The Bear Claw Tales- Complete Series

by C. D. Gorri

  “Of course not. I, uh, noticed it was that time, uh-” he looked pale and a little embarrassed and Krissy laughed.

  “You saw my tampons? Is that what you’re trying to say?”

  “Um, if you need anything, I’d be happy to go get it for you-”

  “I am fine, Taylor. I’ve done this before,” she rolled her eyes. It was sweet, but unnecessary. And this was Taylor. He’d never worried about this before, so why now?

  “Yeah, of course. Sorry. Look, I, uh, wanted to apologize you know, for-”

  “For beating up your long-lost brother while I was having a drink with him?” She supplied.

  “No, for behaving like an outrageous asshole when I should have just told you how beautiful you looked that night,” he admitted.

  Well, damn, Krissy sat speechless as he leaned across the seat and dropped a lingering kiss on her cheek.

  “Have a good weekend, Dimples.”

  Chapter 9

  The weekend crawled by, but Krissy was feeling delightfully refreshed as she slid back into her routine. She sighed as she answered emails and returned phone calls. Surprisingly, Taylor had filled in for her beautifully.

  He even watered her plants and tidied her desk. And she couldn’t be sure if he simply left it there or got it for her, but there was a package of her favorite peppermint gum next to her keyboard and a new box of tissues. Hmm.

  Bear Claw Bakery really was her home away from home. She’d noticed the looks she’d received from the bakers and the staff in the storefront when she’d arrived earlier that day.

  Her hair was back to being curly, but the platinum tips still looked cute, especially hanging down her back in a low ponytail. She wore an old pair of jeans.

  However, instead of her usual flannel top, Krissy wore a low-cut tank top that stopped right above her belly button. The dark pink color showed off her tanned skin and clung to her curves in a way that made her feel decidedly feminine.

  Her jeans were soft and well worn. They hung low on her hips and hugged her ass in all the right places. She realized for the first time that morning that sure, she was a bigger girl, but she looked damn good.

  She was tired of hiding because society exploited skinny women as the norm and made curvy women feel inadequate. Krissy was done with all of that negativity. She felt good about herself. And it was going up to eighty damned degrees that afternoon.

  Spring in New Jersey was a fickle season. Cold nights and mornings, hot afternoons, and occasionally monsoon like rains. Still, she loved her home state.

  Humming while she worked, she managed to clean up the mess Taylor had made of her files within two hours. Satisfied with her progress, she decided on a quick break. An impressive businessman and Keeper he may be, but organized he was not.

  Her stomach rumbled. Whoa! It was almost time to go home. She looked at her phone and smiled. Luisa was due back from medical school any day now. It would be nice to have her younger sister home again.

  Even though she would be starting her residency at St. Francis Hospital almost immediately. Still, at least she’d be living home again. Krissy called it a day, shutting down her computer and leaving the office. It was the first time she’d done so before the storefront closed in ages!

  “Just the woman I wanted to see!”

  Nate Cordoza ambled into the bakery with the swagger of a man in very high spirits. Krissy couldn’t help but return his infectious smile. He was quickly becoming one of her favorite people. In a strictly platonic way.

  “What’s up, Nate?”

  “I’ve got the best idea! Look, are you off now?”

  “Actually, I was just on my way home a bit early today, but I was going to grab a cream claw and a cup of coffee first. Would you like one?”

  “Uh, yeah, sure! I’ll grab us a table, I want to show you something,” he gestured to his tablet and Krissy nodded before heading over to pour them both some fresh brewed coffee.

  Bear Claw Bakery prided itself on the fact that a fresh pot was brewed every thirty minutes regardless of the time. They preferred to make small batches during off hours, while during their peak times they filled huge thermal jugs that lined the counter with no less than four varieties for their customers.

  Using only fair trade and organic ingredients, Bear Claw Bakery strived to achieve the best tastes at reasonable prices. Most normals loved the stuff, but it was really the supernatural world that kept them in the black.

