Love Me If You Bear: Werebear/BBW Paranormal Romance (4 page)

“No,” I giggled.

He touched my shoulder, hesitating as if he was nervous.

“Asher,” I said, “I don't care if you're a werebear or not. I like you.”

“I like you too,” he said.

With a bravery I didn't know I had, I pulled him closer to me and gave him a kiss. It was just like the kisses we had shared the night before - maybe even better, since we were getting used to each other now. He wasn't keeping any secrets from me anymore, and I didn't have to be scared of him now.

“Like” might not even cover the full extent of my feelings for me. I wasn’t sure, but I was starting to think it might even be more than that.

We got into the car again and he started to drive. “So you're always there, even when you're a bear?” I asked.

“Pretty much,” he said. “And I'm always a bear, even when I'm me.”

He was smiling, but I frowned. “What do you mean, pretty much?”

He kept his eyes fixedly on the gravel road ahead. “I've heard that if I ever turn because of a danger - to myself or to someone else - I could lose control of the human part of me. But that's never actually happened.”

I didn't like the sound of that. “You mean you did put me in danger just now? You wanted me to trust you, and you didn't tell me there was a chance that you could hurt me?”

“There's no chance,” he said. There was a tension behind his words that I wasn't too crazy about. “It's never happened. And just now, I turned by choice. There was no danger for me, so there was none for you either.”

I didn't want to push him when it was clear that this was a sensitive topic. But it was sensitive for a reason. “It's possible that it could be dangerous one day.”

“It's possible. But a lot of things are possible.” He still wasn't looking at me. “You're talking to a werebear, Eden. There is danger associated with being around me. But there's danger every time you leave your house - you could get hit by a car crossing the street. You still do it, though.”

“I guess so.”

Finally he glanced at me, then back to the road. “I like you a lot, Eden. I hope you can live with this. For me, well, I don't have a choice. But I already know I don't want to lose you. I don't know what I would do if I did.”

I considered it carefully. I didn't like this whole thing at all, but how likely was it that he would ever be in danger? If he was, it would probably be good for him to be able to defend himself. “I guess I can live with it.”

He turned back onto the main road, and a few minutes later we were in the city again. Back in the real world, where hot guys don't turn into bears at a moment's notice - and where both of us had to catch up on our psychology homework.

Over the next few weeks, we saw each other almost every day either in or out of class. We held hands constantly, and even though people stared at the handsome jock with the fat girl, I was learning to ignore them. Asher was worth every weird look and rude comment they could offer.

We went on dates, and we had more sensual moments like the one we had shared that night in the backseat of his car. Never again did he lose control of himself and start to turn into a bear. I was happy for my safety, although I almost hoped to one day do it again - it would mean I had given him a really good orgasm.

We began to visit each other's places regularly. Since we both had roommates, though, it was impossible to find any time alone there. We could kiss, even make out, behind closed doors. But our more intimate moments would only happen in the back of his car, where we could park somewhere and have a little privacy.

Now that I knew he was a werebear, I could see the signs that I had missed before. His hairiness aside, there was something bearlike about the way he held himself. He didn't walk, he lumbered. Most of all, I noticed that his brown eyes, though still as cute as ever, were wise beyond his nineteen years. They held the wisdom of the ancient, knowing bear.

Sometimes when we were in private, he would change to his bear form and we would just hang out together. He would lie on my stomach or put his head in my lap, and I would stroke his soft fur. I was growing to appreciate both sides of him. He was just as gentle and kind as a bear as he was as a human. In his changed form, he was like a huge, affectionate pet.

Although we spent nearly all our free time together, one place I didn't bring him was my weekly board game night with my guy friends. It had been too much of a disaster the first time, and Asher didn't even seem to mind me going without him.

Ben, Luke and Mike didn't seem surprised when I finally told them the other night, as casually as I could, that Asher and I are going out now. “Of course she's doing him,” Luke muttered to the other guys.

“I'm not doing anyone! Now, can we get back to the game?”

The mood was tense, but once the board game pieces were moving around the board again, they began to loosen up again. I swear, it's as if they were jealous. But none of them ever hit on me when I was single. And I wouldn't have dated any of them, either. I thought we were good friends; I didn't understand what their problem was.

That night, I won the game. Instead of congratulating me, though, the guys just looked annoyed.

Luke pulled me aside before I left. I was still smiling from my win, even if no one else was happy for me. “Eden, I want you to be careful,” Luke told me. “That guy isn't good for you.”

“What do you mean? Of course he is.”

“He wants to get in your pants,” Luke said quietly.

I rolled my eyes. “Okay, he does want to, but I'm not letting him. Not that it's any of your business.”

“It is my business, because I don't want my friend to get hurt.” Luke wasn't easy to brush off, and his tone was serious. “He's a guy, and not the type of guy that goes for girls like you. He's probably just going to date you until you let him fuck you, and then he'll leave you.”

