Free Bear Love by Belinda Meyers

kid, and my
parents worked hard, so often as not I had to cook. I learned pretty quick how
to tolerate my own cooking.” As he spoke, he sautéed the veggies, then threw in
some diced chicken. While that was going, he started on the steamed brown rice,
then tossed the buns in the oven. “We get these fresh daily from a shop in
town,” he added. “You should try their pastries.”
    Jess watched him with an expression
that ranged from amused to intrigued, from turned on to conflicted. He liked
the turned on part, but the conflicted part troubled him. Every time his gaze
locked with hers, his bear growled inside him, yearning for her, but then she
would get that look on her face like she simply couldn’t let herself fall for
him, and he wondered if he was doomed. If his bear couldn’t be satisfied, it
might tear him apart. He’d known men that grew mad because their bears lost
control, or they lost control of their bears. He’d known two that had to be put
down by their alphas because of it. They’d become a danger to humans.
    Jess and Suzy helped set the table,
and they ate with gusto when he served dinner. Cort hadn’t returned yet from
his roaming, but that wasn’t unusual. He might be out all night for all Mike
knew. Cort was unpredictable.
    “Delicious,” Jess said, chewing on
her first bite.
    “Yum,” Suzy agreed, and lathered
her roll with butter. “Good butter,” she added, after taking a bite.
    “We get that local, too,” Mike
said. “For breakfast maybe I’ll whip up some pancakes. You won’t believe the
honey we bring in.”
    Jess actually giggled, and again
her cheeks turned red. “Bears and honey,” she said, explaining her giggle,
though he could have guessed. “Is it true bears like honey?”
    He nodded, munching. Around his
bite, he said, “Some of us really like it. One of my crew is kind of obsessed with it. Jason. He has golden fur
when he’s shifted, and we call him the Honey Bear.” Mike chuckled. “He gets
real tired of that name, but it doesn’t slow him down when that honey comes
round.”
    Jess laughed again. Suzy seemed
amused, too. But she also seemed to feel awkward somehow. She kept glancing
from Jess to Mike, then looking down at her plate. Mike thought he understood,
and he wasn’t surprised when she stood up after finishing and said, “You know,
I think I’ll hit the sack. I didn’t sleep very well last night, and I’m
bushed.”
    “Of course,” Mike said. He smeared
his roll around the plate, soaking up the last juices, then made sure Jess had
finished. She had, so he said, “I’ll show you your rooms.”
    He brought Suzy and Jess upstairs
and gave them each a room, making sure they were at far ends of the Lodge. He
lived in hope that a little sound buffer would be necessary, although so far
Jess hadn’t given him any indication that it would.
    Each room had a tiny TV perched on
a shelf in the corner, and Suzy flicked hers on as she bounced on the bed and
pronounced it satisfactory.
    “No mint, but it’ll do”, she said.
Giving Jess a look that was probably significant in some fashion, she said, “I
guess I’ll see you in the morning.”
    Jess swallowed, and Mike could
smell a sudden wave of emotion coming off of her. It wasn’t fear, exactly, but
it was definitely anxiety.
    “Um,” she said. “Yeah. Goodnight.”
    The women hugged each other, and
then Mike brought Jess to her room.
    “I’ll let you get some sleep if you
want,” he said. “I know you must be tired, too.”
    She stared straight up at him. Her
eyes were very clear. “Actually,” she said. “I’m not sleepy at all.”
    His bear roared. Mike grinned and
leaned in a little closer, letting her feel his heat and smell his scent. She
still looked up at him, her lips slightly parted. He could smell her, that was
for sure. She was wet. His bear growled again.
    “Me, either,” he said, his words
rougher than he’d intended. He reached out and cupped her hand in his. She
leaned into