Authors: Ariana Hawkes
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
“No, don’t be – ” she said awkwardly. Falling a step behind him, she shook her head.
Damnit. He still thinks I don’t like him
. She gazed at his muscular back, his black jacket straining over his powerful shoulders. But nothing could be further from the truth.
As they’d been walking, the turns in the line of hedge had become more frequent, and they’d picked the directions subconsciously, lost in their conversation. They were now deep in the maze, and the tall, dark green hedges seemed to be crowding in on them. Dina might have felt uneasy if she’d been alone, but Logan made her feel safe, somehow, even though he was still a stranger to her. Another turn brought them to a small open area. There was a bench, with a canopy of vines arching above it, and in front was a tiny rose garden, and an ornate fountain, tinkling softly. They peered into the water. It was full of orange and white koi carp.
“I think we’ve found the center!” Logan said. It was a lovely spot. The red, pink and white roses were beautiful, and, as they walked closer, Dina could see that the vines were passionflowers – her favorites.
“This was so worth the walk,” she said.
“Shall we take a rest here? It’s nice to be in the shade for a while,” he said.
“Sure.” She sat down on the bench and took a sip from her drink. She’d been so caught up in Logan’s presence that she’d forgotten to drink it. It had lost its chill by now, but the alcohol made her pleasantly lightheaded. Logan sat down too, leaving a small space between them. The scent of the passionflowers was intoxicating, but the smell of him was much stronger. It was a masculine, deeply exciting scent, and she longed to be close to him, smelling his neck, wrapped in his strong arms.
“I’m not surprised you rejected my profile, Dina. It was pretty poor. But I’m so, so glad that you’ve given me another chance to get to know you today,” he said. Dina looked into his eyes, feeling giddy, almost hypnotized by the intensity of his gaze, and the nearness of his firm, full lips. She couldn’t conceal the truth from him any longer.
“It was an accident,” she said. “My clumsy thumb swiped in the wrong direction. I was trying to look at your bear photo again, but instead I deleted you from my list altogether.” He broke into a grin, his straight, white teeth dazzling.
“Really?”
“Yes. Unfortunately I am that much of a doofus,” she said, her cheeks warming.
“So the message I sent you didn’t put you off? I was so happy when you said you wanted to find out if we were a match. Then, when you deleted me right after you saw my message, I was worried I’d come on too strong.”
“Not at all,” she said. “I thought it was beautiful. And I came here today because I was hoping I’d find you here.”
He gave a deep rumble. Dina jumped.
“What was that?” she exclaimed.
“It was my bear,” he said. “It’s a sound of happiness.”
“It does that every time you’re happy?”
“Yes.” he shrugged. “It’s an instinctive reaction. Actually, I want to show you my bear now.”
“You mean you’re going to shift into a bear right here?” Dina said, caught between horror and fascination. Logan laughed and pulled his phone from his breast pocket.
“No, I was just planning on showing you the photo that you were looking for. If you still want to see it?”
“Of course!” Dina said. She watched as he opened the app, and located his profile. The screen filled with the photo of him that had initially drawn her to him so strongly. He swiped left, and a large bear filled the screen instead. She took the phone from him and looked closely at the photo. The bear was huge, with glossy black fur, dangerous-looking black claws, a long, blunt muzzle, and deep brown eyes. It was standing on its rear legs, its front legs up against a fir tree.
“He’s beautiful,” she said, knowing instinctively that Logan would appreciate a compliment on his bear side.
“One day you’ll see me as a bear, if you’d like?” he said.
