Lions and Tigers and Bears (23 page)

“Rafe, quit stalling!”

“All right! My mother was supposed to reveal all when I became a man, which by tradition, is when a boy reaches puberty. She was killed before I’d reached that time in my life.”

“So how did you learn about it?”

“Very painfully,” he replied and, refusing to elaborate further, went on. “Legend has it that a group of Shoshone warriors, intent on proving which of them was the greatest hunter in their tribe, engaged in the meaningless slaughter of more than a few grizzlies. They went against tradition and killed the bears for reasons other than need or survival. Thus, they angered the spirit gods, who decided to have them know, without doubt, what it was to be one of the great bears, and what it was they destroyed by taking their lives. The warriors were changed. They were given the ability to become bears and were entrusted with the protection of their brothers. And so it has been to this day that the
gift
is passed on, and the recipients can trace their line back to those original warriors.”

“You don’t sound as though you believe that.”

“I don’t know what to believe, other than the fact that I can’t deny this thing that is a part of me. Where it came from, I don’t really know, or really care. My only real wish is to be rid of it, but that’s a choice I’ve not been given.”

They walked in silence for a while until Lindy asked softly, “So you really think it’s a curse?”

Rafe was quiet a moment, as though considering his answer. His voice was low and edged by emotion as he began to speak. “A year after my mother died, when I turned thirteen, my body began changing, I’d reached puberty. You’ve been through it—you know how difficult it can be to deal with. Not only the physical changes, but the emotional ones as well. I was alone, Lindy. My mother was dead, my father may as well have been, for all the good his being there did me. One night, while he was away on a dig, the curse kicked in.

“My dad said I was old enough to stay by myself—and I admit, it was something that made me proud, to know he thought of me as a man. I had my first wet dream that night and that part was good, but after the pleasure came a whole lot of pain.” Rafe struggled for a moment then continued.

“Being physically able to ejaculate was my body’s signal to shift. It wasn’t a pleasant experience. It took several very painful hours. I later found out from my mother’s journal that the first change is supposed to be muted by the administering of some special brew that reduces the first-time shifter’s awareness, both physical and mental. I didn’t have that. I got to feel the full force of that first change—and not only that.
I didn’t know what was happening to me
.”

By this time they had reached the campsite and Rafe stood in front of his tent, his head down as he ran his hand over his hair in agitation. A light sheen of sweat had broken out on his body as he remembered the past. “When it was over, when I had fully shifted, I was compelled to go into the woods. A part of me knew who I was and was terrified, but there was another part that pulled me out and away from my home and into the forest. For three days I fought to return, but the bear was stronger, and so I was trapped, until one night I woke to find that I’d changed back into my human form.

“Fortunately, I was in familiar territory and was able to make my way home. Can you imagine how it felt to be out there alone and naked, a child of thirteen, wondering what had happened and dreading the thought of it happening again?” Rafe’s voice shook with emotion, the remembered anguish clearly present.

“Rafe.” Lindy spoke softly and reached for him, but he stepped back out of her reach.

“When I got home I remembered my mother’s journal and how she had told me it was important, so I read it and I learned about the curse and I…adjusted.”

Lindy stood before him and he watched her warily, hating the look of sympathy on her face. She felt
sorry
for him. Of all the things he wanted from her, pity was not on the list. It seared his pride.

“I can only imagine the pain you went through and how terrifying it must have been, but Rafe, that’s all behind you now. Can’t you see that you’ve been given something unique, an ability to experience something that the rest of us can only dream about?”

Rafe stared at her in disbelief. “You don’t have the slightest notion of what you’re talking about. It’s easy for you to say you would accept and take joy in this ability. You don’t have to live with it!” Lindy began to answer him but he held up his hand to stop her. “I’m tired, and I don’t want to discuss this anymore. I’m going to sleep.” With that, he entered his tent and effectively put an end to the conversation. He stood quietly, waiting, then heard Lindy utter a soft goodnight and enter her own tent.

