Healing the Bear (12 page)

She’d
guessed he was referring to Trent but didn’t want to pry into what went on
between them.

Before
she could ask him if he wanted to come in for a drink and those chocolate chip
cookies, he’d leaned over and kissed her, his hand going down inside her dress
and quickly covering her breast. Her nipple had hardened and her pussy
throbbed. When he’d gotten out of the car, he pulled her out, lifted her up and,
yes, carried her over his shoulder, and slapped her ass before putting her down
in the kitchen, she guessed the answer was yes.

One
thing that had always turned her on was a guy who knew what he wanted. He joked
about it being a full moon and him feeling extra horny.

“Turn
around, pretty lady,” he whispered in her ear.

She
slowly faced the window in the kitchen and Dane’s hands moved around her body
and untied the bow on her dress, causing it to fall open. He brought her in
close to his own body, his erection pushing hard against the top of her crack.
He’d figured out that her bra’s clasp was at the front and he popped it open,
allowing it to part just like the dress. They both hung loose at the sides of
her body, allowing the cool air inside the apartment to kiss her skin. He
grabbed both her breasts and massaged them, his palms scraping her nipples. He
slid his hands downward over her belly pushing them inside her hose and
panties. She reached behind her and put her hands on the back of his head as he
kissed the side of her neck. He worked her underwear down over her hips and ran
his hands over her mound.

“I
don’t want you to ever wax this or whatever it is you ladies do.”

She
smiled. Not something that she’d ever want to do. She had a low tolerance for
pain.

His
fingers worked their way down through her pubic hair until his middle finger
found her clit. He pressed it hard, nibbling on her earlobe before letting his
finger slide toward her pussy opening. He playfully bit the back of her neck as
the long digit traveled inside her. He wiggled it, making her legs tingle and
her need to have his cock, and not his finger inside her, even more.

“Bend
over and hold onto the edge of the sink,” he said. His voice sounded deeper,
bossy and demanding, making her grow wetter by the second. She leaned over,
hearing what she knew was Dane pulling down the fly of his pants and then
tearing open a condom.

She
grabbed the taps as he slid inside her. They began to ride together, him
holding onto her belly, her caressing the cold metal of the taps. He licked her
shoulder and kissed it as he pushed harder, the sound of his thighs hitting her
butt echoing in the quiet of the apartment.

“Full
moon, baby, drives a bear wild.”

Had she heard right?
Had he referred
to himself as a bear? She almost wanted to laugh. Guess he was big and strong
like one. He did his old trick again, stopped moving while his cock vibrated
inside her.

She
closed her eyes, convinced she was going to fall over because her head was spinning
with the pleasure he was offering her. Even her toes tingled and the pleasure
worked its way upwards through her knees, into her thighs. Then, holy smoke,
her climax exploded inside her.
Then another, and then, dear god,
too much, way too much.
She held onto the taps, pushing her toes into
the tiles on the floor and found release again, but this time she overdid the
gripping part and pulled the taps off. Water shot into the air.

Dane
laughed and so did she.

“Told
you crazy things happen when it’s a full moon.”

****

Dane
ran and ran.
Being in his bear form helped clear his head.
Lucky thing he’d been able to turn off the water and mend the taps until
Melanie could call in someone from the Lodge’s maintenance crew to fix them
properly.

He
stopped and rubbed himself high on the trunk of the tree where he’d left his
clothes. He went back on all fours and then let his body relax so he could
shift back. He lay looking up at the sky. It was a beautiful night and made for
a bear run.
 
How he wished that Melanie
could enjoy it with him. Even running as a bear and feeling the wind travel
past your face and body.
Nothing quite like it in the whole
world.

Lots of stars in the sky too.
The shifters
that had been unfortunate enough to crash land near cities had told him that
they couldn’t see them because of all the bright lights. They’d been right and
it was one of the things he’d missed the most about being banished like he had.
He put his hands behind his head, using them as his pillow.

Nothing
was as spectacular as the view in space from
their own
planet. He put his index finger into the air and tried to focus on the spot
where that would have been. The gap between the two stars to the left if he
wasn’t mistaken.
The most beautiful planet in the universe.

A
tear ran down his cheek. It was gone, there was no going back. Lucinda, who’d
been his last true link to home, was gone too. He had to focus on the future or
he’d grown insane. Melanie was it, he sensed it, and when they went on their
boating and picnic date on Saturday he was going to tell her everything.

Chapter Fourteen

“There’s
a man to see you at reception,” said Jodie who worked at the front desk.

It
was probably something to do with business, but Melanie’s heart still skipped a
beat. Stupid because people who wanted you dead hardly asked to see you and
therefore had an eyewitness. No, they just put a bullet in you or planted a
bomb in your car.

Her
legs, as they always did when she went to meet someone, shook so much she could
hardly walk straight. As usual, she walked into a door and guessed she’d have a
bruise on her leg and arm.

Melanie
turned the corner and immediately recognizing Joe, the agent in charge of her
relocation.

“Good
morning, I was told to talk to you about the possibility of booking the
conference room for an upcoming meeting for my group of insurance agents.”

In
front of others he always played a role and had taught her to do the same.

“If
you’d like to step into my office I can check on availability and go over
logistics and menus for you.”

