Aria turned off the TV and sat back against the couch thoughtfully. This wasn’t the first time she’d hear of Bear Ridge. A few friends had gone and had a great time, and one of the teachers in the middle school had met her husband there the year before. But Aria had never really considered dating a bear shifter… not intentionally. It wasn’t that she was averse to it. She just didn’t know much about them, and hadn’t looked into it. She knew one of the little boys at the school was half-shifter, but it wasn’t as common in Indiana as it was in the bigger cities. The more she thought about it, the less it seemed like the worst idea. She’d been saving up some money to go on vacation since last year, but hadn’t decided yet where she should go.
A tropical island full of sexy bear shifters all looking for a little summer romance? That certainly couldn’t be the worst idea ever.
Aria grabbed her computer, and started looking into making a reservation…
Chapter 4
Reid
Reid poked his head around the broken corner of the fence, and looked for his clothes. It was the third time this week he’d snuck off from the lodge to shift, running to the far corners of the woods to embrace his true form and live the only way that felt natural any more. Once he was inside the fence, he slipped back into his jeans and his t-shirt, then walked back into the manor barefoot, figuring it wouldn’t matter if he traced some mud on the floor. The guys were always making a mess, so a little crud from his paws wouldn’t add anything to the mix.
After he grabbed an apple from the fridge, Reid turned into the living room and walked straight into Kurt, who was scowling at him.
“Did you shift again? Near the hiking trails? Where people might see you?”
Reid took a few steps back until he was leaning against the wall, then took a bite of his apple and shrugged.
“I’m careful. No one saw me. No one ever sees me. I’m just getting stir crazy in here. It feels like I am going to shimmy out of skin, and if I don’t get out of the house, I might lose my cool entirely. I don’t want to go ape shit, like Cash did.”
Kurt sat down and crossed his arms over his chest, watching Reid carefully. “Is there something you need to tell me, kid? Something going on?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Reid said as he took another bite of his apple.
“Don’t lie to me, Reid. There is nothing you could be facing that I, or a dozen other bears before you, haven’t dealt with before. So, spit it out.”
Reid sighed and crossed over to the couch, then flopped down on his back. He didn’t know if he really wanted to talk to Kurt about what was going on in his head, but he also knew that Kurt wasn’t going to let it drop. But he wasn’t going to make it easy either. “What do you think is wrong?”
Kurt rolled his eyes. “There are days where your age is so apparent, I want to smack you like the child you are. It seems unlikely, but is there any chance you’re having mate madness?”
Reid took a bite of his apple, then tossed it in the air, playing catch while he thought. “I mean, is that really possible? Am I old enough for that to be a thing? It seems too… early.”
Kurt stared at the ceiling as he pondered. “It’s definitely unusual. Mate frenzy doesn’t generally kick in until a guy is in his thirties, and you are in your twenties, but stranger things have happened. What have you been feeling lately?”
“Besides the jittery feeling? I’ve been having weird dreams. I feel like I want to shift all the time. My bear is either crazy quiet, or out of control and driving me insane. I honestly can’t explain every feeling I have every moment, because a lot of the time, I feel like I’m losing my mind. Other times, it’s like I just want to curl up in a ball and sleep for a thousand years.”
Kurt nodded knowingly. “Yup. That sounds like mate frenzy alright.”
“But like you said,” Reid answered shaking his head, “I’m not even thirty. Why would it be hitting me so early?”
“You’re in a clan with a bunch of bears who are mated. Some are married, some are on the verge of getting there. But hardly any of the guys are alone any more, and this is going to start to stress out your bear, even if you aren’t feeling it personally. So, you need to be looking out for your potential mate.”
Reid groaned and threw the remaining apple across the room and into the trash can. “I look everywhere. I go to bars and parties and restaurants, and I never feel anything for anyone.”
“This is about that letter you carry in your pocket, isn’t it?”