  Because of their extremely astute senses, Shifters preferred all things natural, non-GMO, and organic. Chemical preservatives and iffy manufacturing of foods in modern society were a real turn off to Weres or Shifters who were more in tune with their animalistic natures.

  Krissy inhaled the rich, fragrant brew as she grabbed a couple of cream claws out of the display case. She added a few napkins to her pile then joined Nate at the table. His dark eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw the enormous pastry, she placed in front of him.

  “What is that, woman?”

  “That is our exclusive cream claw. We take the delicate flaky traditional bear claw, with all the almond filling and the little shaved bits of almonds and coarse sugar on top, then we slice that baby right in half, like a sandwich, and we pipe in our homemade vanilla bean pastry cream, then we add a drizzle of locally sourced honey and, voila, cream claw!”

  “That’s it! Woman, you are marrying me!”

  Nate was gazing at the pastry with pure adoration while Krissy laughed out loud. Neither one of them noticed the angry glare of the big blonde man who’d just walked in.

  “Shuddup,” she laughed, and play swatted his hand away when he went to grab her fingers with his mock proposal.

  “I mean it, Krissy, this is amazing!”

  “Alright, now will you please tell me what it is you wanted?” Krissy bit onto the pastry and moaned with delight. It really was that good.

  “Yes,” Nate said with a mouth full of cream claw, “Mmm. This is awesome! Anyway, it’s about my designs. I have a great idea.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “Yeah! Come home with me? We’ll have dinner and I can show you what I need you to do.”

  “Okay, but I’m going to go home and shower first,” she continued.

  “No need, you look great. Besides this is the look I need to get down!”

  “What? Sweaty after work mess is the look you need?” She laughed.

  Nate joined her at first, then broke into an explanation on how the avatar he was creating with her in mind was an Ursine warrior. He needed to draw her in various states of exertion.

  “So, you do want me sweaty?”

  “My favorite look on a beautiful woman,” he winked.

  It was Nate’s turn to laugh. They continued their playful banter until a huge noise erupted from behind where Krissy and Nate were sitting. They turned to spot Taylor standing just a few feet away. The Bear Shifter was shaking in his fury. The chair he’d been holding onto cracked beneath his grip.

  His emerald eyes glowed with his beast and Krissy knew his Bear was close. Oh crap. Now what? She only hoped he wasn’t going to freak out the way he did at the bar. Thank goodness they were the only customers. Suddenly, he took off like a rocket to the back of the bakery.

  “Um, excuse me, Nate. Look, I’ll meet you at the Den in a little while, okay?”

  “Sure,” Nate said and gave her a sad little smile.

  It took her a few minutes to locate Taylor, but the wind carried his fresh cut grass scent to her nostrils. She inhaled and followed his path. A trail of ripped clothes littered the woods and she gathered them into a pile.

  He must have really been riled up to have torn through his clothing. That was unlike Taylor. Usually calm and sophisticated. He never Changed into his Bear on the fly like that. Krissy was completely baffled. Since when did he go off in a snit?

  “Taylor? Taylor!”

  She called out his name. He’d definitely come this way. She brushed aside a few branches and inhaled the
musky scent of his Bear. Why was he hiding from her?

  “Taylor? Look, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but, well, I have to go,” conflicted she turned away. Should she follow him?

  No. She told Nate she’d go model for him, and she planned on keeping her word. Taylor was a big boy. If he wanted to talk to her, he could find her. She frowned as she headed back to her office to gather her things.

  A few minutes later Taylor exhaled slowly and walked out of the woods. His Change was swift as usual, but it left him panting. What the fucking fuck? Hiding from her. That was your big answer to my new brother asking her out?

  He couldn’t believe his Bear! Why the hell would the animal cower like that? He could take Nate! He knew he could.

  Our mate doesn’t need more jealousy. He paused as he listened to his beast. The Bear was right. Fuck. He tugged on his shirt and replayed the events that sent him scurrying into the woods like a fucking cub.

  He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but he couldn’t help it. He was a freaking Bear! At first, he thought Nate had proposed to her, then he mentioned wanting her sweaty, and Taylor almost lost his hold on his Bear right there in the bakery! Thank the gods, it was near closing and there weren’t any customers.

