The Bear's Mate (10 page)

****

A
heavy truck running its engine outside the window woke Charlotte. She squinted
and then opened her eyes. Damn, she hadn’t set her alarm. She’d be late for
work again. She sat up and put her legs over the side of the bed. Ouch, her
pussy was tender, but at least she knew what had caused it. She smiled
remembering Aiden. She saw a piece of folded paper on the nightstand with her
name on it. She picked it up and read it-

Charlotte thanks
for a lovely evening and the best sex I’ve ever had. Didn’t want to wake you
but I had to be at work at 7:00 a.m. hope you don’t mind me just leaving like
this. Let’s do the same thing again…soon-Aiden.

She
grinned and folded the paper back in half.
 
Yeah, it had been the best sex of her life too. She stood, feeling her
pussy throb, its inner walls chaffed and sore, but she didn’t mind one little
bit. Charlotte walked into the bathroom and turned on the light. Her skin looked
great this morning. There was a certain glow to her face. Yeah, she’d been too
long without sex, but what a comeback it had been.

****

He
should never have taken Christopher to the clinic, and they wouldn’t be in this
dilemma.

He
tapped the steering wheel as he sat in his car in the parking lot of the
hospital, wondering how he could get in there unnoticed and take the vial of
blood. On the other hand, if he hadn’t taken Christopher to the clinic he would
never have met Charlotte.
Would never have experienced a
night like they’d just shared.
He grew hard just thinking about her legs
spread before him and him sliding into her hot, wet slit. Sex with her had been
a hundred times better than with a fellow shifter. He was already scared that
he might be hooked.

Aiden
took a swig of soda and glanced at the hospital again. He had to do something
and do it fast. The only thing he could think of right now was to shift into
his bear half and run amok inside, find the lab, and cause havoc in there while
casually knocking over the vial or stealing it. Sure he knew the consequences.
Wildlife control would be called. He’d get darted, rounded up, shipped out to God
knows where, but at least he would have gotten rid of the evidence and it would
all be over.

Getting
out of the car, he closed his eyes. Sometimes keeping the bear under control was
hard, but if he just relaxed and thought about the job at hand, he could get
this over and done with as soon as possible.

****

Charlotte
sang under her breath while setting a Styrofoam cup filled with coffee and a
glazed donut on a napkin down beside Ginny.

“Wow,
someone sounds happy today,” said Ginny.

“Yeah,
I had one hell of a night with the hunky guy I told you about yesterday.”

Charlotte
hung up her raincoat.

“You
slept with him?”

Charlotte
wasn’t usually the kiss and tell type, but after last night she needed to tell
someone that she’d met Mr. Wonderful.

“Wow
and on a first date.”

“He
took me to this romantic restaurant, and we danced. And he made it feel like we’d
known one another for years. And there was just something about him I couldn’t
resist.”

“Someone
sounds like someone’s in love.”

Charlotte
swung around to face Ginny while slipping on her lab coat. “What makes you say
that?”

“You’ve
made an exception to one of your rules. When anyone does that it often means
the person they’re making the exception for is different…special. Plus, you had
a certain sparkle in your eyes when you told me.”

Charlotte
glanced in the mirror, had there been? Ginny was a smart lady, but surely she
was reading too much into this.

“So
are you going to see him again?”

Good question.

“He
left a note saying we should do it again, but you know guys, sometimes they say
that and it means diddly squat.”

The
phone ringing and Ginny taking the call interrupted their conversation.
Charlotte picked up the mail and took it towards her office.
Would he call her again?
And
if so, when?

****

He
hated it when women screamed, but he couldn’t blame them when a large bear was
roaming the corridors. He stood on his hind legs and looked as menacing as he
could so everyone would get out his way. One man fell over, so Aiden gave him
chance to get back onto his feet before he headed his way.

Lab,
lab…had to be around here someplace. He had to hurry because he was sure
someone had already alerted the wildlife guys.

Hurrying
along, he accidently knocked over a few carts that stood in the hallway. Guess
corridors weren’t built for bears. A sign for the lab shot into view. He was
close. He glanced inside and saw the place was empty. Obviously they’d heard
the commotion and the fact that a bear had strolled into the hospital.

He
pushed his way through the narrow doorway. The smell of chemicals was
overwhelming to him. He put his paw up to his nose and scanned the area. Like
trying to find a needle in a haystack because vials of blood were everywhere.

Shit,
now what did he do?

Run
amok. It’s what bears were supposed to do, right? He felt guilty that maybe
patients’ blood work was going to get messed up, but he had no other choice.

He
swiped at all the vials with his paws, the smell of blood almost burning his
nostrils.

The
things he had to do for the group.

“He’s
in the lab, you got the dart gun?”

He
recognized the voice. It was Sam who he worked with. Shit, that guy always shot
the animals right in the butt.

Aiden
gave a final swipe with his paw and turned around to see Sam and Todd, who he
also worked with standing in the door way with a gun at the ready.

“Shit,
he’s a big one. You think one shot will be enough?”

More than enough
or I’ll be out for days.

“One
should be fine. Just make sure you don’t miss because he looks as pissed as
hell.”

He
had to make this look real, so he turned and tried to run. He felt the dart hit
him, not on the shoulder where he always aimed on the animal, but right in the
butt.

