Lions and Tigers and Bears (24 page)

* * * * *

The bath that began as a leisurely exercise in relaxation, became a hot, sensual teasing torture in which they touched and kissed and explored each other’s bodies until the temperature in the pool felt as though it had risen more than a few degrees.

Each seemed intent on driving the other insane with need in an effort to see who would give in first. Lindy teetered on the edge when Rafe’s clever fingers dived into her ready pussy to tease and torment, but Rafe admitted defeat when she bent down and engulfed the tip of his aching cock in her mouth, her tongue doing a sensual dance over the ripe, swollen head.

Rafe pulled himself from her teasing mouth and rose up out of the water, taking her with him. Scooping her up in his arms he marched to the campsite and deposited her in front of his tent. “Inside,” he ordered tersely, and Lindy, fighting the smile that pulled at her lips, scooted triumphantly in to claim her victory.

Aside from necessary bathroom breaks and to rustle up a quick meal, they spent the afternoon and evening making love and sleeping, only to wake in each other’s arms to make love again. Having given in to his instinctive need to claim his mate, Rafe had put aside all his doubts and reveled in the kind of physical closeness he’d denied himself so long.

It was only later that night that his former uncertainty began to surface and took the form of a dream that forced him awake and sent his thoughts down paths he’d avoided for far too long. He rose carefully so as not to wake Lindy, picked up his jeans and left the tent to don them. Gliding silently over the path that led to the spring, he sat down on convenient boulder to contemplate his thoughts and watch the moonlight reflected in the rippling water of the pond.

His thoughts were disturbing and melancholy and brought to the surface a sadness and guilt he’d hoped was long buried. A cool breeze stirred through his hair and he absently brushed it away from his face, too preoccupied to be distracted by such a petty annoyance. He
was
distracted when Lindy appeared at his side.

“Rafe, are you all right?” she questioned softly.

“Sure,” he lied, not certain he could share what he was thinking with her.

“You want to talk about it?”

Rafe reached for her and pulled her onto his lap, burying his face in her shoulder. “Talk about what?” came the muffled reply.

“Whatever’s bothering you,” she answered, one hand moving with soothing strokes over the tense muscles in his back.

“You’re killing me.”

“What do you mean?” she asked, wide-eyed with worry.

Rafe reached up and cupped her face in his hands. “You make me see possibilities I thought were beyond me, make me see things as they are and not how I fooled myself into believing they were.”

“But that’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Lindy asked with rising hope.

“It could be, but it hurts, Lindy. It hurts to admit certain things to myself.”

“Like what?”

“Like the fact that, for a while, I hated my mother. I hated her for leaving me alone with this…this gift.”

Lindy noted his use of the word gift instead of curse and her heart soared. “Rafe, you were a child, you were hurt and alone, it’s perfectly understandable.”

“I know, but I still feel guilty about it. I know she wouldn’t have left me if she’d been given the choice.” His voice shook.

Lindy could see the emotion roiling in his eyes as well as a sheen of unshed tears that gathered there. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. “It’s all right, it’s all right, baby. Just remember how much she loves you and how much you love her. Nothing can change that, and all the bad things can just fade away. Just let it go, Rafe. Let it go.”

For a moment he stiffened in her arms, then sagged against her as though a huge burden had been released. His long, muscular arms wrapped around her and he silently rocked, their bodies moving with a slow rhythm that soothed and calmed. Rafe eventually stopped the easy movement and pulled back to meet her loving gaze. His lashes were wet, and Lindy reached up to brush away the single tear that graced his cheek.

She gave him a tremulous smile. “Better?”

Rafe nodded. “You were right.”

“About what?”

“I’m not an animal, I’m just a man with flaws and fears, and I’ve been given a very special gift.”

“Oh Rafe, I’m so glad you can accept your mother’s legacy now.”

“That’s not the gift I’m talking about.”

“Then what?” she asked, puzzled.

“You.”

“Me?” she asked as tears flooded her eyes. “I’m not a gift, I’m just…just me.”

“You certainly are,” he answered.

Rafe stood and guided her back to his tent, urging her inside. Without a word, he slowly undressed her while his hands and lips touched, caressed, and aroused. Deeply moved by the tremulously vulnerable look in her eyes, he whispered soft words of encouragement and praise, firing her blood and heating her body until he lay her down and slid between her thighs.

