Healing the Bear (9 page)

****

Dane
wasn’t sure if it was the breeze coming across the water or the company, but
for the first time in forever he felt like he was coming back to life again. He
never thought he’d say that, but there was a tingling in his soul that told him
he might just have a future.

He
slipped his hand into Melanie’s, hoping that was okay with her. She didn’t
protest and when she squeezed it, he knew it was more than all right. He’d love
to shift and run, show off somewhat, but she was human and he doubted that sort
of thing would impress her like it did female bear shifters.

Are you going to
tell her about yourself?

Charlotte’s
words crept into his head. He wanted to. However, he couldn’t risk losing her
before she got to know him — the human side of him. Once she did, then he’d
introduce his bear half which hopefully she’d enjoy just as much.

“You
want to sit and watch the boats?” she asked him.

“Sure.”

They
found a bench and sat, thigh to thigh, arm to arm. He loved the way this human
smelled too.
So different to the musky bear odor of his own
kind.

Melanie
put her hand upon his knee. She had pretty hands with their nails painted a
light pink color. Her toenail polish matched. He’d noticed that last night when
they’d had sex.

“You
ever go sailing on Flathead Lake?” she asked him.

“Nope, how about you?”

She
shook her head.

“Then
maybe that’s what we should do, hire a boat and take a picnic out on the lake.”

She
rested her head on his shoulder. “I like the sound of that. I’ll let you
arrange everything with the boat and I’ll provide the food.”

“Next
Saturday okay with you? Weather permitting.”

“Perfect
and while we’re on the topic of next Saturday, I don’t suppose you’d like to
come along to a concert with me in one of the parks in Kalispell. It’s a
country and western band I’ve heard on the local radio.”

“Does
that mean I have to wear a cowboy hat?”

“I
think you’d look extra sexy in one.”

“Extra sexy, hmm?”

He
turned to look at her. Then he leaned over and kissed her. Sensing that someone
was walking by on the path by the bench, he pulled away. He noticed an older
couple looking and smiling at them. He watched them go by hand in hand despite
the fact that they were probably in their late seventies.

Dane
watched a couple of guys tossing a football around and glancing over at
Melanie.

Sorry, buddy,
she’s taken.

“Those
guys obviously think you’re as gorgeous as I do,” said Dane, putting his arm
around her. He could mark his scent, rub himself on a nearby tree, but
hopefully the arm around the lady’s shoulders would tell them to stay away or
face the consequences of this grizzly bear.

“You
have two admirers,” said Dane.

“I
have what?”

“Those
two guys playing football over there can’t take your eyes off you and not that
I can blame them one little bit.”

She
swung around to see where he’d pointed.

“Can
we go now because I’m getting chilled?”

“Sure,
you should have said something.”

Melanie
was back on the main path before he could even stand. He ran over to her,
trying his best to catch up.

“Is
something wrong?” he asked.

She
glanced at him, looking like the color had drained from her face.

“No,
like I said just a little cold. I’ll be fine once we get back to the car.”

He
didn’t believe it. There was a wind coming off the lake, but if anything it was
balmy for this time of the year. She was shaking, that was true, but he sensed
it wasn’t from the temperature. A bear knew fear when he smelled it and right
now the air was heavy with it.

Dane
glanced over at the men again. Both weren’t taking their eyes off Melanie.

Ex-boyfriend that she didn’t want to
mention at this point in their relationship?
Ex-husband?
Nope, she’d hinted she was a widow.
Stalker.

She
didn’t need to worry because any danger that came her way he’d take care of.

Chapter Nine

Melanie
knew it was downright stupid to hurry away from the lake like she had. The guys
were probably harmless, and Dane was probably making a bigger deal out of it
than necessary. Guys were like that, totally aware of men checking out the
women they were with.

It
meant he felt something for her, right?

She
smiled when she saw him taking her tea kettle over to the teapot she’d set out
on the countertop in her apartment. He poured the hot water into it and placed
the lid back. He’d thought something hot would warm her up. In all honesty, she
hadn’t been cold but used it as an excuse to leave the lake.

Such a shame that her past, and present
for that matter, had dug such a deep scar into her life.
They’d been
enjoying themselves and her paranoia had ruined an otherwise great Sunday
afternoon.

“I
have some honey on the top shelf in that cupboard. I like it in my tea,” she
said.

“I
do too. In fact, I love honey, period.”

He
opened the cupboard and reached up for the plastic bear.

“Cute,”
he said. “You like bears?”

“Why?”

He
shrugged his shoulders. “Just curious because I noticed you have a teddy bear
on your bed.”

“Uggy.”

“Uggy?”
he asked, raising both his eyebrows.

“That’s
all I could say when I was two and my parents gave him to me for Christmas.”

He
handed her a mug of tea. She wrapped her hands around it, knowing that the bear
was something she wasn’t supposed to still own. She’d been told to leave with
nothing that would connect her with her former life, but Melanie couldn’t see
how an almost threadbare teddy bear could bring criminals to her door. She bit
her lip. Of course the teddy did house some other secrets too.

“You
warming up now?” asked Dane, pouring himself a mug of tea.

“Yeah, much better.”

“Soup’s
good too. I always love soup on a chilly fall day. My wife used to make this
incredible vegetable soup. It was so hearty that it was a meal in itself.”

He
smiled but she detected some tears in his eyes.

“Tell
me about her…I mean if you’re comfortable with talking about her.”

He
leaned up against the counter and sipped his tea.

