“Very sexy.”
His dark eyes held hers for a moment and she was left speechless. He somehow looked every bit as unbearably attractive in the funny shirt. Her eyes were the first to turn away and she was about to walk passed him to leave the room, but he stopped her.
Lois looked up at him and bit her lower lip. Conner did not let her go, but pushed her up against the door. He kissed her gently at first, the passion heating up the longer they touched. Her body sung with desire for him, something she had not experienced before. Conner made her feel alive. His hand held her chin, while the other one touched her exposed side. Conner could sense her desire and it made him want her even more. He knew it wasn’t the time to press for more, but he couldn’t help how the feel of her changed everything inside of him. Conner’s blood ran hot and there was no other thought but the woman in his arms.
His hand moved from the side of her breast to her waist and then he cupped her curving hips with a low grunt, pulling her towards him.
Lois whimpered, overwhelmed with pleasurable sensations at being caressed so intimately for the first time. His excitement was clear as he leaned against her leg. Her arms entwined around his neck and even though he bent down, she was on her tiptoes to reach his hungry mouth. She could feel everything inside yielding to him. Conner’s blood rushed in his veins and his hand moved lower, gripping her through her clothing. She softly cried out, unprepared for the mix of sensations. Her mind panicked while her body wanted to stay right there and take it all. She forced herself to pull away from his kisses.
“Wait, Conner. I can’t. This is just too soon.”
His hand moved away and she was able to breathe again, releasing the air that she had been holding in.
“I’m sorry. I got a bit carried away. It’s hard not to do with you.” He pulled back and she whined a little under her breath. The loss of his touch was worse than the confusing feelings when he touched her.
“Lois? Are you here dear?” a voice called from the entryway.
Her eyes widened and she pushed him away. Beth’s unexpected return made her mind up for her. She walked out of the room and met her at the bottom of the stairs.
“Hey, Miss Beth.”
“Dinner will be ready in a bit dear.”
Lois nodded. “I was going to have a guest tonight if that’s ok?”
“Oh I like the sound of that. Did you find you a nice fella in town? It is about time child.”
Lois gave her a look and nodded her head towards the upstairs room that Conner was in. The older woman understood quickly and tried to ease out of her comment, making it considerably worse. Beth went into the kitchen and Lois went back upstairs with a red face.
“You need to find you a fella, huh?” Conner teased, an adorable expression on his face that reminded Lois of the moment they had just shared.
“Apparently,” she replied.
Chapter 6
Dinner was perfect, as it always was. Jeffrey never showed up for the meal, and Lois was a little relieved by his absence. It was clear that the two men did not get along and Lois did not want another uncomfortable scene like at the bar. It hadn’t been so much their words, but the way they had looked at each other with hatred.
Conner left a little after nine, with a wave and a kiss that left Lois nearly desperate to ask him to stay with her. Lois walked back in with a smile on her face that could not be matched.
“See I told you I would know,” Beth grinned. So how did you end up meeting Conner Vern of all people?”
“I am renting his boat while I’m here for my research. I actually met him at Jimmy’s last night. Apparently he and Jeffrey don’t get along.”
“I wouldn’t doubt it. You know that Conner is into wildlife retention. He made a big stink when they wanted to start developing the coastline. Conner spent a lot of money to keep it the way it is. The whole reason all the visitors come to see the animals would have been gone if the oil companies would have had their way.”
Lois nodded, deep in thought. She liked the idea that he was active in saving the animals. It somehow made his wealth seem less intimidating, if he was utilizing it in such admirable ways. Big money made Lois nervous, but with Conner, she hadn’t really noticed. He did not carry many of the same airs that most affluent people did. Lois felt comfortable with Conner, and she could tell his full attention was on her when they were together. He didn’t seem like a workaholic, or the kind of person to lord their money over others. After spending the day with him, Lois could not think of when she had enjoyed an afternoon so much.
That evening her thoughts were full of Conner and the hope that she would get to see him again. She saw him in her dreams, but they were full of strange things that did not much make sense to her mind.
***
Monday was there before Lois knew it and she woke up feeling like she had not slept a wink. Her mind was active the whole night, dreaming up dreams that made her blush to even think about them in the daylight. Her mind and body were going through an awakening, and it was all because of Conner’s touch. The man was full of secrets and she wondered how many more he had up his sleeve.
She was supposed to meet him at the dock, so she went to pick an outfit that would grab his attention. She knew that he liked her hair down, so she let it fall in waves around her face. There was a skip in her step and lightness in her heart that she had never felt before. Lois was walking on air with the idea of seeing him again. A girl that helped Beth around the boarding house on weekdays greeted Lois at the bottom of the stairs.
“Here, you got a message real early this morning.”
