by Olivia Myers
“Well, it’s a pretty easy explanation. Your mother worked for our family, she died young, and we watched out for you. I moved out when you were a kid. I came home after my parents died, and we fell in love. No extra details required,” Leo told her. “I find sticking to the basis of the truth the best. No need to go into legal details.”
“Makes sense,” Krista said and smiled. “I do love you.”
“And I love you. I am glad I came home for Christmas.” He was more than glad—it was the best thing he’d ever done.
Krista smiled at him and then jumped when the buzzer on the stove went off. “Oh, the cookies. I almost forgot!”
“You promised me a couple cookies, don’t forget that!” Leo told her as she grabbed a mitt off the counter and took the cookies out of the oven to cool.
“I will make sure you get a couple. I need to get these packaged up on paper plates and plastic wrap. Let me text Moira and let her know these are ready whenever she wants to come get them. I want to tell her the news in person. If she goes home and tells her dad, they need time to draw up the paperwork with their lawyer.” Pausing for a moment, she tilted her head to look at him. “You’re sure you’re okay with just up and changing your life so drastically and starting over from scratch?”
“With you? Absolutely. I may be a bear, but that doesn’t mean I can’t change my den every winter or when there’s a nicer den somewhere else.”
“If you say so.” Krista chuckled; she didn’t always get his animal references, but she went with it. Made sense. He was a bear shifter, after all. “Random question, since I’m a human. Will our children be shifters?”
“It’s possible, and it’s more likely they would be than not. Why?” Leo tried to reach for a cookie and Krista slapped his hand again.
“Stop trying to steal cookies! I told you I’d save you a couple.” She couldn’t help but laugh at the pout on his face. He looked so innocent, it was hard to be irritated with him. “And, I was just curious since I’m human, if we were to have kids if they’d be like me or like you. I like you, so I’m fine with it.”
“Well, that’s good, I like you too.” Leo told her and kissed her. This time it was o peck on the cheek, but a full-on, open-mouthed kiss. She moaned as he stroked his tongue against hers. Just when she seemed to be getting into it, he pulled away with a smile. “Now can I have a cookie?”
“Okay, fine, you can have a cookie.” Krista said and handed him one, smiling as he ate it. “But I want payback later.”
“Oh, you’ll get it.” He kissed her again and put his arm around her waist and rested his chin on the top of her head as he cradled her against him. “I’m looking forward to this. I think I missed home cooked food the most.”
“Well, I like to cook.” Krista grinned. “So, I promise to keep you well fed.”
“My kinda girl.” Leo told her. “When does the toy drive start?”
“I have to leave in about half an hour. Moira’s supposed to show up soon, to get these cookies for Tom.”
“Need any help loading up the truck?” He planned to go with her—no way was he letting her out of his sight now that they’d finally come to a decision about their future.
“Sure, let me just finish this—”
She was interrupted by an earsplitting crash out by the barn. Leo frowned. Something smelled off, now that he was paying attention. It had been overpowered by the cookies, but he opened the window—
“Gasoline,” he said. “Get out of the house, Krista. Now.”
***
A pulse of fear went through Krista at the alarm in Leo’s voice. Already he was tossing off his shirt and running for the door. What was happening with the barn, and why did he want her out of the house? A fire?
She wouldn’t question him—she trusted him completely. Turning off the oven, she followed him out. He was a bear already, his fur a dark brown, almost black. He barreled toward the barn like a cannon ball. Flames were already licking at the sides of the barn. The toys, for all those children! She started toward the barn, thinking maybe there was time to save some of the packages.
But there were people gathered around the drive, standing at a pick-up truck, holding shotguns. She recognized Cory Boyd. Leo ran around the barn, out of their sight.
Krista ducked, too.
“Come on out, woman!” Boyd called. “You and your brother are an abomination and it is time for you to pay the price!”
He must have overheard her talking to Moira at the diner. She should have been more careful. She could only imagine what a double whammy that must have seemed to him. He already hadn’t liked her because she was black, but now she was together with a white man, and he was her adoptive brother. Someone like Boyd would have hated that.
She bit her hand to keep focused. It didn’t matter what his reasons were. People like him would always find some kind of excuse to terrorize people they thought were different. Didn’t matter what they believed—hurting others just wasn’t right.
“Is that a bear?” someone shouted.
A shot rang out.
No. They couldn’t go after Leo. Krista started forward. She’d stop them, provide a distraction, and save Leo.
Another car was coming down the drive, the headlights still far off, but it stopped. Moira.
For a moment, everything seemed to pause, as Leo, as a bear, leaped out from behind the barn. One of Boyd’s friends took aim and fired, and the bear tumbled to the ground before scrambling up again. Krista followed him around the back of the house, but she could hear the men shouting, following after them.
And then, blessedly, sirens. Moira must have called 9-1-1. She would have seen the fire at the barn, and she would have called.
The more immediate problem was Leo. She knew he’d been hit. She also knew that following an injured bear—shifter or otherwise—was extremely dangerous. But if he needed help, she couldn’t stay away. He was hers, everything about him. They’d just agreed to stay together.
