Bear With Me (BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance) (5 page)

I tensed as a sturdy arm slipped around my shoulders and gave me a reassuring squeeze. “It looks like you and I are more similar than we are different, Wildgirl.”

I smiled up at him, my heart flickering as I recognised with warmth of affection in his dark eyes. “Yeah. Yeah I guess we are.”

Chapter6

The cave we found to rest in was warm and dry, and facing west so that the setting sun sent in its warm, orange glow that did more to warm our bones than any fire could have. We shared a rich meal of fish that David had caught from the lake and wild green that I had harvested myself from the edge of the forest which we ate raw in the comfort of our temporary home – the scent of smoke would, no doubt, summon the wolves our way within minutes, and that was a risk neither of us were willing to take. Anyway, who didn’t love a nice bit of fresh sushi?

Once our stomachs were full to the point of bursting, David covered the ground in his own clothes for me to lie down upon. The sun had still not set, but he was adamant that I should sleep then. “We must be gone well before dawn,” he told me before slinking out of the cave and heading towards the water to swim.

I did my best to obey. I knew there was wisdom in his logic, but there was nothing I could do that would persuade sleep to come and take me. I felt gross in my clothes – I had been wearing them solidly since the morning that I had discovered my mother missing – and my head was full of thoughts.

I wished that I had met David under different circumstances, on our own terms. I wished that there was no time limit on the time we had together. And, more than anything, I wished that there was no lingering shadow over our heads which never let us forget that death was a far more likely end to our adventure than success was.

Shifting into a more comfortable position amongst the soft, warm leathers, I closed my eyes and forced my mind to rid itself of all thoughts of danger and fear and guilt – by no means an easy job when you’re me.

Instead, I allowed my mind to slide to my bear-man swimming in the lake outside. He had left me all of his clothes to sleep on, I realised, except for one small piece of material to preserve his modesty. I smiled at that thought – for some reason, the thought of such a secluded wild man being so concerned with propriety, and behaving so
coy
, amused me greatly. I wished that the circumstances of our relationship were different so that it might have the opportunity to develop further, so that we might be able to have the chance get past the point of careful shyness and into more familiar territory. Certainly, throughout the past day in his company, I had found myself startlingly attracted to him. But, then again, who wouldn’t be? He radiated an animalistic energy that was almost tangible; I could see the muscles in his broad shoulders through his clothes rolling with every movement he made; behind the thick, coarse hair and his ragged apparel, I could see that he was young and handsome, and terribly, terribly lonely. It was all that I could do to keep myself at a respectful distance and not overstep the clear boundaries of our tenuous relationship.

I sighed heavily and turned over, struggling to get comfortable. If only our circumstances were different, then perhaps I would not be lying on my own. Perhaps it would be David’s body enveloping me instead of the pelt of a dead bear. Perhaps we would be warm enough in our shared body heat to even need our stinking, torn up clothes…

I buried my face in the nest of fur and leather, and breathed the hot scent of earth and sweat deep into my lungs. One hand crept almost tentatively down my stomach until the tips of my fingers brushed against the metal button of my jeans. I plucked it open easily and, feeling my heart thuddering in my breast, slipped my hand down until I was cupping the warm, softness of my cotton-covered crotch. The material was already damp from the day of forcedly contained desires and I found that I was practically throbbing from pent up need.

Biting my lip hard, I stroked down the front of my panties with the back of my nails. Had I been standing, my legs would certainly have buckled beneath me.

The little nub of my clitoris strained through the sodden material of my knickers, begging for attention as I imagined David – hot and wet from his swim – leaning over me and pushing my legs apart. Only too happy to comply, I began to massage it firmly with the tip of my forefinger, forcing my breath to remain steady as I pretended it was instead the tip of David’s rough tongue lapping at me as he pushed firmly down on my thighs, keeping them splayed so that every part of me was exposed for him to do with as he wished. An unwitting gasp escaped my lips as I began to strum at my clit with quick, light flicks, growing firmer and faster and harder as my need for release became more and more urgent as the tidal wave of my climax grew and grew until all I could do was give in with a sharp, guttural cry and ride out the pulsing wave of my orgasm.

I was left in a quivering heap, my pulse so erratic I thought every vein in my body was going to burst, my forehead beaded with sweat and my clothes even more sticky and uncomfortable than they had been before.