  He knew he needed space, so he’d jogged through the back of the store to his favorite spot in the woods. After tearing through his clothing, he took off. And she followed him. His sweet, beautiful Dimples had come running after him. His Bear had wanted to roar with happiness, but he held it in. And he just watched.

  She used her ursine senses to sniff out the trail he’d used. Damn, she came oh-so-close to seeing him, but he held himself still behind the den of a red fox, using the animal’s odor to mask his presence.

  She looked good enough to eat. Her pink tank top clung to her curves and her jeans dipped low to reveal that sexy little pair of dimples on her lower back. He’d nicknamed her years ago for the sweet little dimple on the side of her lips, but he was thrilled to learn that wasn’t her only one.

  Seeing those two little indents damn near killed him. He wanted to run his hands over them, test their depth. Trace them with his mouth. Fuck. Taylor growled and rubbed a hand over his face.

  And he wanted to tear the eyes out of everyone else who’d seen them. My Dimples! What the hell was happening to him? He’d never been the type to have serious ideas about a girl or woman.

  Hell, even in high school he’d never dated one girl. He had multiple girlfriends at a time. Transparent in all his relationships, he’d never made a secret of his man-whoring ways.

  Shifters hated lying. Seeing as how they could usually sniff out a lie, they were discouraged practically from infancy from lying. Taylor never lied to a woman he dated or slept with. He even encouraged them to see other people.

  Jealousy had never been a problem for him before. And yet, the last few times he’d seen Krissy talking with Nate, talking, mind you, to his brother for crying out loud, he’d wanted to commit murder.

  Ever since the night at the bar, flashes of her piercing hazel eyes and her voluptuous body haunted him day and night. She had him literally on his knees! He was ready and willing to beg her for just a taste! Fuck. I am so royally screwed.

  His Bear roared in his head and Taylor grimaced. Okay. So he didn’t actually feel screwed. Truth was, he felt kind of good about it. Settled. Right on the inside.

  She was the one then. His fated mate. He was finally ready to accept it.

  Unfortunately for him, she fucking hated his guts at the moment. Only had friendship to offer him and probably wouldn’t believe a word out of his mouth if he tried to tell her how he felt.

  Fucking fuck.

  Chapter 10

  “It’s just this way,” Krissy led Nate down the trail behind the Den to Lake Ursa.

  They took a blanket, a couple of pizzas, and a six pack of cold beer with them. A sort of impromptu picnic.

  “There are a few of these cabins dotting the shore. All of it belongs to the Devlin’s. The entire property is more than fifteen miles of forest, lake included,” Krissy announced as Nate opened the thin blanket for them to sit on.

  The sun was still visible, and it was warm enough. Being Shifters, they usually ran a little hotter than normals.

  “So, tell me more about this avatar you’re creating after me,” she grinned and helped herself to a slice of pizza. Sausage with hot cherry peppers. Yum.

  “Well, look, I mean it’s not the Mona Lisa. I make avatars for gamers, you know,” Nate shrugged and took a swig from the bottle of craft IPA he’d brought for them. It was obvious to her that he was uncomfortable talking about himself.

  “You know, I happened to spend a few hours last night logged on to WolfMoon and I noticed dozens of avatars created by N. Cordoza.”

  “You didn’t,” he sat there, mouth open with a bite of pizza inside and she laughed.

  “Yes, I did. Whatever you want to call it, Nate, you are an artist.”

  His ears deepened in color to a dark red. Awe, shucks. The big, bad Bear Shifter was blushing at her mild praise! Imagine that!

  “Uh, thanks. Your character is a female ursine warrior. There’s been a demand for more female roles, and I’ve been slowly building their available character log. Of course, players can customize their avatars with thing like specialized weapons, clothing, hair and eye color,” he mumbled and looked around, not quite meeting her eyes.

  She smiled again, totally at ease with Nate. If only her Bear sat up and took notice with him like she did with his annoying half-brother. Oh, Taylor.

