by Bianca D’Arc
As they approached the shoreline, Trevor knew he had to speak. He had tentative plans for later, which all depended on Beth’s response to a question he hadn’t yet asked. Now or never, Trevor.
“What are you doing for dinner?” He did his best to sound coolly casual.
Beth looked surprised. Pleased, he thought, but surprised.
“I hadn’t made any plans,” she told him in a tone he could just barely hear above the sound of the outboard motor.
“Would you like to join me for a picnic on the beach tonight? Sort of my way of thanking you for your help today,” he explained.
Her eyes lit from within, giving him hope. “Okay,” she said, again in that quiet tone he had to strain to hear.
He brought them into the dock just then, busy with the work of shutting down the motor and securing the equipment. Beth worked with him, helping where she could, especially in off-loading the delicate camera bags and boxes onto the dock.
As they made their way to shore after tying up the boat, he took the bulk of the bags, but she insisted on helping. Only then did he bring the matter of dinner back up for conversation. He had big plans, and he didn’t want to scare her off by sounding too eager.
“Do you want to meet just before sundown? Is that too late to eat?” he asked, very willing to accommodate her if she didn’t like that idea. Tonight was all about putting her more at ease with him.
“That sounds good. I have a few things I have to do in town this afternoon, but I can meet you around sunset. Where?”
“How about we meet at the boathouse and go from there. It’s only a short walk to the spot I have in mind.” Things were falling perfectly into place, but he dared not take anything for granted.
She agreed, and they parted when they reached the street. Beth handed him the two small bags she’d carried to that point, and he added them to his own load. He had a lot of work to accomplish before he could set his dinner plans into motion. Eager to get started, Trevor headed for his hotel room.
He had two separate missions this afternoon. First, he had to put the images he’d captured into some kind of order and send them to his superiors. At the same time, he had to set a few balls in motion for his second target—dinner on the beach with Beth. If all went well, he’d finish with his report just in time. He’d be cutting it close, but he’d always been pretty good with planning and logistics. He’d make it work.
Beth wasn’t sure what to make of Trevor’s invitation, but she wasn’t going to say no to spending more time with him. She’d tried to stay away, but he intrigued her on such a base level that she couldn’t really find it in her to steer clear, despite her misgivings.
He was handsome in a way that stole her breath. Considerate. Kind. She knew he was a military man and a warrior, but somehow, his imposing stature and martial skills didn’t seem threatening. On any other man, she’d be running in fear, but from Trevor? Never. Or…not anymore, at least.
She wanted to spend time with him. Something about her dared her to step outside her hard-won comfort zone and take a chance. Dinner wasn’t normally considered a dangerous activity, but she’d never really been on a date. Jonathan hadn’t allowed her to experience the same things her contemporaries did. He hadn’t let her grow up in anything close to a normal way.
She’d had tutors. She hadn’t been allowed to attend a regular school. She’d been denied the social interaction of kids her own age ever since going to live at Jonathan’s compound. She’d been allowed to shift and swim under strictly controlled circumstances, with Jonathan and his goons swimming all around her and her mother, keeping them in line and away from anything resembling freedom.
He’d said it was to keep them safe, but Beth had realized it was a prison. Even if her mother had refused to see it.
But she was free from Jonathan’s influence here. With the pod, she had learned to live a life independent of threats and fear…for the most part. The only threats were those of the open ocean, and the only fear came from within. Beth had been doing her best to learn how to deal with those more normal things, day by day, until the leviathan and its friends had shown up in their ocean.
All hell breaking loose was an apt description. Now, they were all huddled into the cove, under protection of the bears and the permanent wards put in place by the Alpha bear’s strega mate. Beth shuddered to think what would have happened without this safe haven.
And now, Trevor was challenging her fragile grasp on her emotions. He’d scared her at first, but she was slowly coming to crave his presence. She had been attracted to him from the beginning, despite herself.
She’d been so set on being negative and seeing only what had been lost that she’d spent a lot of her time in Grizzly Cove pushing people away. She’d been miserable, in fact, until that moment Trevor had walked up to her while she was sitting on that rock, feeling sorry for herself.
It was as if he’d changed everything with just his smile. The sun had come out, and she’d begun to realize just what a sour puss she’d become. The fact that they were essentially stuck in Grizzly Cove until the leviathan was dealt with was bad, but it could’ve been so much worse.
At least in Grizzly Cove, there was no Jonathan. No threat of danger to her mother if she didn’t behave. No fear of beatings that never left a visible mark so she had no evidence to show of the pain and anguish she’d endured at the hands of her so-called stepfather.
No, there were bears here. Big, strong, protective bears, who had taken her and the entire pod under their wing, so to speak. The bears made the rules, and she knew in her heart that they wouldn’t let anything bad happen in their town without doing something about it.
And there was the pod. They knew all about Jonathan and Beth’s mother. They wouldn’t let anything happen to Beth in the water, or on the land, if they could help it either.
Beth had strong allies now. She wasn’t a scared girl, trying to stand against a shark and his friends on her own. She had grown so much in the years since she’d escaped Jonathan, and she would never go back to being the frightened girl who had nearly disappeared under the force of Jonathan’s will.
