Bearilicious - Collection (16 page)

“This is our cabin in the woods. I admit that I freaked out a little bit, so I came here.”

“What did you expect to do? Like, if I was dead, were you just going to bury me out here? What were you thinking?”

He grimaced, “I wasn’t. I don’t act well under pressure.”

“What if I have a concussion? You don’t just kidnap someone who has a concussion.”

He pursed his lips and nodded, looking like a child getting lectured. She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She wasn’t happy about what had happened, but he did seem concerned about her well-being.

And he looked so damn good with his shirt off that it was hard for her to remain mad at him. The man had told her he loved her (even though he also told her he’d been, in so many words, stalking her and scaring away all her suitors.)

“What is your plan, here? People are going to notice I’m gone,” she said, softening her voice. “Thankfully I just had my last final, but my friends are having graduation parties that I planned on going to. I call my mom…” she tried to think how often she called her emotionally distant mother, “sometimes. So… what are you getting at?”

“I obviously didn’t think this out all that well,” he shrugged. “How about this, you stay here until your friends’ graduation parties. You know, relax, take a break, and maybe we can get to know each other.”

“What, you think Stockholm Syndrome will just kick in?”

He smiled close-lipped, “Can you just give me a chance here?”

“I don’t know. This is all so weird.”

“Well, I’ll make lunch, and then you can um… think about it,” he looked up at her with an earnest look of longing and tenderness. “I haven’t done any of this right, and I don’t know how to fix it. But I hope you can forgive me. I only did all of this out of love.”

She kept her resolve, simply giving him a look of understanding. He nodded in the awkward way he did and left the room to, presumably, the kitchen.

She tried to wrap her head around all that had happened. She didn’t know of this man’s existence before Adrian had mentioned him to her. From there, she met him, realized he was probably the hottest guy she’d ever seen, had said hottest guy she’d ever seen profess his (slightly obsessed) love to her, then had said hottest guy (again) transform into bear, passed out, and finally woke up in a foreign place with the hottest guy/bear having kidnapped her.

Life was funny sometimes.

He returned some time later with a tray of breakfast food which, admittedly, looked amazing. She ate heartily, though she didn’t want to admit how well he had cooked the bacon, eggs, and toast.

She wanted to pretend he was making gruel for her and was a cruel captor. But the food was delicious, and he seemed concerned about her well-being. And, of course, his handsomeness helped.

“Well, can I go outside or do I have to stay in here?” Angela asked after finishing her breakfast.

“You’re welcome to go outside, of course,” he gave a slight smile. “I really didn’t mean for this to be some inmate and jailer kind of thing. I guess I didn’t really think about it.”

“Obviously.”

He kept a slight close-lipped smile. “If you want to leave, you can. I’ll drive you home.”

“I’ll give it a chance. I’m just trying to adjust, you know,” she sighed. “Do you want to go on a walk with me? Show me around?”

“I would like to do that very much.”

“Great.”

He let her lead the way outside and walked with her, keeping his hands folded behind his back respectfully. Angela liked how soft spoken and kind he seemed - she wasn’t sure how he’d intimidated so many men away from her. He appeared vulnerable and honest.

She could buy that he simply couldn’t work up the courage to talk to her. She still didn’t quite understand his angle, but she couldn’t help liking him. Plus, the idyllic setting of the cabin made her feel completely peaceful.

“How are you feeling?” Nate asked as they walked back.

“Oh, just fine,” Angela answered. “The fresh air really helped. I feel like I’m in
Pride and Prejudice
or something.”

“Hopefully I’m more Darcy than Wickham,” he laughed.

“Since you were able to come up with the names of some of the characters, I think you can be Darcy.”

“Fantastic. I’ll hold that as a huge achievement and honor.”

She laughed, patting him on the arm (and sneaking a squeeze of his muscles), “You know what I don’t understand? Why didn’t you just talk to me? I mean, I like you, and, so far, I enjoy hanging out with you.”

“You intimidate me. I can’t think of anything else to say about it.”

