by Sophie Stern
They make me feel better than I should.
And I wonder, briefly, what the hell is going to happen next.
Chapter 7
Meredith
This time, I’m the one in the clearing.
I’m standing in my wolf form, walking around ten minutes early because I can’t believe he’s giving me a second chance. I’m nervous, and my anxiety is through the roof, but it’s actually happening.
This is it.
Everything is going to be okay.
I can smell him before I see him, and I stop pacing. I sit perfectly still and close my eyes. This is it. This is the moment. The air seems to shift around me, and when I open my eyes, I see him in front of me: a bear. He’s wild and big and strong, and I love the way he seems to smile down at me.
Bears make me uncomfortable. They always have. I’m a pretty small wolf. I’m a normal wolf, by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m small compared to a bear. Somehow, though, being this close to Robert doesn’t seem to make me unhappy or uncomfortable.
In fact, I just feel excited.
He reaches to me with a paw and pats my head gently. Is this a gesture of friendship or something more? I’ve never done this before. I’ve never shifted with a guy I was interested in or tried meeting up with someone in my shifter form. The times that I’ve been in my wolf body with other people, it was for necessity. Either we were hunting or needed to get somewhere quickly.
I’ve never done anything like this.
Part of me really likes it.
There’s another part of me that wants to be playful. My wolf wants to run and joke around with this bear. I can’t speak in my wolf form, but I can howl, and so I do. My bear seems to be jostled, just a little, but when I turn to start running through the woods, he follows me.
And oh, we run.
We run together, moving through the trees. It feels good. He’s not chasing me. He’s just...coming with me. Following me. Somehow, I can feel him protecting me despite the fact that we aren’t speaking or talking right now.
And suddenly, I realize why Team Shifter actually works.
It works because sometimes, there’s more to a relationship than talking.
Sometimes, just being together really is good enough.
Sometimes, being peaceful with someone, and being near them, really is the most incredible thing of all.
We pass through a small clearing. He stops running and I stop, too, turning back to him. I see the bear. He stands up on his hinders and looks at me, and I realize that I want more.
I want him.
Now.
Here.
The grass is soft beneath my paws as I walk back to him. I move carefully through the grass, but then I start running. As I run toward him, I shift, changing back into my human form, and I launch myself into his arms. He shifts as I do and catches me easily in his human form.
It’s all very romantic and movie-esque. I wrap my legs around him and start kissing him fast.
“This was a better date than yesterday,” he chuckles, kissing me back.
“Shhh,” I murmur, because all I want right now is him. That’s it. No matter what happens between us next, no matter what directions our lives go in, I want him right now.
Sometimes, all we have is a moment, and I fully plan on seizing mine.
Robert smiles, but kisses me back, and then he deepens the kiss. I wrap my legs even more tightly around him, and he pulls me closer to himself. His hands are on my bottom, and then my breasts, and then everywhere all at once.
Generally speaking, I’m a little bit shy when it comes to men. I’m a little timid about having them touching me or playing with me or seeing me. I’m not the scrawniest shifter in Claw Valley and I’m definitely not the prettiest, but when I’m with Robert, somehow that just doesn’t seem to matter.
He touches me like he means it.
His lips are on my neck and then lower. He raises me up just a little, so my breasts are in his face, and then he kisses me there. He nips at me, biting and teasing my nipples, and even though I thought I couldn’t possibly get even more turned on, somehow it happens.
Shit.
I want him.
I want him so very much, and in so many ways.
He loosens his grip on me just a little, but I wiggle out of his arms and land on my feet.
“Meredith,” he starts to say, but I’m too far gone. I’m too aroused. I want too much. I drop to my knees and before he can say anything else, I start licking him. He tastes sweet and delicious and completely masculine, and I feel powerful when I take him into my mouth. This is the kind of moment that makes an ordinary girl feel like a total goddess.
This is the kind of moment that could change your life.
I reach for his bottom and pull him deeper into my throat, and then I just tease him. Robert is so damn hot, so delicious, and I want more of him.
I spread my legs and start touching myself as I play with him. My eyes are closed, but I can feel him watching me as I do this. I’m not embarrassed now. I’m not feeling shy. I’m certainly not feeling anxious. I’m just...feeling.
I’m just enjoying.
I’m just loving the way that I suddenly feel like the sexiest woman in the world, and I have him to thank for it.
Far too soon, he pulls away and drops to his knees beside me.
“Beautiful girl,” he murmurs, and he kisses me on the mouth. He nips at my lips and then pulls back. He glances between my legs where I’m still rubbing myself. “Let me help you with that,” he murmurs.
He kisses me again and this time, he reaches for my thigh. He slides his hand up, up, up, until it meets my own hand. I move my fingers and he takes over, touching me so very perfectly that suddenly, everything inside of me feels tight and wound up.
My entire world feels like it’s going to crash and explode at the very same time. Everything around me feels like it’s going to just catch on fire.
And then it does.