“Girls like me? What is that supposed to mean?” I didn’t have to wait for whatever weak answer Luke would have come up with. I knew exactly what he meant, even if I was too proud to admit it. I could see it as well as he could, even if I kept denying it.

“Never mind,” I said after a moment of silence. “I’ll let him fuck me if I want to. And maybe I will soon. It’s my choice, Luke, not yours.”

I started to walk away, but Luke had a few more words to say. “I'm just worried about you, Eden,” he told me. “I know what guys are like. I am one. A guy like that goes for a girl like you for a reason. I just want you to know what you're getting yourself into.”

“Look, I appreciate it, Luke, but actually you have no idea what I'm getting myself into. Thank you, though. For real.” I did appreciate his concern, but he had no idea what my situation really was. And there was really nothing he could do.

What I didn’t understand was why he was even so worried in the first place. He had never been so interested in my love life before – well, not that I had ever had one before.

The next night was last night. I guess it was technically tonight, since I haven't slept. I'm sitting here at five am, still in my street clothes since I've been too anxious to change into my pajamas. I really only started writing in here because I couldn't bring myself to sleep.

But I'm jumping ahead of myself. I said I would write this in order, and that's what I'm going to do!

Asher had a night class, so I walked down to campus to meet him after he got out. The students poured out of the lecture hall all together, but Asher stood out from the rest easily. Not only is he taller than ninety percent of them, he's also about twice as handsome!

I ran up to him and gave him a big kiss. A twinge ran through my body, particularly through the little nub Asher taught me is my clit. Even now, with a few weeks of kissing experience under my belt, the feel of his lips on mine is unbelievable.

“What do you want to do tonight?” I asked as we walked, hand in hand, to his car.

“You know what I want to do,” he said with a bearish grin. “You just won't let me.”

I frowned; Luke's words from the night before came back to me. Was it possible that he had been right? Asher wanted me for more than sex, didn't he?

Seeing the expression on my face, Asher squeezed my hand. “I'm kidding, sweetie.”

“No, you're not.”

Reaching his car, we climbed into the front seats. My face still felt tight; I almost wanted to cry.

“Eden? Are you okay? I was just kidding,” Asher said, worry in his voice now.

I couldn't look at him. “If you just want sex, you'd better find it from somewhere else. You're not going to get any here.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked. A realization seemed to come to him. “Is it those friends of yours saying things to you about me? I hope you're not listening to them.”

“They didn't say anything I couldn't have thought of myself! Are you only interested in sex, Asher?” I crossed my arms and glared at him. It was bizarre to think that a few weeks before I had hardly been able to believe that he was attracted to me, and now I was accusing him of only wanting me for my body.

“Sweetie, of course I don't just want you for sex. We were friends for months before we started dating. Remember? Was I trying to get in your pants then?”

I thought about it. “No...” I admitted.

“Are we having sex now?”

I frowned. “No...”

“Then how could I only be interested in sex?” he asked, his brown eyes wide and sincere. Reaching for my hand, he squeezed it between both of his.

My head drooped. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get mad at you. I guess I just worry that I'm not... keeping you satisfied.”

“Satisfied!” All worry gone, he chuckled out loud now. “You've seen how satisfied I am. I'm pretty sure I've sprayed my satisfaction all over this car.”

“Really?” I asked. “So you don't want... more?”

Now Asher burst out laughing. “Of course I want more!” His laugh disappeared as his voice became more intense. “I'd like to make love to you all day and all night for a week straight, Eden. I want to kiss, lick, and worship every inch of your gorgeous body. I want to - I would kill just to be inside of you for one minute.”

I was breathing hard now, too. My panties were dampening, but Asher wasn't telling me what I really wanted to know. “So you're not happy?” I asked.

He sighed. “I am happy. But I still want more. Does that make sense to you?”

“Not really.” I stroked his hand carefully. It wasn't quite true that it didn't make sense. I wanted more from him, too. I just didn't want to do anything I would regret. I needed to trust him completely before I let him go any further with me. “You want to get in the back seat?”

“Here? Now?” He looked around the parking lot. It wasn't crowded, but it wasn't exactly empty, either. “It's still kind of light out.”

“There's nobody around.” I smiled at him. “We can risk it.”

“Fine by me!”

A few seconds later, we were in the back, our lips joining together and our hands all over each other. I wanted him so badly it was almost painful, but we had to take things slowly. If he truly felt the same way about me that I felt about him, he would be willing to wait.

I kissed him more passionately than usual, sucking his lower lip between mine and nipping it gently with my teeth. He groaned softly at the gentle bite. “Who's the bear here, me or you?” he asked.

“You can bite me, too.”

The bite he gave me next sent a jolt of energy directly to my clit. I wrapped my arms around him, kissing him still more fervently.

Easing myself onto his lap, I bent my head so that it wouldn't hit the ceiling and kissed him again. His body was firm and muscular below mine. He ran his hands over me, seeming to take pleasure somehow in my curves and jiggles.