Shifters of Grrr 2 (46 page)

I turned my head towards him and stretched my neck as much as I could to offer him my lips. Our tongues met and danced in perfect rhythm. He grabbed my lower lip between his teeth and pulled slightly, making my knees turn to jelly and my pussy clench with the need to be filled. I moaned and squeezed his cock through his trousers. He released my lip and his mouth attacked mine once more.

Just as I was running out of breath, he broke the kiss and looked into my eyes.

"I can't take you. Not yet. You have to be his first."

"I have to be his first? What does that mean?"

"You have to become his wife."

"Gabriel, no... I won't marry him. Just tell me where you're trapped and I'll find another way."

"I'm trapped inside, Aimée. There is no other way."

His voice was fading, and my eyes were beginning to lose focus, which meant the dream was nearing its end. What had I done? I had let myself carried away again and forgot to ask him the questions that had been driving me nuts for days. Way to go, Aimée!

I turned around in his arms and grabbed his face between my palms. His unnaturally black eyes were filled with sadness.

"Please," he said. "Marry him and set me free."

"I... I..." Just as I was about to agree and make him a promise I might have regretted later, the dream broke into a million pieces and I fell into that deeper, heavier sleep that held nothing but blessed emptiness.

***

It must have been a special day because after dinner Corinne and the other servants brought me three types of dessert and a cold bottle of red wine.

"Are we celebrating something?"

The bear cocked its huge head. I had learned to pay attention to the smallest changes in his facial expression, so I knew he was smiling.

"We're celebrating you."

"Me? It's not my birthday."

"It doesn't have to be. Aimée, you deserve to be celebrated every day."

I must admit his words made me blush and look down at my plate. "Thank you." It struck me then what an unlucky woman I actually was. Gabriel was handsome and absolutely amazing, but the only place where I could be with him was in my dreams. The beast was kind, funny, and intelligent but he was... well, he wasn't human. I was caught between the two. If I wanted to save the one I loved as a man, Gabriel, then I had to marry the one I was beginning to love and appreciate as a friend, the beast. Honestly, what were the chances?

"How would you like to eat your dessert in the garden?"

I raised my eyebrows in confusion. The garden was a jungle. Corinne had explained the reason for which the master had chosen to leave it like that was to make people believe the mansion was abandoned and haunted. In fact, the servants themselves had spread the word in town, thus making sure no one even considered getting too close to their hidden place.
 

"In the garden?"

"Yes. I asked the old gardener to clear a spot for us. Come, we'll watch the stars together."

I clapped my hands and jumped to my feet. I loved the garden, but it was so messy and the weeds were suffocating the roses... the sight of it had come to depress me. The bear's suggestion sounded really nice. An evening spent watching the stars, eating cake, drinking red wine, and talking about God knew what... It sounded great!

"Let's go, then!"

I went past him and my skirt brushed against his front paws. He followed me, and we went out on the back porch, then in the garden, where his servants had prepared a comfortable armchair and a small table Corinne was currently filling with cake and cookies. I sat down, and the beast sat beside my armchair on his hind legs. We both looked at the starry sky, and I took a deep breath of fresh air. The intoxicating perfume of the red roses and the green scent of pine trees made one wicked combination. My heart and stomach were literally fluttering with excitement. Without thinking, I lifted my right arm to reach for the bear. I felt the muscles in his shoulder tense under my fingers, but I still sunk my hand in his rich fur. Little by little, he relaxed. I smiled and left my hand there.
 

"Do you know the story of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor?"
he asked me.

My eyes searched for the two constellations. Their shapes were so unique and their stars shined so brightly that they were impossible to miss.

"No. I know that ursa means she-bear, but I have no idea why."

I felt him lean into my touch. Not much, just a bit. I flexed my fingers and started massaging his shoulder lightly, lazily, as if I was unaware of what my hand was doing.
 

"Yes, it means she-bear in Latin. The story comes from the Roman mythology. You know that Jupiter had a habit of being really unfaithful to his wife, Juno. As the king of gods, he could have any woman he wanted, human or goddess. It so happened that one day he fell in lust with the beautiful nymph Callisto. They had a son together, but Juno found out about their affair and took revenge on Callisto. She turned the nymph into a she-bear."

"I can empathize with her to a certain point," I said.

"Juno was always jealous and creative when it came to coming up with punishments for the women her husband slept with."

"How did Callisto end up a constellation?"

"Well, her son grew up. He was out hunting and he spotted this huge she-bear. He tried to shoot her down but his father, Jupiter, stopped him. He decided to turn him into a bear as well, then take both of them and put them on the sky so mother and son could finally be together again. This way, the jealous Juno had no way of hurting them ever again. Callisto became Ursa Major, and her son became Ursa Minor."

"That's a sad story..."

"I don't know. Other people would think otherwise. After all, what's better than living an eternity watching over people going about their small, insignificant lives on Earth?"

"As small and insignificant as their lives are, at least they get to live them."

My hand stopped rubbing his shoulder. I reached for the glass of wine with the other one, and took a small sip.
 

"Aimée..."

"Yes?"

"Thank you for being here with me."

I looked up into his black eyes and I couldn't help but smile at the kindness and gratitude I saw there.
 

"I like being here with you."

