Don't Moose With Her (Bearbank Book 1) (12 page)

Ethan closed the bedroom door behind him, took a deep breath, and left for the kitchen. His erection was painful and his wolf urged him to get back in there and claim their mate. Ethan had meant what he said though. He was willing to put in as much time and effort as it took to win her over. Jumping her was unlikely to help.

He knew she wanted him. He could see and smell how her body reacted to him. It wasn’t enough though. He wanted her mind too, and also her heart. Those would be more difficult to win over.

He rummaged around in the kitchen and came up with the ingredients for French toast. He could manage that. He’d hoped for some bacon but she didn’t seem to have any. In fact, she didn’t appear to have any meat at all. He was just finishing up breakfast when Dana appeared, hair still wet from the shower. She wore black, form-fitting jeans that outlined her shape, making his own jeans suddenly feel a little tight. Her red t-shirt had a close-up of Elmo from Sesame Street.

“Hey,” she said shyly, sitting down at the table as he placed her breakfast in front of her. “Thanks.”

“Hey yourself,” he said, sitting down across from her with his own plate. “I couldn’t find any bacon, so I went with French toast.”

Dana shrugged. “I’m vegetarian.” She looked at him and giggled. “You should see your face. It’s okay. I don’t expect you to be vegetarian. Each to their own.”

Ethan relaxed. He could deal with that. “How’s your leg? I noticed you’re limping a little.”

“It’s not too bad,” Dana answered. “I can walk on it now so that’s an improvement. I thought I might shift today and maybe that will help.”

“Good plan,” Ethan said, eating his breakfast.

“Actually,” Dana said, pushing food around on her plate. “I was thinking about going outside to shift. My moose is getting restless and she wants to be in the woods.”

Ethan froze with his fork halfway to his mouth. He looked at her. “You know that isn’t safe, sweetheart.”

“It would be if you came with me,” she said hopefully. “Maybe you could shift too and I can see your wolf.”

Looking at her, Ethan knew that they were going out to the woods. He was never going to be able to say no to his mate. She was demonstrating trust in him, at least when it came to protection, and he gloried in it. She looked so damned appealing when she looked at him with those big eyes. He was pretty sure she was doing it intentionally but it didn’t matter. The effect was the same. His resolve melted.

“Okay, little moose,” he said. “If that’s what you want.”

“Thanks, Ethan.” She smiled at him and his heart skipped.

“It will be a short outing. You stay near me at all times and you do what I say when we’re outside,” Ethan insisted. It should be safe enough with him there. He'd make sure it was safe. “Understood?”

“I’ll behave,” she promised, drawing a cross over her heart with her finger and pulling his attention to her chest. He stifled a groan and concentrated on eating.

After breakfast, they got into his car and drove to the nearby woods. Ethan was on alert, eyes tracking every movement, listening carefully for anything out of place. He did understand Dana’s need to be outdoors. As shifters, they all needed to spend some time in nature. Their other sides needed to be let out from time to time. It would be easier if they could just shift inside their houses for a few hours but it didn’t work that way. Their inner animals needed to be free. Every so often they needed to shift outside and indulge their other natures. Ethan’s wolf was more than ready to get outside in wolf form.

They parked a short distance away and walked into the woods. Dana moved with a slight limp but it seemed that her injury was well on the way to healing. As she walked, she was quiet, her forehead creased in concentration. She was thinking about something, probably his speech this morning. She had listened to him. Her expressive face had told him that she wanted to believe him but she was afraid of being hurt. He couldn’t blame her for that. He’d give her a little space to think about it but he wouldn’t give up on her. Not ever.

Finally, they reached a quiet spot and stopped. They stood for a moment, looking at each other.

“Um,” Dana started, biting her lip. “I’ll be just over there.” She pointed through the trees.

Ethan shook his head. “No. You stay with me, remember?” He wasn’t letting her get any distance away, not with the threat to her life.

She scowled at him, arms folded. “At least turn your back. I’m not getting naked in front of you.” Pity.

“Not yet,” he murmured but dutifully turned around.

