Shifters of Grrr 2 (14 page)

"Can I have your name beautiful?"
 

Hearing him call her beautiful was like music to her ears. Normally it took her some time to believe a man when he said she was good looking, but coming from this man's - No, she corrected herself, coming from
Derek's
lips it just felt so sincere, so believable. She knew this man would never lie to her.

Derek

"I'm Keri," the gorgeous woman across from him practically whispered, as she continued to stare into his eyes. He had been captivated the moment she looked up, becoming lost himself within the depths of her eyes as they both refused to break contact.
 

"Well Keri, you're the most beautiful woman I've set eyes upon, I do believe, in my entire life. I just cannot stop staring at you." It was true, there was no falsehood in the words he spoke. Derek found himself falling for this woman that he had barely met. This curvy girl who was so unlike the other women he normally dated.

His bear was roaring within him, doing its best to override the emotions of his brain. The two sides of him were so rarely in agreement, especially when it came to women. The fact that they now so strongly agreed, that they were fighting together, not against each other, spoke volumes for the effect this woman had upon him.

"This may sound crazy and abrupt, but do you want to get out of here? I'd much rather go someplace where we can talk for longer than the next -" he paused to look up at the big countdown clock in the middle of the room, "- two or so minutes."
 

At first Derek thought he was going to lose her, for she clearly was unsure if she wanted to go with him or not. Normally he would have been eyeing her up for sex, but right now he desperately wanted to talk to this woman, to earn her approval.
 

Thoughts flitted through his head about just how he had come to be here. He figured that he would tell her in a few days, after she had had a chance to get to know the real him. Nothing would keep him from coming clean and ensuring that this woman, Keri, knew just about every detail about him.

Perhaps, he thought, perhaps in time she might get to know
every
detail. Forcing his bear down, he couldn't help a huge smile from plastering itself on his face when she agreed to go.

"I know a place not too far. It's got great food and the bartender will make you anything you want, with or without alcohol." He felt it best to include that last line, so she didn't think that he was simply attempting to get her drunk and take advantage of her.

The two of them walked the few blocks, simply sharing stories of their past. Keri told him about her life situation, being abandoned and jobless. Derek promised to use his connections to help her out, even though she insisted he had to do nothing of the sort. By the time they got to the bar he had suggested, Derek was convinced he was madly in love with Keri, even if they had only just met.

"Derek, I have to admit, I never thought I'd find a man like you in a speed dating setting," she commented as he sat her down at a private table, set away from the other evening diners.
 

"I don't normally go, but my friend told me about it, and I haven't had much luck finding someone lately, so I decided to give it a go." He felt a little wrong telling her that, but none of it was a lie, though it definitely was not the truth either.

"I'm so incredibly glad I did, otherwise I would not have met you Keri. This truly has been a remarkable evening." He flashed her a smile, and felt it grow when she returned one just as genuine. They ordered drinks and continued talking for some time, about each other, the world, and life in general. Derek had never felt more relaxed with a woman.

Some time later, they disengaged from the close embrace and got up to leave. Keri was coming back to his place, though she had hinted that it would probably be not for long, ensuring that he didn't get too worked up.
 

The cab ride to Derek's place didn't take too long, and he graciously held the door open to his luxurious condo for her. As she swept past him, he caught himself giving her rear an extra long look. She truly was beautiful, and his bear desperately wanted to explore every inch of her. It was calling to him nonstop, the animal instinct a constant pressure trying to take control of his body. Many long years of practice ensured he would never lose control, but it promised to ensure he knew it had been a fight.

"This place is gorgeous Derek. The view is just unbelievable." It was relieving to him that she obviously had caught on to his wealth, but never asked him a single question about it. In fact, this was the only time she had made any real comment about it. Even at dinner she had insisted she pay her bill at first, but graciously accepted defeat when he simply smiled and said 'no'.

"I often lose myself looking out over the city and thinking about anything that's bothering me. I'm glad you find it inspiring as well," he commented, coming up next to her. As he did, their arms brushed. Though it wasn't the first time they had touched that evening, tension rushed through him at it. It must be the privacy they had now he thought, if anything was going to happen it would be now.

Keri clearly felt similarly, for she turned to him now, eyes looking up in to his, questing out, silently asking what he would do next. His bear roared now, even stronger than before, demanding he simply take her then and there. Derek knew if he did, she would let him, but that wasn't the way he wanted things to go.

Instead, he gently stroked the side of her face with his hand, turning to face her entirely. He cupped her chin, drinking in the look on her face as he felt her smoothness under his fingertips. Lightly he tilted her head to the side, then leaned towards her. She closed her eyes, and just before their lips made contact he closed his.
 

The brush of their lips together was electrical, shocking both of them into realizing that this truly was happening. He inhaled sharply as her hand wrapped around his neck, her fingers running through and grabbing on to his hair. She pulled him tighter, their kiss deepening as she did.

His lips opened, his tongue questing hungrily into her mouth as she let him. Running his hands down her back, he grabbed her waist and pulled gently. She gasped in agreeable surprise as she felt the hard bulge between his legs.

Assuming that she was interested in pursuing things further, Derek ran his hand up her side, enjoying the feel of her curves beneath him. He cupped her large, full breast through her shirt. Startled, Keri pulled away from him, a look of sadness crossing her face, mixed with some emotions he couldn't quite figure out.

"What is it Keri? Did I do something wrong?" He obviously had, but wasn't sure what, not after the way things had been going.

