They were quiet during the drive back to Talia’s. Dusk had fallen and the sky was a gorgeous blended shade of purple, pink, and orange.
“This is my favorite time of day,” Alec said in a low, husky voice. Talia felt a pleasurable thrill race through her body. “So gorgeous.”
“It is,” Talia agreed.
“No, I meant you,” Alec said. Talia blushed as Alec winked at her. “You’re the gorgeous one. But nature is pretty damn nice, too.”
When they pulled up in front of Talia’s apartment row, Alec cut the engine. “Thank you so much for coming out with me,” he said. It was too dark to see his exact facial features, but Talia could tell that he was grinning from ear to ear. “Would it be too much to ask you for another date?”
Talia blushed. “Call me,” she said softly. “We’ll talk about it then.”
There was a heavy moment of tension between them. Talia was aching to kiss Alec, to wrap her arms around him and pull him close. But she knew that she shouldn’t do anything so bold on a first date. Her hand was on the handle of the door when she felt Alec’s gentle but clumsy touch on her shoulder.
“May I kiss you?”
Talia melted. “Such a gentleman,” she murmured, forgetting that she had to go inside. Turning towards Alec, she felt him press his lips against hers. Talia melted; the feel of Alec’s kiss was smooth and sensual. He smelled like pine trees and herbs, and she closed her eyes as the kiss deepened. As it grew more intense, Alec slipped his tongue into Talia’s mouth, making her moan softly. She was barely aware of Alec’s strong arms wrapping around her slight body, pulling her over the center console until she was practically sitting in his lap.
“Talia,” Alec murmured into her neck, breaking the kiss and nuzzling her gently. “You’re incredible.”
Pressing her lips against his, Talia wrapped her arms around Alec’s neck and snuggled closer. The stubble on his rough chin scraped against her smooth face but the sensation was welcome, stimulating even. He was a gentle kisser, but she could tell Alec had a ton of pent-up energy. She shivered, thinking about how he would be in bed: surely gentle, but powerful, too.
“I have to go inside now,” Talia whispered as she broke away. “I had a wonderful time tonight.”
As Talia stepped out of the car, she felt like she was floating. She kept her eyes half-closed and swayed in the darkness to a dreamy melody that was playing only in her head.
The yellow slip of paper tacked to the door shattered her good mood. With shaking fingers, Talia ripped it off and let herself inside, closing the door behind her.
“You have 30 days to fuck me, or else I’m kicking you out. – Danny.”
Talia shivered. Danny. Part of her wanted to run outside, to catch Alec before he’d driven away. That’s not rational and you know it, Talia thought to herself. She gave the note one more hard glance before folding it and slipping it in her pocket.
Chapter Three
“Talia!” The bear said in a friendly voice. “Come play!”
Talia blinked, then climbed out of bed. Miraculously, she wasn’t in her bedroom at home; rather she was in something that looked like a big, wild park. There was a large brown bear romping in front of her, clearly having the time of its life.
“Come on,” the bear urged. It didn’t open it’s mouth to speak, rather Talia heard the voice in her head.
“Okay,” Talia said. She shrugged. “Why not?” The lush, emerald-green grass felt rich and soft between her toes and she closed her eyes and giggled. The sun was out, shining brightly, and the slight, cool breeze on her bare arms felt amazing.
The bear got up on its hind legs and looked into her eyes. Talia felt a shiver of recognition but tossed it aside. It pawed in one direction. “Come on,” the bear urged. “This way!”
Talia jogged to keep pace with the large, brown bear. “Who are you?”
The bear turned to her and nosed into the air. “I think you know,” it replied. Talia shivered again with recognition: the voice belonged to none other than Alec.
“Oh my god,” Talia said. “This is so cool!”
Alec got down on all fours and walked towards Talia with surprising speed. “Want a ride?”
Talia giggled. Alec knelt down and she crawled on top of his back, legs astride. Beneath her, Alec felt muscular, powerful, strong. Talia buried her fingers in his fur and held on tightly as he jolted forward. The rush of air on her face felt incredible and Talia laughed out loud, throwing her head back as Alec-Bear romped through a meadow. She blushed at the slight sensation of arousal that was building up in her belly.
“This doesn’t feel weird,” Talia said out loud.
Alec laughed. “It better not,” he said. “You have no idea how freeing it is to do this!” He knelt down so Talia could climb off his back and sauntered over to a tree, scratching against the rough bark. Judging from the sounds he was emitting, Talia could tell he was thoroughly enjoying himself.
“Mom!” Talia woke up to the sound of James crying. Damn, she thought as she crawled blearily out of bed, struggling towards the door in the dark of her room. That was a pretty cool dream.
