by Kim Fox
“Where’s, Cliff?” she asked, turning back around when she finally recovered. “I miss him. Can you bring him out so I can say hi?”
Logan frowned as he stared at the water, being unnaturally quiet, even for him.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he whispered, his shoulders tight and rigid. “It’s not safe.”
She licked the metal-tasting water off of her lips as she watched him. “He’s never hurt me before.”
He shook his head, still not meeting her eyes. “I should never have brought him around you in the first place. That was…reckless.”
“Why?” she asked, holding her elbow. There was still so much mystery to him. He was like an onion with a thousand layers and she desperately wanted to peel off each one to see what was at the center, but he kept clinging onto each layer, fighting to not let it go.
Logan ran a hand through his hair and slowly looked up at her. His brown eyes were sad and lonely, making her chest hurt for him. “He’s too dangerous.”
She shook her head as she held his eyes. “He’s not. I know he’s not.”
“You don’t know what I know,” he said with a heavy sigh. “You don’t know what he’s done.”
“What has he done?” she asked with a shaky voice. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know the answer.
But that was okay, because he didn’t give her one.
She walked toward him, stopping a heartbeat away from his muscular body. “I know your bear too,” she said in a low soothing voice. “He’s not dangerous. You’re not dangerous. Not if you don’t want to be.”
He stared at the water for a long minute, contemplating her words. “You really believe that?” he asked, finally looking up at her.
She nodded. She did. There was good in him, Bella could tell.
“Okay,” he said, raising out of the water. Bella stepped back with her breath quickening as she looked up at his shredded body. He really was gorgeous.
“I’ll bring him out,” he said, stepping out of the pool. “He misses you too. I can tell.”
She watched with her heart pounding as he slid down his boxer briefs, giving her a nice view of his hard ass. His body shook softly at first but then erupted in violent shakes and convulsions. She gasped as his hand curled up and long brown hairs began sprouting out of his skin. His muscles swelled and grew and then in an instant, an enormous grizzly bear exploded out of his skin.
Bella held her breath as she stared at the bear with wide eyes. He swung his massive head toward her and sniffed the air as he watched her with the same sad brown eyes that Logan watched her with.
“Hi, Cliff,” she said, giving him a nervous wave. “Want to come in for a swim?”
He lowered his head and stepped forward on massive paws. Bella gulped as the bear stepped into the water. The last time she had been this close to it, she woke up with a concussion. But that had been an accident. Cliff had saved her life right before and for some odd reason that she didn’t understand, she trusted the bear.
“Hey,” she said, laughing as buckets of water drained out of the pool as the large bear stepped inside. “Keep some water for me.”
Cliff sunk down in the water up to his neck and turned to her with a smug satisfied look on his face.
“You like that?” she asked with a laugh. “Has Logan ever let you go in a hot tub with a half naked girl before?”
He lumbered forward and sat down beside her, swinging his humongous head over to look at her.
“This is so incredible,” Bella whispered to herself as she looked up at the grizzly bear’s calm face. What made it even more incredible, was that Logan was somewhere inside him. Her skin was tingling in excitement as his soft fur brushed against her arm.
“Can I get that hug now?” she asked, smiling at the bear.
He didn’t answer but he did lean his shoulder into her, pressing his body against hers. That was enough of an answer for Bella.
She stood on the rock and hugged the bear, digging her hands deep into his thick fur. She pressed her cheek against his body and grinned.
“I knew we were friends, Cliff,” she said as the bear grumbled contently. “No matter what Logan says.”
7
“Having no electricity has its perks,” Bella said, looking around in wonder at the dozen or so candles lit up on the front porch. It was beautiful lighting and very romantic. They had just finished another great dinner after a fun day together and were relaxing on the porch watching the sunset and the stars come out.
“You shouldn’t be drinking,” Logan said, eying her cup nervously.
“Then why did you give it to me?” she asked, inching a little closer to him on the bench made of logs. She let the sides of her arm and leg rest against him. He didn’t move so neither did she.
“I just gave you a sip,” he said with his brow furrowed. “You’re the one who took the bottle and filled the glass up to the top.”
“It’s not my fault,” she said, taking a sip of the delicious wine. “You shouldn’t have made it so damn tasty.”
It turned out that Logan was quite resourceful and talented. He never went into town to get supplies so he made everything himself. The clay plates and glasses were all made by him, the furniture, house, even the soap. But the most impressive was the wine. He grew grapes in the garden beside his house and fermented them, turning the sweet grapes into a delicious wine.
“You recently had a concussion,” he said. “You shouldn’t be drinking alcohol.”
She took a long sip and grinned at him. “I shouldn’t be doing a lot of things. I shouldn’t be staying by myself in the forest with no survival skills, I shouldn’t be talking to a strange woodsman who claims that he’s so dangerous, I shouldn’t be hugging bears, I shouldn’t be studying stupid owls. I could go on.” She looked at the glass of wine in her hand and smiled as she took another long sip. “A small glass of wine is nothing to be worried about.”
