Aiden slid up and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. He pressed his lips against hers and kissed her as she shuddered in the aftermath of the orgasm.
As she came back to Earth, she lay quiet, too spent to move. Or speak. Or think. He whispered her name against her cheek and rocked her gently.
Emma was overcome with emotion. A tear slipped down her cheek. Then a second one landed against Aiden’s cheek.
“You’re safe.” He murmured.
Somehow he had intuited that she was feeling vulnerable.
It was too much to question.
Something like that just was.
Chapter Eleven
Emma fell asleep nestled in his arms. This girl that he’d only met today felt so right. He liked everything about her. From her delicate little toes to what Skylar would call ‘bronde’ hair color. He would call her hair light brunette or dark blonde. But then, he was a simple man.
Aiden rinsed his face and breathed out slowly. He wasn’t sure what had just happened. He’d been charged with caring for Emma, not making love to her. In the course of one day, he’d scared her off the edge of a cliff leading her to a near-death experience of hypothermia, and now he’d ravished her body.
He needed to stay away from her. To give her some space to recover.
That’s what he would do. He would get up early tomorrow and help his brother with the horses. She could stay here and rest.
As the doctor ordered.
Everything else would have to settle and fall where it may.
Chapter Twelve
Emma woke the next morning with early dawn sunlight streaming across her face. She stretched from head to toe with a smile on her face.
She remembered every detail of last night. Every erotic moment. She’d never been made love to the way Aiden had. And she’d had two serious relationships. But this man she’d only met yesterday had turned her world upside down.
She was still wearing his shirt and shorts when she got out of bed. Curious to see what the day would bring, she padded with her bare feet into the living room.
There was a note on the couch.
Dear Emma,
I had to go out and help my brother tend the horses. If you want a fire, just light a match, and it should be good to go. There’s plenty of firewood already stacked next to the fireplace.
If you want coffee, it’s ready to brew. Just flip the switch. There are muffins in a canister on the counter and plenty of food for lunch in the fridge.
Oh, and in case you don’t want to work on your own stuff, my Kindle is on the end table. Download whatever you want to read.
I should be home to make dinner. Please make yourself at home.
Yours truly,
Aiden
P.S. You might want to wear my socks. They’ll stretch over your bandage.
Emma read the letter twice. And picked up the socks he’d left lying next to the note.
Did the man ever sleep? They’d been up well after midnight, then he was already up and out by dawn.
She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but she hadn’t expected to be left alone for the day. And she surely hadn’t expected her every need to be taken care of.
She gathered up her clothes and took a shower. The hot water running over her head felt heavenly. She stayed in the shower until the water cooled.
Back in her own clothes, she felt a little more like herself. She sat on the couch and examined her swollen ankle. She was getting some interesting discoloration. She wrapped one of the bandages Doc had left around her ankle. The wrapping wasn’t as pretty as what he had done, but it seemed to serve the purpose. She then pulled on Aiden’s socks.
Careful with her ankle, she went to the kitchen, turned on the coffee, and found some creamer in the fridge. While she waited for the coffee to brew, she ate a blueberry muffin at his kitchen table. The wall in the breakfast area was floor-to-ceiling glass, offering an astounding view of the lodge below. This view was breathtaking: a place she could enjoy working.
While sipping the hot coffee, she set up her MacBook on the table and transferred the video of the bears from her phone to her computer.
Since her secret plan of searching for shapeshifters had fallen apart, she reviewed some notes for her dissertation and opened the file to fill in a section she hadn’t had time to write.
She worked straight through for a couple of hours, then stood up and stretched. She walked over and lit the fire he had laid out in the fireplace. He’d been right. It caught immediately and brought warmth to the room.
She wandered back to sit at the table with her computer. But now she was distracted. She watched as two black bears came around from the back of the lodge and ran toward the mountain. Aiden’s dog Beau was with them.
At least it looked like Beau. It was hard to see from here. Didn’t dogs chase bears?
That jogged a memory from yesterday when she’d seen Beau with the bear that sent her off the edge of the boulder.
It was most peculiar. She would ask Aiden about it tonight. In the meantime, she went to the Internet to see if she could find anything about bears and dogs. Despite a few videos depicting heartwarming moments between polar bears and dogs, the consensus was that bears eventually ate their dog friends.
Beau and the bears disappeared into the woods, so she went back to the couch and put her feet up, letting the warmth of the fireplace drift over her. She picked up the Kindle on the end table and turned it on. Aiden had no books in his library. Why did he have a Kindle with no books? She downloaded the latest time travel novel by Isabella Quinn, one of her favorite authors, and began reading.
She read a few sentences before her thoughts wandered back to Aiden. To his handsome face. His hands against her skin. His lips on hers. Her body pressed against his as she trembled from the aftereffects of her own little storm.
The one thing she was certain about was that she wanted more. More of Aiden’s hands on her.
Chapter Thirteen
“Why are you here?” Brayden asked. “I heard you found your mate.”
