Her Bear Protector (BBW Shifter Romance) (3 page)

            Realizing that the man and woman must be part of the nearby family Sergeant Laine seemed to trust, I wiped my soapy hands on a dish towel and then smoothed a few flyaway strands of my hair before unlocking the door and opening it. The man and the woman smiled, the man revealing perfect white teeth, and both said hello.

            The woman shifted the daffodils to the crook of one arm and extended a hand. "I'm Emily, one of your neighbors. ‘Wilderness neighbors,’   anyway. My family and I live about a mile away."

            I shook her hand, smiling. "It's nice to meet you, Emily. I'm Kyla."

            She smiled. "Nice to meet you, too, Kyla. This is my brother-in-law, Aaron."

            Aaron extended a hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kyla."

            His voice, rich and deep, sent a current of something electric racing through my veins.

            I shook his hand, pulse accelerating while I looked into the depths of his deep green eyes. "Likewise, Aaron."

            His grip was firm and warm, and his large hand seemed to cradle my much smaller one.

            I invited them both inside, and they stepped into the cabin, Emily handing me the planter of daffodils, grinning.

            "For you, from our family."

            I took the planter, smiling. "Thank you so much. They're beautiful." I examined the bright white daisies on the front. "Did you paint these? Sergeant Laine was here yesterday, and he told me a bit about you all. He said one of you is a pottery painter."

            Emily nodded, beaming. "That's me."

            Soon the three of us were seated at the kitchen table with glasses of iced tea, and after I'd explained why I'd come to stay in the U.P, Emily and I began chatting about painting. She asked if I had any pieces of my work around that she could see.

            "Well -- none finished. But I guess I can show you the one I started on last night and worked on a little this morning."

            Emily said she'd love to see it, and I brought over my unfinished bear painting and propped it up in the empty chair between her and Aaron. They looked at it silently, and then exchanged looks I couldn't quite read.

            I sat back down in my seat and took a sip of iced tea. "Just getting started on it, of course. It'll look better once I finish with the trees and give the bear some hind legs."

            Emily said it was lovely. "You've captured the bear's eyes perfectly."

            I couldn't be sure, but I thought she gave Aaron just a tiny micro-glance.

            He nodded. "Yes, it's...." He cleared his throat, the sound a low rumble in his chest. "It's very nice."

            Emily took a sip of iced tea and tucked a strand of her long red hair behind her ear. "So what made you decide to paint a bear?"

            "Well, after an experience yesterday, I guess I just had bears on the brain. But one particular one, actually."

            Emily asked how come, and I briefly explained about the Taggert brothers and the bear.

            She nodded. "We saw police cars here yesterday while hiking, so we knew you must have had some trouble. That's part of the reason we came by today -- we just wanted to make sure you were okay. And actually, Aaron here was the one who knew about the -- the trouble, but he figured that maybe a lone man you'd never met showing up at your door the day after you'd experienced something bad might not be the very best thing for your nerves." She grinned, her big gray eyes twinkling. "So I got designated to be the tag-along, because even though I can hit five-foot-one on my tiptoes, I'm told that somehow, I'm just not that intimidating."

            I laughed, thinking how considerate it had been of Aaron to bring Emily along to put my mind at ease about his intentions. "Well, I'm glad you both came. It's been nice to have some company after yesterday."

            Emily asked how I was feeling and if my nerves had returned to normal.

            I nodded. "Yeah, for the most part. I definitely don't feel as rattled today. Yesterday, I was so shaken up that I was just interpreting reality in a really weird way, Sergeant Laine thought."

            Again, I couldn't be sure, but it seemed as if Emily gave Aaron just the tiniest of glances.

            "How so?"

            "Well – I -- it's hard to explain. But that painting is actually of the bear I saw yesterday, and as you can see, he's got green eyes, because that's how I saw them, even though I know that's not possible. Sergeant Laine said the stress I was under might have just made them seem that way to me, and I'm sure he was right. Although...." I thought back to the previous day, my gaze on the lavender coneflowers in the middle of the table. "Everything just felt so real. The bear actually brought me these flowers that are on the table and followed me home, almost like he wanted to make sure I was okay."

