by J. K Harper
Beckett gave her a look, then uttered a disbelieving snort. "Tell you? If you know about shifters, then you know that it's kind of burned into our brains that we don't publicly talk about being shifters."
Most of the world didn't know shifters existed. Some shifters, like the wolf pack on the other side of the mountain, even had such crazy old rules about never telling humans that shifters existed that if they did, they'd have to kill the human they told. Bear shifters weren't that rigid about it. Even so, they didn't run around sharing the truth of their lives with most humans. That was a dangerous thing in this world that didn't know about shifters. Bad things could, and sometimes did, happen if the information got out. The humans living in Deep Hollow knew about shifters, of course. Half of them were mated to shifters anyway. But Pix wasn't from Deep Hollow.
She gave him another long look. Tendrils of hair blew out from beneath her fleece hat to swirl around her face, her braids bouncing on her shoulders.
"Wait a minute.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “You're not some kind of reporter or something, are you?"
But she was already shaking her head at him, a line slicing between her eyebrows. "No. Do I really look like a reporter to you? I just told you I'm an artist."
Beckett stared at her for another long minute. His bear wasn't insanely riled. He didn't feel the surge of growling and roaring that he would if she was lying. His bear was really good at telling when people were lying, since shifters could sense untruths pretty easily. "Sorry.” His voice was gruff. “We get suspicious here. We've had some bad shit happen with the outside world before. I didn't mean to accuse you of being some sort of spy here to out us."
Pix offered a sudden sigh. "It doesn't matter that much to me if you're a bear shifter. I just wanted to know if I was right." She half smiled. "I've always lived in big cities. We don't have many of the apex predators living in big cities, so I wasn't sure about you. But you sure look like a big bear to me.”
Beckett stared at her. “Apex predators? You sure as hell know your shifter lingo.” Then he felt something silly coming on. Despite the startling moment, she seemed to bring out the smile in him. “No big shifters in the big city. Huh. So do you guys just have chipmunk shifters or something like that back in Boston?”
Now she finally cracked up. That laughter rolled out of her again, open and free. The sexy vibe was still there between them too. The sort of vibe that was making the front of Beckett's pants kind of tight. He liked all of it.
"No, you big goof, we do not have chipmunk shifters in Boston. At least I don't think we do." She suddenly looked bemused.
Beckett started to laugh, for about the seventy-third time so far that day. Oddly, it felt fantastic. "You might. Most shifter groups stick to themselves. I'm pretty sure there's a shifter for just about every animal out there. But yeah, you're right.” He relaxed even more as he said out loud to her the truth she already knew. “I am a bear shifter. Grizzly bear. This is our home, here in Deep Hollow.” He jerked his hand out over the vast snowy landscape that spread out below them. “Got a couple other shifter types around here, but we're the main type. This is bear territory. So.” He eyeballed her. “How'd you learn so much about shifters if you don't have that many in Boston?"
She sighed, biting the inside of one lip. His gaze caught her little white teeth gnawing at that pretty pink lip. Man, what he wouldn't give for it to be his own lips touching hers. He lifted his eyes back up to her face. Very slowly, Pix pulled off one of her gloves and extended her bare hand out toward him. Beckett wanted to ask what she was doing, tell her to put her glove back on because it was too damn cold out here for temperature-sensitive little human hands, but he couldn't. His heart suddenly was thumping hard, tingles racing over his skin, and his dick was interested. Definitely interested. He was a horny bastard, that was for sure. For a second all he could think about was her pretty hand touching his dick, just like the caveman he was. Well, he lived alone in a cabin in the woods for a reason.
"Beckett." Her hand gently landed on his chest, her fingers splaying out as she pressed her palm into him. "I still haven't asked you my second question. Here it is."
As he watched her, the green lights flickering in her eyes seem to get a little brighter. "The second question to you is, how far do you want to take this?"
5
Beckett stared at her like she'd just asked if he'd marry her. The heat she could feel rising from him, even through the layers of clothing between her hand and his chest, seemed to intensify.
