Bear Meets Girl (11 page)

Chapter Ten

            Angela
had never seen Cole so uncomfortable in the short time that she’d known him.
She’d have thought she’d dragged him over to the edge of a pit filled with
fire-breathing dragons, instead of a clearing in the woods nearby, where the
biggest, baddest things around were themselves.

            “Well,
are you going to shift? Or not?”

            Cole
shifted – as in, he moved the weight off one foot and onto the other,
rather than changing forms as Angela wanted him to. “I’ve never really had to
stand up in front of anyone and do this before,” he said uneasily.

            Angela
reached up and pinched his cheeks, gratified at the surprise in his eyes and
the knowledge that, probably, no one had ever done that to him before in his
two-thousand years of existence. “It’s not show-and-tell, sweetheart. It’s just
me. Now shift, already. We don’t have all night.”

            Cole
glared at her for a moment, then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He
lifted his face to the moon, drawing on the power that was there, and his form
rippled briefly. One moment he was a tall, broad shouldered man with chestnut
hair, and the next he was a towering black bear, his fur dark as midnight as he
loomed over her. His eyes glowed that same strange blue they usually did when
he used his magic, rather than the fiery orange of their kind, and a shiver of
awe and fear rippled through her.

            “Well,”
she said, trying to sound nonchalant. “You don’t really blend in.”

           
You
think?
His voice, half-amused and half-irritated, echoed in her head.
That’s
why I don’t do this too often.

           
Rather than responding, Angela
shifted into her Kodiak bear form, and then pounced on him gleefully. He went
down hard on his back, anger flaring in his eyes as instinct took over, but
Angela quickly nipped him on the shoulder, just lightly, to let him know that
she meant no harm, and remind him that they were just playing.

            He
relaxed, his tongue lolling out adorably and then next thing she knew she was
flat on her back and he was gnawing at the fur on her arm. Growling, they
wrestled for the next hour, rolling around in the dirt and biting and
scratching at each other, in a similar manner to what kittens did when they
played with each other. Angela couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so
much fun – it had been forever since she’d rolled around in the dirt and
played with a fellow clan mate, easily a hundred years. She’d wanted Cole to
experience this while she had the chance to show him, but she didn’t realize
how much she’d needed it herself. It humbled her; the knowledge of just how
much she’d missed having a kindred spirit around.

            “Well
that was… something else…” Cole panted, as they lay on the forest floor, back
in human form. “Usually when that kind of thing happens someone’s trying to
kill me.”

            “Who
says that I wasn’t?” Angela stuck her tongue out at him.

            Cole
chuckled. “I might be bigger than you, but you’re clearly a better fighter than
me in bear form.”

            She
smiled at him. “Don’t you worry. I’ll get you up to snuff in no time.”

            But
as they shuffled off back to her father’s house to turn in for the night, she
wondered just how long she would have with him.
Would he leave once Raina
had been found, off on his next job, selling his skills out to the highest
bidder?
It wasn’t as if she could blame him – he had to make a living
and it was the only respectable way that he could. But a tiny hole opened up in
her chest every time she thought about him leaving, a hole that got bigger as
more time passed and her affection for him grew.

           
There’s
nothing you can do to stop him if he decides to leave,
she reminded
herself.
The best thing you can do is enjoy the time you have together as
best as you can, and hope that he enjoys it so much he decides to stay.

           
“Is this your old room?” Cole
asked as she led him into the bedroom, looking around. It was a simple enough
room, with pale oak furniture and a four-poster bed with powder blue bedding
taking up most of the space in the room. A large closet with a full-length
mirror on the closed door awaited in the corner for someone to fill it with
clothes, catty-corner to a small bay window that gave them a great view of the
ocean.

            “It
is. How can you tell?” There was nothing of hers that remained here, not even
the bedding that she’d slept in.

            He
smiled at her a little. “Something of your scent still lingers here. I imagine
this is where you stay whenever you come to visit.”

            She
nodded, then grabbed his hands and drew him toward the bed. “This is the first
time I’ve ever brought somebody with me, though.”

            “Oh
yeah?” His eyes darkened with desire as she gently pushed him onto the bed.
Rather than laying him down, she nudged his knees apart so she could stand
between his legs, then laced her fingers in his curls and kissed him gently,
savoring him. He was so tall that even when he was seated she didn’t need to
bend her head to press her lips against his, something she appreciated.

            “Angela…”
his brow furrowed when her hands began to drift lower, unfastening the button
at his jeans. “What are you doing?”

            “You.”
She sank down to her knees as she freed his cock, and admired it in the
moonlight streaming through the window. “You’re so big,” she whispered,
stroking his satiny length. She traced the tip of her finger along one of his
veins, then drew a circle around the base of his mushroom tip before flicking
her tongue across it.

            He
shuddered. “More.”

            She
obliged happily, taking him into his mouth and not caring the least that he
cried out loud enough that her parents would surely hear him. She wanted them
to know that he was hers, if he would have her, and that she had no qualms
about loving him with her body. His fingers sank into her hair, drawing her
closer, and she felt needed and cherished all at once, something she never
thought she’d feel while going down on a guy. Usually it was just a kind of
chore, something done as reciprocation, but with Cole it was a fierce desire, a
need
to show him how much his satisfaction and pleasure meant to her.

