Ski Bear (Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance) (Rescue Bears Book 5) (7 page)

She forced herself up from the couch and went to her bed across the room in her studio apartment. She didn’t mind living in a studio; it was all she really needed. She’d lived in smaller places in Paris. But part of it just didn’t make her feel like a successful business owner. Someday, Maisie wanted a big house where she could raise a family.

As her head hit the pillow, she reminded herself that she needed to find an apprentice. She needed someone highly competent who she could rely on. Eventually, she’d hire more people so she didn’t have to work twenty-four-seven, but right now, all she needed was one person.

She fell asleep thinking of what to say in her Craigslist ad. It didn’t take her long to fall asleep, and she woke up to her alarm at four a.m. sharp. With a groan, Maisie got up and got ready for the day.

She was pushing her earring into her ear as she walked down the steps to the bakery when her mind wandered to the night before with Zach. She remembered the feeling of his lips against hers and his hot breath on her ear.

She finished hooking on her earring and let out a low, moaning sigh. With everything else she had to think about, at least her thoughts of Zach’s kiss were hot and exciting. She trotted the rest of the way down the stairs with a smile on her face, feeling ready for the day. Maybe she would just focus on who Zach was as a person instead of all of the fated mate nonsense.

If she had just met Zach as a person and not as a fated mate, she would have enjoyed spending time with him. He was fun and cute and happy. She liked everything about him.

She opened the bakery door, wishing she had not agreed to go skiing. She had been too eager to say yes when he offered a second date. She wanted to impress him, but she feared she would do exactly the opposite.

She went into the bakery and started her day, baking her bread and pastries. During her short break, just before she opened the shop, she clicked on her laptop in the kitchen and browsed the internet for ski clothing.

She found an adorably feminine ski outfit at an outdoor store and purchased it with five minutes to spare before she had to open the doors to the shop.

T
HE DAYS PASSED
by in anticipation of seeing Zach again, and when her snowsuit arrived in the mail, she quickly tried it on. She looked in the mirror and her mouth dropped open. She looked like a pink marshmallow.

The billowy pink fabric of the puffy snowsuit was the opposite of flattering on her curvy frame. The matching ski boots were clunky and heavy. Maisie sat down on her couch and crossed her arms over her breasts that puffed out in front of her under the puffy snowsuit.

She was supposed to go skiing with Zach tomorrow, so she didn’t have time to return it or shop for something else. She couldn’t just put on a pair of skinny jeans and her fur-lined parka. At least this horrendous outfit would keep her warm. If Zach was no longer interested after seeing her in this snowsuit, then she would have an answer and wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore.

9

Z
ach came to Maisie’s door on a bright Sunday afternoon, holding a bouquet of yellow roses. She opened the door wearing a puffy pink snowsuit that made her look like the cutest little snow bunny he’d ever seen. His inner bear growled.

Bunnies were soft and sweet, like Maisie. He handed her the flowers, and she took them in her manicured hands. Her nails matched the suit. She couldn’t be any cuter.

“These are gorgeous,” she said, taking a long draw of the flowers’ scent.

“So are you,” he rumbled.

“I feel silly in this outfit,” he said.

“You couldn’t be sexier.”

She giggled and asked him to come up while she put the flowers in some water. Her apartment was smaller than the cabin and it didn’t look like she’d had much time to decorate or make it her own.

She just had a couch and a TV on one side of the room and a bed on the other. It made him think of house hunting and how much he hated it. He just wanted his perfect house to show up and to not have to look at house after house that was wrong.

Zach realized that was what it must be like to date for humans. Going through all kinds of people, not knowing when the right one would show up. Fortunately for him, he was a shifter and knew exactly who she was.

That’s not how it worked with finding a house. His realtor kept sending him listings and nothing seemed right. Maybe he should get Maisie’s help to find them their perfect home. He was about to ask her as she was putting the flowers in a vase. Then he remembered he shouldn’t pressure her into a commitment. Asking her to help him pick out a house would probably feel like pressure.