And still, I was left very and unavoidably horny.

With a feeling of immense purpose, I pushed myself to my feet, pulled my shirt up over my head, unclipped my bra and stepped out of my jeans and knickers. Immediately, my naked body was covered all over in goosebumps – the cool autumn  air tickling at my nipples and my still sensitive cunt. It was delightful. I left my clothes in a warm heap on the cave’s floor then turned and sprinted out into the open, towards the shore of the lake where I could see the top of David’s body in the water.

I had nothing to lose and it was highly probable that this time tomorrow I would be dead. I might as well enjoy myself whilst I could.

*

The water was ice-cold, and it was excruciating to force myself to submerge myself. David’s head turned towards me as I swore loudly at the obscenely frozen temperature, his eyebrows raised in surprise at the sight of me plunging into the lake to join him.

The cold water froze my blood from my brain to my toes, and I smiled to myself as I dove down beneath the surface, my long hair fanning out like feathers around me, and pulled myself through the water with a strong breaststroke. The weeds growing on the bed of the river seemed to reach up and tickle my naked skin as I swam by. From here, I could just about make out the lower half of David’s body through the murky water as he trod water, waiting for me to reach him.

“What’re you doing, Wildgirl?” he asked with a crooked smile as I surfaced in front of him.

“
Too hot,” I replied brazenly, splashing him with the water from my hair with a quick flick of my head.

David opened his mouth to laugh at me, to tell me how ridiculous I was, but as soon as his lips had parted I threw myself out of the water, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his torso, and kissed him fiercely. The long hair of his beard scratched at my face, as did the thicker, more wiry hair of his lower body tickle my own soft skin, and I felt him tense at my sudden, unexpected advances.

I could almost hear his brain muddling through what was going on, trying to work out what he ought to do next, and for a moment I was afraid that he would throw me off of him and run a thousand miles in the opposite direction…

But he didn’t.

Instead, he let me in – parting his lips a little wider to allow for my probing tongue. His own arms wrapped tightly around my middle, his vast hands clutching at my hips to keep me firmly in place as his feet paddled to keep us afloat. I felt him relax against me as he discovered – as I had – how desperately he had wanted this.

He tasted of earth and salt water, and I couldn’t get enough of it. My kisses became hungrier as he kissed me back, our mouths eager for more. Despite the coldness of the water – or maybe even perhaps because of it – I could feel the heat radiating from David’s crotch as we writhed, suspended in the water, his cock rising and seeking out my own, slick heat. He pushed down on my hips, trying to bring my cunt closer to his straining need, and I could feel his moan – low and animal-like – deep in my own chest as my breasts squashed against him.

I cried out in fear as I felt us suddenly sinking, but the water was not deep and David was tall enough to be able to stand on the bottom with the water coming up to our shoulders. Now he had better control, David became much fiercer – his mouth searched mine with the hungriness of a starved animal who had forgotten how sweet the feeling of eating was. He wanted everything, and he wanted it
now
. His hands roved over my body, strumming the bumps in my spine and trailing over my shoulder blades before plunging down and squeezing my buttocks, the pads of his thumbs delving between them and brushing lightly over the puckered skin he found there. I gasped into his mouth as a jolt shot up my spine at the sensation, and I felt his grin against my lips.

With a growl of my own, I bit down hard upon his bottom lip and ground my hips firmly into his with long, languid motions until his breath came rasping and panting against my jaw. I smiled to myself, revelling in the control I had over my great bear of a man.

I pushed myself away, holding his face firmly in my hands. His dark eyes were bright with barely contained desire. “Take me,” I whispered, tracing his jaw line with my thumb. “Take me now.”

I clung onto his neck as he waded out of the lake and carried me to the shelter of our cave, the water beading off his skin and clinging to the thick fur on his back.

There, he lay me down as tenderly as one would a child upon our bed of leather and fur. Raising my knees, I spread my legs and drew him down on top of me, my lips tracing a soft, teasing line up the long nerve on his neck, across his jaw and over his lips before plundering his hot, wanting mouth with my tongue once again.

