by Tia Siren
Who'd seen them? They'd been careful. How did he know? ''Who told you that?''
''It doesn't matter. All I want to know is whether it's true or not?''
''Miss Horner and I are in love. And yes we had sex in the classroom. In fact all over her workbench and it was bloody fantastic.'' The Dean's eyes widened. He'd expected Peter to deny it. To play for time. He hadn't expected such an outing of honesty.
''You know what that means don't you?'' the Dean asked.
''I assume you're going to suspend me and then fire me.'' The Dean nodded. ''Well, you'd better get on with it.''
When Peter left the Dean's office, he called Marcella. When they met at the Blue Boar on Chester Street, Peter took hold of her hand across the table. ''I've been suspended, and I'll be fired soon.''
''Someone saw us?'’ she asked. Peter nodded.
''I was bullish in front of the Dean, but now I'm scared. I don't have another job to go to. I'll be broke soon.''
''You know since I won the competition, I've been inundated with commissions. It seems the whole world wants a Marcella Horner sculpture. Just before we met, the Times called. They want to do an interview for the Sunday magazine. My phone's red hot.'' Peter beamed with pride. ''I want you, Peter. Maybe some people disapprove, but we're both adults.'' She squeezed his hand and leaned across the table to kiss him. He closed his eyes and felt himself getting hard at the smell of her perfume. ''Come with me to my barge and stay. It looks like I'll be able to keep us both for a while. Why don't you start sculpting or writing?''
Marcella sipped her wine and wondered why Peter was only drinking water. Peter didn't want to drink alcohol again. He’d been dangerously near the edge, but now he had something more important in his life than booze.
''Shall we go?” Marcella asked.
He whispered to her. ''Only if you promise to take me to your bedroom and wear me out.''
''That's exactly what I had in mind.''
After the most strenuous love making session Peter had ever known, he pulled her to him and put his arms around her. Her hair fell over his chest, and he loved the feel of it. She was covered with perspiration, and he leaned down and licked her neck. She giggled. ''Salty,'' he joked.
''Jesus,'' Marcella cried.
''What?''
''My father.''
''Where?''
''Outside. I just saw his face through the porthole.'' She jumped out of bed and put on a robe. ''Stay here. I have no idea what he's doing here. He never comes here.'' Of all the times, he would have to show up now, she thought.
''Hasn't changed at all,'' the Earl said, looking at what used to be his mother's boat. ''You know she bought this barge after father died. We all thought she'd gone mad. But she loved it.''
Marcella handed him a cup of tea. ''What do you want?'' she asked.
He looked at her. She was beautiful, as beautiful as his wife. ''I want to say sorry.''
Marcella swallowed hard. ''You want to say sorry? That's not at all like you.''
''I read about your success in the newspaper.''
''Ah, now I'm successful you're interested all of a sudden? Well, it's too late.''
''I was wrong. I don't know what else I can say.''
''How about I love you. I've never felt loved by you.''
The Earl looked shocked. He wasn't able to show his love for her; he never had been able to. But he did love her. He'd had some misguided notion that she should enter a profession. He'd ignored her feelings. ''I do love you. All I wanted was the best for you. Now I can see I was wrong.''
''You were,'' Marcella wasn't going to let him off very easily.
''Why don't we start again?'' he asked.
''I don't need to try. You do.''
He laughed and turned his cup around. ''Okay. Will you let me start again?''
Marcella wanted to hurt him more, but she wasn't able. A grin came over her face. ''Alright, daddy,'' she said. She hadn't called him that for a long time.
''This is for you,'' he handed her a white envelope.
''I don't need your money now.''
''I know you don't. Open it.''
Marcella read the letter inside. ''Really? It's not a joke?'' she asked.
''No. The Marcella Horner Foundation of Sculpture is something I came up with. I hope you don't mind.''
''Mind? How could I mind?''
''I've managed to get charitable status for it, and I've bought a building in Ealing. I thought we could give disadvantaged kids the chance to learn to sculpt. All the smaller details need finalizing, but I've put a million of my own money into the fund to get you off to a start. We'll need a manager.''
''I have just the right man in mind,'' she said.
Peter had fallen asleep by the time the Earl left. When he felt Marcella's naked body slide next to him, he woke, rolled over and kissed her.
''I've got a great job for you,'' she whispered. ''Something you will enjoy more than anything you ever dreamed of.''
''What?''
''I'll tell you later. Make love to me again.'' Peter wondered whether he could, but Marcella was very insistent, and his body responded to her soft touch.
*****
THE END
PARANORMAL SHIFTER Romance – The Bear’s Bravery
CHAPTER ONE
The two friends stood side by side, skipping stones into the lake and not saying much. Everyone from the tribe, it seemed, did that as a form of therapy; when words were insufficient to capture heartfelt emotions. Then Eric walked back to the boulder and leapt onto it and just sat there staring ahead, lost in thought. Bradley followed after him and gave him a firm grip on the shoulder as a show of empathy.
“It might not be that bad,” he said as he tried to console the young man.
“Easy for you to say; you are over the hill, and you landed a good one,” Eric countered. “Look at me! Do I look at all ready or eager or willing to do any of this now?”
