by C. D. Gorri
“Oh, big plans?”
“Look, my mate just found out what she is. I think maybe she needs some comforting. It’s a big change for her,” he shrugged.
“And you want to reaffirm your mating. Ugh, just please don’t stay within range of my hearing Bear, or I swear you will never see another jar of my boysenberry jam!”
“I swear,” he grinned.
Was he blushing? Shit. He shook his head and filled the kettle.
“Where is Teresa?”
“She’s giving Thomas his bath. He slid on a bit of snow right into a muddy pile of leaves after you brought the dishes inside. The little scamp,” she laughed.
Her amber eyes glowed with her Owl and Oliver stopped what he was doing. He understood the animal inside her was sizing him up.
“You will do fine by her, Oliver, don’t worry. I’ll watch your cub.”
“Thank you, Jennifer.”
“Thomas is in his room,” Teresa walked into the kitchen and straight by his side.
He loved that part of her that recognized that he was where she belonged. So much so, he took advantage of it, wrapping her in his arms and nuzzling her neck. Her peaches and cream scent filled his nostrils and he felt his pulse race just being near her.
“He’s asking for you Jennifer, would you mind?”
It amazed him how quickly she’d changed her opinion on Jennifer. Some of it was his word that he trusted the Owl Shifter, the rest, he suspected, was her own Bear giving the woman the thumbs up.
“Actually, I was just telling Oliver he should take you for a little twilight stroll while I mind the cub,” Jennifer smiled.
The blasted woman stole his idea! Oliver rolled his eyes at her then squeezed his mate. She was looking at him curiously.
“Want to go for a walk with me, love?” he asked.
“Sure, but you don’t mind Jennifer?” Teresa asked.
“It would be my pleasure.”
“Great. Thank you,” Oliver said to Jennifer, then turned to his sweetly blushing mate, “give me a sec, love, then we can go.”
Chapter Eleven
Teresa spent the last day and a half marveling at the fact that she was not a monster. That the man she thought was her father had not injected her with some sort of demon like she’d suspected. She was in fact, a Shifter.
“Actually,” Oliver interrupted her thoughts, “demons are like Shifters too. A friend of mine, my producer, you met him at the hospital in fact. Anyway, Chance is the son of a luck Demon.”
“Did you just read my mind?” she asked in surprise.
“Uh, no love, you were talking out loud,” he looked at her strangely, and she closed her eyes in embarrassment.
That was a quirk of hers from years ago, thinking out loud. She’d only ever done it when she was with him. Would she ever not act the fool around this man?
Sigh.
“You’re not a fool, and you speak your mind because you know you can trust me. It’s an honor, sweet, one that I cherish,” he squeezed her hand as they neared the path that led to the cabin.
With Thomas back at the cabin safe and secure with the state of the art system Oliver had installed and with Jennifer with him, Teresa could relax and just enjoy being with him. Jennifer was actually quite nice, Teresa admitted reluctantly.
“Yeah,” Oliver agreed, “you got to know each other a little, right?” he asked.
“Yes. She is nice and I feel like we can trust her,” she said and allowed her Bear to rise up a bit to measure the truth in her words.
There was no doubt, only trust. Good, she sighed with relief. She had the oddest sensation of completion whenever she allowed her, she-Bear to come out even just a little.
That is because we are one, two sides of one person, the voice she’d feared for so long spoke inside of her mind, and instead of being scared, Teresa felt only joy.
“I know, it can be overwhelming meeting your animal spirit for the first time,” Jennifer had said kindly earlier that afternoon. She’d handed Teresa a mug of herbal tea and a napkin.
Hell, Teresa hadn’t even been aware that she’d been crying. She blotted her cheeks and eyes and smiled at the woman whom she now thought of as a friend. The Sow inside of her grumbled gently and she knew she did right in trusting Jennifer. The following snort was one she recognized as her Bear expressing happiness.
