BEARedtoYouBBWShifterEroticRomanceARe (3 page)

Their gazes locked. He suckled her breast hungrily, the sensation sending pulse after pulse of heat down her spine to her belly.

She closed her eyes and lost herself in the sensations he stirred within her.

“You are so beautiful. So perfect. I couldn’t stay away. I couldn’t…” He moved to the other breast. He flicked his tongue over her nipple until it was a tight, ubersensitive peak. Then he pulled it into his mouth. Warm. Wet.

She shuddered, arched her back more and yanked harder on his hair. “Oh, God,” she murmured, over and over and over. It wasn’t like she’d never had a guy fondle her breasts before, but his expert technique, combined with the low rumble of his voice as he uttered those sexy words…she was in heaven.

She still had her pants on, and she was not happy about that. She released his hair and followed the lines of two perfect arms with her fingertips. When she found his hands, she grabbed them and pulled, placing them on the waistband of her jeans.

She knew he’d take the hint.

“My sweet kitten,” he murmured, kneeling on the floor at her feet. His fingers moved deftly as he unfastened her pants. Then he pulled until they slid down over her hips. Eager to help, she lifted her bottom off the chair. He pushed on the garment, following behind the retreating cotton and trailing little tickly kisses down her legs to her ankles. He lifted one stockinged foot and slid one pant leg off then repeated with the other. As he stood, he let his hands glide up her legs. They stopped on either side of her hips. His thumbs traced the lace running along the low-riding waistband of her black satin panties.

“Mmmm. Sexy. I like,” he said. “A lot.”

She was so very glad she’d decided to wear some decent-looking underwear on her trip. Not a single pair of ugly undies would be found in her luggage. She hadn’t planned on spending her first night in Alaska with a sexy stranger. But if she was honest with herself, she might admit she’d hoped she might meet a guy sometime these two weeks. She made no apologies for her preferences. Unattached sex made sense. A lot less complications that way, as long as a girl was smart about things.

His fingers ran along the narrow band circling one of her legs. Instinctively, she parted her legs to let it explore further down. Only then, as the cool air hit the material, did she realize how wet her panties had become. Her pussy burned to be filled. Her breath caught in her throat when a fingernail grazed the thin, soggy material covering her labia.

He smiled. “I love your scent. It’s so sweet and hot. I can’t get enough.” He licked his lips. “Damn, you’re perfect. I want to taste you.” Not waiting for her to find a way to drag some air into her lungs to respond, he hooked a finger in the crotch of her panties and jerked. The wet material ripped away. She didn’t care that they’d cost a small fortune or that they were her favorite pair because they made her feel sexy. At the moment she was only too happy to have them out of the way.

He set his hands on her knees and audibly inhaled. “Dammit, you smell good.” He roughly pushed her knees apart and lowered his head to cover her pussy with his mouth.

The heat from his intimate touch ignited little blazes all over her body. Her chest. Her cheeks. Deep inside. She dropped her head back, gritted her teeth and gripped the armrests of the chair. Releasing her knees, he lifted his hands to her pussy, parted her folds to expose her clit, which was tingly and sensitive already. Then he dragged his tongue over it in a slow, lazy swipe that made her cry out in agony.

Her vagina clenched closed around painful emptiness.

Just because he wanted to make her suffer—or so she gathered—he then proceeded to run his tongue round and round her clit. With each circle, the tension inside her body coiled tighter, pulling her insides into knots. Then, glory of all glories, he slid a thumb inside her vagina. It wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy her urgent need to be filled, but it eased the agony a bit. He timed the inward thrusts of his finger with the swirls of his tongue. The two together nearly brought her to climax.

Then, just as her body prepared for the first spasm, he stopped.

Frustrated beyond words, she opened her eyes.

He was kneeling on all fours. His skin rippled, like something was crawling beneath it. Then it darkened to almost black. Not deep brown, but the pure black of a panther’s coat. He lifted his head back and let loose with a growl that sounded so foreign and animal-like she scrambled backward, tucking her legs under her bottom to get them out of his reach. Shaking, she wrapped her arms around herself.

What the hell?

