Until You: A Malsum Pass Novel

by Forrest, Kimberly

  Chapter Five

  Sebastian contemplated the woman across from him as he pushed the empty apple pie plate away and dug into the blueberry. Yes, she was definitely a woman judging by the glorious set of breasts he’d seen earlier. Jesus, he could imagine palming them in his hands and them overflowing his grip – no small fete considering the size of his hands. He swallowed a growl and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. She had obviously been chilled in the tiny bit of clothes she had been wearing; her nipples standing at full attention, pressing against the thin pink cotton. They had practically had him salivating for a taste.

  He had been so focused on her breasts he’d almost missed her trim waist, rounded ass, and long toned legs as she retreated to the bathroom to get dressed. It almost felt wrong to look at her that way. This was Bug! Mary Beth’s annoying little sister. She was a child – but that was the problem, she wasn’t a child anymore. As she had pointed out to him earlier, she had grown up.

  A voice inside his head kept taunting him: It’s been too long since you’ve been with a woman. She’s single, make a move. He pushed those thoughts away and filled his mouth with blueberry pie. She wouldn’t be staying. Marcus Fuller had entrusted her into his care and even though he did not owe any loyalty to the man, he would not betray his trust. As soon as the war was over in Mariposa she would be leaving and Bug did not strike him as the type of woman that would be okay with casual sex. The annoying voice came back: Convince her to stay. The town needs teachers. She would feel useful here and then you can keep her. Keep her? Where had that thought come from?

  He scraped the bottom of the pie plate clean and looked up to find that she had finished her breakfast as well. She reached for her purse and he stopped her, he may have lost most of his manners but it made sense that he should pay. After all, she could have had breakfast at the B and B which was included in her daily rate if not for him. She gave him a smile as he laid some money down on the table and it caused his heart to skip a beat. She had a beautiful smile. He should tell her so, but instead he remained silent as he stood up. She followed suit and pulled her coat up over her shoulders, then pulled on the matching knit cap and gloves. She looked so lovely to him he almost sighed. Jesus! What was she doing to him? If he wasn’t careful he was going to start fawning all over her and spouting romantic drivel. That would be so out of character for him she’d probably fall on the floor laughing.

  He grunted and she raised her eyebrow in response. Luckily the whine of several snowmobiles had her face filling with curiosity and delight. “What is that?” She asked excitedly, heading for the front windows of the diner.

  “When we get a fresh snowfall like we did last night, most of the town will race their snowmobiles. There are several trails.” He said, standing at her shoulder to take a look out the window.

  Many of the snowmobiles sped past, arcs of fluffy snow kicking out behind them, but he noticed one sled holding two people stopped. He pulled Bug out the door as Riley Cooper took his helmet off. Tara, Riley’s new bride, was sitting behind her husband on the two-up seat, pulling her helmet off as well when they stepped outside. Sebastian wasn’t sure what came over him, but in the presence of another male he couldn’t help but wrap his arm around Bug’s shoulder in a thoroughly possessive display. She either didn’t notice or didn’t mind since she simply glanced up at him with her usual grin before turning her attention to the couple before them.

  “Bastian,” Riley said, coming forward after assisting Tara off the sled to shake hands with a wide smile. “It’s so good to see you in town.” Sebastian noticed he glanced at Bug but his look held nothing more than curiosity as he smiled at her. “I tried to let Tara drive today but she went no more than five feet and got the sled stuck.” Riley chuckled.

  His wife Tara stepped up beside him and stuck her tongue out at Riley before turning her attention to Sebastian and giving him a smile. “It’s so good to see you again.” She said so sincerely that Sebastian had no choice but to believe her. He really liked Riley and his new wife. In fact, he would have to say he considered the couple as part of his very small collection of friends.

  Sebastian felt an elbow nudge him just below his ribs and he grunted but recalled himself. He cleared his throat. “This is Riley Cooper and his wife Tara.” He said glancing down at Bug, and then he turned back to the couple and motioned with his head. “This is Bug.”

