by Vivian Arend
There really was no downside to spending more time with him. He was gentle, which she appreciated. Even as he led her to the back of the lounge, his broad body created a wall between her and the rest of the shifters.
The strong hand on her back guiding and protecting.
If it came down to it, she could find a way to defend herself, but it was nice to allow him the task.
“Do you know what Damon has planned?” she asked.
“Not entirely, but if I have to guess, I’d imagine from the outfit he got you to buy, and our plans for the end of the week, we might be going for a ride.”
Lillie glanced up. “What are you doing at the end of the week?”
“Long-standing bet. It’s something Damon and I started years ago. Friday we’ll be taking off for the hills for a bit.” He held her close, pausing to allow a large party to pass.
She breathed a sigh of relief. That worked well with her plans. Now she could relax and not have to worry about having to sneak away. Friday would be perfect for the next stage in her journey.
Then the other part of what he’d said struck. “A ride. Like, horses?”
Damon waved to them from the corner of the room, and they headed in his direction. “Motorcycles,” Jim informed her.
The idea sounded fabulous, but she was uncomfortable about inviting herself along. Still, she kept quiet. There would be time to protest later if necessary.
The wolf shifter smacked Jim on the shoulder in greeting, reaching out to take Lillie’s hand and pull her close enough he could drop a kiss on her cheek. “Glad to see you could make it.”
Jim reclaimed her, tucking her against his side and growling lightly.
Damon raised a brow. “Just being friendly.”
She couldn’t restrain the words from popping free. “I would hate to see how you’d react to someone who wasn’t a friend giving me a kiss.”
Both men offered her horrified looks. Damon, as if he’d just witnessed a mauling, and Jim, as if he’d just torn someone apart. It didn’t freak her out nearly as much as it should have. They were shifters, or more accurately they were shifter males.
There was a certain predictability built into such beasts.
…but it was time to change the subject.
Lillie bumped her enthusiasm up to five hundred, turning to the table and the piles of clothing stacked on it. “Looks as if you did some shopping of your own.”
Damon nodded. “Some things are necessary to make a great idea even greater.”
The grizzly shifter at her side shuffled forward and poked one of the piles. “Why don’t I trust you?”
“Because you know me,” Damon teased. “But this time, what you see is what you get. I thought if we were going to do a bike race for the challenge, we should fully enjoy the moment.”
“Practice saying it. Jim won. Jim won. Jim won.”
His friend snickered, pushing one pile to the side as he dropped a wink at Lillie. “Sometimes my friend has delusions of grandeur.”
“Only sometimes?” Lillie deadpanned, laughing as Jim’s fingers danced on her waist, tickling her.
Damon’s laugh echoed in the room. “I like you.” He motioned to Jim. “Shut up and change.” He slipped off his jacket and shirt, reaching into his pile for a sky-blue bundle of fabric.
Lillie smiled. It wasn’t that she considered Damon particularly vain, but he’d purchased a shirt in a colour exactly matching his eyes. Jim noticed as well, and they exchanged amused glances.
She peeked at the clothing Jim was sorting through, but instead of dark brown there was a black T-shirt.
“Do I get to keep my underwear?” Jim jibed.
A low chuckle escaped Damon. “We’re not discussing boxers versus briefs versus commando. We had that conversation when we were twelve. Once a lifetime is enough.”
A couple of wolves in their animal form trotted past as the guys changed. Lillie leaned back on a nearby table and didn’t bother to hide her admiration.
By shifter standards, going down to skin wasn’t considered dirty. They needed to be naked when they shifted. That didn’t lower her appreciation for the eye candy on display. Both of them, Damon’s leaner wolf physique, Jim’s bulkier overall mass.
Damon finally pulled on his jacket and held out his arms, rotating slowly. “So, what do you think?”
Faded jeans, that killer T-shirt nicely showcasing the muscles he’d forced the material over, all of it topped with a leather jacket that had a massive wolf head on the back and Leader of the Pack emblazoned over it.
Lillie nodded her approval. “I like.”
Jim flipped his jacket over, and Lillie left her perch to peek around him, clinging to his arms. His logo was an enormous bear head, definitely a grizzly, and the banner said Don’t Miss The Branch.
She puzzled for a moment before the children’s song popped into her head, threatening to become an unending earworm.
God, that was hysterical.
“I love it.”
Jim grunted lightly. “At least the bastard didn’t use teddy bears like he did before.”
“I swear the guy at the print shop had the biggest trouble understanding what I wanted. And he wanted me to give you his name.”
A frown crossed Jim’s face. “Why?”
Damon cleared his throat. “He says he loves bears.”
“He didn’t know we were shifters, did he?” Jim’s eyes widened with understanding the same moment it hit Lillie.
Oh my. “You’re not hairy enough to be that kind of bear.”
Oops.
Lillie covered her mouth with her hand even as Damon lost his serious expression and burst into peals of laughter.
Jim shook his head. “Glad I could be of entertainment. Yeah, not enough fur in human form, and I don’t swing that way, so the poor guy will have to keep on dreaming.”
His friend wiped his eyes, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly. “I tell you, keeping a straight face was damn hard.”
