After everything I’d found out the night before about Presley and her secluded, puritanical-style upbringing, I was eager to get to my mate and see how she was handling everything. Matt had told her about us the night before. About shifters, about mates, about everything. As much as it bothered me that I hadn’t been the one to talk to her, I was grateful to my cousin. She knew Matt better than she knew me, and as much as it pained me, she undoubtedly trusted him more. I knew that it probably made her feel better to have him do it.
I still felt worlds lighter. My mate wasn’t taken, only scared. I could work with scared. I could show her that I was worth trusting. Bonus that I didn’t have to feel like a piece of cow dung for hurting Matt and I didn’t have to worry about going feral and killing my cousin if he touched her.
I was determined. I knew it might not be easy and I was willing to take things slowly for her, but I had wanted a mate for as long as I could remember and I was overjoyed with the one I’d gotten. I’d always known that waiting for her would be worth it. I was right, Presley was worth fighting for. Jesus, I’d turned into a sap in a matter of days, but I wasn’t ashamed. I’d watched it happen to all my buddies. It was finally my turn, and I welcomed it. It meant that I had finally gotten lucky.
I parked outside of the clinic just after they opened and walked in through the front door, eager to see Presley.
Matt was at the counter, talking to the receptionist. He grinned at me when he saw me. “I knew I smelled something needy and desperate this morning.”
I just shrugged. “Where’s Presley?”
“Out at the back of the property. She’s with the shelter dogs. One of them had puppies in the night and Presley’s more worried than the momma dog is.”
I hesitated. “She okay?”
He grinned even wider. “Go see for yourself.”
I headed out through the back and caught sight of her standing beside a fence, her back to me. Her long blonde hair was blown out to the side by the wind, revealing the mark I’d left on her. Her ass was wrapped up in a pair of jean shorts that showed off a tantalizing amount of thigh and I could see that she was in another teeny tiny tank top. I didn’t see bra straps and my dick hardened painfully, but I forced myself to ignore it. I had to go easy with her. “Hi.”
Presley jumped and turned to face me. I watched her pale skin turn ruby red. “Hi.”
I stood next to her and looked down at the dog in front of us. She was huge, with big brown eyes that tracked me as I moved closer to Presley. There were four little balls of fluff at her belly and she leaned down and licked one as I watched.
“What’s her name?”
She looked down at the dog and then back up at me. “You’re a… bear?”
I met her eyes and nodded. “Yes.”
She straightened her spine and tucked her hair behind her adorable, if slightly large, ears. “I want to see. Matt told me that you marked me. I want to see who marked me. All of you.”
I raised an eyebrow and she stuttered. “Not like that, I mean. I mean the bear part of you. I need to see. Matt wouldn’t show me, and I’m having a very hard time wrapping my mind around all this.”
I frowned. “Are you going to freak out?”
She shook her head. “Nope. Those days are behind me.”
I smiled and tossed a thankful glance at the sky over my head. My mate was amazing and I was already deeply smitten. “Okay. Not here, though. I don’t want to scare the dogs. Can you take off for an hour?”
She shook her head. “I’m watching the puppies. I need to make sure they’re okay.”
“That’s fine. We can do it later. I’ll stay and help with the puppies. I’ve got the day off, so I was hoping we could spend some time together.”
She pursed her lips and turned to me with her hands on her hips. “Shouldn’t I be angry with you? You marked me without my permission. That’s a big deal, right? You’re supposed to ask my permission. Now, you’re here and you’re making me feel all these… things… and it’s annoying.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and frowned. “Annoying?”
The frown on her own face cracked and she looked away, but not before I saw the corners of her mouth lift into a smile. “It should be annoying. That’s all I’m saying.”
15
Presley
The world outside Macon’s Edge was crazy, crazier than it had ever been growing up in the secluded flock of followers. That was really saying something. Matt had told me everything there was to know and more about shifters, mates, and bears. Matt was a bear shifter. Sam was a bear shifter. Ophelia was a bear shifter, and Kyle wasn’t, which was even more confusing, but I had bigger things to worry about. Sterling and the rest of Sam’s friends were bear shifters, too.
The whole town was full of bear people. They literally turned into bears and ran around as another species. They. Turned. Into. Bears. As much as I’d wanted to run far away screaming when Matt had started telling me about it, I couldn’t. I’d been frozen motionless in my seat, listening intently to every word like the robots in Father’s flock listened to his venomous sermons. It crossed my mind that maybe I’d left one cult only to meet up with another.
I knew Matt, though. He wasn’t crazy. He wasn’t a member of any cult. He was a closeted gay man who had the biggest heart of anyone I knew, and who’d taken me under his wing when my own family didn’t want me anymore. And, I knew Ophelia. She was the woman who forgave me when I didn’t deserve to be forgiven and gave me her very own clothing when I had none. The people he was talking about weren’t looney, self-righteous bigots. They were friends. And Sam… Sam was the man that had turned me head over heels.
I wanted to see this phenomenon for myself, but I was nervous, too. Matt had made clear that they would still be friendly when they shifted, but I was worried.
