Once Upon a Shifter (11 page)

“I can’t believe he just complimented my breasts like that?” Grace said giggling. “He’s lucky he is so hot or I would’ve thrown my wine in his face.”

Rebecca watched her friend. She was grinning as she replayed the incident. Rebecca knew that Grace had always been sensitive about her small breasts. She must have been secretly thrilled with the compliment.

“That guy is so frustrating!” Angie said smacking the pillow on the bed before sitting down and leaning on it. “Teeth are bones.” She snorted.

“I thought they were,” Grace said.

“I hate it when someone won’t admit when they’re wrong,” Angie said.

Rebecca let out a laugh. “Like you?”

Angie snapped her head back. “What?”

“You’ll refuse to admit when you’re wrong.”

Angie shook her head. “But I never am,” she muttered.

Grace pulled her blond hair out of her bun and shook her long hair down. “You’re the only one with a half decent guy.”

Rebecca felt her cheeks redden. Was Connor really her guy? He was the hottest one and Rebecca always had last pick when she was with these two girls. They were much prettier than her.

There was a knock at the door and Rebecca’s pulse quickened.

“That’s Prince Charming now,” Grace said.

Angie sat up. “Hopefully with chocolate.”

Rebecca ran her hand through her hair and fixed her top. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

Connor was standing in the doorway with his head lowered and a worried look on his face. He handed her a brown bag.

“Cheesecake, chocolate mousse and apple pie. A peace offering,” he said. “I’m sorry about dinner.”

Rebecca took the bag and opened it. She breathed in an orgy of sugary scents and her blood sugar index spiked. She smiled and closed the bag. “Peace offering accepted.”

He smiled a gorgeous smile and looked relieved.

“Let’s just hope that you guys know how to kayak better than you know how to talk to women.”

five

Connor was doing one last check on the kayaks when Sidney walked down to the water carrying the cooler with all of the food. Edwin followed behind him with the rest of the equipment; the tents, lanterns, sleeping bags and the small, portable stove.

“Put everything in my kayak,” Connor said, checking the last kayak for any spiders, a smudge, anything.

“No way boss,” Sidney said, walking past him. “That’s what you pay us for.”

“You get paid?” Edwin asked.

“Please,” Connor said. “Strap everything to mine.” Sidney was horrible at kayaking and Connor really didn’t want to lose all of the supplies.

Sidney just ignored him and began stuffing the food and supplies into the storage section of his kayak. “I got it boss. Just sit back, relax and enjoy the pretty ladies.”

Connor gritted his jaw. “Remember what I said about respect? The women are here to kayak, not to be ogled and harassed by you guys.”

“It’s not harassment when you’re in love,” Sidney said.

“He gets paid?” Edwin asked again.

They all stopped and stared down the path when the sound of female voices hit their ears. Connor glanced around quickly. Everyone was in their human forms. No one was naked. So far so good.

Rebecca walked down first in red shorts that hugged her curvy thighs. Connor’s breath caught in his throat. She had a tank top on, showing off her delicious arms, with the outline of a bright pink bikini showing through. The pink string teasingly came out her tank top and was tied around her neck. Her hair was up in a pony tail and she had dark sunglasses hiding her bright brown eyes. There was a small dot of suntan lotion on her right cheek, over her light brown freckles. He felt lightheaded all of a sudden. He grabbed Sidney’s thick forearm to steady himself.

“Let’s get this over with,” Grace said. Connor didn’t even notice her and Angie behind Rebecca.

“Hi Angie,” Sidney called out.

Angie hid behind Grace.

“We can ride tandem in the kayak,” he said.

Angie looked at the row of single person kayaks. “There aren’t any tandem kayaks.”

Sidney grinned. “You can sit on my lap.”

Grace hid her friend. “I think she’d rather swim.”

Angie popped out. “I’d rather drown.”

All three girls were wearing bikinis under their shorts and shirts. Connor shuddered at what the guys would do if they took them off. What would he do?

They each picked a kayak and Connor helped them push off into the water. The weather was nice for now. Sunny and hot but there were dark clouds in the distance. They looked like storm clouds. Connor was hoping they were headed the other way.

The river was warm and the sun was sparkling like diamonds off of the water. The trees were swaying in the light breeze and the birds were singing all around them. Hopefully the weather would hold up. He didn’t need another thing for the girls to complain about.

The girls were laughing and making fun of each other as their kayaks drifted around in the opposite direction of where they were trying to go.

Sidney’s kayak was barely over the water line. It was being dragged down by his tremendous weight, with the weight of the food and equipment not helping. Connor cursed under his breath. He should have taken the supplies.

Sidney was holding his paddle backwards. “Ladies, like this. Use your hips to move the kayak forward.” He was making a humping motion and his kayak was jerking back and forth unsteadily. He wasn’t moving anywhere.

Rebecca’s paddle slipped out of her hands and it drifted down the river. “No!” she cried out while laughing.

“I knew Becca would be the first one to lose her paddle,” Angie laughed.

Connor sprinted down the river in his kayak like a rocket. He snatched her paddle up and paddled back to her.

She was sitting in her kayak, helplessly floating away in the current. “My savior,” she said when he handed her the paddle. She took off her sunglasses and smiled at him, her eyes squinting in the bright sun.

A force kicked Connor in the chest and the world started to black out around him. Only Rebecca was in focus. She was a bright light against the dark surrounding. His whole body tightened and he couldn’t breathe. An unstoppable force was pulling him to her, melding him to her, bonding him to her.

His bear had bonded to her.

In a flash the force let go of its grasp on him and he flew backwards. The world came back into focus as he flipped over his kayak and plunged under water. He opened his eyes as he sank to the bottom of the riverbed and watched the shimmering, shaking reflection of his mate looking over her kayak with the sun behind her. He was in love.

