Free Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love (Adaira) BBW Bear Shifter Romance (Hope Valley BBW online dating app romances Book 6) by Ariana Hawkes Page B
Authors: Ariana Hawkes
From where he was positioned, he had a view of most of the trail for a good few miles. There were a couple of points where it wound sharply to the side, and patches of it were obscured by overhanging rocks, but there was no chance that he’d miss her completely as she walked up. He wasn’t planning on waiting for her call. As soon as he caught sight of her, he was going to run down and meet her, offer to carry the backpack she must be sick of hauling around by now. He was in awe of the fact that she was hiking all this way up the mountain by herself, just to see him. She was such a tough girl, the equal of any bear.
Time passed very slowly, but at long last he saw something move, far below him on the track. It was a swatch of something orange, or red. His heart pitter-pattered. Was it her hair, blowing in the breeze, like a tongue of flame? He screwed his eyes up, but he couldn’t tell for sure. Instead, he kept his vision trained on the object, which was so far away that it barely seemed to be moving at all. After a while, it moved out of view, behind a crag. He counted to 100, judging that it would take about that many paces to walk that stretch of the trail. He knew the track almost as intimately as his own skin. He was right. On 99, the shape appeared again. It was definitely a person, and he was almost sure it was her. He’d wait another five minutes though. It was like a game for him, seeing how long he could contain his anticipation.
Eight minutes later, it was unquestionably her. Her long hair was flowing behind her, and she was carrying what looked like a pretty sizeable pack. He started walking towards the trail, but then he stopped dead. There was another figure, coming towards her from the opposite direction. A tall, dark figure. Male. Another hiker? But where would he have come from? Leigh lifted his head and sniffed hard at the breeze, but he couldn’t pick anything up. They were just too far away. The figure stopped in front of Adaira. They were still for a couple of minutes, as if they were speaking to one another, and then the backpack was passed from her to him. And then he walked into a thicket of trees, and, after a small delay, she followed.
What the hell? Leigh’s heart sunk down into his boots. Adaira had gone off with another guy. Is that what she’d planned all along? Or had he come along and charmed her in those few moments, and she’d forgotten all about her plans to see him? He kicked at a rock. That’s why he didn’t trust women. She’d abandoned him, like he was nothing. Just like his parents. He wanted to charge down the mountain and catch her, ask her what she was doing, why she’d made out she was interested in him when she obviously wasn’t. But what was the use? She was a grown woman, capable of making her own decisions. He crumpled onto the ground, his head in his hands. When his bear knew that he wasn’t going to change his mind, it gave a howl of desolation.
Chapter Ten
The cabin door swung open suddenly and Leigh stood in front of her, wearing only a towel, tied around his waist. Adaira nursed her right fist in her left hand. The knuckles were cut and swollen from banging on the door.
“Hey, calm down,” he said. “What’s the problem?”
“The problem is that you locked me in, you bastard!” she spat. He frowned.
“What? No, I didn’t. There’s no lock on the outside of the door. Look.” She went outside and looked at the other side of the door. There was no bolt or lock that she could see.
“Open your hands,” she demanded. He wasn’t holding a key either.
“See,” he said in a soothing tone. “You got yourself all worked up for nothing. He took a step towards her, as if to rub her shoulder or something, but she shrank back from him.
“Why wouldn’t the door open?”
“I honestly don’t know. It can be a little stiff sometimes, I guess.” Adaira blinked a couple of times. Had she imagined it somehow? Maybe she was dehydrated. She’d drunk
Time passed very slowly, but at long last he saw something move, far below him on the track. It was a swatch of something orange, or red. His heart pitter-pattered. Was it her hair, blowing in the breeze, like a tongue of flame? He screwed his eyes up, but he couldn’t tell for sure. Instead, he kept his vision trained on the object, which was so far away that it barely seemed to be moving at all. After a while, it moved out of view, behind a crag. He counted to 100, judging that it would take about that many paces to walk that stretch of the trail. He knew the track almost as intimately as his own skin. He was right. On 99, the shape appeared again. It was definitely a person, and he was almost sure it was her. He’d wait another five minutes though. It was like a game for him, seeing how long he could contain his anticipation.
Eight minutes later, it was unquestionably her. Her long hair was flowing behind her, and she was carrying what looked like a pretty sizeable pack. He started walking towards the trail, but then he stopped dead. There was another figure, coming towards her from the opposite direction. A tall, dark figure. Male. Another hiker? But where would he have come from? Leigh lifted his head and sniffed hard at the breeze, but he couldn’t pick anything up. They were just too far away. The figure stopped in front of Adaira. They were still for a couple of minutes, as if they were speaking to one another, and then the backpack was passed from her to him. And then he walked into a thicket of trees, and, after a small delay, she followed.
What the hell? Leigh’s heart sunk down into his boots. Adaira had gone off with another guy. Is that what she’d planned all along? Or had he come along and charmed her in those few moments, and she’d forgotten all about her plans to see him? He kicked at a rock. That’s why he didn’t trust women. She’d abandoned him, like he was nothing. Just like his parents. He wanted to charge down the mountain and catch her, ask her what she was doing, why she’d made out she was interested in him when she obviously wasn’t. But what was the use? She was a grown woman, capable of making her own decisions. He crumpled onto the ground, his head in his hands. When his bear knew that he wasn’t going to change his mind, it gave a howl of desolation.
Chapter Ten
The cabin door swung open suddenly and Leigh stood in front of her, wearing only a towel, tied around his waist. Adaira nursed her right fist in her left hand. The knuckles were cut and swollen from banging on the door.
“Hey, calm down,” he said. “What’s the problem?”
“The problem is that you locked me in, you bastard!” she spat. He frowned.
“What? No, I didn’t. There’s no lock on the outside of the door. Look.” She went outside and looked at the other side of the door. There was no bolt or lock that she could see.
“Open your hands,” she demanded. He wasn’t holding a key either.
“See,” he said in a soothing tone. “You got yourself all worked up for nothing. He took a step towards her, as if to rub her shoulder or something, but she shrank back from him.
“Why wouldn’t the door open?”
“I honestly don’t know. It can be a little stiff sometimes, I guess.” Adaira blinked a couple of times. Had she imagined it somehow? Maybe she was dehydrated. She’d drunk
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