Aiden shot his brother a look. “Skylar needs to stop spreading rumors. You know I don’t believe in fated mates.”
“Yeah. Well. Just because you married someone who wasn’t your mate, doesn’t mean that you still can’t.”
“That doesn’t even make any sense, Bray.”
“Michelle was not for you, and you know it. But according to Skylar, this girl is different.”
She was different all right, but it didn’t make her his mate. “Doesn’t matter.” Aiden and his brother went into the pool house and took off their clothes. They could go in one door and come out as bears on the other side. The casual observer would never notice.
Aiden gladly shifted into bear mode along with his brother to round up a few horses that had gotten out overnight. At least in bear mode, he couldn’t give him a hard time about Emma.
With Beau at their heels, they headed up the hill. The horses weren’t afraid of them as bears, and they were so much easier to find than when the brothers were in human form.
With the peace and quiet, his thoughts went back to Emma. He couldn’t help but wonder what she was thinking this morning. He hoped she didn’t have any regrets. In spite of his idea to give her some space, he certainly had no regrets. In fact, he hoped she was up for more tonight.
He could still smell her. And taste her. And remember her softness.
He needed to stop thinking this way. He wasn’t sure what would happen if he got turned on in bear form. It wasn’t something that anyone ever talked about, and Aiden certainly didn’t want to be the first.
Chapter Fourteen
It was growing dark when Aiden and his brothers headed back down the mountain. It had been a tiring day, but they had rounded up the horses who had gone missing. As they approached the fork in the path that would lead them toward the lodge or Aiden’s cabin, he noticed a separate set of tracks leading toward his cabin.
He was s
till in bear form, so his sense of smell was heightened as well. The scent was human, but not one he recognized.
He stopped and swept a paw indicating that Brayden should go ahead. Aiden followed the tracks toward his cabin, a feeling of dread coming over him. He took a short cut and lost his footing on a cluster of rocks. He slid down the ravine, the heavy weight of his bear propelling him until he landed at the bottom.
He heard the bone crack before he felt the pain. Reaching the bottom of the ravine, he stood up and quickly took the weight off his front paw. He held it up and growled. His paw fell at an awkward angle. Definitely broken.
He limped on three legs until he reached the edge of the forest that surrounded his cabin. He sat on his haunches and nursed his paw for a moment.
I really need to spend more time as a bear. I’m getting soft.
Holding his broken paw up, he lifted his gaze and studied his cabin. The lights were on. But there was no way to tell whether Emma was still there. With a broken foot, he wasn’t sure he could get back to his clothes without further injuring himself. Or being spotted as a limping bear. Like that wouldn’t be very inconspicuous, he thought wryly. Someone was sure to see him.
Then a white curtain fluttered closed at the window.
Chapter Fifteen
Emma stood at the dining room window looking toward the general direction she’d seen the two bears and the dog this morning. As the sun had begun to drop behind the trees, she’d pulled the curtains closed. It was becoming more difficult to see. The path was in shadows now.
A movement several feet to the right of the path caught her attention. At first, she thought it was just a shadow in the wind, but it looked more like something… She squinted and then her eyes widened. It was a bear.
This place was crawling with bears! Perhaps it was best that she wasn’t able to go hiking alone. That was what? Seven bears she’d seen already, counting the cubs. The website had been truthful when it advertised a guarantee to see wildlife in the area.
The bear lifted its paw and even from this distance, she could see that it held its front paw up. The paw fell at an awkward angle.
The bear had a broken bone.
She had the sensation that the bear was looking right at her.
Stepping back, she dropped the curtain closed across the window.
Her mind raced. An injured bear. What was she supposed to do?
She took her cell phone from her back pocket and scrolled until she found Doc’s number. Her fingers hovered over the screen. “Why am I calling a doctor for an injured bear?” She muttered to herself. He’ll know how to contact a veterinarian or rehabilitation expert.
She paced as the phone rang and was just about to hang up when Doc answered.
“Hi. This is Emma. From Aiden’s cabin. Um. I wasn’t sure who to call.” She took a deep breath. “But there’s a bear out back, and I think it’s hurt.”
“I’ll be right there.” Doc clicked off.
Emma stared at her phone. Then went to sit on the couch and wait for Aiden or Doc –whichever one got there first.
Chapter Sixteen
As Aiden sat, trying to decide what to do, he heard Doc’s snowmobile in the distance. A few minutes later, he spotted him heading down the path toward him. That was convenient.
Aiden stood up, careful with his right paw, Doc stopped in front of him and turned off the motor.
Doc studied him, a bemused expression on his face. “I received a phone call.”
Aiden cocked his head to one side and held up his paw.
Doc closed the distance and took Aiden’s paw in his hands. “You’re going to have some explaining to do.” Doc nodded toward the cabin.
Aiden felt his stomach drop. Emma. Emma would have called Doc.
