Kodiak Moment: Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (2 page)

She stepped over the threshold and took in her surroundings. The cabin was very masculine, dark wood, highly polished, with the only soft touch being a shaggy red rug in front of the blazing open fire. A delicious smell permeated the air, and she was sure she caught the smell of fresh baked bread. The furniture was plain and undecorated. The fire burned bright on the hearth, and the table in the corner was set with two places. A candle burned in an elaborately carved white bowl.

“You have a lovely home,” Nessa said honestly.

“Thank you,” James said, and disappeared in the direction of what must be the kitchen. “Make yourself comfortable.”

She moved to the hearth, and stretched out her hands to the heat, letting her shawl hang loosely. The flames burned high and bright, and the coal beneath burned red hot. It certainly beat sitting alone in a cold cabin.

Above the fire, was a mantel that looked to have been carved out of one piece of wood. It was silky and incredibly smooth to her curious touch. There were two carved plates at either end, one white, the other stained red. They, like the wood, were smooth under her fingers.

“You like them?” James asked from behind her, and she started. She hadn’t heard him, but now he was close to her, close enough so that she could feel the tickle of his breath on the nape of her neck.

She wanted to lean back against his chest and listen to his heartbeat. He wasn’t classically handsome, he wasn’t her usual type, but there was something magnetic about his storm-grey eyes and his shaggy brown hair. There was something about him that meant she hadn’t been able to get his face out of her head since they had parted.

“They’re carved out of bone,” he continued, and it took a moment for Nessa’s mind to catch up. “There’s plenty out there in the forest to use.”

“You made these yourself?”

“It passes the cold nights.”

“A man of many talents.”

“I hope you find my cooking as appealing as my carving.”

She turned around to face him, and found him watching her with a soft look in his eyes. He was so close to her that she could have stretched up to kiss him.

“The food just needs a few more minutes,” he said. “ Can I get you a drink?”

“What do you have?”

What he turned out to have was a sweet wine that slid down her throat like warm honey, and tingled on her tongue and in her veins, even with the first glass. She leaned back in the chair at the table, and sighed in contentment.

Dinner was a thick and fragrant beef stew, rich and bubbling hot. The meat dissolved tenderly in her mouth, and the vegetables and potatoes were done to perfection. The bread was freshly baked, especially for her, she was told, and was just what bread should be.

They didn’t converse much over the stew, Nessa was too interested in the treat of having a meal specially made for her. Back in the city, she lived on takeaways and ready meals, and rarely took the time to make something from scratch. She admired James for being able to do this much in the kitchen, and said so, once the plates were clear.

“Mom insisted that we all learn before we left home,” James said with a grin. “It’s just something that I’ve kept up, living out here. You can have a lot of time on your hands, so it passes quicker if you keep your hands busy.”

“A man of many talents, carving and cooking,” she said flirtily.

“And how about you?” he asked in return. “Any super special secret talents you’re hiding?”

Nessa laughed and shook her head. “Not so far as I know,” she admitted. “I’ve always been busy with work, so I’ve never really thought about hobbies.”

Usually when she admitted this to anyone, the pity appeared in their eyes, and they began to start suggesting things for her to try, hobbies that she could do to relax. But James, he was different. He leaned forward, but remained silent. Even though it was a comfortable silence, she still wanted to break it, wanted to learn more about her host for the night.

“Do you have much family?” she asked.

“Two brothers and two sisters,” he said easily. “We’ve scattered to the four winds, but we all still try to get together back at home for holidays. How about you?”

“No brothers or sisters. I was quite enough of a handful for Mom and Dad,” Nessa said. “They live out in the suburbs, but with me all over the countryside, we don’t see much of each other.” Her tone was a little wistful.

“Well, next time you’re home,” James began, and Nessa thought that she saw a faint flicker of a grimace cross his face, “you can take this recipe back with you and chocolate your way back into their good books.”

“Is chocolate a verb now?”

“It is when the cake is made with the secret recipe of my family.” James began to gather the stew bowls up in preparation for taking them to the kitchen. “Go have a seat on the couch, and prepare yourself.”

She nodded and rose as he did. She headed to the couch, he headed to the kitchen, and she heard him beginning to whistle. She felt a pang of envy for his relationship with his family, and could just imagine him sitting on the floor, playing with a nephew or a niece. Or standing beside his mom at a stove.

James emerged from the kitchen again, whistling a fanfare, plates in hands. Nessa made mock-grabby hands in his direction. James handed her both plates, and retrieved a second wine bottle and the glasses from the table, pouring her another glass and trading it for one of the plates of cake.

“Are you this neighbourly to everyone who comes up here?” she asked, the wine making her tongue thick. It seemed the most natural thing in the world for her to tilt her head just a few inches to rest it on his shoulder.

“No one comes here,” he corrected her, maneuvering himself so that his free arm rested across her shoulders. She turned her head into his neck, and inhaled. He smelled of smoke, bread, and something strangely musky that seemed to worm its way straight to her core. She wondered if he tasted as good as he smelled and fought the urge to lick his skin.

Outside, the wind picked up a notch, battering against the windows, and the fire in the hearth flared a little, sending a wash of heat across the room. Nessa snuggled in deeper to James’s side, feeling unaccountably relaxed and contented around a man that she hadn’t even known for a day.

“So what do you do for a living?” she asked.

“Odd jobs here and there,” he replied thoughtfully. “Forest tours one day, fishing trips another, helping someone down in the town later on. Whatever takes my eye.”

“Sounds nice, to have that freedom,” she said.

“It is. I’m my own man, on my own time.”

