Sophia’s cheeks reddened a bit as she imagined lying naked with Finn in front of a fireplace. She’d only been in his cabin for a few moments while they dropped off their groceries, but it had been hard to miss the giant fireplace that graced his living room. And her mind had quickly gone from admiring the fireplace to wondering what it would be like to lie down with him next to it on that giant sheepskin rug he had placed in front of the hearth.
Sophia took several deep breaths to try to steady her heartbeat. What had gotten into her? She wasn’t usually the type to jump into a fling, but she was feeling a little bolder than normal today. Maybe all the fresh Alaskan air was going to her head.
Sophia hopped off the snowmobile, her boots sinking quickly down into the soft snow. Finn nodded at a particularly thick cluster of trees at the edge of the forest.
“That’s a good spot to leave your clothes,” he said. “If you want to go shift first, I’ll take care of making sure the helmets are secured to the snowmobile so they’re here when we get back.”
Sophia nodded, and passed her helmet over to Finn. Then she walked over to the cluster of trees. They were all some sort of pine, and their scent was heavenly. They formed an almost perfect circle, shutting out the rest of the world with their thick branches except for one opening that was just wide enough for a bear to squeeze through.
Sophia quickly stripped naked, folding her clothes into a neat pile and leaving them in a sheltered spot under one of the pine tree’s thick branches. She shivered violently against the cold wind that hit her bare flesh, but she knew she wouldn’t be cold for long. She stood in the middle of the pine grove, took a deep breath, and then let out a loud roar.
She felt a surge of energy flood through her as her body began to shift. Her face changed first, going from the perfect oval of her human face to the soft round face of a black bear. Her arms and legs were next, lengthening and then quickly becoming covered with thick black fur. Finally, her torso changed, completing the transformation. Sophia stood in the forest looking like a full black bear, steamy hot air coming from her nostrils. She breathed in deeply, and then let out a long, loud roar.
It felt good to shift. It had been too long, and her bear had become quite restless. Stretching out the beast’s legs would probably do wonders for her mood. Whenever it had been too long since the last time she shifted, Sophia always became uncharacteristically grumpy. In theory, Sophia should be able to shift whenever and wherever she wanted. These days, thanks to the war on shifters that had ended with the realization that shifters weren’t all that bad, everyone knew that shifters existed. Shifters were accepted and even celebrated as a normal part of society. But Sophia still had a hard time shifting unless she was in a completely remote location. It had been drilled into her when she was young that you had to hide from humans when you shift, and old habits die hard. And, in any event, shifting out here in the wilderness was far more exciting than shifting in the city streets of San Francisco. Bears needed room to roam, and the forest offered that much better than any city could.
Sophia ambled out of the small pine grove and looked over at Finn, who was sitting on the parked snowmobile waiting for her. When he saw her bear, he grinned.
“Your bear is gorgeous,” he said, looking her over with approval. “That comes as no surprise, though. You’re gorgeous in human form, so why wouldn’t your bear be breathtaking, too.”
Sophia was thankful that Finn couldn’t see the deep blush heating her cheeks when she was in bear form. She let out a small huff of acknowledgement, then sat on her haunches to wait for him to shift himself.
Finn hopped off the snowmobile and walked over to the pine grove. He disappeared into the thick green branches, and minutes later a loud roar and flash of energy emanated from behind the trees. Sophia watched as his bear emerged, and her eyes widened in awe.
Finn was an Alaskan grizzly, which came as no surprise since he belonged to a clan of Alaskan grizzlies. But even for a grizzly, he was large. His bear paws were at least four times the size of Sophia’s, and he stood at least two feet taller than her. His sleek brown fur was covered with a dusting of snow from where it had brushed against the snow covered trees as he was leaving the pine grove. The sparkling snow made his fur look like it was glittering.
Sophia felt her heart beating faster with admiration. Finn almost didn’t look real. He looked like some sort of large, mythical beast who had stepped out of the pages of a fairy tale. Which shouldn’t have surprised her that much. This whole day was starting to feel like a fairy tale.
