“Let me stay with you tonight.”
He sincerely wanted to stay with me. I felt his sincerity poking against my back.
We’d spent the afternoon and night talking and getting to know each other. We’d gone over the basic things, anyway. I knew his favorite color was brown and was seriously worried about him because of it. I knew he loved sweets and kept a bag of skittles in his truck at all times. I knew that he was the youngest out of four brothers, but solidly older than his little sister, Bailey.
Despite knowing all of the things that he was able to verbalize to me, the good and the bad, I hadn’t felt like I knew him well enough to start sleeping with him. It seemed silly and I knew that Alex wasn’t in love with the idea of sleeping apart, but I suppose I thought it would make me feel a little more in control of this crazy whirlwind of a situation. Instead, I’d tossed and turned the whole night. I could smell him all around me in his bed, and being able to smell him but not having him next to me to touch and hold me kept me in a state of squirming discomfort. My body wanted him and I couldn’t fight it.
“Okay.”
His hands moved up my stomach, stroking underneath the T-shirt I wore, until the tips of his fingers teased my breasts. His dick pressed into my back even harder and I felt myself go from dry to puddling-my-panties in seconds. He cupped my breasts in his big hands and ran his thumbs over my sensitive nipples, causing me to moan and arch into him. “Pregnancy looks fucking amazing on you, Elizabeth.”
I opened my eyes and watched through the mirror as he pulled my shirt off and raked his eyes over my naked body. I flushed and wanted to look away, but I made myself watch. My body had grown and changed in those three months. My stomach was fuller and protruding, as were my breasts. They’d already grown almost a cup size and it was a cup size that Alex was enjoying.
The view in the mirror of his tanned hands holding my pale breasts was sexy as hell. He leaned down and ran his mouth against the line of my neck. “I want you to be mine.”
I tugged at his hair. “Just yours?”
His teeth settled against my neck and slowly he added more and more pressure until there was a slight pain, but even more pleasure coursing through my body. His eyes met mine and flashed golden.
I gasped and spun around to face him. “What just happened?”
His chest heaved and he turned and left the bathroom. “Nothing. I’m going to get dressed. I have to help Mom finish up with the rest of the BBQ.”
I watched as he left and then turned back to the mirror. My mind was racing because I was one hundred percent sure I’d watched his eyes change colors. They’d not only changed colors, but they—glowed. I’d never seen anything like it. “Alex?”
He moved back into the bathroom doorway and crossed his arms over his massive chest. “Yeah?”
“I want to be yours. No secrets, though. Okay?”
“Of course.”
Something was off. I could tell he was hiding something from me. I don’t know how I knew it, but I did. This connection I felt with Alex wasn’t normal. It hadn’t been normal from the start. And by ‘start’ I meant the moment he and I made eye contact at the stadium during that rodeo. Now, I felt as though I was already wildly in love with him and I’d spent less than forty-eight hours with the man. When he spoke of us being meant for each other, I believed him, no matter how irrational my brain told me it was. Because I felt it too.
I’d been drawn back to Landing, Wyoming. Despite not enjoying it the first time around, I’d been drawn back in like an addict. Everything in me had itched ached to be back, with no relief until the bus crossed the city limits sign. I felt magnetically pulled to Alex, and I couldn’t make sense of it. I wasn’t even sure I needed to.
CHAPTER 15: Alex
Elizabeth sat between my Mom and Bailey, listening to them go on and on about babies in Landing. What they were saying was true. Babies in Landing came sooner than normal babies. They were bigger and tougher than normal babies, and would be changing into a goddamn bear within a few months of being born. That last part was something I was going to have to talk to Elizabeth about myself before it happened, because Mom and Bailey left that out.
I had no idea how I was going to explain any of that. She’d almost seen the bear in me come out to play. I’d nearly marked her this morning in the bathroom. I’d been seconds from sinking my teeth into her delicious tasting skin and leaving a claiming mark for the rest of the world to see. She’d panicked when she saw my eyes, though. There was no way she wouldn’t panic when I told her about the rest of it.
