Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love (19 page)

“And this end too?’ she said. He shook his head with an evil grin.

“That’s staying right there, bitch,” he said. “And I hope it’ll make you think about what you’ve done.” He snapped the other cuff around the same wrist and pulled the cuff of her jacket down so it covered them, then he grasped her by her upper arm, dragging her out of the car. “Get over here.” He pulled her to the roadside. “Flag down a car for me. Maybe that fat ass of yours will have more luck than I did.” Shivering in the cold, she stumbled through the snow and stood where he positioned her. “Keep your mouth shut. Tell whoever stops that you’ve got a puncture, then I’ll do the rest.” She nodded. Kurt moved out of sight, behind a clump of trees. She gazed far into the distance, willing a car to come, but the snowy road was deserted and it was fast becoming dark. She shuddered at the thought of getting stuck here with Kurt for a whole night.

Suddenly, there was an earth-shattering roar right behind her and she jumped as if she’d been electrocuted. It was followed by a wild scream, and she whipped around to be greeted by the sight of a huge, black bear standing right beside the trees, and next to it was Kurt, looking pale, the left sleeve of his leather jacket gashed with claw marks. She collapsed against the car, incapable of doing anything else, and watched. The bear stared down at Kurt from its great height. It seemed to be waiting. Kurt gave a shout of rage and tore his jacket off. His body increased in size and his muscles bunched. There was the sound of tearing fabric and Kurt burst out of his clothes, his flesh turning to fur and his jaws cracking and lengthening, until there was a loud snap, he fell onto all fours, and a large gray wolf faced the bear, regarding it with yellow eyes. For a long moment, nothing happened, and then Kurt spun and hurtled headlong into the forest. The bear stayed still a moment longer. It dipped its head and looked at Paige with striking ice blue eyes, and it gave a soft purr. Then it ran off, on Kurt’s tail. Caleb, Paige thought, knowing with no doubt that the bear was him. His eyes hadn’t changed at all as he’d shifted from human to animal. She kept her eyes trained on the point where they’d both disappeared, but she couldn’t see any signs of them at all. The woods were all silent. She bent down and retrieved the key from Kurt’s shredded jeans and unfastened the handcuff. As it fell off her wrist, a vicious snarl came from deep in the woods. It was followed by a roar. Terrified though she was, she ran towards them, her legs acting of their own accord. A hundred yards in, she saw them. Caleb was standing on all four legs, while Kurt was crouched down low, ready to pounce. Kurt suddenly sprang at the much larger bear, his jaws wide open, razor-sharp fangs glinting in the dim light. Caleb lifted one of his huge paws and swept at him, sending him sprawling across the ground. He got up quickly, but his face was bleeding, leaving crimson drops on the virgin snow. He pounced again, and Caleb knocked him back once more. This time, he got up more slowly and hatred gleamed in his yellow eyes. He feinted to the left, then went in towards the right, catching Caleb’s paw in his teeth. With a roar, Caleb knocked him onto his back and leapt on top of him. For a while, all Paige could see was a flurry of fur as they turned over and over, teeth and claws flashing as they tried hard to wound each other. Despite his vicious jaws, there was no way Kurt could win – Caleb was so much bigger than him, and he pinned him down easily with his huge bulk. At last, Caleb delivered the final blow, sinking his jaws into Kurt’s throat, lifting him into the air and shaking him hard. Paige heard the snap of his neck breaking, and the breath she didn’t know she’d been holding whooshed out of her, the tension in her chest easing. Caleb dropped the limp body on the ground. And then he began to dig. The frozen earth didn’t seem to make much work for his mighty paws, and soon he’d made a hole around five feet deep. He dumped Kurt’s body into it and piled the earth on top, finishing with a layer of snow. It didn’t look like the ground had been disturbed at all. Finally, he rubbed snow all over his paws and buried his face in it, until his whole head was covered. Paige realized that he was cleaning himself.

He shook the remnants of the snow off, and came towards her, head lowered, in what she recognized was a friendly position.

“Caleb, thank you so much for rescuing me and getting rid of Kurt,” she said. He gave a long, soft rumble, and then he turned his head to the side, looked over his shoulder, and lay down low on the ground. “You want me to get on your back?” she said. He nodded. She stepped over to him and lifted her leg cautiously over his broad back. She could just about reach across him, and as her weight came down fully, she sunk into his amazingly thick, luxuriant fur. She stopped shivering immediately, surrounded by his warmth. Not sure how to hold him, she loosely clasped the fur at the nape of his neck. When her weight was evenly balanced and she’d stopped wriggling, he stood up and began to move. They didn’t return to the car as she’d expected, but stayed in the forest, running approximately parallel to the road. He moved at an easy lope, carrying her through dense woodland. The motion of his body was oddly comforting, and there was something magical about being carried through the snow by this big strong bear. She began to feel like she didn’t ever want to get off.

