Authors: Ariana Hawkes
“He’s on a mission,” Bruno said with a laugh. One edge of Connor’s lips curled up.
“What kind of a mission?”
“He said he found this amazing woman on Shiftr,” Frankie cut in. “She seemed to like him too, but then she disappeared, and he couldn’t find her on the site anymore.”
“He’s been really cut up about it all week, because he’s sure they were perfect for each other. So he’s desperately hoping she’ll be at the party today,” Ryzard explained.
“He says he’d never forgive himself if she was here and he didn’t manage to find her,” Dalton added. Dina was totally charmed by the way they spoke, each picking up where the other one left off. But there was another, far more dramatic thought racing through her mind. She shot a glance at Lauren and saw that she was thinking the same thing.
“What does this Logan look like?” Lauren asked. The bears looked at each other and rubbed the backs of their heads.
“Pretty much like us?” Niall mumbled, confused.
“I mean, does he have black hair, or brown? Is he tall or average? What color are his eyes?” Lauren said. They looked relieved.
“Black hair!” Timo said triumphantly. “And he’s real tall, maybe the tallest out of all of us.”
“And his eyes?” The bears shuffled around.
“We don’t know,” Connor said with a laugh. “It’s a guy thing. I can tell you they’re not blue, but apart from that, I wouldn’t have a clue.” He shrugged helplessly. “Why are you asking, anyway?”
“Oh, no reason,” Lauren said. “Dina and I just need to use the little girls’ room. Could you point us in the right direction, Connor?”
Lauren dragged Dina off to a quiet spot under a tree, far from the others.
“Did you hear that?” she hissed. “He’s here! He’s looking for you! How amazing is that?” Dina looked excited and terrified all at the same time.
“What if he doesn’t like me when he sees me?”
“Please! Girl, you’ve never looked prettier, and you look better in the flesh than in your photos anyway.” Lauren put a finger on her lip. “Now, what should we do – should we wait for him to find you, or should we be a little more pro-active?”
They began to wander around the garden together, focusing their attention on any guy walking around by himself. Every guy they saw was either too blond, too short, or not stocky enough. Then, right on the opposite side of the garden from where Connor and his friends were gathered, there was a man with his back to them. He was about 40 feet away, and Dina could see that he was taller than most of the men there.
“Turn around,” she muttered under her breath. Incredibly, as she spoke, he did turn his head, as if looking for something. Dina clutched Lauren’s arm as he turned to face them.
“Oh my god, it’s him!” she hissed. There he was. Black hair, a hint of a beard, and six foot five inches of dense muscle, packed into a sexy tux.
“Are you sure?” Lauren said. “I can’t even make out his features from this far away.
“Yes. I’m sure,” she said. The man’s gaze focused in on her, and a dazzling smile broke across his rugged features. He strode across the grass, and in an instant, he was standing in front of them. His deep brown eyes locked with Dina’s, and she restrained a gasp. He was absolutely gorgeous, but it was more than that: she had the weirdest sense that they were being magnetically drawn together. He took a step closer, and held out his hand. Dazed, she stretched out her hand too, and he engulfed it in his. His whole hand was rough and callused, and she found herself wondering how it would feel running all over her body.
“I’m Logan,” he said, in a deep, rumbling voice that made her quiver from head to toe.
“Dina,” she replied, her voice an octave higher than usual.
“We met briefly online,” he said.
“I know,” she replied, with a giggle.
Idiot
. She’d planned to come across as mysterious and sexy, but she was so stunned by his good looks that she was acting like a teenager. He frowned, as if uncertain how he should phrase his next sentence.
“You’re even more beautiful than your photos. I appreciate that you think I’m not your type, which is why I couldn’t find you on the app after you received my message. But when we first made contact, I felt so strongly that we were a match. When I saw your photo, it was like a bolt of electricity was connecting your phone with mine.” He laughed, embarrassed. Then he paused, frowning adorably, before he began to speak again. “So I wanted to ask if you’d be willing to give it another chance. Maybe we could hang out today, and get to know each other a little?”