Lois read it and her hopes were dashed. Business had come up and Conner was not going to make it. Her whole disposition changed and she no longer wanted to go. The whole reason that she had grown up looking forward to summers in Barrow more than any other part of the year was to study and whale watch, but in the space of two days, the activity had become bland outside of enjoying the sights and discoveries with Conner. It would have been even more wonderful now, knowing that he felt so strongly about the wildlife. Somehow after such a short time of experiencing things with him, imagining the day without him was colorless and depressing.
She headed to the dock, deciding to walk in the crisp air. The cold made it seem longer, but soon she was standing in front of ‘Fate’ wishing that the owner could be there too. She kept telling herself that she had to pull herself together, but it was hard to find the motivation. Taking a look up at the clouds, it was mostly overcast, but the sun was sure to peek through any moment. Lois started the boat and left the marina, headed towards the ice.
The first sighting of the day was filled with excitement. Her enthusiasm for the sea creatures was rekindled as she marveled at their grace and agility. The grey whales were doing a show as they came closer to her tiny boat. She was amazed how close they were to her. Suddenly it felt as though they were too close. Lois could feel the boat rocking from the waves created by the large animals. Her heart started to pound in her chest, panic rising. Another bump from one of the large creatures caused her to let out a short yelp. The boat sloshed around and she almost lost her footing. The movement of the whales almost felt aggressive. Lois was nervous and tried to steer the boat away from the large mammals, then one large hit from the side of the boat made her fall down. She hit her head on the edge of the table as she fell, knocking herself out. The wind picked up and it started to rain, the wind biting into her body.
Chapter 7
Conner was overcome with a bad feeling, and his mind instantly went to Lois. He knew something was not right. He excused himself from the meeting he was in the middle of, leaving as quickly as possible. Getting in his vehicle, he headed back up to Barrow. He did not know what was wrong, but the feeling in the pit of his stomach told him that she was in some kind of trouble. He knew that she needed him and he raced towards her, unsure what he would find when he arrived.
His feelings for Lois had evolved quickly. When he had firs
t seen her, it had been more about getting her away from Jeffrey, but now he knew it was because he was meant to be with her. He had waited almost thirty years for her, for fate to give him his mate and he had a suffocating fear that she would be taken from him now, adding to the years of loss and brokenness he had already known. Years before he had fallen for a woman that was not meant to be his, but ignoring the signs in hopes of finding love, fate had been forced to step in, as it always did. She had been taken from him in a violent way. Conner had begun to fear that he would remain alone forever. Lois had changed all of that. Now, the same gripping fear held his heart for ransom. He couldn’t let the same thing happen to her as it had for Johanna. The very idea made him drive faster on the unpaved roads. Barrow had never felt so far away before.
He went to the boarding house first. It was getting late and she should have been back. When Beth told him that she had been gone since early that morning, his next stop was the marina. He did not see his boat anywhere, and his heart dropped as his fear was essentially confirmed.
Conner raised a prayer to the heavens, unsure whom he was even talking to, but asking for help nonetheless. He went back to the marina office and borrowed one of the boats. He climbed in and hastily started the engine, taking off towards the horizon. He let his instincts guide him to her and when he saw the boat off in the distance by one of the main sheets of ice by the coast, his breath started to slow down to a regular pace. As he pulled closer and saw that there was no activity on the boat as he approached, his nerves became agitated again. Leveling with the boat, his worst fears were realized and he saw her unmoving form on the bottom of the vessel. Pulling up against it, he tied off with it and scrambled to the smaller boat that he had named after the very force he now reckoned with. Fate had stepped in again and as he got closer, he feared it would be as before. Conner had been afraid to love anyone else after Johanna. Lois was the first person he had touched in that way in many years and his heart was already breaking at the thought of losing her. He had brought this upon her.
“Lois!”
There was no answer, and as he bent down to touch her, she was cold to the touch. She was breathing, but it was slow and shallow. He did not know how long she had been out there, but he knew that he had to warm her up quickly. Conner started to undress her from her wet clothes, trying to ignore the chaotic mix of feelings and thoughts running through his mind. It was when he pulled her against his own bare chest, that he realized it wasn’t going to be enough. Making a decision, the man decided to shift into his true form, knowing the warm fur would give her the comfort she so desperately needed.
***
Jeffrey watched it all from a small stand of trees that had survived the permafrost to grow. The man that he had seen at the bar transformed into the very polar bear that he had been waiting for. He was the biggest one he had ever seen. This only drove his desire to make the kill more. Jeffrey’s hunger for victory over the beast was not influenced by who he was, just what he was at that moment. As he started to stalk closer, he saw a mostly naked woman wrapped up in the bear’s embrace and fought his body’s reaction. He had to focus now in order to get the prize. She would fall for him, just for saving her, he was sure of it.
The blonde man raised the high-powered rifle and started to take aim. It was then that the two men’s eyes met and Jeffrey could see the man still within.
The bear moved to protect the woman, waking Lois up with the sudden upheaval. His body heat was warming her and she started to rouse. Conner panicked, afraid she would be terrified, and he was right. There was a moment of screaming and then she paused when he looked at her. The bear was too much like the man for her not to know. She had the same feeling that she did when they were close.