“What,” he said in that low rumble of a voice that set her on fire, “do you mean by that?”
Uncharacteristically flustered all of a sudden, Pix shook herself. She needed to focus. "I mean, how far do you want this to go right now? Through the evening and into the night?" Based on the smoldering attraction they'd had going on since the night before in the bar, she felt comfortable asking this. His eyes looked back and forth between hers, as if wondering if he would find a different answer in each one.
He startled her when he asked, "Why didn’t we start last night? The energy was there. We could both feel it."
That was an easy question. "Because I stopped doing that a long time ago," she said simply. "Picking up a random guy I just met and taking him home, then casting him out in the morning. I did tell you I actually managed to grow up a little bit in all my worldly years. Besides," she turned her head to glance back out at the mountains, "I needed to check up on you first. Just to be sure."
She could sense him bristle slightly. "Check up on me?"
"Of course. I had to know you’re not some psycho.” The deep knowing inside her that he was the safest guy she’d ever met flashed through her again. Her dragon hummed with satisfaction. Hmm. Interesting. “This is a small town, and you said you knew the Walkers. So Haley called someone she's gotten to know here in town and asked him about you. Cortez Walker."
At that, Beckett groaned. "What did that smartass have to say about me?"
"He said something about you being a grumpy ass old dick, but that you sure as hell aren't dangerous.” Then Pix grinned. “I think at first he thought Haley was asking for herself. He was kind of pissed about that. I think he's got a serious crush on my bestie. Or maybe more."
"Hmm," was all Beckett would say about that, but she thought he looked pleased. Ah, good. Haley was her best friend and deserved true happiness after all the shit she'd been through. Cortez seemed like he might be the right guy for Haley, and if Beckett thought the same, that was a positive sign.
Silence settled around them again. Pix kept her gaze trained out over the sprawl of snowy mountains that seemed to extend as far as the eye could see. It was so amazing out here. She found herself idly wondering how many of the local residents might buy her paintings. Sharply, she reined herself in. Nope. Not going there. She was a free spirit these days. Nothing was holding her back from moving on anywhere she wanted, anytime she wanted. Nothing kept her rooted anywhere. Not here, not anywhere. Not even stunning mountains, great ski runs, and a sexy guy she hadn't even kissed yet. Though she knew when they did, it would tingle her down to her toes and back. Deliberately, she faced Beckett again.
Oh, wow. His eyes glowed bright amber in the sunlight. It was his bear, stirring inside him. He was letting her see the real him. All of him. Her dragon stirred back, seeming very intrigued.
His words slow but deliberate and clear, Beckett said, "Yeah, Pix. I'd like this date to go on. As far as we both want it to go. I have to work this afternoon, but I want to take you out this evening. There's a fun event going on in town tonight, a midwinter tree-lighting thing. You probably already know about it."
Feeling slightly dazed by the magnetism of his eyes, Pix nodded. "Uh-huh. Haley's going to it with Cortez already and I got invited along. Though I'm pretty sure I'll be a third wheel."
Beckett shifted his weight from one muscled leg to the other. Geez, this guy was stouter than an oak tree. "You're coming with me. As my date.”
&nbs
p; The certainty in his voice caught at her breath. He definitely knew what he wanted. Mm-hmm. Oddly enough, it didn’t at all bother her like it would have from any male dragon shifter.
“Then afterward, I'd like to take you back to my place, which you know is safe since you checked up on me and all." Sudden mirth flashed into his eyes, although his expression remained deadly serious. "You'll stay with me all night long, beautiful. Because I can feel something sizzling between you and me, and it feels pretty fucking good. I want us to be able to spend time to explore that. Then in the morning…" Finally, he hesitated.
Quietly, Pix finished for him. "In the morning, we'll have a lingering goodbye, especially if it was a good night—"
"Oh, it'll be a good night." The deep, dark certainty in his voice shivered and danced through her entire body.
Well, then. Oh, my. Okay, then. Yes, please.
