Free Bear It All: A Werebear Paranormal Erotic Romance by Miriam Becker

 
    BEAR IT ALL
     
    “Miss Drake!”
     
    Gemma turned from the chalkboard where she was writing a question and smiled. This was only her second day on the job and so far nothing had gone wrong. The school where she worked ranged from kindergarten to twelfth grade. While it was busy, it wasn’t a bad place to work. For one thing, the students and other teachers were lovely.
     
    “What can I help you with?”
     
    “When is the police officer coming in?” the small boy asked her. He adjusted the fake police hat on his head, his gap-toothed smile warming her heart.
     
    “After break, now sit down and do your work.” Gemma waited until the small boy headed back to his seat before she turned back to the chalkboard. Today, some of the town’s people were speaking to the younger children about their jobs, while the older children would receive more detailed information about each visitor’s profession.
     
    It was Gemma’s second week in town. Her home was still full of unpacked boxes and she was still living out of a suitcase. While it wasn’t the most convenient way to live, it was easy for the moment. The school gave her one month’s notice to pack up and move, so she could start her new job. If she didn’t arrive by a certain date, the school would give her job to another person.
     
    So far, she had only taught the younger children and that was fine by her, since she didn’t have much experience teaching teenagers. The headmaster told her that the older students were currently studying for their tests, so she would only have to sit in the classroom and help when asked.
     
    “Miss Drake, I need to use the bathroom,” said a small girl, as she pulled on her sleeve. Gemma placed the chalk down before bending to the child’s level.
     
    “Do you know where the bathroom is, Grace?”
     
    “No.”
     
    “Ask Miss Finch to take you then,” Gemma said, as she waved the teaching assistant over. The small, elderly lady took Grace’s hand, led her out of the classroom, and down the hall. At least the little girl asked to go to the bathroom today. Yesterday, she had to call the janitor to clean up a mess, since a little boy didn’t make it to the bathroom in time. Apparently, their last teacher hadn’t allowed them to go the bathroom and gave them detention if they asked during her lessons.
     
    Before long, it was break time. Gemma was relieved that she finally had a chance to get a coffee, since she didn’t wake up early enough to grab one before school started. The staff room was empty, except for a man in a uniform sitting on the sofa. His head was bent over to most recent paper, but she took a deep breath and smiled. It was no surprise that the man was a bear-shifter; all the town’s police officers seemed to be.
     
    Another benefit of this particular town was that she didn’t have to hide her true identity. She didn’t have to lie and claim that she was busy on the full moon. She could actually shift in peace. In fact, the town seemed to be inhabited solely by shifters or, at least, every person she had met so far was some type of shifter.
     
    The scent of coffee drew her over to the small kitchenette located in the corner of the room. The first sip tasted like heaven and her body greedily accepted the caffeine. She knew that caffeine had no effect on shifters, but neither did alcohol or drugs. Although nothing liked that worked on shifters, some places illegally sold alcohol and drugs that were specifically concocted for shifters.
     
    “I see you’re a coffee girl, then.” Gemma looked up from the magazine she was reading and smiled. The officer had refilled his cup and had decided to sit down next to her. Usually Gemma would complain about someone sitting so close to her, but this man oozed sex appeal and she didn’t want to complain.
     
    “I like the taste.”
     
    “I’m sure there are better tastes in the world.” As he commented, he took a sip of his coffee and screwed his face up in