            Emily didn't say anything, her gaze on her glass. Aaron took a long, thirsty drink of his iced tea. Realizing I'd said what probably sounded like some pretty crazy things, and in front of quite possibly the most attractive man I'd ever met, I felt a little heat rise to my face.

            "Sorry, guys. I'm being weird."

            Emily said I wasn't at all. "I'm just so glad you're okay after yesterday."

            I gave her a little smile. "Thanks. Me, too. Things could have been a whole lot worse if the bear hadn't helped me. But I guess now, I'm just going to try to put it all behind me and enjoy the rest of my time here. And in fact, I was planning on a hike here in a bit. Getting right back on the horse, I guess. Would you both like to join me?"

            Emily said she'd really like to but would have to take a rain check. "I have an afternoon fishing date with my husband."

            But Aaron said he'd love to go with me. "That is, if you feel comfortable with it being just the two of us."

            I said that was completely fine, looking into his deep green eyes, hardly able to even speak to him without butterflies zipping around my stomach.

            Soon Emily left, hugging me goodbye, and after I'd changed into hiking clothes, tucking my gun into the waistband of my jeans as I'd promised Sergeant Laine,  Aaron and I set out on our hike.

            "Now, I promise to fight off any bears we may encounter on this hike with my bare hands, if
you'll
promise to immortalize the scene in a painting."

            I glanced up at him, and I did really glance
up
, with him being nearly a foot taller than me, trying to gauge if he was being serious or not. He stared straight ahead, but his mouth twitched with a smile.

            I laughed. "Okay, it's a deal. But I hope your hand-to-paw combat skills are up to par, because if
you
don't survive, then
I
won't survive, and there won't be anyone to paint the scene of your heroics."

            Aaron glanced at me, his eyes twinkling. "If I can't best any bears we come across with my bare hands, I'll try karate. Although I did forget my nun-chucks at home today. I'll write myself a note next time:
Aaron, if even the slightest possibility of hiking with beautiful girl exists today, do pack nun-chucks. Do not forget
."

            I laughed, my stomach doing somersaults because of what he's said about "hiking with beautiful girl." I wondered if he really thought that about me.

            We bantered our way down the trail, joking and laughing, for a long while, but I slowed to a stop when we approached the spot where I'd been cornered by the Taggert brothers the day before.

            "Sorry...this part of the trail. Just...yesterday. Bad memories." I took a deep breath. "I'm just gonna grit my teeth and go through it, though. Because this trail that runs in a loop around my cabin will be the one I'll probably hike on most often while I'm here, and I can't avoid this spot forever."

            Aaron nodded. "True. But gritting your teeth through it doesn't sound very fun. Especially not when we could go through it in a fun way, and make this part of the trail into a happy place."

            "What do you mean?"

            He turned, presenting me with his broad back. "Hop on. I'll give you a lift."

            "But -- but you've seen I'm not small, right?"

            I knew I was carrying at least an extra forty or fifty pounds on my frame above what was considered an average weight for my height.

            "I could carry three of you. Now, hop on, before I decide to make
you
carry
me
."

            Giggling, I jumped onto his back, wrapping my arms around his strong shoulders, my weight not even making him stagger or sway in the least.

            "Now, hold on tight, Kyla. Because on the off-chance that we encounter any bears, I'm going to have to run, and I can't promise that I won't make any wild leaps over ravines if need be. You'll want to have good, firm grip."

            I giggled again, and Aaron began walking with long, powerful strides.

            "Tighter, now. A pack of bears could leap out at us at any second."

            Laughing, I did wrap my arms around his shoulders tighter, pressing my cheek against his muscled back. Inhaling his scent, something woodsy and clean, I knew I was falling for him already. Hard.

            We joked and laughed our way down the next stretch of the trail, and it did become a happy place. Aaron finally set me down at the end of it, not because he was tired from carrying me, but only because my arms were getting kind of sore from holding on.

            Later on during the hike, our conversation turned more serious. He asked me about my family, and I told him what had happened to my parents. He said he was so sorry, and the sincerity in his eyes told me that he really meant it. I asked him about his own family, and he said that he had six brothers and three sisters-in-law living alongside him in their family's cabin settlement.

            "And do your parents live nearby?"

            He shook his head. "No, our parents have been gone for a long, long time."