“I sometimes wonder what it would be like to have that freedom. I mean, I get a lot of scope in my job, but I still answer to my editor.”

“What is it you do?”

“Wildlife photographer extraordinaire, at your service.” She executed a mock bow from her lounging position before cuddling back in again. She felt the rumble of his laughter.

“So what brings you up here into the wilds? Moose? Foxes?”

“Those, but mostly bears.”

She felt him laugh again.

“Why bears?” he asked. She shrugged.

“No clue as to that. I just take the shots.”

Even as distracted as he was by her intoxicating presence, James silently vowed that when he got the chance, he’d let her get all the photos she needed of his other self. Not only would he get to spend more time with her, but she’d be safe from getting hurt. Which gave him an idea.

“Well, happens that I know this area pretty well. How’d you like a guide tomorrow?” he offered.

Her face lit up with her smile. “I’d love that,” she said happily. “Just so long as I’m not stopping you from doing anything else?”

“My schedule is completely cleared,” he assured her.

With her face turned up towards him, glowing with joy, he wanted to lean forward and kiss her. His bear demanded it, but for the human, it was too soon. He wouldn’t scare his mate, not before getting to know her.

She shifted, reluctantly, he thought. “I’d better be heading back,” she said. “It’s been a long day of traveling, and I’ll need to be rested for trekking tomorrow. Does seven sound too early?”

“Say no more,” He kept his tone light, while forcing himself to move away from her heat. “Seven sounds fine. Like me to walk you over to your cabin?”

Her laugh was music to his ears. “I think I can manage.”

And she did manage, seeming to take all the light and heat with her. James watched her until she stepped into her own cabin, before he closed his door. He rested his head against the cool wood and took a breath, hoping to steady himself. His mate. His one-and-only true love. And he let her walk out.

He shifted form and let the uncomplicated mind of the bear come to the fore. He sniffed and drew in a full lungful of her scent. The dying fire gave him a little heat as he curled up on the rug, resting his head on the couch where she had been dozing. With the smell of his mate thick in his nostrils, he drifted off into a deep, peaceful and dream-filled sleep.

***

The following morning dawned cold and clear. Nessa, suitably caffeinated, bounced onto James’s porch at seven on the dot. She was shifting from foot to foot in her eagerness to get moving, and the camera around her neck bounced with every movement.

“How do I look?” she asked James the moment he opened the door. “Suitable for the wilds?”

James looked her up and down, taking in the sturdy boots, thick trousers, and waterproof coat. Nessa pirouetted for him, and took satisfaction in the pleased glance he gave her.

“I wish more people planned like you,” he said, stepping out and closing the door behind him. “I once saw a lady trying to hike in six-inch heels.”

“How did she get on,” Nessa asked curiously.

“Badly,” James replied dryly, mimicking wobbling. “Tried to blame me when she fell into a mud hole.”

“I solemnly swear that I won’t blame you should I fall into a muddy hole. I might pull you in with me, but I won’t blame you,” Nessa said, her mind filling with sudden visualizations of James, covered in mud and naked, being washed by herself. She felt the aroused blush turn her cheeks red, and busied herself with her camera to hide it.

Rather than striking straight out into the forest, James led her along the shingle beach for a while. Nessa kept her eyes peeled for bears, but amused herself by taking pictures of the seabirds that wheeled and danced above the lake. Every so often, she’d catch James looking at her, though he pretended not to.

After about fifteen minutes, and several hundred pictures later, James stopped, and rested one hand on her arm. Nessa had been staring at the tree line, thinking that she had seen something move, when James caught her attention,

“We’re in luck,” he whispered. “Look.”

Nessa looked ahead and spied what had caught his attention. At the edge of the lake was a family of red foxes, mother and three cubs. The mother was drinking from the lake, with the three cubs playing an involved game of chase. Slowly, Nessa sank to one knee to steady herself, and began to snap.

It was a lovely scene, and Nessa was certain that she would get a few nice shots out of it. James knelt down beside her, and his warmth was a little distracting. He was thoughtful company, keeping still and quiet while she worked away, until the foxes found something more interesting to do and scampered off.

“I wish all my guides were as quiet as you,” she commented, as she switched out the memory card. “Would make things go a lot smoother.”

James looked puzzled. “Why shouldn’t I be quiet while you’re working?”

Nessa gave him a thumbs-up as she slid the back of the camera back on. “You’d be surprised at how many people think they need to tell me their life story while I’m trying to work.”

“I’m too busy admiring the scenery,” James said. “I never get tired of the sights.”

A man after my own heart, Nessa thought quietly to herself.

***

They were on the trek back to the cabin, and James was planning. They had not seen any bears, something he wasn’t surprised about, but he thought Nessa seemed a little disappointed. So he was working out how best to show her the animal she really wanted to see.

Rather than traverse the same route back, James had taken them through the forest, via a caribou herd. While Nessa quickly and efficiently took her pictures, he did as he said and admired the scenery. He wasn’t admiring the way the sunlight drizzled through the leaves, or the way the caribou blended with their surroundings, he was admiring Nessa.

The way one strand of her hair had broken free to fall over her face, and the adorable way she scrunched up her face to blow it out of the way. The way that she filled out her clothes in a way that made his mouth dry. The little furrow of concentration on her brow that he longed to kiss smooth. The soft smile that she wore when she caught him looking at her. Maybe, just maybe, she shared his feelings.

He caught a glimpse of the cabins through the trees and paused. Nessa stopped and pushed the strand of hair back into place again.

“Cabins are just over there. While I’m here, I’m going to go and check on a couple of snares I set up. Won’t be more than ten, fifteen minutes.”