In ten minutes or so, he turned right and headed back towards the road. They came to a tan-colored, beat up rust-bucket of a car, and he stopped and lay down. She jumped off, and the cold wind instantly chilled her again. As she watched, the bear’s body started to change. It kind of contracted in on itself, his fur disappeared and heavy bear bulk became human muscle and sinew. There was a series of cracks and crunches and he reared back onto two legs, and suddenly, Caleb was standing in front of her, stark naked.

“Hi,” he said with a grin, and casually moved his hand in front of his manhood. Paige was too shocked to reply. She continued to stare at him, vaguely aware that her mouth was hanging open. He opened the door of the car, pulled out his clothes and slipped them on. “Come on, let’s go. You must be freezing,” he said. She shook herself and climbed into the car. Caleb jumped into the other side. “Does this thing even have heating?” he muttered, fiddling with the dials in the dash. A stream of warm, dry air came out of the vents. She turned to face him, completely overwhelmed.

“Are you ok?” he said.

“Yes. Thanks to you. But, are you? You just fought with a wolf.” He laughed.

“All in a day’s work. But look at you – you’re freezing. Your lips are blue. Come here.” He put his arms around her and pulled her against his warm, strong body. He hugged her tight, running his hands up and down her back, telling her that everything was ok now, and then they were kissing, his lips impossibly soft on hers, his tongue soft and velvety.

“Paige, I’m so happy and relieved that I found you,” he muttered when he finally drew away from her. “I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to catch up with you in this crappy old car.”

“What happened to your car?”

“Kurt did. He broke in and killed the electric system. I hired this one from the owner of the hotel. I have to say, it’s held out better than I would’ve expected. Now we just need it to keep going long enough to get us back to the hotel.”

“What about Kurt’s car?”

“Do you think anyone will come looking for him out here?”

“It’s possible. His gang will start to wonder where he is, and a car like that’s going to attract a lot of attention.”

“He didn’t have a spare tire did he?”

“Nope.”

“Hmm, let me check the trunk.” He got out of the car and investigated. “Good news. There’s a spare in there.” He started the engine and the car coughed to life. “We’d better go back and see if we can fix the flat, and then do something with the car.”

Paige shivered at the sight of the car. She wanted to forget everything about Kurt as quickly as possible.

“Shall I help you? she asked.

“No. I’m good. Stay here in the warm,” Caleb replied. She watched him while he worked, digging the snow away from the wheel and expertly jacking the car up and changing the tire. He was back in a few minutes. “I’ve managed to attach the spare, but it’s probably going to be a difficult drive,” he said. “Will you be able to drive the other car?”

“Sure,” she said, a little excited at the rare opportunity to drive.

She stayed a long way behind Caleb. Although he was driving at a crawl, he wasn’t having an easy time, the car juddering along and constantly trying to veer off the road. She was terrified that something would go wrong and the wheel bracket would snap and he’d flip the car or something.

She followed him back to the junction with the highway. He turned onto another small road that she hadn’t noticed before and they stopped in front of a big, black space. There was no moon, or street lighting, and all she could see was darkness. Caleb put his phone torch on and walked into the space. She rummaged in the glove box and the side pockets of the car, checking that there was nothing of hers in there, and then she got out of the car and ran after him.

“What’s this?” she said.

“Ravenna Lake, apparently. And right now, it’s frozen, but hopefully the ice isn’t too thick.” She gasped.

“We’re going to dump the car in there?”

“I think it’s the best thing to do. Unless you’ve got any better ideas?”

“It seems like a waste of a beautiful car. But we could never sell it, because it’d be dangerous for whoever bought it. And if we abandon it, it’s going to make it way easier for Kurt’s moronic friends to figure out what’s happened to him. So, yeah. I agree.”

“Sure? I mean, it’s officially your car now.” She nodded.

“Let’s do it.”

Caleb rolled the car up to the water’s edge, and then they both pushed it from behind. As soon as it hit the ice, it moved smoothly, and the momentum kept it going for a good 20 feet before rolling to a stop. They watched tensely.

“What if the ice doesn’t break?” she said.

“I’ll have to go get it,” he replied, through gritted teeth. 

The ice didn’t break.

“Damn,” Caleb said softly. “I’ll go bring it back.”