“Shall we chat? Get to know each other and your circumstances a bit?” Jennifer had offered over tea, “you know I have only ever been a friend to Oliver. He’s gotten quite the reputation as a grumpy old Bear in your absence,” the woman laughed.
“Now, don’t growl,” Jennifer mock scolded and Teresa cut off the sound.
“Sorry,” she said, “this is all so new, and yet it feels perfect. Like I have been missing something my whole life, some piece of myself, and I guess that make sense, because I have.”
“Yes, and now you have your Bear, your cub, and your mate in one place. She is going to push you to mark him, you know.”
“Yes, my, uh, hormones seem to already be a little out of control when it comes to my Ollie,” she felt her cheeks burn with embarrassment at her familiar use of the nickname she’d called him years ago.
“Ollie, huh? Well, don’t be shy now, dear. We are, all of us here, dual-natured spirits with primordial instincts, supernatural powers, and real actual animals living inside of us. Mating is serious business, and an unclaimed fated mate is fiercely coveted by his or her significant other or others.”
“Others?”
“Why, yes, some Shifters have multiple partners in a mating. It is accepted as tradition and sometimes expected in Packs or Clans where a Triad rules.”
“Really?” she’d giggled at the scandalous thought, but then her Bear assured her it was quite natural.
“Oh my, you are positively delightful, the Fates and Oliver have chosen well for him. You will be good together,” Jennifer, the wise Owl Shifter and Teresa’s newest friend, had stated matter-of-factly.
“Thanks, let’s just hope Ollie means it when he says he wants me for keeps. I don’t think I can let him go now,” she said and felt the truth in her words in her Bear’s grumbling response.
“You definitely don’t need to worry about that,” Jennifer reassured her.
The two had talked some more while Oliver finished preparing supper. He was handy in the kitchen she noted with glee as cooking was one of her most hated chores. She’d rather fold towels to be honest. Plus, he was good at it. The food was absolutely delicious. She never realized she loved fish so much.
“Bears like fish,” he smiled and winked at her which led her to believe she’d blurted some of her thoughts while they’d been walking along the woods aloud.
“Only a few, love,” he answered, “about the food though, my rather superior grilling skills aside, Bears do like a good fish.”
“Yes well, Thomas certainly had,” she giggled.
“Yes,” Oliver smiled, “I love him, you know. Something inside of me just lights up when I see him.”
“I can tell,” she said and meant it.
There was something about the usually serious and dignified Oliver Pax crawling around on all fours making silly faces at his barely two-year-old cub, that simply melted her heart. She enjoyed watching them as they chased each other and played together, getting to know one another over the past few days.
“You know Jennifer teased me about you being a keeper and all since you cook and clean too.”
“Oh yeah?”
“You’re not bad looking either,” Teresa shrugged.
“Is that so?” he snorted and she kept her face even while she pretended to look him up and down with a critical eye.
“You’ll do,” she bit back her grin.
“I see,” Oliver straightened to his full height and faced her.
Love swelled inside of her until she thought she would burst with it, but she kept her expression simple, except for the twitch at the corner of her mouth. The man w
as quick to spot it and he gave her a smoldering look that made her want to jump his bones.
Everything she had ever wanted her whole life was finally within her grasp. She just had to take it. Was she brave enough to grab onto happiness with both hands and never let go?
Teresa inhaled deeply, biting back tears. It was as if all her emotions were simply too much for her, they threatened to spill over and bubble out like those same tears that pricked her eyes.
She thought about the past two years and leaving Oliver. It had been the most difficult thing she’d ever had to do. Running to protect their son was a no brainer. Thank God it was all over now and the hard life she and Thomas had been living, was truly behind them now. Thomas would have a real home with parents who loved him.
Mate, her Bear pushed the thought at her and this time, she readily welcomed it.
Thomas had already accepted Oliver with that wonderful perseverance, flexibility, and endurance all children had and adults could only dream of. Before they’d left, she’d kissed his head and said she’d loved him to which he’d answered back that he loved Mommy and Daddy.