Her sharp intake of breath let him know that she’d heard him and he smiled to himself. It was a fine line that he was walking between seducing her and pushing too hard. It was actually quite fun. Yeah, he was kinda twisted.

He listened to the sounds of her undressing behind him. He heard her unzip her jacket. He heard the sound of her untying her boot laces and the thud of her boots hitting the ground. He heard her zipper being lowered and the sound of her jeans being pushed down. Swallowing hard, he strained to hear every sound, torturing himself by picturing the scene behind him. He heard her remove the rest of her clothes and then there was silence. Something butted his back and he turned to see his moose.

“Beautiful,” he murmured. Unzipping his own jacket, he looked at her. “You can watch if you like, sweetheart.” He winked at her.

She snorted and firmly turned her back. He laughed and she turned her head to glare at him. “Suit yourself,” he smirked.

He stripped naked and shifted into his wolf form. He barked to let Dana know he was finished and she turned to look at him. She bent her head down to sniff at him and he raised his muzzle to her. In their other forms, she towered over him. Big mean predator that he was, he was no match for her hooves. They were more than just their animals though, their human natures allowed for all kinds of shifter mismatched relationships. A wolf mated to a moose was not so strange compared to some.

Ethan rubbed his fur along the side of her long face, making sure to get his scent on her. He could swear that she rolled her eyes at him. Turning, Dana trotted into the woods and he easily kept pace beside her. They wandered for a while, investigating various scents and sounds of the woods, always close to each other. Finally, they arrived at a lake. Dana waded in and swam for a while, occasionally diving under the water. He swam alongside her, admiring her grace in the water. After a while, they waded back to shore and he shook the droplets from his furry coat.

Bang! Bang! Two shots rang out. He felt something fly by him, just narrowly missing. Dana’s moose called out in pain. Turning, he saw her run for the shelter of the trees. He followed her through the trees, always keeping her in sight. He could smell her blood and it infuriated him. Someone had dared to hurt his mate and they would pay. He longed to hunt them down and rend their flesh with his own teeth and claws. Only one thing was more important right now and that was ensuring that his mate was not hurt any further. The only thing that held him together was the fact that Dana was still moving which gave him hope that the injury wasn’t too severe. Finally, she slowed and came to a stop.

Shifting back to human form, he approached her. Her legs were trembling and she breathed heavily. Her left foreleg was hurt but not badly, merely a scratch where the bullet had grazed her. The other shot had grazed her left back leg. Neither injury was serious but he was still furious that she had been hurt. He was supposed to be protecting her and he hadn’t even sensed that anyone was close. Too distracted by his new mate, most likely. He was disgusted with himself.

“Change back,” he said to Dana. “I need to check your wounds.”

Dana nodded and shifted back to her human form. She was crouched on all fours, wet from her swim in the lake, and shivering. He sat beside her, placing his hand on her back to steady her as she moved to a sitting position.

“Let me see,” he said, picking up her arm as gently as possible. Still, she hissed in pain. “Sorry, sweetheart. It didn’t look too bad on your moose but I have to check.”

As he’d thought, the wound was shallow. No doubt it hurt, but she’d be fine and her shifter genes ensured that it would not even scar. Letting go of her arm, he checked her leg. Again, it would heal fairly easily. He sighed in relief.

Looking at Dana, he saw that she was still shaking, her face pale with shock. He picked her up gently and placed her between his legs, wrapping his arms carefully around her and cuddling her into his body. She snuggled in, accepting his comfort. He sat for a short while, giving her what little warmth he could with them both soaking wet. He kissed the top of her head and waited for the shaking to subside.

***

It was a horrible feeling. She was unable to control the shaking. No matter how hard she tried, her body continued to tremble. She burrowed closer to Ethan, letting him hold her. Gradually, the shaking stopped but she still didn’t pull away. It was all just too much. She’d had enough and nobody would blame her for leaning on her mate.

“You’re alright, sweetheart,” Ethan said softly. “The bullets just grazed you. They’ll heal quickly.”

