Bear Shifters: Hunt Collection #2 (24 page)

Chapter Six

It seemed to take forever for Friday to arrive. Both Alexander and Brooke spent the days texting each other and getting closer. While Alexander knew she was to be his lifelong mate, he knew she would need convincing. Humans were like that, unfortunately.

They pulled up to the gate of the restaurant and the valet took over the yellow split-window Corvette, one of Alexander's favorites in his garage collection. When he had first started making his money, it had been his first car purchase. While his collection had grown considerably, it was this Corvette that still held a special bond with him.

They sat there silent as the waiter brought their wine, water and bread basket. Alexander was nervous for the first time in his life, having been an overachiever in every arena but love. Brooke was the first to break the ice.

"How was your day?"

"Boring. Meetings every hour. I'll be very glad to get into something comfortable later." He laughed, as he tugged his tie. While he knew he looked good, there was nothing like the supreme comfort of coming home and slipping on clothes that barely stayed on your body and weren't like a second skin.

"Oh I can completely understand that; try walking in heels all day. That moment you get in the door and they come off is one of the best feelings in the world." She said through a smile, her head thrown back just barely noticeable.

Without a second thought, Alexander's hands went under the table to take one of her ankles and bring it up to his lap. He undid the thin strap that held the shoe in place, casually letting it drop to the floor. His strong fingers worked her foot, massaging it while her eyes closed instinctively.

"You should always be comfortable, Brooke," he whispered to her, not letting up in his foot rub. His thumb trailed down from her toes to her heel down the middle of her sole.

For a man that does corporate work all day long, his hands are so rough and strong
, Brooke thought.

Their meals came and they ate a mix of spring vegetables and roasted Cornish hens. There was a fine difference between the meals she was used to with Ian and that thought wasn't lost on Alexander. While he knew that Ian was no longer competition for Brooke, he still wanted to set himself apart from him.

"I'm so comfortable around you. I don't know why that is, to be honest. Typically, I'm very jaded about men." She sounded almost embarrassed.              

"Well, I'm glad. You're safe with me. You will always be safe with me Brooke, I promise you that." Alexander put his hand on top of hers on the table and looked deeply into her eyes. He only hoped she could see the complete truth to that statement.

****

Alexander spent the next three weeks in constant contact with Brooke. From lunches, to texting their way through watching their mutual favorite show, even showing up to each other's work just to say hello. They'd taken it slow in their physical contact, not progressing much past making out. Every time it started to get close to consummating the relationship, Alexander would stop. He didn't want to push her and knew with her history it would be best to take it slow.

This particular dinner was going much differently than the others. Brooke had chosen a particularly revealing dress and Alexander was worried that he'd not be able to turn her down.

Brooke was not the bold one, typically. She would always go where her friends wanted her to go or do whatever Ian needed to do. She wasn't one to take control of any situation and yet she found herself doing so as she said, "If you don't have plans after dinner, I'd love to see your place." In Brooke's mind, she had just asked him to take her on the dinner table and she blushed down at her toes because of it.

"I wouldn't mind that at all." Alexander smiled at her as he helped her slip back into her shoes. They strolled back to the car, arm in arm, her head resting on his elbow. Even in her highest heels, Alexander towered over her.

It was then that Alexander was grateful for the Corvette as he cornered through the turns and made record time getting back to his place. He was relieved that there were no guests staying there or servants around tonight. Brooke and Alexander walked inside. She sat on the leather couch by the closest window and slipped off her shoes, letting them rest by the door frame. Her coat and purse were folded neatly on the couch cushion as she looked up at him. Rising from her seat, she reached up to kiss him as he wrapped his arms around her. Lifting her off the ground, he held her at eye level, kissing her face all over.

He kept holding her, walking her to the furthest back bedroom, one that he never used. He kicked open the door and laid her gently down on the goose feather comforter. He hooked a finger into his tie to get it to loosen and removed it and his jacket. He could already feel the growing excitement as his pants were uncomfortably tight.

Alexander stripped her bare of clothing, taking his sweet time to tease and touch her everywhere. His fingertips played over her delicate skin as if she were a fine vintage instrument, ready to be played and mastered. Carefully, he moved beside her, knowing his size was an issue. He toyed with her nipples, leaned over to breathe warmly on them, causing Brooke to prickle from the goose bumps. His hand went to her soft folds. His finger slipped inside and he slowly rubbed her clit in small circles as he watched her lie there and squirm. He raised himself over her just enough to be able to get a nipple into his mouth, sucking it as he fingered her.

The more he kept up his endeavors, the more excited she grew. She moaned and sighed, causing him to bubble over with a wanton need for her. He had to keep it calmer, else he was going to shift and scare her.

Her back arched and her skin was flushed as a low growl slipped out of him before he could stop it. He quickly recovered and buried his face in her wet mound, licking and sucking on her soft nub. Her curves spilled over creating beautiful softness everywhere. Alexander realized how tired he was of stick-figure girls and rail-thin models. Here he had delicious flesh in abundance to taste and love, and he was ready to feast.

After bringing Brooke just to the edge of climax with his tongue, he teased her with just a bit more tongue in her delicate places, nibbling on her thighs. He wanted to mount her, flip her over and mate with her like he had with no other. He'd never had sex in any way but missionary style in human form just to make sure he never mated. He was diligent, careful. There were no surprises. With Brooke he found himself overcome with the desire to claim her as his own.

Instead of caving in to his wants and needs, he held back. He was still deeply into the foreplay, the kissing of her neck and the soft, gentle strokes of his hands on her body. Brooke, however, had other thoughts in mind, firmly taking his rigid member in her hands and guiding it to her core.