  If he hadn’t already seen Riley and Tara’s startled looks, the rather sharp jab of the elbow this time would have recalled to him his manners, or lack thereof. He grinned sheepishly, “Sorry, this is Susan Fuller, an old friend of mine.”

  Susan stepped forward to shake both of their hands and he heard them asking her how long she would be in town. He noticed she was vague in her response saying that she planned to stay a couple of weeks or more depending on her mood.

  Riley looked over Susan’s head at him and said, “Tara and I thought we’d stop and get some breakfast and warm up a bit. Do you two want to take the sled for a ride? Vahl’s truck is over at the town offices, so we can always catch a ride home.” Riley said referring to Tara’s father Tarvahl, one of the town leaders.

  Sebastian looked over at Susan. The look of excitement on her face was obvious and even though he wasn’t dressed for riding – he wasn’t even wearing a coat over his sweatshirt – he just couldn’t deny her. Riley seemed to read his mind and grinned. “You take these, Bastian. The coat might be a bit snug on you, but it’ll keep you from freezing your ass off.” He finished with a chuckle as he pulled off his heavy parka and gloves.

  “We’re going to go on in and get warmed up,” Riley continued. “It was nice to meet you, Susan. You two enjoy the ride.”

  Susan smiled and thanked both Riley and Tara as Sebastian pulled the coat on. It fit better than he expected, if a bit snug through the shoulders. “Have you ever ridden a snowmobile?” He asked as he came up behind her where she was looking over the sled.

  She shook her head as he handed her the helmet Tara had left for her and he pulled on Riley’s. “I think you’ll have fun.” He said smiling and offered his hand to help her mount. Once she was seated he wasted no time starting the machine and taking off at a fast clip. The ride was exhilarating but it was Susan’s squeals of delight and shouts of ‘woo hoo’ heard above the engine noise that truly fired his soul. He took some of the trails that had humps where a rider could really catch some air and he heard her laughter after each one as she squeezed him tightly around the waist. The open trails where he could really open it up and get some speed had her cheering him on. Her joy was undeniable and his smile – that felt so foreign on his face after so long – could not be contained.

  After about ninety minutes he had them heading back toward town. Neither he nor Susan was wearing ski pants and he knew her legs were probably freezing since his felt about numb. Unlike him, she wasn’t use to this kind of cold. He checked the town office first to see that Vahl’s truck was still there so he pulled the snowmobile out in front of the diner. He helped Susan off and noticed her teeth were chattering when she pulled off the helmet.

  He frowned. “You should have told me you were cold. I would have turned back sooner.”

  She laughed despite the chattering. “Are you kidding me? That was so much fun!”

  He smiled and nodded shrugging Riley’s parka off and laying it over the seat with the helmets. He was just about to offer to borrow a sled another time so that he could take her out again when a man’s voice interrupted by calling her name. He spun to confront the intruder and saw it was Mike Myers from the garage.

  Susan greeted the man with a smile and wave and Sebastian immediately felt prickles of jealousy all the way down to his toes. He narrowed his eyes at the man and glared, stepping into his space to showcase his height to best advantage and intimidate the smaller male. Mike noticeably stepped back in fear and had to cough, clear his throat, and then swallow hard before he could continue.

  “I gave your rental a thorough ch
eck, Miss Fuller.” Sebastian was gratified to notice she had gone from Susan to Miss Fuller as was proper. “It didn’t sustain any damage from your slide yesterday so it’s good to go. I parked it over at the B and B and left the keys with Margaret.”

  Susan took Mike’s hand to shake it and Sebastian suddenly wanted to rip the man away from her, he growled low. She shot him a pointed look but Mike quickly dropped her hand and stepped back once more. “Um, well, you, ah – you gave me your card information yesterday, so that’s all set. I left a copy of the bill in the vehicle.” He managed to get out before he squeaked a hurried goodbye and practically sprinted back to the diner.

