Shifters of Grrr 1 (22 page)

Each time he flexed his arms she flushed with embarrassment as her body went into overdrive with hormones. When he spoke she went weak in the knees like a cheesy movie heroine. If that wasn't enough, she had soaked her panties in warm honey more than once as he brushed up against her while they accomplished one task or another. It was always harmless, yet she could feel his hardness from time to time as well. It drove her wild until she went home every night and brought herself to an explosive orgasm in a desperate search for relief.

After the second day of working closely with Calan, she had gone to her father, begging and pleading with him to change the shifts. He had been unwilling to budge, despite her passionate plea.

"Harley Jane Hammond, you are a grown woman. I don't know what your issue is with him, but figure it out like an adult. That is enough nonsense," he had said. She felt like a little girl having a temper tantrum, but she was unwilling to go down without a fight.

"Just put me on the damned morning shift, that's all I'm asking. Hell, I've worked the evening shift since I joined the force. Isn't there something in the manuals about rotating staff through various positions? I'm sure it's in there if you look deep enough."

"Actually, daughter of mine, it isn't." He sighed, pushed his chair back from the desk and came around it towards her. Wrapping his arms around her in a tight hug, he held her close. Moments of familiarity like that between them were few and far between, so despite her frustration with him, Harley had hugged him back as hard as she could. Somehow, she still didn't know exactly how almost a week later, he had managed to diffuse the tension with that simple act.
 

"Just give it time Harley, it'll all work out. You'll see."

She knew what he meant though she wasn't ready to accept it yet. There was still a dull, aching, emptiness where James had been. Not him as a person, because Harley was smart enough to know now that he was an asshole she should have left far earlier. No, it was the pain of having been so badly duped and betrayed that kept her frozen to anyone, including Calan.

With a grunt, her bear interrupted the reverie, bringing the relaxation of the afternoon back into focus. She smiled internally, for her other half could be obnoxiously single-minded, but sometimes it was actually what she needed. Harley vowed to remember, that sometimes, she should listen to the bear side of her and not the human side.

Like now, when it was telling her that it had detected another presence. The scent was faint, not strong enough to be distinguishable on its own, but different enough from the background smells for her bear to have picked it up.
 

Not feeling like being disturbed, Harley picked herself up off the now-flattened grass of the small hillock she had been rolling on and headed east, up the mountain. She wasn't worried about being harmed, for there were few things out there that could taken on an enraged human-bear shifter, and most of those were other human shifters. In reality, the only thing that could outright hurt her was a dragon shifter, but they were rare around these parts.

Calming her bears fighting instinct, she instead slowly meandered farther up the mountain towards Snow Pass. This entire area had been abandoned as far as Harley could tell. Since she was not from Bear Bluffs originally, she had no idea why. In an attempt to ensure she went undisturbed, she had never asked anyone either. That way, nobody would know where to find her when she wanted to be alone.

Besides, coming up here had always brought about a sense of peace and belonging to her. Something about it just screamed to her bears senses, as if she was welcomed upon the land.
 
It felt silly to her even thinking about it, but there was a definite sense of
something
when she was up here.

She tested the air again, and realized that today it was a sense of persistence. Someone, or some
thing
was following her. The scent was back, tantalizingly familiar and yet unrecognizable all at once. She headed into a copse of coniferous trees, hoping that whoever was following her would get the point as she actively tried to put some distance between them. Her bear opened up into a shuffling run, covering ground swiftly this time instead of the earlier slow-footed plodding.
 

Just as she broke through into the clearing on the far side, she heard crashing from within the stand. Whoever it was had detected that she was fleeing and was pursuing her at top speed. With a deep growl of annoyance she switched it up another gear, practically flying across the field in an attempt to stay alone.

She was no more than halfway there before she felt, rather than saw, the presence on her left. With another, much louder growl, she spun away from it and slammed to a halt, finally glimpsing her pursuer for the first time, claws out and ready for a fight.

Crouched nearby on all fours, ready to tussle, was a grizzly bear with a lopsided bear-smile on its face, chuffing its delight.

Oh shit!
 

It was Calan, the one man she didn't want to be stuck out here alone with. Now though, the only thing separating them were a few rocks, a hedge growing randomly and several flowers that had grown to a very large size, purple and white petals scattered everywhere after her berserk passage through them.

She growled loudly, a warning for him to leave her alone, then turned and began to move off, hoping he would get the hint. Which, of course, meant that a few seconds later he nudged her in the side again as his bear overtook her once more.

She roared and slammed her body into his, attempting to drive home her point. Instead, he recovered and jumped on her, doing his best to wrestle her to the ground while in their bear forms. The two of them rolled across the meadow, each trying to get the upper hand. His larger size and strength won out, but instead of pressing the battle, he pinned her quickly and then rolled off, shifting back into his human form.

"If you do, I'll just catch you again," he said casually as she tensed, preparing to run.

She growled in irritation at how well he seemed to know her, before shifting to her human form so that the two of them could at least converse. It seemed that no matter what she desired, this conversation was going to happen.
 

She sat on a nearby rock, one that was only big enough for her. It was a small gesture of defiance, but one that she was going to make nonetheless. If he was going to force her to talk, she was going to make it as painful and awkward as she could. Internally, Harley knew she was being childish, that this man, in particular, hadn't done anything to hurt her. He was still a man though, and she had been badly hurt by the last one she let close. There was no way Harley was letting that happen again!

"How the hell did you even know where to find me?"
 

Calan didn't respond immediately to her question, pondering his answer for some time before he spoke again.