“I really would,” she said, her voice a shade above a whisper. Unconsciously, they’d moved closer together to look at the photo, and his knee was now brushing against her thigh. He leaned towards her, hesitantly. She met his eyes, seeing that his pupils were dilated, and reached out and touched his chin. He edged still closer, and, as his face went out of focus, she closed her eyes and their lips met. His lips were impossibly soft, gliding on hers. She felt the warmth of his breath, and the softness of the stubble on his chin. He drew back, as if assessing her reaction, before planting another kiss on her lips, and then another. They were sweet, soft kisses that made her impatient for more. She made a small sound, and her lips parted under his. He began to kiss her more confidently, his lips caressing hers, sensitively, exquisitely. A spark of desire was ignited deep inside her, and when she felt the flickering touch of his tongue, the spark grew into an intense warmth, suffusing her body. She hadn’t been kissed for so long that she’d almost forgotten what it felt like. In fact, she’d never had a kiss like this before. His lips were so soft and tender, making her dizzy with pleasure, and the touch of his tongue was velvety and exciting, as it danced into her mouth and seeking out hers. Logan’s arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer to him, and she responded by clasping hers around his neck. From time to time, his stubble brushed her cheek, and she found herself wondering how it would feel brushing her tender inner thighs. His hand moved into her hair, his fingers getting caught up in the strands, measuring its weight.
“God, Dina, you feel so incredible,” he muttered, drawing away from her for a second. She rested her hands on his shoulders.
“No, you do, Logan,” she replied, and she pulled him into another deep kiss. She’d had no idea that kissing could be so arousing. She was aware of her nipples, hard and aching beneath her lacy bra, and the growing ache between her thighs. She sensed that a part of her, which had been sleeping for too long, was finally waking up. She longed for him to touch her all over, wanted to feel those big rough hands caressing every part of her body. He was being the perfect gentleman though. While his kisses were becoming more and more intense, his tongue probing her mouth more and more urgently, his hands stayed on her waist, or her jaw, or her shoulders. When, at last, his hand moved down and touched her thigh, her flesh was so sensitized and eager for his touch that she jumped at the contact.
“Sorry,” he muttered. “I think I was getting a little carried away.” He looked around guiltily, as if worried that they were being watched. But they were still alone. “I feel like we’ve been kissing for hours. I’ve been so lost in you.” She felt around in her purse and pulled her phone out.
“Well, it’s almost six already, so that’s definitely a possibility,” she said with a grin. He cupped her face in his hands.
“I don’t ever want to stop kissing you,” he said, and fell on her lips again. She sensed the passion and hunger coiled tightly inside him, and was amazed that he managed to hold it in.
Suddenly, Dina’s tummy rumbled, and they both laughed.
“God, I’m such a stupid bear. I’ve been keeping you out here all day without anything to eat or drink. Let’s go and get some food,” he said, getting to his feet and holding out his hand to her. Dina stood up, her hand naturally sliding into his. She
was
pretty hungry, now she came to think of it.
“Which way is it?” she said, aware that she had no idea of the turnings they’d taken to arrive in their secret spot.
“It’s this way,” Logan said, and walked confidently to the left. They passed through the maze quickly, never taking a wrong turning.
“But – how can you know this?” she said.
“I just followed our scent from earlier.”
“That’s amazing,” she said. He shrugged.
“Just one of the advantages of being half-bear,” he said. They held hands the whole way, and Dina tingled with happiness. She loved feeling so small and protected by him.
They returned to the main garden just as the sun was setting. The sky was brilliant shades of yellow, salmon pink and orange. Little white lanterns at the edge of the lawn were flickering into life, and the scent of night flowers filtered into the air. As they strode across the lawn to the buffet table, many eyes turned in their direction. Dina felt self-conscious, but in a nice way, as if everyone was looking to see who was walking with this big, sexy man.
The buffet was the most delicious-looking that she’d ever seen. There was seafood – lobster, oysters, shrimp and mussels, sliders with all kinds of fillings, huge trays of roast meats, chicken wings, cold cuts, cheese, and trays of fries and onion rings. At the side was a chef cooking steaks fresh on a barbecue, and you could choose any cut you wanted. While Logan lined up to have a steak cooked, Dina picked up a couple of sliders and a handful of fries. She was salivating at all the food, but she didn’t want to seem unladylike by loading her plate up.
Logan came back with a giant t-bone steak, so big that it was overhanging the edges of the plate. He frowned at her plate in confusion.
