Stranded With Her Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Bluff Clan Book 3) (8 page)

Yet now all of his hard work and dedication was about to pay off. The house he had designed and built himself, with the prospect that one day he would bring his woman home, was the perfect place for a family. And when he saw the look on Willow’s face as they made their way up the drive, he knew he had been right.

“Like it?” he asked, opening the car door for her. They had gone back to his yard and dropped the truck off. After half an hour of answering calls and rescheduling work because of the snow, he had allowed himself the rest of the day off. He had been relieved to get back into his car and drive home. Wanting to savour every moment with Willow on her first day in Bear Bluff.

“It’s … awesome. This is all yours?”

“Yes. All of it. I bought the plot of land and built the house some years ago.”

“You started young.”

“Willow, one other thing I should tell you, is that you will start to age slower as the years go by. I can’t see it wouldn’t be the same for panthers as it is for bears. I am a couple of hundred years old.”

She stopped, her mouth open in shock. “What?”

“Yes. My first yard had a horse and cart.”

“How? I mean the town and stuff?”

“We blame it on the water.” He grinned. “Most humans don’t live here their whole lives; those that do, well, they get to the point where they know something is different, but they can’t ever put their finger on it. Those we trust know about us anyway. We muddle through, is what I’m saying. But you should know.”

She touched her face and he knew that this was one of the biggest shocks so far for her. “So my parents are how old?”

“No idea. You are young, but they could be hundreds of years old. Might make them hard to trace. But later I’ll run and talk to the sheriff. Declan is a good man, he will help as much as he can. I can always ask our clan leader, Stuart McCormac, too.”

“A clan leader. Is he like the mayor?”

“Something like that. But don’t worry; we will have little to do with him. Except the day we get married. He officiates over all Bear Bluff weddings.”

For a moment, she turned from him and looked up at the mountain, which stood silent and unmoving above the Bear Bluff skyline. “Do you know how preposterous this all sounds? That if I didn’t know this was real, I would think I was insane.”

He came and put his arms around her. “I don’t see it like that, because I have known what I am all my life. I know it will take some getting used to. But later, once we’ve had lunch, we’ll go up onto the Bluff and run in the snow.”

The snow had not melted up on the peaks; he wanted to introduce her to the thrill of running free. They could head out soon, safe in the knowledge that no one from Bear Bluff, apart from others like them, would be anywhere near the mountain. Declan would have put up warnings about how dangerous it was to venture up there in the cold weather. It kept all but the hardened explorers at bay. And those he could usually sense long before they came into view, and in that way avoid them.

“I’d like that. I want to practice changing as much as possible so that I can control it better.”

“Then I will show you around quickly, before we go and let off some steam.”

“I thought your idea of letting off steam would be sex.”

He held her close, pressing himself against her. “That comes afterwards. When your adrenaline is pumping and the blood is quick in your veins.” He couldn’t wait. In reality, he might prefer to go inside now and make love to her in his bed first. But he could see by the way she looked longingly at the mountain that she wanted to explore the wilderness around them. And he wanted her to be happy.

“So it’s definitely safe here?” she asked.

“Yes, there is no one around. And if there is, they can’t see us in here.”

They were standing in a small thicket of trees. It seemed a little close to town, to Willow, but Trent insisted it was fine. Maybe for him. What if she made a mess of things and ran the wrong way, back into town? Her nerves made it harder to imagine her panther. Which made her panther upset, it paced along the edges of her mind, desperately wanting to be free. She felt like telling it to behave, but if she spoke the words aloud, he might think she was crazy.

“Relax,” he said smiling and taking her hand. “Just let it all go.”

“I’m trying. But so much tries to come in. Thoughts of Ollie, my parents, you speaking to Declan—it seems to have set off my paranoia.”

“It’s all fine. Take a deep breath. Concentrate. See your panther and then go to meet her.”