She stopped him with her hands, stood before him, and looked him straight in the eyes. “We are on a level playing field here. I’m not good at this either. If you have wanted to be with me all this time, show me.”

“Okay,” he answered, leaned in, and kissed her.

She’d been kissed before in elementary school by a boy who lived across the street from her, and a few boys in middle school, but this was her first kiss with a real man. She felt his stubble brushing against her face, smelled his cologne, and trembled at his touch. The kiss felt right - long awaited and worth it.

“Was that enough to show you?” he spoke softly after pulling away.

“I think so,” she spoke just as softly. “But I think you should give it another try, just in case.”

He gave a wide grin and kissed her again, bringing her in closer and wrapping her in his arms.

V.

Over the next few days, Angela and Nate became closer and closer. He picked her some wild flowers and continued making her delicious meals. They played Scrabble and chess to get to know each other a little bit more. Nate showed his competitive side while playing the games.

“I didn’t understand how you could scare any guys off since you’re so soft spoken,” she laughed. “But now I understand! You’re ruthless when it comes to competition!”

“I do like to win, it’s true,” he smiled. “I can be a sore loser.”

“You should probably be better at Scrabble then, sir.”

“I’ll study the dictionary, madam.”

They laughed together as though they’d been a couple for years. Though their relationship started on a rough patch, they got along incredibly

well. Once Angela forgave him, she was able to see that he truly did care about her and had for a long time.

“Do you want to go with me to my friends’ graduation parties, by the way?” she asked as they cleaned up their Scrabble game.

“I… I do, yes,” his smile grew. “As your date, I assume?”

“I was thinking of it more as arm candy, but you could say my date as well.”

“I’ll take arm candy as well, as long as I’m on your arm.”

“Cheesy, but I’ll take it,” she moved forward and kissed him.

It started as a sweet kiss, almost a peck, but when they pulled away and looked in each other’s eyes, the passion rose. They grasped onto each other and kissed again, this time with more fervor.

They’d had similar make-out sessions before since kissing on their first walk together, but this time made the room seem steamy with heat.

Angela ran her hands down his long torso and under his shirt, feeling the curves of his abs and the lean line of his body. In turn, his hands searched under her shirt.

They separated to remove their shirts to make it easier, and then connected again at the lips. When Angela imagined her first time, she figured it would be disappointing in some boy’s dorm room while his roommate slept - she figured it couldn’t be like in the movies where everything seemed perfectly, passionately intimate. But as they kept kissing and kept removing each other’s clothing, all her expectations fell away like his jeans dropping to the floor.

They moved to the bedroom he’d been sleeping in (she insisted her first time would not be on a couch, in the very least), where they finished undressing.

With every touch, her skin reacted with a tingling anticipation. For all his reluctance in approaching during the years, Nate treated her body with skill and a lack of inhibition.

“Be gentle,” she said softly before he entered her. She’d seen women in movies say that so many times, but she wasn’t exactly sure what it meant. Still, she wanted to offer some kind of warning.

He smiled and kissed her, entering slowly. She didn’t expect the level of pain that came with him moving inside her or the amount of blood (that she
definitely
didn’t expect), but he was tender and, yes, gentle with her.

He treated her like a fragile treasure, checking in on her to make sure she was okay and keeping his hand under her head in a protective gesture. Their breaths ebbed and flowed together as if they owned the same lungs - she felt completely connected to him. Their bodies moved and climaxed together.

Afterwards, Nate cradled her and kissed her shoulder. Then they both fell asleep together in contentment.

VI.

Angela’s friends wondered where Nate had come from when the couple appeared at the grad parties. Ashley, for example, pulled her aside and asked how she’d so quickly moved on from Adrian.

“You guys looked connected at the hip at his birthday party,” Ashley whispered. “Now you have this Nate guy?”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Angela smirked. “Nate finally made a move.”

“I don’t really know what that means, but good work. He’s a hottie!”

“Thanks, I think so too!”