Reid rolled his eyes. “Does everyone in this house know about the letter?”
“Do you think there is a damn thing that happens in this house that I don’t know about? So, what do you want to do about this?”
“I don’t know, man,” Reid said, pouting like a child and not caring. “Can’t you just give me some direction? I seriously don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”
Kurt leapt back up to his feed and walked to the middle of the room, and then bellowed out, “All bears! Meeting room! Now!” Reid jumped a foot in the air, because he didn’t expect Kurt to call an all-bears-on-deck meeting thanks to him. Reid gave him a, “what are you doing?” look.
“We’re going to nip this in the bud now. You and the other guys who still need to find mates.”
Within ten minutes, every bear in the Colorado clan was in the meeting room, even the ones with mates. Cash and Declan were joking around in the corner, talking about a double-date they’d been convinced to go out on that weekend. For a second, Reid envied them. But then it passed. Once everyone was in the room and settled down, Cash shouted,
“What the hell is this all about, man? I was in the middle of an assault campaign with some kid in Guatemala.” Cash had been playing some online video game for years and Lani can’t stand the sound of it, so she only lets him play it occasionally. Kurt growled at him.
“I’m sure the twelve-year-old you spend half your waking hours with can wait for you to return. If the fate of the free world suffers, you can blame me.” Cash let out a low growl as some of the other bears stifled laughs. Kurt smiled and continued.
“So, it’s recently come to my attention that the ratio of mated to unmated bears in clan has become a little off. While I will deeply miss my bachelor buddies, I think the time has come to get the rest of you wild men married off.”
Brendan, one of the only shifters in the clan close to Reid’s age, shouted from the back, “And that means what?”
“It means,” Kurt said with a raised eyebrow, “that some of you are about to go on vacation. To Bear Ridge.”
A few of the guys groaned, a couple hooted excitedly, and Declan said, “what about those of us with mates? Can you send us on vacation too?”
Kurt laughed. “I’ve spent enough on your lazy asses. This applies to unmated bears only. You know who you are. So, get your shit together and get packing. I’m going to book the trip for next week.”
Reid coughed nervously, and raised a hand. “Is this mandatory?”
“Yes, it’s mandatory. Don’t be an idiot. Now, get out of here. I need to go make some calls.”
Reid turned on his heel and stalked out of the meeting room toward the back yard. He didn’t relish the idea of going to Bear Ridge, especially because the last thing he wanted was to be forced into finding a mate. No one he met could compare with Aria.
His Aria.
Suddenly, it was high school again, and he was with her in their tent on that camping trip. He remembered everything like it was yesterday. They’d decided to sneak off into the woods for a weekend, just the two of them, to spend time away without their friends ragging on them constantly. It had ended up being one of the best weekends of Reid’s life.
If he concentrated, Reid could still recall every detail of the way he felt when he suddenly woke up that first night, and was overcome by his love for Aria. He smiled, and tugged Aria’s still sleeping form closer to him. He rubbed his face against her silken hair and inhaled. She smelled
so good, vanilla and lavender, soothing and warm. She murmured and sighed, coming slowly awake, and she snuggled her butt closer to him. Reid bit his lower lip, trying not to groan as he became even harder from her movements. Jesus, even in her sleep she drove me wild. Drawn to touch her, he kissed her above her ear and slowly kissed down to her jawline. Pushing her hair away from her neck, he sucked on her delicate skin.
She sighed, writhed against him and pulled his hand to cover her breast.
He smiled; Aria was awaking. His thumb rubbed over her hardened nipple, over and over. He pinched and tugged them as her movements became frantic. She was so passionate, his Aria. He smoothed his hand down her warm body, between her thighs, and touched her. She was already drenched for him, so responsive, so pure in her reactions to him. Whether they were making love or having a conversation about their plans for the future, she was never fake with him. She gave all of herself, never holding back. He loved that about her.
