Page 25 of Bear With Me

I gesture with an arm. “Lead the way.”

He lopes through the clearing with an easy grace that I wouldn’t have expected from such a big man. When I look away from his handsome face and see just how fast we’re going, I yelp, throwing my hands around his neck. I hear his responding chuckle in my ear.

The next time I look up we’re bounding up the steps to his cabin. He sets me down carefully by his door. He holds onto me with one hand as he unlocks the door with the other and leads me inside.

He kisses my shoulder and moves past me to the dining room table where he dumps a bunch of medical supplies.

“Wow, you’re pretty well stocked up. Does this happen often?”

He shrugs and winces when it jostles the gash on his shoulder. “Sometimes.”

“Sometimes?”

“Well, I don’t always remember what happens when I shift. Sometimes I wake up to find myself covered in things like this. I’ve gotten used to doing quick patch jobs.” He sends me a rueful smile.

I cross to his side and take the antibacterial wash from him. “I’ll help.”

“You don’t have to do that,” he says.

“You didn’t have to save me,” I respond. He sits quietly, his shoulders bowed. My mouth opens and closes a few times before I manage to find the right words. “How long have you been able to do that, exactly?” I ask.

He straightens and looks up at me, those big brown eyes hiding all of his thoughts. “Since I was fourteen. The first time I ever shifted was on the night my father died. I was trying to save him.”

“What happened?” I deftly clean the wound and apply antibacterial ointment and a bandage.

“It’s a long story.”

I move around to his front and he tugs me down to his lap. “Was your father a shifter, too?”

“I assume so, but I never really asked my grandfather about it after he died. By the time I was old enough to get it under control, he’d passed and then there was no one left.”

“So you had to go through all of that alone?” That couldn’t have been easy on an orphaned fourteen-year-old. The thought of it makes me want to go and hug him.

“I did all right,” he says, his shoulders bunched up around his ears as I bandage the wound.

“All done,” I say. I figure we’ve both had enough of the serious topics for today.

“Thanks. That should do it.”

He disposes of the wrappings in the trash and disappears into the bathroom to replace the supplies. “We should be okay if you need me to take you back home.”

I shake my head. “I don’t think so. You have a lot of time to make up for, mister. You never gave me a second date. Unless you consider rescuing damsels a date.”

He stays across the room. “I’m still not sure if it’s a good idea for you to stay here.”

“You don’t really have a choice unless you want to throw me out. I told you I trust you.”

Declan moves closer. “You aren’t going to give up on this are you?”

I smile. “Nope.”

“I’m pretty wiped,” he admits. “Would it be too boring if I suggested we go take a nap? A long one.”

“No, that sounds like a great idea.”

I follow Declan down the hall to his bedroom. It’s not very big, but the views into the forest make up for any lack in square footage. The windows nearly cover one wall and when he tugs me down onto the bed, I realize that it’s almost like sleeping outside.

He curls around my back and the warmth emanating from his chest combined with the crash from the adrenaline makes me yawn. His arms wrap around my middle and pull me close. I sigh in contentment.