It took Lois a minute to notice Jeffrey standing at the edge of the ice bank, his gun raised at the bear. Without thinking, Lois got up and stood in front of him.
Jeffrey yelled at her to move and the polar bear even pushed her out of the way once, but she got back up and stood in the line of fire. She yelled at the man to stop and he told her to move.
Conner had heard enough and the bear jumped out of the boat. It dove into the water and then pulled itself up on the ice. The man who had the gun shook and started to back up as the beast got closer. Polar bears were known for their aggression, and Jeffrey had threatened this one’s mate.
“Stop! I know what you are! I will shoot you!”
Conner kept approaching, his black eyes fixed on the blonde man. Jeffrey backed up until a ball of ice tripped him. As he hit the ground, the gun went off, hitting the bear, then Conner roared and knocked the gun out of the man’s hands. Jeffrey was white-faced and started to beg. The pathetic display caused Conner to realize what he was doing before it was too late. The bear retreated back to the boat and the woman.
Lois was left speechless as she watched the beast turn back into the form she recognized. Her mind tried to make sense of it, telling her that she was hallucinating, but when she looked up at Conner, she saw blood running down his arm. The bullet had clipped him and caused a superficial wound.
“Oh Conner, look at you!” Her hand went to his shoulder and he turned around, expecting fear but finding only love and acceptance. She had always known that there was something about him, though she never would have guessed the truth.
“I’m fine. Are you okay? We need to get you warmed up.” He helped her into the borrowed boat and started to tug the two boats back to dock.
She looked back at the blood-soaked bank and the blonde man staring after them.
“What are we going to do about him? He is going to tell someone.”
“No, he won’t. Besides they would just think he was crazy. Everyone knows that people don’t turn into polar bears.”
Lois wanted to laugh, but her mind was still reeling. She had seen it happen with her own eyes, but was still questioning the information she had taken in. She started to put her jeans and shirt on, while he did the same. The blood from his arm seeped into his white dress shirt.
“So what are you?”
“I am a shifter,” Conner drew in a sharp breath, “and you are to be my mate.” It took several moments for the words to sink in. All of this time she had wanted to find the one, and in her heart she felt he was that one, but she could never have imagined it liked this.
“I am sorry, Lois. I know this is a lot to take in. I wish that you could have found out some other way.”
“I doubt that any way could have been less…surprising.”
He chuckled. “I guess you’re right, though if it’s any help, you’re taking it quite well.”
“Well, you are bleeding, so I have to stay calm. We need to get you back so we can bandage you up.”
“I heal fast, really, don’t worry about it.” He stepped closer, still a little fearful that she would back away from him, but she did not, and in another moment she was cradled in his arms and their lips touched gently. Before she knew it, they were back at the dock and she was unsure how to proceed.
“Can you park Fate and I will get this one hooked up?”
She agreed, kissing him again before stepping over into the small boat she loved almost as much as she loved the owner. Her eyes followed him as he drove slowly over to the other boat’s spot. He was hooked up and parked before she was and he went back over to help her. He watched her work for a moment his heart feeling like it would burst right then and there. Fate had stepped in again, answering his prayers.
Chapter 8
There was a car waiting for them and she was thankful for it. When they passed Beth’s boarding house, she looked at him with a question in her eyes.
“I want to take you home with me.”
Lois had a feeling she knew what that meant and although she was a nervous wreck about it, she couldn’t deny him when he looked at her in that way. He had a way of making her feel like she was the only woman in the world and he was the only man. She cradled her head against his chest and breathed deeply.
Everything was different and she could never have imagined how just one day could change her whole life.
The car wound up a mountain and at the top it leveled out to a large house with a gorgeous view of the water. Barrow appeared tiny below them. Conner seemed eager to get inside and she held his hand as they walked up the stairs.
“It is beautiful Conner, I love the logs.”
“I’m glad you like it,” he said as he squeezed her hand. This is your new home, if you will have me.”
Lois was still trying to process the overwhelming joy of belonging to Conner, she hardly knew how to respond, so she stood on the tips of her toes and kissed him, softly catching his lip between hers.
The home was vast, and like everything else about Conner, overwhelming. It all looked so pristine, she was afraid to touch anything.
“Do you want to take a shower?”
Lois agreed with a nod, her mouth unable to speak. She followed him into the bathroom and waited while he turned the hot water on. Steam quickly filled the room and he slowly began to help her undress. The covering of the mist from the hot water eased her shyness at being exposed with him. His hands on her body were enough to make her forget everything except him in that moment.
Conner stood behind her as he pulled down her shorts. She was facing the foggy mirror, their reflection muddled but visible. He held her like that for several minutes, his hands touching her sides, while his mouth nibbled on her neck and shoulder. A shiver ran over her and she moaned as his fingers moved down her body lightly.
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