Aria moaned and lay her head against Reid’s bicep. He knew she ached for him, but was not going to take her. Not yet. He touched his lips to hers. He pushed his tongue into her mouth, mimicking what he really wanted to do to her. She groaned, grabbing his thick hair and forcing him to deepen his kiss. The sounds coming from her, her sweet lips, her hot hands pulling him closer and closer, the way she wanted him thrilled Reid. He couldn’t wait anymore.
Reid nudged her body forward and lay her on her stomach. He was going crazy with wanting her and tried to slow down his pace. He smoothed her glorious, blonde locks away from her shoulder and kissed her creamy skin. He sucked and bit and licked her. Felt her shudder beneath him. He licked and nipped down her back, paying homage to every inch of her. He rubbed and kneaded the globes of her buttocks. Playfully bit her butt-cheek and chuckled when she shrieked.
He slid his finger into her suddenly. Aria screamed and bucked, forcing his finger deeper. He stroked her, adding a second finger, and he could feel her sheath fluttering and tightening around his digits. She was close. He pulled away from her tight body. Once again kissing her, massaging, nipping at her skin. All while Aria writhed and shivered in pleasure. He knew he was being cruel; she wanted him inside her. Well, he would give her what she wanted.
He covered her body with his. Positioned himself and pushed into her with one long surge. She screamed in pleasure and came apart, convulsing around him. He felt the strong tightening and pull of her body, almost causing him to spill his essence and he stilled. When Aria’s screams died down and became moans and whimpers, Reid began thrusting. He turned her head to him, kissed her lips gently.
Keeping a slow rhythm, he drove into her, steadily thrusting, the sound of his hips slapping against her ass like music to his ears. He could feel the waves of pleasure building up inside him. His shuddering breaths falling from his lips. His skin pebbling and tightening. He wasn’t going to last much longer. His thrusts became frantic. His groans louder. He heard himself growl low his throat, on the edge of desire, about to fall over. He slammed into Aria’s body over and over until he erupted, filling her with spurts of his seed.
Suddenly, Reid snapped back to the present, annoyed at himself for falling so heavily into a memory of Aria when he’d spent so many years trying to put them out of his head. He made his way back out into the park to run the trails; he knew that he couldn’t turn again, because Kurt would probably kill him. But he definitely need to work off some of his nervous energy. So, as the sun started to set and the moon rose overhead, he ran with every ounce of power, until the burning in his muscles pushed Aria out of his head. As he rounded a corner into the deepest part of the trails, he at last came to a decision.
He would go to Bear Ridge, and he would finally move on.
Chapter 5
Aria
“Welcome, Miss Smith! I trust your trip to Bear Ridge was a pleasant one?”
Aria looked around the resort and couldn’t believe she was really there. Her day had actually been mostly horrible. She’d left her house in Indiana at 4am for a 6am flight that had been delayed for almost two hours thanks to storms. Then the connecting flight was nothing but turbulence, she’d barely made her second plane, and when she’d arrived at the island, the airline had lost her luggage. If she hadn’t brought a carry-on with some extra outfits and her bathing suits, she would have been in a bad way for the first few days of her trip.
Then, she’d discovered on the ferry ride over to the resort that she was prone to seasickness. Having never really left Indiana, she hadn’t had much experience with the ocean, so it came as a complete surprise that the slightest rock of a boat sent her into a fit of puking over the side. By the time the boat pulled up to the resort, she was so happy to be on dry land that she almost kissed the sand.
So, when the tiny woman from the commercial for Bear Ridge cheerily asked her if her trip had been pleasant, Aria had to bite back a snippy comment. Instead, she forced a smile and nodded.
“It was fine. I’m just exhausted and could use a little rest and relaxation, you know?”
Ursula grinned and started handing Aria a collection of brochures, and a small smart phone. “Then you are in the right place! These are pamphlets that explain all of the activities we offer, and this is your matching device! Once you log in, it will show you everyone we’ve matched you with, including new additions based on people who have signed up in the last few weeks.”