Voices echoed from the front of the building as Krista approached the bear. It was resting against the back of the house, licking at blood which ran darkly against its dark fur.
“Police! Freeze, and lower your weapons to the ground!”
She heard sounds of guns being set down, and muffled curses from Cory Boyd and his pals.
“Leo?” she asked quietly.
The bear was hunched over, still licking its wound, and Krista approached slowly. “Leo, I want to help you.”
Suddenly the bear jumped and lunged toward her. She stifled a shriek—she didn’t want the police to come around and see Leo. Even now, her thoughts were on saving him. The bear raised a paw as if to take a swipe at her. She fell to the grass and scooted backward, but the bear stopped before swinging.
Slowly, it changed back into Leo. “Krista?”
She jumped up and rushed him. “Are you okay?”
“Other than being naked and shot, yeah, I’m fine.”
“This is the police,” a loud female voice shouted. “I’m coming around the house. If you are armed, lower your weapons to the ground.”
“I’m not armed!” Krista shouted. “I’ll need an ambulance, though—Leo’s been shot!” He’d need a doctor for his injuries. Thankfully, blood work and hospitalization wouldn’t be a problem. Shifters were governed by magic, so no one would be able to tell that Leo had extra abilities—his secret would be safe even if the hospital looked into his blood for some reason.
Leo moved his arm and winced as blood slowly leaked from the wound. He also looked cold.
“Go inside and get some pants,” she whispered. “I’ll deal with the police.”
***
The firefighters had been able to put out the barn fire enough that the structure was sound, although it would need some fixing up. Although some of the presents got a little bit wet, none of them had burned, and Krista and Moira had delivered them together that night while Leo got patched up at the hospital. Krista hadn’t wanted to leave hi
s side, but he’d insisted. “Those kids need your love and attention tonight, babe,” he’d said. “I’ve got you for the rest of our lives.”
“You ready to get out of this place?” Leo asked, smiling down at the paperwork they’d just signed.
Moira’s parents had bought the ranch, and with a portion of his business earnings, he and Krista had already found and purchased a new ranch farther north in Texas. Even though Boyd and his butthole friends had been jailed and were awaiting trial, he and Krista could move far away and live without the judgment of people knowing their past.
He watched her pack up the last of their Christmas decorations. She’d come out of Boyd’s attack with nothing more than a bruise from falling down when he’d nearly swiped at her. He still felt amazed that he hadn’t hurt her—but that amazement was explained easily. She was his mate. The only one for him. The only one that his bear would recognize just as much as he did.
He pulled her close for a searing, passionate kiss. He loved her, through and through.
THE END
Classically Exposed
Catherine awoke to a beautiful Saturday morning, her room flooded with warm light. She slept with the windows open, and the first breeze of the day bounced the sheer curtains around the walls. Catherine slipped out of bed and into her favorite robe, a pale pink, long sleeved satin piece she had bought for herself after she’d claimed her very first lover. She now donned it every time she went to search for another, and this morning she knew she’d find one walking below her bedroom’s private balcony.
Catherine had many lovers. Her slender frame, supple lips, blonde tresses and deep blue eyes were the stuff of any man’s wildest fantasies. She gave herself to them, willingly and completely, and almost all of them were spellbound from the moment they met her. But when she left them, Catherine knew she had received more pleasure from their encounter than any of them ever did.
And she loved every minute.
Catherine was an exhibitionist. Exhibitionist. The term always seemed so cold to her. It sounds like I’m some sort of performer, she thought. She never thought of herself as merely throwing her tits and ass in the faces of strangers. Ever since she was a teenager, Catherine loved to please. As a pretty cheerleader and homecoming queen, she played her high school role correctly and lost her virginity in one of those classic “backseat of the football player’s car” high school adventures. Her college years and her twenties were full of much of the same – casual date partners who made their best attempts to woo her to bed. She appreciated their attention and advances, but when the ritual took them to the bedroom, Catherine left feeling unfulfilled. Sex was just a physical act, and she knew that finding someone to climb on top of you was about the easiest feat a human could accomplish.
Basking now in the confidence of her early thirties, Catherine realized that she needed more – a mental connection that transcended the ordinary girl-meets-boy storyline every fairytale teaches people to want. Instead of being the hunted, Catherine decided to explore the art of seduction from a new angle. She began to research a fetish she had heard of but knew very little about: exhibitionism. “Streaking,” or running across public venues was something any kid growing up in the ’80s or ’90s had heard of. It always seemed to involve some lone man or woman leading a haphazard chase of cops and athletes in a stadium, eventually being tackled with a blanket and carted off to receive a fine or a night in a police holding tank. But in her research, Catherine discovered a different side to being naked in public. She visited forums and read blogs from women who told their own stories of exploration ranging from childhood games of “I’ll show you mine” to the sensual curiosity of the repressed wife. Within all of the different tales she read, there was a common thread: every single woman left her experience feeling powerful, appreciated, and sexier than ever before.