I close my eyes as my orgasm washes over me. Everything fades away: all of my loss, all of my frustration. All of my worries and concerns just float away as my body explodes in pleasure and contentment.
When I open my eyes again, Robert is still there. He reaches for me and pulls me into his arms. Then he kisses me.
“That was perfect,” he says.
Chapter 8
Robert
Seeing Meredith come apart was perhaps the most wonderful thing I’ve ever experienced, but it was also a bad idea. What the fuck was I thinking? It’s too fast, and it’s too soon, and we’ve only just met, but I couldn’t resist.
More importantly, perhaps: I didn’t want to resist.
I’ve been through a lot in my life, and jumping into a relationship? That wasn’t really on my to-do list when I moved to Claw Valley.
But when I’m with Meredith, and I’m touching her, something inside of me feels different.
Raw.
My bear loves her.
Hell, he craves her.
Seeing her in her wolf form was damn beautiful. It was something I didn’t even realize that I wanted until I was getting it up close. And now I don’t know how I can ever go back to the way things were before.
She wiggles on the grass and looks up at me.
“Robert?” She asks, reaching for me, but I’m not ready for more. Not just yet. Making her come was enough for me, at least this first time. I don’t want to reject her, but there’s a part of me that fully understands once we make love, I’m never going to want to let her go. I’m going to want to mate her, and I don’t know if that’s the right choice here.
“You’re beautiful,” I tell her.
“Come here,” she smiles, and tries again to pull me closer.
“You come to me,” I smile. I reach for her as I get to my feet, and I pull her to hers. She seems a little confused, but not hurt, and I wrap my arms around her. “You were perfect,” I tell her.
She raises an eyebrow.
“Are you done play
ing with me, Mr. Bear?”
“For now,” I press my lips to her cheek.
“Is everything okay?” Her brow furrows. “We didn’t...”
This is the part where I reject her and hope she doesn’t feel hurt or torn. I do not want to make Meredith feel bad in any way. I don’t want her to think that she’s not sexy or that she’s not enough or anything like that.
But I’m going to need some time.
And I’m going to need a little bit of patience from her.
Can she give me that?
“You were perfect,” I tell her again. I can’t emphasize this enough.
“What’s wrong?” She asks gently.
“I’m...”
How do I tell her this?
She was open with me about her fear. She told me about her mom. Am I ready to tell her about my own messy history, though?
Do I really want to tell her?
“I’m divorced,” I finally blurt out. There. That wasn’t so hard, was it?
“So?” She asks, not quite understanding what I’m trying to tell her. “Lots of people are divorced, Robert. I don’t mind.”
“It’s not that I think you’ll mind,” I tell her. “But I haven’t been with anyone since the divorce.”
It sounds a little embarrassing to say out loud. It makes me feel kind of weak, to be honest. What kind of man hasn’t bedded another woman just because he separated? But we were supposed to be life partners, Karen and I. Now that the divorce is final and we’ve gone our separate ways, it feels...
Well, it still feels a little uncomfortable.
“Oh,” Meredith’s eyes soften as she realizes what I’m trying to tell her.
“Yeah, so...”
“Hey,” she presses her hands to my chest and looks up at me. “No pressure, okay? We don’t have to do anything until you’re ready.”
I chuckle a little.
“What?”
“It’s just that usually, it’s the guy telling the girl that there’s no pressure.”
“It’s okay,” she shrugs. “We don’t have to be like all of those other couples.”
“I don’t want you to think there’s anything wrong with you,” I tell her. “I’m nervous about that.”
“It’s okay. It can’t be easy ending a relationship.”
“It’s not.”
“Can I ask you what happened?”
She’s still got her hands on my chest, and she’s still looking up at me like I’m a big, bad, wonderful bear. Meredith doesn’t seem hurt or scared by what I’m about to say. In fact, she just seems calm and gentle. It’s kind of an interesting thing. I’ve never had a woman just ask me what happened. Not that I’ve done a lot of dating since the divorce. I’ve done very little. The women I have dated, though, always seem morbidly curious about my past.
Maybe that’s why I never slept with any of them.
With Meredith, though, I feel like I can be honest.
Maybe it’s because she’s a bartender or maybe it’s because my inner-bear is screaming that she’s my mate – a feeling I’ve never experienced before, not even with my ex – but there’s something about her that makes me feel like I really can be honest.
“You know, we got married young.”
“That’ll do it,” she says. “You grow apart. You grow up differently. You realize you want different things.”
“Pretty much. We drifted apart and I really can’t pinpoint an exact moment when everything went to hell. I guess maybe it was during medical school. I was gone a lot and she was busy with her friends. After graduation, I thought our lives would naturally swing back together, but it didn’t happen.”
“So, you woke up one day and you were married to a stranger.”
“Kind of. We didn’t really have any bad blood toward each other. We just realized that we weren’t in love anymore.”
“So, who made the move to leave?” She asks gently.
“I finally did.”