With his soothing words in her ear, she managed to keep the image still long enough to be able to step into it. Instantly the world around her shimmered as if in a heat haze, and then there was nothingness for a split second before she came back to the world where Trent was waiting for her.

“Wow, so much better.” With that, he shimmered out of existence and then she sensed the bear appearing. When he was standing, whole and complete in front of her, she turned to take her first tentative steps up the mountain. She knew the tail would take a little to get used to, but she had anticipated having to learn how to walk again like a baby.

Behind her, she was sure that if bears could laugh, then Trent was laughing. It gave her the drive to conquer her panther in every way. Soon she was jogging along, so light on her feet. Then she managed to jump onto a boulder. Pouncing back down and batting him with her paws, just like a cat.

Soon they were running up the track, Trent loping along by the side of her. The ground disappeared so fast, although her breathing became a little laboured. She needed to get fit, but this body was so much lither than her human form, even in her present state she felt on top of the world. Especially when they stopped and looked down over Bear Bluff, which was now like a small toy town beneath them.

If only she could speak, tell him of her joy at this moment. They had travelled so far up the trail and the snow was under her paws, the cool wind in her fur and the late afternoon sun disappearing in the distance. This moment, standing with her mate here on top of the mountain, took away all the bad things that had happened to her. Maybe he was right; this was what fate had wanted for her. It was almost as if she had gone through a trial by fire just to get here. It made her enjoy the moment so much more.

Flicking her paw, she sent a spray of icy snow into Trent’s face. Giggling inside, she took off at top speed, the sound of him sneezing in her ears. Faster and faster she ran, her panther body now completely in her control. The thrill of it all was making her want to shout from the mountaintop that she was the happiest woman on the planet. Behind her, the bear was chasing her down, but she had another gear and kicked it up a notch to increase the distance between them. Not that she wanted to lose him; she simply wanted a head start. Willow wanted her bear to find her. Oh, yes, she most definitely did.

Ahead of her, she saw a rocky outcrop, behind it a straggly belt of pine trees. Not much cover for what she had in mind, but as he said, there was no one up here apart from them. So she leaped onto the rocks, happy to find a small cave behind it. Well, cave might be a little optimistic; it was more of a shallow indent in the rock face. But it would do.

Changing back to her human form took a little effort. Her body held an excitement that she could barely control, but on her second attempt, she was successful. Taking her courage in both hands, she then quickly stripped down to her bra and panties, instantly realising this was a mistake, because she was freezing. Yet just as she grabbed her clothes to put back on, Trent arrived and the look of pure lust on his face made her drop her clothes to the floor and stand up straight for him to see her.

In one leap, he was on the rocks and coming for her, changing mid-stride. “I have to figure out how to do that,” she said, and then her words were lost as he took her in his arms and kissed her.

She clung to him, feeling his fingers going straight to the little bundle of nerves between her thighs, which throbbed and pulsed. Sliding a finger a little deeper, he pressed against her entrance, frustrated when he couldn’t slip it inside her. Pulling back, he pulled the fabric of her panties aside and then, as they stood in the open air, he used his fingers to bring her to her first orgasm, while he kissed her with such passion her knees went weak.

His thumb rubbed her clit. His one finger was joined by another; he stretched her inner walls, making her ready for his thick cock. He didn’t let up until she was completely spent, almost begging him to stop. But before she had a chance to recover, he urged her to kneel down. Her knees hurt, as the hard stone pressed against them, and when he pressed his hand against her back she wondered what he wanted. Then she knew.

With her on all fours, he pulled her panties down where they remained wrapped around her knees. Trent moved behind her, dropped his pants, knelt down and positioned himself in just the right place to push his cock against her outer lips. She braced herself, knowing he was going to take her hard, that the fierceness of his kisses were a prelude to this. He had taken her with his fingers to take the edge off her arousal. Trent intended to make this last a long time.