Finn padded easily over to her, his large grizzly frame moving with surprising grace. He nuzzled Sophia’s petite bear nose with his own giant grizzly nose. This was a standard greeting among shifters before a run, so Sophia knew he didn’t mean anything special by the gesture. But that didn’t stop her heart from pounding even faster at his touch. Just being near him did crazy things to her bear, and she felt her skin tingling as her fur stood on end.
If Finn noticed anything unusual about her fur, he didn’t give any indication of it. Instead, he let out a soft snort, and then swung his head wide to point toward the forest. Sophia nodded in understanding. Finn was ready to run.
And run he did. He let out another roar, and then took off. Sophia followed close on his heels, doing her best to keep up with him. She could tell that he was going slower than he normally would have for her sake, but it was still difficult to keep up with his impossibly long legs. The burning in her lungs from the high speed run felt good, though. She couldn’t remember the last time she had challenged herself physically. There wasn’t much occasion for it in the city.
Sophia made sure to pay attention to the scenery around her, taking in its beauty. The snow seemed to cover everything with exactly the right amount of pure, vibrant whiteness. The deep green of the pine trees offered a stark contrast to the light color of the snow, and the dark wood of tree trunks added to the display of beauty. The air was quiet. Not many animals were stirring here in the dead of winter. The days were short now, and the sun was already waning, throwing long shadows across the path.
The “path” itself wasn’t what one would typically think of as a path. If you didn’t know it was there, you might easily miss it. It wasn’t a man-made path cleared away for convenient passage through the forest. Instead, it was a zigzagging trail that the shifters followed, cutting through the natural breaks in the trees to get where they wanted to go. Finn must have traveled this way many times. He never hesitated, and always seemed sure of where to go.
They must have run for a solid hour before Finn started slowing down, until he was almost at a walking pace. Sophia was surprised that he had slowed, but she wasn’t complaining. Her burning lungs were thankful for the chance to recover for a moment. A few moments later, they reached a clearing and Sophia realized why they had slowed. There in front of them was a small shelter cabin. The shifters must have built it here to provide a stopping point for anyone who wanted to rest after a run in the woods before heading back to Frost Peak. The building was small and simple, but it was sturdily built, and the wooden beams gleamed brightly. This place must be fairly new. Perhaps it had even been constructed just this summer.
Finn ambled right up to the door, and then, with a loud roar, shifted back to human form. Sophia blinked in surprise as his naked human form appeared right in front of her. Thankfully, his back was to her, so he didn’t notice any expression of shock that might have registered on her bear face. He disappeared into the inside of the cabin for a moment, then came out wearing an oversized sweatshirt and sweatpants.
“We can rest here for a bit,” he explained. “The clan keeps it well stocked with food and several sizes of clothing, so that anyone who wants to stop off during a shifter run has a good place to do so. It’s also available as an emergency shelter, in case someone gets stuck in a blizzard or something like that. Usually we know if bad weather is coming, but sometimes bad blizzards do pop up without warning.”
Sophia nodded her bear head. She hadn’t realized until just now how hungry she was. She had planned to eat a late lunch after grocery shopping, but that had never happened after all the excitement of running into Finn at the store. Combine her lack of meals today with the strenuous run she had just done, and Sophia was starving. She hoped that the food stocked inside the cabin was something good.
“I’m going to quickly run and get some kindling for a fire,” Finn said. “Feel free to shift back to human form and find some clothes inside the cabin. I should be back in just a few minutes.”
Sophia nodded and started walking toward the door of the cabin. She waited until Finn had completely disappeared into the woods to shift. Even though it was fairly normal for shifters to see each other naked, due to the nature of shifting, Sophia felt a bit strange shifting in front of Finn. There was some sort of chemistry there, and she had a feeling that if they saw each other naked, it would mean something. Sophia’s cheeks reddened once again, and now that she was back in human form, the deep red color was painfully obvious. Thankful that Finn was off in the woods, Sophia scurried into the cabin to find some clothes.