My heart beat in a rapid frenzy in my chest at the mere thought of her running away from me again when she found out. I already loved her. Talking to her, listening to her speak, hearing her soft whimpers when I touched her, I couldn’t get enough. My heart was hers.
I kept an eye on her at all times, making sure no one got too close. I knew she smelled like me and carried my scent at a basic level because of our little cub in her belly, but any bear within twenty miles would be able to smell the sweet honey scent she put off. They’d be able to smell her arousal, too. Just like I could every single time she looked at me.
“You really went and did it, huh?” My oldest brother, Matt, said as he stopped beside me.
I was leaning against a shade tree, enjoying watching instead of participating in the festivities. I sent a cross look at him and straightened. “Don’t start.”
I knew why he was pissed. Matt, as the oldest, always assumed that he would inherit control of the ranch when Dad passed. But, Dad had thrown us all a curve ball. Dad had been gone for six months now, and his will had surprised the hell out of us. Apparently, he’d been aware how much his oldest sons cared about money. Hell, Matt and Lucas had been born with dollar signs in their eyes. I guess Dad wanted them to care about something other than financial portfolios because when it was read, dear old Dad left a stipulation in his will that the ranch would go to the first son to produce an offspring.
I’d discovered that little bit of information the month after Elizabeth left. At the time, I’d thought it was hilarious. I’d watched my brother Matt’s face turn purple with rage when we’d found out. Never in a million years would I have thought that the first to have a kid would be me. Elizabeth leaving had written off any chance of that happening—or so I’d thought. I knew that without her, I’d never want to have cubs. Hell, I hadn’t even looked at another woman since I’d met Elizabeth.
Not inheriting the ranch was of no consequence to me. I’d never been big on responsibility anyway. But, after seeing her show back up with my cub growing in her belly, something inside me clicked. It was as though a fire had suddenly been lit deep within. I had a family to provide for.
My brothers were furious. Matt and Luke had been too busy looking for loop holes in Dad’s will to actually go out and try to find a mate. It served them right, groveling over an inheritance with our dad’s body still warm.
Matt shoved against me with his shoulder as he stormed off in the direction of the house. He cast a glare at Elizabeth that had me growling at his back.
I looked at Elizabeth sitting with my family. They would accept her, eventually. Humans always made bears uncomfortable at first, because we couldn’t be ourselves, but knowing she was carrying my baby bear would warm them to her. Then, when I finally claimed her as my own, she’d be one of the family and they’d treat her as such.
Elizabeth looked up at me with a grin on her face and waved. My dick swelled in my jeans and I had to shift myself to remain semi-comfortable. She glanced at my pants and then giggled before turning back to her conversation.
There was no way I was sleeping apart from her tonight. I couldn’t, even if I wanted to. I needed to be closer to her.
Luke, my third oldest brother angled up to me, his eyes on Elizabeth. “As the heir of this here ranch, you have a job to do, little brother. Apparently there’s a gap in the fence up the hill. Someone called and said one of the cows got out.”
<
br /> “Keep your eyes to yourself, Lucas.”
He shrugged. “Just trying to understand what you see in her. She’s kind of fat.”
I’d punched him before I even realized what I was doing. Lucas reeled back and tripped over a tree root that stuck out of the ground. “Fuck off.”
I headed in Elizabeth’s direction. She was standing, watching me wide-eyed with her hand resting across her stomach. I knelt in front of her so I could press my lips to her belly. “I have to go up and see about an escaped cow. Will you be okay here for a couple of hours? I’ll come back just as soon as I can.”
She ran her fingers through my hair and nodded. “Of course. You don’t need company, though?”
I grazed her breasts on my way up, just to tease her, and growled when I heard her intake of breath. I wanted to throw her on top of one of the picnic tables and take her then and there. “I wish I could justify making you trek up the side of a mountain, but I can’t. You can keep me company later tonight, though.”
