by Sam Crescent
“It’s here in the motorhome, I tried calling you like five hundred times, but then I heard it ringing inside. Which freaked me the hell out, because your truck isn’t here, and since I’ve got a key I went in to check… What the fuck, George?” He echoed their brother’s sentiment, and she heard the barely contained panic.
“I’m sorry. I’m okay. I didn’t realize I left my phone. I overslept. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
“I’m kicking your ass when you get here.”
“You can try.” She laughed.
“This isn’t funny, George.” Sean glared at her with his arms crossed.
“Oh my God, I’m late one fucking time and you two freak the hell out.”
“Yeah, exactly. You’re never late. We’re your brothers. We worry about you.” Sean eyed her up and down.
“Nothing is wrong, Sean. I just overslept. It happens occasionally to everyone. Stop with the chick flick moment.”
With an exaggerated sigh, he pushed past her into the house.
“I’ll start the coffee and food. Get your ass dressed. You’re standing in the doorway showing the world your underwear.”
“Well, I am now that you moved your big ass out of the way.”
He eyed her again as she shut the door.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Pete said there was some weird dominance power play between you and the client yesterday. Said he’s a bear and it was affecting some of the guys.”
“So? I’ve dealt with shifters before. He’s no different.”
“Yeah, but your eyes never turned gold before, either.”
She threw her hands up in exasperation. “I don’t shift!”
“Not yet,” he muttered before going to the kitchen. “Just get ready.”
Thirty minutes later, she was on her way to the site, coffee mug in hand. She lived on the outskirts of town, so her drive wasn’t too long, but it was still nearly ten o’clock by the time she arrived.
Caleb stood talking with Pete outside the motorhome.
Great. Just who I didn’t want to deal with today.
“Morning, Mr. Michonne.” She gave him a curt nod. “Pete, how’s it looking so far?”
Pete looked back and forth between her and Caleb and cleared his throat.
“Good,” he said. “They guys are making good progress on the lots to be cleared. We’ll probably need trucks here tomorrow before we run out of room.”
“Great, I’ll let Dad know.” She glanced at Caleb. “I’ll be there in a minute, Pete. Just need to grab my gear and check my messages. Sorry I was late.”
“Sure, see you in a bit.” With a last look between the two of them, Pete left her and Caleb and jumped in his truck. She heard him key the CB radio to update the crew as he pulled away.
Without a second look at Caleb, she entered the motorhome. Pete had plugged in her phone, bless him, and she could see all the missed calls, emails, and texts from him, clients, and even her father. She powered up the laptop so she could quickly reply to the emails.
“I wasn’t sure I’d see you again,” Caleb said softly. She glanced in the direction of his voice. He remained on the ground, outside the motorhome, speaking into the open door. She felt her body flush at the memory of last night.
“Pete’s never run a contract this big before. Sean’s wife is going to pop out their first kid any second now, so he needs to be closer to home. Didn’t have much choice, really,” she said, returning her attention to the screen of her computer. His presence irritated her. She hated how her body reacted to him and wanted him as far away as possible, as quickly as possible, even though as the landowner and contract holder he had every right to be there.
“Well, I’m glad to see you again.” He started to walk away, then abruptly turned back and leaned into the opening. “And for the record, I like this look much better,” he said, pointing toward her head and wiggling his finger in a circle.
Georgia opened and closed her mouth a few times, imitating a fish out of water as she floundered for words. With a self-satisfied smirk, Caleb turned and stalked off.
“It wasn’t for you!” she finally shouted after him. He lifted an arm and waved, never breaking stride.
She huffed, too flustered to focus on the email she’d been trying to read. Instead, she went into the tiny bathroom and yanked out her ponytail, using her fingers to comb her hair and quickly put it into a loose braid. She couldn’t wear the pony under her hardhat anyway, but in her hurry to leave the house she’d pulled it back to get it out of her face—which was free of makeup today, also thanks to her rush.
Pete often teased her about the length of her hair, asking why she kept it so long. In part, it was for the same reasons she’d given Caleb about wearing makeup. But also, she just didn’t look good with short hair. Some women looked awesome with pixie cuts or bobs. She looked like a man in a horrible drag outfit. She’d tried it once, while she’d been taking business classes at college part-time and working for her dad full-time. It was an experiment she’d never repeat. Her face was too wide, her jaw too square for it to look good.
“Who the hell does he think he is?” she grumbled as she quickly worked the strands back and forth through her fingers. “It’s not like he has a say about my appearance. I’m not his.”
A shudder ran through her at the thought. A fling with him would be just fine, but she got the distinct impression that he was interested in much more than that. Georgia had no interest in being tied down. She certainly wasn’t about to fall on her back and be a good little wife and den mother. That life was a death sentence to her. She’d never quit her job, and highly doubted he’d want his woman running all over creation with a bunch of other guys from sunup ’til sundown half the year.
“I’m pretty sure he has a different opinion about that.”
Georgia jumped.
“Fuck’s sake, Kyle, knock or something!”
“Where’s the fun in that? Besides, I figured you smelled my approach.”
