Hero Bear: BBW Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (9 page)

It was quiet here, she thought absurdly. Why did she want to live somewhere so quiet? Why didn’t she live somewhere with dozens of neighbors nearby who might look out their window and see she was in trouble? That’s what she’d do, first thing, if she got out of this. Move somewhere with people. All the people.

Then Reuben’s arm tightened and she had to fight for each breath.
Don’t pass out, ’Chaela. You pass out and you’re dead for sure.

Caleb pulled into the driveway and cut the engine. The sense of urgency was overwhelming now. Every muscle in his body quivered and the hair on the back of his neck was standing straight up. He slid out of the truck and walked toward the house in a half-crouch, suddenly wishing he had his old M16 in his hands.

“Stand up, you cow. Don’t make me drag you.” A man’s voice, and it sounded like it was coming from behind the house, not in it.

Caleb had planned to be tactical about things. He’d planned to get a clear picture of what was happening before he acted. But then he heard a small yelp of pain and knew it was Michaela’s voice. The bastard had hurt her. He’d hurt Caleb’s mate. His bear roared now in outrage and fury.

It happened before Caleb had time to think about it. He felt the seams popping in his clothes and the straps holding his prosthesis to his leg snap and give way. His bear surged forward and took over, and to hell with tactics.

For the first time in over a year, Caleb and his bear were one, and they were both out for blood.

At first Michaela thought the lack of oxygen meant she was hallucinating. She heard a terrifying roar, and from around the corner of the house came the biggest black bear she had ever seen. Its gait was awkward but it tore across the back lawn, heading right toward them.

She felt Reuben flinch and realized she wasn’t hallucinating. At the same time, she saw the reason for the bear’s awkward run: it was missing half of its rear left leg.
Like Caleb.
The thought was dazed and half-formed and she distantly thought she might be going into shock.

Reuben let her go and turned to flee, leaving her to face the bear’s wrath alone. Michaela’s legs gave out beneath her and she sank to the ground.

The three-legged bear brushed past her close enough for her to feel the ruffle of its fur against her skin as it chased after Reuben.

Reuben screamed like a little girl and tripped over his own feet. Michaela felt a slight twinge of sympathy for him. She would have reacted the same.

The bear caught up to him and stood over him, roaring.

Michaela struggled to climb back to her feet. “C-Caleb?”

The bear stopped snarling, and craned its head to look back at her.

“Oh my god.” Michaela’s hands flew to her mouth. It really was him. She saw him, looking back out at her from those deep, dark eyes. “Don’t— Don’t hurt him, okay?”

The bear— Caleb— growled but backed off.

Reuben tried to sit up, but Caleb snarled at him again and he lay back down in the grass. “Okay, okay. I’m just gonna lie right here.”

Michaela knew she should be afraid, but she wasn’t. All she could think was that Caleb had been telling her the truth all along. The proof was standing right in front of her. She crept forward until she was close enough to touch him, and reached out. Caleb sat back on his haunches and just watched her as she touched his shoulder, ran a hand down his enormous furry back. “It’s really you. You weren’t lying.”

Caleb snorted, then nuzzled her arm.

“I thought you said you couldn’t...”

Turned out a bear shrug looked much like a human one.

Reuben looked between them with wide-eyed, baffled fear. There was so much Michaela wanted to ask Caleb about, but there were things to take care of first. “Wait right here, don’t let him leave,” she said to Caleb, then ran inside to get her cell phone. “I’m going to call the police. I don’t know if you need to leave? Change back?” She paused. “
Can
you change back?” What if he was stuck like this forever?

The air around Caleb shimmered like heat rising off blacktop in the summertime. His body seemed to expand, then start to shrink and contract right in front of her, until the bear was gone, and Caleb sat in the grass, naked and grinning. “Guess that answers that.”

Reuben gave a faint groan, and as Michaela looked over, his eyes pitched back in his head and he went limp. “Too much for him,” she said. Without thinking, she threw her arms around Caleb’s neck. “I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you.”

Caleb laughed. “Darlin’, we definitely need to talk, but right now, could you go look in my truck for a duffel bag? It should have an extra pair of pants.”

Michaela jumped back, her cheeks heating up. “Right. What happens to your clothes when you . . .? No, wait, tell me in a minute.” She glanced down at the exposed stump of his leg. “What about your leg?”

