Bearly Christmas

by Becca Fanning

  “No, you just want a mate. I can’t be that. I don’t want to be stuck at home with kids, and cooking. I’m a doctor.”

  “Melanie. You’re delusional. I have nothing but supported you. You just can’t get it through your thick skull that not every man is your dad. You’re so hell-bent on proving him wrong that you’re going to piss away your life just to prove your point. I can’t do this anymore Melanie. You called me today. You wanted me here. Now, you’re pushing me right back out the door. That’s fine.”

  Melanie watched as Tye ran his fingers through his hair, and paced the floor in her parents living room. She knew she was hurting him, and she really didn’t have a good reason why. She wanted him, he was right about that. She wanted to let him love her. She had a plan though, and this wasn’t part of it. It was best for both of them. She needed to focus on her internship, and passing her boards. Tye was definitely a distraction.

  “Tye, I asked you over here today as a friend. I didn’t know all of this would happen. I just knew my dad was having Ethan come over to try and push him on me. I thought with you here, that he’d lay off me.”

  “So you used me. You had no intentions of exploring a relationship with me, but you asked me over here on a holiday to meet your family. You told me when we first met that you weren’t a nice person, and I see that now.”

  “Tye, that’s not fair. This is all really overwhelming.” Melanie tried to stop Tye from walking out the door. She didn’t want a relationship, but she didn’t want him to leave either. She stood back at that thought, and realized how selfish she was being.

  “Goodbye Melanie. I hope you get everything you’re wanting out of life.” With that Tye was gone. Melanie couldn’t do anything but collapse onto the couch. She should run after him. She should just be honest with herself. She should do a lot of things, but she just sat there.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Tye

  Tye didn’t return to the internship. Instead he cleared out his apartment, and found a place back in his Haven. The internship looked good on a resume, but he wasn’t sure he could face Melanie after Thanksgiving. He wondered how she felt about him not returning. It had been almost a month since she would have gone back.

  He tried not to think about her, and move on with his life. He still had his boards to study for, and he was shadowing a local family doctor at a nearby town. He was so glad he came home. He loved the family practice he was working at, and was hoping to one day open his own. He loved having his fellow Shifters all around so he didn’t have to constantly fumble about.

  He just wished that Melanie was with him. He wanted her to want to be with him. Christmas was in a couple of days, and he desperately wished he could give her the gift he bought her. He wanted to kiss her, and hold her in his arms so he could inhale her scent.

  A knock sounded at his door that brought him out of his depressing thoughts.

  “Hey Tye! It’s Jake.”

  Tye opened the door for his baby brother. Jake was probably one of the biggest reasons Tye had moved home. Jake was just a couple years younger, but he was the wild child. He was constantly getting in to trouble, and giving their parents grey hair.

  “What’s up man?”

  “Nothing. I was just stopping by. I wanted to see if you were going to the fights tonight?”

  “I hadn’t planned on it.” Tye thought for a second. He hadn’t needed to fight that much lately since he wasn’t constantly cooped up in the human cities. However, his bear was restless without Melanie so he had, had to go and fight a couple times.

  “Come on man. I’m fighting Bunner tonight, and I really want you to come. I hear there’s a new jaguar in town looking for a fight too.” Tye perked up at the mention of a new jaguar. He figured it was Ethan, but he wanted to be sure. Maybe he had been around Melanie, and could give Tye some insider information.

  “Yeah I’ll come down. When are you headed that way?”

  “Well if you wanna grab something to eat first we could go ahead down.”

  “Mable’s Diner?” Tye loved the small local diner just outside of the Haven that allowed Shifters inside. Everything was homemade, and the portions were big enough to fill up even the hungriest Kodiak bear.

  “I suppose. You love that place man. If you ever quit going there, she’s going to have to close down.”

  Tye laughed, and ran off to change clothes. He also wanted to grab a bottle of his Thistledew Farm honey. He could pour about half a bottle over Maple’s fresh biscuits, and forget about his troubles for a bit.

  The brothers made quick work of their dinner, and headed over to the Brew. Jake took off once he saw that Bunner was there too so they could get a ring. Jake was arrogant, and so was the Bunner kid so Tye figured they’d end up being pretty evenly matched.

  Tye kept moving through the crowds looking for Ethan. He wasn’t sure why he was so anxious to find him. Melanie had showed nothing but disdain for the idea of being with Ethan, but Tye had to be sure. His bear was getting more and more anxious as the crowd thickened, and more Shifters fought. By the time he finally found Ethan his bear was itching for someone to piss him off.