“You really don’t have much of a choice, man,” Bradley told him. “That’s just the way things are. We have lived like this for centuries, and we aren’t worse off because of it.”
“That doesn’t make it right,” Eric snarled. “I should be able to choose who I spend the rest of my life with, under normal circumstances. I shouldn’t be forced into it just because I happened to be born this way.”
“But you were born this way, Eric, and you know well the consequences of not obeying. Our forefathers have been known to protect us, and we get to keep our abilities as a reward for it.”
“Yeah, well maybe I’m better off without it,” Eric said, heaving an exasperated sigh.
“You don’t mean that,” Bradley said to him. “You’ll see; you will look back on this moment soon enough and laugh at yourself. Who knows, you might get to save the girl of your dreams.”
“The rules don’t even make sense,” Eric continued to protest. “Why twenty-five? Why not when I’m forty and don’t care who I end up with. It’s stupid.”
“Careful now,” Bradley said as he looked around. “You are bordering on blasphemy now.” The two sat in silence for a few moments after that as Eric stewed some more. “Twenty-five is the prime of our lives, and it’s the time when the spirits dole out their richest blessings on us. We are at our best in those years; good strong men who will lead the next generation of bears into this tribe.”
“How come the wolves get to stay within their pack, and vampires live free? Why do I have to do this? I don’t even have someone I’d like to save at the moment. I haven’t fallen in love as yet. What if the woman I “choose”, or the one the spirits choose for me, isn’t one I can fall in love with?”
“I know it’s scary, Eric, but it has to be done. Each of us has to go through that when we get to twenty-five, and you will be at that age tomorrow. It should be a cause for celebration. Plus, do you think the wolves like the idea of staying within the pack? What if they don’t like any of the women there?”
“I guess you are right,” Er
ic conceded. “It comes with the territory, and we don’t get to choose, one way or another.”
“Right. Just imagine you are a vampire, and you fall for a human. Imagine the horror of trying not to eat your date every chance you get.”
Eric laughed. “At least I don’t have to go through that. I get your point,” he said, glancing over at Bradley. “Win some, lose some.”
“You will be fine,” Bradley said as he stood. “In the meantime, I think there is a little lady waiting for me at home. Catch you later, and chin up.”
“Yeah, later man,” Eric said as he watched his friend go.
Bradley had had to go through the same ritual two years ago as Eric now faced. But instead of dancing around the fire, or getting weird tattoos, or drinking some potion the medicine man made as some tribes did, he got a ritual for life. His life was officially defined after the age of twenty-five, and he dreaded what would happen next. According to his tribe’s customs, the spirits choose the partners of the male bears according to the life they first save after they come of age.
Eric couldn’t remember saving anyone before, so now his fear was split down the middle. What if he never saved anyone? Would he be cursed to go through life alone? And on the other hand, what if he saved a woman he wasn’t even attracted to? What would happen if he saved a girl he liked who didn’t like who he truly was? He shook his head as he tried to dispel the thoughts running amuck in his mind.
In his human form, his mind was more intolerable, and he often sought refuge in his true self, as he did now. Slowly he climbed down from the boulder and slipped out of his clothes. He stood there for a second in the nude, feeling the cold air wash over his bare skin. He closed his eyes as he tried not to think about how different his life would be after tomorrow. Slowly he could feel his body rippling as he replaced smooth skin with fur, and landed on his paws. He growled long and loud as he tried to release his tension and then ran off into the bushes.
“Do you think he will be alright?” Bradley turned when he heard Michael, appointed leader of the bears.
“You know Eric; he always has to put on a show of defiance. I think he is more concerned about what the woman will look like, rather than the actual ritual itself.”
“Hmm,” Michael grunted. “Then the woman the spirits choose will be exactly what he needs.”
“I hope he is ready for that,” Bradley said.
Their customs have always worked before, and the spirits never failed to guide them. He didn’t doubt they would do the same for Eric. He could only hope the man was strong enough to receive what was about to be given to him.
CHAPTER TWO
Eric stood staring ahead as Michael chanted and traced indigenous lines on his forehead with medicinal oils. He could see the smiles and nods of approval as he headed for the gallows. He wondered how he had never placed much significance on this event until now. His mind was a hollow, empty cavern at present, and he tried desperately to fill it with images of past joys and conquests. Never again could he be careless with his actions, for one wrong move could send him propelling into the arms of a woman he didn’t want to be with. Maybe he could hide out and wait it out. Perhaps there was some timeline to it that...
He felt someone nudge him then, and he snapped back to consciousness. It was over. At least for the rest of them. For him, it had only just begun.
“Don’t look so glum,” Bradley said as he slapped him on the shoulder and pulled him aside. “It isn’t as bad as you are making it out to be.”
“That depends on your definition of the word. It looks horrendous from this angle,” he said, glancing around.
“Eric, all you need to do is live your life as you always have. You have a nice office with an assistant manager position under your belt, and tons of girls to date,” Bradley said as a nostalgic air overtook him.
Eric creased his brow and ruffled Bradley’s hair. “Don’t even think about it. Eva’s a nice girl.”
