Reforming the Bear (13 page)

Chapter Thirteen

Liam
held Lucy close to him as they made their way around the dance floor. Tomorrow,
Bear and Hannah would drop Sam off at his place before they headed to the
airport and off to their honeymoon in Hawaii. Not that he wasn’t going to savor
every minute his nephew was around, but Sam’s presence meant Lucy and he
wouldn’t have any privacy.
 
He didn’t
know if he could go a whole week without making love to her.

“You
feel like being naughty?” he whispered in her ear.

“With
you, I always feel like I’m naughty,” she whispered back.

He
went hard just hearing those words slip over her tongue.

“Follow
me,” he said, grabbing hold of her hand.

He
knew the cars were all parked a distance from the venue so they’d have no
prying eyes. All he needed to do was find the valet parkers and get his keys.

Liam
squeezed Lucy’s hand.

“Where
are we going?” she asked.

“You’ll
see. Wait here and I’ll be right back.”

He
found the young man drinking a soda.

“I
need to get something from my car and then I’ll bring the keys back,” said Liam,
handing him the ticket and a five-dollar bill.

“Sure
… no problem.”

The
boy handed him the keys to the car and soon he and Lucy were heading down each
of the aisles looking for the blue Mustang.

“Bingo,”
said Liam, finding it in the second row. Just as he hoped, it appeared to be
parked away from any spies.

He
opened the door and pushed the seat back.

“Get
in the back,” he told her.

Lucy
slid and then he got in with her.

“Are
we going to do what I think?” she asked.

“I
think we are,” he said lifting her legs up. He hoisted her dress and roughly
pulled down her panties, hanging them on the front seat.

“Wow,
a guy who knows exactly what he wants. I like that,” she said.

“Oh
yeah? Well, I hope you like this too.”

He
put his face between her legs, licked her opening and then pushed his tongue inside
her channel.

“Is
this payback for the other day?”

He
didn’t answer her because he was too busy enjoying the taste and smell of Lucy.

****

Lucy
leaned forwards running her fingers through Liam’s hair. A guy had only given
her oral sex once. It hadn’t been all that great and she hadn’t come but right
now she was on the verge of enjoying her first climax of the day.

He
pushed his tongue instead her again, flicking it up and down making her almost
squeak. She closed her eyes as she squeezed her thighs and let Liam take her
over the edge.

“More,
lots more,” she said, shocked that her voice was so hoarse.

He
lapped at her and then playfully bit her clit, running his teeth up and down until
she actually felt the nub grow hard and sensitive.

She
held onto the car seat, crying as she came not once but twice.

“You
have a condom?” she asked him.

“Never
without one since I met you,” he said.

Liam
got up, unzipped his pants and with the finesse only he had, sheathed himself.

“There’s
not much room in here.”

“Turn
over.”

Lucy
turned onto her side and then onto her stomach, feeling Liam inch her dress up
some more.

“This
really is…”

She
stopped midsentence when his cock slipped into her pussy.

“I
was going to say so naughty. What if someone walks by?” she asked.

“Don’t
worry, they can’t see your lovely ass.”

He
drove harder into her.

Lucy
held the seat knowing that she’d soon be getting the special Liam vibrating
cock trick.

“I
love it when you do that,” she said feeling it hit her G-spot.

“And
how about this?”

Oh
god, he was biting her neck. She loved that too. She didn’t know why.

He
squeezed her breasts as she came and scratched at the leather seats, hoping
that she hadn’t ruined them.

“I
think we should go to more weddings,” he whispered in her ear.

She
came again as she heard him whisper three magical words.

“I
love you.”

“I
love you too,” she said. There it was, out –– and soon she’d have to reveal
all.

Chapter Fourteen

“Let’s
rest the window on the ledge here and we can ease it into the gap,” said
Christopher, who’d offered to help Liam install the new window in the apartment
the following day. Lilly had taken Lucy to the yoga open house at Downward
Facing Wolf. So far Sam hadn’t missed his mom, although Kaitlin had accompanied
Christopher and both she and Sam were in the living room playing their favorite
board game, so that probably helped.

“You
think you’ll rent this place out once it’s all finished?” asked Christopher
sticking the pencil behind his ear.

“I
might. Extra income always helps.”

“Sure does. I bet you didn’t know
that I used to come here to party with Danny and his buddies whenever you went
out of town to your car conventions.”

Yeah, that was the first Liam had
heard of it.

“He was a fun guy,” said
Christopher.

“And I wasn’t.”

“I didn’t say that. You were
always a bit intense. A bit like Aiden … but I guess that’s what happens when
you’re the older brother.”

Christopher was right. Being
parentless meant you took on adult responsibilities quickly. However, he hadn’t
been able to curb his brother’s sometimes rather playful ways. Well, neither
had Aiden until Christopher had met Lilly.

“I wonder if Danny would have
married Hannah. I mean if he’d lived and she would have found him and told him
she was pregnant,” said Liam.

“I think he would have done the
right thing,” said Christopher. “You want to give me a hand here … we’ll have
this installed in no time.”

He and Liam pushed it into the
opening and it fit perfectly.