Her face was wet and she realized that she must have been crying. She sniffled a little and pulled her face from Ethan’s chest. She looked down, unwilling to meet his eyes, and finally remembered that they were both naked. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment to find herself butt naked and sitting between his legs. She couldn’t help herself. She peeked. And, oh my, her mate was huge and fully aroused. She blushed even harder.

“Shh,” Ethan soothed her. “I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

She finally looked up at him, noting his concerned expression. “What happened? Did you see who was shooting?”

“No,” he growled. He looked down at her. “I’m sorry, Dana. I was supposed to be protecting you.”

“Shush,” she placed her finger over his lips. “You did protect me. I’m still here.”

Ethan kissed her finger, making her shiver. She looked at him and saw the hunger in his gaze. The same hunger burned within her. They were mates and their shifter natures pulled at them, desperate to reconnect with each other, assuring themselves that they were alive and together. They were alone and naked, surrounded by nature. As shifters, they didn’t carry sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy was impossible since she was on the Pill. There was nothing to stop them from having this moment. Her gaze dropped to his lips as she licked her own.

Ethan groaned. “Dana…”

She flattened her palm against his chest. “Ethan. I want you. I’m just not ready to mate. To be claimed. Can you do that?”

He closed his eyes, his face screwed up as though in pain. “Yes, sweetheart. I can hold off on the claiming. I promise I will never claim you without your permission. But please don’t tease me if you don’t really want this.”

“I want it, Ethan,” she whispered. “I need it. Please.”

With another groan, he opened his eyes and swooped down to kiss her. Their first proper kiss, it was everything she had expected and then some. He didn’t just kiss her, he devoured her. His kiss was gentle, yet demanding, and she was swept away in sensation, barely aware of turning her body to face his.

When he broke the kiss, she whimpered in disappointment and then gasped as she felt his lips travelling down the side of her neck. He paused for a moment when he reached the spot where he would one day mark her, he sucked on the skin there, grazing it with his teeth, before moving on. Lifting her slightly and bending her back, his mouth played in the valley between her breasts before kissing around her right nipple, teasing her, before finally latching on. She moaned in delight as he sucked firmly. One hand held her securely while the other drifted around to cup her other breast, his thumb strumming her nipple. His teeth worried at one nipple while he pinched the other with his fingers. She squirmed and felt moisture gather between her legs. Her pussy quivered and she wondered if she would embarrass herself by coming before he ventured further down. She pushed her lower body closer to him and she felt him, rock hard, against her abdomen.

The sound of a snapping twig made them both freeze. Ethan cursed and then set her down gently, standing to look around them.

“We need to get out of here,” he said, reaching down with his hand to help her to her feet. She winced a little, her earlier leg injury exacerbated by the new one. Ethan simply picked her up and cradled her close to him.

“I’m going to forget how to walk,” she grumbled.

Ethan smiled down at her. “I’m sure it’ll come back to you.”

Dana sighed. Her body still called out for her mate and the interruption made her grumpy. What if she had missed her only chance to be with him? She wanted him. She was honest enough with herself to admit that. Was she ready to permanently attach herself to him? No. There was nothing wrong with a little ‘try before you buy’ though.

“We’re not finished, sweetheart,” Ethan smirked at her, clearly guessing her thoughts. “We’re just moving somewhere safe where I can give you my full attention. And it will be my full attention, Dana.”

She shivered a little under his direct gaze. She was aware that they were both still naked, like Adam and Eve wandering through the woods. Part of her was a little turned on by it. Naked in the woods, as nature intended. She knew that Ethan was right though. Now was not the time or place to indulge themselves. The person who had shot at them could still be in the woods and their priority should be getting back home and away from the threat.

Ethan carried her back to where they’d left their clothes and they dressed quickly. Dana was a little slower with her injuries and Ethan came over to help her. He helped her get her T-shirt and jacket on, zipping it up for her and dropping a brief kiss on her lips.

“Warmer now?” he asked and she nodded.

Sweeping her up once more, he carried her through the woods and back to the car. As much as she enjoyed being his arms, she really wished people would stop hurting her long enough for her leg to heal. Constantly being carried about was embarrassing.