“What’s wrong? You were really hungry,” he said. Dina stammered something vague.
“Ah, I get it, it’s difficult to manage while you’re holding your purse. Here.” He passed his plate to Dina to hold. “You want some roast beef? Chicken wings?” As she nodded at this and that, he filled her plate up until it was as overloaded as his own. “That’s better,” he said in satisfaction. They looked around at the tables. “Do you want to go find Lauren?” Dina squinted. She could just make out her friend’s pink dress in the distance.
“No, I think she’s good hanging out with Connor,” she said.
“I was hoping you’d say that,” he said, looking at her with intensity. “I wanted to spend some more time with you alone.”
They located a table for two, in a secluded spot at the edge of the garden. Now that it was almost dark, the sky deep navy, with a crescent moon showing, other lanterns came to life, and their little table was lit in a soft orange glow. There were tea lights on the table, and as soon as they sat down, a waiter appeared with a tray of champagne glasses. They took one each. When the waiter had walked away, Logan raised his glass.
“Here’s to us meeting today, despite the obstacles that fell in our way,” he said. Dina grinned and they clinked glasses. As she sipped the delicious cold champagne, she felt like she was in a dream. Things like this didn’t happen to a girl like her.
Seeing how enthusiastically Logan dove into his food, Dina didn’t hold back. It was so liberating being able to enjoy her food like this with a man. Her ex-boyfriend had always been picking at her, telling her what she should eat, making little digs about her weight. She’d come to terms with being a big girl. She knew she’d always be curvy, and she kept herself fit and healthy by hiking. But there was always that little voice niggling away, saying men wouldn’t like her unless she starved herself.
Logan cut a hunk of his steak off and deposited it on her plate.
“You’ve gotta try this,” he said. “It’s almost as good as the meat the guys and I cook when we have our barbecues at home.”
“Oh, I love barbecues,” she said.
“It’s a real bear thing. There’s nothing our clan like to do more than hang out at one of our cabins with a fire going, plenty of beer, and barbecued meat – most of which we’ve caught ourselves.” Dina glanced at him sideways. She was still getting used to the idea that he would do things like hunt his own food.
“That sounds really cool,” she said.
“It is. And you’re top of the invite list for our next one,” he said with a grin.
They finished eating, and she delicately dabbed her lips with a napkin. Logan looked at her, the flame from the tea lights reflecting in his eyes, making his features seem softer than before.
“I hope this isn’t an intrusive question,” he said. “But I’ve been wondering all night how someone as lovely and beautiful as yourself could be single.”
“Oh.” She looked down, and fiddled with the stem of her champagne glass.
“I’ve overstepped the mark, haven’t I? I’m such a clumsy bear sometimes.” He laid his hand on hers, his eyes full of concern.
“No, it’s not that. It’s a really sweet compliment. The truth is, I’ve been single for a while. I had a long-term boyfriend, but he didn’t treat me so well. And when he left me, it knocked my confidence a lot, so I haven’t been ready for dating.” Dina didn’t know why she was telling him this, but something about him convinced her that he wouldn’t judge her negatively. Logan’s expression clouded over.
“I’d like to meet this guy who thought it was ok to mistreat you,” he said, clenching his fist. “He’d be very sorry by the time I was done with him, I can tell you that.”
“Hey, it’s ok. It’s far in the past,” she said, anxious to pacify him. He caught sight of her expression.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “We bears come on a little strong sometimes. “It’s our protective nature.”
“It’s ok, I like it,” she said, entwining her fingers with his.
“I feel like I always want to be there to protect you, Dina,” he said. “I can see that you’re a strong, independent woman, but I’d love to be able to take care of you too.” Dina gazed at him wordlessly. They’d only met today, but he seemed to be talking about
forever
. With an average guy, that would be a sign to run away very quickly, but Lauren had said that shifters mate for life. And she felt the same. As little as she knew him, this rough-tender man already seemed to be part of her destiny.