Southern Shifters: Inked By The Bear (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Black & White Series Book 2) (6 page)

“We never had contact with him after he took off. Maybe if we had…”

Bex felt bad at all the heartache and memories being brought up for all of them. “This being brought up after so many years can’t be easy for you. It doesn’t seem fair.”

“Life is rarely fair. And I’m certain that none of this is easy for you either. She had a fiancé, is that right? Your mother? She kept you because she thought you were his?”

Bex swallowed around the lump in her throat. “Y-yes. She’d hoped I was. She’d been engaged at the time and they both thought, hoped I was his. They didn’t believe in terminating the pregnancy, even though they were unsure. Your… Rex had threatened her if she told anyone about him, but I know she told Beck about being raped while he’d been out of town on business.”

“So, that’s why they assumed you could’ve been his, this man, Beck’s daughter?”

“Yes.”

“I hadn’t realized that. I am so terribly sorry. I don’t know what to say.”

“I don’t think there’s anything to say. I didn’t know my mother before all that happened, but I know she was sort of an outcast by the time I came along. Strangers loved her, but the people in Bryson City always seemed to treat her with kid gloves or not at all on a personal level. The mayor blamed her for his son’s disappearance and word got around that he thought she knew more than she was saying, but I don’t think she did. I think she’d have done whatever she could to help them find Beck.”

“Is that why you chose to move and sell her inn?”

“Yes. I wanted a fresh start and she’d have understood that.”

“Tell me something happy about her. Please. I’d like to know her through you.”

“You don’t have to do this. I —”

“I know I don’t have to do, but I want to do it. You’re my grandchild. You may be a grown woman, but you’re my family. Family I didn’t know I had and then, of course, there’s Gus. The two of you together. He’s not blood to us, but he’s been raised as though he was. We’ve all loved him as though he was born into our family. We couldn’t have loved him more if he had been. He’s been searching for so long and until he found you, I’m not sure he knew what he’d been searching for. I’m not an old woman, but I’m not young either. I want to share as much of your life as you’ll allow me.”

Bex stopped walking and blinked back the tears swimming in her eyes. She’d been doing it all day it seemed.

She’d always wished for a family and now she had one and she didn’t know what to do with it. It was a wish she’d never shared with her mother because Bex hadn’t wanted to upset her, to make her feel worse than she had already for the way Bex had grown up without a father. She’d always been a loner away from her mother and the inn. She couldn’t be that way anymore, not if she was going to be with Gus. He came with a family. One he might not spend a lot of time with, but it was definitely one who cared about him. And they were her family, too. When she opened her eyes, tears fell anyway.

In the middle of the sidewalk on Main Street, in Dandridge, Tennessee, she cried. She buried her face in her palms and sobbed. Her shoulders shook and she hiccuped and she poured all the hurt and pain and confusion into her hands through her tears. Arms wrapped around her and held her close. Female arms. Mary’s arms. Her grandmother’s arms. And Bex cried harder.

Mary maneuvered them around and helped Bex across the street to the small park behind the general store and settled them onto a bench. She pulled Bex’s head to her shoulder and rocked her gently until Bex calmed. She didn’t know how long she cried, but her eyes were scratchy and her throat was raw when the tears dried up. And she felt lighter, better. But exhausted.

She also smiled. Very small, but she felt the smile, inside as well as the physical tilting of her lips at the corners. “Apple pie,” she croaked out. She cleared her throat and tried again. “My mother used to make apple pie and apple dumplings. They were so good that people would order them to be shipped in the Fall if they couldn’t come for a visit. She made other things too, but apple anything was her specialty.”

“Oh, I do love a good apple pie with extra cinnamon. Do you have her recipes?”

Bex nodded. “In my head. I’ve been making them since I was twelve. I started helping make them when I was five and still needed a stool to stand on in order to reach the counter.”

“She loved you. I’m so glad she loved you.”

It should probably make Bex feel odd or maybe the statement should have sounded odd, but it didn’t. She understood what Mary meant and how she meant it. “She did. Even when they couldn’t confirm who my father was, even when they found inexplicable markers in my blood, she loved me.”

“Maybe one day I can try some of that apple pie.”

“I have a batch of apple butter and apple jelly in the pantry. I made it last year in her kitchen. It was the last one before she passed away. She always said it was the pot she cooked the apples in, that made all the difference.”