  Krissy was pretty much resigned to the fact that she and Taylor were a non-item. This newfound tendency to freak out on her was only because she’d developed a tentative friendship with Nate. She was positive he had no real or lasting interest. After all, she’d been around for years and he’d never noticed her before.

  The party. Her inner sow insisted, but Krissy shut the thought down. The office party had been a fluke. A total one-off. If she really thought about it, she’d initiated that disastrous kiss. Lucky for her, he’d chalked it up to too much alcohol and never mentioned it again.

  She’d be mortified if Taylor knew how she really felt. Krissy mastered the art of hiding her feelings pretty early in life. This was no different. She turned back to the conversation and realized she’d missed something.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “I asked if it would be okay to draw you now?”

  “Oh, um, sure. How do you want me?”

  “Um, can you stand up over there, near the water, and, uh, I need you to strip down to your underwear,” his ears were red again.

  Nudity was usually no biggie for Shifters. Clearly, Nate thought otherwise. She shrugged and stood up unzipping her pants as she went. She had no problem with her body, not really anyway. It is what it is, she thought to herself.

  She was tall and big as, well, as a Bear. She smiled at her own self-deprecating joke as she pushed her jeans past her hips and down her legs. Krissy was glad she’d taken the time that morning to shave. That was the one thing about being a female Shifter she’d always hated.

  Hairiness was not sexy on women. Especially women who lived by a damn lake! After a brief trial with laser hair removal, she realized whatever made Shifters excellent healers, also carried over to hair follicles. Ugh.

  So, daily shaving would have to be it for now. Although, she had heard of a new salon in Maccon City that was supposedly opening soon. It was owned by the Morrigan herself! Hmm.

  White Witches weren’t common in the area, but if her friends from the Macconwood Pack trusted the woman, Krissy was certainly going to give her a try once she opened her doors. She tucked away the info for later.

  Nate cleared his throat and looked her over with an artist’s eye and appreciation before he bent to his sketchpad. She inhaled and thanked the gods again for her good taste in underwear. Nothing fancy, mind you, just a plain pink t-shirt bra and matching bikini cut panties. But still.


  “So, I’m gonna use some charcoals first, then I’ll move on to ink, and eventually, to my tablet,” he explained as his hand moved furiously across the pad.

  “So, do I do anything?”

  “Um, not yet, you’re fine for now.”

  He didn’t talk while he drew. The quiet would probably bother some, but not Krissy. She rarely got moments of peace. This was almost like being alone, so quiet and serene.

  She stood near the water for a while then stretched and sat down with Nate’s approval. He asked her to change position a few times to sketch her from the back.

  “Okay, I need some points of reference for movement. Would you mind?”

  “Um, no. So like running? Lifting?”

  “Yeah, and uh, if you wouldn’t mind, shifting?”

  Krissy considered for a moment. She must have realized when he’d first asked about her posing for his ursine warrior that she’d have to Shift.

  Werebears and other weres did it all the time in front of one another. It simply wasn’t considered good manners to watch, and he was asking to do just that.

  “I know it’s not customary, but it’s for art, I swear Krissy,” his Texas drawl seemed to come out more when he was embarrassed.

  “No, uh, I get it, okay just give me a second,” Krissy inhaled.

  Was she really going to strip down in front of Nate? He was practically a stranger. And yet, she felt completely at ease with him. He was funny and honest. Her nose would have sniffed out if he was a liar.

  She liked him. That was true, but there hadn’t been anything sexual between them since that night at the bar. Even that was more playful than heated, she realized. Nate was sort of comfortable to be around. Friendly even. Almost brotherly.

  “Okay, I’ll do it,” Krissy announced to Nate’s obvious pleasure.

  “Great! Whenever you’re ready.”

  Without any qualms, Krissy stripped down to her skin. The warm spring air still held a bite of crispness with the setting sun and she shivered in delight. It felt good to be outside. She spent so much time in the office, she sometimes forgot how much she enjoyed being in nature’s loving arms.