“She
did look a lot like you. I wasn’t going crazy that day when I burst in like
that.” He paused.
 
“She was very clever.
Could do crosswords in no time flat.
Oh, and those Sudoku
puzzles. I’ve never been able to solve a complete one, but she went through
them like it was one plus one sort of stuff.” He paused again. “She had a kind
heart. Loved to sew and make things. I’m probably going on too much now.”

“No,
really you’re not.”

“She
was having a baby when…when she was killed.”

Melanie
put down her mug and rushed over to him, hugging him to her. “I’m so sorry. I
had no idea. And I didn’t know she’d been killed. I thought maybe she had
cancer or something.”

“Shot
when we were out hiking.”

Melanie
went cold. They had more in common than she’d originally thought.

She
pulled away from him so she could look directly at him. “What happened?”

“Hunter.
He was out shooting and it wasn’t even bear season.”

“Bear
season?”

“I
mean that’s what he said he was doing in the woods that day, hunting bears.”

“That’s
awful. I hope they arrested him and he went to prison.”

“Um,
yeah, he got his just reward.”

He
hugged her, clung to her like he wouldn’t let her go.

“I’ve
made you sad and I feel bad now,” said Melanie.

“Nope
you haven’t. Let’s go see what’s on TV and drink the rest of the tea.”

****

He’d
almost ruined it.
The out of bear season thing.
He
should have come clean. And the just reward bit, well that was true, only
justice had been served
his
way. He
hated to think that Melanie would ever find out that he was a cold blooded
killer.

He
flushed the toilet and washed his hands, looking at himself in the mirror over
the sink. It was the front of a cupboard and he was a curious bear. He opened
the front up and peered on the shelves.
A bottle of aspirin.
Tube of sun block.
Box of tampons.
Dane felt himself blushing again.

Next
shelf held a bag with a drugstore logo on it. He pushed the paper down, seeing
a box of dark brown hair dye. He had noticed the blonde roots showing when
they’d sat on the bench. He tried to imagine her as a blonde. She’d be cute but
maybe she liked dark hair better. Most women were never happy with the color
nature gave them.

He
closed the door. He said he’d only be a couple of minutes and now he’d been
sidetracked by his nosiness. Dane tapped his pant pocket. He’d been to the
drugstore too. Not for hair dye but condoms in the largest size they had.
 
Melanie had said she was cold, again so he’d
suggested she go to bed and get under the covers. He was going to join her and
who knew what might happen. He walked out of the bathroom and along the hallway
to her room. She was under the covers all right, but her bare shoulders peeked
out over the top of the quilt.

“I
thought you’d like to get under the blankets and help warm me up.”

Oh
yeah, bears knew how to do that all right.

Dane
lifted up his sweatshirt, pulled it over his head, and then unzipped his pants.
He took out the condoms, placed them by the foot of the bed, and then pulled
down his boxers. He was hard, his cock pulsating to a beat that matched the
blood pumping around his body. He was going to make love to Melanie again and
it was going to be better than the first time.

Nothing like a little fun to kick things
off.
He lifted up the bottom of the quilt and saw her legs. He crawled underneath
and kissed his way up her body. She smelled divine and the tactile sensation of
her skin on his lips made him grow harder with each inch he took. He arrived at
her thigh. He gave it a kiss, making a smooching sound that made her giggle.

Lucinda
had giggled whenever he’d done that to her too.

Now something completely different, the
curls on top of those thighs.
And something he’d look for this time.
Her clit.
He wouldn’t see a thing under the covers so he
stood up, sending them down the bed. Now he could get a better look.

He
parted her legs. Her folds were a dusty pink color and a drop of cream already
clung to her opening. He wiped it with is finger, smelling its musky odor as he
dragged his finger upwards, knowing her clit would be at the apex like he’s
seen in Charlotte’s medical book. He smiled thinking that maybe Charlotte
should throw a seminar for shifter guys who wanted to date human women.

And
here it was.
A little nub of a thing.
He pressed it,
seeing her legs twitch instantly.

“I
am a clit type of girl,” she said.

He
wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that, but he was going to find out. He
placed his thumb on it, circling it in steady turns.

“Oh
yeah,” said Melanie, sliding down in the bed and opening her legs more for him.

Now
Dane was more intrigued than ever. He pressed harder and sped up his movement.

“You
are a bad boy, really…oh yeah.”

Her
eyes were watering and she had the top of the quilt stuffed in her mouth.
 
He moved his thumb even faster, hearing her
cry out and seeing cream spill from her.

“You
better be ready to rock my world right now.”

Oh
yeah, he was. He reached for the condom, tore it open, and luckily this bigger
size rubber thing glided over his dick with ease. He lifted his now sheathed
cock and slid into her.

She
was smoldering hot, wet, yet tight, just the way he liked his woman.

“Hold
on, baby, because it’s more than your world that’s going to be rocked.”

Chapter Ten

Could
lovemaking get any better? Just how had Dane learned to bring about such off
the charts orgasms?

She
lay on her side with his big arms wrapped tightly around her, his cock buried
deep inside her, his lips tickling her earlobe as he thrust so hard he almost
moved her off the bed. In fact, if she hadn’t been safely encased in his arms
she might have easily fallen on the floor. He kissed the side of her neck while
bringing his right hand around her hip, moving it over her mound and downward
until it found her clit. He massaged it as he continued to thrust.
A double delight.
She closed her eyes, her pussy growing
heavy, her clit growing super sensitive to his touch. Both areas were pulsating
and she wasn’t sure which one would provide her with her climax first.