Never.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Beth met Trevor for dinner, unsure what his beach picnic might imply, but willing to see where it led. She was feeling adventurous and willing to take a risk. That was a mood she hadn’t been in for a while, and she welcomed the little spurt of bravery. Jonathan had tried to crush her free will, but every now and then, she found the courage to step outside the small box he’d made for her and try something wild.
That seemingly un-crushable sense of adventure had pushed her to run away and seek the safety of the pod. It had made her try her hand at being a hunter, when staying safely hidden with the bulk of the pod would have been the more prudent course. And now, it was leading her toward a man…a bear shifter…who was unlike any other man she’d ever known.
He was certainly as tough and scary as the men in her past. Those hard-eyed mercenaries had been her stepfather’s thugs. They hadn’t been allowed to touch her, but they’d looked at her, and just their glances made her feel soiled. They weren’t nice men. Not like the gentle giants she’d met since coming to Grizzly Cove. And especially the kind-hearted Trevor.
Trevor greeted her with a smile and walked by her side toward a spot on the beach that wasn’t quite visible from the road, but it wasn’t so hidden that she felt isolated or afraid. He had a small hibachi grill set up, the coals already glowing a cheery red-orange. Some kind of fish wrapped in tin foil on top of the grill was giving off the most delicious aroma. Salmon, she thought. Yum.
“This is much fancier than I expected,” she said as he motioned for her to take a seat on the soft blanket he’d spread over the sand.
“Well, I couldn’t serve you take-out sandwiches,” he said, grinning as he turned to check on the portable grill. “And I do have a few recipes that turn out well enough to cook for other people. This salmon is one of them. I hope you don�
�t mind cooked fish.”
“Mind?” She laughed. “I love fish in all its variety. In mer form, it’s always raw, but when I’m on land, I love the way human chefs find different ways to season and cook it. Whatever you’ve got going on over there smells absolutely scrumptious.”
The meal was as good as its appetizing aromas, and they ate from paper plates while sitting on the shore, watching the waves. And it wasn’t just fish. He’d packed a salad and some tasty side dishes. They talked about the town and the people in it. Pleasant conversation. Nothing too deep, which suited her just fine.
Something was happening here, between them. Something almost electric in the air was drawing her closer to him. They sat on the blanket, facing the water, the shushing lap of the wavelets a pleasant background sound. Even though they were on the open beach, they were situated in such a way that it would be hard for anyone from town to see them.
Public, yet private…and perfect for what she had in mind.
The night deepened all around them, the only light the soft red glow of the dying coals, and the bright pinpoints of the stars in the heavens. They were all alone…yet surrounded by life everywhere. Beth’s people were settling in for sleep in the cold embrace of the cove waters while, all around in the woods, night creatures prowled, and the good folk of Grizzly Cove settled in for their night shifts—either hunting, sleeping or protecting the cove and all who lived there.
On the beach, it was just the two of them, isolated in their togetherness, under the stars. Beth felt closer to Trevor than she’d been to any man, and she wanted to experience all there was to feel between a man and woman. For once in her life, she wanted to be free of constraints and expectations. Free from worry and anxiety. Free to just feel and enjoy.
She thought she could do that with Trevor. She trusted him enough to think he might just be the one man she could be with who would expect nothing in return but her company. There would be no strings leading back to her stepfather. No political maneuvers. No business deals.
With Trevor, she very much thought what you see was what you get. It was comforting to know he was genuine. He might be scary—the Wraiths hadn’t earned their reputation by being gentle—but she also believed he would never use his skills against her. At least not without good reason. And an honorable reason.
Trevor might be employed as a mercenary, but he had honor. She truly believed he wouldn’t betray her to Jonathan for any amount of money or power. She didn’t know why she felt so strongly about this particular point, but she did. He wouldn’t betray her. She knew it deep in her soul.
As for where this night might lead, she didn’t want to think about it. She just wanted to live for the moment, for the next few hours, which she hoped she would be spending alone with Trevor. Hopefully, skin to skin, in his arms, his body warm over hers. She wanted that more than she wanted her next breath, but he was taking things slow. Too slow for her nerves.
When he started talking about the constellations, she leaned closer—ostensibly to follow the line of his pointing fingers as he explained the intricacies of celestial navigation. Or something like that. To be honest, she wasn’t really listening.
She was just enjoying being close to him, sharing his heat and drinking in his scent. Her mer side was cold at times, but when it felt the urge to mate, her blood could run as hot as any land shifter. Desire was building in her now, and if he didn’t make a move soon, she just might take the initiative. Beth almost smiled, wondering how Trevor would react to being pinned down and ravaged.
As the thoughts blossomed into heated images of them entwined in her mind, she found she couldn’t wait any longer. Turning to him, Beth covered his lips with hers, startling him into silence. But he didn’t remain startled for long.
Trevor took her up on the kiss and joined in as a full participant after only the slightest moment of stunned hesitation. After that, he didn’t take much coaxing—which is to say, no coaxing at all—to lie back on the blanket and let her have her wicked way with him.