“Caleb, no!” she yelled, but it was too late; he was already running out to the car. As he reached it there was a loud creak. Her heart thudded. It could mean only one thing. The front of the car dipped. “Come back!” she screamed in terror. He turned towards her, and at the same moment, the car lurched forward and the back wheels lifted. A big sheet of ice see-sawed up in front of Caleb and he began to tip back towards the car. He jumped, taking a huge leap over the jagged edge and back towards the shore. Paige whimpered, willing the ice not to break in front of him. He landed in a roll, got to his feet and skidded to the water’s edge, just as the car nose-dived into the water, completely submerging in seconds.

“Whew, that was close. I almost had to swim back!” he said cheerfully. Then he saw her stricken face. “Hey, it’s ok,” he said, pulling her close and enfolding her in his arms. “It’s ok. I’m here. I wouldn’t have left you. I’m here to protect you. Forever.” She looked up at him, stunned.

“Do you mean that?” she said, gazing into his incredible blue eyes.

“Of course. You’re my mate, Paige. I knew it from the first time I saw you. I would never force myself on you, but I’m really hoping that you feel the same way too. I can’t imagine not being with you. I want to spend my life looking after you and making you happy, and making sure that you never suffer any unhappiness ever again.”

“Oh, Caleb, I feel the same,” she breathed. “I just want to be with you.”

He took her hand and led her to the car.

“Then let’s go!” he said.

Back in the car, he looked at the map on his phone.

“I really don’t feel like going back to the hotel tonight after everything that’s happened. And it’s only another couple of hours to Green Fields from here. I suggest we spend the night there, and then deal with the car tomorrow. How about it?”

“Sounds great!” she replied.

Calm washed over Caleb as they drove along the quiet highway. He’d found his mate. She wasn’t hurt, and Kurt and his car were gone for good.

“Caleb?” Paige said. He turned his head to look at her, and instead of ducking away from his gaze as she had so far, she looked at him openly, her clear gray eyes intelligent and strong. His bear rumbled with desire. He wanted her so badly. He couldn’t wait to be alone with her – just the two of them, with no odious ex-boyfriend on their trail – and take her to bed and claim her for his own.

“What is it, honey?”

“How did you know that Kurt would get a flat tire so you’d have time to shift and run after us?” He grinned.

“I might have given him that flat in the gas station parking lot.”

“That’s what you were doing down by the side of the car!”

“Yup.”

“And why did you wait until Kurt shifted until you fought him?” He shrugged.

“I had to fight him as an animal. Otherwise it would’ve been unfair.” She smiled.

“You’re a real decent guy, Caleb.”

“I try to be. Although, he was enough to stretch the limits of anyone’s decency.” She was quiet for a few beats, staring out at the snowy darkness.

“I’m embarrassed that I chose him as my partner. I was really naïve.”

“Hey, we all make mistakes.”

“I was young and stupid and he made me feel special at first. But I quickly realized that it was all show.”

“I won’t hurt you ever, Paige. I hope you know that,” he said. Her full, soft lips parted in a dazzling grin.

“I do know that, Caleb. You’ve already proven that by risking your life to ensure my safety.”

“Your safety is my main priority,” he said, and he stopped himself before he said too much and scared her away. He had to remind himself that she’d only known him for two days, although it already felt like forever.

“Hey, I just remembered something!” Instinctively, he tensed, but her tone was light.

“What’s that?”

“I managed to rescue some cash from the glove box of Kurt’s car. Quite a lot of cash, actually.”

“How much?”

“I don’t know.” She pulled an envelope out of her purse. It was stuffed with money. “Oh my god. They’re hundreds.” She counted them out. “$21,700! Wow!” Caleb whistled.

“Nice.”

“That’s going to help me get back on my feet. To be honest, I was kind of worried about my financial situation,” she said, her voice full of relief. He was reminded of the $4000 of his that the hotel owner was holding on to. Without it, he was down to his last $1,000. But he’d be ok. At the worst, his cousin could lend him some.

They continued chatting as they drove. He loved the way that Paige opened up to him now that she was no longer on edge. She had an amazing sense of humor and made him laugh constantly.

He was almost disappointed when they saw the sign for Green Fields, signifying that the journey was nearly over. They turned off the highway and followed the road into the town. At the end of the road was a beautiful hotel which looked like a giant log cabin. It had a Christmas tree outside and twinkling lights at the windows.

“Wow, that’s like the hotel of my dreams,” Paige breathed.

“Let’s stay there tonight,” he said spontaneously.

“What, really? Isn’t your cousin expecting you?” He was, but Caleb badly wanted to spend some more time alone with Paige.