Thrusting forward, he penetrated her. Slipping inside her halfway, before pulling out. He repeated this, over and over, only thrusting into her half way, until her sex ached to be filled by him completely. “Please,” she begged.

“In time, my love. I want to linger over this. I never imagined I would mate with you here as the sun set over the mountain. Just a few minutes more.”

In and out, sliding a little deeper each time while all around them the dark took over from the sun, casting strange shadows about them. Her arousal built, yet he left her teetering on the edge of her climax. Trent moved his hands, placing them on her hips, he moved a few more times, rocking on his knees, and then he withdrew completely. She turned to see what he was doing, what he intended. She saw the hunger on his face but still was not prepared.

With one swift movement, he took her fully, his cock plunging into her up to the hilt. He grunted his satisfaction and she opened her mouth in a wordless moan as he withdrew again to ram himself into her.

Trent had incredible stamina. His took her again and again; his strong legs powering his thrusts, and slowly her orgasm hovered in front of her eyes. So close: but she couldn’t fly to the stars, she needed more. She took his hand, pulling it from her hips and pushing it between her thighs. There he stroked her clit while her cries filled the mountain air.

In her ear, she could hear his ragged breathing, while his cock still penetrated her fully. Then his cries mingled with hers as he came, thrusting hard and deep, to spill his essence into her. His hand went to her hair, fisting it as he lunged into her, burying himself deep inside her as he jerked out his climax. When he had finished, they were both left drained and breathless, but more
together
than ever. As though all facets of their personalities, human and animal, had become joined, become one.

The trek back down took longer than their run up the mountain; they were both tired, but happy. So very happy. Tonight she would share his bed, in his house. He didn’t care if all they did was sleep, at least they would be together. She had changed quickly, becoming so much more confident in herself already. He smiled with pride at the woman who was his mate. He could not imagine what it was like for her to suddenly sprout a tail when she had no idea that any of their kind existed, but she seemed to have put it all behind her. Maybe they would get lucky and find her parents so she could know her history. But he hoped if they couldn’t, then she would find contentment in working with him and raising their kids together.

Going into the small grove of trees, they both changed back into their human form and then walked hand in hand down the track back into town. The looked like any other couple in love who had been up the mountain to look at the pristine snow.

“I have been thinking about what you said about wanting a job. I think it would be a great idea for you to come and work for me. I have thought about expanding more, but it’s not always possible to get the help I need here in Bear Bluff, and I don’t hire from outside of town. It makes for less questions.”

“I would enjoy working with you. I think we should make a good partnership, don’t you? I mean, surely with this bond thing, we should get on well and not argue.”

He laughed. “You would think so. But I have known bonded couples to argue like mad when they spend too much time together. Bonded does not mean that our brains are fused. We all have our own ideas.”

“Oh, I thought it would be one of the perks of the job, always knowing what my boss was thinking.”

“Unfortunately, no. The only thing it’s helpful with is that I can tell if you are lying, and you can tell if I am.”

“Ah, so that was why it was so easy to believe you when you said you were not interested in other women.”

“Yes. I can’t lie to you. I can try, but it’s hard and you would know.” He turned and pulled her into his arms, kissing her on the mouth. He sighed as she responded, deepening the kiss and running his tongue along her lower lip. “Our bodies are so attuned to each other. They are connected on a level no ordinary human will ever experience, except with one of us. You kind of have to pity them.”

He took her hand and they walked back to his house. It wasn’t far now, and he looked forward to taking her straight to bed. If they got hungry, he might order in takeout from the local restaurant. If he tipped them enough, they were usually accommodating, even if it wasn’t their policy to deliver.

But as they drew nearer the house, he could see Declan, the sheriff, waiting in his car.

“It’s late for him to be here,” Trent said, worried it had something to do with his enquiry into panthers and Willow’s parents. He hoped it wasn’t bad news, he would rather she went on not knowing for a while than be told they had died some awful death and she would never meet them.