I was also worried about mates. He’d explained is as I was meant for Sam and Sam was meant for me. Apparently, that was why the reaction was as instantaneous and as intense as it was. It wouldn’t go away and there was no getting it to fade, especially since Sam had marked me. We were basically married in shifter culture, apparently.
I was essentially married to the man who Matt had referred to as a man-slut. What was I supposed to do with that?
I hadn’t had to wait long to find out, because he’d arrived at the veterinary clinic first thing that morning. He looked deliciously good in jeans and a T-shirt that had a hole in the chest, just big enough that I could see the side of his nipple through it.
My desire for him was still there, stronger it seemed now that it was infused with memories of having amazing sex the day before. Maybe, now that I knew how amazing the sex was, I’d turned into a little bit of an animal myself.
I resisted the urge to reach out a finger and touch that little patch of skin that was showing, somehow, and focused on Star and her puppies. “Her name is Star. The puppies are Stella, Stoney, Stuart, and Stag.”
Sam looked over at me with his raised eyebrows and a smile revealed his killer dimples. “You name them like that?”
I felt my cheeks heat and nodded. “I like when things sound similar.”
He nodded as if it made complete sense. “Want to show me around? I’m thinking about getting a dog. I went over to talk to Matt last night and ended up with Mabel cuddled next to me, her head in my lap, for hours. It was nice.”
I didn’t have to try very hard to picture myself curled next to him with my head in his lap. I tried to focus on the puppies in front of me instead. Sam being a bear didn’t change things. I didn’t think, anyway. “Star needs a home. She shouldn’t have to raise her babies here.”
He looked over at me and just stared. “You want me to take Star, Stella, Stoney, Stuart, and Stag? All of them?”
I looked away from his intense stare and gripped the fence in front of me. My body wouldn’t stop reacting to him and it was driving me insane. “She needs a home. They all do.”
He edged closer. “I’m a firefig
hter, Presley. They would be alone a lot. Unless, of course, someone was there to look after them for me while I was on long shifts.”
I snapped my head around to him. “Are you asking me to come by your house?”
“Yep. To check on the puppies.” His mouth lifted on one side, a dimple appearing again. “Or me.”
I grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the fence. “I want you to show me right now.”
I needed to know if it was true. I needed to know if what Matt told me was for real. If it was, then the part about Sam and I actually being mates was true too, and that changed things.
My hand tingled where it was clasped in his and I looked up at him to find him staring at our entwined hands with an awed expression. “What?”
He looked at me and blinked a few times. “You feel that?”
I bit my lip and nodded.
He shook his head and grinned, giving a boyish charm to his handsome face. “I’ve waited a long time to feel something like that.”
My heart did a little shimmy, but I put a stop to it. I didn’t even know if what I’d been told was real, yet. I had to be sure. “Come on. Can’t you show me around here?”
Sam looked around at the property and shook his head. “Too open. Not everyone in town knows about us. I’ll take you somewhere more secluded to show you, if that’s okay.”
Secluded sounded good.
I shook my head at myself. I was reacting to Sam in ways that had never been okay in Macon’s Edge. My naughty streak had grown, it seemed, and I couldn’t help but want to roll around in it. I was supposed to be living and learning. I couldn’t do that unless I let go of the teachings that had been ingrained in me since the day I was born.
“Sure. Secluded.” A plan started to form in my mind, a plan that the old Presley would never have concocted.
Sam walked faster, pulling me after him to find Matt. “I’m trying my hardest to keep this PG-13, Presley, so I’m going to need you to stop looking at me like that.”
I blushed. “Like what?”
He tossed a look back at me. “Like you’re thinking about really dirty things.”
A giggle escaped from the evil side of me and I clamped a hand over my mouth. Mumbling through an apology, I took over the lead and dragged him into Matt’s office.
Matt was seated at his desk, a smirk on his face at the sight of us holding hands. “Well, this is cute.”
I made a face at him. “Is it okay if I run out for a little bit? I’m making Sam show me the… thing.”
Matt barked a short laugh. “You’ve changed, Presley. And to think, you used to be such a good girl.”
Odd that his words had mirrored my thoughts. “Not that thing, perv.”
He motioned me out of the office. “Go on. I’ve got the office for an hour or so. I need you back before eleven, though. We’re taking a trip out to old man Swinton’s farm to check on a colt and its momma.”
“I’ll be back way before then.”
Sam cleared his throat and rested his hand on my back. “She’ll be back before eleven.”
I started to protest and then decided against it. If all checked out, I had a plan to carry out.
16
Sam
I drove Presley out to a stretch of forest that I knew would be empty and hurried around the truck to help her out. With my hands around her waist, I put her down right in front of me and smiled down at her. “You’re sure you’re ready for this?”
She nodded. “I have to see it to believe it.”
I took her hand, warming at the sensation that buzzed from the contact, and pulled her after me into the trees. Finding a clearing, I let her go and stepped a few feet in front of her. I reached over my head and grabbed my shirt, pulling it off.
“What are you doing?” Her voice sounded huskier.
“I have to strip down first. I don’t want to shred these clothes. This is the best outfit I own.”