"Harley, this is
Snow Pass
."

"Yeah, I'm not stupid, Calan. What's your point?"

"And my last name is?" he prompted, a gentle smile upon his face. He was guiding her towards some realization, but she still wasn't sure what. At least, she thought to herself, he isn't being overly patronizing about it.

"Winters..." she trailed off, realizing that there must be a relationship between the two, but not understanding it.

"This used to be my home, Harley," he said so softly she didn't clue in for a moment.

Then the full import of his statement hit her like a load of flying bricks. Of course he would be up here. He hadn't stumbled upon her, instead she had
trespassed
onto his freaking property! She fumbled for something to say, but Calan continued on before the words came to her.

"In fact, the house I grew up in, is just over that rise. Would you like to see it?"

Harley was stunned at the offer. His parents had been killed in an awful accident she knew, though she had been unable to figure out what type. Shortly after that, Calan had skipped town, leaving the place locked up. He must have paid some attention to it, otherwise the government would have reclaimed it. Now he was offering to show her something painful from his past. Could she do the same?

"It's this way," he said when she didn't reject his offer, gently taking her hand and pulling her along after him. She followed along without much in the way of resistance. If Calan was willing to open up like this to her, she would at least be polite and go along with it.

"Calan, it's beautiful," she said in awe as they crested the rise, bringing his childhood house into view. It was a two-story log building, built up in the middle of a clearing. Large, mature trees surrounded the property, though the undergrowth had crept closer in the past few years, taking over much of the cleared area and the gravel driveway.

Evidence of recent work was everywhere, whether it be piles of cut brush, a huge amount of fresh gravel ready to be laid down around the entryway, or even the freshly cleaned exterior of the house. Clearly Calan was getting ready to move back in.

"I'm getting it ready to live in again. It's been untouched since..." he paused unexpectedly and she glanced over at him.
 

All manner of emotions played across his face, some too fast for her to pick up on, but others were clearly easy to read. Anger, a vast, deeply buried anger was visible as his jaw clenched, relaxed, and then clenched again. She could hear his knuckles crack as he squeezed his fists as tight as they would go. Then, for just the briefest flicker of a moment, she saw past the angry exterior. The walls jumped back into place so quickly it could have been imagined, but Harley knew what she had seen.

He's in pain.

Harley wasn't sure why that thought surprised her so much, but it did. Of course he would hurt. This was where he had grown up, with both parents in a presumably loving environment. Then, when he was just a kid, he had lost both of them in an instant. Unable to deal with the grief, he had fled, tramping his way across the country, never leaving any roots. Nothing to tie him down, or remind him of what he had.
 

She wanted to reach out to him, to hold him and let him do his grieving, but she knew that wasn't what he needed right now. It would happen, but for now he needed something else. Something that only she could give him, if she chose.

A mate.

But was
she
ready for it? Harley had her own pain, hidden in the past that she wasn't ready to move on from. Could Calan Winters truly be the man that would heal her? There was only one way to find out. Harley would have to trust him with her fragile heart. A leap of faith was the only way to find out. Something told her that he would catch her no matter what, but there was still that familiar spike of fear when she thought of letting someone else in.

And then Calan didn't give her the option anymore.

He turned to face her, sheer, naked desire evident in his eyes. She almost bit her lip at the sight, his muscles bulging under his shirt, ripples and lines evident in places she had no idea could even do so.
 

What are you doing Harley? Get it together! This is the first time you've been alone together. He hasn't even kissed you yet!

Her internal pleas melted away as he hooked his hand behind her neck, pulling her close to him. She was tall enough that neither of them had to crank their necks awkwardly, ensuring that she fit snugly into his arms as their lips met. A roaring fire would have felt cold against her skin as he pushed closer, his heat enveloping her, penetrating down to her core.

She felt a tremor run through her legs as his other hand wrapped around her waist, caressing her soft curves as their kiss deepened. Their lips parted, his tongue hungrily probing her mouth, twisting and entwining itself with her own. His touch hardened her nipples to tiny points, poking through her bra and rubbing up against his tight shirt.

A moan broke their kiss as his hard cock pressed into the soft flesh of her stomach, letting her know he was just as aroused as she. It felt massive and as hard as steel, so tempting that she ran her hand across his firm abs, feeling each bump of them before caressing the outline of his dick through his jeans. She was surprised it wasn't ripping them apart, the way the fabric had to strain to contain him.

Heat was pouring out from between her legs, accompanied by the thick, warm honey that would allow him to slid ever so deliciously deep within her. It had been so long since Harley had been touched by a man, and her tight cunt was yelling that as loud as it could. Her bear joined forces with it, the two of them pummeling her senses, trying to force her into mating with him right here and now.

She could feel the animal ferocity contained with Calan as well, trying to get out, to take her for his own. Then, with a savage jerk, he pulled away from her. Gasping for breath, Calan leaned against a tree, his body heaving with exertion as he tried to calm himself. Harley whimpered, the sheer strength of his will and his body leaving her vulnerable to him. She was ready for it, but he took another step back, putting some distance between them.

"Harley, no, wait." He said as she stepped towards him, his hands warding her off.

"Calm down tiger, I get it. Not like this." She stepped away from him, arms crossed.
 

They both looked shocked at her outburst, which was a complete transformation from her earlier self. It was a disguise she put on for him though. Her clit still ached, begging for his touch. If he tried again, Harley knew she wouldn't be able to resist it, that she would submit to him, and do as he pleased. She would let him take her in ways that other men never had, but for now she knew he wouldn't pursue it.