“Us Southern women always swear it’s the pot or the pan that provides the magic.”

Bex smiled. A wide one, this time. “Yes. Yes, we do. I’ll give you some to take back home if you’d like. I’ll need to wait until my oven is installed in a few weeks to bake the apple pie.”

Mary returned the smile and took Bex’s hand. “I’d like that. I’d really like that. Thank you. Thank you for talking with me, for sharing with me. After everything my son put you and your mother through, I wouldn’t have blamed you for being angry.”

Bex tried to be. For so many years she’d tried to be angry, but she just couldn’t do it. “It wasn’t your fault. I saw how people who grew up with my mom treated her afterward. I took my cues from her and, I had to take my cues from Gus today. If he’d been wary about me being with you, if he’d had the slightest hesitation about you as a person versus the violence your son inflicted, he’d have reacted. But he didn’t. He still trusts you and your brother and the family he grew up with. I don’t have anything to go on other than him and how he knows you and feels about you.”

“Gus is a good man.”

“He is,” Bex agreed. He was a very good man and had been since they’d met. It hadn’t been long, but her instincts about him hadn’t wavered. She would be in love with him before too long. She didn’t doubt that and she didn’t doubt he felt the same way. He wanted her, wanted to be with her, found the home he’d always wanted and he’d found it with her. “I think,” she said, getting to her feet. “I think we’ll stop in the restaurant over there and order a platter of fried catfish and one of fried chicken. We could all use some good food after today.”

“Then again,” Mary whispered, with a conspiratorial gleam in her eyes, “with proper seasoning, we could always cook up some wolf.”

Chapter Six

“You’re still awake,” Gus said into the darkness.

“I am.”

“Have you slept at all since Luke came?”

“I don’t think so.”

Déjà vu settled inside him. They’d had a conversation similar to this before, in Bryson City, the night before he’d taken her away.

Gus rolled to his side and tugged Bex into his arms. “You want to talk about it?” He hoped she said yes. She hadn’t talked at all about anything since his -
their
- family left. Luke decided to return to Deal’s Gap to gather some files and make an appearance with more members of his pack with the promise, or threat, that he’d be back soon. Gus wasn’t looking forward to it.

Despite Gus’s invitation to Luke about staying and finishing up the tattoo, Michael was the only one who’d elected to do so, as he’d said he would. He and Bex seemed to get along well and Michael had been the only one to get Bex to say much of anything through the evening. He’d asked her about tools and work on the house. She’d smiled and taken him on a tour.

It was the family business. Building, renovation, residential construction. Gus had worked for them all through his teen years and he at least had skills to fall back on if his tattoo business hadn’t taken off. He could build a house, work on motorcycles, and create tattoos from nothing more than a vague description.

In all, he was good with his hands.

He just wished he was as good with his words, maybe then he could get Bex to open up, and put her at ease.

“No. I don’t want to talk about it. I don’t know what to talk about. I mean, shouldn’t I feel different? I have a family. I have you. I want to have sex all the time. But, I also learned I am a bear. A goddamn bear, Gus. I have bear DNA running through my veins. I mean, I always knew I had some of it, based on the conversations I’d overheard with my mother and Beck’s father, but, no one ever thought anything would come of it, but it has, hasn’t it? And shouldn’t I feel different? Shouldn’t I be freaked out? Shouldn’t I be rocking like a crazy person in a corner having a meltdown?”

She’d pulled out of his arms was now sitting on the mattress, facing him. He could only make out the outline of her body in the darkness, but he could smell her and he could smell him on her. “I thought you didn’t want to talk,” he teased and immediately covered his face when she flung her pillow at him.

“And I thought you wanted me to talk.”

“I do, baby. I thought maybe you needed to talk.” He didn’t like seeing the somber look in her eyes or the slouch in her shoulders.

“I just haven’t known what to say. So much changed, but nothing changed. Make sense?”

“Yes.”

“When he told my mother that she was his savior, was he trying to say what Luke has been saying about his pack? That they needed to look outside their own kind to survive?”

“I’m going to say yes. She was strong, Bex. You’re a shifter, baby, even if no one realized it at the time.”

“What about the idea of Beck’s father being the one who killed the bear and the wolf?”