Her grin said she’d be glad to. “Be careful.”
I kissed her on the forehead and then hurried off towards my truck.
CHAPTER 16: Elizabeth
The sun was high in the sky and the BBQ was well underway when things went a little haywire. Carolyn and Bailey made me feel more than welcome. They treated me so well that I was starting to feel a little guilty for taking up all of their time. When Carolyn had to go and check on stuff in the kitchen, and Bailey went to greet some school friends just arriving, I made my way to the drinks table and grabbed a bottle of water.
I’d been introduced to Alex’s brothers very briefly when we’d arrived. They were distant and cold, like the rest of the town, without one ounce of the warmth that Carolyn, Bailey, and Alex possessed. When I spotted the oldest one, Matt, approaching, I quickly turned and attempted to get away.
As luck would have it, he was just as freakishly tall as Alex and easily caught up to me. He lightly grasped my arm and pulled me to a stop. “Where are you off to, Beth?”
I frowned. Sam had been the only person ever to call me Beth and I hated it.
“Elizabeth. And I was going to see if your mom needs any help in the kitchen.”
“She doesn’t. I was hoping to catch you without my brother hovering over you like a mother hen.”
A pit formed in my stomach and I wanted to wretch, but I tried to contain it. “Why?”
He frowned. “Well, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay with the situation you’re in. It’s not every day that a woman agrees to become a mother just to help a guy gain control of his dead father’s ranch.”
I balled my hands into fists and looked around. “What are you talking about?”
He acted like he was shocked. “You don’t know?! Oh, no. This is crazy. Alex didn’t tell you? Huh, and I was sure you were in on it with him…”
I felt the urge to punch him in the face, but contained it.
“Spit it out.”
“Our Dad wrote it into his will that the first son to produce and heir gets the entire ranch. You’re a little money pot, Beth. You and that little cub you’re carrying. Yep, you showing up on his doorstep was akin to having a great big pile of cash plopped down right at his feet. It’s no wonder he’s been giving you sweet looks, you’re worth a fortune to him.”
I didn’t buy into it for a second. I’d talked a little bit to Carolyn about her husband. She told me that when it’s right, it’s right. She’d been drawn to her husband the same way that that I was drawn to Alex. Unexplainably. Inexplicably. Unrelentingly. As crazy as it was that I’d stumbled upon Alex, it was right. She’d also told me how my leaving five months ago had affected him. She was certain that Alex felt as strongly about me as I did about him.
“Does your ass get jealous of the shit that comes out of your mouth? If you’re going to bully someone, I suggest you don’t try to pull it on a girl who grew up in the streets of DC. Now, I’m going to excuse myself. Good luck with everything.”
I walked away from him and headed in the direction that I’d seen Alex go. We needed to talk.
It’d been a while since he’d left and I figured he’d be on his way back before too long. I’d just meet him on the road.
I hiked up the road and found Alex’s truck parked off to the side. His clothes were thrown on the hood of the truck and my heart began racing in my chest. Why are his clothes off? What could he be doing that required him to take all of his clothes off? I suddenly had flashbacks of seeing Sam bopping the read-head in the bed of his truck. My stomach sunk to my knees.
With images dancing in my head of Alex having sex out there with some floozy up against a tree, I let my pregnancy hormones drive me. I crept through the woods, a small trail of tears streaming down my face—angry, scared, hurt tears. I’d been so sure of our connection just minutes before, and there I was, creeping through the woods in an effort to catch him with his pants down. Off. His pants were already off. I’d catch that bastard in the act.
I heard movement up ahead and stepped behind a big tree. I knew I looked crazy and I felt even crazier, but something wasn’t right.
After a few seconds, I peeked my head around the tree and let out a blood-curdling scream. Standing less than six feet from me was the biggest bear I’d ever seen. The only bear I’d ever seen, face to face anyway.
