Christina's Bear (3 page)

Love and
happiness seemed to swirl around the couple making Bull even more grateful he
declined the offer to stay in their spare bedroom.

After
their initial meeting, Jenn left to run some errands before her friend showed
up, giving the guys time to catch up.

“What’s
going on, Johnson?” Matt asked once Jenn drove away.

“What do
you mean?”

“Something
about you is off. Is everything okay?” Bull appreciated his friend’s concern
and even though he had planned to ask about the girl, he’d changed his mind. He
didn’t want to talk about his misery anymore.

“Yeah,
everything is fine. Jenn’s great. I’m so happy for you.” Bull responded, avoiding
the subject.

“Oh. My.
God. You’ve found your mate. How did it happen? When? Where is she? Does she
live in Chestnut Rock?” Matt was more excited than a kid at Christmas.

Bull
sighed.

“I met
her and I messed it all up. I don’t know anything about her except she’s single.
I have no way of finding her.”

“How do
you know she’s single? What’s her name?” Matt asked, clearly confused.

“I don’t
know her name. I only managed to find out she was single before I realized she
was terrified of me and I let her go,” Bull said miserably.

“Wha—?”
Matt started before Bull cut him off.

“Look,
can we not talk about it right now? I seriously messed up and I’d rather not
talk about it today, okay?” His skin was feeling itchy and he was fighting the
need to run.

“Okay,
I’m sure it isn’t that bad. When you’re ready to talk, I’m here.” Matt gave a
sympathetic nod.

“It is,
but thanks, man. I appreciate it.” Bull was happy his friend was ready to drop
it. He wasn’t ready to talk about it yet and he didn’t want to ruin dinner. He
was ready to change the subject. “You said something earlier about a possible
place to stay?”

Matt
smiled.

“Yeah,
Jenn’s best friend has an empty room now that Jenn has fully moved in here. She
said you’re welcome to stay with her until you find a place.”

“She? No
way! I’m not living with any woman unless she’s my mate. Just the thought of it
makes my skin crawl.” He shook his head and rolled his shoulders for emphasis.

“Okay,
okay. It was just a suggestion.” Matt laughed. “How was I supposed to know you’d
find your mate your first night in town?”

“Second,
but yeah, who knew?” Bull laughed, too. “I appreciate the offer though, it’s
really generous. I hope she won’t be offended.”

“Nah,
she won’t be. Christina’s great. I think you’ll really like her. She’s the one
who let me kiss her in the bar before I met Jenn. The kiss didn’t do anything
for either of us, but…”

Bull
stopped focusing on what Matt was saying as a familiar smell met his nose. A
combination of fresh mountain air and sweet, ripe strawberries…the girl from
the market! He turned toward the side of the house and watched his mate step
around the corner toward them.

“Okay,
bye.” She laughed and pushed a button on her phone. “Matt! Jenn said…” She stopped
walking and talking when their eyes met.

All rational
thought left Bull as he realized the situation. Jenn’s best friend was his mate
and Matt had kissed her. Nothing else mattered.

“You
kissed my mate?” He roared and advanced on his friend.

Chapter Five

Christina
laughed as she hung up the phone. Jenn called to say she was running late and
asked her to remind Matt to start the grill. His wife had known he’d forget as
soon as she left and he and Bull really started talking. Christina was ready to
give them a hard time about acting like a couple of girls when she looked up
and locked eyes with the man from the market.

His
intense stare sent an inferno of heat straight to her core before it turned to
rage and he turned toward Matt yelling, “You kissed my mate!”

His
mate? Who talked like that and who was Matt kissing? There wasn’t any more time
to think about it because the guy charged up to Matt with his fist pulled back.

“Bull!
Don’t!” Christina yelled without thinking. She’d remembered his name from her
earlier conversation with Jenn and she hoped she got it right. The thought of
that big paw of a fist, with the power of his mammoth body behind it, coming in
contact with Matt’s face had her worried. They were supposed to be best friends.

When she
yelled his name, Bull turned back to look at her, his face a mixture of panic
and pain, before he dropped his arm and ran into the forest. Matt’s backyard
wasn’t fenced where it met the forest line and several dense trees aided in
Bull’s sudden disappearance.

Matt
called his name a few times before giving up. He turned back toward her when
Jenn arrived carrying several grocery bags.

“What’s
going on?” Jenn asked.

“That’s
what I’d like to know.” Christina said, looking from Jenn to Matt. “Who are you
kissing?”

“You’re
kissing someone?” Jenn asked quietly.

“I’m not
kissing anyone,” Matt sighed. “I can explain, but I think we better go inside.”

Christina
looked back toward the forest hoping to catch a glimpse of Bull before she
followed the couple into the house.

****

Shifters!

Matt and
Jenn, and apparently Bull, were shifters. She wouldn’t have believed it if Matt
hadn’t shown her. Watching him change wasn’t the nightmare she thought it would
be when he’d confessed to turning into an animal. He’d closed his eyes, took a
deep breath and…changed. The process was fast and if she wasn’t looking, she
might have missed it. One second Matt was standing before her as a man, the
next he was a wolf. The reverse was the same.

When
they stepped inside the house, Matt first focused on Jenn, talking with her in
whispers. Christina watched them, longing for someone to love her with the same
intensity.

Careful
not to give away too much of Bull’s personal information, Matt shared with her
about the lonely lives of shifters and the strong bond mates shared.

