Bearing the Late Thaw (Ice Bear Shifters Book 5) (6 page)

Neal’s face fell. “I’m sorry that got ruined for you. The Blizzards are ruthless.”

Christine shrugged. “It’s okay. I don’t really have time for it anymore, anyways. My other coworker here just resigned, so I’m going to be the only one here working on the project. I don’t know how I’m going to get everything done on my own. It’s ludicrous that my boss thinks it’s even remotely possible for one person to do all of this.”

“Well, on the plus side, I hope that means you’ll be staying in Glacier Point a little bit longer.”

Christine grinned up at him. “We’ll see what happens. When I’m done with this project, I’m done with the firm. Then I could go anywhere.”

Neal climbed onto his snowmobile and motioned for Christine to jump on behind him. She did, and gave him directions to her place. Christine wished that the short ride was a few minutes longer. She loved the feeling of having her arms wrapped around Neal, holding him close.

* * *

Neal was also wishing that he could have Christine’s arms wrapped around him a little longer. He had been visiting the pub almost every night after work, in hopes that she would turn up again. But after several weeks passed, he had all but given up. He didn’t even know why he had kept looking for her, when she had made it so obvious that she was not okay with the fact that he was a bear shifter. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t forget about her. His bear sulked within him, wanting him to go after her. But Neal couldn’t. He had no doubt left that Christine was his life mate, but he couldn’t risk frightening her. He was lucky enough that she hadn’t run to the police, at least, like so many humans would have done. As the days passed, Neal slowly started to accept that, for whatever reason, the universe had seen fit to make his life mate someone with whom he could never actually be.

But then, tonight, the bartender had said her name, and a now-familiar feeling of desire and yearning had filled him as he turned around and saw her. She had looked like a deer in headlights—obviously surprised by the fact that he was sitting at the bar. For a moment, he thought she might turn around and run. But she didn’t. She marched right up to the bar, and sat right next to him. Despite telling himself to keep his mouth shut, he couldn’t help making a snarky comment about the way she had treated him. He’d regretted it as soon as he’d done it, but once he said it the damage was done. And, honestly, although he understood her fear of him, it had hurt quite a bit to be called a monster.

He thought she would yell at him, or storm out. But in the end it had been him storming out. He had cursed his fiery temper as he left, knowing that he was ruining the only chance he might ever get to smooth things over and try again with her. But then, as he stood by his snowmobile, trying to figure out how to overcome his pride and go back in to apologize for leaving, she appeared again. She held out an olive branch, asking for his forgiveness. She didn’t cower at his anger like so many did. She simply reached out and asked for a do-over on their whole messy start.

And now, as Christine sat at her small kitchen table, eating her shepherd’s pie, Neal gave her detailed explanations about his clan and his history. He explained in detail about the glory days of the past, when the polar bear shifter clans in the Arctic lived in peace. He told her how the Blizzards had shattered that peace, all but wiping out most of the clans. Despite his best efforts to stop them, tears spilled over onto his cheeks as he told her about the day that his father and most of the Northern Lights Clan had fallen victim to a poisoning attack by the Blizzards. He told her how the Blizzards had continued to attack, and how he had made the decision to build cabins on the edge of town so all the Northern Lights bears could be close to each other, and have some safety in numbers. He explained that the attacks had dropped off a little bit, but that the threat was still out there.

He also told her how he had originally forbidden his clan members to date full humans, because he feared judgment. He had eventually relaxed his stance because of the dwindling numbers of bear shifters, and now three of his clan members had human mates. Only one had taken a bear shifter mate.

“They’re going to give me so much shit for wanting a human mate,” he said, reaching over to push Christine’s long dark hair away from her face.

“It’s funny to use the word mate,” Christine said.

“I know. I always forget that full humans don’t use that terminology. Bear shifters also say life mate instead of husband or wife. Humans always seem to think that’s funny.”

Christine giggled. “It is kind of funny.”

Neal rolled his eyes at her but smiled. “Well, I’m glad I could amuse you. But choosing a life mate is a very serious matter. There’s only one true mate for every bear.”

“Like a soul mate?”

“Yeah, kind of like that.”

“How do you know?” Christine asked him, setting her fork down on her empty plate, and locking her gaze on his.

“You just do,” he said softly. “You just do.”

Neal could feel his dick stiffening between his legs. Her eyes were burning through him, heating him up to his very core. He wanted nothing more than to throw her on the couch and kiss her all over, but he forced himself to sit still. Don’t scare her off again, he told himself. Just be cool.