            We continued talking, some of it serious, some of it not, and by the time we'd nearly completed the loop back to my cabin, I felt as if I'd known Aaron for years. He asked if I had a boyfriend back in Detroit, and I shrugged, trying to keep a straight face.

            "Would you be disappointed if I said I did?"

            He sputtered in an exaggerated sort of way, but he was smiling. "Well, maybe. Maybe just a little after spending nearly two hours with a girl who's making my heart skip a beat at a rate of about a thousand times a minute."

            I brought us both to a stop, looking at him. "Are you being serious right now?"

            His sober expression told me that he was.

            "Completely. I think I started falling for you the moment I laid eyes on you. You were just so beautiful...and strong."

            I cocked an eyebrow at him. "'Strong?' Because I had the strength to stand up while answering the door at my own cabin?"

            He looked away for just a second for some reason. "Well, yes. I could see strength in your eyes."

            "And it doesn't bother you that I'm -- bigger?"

            "Bother me? I actually find curvier figures most attractive."

            "Really?"

            "Really." He gave me a quick up-and-down, a little glint in his eyes. "Really, really."

            Grinning, I set off striding down the trail again. "Well, good, because I actually find tall, muscular men with broad shoulders most attractive. Oh, and by the way, Aaron, I'm single. Oh, and also by the way, you should probably get your heart-skipping-a-beat condition checked out. It sounds serious."

            It took Aaron at least three seconds to catch up to me, despite his much longer legs. I asked him if he'd gotten hung up dealing with any bears.

            A few minutes later, after he'd picked me a bouquet of lavender coneflowers, we stood sipping bottles of water on my front porch, watching two deer frolic through the woods just beyond the dirt driveway.

            I turned to Aaron. "Aren't they just so -- " I didn't finish the thought, surprised to find his expression troubled somehow. "What's wrong?"

            He met my eyes, his dark brows drawing together. "I need to tell you something, and it's pretty serious. You might want to sit down."

CHAPTER THREE

  "What is it?"

            He took my hand, his touch making my skin tingle, and guided me to sit down with him on the porch steps. "I don't want to alarm you, but even though we just met, I care about you, and I'm concerned for your safety. There are some things about these wilds I want you to be aware of."

            I took a sip of water, my mouth suddenly dry. "Like what?"

            "Well, even though the Taggert brothers are now locked up, there are still criminal-minded men in these wilds. And not immediately near you, and not a whole lot of them, but enough in a ten-mile radius to cause me some concern. Some of them are half-crazed 'mountain man' types who live completely off the grid. I don't even think Sergeant Laine is aware of most of them. But my family and I...we see and hear a lot in these woods. And part of the reason Emily and I came out today was not just to make sure you were okay after yesterday, but to warn you about the potential for possible future danger."

            "But I'm going to bring my gun with me every day now."

            "And that's good, but many of these men have guns of their own, and most of them are experienced trackers. They could sneak up on you easily, and overtake you before you even got off a shot."

            I realized he was right, and my heart sank. "I was looking forward to hiking every day while I'm here, though. I love it here, and all the fresh air and beauty are really  just  helping me get my head back together after my parents, I guess."

            Aaron squeezed my hand. "And that's good. And you can still continue to hike every day. But just promise me one thing."

            "What is it?"

            "Promise me you'll let me go with you every day. Me, or at least one of my family members, if you ever get sick of me."

            I smiled a little, studying the angle of his strong jaw, the light golden color of his skin, and his dark, nearly black, eyelashes. "I can guarantee you that won't happen. And yes, I promise."

            He grinned. "Good. And although I do want to see you every day, I swear I wasn't using the threat of the wild mountain men as some sort of a cheap ploy. There really are some crazed mountain men in these parts, some of them who've completely lost all abilities of personal grooming. Two-foot-long beards, and toenails twice as long. I truly hope you never encounter them. Absolutely hideous."

            I laughed, twining my fingers with his, leaning into him a little closer,  willing him to kiss me. I didn't have to wait longer than a second.

            He leaned in, expression suddenly serious, and brushed his lips against mine. Butterflies erupted in a riot in my stomach. He kissed me again, his mouth firm, warm, and lingering, his arms pulling me closer. I placed a hand against his chest, enjoying the feel of its muscular hardness under my fingers, but soon irritated by the sound of my phone going off in my pocket.