But Logan looked worried. She rested her head on his shoulder and smiled. He was a sweet guy, no matter what his opinion of himself was.
They sat like that for a while until Bella heard a soft grumble escape from his chest. “Was that your bear?” she asked, sitting back up in shock.
“Yeah,” he said with a chuckle. “That’s Cliff. He’s quite taken with you.”
Bella smiled. He was using the name that she chose to refer to his bear. That’s so cute.
She rested her head back on his shoulder as she looked up at the spectacular pink and purple hues in the sky. “Tell him that I’m quite taken with him as well.”
They sat in a comfortable silence just enjoying the beautiful sunset and drinking the wine. Bella enjoyed having his large comforting presence beside her. It felt very easy, like sitting beside him was the most natural thing in the world.
Bella’s head felt much better already but she didn’t tell Logan that. The truth was she would rather stay here drinking wine, eating hot food, having fun days, and getting to know the sexy bear shifter than go back to her lonely tent and spend the days dreaming of being anywhere but there.
“The stars are so bright out here,” she said, looking up at the blanket of diamonds above their heads.
“Sometimes I miss civilization,” he said, gazing up at the night sky, “but I will say that the nights are spectacular in the wild. You can’t beat this view.”
He dropped his eyes to her and smiled. “Maybe you can.”
Would it be bad if I kissed him right now?
“Did I hear right?” she asked, taking a sip of wine instead. “You actually miss civilization?”
He sighed, wrapping a comforting arm around her and pulling her a little closer. “Sometimes.”
She wanted to know everything about him but he still wasn’t giving her too much to work with. She wondered if the answers to her questions were in the locked spare bedroom, but she wasn’t about to breach the trust that she had slowly built up with him to go and see.
“I do,” he s
aid softly. “I liked my old life before it got turned upside down.”
“What happened to turn it upside down?” she asked, looking up at his face. The soft light and shadows of the candles danced on his face, making his scars glow.
His body tightened under her arm as he held his breath. “You can tell me,” she whispered. “It will be okay.”
He shook his head, swallowing hard. “It won’t be.”
“It might feel good to talk about it,” she said, taking his hand in hers. “To get it off of your chest.”
Logan looked down at the ground with sad burdened eyes. “There’s no getting this off of my chest.”
He didn’t want to talk about it and she didn’t want to push him so she just sat beside him and held his hand. If he didn’t want to talk about it, then that was fine, but she could still be there for him, still help comfort him.
The night took a lighter turn as the bottle of wine emptied, along with a second one, and they got a little bit tipsy.
“Hey, sleepy owls!” Bella yelled at the dark trees. “Wake the fuck up! You’re going to make me fail my dissertation paper!”
“Do you still love owls?” Logan asked, grinning at her.
“No,” she said with a laugh. “They are little selfish assholes. I mean, come on! Why are they always hiding from me? I’m awesome!”
“You are awesome,” Logan said, giving her a sexy smile.
Her chest was feeling nice and warm and the heat was starting to swirl in her stomach and settle between her legs as she slid her hand over his hard bicep. He was sexy as hell. She was really liking the whole mysterious, wild, shifter thing. It was a turn on, awakening something deep and carnal within her.
Logan wasn’t like the other boys she had dated with their perfectly gelled hair and designer clothes that fit tightly to their slim bodies. He was a real man. A strong, rugged, not afraid to get his hands dirty or to bleed for his girl type of man.
“I like it here,” she whispered, snuggling up to him.
His body loosened under her hand and she heard him exhale contently. “Really?” he asked after a moment of silence.
She looked up into his sexy brown eyes and smiled. “Really.”
“I didn’t think I’d ever speak with anyone else again,” he said, “let alone meet a gorgeous girl who liked being with me.”
“You don’t give yourself enough credit,” she said. “Once you stopped yelling every two seconds, you’re really fun to be around.” And those abs…
“I’m sorry again about that,” he said, looking away with shame on his face.
“It’s okay,” she said, squeezing his hand. “I was a bit of a bitch too.”
He hadn’t raised his voice or spoken to her with anything but respect all day. The poor guy hadn’t seen another soul in three years so his communication skills were bound to be rusty on the first night that he had a hysterical woman come crashing into his house. Bella just let it go, choosing to not let it bother her.
She could tell that it wasn’t the real him anyway. This was the real him. Calm, sweet, protective. She liked this Logan a lot.
When the second bottle of wine was finished, Bella began falling asleep on his arm. She tried to stay awake to enjoy the night but her eyes were so heavy and they kept closing no matter how hard she tried to keep them open.
She opened them with a gasp as her legs flew into the air. Logan was carrying her to the bedroom, cradling her lovingly to his strong chest.
A smile was on her sleepy lips as he placed her on the bed and gently kissed her forehead. She wanted to tell him to come and lie down beside her, to hold her all night, but her eyes became heavier than ever as she sunk into his bed and she fell asleep instead.
8
“It’s not going to work out,” Logan muttered to himself as he curled up on the couch that was way too small for him.
Nothing ever worked out for Logan. Why would it start working out now?