Lindy groaned, an orgasmic shudder shaking her as Rafe slowly eased his swollen cock inside, its girth spreading muscle and caressing the warm, wet length of her sheath until he was fully seated.

Rafe caressed her cheek and feathered a soft kiss over her lips. “This is my gift to you, a part of me no one’s ever seen. Will you take it, Lindy, take this part of me?”

She reciprocated his move and lovingly caressed his face. “With pleasure.”

Rafe smiled. “Always pleasure, sweetheart, always pleasure, I promise.”

He began to slowly move, his hips undulating, his cock gently pushing and pulling inside, stirring the flames, building tension as he lost himself in the growing ecstasy in her eyes. On and on he moved, endlessly, the same slow, steady pace, refusing to be moved by Lindy’s pleas until his own patience ended and a wild flurry of frantic strokes brought them both to a wrenching climax.

Outside the tent, Lindy’s wails of pleasure echoed into the night, underscored by Rafe’s muted, guttural roar.

Chapter Six

Sometime in the early morning hours before the sun began to lighten the sky, they were awakened by a chorus of howls. Rafe was immediately alert and began gathering his clothes.

“What is it?” Lindy asked, confused and sleepy.

“Trouble. That’s Cade’s pack, they’ve spotted a potential poacher.”

Waking up fast, Lindy stood and began throwing on her own clothes.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Rafe growled.

“With you.”

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes I am.”

“No, you’re not, Lindy. I—”

He was interrupted by the sound of a rifle shot.

“Fuck! I don’t have time to argue with you. You stay behind me and do exactly as I say or when we get back I swear I’ll blister that luscious backside of yours. Understood?”

“Understood,” she agreed, grateful for his cooperation, no matter how grudging. It saved her from having to sneak out and try following him again.

They rushed from the tent and as soon as the terrain leveled out, Rafe began a fast and silent lope across the grassy meadowland. Light from the waning moon and stars was beginning to be replaced by light from the sun, which had yet to make an actual appearance on the horizon. Lindy uttered a silent thank you to the powers that be, glad for what illumination there was.

Rafe was pulling ahead of her and she was becoming afraid she’d lose him, when he began to slow. In the not-too-far distance she could see trees. They were closing in on a forested area. Panting and trying to silently suck in much-needed oxygen without drawing attention to herself, she caught up just as he disappeared into the trees.

Frowning, she mouthed a silent curse, she
was
going to lose him! Deciding the best course was just to go straight in, Lindy found herself on a lightly worn game trail and slowly picked her way through the underbrush, trying to be quiet while scanning the area for signs of Rafe or anyone else.

Just when she’d reached the conclusion that she was hopelessly lost, a shadowy figure loomed up at her from the side of the path. Her startled gasp was muffled by a large hand as she was pulled up tight against a warm, familiar body.

“Quiet,” Rafe breathed in her ear.

Lindy nodded and he pulled his hand away and signaled for her to follow him.

Trying to calm her pounding heart, Lindy followed, staying so close she was nearly treading on his heels. She wasn’t taking the chance of losing him again, especially if he was going to sneak up on her and inadvertently induce a heart attack. It wasn’t long before she could hear some kind of movement up ahead. A light breeze blew over them and Rafe froze.

She watched him for a moment from behind. His body had gone absolutely still and rigid. Worried, she eased around him until she could see his face. His eyes were closed, a look of anguish on his face as he took deep, silent breaths. Lindy reached out and touched his arm. Rafe opened his eyes and swung his gaze to her. She swallowed a gasp of surprise. His eyes were a glowing, rich amber-yellow that blazed with tinges of red.

She watched in awed fascination as Rafe’s hands came up, his fingernails lengthening before her eyes as he began unbuttoning his shirt. “It’s him,” he growled, his voice husky, rough and guttural. “The man who killed my mother.” The last was barely recognizable.

“Are you sure?”

Unable to speak, he nodded and Lindy held back another gasp as his shirt came off. Rafe’s body had begun to shift. Thick, dark hair had begun to run over his skin like water and he hunched over as his body changed. Claws tore at his jeans, shredding them, and there was a sudden blurring of the very air around him that—when it cleared—revealed a full-grown male grizzly at the very pinnacle of his power and grace.

