Hansel's Bear (Erotic Shifter Fairy Tale) (9 page)

“
You don’t owe me
anything.” Another step.

He was still several feet away from
her hiding place, but the closer he came the harder it was for her
body not to ache and her bear not to push her to go to him.
However, that was not going to happen.

“
Innocent one, I would
have given my life to see you free of that place. No one deserved
that hell.”

However, he had been in that place
long before she had arrived. “Please….Hansel, if you care anything
for me…leave.”

“
I can’t.” His long steps
ate up more of the distance between them. He stopped and held his
hand out to her. “Come out.”

“
Go,” she
countered.

“
No.” His hand stayed
steady.

“
No.”

“
Would you feel better if
I told you I had permission to stay here as long as I needed to?
So, no one is going to fly out here to send me away.”

“
By who?”

“
If you come out I’ll tell
you all about it.”

“
Even if I wanted to, I’m
not dressed.”

“
Of course you’re not. I
saw your bear. Amazing brown bear.” He lowered his hand to his
side.

Her belly flipped at his words, a
clear indication that her bear was inside of her preening with
pride and rolling around. “Don’t try to flatter me.”

“
I can’t make that
promise. There’s been so little joy in my life I have to appreciate
it when it is before me.”

She understood some of what he had
been through.

“
This—us, isn’t a good
idea.”

“
Maybe.” He glanced away
from her. The light from the porch was capturing his side profile,
showcasing a hint of the shadows of uncertainty in his
gaze.

That look caused her heart to sink a
little.

Setting those dark eyes in her
direction again, he said, “I’m not going until you come out. I’ve
seen you naked before, I don’t see what the big deal
is.”

“
I was nine. We were both
kids.”

“
True. Will you be more
comfortable if I took my clothes off too? Make things even.” He
reached for the hem of his t-shirt and began to raise
it.

Her bear panted, excited to see all he
was hiding under the layers.

“
No!” She stretched her
arm out, palm up.

Chuckling, he dropped his shirt and it
fell back in place, riding at the top of his jeans pockets. “Hold
on. I think I have something in my bag you can use.” He shoved the
strap from his shoulder and opened it. He reached in and removed
something and tossed it at her. “Put this on.”

Catching the soft material she shook
it out. It was a blue-striped button-down shirt, a bit
wrinkled.

“
It’s clean.”

“
I can smell that.” She
started to put it on and her acute sense of smell not only picked
up on the lavender fragrance of the laundry soap, but under that
the sweet, earthy notes that were Hansel. The shirt was big, but
just long enough to fall below her backside—just below.

“
Better?”

She fastened all the buttons up to her
breast and stepped away from the tree. “A little.”

“
Good. Now, can we go
inside for coffee?”

“
Sure.” She shrugged and
headed toward the door. Evidently coffee was exactly what she
needed, because she must still be feeling the effects of the
honeyed wine if she didn’t turn tail and run as soon as she
realized Hansel was somewhere around. However, chances were that if
she did try to escape he would have just shifted and took chase.
Better to get the conversation over with so this imposing male from
her past could be on his way. For good this time.

Chapter Four

She walks in beauty like
the night.

He was haunted by those words of a
poem by Lord Byron he’d heard so long ago, when he sat in a coffee
shop and they happened to have a poetry night. At the time it
hadn’t meant anything to him. Just background noise as he perused
local newspapers for the men he was hunting.

Now they made sense. Greta’s steps
were cautious but sure. The swing of her full hips seemed to catch
the light just right and played with his desire for her. He met her
at the porch and reached around her to open the door. Her scent,
wildflowers and rain showers, greeted him. He paused, not turning
the knob yet, and inhaled deeply.

His bear sighed as if just being near
her gave him a sense of calm—home.

Home was a word he didn’t even know,
it didn’t fit with him. However, he yearned for it as he stood by
her.

Shaking that off he allowed her to
enter the small cabin.

“
Wow, they have really
done wonderful work on this place.” She moved into the living room
and turned in a slow circle as she took everything in.

He was glad he’d started a fire before
he went out to get his bag containing the few things he traveled
with. There weren’t many items he felt that he needed to sustain
him.

“
I was told they had
recently made improvements to it.” He dropped his stuff beside the
single chair and took in the profile of the female before him. Her
shoulders appeared drawn up and there was a tension filling the
room. He wasn’t sure if just being around him was the cause of
it.

“
Take a seat when you’re
ready. Can I get you that coffee I promised?”

The fire he had started in the small
grate made the room toasty, romantic. However, he told himself not
to allow his mind to roll in that direction. Even though seeing how
his shirt barely covered the lower part of her ass made him hard as
ice. Those thick brown thighs showcased for him made him want to
cross the short distance between them and glide his hands then his
tongue up them until he reached the hidden treasure covered by the
shirt.

The room around him had a hint of a
golden hue. He barely caught the groan that started to slip from
his lips.

She glanced at him over her shoulder,
catching him in her ebony gaze.

If she were just a little closer he’d
be about to see if there were a few metallic flakes in her own
eyes. His cock twitched. Maybe while he was in the kitchen he’d
place a few ice cubes down his pants. He took a deep breath to
clear up his vision.

Big mistake since it brought her scent
to him again.

“
So, you learned to cook?”
He question was just the distraction he needed to get him back on
track.

“
No. Coffee is the
beginning and end of my skills.” Another male may have chuckled at
her comment. However, it was a small reminder to him about their
connection. Where he’d spent his youth and why she may have been
shocked to discover he had culinary skills.