“Good for you,” Meredith nods. “Standing up for yourself, and trying to move forward to a better future isn’t easy, no matter what anyone says.”
“That’s for sure.”
She rubs her hands over my chest and then smiles.
“So, you aren’t ready to fuck me,” she winks. “But are you ready for some dinner?”
My stomach growls in response, and I laugh.
“Famished.”
“My place? I make a mean delivery pizza.”
“Does that mean you can order pizza for us?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’m in.”
Chapter 9
Meredith
When we get back to my place, we order pizza. It’s amazing to me that despite being such a small town, there are two separate delivery places in Claw Valley. It’s kind of nice, actually. Even if I don’t feel like cooking, I have not one, but two different places I can go for food. This makes my life a whole lot easier. We sit down on the couch and he looks around my space.
“What?” I ask. Robert seems to be taking in everything. It’s a little unnerving, to be honest.
“Nothing.”
“It’s something,” I smile. “Most guys don’t spend a lot of time analyzing my wall hangings or carpet choices.”
“Your house feels very comfortable,” he says.
“You sound surprised.”
“I don’t usually feel at ease in other peoples’ homes.”
“How often are you in someone’s home, though?” I ask, turning toward him. I adjust myself so I’m sitting with one leg curled up under me and my elbow is on the back of the couch. My head is propped up in my chin, and I just look at him.
He’s so damn handsome and I don’t think he even realizes just how beautiful he is. He’s wearing work clothes because he came to the clearing just after work, apparently, but I managed to convince him to kick off his work shoes, so he’s at least in socks, which must be a little more comfortable.
“I used to do house calls,” he tells me.
“Before you moved here?”
“Yep.”
“What was that like?”
“It wasn’t as exciting as it sounds. I mostly visited sick kids whose parents didn’t want to have to transport them to a clinic or hospital where they could be exposed to additional germs. Especially for things like viruses, nobody wants their kids exposed to more sicknesses.”
“That’s kind of cool. I didn’t know doctors still made house calls.”
“I’d love to start something like that here,” he tells me.
“In Claw Valley? I bet there’s a market for it.”
“I wouldn’t charge anything extra. I would just do it because I like making sure people have access to medical care when they need it.”
“You’re an interesting fellow.”
“How so?”
“You just seem like you’re always thinking about other people,” I tell him.
“That’s a nice compliment.”
I shrug.
It’s the truth.
It’s not often that I meet people like him. Hell, scratch that. I never meet people like him. Not in Claw Valley.
“What about you?” He asks.
“What about me?”
“Do you spend a lot of time in other peoples’ houses?”
I laugh. What a weird question. That’s kind of what I like about Robert, though: he’s not afraid to ask me weird questions. He keeps me on my toes, and he keeps me curious. There’s so much to unpack in his questions. Perhaps most importantly, I feel comfortable with him. I feel at ease. These are things I don’t often feel around new people, especially men.
With him, though, it seems as though everything is just going to be fine. I don’t get the feeling that there’s very much I could say or do that would scare him off. After all, I blew off our first date and then tearfully confessed that I’m scared of outsiders because of what happened to my mom. You don’t get much more dramatic than that, but he doesn’t seem scar
ed.
“Not really,” I finally answer his question.
“Is it because you spend most of your time at the bar?”
“Bingo. When I’m not working, I’m reading or hanging out. Foxy and I spend a lot of time together. Probably too much time, honestly. We’re good friends. She’s sweet, and I like her, and she keeps me grounded. When I spend too much time at work, I get...I don’t know. Tired.”
“I think most people get tired from work.”
“I don’t mean I get physically tired. It’s just that being a bartender, people tend to dump their problems on me.”
“I know the feeling,” he smiles.
“I’m sure you do. The difference is that you can fix those problems. If someone comes to you with like, a broken arm, you know how to treat that. When someone comes into my bar and they’re sad because their wife left, I mean, what am I going to do?”
“From what I’ve gathered, you tend to offer a gentle listening ear,” he reaches out and places his hand on my leg. Tingles shoot through me at the touch. I like it a lot. I know he’s not ready to take things to the next step, but damn if I don’t just love his hands on me.
“That’s very kind of you.”
“I’m not trying to be kind.”
“Then what are you trying to be?” I ask, raising an eyebrow.
“Honest.”
“I can respect that. Most people struggle with honesty.”
“Unless they’re drinking,” he points out.
“True. Maybe that’s why I like my job.”
“You get a lot of honest souls at the bar?”
“I get a lot of everything at the bar, but yeah, honesty comes with the territory.”
The doorbell sounds and I jump up suddenly.
“I’ll grab that,” I say.
“Let me,” he reaches for his wallet, but I shake my head.
“I paid online.”
“Hey, I was going to treat you,” he says.
“You can treat me another time. I’m pretty sure I owe you from ruining our first date.”
I hurry out of the room and into the front entryway before Robert can say anything else. I don’t want him to know just how off balance he really throws me. I love hanging out with him. I like spending time with him.