Bearly Passing: Saylor and Ryan (2 page)

"Whatever," said Jasmine, "you're thirsty for some P.H.D."

"God," said Saylor, covering her face with her hand, "why did I even tell you that?"

"Who knows," said Jasmine. She rolled back over, and picked up her laptop. "Unfortunately, as much as I love teasing you about your lack of sex life and penchant for professors, I have to get back to these notes. My professor split up our midterm into three parts and I have one on Monday."

"Sucks," Saylor said, standing up and pulling down her peplum top, "good luck with that. I probably won't see you tonight. I have to go take pictures of the sky in the woods for astronomy."

"Sucks," Jasmine echoed, shooting Saylor a mischievous smile, "unless you're really going to get lucky at Professor Sexy's."

"Goodbye Jasmine," Saylor said, shutting the door.

S
aylor was not built for the woods. She loved the outdoors. In the daytime. With other people. This walking around in the forest at night, alone, with limited cell phone reception was not one of her better ideas. Saylor was, however, built to be a model student, so suffer for homework she must.

Saylor pulled down the hem of her sweatshirt. The weather warmed up faster than she expected and a sweatshirt was not the ideal choice. She wanted to take it off, but she didn't want to be forced to carry something else. She already tripped, twice, and needed her hands as free as possible.

The sky was clear and moonless. The stars reflected on Lake Superior giving the illusion of an eternal sky beyond the crest of the trees. Saylor smiled. She had grown up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, a forested oasis in the overdeveloped United States. While many of her friends longed to escape the wilderness and small town life, Saylor couldn't.

She loved the smell of fresh leaves and clear air, the way she could actually see stars at night, how she saw more trees than buildings on her drive home from school. Luckily, she had been accepted to Northern Michigan University which bought her time. She shuddered, worrying for the millionth time about the future. The chances of finding a job and, let's face it, a boyfriend in the UP? Unlikely. Still, how could she live anywhere but here?

Shaking the worries out of her head, Saylor lifted her head to the sky.
Damn, too many trees.
Walking further into the woods, Saylor searched for a clearing. There! A few hundred feet ahead she found an opening in the trees and a perfect view of the star dappled sky.

She pulled up a star map on her phone, or tried to load.
Drat!
No service at all, foiled again by technology. With a shy, Saylor located the constellations herself. It took forever, everything looked different outside the book. Finally she took a few pictures on her cell phone. She would make drawings from her photos. It was late, almost one in the morning, before Saylor was able to go back.

Except,
fuck,
which way was the way back? Saylor turned around in the clearing, all the trees looked the same.

"Shit," she whispered to herself. Of course this would happen. The question now was, did she wait for the sun to come up and try to find her way back in the day? Or did she risk getting more lost?

Saylor sighed and turned toward the direction of the lake. She was exhausted, there was no way she was going to sit in the gross, buggy, woods and wait until the sun came up. Maybe she could follow the coastline of Lake Superior back to campus?

Saylor picked her way through trees, managing to step in every puddle and trip over every root that presented itself to her. Her jeans were dirty, time ticked on, and she was starting to get scared. What if there were serial killers in these woods? Or predators, sexual or otherwise?

A twig snapped to her right and Saylor froze. She stood about 50 yards from the beach. She could run for it, but what if a serial killer broke the twig.

Saylor slid behind a tree, peering out in the direction of the noise.
Oh good,
she thought,
it was only a bear.
Her heart stopped. There was a fucking grizzly bear about twenty feet away from her. It was huge, easily six feet tall and hundreds of pounds. Its coat was a shiny brown, ruffled and unruly, but clean. It lumbered along, heading to the lake.

Shit,
she thought,
how am I going to get home if there is a bear on the beach? I especially can't wait until morning now that I know there is a grizzly bear on the loose in the woods.

Everything Saylor knew about avoiding grizzly bear attacks went out of her head. Was she supposed to make herself really big? Was she supposed to climb a tree or stay on the ground? Should she make a loud noise and scare it off?