There, as she watched, frozen by terror, a coat of brown fur sprang from his skin, covering his body. His limbs changed into four thick legs. His torso lengthened and thickened, his head elongated. A mouthful of sharp teeth sprang from his gums.

A…bear?

A moment later, she leaped backward and lunged for the gun lying forgotten on the floor. The bear smacked the weapon with its huge paw, sending it flying across the room. It struck the front of the stove with a metallic bang then fell to the carpeted floor. The bear’s gaze never left her as she scrambled backward until her spine was pressed against the far wall of the cabin.

What the hell? How had a man turned into a bear?

And then realization struck as she glanced down at the bear’s paws.

That
had been the beast that had nearly ripped the door down. She’d inadvertently let it inside.

When it licked its black lips, raised up on its hind legs and took one, two, three steps toward her, she just knew she was a goner. The bear was so huge its head nearly hit the vaulted ceiling as it ambled toward her.

“I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die. Oh God!”

She’d never called herself a Christian but she decided right then and there it was time to pray.

Chapter Two

The pain.

Unbearable.

Excruciating. His muscles burned. His bones felt like they’d been shattered and glued back together. He was dizzy and confused. Still, one thing drove him. The excruciating hunger for the lush, soft woman cowering before him. He didn’t want to fuck her, he
needed
to fuck her. The compulsion threatened to take him over, completely. Just as it had earlier when he’d been lying in his bed at home and had caught a whiff of her scent.

That had been the first time he’d felt like this, the first time he’d changed into whatever beast he was now. It had surprised and confused him, both times.

Trying frantically to hold on to his humanity, which seemed to be fading quickly, he looked down. Thick brown fur covered his arms and hands. His fingernails had lengthened into long black claws. What was happening to him? This was impossible.

He looked at his woman. Her eyes. She was terrified. He could smell her fear. The scent was bitter, like burned coffee. It called to the beast, to the predator he had become.

He wanted to chase her.

He wanted to take her.

Abby knew it was futile, that nobody would hear her, but she screamed again. Mid-shriek, though, she realized that her reaction to the animal seemed to be making things a whole lot worse. The louder she screamed, the fiercer the animal’s stance, the more it bared its teeth and the louder it growled.

Somehow, she shut up, smacking her hand over her mouth to make sure she didn’t scream again. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her hand, which was still firmly holding back another shriek by some miracle, shook so badly she struggled to keep it in place. But with her silence, the animal’s terrifying growling stopped.

In serious need of oxygen, she choked on a sob of relief and released her mouth to drag in a much-needed deep breath. Her eyes never left the huge animal standing on its hind legs in front of her. It sniffed the air, kind of shuffled back and forth.

It looked…confused.

To think a man lingered inside there somewhere. A man who seemed so normal and level headed. Right now, did the human being—or more specifically the conscience only humans possessed—rule the animal? Or did raw, untamed instinct rule the man? How could she know? She might be safe if it was the former.

And dead if it was the latter.

Her reactions mattered somehow. Why? Hadn’t she read that animals could sense a person’s fear? Was that it? Keeping her eyes on the animal, she consciously tried to slow her breathing, calm her nerves. It was close to impossible with an animal that big and potentially dangerous standing a few feet from her, but she knew she had no choice. More than any other time, she was grateful for the yoga she’d practiced for years. It seemed to be helping both of them. As she calmed, the bear tipped its head, regarding her like a puppy. Yes, it seemed to be true. Somehow the bear sensed her terror.

She closed her eyes and concentrated, willing her heart rate to slow. The fear to leave her.

Inside the animal lay hidden the heart and soul of a man. A man who she didn’t know, granted, but a man she’d sensed was not a cold-blooded killer. She rejected the fear. It would do her no good. A tentative peace took its place.

Blinking open her eyes, she checked to see what the bear was doing.

It was on all fours now, its head lowered, its gaze traveling over her. Had she discovered the key to taming the beast? Could it be so simple?

“It’s okay, Tarik. It’s okay,” she murmured in the most soothing voice she could muster.