  “Ethan. Glad to see you finally decided to join your own kind.”

  “Tye. Hey man it’s good to see you. Melanie said this was your Haven so I was hoping to find you here.”

  “Melanie?”

  “She’s not here. I called her to see if she could help me get in touch with you, and she said she hadn’t seen you but figured you were here.”

  “I see. So what can I do for you.”

  “Well after you bailed on Thanksgiving my dad told me about my real parents. The real story, and I took off not long after. I’m just kind of trying to adjust to all of this, and thought I’d do better in a Haven. I’ve always known I was a Shifter, but I guess I just thought I was different. I just want to be myself now, and not have to feel like an outsider all the time.”

  “And you’re hoping that you can crash mine since we’ve been introduced.”

  “Kinda.” Tye could tell Ethan wanted to say more. He blushed a little, and was having trouble meeting Tye’s gaze.

  “You also need a place to crash too don’t you?”

  Ethan chirped up at that. “Please?”

  “I supposed. One condition. How is Melanie doing?”

  “I’m not sure we haven’t stayed in touch since Thanksgiving other than me calling her the other day. Her mom is worried about her though. She sounded pretty rough on the phone too. You guys break up?”

  “Yeah something like that.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Melanie

  Melanie paced back and forth in her apartment. It was Christmas Day, and she was supposed to be at her parents’ house. She didn’t want to go there though. Unfortunately, the only place she wanted to be she wasn’t real sure she’d be welcome. She missed Tye. She never dreamed he’d drop out of the internship, and take off without a word. She had been selfish though, and she knew that had he stuck around she would have continued her hot and cold treatment towards him.

  She loaded her car up, and headed west on the highway. When the exit came up for her to either go north or south on the local state highway she pulled off the side of the road. She was so tired of trying to please her father. She would never be what he wanted her to be. Tye however had not only showed her how much he loved her for her, but he had told her time and time again. Her decision was made. She headed south.

  She still had about an hour to go when snow started pouring down. It figured that this would be the first white Christmas they would have in years. Melanie slowed down slightly, but she was desperate to get to Tye. Thankful for her SUV Melanie pulled into the entrance of the Haven just a little over an hour later. The snow hadn’t slowed at all, and there were several inches of fresh beautiful white powder. The entrance was decorated for Christmas with beautiful lights, and garland wrapped all the way up the giant poles. There was a giant set of bells that hung overhead as she pull
ed through. The bar had been easy enough to find the first night, but she had no idea where Tye lived.

  All the houses were decorated as well. Shifters really knew how to get in the spirit. Humans were so busy in the city that there was barely a house with any lights at all. These houses had giant blow up Santa’s, and snowmen in the yard along with enough lights to make it visible from space. Melanie loved every inch of it.

  With the new snow families were starting to venture outside, and kids were running and playing everywhere. Some of them were in their shifter form which made the sight even more beautiful. Melanie had just pulled up to a stop sign, and was going to ask for directions when she saw a jaguar dart out in front of her. Somehow she knew that it was Ethan. He nodded at her, and then took off down the street. She hoped he was taking her to Tye so she inched her SUV forward to follow.

  When Ethan finally stopped and sat down at the door of a beautiful ranch style home nestled in the back of a cul-de-sac Melanie felt her stomach drop to her feet. She pulled in the driveway and parked. Ethan bounded back down the road leaving her alone. She got out of the car, and slowly made her way to the front of the house. The snow continued to pour as she stood there trying to work up the nerve to go to the door and knock.

  The door opened then, and Tye stepped out. He was as gorgeous as she remembered. He had a dark grey sweater on that hugged his broad shoulders, and yet somehow still manage to narrow with his hips. His jeans were low and snug in all the right places.

  “Melanie.” He drew her name out with his deep rumble. Melanie let it wash over her whole body. She had made the right decision. Even with the snow pouring down she was warm all over now.

  “I love you, Tye.”

  She hadn’t meant to blurt it out like that. She started to giggle uncontrollably at how crazy she must seem to him.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh; you must think I’m crazy.”

  “I don’t think you’re crazy.” Tye was making his way down to her. His dark skin tone, and burly dark hair made him seem almost majestic against all the snow around them.

  “You’re beautiful.” She whispered.

  “I’ve missed you.” He responded to her when he stopped just in front of her. If she would take a half a step forward they would be touching.