“If the graphic design business
goes south there’s something else you can do,” said Liam.

“Yeah, when you buy a house you
quickly learn how to do a hell of a lot of things yourself or it gets
expensive. Hey, is it my imagination or are the kids sort of quiet all of a
sudden? I never like it when there’s silence and kids are around.”

Liam listened for any sign of
noise. Christopher was right. It had been quiet for a good ten minutes.

“Think we should go see what
they’re up to?” asked Christopher.

“I think we should.”

Liam opened the door to see Sam
and Kaitlin standing over Lucy’s bag. The bag she’d guarded with her life that
night he’d found her and the bag she continued to be obsessed with. She’d told
them it was dirty laundry and girlie things but clearly that was not the case.

“Jeez, Sam, what are you doing in
Lucy’s bag?” asked Liam.

“Kaitlin said something was
vibrating in it like her mom and dad’s phones so she unzipped it. I told her
not to because it was girlie stuff but she wanted to see it,” said Sam.

“Kaitlin, how dare you,” said
Christopher, pulling her to one side.

She burst into tears. “I wasn’t
being bad,” she sobbed. “Just what the hell is all that?” asked Christopher
peering into the bag.

Liam marched over to it and began
pulling out charts, bottles of drugs and photos of what looked like dead people
having autopsies done. Plus, a cell phone.

“Geez, what the f … what are
those friggin’ photos?” asked Christopher.

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Liam jumped, Christopher too when
they saw and heard Lucy standing at the door.

“I’m…”
He was about to say he was sorry but words suddenly failed him. He thought he
was keeping the mother of all secrets from Lucy, but clearly she had a few of
her own.

****

Tears filled Lucy’s eyes. She’d
been betrayed.

“Is there something I can do to
help?”

Lucy expected Liam to come
running after her when she’d fled his house after she’d seen the contents of
the bag spilled out on the floor. However, it wasn’t him who tracked her down,
but Lilly. She’d had a fun afternoon, thinking what a great friend Lilly would
make, and now her world had fallen apart.

They’d gone snooping in the bag,
were probably asking loads of questions and by now Liam had probably realized
that Lucy hadn’t told him the truth about why she was miles from home.

“It’s okay, really,” said Lucy,
wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

“I’m so sorry about Kaitlin
opening your bag. She’s going straight to her room as soon as she gets home.
She’s usually a great kid but…”

Lilly put her hand on Lucy’s
shoulder. “No, please, it’s not her fault. I know how inquisitive I was at her
age.”

“That’s true … but she’ll still
need to know what she did wasn’t right.”

Lucy nodded. “I guess all of you
are wondering what all that stuff is in the bag.”

“Oh sweetie, whatever it is,
isn’t really our business.”

“Have you ever had to keep a
secret?”

Lilly put her arm around Lucy. “Oh,
you wouldn’t believe how many I’ve kept. I never told my mother that my first
husband used to beat me. I hid that awful secret from everyone.”

“It tears you up inside doesn’t
it?”

“It sure does. Is it something
you can share with Liam?”

“I guess I’ll have to, but he’s
been so kind and he’s going to find out I lied about what I’m doing here.”

“Just be honest with him, tell
him everything and it will all work out.”

“It’s all to do with my brother. I
mean all the stuff in the bag. He’s in danger and trouble.”

“If you or your brother needs
something then everyone in our group is here to help you. They’re the best
bunch of people. When I first started my cleaning business and didn’t have one
client, they all rallied around and offered to have their houses cleaned. I
don’t know what I would have done had I not met Christopher and all his
buddies.”

“Honey, you ready to leave?”
Christopher called to her.

“Yeah, I’ll be right there. I
have to go but you go talk to Liam and everything’s going to be okay, really it
is.”

She hugged her and then stood.
“Liam has our number if you need someone to talk to.”

“Thank you.”

“And once again sorry for our
daughter’s bad behavior this afternoon.”

Lilly left and Lucy’s legs were
still shaking from the shock of seeing the bag open and her secret being out.

“Lucy.”

This time it was Liam. She turned
around to see him standing in the doorway leaning up against the jamb.

“I’m sorry,” said Lucy.

“For what?” he asked. “You want
to come back inside and we can talk? Sam’s watching TV so we can go into the
bedroom and have some privacy.”

Lucy managed to get back on her
feet. She followed Liam into the house and then through to the bedroom. Once
she was inside he closed the door. She sat on the bed and he slid up beside
her. He took her hand in his.

“First of all, I’m sorry that Sam
and Kaitlin invaded your privacy like they did.”

“Liam, they’re kids … they didn’t
know and I shouldn’t have been so secretive.”

“The stuff in your bag, what’s it
all about?”

“I told you my brother works for
a drug company.”

Liam nodded. “He’s head of the
research department and he stumbled upon experiments the company’s been doing
without him knowing. They’ve been testing new drugs on human subjects without
their knowledge and people have died.”

“The autopsy photos?”

Lucy nodded. “He needs some time
to gather more evidence and he was scared that they might know he was up to
something and destroy all those notes and photos so he asked me … no, actually
I volunteered, to drive out here, miles away where they’d never find me or the
evidence until he told me it was okay to go back.”

