One moment he was on the edge of the bed, the next he was holding me.

“How?”

“Shh… don’t say a word.” He pressed a finger to my parted lips. “You came back.”

I closed my eyes, took a minute to wrap my mind around what was happening, inhale the scent of his skin, focus on every part of my body where he touched me. When I opened them, he was still there, his black eyes fixing me. I guess that was when I knew. I didn’t know how, but I knew.

“You set me free, just as you promised. Aimée, you saved me!”

“You were always here…”

“Yes. I was always here, with you, trapped inside the beast. No. I was the beast. I am the beast.”

Well, that I didn’t expect. He still was the beast? He must have noticed the confusion in my eyes, because he started explaining.

“Aimée, it’s time for you to learn the truth.”

He pulled me inside the room and closed the door behind me. He guided me to the bed and motioned for me to sit down. He sat down in front of me and took my hands into his own.

“I come from an ancient, noble family whose members have always had the ability to shift into brown bears. We can turn at will, as we have long learned to live with the beast inside us. However, being a bear-shifter can be tricky.”

“Why?” It was the first time ever when I heard about shape-shifters, but somehow, I believed him. I knew he was telling the truth.

“You see… if we don’t learn how to balance our two sides, the human one and the animal one, then we risk falling into one of the extremes. For instance, if I spend too much time in my human form, I might slowly lose my ability to shift into my bear form or use my gift of telepathy. If, on the other hand, I spend too much time in my bear form, I succumb to the beast and forget how it’s like to be human.”

“But… you were in your bear form all this time…”

“Except in your dreams.”

“Yes.” I was trying really hard to focus on his words and keep up with what he was saying. It all sounded so surreal.

“Years ago, a witch cursed me and trapped me into my animal form. She was angry because I refused to marry her and pass my gift on to our children. They would have been very powerful… half witches, half bear-shifters… a lethal combination. To take revenge, she took away my ability to shift into my human form. But her curse had a glitch, of which I learned about later while studying witchcraft in an attempt to find some kind of cure.”

“What glitch?”

“Any curse, and I repeat: any curse can be broken by the power of love. My cure was my mate, a woman who would fall in love with me just the way I was. The moment she would prove her love, the curse would be broken.”

I was speechless. All this time, I thought I was in love with Gabriel, the handsome man in my dreams, when I was actually just as in love with the brown bear. To the first one I was attracted physically, while to the second one I was attracted intellectually. But they weren’t two different beings. They were one. I was in love with the man and the beast.

His hand went to cup my cheek, and he leaned in to capture my lips in a soft kiss. I opened my mouth eagerly and pressed myself against him, wanting to feel as much of his body as possible. He drew me closer and our knees touched. A jolt of electricity went straight between my legs, and I had to pull back and break the kiss before I lost control.

“Aimée, you broke the curse by simply coming back to me. I knew I could trust you.”

“But how…? You said it’s dangerous to spend too much time in one form. How did you manage to hold on to your human side all these years?”

“I figured a way around the curse. It was temporary, but it was enough. I learned how to control people’s dreams so that I could insert myself into them. Until you came, Corinne and the other servants helped me with this little… trick, if you will. It’s a very simple spell, actually. I spent my nights forging dreams for them, dreams in which I could spend time with them in my human form so I wouldn’t forget how to use a human body, feel like a human, and behave like one. When you came, I didn’t need their help anymore.”

My eyes moved from his face to his neck, his wide shoulders, down his well-sculpted chest and tight abdomen. He was wearing light clothes, so I could see almost every bulge his incredible muscles made under the thin fabric.

He took my chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilted my head up. “I love you,” he said.

“I love you too…”

His lips met mine once more, and this time I let the kiss and the possessive touch of his hands all over my body carry me away.

***

Gabriel had me pinned under him and his nimble fingers were working on the laces of my corset. I congratulated myself for choosing the one with the laces at the front, right under my breasts, not at the back. I sighed when he loosened the corset and my breasts popped up free. I closed my eyes, feeling deliciously exposed. When his mouth latched onto one of my nipples, I couldn’t suppress the needy moan that escaped my chest. I wanted him. I wanted him more than anything in the world.