"No, no. Listen, Derek. I told you about my last relationship, and how that ended. That was barely two weeks ago, I'm still recovering. I-I like you a lot," she hurried on "but I just can't do this. Not yet. Do you understand?" She looked up at him, eyes pleading for him to understand.
 

"Of course I do Keri, I understand perfectly. You don't have to feel bad. Did you want a drink, some water, or just to go home?" He didn't want to let her go yet, because he wasn't sure he would ever see her again if she just left.

"I need to go home, I think." She obviously wasn't sure of her decision either, but he was determined to respect it, no matter how much his bear was disagreeing with him right now. For once, he was going to do the right thing, instead of taking advantage of the situation. He couldn't believe his own willingness to give up the potential of sex, but this woman drew out the best in him.

"Okay, let me call you a cab."

"Thank you, Derek. Before I go though, let me give you my number. I would so like to see you again. If you want to of course." She almost mumbled the last part, giving him a way out if he wanted too, obviously embarrassed by the situation.

"I have an event I must attend tomorrow Keri. It's out in the open, and kind of a big deal. Perfect for us to enjoy each other's company and get to know each other. Would you be able to make it on such short notice?" He desperately hoped she would, not wanting to spend one more second apart from her than absolutely necessary.

She thought about it for a moment, then a grin split her face. "I would love to Derek! Just call me in the morning and give me the details, okay?" She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and practically fled his apartment. For a long time after he stared out the windows of his condo, contemplating everything that had just happened with his evening, one hand absently rubbing the cheek she had kissed.

For as long as Derek could remember, he had simply used women and left them behind when he became bored of them. He had given no thought to morals, ethics, or even what the other person was feeling.
 

With Keri though, he wanted to do no wrong. Something about her demanded his absolute attention, his interest spiked with each further word she spoke. Even now, as she was in a cab driving somewhere across the city, he wanted to ensure she arrived safe, that nobody else even looked at her sideways.

The biggest challenge was telling her how he felt. A feeling of guilt came over him then, as he remembered just why he had been in that coffee shop in the first place. No, telling her the truth about him would be the hard part. Knowing it was likely she would never talk to him again if he told her that, Derek went to bed, though he did nothing but toss and turn. The thought of disappointing Keri, of hurting her, kept him up all night, as he worried about how to explain everything.

Keri

The next morning, Keri wandered back to the coffee shop where she had first met Derek the night before. Her lips still tingled with the warmth of his kiss, her nostrils filled with the outdoors, a scent that seemed so much a part of him that she couldn't get over it.

"Lizzie, it was so wonderful," she gushed over morning coffee with her friend.

"So, come on, give me the juicy details!"
 

"We went to this fancy bar I'd never even heard of. I'm pretty sure this guy is rich Liz, like, not well to do, but mega rich. He wouldn't let me pay, but I managed to get a quick glance at the bill, and it was close to five thousand dollars..."

"Holy shit!" Lizzie exclaimed, then covered her mouth in surprise as she realized how loud she had yelled. Other customers were looking over at them, wondering what was going on. She hunched forward towards Keri to keep her voice down.

"Keri that's insane, how much did you guys eat?"

"We shared a bottle of wine and an appetizer. The craziest part is, he didn't even blink at throwing that much away as if he did it all the time and it was chump change to him."

Keri looked down into her drink somberly as she said it, obviously not excited by the idea at all.

"So if he's rich, attractive, and interested in you, why do you seem so down?" Lizzie had a thoroughly confused look on her face as she tried to puzzle out the problem.

"Why is he interested in me?" Keri said miserably, a look of plaintive distress clearly evident on her face as she tried to puzzle it out.

"Don't get me wrong Liz, I'm not stupid, I know I'm not ugly. But let's be serious here for a moment. A man like that, with his money, he could have just about anybody he wanted. So why does he need help finding a date?"

Lizzie looked thoughtful for a moment, putting serious thought into her friends problem.

"Well, have you ever thought that perhaps
because
he's so rich, he has trouble finding dates who aren't out for anything but his money?"

Keri looked up sharply at that, never having considered the possibility that someone with so much money would have any sort of problems.

"So, maybe he likes me, because I'm interested in who he is, not what he has?"
 

"That's exactly what I'm suggesting. I mean, why else would he be there?"

Keri nodded, taking another sip of her coffee, wrapping both hands around the mug for warmth. She thought this new approach over, trying to find flaws in it, but not coming up with any.

"So, are you going to see him again?" Lizzie had a sly look on her face, obviously wanting to know if she was planning to sleep with Derek anytime soon. Her friend was always of the opinion that people should be having sex left right and center, with anybody they deemed attractive enough.
 

Keri enjoyed sex, but to her it had to be with someone she had an emotional attachment to. Physical attraction was just not a big enough draw for her to feel satisfied afterward. There had to be trust there for her to get naked in front of somebody, and without it she would never feel completely comfortable.

She wondered thoughtfully if she could be like that with Derek. The soft touch of his hands on her came rushing back all at once, accompanied by the memory of feeling safe within his arms the night before. There was something about him that was just so solid, so secure in everything he did. She knew she would never have to fear with him around.

"Liz I'm scared, I think I'm falling for this guy already, and I've barely met him! All I can think about is spending more time with him, learning everything I can about him. This is nuts, I only went on one date with him."

"You know I'm a big believer in love at first sight Keri," her friend replied, not being any help right now, for everything she said was pushing her further down a path of no return. She wasn't sure what she would do if she gave herself to Derek, only to have her heart broken again.