Hansel's Bear (Erotic Shifter Fairy Tale) (10 page)

With a forceful shaking of her head,
she continued, “I do! Because I should have smelled them, should
have heard them. There were three of them. Men, dirty, stinky,
lumbering men. The truck they tossed me into the back of wasn’t
even hidden. Evidently they had just laid the trap and were about
to leave when I happened upon it. Like an idiot.”

Unable to stay away from her, he moved
and lowered himself beside her chair then rested a hand on her
knee. “You were a cub, innocent and free. You had every right to
feel safe in your world. Those men were schemers, corrupt.” Even
talking about the men he hunted filled his mouth with a sour
taste.

“
I was so scared. I didn’t
know if I was going to die or ever see my family again.”

“
I know.” He did know. He
knew that unmitigated fear that set in so deep into the core when
one was found in the grips of pure evil as those men
were.

One of her hands covered his as the
other cupped his cheek. Soft warmth greeted him like a
caress.

“
Then, there you were.”
Her luminous gaze rested on his.

“
There I was.” There he
had been for too long.

“
You saved me in so many
ways, Hansel.” She softly whispered his name.

He turned his face into her palm and
inhaled deeply. Her touch and scent were a comfort to his soul. “I
was the one saved.” He murmured against her skin. “You renewed my
fight.” Reaching up, he brushed his fingers over the back of her
hand as he met her eyes. “I refused to allow the events that I went
through to happen to you. You were too precious to me from the
first moment I saw you.”

“
When they tossed me in
the cage.”

“
You shifted and my heart
stopped. You were my kind, something I’d given up ever seeing
again.” His words sounded husky to his own ears.

“
You healed me.” Her
fingers slid into his hair.

Staring at her, he wondered what it
was about this female that made him feel and act outside of
himself. It had been the same from the first moment he saw her
bleeding in that cage.

Reaching down he encircled her left
foot with his hand and raised it. Glancing down, he saw the
puckered and thick skin around her ankle that made up the scar from
the vicious teeth of the metal trap. His heart ached even now
seeing it. If it had gone any deeper it would have severed her bone
and possibly taken her foot. Bringing it to his mouth he placed his
lips there, kissing her foot first then gliding his tongue over the
markings as he’d done so many years ago. Some nights it felt as if
an eternity had passed since Greta had run out of his life, others
she seemed like a fantasy he’d conjured up to get through the worst
days of his entrapment.

She gasped and her toes curled into
his palm as he continued his worship of her ankle, thanking the
Great Spirit she was safe.

“
Hansel.” Her hands in his
hair slipped around until she cupped his chin and raised his
head.

He glanced up at her.

“
I’m fine. I’m o-kay.” Her
voice broke and there were fresh tears shining in her ebony,
golden-flaked eyes.

He rose to his knees as he trailed his
free hand up the side of her thigh until he cupped her
hip.

Gold began to saturate her eyes,
leaving very little onxy remaining. Leaning in closer, he
whispered, “I needed to know that for sure. Needed to touch you and
know you were not only okay, but that you were real. Not a figment
of my imagination, Blackberry.”

“
No more than you were
mine.”

Groaning, he pressed his lips to hers.
Unable to resist tasting her. His tongue entered the warm recesses
of her mouth and tasted the bitter bite of the coffee, the sweet
hint of honey, the acidic bite of wine and the delectable flavor
he’d yearned for all of his life—Greta.

She gave him passion for passion. No
shyness. Fisting his hair, she sucked his tongue into her mouth
drawing him deeper inside of her.

His bear growled.
Mine. Mine. Mine.

Hansel agreed as the pressing need to
claim her drove him. He was unsure how his life had been sustained
over the years without her in it—he’d been half a
person.

As he pulled his mouth away, he
panted. He opened his lids and assessed her wondrous beauty in the
hue of his mating need. Everything was painted with a golden
brush.

“
Greta…I didn’t come here
to make love to you…but I want you.” Squeezing the full softness of
her hip still in his hand, he continued, “However, if this is not
something you desire then tell me. It would rip me apart but I will
let you walk out the door and ensure you get back
home…unravished.”

Both of her hands were in his hair now
and she used them to drag her nails along his scalp.

He shivered at the scratching sound
and feel. The sensation made his mind think of other places he’d
enjoy her nails playing along his skin. His cock for one. The hard
member twitched in agreement.

“
Blackberry.” It was the
only warning she was going to get. If she continued to caress him,
he’d make the decision for her.

“
Yes, I want this…I want
you.”

Moving her leg to the side, he settled
between her parted thighs, his bear and male senses picked up on
the musky spice of her need. He leaned in to capture her lips
again.

“
Wait!” She placed a
trembling hand on his chest, keeping a small distance between
them.

His brow tightened. “What is
it?”

Licking her lips, her gaze skittered
away from his for a moment. She took a breath that caused her chest
to rise high. When her large almond-shaped eyes met his, he noted
they were wider, as if she were hesitant or unsure about
something.

“
What?” He prompted
her.

“
I’m flying blind here.”
Her bottom lip rolled into her mouth.

He moved back. “Look, Greta, I would
love to make you promises of forever. But, my life has a lot of
questions over it and I still have unfinished business to take care
of.” He didn’t want to hurt her but if she was looking for the
Were-bear that would build a life with her in Den County he wasn’t
the one.

She shook her head. “I’m not looking
for poetry and promises, Hansel. I’m barely figuring out the
direction of my own life. I’ve never been with anyone before, but I
want this night to end with me in your arms.”

