ROMANCE: Awakened by the Alpha Bear (Werebear Fantasy Billionaire Romance) (New Adult Contemporary Alpha Male Bear Shapeshifter Paranormal Romance Short Stories)) (15 page)

Chapter
4

I’m
Staying

Sheldon
stood there and listened to the girls although he acted as if he didn't know
what they said.

“Well,
thank you for coming, but as you can see, I have some cleaning to do.” She
turned a pair of steely green eyes in his direction. She didn't wait for his
answer but instead turned to begin gathering the trash around her. As she bent
over to pick up a chip from the floor, he groaned at the sight of her bent
over. Her ass was pushed up into the air, and he had to turn away quickly and
coughed to hide the groan that had escaped his lips. He needed to focus on
something else. He quickly began to help her gather the plastic cups and plates
around. It didn't take them long before the house was clean. She turned and
smiled at him. “Thank you for your help, but really, you can go.”

“No, I
can't.” His face was set in stone, and she suddenly became very nervous.

Her
eyes widened as she looked at him warily. “What do you mean? Look, about
earlier. Let's just forget it ever happened ok?” She laughed like it was no big
deal even though it turned her stomach to go back and act like the kiss didn't
happen. It was amazing to say the least and had stirred things in her that she
hadn't felt in a long time.

“We
both know that will never happen. Neither of us will be able to forget what
happened in the kitchen. Second, you are not safe here alone.”

“What
do you mean I am not safe? Of course I am.”

“You
know what you saw Paige. It was real. There are things in this world that you
can only imagine. I am not leaving. Someone could be out there now watching
us.”

Everything
he said went in one ear and out the next. The only thing that stuck was the
part where he wasn't leaving. “What do you mean you aren't leaving? Look buddy,
you had your chance and you said no. Now, I want you to get out of my house.”

“You
don't know what is out there.” His forehead creased with the frown he had on
his face as he glared over at her. “I am not going anywhere, damn it! Whether
you kick me out or not, I will end up right back here, in your house and beside
you, watching over you, keeping you safe.”

“I
don't need you to keep me safe. Don't you remember who my father is?”

“I
don't care who your damn father is. He is not here damn it. I am!”

“And I
don't want you to be!”

“Tough!”

She
glared at him as he stomped his way towards her, and they glared at each other.

“How do
you turn me down one minute and then demand to stay in my house? That's absurd.”

“Fine.
You want me to give in to what I'm feeling then so be it.” He pulled her back
to him. His lips captured hers again. Just then, there was a loud crash
outside. Pulling from her, he set her behind him. “Stay here.” She was
breathing hard and could barely make out the words he said before he was gone.

She
jumped when he was suddenly back in front of her. “What in the world is going
on?”

“He was
here. You need to come home with me.”

“What?
Hold on. Who was here?”

He
sighed with frustration as he looked at her. “The killer.”

“How do
you know?”

“There
are signs.”

“Signs
for what?”

Taking
another deep breath, he looked at her and watched as shock ran across her face
with his next words. “The agency.”

“What
in the world are you talking about? Who are the agency? What kind of agency?”

“I
don’t have time to explain. You need to come with me now.”

She
stomped her foot as she looked at him angrily. “I am not going anywhere.”

His
face came only a mere inches from hers as he angrily demanded. “Either you go willingly
or I will tie you up and take you with me.”

“You
wouldn't dare!”

“I
would, and I will.”

“Uhhhh!”
Before she knew what was happening, he had picked her up and thrown her over
his shoulder. Making his way outside, he plopped her down unceremoniously in
the seat of his large truck. Before she could right herself and get out of the
truck, she felt it pulling from the side of the road where he had it parked.
“This is kidnapping, you know?”

“Yeah.
But it beats murder, which is what would have happened to you twice tonight if
I wasn't there. Like it or not, we are stuck together until we get this guy.”

“Fine,
but I'm helping. It isn't just you that's looking for this guy. It's my city.
Wait, I thought you said we were going to your place?” She looked at him with
caution as he pulled into a hotel parking lot.

“They
know where I live. They have apparently been watching me, which is what I
feared.”

“Wait.
So, you are saying these people are after me because of you. This has all been
about you?”

“Yes.
When we get there, I will tell you. I will tell you everything.” There was
something in his voice that had her worried. She looked over to see his
forehead creased in a deep frown. What in the hell was going on? “I am sure he
knows I am with you. If that's the case, he will be watching my house. We need
to ditch my truck too. I will rent a car, and we will go from there. We need to
go over everything we have first.” He sounded like he was talking more to
himself instead of her as he started to make plans.

“Well,
first Sherlock Holmes, we need to get a map and circle everywhere the victims
were found on one and where they lived and were abducted on the other. There
has to be a pattern of some kind. I mean he has to have some way on how he
chooses his victims.”