He writhed against me, thrusting his still stiffening cock against my slick cunt, his pubic bone rubbing in delicious, long strokes against my throbbing clit. I threw back my head and arched my back, and moaned as his strong jaw clamped down hard on my neck, his sharp teeth grazing the pulsing vein he found there. Gritting my teeth, I raked my fingers down the length of his spine and felt him shudder beneath me at the sensations my nails caused, scratching over his taut buttocks before bringing them back up and trailing them over his collarbones.

Between my legs, I could feel his cock twitch; the soft, oozing head probing at my own plump lips. With a grunt, I shifted myself – lifting my hips and opening myself up to him. Our breath expelled in a single, unified gasp as he slipped easily in, entering me up to the hilt and hitting my inner sweet-spot with such force I thought I was going to cum then and there.

Trembling, his body glistening with sweat, David stayed perfectly still – poised above me as though carefully committing every sensation to memory. Looking up at him, my lips curled into a smile as a trailed the backs of my fingers down his ribs and clenched the muscles of my pussy, squeezing the cock inside me as hard as I could.

It had the desired effect.

David cried out, his whole body quivering with the intensity of the stimulation. He collapsed back down on top of me, his hips thrusting eagerly, erratically – all semblance of control completely lost to his need for release. I gasped with every thrust, my own climax growing nearer and stronger with every sweet stroke across my still hyper-sensitive clit.

My finger tips dug deep into the flesh of his shoulders, hanging on tightly as we rode hard to the peak of our arousal. I buried my face in the crook of his neck, muffling my cry as I gave into the intensity of the moment. His own cry – low and guttural – was hot and damp on the shell of my ear. His body arched like a cat, his adam’s apple flickered and David shuddered as, finally, he relinquished himself to the pent up tension that had been building up inside of him for god knows how long. With shaking arms, I pulled him closer to me, wrapping my own sweat-slicked body around his as he climaxed hard and let go, weak and spent.

The sudden silence was thick and humid, and cloaked us in the tranquil warmth that only sex could provide. I could feel David’s irregular heartbeat pounding against my own. His face was buried in my neck, his damp hair tickling my cheek as he simply lay there and let his breath return to him. I held him in my arms and traced light patterns over his back, revelling in the moment as reality gradually came back into focus. I was tired, but it was the delicious, soft sort of tired that came from a long, pleasant day and meant that the best kind of sleep was coming.

If I were to die tomorrow, I remember thinking vaguely as I let the heavy duvet of sleepiness fall over me, today had been worth it. Today had been worth dying for.

*

Chapter7

We awoke simultaneously in a tangle of limbs and leathers, still warm and hazy from the night before.

“
Mmm morning,” I murmured, stretching out my legs and smiling, my teeth grazing the tip of David’s nose as his eyes flickered open to meet mine.

He grinned back, the smile quickly taken over by a wide yawn that showed me every single one of his bear-like teeth.

“Good morning,” he responded blearily, pushing himself up into a sitting position and carefully stretching out each one of his muscles. “Ready for today?” His eyes were bright with energy – was that excitement I saw there? – and I could see that he was desperate to get going. Clearly last night had recharged whatever it was inside of him that had been allowed to run dry.

I propped myself up on my elbows and nodded. “You think we’ll reach the lair today?”

David glanced towards the mouth of the cave and nodded thoughtfully. “I believe we can.” He shot me a wicked look, the corners of his mouth curling into a smirk. “If I carry you that is....”

***

In bear form, he was much
much
bigger than I had expected. I had been almost certain that my fear-addled mind the other night was what had induced me to see him as a great monster, that – surely – in the stark light of day – he would be much more…
natural
.

But no. David, in all his animalistic glory,
was
a great monster. Standing up on his hind legs, I could estimate that he was approaching eight feet tall; his snout was long beneath very human-looking eyes, and when he opened his mouth to speak, the size of his teeth made my stomach curl instinctively. As I ran the flat of my palm along his side, relishing the softness of his glossy pelt, I wondered nervously if the wolves were equally unnatural in size. They had been terrifying enough in the darkness when they had been nothing but shadows… I shuddered to think how they would be in the light, with nothing to hide behind.

David turned and swung his head around to nuzzle me in the side with his dark, wet nose. Every movement was thoughtful and languid, and I couldn’t help but worry that proceeding up the mountain in his bear form  would only slow us down rather than help us. But I kept my concerns to myself. After all, he had far
far
more experience with the capabilities of shape-shifters than I could ever hope to have. I
had
to trust him.