“Your eyes are turning yellow again. Is that a bear thing?”

“It’s a genetic mutation unique to my clan. Males eyes glow yellow when they’re feeling aroused.”

Christine cocked one eyebrow up in his direction. “So, you’re feeling aroused right now?” she said, her voice teasing.

“Very much so,” Neal said, his voice husky. A thrill of excitement ran through him at her tone. She was flirting with him. That had to be a good sign. Hopefully it meant that she was feeling something similar to the fire running through his veins right now.

She narrowed her eyes and lowered her voice. “What are you going to do about it?”

Neal let out a low growl. “I’m going to show you just how much I’ve been wanting to kiss you since the moment you walked back into that pub.”

He stood, and walked slowly toward her, giving her plenty of chances to protest if this wasn’t what she wanted. But as he got closer to her, she didn’t flinch. She just looked up at him with a smirk.

“You sexy little minx,” he said, then held his hand out to her. “Come with me.”

She obliged him, grabbing his hand and letting him lead her into the bedroom. When they got there, he gently pulled her down onto the bed with him. She giggled as he pulled her close, and found her lips with his. Neal moaned at the softness of her lips and the warmth of her touch. He had thought for so long that he would spend the rest of his life without a feeling like this. Now here he was, holding in his arms the most beautiful, sensual woman he had ever seen. He kissed her urgently, like she was the rain he had been waiting on to quench his thirsty soul. His dick stood rock hard and alert, unwavering in its desire. He felt the heat in his body growing, centering itself in the rod between his legs.

Suddenly, Christine pushed him over onto his back.

“Stay,” she commanded, then hopped off the bed for a moment. She eyed him seductively as she unbuttoned her jeans and slid them down to reveal a hot pink thong. She pulled her soft black sweater over her head to expose a matching hot pink bra.

“Damn, woman,” Neal said. “That color looks good on you.”

The pressure between his legs was growing with every second, and he wanted to take off his own jeans to let his dick spring free. He hadn’t been sure how far their little makeout session was going to go, but it looked as though Christine was ready to take it all the way. If that’s what she wanted, he wasn’t going to stop her. He had been craving her body for so long. He reached down for the zipper of his jeans, but Christine shook her finger at him.

“Nope. You lay there and don’t move. I call the shots here. You may be alpha to your clan, but I’m in charge tonight.”

Neal grinned and lay back again. “Yes ma’am,” he said. Her feistiness only turned him on more. He groaned as he watched her slowly reach back and unhook her bra, then slide it down off her chest and toss it away with a flourish. Her breasts were full and perky, with her nipples standing alert. Neal felt a fresh surge of desire course through him. He wanted to taste those nipples so badly. Her little striptease was driving him wild. She hooked the side of her thong with one thumb on each side and slid it down inch by inch, never taking her eyes off of his. She bent over gracefully to step out of the thong, and then she stood to her full height, confidently putting her naked body on display. Neal felt like he was going to explode. She was lovely. Her soft curves beckoned to him, and he wanted to pull her back down onto the bed and make love to her without another second of delay.

But he waited, as she had ordered. She climbed back onto the bed and grabbed the bottom hem of his long-sleeved thermal shirt, tracing her fingers upward across his naked abs and chest as she pulled the shirt up and over his head. She let her fingers drag back down across his naked chest and stomach, sending thrilling shocks of electricity through him. When she reached his jeans, she stopped, unbuttoning the top button swiftly and then pulling down the zipper at a maddeningly slow pace. She shimmied the jeans down around his hips and over his ankles, until the only item of clothing that remained on his body was his underwear. She paused for a moment to give him a sultry smirk, then reached for the underwear and shimmied it off of his body as well. He let out a sigh of relief as his dick sprang free, and then another moan as she climbed on top of him.

She straddled him, holding herself just above where his now throbbing dick stood waiting for her. He could feel her moisture dripping onto him. She was so wet, all for him. He moaned happily as he looked up at her and savored the beautiful sight of her face hovering over him.

“Alright, Mr. Bigshot Alpha. I’m going to ride you—hard. You’re not allowed to come until I do. Are you man enough to handle it?”

Neal could only moan in response. Christine’s take charge attitude was damn sexy. He knew he could hold out for her, but he hoped she wouldn’t take too long. The feeling of her skin against his skin left him feeling intoxicated, and every nerve ending on his body tingled as the passionate pressure inside of him built.