Without undressing, he lay down on his sleeping bag and stared into the darkness as bitterness, anger and frustration churned inside. He
was
cursed, and no one would convince him otherwise.

Chapter Five

Lindy emerged early from her tent, bleary-eyed and yawning.

During the night she’d thought long and hard about what Rafe had told her. Determined to help him, she was sure she knew what Rafe’s problem was as far as accepting his gift. She just needed to find a way to get him to open up to her and talk about it.

Starting the fire and brewing coffee as Rafe showed her, she watched the flames and formed a plan, sure that she was on the right track. She intended to make Rafe confront himself and his repressed feelings. In the days they’d spent together she’d learned so much about him and realized that somehow, along the way, she’d been slowly falling in love. It was troubling in light of everything that had happened between them, especially as Rafe wasn’t exhibiting any signs of a man in love.

It was a sobering and unpleasant thought that in a few days she’d be returning home while leaving a part of herself behind, a part that no one wanted… Her heart. Lost in a melancholy silence, she started at hearing a muted grumble.

“G’morning.”

Lindy looked up and instantly hoped that she didn’t look as worse for wear as Rafe did. He’d obviously gotten very little sleep. Dark circles marred the space under his eyes, his lids were swollen and his eyes looked a bit bloodshot. Raspy stubble marched over his firm jaw and his hair had definite touches of bed head. She couldn’t help but concede that even rumpled, he still looked ruggedly adorable.

“You look like hell,” she complimented brightly.

Rafe squatted down and poured himself a cup of coffee. “Mmm, thanks,” he muttered before taking a sip of the hot bracing liquid in his cup. “I’ve decided we’re going to move on today.”

A frisson of shock ran through Lindy. “But I still have three days,” she told him. “I don’t want to go back yet!”

“We’re not going back, we’re just going to change locations. There’s a hot spring about three hours walk from here. I figure you’ve seen enough of the bears, and truthfully? I want a hot bath.”

Lindy quirked her eyebrows and gave him a crooked smile while shrugging her shoulders. “Okay by me,” she agreed.

After breakfast they packed up their gear, rolled up their tents, and, after having secured the campsite by making sure there was no leftover food and the fire pit was again reburied, they headed out.

Still determined to help him, Lindy decided to risk his wrath. “Rafe, do you resent your mother for giving you this…gift or curse, whatever you want to call it?”

Rafe shook his head giving her a resigned glare. “You are one stubborn woman, do you know that?”

“Yes. Now will you answer my question?”

Rafe continued to walk, then stopped and faced her. “I don’t resent her. If anything, I miss her more than I can say. I’ve never given up hope of someday finding the bastard who took her away from my dad and me.” His voice shook with the force of his need.

“How would you be able to do that? You weren’t there, how would you recognize him?”

“His scent. He
touched
her, probably to see if she was alive or dead.” Rafe’s gaze became distant. “I’ll never forget his scent, it haunts me.”

Shocked by the bleak and hollow tone of his voice, Lindy followed wordlessly when Rafe turned and walked away.

The sky was overcast with clouds, making it cool and the walk pleasant, as most of the terrain was meadowland and low grassy hills. On approaching the springs, the footing turned a bit rocky in places, but they found a fairly flat place that was sheltered by a natural rock wall and cushioned by grass, that was not too far from the spring.

Accustomed to the routine, the tents were quickly set up, gear squared away and food again placed in a BRFC that Rafe had left from a previous trip.

“You have those things everywhere?” Lindy asked curiously.

“In the places we frequent most often. It’s convenient,” he answered.

They walked to the springs, which consisted of several pools of varying sizes joined to each other by narrow channels that allowed the water to filter down to each successive pool. The last one was the largest, and far enough away from the spring’s source that the water was pleasantly warm and not too hot to bathe in.

Rafe allowed her some time to look around and explore, then indicated they return to the campsite, which was just out of sight around some piled boulders. He ducked into his tent and emerged with a towel. “I’m going for that bath. I’d be a gentleman and let you go first, but I feel like shit. I need this
bad
.”