            Aaron broke the kiss. "Do you want to see who it is?"

            "Sorry. Guess I should check."

            It was Sergeant Laine, asking for my driver's license number for the police report. He'd forgotten to take it down the day before.

            After I'd located my license in the cabin, read off the numbers to him, and got off the phone, I went back out to the porch, disappointed to see Aaron standing a few feet beyond the steps, as if ready to leave.

            "Are you going?"

            He gave me a half-grin. "I figure I should probably leave you with enough afternoon sunlight to paint."

            I mentally kicked myself for mentioning earlier that afternoon light was best for my work, and that I hoped to get in a few good hours that day.

            "And I do want you to get to it, because I'm anxious to see your picture of that big black bear once it's complete. But I'll meet you back here for another hike tomorrow at one?"

            I smiled. "It's a date."

            Grinning, he climbed the two porch steps and brushed my lips with one final kiss before turning and striding off down the trail. I stood watching him, my mouth tingling, until he disappeared behind some tall evergreens.

            I painted the rest of the afternoon, finishing the bear's body and working on the trail beneath his feet. I added some detail to the lavender coneflowers he held in his mouth, every so often glancing at the Mason jar full of them on the table, half of them received during my encounter with the bear, and half of them the ones Aaron had picked for me on our hike.

            When the sun went down that evening, I put my paints away with regret, realizing that besides dinner and sleep, I didn't have much else to keep me occupied until the next day when I would see Aaron again. After dinner, I tried to read a book but couldn't really get into it and put it away only a few pages in. I did the dinner dishes and watched a few deer stepping though the woods outside the kitchen window, their tan fur pale and grayish in the waning light. Eventually, I fell asleep, waking several times in the night, recalling how Aaron's mouth had felt on mine. Wondering how long we might have kissed if Sergeant Laine hadn't called. Wondering what else might have happened.

            Morning came cool and cloudy the next day. After finishing breakfast and a painting session, and taking a shower, I dressed in a sweatshirt and jeans, hoping Aaron and I wouldn't be rained out for our hike. An hour or so later, rain began coming down in sheets, its silvery-crystal beauty completely lost on me. I wondered if Aaron would mind having a cup of coffee instead of hiking with me.

            But at a quarter to one, the rain slowed to a sprinkle. And at one on the dot, right when Aaron arrived, it stopped completely, the clouds parting to reveal a little sun. Fat raindrops on the leaves of elms around the cabin glistened in the warm light.

            Aaron greeted me with a kiss so sweet and tender, I actually curled my toes. When he pulled away, his deep green eyes were twinkling.

            "I stopped the rain for you
just by sheer force of will. Well, that, and a little bribe to the rain gods. I told them that if they'd part the clouds for just one hour, I'd allow them to take a glimpse of your radiant face while we hike."

            I buried my face in Aaron's broad chest, laughing. "Well, thank you. I'm glad you did."

            Holding me close, he stroked my hair for a few moments. "Your laugh is quickly becoming one of the most beautiful sounds in the world to me. I want to always make you laugh. I want to try to make you happy."

            I lifted my face to look at him. "You
are
making me happy. And even though we just met, I really missed you. I really looked forward to seeing you again."

            He dipped his head, delivering another toe-curling kiss to my mouth. "I feel exactly the same, and maybe even more strongly. I haven't felt this way in a very, very long time."

            His sober expression changed to one of amusement.

            "And naturally, I'm getting a little jealous and possessive. Several of the rain gods have their eyes on you, but I've told them it'll take more than a little water to part me from you. They'll have to hurl a hundred lightning bolts at me. And even then I'd just deflect them back with my nun-chucks. Which –’’He groaned, throwing his head back. "I've forgotten at home again. Of course. Despite many notes to myself."

            We soon set off on our hike, hand in hand, both of us in boots, clomping our way over the soggy ground. We talked about my art, and his woodworking, and we discovered we both shared a love of reading. I asked him who his favorite author was.

            "Any who doesn't take their work too  seriously.  I enjoy a little wink every now and again."

            Just then, some little particle of something got stuck in my eye, and I came to a stop, blinking.

            Aaron stopped as well, his face a mask of concern. But the corners of his mouth twitched.            