“No, I’m a day early,” he said. They exchanged a long look, in no doubt what sharing a hotel room would mean. His bear scrabbled at his insides, inciting him to do whatever it took to mate her. He shushed it up. “And he’s pretty laid back about when I arrive.” She looked at the hotel wistfully. “Looks like it has a spa,” he said. She laughed. He stopped the car. Then he reached across and took her hand in his own. “Paige, we can stay with my cousin if you prefer, but I would really like to spend the night with you here. I don’t expect anything from you at all; we can have separate rooms. But I’d love to spend some time hanging out with you, and getting to know each other better. How does that sound?”

“It sounds fantastic,” she said immediately. She squeezed his hand tight and leaned towards him, and suddenly they were kissing again. He couldn’t even tell who’d made the first move. It was as if they were magnetically connected to one another, and all he was aware of was the incredible softness of her lips, and the way her tongue danced into his mouth. His bear purred and rumbled, urging him on, and it took a supreme effort not to run his hands all over her. She was so beautiful and sexy. And it was just too much. He pulled away laughing.

“I think we’d better go check in,” he said. He drove the car into the lot.

“What kind of room would you like?” the front desk clerk asked them in a kindly voice.

“Uh –” he looked at the list of options, tongue-tied. Should he suggest adjoining rooms again, so that Paige wouldn’t feel pressured?

“Are you a relative of Jake?” the clerk cut in.

“Yeah, he’s my cousin,” he replied, surprised. “How did you know?”

“Oh you look like one of us,” she said with a wink. “And seeing as you’re family, we can offer you our penthouse suite for the same price of a regular room.”

“Wow! That would be great. Thanks!” he replied. “Oh, is that okay with you, Paige?”

“You bet!” she said, and a quick glance at her reassured him that she was genuinely happy with the arrangement.

“My pleasure,” the clerk said. “I’m Marlene, by the way. A second cousin of Jake.” Caleb introduced himself and Paige.

“Have a great stay,” she said to them both.

Paige shrieked with delight as they opened the door to the room. There was a super-king-size bed, and a sunken circular bath in the room. The ceiling was made of glass, with retractable blinds; the walls were decorated with wooden panels, and rugs and throws scattered around added a cozy, homely touch.

“I guess this’ll do for one night,” she said.

“Not too shabby, huh?” Caleb replied. They dropped their bags on a chair and then they stood, looking at each other shyly. 

“Are you hungry?” she asked. For maybe the first time in his life, he actually wasn’t. His bear had other things on its mind.

“I guess. I mean, if you want to have dinner now, I can certainly join you.” She bit her lip.

“I’m not so hungry either. I was thinking I might lay down for a while first.”

“Oh, would you like me to leave you while you take a nap?” he said, taking a step towards the door. Her lips parted, but she didn’t speak immediately, as if she was figuring out what to say.

“Well, I was thinking that you might want to lay down with me.” Although her voice was hesitant, she held his gaze with her lovely eyes, her chin jutted forward a little.

“Do you – do you mean –?” he stuttered. She moved close to him, wrapped her arms around his middle and raised herself on tiptoes, her full lips pouting. With a groan of desire, he dipped his head and kissed her hard on the mouth. As she returned his kiss, he bent down, grasped her thighs in his huge hands and lifted her right up, so her legs wrapped around his waist. His bear growled and clawed at his insides.
Take her now
, it urged him. He intended to. Holding her ass in his hands, like two ripe peaches, he carried her over to the bed and deposited her on the big, feather bed. She looked up at him, her expression vulnerable, and her eyes dark with desire. He climbed on top of her, aware how small she was in comparison to him. They kissed again, increasingly hungrily. As he explored her mouth with his tongue, she sucked on it softly, and made little sighs and moans. Her hands slid underneath his shirt and ran up and down his back. As her nails chafed his skin, he lost control of his bear. He snatched at the buttons of her shirt, unfastening it all the way, and ripped it off her. But the sight of her bra made him pause, stunned. It was made from cherry-colored lace, and it was very sexy, supporting her big, beautiful breasts perfectly. The hard nubs of her nipples were just visible beneath the semi-transparent lace, and the sight of them made his cock twitch. His bear tried to take control of his body, make him rip the bra off, but he forced it back. He wanted to take his time with this gorgeous woman. She was his mate, and he wanted their first mating to be special for both of them.

“Beautiful underwear,” he murmured, tracing his finger along the top edge of the bra, feeling how incredibly soft her skin was.

