Free 9781631054747HerstoBearHoffa by Tamara Hoffa Page B

like a stupid fool. “Nothing is wrong, per se. I’m just nervous about
seeing you shift.”
    “I
don’t have to shift today.”
    “No,”
she practically shouted. “I’m sorry. I want you to shift. I really want to see
your bear. I’m just a little scared. I know it’s stupid. I know it’s still you
when you shift…”
    “Yes,
it is, but I am different too. There are a few things I want to tell you before
I shift. First and most important. Don’t run from me.
While I still remain in control of my human thought when I shift, I also
have…baser animal instincts. My bear, he wants you very much. If you run, he
will chase you. He would never hurt you, but he will give chase, and I don’t
want him to scare you.”
    “Okay.”
Jenna nodded.
    “Second,
obviously I won’t be able to talk to you when I shift. After we are mated and
you change we will be able to communicate telepathically when we are shifted.”
    Jenna
gasped. “I didn’t know you could do that.”
    “No,
most humans don’t.”
    “Wow,
that’s really cool.”
    “Yes,
it is a wonderful gift. Anyway, I won’t be able to talk to you now, and I won’t
be able to shift back for a few minutes. It takes a lot of energy to shift. So just
sit quietly with me and wait. Okay?”
    “Yes.”
    “Are
you ready?”
    “Yes.”
    Bern
stood and pushed the coffee table to the side of the room, then he started to strip out of his clothes.
    “What
are you doing?”
    “Taking
my clothes off.”
    Jenna
could feel the blush coloring her cheeks. “What the hell for?”
    “Because
if I shift with them on I will either shred them or strangle on them.”
    Duh, Jenna you are really not
thinking tonight .
“I never thought of that. I guess I thought maybe they just disappeared and
reappeared when you shifted back.”
    “Damn,
that would be a nice trick. It would have saved me from a lot of embarrassing
situations in the past too, I can tell you, but no, doesn’t happen.”
    Jenna
cleared her throat and looked at the floor. “You’re not going to see me change
if you’re looking at the rug,” Bern teased. “It’s not like you haven’t seen me
naked before, you know.”
    “That
was different,” Jenna grumbled.
    Bern
laughed. “Well it’s your choice, but don’t complain to me if you miss the
show.”
    Jenna
looked up and glared at him. Bern looked smug, the bastard, and in the next
moment her big bear of a man was…well a big bear. There was no cracking of
bones or noise, like she expected, no flash of white light, in fact it was so
fast, if she’d have blinked she’d have missed it. One minute he was a man, the
next he was a bear. Magic.
    He
stood for a moment on his hind legs, startling her with his size. Bern stood
about ten feet tall, covered in brown fur tipped with a light gold at the ends.
His chocolate brown eyes were now that eerie amber color, and claws over two
inches long extended from the end of his paws.
    He
dropped to all fours on the floor and then lay down on his belly, resting his head on his paws and Jenna swore he was trying to give her an
innocent look. He nodded his head and made a cuffing noise deep in his throat.
    Jenna
scooched to the edge of the couch and waggled her fingers at Bern. “Hi.”
    The big
goof tipped his head to the side and let his tongue hang out. Oh boy that was
one long tongue. Jenna got down onto the floor and crawled toward Bern. He chuffed his encouragement and she laughed. When she reached
his head she asked. “Is it okay if I pet you? I forgot to ask before you
shifted.”
    The big
bear awkwardly nodded its head and Jenna gently stroked the fur between his
eyes. He crept closer until his head was resting in her lap and she was
scratching behind his ears. A sound almost like a purr resonated from the
bear’s chest. “Oh you like that, do you?”
    Jenna
was astonished at the feel of the bear’s fur. The outside was coarse and stiff,
almost wiry, but underneath it was soft as down. She bent her face