“I don’t know. Maybe your mother said something we don’t know about. Maybe Luke has more answers.” Gus hoped there was more. Especially given Luke’s notion that the same man or men killed his parents. His interest in knowing what happened to them and why, had always been something he kept deep inside, locked away. There was too much pain in that one event from when he was barely able to walk.

“I don’t really expect you to have the answers. I guess I just needed to get the questions out in the open, to do exactly what you said. I needed to talk it out. There may not be any answers. Not really. Things that far back? Trails go cold and information fades. I just hope, Beck’s father isn’t involved. I mean, he was partially my grandfather even if he didn’t want to have anything to do with me after I was born.”

“You can talk all you want, ask all the questions you need to ask. I’m not going to stop you and maybe it’s time someone does. No one ever gets any answers without asking the questions. I’m just not sure anyone knew what questions to ask. I know you go back and forth. You want answers and sometimes, I think maybe you’re afraid of what the answers might be. I’m afraid, too.”

“Thank you, Gus, for letting me ramble and repeat myself.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

“Is that all?”

“Well, not all.”

“Can I ask you something personal about you?”

He didn’t hesitate. “I’m an open book to you.”

“What does it feel like to shift?”

Gus chuckled at the subtle change in subject and reached for her. She immediately scooted closer. “It hurts at first. Joints and bones pop out of place. Muscles alter and elongate. It’s like being broken and put back together all at the same time. But once the transformation has fully taken place, it’s a strange type of freedom.”

“Are you still you? I mean, do you still have the same thoughts and know who you are? Would you still know me?”

“Curious cub,” he said softly. “Yes. Down at the lake a few weeks ago when I was shifted, I knew who you were.” Gus tugged Bex into his arms, and across his body. “Pretty girl, I will always know you. No matter what or where.”

He planted a kiss on her lips and tucked her head beneath his chin.

“When did you first shift?”

“I was fourteen, kind of like the age range Luke alluded to. Right in the middle of puberty. It was a bitch. Not only was I dealing with the usual shit of facial hair, and growing out of every piece of clothing I had, eating everything in sight, I was struggling to control my body’s interest in shifting at the most inconvenient times.”

Bex laughed, just as he’d intended. He was more than willing to have the serious conversations whenever she wanted, but he also wanted to lighten the mood and the tone whenever possible. It was a unique feeling, caring about someone else as much as he cared for Bex. He wanted her happiness more than he could express.

”Did you go to regular schools?”

“Yes. Martin and his… Martin and my mother wanted us to learn how to control our bears in hostile environments.”

“And public school was considered hostile?”

“When you play football, yes.”

“I didn’t know you played football.” She lifted her head and touched a kiss to his lips. “That’s sexy.”

“Mmm. There’s a lot about me that you haven’t learned yet, but I’m sure we’ll get to it all.”

She smiled against his mouth. “I can’t wait. I know I keep asking and I know that no one has an answer, but why haven’t I ever shifted? Why does being around Luke affect me? I was around him outside the donut shop in Deal’s Gap and didn’t feel anything other than a strong dislike, but here? On the porch? Well, you know how I reacted.”

“That might have been the beginning of the transformation for you. You’re right, I don’t know. I wish I did. I don’t know if there’s dormant blood traces versus dominant blood traces. I just don’t know the science well enough. But if it’s that important to you, we’ll try to find out. Luke seems much more educated about it, much more knowledgeable.”

“Are we mates? Hell, I don’t even know if full-blood bears mate for life.”

“They don’t. Most species of half-bloods do though. We have to in order keep our families safe. There’s strength in numbers.”

“You mean like go forth and multiply type strength in numbers?”

“Yes. That’s what I mean.”

“We should work on that,” she said softly, sliding on top of him. He gripped her hair and lifted his head to meet her lips.

“Seems we have been working on it. A lot.”

She fought against his hold, tried to get free. He didn’t let up. It turned her on and she wiggled, holding him around the hips with her knees. And that move turned them both on. “Are you complaining?”

“You know better than that, pretty girl.” He flipped them and wedged his way between her thighs. “You know much better than to think I’m complaining about being the one you rut with, the one you get dirty with, the one you spread your sexy legs open for, the one you reveal all your curves for…”

Sliding down her body, his lips trailing between her breasts, his hands trailing along her sides… She spread her legs wider the lower he went and when he settled in, cradled in her soft thighs, he latched onto her clit, making her gasp and moan.