“I have
some already. They’re in the glove box. Let's get a room and then we can spread
everything out and look at what we have. Then, we can start hunting tomorrow.”

She
turned to look at him at the tone of voice he used. The twitch was back in his
jaw and his eyes held a steely gaze as he stared out the windshield straight in
front of them. There was nothing there, it was just darkness. She was missing
something. Why was he so intent on this one guy? Why did he seem to tense up
whenever they talked about the victims? She didn't know what was going on, but
she was going to find out.

They
made their way into the hotel, and she sighed with exasperation. There had only
been one room left available at the hotel due to some convention that was going
on that weekend. Sheldon, instead of going to another hotel and trying, had
immediately taken the room. Paige looked over the room in dread. It held one
bed and no other means of sleeping. There was just a hard metal chair in the
corner. That and a long table were the only things that were in the room other
than the bed and a small chest of drawers that held the television. She knew
they would have to share the bed that night and worried over what would happen.
She didn't need anything to happen between them. She had decided long ago that
men were a waste of time. All they did was screw you over, break your heart,
and ignore everything that came from your mouth.

“It
will have to do. I promise I won't ravish you in your sleep tonight.”

“Yeah,
we both know that. With your track record tonight, that's not going to happen.”

His
eyes held hers for a moment. “Don't push it Paige.”

“Yeah.
I heard that tonight as well. You are like a broken record. I know, I know, you
are not what I need. Yada, yada, yada, and so on.”

“Stop
Paige. You are acting like a child.”

“Whatever.
I am tired and going to bed.”

“Yes.
We need to get some sleep. That way, we can wake early in the morning. Here, I
always pack a bag, and I have an extra shirt you can sleep in.”

“Thanks.”

Paige
made her way to the bathroom and quickly shed her clothes and pulled the shirt
on. Thankfully, at his height, the shirt reached to right above her knees.
Walking back out she noticed that he was already in the bed and that he had
chosen the side next to the door. Slipping under the covers, she turned to her
side. She knew there was no way she would be able to fall asleep anytime soon.
Within minutes, the events of the day began to weigh heavily on her. She closed
her eyes and drifted to sleep within minutes. 

Paige
awoke and suddenly felt very hot. She tried to push the covers from her but
realized that the blanket was a lot heavier than it should be. She looked down
to see an array of color over her chest. She realized it was an arm right
before everything came back to her from the night before. She laid there as her
body stiffened, knowing if she moved too much she would wake him.

“No
need little one. I'm awake.”

“Yes.
Well, since you are, can you please remove your arm? You need to stay on your
side of the bed.”

She
felt the warmth from his breath feather over her ear as he whispered to her.
“If you would look my dear, you will see that you are on my side of the bed.”

She
quickly looked around. “Oh. I'm sorry.”

“No my
dear. I don't mind at all.” His hand reached over to grab her waist.

“Yeah
well can you remove your arm now?”

“I
don't think I can.”

“What
do you mean you don't think you can?”

“I mean
I want you too much. I can't fight it anymore.” His lips dropped to capture
hers again.

Chapter
5

Don’t
Fight It

“Then
don't.” Her voice was but a whisper, but he heard it loud and clear like she
had screamed it across the sky.

“Can you put this
fire out little girl?”  Pushing himself up against her
again.

“I think I
can.”  She whispered back as she pushed against him
again.  She didn’t know where her brain was.  This should
not be happening.  She should be getting up. Instead, she kept
pressing against him and moaned.  She took his hand and raised it up
to her mouth slipping his thumb inside her mouth to gently suck it.

“Oh
shit.”  He flipped her on her back and was instantly on her,
devouring her mouth with his own.  There was no tenderness and
softness to the kiss and she loved it, wanting nothing else, and she kissed him
back just as hard.  Before she knew what was going on, he had removed
the shirt. She was also aware that she didn’t have anything else on under
it.  He looked down at her with smoky dark blue eyes that turned a
dark sapphire color with desire.  “Make sure this is what you want
because once we start there is no going back.

“I understand
that. Now, if you want it…?”

“You don’t have to
tell me twice darling.” Standing, he slowly removed his shirt. He
looked down at her and grinned when his hands touched his belt buckle. He
slowly unhooked it and slid the zipper down. He lowered his pants and
boxers and stood in front of her naked. She looked up to see him stand
proudly. He had medium brown hair that looked shaggy everywhere. She
looked down and saw the muscles ripple across his chest and arms when he moved. He
had a flat stomach that was also rippling with muscles. 