She’d seen the way the matter of fact statement had touched Oliver. The big Grizzly had nearly teared up. She could still hear the echoes of Thomas’ laughter and the car sounds he made while racing the red toy car against the blue one, his parents temporarily forgotten as he played with Jennifer. It had made both of them smile all the way down the lane and into the woods.
Their cub was a good boy. He deserved this chance to have a real family. She’d moved him around so much in his young life. She had no idea how good it would feel to be back here for the both of them. To be home with Oliver. Her mate and Thomas’ father.
She cursed her own stupidity for believing her lying, scheming, violent pretend father. The idea that Witherspoon Tech was out there and still searching for her scared the crap out of Teresa. But, and it was a big but, she finally understood why Mathias Witherspoon wanted to keep her away from the man she loved. Pure and simple malice.
He wanted to keep you from your true inner strength. To keep you apart from me. I am your strength, I am the other half to your soul. We are one, her Bear spoke to her, supplying answers to questions she hadn’t even asked. Rage like she never felt before towards her parent filled her hard and fast.
Grrr.
Teresa closed her eyes and pushed the beast back down. She didn’t want to be filled with hate. Not now, not ever. Thomas deserved better than that from her, so did Oliver.
Mate. Claim. Mine, her Bear chuffed.
She opened her eyes and walked alongside her mate. Perhaps with a little luck and some patience, she would find out what being mates really meant for them both. She had no doubts in her mind that together they would be stronger, better, happier than she’d ever been alone.
Together, they would be a family.
Yes, agreed her Bear, good plan.
Chapter Twelve
Using the rucksack Teresa had found in the back of his closet the day before, Oliver had stuffed an oversized throw blanket inside, a couple of stainless-steel tumblers, and a vintage bottle of red wine he’d been saving for a special occasion.
He had thought to celebrate the finished version of Where Beauty Lives alone with this bottle, but this was so much better. It might not be the most planned out evening, but it would be perfect.
Mate, Oliver’s Bear grumbled inside of him, anxious and impatient to get started. If all went well, he would re-claim his sweet Teresa under the stars this very night. Nerves danced along his spine and butterflies turned into fighter jets inside his stomach.
He was as nervous as a green cub. His Bear chuffed and snorted, laughing at his human side. Then he got serious, the Grizzly inside of him demanded that he do everything in his power to not fuck this up.
Oliver was full on board with that plan. Teresa was his now and forever. He just needed to prove to them both that he was a worthy mate, his beast a perfect match for the breathtaking beauty.
“What’s in the bag?” she asked as they wandered through the cooling evening air.
“A little surprise. Come on, I want to show you someplace special.”
“Oh,” she lifted her jade green eyes to his and smiled coyly.
Her stunning beauty always seemed to take him by surprise, leaving him dumfounded and void of all reason. Not that it should’ve. He had spent countless hours studying the angles and curves that made up his ever-lovelier mate.
Oliver had written music and lyrics in award-winning shows based solely on the color of her soulful eyes and the tempting way her top lip jutted out, only slightly larger than the lower. Peaches and cream wasn’t just her scent, it was her coloring too. Glorious golden haired with pale skin that pinked up in various shades depending on what she was feeling.
When in the throes of passion, that blush travelled down her cheeks to her sweet, supple breast, all the way to her inner thighs. He licked his lips at the memory. She was in a word, superb.
And now he knew what he’d been missing the past two years. He understood why his work never seemed to satisfy him. Oliver had been missing his muse. He’d been missing Teresa.
“What?” she asked and he realized he’d stopped walking.
“Nothing. Well, not nothing. You’re beautiful, you know,” he stated.
“Ollie,” she rolled her eyes, and he took lead.
Taking her hand he tugged her gently along and she followed him through the thicket of low standing trees. Just a few more feet, and he would be at his favorite spot in all of Indian Lake.