CHAPTER FOUR

After that evening spent in the garden, under the starry night, the bear had become even more gentle and attentive towards me. We spent a lot of time together. I had long given up searching the mansion for Gabriel, the mysterious and oh-so-deliciously-sexy man in my dreams. Wherever he was trapped, it was not in the dungeons. I even paid close attention to Corinne and the other servants to see if any of them was taking food someplace other than the dining room or the garden, where I usually had my meals. No one did anything suspicious, and sometimes this was driving me insane. My friendship with the beast was comfortable now, but who knew how long this would last? Time was running out and I had no plan. Maybe I could escape if I set my mind to it, but I wasn't leaving anywhere without Gabriel.
 

I missed father, Cécile and Diane. I missed them so much. I started telling the bear about them, about my mother, and about the misfortune that had hit us a year before. He saw how much I cared about them and how much I suffered at the thought that my father had no clue where I was, not even if I was dead or alive. That was how my honesty earned me more than my carefully devised plans. One morning, the beast simply told me I was free to go home if I wanted, on the condition that I shouldn't spend more than a night away from the mansion.

"Are you serious? You're really letting me visit my family?"

"Yes."

"But... but why? I thought I was..."

"My prisoner? You're not my prisoner, Aimée. You never were. If anything, I am your prisoner."

I stared at him dumbfounded, trying to make sense of his words. He was my prisoner? How?

"I don't understand." I studied his face and eyes with caution, trying to see if this was a joke or some weird game he was playing. Maybe he was testing me? Maybe I was supposed to say that I didn't want to see my family? That I never wanted to leave his side?

"I'm sorry I made you feel this way. You see... I've been so lonely for so many years that when you turned up at my doorstep, your arms full of roses you could barely carry, I couldn't let you leave. I just... I knew you were the one, Aimée. I felt it. But I also knew you'd never accept to stay here with me."

I didn't know what to say or do and I decided it was best to let him finish. It was the first time he was giving me any sort of explanation. He walked to my side of the table and bent his thick neck forward to reach my level.

"But I am letting you go now. I care too much about you to keep you away from the people you love. All I ask is that you come back the next day. Then, you can visit your father and sisters anytime you want. As long as you come back to me, you are free to leave the house and the grounds, even go to town if you want."

"How can you be so sure that I will come back?" My voice was barely a whisper. My intention was neither to threaten him, nor to prepare him for something I was really going to do. I was just curious. Curious and confused.

"I trust you. You said you needed time to fall in love with me, and I can see you're doing your best. We're friends now. I haven't had a friend in such a long time that I can't even remember anymore. People... they usually prefer to stay away from me."

There was real sadness in his "voice". Because he was sending his thoughts straight to my mind, I felt it so strongly that I almost thought it was mine.
 

"I know that if I want this to work, I have to earn your trust like you've earned mine. So, if you want to visit your family, you can go whenever you want. Today even. I'll be waiting for your return."

I looked into his eyes and gently took his face in my hands. This time, he didn't tense under my touch. "Thank you," I said. I wasn't going to refuse such a generous offer. Not when I had a little theory I needed to test.

***

My father started crying when he saw me, but his tears of happiness turned to tears of anger and revolt when I told him what had happened and where I had been. I didn't want to lie to him for two reasons: first, I truly loved him and respected him, and secondly, I needed his advice.
 

"You can't go back," said Cécile.
 

"She's right, sister," said Diane. "We should go to the authorities and report this... this beast. He kept you prisoner for more than a month! No one can do something like this and get away with it."

I stared at my hands, suddenly finding it impossible to look into their eyes. They were right, though. Weren't they? Then, why did I feel differently? I was starting to think it had been a bad idea to tell them about the brown bear.
 

"And what about Gabriel?" Yes, I had told them about the man in my dreams too, though I had avoided the details.

"If he really exists and he's not some illusion caused by the dark magic in that place, then the authorities will find him," said my father.
 

"I don't know..."

He grabbed me by the shoulders and forced me to look into his eyes. "Listen to me, Aimée: you're not going back. You shouldn't sacrifice your youth and freedom because that bastard threatened you and your family."

"He didn't..." But my father was way past listening to what I had to say.

"He can't hurt us, and he can't hurt you anymore. I'll make sure of it!"

The discussion went on and on, with my sisters begging me to stay, my father raging against the beast, and me barely managing to whisper a word here and there. It was exhausting. By the time we finally went to bed, I was wondering if this had really been such a good idea. Yes, I had missed my family, but this was not what I had expected. But... what had I expected? They didn't know the bear... How could they have possibly listened to me when I tried to tell them he wasn't that bad? He wasn't bad at all, in fact.
 

***

Morning came quicker than I thought. In the evening, I was supposed to go back to the old mansion. At least, that was what I had promised the bear. By noon, I still hadn't made up my mind. I did, however, manage to convince my father to wait a few more days before going to the authorities. I needed time to make a decision, and I wanted to have my family with me. It was while we were having dinner that I realized what I was actually doing: I was stalling. My decision had long been made. The second I woke up in the morning, I knew what I was going to do, and I also knew why. My little theory. I tested it, and it failed... or succeeded. I had no idea if the result was good or bad, but I did know what it meant: I was going back to the beast.

The night before was the first one in over a month when I hadn't dreamed Gabriel. I didn't even dream the ball room, let alone the man I had fallen in love with. In my dream, I had found myself in a lush forest, running from something I couldn't describe. Or, maybe, I was running towards something. I had woken up tired and a little panicked, feeling like I had just lost something or someone very dear to me. No, I couldn't go through that terrifying experience again, and I knew it would happen if I spent a second night at the farm.