“It was a mistake – “ Dina started to say, but she was cut off by Lauren giving a little scream.
“Oh my god, I’m such a klutz!” Lauren exclaimed. Dina’s head snapped to the side, and she saw that her friend had spilled her drink down the front of her dress. “Goodness. I’d better go to the restroom and fix this,” she said, grabbing Dina by the hand and beginning to run. “I’m sorry, Logan, it was nice to meet you. We’ll catch you later!” she called over her shoulder.
“Oh no, you’ve ruined your dress,” Dina said, as they reached the restroom.
“It’ll be fine with a little water,” Lauren said. She took a paper towel from the dispenser, moistened it under the faucet, and began dabbing at the stain with a napkin. “Honey, you’ve got to make Logan work a little for you. You can’t let it come too easy. Let him woo you and seduce you. Guys need to feel like they’ve won you over somehow, and it’s important for you to feel like they’ve made an effort.” Dina gaped.
“You’ve spoiled your dress to tell me this?” Lauren looked a little embarrassed.
“Well, I could see you were steaming in there like a bull at a gate, and I had to hold you back somehow!” Dina laughed.
“But are you sure about this?”
“Trust me. Connor and I courted for a long time on the app before we ever met up, and then he took me out for some really romantic dates. The chase is half the fun of dating.”
“Ok. I’ll do what you say. You’ve never been wrong before. You’re the best, Lauren,” Dina said, and hugged her best friend tight.
Dina looked at her reflection in the mirror and applied more lip gloss and Lauren helped her primp her hair a little.
“Now go, and be romanced,” Lauren said, eyes sparkling.
Logan hadn’t moved from the spot where they’d left him, but he was holding two fresh cocktail glasses. The sight of him, waiting for her, made Dina catch her breath. This time Lauren introduced herself to him properly, shaking his hand.
“I need to go catch up with my man now, so I’ll leave you two to get acquainted,” she said, and floated off. The front of her dress was still wet, but she managed to carry it off with total elegance.
Logan turned to Dina, and she suddenly felt weak and quivery at being alone with him. He had such a strong, powerful presence, and he towered over her, which was a delicious sensation. At her height, there weren’t too many men who were capable of doing that.
“You look breathtaking,” he said. “And your dress suites you so well. You remind me of a fairy, or a woodland pixie.” Dina blushed, and bit her lip, forcing back the self-deprecating comment that was threatening to spill from her mouth.
“Thank you,” she said instead. He held out both cocktail glasses.
“I took a chance on the drinks,” he said. “This one’s a Lavender Martini, and this is a Summer Negroni. Take your pick.” Dina took the Martini from him.
“I love Martinis,” she said, smiling up at him. Her eyes lingered on his full lips and his sexy, perfectly-trimmed goatee.
“I’ve heard there’s another garden just behind this one. Would you like to go investigate it with me?” he asked.
“Sure, that sounds like fun!” They began to walk towards the rear of the garden, and Dina did feel a little like a fairy, floating along in her gauzy dress, tiny in comparison to this huge man.
At the edge of the garden, they passed through an archway, made of climbing roses entwined with vines, and they entered a second, completely different garden. A tall, manicured hedge stood directly in front of them, stretching all the way to the left and the right.
“Is this a maze?” Logan said, excitedly.
“I think it might be!” Dina said. “I used to love playing in mazes when I was a kid.”
“Which way?”
“Let’s try left,” she said, and began walking. The path was narrow, just wide enough for them to walk side by side. At the end, it twisted around to the right, and then forked. They picked the right fork.
“Is your family from Hope Valley?” Logan asked her.
“Yes. For several generations. And I’ve never wanted to live anywhere else. I just love the feeling of community, the way that everyone knows everyone. I guess I’m a typical small-town girl,” she finished, with a shrug. “How about you? I don’t think you live downtown, or we would’ve met long ago.” He laughed.
