Red's Bear (Erotic Shifter Fairy Tales)

Red’s Bear

Erotic
Shifter Fairy Tales

Yvette
Hines

This
is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of
the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed
as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons,
living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

All
rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this
copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced
electronically or in print without written permission by the author.

Red’s
Bear

Copyright
© 2013, Yvette Hines

Cover
Artist: Antwan Williams

Editor:
Bernadette Schane

This
ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be
re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book
with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If
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your use only, then please return to eStore and purchase your own copy. Thank
you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Dedication

To my husband, I love you. I’m so
happy that every year brings us closer together as we grow and change. We can
overcome all challenges set before us. Thanks to all my author friends on FB,
when I hit the dark moment with this book and ‘lost it’, I think you all for
your encouragement and tips. Most of all for understanding my agony and just
being there. For my editor, B, I had a hell of a stressful two weeks with this
book then you jumped in and helped things make sense. Thank you so much. To the
readers that loved
Bear’s
Gold
and asked for the next erotic
fairy tale in Den County, this is for you.

Prologue

“Ah!
This is so frustrating. I’m never going to get it.” She jerked the fishing pole
out of the water and stared down at her empty line, the bait now missing.

“Yes,
you will. It just takes a little patience.” Reaching over, he grabbed the hook
from her, making sure he didn’t pierce her fingers with it.

“What
it takes is being smarter than the average fish.” She pushed her bottom lip out
in a mock pout.

His
gaze zoned in on that full bottom lip. All day he’d been tempted by her mouth
and more than once he’d wondered what it would be like to kiss her.

She
licked her lips and the corners of her mouth trembled in nervousness. The small
movement broke his focus.

He
didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. Glancing away, he pulled a worm out of
the bucket at his side, using that small moment to get himself under control.
Other teens, his friends, were splashing around in the water fifty or so yards
downstream from where he sat on the pier beside her.

“Not
really,” he replied.

“It’s
a good thing I don’t eat fish, because I would starve.”

Looking
at her, he frowned. He’d never heard of anyone that didn’t eat fish. “Really?
You don’t eat it?”

“I’m
allergic.”

He
became concerned. “Is it going to bother you to touch it once you’ve caught
one?”

She
laughed. “I’ll have to catch one first.”

Smiling,
he nodded. “True.”

“No
worries. I won’t start breaking out in hives or anything from contact.”

That
made him more at ease. The thought of her being hurt pulled at his core. The
urge to protect her was like a stone in his gut: heavy and unable to be
ignored. “Okay. Let me show you how to put the worm on the hook more secure so
the fish have to work harder to get it. This usually causes them to get stuck
on the line.”

She
scooted her hip toward his, moving closer as she stared at his hands.

Heat
raced through his body that had nothing to do with the summer sun beating down
on the lake and them. As a sixteen-year-old male who had more than a few
encounters with females, he couldn’t understand his response to the teen girl
beside him. Just on the cusp of womanhood, she was more awkward and graceless
than any other girl he knew. Most of the females his age were strong, swift and
lithe.

So,
why does she affect me?

“Watch
how I do this.” Spearing the worm with the point of the hook, he threaded it
tightly until none of the body was dangling. “Now you try it.”

Reaching
around him, she bravely took a slimy worm from the tub, it wiggled and twisted
around her finger. As she shifted back, her arm brushed his back.

Fire
licked up his spine at the brief contact.

Swallowing,
he calmed himself the best he could. Speaking around the tightness in his
throat, he instructed her on the technique.

“Perfect.
Now cast it into the water again.”

Once
that was complete, they both watched the hooked bait sink below the surface of
the lake.

He
wanted to talk to her about something. Anything. However his mind had gone
blank.

She
appeared to be content just setting there in the sun, so he didn’t push a
conversation.

Feet
dangling over the side, they sat and waited. 

“Oh,
goodness. I have a bite!” She screamed and almost dropped her pole in
excitement.

Reaching
out, he grabbed the pole above her hands. “I’ll help you hold it while you reel
it in.”

Soon
she had the large fish pulled in, taken off the hook and tossed into the wicker
basket his grandmother had made him.

“I
did it! I did it!” Seated, she bounced up and down on the wooden slats and
cheered. “Thank you so much.”