“Look, I didn’t say anything,” Bradley countered in a hushed tone.
“You didn’t have to,” Eric told him. “By the way, how did you save her?”
“I work as an EMT technician on an ambulance; she just happened to be the first person I saved after the ceremony,” he told him. “I didn’t even have to look very far.” Just then Eric’s face lit up like Rudolph’s nose on Christmas Eve. “What’s that look, Eric?” Bradley asked as he saw the suspicious look on his friend’s face.
“Do you think the elders would know the difference if the save was manipulated?” he asked as he winked and walked off.
“Don’t even think about it. Life has a way of screwing us over when we least expect it. Just go about your day as usual and when it happens, it happens.”
“Easy for you to say. I don’t wish to sit and wait on fate,” Eric said as he got to the clearing and pressed the alarm button on his keychain.
“Just be careful; it could backfire,” Bradley warned.
“Aren’t I always?” Eric said as he gave him a sneaky look and backed out of the open space.
Bradley stood there watching him as his taillights disappeared in the distance. “He will adjust,” Eva said as she came upon him.
Bradley turned to her and smiled, as he brushed a wisp of hair that lingered on her forehead. He loved her, and she wasn’t a bad woman to be stuck to. She had beauty and ambition and grace. Still, he only wished he had gotten the same idea as Eric. “Come on,” he said. He slipped his hand around her shoulder, and they walked back to the reservation.
****
If there was ever a time that Eric’s senses were acute, it was at that moment when he was painfully aware of what was thrust upon him and what he needed to do to avert it. Normally he would have been speeding along, as carefree as any other twenty-five-year-old in possession of a jaguar would be, but not this time. This time he kept his eyes trained on the speedometer, going just about or below the speed limit. He even stopped at four-way signs and made turn signals, and he felt ridiculous doing it.
Eric wasn’t a by the book type of man, and he resented that he even had that assistant manager position, because people expected him to be a certain way. But the bears felt he needed a reputable career, so they had stuck him behind a desk. He felt like a shadow of himself, and now with this new addition, he could have easily been possessed by another being.
He stopped the car in the middle of the road and screamed while banging his head on the steering wheel. When the heaving in his chest subsided, the car rolled into motion again, and he drifted off to his apartment.
A few days later and Eric was no more comfortable than the day of his ‘rite of passage’. Paranoia did not accurately describe the state of frightfulness that crippled him.
“Hello?” he barked into the receiver as he grabbed it from the cradle.
“Mr. Colburn, there is a Kimberly here to see you,” his secretary said on the other end.
“Send her in,” he said as he gulped and straightened his tie. There was no certainty that this would work, but it warranted an attempt. “Kimberly,” he said as he stood and flashed her a broad grin.
“What’s this about Eric? You aren’t usually the one calling,” she said as she sashayed into the room, her curves spanning the breadth of the space. He eyed her as she moved closer, her long black hair glistening under the fluorescent lighting. He wouldn’t have any problem calling her his own.
“I need you to do something for me,” he told her.
“You mean, that thing that I always do for you?” she asked as she traced her lips with her tongue and fingered his tie.
“Something else,” he told her. He gripped her arm and led her out of the office.
“What is wrong with you today?” she asked, skipping along. “You’re acting weird.”
“I am feeling a little weird,” he told her as he pushed the heavy glass door aside that separated them from the busy intersection not ten feet away.
“Eric, what is going on?” she asked, tug
ging her hand away.
He stood there looking panicked, like a drug addict looking for his next score after days of nothing. Then, without warning, he knocked her into the street. The next thing he heard were tires screeching. He charged ahead and yanked her back.
CHAPTER THREE
“Is she alright?” he heard the man ask as he alighted from the car. “She came out of nowhere.”
“Yes, she is fine,” Eric said, holding her to him and smiling. “Everything is fine now.”
Kimberly was shaking like a leaf as she clung to him like a cat on a light pole. He smoothed her hair back as he tried to lead her inside. The driver, reassured that she was doing alright, nodded and returned to his car. Eric was halfway to the door when Kimberly suddenly pushed him away.
“What the hell was that?” she asked, fury overtaking her.
“What the hell was what?” he asked her as if he didn’t know what she was talking about. “You tripped and fell into the street, and I pulled you back.”
“I tripped?!” she cried. “You knocked me into the street. Why would you do that? Just so you could pull me back in?”
This was not the end he had foreseen. He had expected there to be some heavenly chorus being sung by now, and for her to have love in her eyes. Instead, all he saw was anger. “Forget it, sorry,” he said. He walked back inside. She did not follow.
Eric spent the rest of the day nursing his dejection until he left the office a half hour earlier than usual. He had to get something strong into his system. And strong meant Connors’.
“Hey, Eric! Over here!” he heard someone call from across the room, signalling him to the booth he occupied every week at his favourite drinking spot. He skirted some waitresses who batted their lashes at him and nodded while trying to appear normal. But he was far from it.
“Isn’t it a little too early for booze?” Simon asked as Eric sat down.
“Are you asking me or telling yourself?” Eric asked. He caught the glass as Simon slid over.