Healing the Bear (4 page)

Mike
was dead. Mike was never coming back despite how she hoped and prayed that it
was all some awful nightmare. A tear slid down her face. He was dead and she
should have also died that morning. No matter how many years went by she’d
never forgot that. Never stop blaming herself for forgetting a student’s book.
 
And now she was thinking about another man,
which made her feel like the most horrible person in the world.

The
agent in charge of her case had told her to get on with her life, put the past
behind her because in doing so she had the best chance of surviving.
Living to see another day.
Hidden deep in the heart of
Montana where they were least likely to come looking for her and finish the
job.

However,
this was the first time she’d been attracted to a man and it brought up the
whole issue of dating. She hated secrets and the fact that she’d have to keep
one - a huge whopper of a lie from any man she got involved with - didn’t sit
well with her. She turned back to look at the marquee again. What the hell, she
was going over there to see him again. What harm could looking do?

Melanie
opened the door, pushed her hair back, and secured it in her ponytail as she
made her way across the patio and onto the grass. The sound of chatter and
laughter drifted her way.
Sounded like everyone was having
fun.

She
stepped inside, spotting him immediately. He was breaking off a piece of salmon
with the edge of his fork. He was so handsome. He almost looked like he was
made to be someone’s bodyguard. Why on earth had she thought of that? She knew
why, she needed protecting and was thinking of the perfect excuse to hang out
with him.

Dane
looked up as if he knew she was watching him and only him. He waved. She waved
back.
Oh what the hell, I’ll
go over there and
pretend I’m checking that everything’s okay.

She
smiled at some of the guests as she walked over to the other side of the
marquee before finally arriving at his table.

“Hi
again,” he said.

“Hi,
just wondering how everything is tasting?” she asked, purposely looking at the
other guests sitting at the table so he didn’t think she’d just stopped by his table.

“Best
salmon I’ve tasted ever,” said one man. They all nodded in agreement.

“The
soup was great too,” said Dane.

“Wait
till you taste the huckleberry ice cream,” said Melanie.

“Huckleberry,
you hear that guys?” asked one of the ladies.

“Well,
I guess I should let you finish your meals,” said Melanie.

She
turned and walked away and then felt someone close on her heels. She turned
around to see Dane towering above her.
 
Oh yeah, perfect bodyguard.

“I
was wondering… I mean, I’m here on my own and I wondered if you can have a
drink with me when the after dinner entertainment starts.”

“Well,
I’m not supposed to, but I guess if no one reports me one drink won’t hurt.”

“Great.
How about I meet you here in about an hour.
Is that
okay?”

She
nodded. “I’ll look forward to it.”

It
was a drink not a date and what harm could that do?

****

Dane’s
hands were shaking again.
 
He’d invited a
human woman to have a drink with him. He’d used the guise that he didn’t want
to be on his own, but in all honesty he wanted to see her again and maybe get
to know her a little bit more.
 
In fact,
it hadn’t all been down to him. The others had encouraged him to catch up with
her before she left the marquee.

“Did
you see the way she looked at you?” Cassidy had asked him. “I might not know
humans that well, but as a female I know when a woman’s checking out a guy.”
She winked at him. He’d sat there saying nothing until Alex had twisted his
chair around away from the table and almost tipped him on the floor.

“Go
on, what harm could it do? It’s about time you had a female in your bed again.”

He’d
blushed,
he knew he had because his face had burned.
The last thing he was thinking about was having sex, especially with a human,
but now he realized that maybe that was part of the problem.
 
Any species, human or shifter needed sexual
release. He and Lucinda had enjoyed a great sex life, both knowing what the
other one craved and desired. The chances of ever finding that again were
probably zero.

The
band began to play the Teddy Bear’s Picnic tune and the little flower girl
stood on Christopher’s toes. They danced around to the song as everyone began
clapping along. Christopher was lucky. He now had a ready-made family.
A woman to go home to every night.
Dane’s happy ever after
had been ripped away from him. For these men and their human women it was just
beginning.

Lilly
joined them on the dance floor and the three of them spun around before
encouraging others to get up and start dancing as the band switched to Love
Shack.

Lucinda
had loved to dance. She would have loved being here. He closed his eyes,
knowing she’d always be with him in spirit.

“Hi, Dane.”

He
turned around to see Melanie standing there. He hadn’t been crazy in getting
her mixed up with Lucinda. She was beautiful and curvy like her. They had the
same look in their eyes.

“Glad
you could join me.”

She
put her finger on her lips. “I’m not really here if anyone asks. Hope you’re
good at keeping secrets.”

Oh
if she only knew how
good
all the shifters were at
doing just that.

“What
would you like to drink?”

“I
think I should keep to something non-alcoholic just in case I get busted, so a
ginger ale will be perfect,” she said.

“You
want to sit there and I’ll be right back.”

Lucinda
had developed a craving for ginger ale when she’d first found out she was
pregnant. She said it helped with her morning sickness. He walked over to the
bar and ordered Melanie’s drink and a whisky for himself. He hadn’t touched any
hard liquor since before Lucinda was killed. He hoped it wouldn’t go to his
head and make him say or do something stupid again.

He
walked back to where Melanie was now sitting. Her legs were crossed, her foot
tapping to the beat of the music. He laughed because the band was now playing
Hungry
Like
the Wolf. He had to dodge a few of the
wolf shifters who were showing off their dancing skills. One almost knocked
both drinks down his jacket.