Before
he knew what to expect, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders in a hug.
Stunned for only a moment, he slipped his arms around her waist.

“Yes,
you did.” It took all of his strength not to glide his hands up and down her
back, but he managed to keep them still. “You’ll be a pro before the summer is
over.”

“You
think so?” She leaned back, but not enough to break their hold as she gazed
into his eyes.

Her
eyes were hazel, green with golden-brown flecks in them. He knew it had to do
with her heredity.

Staring
into her eyes, his core tightened. Like a fish on a string, he was drawn to
her. Unable to fight it any longer, he gave in to desire. Setting his lips on
hers, he claimed her.

If
the sky had opened up and lightning had struck him, he wouldn’t have been more
shocked by the fiery current that went through him. A combination of lust and
protection swirled through his core.

Mine
.

This
female was his. He and his bear agreed. 

The
world around them exploded. A woman’s angry tones called out to the girl as she
came running down the path from the house in a rage.

With
her face flushed from the sun and embarrassment, the girl shoved away from him
and rushed to meet her mother.

He
tried to make sense of everything that had happened as he watched the girl
being dragged away.

The
sound of splashing water clued him in to the fact the other teens had come
closer.

“What’s
going on, man?” his best friend asked.

Once
the girl was out of sight in the house, he faced the group in the water. “I’m
not completely sure myself.”

“Wow…amazing…”

Frowning
at the brown-haired girl in the water, he asked, “What’s so amazing about any
of this?”

His cousin, a blonde male teen, splashed water up at
him. “Your eyes have gone gold.”

Chapter
One

“I can’t eat. I’m still nauseous all the time and the
medicine you gave me has seemed to make matters worse. Over the last two months
I’ve called out two to three times a week from work. Already once this week and
it’s only Monday.”

“Rena, sometimes things like this take time to discover
what is going on.” Dr. Jung-tu, a small-framed Asian woman with almond-shaped
brown eyes, reached out and patted her knee, giving Rena a sympathetic smile.

But, Rena Hoodman didn’t want sympathy, she wanted
results. Solutions. “How much time? I’ve been like this for months.” Rena hated
the whine in her voice, but the aching in her belly was getting progressively
worse.

“I’ve already run a battery of tests with new results.
It is not the flu, food poisoning or an intestinal virus.” When Rena opened her
mouth to speak, the doctor raised her hand to stop her. “I am not giving up and
I will run more tests. For now, stop the anti-nausea medication and see if that
was just prolonging it.” She looked at the computer screen and tapped notes
into Rena’s medical record.

Sighing, Rena shook her head and pulled the paper gown
tighter around her body. She was cold. Odd, because she was rarely cold. She
was even happy to give up the meds, she hated taking them, but she’d hoped
today she’d have a few more answers.

“Keep the BRAT diet going. Bananas, rice, apple sauce
and toast. Remember bland is best.”

“I’m trying, Dr. Jung-tu. I really am. But there’s a
problem.”

Her doctor lifted her right eyebrow.

Gazing down at her fingers watching them twist the
fragile paper dress, Rena said, “While you’re running tests can you please
check my iron. It has to be low. I’ve had cravings for fish. Seafood and
honey.” She glanced back up.

Astonished, the doctor placed her hand over her mouth
and stared at Rena.  “You’re a vegan. You told me you’ve been one all your
life.”

“I know. My mother was a very devout ethical vegan
during my upbringing and I’ve carried on in veganism on my own. Ecstatic to do
so.”

Dr. Jung-tu frowned.

 “What!” Rena called out at her silence then rushed on,
“Look, I went to the local seafood restaurant three times. It was like if I
didn’t get the salmon I’d go out of my mind. I ordered the food, paid and left
without eating it.”

Lowering her hand, Dr. Jung-tu commented, “I’m sure it
would have made you ill, never having had meat before, especially with your
current situation.”

“At this point, why do I care if I get sick?” Rena
called out vehemently.

Her doctor sighed. “I know this has been a difficult
time for you. However, there are other ways to get what your body maybe
lacking. As you know spinach, asparagus, broccoli, collards, watercress and
tofu are very high in iron and protein.”

She made a dry laugh. “I tried those. The sickness
still stayed and so did the craving.” Shaking her head, she asked, “How do you
crave something you’ve never eaten before?”