“Why the hell would I have done that? We all smell like earth and fresh-cut timber and exhaust and oil. How would I have noticed anything different from how the inside of this trailer smells?”
“Because we have the same grandfather. And your mother was a shifter.”
“I’m not a shifter.”
He stared at her pointedly.
“Why the hell do you all keep looking at me like I’m about to shoot out claws and fur?”
“George, you may have never shifted, but I’m telling you, you are a shifter. It’s there, in you. Everyone on this side of the family can sense it when you’re around. The guys on the crew can sense it. But for some reason, your bear hasn’t decided to come out yet. I have a feeling that’s going to change soon. And after the client’s power display yesterday, frankly, I’m amazed that you didn’t drop then.” He held up a hand when she opened her mouth. “As your family, and not just as your crew, I’m telling you to steer clear of Ike and Tom. Your pheromones are off the chart. You want this guy bad, and every bear on the mountain can smell you.”
She felt her cheeks immediately flame with embarrassment.
“Nothing to be ashamed of, ’cuz. Our kind knows their mates when they meet. You can’t control it. Better not to fight it.”
“I’m not interested in a mate. And I’m not your kind. But I am your boss, and I say get your ass back to work. There’s talk of storms coming in next week.”
Kyle smiled knowingly at her.
“Sure thing, boss.”
Chapter Three
Caleb watched from a safe distance each night as the crew left for the day. After that first night, Georgia never lingered long, heading out herself before the dust from the last truck had settled. He had no idea how early she arrived, but for a week straight he had yet to beat her to the worksite in the morning.
He watched her emerge from the mobile office. The sun barely edged over the top of the mountain, leaving much of the valley bel
ow still in shadow. She turned and looked up the slope, walking directly toward him. In just a few minutes she’d closed much of the distance.
“I know you’re there, Caleb,” she called out. “I can feel you watching me.”
She drew closer, her pace slowing as she looked around for him.
“I don’t need a chaperone, you know. I’m quite safe on my own.”
He huffed, and she paused mid-step. Time to push her again, he thought. Digging into the trunk with his front claws, he pulled himself up from the branch he sat on and swung his back legs down.
“Oh!”
With ease, Caleb quickly backed down the tree and faced Georgia. She’d retreated a few paces and now stood braced against a tree.
“Caleb?” Her voice was breathy, his name barely more than a whisper. He nodded his head, all the while smiling internally.
Hesitantly, she moved forward.
“I’ve only ever seen my cousins as bears, and only a few times. My mother died when I was very young. I can hardly even remember her.”
Caleb held still as she reached a hand toward him. There was no fear in her scent, which pleased him greatly.
“Will you shift so I can talk with you?”
He shook his head.
“Why?”
Gently, he nipped at the sleeve of her sweatshirt as she stroked the fur on his shoulders, hoping she’d understand.
She laughed. “Not like I haven’t already seen it.”
A low growl escaped him at the shift in her scent. She sucked in a breath, her arousal increasing. Fuck, if I don’t shift now, I’ll never be able to control him with her smelling like that.
Caleb shook her hand off and took a few steps away. He briefly considered going behind the tree, so that the process would be mostly hidden from her view, before deciding against it. She’d asked him to shift, so she’d get what she got.
A thought occurred to him: perhaps she wanted to see the process? He was dying to know what kept her from shifting for so long. Most shifters experienced their first transformation shortly after puberty, yet for some reason, her bear had never made itself known. There was very little documentation about shifters raised in human families, as they nearly always stayed exclusively within the shifter community.
She watched him, her face a mixture of awe and fascination, as fur receded, muscles shrank, and bones relocated, until he stood before her, once again a man. As used to the process as he was from shifting for nearly thirty years, he didn’t make any noises or cries of pain. Even if he’d felt compelled to cry out, he’d have kept silent, so as not to scare her. Her eyes roamed his body as he rolled his neck and stretched his arms. The same gold shimmer that he’d seen the first day reappeared, her eyes glimmering in the growing light.
“That’s amazing,” she said before her gaze fell to his cock. “Really?” she asked, amusement coloring her voice at his salute.
“You’re aroused. I can smell it. If I hadn’t shifted, I’d have had to run away. My bear wants to claim you … as my mate.”
“So I’ve been told.” She sounded rather unimpressed by that idea.
“It’s why I’ve been watching you. I can’t help it. I leave my cabin to head down to the visitor’s lodge, and I find myself here instead. I sleep, only to dream of you. You’re like an unattainable drug, a fabled high that I’m desperate to have. So I get what little fix I can manage.”
Georgia swallowed hard.
“Maybe I need a fix too.”
His cock jumped at the thought.
“Georgia…” His arm lifted, reaching for her, but then he remembered his promise to her and quickly dropped it to his side.
Breathing fast and shallow, she stepped closer to him.
“Tell me,” he said, nearly begging her for permission.
“No touching.” The grin on her face was wicked as she placed a hand on his chest.
“Not fair,” he groaned. Christ, when did I lose the ability to speak in full sentences? What the hell does she do to me? He let her push him until his back encountered rough bark.
“Stay.”