Breathing hard, Lindy could only watch as the bear gave her one backward glance before rushing away. A shred of blue jean fabric stuck to one paw and she was reminded of someone leaving a bathroom with toilet paper stuck to their foot. The thought would have been funny, but it suddenly struck her that her lover, in the form of a thousand-pound, enraged grizzly bear, was going to confront, and probably kill, the man who’d killed his mother.

“Rafe, no!” She felt her heart stop at the sound of a rifle shot. “Oh God, no! No, please no.” She uttered the prayer as she sprinted through the brush, unmindful and uncaring of the branches and brambles that slapped and tore at her.

She arrived at a scene of blood and chaos. Closest to her in the small clearing, a bull elk lay on the ground, blood seeping from the entry and exit wound that took its life. Across the clearing, a wounded and maddened grizzly bear stood over the terrified form of a hunter who saw his own death looking him right in the eye.

“Stop him.”

Lindy jumped and turned to find the man Rafe had called Cade standing next to her.

“Stop him. You’re his mate, you can stop him.”

Scared to death, knowing she was going to put herself between Rafe and his vengeance, but also knowing what it would do to him if he killed this man, she walked across the clearing calling his name.

“Rafe, don’t do this. Come back to me, baby. I’m scared, I need you.”

The enraged bear turned his gaze to her, roared and made a mock charge at her. Lindy flinched but kept coming. “Rafe, please, you know who I am. Listen to me, don’t do this.” Tears flooded her eyes and streaked down her cheeks. “If you kill this man you’ll regret it for the rest of your life. Please, we just found each other, don’t let this come between us.” The bear turned back to its prey and raised a huge paw, claws extended, ready to strike.

“I love you!” she screamed, and halted, sliding to her knees in the grass, her hands coming up to cover her face. Shuddering sobs tore at her throat. She’d never felt so lost and powerless in her life, until a pair of strong arms encircled her and pulled her tightly into the warmth of a familiar and oh-so beloved body.

“It’s okay, baby, I’ve got you.”

“Rafe,” she breathed, and wrapped her arms around his body, squeezing him tight and drawing a gasping grunt from him. She drew back as a warm wetness soaked into her shirt and she looked down, finding blood. She quickly examined him. A shallow three-inch groove was carved across his ribs. “Oh my God, he shot you!” She searched for Cade and found him and a couple of his men standing over the hunter. “Call 911, get an ambulance, he’s been shot!”

Cade ambled over, an impudent grin on his face. “Is she always so excitable?”

“No, she’s usually quite sensible. I think she’s a little shaken up.”

“
Sha
ken up?
Sha
ken up! You’re damn right, I’m shaken up!” Lindy yelled, wiping the tears from her cheeks while pulling a corner of her shirt up to press over Rafe’s wound. “You went all furry on me and rushed off like a freight train on crack, and the next thing I know, I get elected to calm you down. Do you know what it’s like to confront a thousand-pound grizzly bear?”

Rafe nodded in the affirmative. “As a matter of fact, I do. Remember, just the other day?”

Lindy frowned. “Oh yeah. But you have that Shoshone mumbo jumbo working for you, and your bear wasn’t pissed off.”

“Mumbo jumbo?” Cade repeated with a raised eyebrow.

“He spoke to the bear and it went away,” Lindy explained. “I want you to teach me that in case I ever need it again,” she ordered Rafe.

“I don’t think you’ll need it,” Cade said with a smile. “What you said seemed pretty effective to me.”

Lindy blushed. “Yeah, well, it probably wouldn’t work with any other bear.”

Rafe pushed her hand away and pulled her close. “It better not,” he whispered, then he turned his attention to Cade. “What do we do about him?” he asked, indicating the hunter. “He saw me change.”

“No, he didn’t,” Cade laughed. “He fainted.”

Lindy and Rafe both looked around toward the man who still lay unconscious on the ground. “That’s the man who killed my mother, I recognized his scent.”

Cade nodded, all joking aside. “There’ll be ballistics tests on his rifle to link him to killing the elk, hopefully that’s the same rifle he used that night.” Seeing the storm gather in Rafe’s eyes, Cade forestalled any protest. “If it’s not, considering the charges that are going to be brought against him, I don’t think it will be too hard to get a warrant to examine any other firearms he might own.”