Way up high, a few dozen feet on the flat top of an enormous bolder that jutted out over the edge of the water was Oliver Pax’s special place. He stood for a moment with her hand in his and just looked. This place was unique. It was close to his heart and he had never brought another living soul there before.
The air was crisp and cool as night softly fell all around them. The water glittered as tiny ripples made by fish and other animals stopping to drink broke the otherwise still waters. Those tiny breaks reflected the silvery moonlight. Like bits of broken silver, he thought.
It was breathtaking, beautiful, but it was nothing compared to her. Oliver removed the blanket from the rucksack and laid it across the hard stone. He took her hand and helped her to sit watching with interest as the long skirt slid up, revealing her long shapely legs.
She’d changed into a loose flowing dress that reached her ankles. It had short ruffles for sleeves the left her arms bare. Looking down he noted with approval a pair of flat sandals that slid easily off her dainty feet.
Tiny yellow flowers danced across the navy fabric of the dress. It draped across her splendid curves, molding to each dip and swell perfectly. It made his mouth water with wanting her, and his beast grunted in agreement.
“It’s so quiet here. Still and perfect,” Teresa murmured and laid her cheek across her knee as she watched the moon slowly climb higher in the near black skies.
Night fell quickly and Oliver had never felt so in tune with the elements as he did just then. Stars sparkled in the dark, velvety blanket that was the sky. They seemed to weave magic into the air as they looked down on Oliver and his mate from the heavens. He popped the cork on the bottle of Merlot he’d brought, and watched Teresa turn and gasp in delight.
“You brought wine?”
“Yes,” he grinned at her surprise and he poured the dark red liquid into two metal tumblers.
He’d received a dozen of the polished gifts from Terrence to keep him and the rest of their circle of friends from constantly breaking glasses with their supernatural strength. As it was, they’d managed to dent only three of the set so far. He’d left those back at the cabin. He handed one unblemished cup to Teresa and his Bear growled lowly as their fingers brushed.
Mine. The animal inside of him longed to reconnect with her. Despite the fact they’d made love several times already, his beast wanted to re-claim his once lost beauty. For good this time.
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Soon, he told his Bear.
“This is wonderful,” she sighed, and sipped the fragrant liquid, “I love red wine.”
“I remember,” he slid behind her, opening his legs so that she could lean back against his chest.
“I used to only be able to buy the cheap stuff though,” he shrugged.
“It was perfect then, and it is now,” she said and he felt her heart beating rapidly right alongside his, “because of you, Oliver.”
She set her cup down and turned in his arms. Kneeling between his legs, she reached up and pulled him to her. Oliver went without a fight. For her, he would do anything. Submit, give in, relinquish all control over his ordered life.
He would give her everything if he could just keep her. The best thing was, she asked for nothing except his love in return. That he would give her without hesitation.
“Need you, Ollie,” she moaned into his mouth, and he readily allowed her entrance.
Her tongue twined with his, stirring up passion and long lost memories of nights spent entwined in his arms back in his tiny apartment in Brooklyn Heights. How he’d loved this woman!
Yes, he’d cursed her for leaving him, even as he’d yearned for her on those long lonely nights when he’d had no one to share the successes of his career, no one to simply hold in the coldness, to ward off the dark, and make his beast calm. But now, she was here, with him, and he and his Bear were positively elated to have her once more in his life.
Their kiss grew deeper and more urgent as Teresa tugged his sweatshirt over his head. He hissed as she raked her nails down his chest, kissing away the hurt with those maddening bee stung lips.
“Resa,” he growled her name and changed position.
Laying her out on the blanket, he lifted her head and placed his sweatshirt beneath it as a makeshift pillow. Oliver leaned over her, inhaling her peaches and cream scent, swallowing it down as he soon would the very essence of that particular flavor from its sweetest core.
“Mine,” he kissed her pretty mouth, undoing the buttons of her soft flowy dress one at a time.