Liam squeezed her hand. “That was
a brave thing to do. Your brother has one hell of a sister.” He wiped a tear
away from her cheek.

“He’s a wonderful man and a
single father who has two children relying on him, and I was scared for him … for
them. This is a huge company who probably wouldn’t think twice about hurting
him or his kids if they figured out what he’d stumbled upon or that he’d taken
all those things out of the office.”

“And the reason you guarded that
bag so well.”

“I’m sorry I lied about why I was
here. I guess you’ve also figured out I’m not really an interior designer?”

Liam laughed and put his arm
around her shoulder. “Oh, I think you’re pretty good at decorating.”

“I was scared that once you found
out about me and my motives for hiding out you’d hate me. And I’d never want
you to do that.”

“So, what’s been going on between
us … is that real?”

She turned toward him, looking
straight into those gorgeous eyes of his.

“It’s been real, all right.”

“But you weren’t going to stay?”
He looked down after he’d spoken.

“No, I would have needed to leave
–– but I would have come back. Well, that’s if you’d have wanted me to.”

He kissed her. “I have something
to tell you. Now’s as good as time as any.” He lifted her hand and kissed it.
“Don’t feel guilty about your secret because I’ve been keeping one from you
too.”

It had been too good to be true.
Please don’t let him tell me he isn’t the
sort of guy for a long-term commitment, or worse, still he has a wife someplace
that he never got around to divorcing.
Both things were excuses loads of
her friends heard all the time from guys they’d gotten serious with.

“You have to promise me that what
I’m about to reveal to you will stay with you and only you?”

“I’ve kept my brother’s secret,
so yes, you can count on me.”

****

Liam stood and walked back and
forth across the floor a few times. He ran his hands through his hair.

“Shit, this isn’t easy. I don’t
know how the other guys have managed to handle this.”

He went on his knees in front of
her and held both her hands.

“I’m not what you think I am.”

“I think you’re a really nice guy
… so you’re saying that isn’t true, or what?”

“I’m only a guy half the time.”

Fuck, that hadn’t come out liked
he hoped. She probably thought he dressed up in woman’s clothing or something. The
corners of her mouth turned upward. Shit, she was about to laugh.

“That didn’t sound right. I’m a
man and I’m also … a bear.”

Oh god, he was digging himself in
deeper. This did sound totally ridiculous.

“You definitely are when you’re
in bed.”

No, no, no, she was taking this
like a joke when it wasn’t. Damn.

“And it’s not only me. My brother
Danny was a bear. Aiden, Christopher, Dane, Trent, Ash, and Bear are bears
too.”

“Bear’s a bear?”

“Please, Lucy, I’m being serious
here. We’re not from here … I don’t mean Montana, but from Earth.”

She pulled her hands from his.
“Liam, if you don’t want to be in a relationship with me you don’t have to go
to these extremes to put me off getting involved, okay.”

“I’m not trying to put you off
being with me. I am from another planet and I’m a bear. Sam’s half a bear
because Hannah is human. Charlotte, Emily, Lilly and Melanie are all human.”

“And what about Nick, Lucas,
Maisey?”

“Wolves.”

“Wolves?”

“And Ava?”

“She’s human. Look, if you don’t
believe me you’re going to have to come along with me and see for yourself.”

He pulled her up and out of the
door and they walked past the living room.

“Sam, turn the TV off because you
and I are going to show Lucy how we run,” he said.

****

Why she’d even agreed to get into
the truck with him she didn’t know. She’d play along. Maybe he was mentally
ill. He hadn’t come across that way but perhaps he stopped taking his
medication.

“You sit on the bench here and
we’ll see you in a minute,” Liam had told her before he and Sam had walked into
the woods.

She looked at her watch. Ten
minutes and they weren’t back. Lucy looked to her left when she heard what
sounded like leaves and twigs snapping. She expected to see Liam and Sam
walking back toward her but instead it was a grizzly bear and a cub.

Oh my god … no, it couldn’t be.
Surely by pure coincidence two bears had shown up. Lucy stood and started to
back away as they got closer. You couldn’t outrun a bear, right?

She stood frozen, every nerve in
her body going on alert, and her heart beat faster as they quickened their
pace.

Please
let this really be Liam and Sam
…
now
I’m talking crazy too
.

She looked at the two bears and
into their eyes. She recognized the souls residing in those bodies. How weird
was that?

Lucy took a risk and held out her
hand, letting the bears come up to her. They both let her run her fingers
through their fur.

She’d always thought bear fur was
soft, when in fact it was coarse and dense.

The large bear brushed against
her and she detected the odor she had the first time she’d kissed Liam. Sam
lifted his right front paw up and offered it to her. She took it, shook it and
then he nudged her as she stroked his head.

Liam nudged Sam and the two of
them walked back into the woods.

Had she been dreaming? She looked
at her hand. No, she had actually stroked two bears and they hadn’t hurt her.

More rustling and then she saw
Liam and Sam emerge from the woods.

“Did you think I was cute?” asked
Sam.

She looked at Liam and without
realizing it, fainted.