She held her breath as the bear stopped and sniffed. Oh god, could it smell her? The bear made no indication that it smelled anything out of the ordinary and continued its walk to the edge of the clearing. Saylor decided to follow it, a few steps behind. She would watch its behavior from the tree line. Hopefully, it would leave the beach after some time and she would be able to find her way back to her apartment. Or at least back into cellular range so she could call Jasmine to come pick her up.

Saylor followed, careful not to make any more noise. The bear broke the tree-line, picking up its speed as it closed in on the lake. When it hit the water it leaped, jumping in to the fresh, cool water with a large splash. Saylor caught her breath, thankful for the extra distance between her and the creature.

When the animal reemerged, Saylor gasped.

Professor Ryan Paulson stood in the shallows. Soaking wet. Stark naked. And hung.

P
rofessor
Paulson was a were-bear?
Saylor thought.

She took in his appearance from her vantage point. The starlight reflected off his wet skin, highlighting every ridge of his muscles. His arms and shoulders were huge, cut and stacked. He ran a hand through his soaking hair and she sucked in a breath as every muscle became visible.

His skin was smooth, flawless and tan. No tan lines were visible, certainly not a worry of someone who explored the outdoors in a fur coat or no clothes at all. There was a bit of winter pudge that clung to his stomach, but he did sport chiseled abs. Even his legs were muscular, thick thighs tapering down to solid calves.

I'll ask him if he played sports in college or high school,
Saylor thought.
He looks like he could tackle all the players on our football team.

At the thought of tackling, Saylor felt a familiar heat pool in her lower stomach. God, that man on top of her would be more than she ever imagined. He could probably throw her down and hold her with those beefy arms. Maybe she should run out there and beg that he have his way with her.

She was wet now, embarrassingly. Saylor shifted, trying to ignore the need growing in her panties. But then, she let herself take in his penis.

It was magnificent. It was long and thick, at least eight inches. Or, that's what she thought it looked like with her limited experience with cocks and the many yards between them. Even so, she never wanted to ride someone harder than she did with her... professor?

Her nipples hardened. Suddenly, Saylor was overcome with tempting naughtiness. Jasmine was right, it was wrong to have feelings for your professor. Bad, even. This thought only exacerbated her wetness and the heated pooling between her thighs.

Stifling a moan, Saylor slipped her hand down her body, rubbing herself through her jeans. She watched as Professor Ryan waded a little further into the lake, splashing water over his body. Her hips moved against her hand as she imagined running her tongue down his chest and the way his cock would feel in her hand. Her pussy practically radiated heat when he turned around, giving her a great view of his toned ass and back.

She bit her lip as another moan threatened to escape. She imagined how it would feel to kiss him, let his hands wander over her body. He was so tall and sturdy, she knew he would be able to handle all of her womanly curves. Saylor slipped her free hand under her shirt and bra, tweaking a nipple. Her rubbing increased its urgency as she pictured Professor Ryan playing with her nipples and pressing his erection against her.

The man turned to face the forest again, stretching his arms up so she got a good look at his cut body and his cock. Dark curls, just as unruly as the ones on his head, sprung up around his shaft. Saylor imagined how they would feel as she stroked him, were they soft or coarse?

Saylor could hardly stand it anymore, she unbuttoned her jeans and slid her hands into her underwear. She rubbed and teased as she pictured the calloused, more experienced, hands of Professor Ryan on her. How would it feel if he teased her to the brink? Would he groan as he pushed his hard cock into her? Would he go down on her?

Leaning her weight on the tree next to her, Saylor ran her fingers in tight circles around her clit. She could feel the rush of pleasure building up inside her. She imagined Ryan's mouth between her legs, sucking and flicking at her lips, her entrance, her clit, dark hair bobbing between her thighs. She imagined running her fingers through his hair and pulling,

Saylor breathed hard, twisting and pulling on her nipples. Her fingers twisted and rubbed at the sensitive bundle of nerves between her legs, carrying her closer and closer to relief. She imagined Ryan catching her, eyeing her up and down, then shoving her back against the tree. He would sense her need, rip of her clothes, and fuck her hard. He would bite her neck and suck on her nipples, grab her ass and hold her hard against the rough bark of the tree. He would fill her with his hard shaft and punish her for having such inappropriate thoughts about a teacher, pumped into her until the sun rose and she was left satisfied in the forest.