“Okay
big guy, nice and easy there.”

Aiden
felt himself getting lightheaded and then he slumped to the ground.

“You
think we should put a radio collar on him?”

Shit,
no, the last one took forever to get off someone from the group.

“Yeah,
maybe we should just to see where he goes. And let’s rehome way, way out.”

Aiden
felt his eyes getting heavy. Shit, he’d have to hitch a ride back to town.

****

Charlotte
hadn’t heard from Aiden in two days. She’d tried not to think about it and
blamed herself for getting her hopes up this time around. He seemed to be
different from the guys she’d been with, but now she realized she’d set herself
up for yet another disappoint in the men department.

She
had to call his brother about coming in and getting more blood drawn because of
the incident at the lab two days ago. The hospital had even made the national
news because of the bear who’d simply strolled in there. The security cameras
had caught everything, and they’d put it on TV. She was just thankful she
hadn’t been in there at the time because he looked like a big guy who wasn’t in
the best of moods.

She
hoped that Christopher realized she was calling about the damaged blood sample
and not because she was checking up on his brother or wanting to know if he was
ever going to call her again. About to pick up the phone, she stopped and put
it back in its cradle.

Truth
was she did want to know if Aiden had any intention of seeing her again.

****

“You’ve
got to see this.”

Aiden
rubbed his head. He’d had what felt like a bad hangover for the last few days.
And his butt, well, he didn’t want to think about it because it was even too
sore for him to sit for longer than a few minutes.

“Are
you coming to see this or not?” called Christopher.

His
baby brother found the whole thing very amusing, and if he was watching another
TV show with footage of him being darted, he was going to put his foot through
the screen.

As
he walked into the living room, Christopher had his laptop open.

“Someone’s
loaded the whole thing onto YouTube.”

Oh
great.
Just what I need.

“He
got you dead center in the ass.”

Aiden
was about to sit down but then remembered he needed a cushion under his butt.
The radio collar had taken hours for them to get off, and they’d left him way
out near Whitefish.

“At
least we don’t have to worry about the blood anymore, but we’ll always have
this video as a reminder,” said Christopher.

“If
you ever get into trouble like that again, you’re on your own.”

He
rested his head back. He so wanted to see Charlotte again, but he was scared
to. He’d felt something for her the other night, and for him it wasn’t just
because they’d had great sex. He felt connected with someone. Something he
hadn’t felt since his parents had died. He sensed she’d be good for him but
what was the point of getting involved? She’d have to find out the truth one
day, and by then he could be deeply involved with her. If she couldn’t deal
with what he was, then she’d walk away, and he’d be a lonely bear shifter all
over again.

The
phone ringing jarred him out of that thought. Christopher picked it up on the
fourth ring.

“Hi Dr. Delaney.”

Aiden’s
heart beat faster just hearing him mention her name. He pricked up his ears,
now he could even hear her voice over the line, and it made the blood pulse
through his veins. He wanted her. He had no reason to get her into bed this
time around, but that didn’t matter. He wanted to be with her, to take her out,
kiss her, and most of all,
make
love to her.

****

Charlotte
wasn’t making much progress with convincing Christopher that he needed to come
into the clinic so she could draw another vial of blood. He’d side-stepped the
issue and finally he’d handed the phone over to Aiden.

“Charlotte.”

Just
hearing him say her name made her legs go weak and every inch of skin tingle.

“How
are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m
good.
How about you?”

“Really good.”

“I
don’t know if you saw the news, but the strangest thing happened. A bear got
into the hospital lab and ran amok smashing and knocking over the vials.
Christopher’s blood sample was one of them. I called to see if he could come
back in for another sample to be drawn.”

“Yes,
it was my wildlife department that picked up the bear. They’re getting closer
and closer to towns and cities now. First time I’ve heard of one in a hospital
though.”

“Your
brother doesn’t seem to think he needs a blood test, but I think it would be
smart seeing how he had a human bite.”

“It
makes sense, but he’s fine, really he is. The bite and knife wound are healed,
and if I thought he was in any danger I’d drag him to you for that test.”

Charlotte
believed he would do just that. “Okay, I’ll let it go for now, but if he does
show any strange symptoms you know I’m here for him.”

And for you too.

“I
promise you I’ll keep my eye on him.”

She
didn’t have any reason to keep him on the phone, damn it.

“Charlotte.”

“Yes.”

“Would
you like to out to dinner again?”

She
pumped the air with her fist. He did really want to see her again.

“I’d
love to, but I have to go and see my dad. Then I was going to get a take-out
and watch a movie. Either of those things
appeal
to
you?”

“They
sound perfect. How about I buy the take-out, you select the
movie,
and I’ll meet you at your place?”

“How
would you like to come and meet my father…I mean I don’t want you to think I’m
asking you to do and because of the other night and I think that we’re a…”

Oh
God, what had she just said? What had she just implied? Guys didn’t like
clingy. That had been super clingy.

“Forget
that I said that, and I’ll just meet you at my place around seven.”

“I
didn’t think you were implying anything and yes, I’d love to meet your dad.”

“Great,
shall we say about 5:30 p.m. at the clinic? That is if guys and their brothers
don’t drop by.”

He
laughed. “I’ll stop by early and make sure I lock the door.”