“Gabriel…”

My hands flew to his short brown hair, and I pulled at it lightly. For a few minutes, he sucked on my nipple lazily, making me squirm under his weight and cream my underwear even more, if that was possible. His mouth moved to the other nipple and abused it until it turned dark red. One of his hands traveled down my stomach, undid the last laces of my corset, then moved between my legs. He had lifted part of my skirt up around my hips, so he had enough space to massage my wet folds and tease my hard clit through my underwear.

“Mmm… take them off.”

“Patience, my love.”

Patience? At this point I had no idea what the word meant. All I knew was that my clit was throbbing with need and my pussy walls were clenching and unclenching, eager to trap his engorged member and milk it dry. None of that had anything to do with patience.

He started trailing kisses down my abdomen, and when he reached the hem of my skirt he got so annoyed with the silly piece of clothing that he didn’t even wait for me to lift my hips so he could roll it down my legs. He grabbed the fabric with both hands and tore it in two, then applied the same treatment to my soaked underwear. I couldn’t be more pleased. Finally, his mouth found my swollen nub and the tip of his tongue sneaked out for a quick taste. I moaned and thrust my hips upwards, trying to get as much friction as possible.

“Please…”

He used two fingers to part my pussy lips before looking up at me. “Shh… Patience, remember?” Then he dove back between my legs and licked a long trail from my virgin entrance up to my pulsing clit. I threw my head back and spread my legs wider to give him better access.

His tongue dipped inside my entrance, then licked my folds clean, and finally attacked my clit, flicking on it and around it in small circles. I grabbed the sheets for dear life, afraid that I would break into a million pieces if I didn’t hold onto something. Tension was building inside my belly, every flick of his tongue sending jolts of pure pleasure to my aching pussy. The first orgasm took me completely by surprise. I had no idea what was happening to my body, why it was convulsing, and why it felt so sinfully good.

“Oh yes! Don’t stop…”

He didn’t. His tongue kept torturing my oversensitive clit as I rode out my orgasm. My back arched painfully, and my right hand went straight to his head to press his face harder against my pussy. I let out a long scream and felt how my passage clenched so hard that even more juices leaked out of me. He lapped at them greedily, and by the time I got down from my height, my pussy was as clean as it could be.

Gabriel climbed up my body, removing his own clothes in the process.

“You taste so good.”

I grabbed his face between my palms and lifted my head just enough to latch my mouth onto his. My tongue sneaked between his lips to explore his warm cavern, and I moaned when I tasted my own juices. The kiss was so wet and hot that I could almost orgasm a second time without any other stimulation.

When he finally managed to get rid of his trousers, I hooked my legs around his hips. Soon, I felt the tip of his engorged member at my entrance. He took his time to tease me, rubbing the head of his cock between my folds, against my clit, and right at the gate of my quivering pussy.

“Stop teasing… Give it to me already. I want you.”

“I want you too. You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting for this.”

He pushed in slowly and I tensed at the slightly uncomfortable invasion.

“Shh… relax. I won’t hurt you. It will get better, I promise.”

He kissed me again, slowly and softly this time, and my body immediately melted under his careful ministrations. He pushed in and his cock slid inside me easily. He stopped only when he was buried up to the hilt.

“Move,” I begged.

He complied and started building a slow, tantalizing rhythm that drove me insane with lust.

“Faster, please… harder…”

He smiled down at me, but his eyes told me how much he liked my demanding tone. He slammed into me harder, picking up the pace and making the bed squeak under our lovemaking.

“Oh yes… that’s it… fuck me!”

I closed my eyes and focused on the tension that was building inside me again, growing and expanding until it was too much. My fingernails dug into his back, leaving deep, red marks. My pussy walls clenched around his hard cock, which made him release a low moan right into my ear. That sent me over the edge. The knowledge that I was the one who made him feel this way, who made him moan in pleasure, was too much for me to handle. The second orgasm took over my senses, leaving me a screaming, writhing mess under his rock-hard body. My pussy started clenching and unclenching rhythmically, and I soon felt the head of his marvelous cock grow even larger. With a grunt, he shot his seed deep inside me. I held on to him as he rode out his own orgasm, my pussy milking him dry, squeezing his softening cock for good measure just in case there was any drop left.

He collapsed on top of me, and my spent body relaxed completely under his pleasant weight. I would have loved to keep my legs and arms around him, but it was nearly impossible to control my muscles anymore. I was sore all over, and all I wanted was to lie there and stare at the ceiling.