Cabin Bear Heat Box Set: A Paranormal Fantasy Bear Shifter Romance (A Bear Shifter Romance Retelling of the Billionaire Redemption Series Book 2)

by Love-Wins, Bella

  There were three soft, plush towels on the bar outside the shower door. She quickly towel-dried her hair with one and dried of with another before putting on the robe Andrew had given her to use. Ruth hurried to her side as she opened the door, and helped her to the side of the bed.

  “That was so good,” Abby said.

  “Imagine how good the hot tub outside was,” Ruth said with a tone that was somewhere between zeal and abandon.

  “I can’t even begin to. What kind of trouble did you guys get into out there?”

  She didn’t need any explanation after looking up at Ruth’s playful smirk. “Okay, maybe save it for tomorrow. I haven’t done much of anything today, but I’m pooped.”

  “Blame it on the crappy weather and being housebound.” Ruth laughed, and added, “And in your case, chair-bound. All right, Abby. I’ll be turning in now.”

  “Can you do me one last favor before you head up?”

  “Sure. What?”

  “Throw my clothes and underwear in the laundry? They’re on the bathroom counter.”

  “No problem. Rob just showed me how to use it today, so I’m practically an expert.”

  “Is the washer that complicated?”

  “No.” Ruth blushed. “I’m embarrassed to admit this, but I’ve never done my own laundry before today.”

  “Never?”

  “Never. We’ve always had housekeepers.”

  “Not even in camp as a teen?”

  “I never did overnight camps.”

  “Hold on. Let me get this straight.” Abby was in disbelief. “How are you getting away with not doing laundry at college now?”

  “Well, there’s dry cleaning, and I take my things to a reliable wash-and-fold service off campus,” Ruth said proudly. “It’s almost the same price as doing laundry myself in the campus dorms.”

  Abby couldn’t help but laugh. “Kudos to you for learning to do laundry…and thanks for taking on mine too.”

  “It’s the least I can do. Do you want to know what’s worse than never having done my own laundry before?”

  “What?”

  “Guilt about being here in Andrew’s house. I feel horrible for saying this, but my parents would have never let in strangers this way.”

  “You can’t know that, Ruth.”

  “Oh yes I do,” she insisted. “A young couple came to our door last summer. The woman was probably six months pregnant. The man said they ran out of gas. And you know what my dad did? He pressed the alarm system panic button and told them to tell it to the cops, because they would show up within minutes. Cold, huh?”

  Abby agreed it was cold, but tried not to criticize. “Maybe they were just being safe?”

  “If they were, I’m sure glad Andrew is not being safe right now.”

  Ruth stood up, looking a little more somber than when she came in, probably from having confessed something she felt so conflicted about.

  “I’m going up now.” She walked to the washroom to grab Abby’s clothes. “I’ll put these in before I head upstairs. When I come down in the morning, I’ll bring them to you. Good night, Abby.”

  “Thanks again and have a good night.”

  She reached over to the lamp and switched it off, then slid under the sheets and settled into bed. Her thoughts included Andrew, and she hoped he was okay.

  Chapter Thirteen

  ABBY was wired. It took her a lot longer than usual to fall asleep. Her mind kept returning to dinner and Andrew’s second kiss. Now she wanted much, much more. She wondered how far they would have gone were it not for the wild coyote who stole the moment. Every so often, Abby would shiver, remembering the jolt she felt when the rifle went off.

  She tried to make light of the scary moment, recalling Wile E. Coyote cartoons, and imagining the animal outside was just as much of a trickster as Wile E. It didn’t work. She sat up to take a drink of the bottled water at her side table, and noticed the time. It was barely after ten at night. The decision was made. She read a little more Asimov to relax.

  Picking up where she left off with Foundation made her think about Andrew that much more. She could not imagine he had ever opened up to anyone about the mark that ran from his wrist up…or more importantly, about the fact that he was a shifter. To her, the mark was a dead giveaway. From everything she had read, and from what she had seen first-hand, it was the trademark of anyone who was turned during an accident or after an injury. On top of that, she had no doubt his mark had everything to do with the sadness and loss he carried in his eyes.

  And perhaps that event—whatever it was—also led to his decision to leave the practice of medicine. Andrew may not have noticed his own subtle nervous body language, but Abby did. Every time he spoke about medicine, he slid his hand up and down the mark on his forearm.

  Abby did not dare to ask, and started reading again to put it out of her mind. Or, at least, to try. The more she tried to read, the more he invaded her thoughts. His tall, almost giant frame, all muscled. His chiseled cheekbones. His sorrowful eyes. His sultry lips. She kept the image of his face at the forefront, not fighting it anymore as she read. Soon, both Gaal and Seldon bore a stunning resemblance to Andrew.

  She was barely on the fourth chapter when she heard a knock on the door.

  “Come in,” she called.

  Andrew popped his head in the door.

  “Hi,” he said, not moving from the doorway. “I was wondering if you needed anything before I turn in.”

  “Thanks for thinking of me, Andrew,” she said. “I think I’m actually okay tonight.”

  “I also wanted to apologize.”

  “For what?”