Christine gave him one more delicious, sultry look, and then slid down onto him. He heard her moan and saw her eyes fly open wide as his dick penetrated deep into her insides. He smiled and closed his own eyes as the warm, moist pressure of
her
overtook him. She started sliding up and down slowly. Then she switched her motion to an almost circular rotation, grinding her hips against him. She gradually sped up her movement, groaning in pleasure the entire time. She was in complete control, and she obviously knew how to use her new boy toy to pleasure herself. He wasn’t complaining a bit. The head of his penis tingled with each thrust of her body, begging for release. But Neal patiently held on, enjoying the feeling of Christine enveloping him. Her moans grew louder and louder, and her thrusting faster and faster, until Neal’s entire body became so heated with pleasure that he thought he was going to burst into flames.

And then she stopped thrusting and arched her back, screaming out his name as she did. He felt her internal muscles pulsing over and over as she found her release. She panted and whimpered in pleasure as the waves of her orgasm passed over her, squeezing Neal’s dick tightly with each fresh surge. Neal groaned and let his own release come. The fiery, tingling pressure that had built up in his body all rushed to a single point between his legs, and then exploded like a warm crescendo into Christine. He cried out as the pleasure surged through him, feeling more vulnerable and alive than he ever had before.

When it was over, they both lay there, spent and happy, breathing heavily in the afterglow of the moment. Neal was overcome with a feeling of love like he had never known before. Christine knew everything about him, and she had still trusted him and wanted him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her and breathed in her now familiar scent of roses and cedarwood.

Emboldened by the moment they had just shared, he took the opportunity to say what was on his mind. “Is it crazy that I’m already sure that you’re my life mate?” he asked, pulling back to search deep into her eyes with his.

“No,” she said. “Not crazy. Because I’m pretty sure you’re mine.”

The next morning, Neal woke up to the sound of humming. He was disoriented for a moment at the unfamiliar sights and sounds of Christine’s apartment, but it only took a few seconds for him to remember the marvelous evening he’d just had.

A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as he padded out to the kitchen, wearing only his underwear. He didn’t feel like putting his shirt and jeans back on just yet. Christine alternated between humming and whistling as she flipped pancakes on a griddle.

“Well, good morning, handsome,” she said, looking up when she heard him entering the room.

“Good morning, beautiful. Those smell delicious, and I’m starving.”

“They’ll be done in just a minute. Grab yourself some coffee if you want,” Christine said, pointing to the coffeepot where a fresh, full pot of coffee sat ready and waiting.

Neal grabbed some coffee, and then noticed the clock on the stove.

“Holy cow, it’s only 6:30 a.m. No wonder I still felt so tired,” he said.

“Yeah, sorry. I’m trying to get in to work early. I’m super behind, and it’s only going to get worse after today when my coworker leaves. I’m going to have to keep sending my boss emails pestering him for help until he sends some. There’s no way I can finish everything on my own.”

Neal sat down at the kitchen table and blew on his coffee to cool it down a bit. “As happy as I am that this job brought you to Glacier Point, I have to say that it sounds pretty awful.”

“It is. But it has to end eventually,” Christine said with a shrug. She piled pancakes onto a platter and set them in the middle of the table. Plates, silverware, and syrup were already on the table.

“Dig in,” she said as she started to pile pancakes on her own plate.

Neal didn’t need to be asked twice. He served himself a generous helping of pancakes, drizzled them with syrup, and started wolfing them down.

“What about you?” Christine asked. “What are you up to today?”

“I’ll be at the shop for a few hours this morning, although I doubt anyone’s going to come by. Then in the afternoon I’ve got a meeting with my clan members. We’ve been working like crazy trying to solve this crisis with the Blizzards. The problem is that we still can’t find their hideout. I don’t understand how they’ve managed to keep it a secret, but they’ve done a damn good job of covering their tracks.”

“It sounds like you guys have been searching for months. How can a group as large as the Blizzards manage to stay so hidden?”

“They’re underground somewhere. There’s an extensive group of caverns out there below the tundra known as the Black Ice Caverns. The only reason we even know that is because one of my clan members, Alan, fell into the caverns and was trapped down there for weeks. He escaped, but we haven’t been able to find another entrance since then. Unless we accidentally find an entrance again, I’m not sure how long this search is going to take. They basically have found a way to make all of the entrances blend in with the tundra, which, as you’ve seen, is vast.”

“Is there a way to lure them out? They seemed eager to use that trick on you, using me as bait.”