“I bet it destroyed you,” Jim drawled.
“I love both your outfits, and you look great,” Lillie offered.
Jim nodded his agreement. “I don’t know who you killed to get the outfits, but I’m keeping mine. We only need bikes to complete the set.”
“Now that you mention it…” Damon looked her over carefully, nodding as she pulled on her leather jacket. “I think we’re ready.”
He led them out the nearby exit door to where two beautiful motorcycles stood waiting.
“Sweet.” Lillie walked around them, running her hand over the shiny metal and soft black leather. “Harleys?”
“Mine is,” Damon confirmed, patting one of the bikes. He pointed at the other one that Jim was already throwing a leg over. “That’s a Ducati. Jim has more expensive tastes than I do. I had to splurge for the fancy Italian job for him.”
“My friend, I forgive you for every sin you’ve ever committed against me.” Jim ran his hands over the handlebars, shaking his head slightly as he admired the bike. “Well, except for the incident when we were seven. That one I will hate you for until my dying day.”
Damon pulled a helmet off his bike, pointing to the back of Jim’s. “I don’t know why you insist that was my fault. Bears swim, wolves swim. How was I supposed to know not all honey badgers like to swim?”
“You weren’t the one she climbed on top of,” Jim growled.
Lillie was thrilled to see a helmet for her as well, but she waited until Jim handed it to her, suddenly apprehensive to come between the two old friends. “I don’t have to join you. This is something special for you and—”
“Put on your helmet and get your butt on the bike,” Jim ordered. Then his stern expression softened. “As long as you’re comfortable. You’re not afraid, are you?”
She flushed slightly at exactly how comfortable she was. “Not if you’re driving.”
His nod of approval sent warm tingles all over her.
Damon held his helmet bef
ore him, his long limbs already draped over his bike. “That settles it. Let’s take them out and see what they can do.” He plopped his helmet over his blond hair and put his hands to the controls.
Before she was in position, Damon was gone, tires spinning on the pavement as he took off in a squeal of smoke and noise.
She tightened the strap under her chin. “I’m not slowing you down, am I?”
Jim shook his head, lifting her into position behind him. He pulled her close, her thighs nestled against his, warm and intimate and completely safe as she wrapped her arms around his torso and held on tight. He took off slower than Damon, but the wind whistled past and Lillie found she was wearing a wide, goofy grin.
Her last hurrah was turning out to be one of the best experiences of her life.
CHAPTER SIX
They headed north on the highway, then off on a secondary road into the mountains. It hadn’t taken long for Jim to catch up with Damon, and they rode side by side, easing around corners as the landscape changed, trees beginning to thicken as they gained elevation.
A sign flashed past informing them they were headed toward Mount Charleston. This area was familiar territory as well. Jim and Damon had played in the park before, but it was nice to be able to look forward to showing Lillie something different.
And he appreciated Damon hadn’t taken them out for hours. Jim had worked Lillie over pretty hard last night, and the fifty minutes it would take to get to the parking lot at the trailhead was more than enough.
She leaned against his back, hands locked around his waist. Every time there was the slightest bump in the road, her grip rubbed him and set his body on fire.
The parking lot was empty when they got there. Lillie pulled off her helmet, her expression one of wonder as she looked around. “Okay, I confess. This is much more my speed than the casino floors.”
Damon hung his helmet on the handlebars, pulling off his jacket. “Why did you decide to come to Vegas if you’re not comfortable around crowds?”
For a second it seemed as if she was actually going to answer the question, and then that barrier went up. She hesitated long enough Jim was sure she was debating how much truth to include in her story.
“I only had a few choices, and I always wanted to see Vegas.” She turned her back on them, pacing toward the wide map erected at the trailhead.
Damon gave Jim a pointed look, as in See? She’s keeping secrets. And yet, as long as they weren’t terrible secrets, who was he to judge?
He changed the subject before Damon could say anything out loud. “We have time for a bit of a stroll.”
His friend removed his shirt, gesturing toward the box at the side of the trail. “Best invention ever.”
Lillie poked her head around the side of the map. “A food cache?”
“We put our clothes in them so no one steals our stuff while we go for a walk in our fur.” Jim held out his hand to her. “I donated this one so we’d have a safe place to put things.”
“What he’s not telling you is before we had this here, someone once absconded with everything but our shoes. It made for an interesting trip back to town.” Damon winked, and she laughed.
Jim inclined his head toward the trail. “Did you want to shift for a while? I promise it’s safe. No one’s going to get upset even if we are spotted.”
Her smile was full of mischief. “You’re sure no one will think twice about seeing a grizzly, a black bear and a wolf hanging out together for the day?”
Damon was already down to skin, stuffing his boots into the square metal box. “That’s nothing. I came here once with a few friends—a cougar, a lion, a couple more—and we were playing tag. Someone caught a satellite shot of the moment when the mink was chasing us all.”
Her lips curled happily. “I’d love to walk for a while.”
Jim knew it wasn’t necessary, not for Lillie’s sake, but for his own peace of mind he kept himself between her and his best friend as they stripped. He accepted her pile of clothing, letting his gaze drift over her creamy skin, the sunlight bouncing off her curves.