Her sigh was low. “I’d like a cup
please.” She rubbed her arms over the sleeves as she faced him.
“One dollop of sugar please.”

With a short nod he left the room.
Evidently she didn’t have a sweet tooth like him. In the kitchen it
wasn’t hard to spot the coffee pot on the small counter. The only
other thing beside it was a tall crockpot and a toaster. All the
appliances were new, another sign that the place had been given a
new face inside and out. He wondered for whom the place had been
made ready, especially in a town that didn’t open easily for
strangers.

Pushing the power button on the coffee
maker, he opened one of the four cabinets to locate all the items
he would need to brew the coffee. His mind journeyed to the three
grandmotherly were-females he’d had the pleasure of meeting. Genma,
Octavia and Rita had shown him sincere kindness he’d never
experienced before—feeding him and ensuring he had a place to rest
his head.

Don’t get used to
it,
he warned himself, taking out two mugs
and honey as the pot began to percolate. He wasn’t staying in this
town. Just passing through. A lot sooner than he’d thought since
the Great Spirit had seen fit to present him with Greta at his
doorstep.

Coffee done, he walked with two cups
back down the short hall to the front room. There were only two
other rooms in the place, the bathroom and the bedroom. He knew
there was a large bed inside from the short tour he’d taken before
going back to his motorcycle for his things.

Don’t think of a bed while Greta is in
the cabin. “As you requested with one honey drop.”

She gave him a small smile as she
claimed the mug he offered her. “Thank you.” Cupping her hands
around the ceramic she stood in the same place.

“
Please have a seat. I’m
sure your bear could use a rest after being out and about.” He
waited to see which seat she would take before he sat.

It didn’t surprise him that she
lowered herself into the single chair. She wanted to keep a
distance between them.

Smart female.

Settling into the center of the couch
across from her, he sipped his extra-sweet drink and allowed her
some time. She must need it the way she stared into her mug…as if
she were awaiting a small animal to pop up from its
depth.

“
What’s going on inside
that beautiful head of yours, Blackberry.”

Tilting her head up, she cocked an
eyebrow up at him, taking issue with the nickname.

He gave her a wink and a small smile
and drank more coffee. He’d much prefer to see the spark of
annoyance in her gaze than the anxiety that seemed to fill
it.

“
This is the
place.”

To ask ‘what place’ never crossed his
mind as he leaned forward and set his mug on the table between
them. With the history between him and Greta, what they had
experienced together, some clarifications weren’t
necessary.

“
How did it happen?” He
rested his elbows on his knees and stared at her.

She wasn’t looking at him anymore, she
had her gaze fixed on one of the bare walls.

Even though the cabin had been
refurbished it only held the basic items within…no extra décor or
knickknacks people usually set around their homes.

“
A game of hide and seek
gone wrong.” She looked at him. “I didn’t know there were others
out in the woods seeking besides the other Were-children playing
with me.”

Allowing her to work out how far she
wanted to go with the story, he maintained his silence.

“
We came here all the time
during the summer months. Running and playing in the woods, we
weren’t allowed out this far. But rebellious as most youth, testing
their limits, we skirted Den County’s boundaries more than we
should have. We were always in a group…we thought that would keep
us safe.” She lifted her drink to her lips, taking a fortifying
sip.

Greta needed it.

He noticed the slight trembling of her
hand. “You all should have been safe.”

She shook her head. “It was Rorke’s
turn to count. He was inside and the rest of us took off into the
woods. We were supposed to hide in the front only.” She bit the
side of her bottom lip as the heel of her right foot tapped
repeatedly on the wood floor, making her knee bounce.

Purposely he kept his gaze on her
face, using one of the few gentlemanly manners he had to not take a
glimpse of her treasures as the edge of the shirt slipped up her
thighs.

It caused his heart to ache to see her
in distress. He should tell her to stop. Let her know she didn’t
have to continue if it was too painful. Even though he wanted her
to share her story. “Gret—”

“
I was trying to be
clever. I figured if I ran to the back of the cabin and hid in the
woods, when Rorke lighted from it to chase the others in the front
I would go back around and sneak into the house. Then when the
others came back in I’d be sitting inside smiling.” She lifted the
cup, drank deeply and hissed.

He was sure the hot liquid had burned
her tongue.

Sitting her mug next to his, she
balled her hands together in her lap. “I remember the sunlight
sending rays through the tops of the trees. It was like running
through a golden shower. I was laughing, holding my arms wide
enjoying the beams of warmth that brushed my arms as I tilted my
head back and ran blindly around the base of the trees. I couldn’t
resist shifting. I wanted to feel the light wind in my fur.
Then…then—”

Her voice broke. He thought she was
going to stop, but she lifted her gaze from the floor and met
his.

There were tears hovering on the edge
of her lower lids, filling her eyes with water.

He sucked in a breath imagining what
was to come.

“
I didn’t even see the
trap, just felt the heinous bite and the burning.” She blinked and
the river poured down her dark cheeks making them glisten like wet
satin. “I—started to scream…tried to call out, but—but a hand
clutched my muzzle.”

“
Blackberry, it’s too
painful…you don’t have to go there.” He slid to the edge of the
seat, wanting to go to her, pull her into his arms and console her.
It wasn’t only for her sake, but his as well. Hearing her memories
made his own come flooding into his mind. Memories he’d kept behind
a fortress in his mind.