Healing the Bear (6 page)

“Yeah,
Emily’s worried if it’s because the baby’s half human half shifter that she’ll
go through the same thing.”

“Is
she pregnant too?”

“Nope,
but we’re planning on making it happen soon.”

Dane’s
own baby would be seven months old now.

“So
got anything planned for tonight?” asked Trent.

“Going to see a movie with Melanie.”

“Melanie?”
asked Trent.

“The young woman who manages The Lodge
where Christopher had his wedding.”

“Oh
yeah, I saw you dancing with her. Maybe you and I should sit down so I can tell
you all about the birds and bees.”

“Already
know about them.”

“Nope,
buddy, you have a lot to learn about human women, and I hope you have condoms.”

“No,
but…hold on a minute, we’re just going to the movies and that’s it.”

“Call
me when you need that lesson.”

Dane
heard the purring in his ear. Just what the hell had he been talking about?

Glancing
at the clock on the wall, Dane realized he had to get a move on or Melanie
would think he’d stood her up.

****

Melanie
held out both her hands. Just as she’d thought, they were trembling. She felt
like a teenager about to go out on their first date. She’d even checked in with
the agent and told him what she was planning to do. She felt like she was
talking to her father all over again.

“That’s
fine. The more natural you act, the quicker you’ll become the person we created
for you.”

But
she didn’t want to be her. She wanted to be her old self, talking to her real
father again.

She
glanced at the clock. Dane would be here any minute so would she have time to
change into another outfit?

Damn,
she’d already changed out of one dress into another and then concluded dresses
were too formal for the movies. She’d then opted for her black pants and black
and white stripe sweater. Guess she’d been out of the dating scene for too long,
out of the loop of what regular people did for what seemed like forever.

The
doorbell sounded just as she was considering changing again.
You were overthinking this and luckily you
were saved by the bell.

She
headed into the hallway and toward the front door, spying through the keyhole
and smiling when she saw Dane. Even through the fisheye lens he still looked
gorgeous. She opened back the door, seeing that he had a black and white theme
going on with his clothing too.

“Sorry
I’m late, but I got caught up talking about a job interview.”

“I
didn’t even notice the time. You want to come in while I grab my keys and
purse?”

“Sure.”

He
stepped into the hallway and looked around. “This seems a nice place.”

“Yep,
comes with the job. I’ll show you around when we get back. I mean that is if
you want to or have time.”

“I’d
love to.”

She
walked back to the kitchen to collect her purse and then joined him again at
the front door. She armed the alarm and then opened the front door.

“That
looks like a pretty fancy security system,” said Dane.

They’d
insisted on it for her and one press of the button or the wrong code entered
into it meant that agents would be on the doorstep ASAP.
 
Or so she’d been told. Sometimes she was
tempted just to test it out to see if they could be counted on.

“Also,
comes with the job. So where’s your job interview at?”

“A school.
 
Trent, one of my buddies, his wife works at
an elementary school and they’re looking for a computer guy.”

“She’s
a teacher?”

Dane
nodded.

 
“I always wanted to be one of those,” she
said.

“You
still could.
Never too late to live your dreams.”

It is for me.

“Okay,
let’s get to the cinema and hope the movie is as good as they say,” said Dane
opening the car door for her.

****

Melanie’s
hand grabbing Dane’s forearm almost causing him to spill the soda he was
sipping. He noticed she’d jumped a few times during the movie. It wasn’t scary,
but if there was suddenly a loud noise, she’d show some discomfort. He put his
hand on top of hers, hoping the gesture would tell her he was right here.

Maybe
he’d picked the wrong movie, but she seemed to be enjoying it, and he almost
got a kick out of the superheroes and some of the other characters shape
shifting abilities. When it was over they walked outside and both of them
squinted and held up their hands in front of their faces until their eyes
adjusted to the brightness. It had been a two and a half hour movie and the sun
hadn’t set yet.

“Imagine
if we could have powers like that or if you could change into something else.
I’m not sure if it would be fun or not.”

Oh it’s fun all
right.

“I
suppose make believe is more fun than real life,” said Melanie.

“That’s
why people go and watch these movies. You want to go grab something to eat
because I’m starving?”

“Sure,
but I have lots of food at home. You’re job hunting and I know that can make
things tight budget wise.”

“I’m
not exactly poor.”

“No,
I didn’t mean that, it’s just…”

He
put his hand out and touched her arm. He knew what she’d meant and she was a
thoughtful person. He liked that.

“It’s
just when you work at a place like the Lodge, there are lots of leftovers.”

“Any
good ones?” he asked. They walked toward the parking lot and his car.

“There’s
some bruschetta, some chicken egg rolls, and I think some smoked salmon too.”

Salmon,
now that definitely got his attention.

“Sounds
too good to pass on,” he said, opening the car door for her.

****

Melanie
had always loved a man with a hearty appetite, and Dane certainly fit into that
category. Mike had too. She hung her head, hoping Dane didn’t see the sadness
in her face and think she was ruining an otherwise wonderful evening. She
looked up, smiling once again when she saw Dane helping himself to yet another
piece of salmon. It had to be his fifth piece.

“This
stuff is good,” he said.

“Didn’t
you tell me you fished?”

“Sure,
we all do. I mean me and my buddies.”