“Well,” he winced, “I reckon it’s in pieces in the front yard, next to my clothes. I didn’t get much warning.”

“Warning for what?” she started to ask, then shook her head. “I know, I know. Clothes first.” Her head was spinning as she ran to Caleb’s truck.

Chapter Eleven

Reuben woke up before the police finally got there, but just barely. He refused to say a word, just stared at Caleb with scared, hateful eyes. The police found a knife and some rope in Reuben’s car. When she heard about it, Michaela could only hold on to Caleb. They leaned on one another as long as they could. Miss Harvelle came home while the police were taking their statements, and offered everyone iced tea and pie while she tut-tutted over Michaela.

Finally everyone cleared out, and Michaela and Caleb were left sitting in her living room. Silence fell while Caleb fiddled with the crutch that one of the officers had gotten for him. They told the police his prosthesis broke during his struggle with Reuben, and Reuben didn’t try to contradict them, still watching Caleb like he expected Caleb to turn back into a bear and eat everybody any second.

“It looks real good in here,” he finally said. “I like the new pictures and all.”

“Thanks.” They sat side by side on her couch as awkward as a pair of teenagers on a first date. If one of the teenagers could turn into a bear and the other teenager was trying to figure out how to ask about it. “I... sometimes go shopping when I get upset.”

“Hm. I do yard work,” he said. He glanced at her sideways. “Dalt says our yard hasn’t looked this good in years.”

Michaela gave a startled laugh then stopped. “I guess it’s not that funny.”

He turned to face her, and she turned to meet him. Then he looked her in the eyes, and she saw how badly he’d been hurt. All she could think was that she wanted to take it all back. Then he smiled, and it was like boosting the thermostat on the first chilly day of fall. “It’s a little funny.” Caleb smiled ruefully. “Gonna be a pain in the ass to replace my leg.” They’d picked up the tattered remnants of his clothes from the yard before the police came.

“How did it happen?” She wasn’t sure if she meant “how did you become a werebear” or “how did you get your ability back” or “how did we make such a mess of this?”

“I told you I didn’t think I could change anymore,” he said quietly. “I guess seeing you in danger... that was more than my bear and I could take. Normally I can control when I shift, but then, he took over.”

“Why me?” Michaela thought she knew the answer, or at least, she knew what she hoped the answer was.

“’Cause I love you.” He said it simply, but the words burned into her, giving light to the very center of her being. He took her hands in his, but didn’t look at her at first, although she tried to will him to. “I told you already, I knew— my bear knew— you and I are meant for each other. If that’s too weird for you, I get it—”

“Caleb. Please look at me.” She couldn’t stand it anymore. He lifted his eyes, his beautiful blue eyes, and she couldn’t help but reach out to touch his cheek. “It’s a little weird,” she admitted. “But it’s a good kind of weird.”

He smiled, and turned to kiss the center of her palm. “You believe me now?”

Michaela laughed out loud, and leaned in to kiss him. “I can’t very well not, I saw it!” She sobered a little. “Although I don’t think Reuben believes what he saw.” He’d still been stunned when the police drove him away. She wondered if he’d talk or not.

Caleb pulled her into his arms and held her tight. She rested her cheek against his broad chest and remembered what she’d thought before, about being safe here. She knew now she truly was. “He’s never going to get near you again,” Caleb growled. She’d never forget the way his eyes had darkened when he learned who Reuben was and what he’d tried to do.

She didn’t want to talk about him, not now. “I guess I probably broke some rules, yelling about you being a bear in the middle of a bar, huh?”

He kissed the top of her head, but when he spoke, his voice was strained. “Doesn’t matter. It’s not like Dalton and Dylan didn’t already know what I am. And I doubt your friend believed it.”

Michaela eased away from him and looked him in the eye. “What is it? There’s something you’re not telling me.” She held his gaze and wouldn’t let him look away.

Caleb heaved a sigh that sounded like it came from the very pit of his soul. “It’s not just my family— there’s a community of us. I hadn’t told them about my... problem.”

It took Michaela a minute to get the implication. She knew how gossip worked in small towns. “Oh no. And I blabbed. Caleb, I’m so sorry. How bad is it?”

He tilted his head and gave her a sweet little smile. “Not so bad now. I’ve got my bear, and I’ve got you, so they can all kiss my ass.” He looked suddenly anxious and squeezed her hands. “Do I have you?”