Neal sighed. “Yeah, I still feel badly about that. But I think the only lure that would be tempting enough to bring them out without knowing they have the upper hand would be the cubs, Hope and Calum. And there’s no way in hell I’m going to purposefully risk the cubs’ safety.”

Neal looked over at Christine, and his heart ached at just the sight of her. Her beauty overwhelmed him, and he felt like the luckiest bear alive that he was getting a second chance with her. She even seemed to agree that they were destined to be life mates! Neal kept telling himself to take things slowly, but his resolve to be patient weakened every time he looked into her beautiful eyes.

“Listen, Christine,” Neal said. “I want you to be really careful. Don’t leave Glacier Point’s city limits alone, no matter what. You should be relatively safe as long as you stay in town—bear shifters don’t like to draw attention to themselves in front of a lot of humans. If you ever don’t feel safe, for whatever reason, call me or one of my clan members. I’ll give you everyone’s numbers, and you can come meet them as soon as you have a chance to get away from work. Just be alert, and stick close to the city.”

“Okay,” Christine said, her voice sounding agitated. Neal reached over and squeezed her hand.

“I don’t want to scare you, but I want to make sure you’re keeping a lookout.”

“How long is this threat going to last?” Christine asked, biting her lower lip and nervously drumming the table. “It sounds like you haven’t made much progress on finding them. What if you never do?”

“I don’t know,” Neal admitted. “All I can promise you is that my clan members and I are constantly searching, and constantly brainstorming for new ways to flush out the Blizzards. I had hoped that the search would get easier once the weather starts warming up and the snow starts melting away. It’s a bit difficult to search when the entire tundra is just a white sheet of snow and ice. But the weather has been unusually cold this year. We haven’t had any days above freezing yet, and it’s getting close to June.”

Neal ran his fingers through his hair, and Christine sighed.

“I just don’t want to end up crossing paths with them again. That was not my idea of a fun day.”

Neal leaned over and kissed her. “Stay in town, and you’ll be fine. And I’m always just a phone call away. If you can’t reach me at my cabin, call the shop. You’re also welcome to come spend time with the clan out by the cabins any time you want. They’re a very friendly group, and I know they’re going to love you.”

Christine smiled gratefully. “It would be nice to have some friends to hang out with again. Things have gotten a little lonely around here since Jill left.”

“I know you’re busy, but, seriously, any time you want.”

“Thanks,” Christine said, then glanced at her watch. “And speaking of busy, I have to get going. Feel free to stay here and eat pancakes for as long as you want, though.”

Christine leaned over and gave Neal a quick kiss on the lips, and then headed for the door.

“Do you want a ride?” he called after her.

“Nah, I like walking. Gives me a chance to stretch my legs for a few minutes.”

“Alright. Have a good day,” Neal said. After she shut the door, he went to the window to watch her walk away. He admired her silhouette until she disappeared around the corner of a building, and then he let out a little whoop. Even with all the pressure of taking care of his clan weighing down on him, Neal couldn’t help but feeling like he’d just won the lottery.

Now if it would just warm up so he could flush those damn Blizzards out of hiding.

* * *

Five days later, Christine decided to take Neal up on his offer of spending time with his clan. Neal had come over to see her every night, bringing her takeout food or showing up with ingredients to whip up a quick meal. He was no master chef, and his cooking usually consisted of stereotypical bachelor meals like spaghetti with meat sauce or grilled cheese sandwiches, but Christine didn’t complain. The quick dishes still beat eating a microwave dinner alone, and the effort Neal was making was sweet. She loved it when he spent the night, but he only actually stayed over every other night. He didn’t want to spend too much time away from the cabins where his clan slept, given the looming threat of a Blizzard attack.

Christine was drowning in work, and the extra time it took to make the commute back and forth to Neal’s cabin felt like forever to her, but she didn’t want her new relationship to suffer because of a job she was on the edge of leaving anyways. She had fallen hard and fast for Neal, and she’d be damned if she let this stupid document review project drive a wedge between them. Neal had been understanding, but she wanted to show him that she was making an effort. She left work early and picked up a large cake from the bakery section of the local superstore on her way home. Then she called Neal, asking him to come pick her up. She would have loved to just surprise him by showing up on his doorstep, but his cabin was too far to really be walking distance. She was going to need to replace her snowmobile if she planned to stay in Glacier Point, which was looking more and more possible every day.