As she had expected, the inside of the cabin consisted of just one room. An oversized couch stood on one side of the room, facing a fireplace with a large woven rug in front of it. On the other side of the room was a row of cupboards that took up the entire wall. The first cupboard Sophia opened was stocked with blankets, jackets, and a large first aid kit. The second cupboard contained a variety of sweatshirts and sweatpants, along with pairs of lambswool slippers in various sizes. Sophia quickly found a pair of sweats that fit her and slipped them on. The warmth of the clothing was a welcome improvement over her bare skin, but the cabin was still freezing, and Sophia was beginning to shiver. Her nipples stood hard and alert, and poked through even the thick fabric of her sweatshirt. Sophia wondered if Finn would notice them when he returned.
The last set of cupboards held an assortment of dishes, food, and bottled water. Much to Sophia’s delight, the food was not just bland nonperishable items. The supply must be something that the townspeople replenished on a regular basis, because it consisted of fresh fruits, bread, deli meat and cheese, crackers, and a few different types of jelly. Sophia’s mouth watered, and she grabbed an apple. Politeness probably dictated that she should wait for Finn, but she was too hungry to care about manners right now. The sweet, crisp flesh of the apple tasted like heaven to her.
As soon as she took her second bite, the front door of the cabin swung open, bringing in Finn and a fresh blast of cold air. He was carrying an armful of kindling, which he deposited next to the fireplace. Then he went to shut the front door before going to search for matches in the same cupboard that held the blankets and first aid kit.
As he passed by her to go back to the fireplace, Sophia noticed his eyes drop to her pointed, alert nipples. He let his gaze linger there for just a moment before quickly turning away. Sophia smiled as she took another bite of her apple. She couldn’t deny how much it pleased her to know that she had an effect on him.
After a few minutes of fiddling with the fireplace, Finn had managed to get a roaring fire going. It didn’t take long for the small cabin to go from cold to cozy, and Sophia threw her apple core in the trash, then went to sit on the couch in front of the fire for a few minutes. She closed her eyes happily as she felt the chill leaving her body. She should have been a bundle of nerves about spending time alone here with Finn, but she felt strangely at peace. The cabin was warm, they had plenty of food, and it felt damn good to indulge having a crush on a hot guy for once.
Finn didn’t say much as he moved about the cabin. He had pulled out an assortment of cheese and crackers, and was adding some fruit to the tray as well. When he had finished assembling the spread, he brought it over to the couch and set it down in between Sophia and him. There was no table, so the couch was as good a place as any to eat.
They ate in silence for a few minutes, until Sophia spoke up.
“This cabin is such a great idea,” she said. “How long has it been here?”
“Not long,” Finn said. “We built it two summers ago. People don’t use it as much as I thought they would, actually. But I’m out here all the time. Sometimes I even spend the night here. I like the quiet of the forest.”
Sophia nodded, then continued eating. Finn was the next one to break the silence. By the time he did, their impromptu cheese plate was nearly gone.
“How did you like the forest?” he asked.
“It’s beautiful,” Sophia said. “Even better than I remembered. And the pine trees with the snow are even better in some ways than all the decorated Christmas trees back in town. There’s something about a pine tree in its natural beauty that’s downright breathtaking.”
“I agree,” Finn said, looking over at Sophia with eyes that were suddenly intense and hungry. “There’s nothing quite as breathtaking as natural beauty.”
Sophia felt another wave of heat going through her body, and it wasn’t from the fireplace. Finn’s voice was low and husky, and he didn’t need to explain to her that he wasn’t referring to the forest’s beauty anymore. Sophia felt a thrill of pleasure go through her, and a stirring in her loins. She wanted him. A thousand warning bells tried to sound off in the back of her mind. Her logical side tried to remind her that Finn was an aloof man who lived hundreds of miles away from her. But Sophia’s heart didn’t care about logic right now. Besides, something didn’t quite add up for her with the whole “broken man” and “loner” images that Finn tried to use for himself, or that others projected onto him.