Angela’s other friends had similar reactions, except the male friends who’d, at some time, been threatened by Nate - they seemed more afraid than anything. Yet, Nate softened toward the men who showed Angela

attention. He finally felt secure with her having gained her mutual trust and love.

Perhaps sooner than Angela had always planned, she and Nate were married. His bear clan came and welcomed her with open arms (or paws, if you will.) She never imagined she would become a part of a family full of such tradition; in fact, she never imagined she’d become the queen of the bear shifters.

This, of course, was because she never actually imagined bear shifters existed, but she felt honored that Nate had fallen in love with and chosen her to spend the rest of her life with.

Over time, she completely forgot about how he’d chased every man away before approaching her himself. It didn’t seem to matter in the whole scheme of things. He appeared as the most deserving man among all the others. She fell madly, deeply in love with him, and she’d have it no other way.

***

Rescued By Her Bear

Ashley Hunter

 Copyright 2015 by Ashley Hunter

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced

in any way whatsoever, without written permission

from the author, except in case of brief

quotations embodied in critical reviews

and articles.

This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any

person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

First edition, 2015

I.

I waited outside my Medieval Literature 101 course, waiting patiently to take my last final of the semester. I felt nervous, to say the very least, but I figured I could get away with writing a decent enough essay to pass.

My eyes wearily followed other students travel down the dimly lit halls. A couple passed, completely involved with each other, their fingers so intertwined that a voyeur (such as I) wouldn’t be able to distinguish whose thumbs were whose.

Bradley Ryan, whose head I stared at the back of for three semesters now and never had the guts to approach, walked up with his beautiful nose in
The Canterbury Tales
. Here was my moment.

I could make a joke about the Wife of Bath or the Pardoner. I could do it. I could maybe make him laugh, and he would surely fall madly in love with my wit. Until he looked up and down my body and noticed my “child-bearing” hips, my huge ass, and my thick thighs. He’d remember my extra curves, and the mad love would vanish.

I know how this worked. I know exactly what would happen when I tried to talk to him. He, the tall, lean, beautiful and elite white man would never want to date the shorter-than-average, “voluptuous,” plain woman. The only thing he saw me as was a large shadow in the way of his studying.

“I still can’t get through ‘The Knight’s Tale,’” Bradley said, seemingly to me since no one else was around. “I just can’t do it.”

“It’s one of the rougher ones,” I answered.

He looked up at me, “Not for you, Lorena - you’re smart.”

“You’re smart too.” Also incredibly attractive. So, so, so hot.

“My mom says that too,” he smiled. “She tells me a lot of things though.”

I wanted to ask if he’d like to go to coffee and tell me those things, get to know each other, but my jaw wouldn’t unhinge. Bradley is a friendly sort of guy - he only made conversation with the awkward girl standing outside the classroom.

Dr. Stegner, our professor for the course, approached with hot coffee in one hand and our exams perched in the crook of his other arm.

I followed him in, deciding to say nothing to Bradley. The final needs more attention now than a boy sure to turn me down. I’d always found my studies to be my safety net.

I’d been much heavier when I was a kid. In college, I’d lost my baby weight, but I didn’t gain any more self-confidence. Boys had teased me when I was younger, and when I got older, I didn’t want the same treatment. Even then, it seemed so easy for college boys to sleep with women and then throw them away. I couldn’t stand someone just wanting a larger notch on their belt.

No one would ever love me for all of me, every curve and inch of me. I’ve always thought if you don’t put yourself out there to get rejected, you’ll never be disappointed.

After the final, I hurried home in order to avoid interaction with Bradley again. I also had to get ready for a camping weekend with my old high school friends to celebrate the end of another year.

I planned on trying on most of my clothing to see what was most flattering and could be considered appropriate for camping. It’s only natural to be over-prepared.

As I entered my dark studio apartment, it felt particularly lonely. I clicked on the tall lamp in the corner of the room and gave myself a good look over in the mirror. Brown almond eyes, pale white skin, plump pink lips - like Marlon Brando said, I could’ve been a contender. But I knocked myself out before even getting into the ring.