Doctor Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Bluff Book 2) (7 page)

“Ben, don’t!”

“Why not? It’s true.”

“Because it’s too soon.”

“Not for me,” he said, and when he pulled back and looked into her eyes, she knew what he was saying was true. Or at least he
believed
it was true; Beth, on the other hand, could only hope. “Come with me. Let me show you. Prove it to you.”

“How?” she asked, uncertain, but filled with hope by his excitement.

He held out his hand. “No more explanations until we are on the mountain.”

“The mountain? Why are we going up there?”

“No more questions,” he repeated, kissing the back of her hand and leading her to his car.

She followed him, allowing him to open the car door for her and getting in. She figured she had nothing to lose. But there was no way he could prove to her that his feelings, or his words, were true. These things had to be earned, over time. And they had known each other one day.

He got in beside her and started his engine. He pulled out onto the quiet street and made his way to the outskirts of town before turning off onto a single-track road that wound its way up into the mountains. She had never been any further than the gentle slopes surrounding Bear Bluff. That was high enough. Bear Bluff was situated about a quarter of the way up one of the steep mountains; it was where the name came from. The Bluff was a steep cliff that towered in the distance, as if watching over the little town.

Now they were going above that, Ben’s car easily coping with the sharp inclines as they made their way ever higher. Beth was glad she didn’t have a problem with heights, especially when he stopped the car at the end of the road, where there was a wide parking area. When they got out of the car, the mountain air was definitely thinner, telling her just how high they were.

“Why are we up here?” Beth asked.

“Like I said, I have something to show you.”

“That you couldn’t show me in town?”

“No.” He took her hand and led her along a track, in amongst some trees that clung to the mountainside. It wasn’t an easy place to walk, but he kept hold of her hand and managed to keep her upright when she slipped. “Not much further.”

She followed him, but part of her was regretting coming here with him. If she took away the part about him being a doctor and a fine, upstanding citizen of Bear Bluff, then this might seem a little odd behaviour for a man. Taking a woman he hardly knew halfway up a mountain to show her why she could believe he was her perfect, loyal partner?

“Ben. How much further?” she asked at last, about ready to turn around and insist he take her back to the car.

“Not much. It gets easier in a moment, just wait.” He turned to her and smiled that enigmatic smile that made her heart skip a beat. And then he stopped, letting her take in the breath-taking view. “Here.”

They were high above the town, looking down on it with a bird’s-eye view. Off into the distance you could see Bear Creek to the left, and way over to the right she could just make out Wolf Valley. Surrounding it all was forests, high meadows, and lush fields the size of postage stamps from up here.

“Wow. That is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Impressive, isn’t it? But what if I told you I could show you something more amazing and more impressive.”

With some reservation she said, “Show me.” Because that was what she had come up this mountain for. He had told her he would prove himself to her, and she wanted to know how.

An excited nervousness passed across his face. For a second she thought that he wasn’t going to show her, either because he couldn’t or he had changed his mind. Eventually though, he simply said, “Whatever happens, will you please stay where you are? Don’t run.”

“Why would I run, Ben?” Her nervousness kicked up a notch. What the hell was he going to show her?

“I am going to change.”

She looked around, but he had brought nothing with him. Not even a bag containing clothes that he could change into. “Is this a magic trick? Are you going to change what you are wearing as if by magic?”

“No. Not my clothes. My body.”

“Ben, this is starting to creep me out.”

“Then just watch. And remember that I love you and I will not hurt you.”

Before she could say another word, before she could tell him she had changed her mind and wanted to go home, he had walked a little way away from her. There he stood and faced her, smiling that smile of his once more, trying to put her at her ease. Which at this point was impossible.

But she had to stay and see what he was going to do. Because she had the feeling it would make or break their relationship. She prayed it would not break it. She wanted to be with him, and images of his hands and mouth on her body made their way into her head. Her fear and excitement mingled with her arousal now. Beth felt mixed up, almost perverted in some way.

Then Ben changed. Her head snapped back to attention, In front of her, Ben began to shimmer, the hard edges of his outline fading from sight, the air charged with electricity, which sparked through the air. Beth stood still. So still, it was as though she was frozen in time, while all around her the world moved. Yet she could only focus on the thing in front of her as it faded from this world, and then something different came back. Something big and broad, low to the ground, and covered in brown fur.
A bear
.

She staggered back, her foot catching on a tree root, making her fall on her butt. She yelped in pain, and the bear reacted, taking two quick steps towards her. At this angle, he looked fierce and aggressive. Opening her mouth, she was about to let out a long, piercing scream, when she caught his eyes, Ben’s gorgeous blue eyes, looking at her with concern.

Her addled brain processed this information: bears don’t have blue eyes. That’s right, she had never seen a bear with blue eyes; it was impossible. This could only mean one thing. Ben really had changed into a bear.

Maybe there, her consciousness should have left her, but she clung to it. She trusted Ben; deep down she knew it was him. It had to be, because they were the only people here and there was no way he could have done that with special effects so high up on the mountain.

Reaching out her hand, she beckoned to him to come closer. Despite her head telling her she was crazy, she had to know for sure if this bear was real, tangible. And when her fingers threaded their way through his fur, she knew that he was.

It was then that she had trouble stopping herself from seeing stars.

A low rumble in the bear’s chest made its anguish clear; his mate had fainted at the sight of him. He thought she was ready, that she would understand, but he had been too eager to share this world with her. His world. Now he had put their future in jeopardy.

Instantly shifting back to his human form, he went to her and placed his arm under her head, lifting her up to rest on his chest. Her breathing was normal; her heartbeat strong in his ears. She would be OK, but he had to get her down off the mountain. He did not want her to get too cold out here; it was best if she were tucked up in bed. His bed.