“Sorry,
Dane,” one shouted to him and then continued to spin around on the floor.

He
approached the table and placed Melanie’s drink down in front of her. He sat
and took a sip of the whisky. This was nice, sitting with someone who clearly
recognized his pain of being all alone at this sort of event. She glanced at
him over the top of the glass and then took a sip of her drink.

He’d
invited her to be with him but for the life of him, now he was tongue tied.
Damn.

“What
other events are planned for this place?” he finally asked.

The
music was getting louder and the guests more rowdy. It was obvious Melanie
wasn’t able to hear what he’d asked her. He leaned in closer to her ear,
smelling her humanness. On anyone else it wouldn’t have excited him, but
something about her odor made his blood race around his body.
And her perfume.
Wow, he liked that too.

“What
other events are planned for this venue?” he asked again, letting his mouth
linger close to her ear so he could smell her some more.

She
pulled away so she could answer him, but then obviously realized she had to get
close to him so he could hear her response. Her breath smelled of mint with
just a tad of ginger. It reminded him of being near Lucinda when she’d sipped
the beverage, rubbing her growing belly as she did so.

“We
have another wedding here next week. A couple of ladies afternoon teas, and
then a guy’s only retreat. They’ll be staying in the lodge so that should keep
us really busy with the meals.”

“Sounds
like fun.”
That wonderful scent again.

“What
do you do for a living?” she asked.

“I’ve
been doing some traveling. In fact, I just got back so I’m not sure what I’m
planning to do next.”

“Are
you glad to be home? I’m assuming this is home.”

That
was a difficult response. He glanced at Aiden who was dancing with his wife.
Aiden’s father had insisted early on when they arrived on earth that they never
tell anyone about where they originally came from. It was
their
secret. He had to keep his promise, yet he already hated
lying to Melanie.

“Yes,
I’m from Kalispell. And I’m glad to be home.”

Wasn’t
so bad because this area was the only home they’d known since they’d landed
here.

“What
did you do before you went on your travels?”

“I
worked fixing computers.”
Both he and Lucinda.
They’d
been planning on starting their own business so Lucinda could stay home once
the baby arrived.

“I’m
hopeless with anything even slightly connected with those. If you ever think of
going back into that line of work maybe you can give me your business card,
because I always need help with anything techy.”

Was
that true or was it her subtle way of asking for his number? Would he give it
to her? She did make him feel comfortable and she made it seem like she really
was interested in him.

Her
foot tapped again. She had nice legs, shapely calves. He smiled. Lucinda had
always said he was a leg man. He was also a boob man too. He coughed, wondering
why he’d thought of that. Maybe the whisky was loosening up his brain, closing
off his inner censors.

“You
want to dance?”
Yeah definitely the whisky talking.
Not
that he didn’t want to dance or dance with her, but usually he was a lot more
bashful.

“I’d
love to.”

She
took a last sip of her drink before standing. Dane stood too. Lucinda had
always said he had no sense of rhythm but hopefully she’d only been teasing
him. Maybe he’d just watch a couple of the wolf shifters who always seem to
know how to groove and move.

Melanie
looked a pro as she moved from side to side, smiling non-stop at him as he
loosened up a little. Was she smiling because dancing made her happy or was
that a grin because he was so damn awful?

He
watched Caleb, one of the wolf shifters who
was
dancing with not one, but two women.
Such a showoff.
This wasn’t a bear’s strength. They were bulky and muscle bound. They were made
for carrying things, protecting things.

Melanie
took him by surprise when she grabbed his hand as if she knew the music would
be changing to a slow tune at any minute. Without giving it a second thought,
he pulled her into his body. He’d only ever had one love in his life and that
had been Lucinda. Childhood sweethearts thrown together in despair when they’d
crash landed here on earth. She’d lost both her parents and was running,
sobbing, and holding a doll that had been singed just as badly as she had in
the explosion and fire. His mother had scooped her up and held her along with
him. Little Lucinda had reached out and grabbed his hand so tight he’d thought
she’d shut off the blood to his arm. Neither of them had taken their eyes off
one another in the ensuing chaos. From that moment on they were bonded and inseparable.

 
He’d never looked at another woman in the way
he’d looked at Lucinda. No other woman had ever excited him like her until now.
As he held Melanie in his arms, parts of him that he thought were dead and
unresponsive were coming to life again.

His
heart beat faster but not in a serious medical sort of way. His body tingled.
His balls pulled and felt heavy. His cock was like it was made of stone and
getting harder. Dane guessed that Melanie felt it pressing against her belly.
Embarrassment washed over him but then she looked up and him and smiled.

“It’s
fine, don’t worry.”

It
was as if she knew what he was thinking, like they were one. He’d never felt
that sort of connection with a woman since his darling wife. Maybe Melanie was
a shifter. Nope, she smelled one hundred percent human. In fact, he guessed she
was as aroused as he was because he could smell a certain sweetness drifting up
from her body. For it to be this detectable even for a bear, her juices had to
be sliding from her pussy.

Human
arousal had a sharper odor than a shifter. Almost sweet and like part musk,
part orange. How he’d loved lapping at Lucinda’s pussy prior to making love,
taking in her scent and becoming almost intoxicated by it. An image of himself
between Melanie with widespread legs crept into his mind, making him grow
harder. She pulled her head away from his shoulder and smiled.

“I
love this song because it’s sad but uplifting at the same time,” she said.