Lindy smiled, waved him off and watched him walk away. A wicked smile curved her lips as a plan began to form. She had a surprise in store for Rafe. Ducking into her tent, she slowly stripped off her clothes and wrapped a towel around herself. She sat down and patiently waited for ten minutes, giving Rafe time to get into the water and to relax before she put in her appearance.

Stomach twisting, but determined to carry out her plan, she walked barefoot to the spring pool. Rafe was sitting loose and relaxed, his lower half hidden by the lightly steaming water. His bare chest had recently been splashed with water and tiny rivulets of liquid trickled over his skin, winding their way over the firm hills and valleys of his muscles.

He’d spread his arms to either side, and the effect was to make his upper body look even wider. Lindy’s appreciative gaze traveled over him, taking special notice of the dark hair that was just visible under his armpits, and the trail of similar hair that traveled from between his pecs, over his abs, separating at his belly button and rejoining to disappear below the water line.

Her imagination supplied a remembered picture of what lay beneath the water and she felt herself growing wet with desire. Now she knew what it meant to want someone so bad it hurt. The disconcerting thing was that the hurt was not only physical but emotional as well, a double whammy from which it might be impossible to recover.

Sure that joining him in the water would keep him trapped so that she could get him to open up to her, Lindy silently dropped her towel and slipped into the water. At the splash of her entry, Rafe’s eyes opened, widened with surprise, then narrowed with suspicion.

“What are you doing?” he grumbled menacingly.

“I wanted a bath, too. There’s no reason we can’t be civilized about this, men and women in some foreign countries bathe together all the time,” she answered glibly. “And while we’re bathing, we could chat to pass the time.”

Rafe’s scowl deepened. “You want to chat while you’re aiming those at me?” he accused, indicating her plump breasts bobbing above the water’s surface. “You’re tempting fate, woman. You seem to forget what I am. Get…out…
now
.”

Lindy experienced a foreboding shiver but held her ground. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said nervously, her eyes widening as the plump head of his cock broke the surface of the water. “Don’t even think of me as a woman.” Her heart began beating faster as it suddenly became harder to breathe. “We’re just two friends enjoying a bath and a little conversation.”

Rafe came up out of the water with a roar. “Friends!” he shouted and stalked across the pool, his massive, rigid erection leading the way. He reached down and wound his hands around her upper arms, forcefully yet carefully pulling her to her feet. “It’s not my
friend
I want to sink my cock into, it’s my
woman
! I think that’s exactly what you want…and I’m just animal enough to give it to you.”

Lindy squealed as Rafe hauled her up and over his shoulder and stalked from the pool. Mindful of hurting her, he placed her facedown on a patch of grass and draped his body over hers. Holding her prone, he growled in her ear. “I’m an animal, Lindy. Say it,” he ordered.

“No, you’re not.” She gasped as he pulled her up on her knees, positioning her soft, rounded buttocks up like an offering.

He slid a large hand over the smooth creamy skin of one cheek then gave it one sharp swat. “Say it, Lindy.”

“No!”

A second swat landed on the other cheek. “
Say it
.”

“No, I won’t!”

Rafe let his hand travel between her thighs and found her pussy, fevered and swollen. He dipped a finger into the slick, wet heat and slowly fucked it in and out. “What am I, Lindy?”

“Rafe,” she moaned, her hands clutching at the grass under her.

A second finger joined the first, spreading her wider, preparing her for his invasion. “This is what an animal does, it takes what it wants,” he growled in her ear. “Admit it, you’re afraid of me I’m not a human, I’m a beast.” He bestowed a stinging nip on her lush bottom and bathed a third finger in the flowing juices of her body. Forming a cone now with three fingers, he thrust them inside her.

Lindy moaned and pushed back into them. Far from hurting her, Rafe’s dominant invasion was setting her aflame. Her body was clamoring for more and she could barely reason, but retained enough of her sanity to know that she’d never give him the confirmation he wanted from her.