It had been so long…and never with a man she respected like this. Oh, she’d had a relationship with one of her stepfather’s guards, but only after giving her virginity to the man had she learned that the whole arrangement had been carefully organized by Jonathan. It had been yet another way to keep Beth under his thumb.
The guard had been a young protégé of Jonathan’s that he was grooming for a more important position in his organization. Seducing the boss’s stepdaughter and keeping her in line had been just another part of the job. Another rung on the ladder of success, as it were.
The minute she’d found out about her lover’s duplicity, Beth had begun plotting her escape. She knew her weak-willed mother would never be able to leave Jonathan, but Beth had a shot. Maybe. Letting Jonathan believe she was still happily enjoying her first real romance, Beth had been working toward her own freedom, and when the chance had come, she’d taken it and run with it.
Like she was running with this feeling now. This incredible feeling of joyful rapture…wholesome desire. There was no subterfuge with Trevor. He hadn’t been colluding with her stepfather. She was certain he liked her for her, not for what her stepfather could do for him.
It was freeing. And very, very sexy. He made her feel more sure of herself and able to pounce on him and demand what she wanted in a way she never had before. As she was doing now.
She pushed at his clothing, wanting it gone. She kissed him with wild abandon as she squirmed to get closer to him in any way possible. Straddling his hips, she rubbed against him, noting with pleasure the hard ridge of his cock straining against the fabric that separated them.
Too much fabric. It had to go.
Breaking the kiss, she worked her way down his body, her breathing heavy as she labored toward her ultimate goal. She unbuttoned his shirt, placing her lips on his muscular torso as she went. He really was the most beautifully built man. Big as a bear, fit as an athlete, warm and welcoming as she could have hoped for. He heated her sea-cooled skin and made her want to stay on land with him…forever?
The thought made her pause just slightly, but the temptation of his skin was too great to be ignored for long. She kissed her way down his torso, but when she started unbuttoning his pants, he stayed her hand. She looked upward to meet his gaze and found his brown eyes, molten in their intensity, focused on her.
“You keep going, and this is gonna be over before it begins, sweetheart,” he said, his voice pitched in a low, sexy drawl that she’d never heard from him before. She liked it.
The rumble of his words sent a delightful shiver down her spine. She couldn’t help but smile at him.
“Smile like that at me some more, and we might achieve the same effect,” he teased, rolling them over on the blanket until he was on top, his muscular thighs between her upraised knees. She loved the delicious friction of his hardness against her soft spots, even if there was still too much fabric between them.
“I like it when your voice gets all growly,” she said, realizing as she spoke that she was no longer afraid of him. Not by a long shot. To her, he was a big ol’ teddy bear, not a scary grizzly, though she knew he could be scary to other people. Just not to her. Not anymore.
The simple truth was, she knew in her heart that he would never hurt her. Not for any reason. He smiled down at her, moving his body against hers in a sultry sway that made her breath catch.
“Well, I like the way you’re all soft and warm beneath me. Or on top of me. Or any positions you want, as long as it’s next to me,” he clarified, looking at her in that sexy way he had.
“I can agree with that,” she told him, knowing she was still smiling. She had been since this all started, and she doubted anything could wipe the outward sign of happiness from her face right now. She was too joyful to keep it bottled up inside.
“Do you also agree that we’re wearing too many clothes?” he asked, a mischievous light in his eyes.
“Oh, yeah. I totally agree there.” She
nodded at him, going along wherever he wished to lead her.
“What should we do about it, then?” His gaze narrowed as if he was considering different ways to remove her clothing. She liked that look in his eyes. Really liked it.
“I think we need to get naked,” she replied with mock-solemnity, still unable to wipe the smile from her lips, even as they played. She’d never played with a man like this. Never teased at such a moment. Never romped.
Now was the time. This was the man. She was going to have fun, for once in her life, and share some moments she would never forget. She was sure of it.
“You know, I think you’re right.”
He rose slightly so he could shrug off his shirt, and she watched the movement of his muscles with parted lips. Oh, yeah. She wanted to lick him all over.
He lifted onto his knees, helping her sit up so he could rid her of her top, as well. That went quick, but when it came time to remove her bra, he laid her back down on the soft blanket after just undoing the hooks at the back. He looked into her eyes as he lowered the straps over each shoulder, and then, his gaze went to her breasts as he bared them…slowly.
He lowered his head, and suddenly, his lips were there. And there. Right where she wanted them. His tongue teased her excited nipples, and her whole body shivered in delight.
She whimpered when he left, moving down her torso, dragging his lips and tongue over her skin on his way to her waist. When he encountered the waistband of her pants, he paused to trace her skin with feather light touches before removing her pants and panties all in one go.
Her breath caught as he knelt between her legs, spreading them wide. He slid a finger into her wet heat, sliding in and out a few times before adding another finger, stretching her, making her ready to take him and igniting a fire in her blood that had never felt this hot or out of control. She watched him watching her, loving the intensity of his gaze as he rubbed his thumb over her clit, and she came apart.