His mind fought a battle with the blind instinct trying to take over. Caught in the middle of an inner war, Tarik backed away from the woman. She was so beautiful, her full breasts, curvy hips, softly rounded stomach and smooth thighs. His body, this strange new body, wanted to claim her. But what little remained of the man he had once been wouldn’t allow it. He sat back on his rump, raised his head and sniffed the air again. The bitter scent of her fear had faded.

Then she did what he hadn’t expected. Her gaze focused on his face, she slowly stood, lifted her hand and stepped forward, whispering comforting words as she walked. Like magic, her gentle touch released him from the beast’s grip. His roar of agony as the change reshaped his muscles and bones turned to a fading scream.

The room fell silent.

She visibly swallowed. Her eyes were wide as saucers. “Y-you changed. You’re back.”

He wanted to comfort her, to tell her it was okay. He wanted to protect her too. What would have happened if he’d lost the battle with the beast? What would he have done to her? “I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

“I’ll tell you what’s happening. You turned into a bear. Holy effing shit.”

“That’s impossible. People can’t change into animals. I know that for a fact. I study genetics for a living. There isn’t a genetic disorder known that causes animals to change into other species. It just doesn’t happen.”

She raised trembling hands to her mouth. “I’d say it’s impossible too, except I saw it with my own two eyes.”

“This makes no sense.”

“I don’t understand it either. But it seemed that when I stopped being afraid, you changed back.”

“Yeah.” He thought back to the impulses and sensations that had coursed through him when he had been a bear. “I could smell your fear. It made me want to chase you…it was like an instinct. A compulsion. I could barely stop myself.”

“But you did.” Trembling, she wrapped her arms around herself.

He scooped up the quilt and, circling her, wrapped it around her shaking form. He caught the scent of her hair as he walked. His cock stiffened.

Dammit, his libido was in overdrive tonight, even more than normal. Because he had to, because being even a few inches away from her physically hurt, he moved closer, until his chest brushed against her back and her bottom rubbed his legs. He inhaled deeply, pulling the sweet aroma of her skin and hair into his nostrils. The need to take her swelled to painful intensity.

His brain told him he should leave before anything else happened. His body refused to budge. He’d been so close to taking her. She’d been willing.

Would she be willing again? Did he have the right to even try? He had to. God help him, he couldn’t stop himself.

“You’re so beautiful and you smell so good.” He gathered her long hair into his hands and raised it to his nose. Lavender. He gently laid the tresses over one shoulder and nuzzled the sweet spot where her neck met her collarbone.

She stood stone still. Her trembling had stopped. Whether it was because of the warm quilt or something else he had no clue. Even though he was a man again, and not a bear, clear thought eluded him. Bizarre, burning impulses charged through his body. So urgent.

He wanted her. More than he’d ever wanted a woman before. This woman. Now. But he would not take her if she was scared.

“I don’t want to hurt you. You believe me, don’t you?” He sensed no fear, only mounting desire, so he gently pushed the quilt down to expose her shoulder and upper back. That was such a sexy spot on a woman—between her shoulder blades. He kissed her there and a coat of goose bumps sprang up all over her upper body. “It can get so damn lonely out here. Living alone. Having no one to talk to in the middle of the night. No one to share my hopes and troubles with. Have you been lonely too? You know what I’m talking about, don’t you?”

His balls felt heavy. His blood like acid. The flavor of her skin lingered on his tongue. More. He wanted to taste every inch of her. He pulled the quilt lower, until he’d exposed her entire torso. The fine blond hairs at the small of her back stood on end.

He ran his tongue down her spine then dropped on his knees. This was the position to be in. Oh yes. The delicious curve of her rear end sat at just above eye level. He had to see it, had to touch her, to feel her slick passage again.

He knew the answer but he asked anyway, “Are you scared?”

“No,” came her breathy response.

“I can’t stop.”

She didn’t respond and he tried to back away. But before he’d stood up, she whispered, “Wh-who’s asking you to?”

He reached down, under the quilt. Ran his hand up her smooth calf, the back of her knee. The blanket gathered on his forearm as he went higher. The back of her thigh felt smooth and warm. Her buttocks soft and tempting. He grabbed the blanket in his other hand and jerked. It fell to the floor. The woman didn’t move.