“You’re not a beast. Not, not,
not
!” she yelled and felt him position himself between her thighs.

He withdrew his fingers and she felt the plump, throbbing head of his cock take their place. She moaned at the blanketing sensation of Rafe as he draped his body over her back, his skin hot and moist, the hair on his chest and abdomen rough against her own sweat-dampened skin. “When Nancy said my bark was worse than my bite?” His lips touched the swirls of her ear, his breath misty-moist and warm. “She lied.” His mouth moved down to the juncture of her neck and shoulder, his teeth clamping down as he thrust.

Lindy screamed, not in pain but with pleasure. Thick and solid, Rafe’s cock filled her completely. She could feel it pulse against the stretched walls of her welcoming channel as he froze in place, unmoving.

“Ah, Lindy. God, baby, I’m so sorry…so sorry I hurt you.” Rafe’s voice was deep and husky with remorse.

She felt him begin to withdraw and was surprised by the near growl that rumbled from her throat. “Don’t you
fucking dare
,” she ordered, panting. “You’re not hurting me, but I swear if you don’t fuck me I’ll make you pay, Rafe Kutter. Somehow, some way, when you least expect it, I’ll…” Her sentence ended on a gasping moan as Rafe slid back home, hard and deep.

He nipped her earlobe. “
You
fucking talk too much. Shut up,” he breathed softly in her ear, and Lindy could hear something in his voice, something new that sent a warm shiver down her spine and brought tears to her eyes.

She wasn’t given the chance to analyze it. Rafe began to move. With exquisite and tender slowness, he thrust forward and back, forward and back, again and again. Each forward thrust brought him deep, the swollen head of his cock nudging against her cervix. She eagerly welcomed the contact and ground her pelvis back against him.

“More, Rafe, faster!”

Rafe ignored her pleas and continued his steady pace, deliberately driving them both into a frenzy of need. Lindy’s impatience began to show as she struggled under him, but he held her firmly, directing the pace of their pleasure. Eyes closed, every cell in her body was zeroed in on the thick, pulsing rod that pierced her flesh. Slick, wet flesh that shuddered and gripped in an effort to keep the teasing invader from retreat.

Past caring about any kind of decorum and all inhibitions gone, when begging failed to elicit a response, Lindy began a low litany of curses calling him every dirty name she could think of, beginning with asshole and working her way through the alphabet. She’d have cursed with even more vehemence if she could have seen the grin that wreathed his face.

Just when she thought she’d die from frustration, Rafe picked up speed and began a hard, satisfying stroke that steadily increased to a pummeling rhythm that never stopped until it brought her to a howling climax.

Waves of pleasure rippled through skin, muscle and nerve until it seemed that every cell in her body was contracting and shivering with electric spasms that threatened to knock her unconscious from the overload.

Rafe gripped her hips tightly and pumped hot streams of semen into the fluttering welcome of her womb until, with a final pulse, his cock declared itself satisfied and he collapsed, rolling to his back and pulling her on top of him.

Sated and boneless, they lay breathing heavily, slowly recovering their sanity. Lindy snuggled against him, purring like a cat as his hand slowly stroked up and down her back.

Finally feeling as though her bones had solidified, she leaned up and over him. “I told you I was no coward,” she said smugly.

Rafe grinned up at her, his hand coming up to stroke her cheek and gently push the hair back from her face. “You’re no coward,” he agreed. “You’re bold and brazen and beautiful…and you’ve got one hell of a potty mouth,” he teased with a chuckle.

A rosy flush lit her cheeks and she ducked her head, resting her heated skin against his chest, feeling the rise and fall of it and the reverberations from his laugh. She lay content and sated against him, rubbing her cheek against the satiny heat of his skin.

“You know what I’d like to do?” he asked in a husky rumble.

“Have more sex?” she asked hopefully.

“That too, but first I’d like to finish my bath.”

“With or without me?”

“With, sweetheart, definitely with.”