But it wasn’t just love. He had bonded to her. When a werebear bonded to a mate, they bonded to their core. They became one. And life would never be the same.

Now all he had to do was get her to feel the same way.

He swam back to the surface and popped his head out of the water. Everyone was laughing their heads off.

“Are you okay?” Rebecca asked between laughs. It was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. She was an angel.

“So that is what not to do,” Connor said, flipping his kayak over and hopping back in. He shook the water out of his hair.

Rebecca winked at him. “This is going to be fun.” She paddled to catch up to her friends.

His bear purred inside him making his whole body vibrate.

This is going to be interesting.

Rebecca was lying down on the warm sand beside Grace and Angie. They had stopped for lunch and were tanning on a beach, watching the three guys across the river swinging from a rope swing into the water.

“Angie! Angie!” Sidney yelled from on top of the rock. He was holding the rope in his hands. “Watch this!”

Angie shook her head and smiled. “What is with this guy?”

“Don’t pretend that you don’t like it,” Grace said.

“I don’t.”

Grace snorted. “Please. You’ve always been with the guy who organizes the fantasy football drafts. You’re telling me you’ve never fantasized about being with the football player?”

Angie shook her head but never took her eyes off him. “I like smart guys.”

“Sure, to date,” Grace said. “But to fuck…that’s different.”

Angie didn’t answer. She just stared as Sidney held onto the rope swing with his jacked muscles. He let go of the rope in the air, did a flip and landed on his back in the water with a loud smack. He popped up in the water with a look of pain on his face.

“Well done!” Angie said. “A natural Michael Flops.”

Sidney grimaced and doggy paddled back to the rock.

Edwin grabbed the rope to jump next. Grace slid off her t-shirt and leaned back on the sand in her bikini.

The rope vibrated in Edwin’s hand as he stared at Grace from across the river. He wouldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Is he having a seizure?” Rebecca asked, lowering her sunglasses, trying to see better. His body was curling in on itself and his arms were shaking. Connor slapped him on the back of the head and was saying something in his ear.

“What?” Rebecca gasped under her breath as she swear she saw a flash of brown fur spring out of his skin. It was gone as fast as it came. It must’ve been a trick of the light.

The seizure stopped and Edwin pulled back on the rope. He jumped off the rock and did a perfect dive into the water.

Rebecca’s heart beat faster as Connor grabbed the rope. He reached up to get a high grip and his abs flexed. His stomach was perfect with deep ridges and zero body fat. His triceps were big and full and he had a perfect line down the middle of his pecs. It sure wasn’t like Mark’s body.

He glanced at her with a shy smile before jumping off the rock. He flew up higher than the others, tucked his body in and did a flip and landed in a splash-less dive. It could’ve won him a gold medal in the Olympics.

Rebecca tried to hide her smile but she couldn’t. She grinned. She could feel Grace and Angie’s eyes on her.

This was ridiculous. She had a life back in New York City. What was she thinking that she was going to date some guy in the middle of nowhere and see him once a month if she was lucky? She was better off trying to repair things with Mark. That was the safe thing to do.

Sidney and Edwin swam over to the kayaks and began pulling the food and stove out to make lunch.

Rebecca gasped as Connor swam towards their beach. He stepped out of the water and Rebecca felt every nerve ending in her body tingle. The lucky water cascaded down every inch of his hard body. His hair stuck to his head, except for one clump that stuck straight out. His bathing suit was plastered against his body showing the ridges of his muscular legs and the impressive size of his package.

“Are hamburgers okay for lunch?” he asked.

The three girls nodded. For the first time this trip they were all speechless.

He smiled, flashing his dimples, and Rebecca felt flooded with warmth. And it wasn’t from the sun.

“It won’t be long,” he said.

“Thanks Connor,” Grace said. “Becca really likes you.”

Rebecca could’ve slapped her. “What is this high school?” she asked, feeling her cheeks on fire. “I have a boyfriend.”

Connor’s face looked like he just found out that his puppy died.

“No she doesn’t,” Grace said.

“She definitely doesn’t,” Angie added.

Connor nodded with a sullen expression on his face. He looked to Rebecca for confirmation. “It’s complicated,” Rebecca said, shifting on her towel.

“No it’s not,” Grace said.

“It’s definitely not,” Angie added.

“Okay then,” Connor said, turning towards the grill. “I’ll get those burgers.”

He walked away with his shoulders slumped. His step lacked the skip that it had a minute ago.

“What is wrong with you?” Angie asked.

“He is so hot,” Grace said. “You’re an idiot.”

Angie was shaking her head. “Well you can force a horse to water but you can’t make her fuck the hot waterboy.”

“What’s the point?” Rebecca said, feeling cornered. “What if I get back together with Mark and then I have to tell him about this. How would that make him feel?”

“Probably the way that he made you feel when he cheated on you,” Angie said.

“Mark is a piece of shit, Becca,” Grace said. “Do us all a favor and forget that he ever existed.”

Maybe they were right but she still didn’t want to close the door on the possibility of getting back together with him.

“Forget him,” Angie added. “And go fuck the waterboy.”

She glanced over at Connor. He was making three glasses of Sangria garnished with little umbrellas and fruit cut into the shape of flowers.

Maybe her friends were right.

six

Connor let his kayak drift back among the group. He watched the five others ahead of him and exhaled. It felt like he got kicked in the stomach when Rebecca said that she had a boyfriend. Why would his bear bond with someone who was taken?

It wasn’t fair.

Rebecca turned her head back and Connor looked up at the sky. It was hard to look at her now. It hurt too much.