Dashing down the hall to James’s room, she flung the door open. Her son was sitting up in his little toddler bed, crying loudly. Talia turned on the lights.
“Honey, what happened?” She knelt down to his height and gazed into his warm, brown eyes. “Are you okay?”
James started crying. “I had a dream, Mommy!”
“I had a dream, too,” Talia said, wrapping her arm around him. “I had a dream about a bear. You know, bears, those big furry guys we saw at the zoo last year.”
James giggled. “Funny!”
“It was kind of funny,” Talia admitted. “You wanna sleep with me for the rest of the night?”
James nodded gratefully. Talia scooped him up in her arms, wincing slightly at his weight, and carried him into her room. When the two of them were tucked into bed, she reached out and stroked his hair.
“How would you feel about moving sometime?”
James frowned.
Talia tried again. “Would you want to live somewhere else?”
James shrugged. “Don’t know,” he said. He snuggled close to Talia and for a moment, she let him: she loved the comfort that her son provided on nights like this. But after a few minutes, she started sweating uncontrollably.
“You’re so warm,” Talia said in amazement. “Aren’t you hot?”
James shook his head. “Not hot,” he replied. He tried to snuggle closer and Talia flipped the blankets off her bed.
“There you go,” she said, wriggling slightly away and keeping her distance. “There you go. Sleep well, honey. I love you.”
James closed his eyes and tucked his thumb in his mouth. In a few moments, he was snoring.
No matter how she tried, Talia couldn’t fall back asleep. She kept thinking about the dream, with Alec turned into a bear. It seemed like such a natural transition for him that she couldn’t help blushing. I shouldn’t be thinking about this, she thought. It’s rude and presumptive.
When she finally did manage to sleep, there were no more dreams that night.
--
The next afternoon, when Talia was home from school, there was a knock on the door. Amelia and James were playing in the living room. Amelia shot her a questioning gaze.
“Who is it?”
“I don’t know,” Talia replied. “Can you watch him for just a few more minutes? I wasn’t expecting anyone.”
As she began walking to the front door, the knocking sounded again: harder and more forceful this time. “Oh, shit,” Talia muttered. “Not now, Danny.”
But when she opened the door, she was surprised to see Alec standing there.
“Hey there,” Alec said. “I hope this isn’t a bad time?” He frowned slightly.
“No, god no,” Talia replied. “Sorry, I just…well, I wasn’t sure who would be knocking at my door.”
“Do you usually get creep
s wanting to come in?” Alec’s tone was joking but Talia could tell that he wasn’t fucking around.
More than you think, Talia thought grimly. Instead, she changed the subject. “So, what are you doing around these parts today?”
“I had to come into town for some supplies,” Alec replied. “Thought I’d swing by and see if you were home.”
“I am, but I can’t go anywhere,” Talia said apologetically. “My son is home. The sitter’s still here, but she’s leaving soon.”
Alec nodded. “Got it,” he said. “Well, can I come in and meet him? Just for a few minutes?”
“Okay,” Talia said, before she could really think about whether or not it was a good idea. “James is really shy with new people, though,” she added cautiously. “Don’t be surprised if he runs away.”
“I’m good with kids,” Alec said. He grinned again and Talia felt her heart skip a beat. What was it with this man that drove her wild? She felt like she could spend forever trying to figure it out and still not be able to come up with a decent answer. Every time she was around Alec, she felt happier, lighter somehow. Like everything was going to work out and be okay in the end, really.
“Okay,” Talia said again. “Come on.” She stepped back and let Alec into the foyer. He was so tall that he had to duck to avoid hitting his head on the frame.
“Ms. Roberson?”
“It’s fine, Amelia, I just brought a friend to meet James.”
Talia brought Alec into the living room. James was sitting on the carpet, playing with toy cars while Amelia watched. At the sight of Alec, he didn’t seem frightened. Rather, he seemed entranced with the giant man. His eyes opened wide and his lips were parted.
“Hey there, James,” Alec said. He settled down on a carpet a few feet away. “What are you playing?”
“Trucks,” James said in a solemn voice. For a moment his face fell slack and Talia was afraid he’d start crying.
“That’s awesome, buddy,” Alec said. There was genuine kindness in his voice and Talia felt a warm rush of gratitude. She’d never even thought about introducing anyone to James – not like there had been anyone to ever introduce – and for a moment, she’d regretted her decision. But now she could tell that her son was intrigued by the strange man sitting on the floor.
“Play?” James held one of the toy cars up in the car.
“Zoom!” Alec replied, reaching forward and taking the car, making it fly around in the air.