"Brooke, I..." he began, before she plunged him deep inside her, resting on top of him so that she could ride him as she saw fit. She rocked back and forth on his cock, slowly, methodically, just barely keeping him in motion. There were times she rose up so much, he was nearly fully outside of her, only for her to sit back down on him and start riding again. Her hips started to grind into him, her breasts hung down and brushed against his chest as she leaned over him to lick his ear, whispering, "You what?"

That was all it took from her. A flash flickered across his eyes and the lust took over his heart. He picked her up off of him and flipped her over, brushing her hair back to bare her neck to him. He rested his teeth down easily onto her neck, trying to hold her without hurting her, trying to temper the primal instinct against the growing need inside him.

"This," Alexander growled, as he plunged himself inside her, growing much larger than he was a moment ago. He thrust hard against her, holding her steady, hearing her breathing start to catch. She was panting with the fullness that was within her, nearly overtaking her. She was so close.

Alexander couldn't hold back, and his teeth started to sink in, breaking the skin in a few spots. She gasped as he came inside her, grunting hard against her body and his thrusts still deepening afterwards.

She turned around just in time to see the wildness in his eyes and a shimmer where she saw him as both bear and human, like a flicker of lights going off and on again.

Chapter Seven

She couldn't stop the scream that burst out of her as she scrambled to get her clothes and rush out of the house into the night. Alexander went after her, but her screaming at him to go back and get away from her made him hesitant to keep pursuing her. He didn't want to have to explain anything to any wayward officers that may be on patrol.

He stood there on the concrete drive, watching her turn the corner and head into the darkness. He could only blame himself for what had occurred. He should have been upfront with her at the very beginning, but how could he bring that up?
Hey I'm Alexander, I'm a corporate executive, I love the color blue, and I'm a werebear.
No, it's just not how it’s done.

He went inside the house and immediately called her with it going straight to voicemail. He sent her a text:

We really should talk. Don't shut me out, please. Call me.

He tried to go to work the next morning but he was in a fog of sadness. The phone stayed silent except for a few business calls.  Each day he'd wake hoping to hear from her, each evening he’d go to bed still able to smell her on his pillow. Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into a full month. He sent flowers, letters, candy, anything and everything he thought of that could win her back. He didn't want her to go a day without knowing she was thought of, missed, and loved.

There had been two opportunities to talk to her when he had seen her. Once at the coffee shop, when he had walked in before heading to work to see her in the corner. He had waved, she’d got up and left. The other had been at a gallery opening. She had been friends with the artist and Alexander had been there as a patron of the gallery. He’d at least got a stilted "Hello" out of her that night, one that he had treasured for days to follow.

His friends kept telling him to start seeing people. They would fix him up with their friends, their relatives, and any hot chick that their girlfriends knew. Alexander would have none of it.

After five full weeks of waiting, he started to take more and more time off work and just roamed the wooded areas behind the city. He'd leave for hours, prowling, taking in nature and roaming in full bear form. He began to embrace the animal within, even considered living full time as a bear if his human form was going to be so forlorn.

After his bear needs had been satiated, he was back in full human form full time again. He went to his job every morning and stayed late every evening. He was throwing in everything he had to the job, trying to find some balance between his human and his bear. One night, late when the paperwork was piled high and the view of the city was creeping in through his window, his phone chirped with the tone he had set for her alone.

Brooke
.

He had finally received a message from Brooke.

Chapter Eight

"It was you, wasn't it?" She texted Alexander. It had been six weeks. Six long weeks of yearning to be near him again, of wrestling with her emotions and trying to come to grips with what she had once put aside as Ian's drunken ramblings might have been the truth.

"I don't understand what you're asking Brooke. By the way though, I've missed you terribly," Alexander texted back, trying to rein in his feelings about her finally getting back to him after all this time. He'd been relentless in trying to win her back and he didn't want to lose this opportunity now that he had it.
I've got to take it tremendously slow and I can't mess this up
, he thought,
I need to make sure I answer things perfectly.

"The night Ian took off, he was raving about some half-man, half-bear creature that attacked him. It was you, wasn't it?"

"Yes, but no. I didn't attack him for no reason. I saw him knock you out and I only did what I needed to do to ensure that you were going to be safe." It was the complete truth. In all fairness, had he not taken her feelings into account at all he may very well have killed him; the rage had boiled that greatly in him. No man should put his hands on a woman and the fact that he berated her size while doing so just angered Alexander further.

"You were there that night?" She texted, trying to think back to that hazy night in her memory. She vaguely remembered a large person/animal hovering over her. She had waved it away as trauma from the head wound at the time, but he had actually been there. He was the one that had helped her. She had told her best friend of the instance, but had been assured it was due to her head injury. Now Brooke wasn't too sure it had been just a figment of her imagination. Now she believed she really did have that guardian angel she had said she had; only it was a guardian werebear.

"Yes, I was there with you afterwards. I made sure you were okay and then took off after him. Yes, I threatened him. He deserved it and I won't apologize for that."

"You called me moonlight."

"Yes, yes I did."

"We need to talk about this....this situation. You. The bear thing."

"I know we do," Alexander replied, nearly holding his breath in hope of reconciliation.

"I'll come over on Saturday. We'll talk. See where we go from here," Brooke relented. After all the flowers, cards, letters, little gifts on her car, she realized that perhaps he wasn't some vicious animal, but a soulful person with a shifter side. He'd never let up either, even after six months. There were still daily reminders that he missed her, that he cared. She could remember him standing above her when she had been beaten by Ian. How he had called her moonlight, made sure she got the medical help she’d needed and reassured her that it would all be okay. While she didn't understand what part of him was, she wanted to try to understand it.

Stranger things had happened. She could adjust.