Today had been the best day in as long as he could remember. He had spent the day with Bella talking and even joking around. She laughed at his jokes and he laughed at hers.
It had been years since he felt lighthearted enough to laugh. She just naturally brought it out of him and it made him realize how nice it could be to have someone around that he cared about.
But it wasn’t going to work out.
Who was he kidding? Really?
She was a city girl out here for a school project. He was stuck here in the wilderness forever, destined to be alone for what he had done.
In a few weeks or even days, she would pack up and say goodbye. She would return home and get over him quickly, finding a normal boyfriend who she would eventually start a family with.
Meanwhile, Logan would be trapped in the dark woods like a prisoner, spending the rest of every long day thinking about her, obsessing about her, torturing himself with the short precious memories that he had of her soft skin, the sweet smell of her hair, the beautiful view of her in her bra and underwear as she stepped into the thermal pool.
His bear groaned within when he pictured her bending over to grab her clothes and the way that her thin underwear stuck like glue to the dick-hardening curves of her round ass. She was incredible and he really didn’t want her to go.
The loneliness of the past three years had been tough but that would be nothing compared to what it would be once she left for good. It was going to crush him now, smothering him with a sense of loss until he couldn’t breathe. Until he didn’t want to breathe any longer.
Even his bear was attached to her and his bear didn’t like anyone. The vicious, out of control animal was the reason why Logan was out here in the first place and he just rolled over and acted like a teddy bear next to her. He could always feel him inside watching her lovingly.
Logan had considered that Bella could be the one that his bear bonded to but if it hadn’t happened by now, it probably wasn’t ever going to happen. Ferocious bears like his didn’t take on mates. They destroyed lives, they didn’t enrich them.
“Tomorrow,” he said, closing his eyes. “You tell her tomorrow.”
This had gone on for too long. He had gotten too attached for his own good.
The longer she stayed, the more attached he would become, and all that would do is make the pain that much more unbearable when she inevitably left.
Tomorrow he would ask her to go.
But tonight, he would indulge in his fantasy. He dreamed of Bella saying that she loved him and moving in to spend the rest of her days by his side.
It was unrealistic and would never happen, but it was nice to think about. It was nice to dream.
Logan fell asleep with a smile on his lips.
“When is your birthday?” Bella asked as she fiddled with the coffee maker. Logan was sitting at the table, staring at her big ass but she didn’t mind. She liked how he looked at her abundance of curves.
“February,” he said. “The fourteenth.”
“Valentine’s Day?” she said, turning around with a smirk. “No wonder you’re so romantic. In a barbaric caveman sort of way.”
He laughed, making her chest flutter. “I’m going to buy you a coffee maker for your birthday,” she said, pushing as hard as she could to press the coffee. Only a few drops squeezed out. “I hate this thing.”
“You need electricity for a coffee maker,” he said.
“Then I’ll buy you a generator too for Valentine’s Day,” she answered, throwing her hands in the air and giving up. “Can you do it?”
He grinned as he stood up and traded places with her. Bella bit her bottom lip as she watched his muscular back, the ridges moving under his tight t-shirt while he made the coffee easily.
She grinned as she admired him work. When she had first arrived, he barked at her that she was in charge of cooking the dinners and doing the laundry. He must have seen how hopeless she was at doing both because he had been doing everything since she moved in, spoiling her like some kind of discount prin
cess.
“What are we going to do today?” she asked as he filled the coffee press with more hot water.
His body tightened as she asked.
“We could go see the owls again but they’re probably just sleeping, so fuck them,” she babbled on. “Maybe we could hike to the top of the mountain, or go swimming again.”
He lowered his head, his back still to her. “I think you should leave,” he said in a flat voice.
It was like he yanked the breath out of her throat. “Okay,” she said when she finally recovered. “Why? I thought we were having fun.”
His knuckles turned white as he squeezed the counter top. “It’s better this way.”
“Why?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. “Why is it better this way?”
He was so frustrating. Always pulling her in close only to then push her away. She liked him and he liked her, so what was the problem? Why did he keep intentionally trying to sabotage it all?
His big shoulders drooped down as he let out a heavy sigh. “It just is.”
“That’s not good enough for me, Logan,” she said, gritting her teeth. “I need answers. Why is it better this way?”
He turned around with his hard dangerous eyes boring into her. “Because I’m a beast, Bella,” he snapped. His thick veins were snaking up his tight neck and his face was twisted in agony. “I need you to leave.”
“Do you need me to leave?” she asked, staring at him back. “Or do you want me to leave?”
He ran his hand through his brown hair, exhaling in frustration. “What’s the difference?” he muttered to himself.
“There’s a big difference,” she said, not holding back. “So, which one is it?”
He shook his head as he squeezed his eyes shut, rubbing them with his powerful hand. “I should never have brought you here,” he said. “It was a mistake.”
Bella jumped out of her seat and stuck her finger in his face. “That’s really fucking rude,” she snapped back at him. “We’ve been having a good time together and you’re really sweet when you’re not being such a dick! I like you, Logan. Why can’t you admit that you like me too?”