Finn had his issues, sure. But Sophia had a feeling that he was a lot more social and caring than he let on. He had obviously been heartbroken by things in his past, and he carried a lot of fear and hurt around with him. But there was more to him than met the eye.
Of course, what did meet the eye about him was exactly what was driving Sophia crazy right now. Finn was easily the most gorgeous man she had ever seen, and in the soft light of the fireplace combined with the fading light of day, he seemed even more surreal. His sculpted face made Sophia’s heart pound in her chest. His piercing eyes seemed to see right through her, and his large chest rose and fell rapidly, giving away the excitement and desire that he must be feeling in this moment as well.
Sophia bit her lip, trying to keep her wits about her amidst the fog of heat and desire that filled her.
“Sophia,” Finn said softly. The way he said her name was enough to make her come completely undone. He breathed it out like it was the most precious word he had ever spoken.
“What’s happening between us?” Sophia asked, her voice shaking with emotion, although she wasn’t sure at the moment just what that emotion was.
“My bear is calling to yours,” Finn said, his voice deep and husky.
The words surprised Sophia, and gave her pause. She had felt her own bear restless within her when Finn was around, so she should have expected this from Finn, too. But the way he so easily admitted it was new to her. She’d never known a man to so matter-of-factly make a statement that implied a woman might be his lifemate. All of the shifters Sophia had dated before had backed away or hemmed and hawed when it came to any sort of discussion about lifemates. Finn seemed to take it as a given that attraction meant potential lifemate.
“What…what should we do?” Sophia asked, her voice still shaking.
“We should stop overthinking it, and enjoy the moment,” Finn said.
“I don’t see how anything between us can last long-term,” Sophia said, starting to feel anxious again. “We live so far apart, and our lives are so different.”
“Do we have to worry about the long-term right now?” Finn asked gently. “I don’t want to pressure you into anything. But neither one of us can deny how electric the air is right now. I’ve never wanted anyone as badly as I want you right now. I don’t know if we have a future or not. Honestly I’m terrified of the future and always have been. But wha
t I do know is that we have this moment right now.”
Sophia looked over at Finn, studying his handsome face and wrestling with her own emotions. She was fine with a holiday fling. But what if her heart wanted more than that? What if the end of December came and she couldn’t bear to leave him? She wanted to tell herself that she’d cross that bridge when she came to it. After all, that’s what she did with most things. But this wasn’t “most things.” This was someone’s heart. Finn’s heart and her heart both, actually. Sophia didn’t want one or both of them to fall in love, only to have them torn apart again. She should back away from this now. She should thank him for showing her the cabin, and then shift back so they could run back to Frost Peak.
But Sophia couldn’t tear her eyes away from Finn’s. She couldn’t stop the pounding in her heart, and the stirring in her loins. It had been so long since someone had looked at her the way Finn was looking at her now, and longer still since she’d felt a mutual attraction to someone. And damn it all if she wasn’t sick and tired of being alone at Christmas. Maybe the risk was worth the reward. Maybe the possibility of heartbreak later was actually worth the potential for comfort now.
Maybe she should stop debating all of this in her head and just go for it.
In one swift, quick movement, Sophia brushed aside the remains of the cheese plate that were still sitting on the couch between Finn and her. She slid across the space between them and met his lips with hers. He responded instantly. His arms flew up to wrap around her back, and he pulled her up onto himself. He kissed her back with a vengeance, and the sort of primal hunger that only comes from pure, unadulterated desire. The hot tension that had been hanging in the air between them felt like it exploded into fireworks. Sophia’s whole body was burning up in the best possible way.
Christmas in a Fur Coat (The Fur Coat Society Book 7) Page 5