“No, I live out by the national park. There’s a few of us there.”
“The guys Connor introduced me to?”
“Yes! All the clan are together. I’ve lived near the park all my life, and my parents live on the opposite side of it now. It’s nice to have a little distance from them, but I could never be too far away.”
“Must be great to be out in nature all the time?” she said.
“It’s a necessity for me. If I lived in the city, I think I’d wither away. I need to wake up and hear bird song, and smell the forest.”
Dina glanced at him when he wasn’t looking. She loved the way that he was so connected to the earth. It was fresh, and genuine.
“Have you been on Shiftr for long?” he asked hesitantly.
“Nope, I’m a newbie,” she said. “Lauren talked me into joining after she met Connor through there.”
“That’s great,” he said. “Connor and I joined at the same time, after Tamika hunted us down and told us how great it was. He found his match pretty quickly, but I’m still looking for mine. I mean, I was, until – ” He broke off, and glanced at her. She looked up and met his gaze. The sun was shining full into his eyes, making his irises appear lighter than before, and she could make out the quick dilation of his pupil. “I know my profile isn’t very good,” he said. “It’s so hard to write about yourself. I guess I felt kind of embarrassed, and it came out really lame.”
“Oh, mine was terrible!” Dina said. “I had to have Lauren help me out with it.”
“Well, the end result was worth it,” he said. “I only got to see it for a minute, but I remember your photos, and how beautiful you looked in that red dress. And your eyes were so green and sparkly, just like they are now.” At that moment, Dina stumbled in her heels on a large stone. Logan’s hand shot out to steady her, curving around her waist.
“Are you ok?” he asked, eyes full of concern.
“I am now,” she replied, with a smile.
Afterwards, he didn’t remove his hand immediately, but let it linger on her hip. She could feel the heat from his fingers coming through the flimsy fabric of her dress, scorching her skin beneath. She also became aware of his scent – rich, spicy and outdoorsy. She didn’t think it was cologne, but his own natural smell. She inhaled deeply, letting it fill her nostrils, and it hit her like a drug, making her feel hungry and full of desire for him. She was also weirdly conscious of the sound of his breathing. It was a very subtle undertone – a low rumbling sound, kind of like a cat’s purr.
“I loved that you were into dancing and hiking,” he continued. “Two things that I really enjoy in life.”
“Yeah, I love to hike,” Dina said. “I’ve always dreamed of doing one of those famous trails, like the Appalachian.”
“Me too!” he said. “If you ever need a partner – ” he trailed off, realizing what he was saying. Dina smiled to herself. There was something delightfully awkward about him, as if he wasn’t used to dating.
“And you tutor kids too?” he said.
“Yes. I’m an elementary school teacher, and I also volunteer a couple of times a week at a local project to give vulnerable kids a little extra support. I’ve been doing it for a few years and I can see it makes a difference to these kids’ lives.”
“That’s great,” he said, eyes shining. “I really believe in supporting the younger generations too. I take on a couple of apprentices at my wood-carving business every year. They’re shifters though, of course. It would be too difficult to hide our true nature from humans, day-in day-out.”
“I’m surprised it’s been kept a secret for so long,” Dina said.
“Oh, it’s been closely guarded for generations. There are some who are nervous that the app will ruin everything. But the truth is that there are a lot of lonely shifters out there, who don’t have the skills to meet the right woman, and their species is dying out as a consequence.” He stopped walking and looked at her very seriously.
“Dina, how do you feel about me being a bear?” he asked her. At his words, a bolt of heat hit her clit, and ran deep inside her. The truth was, she was beginning to find it very sexy.
“It was something new to me, of course,” she stuttered. “But I actually really like it. I think it’s nice.” She looked up at him, into those smoldering chocolate eyes, and she couldn’t hold back. “I think it’s really hot,” she said, at last. Logan’s breathing became louder, a definite rumble, and he leaned towards her, his lips inches from hers.
He’s going to kiss me!
she thought, at the same moment that he straightened up, and began walking again.