Saylor came, body convulsing against the tree. She moaned as her toes curled, fingers getting in a few final rubs before the sensation became too much. Her orgasm rolled over her body in waves, lapping all her muscles calm and drawing her throbbing need back into her mind. She was relieved.

When she opened her eyes Professor Paulson was looking right at her.

Or, not at her exactly. In her general direction, but she was still protected by the cover of trees. Saylor froze, one hand down her pants and one hand under her shirt. What if he came over here? How could she go back to class? Oh god, this was a terrible idea.

The man shifted quickly, the grizzly bear letting out a roar before turning and running back into the forest, far away from where Saylor stood. Relieved, Saylor buttoned her jeans and fixed her shirt. She walked out of the forest and on to the beach. Looking at her phone she saw the time, a quarter to two. Swearing under her breath, Saylor followed the shoreline, wondering if she would tell Jasmine what happened.

Morning came much too quickly for Saylor's liking. She skipped her first class, choosing to dream of were-bears, sexy professors, and taboo relationships. When her alarm went off again at ten, she forced herself to abandon the warm cocoon of sleep and face the day.

S
aylor dressed carefully, picking out a violet sweater that brown out the honey brown tones in her eyes and fitted dark jeans. She decided she would go see Professor Paulson during his office hours and tell him, well, tell him that she knew he was a were-bear. The alternative was not to discuss it and hope that he never found out. But, if she had been the one worried about strangers in the forest, she would want to know.

Once he understood that she would not tell anyone his secret maybe he would be more at ease. And then, well, then maybe he would help put her at ease. Saylor rolled her eyes as she applied her make-up, she wasn't even sure what that meant and she thought it!

"Come on in, Saylor!" Professor Ryan greeted her as she stood, uncertain, in the doorway of his office. "What can I do for you?"

"Um," said Saylor, glancing over her shoulder. The hallway was empty, it was now or never. She sucked in a breath, stepped into the office, and closed the door behind her.

There were pictures on the walls, Ryan laughing and smiling with men his age in front of the sign for the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Pictures of him and an older version of himself, his dad, smiling and holding up big fish. Ryan and a beautiful dark haired woman posing in front of Old Faithful at Yellowstone. Saylor's lip curled up, he loved his friends and family. She turned back to him.

"I was hoping we could talk about... last night."

The older man furrowed his brows and pursed his lips.

"Don't tell me you didn't do the assignment! That's not like you."

"Um, it's not that Professor Paulson," Saylor paused and collected herself. "I did the assignment."

"Well how can I help you?"

Saylor sat down across from the man. There was a window behind him, and the late morning sun left leafy patterns across the desk. The sun shining through Ryan's hair made some of the strands look lighter, more golden. She could see the resemblance to the bear she encountered the night before.

"When I was doing the assignment," she began, "I got a bit lost and I... I found myself by Lake Superior."

The professor's expression was frozen, green eyes darkened with... fear? Saylor continued.

"There was a bear on the shoreline. Or, I thought it was a bear, and I was worried about getting eaten and not being able to finish my assignment."

Saylor forced a laugh. Ryan laughed too, stilted and too empty.

"But then... I saw that the bear was actually... um... it wasn't a bear it was..." Saylor struggled to find the words.

"Me," said Professor Paulson.

Saylor nodded, focusing on her hands. She didn't feel good about this admission, the tension in the room was too great. She should have kept it to herself.

"What do you want?"

Saylor flinched, Ryan's voice was tight and angry. She made herself meet his gaze, she was not a child, and his eyes had gone forest green with anger.

"I don't want anything," she said, trying to keep tightness out of her voice.