He sucked and she writhed.

He pulled with his teeth and she bucked into his face.

He let go when she began a steady thrust upward and chuckled when she cussed him to Hell and back.

Long and slow, he placated her with licks of his tongue, with his fingers teasing her nipples. The more he played, the more she shifted and twisted in the sheets, grabbing his shoulders, his hair, his wrists.

The taste of her filled him, imprinted on him. He’d never forget the silk of her pussy, the wetness that coated her. He’d never tire of her pleas and begging and promises if he’d just let her cum.

He’d never tire of her.

When she was on the edge again, the verge of orgasm, he worked his way back up her body, covered her mouth with his, and pushed himself inside her. “That’s my girl,” he whispered between her lips as she wrapped her arms and legs around him.

He loved this with her. He’d always liked sex, but with Bex? God, he loved it. He wanted it, more and more… He wanted her, more and more…

In and out, hard and quick, he fucked her, loved her. Slick wetness coated his cock. He couldn’t stop, didn’t want to stop, but his own orgasm was upon him and the wave took him before he could catch his breath.

“Damn, Bex.”

“Don’t you leave me like this, Gus… Don’t, please…”

“Wouldn’t…dream of it. Ah, fuck…” His body tensed as he poured himself into her. He lifted up on his arms, his cock still buried inside her, driving deep and gritting his teeth through the sensitivity gripping the head of his cock.

Bex reached between them, rubbed her clit, fucked herself up on him, undulated beneath him. He wanted to see her face, wanted to see her as she brought herself off while he was buried inside her, but he didn’t dare move.

She began to tremble, her breath coming in short gasps, moans escaping from her throat. She cried out through her orgasm and the sound bounced around the bare walls of the room.

Gus grinned in the darkness and lowered himself enough to kiss the tip of Bex’s nose. He rolled to the side and gathered her close. “You know, when this becomes a full fledged, respectable inn, you’re going to have to tone those sounds down or your guests will wonder what on Earth is going on. Unless they’re shifters, like Michael. I’m sure he knew what we were doing, what we were going to do before we ever started.”

Bex thumped his arm. “You make it sound as though I can’t control myself.”

“Well… Can you?”

“Yes,” she lied.

* * * * *

“She’s a little feisty.”

Gus couldn’t hold back the smile. “She is. Did we disturb you?”

He’d left Bex inside and joined Michael on the front porch.

It was a clear, cool night. Peaceful. Calm. After the past three days, the quiet and the lack of emotional chaos was welcome. He settled on the railing, across from where his brother sat in a rocking chair.

“You didn’t disturb me. I went for a walk around town when y’all started getting… ah, busy. She sleeping now?” Michael asked.

Gus laughed at his brother’s hedging and discomfort. “No. She’s in the kitchen. She’s been stripping and repainting the cabinets. She’s the hardest working woman I know.”

“When does she plan to have this place ready for guests?”

“She hasn’t said.”

“You didn’t plan on meeting a woman, did you?”

“No. Not someone like her.”

“What’s someone like her?”

“A forever someone. She’s not the kind of woman you leave.”

“What about your traveling business? Is she the kind of woman you’d give that up for?”

“Give up the traveling? Yeah. But not the business as a whole. I might consider setting up a shop here in Dandridge, might even set up a bike repair shop. I saw a couple of storefronts that would work.

“So, what I’m hearing, is that you plan on putting down roots.”

“Yeah, I guess I am.”

“I’m happy for you, G. I know it’s not been easy for you. I know you’ve not known where you wanted to be or where you belong. I’m glad you’ve found it. It’s a nice place.”

“It is.”

“I’m thinking I might stay on a while longer, you know, until the house is done, if you think she’d be all right with it. I know I’ve done a few things around here for her already tonight, but I’d like to help out a little more. See the job through to the end.”

“Only one way to find out. What about Dad?” He’d called Martin dad for as long as he could remember. It was a request from Martin when Gus was in elementary school. It had been difficult, at first, but he’d finally come around to it.

“He’ll be fine with it. You know him. He’ll want to know she’s being taken care of, watched out for.”