To prove that I did – to myself as much as to David – I stroked the muzzle that was nudging insistently at me, and bent down to place a tender kiss between his eyes. A long, rough tongue gave my hand a lick before the bear sank down on its haunches, making himself as low and as small as possible – a clear indication that I was supposed to mount him.

Riding a bear is most certainly
not
like riding a horse. It is a far less elegant pastime from start to finish. To begin with, David’s back was so broad that I found my legs splayed uncomfortably at ninety degree angles. It took several goes before I was able to shift myself into a semi-bearable position, with my legs tucked under me so that I was almost kneeling on him. Secondly, and perhaps most obviously, there were no stirrups or reins or anything else that might help me stay on. All I had was the strength of my thighs and thick handfuls of fur. I spent a good portion of our journey praying loudly in my head that I would stay on and not fall to my death down the sharp, rocky mountain.

But, to his credit, David did his very best to make my ride a comfortable one; his gait was steady, almost sensual, and even when he did break into a run I found that already I was so used to the loping motions of riding a bear that I hardly noticed our increased speed.

We ran through the forest, the trees practically springing back to make way for us. Elevated a good six feet above the ground with the liberty of time to look around, I had a queen’s view of the woodland as we passed through. Sunlight dappled through the trees, flashing across brooks and streams, and reflecting off the eyes of the forest-folk as they followed us – rabbits, badgers, foxes, they all stopped what they were doing to stare at the girl and the giant bear galloping through their home, kicking up mud and leaves in their wake.

My long hair flew behind me, my leather cloak billowing out like something out of a medieval movie. I felt invigorated, like we could keep going forever, until we reached the end of the Earth.

But it was not the edge of the world that brought us to an abrupt stop; rather it was a wall of rock that seemed to have risen suddenly out of nowhere. I craned my neck to peer upwards, shielding my eyes from the blinding needles of sunlight, and could just about make out the vague impression of a path winding its way around the side of the mountain, although I could not for the life of me work out how we were going to get up high enough to reach the path.

David padded up and down, his eyes roving the wall of rock, searching and searching for something invisible to my own eye. Then we stopped. The breeze in the air rustled the few leaves still left on the trees and stirred my hair, causing it to fall across my eyes in a thick curtain. I waited patiently as David sniffed at the wall, nudging a protruding stone here and there until, suddenly, there was a great grinding of rock so loud that I had to clap my hands over my ears to protect them from the unbearable grating sound.

“
Oh my god!”
I whispered, my eyes widening.

Carved into the very stone of the mountain itself was a door – a
huge
door – which swung open on carved stone hinges to reveal the slimmest staircase that I had ever seen. There was no way a bear, small or large, would be able to fit through it.

I swung my legs around and slid down David’s long, sloping side, examining the peculiar door with drifting eyes and soft fingers tips whilst, behind me, David shrank back down into human form.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” he murmured, slipping to my side and following my gaze. “Ingenious design. Centuries old. And, so far, completely unbreached.” He stepped back with a sigh and ran a fretful hand through his mane of hair. “This door provides sanctuary for the werewolves and all who they invite into their midst. That trust has never once been broken. Until now.”

I reached out with a tentative hand and rested it on David’s arm. “Are you okay?”

He nodded, although unconvincingly. His voice when he spoke, however, was strong and filled with conviction. “They murdered my mate,” he said flatly. “This retribution is long overdue and well-deserved.”

My heart gave an uncomfortable and unexpected lurch at the mention of his past love, but I did not have time to dwell on it as David, with a brief motion to me to follow him, slipped through the doorway and began the long ascent up the stone stairway.

*

The further we climbed, the darker it became and the more damp it smelt. There was not a single living organism, aside from myself and David, all the way up – no moss, no spiders, not even a weed that had managed to go unnoticed. It was a dead place, this tunnel inside the mountain. I trailed one hand along the cold stone wall as we wound our way along the never ending staircase whilst, with the other, I clutched tightly onto David’s hand as he pulled me up with him. I could see nothing ahead of me and nothing behind me; all I could do was to trust my feet to carry me back into the world of light and fresh air. Even worse than the thought of what was to come was imagining myself trapped in here, suffocating and claustrophobic. If I could have one wish before I died, I thought fervently, it would be to taste fresh air just once more.