Satisfied, Rafe stood and pulled Lindy up with him. “Then I’ll leave you to it. I wouldn’t trust myself around the bastard when he wakes up. This is too personal for me to be involved.”

Cade clapped a hand on Rafe’s shoulder. “Go on. I’ll contact you if you’re needed to testify.”

Lindy put her hand out to Cade. “Thank you,” she told him sincerely.

“No problem.”

Rafe took Lindy’s hand from Cade with a grumble that brought a smile to Cade’s face. He watched them walk away, then called out to Rafe. “Hey buddy, that’s a hell of a bruise you’ve got on your ass.”

Rafe reached up, gave him the finger and kept on walking.

Cade grinned when he heard Lindy’s voice.

“What bruise? What’s he talking about? Are you hurt somewhere else I should know about?”

“Let it go, babe,” came the disgruntled reply.

“No, I’m
not
going to let it go, let me see your ass.”

Laughing out loud, Cade rejoined his men.

* * * * *

Lindy and Rafe returned to their camp and after he allowed her to patch him up, they collapsed onto his sleeping bag and attempted to recover some lost sleep. Rafe’s rest was disturbed by nightmares, as evidenced by his restless tossing. He woke once yelling her name, after which Lindy spent some moments soothing and assuring him that she was all right. Curling his body around hers and wrapping her securely in his arms, he was finally able to drift off, while Lindy lay awake for a while longer worrying. Rafe’s subconscious was trying to deal with the recent trauma and was obviously having trouble doing so.

Awakening at midday, they enjoyed a leisurely meal and a final soak in the hot springs, then packed up their gear and headed back to base camp. Both of them were rather subdued, each for different reasons. Lindy was saddened by the fact that her time was up and that she would have to return home, especially in the light of her uncertainty as to Rafe’s true feelings for her. It disturbed her that, despite the fact they’d slept so closely together, he’d bestowed only a brief kiss upon waking. He never mentioned the declaration of love she’d made, much less returned it.

Not wanting to press the issue, she kept silent and made no repeat of the words that had brought Rafe out of his rage and back into her arms. Despite the fact that his previous lovemaking had been both passionate and tender, and although she was sure she’d heard something in his voice that indicated he was more than just physically involved, how could she really know unless he told her?

With each mile that passed, Rafe’s silence caused the knot in her stomach to grow until she felt sick, but she was determined that if anything was to happen between them, it was his turn to make a move. She felt she’d done her part, and any other action she could take was fraught with the possibility of humiliation and rejection. It was a chance she just couldn’t take.

They walked on until Rafe called a halt for a quick meal. There was no stream here, so they made do with water from their canteens. Rafe actually made an effort to break the silence by pointing out a few things of interest like the varying plants that grew in the area and the different species of birds that occupied the tree branches above them.

Lindy responded with false interest, hoping that he wouldn’t detect her rising tension, but it wasn’t long before he fell silent and got them on their feet and moving again. By the time they reached base camp, she was exhausted and totally miserable.

They went straight to the Lodge and were greeted by David and Nancy, who’d received the news of the captured poacher from one of Cade’s men. They dropped off the tents and other equipment in the storage room while relating the incident, neither one mentioning Lindy’s declaration.

“I’ve got stew on the stove and biscuits in the oven. Come and rest and eat something,” Nancy told the two of them and urged them in to the dining room.

While they ate, they talked about the trip and the bears and everything except the personal things that had happened between them. Lindy picked at her food, unable to force much past the lump in her throat, and finally gave up and took her plate to the kitchen counter, dumping the contents into the scrap bucket.

“Are you all right?”

Nancy had followed her and stood at her elbow with a concerned expression on her face.

“I’m just really tired, we had some short nights and a lot of interrupted sleep.”

“Oh?”

Lindy smiled wanly at her inquiring tone but declined to elaborate. “I’m going to my cabin for a hot shower and then I just want to sleep.”

She turned back to the table in time to hear David telling Rafe that Cade wanted to see him the next day. Rafe nodded his head in agreement, his gaze going to Lindy for a moment, his eyes shadowed and giving nothing away.

Lindy issued a soft and general goodnight to the company and walked out of the Lodge. At the door of her cabin she was hailed by Rafe.