Christine went out to her doorstep to wait for Neal, and shivered at the blast of cold air that hit her. June was less than ten days away, but the temperature was still below freezing, and the snow hadn’t melted in the slightest. The bartender at Northwinds had told her that every now and then a particularly cold summer would hit Glacier Point. The temperature would remain low, and the piles of snow from the previous winter would stubbornly refuse to melt away. It looked like this might be one of those summers. Just my luck, thought Christine. I leave the warmth of Texas, and I’m greeted with the coldest summer Alaska has seen in decades.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Neal zooming up on his snowmobile. He dismounted and gave her a quick kiss, and she felt a thrill run through her as his lips touched hers. Every little touch from him gave her butterflies.

“Ohhh, what’s this?” he asked, gesturing toward the cake.

“Dessert! I wanted to bake something myself, but I didn’t have time. So I picked up a cake lovingly baked by the local superstore instead.”

Neal laughed, and took the cake from Christine to put it into his snowmobile’s storage compartment. “Come on. Let’s get going. Everyone is so excited to meet you.”

Christine flashed Neal a bright smile as she climbed onto the snowmobile behind him, but she was feeling nervous. These people were basically Neal’s family, and mattered more to him than anything else in the world. Their acceptance was important to her.

Her fears were completely unnecessary, though. From the moment she stepped off the snowmobile near the Northern Lights cabins, she was surrounded by the friendliest group of people she had ever met. Kenzie whom she had already met after the snowmobile crash, came running out of her cabin as soon as she heard Neal’s vehicle approaching. In Kenzie’s arm was the most adorable little baby that Christine had ever seen.

“Christine!” Kenzie exclaimed, giving her a big bear hug with the little baby nestled between them. “It’s so good to see you. This is my baby girl, Hope.”

Hope blinked up at Christine with her wide violet eyes, and let out a happy little coo. Christine giggled.

“She’s adorable!” Christine said. And it was the truth. You always had to tell a mama that her baby was adorable, even if it wasn’t exactly true. But no one could deny that this little creature had been blessed with some excellent genes in the looks department.

Walking up behind Kenzie came a tall man who looked like he could have been Neal’s brother. He had the same dark hair and violet eyes, and in one arm he was carrying another little baby who was equally as adorable as the one Kenzie held.

“Hi,” the man said, extending his free arm to shake Christine’s hand. “I’m Ryker. And this little guy is Calum.”

Calum looked suspiciously over at Christine, and snuggled closer to his father. Christine laughed. “I guess he’s the shy one of the pair.”

Kenzie smiled and agreed. “Yup, Hope is much more outgoing than her twin. It’s amazing how much their little personalities already shine through.”

The next several minutes were a blur as Christine met the rest of the Northern Lights Clan, and struggled to keep all the names matched with the correct faces. There was Eric and his human life mate Delaney, Tyler and his human life mate Kat, and Alan and his bear shifter life mate, Hannah. Hannah had come from another clan that had also been nearly wiped out by a Blizzard attack. The only survivors other than Hannah were two very young men, Seth and James. Neal had adopted them into the Northern Lights Clan so that they would still have a family and a home.

Neal took Christine’s hand and led her toward Ryker’s cabin. “Come on, you. We’ve got a dinner planned for the whole clan, and you’re the guest of honor.”

Christine blushed and let Neal lead her into the cabin, where a large table was covered with several different platters of food. Kenzie handed Hope off to Kat, and began loading even more food onto the table. Christine’s mouth watered at the sight of trays of fresh fruit and cheese, platters of grilled chicken and burgers, and a wide variety of salad fixings. On one of the kitchen counters, several glasses waited to be filled with fresh iced tea or cold beer.

“This looks delicious,” Christine said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had a dinner this elaborate.”

“Well, dig in!” Kenzie said. “There’s a ton of food here, so I hope everyone brought their full appetites!”

The clan members loaded up their plates and found seats around the cabin. Some of them pulled the kitchen chairs into the living room and balanced plates of food on their knees. Others sat on the floor leaning against the wall, or stood leaning up against the kitchen counter. Christine took a seat on the couch next to Neal, and started digging into the generous portion of fresh fruit and cheese she had loaded onto her plate.

“Mmm, this is so good!” she said. “Your clan members sure know how to throw a party.”

Neal laughed. “Trust me, this doesn’t even scratch the surface of some of the parties we’ve had. If summer ever decides to show up this year, you’ll get to experience one of our true outdoor barbeques. It’s always a good time.”