Doc took a long trench coat from his snowmobile and held it up. “You need to shift back, so I can set your broken wrist.” He held the coat out.
Aiden glanced around, but it was almost dark, and he didn’t see anyone watching. He shifted into human form.
He wrapped his naked body in the coat and tied the belt at his waist. “Emma called you.”
Doc shrugged. “Like I said. You’re either going to have to tell her that you’re a bear shifter or come up with something creative in the next few minutes. We need to get you inside, so I can take a look at that wrist.”
Aiden sighed with a glance toward his cabin. Careless. He was being careless on so many levels. He was having an off day. An off couple of days, truth be told. Ever since he’d laid eyes on Emma. It was like his brain wasn’t working right. Even as a bear, he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
It struck him then how unusual that was. Typically, his bear didn’t feel any emotional attachment.
Still trying to sort out that thought, he followed Doc into the cabin. He supported his limp right wrist with his other hand. Beau came in at their heels and curled up on the rug in front of the fireplace.
Doc stepped aside to set his black bag on the kitchen table and Aiden looked up toward the living room. Emma sat on the couch, her eyes wide as she watched him.
Well, hell.
He’d just come in out of the cold, his feet bare, wearing a trench coat. If she was suspicious of him before, what must she think now? This was going to take more than a simple explanation. He wouldn’t blame her if she asked Doc to take her away from here.
“Sit.” Doc slid a dining chair out while putting on his glasses.
Aiden’s eyes locked onto Emma’s wide ones, as he did as he was told.
Doc examined his wrist. “What is it with you two? First a sprained ankle and now a fractured wrist?”
He wrapped it with a bandage similar to what he had done for Emma. “This might take a few days to heal.” He said for Aiden’s ears only. “It’s best if you don’t shift until it’s mended. It might throw something out of whack.”
“Got it.” Aiden kept his eyes on Emma. Her face was a little flushed.
“I’m just going to leave now.” Doc slipped away and closed the door behind him.
“You must be cold.” Emma said.
Aiden glanced down at the trench coat and bit his lip to keep from bursting out into laughter. “I think I’ll get dressed.”
She nodded. “Good idea.”
Aiden went into the bathroom and stepped into the shower. Nothing like taking a shower while trying to keep one arm dry. Nonetheless, it was worth it. He went into his room and pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. He ran a comb through his hair and decided not to try shaving with his left hand.
He still had no idea how he was going to explain himself as he walked back into the living room.
“I fell,” he said in answer to her questioning look.
“You fell and broke your wrist.”
“Yeah. Clumsy, huh?”
“Yeah.” She knitted her brow. “It’s interesting that your clothes fell off, too.” Beau lifted his head and looked at her.
Aiden cleared his throat. With most humans, he would have formed an excuse by now. But with Emma, he didn’t want to lie. Not even a little white lie to protect her from knowing that he was a shifter.
He went to the couch and sat on the opposite end from her, one arm across the back and one knee over the other.
She pulled her feet back and wrapped her arms across her knees.
An image, a memory this time, blazed through his mind of his mouth on her toes… And other places.
Her face flushed, possibly with her own memories, and Aiden smiled.
Chapter Seventeen
Emma’s mind was swirling in confused thoughts. It didn’t help that he was sprawled over half the couch, looking at her with a wolfish grin. She’d been thinking about last night all day, and now, with him sitting in front of her, she wasn’t sure what the protocol was.
Besides the awkwardness of it being the morning after one of the most intense sexual experiences of her life, there was one small nagging detail.
The bear outside had a hu
rt paw.
The man sitting next to her had a fractured wrist.
No.
The thin mountain air was affecting her thought processes. Or was it the man sitting next to her?
Either way, Emma the scientist had taken to becoming Emma of flights of fancy.
“Maybe I just lost my boots.” He said.
“And your pants? Or did you go out in shorts today?” She couldn’t help the little smile that played about her lips.
“It’s true I wasn’t thinking very clearly this morning.”
Now her heart was beating much too fast.
Had she affected him the same way he had affected her?
There was so much more to do with this handsome rugged man of the Colorado Rockies.
Suddenly he stood up. “Have you eaten?”
Caught off guard, she shook her head.
“Do you like pasta?”
“Of course.”
“I’m a little handicapped at the moment.” He lifted his wrist. “But if you’ll help me with some chopping, we can cook some spaghetti.”
“I can do that.” She stood up and balanced mostly on one foot.
“Doc was right. We do make quite a pair.” That wolfish grin had turned boyish now, and her heart shifted just a little.
Supporting her on his good arm, he led her into the kitchen and helped her onto a counter stool. He set a large cutting board on the kitchen island in front of her and took some bell peppers from the refrigerator and an onion from a basket on the counter. “Compliments of my sister,” he said, sheepishly.
“Skylar is… interesting.”
“Ha. That’s what people often say about her. They say that or they use the word ‘driven.’ She can be a little intense.”
“Sometimes intense can be a good thing.”
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