"Okay," she stumbled a bit, her thoughts stuck on short words. "Yes, okay. Ahem. Uh...” She paused to focus before she could go on like someone who could actually speak in complete sentences. “So in the morning, we'll say our goodbyes and move on. Because,” she paused again for a long moment. Letting her face soften, not taking her eyes from his, she finally plunged on, determined to be open with this man. This big, sexy bear who was turning her inside out and setting all her nerves on fire in the most delicious way. “Apparently you're also known as Bang 'Em Beckett, or so I hear.”
Oh, god. It sounded so stark, so mean, when she said it out loud. It was an awful, cruel nickname. But Pix hadn't gotten to this point in her life by shying away from things that should be discussed. She needed to know how he felt about it. If he wanted something as no-strings-attached as she did.
This time, the silence wasn't as comforting. When it lengthened into something that might border on uncomfortable, she carefully went on, "You said you wanted the questions to be real. I don't really do more than one night either, Beckett. And that's okay by you. Right?" She kept her eyes trained on his as she spoke.
Beckett's face was like granite. She couldn't read it at all. But his eyes flashed in anger. His bear was looming just beneath his skin. She could feel it. It was as if he had his animal barely under control. Dangerous.
Several more heartbeats passed before Beckett ground out, "Cortez didn't tell you about that. About what people call me."
She shook her head, caught by the way his pulse ticked beside his left eye. "No. He's your friend, and it's clear he thinks highly of you. It was some asshole at the bar last night who said it after you left. Pretty sure it was another bear shifter.”
Beckett stared at her again for another long moment. Anger simmered and coiled in him, seeming ready to boil out. Pix stood steady in the face of it. That crass nickname bothered him. Maybe even hurt him. But she wasn't afraid of his anger. It wasn't directed toward her and she knew it.
Finally, he snarled out, "He was right. I don't do more than one night, and I shouldn't even go that far with you. It's too dangerous. For you."
“Why?” she countered. She didn't take her eyes off his face. The brightness of the day harshly emphasized the stark conversation they were having.
"My bear," his voice hardened, "doesn't do well after spending too much time with anyone that way. So I made the rule that I just do one night. Also because I don't want to get serious and hurt someone by mistake.” He nailed her with those eyes. “I have a feeling you don't want to either, restless Pix."
Bam. Zinged right back. Restless Pix. Pix who didn’t do more than one night, either.
She felt her ears heat. A rueful smile crept onto her face. "Well, then. Now that I'm on the receiving end of the real questions, I have a little more sympathy for you being in the hot seat earlier."
He unexpectedly shot out, "I like you, Pix. You’re genuine, and fun, and interesting."
Wow. That was a surprise. A nice one. “I like you too, Beckett.”
They stared at each again for a long moment, just like when they’d met last night. The air between them swirled with promise, with excitement, with something deep and real Pix couldn’t look at more closely.
Feeling flustered again, she shoved her goggles back down on her face and pointed her skis downhill. "Okay then. If you have to go to work this afternoon, we'd better keep racing each other down. Because I want you to work as fast as you can, so we can get to our evening as quickly as possible. Our one, single evening together."
One evening with this sexy bear shifter who liked her, and that was all. That was all she could handle, and she knew he felt the same. Taking a breath, not waiting for his answer, she pushed off and swooped downhill, knowing a big, sexy grizzly bear shifter would be right behind her, chasing her all the way down.
And that felt completely, perfectly all right.
6
The sign on the way into Deep Hollow had said the total population was 1,276. Pix was willing to bet that about 1,271 of them were present at the town’s midwinter tree lighting ceremony. Okay, that wasn't possible because she was pretty sure that many bodies couldn't fit, but there definitely were more people crowded around the cute town square than she'd seen so far during her several days here. “Wow,” she said, impressed. Apparently small towns liked to turn out for things like this.
Next to her, Haley nodded. "Everyone loves the midwinter celebration, or so they all keep telling me. There also are a bunch of tourists here. Silvertip Lodge up on the mountain advertises it. It's one of their big draws this time of year."