  “I felt an apology was in order,” he explained. “If I was inappropriate in any way during dinner.”

  “I think you should come in and have a seat.” Abby sat up and turned to face him from the side of the bed.

  Andrew entered with some hesitation, closing the door behind him. He sat in the armchair between the door and the bed.

  “You don’t need to apologize. Unless I apologize too.”

  “I appreciate that.” He leaned back into the chair.

  Abby did not hold back. “I don’t think I’ve ever experienced anything like what’s been happening between us.”

  “Likewise.”

  “So everything else is okay?”

  “Yes,” he answered. “Actually, no, it’s not. I also should not have rushed off when everyone came back inside.”

  “I think I understand.” She searched his sorrowful eyes.

  “Really?” he asked, not breaking eye contact. “What do you think was the reason I left the room?”

  “I don’t know for certain, but my guess is you feel responsible for us while we’re here, even though we’re not invited guests. You don’t want anything bad to happen, and you definitely don’t want to see anyone getting hurt. Not even the coyote.”

  “Do you always read people this well?”

  “I don’t know. I just saw the concern in your eyes when you grabbed the rifle. By the way, thanks for keeping my friends safe.”

  “Like you said, I couldn’t stand by and watch.” He looked away, shifting his glance to the window.

  “That’s why you likely saved six complete strangers last night. Just so you know, it’s not something any of us takes lightly.”

  Abby paused. This was as good a time as any to find out more about Andrew. She sensed he was not as forthcoming about his past. There was definitely some trauma or major defining moments he wasn’t ready to share, not to mention the fact that he was a shifter. To set him at ease, she shared about her own past.

  “You know,” she said with a slight smile, “at dinner, I was about to tell you why I got into nursing when we got a little…sidetracked.”

  “We did, didn’t we?” he agreed with a low chuckle.

  “It may be for the same reason you went outside with the rifle. After my mom was diagnosed with cancer, I felt so helpless. She was everything to my dad an
d me. She was so strong in spirit while she fought it, but as her body grew weaker, I became more and more withdrawn. Close to the end, I was sitting in her room, a little numb, and very much had put up a wall around me, so I wouldn’t have to grieve when she finally left.

  “She was weak…so weak and tired, but managed to stretch out her hand to me and said, “Abigail Wittfield, you had better take my hand right now and start living, because so help me God, I will never stop reaching for you, even from the other side.” I took her hand, laid my head on her frail chest, and sobbed my eyes out that day. Here she was, suffering, with mere days left, and she wouldn’t give up on me, even after I had given up on her months before. After she passed, I knew the only thing I’d ever want to do is help people. A career in nursing was natural, and oncology nursing just felt right, after I got my degree.”

  Abby let out a long breath after sharing about her mother. She didn’t expect to tell him so much. It just flowed out of her, as if the words needed to be spoken. It didn’t matter to her if he wouldn’t open up right away. Sharing was extra therapy for her. She sensed it was a start. After that, she felt so much better about having kissed this stranger. Andrew wasn’t a stranger anymore, now that he knew a little more of her heart.

  “You know, you’re just amazing,” Andrew managed. “I admire you for telling me something so…so deeply personal.”

  “It’s only fair, I think,” she explained. “I learned a lot about you over dinner, and it made me comfortable enough to share too. Now we’re not strangers anymore. Can I tell you something else?”

  “Sure.”

  “My friends out there don’t know this…not even Rob, who’s been my neighbor since we were little.” She was going out on a limb, but took a breath and went for it. “Okay, before I start, just know that I’m taking a big chance for sharing this with you.”

  “You don’t have to tell me if it’s too personal, Abby.”

  “I think I do. I don’t want to lose my nerve, so let me get this out by asking you three questions.”

  Andrew nodded and waited.

  “Have you ever felt what I would call a force, coming from Reno-Sparks? What I mean by a force is a presence of one individual, almost as if they were communicating with just you?”

  “Um…no?”

  “Okay forget the questions. I’ll just tell you.” She took another deep breath and spilled it out. “My father is like you.”

  Andrew furrowed his brow and averted his eyes. “Like me? How do you mean?”

  “You don’t have to hide it from me. My dad…he’s a bear shifter. You are too, aren’t you, Andrew?”

  He did not answer. He just sat there—silent, and probably stunned.

  Abby kept going. “I saw that mark on your arm. He has the same mark on his lower rib and left side.”

  “How did he get the mark?”

  “It’s from a hunting accident. He had gone out in the woods behind our farm, searching for our dog when a hunter accidentally shot him in the lower left abdomen. The man was so scared when he realized he shot a person that he left my father for dead. My dad probably would have died that day. He said a woman with jet black hair came to him from nowhere. She called herself Theriona, and told him he was going to die, even if help came. According to her, she was the only one who could extend his life, but warned there were permanent consequences. My mother had died only a few months earlier. My dad told her he didn’t care what happened, as long as he could be around to take care of me. She told him she was the prime. The first of their kind, but never explained how she had become that way. After he agreed to her offer, she did something to him to make him black out. He woke up back in our house, and was completely healed, except for the mark. It took him months to realize that tissue regeneration was not all that had changed for him.”