Soon after her dive into the world of exhibitionism, Catherine decided it was time to give it a try. She chose a Wednesday morning as her first day; the middle of the week was a busy one at the law office where she worked as a paralegal, with a lot of stuffy, unassuming lawyers and corporate clients darting in and out of boring meetings and depositions. After her shower she chose her outfit carefully: a white silk blouse and a charcoal gray skirt that hugged her hips. It took every ounce of courage to not reach for a thong from her dresser drawer. Instead of slipping one on, she pulled the skirt on over her thighs, letting the fabric caress her skin as she strode to her vanity to finish her makeup and hair. When she was done, her wavy blond tresses rested softly on her shoulders, framing a simple yet flawless makeup job of foundation, eyeliner, rouge, and rose-colored lipstick. Usually when Catherine dressed for work or a date, she just thought about making herself pretty. But as she gave herself one last look in her full-length mirror that morning, something was different. Before stepping out of her bedroom, Catherine was excited about the little secret she had under her skirt. She would walk by hundreds of people on her way to the office today; none of them realizing that there was only a thin piece of Italian cotton between them and her already-aching clit. It made her feel powerful and sexy all at the same time.
That first morning without underwear was full of discovery for Catherine. Every time she went to grab a cup of coffee from the break room or was pulled into a meeting to take notes, she couldn’t help but grin to herself. I can’t believe how great this feels, she thought. I’m practically naked, and no one has any idea! When she sat at her desk typing, Catherine spread her legs just wide enough to let a trickle of air slip over her pink pearl, tickling her and adding to the anticipation of what was to come. The morning soon led into the midday – lunchtime. She figured that her best opportunity would be now; there would be more than enough people to choose from, and the courtyard behind the office building was the perfect place to catch some sun … and begin a new experience.
Catherine grabbed a book from her desk and headed outside. The courtyard was a common area for all the businesses in her office building. On a pretty day you could find dozens of lawyers, accountants, and therapists quietly eating or reading. She found a bench underneath a tree near a long walking path, with another empty bench directly across from it. She settled down and began to “read” her book – that is, she held the book in front of her face and sneaked sly smiles to the men and women who passed her. They all returned a smile, but in a few of the passersby Catherine could see something else behind their eyes. It was as if they could see past the façade she was putting up. Are they here to play as well?
Catherine’s mind raced with the possibilities, until an attractive accountant sat across from her with his lunch. She had seen him before in the elevator and in the courtyard, and they had exchanged pleasantries about the weather or their mutual wish for the weekend to arrive sooner rather than later. He pulled out his cell phone and began to browse the web, looking up to give her the usual smile hello. When their eyes locked, Catherine knew that he was the one.
“Hey you,” she said coyly. It was right then that she realized she’d never learned his name. Good, she thought. That will make this even hotter.
“Hey yourself,” the handsome accountant replied. “So good to get out of there on a nice day like this.”
“No kidding,” Catherine responded. “It’s so perfect out here today. I’m just happy I picked this outfit instead of the pantsuit I almost put on.”
The accountant smiled slyly, his eyes drinking in every inch of her. Catherine did her best to avoid noticing though; she didn’t want him to stop. Jesus, it’s like he’s undressing me with his eyes already. “Well,” he finally said after what seemed like an eternity. “If you’re as comfortable as you are pretty in that, then I bet you’re one happy girl.”
Catherine responded with a shy giggle. She knew from the stories she’d read that this was the moment she was waiting for: she had him engaged and comfortable in his masculinity. Whenever she and the accountant encountered one another before, Catherine was content with playing the role of
the demure lady, being taken with a dashing man, but now it was time to turn the tables. She took a deep breath, found all of her courage, and in the sultriest voice her nervous body could muster said, “I’m even more comfortable when I don’t wear some things.”
The accountant seemed to catch on quicker than Catherine anticipated. His eyes flashed with that excitement that comes across the face of someone who is about to live out a fantasy. “Oh yeah,” he said. “I can imagine that.”
Now, Catherine thought. It’s now or never. She uncrossed her legs and sat with her knees together. She then looked across the path to the accountant, looking for one more sign that he wanted what she was ready to give. He looked right into her eyes and slowly nodded. Catherine parted her knees slowly, once again welcoming the tickle of the warm air, feeling it creep up her thighs as she spread her legs wider and wider. She continued to lock eyes with the accountant, but as she continued to open up his eyes lowered and she threw her head back. At that moment, an intense, electric jolt rushed over Catherine – it felt like an adrenaline rush and an orgasm were happening at the same time. Now that she wasn’t looking at him, the experience was even better; she didn’t need to see him. There was a peculiar and strong energy that she felt from him. She could feel how much he wanted her, and his frustration in knowing that at that moment, he could not have her. Catherine had all the power; as long as she had him spellbound, he cared about nothing else but her.
The seconds went by like minutes, and after what felt like an hour, Catherine lifted her head up and closed her legs. She smiled at the accountant – who could do very little to hide the nearly twitching bulge in his slim-fitting trousers, closed her book, and stood up. As she walked away, Catherine turned over her shoulder to get one more glance of gratitude from her lover. She was not disappointed. “Let’s hope this weather keeps up,” she called back over her shoulder. “It always puts me in the best mood.”