That explained
her desire to answer his questions in the market, along with his rage toward
Matt at the mention of their shared kiss before he’d met Jenn. What she didn’t
understand was the idea that Bull thought she was afraid of him. Matt told her
Bull thought she was terrified when he held her wrist the night before. If they
were mates and mates shared a strong connection, why wouldn’t he understand her
feelings?

Matt’s
only explanation was that the feelings were strong and sometimes confusing at
first. The reminder of he and Jenn’s first date, or almost date, was enough to
convince her. Now she only had to convince Bull.

Matt had
driven through town, stopped at the hotel and even run through the woods in
wolf form while Jenn tried Bull’s cell multiple times. With no sign of him,
they finally decided to end their search for the night. Matt tried to convince
her of Bull’s safety, but Christina still worried. Now that she knew where to
find him, she’d stopped at the hotel on her way home but the lights were off
and he hadn’t answered the door.

She’d
have to wait until tomorrow to see him, but she had a plan. Christina was going
to prove to her mate she wasn’t afraid of him and hope he didn’t run off again
when he really got to know her.

It was
scary making the first step, but if it meant finding love, it’d be worth it.

Chapter Six

He was a
fool. Bull took another sip of the nasty hotel room coffee he’d made and ran a
hand through his hair. What had he been thinking almost hitting his friend? He
didn’t know. Even though he’d known the incident had been months ago, the idea
of Matt’s lips touching Christina’s drove him crazy. Before he could logically
think it through, he’d gone for blood. Her voice calling his name was the only
thing that stopped him from pounding his friend. His best friend.

After
taking off into the woods like a lunatic, he’d run to the cave he used earlier
and shifted. The unusual scents of the forest kept him from leaving and he’d
fallen asleep in the safety of the cavern. When the sun rose he shifted, walked
back to the hotel, showered and changed. He visited the room filled with
pastries and muffins only to find the coffee pot empty.

Bear
Claws always cheered him up, the name was funny for a sweet treat, but he could
barely muster a smile as he scarfed down the tasty Danish.

He
needed to apologize to Matt. He picked up his cell and noticed several missed
calls. Two of them had gone to voice mail. The first message was from Jenn. She
asked him to please come back and relayed how worried they all were. The second
was from Matt assuring him all was forgiven and encouraging him to talk to
Christina. He appreciated their support, but how would that go? He’d already
messed up twice. How would he convince Christina to give him a chance now?

Someone
knocked on the door and Bull ignored it. On the second knock he grumbled his
way to the door, certain he’d put out the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign. Pulling the
door open hastily, his grumpy words died in his throat when he saw who stood on
the other side.

“Hi.” Christina
smiled, her bright blue eyes looking up at him expectantly.

“Christina…”
Several thoughts ran through his head but he couldn’t seem to voice any of
them. How did she find him? Why? What was she doing here? She was so beautiful!

She
cleared her throat and looked past him into the room. Bull wasn’t sure if she
was checking to see if he was alone or waiting for him to invite her in. It was
as if he’d never been around a woman before—he hadn’t been around this
woman—but he had nothing to hide and wanted her with him. Without a word he
moved out of the doorway and she walked past him into the small room.

“Wow,
this place is…tiny.” Christina said as she turned in place and looked around.

“Yeah,
it is.” Bull laughed. Somehow he’d started to relax. “More so because I’m not.”

“Yeah.”
Christina faced him again, laughed too and took a deep breath. “I was wondering
if you wanted to have lunch with me today. I’m not really a great cook, but
there’s a salmon dish that I think turns out pretty good. I thought maybe we
could go shopping and spend some time getting to know each other while I make
it.”

“You
want to cook for me?” He couldn’t believe it. After everything that had happened,
she was reaching out to him. Maybe there was a chance he could make it right.

“Yes,
but we can do it a different day if—”

“I’d
love to spend the day with you.” Bull cut her off excitedly and hoped he didn’t
sound like an idiot.

Her
answering smile made it all worth it if he did.

****

Christina
hated the thought of Bull in that tiny hotel room. Maybe at the end of the day
she could convince him to move in. There was so much she still didn’t know
about him, but even armed with the knowledge of shifters, the thought didn’t
scare her like it should.

When
they got to the parking lot, Christina looked at her sedan then at Bull. When
did her car become so small?

“Would
you like to drive?”

Bull
followed her eyes to her car and smirked.

“Yeah,
I’m over here.” He motioned with his hand and started walking toward the
half-ton pick-up truck in the back of the lot.

Christina
kept up with him easily and when he opened the passenger door, she climbed in
with little effort. Bull grinned and closed her door, securing her inside.

“Where
to?” He asked once he settled into his own seat and started the truck.

Christina
gave directions to the health food store she shopped at sometimes and Bull
found it easily.

The walk
from the parking lot was short and by the time they’d pulled a basket out of
the corral, several people had greeted Christina.

“You
know a lot of people,” Bull commented as they wheeled their cart toward the
back of the store.

“Not
really. A lot of people know who I am because of my party planning business. I
interact with a lot of people in the planning stages and I usually attend some
part of the function to make sure everything runs smoothly.”

“Do you
enjoy planning parties?” Bull asked as he pushed the cart beside her.

“Yes,
very much.” She started to turn down an aisle and changed her mind after
recognizing the clerk from the market staring at the loaves of bread of the
shelves. “Do you enjoy working construction?” She tried to keep the
conversation going, hoping that Bull didn’t notice.

He did.

“You
don’t need bread?” She turned back to see he’d stopped at the end of the aisle.

“Not
yet, I’ll pick it up last.” She continued walking until she reached the tofu.
Starring at the varieties, she hoped he’d drop it.