  Susan sighed and shook her head. “Is it any wonder people are afraid of you, Seb with all that growling and glaring?” Then she reached up and patted his beard. He wanted to hold her hand there so she’d keep touching him. She continued, “I think before I leave this town I’m going to see you laughing and friendly again” she paused and her grin turned quite mischievous, “I’m also going to make sure you get a haircut and a shave so people can see what a handsome man you are rather than a scary sasquatch.”

  She thought he was handsome. That was the thought that stuck and he had to keep himself from puffing out his chest with pride. Vanity had never been an issue with him, he didn’t even own a mirror so he had no problem hacking off his hair and beard despite the cold weather if he thought she might stay with him. This sudden overwhelming need to keep her was a bit of a surprise, but perhaps he had been in his self-imposed exile for too long. He had made himself unapproachable for a reason. Isolating himself had meant he hadn’t had to trust anyone, or have that trust abused. Maybe it was time to come out, try to be more sociable, maybe even live in a place that had indoor plumbing and an actual bed. He would consider it if it meant seeing her smile. Her smiles made him tingle and he rather liked the feeling.

  He saw her shiver and recalled how cold she was. He offered her his arm, “Let’s get you back to the B and B so you can get warm.” He said.

  She gripped his arm tightly which he enjoyed as they took the short walk over to the old Victorian house, but before they could mount the stairs, she pulled away and grinned. He looked at her questioningly but she shrugged and said, “I don’t care how cold I am, I’ve wanted to do this since I first saw all the snow this morning.”

  Before he could ask her what she meant she fell straight backward into an untouched blanket of snow and began flapping her arms up and down as she opened and closed her legs. When she was done she carefully stepped out of the print her body had made and pressed her shivering body close to his side. It felt so natural to put his arm around her and pull her in tight for warmth.

  She looked down at the ground and then up at him with a huge smile. “A snow angel,” she said and then nudged him, “You should make one.”

  Sebastian shook his head though he smiled. Playing in the snow wasn’t something he could see himself doing. Susan had no problem expressing joy – she was joy, whereas Sebastian was anger and mistrust and anger and mistrust did not make snow angels. He pushed those thoughts away and sighed, he was just about to tell her maybe another time when she gave him an unexpected heave to the left before she tackled him to the ground.

  He just looked at her in shock as she laughed, her face mere inches above his, her nose and cheeks rosy with cold while her eyes were bright with happiness. “Come on you big Sasquatch, flap your arms and spread your legs!”

  And so it was that the fearsome Sebastian Black, apex predator, known to strike fear into the hearts of all of Malsum Pass and beyond was felled by a laughing sprite nearly half his size. To see her smile he would make a snow angel; to keep that smile for himself he realized with some shock, he would do just about anything.

  Chapter Six

  Sebastian had gotten her inside the B and B after he had made his massive snow angel and ran her a bath. It looked so appealing with ribbons of steam rising above the water that she couldn’t wait to get into it. Her happiness dimmed a bit when Sebastian gruffly told her that he was leaving and wouldn’t be back until the next day. She had wanted to pout but her cold lips wouldn’t allow for that much motion. She had been hoping to spend the day with him, but Sebastian was probably looking forward to warming up and getting into some dry clothes as well. Lord knows his huge frame wouldn’t fit into anything of hers. So she nodded briskly, gave him a tight hug which made him stiffen before he returned it with a squeeze and a few awkward pats on her back. “Thank you for today.” She mumbled against his chest. Then she’d gone into the bathroom and heard him leave her room.

  Peeling her clothes off had felt torturous; her goose bumps were like needles as her wet clothes scraped over them. The bathroom was nice and steamy, and the hot water felt incredible as she sank down to her chin in the big tub. As the chill began to leave her body she let her thoughts drift to Sebastian and she frowned. He was so different now. Had he loved Mary Beth so much that the loss of her changed him so drastically? If ten years had not healed his wounds would they never heal?

  The thought was discouraging but she had to take hope in the little glimpses she had seen of the old Sebastian. She had gotten him to smile; she had gotten him to make a snow angel, which had to count for something… right?