She shook a finger at him. “I recognize that expression. I thought you said you wanted to go for a ramble, not a tumble.”
“One, and then the other,” he compromised.
She still wore her smile as she shifted, her petite human body transforming into the daintiest black bear he’d ever seen. Jim paced forward, squatting down to gaze into her eyes as he stroked her head. “Look at you. I could eat you up in one bite,” he teased.
Lillie snapped at him before sitting back on her haunches, tilting her head to the side in the most adorable way.
Jim tucked their clothing into the safe box and locked it firmly. Then he joined her, going down by her side. “How are you doing, sweetie?”
Damon trotted up beside him, the silver wolf with black markings on his shoulders wagging his tail excitedly, typical enthusiasm pouring from his friend. Lillie wiggled slightly, then leaned forward and touched her nose to Damon’s. The wolf responded playfully, bouncing on his front paws from crouch to crouch, moving side to side, ready to play.
Jim placed his hand against Damon’s shoulder and shoved him hard enough to send the wolf off balance. “Stop flirting,” he commanded.
Damon kept rolling until he regained his feet, his teeth showing as he laughed.
Jim turned his attention back on Lillie. “No problems meeting Damon’s wolf?”
She shook her head before rising to her feet and closing in on him. He stayed still and allowed her to circle him, then she stood patiently, waiting.
Only one way to find out if she could handle him. Jim shifted, the moment of change between the human and the animal rushing over him with a sweet, sensual tease. He was glad the stories were wrong. There was no painful grinding of limbs as their bones rearranged themselves. Whatever it was that allowed them to shift felt damn good.
Looking at the world with his adjusted vision was amazing as always. The sounds around him were just as intense as in his human, but they somehow made more sense when he was in animal form. Same thing for the scents—growing richer and clearer with every breath he took.
Lillie still waited for him, and he moved in closer, slowly rubbing their shoulders together. She didn’t seem to mind. In fact, she pushed back before prancing away nearly as playfully as Damon.
Thank goodness. He had hoped she would trust him, but he knew his bear was a big brute. He’d frightened other shifters, even ones who weren’t nearly as timid as her to begin with.
She darted off down the trail and around the trees, leaving the packed gravel and cutting across country toward the nearby ridge. Damon didn’t wait for the signal to run, the three of them moving into the wilderness easily as the sunshine lit the hillside.
No matter how civilized shifters were, the mix of human and animal meant there was a part inside that would always crave the wilderness. This was the reason, even though Jim hated the thought of heading to the home he had in the north, he couldn’t give it up.
Running with the others along the ridge gave him time to consider. He’d been going on sheer will power for the last year, hiding from the pain of his loss.
Money couldn’t fix everything.
And while his parents and he had been trapped in a cave-in, it wasn’t the darkness that left him waking in a cold sweat. It was the loss of family and connection. Bears didn’t tend to congregate often in the first place. Hell, they were such loners they’d even put conventions in place to arrange marriages between compatible individuals to ensure bear shifters didn’t vanish altogether.
His enjoyment of being around others was rare, and he truly believed only his friendship with Damon had helped him get through those early months of despair.
He still hadn’t returned to the home being built outside of Whitehorse. The last time he’d been there was with his parents, as he showed them the plans for the mansion. They’d approved of his choices—admired his successes, and teased him merc
ilessly about how big the place was, and how many children he’d have to have to fill the empty rooms.
And now they were gone.
A long, low howl echoed off the hills. Damon, letting loose a cry. His tone was somewhere between sheer joy and utter sadness, and Jim wondered again at the depths of his joking friend. The things that burdened Damon were so tightly wrapped up even Jim couldn’t pry the chains apart.
He rambled to a stop beside his friend, bumping the wolf with his hip. Damon only howled louder, but this time a hint of laughter returned to the sound.
Jim turned his attention to his mysterious woman. As a diversion, she’d been everything he could have hoped for and then some. He was already looking forward to spending the evening with her, even if that meant taking in a show instead of taking her straight to bed.
He wasn’t sure if it was selfishness on his part, or if he was being kind by not delving deeper into her secrets.
The only thing he knew for sure? He was damn glad he’d met her.
It had been the perfect day, Lillie decided. A bit of everything—from shopping, to the trip to the mountains, to the enormous pile of In-and-Out Burgers they consumed.
Add in the expression on the counter girl’s face as she’d taken their order for twenty-five burgers and eight orders of fries—hysterical. Especially when Damon had to go back and order a couple more, complaining he was still hungry.
Buzzzzzzz.
Lillie dried her hands on the towel, checking her texts as she left the restaurant bathroom.
Check-in time
Lillie wrote rapidly. Still alive. Having fun. No time to talk—going to show
Still flinging?
Yes. Gotta run
<3
The brief contact reassured her. Addie was there if needed, but so far, everything was going marvelously.
All the way up to, and including, getting ready for their show.
Fingers trailed over her shoulder as she put the final touches on her makeup.
“Did you buy this today? It looks great.” Jim pressed his lips to her skin and sent goose bumps rising.