Haley had told Pix about the lodge. It catered to an exclusively shifter clientele. Looking around the square, Pix had a hunch that well over half of the people here were shifters. It was true that back in Boston there weren't many of the big predator shifters like bears, so she didn't run into them that often. But she could recognize them, the same way she'd recognized Beckett as one. Their scent, their aura of something slightly dangerous and definitely big, whether male or female, gave them away. She was lucky her dragon didn't do the same. Flying under the radar was Pix's way of living ever since she’d left the dragon world behind, and she liked it that way.
Inside, her dragon rumbled and flamed in irritated little bursts. She'd been doing it off and on all day. The feeling was unsettling. Her dragon hadn't been this active for some time now, ever since Pix had hit the road and started her rambling life. It was as if she now responded to something like what Pix had left behind, with all her irritation and desire to shift and fly and flame.
Pix frowned. Tonight was about having fun, not thinking about her past. Hushing her own thoughts, she made a mental note to shift into her dragon soon and fly over the huge expanse of wild mountains. Aside from Haley, no one here knew she was a dragon shifter. Even so, she didn't neglect that side of herself. She loved being her dragon, even if she had no interest in being part of the restrictive dragon world. This place, she thought with delighted satisfaction as she looked around at everyone else here enjoying themselves in the cold night air, was much more her style. Relaxed, fun, and no one watching her to make sure she did the “right” thing.
Haley stood on one side of her, watching the activities with interest and a lot of happy laughter she shared with Cortez. Watching them together, it was very clear he was just as interested in Haley. On Pix’s other side stood the warm mountain of wildly hot man flesh that was Beckett. Oh, did she like feeling him there. He leaned into her more as the crowd pressed around them. Her entire left side was on fire from where their bodies touched. The town plaza was filled with enough people that everyone had to shove together, elbow to elbow.
"That's the town mayor coming up that ladder to the top of the tree." Beckett jerked his chin in the direction of the enormous tree in the middle of square. Pix turned her attention to it. A woman was climbing up the ladder as nimbly as a monkey, with what looked like a bulky messenger bag slung over her body. "She'll put the town star up on the very top, then signal the lighting crew down on the ground when the switch is ready to be flipped. The whole thing w
ill light up. It's pretty.” He grunted as if half embarrassed he'd just said that. “Then there's gonna be total madness as all the kids in town race forward to get the presents under the tree.
Pix frowned. She had noticed a ton of little munchkins in the crowd, all hopped up on hot cocoa and presumably general excitement about the activity. "Presents? Nobody told me about presents. Were we supposed to bring some for them?"
On Haley's other side, Cortez answered her. "Nah, townies take care of that. We supply all the cute little gifts under there. It's sort of like a second Christmas. But this is better, because nobody expects this kind of fun stuff at the end of January. That's why we started it about five years ago. Everyone loves it."
"Yeah, till they open up the dumbass little gifts you probably brought, Cortez." Beckett leaned forward to sling his insult around the two women standing between him and his best friend.
Cortez good-naturedly said to Haley, "Hey, tell your friend Pix to slug Beckett for me, would you?"
Haley laughed. Pix smiled at the sound of it. Haley hadn't really laughed in a long time. "I don't think she's trying to establish a fighting relationship with him."
"Huh, weird. Works for me. I've been slugging that big lug since we were kids." Cortez shrugged while Haley laughed again.
"Here." Pix look down to where Beckett pressed something warm against her hand. It was a thermos. "Hot chocolate, spiced up with something a little fiery. You can share it with Haley and that bozo down on the end if you feel like it."
Pix smiled so big her cheeks almost hurt. This was so much silly, easy fun. This adorable little town, smelling like pine trees, fresh snow, excited people milling everywhere, with her happy best friend and her friend's new potential love interest on one side and Beckett, mountain bear of a man Beckett, on her other side. It was just comfortable and—homey. She could get used to this.