  “I’ve missed you too Tye. I’m so sorry for the way I acted.”

  “Are you sure about this.”

  Melanie knew he was giving her one last chance to run. One last chance to turn her back on him and flee. She was tired of running though. She wanted to wake up wrapped in his arms every day for the rest of her life. She wanted to learn how to be a mate, his mate.

  “I love you Tye. I’ve never really been more sure of anything else in my life.”

  With that Tye was everywhere. His lips were on hers, and his arms were wrapped around her pulling her as close to him as she could be. She opened her mouth to his, and let all of her passion flow into the kiss. She wanted to make him feel how much she loved him. How sorry she was. The kiss was frantic and passionate at the same time. The snow continued to pour, and somewhere behind them there was the faint sound of Christmas carolers singing Silent Night.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Tye lifted her up, and walked her into his house. He never set her down as he wove his way through the house to his room. Melanie sunk her head into the crook of his neck, and inhaled. He still smelled the same, like honey and the outdoors.

  When Tye laid her down on the bed he stood back and raked his eyes over her body. He started at the top, and slowly went down her body. His gaze was hot, and her body felt burned by his desire. She sat up and removed her coat and sweater.

  Tye didn’t need any more encouragement. He was on top of her covering her with his body. Their kisses turned into moans. Somehow Tye had managed to get Melanie unclothed the rest of the way, and was now standing up undressing himself. All the breath left her lungs at the site of him naked in front of her. He was beautiful. His skin seemed to be deep bronze everywhere, and he had little brown curly hair all over his body. She reached up and ran her fingers through his chest hair, and down his stomach. Every part of him was hard.

  Tye sucked in a breath, and grabbed her hand before she could go farther. He took his place on top of her again, and brought his mouth down on hers. He started planting hot kisses down her neck, and across her collarbone. Melanie was desperate to have his mouth on her breasts, and she arched her back hoping to hurry him along. He wouldn’t be hurried though he kissed, licked and sucked his way all over her neck, shoulders and stomach before he finally took her nipple into his mouth.

  Melanie almost came off the bed. Her moan filled the room, and aroused Tye’s senses. Tye growled in response, and set his hand to the task of arousing the other nipple. He spent equal time teasing and tasting to the point where Melanie was sure she was on the brink of climaxing.

  The clumsy Tye from the coffee shop was gone. Here Tye was in control. This was his domain, and she was his most prized possession.

  “Tye! Please!” She begged him. For what she wasn’t really sure.

  “What do you want Melanie? Tell me.” Melanie opened her eyes, and found Tye’s desire filled eyes.

  “You Tye. Just you. Please, we’ve waited so long.”

  “That we have Melanie.”

  Tye came back up, and kissed her again. His hands ran the length of her body; stopping to grip her hips, and squeeze her thigh. He finally brushed his fingers where she needed them most. Her gasp filed the air, and urged Tye on. Her response was fuel to the fire. He took her mouth again, while his fingers eased inside of her slick folds. She dug her fingers into his shoulders as he continued to torment her. He knew just wear to touch, and how much pressure to exert.

  Tye couldn’t hold himself back any more. He was desperate to claim her for his mate in every way. She was writhing in her arms, wet, and ready for him. All for him. His bear wasn’t allowing him to hold back any longer.

  He spread her legs, and moved his hips in position. He lifted her hips, and finally slid himself in.

  “Dear Goddess. You feel better than I ever could have imagined.”

  Melanie’s only response was a long moan.

  “Look at me Melanie.”

  She urged her heavy lids open to find his beautiful golden eyes glowing down at her.

  “You’re mine forever. This not only seals us physically, but emotionally. I will never let you go.”

  She nodded, and grabbed his face to pull him to her for another soul penetrating kiss. Tye mimicked the rhythm with his hips. He tried to keep the pace slow so that they could savor their union. Melanie was having none of it though. She met each of his thrusts with her own. She made the most sensual noses deep in her throat that sent Tye over the edge.

  He growled deep, and held on to her hips tight as he climbed high for his climax. Melanie finally clinched him tight and yelled his name. With one final thrust they both rode out the waves of their climaxes together.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Tye

  Tye was content to lay in his bed with Melanie curled up against him all night. The carolers outside reminded him that it was Christmas Day, and his mother was expecting him. He also wanted to give Melanie the gift he had bought her.

  “I got you something.” He kissed her on the cheek as he rolled himself out of bed.

  “Really? I got you something too.”