  Susan didn’t know how long she had stayed in the tub contemplating Sebastian, but the water had cooled by the time she dragged herself out. After she was dry she put on her warmest clothes in her suitcase; her new thick roll neck sweater over a tee shirt, a pair of sweatpants over some leggings, and two pairs of socks. She thought she looked rather similar to the Michelin Man, but at least she was warm.

  She crawled up on the bed and decided to call her father. California was three hours behind Vermont, so she knew he would be awake at this point and was probably in his office – if they were still open for business with this stupid war. He picked up on the second ring and she noticed right away that his voice sounded harried, so she had quickly assured him that she was well. He in turn informed her that things had not improved with the felines and that they had been drawing far too much outside attention. His exact words were “This is one giant shit storm and I just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

  When she asked him to join her in Vermont he’d scoffed. “It’s one thing to protect my daughter, but quite another to run away with my tail tucked between my legs and you know that’s how it would look. I would sooner die fighting then let some cats run me off,” he spat.

  By the time they disconnected Susan’s stomach was in knots. She felt guilty for being here and having so much fun when her people were suffering and possibly dying. She crawled under the covers to bury her head and at some point fell asleep.

  Susan first felt the scratchy throat and headache that heralded the arrival of a cold when she woke. It was a common misconception among the small circle of non-shifters who knew about shape shifters to believe that shifters never get sick. It’s true that shifters heal faster than non-shifters and they have a higher metabolism and a hardier immune system, but they do occasionally suffer from ailments such as the common cold; especially when a shifter is exposed to massive germ incubators like airports that are packed full of people travelling home after the long Thanksgiving weekend.

  Stumbling into her bathroom, Susan used a hot, wet washcloth to wipe the sleep from her eyes, brushed her hair and then went out to the bedroom to pull her still damp – though warm from the heater – boots on her feet. They felt a bit snug since she was still wearing two pairs of socks. She didn’t bother changing her clothes figuring Malsum Pass would just have to deal with her sweatpants; she needed to hit the small grocery store she’d noticed for provisions before the full brunt of her cold hit.

  Her car was freezing so she let it warm up while she waited in front of the roaring fire in the main room of the bed and breakfast. Looking even puffier now that she’d added her coat, hat and gloves, the last thing she expected to hear was “You are so cute!”

  Susan
turned to see Constance Tully coming up behind her. “I love that coat!” she continued. “I have one similar to it in baby blue.”

  The blonde beauty that Susan had met when she first checked in was obviously staying in for the night since she was sporting red and black plaid, flannel pajama bottoms with a black sweatshirt. Her hair, braided loosely, hung over one shoulder and big fuzzy black slippers on her feet with a mug of what smelled like hot cider in her hands. She held the mug out toward Susan “Would you like some? We have plenty.”

  Susan smiled at the friendly gesture. “No, thank you, Constance, I’m just waiting for my car to warm up so I can head to the grocery store. I need to pick up a few things.” She thought a moment but then continued. “Does the diner deliver, do you know?”

  Constance took a sip of her drink and then shook her head. “Occasionally if they have someone in there just leaving they can be persuaded to drop something off, but they don’t have regular deliveries. You know, my mom won’t mind if you want to warm something up in the kitchen.”

  Susan nodded. “I feel like I may be coming down with a cold, so I wanted to pick up some medicine and maybe some soup – you know, nip it in the bud.”

  Constance smiled, “Make sure you pick up some vapor rub while you’re at the store. Nothing beats it when you have a cold.”

  Susan smiled. “I’ll add it to my list.” She said. “Well, I think my car is warm now, so I’m going to head out.” She said motioning toward the door.

  Constance nodded, “I hope you feel better,” she began. “Once you do, let me know, I’m just dying to hear all about Sebastian Black when he was younger.” She said with a grin before she leaned forward and whispered even though no one else was in the room to overhear, “He has the nickname Black Bastard though you didn’t hear that from me. Almost everyone is scared of him.”