Caleb narrowed his eyes.
“I’m a bear, not a fucking dog,” he rumbled.
“I’m aware,” she purred, running her fingers through the hair in the valley between his pecs.
He desperately wanted to shred her clothing from her and stop this teasing. She closed the remaining distance and leaned into him.
“What is it about you that makes me want to break every one of my rules?”
He moved to kiss her and she quickly retreated.
“I said no touching.”
“You also said you want to break all your rules.” He buried a hand in her silken hair, holding the back of her head. Her nostrils flared and she glared at him. “Don’t forget, sweetheart, I can smell how much you want me. But you go ahead and feign anger and indifference if that’s your kink.”
Caleb slammed his mouth to hers. She gasped, and he used the opportunity to drive his tongue through her parted lips. A moan escaped her and she ground her hips against him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and clinging to him until they were both left breathless.
“Cocky old bastard, aren’t you?” she panted, their foreheads pressed together.
“Say the word and I’ll show you just how old I am, little girl. Or is that what’s holding you back?”
It was the first time either of them had commented on the age gap. Though he was a dozen years her senior, it didn’t faze him in the least. She was everything he could have hoped for in a mate: independent, strong-willed, and intelligent. Gorgeous was just the icing on the cake. Age meant nothing to him.
“I’m quite certain I can teach you a thing or two that the boys you’re used to haven’t bothered to figure out yet.”
Georgia’s breath did that little hitch again, the one she got when aroused, and the one that made his cock ache to fill her.
“I don’t care how old you are,” she said at last.
“Then what’s the hold-up here, Georgia?” He pulled back to meet her eyes. “Because something keeps making you say no when your body screams yes.”
“I’m not interested in being tied down.”
“Well, that’s a shame. I’d love to tie you up and drive you out of your mind with pleasure.”
Twin spots of color flamed in her cheeks before she answered.
“That’s not what I meant.”
He sighed and released her, turning away. Now more than ever, he’d love it if her bear would make an appearance and help him out.
“I know what you fucking meant. But this isn’t something I can just turn off, Georgia. You are the only woman I will want for the rest of my life.”
“I know,” she said softly, and he could hear the regret in her voice. “And I’m sorry to have done this to you.”
He raked his fingers through his hair, trying not to let his frustration get the better of him.
“What is it that you fear so much about commitment? I wouldn’t ask you to change who you are. I wouldn’t take you from what you love, from what drives you.”
“You say that now. But the long hours and endless string of days without a break will wear on you one day as well. So it’s better if we stop this before it gets harder for you to walk away.”
“You’re the one who came to me this morning!” he yelled. “Christ, Georgia! What the fuck do you want from me? I’ll always be here waiting for you, don’t you get that? I can’t just ‘walk away’ from you!” Agitation had him dangerously close to shifting or doing something he’d regret.
“Don’t you fucking put this on me, asshole! What makes you think I like knowing I’m being fucking watched all the time while I’m here? Of course I came up here to confront you about it!”
“I’m protecting you!”
“From what?” She nearly screamed the last word.
“I don’t fucking know!” he shot back.
His words threw her. Her head cocked to the
side, bewilderment drawing her brows together.
Caleb released an exasperated sigh. That was the kicker—he really had no clue what it was that he worried about. She wasn’t some tiny, frail, meek little thing.
“All I know,” he said quietly, stepping in front of her, “is that I worry about you constantly. I have this drive, this need, to make sure you are safe when you are here alone. It’s a bit better when you’re not on the mountain and I can’t just come down and see you, but I still am concerned about you at all times.” He tucked a section of hair behind her ear and then took her hands in his. She didn’t fight him, and he took that as a small win. “When a shifter mates, they bond with their partner. You know about this, yes?”
“A little bit.”
He held her gaze. “They form a kind of psychic connection, a mental bond. It’s how we can communicate with each other when we shift. We can sense the other one, and ‘talk’ to them telepathically if desired or needed. Without having that bond with you, I worry constantly. That is why I watch you. You are the one thing that matters most to me in the world now. Not the mountain, not the work we’re doing, not the den members. Nothing. Only you, until we are mated.”
“Stop saying that! I’m not mating anybody! Not even you!” She jerked her hands free and began pacing angrily.
“What do I have to do to convince you that this is not a death knell? That it’s not a punishment of some sort?”
“There’s nothing to be done for it. I’m sorry, but that’s how it is.”
With an angry roar, Caleb shifted and took off through the woods.
“Caleb! Caleb! Are you fucking kidding me with this?” He could hear her yelling after him, outraged that he’d left in such a manner. But if he kept arguing with Georgia, things would not end well.
How do things keep going to shit between us just when I think we’re getting somewhere?
****
“You know, blood-soaked wood doesn’t exactly burn well.”
Caleb blindly hurled the piece of wood he’d just split behind him in Ryan’s general direction.
With a sigh, he dropped the ax and pulled his shirt off. Tearing strips of material from it, he wrapped his cracked and blistered hands, then wiped the handle with the remains of his shirt. He wasn’t worried about his hands; they’d be healed by the time the sun set in a few hours.