Page 23 of Bear With Me

chapter ten

SULLY

One second I’m cowering behind a tree, certain that I’m about to be sucked into oblivion and the next a shadow comes rushing at me, scooping me up into its arms. Exhaustion and fear have run riot on my emotions and I can barely keep my eyes open as it races through the forest. The only thing I know is that it smells safe, it smells like Declan.

I wrap my arms around it and my hands come in contact with his neck. The thoughts and feelings come at me like a shot to the gut. I can see and hear everything around us. I can sense the tornado not far behind and all of the animals fleeing in front. But the thing that strikes me the most is the same thought that keeps repeating in his brain.

Keep her safe.

We make it to some sort of building that I don’t recognize and down to a cellar that I hope will withstand the tornado. He sets me down and backs away. I crumple against the wall, my whole body feeling like I’ve been hit by a truck.

I rub a hand at my eyes and when I look up the thing that saved me is Declan, shirtless, by the door. Which completely blows my mind, even when I consider the crazy shit that I’ve been through the past few weeks. I barely have time to sort through that information before he’s on top of me as the tornado finally hits.

I cover my ears as the wind whistles through the air. The ceiling above us shakes with the force of multiple impacts and Declan’s warm body presses me even closer to the cold concrete beneath me. Rumbles come with each of his exhalations and I focus on that instead of the disaster happening one floor up.

What feels like an eternity later, the wind finally dies down and the silence is deafening. Declan slowly moves from on top of me and scoots with lightning quickness across the room. I can see the way his body shakes even through the darkness. I fight my own growing panic and confusion. Nonna’s words replay in my head. I don’t know if what we had will last, but it sure as hell deserves the chance to try.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m going to be honest here for your own well-being.” He fights a full-body shiver. “I can’t control myself much longer. So you need to go before I can’t control it anymore.”

“Was this why you pushed me away that day?” I take a step forward, but stop when a growl reverberates throughout the dark room. “What…I mean I can’t believe I’m saying this, but what are you? How did we get here so fast? How did you know where I was?”

“Sully, please. Don’t come any closer. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You could have hurt me when we were alone that night and you didn’t.” I take another step and ignore the flash of his now razor-sharp teeth.

“I was relaxed that night.” He groans. “You don’t understand.”

“Then, please, make me understand. You owe me that since you gave me a shit explanation about not wanting to see me again.”

“Don’t you get it? You could end up like that girl in the woods and I won’t risk that. You’re too…”

I take another step. His body is nearly vibrating with the urge to keep still. “I’m too what?” I whisper.

He drops his head against the wall with a groan. “You’re too important to me.”

“If you’re so out-of-control, then how did you manage to find me and bring me to safety? How did you manage to keep control of yourself during the tornado? You’re not making any sense.”

“Please leave,” comes his ravaged whisper.

The last step brings me within reaching distance and I finally get a good look at him. I control my reaction so that I don’t spook him even more than he already is. His face is sharper, more defined and his hair has thickened to cover most of his jawline and his eyes are no longer the soft amber that I remembered. Now they’re a bright gold that damn near glows in the darkness, like they did that night in the clearing when he kissed me. His thickly muscled arms that are now covered in light fur. His thighs have ripped through his pants and he lost his shoes somewhere in the forest. My brain trips over the scene in front of me, but after my own surprise magical discovery, I manage to keep my calm.

“You—you’re some sort of shapeshifter?” In front of my own eyes his face morphs into something both man and beast. He lets out a groan. The concrete under his hands has deep slashes from where he’s clawed through in an effort to keep still. “This is why you pushed me away?”

“I should have never kissed you,” he says, his chest heaving. “I should have walked away that day.”

“I don’t think you’re going to hurt me.”

“You shouldn’t be so sure of that.”

“But I am.”

He shakes his head, seeming to disagree with my words. “We’ve spent one night together, Sully. You can’t possibly know that.”

“I know you came to save me. I know that instead of putting me at risk, you walked away to save me and spared hurting my grandmother. Those are the actions of someone I can trust.” I kneel before him and reach out a hand to touch his shoulder. “I trust you not to hurt me, Declan.”

He shudders at the contact, his neck arching up. When he looks back down at me his eyes are molten. He seems to struggle with himself before reaching out to me and pulling me into his lap, my legs thrown over one thigh and his arm cradles my back.