She surprised me with a grin. “There’s a hole in the shirt. I could see your nipple.”
My dick hardened at the word nipple like I was fourteen. I was surprised I didn’t start giggling. “Well, I don’t want it to get worse.”
She found a log to sit on and watched me with the focus of a surgeon.
I kicked out of my boots and then dragged my pants and briefs down in one go. I tossed them all over a branch and stood there, naked. “Are you sure you’re ready?”
She was staring at my dick with wide eyes. “You’re…”
I looked down and then back at her. “Hard? Yeah. Being around you does that to me.”
She met my eyes and I got a scent of her arousal. “Do it.”
I said a quick prayer that she wouldn’t suddenly freak out and run, then shifted. Immediately, I got down on my belly, trying to appear smaller to her. I knew I was probably scary.
Much to my surprise, though, instead of being afraid, she slid off her log and gasped, “It’s true.”
I chuffed at her and made a show of rolling onto my back.
Presley giggled and moved closer. “Can I touch you?”
I rolled back over and nudged my head into her outstretched palm. My bear had died and gone to heaven. His mate was stroking his fur, scratching behind his ears, and even rubbing her face against his.
“You’re so soft and beautiful. I can’t believe it. Sam, this is amazing.” She looked into my eyes and pressed a kiss to the top of my nose. “Can you hear me?”
I nodded and waited for what my surprising little mate was going to say.
“It’s easier to say what I have to say to you now that you’re a bear. I’m embarrassed to say it, but I need something from you.”
I waited.
She giggled. “I guess you’re not going to respond, huh? I need help. I want to live. Maybe we can talk about the details later, but if we’re mates, that means you’re supposed to be stuck with me, right? Maybe we can spend some of our time trying stuff. I want you to show me things, Sam.”
I was purring like a kitten as she whispered to me while stroking my fur. I didn’t know what she fully meant, but I was willing to explore with her. I would do anything for her.
“I know it sounds crazy, but I want to be wild. I’ve never lived in the outside world before, but I want to live freely. I want to learn to be a modern woman, as crazy as that sounds. I think I’ll probably need to take some things slowly, though.” She laughed. “Some things. Others, I think we’ll keep at the same pace…”
I’d taken all that I could take. I shifted back and tugged her into my arms as she gasped. “You’re killing me.”
Her eyes were wide and her lips were parted as she stared up at me. “That’s cheating. Go back to the bear. He’s easier to talk to.”
I dipped my head and caught her mouth in a searing kiss. I felt it down to my toes and then back up. Holding her face in my hands, I tilted it up and deepened the kiss.
Presley moaned and her small hands dropped to my sides, the blunt edges of her fingertips biting into my skin. Her chest rubbed against mine with each labored breath as she pulled back slightly. “This is crazy. You turn into a bear.”
I nodded. “Yeah, I do. You seem to be handling it pretty well.”
She looked thoughtful. “I’m just trying to wrap my brain around it all. I heard plenty of crazy things in Macon’s Edge, but this takes the cake.”
I sensed a hesitation. “But?”
“I’m nervous.”
“Why? I would never hurt you.”
“It’s not the bear hurting me that I’m worried about. It’s the man. I swore off men. After everything that happened… I’m not ready to rush into anything.”
I had to get my dick put away if I was going to be able to have a serious conversation. I grabbed my pants and pulled them on quickly. “We have forever. I won’t rush you if you need me to go slow.”
“You slept with me when you thought I was with Matt. Would you have been okay with me being that kind of person?”
&nbs
p; I frowned. “You’re my mate, Presley. Nothing else matters. I felt horrible about what I thought I’d done to Matt and went straight to his house to apologize, but it still wouldn’t have mattered. There’s something in us, burning for the other. I know you feel it. You can’t walk away from that. You can’t ignore it. I didn’t think twice about you sleeping with me when I thought you were with Matt because I was right with you. I knew it was inevitable. My bear, he craves you. I crave you.”
She bit her lip and her eyes roamed down to my chest. “Forever?”
I caught her lip with my thumb and tugged it out from between her teeth. “We’ll go slow. Whatever you need. We can get to know each other and go from there. Sure, it’s backwards, but it’s fine. We can put a hold on sex for a little while, until you’re really ready.”
Fuck, what was I saying? I didn’t want to put a hold on it. I was still hard as rock and could barely see straight with the need for her pulsing through me.
“Okay.”
I forced a smile and grabbed my shirt. I needed as many layers between us as possible. “I’ll get you back to the clinic and hang out there with you for a little while, until you have to go out to the farm with Matt. Maybe we can have dinner tonight?”
She nodded and knotted her fingers together as we walked back to the truck. Her face was decidedly disappointed, but I couldn’t understand why. I thought I’d said the right thing.
My little mate unsettled about something, but I was lost. I kept quiet, deciding to wait for her to tell me in her own time.
17
Presley
I must’ve fallen and bumped my head on the way into the forest, because every conviction I’d had about taking things slow and easy had flown out of the window when I saw Sam as a huge grizzly bear. It was real.
Bears of Burden Complete Series Box Set Page 45