“It’s my one indulgence,” she said. “I was always forced to wear such drab clothes that I made up for it by wearing great lingerie.” That made sense. He’d been wondering whether her frumpy clothes were her own choice, or had been dictated by her douchebag ex-boyfriend. He dipped his head and licked her nipples through the fabric, trying to draw them into his mouth, and she moaned in pleasure. He picked up the sweet scent of her arousal, and it drove his desire further. His bear took control again, pulling at the zipper of her drab jeans, and sliding them right off her hips. Her panties matched her bra perfectly. They were also semi-transparent, and he purred at the sight of the blonde thatch of hair between her thighs. He gazed down at her, lying there in just her underwear, her deliciously ripe and curvy body ready to be taken by him, and for a moment he couldn’t believe that she was his. His bear huffed and scrabbled, wondering what was keeping him.

“You still have your clothes on,” she said with a sweet smirk.

“Oh –” he sat up to pull them off, and she came with him helping him, her small fingers deftly unfastening his buttons and zipper. Her eyes widened at the sight of him fully naked, and when she reached out and touched his cock, he almost came right there.

“If you keep doing that, I won’t be able to keep my animal under control,” he snarled through clenched teeth.

“I don’t want you to,” she replied. “I want you to take me as I’ve never been taken before. I want you to claim me as your own.” His bear roared. He couldn’t stop it, but the look on her face was pure delight. As he watched, she reached behind her back and snapped the clasp on her bra. She slid the straps off her shoulders and down her arms, and her soft creamy breasts were revealed to him. Her nipples were pale pink and begged to be sucked. He dipped his head to do just that.

“Wait,” she said sternly, stopping him in his tracks. She hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her panties and began to slide them down too. It was like she was doing a sexy striptease for him. His cock was so hard that he felt like it was about to burst.

At last, she was naked, nothing obstructing his view of her lovely body. With a growl of hunger, he pushed her thighs apart, and she didn’t resist him. He gazed at her pussy, so pink, pretty and open for him, her wetness running out of her, making her thighs slick and glistening.

He couldn’t hold back any longer. His body pulsed with the energy of his bear as he climbed on top of her and slid his big, thick cock into her small, slick pussy. He felt her muscles rippling around his shaft and she cried out, her eyes becoming very bright. As her nails raked his back he stopped moving.

“Is it too much, baby?” he asked.

“No, it’s amazing. I can take it. I want all of you, Caleb,” she replied in between pants. Slowly, he thrust the rest of his cock into her, until his pelvis made contact with her own. She was so tiny; he couldn’t believe that she could take all of him. Keeping his cock right where it was, he paused to cup her breasts, to lavish the attention on them that they deserved. When he drew a nipple into his mouth, she gasped, and placed a hand on the nape of his neck, pulling him closer. He moved from one to the other, luxuriating in their sweet hardness. For a while, she watched him, but then her hips began to wriggle and she incited him to move inside her. He raised his head and looked her in the eye.

“You want me to fuck you, baby?” he said.

“Yes,” she replied, her voice taut with need, and he felt her clenching around him. He pulled almost all the way out, and slid in again with excruciating slowness. She responded by digging her nails into his ass, wrapping her legs around his hips. He made a second and a third slow stroke, until he couldn’t restrain himself any longer, and he began to fuck her in earnest, pounding himself in and out of her sweet curvy body. At first, they kissed fiercely, her mouth soft and delicious and her tongue insistently twisting around his own. Then her breathing became too ragged for them to kiss, and he propped himself on his hands and watched her face as he penetrated her, her lips parting in ecstasy and her eyes glazed with lust. Spontaneously, he lifted one of her legs, raising it over his shoulder and stroking it as he slid in and out, and she cried out as his cock hit her at a new angle. 

His bear slid out of his control from time to time and he took her harder than he would have wanted to, his claws biting into her hips. It was pushing him to take her from behind, to mate her as a bear’s instinct demanded. Before he could stop himself, he pulled out of her and flipped her onto her front. He braced himself for her to be angry or offended to be taken in such an animalistic way, but she stayed up on all fours, and flashed him a coy look from over her shoulder. He purred at the sight of her, her lovely creamy ass displayed to him. He ran two fingers the length of her labia before spreading them a little. She was so pink and perfect, her wet pussy begging to be pierced by his cock. He held his cock in one hand, jerking himself off a little, while he dipped his head and tasted her. She gave a yip of surprise, and then she relaxed, arching her back to give him better access to her most tender places. She tasted like salted caramel, and smelled like spring and freshly-cut grass. He couldn’t get enough of her. He slipped his tongue inside her and flicked her little bud back and forth, and she buried her face in the pillow, moaning and sighing all the time. His cock surged in his hand. He plunged it into her again, and pleasure zipped through his brain as he filled her fully. Taking hold of her hips, he fucked her hard, his pelvis bumping against her ass.