He looked down at
her, and he saw the desire swirling in her eyes. He lowered himself to lie
beside her as his hands traveled over her body. He caressed
everywhere. Gliding his hand up, he captured her breast in his hand and
brought it to his mouth to lick it then suck the nipple into his mouth. He
heard her gasp and smiled against her. She was delicious, but he wanted to
taste all of her. Leaning over her, he balanced himself on his left arm
and elbow as he ran his hand down over her stomach. Using his index finger, he
circled her belly button. At her soft moan, his hand traveled
further. He took her mouth in a deep kiss as his hand traveled further to
find that special bud of nerves and desire. He rubbed it with the tip of
his finger then dipped it even lower to insert one finger inside
her. Stroking, he added another finger. She was moaning into his
mouth, and he spread her legs wide so he could settle between them. He
looked down into her eyes and smiled. She was panting deeply, her eyes
were half closed in desire. 

Paige was swimming
in ecstasy with heat spreading over her body. She didn’t know what to
do. Her hands were gripping the sheets and moaning as she tossed her from
side to side. “Please.” He positioned himself at her entrance and kissed
her deep. She moaned deep as he pushed inside her to the hilt. She
felt fuller than she had ever felt before.  She broke the kiss to
suck his ear lobe into her mouth. Moving her hands up, she dug her fingers
into his back as he started to move. There was something building deep
inside her, and she couldn’t fight it. Heat spread up through her
body. She looked up at him as he increased his speed. He reached his
hand under her leg to grab behind her knee and lifted it up for a better angle.

He moaned deep and
heard her growl before she bent her back and climaxed. He followed her
shortly after. They lay entwined in each other’s limbs. She smiled
over at him and saw the look he gave her.

“We
will find him.” She whispered softly.

“I know
honey. Let’s get some sleep.”

The
next morning, she awoke to find breakfast waiting. She looked up to see him
standing there. He gave her a look filled with worry before he said his next
words. “We need to talk.”

She
instantly became alarmed thinking he would speak about the night before. It had
been the best sex she had ever experienced, and for some reason, she felt that
he was about to ruin it. “Ok.”

“I am
not what you think. I am dangerous.”

“Please
tell me how?” She felt herself grow angry at his words.

She
watched him pace the floor as she ate. Finally, he began talking. “I was on my
third tour in Afghanistan. We were in deep. I mean real deep. Our commander had
been kidnapped and was being held in this cave of sorts. We knew the government.
No matter what citizens think, they won’t pay for the release of hostages. So,
me and four of my teammates went in after him.” He turned from her as he placed
his hands on the wall and leaned over, bending his back. “We didn’t succeed.
Everyone was killed.”

She
quickly stood and made her way over to him. Gently, she placed her hand on his
arm. “I’m sorry. Are you the only one who made it out alive?” She could tell by
the way he spoke that he was.

“No.
You see, we were all supposed to be dead. The agency. They did this. They did
it to me.”

“What
are you talking about Sheldon?”

“The
agency used some genetic engineering. They injected me with something and the
other two guys who had still been breathing. It killed Josh. Steven survived,
and so did I, but we aren’t the same. We never will be again.”

“I know
it’s a lot, but you are alive.”

“Only
partially.” He looked up at her, and she saw the pain in his gaze. Pain he had
been hiding and fighting by himself for so long. “I am a shape shifter.”

“What?
Hold on a minute. You are saying that you are a werewolf or something? Come
on.” She shook her head as she turned away from him. She was upset. Why would
he lie to her? Why would he tell her something like that? All he had to say was
he didn’t want her. It wouldn’t’ be the first time she heard it. 

“Paige.”
She turned and gasped as the man in front of her started to transform. She
watched as hair started to sprout everywhere and his body grew in size. Within
minutes, she was looking at a full sized bear, not a man.

“Oh my
god. Oh my god.” Her body trembled, but she didn’t know if it was from fear or
shock. “You weren’t lying.” She watched, still shocked as the large beast made
its way towards her. She looked deep into its eyes and saw the same intense
pain that she had seen before. It was him. She had watched him transform in
front of her. “But that is impossible. This is not real. I am dreaming still.”

The
bear began to shrink until Sheldon stood in front of her again. “I’m sorry to
shock you, but this was what I was trying to keep you from.”

“That
is what you meant when you said you weren’t good for me.”

“Yes.”

“Well,
I think you are. So, are you the only one like this?”

“No.
The one that hunts us is as well.”

“Oh. Is
he a bear too?”

“No.
Josh was turned into a panther.”

“Oh.
You mean the man hunting us is your friend? The one you fought with?”

“He
used to be. Now, he is part of the agency. He is now more panther than man. He
is a hunter and a killer now. He is not the man I knew. We must head out. I got
a lead.”

“So,
we’re hunting a panther, not a man?” she said slowly, trying to digest all she
had seen and heard.

“Yes.”

“This
makes it that much harder now.”

“Yes,
but we can do it together.” He looked wary as she made her way to him. She
stood up on her tip toes to kiss him gently.

“Yes,
together. But if we have a couple minutes…” She giggled as she avoided his arms
and ran from him. She heard the growl behind her and knew that wouldn’t be the
last time she heard it.