With his strong arms cradling her against him, he lifted her and took her to his car. This was not the moment to think of taking her to bed. He needed to give her time to come around to the idea of him as a bear. Yet he had thought that tonight, they would have made love for the first time. That she would have been under him and he would be buried inside her. He had hoped…

Placing her down gently, he kissed her forehead, breathing in the scent of her, part of him worried this would be the last time he would be able to touch her, caress her. If she rejected him, she could quite easily leave town. Go back to this doctor of hers, the one she had run away from.

His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly. That was never going to happen, she was his, and he would never let her go to another man. These thoughts swam about in his head, and he realised what her presence was doing to him. He was becoming something he had never been before; he was becoming selfish and greedy where she was concerned. The man he was before might disappear to be replaced by something else if he wasn’t careful. Yet his bear didn’t care. She was his, and he was never going to give her up. Especially not to a man who had hurt her so badly.

Ben drove carefully back down the mountainside, trying to regain his composure. Furtive glances over to Beth told him she was OK, yet still not awake. Or was she pretending to sleep so that she didn’t have to face the monstrosity she thought he was?

The doctor had never been insecure before. His good looks and personality had always ensured people liked and respected him. Could it be that the one person he needed to like him would shun him? And what if she talked to his patients and told them what he was? He would be ruined, Bear Bluff would be ruined, and their secret would be out.

All these emotions passed through him: fear, rejection, and sadness. And then he stopped himself. They were meant to be together, the fates had decided. He had to believe she was his for a reason, in the same way that he was hers for a reason. When he looked at her and saw her beautiful, round face, he knew why she had come to him. All the hurt from this other doctor was his to heal. That is what he did, what he had done all of his life.

It might take time, but he would heal her broken heart, and heal her fear of him. His patience and selflessness returned. As he got out of the car, he knew things would work out. They had to.

Lifting her out of the car, he took her into his home, opening the front door and carrying her over the threshold. One day he would do this when they were married. And they
would
be married. He could never give up on that dream.

“What happened?” she asked, seeing his concerned face watching over her.

“You don’t remember?”

She lay still for a moment, trying to conjure up the image that just danced out of reach. What had happened? “The bear.”

He nodded, his frown deepening across his handsome face. “The bear.”

“Hey, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to react like that. It was just … well, a surprise.” She reached up and stroked his cheek, and he turned his face to look at her, his lips pressing against her hand, sending shivers down her spine.

“That’s it? A surprise?”

“What do you want me to say? A shock—overwhelming, unbelievable. There are no words to describe it.” She thought for a moment, going over the image of him changing before her eyes. “How?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. With all the medical knowledge in my head, I still don’t know
how
. It just
is
. I was born with the gift.”

“There are more like you?”

He nodded. “We don’t tell everyone. But you are my mate, Beth. I couldn’t have made love to you without you knowing. It wouldn’t be right. Now I’m afraid I’ve lost you.”

She sat very still, examining her feelings. “No. I think it will take a long time for it to sink in. But … well, strange things happen.”

“It’s why I can promise you that I will never leave you. There will never be anyone else for me.”

“Because you are a bear?”

“Because a part of this gift is that once we find our true mates, then we stay with them forever.” He lifted her hand and kissed it reverently. “And you are my true mate, Beth.”

“That sounds almost as fanciful as you turning into a bear.”

“It’s all true. I have waited a long time for you. And I will never betray you. You are the most important person in my life.”

“So what happens now?” she asked.

“One of two things? Or both, I hope.”

“Go on.” She swallowed her desire; she sure hoped one of them was him making love to her right there and then.

“I propose and then I claim you.”

“Claim me?”

“Yes. I want to come inside you, Beth. I want to feel you around me. You know what I mean.”

“Yes,” she said, her voice hoarse.

He leaned down and kissed her, his mouth firm on hers. Ben was showing her exactly who he was, the master of her body. And when his hands touched her breasts, massaging them together, her nipples hardened and she knew that she would do whatever he wanted as long as it always felt this good.

Picking her up once more, he carried her upstairs to his bedroom, placing her on his large bed. Then she watched as he stripped his clothes off, his thick cock proud and erect as his pants dropped to the floor. This was it. He was going to make love to her. First, he was going to remove her clothes. Slowly.

He knelt on the bed next to her; she couldn’t keep her hands off his wonderfully smooth skin. She traced the contours of his body while he undid the buttons on her shirt. One at a time, kissing her soft skin as it was revealed to him. Her flesh seemed to glow under his touch, a heat threading through her nerve endings, until she felt as if she had been plunged into fire.

Once her shirt was discarded, he unclasped her bra, her breasts free to be tortured by his hands and his mouth. Sucking one nipple into his mouth, he rolled his tongue over it. She gasped, shockwaves hitting her. Ben moved to the other one, licking it with the flat of his tongue before circling it, making the taut bud overly sensitive, while between her thighs an inferno raged, and only he could tame it and control it.

His cock butted against her thigh, and she figured it was time she became acquainted with the many parts of Ben that were a mystery to her. Enclosing it with her hand, she moved up and down. He stiffened, his cock becoming harder in her hand. In response, his mouth became rougher on her breasts, while his hand slipped down her body to lift her skirt, his fingers pushing into her hungry sex.

Sliding up and down along his length, she experimented with how rough he liked to be handled. His reactions fascinated her. She squeezed and released him, then moved her hand to the head of his cock, making him groan in need. The first drop of his precome appeared and she wanted to taste him, just as he had tasted her yesterday. But she wasn’t brave enough.

Then he broke away from her. She looked up, searching his face to understand why. But when he turned her over and unzipped her skirt, she knew it was because he wanted her naked against him, and she couldn’t wait.