  “She didn’t tell him what would happen?”

  “No. She only told him two things. One was that she could not predict what he would become, and that if he searched her name online and he would understand.”

  “What was her name?”

  “Theriona.”

  “What is it supposed to mean?”

  “The exact Greek translation is beast woman.”

  “Did she tell him anything about her reason for doing this?”

  “She didn’t tell him anything more, but when he searched online there was one article on a site about Native American mythology and legends. It said she had been around since the sixteenth century. The men she turns into shifters have extended life spans but are not immortal. She is the only immortal, according to the document, and she will remain immortal until she meets the man who will make her a regular human again.”

  “How many shifters are there?”

  “Around the world? Possibly thousands. In the United States, under a thousand.”

  “Are they all bears?”

  “No. They can become a mammal or large amphibian, according to this online site.”

  “Have you seen your father turn?”

  “Only once…so am I right? Are you a shifter too?”

  He took a while to answer, then nodded. “Yes. I am a bear shifter. I was turned two years ago, but this woman…I think it was her…she came to me dressed as a paramedic after an accident. She said nothing about what you’re telling me now. My tissue regenerated at a hospital, and if it weren’t for my father, I’d be locked away in some bunker at the CIA headquarters in Langley right now, probably subjected to testing and who knows what else. All this time, I had been going about it all wrong. From my medical training, I had come to believe the accident triggered some kind of cellular mutation that was already in my DNA. I had no idea I was turned.”

  He stopped abruptly and shook his head.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  “Other than my father, you’re the only person I’ve told about this. I can’t even believe we’re having this discussion.”

  Abby shifted so her feet touched the floor and she held the foot of the bed to stand up.

  “Hey, are you sure you’re all right standing by yourself?” Andrew asked, almost lunging forward to grab her arm for support.

  “Positive,” she answered.

  Abby didn’t want to think or talk anymore. There was an amazing man in her room, who made her body tingle every time she thought about him, lit up her mind with his intelligence, made her relax, and caused sparks to fly about in her brain whenever she saw him. She wasn’t lying when she said she had never felt anything like that for anyone. Of the few men she had dated through high school and college, not one of them made her jittery. There were never any sparks. Abby didn’t know what it was she was feeling, but she knew she wanted more.

  Abby reached up to his shoulders as she stood in front of him and pulled him down to her height level. She whispered, “Thank you,” planted her lips on his, and pressed an ‘I want more’ kiss on his mouth. Andrew looked genuinely surprised. After the confessions they had just made to each other, it took him a moment to respond.

  She pulled away to kiss a line across his bottom lip. She let out a breath near his ear and under her roaming hand she felt his heart pound rapidly. That was the kind of reaction she had hoped for. His large hand rose from her waist where it had fallen, to cup her head and tilt her face up to his.

  “Abby,” he whispered.

  “Yes. I want this.”

  Those were the last words either spoke for the next fifteen minutes.

  He pulled her to him and took her mouth. Abby responded with zeal, allowing his tongue to claim and unravel her. For the third time in her life, she found herself wishing the world would end and this moment would stretch on eternally. Having his mouth on hers, sucking her soul from her, tasting her with his tongue, and letting her do the same to him, it was out of this world. Hands down, the three best sensual experiences of her life—all of them with him.

  Not even the need for oxygen had her wanting to pull away from him. She ran her tongue across his teeth and along his to
ngue. He tasted like wilderness, like unbridled adventure, and a hint of danger. There was really no other way to describe the unique flavor that was Andrew. She explored his mouth again and again, trying to find better words, trying to determine exactly what she was tasting.

  At last, he was the one to yield to survival and pulled away first in order to gasp large breaths of air. She followed suit and panted, collecting her thoughts and organizing her memories so she could recall them later without trouble. She wanted to remember him. No matter what happened in future, she wanted to remember him like this. Every moment was an experience.

  She was still filing away each sensation when she realized he had tilted back her head and was nibbling along the underside of her jaw. His teeth grazed a tender spot, and she felt like laughing. She hadn’t known she was ticklish there, but apparently, she was. Luckily, he moved on, licking and kissing a trail south to her throat. His hands moved up to hold her shoulders and she lowered her head to rest her chin on the crown of his head.

  Abby raised her hands to run her fingers through his hair. It was short and so smooth. Instantly, she loved the feeling of it against her skin. Would she feel the same if it brushed against her thighs? Suddenly, she craved that knowledge. One of his hands shifted lower to tap against the pulse point throbbing wildly—thanks to what he was currently doing—beside her throat.

  He teased and tasted her, moving along her collarbone, nipping the delicate skin, then soothing each bite with tender licks. She swooned, letting out a moan, and felt her knees shake. Andrew was so aware of her. He released his grip on one shoulder to wrap his arm around her waist for more support where she stood. She felt, more than heard, a soft growly chuckle rise from his chest, and almost laughed too.

  His other hand had started to wander as well, dipping below the collar of her robe and grazing the top swells of her breasts. Immediately, her nipples peaked, pushing at the silky fabric. By now, he had to know she had nothing on underneath. He swooped lower and slipped a fingertip over her nipple.