            "Oh my sweet, silly darling. I didn't mean an actual, literal wink. Although you could not possibly look any cuter right now."

            I gave him a playful slug to the stomach, my fist connecting with what felt like a wall of granite.

            I wiped my eye, dislodging whatever particle had gotten stuck, suddenly a little breathless for some reason.

            "You, um...you do a lot of sit-ups, Aaron?"

            His eyes twinkled.

            "Just a program of calisthenics carefully designed to ensure that I always have the strength to ferry beautiful girls through the woods on my back. Want a lift?"

            He turned, and I hopped on, giggling.

            "The strength to ferry beautiful
girls
? Girls, as in, girls plural?"

            He began striding down the trail, his steps slow and powerful. "No, actually just one particular one. Just one particular one who's capturing more and more of my heart each additional moment I spend with her."

            I rested my head against his muscled back, enjoying the timber of his deep, rich voice rumbling in his chest. As well as the feel of his big hands, his fingers strong and long, holding me at the knees to support me. I asked him a bunch of questions, wanting him to continue talking, and he did, the weight of him carrying me seeming not to make him out of breath in the least.

            But presently, I asked him to stop walking, and I hopped down, spotting a wiggling ball of gray fur at the bottom of some wild raspberry bushes at the side of the trail.

            I stepped closer, a hand rising to my chest. "Oh, look, it's a bunny. He's stuck." I turned to Aaron. "I just can't stand to see animals suffer. Do you think there's any way we can help him? "

            Aaron said we could sure try and knelt down beside the struggling rabbit, who looked at us with wide, unblinking eyes. I watched while Aaron teased away a thorny vine that was wrapped around one of the rabbit's trembling legs. Within a minute, it was free, and it hopped away, sailing over a cluster of rocks at least ten times its height.

            Aaron stood, and I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, grinning.

            "My hero. Thank you."

            He smiled. "I love that you have a heart for animals. Earlier, I said that your face is radiant, and it is; it's more beautiful than any sunrise I've ever seen. But now I'm seeing that your heart is equally beautiful...and that makes my own heart feel as if it could beat right out of my chest."

            He bent his head and kissed me while a low rumble of thunder sounded in the distance.

            I looked up at the darkening sky, sighing. "Why does something always have to interrupt us?"

            Aaron gave me a half-smile, a few raindrops beginning to pelt his dark brown hair. "I was thinking the same thing myself. You ready to head back?"

            I nodded. "Yes. The second you admit this is all your fault   --  you  made the rain gods mad!"

            Chuckling, Aaron accepted full responsibility, and we set off back to the cabin, fingers entwined,  his  thumb making slow circles on the back of my hand. Thunder rumbled again, and rain began to pour. But it didn't do much to cool the slightly dizzying heat that was rising to my face as a result of Aaron's touch.

            When we made it back to the cabin, drenched, we discovered that the power was out.

            I sighed, clicking the knob that should have turned on one of the lamps. "Bill the caretaker told me this might happen every so often. The wiring is really old and touchy about the weather, I guess." I sighed again. "Well, I guess we'll just have to light some candles."

            Suddenly realizing that there might be some definite positives to having to use candles, I headed over to the kitchen cupboards, my face flushing even a bit hotter than it already had been. I thought about how Aaron's muscular chest and stomach might look bare and in candlelight, glad the afternoon storm had made the cabin nearly as dark as night so he couldn't see what I was certain were my flaming pink cheeks.

            He said he didn't mind candlelight at all. "Perfect for a gloomy afternoon like this."

            I got a twelve-pack of long-burning emergency candles in little jars, and Aaron and I began lighting them and placing them at various places around the room. I set one on the coffee table in front of the couch, and then took two over to the nightstand beside my bed, hesitating. I knew if I placed the candles there, Aaron might realize that I hoped maybe some activity would occur there. But figuring that wasn't necessarily a bad thing, I went ahead and set the two candles on the nightstand.

            I turned to Aaron, trying to stifle a nervous laugh, my pulse accelerating. "I have no idea why I just put those there. I guess just in case I want to read in bed later on or something; I don't know."

            He set a candle on the kitchen counter, green eyes gleaming in the glow, came over to me, and wrapped me in his arms. "Maybe you'll let me read in bed with you."