The air in the room was sucked out.
Every function in his body ceased and his mind went blank. Then in
a blink everything started up again and clarity struck him. Greta,
this beautiful, vivacious were-female was a virgin. And she was
offering her innocence to him. He was the one quaking now. Did he
want to take this responsibility?

In the Were community sex didn’t hold
any importance unless marking was exchanged. Other than that, it
was just two Weres satisfying physical need.

If I do this, I can’t bite
her.

“
Why me?”

Shrugging, she met his gaze squarely.
“I don’t know. I’ve never felt the heat of passion or even had my
eyes show a twinge of gold for any other male. Maybe because until
tonight I never stepped very far outside of my safety zone.
However, you make me want to be free, dangerous, wild...even if for
just one night.” A single shoulder lifted and lowered. “So, why not
you?”

He chuckled. “You have a way with
words, Blackberry.”

When her lips curled up in a smile,
his world felt in line.

“
Are you in, or would you
like for me to tuck you in bed before I head back to my truck?”
There was a twinkle of humor in her eyes.

“
Oh, I’m game. When I get
tucked in, you’ll be in a tangle of sheets beside me.”

She laughed. “Okay. Give me one
moment, I need to do something first.” Pushing him back she rose
and walked to the corner of the cabin.

Enjoying the sway of her lush hips
beneath his shirt, he waited to see what she was doing.

She sat down in the single wooden
chair beside a radio.

Earlier when he’d checked out the
cabin he’d seen the CB but had not paid it much attention. Now, it
and the woman before it fascinated him.

After punching in a number, for some
station, she cupped the receiver and raised it to her mouth. There
was a sound of static then it cleared. “This is Greta to Manni
Armel.”

She repeated it once more before a
male voice came through.

“
Greta, sweetheart? You
still out at the lake?”

Hansel recognized the male’s voice as
the Were that had brought Greta into town and confronted him at the
park with the group of men.

“
Hi, papa-bear. No, I’m
not at the lake anymore.” She glanced at him. “I’m hanging out with
a friend. I didn’t want you and mama to worry.”

“
Ah, thanks. It was
getting awful late and we were concerned.”

“
I’m alright. No need for
you to wait up.”

There was a pause. “Are you sure? With
that rogue about to—”

“
We won’t, Greta. Be
safe.” A female voice came through the speaker.

He watched her bite into her lip as
she restrained her laughter. “Thanks, mama-bear, I
will.”

Clearing the connection, she
reattached the mouthpiece to the radio then stared at him. “Usually
my mother is the worry wart. Strange that she seemed okay with me
being out late.”

“
I’m sure they are
extremely protective of you since you were taken.”

She looked down at her hands in her
lap. “Yes. That’s something I needed for a long time.”

“
But not tonight?” He
wanted to steer the conversation back to what was happening between
them, not the horrific events of their past.

Her chin rose and the heat of her
stare heated his blood from across the room. “No, not
tonight.”

After a sharp nod of understanding, he
patted the chair cushion. “I believe we left off right
here.”

Smiling, she stood and took the steps
across the glossy wood floor. “I think you are correct.” She
claimed her seat. “So, what were we about to do?”

“
I’m better at showing
than telling.” Wedging himself between her thighs he pulled her to
him and kissed her.

The kiss went on long as he held her
close and they feasted on each other’s mouth. They made love to one
another orally, licking and sucking, nibbling and thrusting in and
out of her lips.

Eventually he parted from her and
pressed his forehead along hers as he took in large gulps of
air.

She whimpered.

His body was on fire. With human
women, he’d lusted after them but quickly his desire for them was
doused. However, even at his peak of need, he’d never felt so
bounded and connected to another the way he yearned for this
were-female. Maybe because she was his kind. Maybe because of their
history…he wasn’t sure. All he knew was the feelings were scary but
they were too thrilling and invigorating for him to
stop.

“
Are you okay, Hansel?”
Her soft palm caressed the side of his face.

He chuckled. “Not sure.”

“
You want to
stop?”

“
Not on my life.” He
kissed her lips then her chin and down to the side of her neck. As
his lips moved lower, he unbuttoned the shirt that hid her body
from his view. He yearned to see her womanly curves beneath.
Licking from her collarbone to the valley between her breasts. He
drew that tight skin into his mouth.

“
Hmm.”

Smiling at her moan, he released the
last button and parted the shirt until it fell at her sides.
Awestruck by the sight of her gorgeous voluptuous body he just
kneeled before her for a moment and took it all in.

“
You are lovely.” He
brushed his knuckles lightly over her skin. It was dark and
beautiful, and as soft and inviting as silk. The heat of her warmth
greeted him as he caressed every valley and curve.

She started to sit up.

He pressed a hand to her belly. “Where
are you going?”

“
Nowhere.” She laughed. “I
was just going to take the shirt all the way off.”

“
Don’t. Leave it.” When
the days and nights became long for him on the road, he wanted to
remember the sight of her in his shirt. He’d never wash it again,
so that he would be able to physically carry her scent with
him.

“
Okay.” She relaxed back
into position again.

As he took in the view of her nipples,
he realized how appropriate the nickname he’d given her was. The
tips of her breasts in their blackberry hue complimented the rich
mahogany of her complexion. Blackberries had always been his
favorite treat when he was a child. When he’d finally escaped
captivity it had been the first thing he’d sought to eat. Now, he
felt as if he’d been starved of his pleasure once again.

“
You’re very handsome
yourself.” Her thumb brushed his bottom lip.