“I have a question. Am I restricted only to interacting with my matches? Or can I talk to anyone I want?”
“Oh, goodness, no!” Ursula answered with a laugh. “We used to be a little stricter about our matching program, but after we found that people would find their way to each regardless of our rules, now we just use them as more of a guideline. You can go through the connections we’ve set up for you, meet who you’d like, get to know who you’d like, and then, if you see someone who strikes your fancy, by all means! Just don’t get in the middle of any connections in progress, and we’re happy. We just want people to find love. That’s what Bear Ridge is all about!”
Ursula’s enthusiasm was infectious, and Aria felt all of the stress of the day melting away. “I’m really happy to be here. I love my job, but it’s exhausting. And I have the worst luck with men. Especially since my first…” Aria couldn’t finish the sentence, and Ursula seemed to pick up on it. She reached out over the reception desk and squeezed Aria’s hand.
“I promise, and I don’t make this promise lightly, you will find the love you’ve been searching for here. Listen, we don’t have anyone checking in for a while. Our next group is still a few hours off. Why don’t I show you around personally? I’ll give you a tour, we’ll get your bags dropped off.” Ursula leaned over the desk and saw Aria only had one bag. “Is that all you brought?”
Aria sighed. “Airline lost my luggage,” she said with a shrug.
“I’ll take care of it personally. In the meantime, let’s get you to your private bungalow.” She began typing frantically on the computer, then switched out the key she’d been holding for another. “I’ve even upgraded you to one of our luxury bungalows on the edge of the property. It has access to a little private pool. I saw on your application that you’re a kindergarten teacher, and if anyone deserves some pampering, it’s you.”
Aria’s eyes filled with tears. “That’s really sweet. Thank you.”
Ursula waved a hand at her. “Don’t even worry about it. Let’s find you the love you’re looking for!”
Aria and Ursula wandered across the property, and Aria couldn’t believe how beautiful everything was: white sandy beaches, sparkling turquoise waters, and gorgeous people draped across every surface as far as the eye could see. Little thatched bungalows peppered the shoreline from end-to-end, and she could just make out two different bars and a restaurant, that all overlooked the water. All of the panic she’d been feeling from a thousand bad dates, and worrying every day that she was doing right by the kids in her class, started to drift to the back of her mind for the first ti
me in years.
Ursula led her up the beach and to the very last bungalow on the property. It was perfect; it had its own private dock that lead out to the ocean, a small pool off to the side, and a porch with chairs that overlooked the beach. But what was most amazing about it was that if you didn’t want to see anything else going on at the resort, you didn’t have to. It was cut off from everything else, so you could practically wander around naked, if that was your sort of thing.
When they got inside, it was even more perfect. Huge TVs, a king-sized bed, a private bar, and an interior view of the ocean that was to die for. Ursula put her hands on her hips with a smile.
“Welcome to Bungalow Twelve! By far our nicest. I sometimes stay here when we aren’t fully booked, just because it’s so lovely. I’m going to leave you to get settled, and then when you’re ready, check out your matches, make some connections, and start having fun! And remember, new matches will be added all of the time, so keep checking the app!”
Ursula left Aria to get comfortable, and she began wandering the bungalow, putting the few things she had away, then she plopped down on the massive bed to take a nap before hitting the beach. Except…
The matching app on her phone kept buzzing at her. Over and over again. The buzzing didn’t stop, and it was driving her crazy. She finally relented and picked it up, and was surprised to see that not only were her matches messaging her, but guys she hadn’t been matched with. And a couple women. Aria rolled her eyes; she knew what this was about. Blonde hair and blue eyes made people stupid, and she wasn’t interested in hooking up with people who didn’t bother to get to know her for her.
The messages varied from respectful, to kind of lewd.
David: Hello, princess! We’ve been matched. Wanna get a drink?
Furever Always (Furever Series) Page 36