Around just one more corner, my wish came true.

I grimaced as bright white light glared down on us and a soft breeze floated down and caressed my cheek, drawing us back up to the surface like blooming flowers. David’s hand squeezed mine and, together, we raced up the rest of the steps and out onto the mountain’s ridge.

We were on top of the world. Around us, was an ocean of trees – pale, ragged figures who had been stripped of their foliage clothing – whilst far away on the ledge of the horizon was the faintest silhouette of a city. I could see everywhere I had been – my whole life’s journey – and behind me lay the ending to my story.

I swallowed hard, the enormity of the moment almost overwhelming me.

“Come.” David drew me close, his arm slipping around my waist. “We’re almost there. We’ll find your mother soon.”

My mother
… And in what state would we find her?

I shook the thought out of my mind. It was irrelevant. The point was, I would know. The point was I would be with her once more. For one, final time.

“Okay,” I said, my voice fiercer than I felt. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

*

We heard them long before we saw them. The shadow of a low, throaty growl rose and multiplied behind us, becoming louder and louder as new voices were added to the harmony until it reached such a crescendo that the blood in my veins felt like ice and my skin was prickling with static-like energy. My hand, clasped tightly in David’s, was cold and clammy.

Every flickering shadow of a figure made me flinch, whether it was a low, loping, four-legged form, or the slinking shape of a two-legged beast. Each one caused a shudder to run down my spine and my breath to catch in my throat.

But not a single one suggested a threat. We were left well alone. Our passage to the peak was unhindered.

Winding our way along the ridge that spiralled upwards, we passed numerous caves imbedded in the mountainside at regular, frequent intervals. They were too dark and we passed by them too briefly to be able to see inside, but every now and then a pair of bright amber eyes, narrowed in suspicion, would follow us and the sunlight would glint off a set of shining sharp teeth. Behind us I could hear the distinctive
pad pad pad
of innumerable sets of paws dogging our steps and blocking off any chance of escape we might have considered.

I kept my own eyes firmly on the path ahead of us, refusing to allow myself to becoming scared. I had come too far to be a coward now.

By the time the very top of the mountain was in sight, we had acquired quite the crowd of followers at our heels, all eager to see how this would play out. Closest to us, practically under our feet, were pups and barely clothed children who ran between our legs, trying to catch the attention of these strangers. The older members of the pack hung a little way back as though fearful of coming too close.

Their fear gave me strength and I raised my chin defiantly, ready to face whatever was awaiting us.

“David.”

We froze instantly at the sound of the low rasping voice coming from somewhere above us. David drew me close to his side protectively, his head turning this way and that, searching for the source of the voice.

“Come out!” he commanded. I hoped that I was the only one who could hear the tremor in voice. “Come out, Lupion!”

“As you wish.”

I jumped with a startled cry as a huge, dark figure landed with a thump less than a metre in front us. The wolf looked up at us, its lips drawn back in an unnaturally human smile. It was a lank and ragged creature who had clearly been battered by every winter and scarred by every battle it had faced; its skin hung loose over sharp bones, protected only by a thick, dreadlocked coat of pitch black fur.

But, despite its corpse-like appearance, its eyes – huge in its thin face – were bright with energy, and cool with human reflection.

It regarded David carefully, its long head cocked to the side as its eyes roamed over him unhurriedly.

Then, in a painstakingly measured tone, “I have been saddened to hear of the trouble you have been bringing to my forest, Bearboy.”

I felt David bristle beside me. “I have done nothing,” he replied slowly, “other than to try and restore justice to this forest. If I have crossed the lines of the law, it has been in pursuit of a member of this pack who crossed it first.” He let go of my hand and took a step towards Lupion, who seemed completely unfazed.

“You
are letting them get out of hand!” David continued, his voice growing more and more forceful. “It is
your
job to keep order and, instead, you are allowing them to run around freely, taking and killing as they wish. Do
not
ask me to be sorry for murdering a murderer.”

Lupion’s grin widened. “I would never ask anything of
you
, David,” he murmured in his guttural growl of a voice. “I would never expect sentient reasoning from such a
dumb
creature.”