            “Angela,”
he gasped as she massaged his balls, stroking and sucking him at the same time
with a slow, but sweet tenderness that pushed him closer and closer to the
edge. His powerful thighs caged her in, taut with strain like the rest of him,
and then he suddenly gave a full body shudder and came, right there, in her greedy
mouth. She took it all, in no hurry at all, and just continued to lick and stroke
him until he rested his forehead atop her head, completely spent.

            “I
think that was the best orgasm I’ve ever had in my life.”

            She
grinned at him. “You’re welcome.”

            He
stripped off the rest of their clothes, then scooped her up in his arms and
cuddled her against his chest. “Are you alright if we just go to sleep?” he
mumbled sleepily into her hair.

            “Of
course.” Smiling, she closed her eyes and sank into him, enjoying the feel of
his hard body cradling hers. And with his soft snores gently tickling her ear,
she dropped off to sleep.

* * *

            “Breakfast
is ready!”

            Grumbling,
Angela cracked open her eyelids and took a look at the alarm clock on the
nightstand. 6:00am.
Couldn’t she get just a little bit of a break and sleep
in?
Especially considering that she was practically away from civilization,
as the first world countries knew it? Surely mom would just save her some if
she rolled over and caught another hour of sleep…

            “Is
that bacon I smell?” Cole lifted his head, his eyes suddenly bright and alert even
though he’d been dead asleep not that long ago.

            “Umm…”

            “It
is
bacon.” His eyes narrowed, and he looked down at her. “Are we allowed
to have any?”

            “Yes,”
she said with a sigh, and he instantly bounded out of bed, searching for his
clothes. Groaning, she found her underwear and dragged it on, then shuffled to
the closet and grabbed a robe hanging inside the door.

            By
the time she turned around, Cole was already gone, probably halfway down the
stairs. As she trudged down the steps, rubbing her eyes, she heard voices
chattering away, and her eyes widened when she realized that there were other
clan members in the kitchen, eating as well.

           
Shit.
I can’t go down there looking like this!
Cursing, she dashed up the stairs
and pulled the rest of her clothes on, then hunted through the bathroom drawers
until she found a brush. Three minutes later she was back down the stairs
again, in a hurry while trying not to act as if she was in a hurry.

            “Oh,
there you are honey.” Her mother turned away from the stove, where pancakes
were busily cooking away on the griddle, to smile at her. “Why don’t you have a
seat and start eating.”

            “You
don’t need any help?”

            “Not
at all, and I’m sure your friend could use the company.”

            Angela
wasn’t at all sure that was the case. Contrary to her being concerned that Cole
would be uncomfortable sitting around a bunch of strange, new shifters, he
seemed to be happily chomping away at his bacon with complete disregard for
anyone else. And though the others at the table would occasionally glance at
him – the children seemed especially taken with him – they didn’t
bother him.

            “Enjoying
your bacon?” she asked as she sat down beside him and began piling food onto
her own plate.

            “Mmmhmmm.”
He swallowed a mouthful. “These pancakes are really good, Mrs. Mason,” he
called to her mother.

            She
turned to smile at him. “Please, call me Genevieve. All my friends do.”

            A
slight blush colored Cole’s cheeks before he returned to his food, and Angela
had to suppress a snort. Men tended to develop instant crushes around her
mother, and it seemed Cole was no exception. There was a few times where she
would have even worried about it if not for the fact that her mother was
irrevocably devoted to her father. Besides, the glint in Genevieve’s eyes told
Angela that her mother was more interested in seeing if anything became of her
and Cole – an interest she was certain her mother hadn’t discussed with
her father as she didn’t remember hearing any explosions last night, or other
sounds of the impending apocalypse.

            “Hey
Mister?” Charlie, one of the foster children, piped up from around the edge of
the table.

            It
took a few seconds for Cole to realize that he was the one being spoken to.
“Umm, yes?” He blinked owlishly.

            “Umm,
why are your eyes purple?”

            “Charlie!”
Genevieve scolded. “That’s not a polite question to ask, especially at the
table.”

            “No,
no, it’s alright.” Cole scratched his head a little and smiled at the child.
“To be honest, I’m not really sure why my eyes are this color. I was born that
way.”

            “Oh.”
Charlie’s eyes were wide. “Did your dad have purple eyes?”

            “I’m
not sure. I’ve never met him.”

            “Oh.”
Charlie seemed to process that, and then he nodded. “I’ve never met my dad
either. He died before I was born.” His face seemed to crumple a little.

            Angela’s
heart melted as Cole placed his big hand on the little boy’s shoulder and gave
it a comforting squeeze. “I know what that’s like,” he said quietly. “But I’m
sure your dad misses you, and that he’s grateful to know that you’re growing up
and becoming bigger and stronger every day.” He peered around Charlie to Deena,
the little girl sitting next to him. “And you too. I’m sure your father is very
proud of both of you.”

            The
children both smiled at him, and they finished the rest of the meal in comfortable
silence. Angela was helping her mother clear the table when her father walked
into the kitchen, looking very serious.

            “Angela,
Cole. I have news for you.” His expression was grave, but his eyes betrayed
absolutely nothing as to whether or not the news was good or bad.

            “Alright.”
Angela set the pot she was carrying on the counter, then beckoned for Cole to
follow her and her father into the study.

            “I
was able to determine Garrison’s whereabouts,” he told them, settling into a
dark brown leather chair behind a huge oak desk covered by ruthlessly organized
stacks of paper. He pushed them all aside so that he could lay his forearms
comfortably on the desk. “His clan is located in the Cascade mountains up in
southern Oregon, near Mount Thielsen.”