James laughed. Alec got on all fours and crawled around in a circle. Talia was both amused and slightly disturbed to note that he did resemble the bear from her dream, only smaller.
Talia watched James abandon his toy cars and got on his hands and knees, like Alec. She watched as the two of them cautiously started playing – roughhousing, only Alec was being incredibly gentle with James. He’d pick James up and pretend to toss him in the air, then slowly bring him down until he was laughing hysterically. Alec scooted lower to the floor and James crawled onto his back, tugging at his long brown hair and crying out with joy.
“Wow, he’s good with kids,” Amelia said under her breath to Talia. Talia smiled. She felt a blush rise up on her cheeks.
“Talia,” Alec called. “Help, I think he’s got me pinned!” He was on his back and James was sitting on his wide barrel chest, playing with his beard.
“That’s enough now, you little monkey,” Talia said. She leaned down and scooped James up, holding him in her arms.
Alec got to his feet and brushed himself off. He turned towards Amelia. “Are you the sitter?”
Amelia blushed. Talia noted with a slight hint of jealousy that she couldn’t keep her eyes off Alec. “Yeah,” she said. “Why?”
Alec dug around in his pockets and came out with two crisp fifty-dollar bills. “Would you be willing to stay a few extra hours?”
Amelia’s eyes widened. “Yeah, no problem,” she said. Turning towards Talia, she gaped. “Where are you going?”
“I’m taking her out for some fun,” Alec said with a grin. He looped his arm around Talia and pulled her close. “She deserves another dinner out.”
--
“I can’t believe this,” Talia gushed. “This place is incredible.” They were seated on the terrace of a Spanish restaurant, eating lobster paella. “And the food, oh my god, Alec.”
Alec grinned. “I had a feeling you’d like it,” he said. “So, how are you?”
Talia shrugged. “I’m fine,” she said. “It was nice to see you today.”
“Good,” Alec said. “Anything on your mind?” He raised an eyebrow and stared at her with his honey-brown eyes. Talia felt herself melt a little and she shifted around in her seat. Whenever Alec looked at her like that, she felt like they were the only two people alive in the world.
Talia shifted again, uncomfortably this time. She felt a sudden urge to tell Alec about the note from last night. “So remember I mentioned my ex?”
Alec nodded.
“Well, he’s kind of being more than just a jerk…” Talia trailed off, dragging her fork around in her bowl of paella. “I mean, he’s blackmailing me.”
Alec gaped. “What?” His voice was sharp, like a dagger. “What the hell, Talia? Why didn’t you tell me that yesterday?”
Talia looked away. “Because it’s not really your problem,” she said softly. She looked back into Alec’s honeyed eyes. “He’s blackmailing me for sex, and now he’s threatening to evict me within the month unless I sleep with him.”
Talia watched as a storm of emotions played across Alec’s face. He went from angry to infuriated, until his cheeks were bright red and his eyes were blazing gold fire. Before she could tell him to calm down, he leapt to his feet and rushed out of the restaurant.
“Oh my god, what the hell?” Talia said. She glanced around, noting that the other patrons were all staring at her. “What the fuck, Alec?” She got up from her chair and backed away, then broke out into a run and darted into the parking lot.
It was a relief to see Alec standing on the other side of his car. “Alec!” Talia called. “Come back? What is it?” Alec looked at her and Talia shivered: there was something different about him. He seemed to be moving around a lot and twitching, almost like he was being shocked. Before her eyes, he transformed into a giant, brown bear.
Talia’s mouth went dry and her heart stopped in her chest. “Oh my god,” Talia said again. She clapped a hand to her chest and tried to take a deep breath. “Oh my god,” she repeated. She felt a surge of terror and panic rip through her and she tried to step away, to walk backwards, anything to get away from the giant bear.
Alec made a sound, like a roar, and looked at Talia. In that moment she saw that his eyes, those beautiful golden brown eyes, were still the same. It was still Alec. It was her Alec, and he wouldn’t hurt her. Talia blinked. Her breath was coming hard and she felt faint, but the fear was beginning to leave her body.
Alec got on his hind legs and sniffed the air before loping off into the woods.
Chapter Four
Talia found Alec’s car keys in a small pile of belongings in the parking lot, including his clothes. Gasping, she collected everything in her arms and unlocked his car, climbing behind the driver’s seat. As she adjusted the mirror, thoughts of panic were going through her head. Alec is a bear, Alec is a bear and something pissed him off, Alec is a bear… But try as she could to convince herself, she knew that nothing had really changed. Her feelings for Alec remained the same – improbable and sudden as ever. She still felt the same warmth in her chest, still felt fluttery when she thought of him and his kisses from the night before.
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