“Yes.” She didn’t need to hesitate or think about it, the word left her lips almost before she’d finished drawing the breath to say it. “Yes. I love you too, Caleb.”

Then his arms were around her again and his lips against her hair. “I’m so sorry I hurt you,” he said. “I was so stupid, telling you like that.”

“No, I should have believed you. I should have known you’d never lie to me.”

He rained kisses on her hair and cheeks until he kissed his way to her mouth. All the apologies stopped right then. The heat flared between them and one of them— Michaela thought it was her— moaned softly.

“God, I missed you.” His words were warm against her lips before he kissed her again, delving into her mouth with his tongue, stealing her breath.  His hands crept up her back, broad and strong. Before she knew what was happening, she was settled in his lap, just as she’d been on their first night together; the easy strength he showed melted her heart and made it race.

“I missed you too,” was all she had time to say before he claimed her mouth again. He kissed her like he was starving for her, and Michaela’s own hunger started to surge. She’d been so busy being hurt she hadn’t let herself stop and think about what life would be like without this, Caleb’s arms around her and his mouth on hers. The way he kissed her made her believe she would never have to find out.

His hands tangled in her hair and tilted her head so he could taste her neck, kissing and licking along the line of it until her knees were weak. Her body was on fire just from his kisses, but she wanted more, she needed more. Boldly, she caught one of his hands in hers and moved it, sliding it down until his palm cupped her breast. His breath caught, but he took the hint, dragging his thumb over her nipple before reaching for the buttons on her shirt. Then he stopped, and she whined softly. “Bed?” he murmured.

“Yes. Oh yes.” Of course, why hadn’t she thought of that? Before she could get off his lap, he tightened one arm around her and stood, leaving her no choice but to wrap her arms and legs around him and hang on while her gentle giant carried her to the bedroom, crutches and all. She laughed. “Okay, Superman. I never thought anyone would be doing this.”

“Not Superman, just the right man for the job.” He nuzzled at her ear and gently, oh so gently, laid her down on her bed. Michaela watched him through half-lidded eyes as he slowly undressed her, removing each piece of clothing like he was carefully unwrapping a present. Caleb caressed each inch of skin he exposed until she lay shivering, naked, and hungry before him. It was just a matter of seconds for him to pull off the t-shirt and sweatpants he’d carried in his truck.

“Wait,” she said, as he started to come to her. “I want to see you.” He was so beautiful he hurt her heart a little, and she could scarcely believe he was hers, and she was his. She loved him from head to toe, seeing the strength in his scars as well as his muscles, wanting all of him, the light and the dark. She wanted to be his safe haven and his delight, the way he was hers. Was that what he meant, about them being mates, being meant for each other? She thought it might be.

“What?” His perfect lips were curved in a smile that she’d call shy, if it weren’t for the bold curve of his erection and the heat in his eyes.

“You’re amazing and I love you.” Michaela held open her arms for him and he came to her. His skin, cool against hers at first, warmed with the contact of her body.

“I love you. Always will.” He set about proving it, his mouth burning against her nipples while he ran his hands down her curves. She couldn’t help but part her legs for him when he reached her thighs, already needing to feel him deep inside her. Caleb teased her, barely trailing his fingers over the damp curls between her legs, a tickling touch that made her ache for him. Michaela arched her hips toward him, spreading her legs even wider, opening up to his touch. His smile grew absolutely wicked as he ignored her mute pleas, trailing his fingers over her thighs instead of parting her wet lips.

Finally, after what felt like years, he slowly wriggled the tip of his finger between her lips, tracing upward until he found the erect, swollen button of her clit. Pleasure shot through her body, making her cry out and clutch the sheets. She was already so close to coming, if he would just touch her.

He did more than that, so much more. He covered her body with his, and she felt the hard insistence of his erection nudging between her thighs. She pulled him down to kiss her as she arched her hips, welcoming him in, savoring the way his thickness slid into her, claiming her as his.

“Look at me,” he begged, and she opened her eyes. They were connected in every way as he moved in her, and when she came, her orgasm building and creeping through her veins like a drug, she could feel him feeding off her pleasure, adding it to his own until he was sated as well. When he collapsed against her, she wanted to hold him tight and keep him there.

Her mate. The thought was a warm glow, filling her completely.