She
put out her hand to him, to indicate for him to go to the office to the left. Once
inside, she closed the door. He sat without being asked while she as she always
did. She leaned against the wall and folded her arms. He made her nervous every
single time he’d stopped by.

“I
think we might have to move you someplace else,” he said.

She
squeezed her eyes shut. No, this couldn’t be happening. That meant they thought
someone was on to her identity and location.
Dane.
She’d never see him again.

“Why?”
she asked.

“Someone
at the police department and sheriff’s office have been digging around in your
files and looking for information about you.”

“You’re
sure?”

He
nodded.
“Anyone in particular spoken to you, anyone new in
your life?”

Dane.
The photos.
No, it
couldn’t be him.

She
swallowed. “I’ve been seeing a man I met here. He was a guest at a wedding.”

“I’ve
told you to keep me informed and give me their name so I can run a check on
them.”

“I
know but this being the first time I’ve actually dated anyone I didn’t want to
scare him off.”

“Scare
him off.
Even if he was hired to pretend to be a guest and
get to know you?”

“He
was a guest. The bride and groom can vouch for him. All the other guests have
known him for years.”

“So
how did the two of you get together?”

“He
came into the kitchen because the ceremony had upset him. He’d lost his wife
and I knew exactly how he felt. We got talking and we’ve been dating since
then. He’s a really nice man and he just got a new job at the local elementary
school. I don’t believe for one minute he has been sent by anyone to check me
out or kill me or whatever.”

“Well,
I was told that a Trent Burgress was digging around and has now asked a buddy
to do some more background searches on you.”

“Trent
Burgress, that’s Dane’s friend.”

She
lifted up her necklace and began sliding it back and forth.
The
photos.
He’d probably seen those photos of her and Mike.

“I
think I can explain this.”

Shit,
she was going to have to come clean about those photos and the bear. “I know
you told me I shouldn’t, but I kept some photos.
A wedding
photo, a photo of me with my parents, me with the kids at school.
I hid
them in Uggy…that’s my teddy bear and when I left the bedroom, he must have
found them.”

“Fuck,
are you stupid or what? And I take it the relationship has gotten to the
sleeping together part already?”

Melanie
nodded, feeling like a teenager who’d just been busted by her parents. She had
to sit now because she was sick and tired of running and being someone else.
Maybe it was better that they did catch up with her. If it was Dane then at
least he’d made her happy again before she died.

He
pulled out his notebook. “I’ll run a check on this Dane character. He
happen
to have a last name?”

“It’s
Reynolds.”

He
wrote something down. “You and he have any plans to see one another again?”

“Yes,
tomorrow, we’re going sailing on Flathead Lake and then heading to a concert in
the park.”

“Perfect place to kill you and drop your
body overboard.”

She
couldn’t believe that Dane would do that. Her instinct about people had never
been wrong.
 
He wasn’t a
hitman
or anything bad.

“I
assume you’re going to tell me not to go.”

“That
would be my first inclination, but I think it’s the perfect way to finish this
once and for all.”

“Using
me as bait?”

He
nodded. “I’ll have a team of men keeping watch and once he makes his move we’ll
be there. Maybe we’ll finally have someone who will want to make a deal to
testify against Sam Farfield.”

He
was wrong and it was going to be a waste of time. Dane had no connection to
that monster. She knew it.

“In
the meantime, I’m going to run his name through the database. Don’t suppose you
have anything he’s touched where I can run fingerprints too?”

She
hated doing this but maybe when Dane’s name cleared, they’d leave the two of
them alone.

“Sure,
some glasses in my apartment.”

“Perfect.
You go round them up using a napkin or paper towel, and I’ll get some evidence
bags.”

She
stood.

“Maybe
this is a good thing. Maybe this guy’s going to lead us right to Sam and you
might just be able to go back to your old life.”

Chapter Fifteen

While
Dane hadn’t known Melanie that long, he did know her enough to sense she wasn’t
her usual self. On the drive to the lake she’d looked out of the window a lot,
fidgeted in her seat, and chewed on the nail of her index finger.

“You’re
going to love the boat. Just so
happens
a buddy of
mine knew someone who doesn’t mind us taking it for a trip around the lake this
afternoon.”

She
looked at him and simply nodded.

 
“Hope you’ve got lots of food on hand because
I’m starving.”

“Yes,
salmon mousse, some asparagus, and green salad with huckleberries.”

He
actually licked his lips. He’d even bought a bottle of wine.

“The
guy at the liquor store said if I tie a string around the wine bottle’s neck
and lower it into the water it will chill it perfectly while we’re sailing.
Not sure if that works or not.”

“I
can’t do this,” she finally said.

“You
don’t want to go sailing?”

“Pull
over and turn off the car because we need to talk.”

He
was frozen. Was she breaking up with him? He stopped but hadn’t turned off the
ignition, so she reached across and did it for him.

She
turned to face him. This seemed serious.

“I
know you found those photos in Uggy.”

Damn,
he’d forgotten about those.

He
raised his hands. “I’m nosey and I took a peek. I should have owned up but I
didn’t.”

“Did
you really stumble into the kitchen at the wedding because you were sad and
lost or were you supposed to run into me?”