It just stood staring at me. There was something about its face that made it look annoyed, but that had to be more of my hysteria. I was going to die, and I blamed Alex’s. If he’d only kept his pants on, things would’ve turned out differently.
Trembling, I made a move to step backwards. The bear grunted at me and reached its paw out. I suddenly feared, not for myself, but for my unborn baby. I snapped. I reached out and slapped its paw away. “You are not eating me. Not today. I have a baby in here and I will beat your furry ass to keep him safe if I have to.”
It backed up a step hoping to slowly make my getaway, but suddenly, the bear was gone, and Alex appeared in its spot, naked and grinning. “You’d beat up a grizzly bear for our cub?”
CHAPTER 17: Elizabeth
I blinked a few times. Was I still alive? Oh, no, was I hallucinating?
“Wha… what just happened?”
Alex looked sheepish. He ran a hand through his hair and blew out a long, slow breath. “No more secrets.”
I leaned against the tree. My mind was slowly trying to make sense of what I’d just seen. If I didn’t know any better, I would have sworn that there was a bear in front of me who had just… become Alex.
One second, bear. Next second, Alex.
“I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I didn’t want you to find out like this. My bear just smelled you and came towards you. He smelled you sad and angry and came running.”
“Your…bear.” Funny thing is, I knew what he meant. He didn’t mean it as in, the bear that he keeps around these woods as a pet. No, he meant it as in, the bear that he is.
I shook my head to clear it and then stared deeply into his golden brown eyes. Alex, the guy that I’d somehow fallen in love with in a matter of hours. Alex, the bear-man. Man-bear? Something in my brain snapped back into place and I reached out and smacked him.
“I thought you were cheating on me! I saw your clothes and your truck and thought I was going to find you out here with another woman!”
He raised an eyebrow. “I just revealed that I’m a bear shifter and you’re pissed because you thought I was cheating?”
“You… you scared the hell out of me. I just verbally whipped your brother for even suggesting you didn’t care about me, and then I come out here and thought I’d find you… the way I did Sam. I was scared. Terrified.”
“Which one?”
“Huh?”
“You had words with my brother? Which one?”
“Matt. He’s an ass.”
“Did he touch you?”
I rolled my eyes. “Does it matter? Can we get back to the issue at hand? What the hell is a bear shifter? Am I
dead? I feel like this whole thing is surreal.”
Alex caught my shoulders and pulled me against his naked body. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. “I’m a bear shifter. And no, you’re not dead. Feel my heartbeat?”
I pressed my ear to his chest and listened to it racing. “Why is it going so fast?”
“Because I’m afraid you’re going to run from me again.”
I leaned away from him and shook my head. “I’m still here.”
“I’m a shifter. I can turn into a bear…”
It actually all made sense. As much something like this could make sense. I’d seen his eyes take on an inhuman glow multiple times. I knew there had to be something special about him that would explain that. I just never in my wildest dreams could have imagined it would be—this. I’d watched True Blood like half of the rest of the country. I knew what shifters were. I just didn’t know they actually existed. Like in real life. “Do it again.”
He moved away from me and in a blur of movement, his body contorted and he was a bear again. He huffed and went down on all fours so he was closer to my height. He was huge. Ginormous.
I reached out and slowly rested my hand on his head.
“Holy shit.”
He made a sound that was so similar to laughter that I couldn’t help but laugh myself. I stroked his head and neck, feeling the coarse hair beneath my fingertips. This was either real or it was hands down the most vivid dream I’d ever had.
“This is amazing, Alex. Can you understand me?”
He huffed again and nuzzled his face against me. A small flutter in my stomach surprised me and I looked down at it with shock on my face.
Alex was instantly standing next to me again. “What’s wrong?”
“He just kicked, I think. It’s early, though. When you put your face against my belly, he moved.” I laughed. “Is he going to come out a bear?”
He looked appalled. “Of course, not!”
Bears of Burden: THORN Page 39