He didn’t want to do that. He just wanted her. Forever. She looked like a million bucks in that fancy snowsuit. It just reminded him of what kind of woman Maisie was. She might not actually be attracted to him at all at the end of the day. If he couldn’t impress her, he might lose her. He didn’t want her to think he wasn’t intelligent and sophisticated. He’d seen his fair share of the world, and he knew how to treat a lady and make her feel special.

He just hoped that some of those things would help him win her heart. She put the flower vase on a small kitchen table.

“Lovely,” she said. “Let’s get going.”

“I can’t wait to show you my special place,” Zach said, leading the way down the stairs.

They drove up to the ski lift at the lodge and parked outside. He pulled his snowsuit from the back seat and pulled it on over his jeans.

“You wear clothes under these?” Maisie asked.

“Sure. Didn’t you…”

“I’m only wearing a bra and panties.”

Zach’s inner polar bear started panting and pawing back and forth inside his mide. He squeezed his eyes closed and pressed his fingers to his eyelids.

“Did I do something wrong?” she asked.

“No. You’re fine. I was just…”

“What?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Tell me,” she said.

“I was just imagining you in nothing but your bra and panties under that sexy as hell snowsuit.”

“This thing is not sexy,” she protested.

He turned to her and growled, his bear burning behind his eyes. Her green eyes widened at the sight of his bear, and she leaned away.

“Everything you wear is sexy,” he said, trying to speak in a natural voice.

“Am I going to freeze?”

“You’ll be fine. I’m sure that suit is rated for even colder weather than this.”

“Okay. So I won’t freeze to death. I’ll just die of embarrassment.”

“There’s no need to be embarrassed around me.”

He pulled his snowsuit the rest of the way on and slid into his ski boots. He’d planned to rent gear for Maisie today, but she’d gone above and beyond and bought everything but skis and poles.

They walked over to the equipment rental area, and he signed out skis and poles for himself and Maisie. He couldn’t wait to show her his special place.

Once he had her skis on and had given her a quick lesson on how to move, they were ready to take the lift up to the first rise. Everything else she needed to know, she could learn on the way.

“Stand by me and sit down as the gondola comes behind you,” he told her.

She looked scared, so he took her poles and held her hand as the gondola approached. It scooped them up, carrying them high above Fate Mountain Village and over the mountain.

When they arrived at the first rise, Zach helped her off and they slid slowly away from the lift.

They were in Peterson Snow Field, one of the best skiing areas in all of the northwest. Maisie tried out her new skiing skills, and they were off across the flat trek.

“It’s just a mile to the south,” he said, striding along beside her.

Maisie gritted her teeth with a strained smile. She seemed more stressed than excited. Was there something she wasn’t telling him?

Maybe she just wasn’t as into him as he was into her. But he could smell the faint scent of arousal rising off Maisie’s body as she propelled herself through the snow.

They skied on through the winter wonderland. He pointed out landmarks along the way as they made their way to the other end of the high plateau.

They skied toward the crystal blue fall of frozen water that cascaded off the cliff. It was the deep freeze of late winter rain. Beyond the falls was a little rise where the old ranger tower stood.

They took off their skis on the porch. Then Zach unlocked the frozen door and pushed it open. It was cold and dusty inside, but he could light a fire in the stove and fireplace. That would make the small space toasty warm.

Maisie walked into the small room, looking out the old windows at the expansive view. This ranger station had been built in the forties but was still standing and still functional. He liked to come up here to be close to the slopes and spend some time in quiet thought.

“This place is amazing,” Maisie said.

“I know. It’s over eighty years old. It used to be used by forest rangers, but now this land belongs to the lodge. I like to keep it up and running.

Zach started a fire in the woodstove and it started to warm up a bit. He put a kettle full of snow on to boil for water.

The place had a few pieces of furniture. There was an old table and chairs that had been there when Zach had started working at the lodge. Some things Zach had brought in, like the furs and beanbag couch in the corner. Maisie sat at the table by the woodstove while Zach knelt near the hearth to start the fire.