“Would
you like to be the fishing guide for the men’s retreat? We’re looking for
someone and you sound like you know what you’re doing.”

“I
don’t know about that, but if you don’t find anyone else, sure I’d be glad to
offer a few tips. Maybe it’s me eating way too much food and the spicy dip with
the eggrolls, but it’s getting hot.” He took off his jacket and Melanie
couldn’t help but notice the stain on the front of his shirt. She tried to look
away but he caught her in the act.

“Damn.
I made a note to myself to keep my jacket on because it was my only clean
shirt.”

Melanie
laughed and then he did too. “Okay, cleaner shirt,” he corrected himself.
“Guess I’m not very good with the laundry.”

“You
want me to try? I have some stain remover we use on the tablecloths at the
Lodge.”

“
What,
leave it with you?”

“Nope,
take it off and I can wash it right now.”

She
hadn’t had a guy to fuss over in so long that maybe she was being a tad pushy,
but when she saw him unbuttoning it she relaxed.

Once
again, Melanie tried to look away when he got to the bottom button and pulled
the two sides apart but realized she was being stupid. He had no problem with
stripping off so she shouldn’t be worried about seeing his bare chest. And what
a chest it was. Muscles where she didn’t think a guy had them.
Biceps that almost made her drool.
In fact, she might be
doing just that on the table. He stood, tugging at the bottom of the shirt to
dislodge it from his pants. A trail of dark hair traveled down the center of
his chest, over his navel, and disappeared under the waistband of his pants.

Wonder what the
bottom half of him looks like because the upper half is pretty unbelievable
. She hadn’t
realized she was staring and yes, drooling — she’d felt the spit on her chin — until
he was handing her the shirt.

“I
won’t be long. I’ll get this in the wash and dried before you know it.” She
stood and took the shirt. “Help yourself to more food and wine.”

Guessing
she was too young for hot flashes, she assumed the burning heat in her cheeks
was due to embarrassment. She’d been caught staring, caught drooling, and it
wouldn’t happen again. She went into the kitchen and opened up the cupboard
under the sink and pulled out the stain remover. Placing his shirt on the countertop
she gave the front of it a quick spray, waited for a few minutes, and then took
a clean paper towel and began dabbing at the stain.

Dane’s
scent lingered on it, part spicy aftershave, part something she couldn’t quite
put her finger on.
 
Musky and she liked
it. The stain was stubborn or maybe he’d left it too long, so she had to put
more action into rubbing it.

Dane
coughed and she turned around to see him now standing in the kitchen, leaning
against the doorjamb. How long had he been there watching her, hearing her
mutter about the damn stain?

“You
have the cutest butt and it wiggles when you wipe my shirt,” he finally said.

Wobbly ass, oh
god, he’s been standing there the whole time.

“Yeah,
I probably need to cut down on the amount of food I eat and start exercising.”

“Nothing wrong with your butt or the
rest of you for that matter.”

He
walked toward her, the bare chest attracting her to him like a beacon to a lost
ship about to wash up on the rocks. Dane was in reaching distance now and she
put her hand up and touched the center of his chest. His muscles felt firm to
the touch.

“I’m
guessing you work out all the time,” she said.

“In
fact, I just started running again. Your fingers are very soft, pretty too,” he
said pulling them up to his lips and kissing each one of them in turn.

So
simple, nothing overtly sexual, but her panties were getting damper by the
second.

“Maybe
I can go with you one day. It might give me the motivation I need to get in
shape.”

“I’ll
take you, but I just want to say that there is nothing wrong with your body,”
said Dane.

She
wasn’t prepared for what he did next. He pulled her in close, wrapping his arms
around her and bringing his lips down upon hers. She felt suddenly tiny,
engulfed by his big, strong body.
Her tiny, when had she ever
been tiny?
She wasn’t. He was a giant compared to her. Dane, Great Dane.

This
was all happening so fast. She hadn’t really had time to think about being
physical with a man again. Maybe that was a good thing because if she did, she’d
overanalyze it like she had everything else in her life since she’d become
Melanie.

Yeah,
it was happening at lighting fast speed because his tongue was teasing hers and
finally she relaxed. She let go and let him enter her mouth. It felt right; it
felt good as he backed her up toward the sink, grinding that big gorgeous body
of his into hers.

Her
heart hadn’t beat this fast, well besides from being scared, for as long as she
could remember.
 
She even felt her blood
pulsing through her veins as her pussy pulled and ached.

Dane
finally stepped away and put his hands on either side of her face.

“That
was good,” he said.

“Better
than good,” said Melanie.

He
leaned in and kissed her again. This time pulling her sweatshirt out of her
pants and running his hands up and down her back. It tickled, it was sexy, and
she was pretty sure she was going to let him sleep with her. Well, if that was
his intention which she damn well hoped it was because she’d crossed the point
of no return a good five minutes ago.

Dane
pulled away again but kept his hand on her skin.

“I’ve
never done this before.”

She
knitted her eyebrows together. Hadn’t he told her he was widowed? Maybe it had
been a no sex marriage.

“No,
I don’t mean this, but I haven’t gone this far with a woman on a first date.”

“Me
neither. I mean with a man not with a woman.”

They
both burst out laughing.

“We
make such an odd but ideal pair,” said Dane.

“Yes,
we do. And I don’t want to sound pushy or whatever it is, but
are
going to make love?”