When he had the fire in the fireplace going strong, he slid his backpack onto the table and pulled out the things he’d brought with him.

He produced two travel Thermoses, cocoa mix, chocolate-covered strawberries, French bread, prosciutto, and Havarti cheese. He figured all he was missing was champagne.

Maisie looked at his feast with a surprised smile. Her face was pink and happy. The look in her eyes filled his heart with pride. She liked what she saw.

The water boiled in the kettle, and he made them both a cup of cocoa. Maisie arranged the other foods while he poured.

She giggled, putting him at ease. He knew he was trying too hard, and it made him feel like an idiot. He remembered the night he’d spent in the woods, hunting and devouring the deer.

He had to figure this stuff out or he was going to be messed up by it for a long time. He had to be in control of himself and his inner animal. He had to be in control for Maisie.

He was at a complete loss as to how to win her heart. None of his prior experience seemed to make a difference when it came to her. She was the real deal. She was everything. Maybe it was because it meant so much that he was thrown so far off his game.

He intended to put a stop to that today.

He took a bite of his little sandwich. It went great with the cocoa. He was glad he’d thought it up. It was almost as good as a fat turkey sandwich with spicy mustard. Maybe he’d just make that next time.

Maybe she wouldn’t mind.

Maybe she’d like it.

That thought hit him pretty hard. He hadn’t been acting like himself this whole time. He was done with that. Zach intended be the man he knew himself to be from now on. When he was done eating, he made them both a second cup of cocoa and went to stoke up the fires. He knelt down on the furs in front of the fireplace and threw another log on the flames.

Maisie knelt beside him, still bundled in her snowsuit. He’d taken his jacket off when it had started to warm up.

He sat beside her, leaning against the beanbag couch. They both had their hot drinks in their hands.

“Zach, this has been such as special day,” she said, taking a sip of cocoa.

“It’s been special for me, too,” he said, putting his arm around her.

He put his Thermos next to him on the floor and held Maisie close.

“It’s getting so hot in here,” she said, pulling down the zipper on her parka.

Zach remembered that she was in just her bra and panties under that. The thought made him hard. He was right next to her, smelling the sweet scent of her skin. He leaned in and claimed her mouth, pulling the zipper down further.

Maisie moaned and ran her fingers through his hair, pulling him closer. Her tongue darted into his mouth, and he knew she wanted what he had to offer.

He held her close and moved her around to lay across the furs. Breathless from their kisses, she looked up at him with wide, trusting eyes full of desire.

“I’m going to pleasure you until I feel you explode on my tongue.”

“Oh,” Maisie breathed below him.

10

Z
ach zipped down her parka, exposing her breasts in the lacy pushup bra she’d worn. Maisie could have been practical and squeezed on a sports bra, but no. She’d opted for the sexiest bra she owned. It pushed her breasts up and together, and was completely see-through. Her nipples pointed sky high and Zach lapped one up in his mouth through the thin fabric of the bra. He kneaded her breast, rolling her nipple in his hand as he sucked and teased the other.

She couldn’t resist him. All she wanted was more.

He ran a hot tongue down her stomach. The zippers on either side of her waist opened the suit down her legs. Zach grasped both zippers, revealing her see-through panties and her very wet pussy.

Zach sank between her legs, breathing deeply and flicking his tongue lightly over the sheer fabric between her legs.

“I want you to be warm, baby,” he said, pushing her panties aside. “I want you hot.”

He licked up her slit over and over again. Each time, he pushed deeper, tasting more of her. Maisie ran her fingers through his shaggy blonde hair and moaned.

She hadn’t been expecting this. She’d hoped. That’s why she’d worn the lingerie. The strawberries and chocolate had been sweet, but this…this was pure decadence. Her desire was swirling around inside her, still so thrilled to have his mouth on her sex. Her mouth dropped open with the intensity of the pleasure.

“Your cunt is like honey,” he growled, and pushed his tongue into her core.

His thumb pressed her clit and she erupted. She screamed out a pleading moan. It had been so long since she’d felt like this. When was the last time? She couldn’t remember; she couldn’t even think.