A Bear's Seduction (Forbidden Shifters Book 2) (2 page)

Chapter Four

I sipped the last of my wine as I watched Ali ascend the
stairs behind Ted. I thought she was unaware of me being there, but when she
got to the top step, she turned around and looked straight at me. She smiled,
and I smiled back. She then turned and continued to follow Ted. I headed toward
the back of the house and to my office.

The package I’d been waiting for sat in the center of my
desk. Inside was the signed contract, the acceptance of my offer to take over a
company I’d been eyeing for two years. This was cause for a celebration,
something to be proud of for my relentless pursuit to dominate my niche market.

I fingered the package but didn’t feel like opening because
it wasn’t my business life that was lacking but my personal one. I leaned
against my desk and cradled the package to my chest.

The Bird and the Cat. Of all the books in my personal
library, she’d chosen that one.

I’d loved that book as a child. I still loved it. It reminded
me of my grandmother and how she’d taught me patience and discipline.

“If you don’t brush your teeth and get ready for bed there
will be no story for you tonight.”

I smiled remembering her exact words. It was her teaching me
that you had to do something to get something in return that made me who I am
today. She’d never been wrong. But was she wrong about my mate being a
non-shifter? Could it be Ali? She had some of the traits I liked. She was a
full-figured girl too. I loved those.

I’d felt a slight pulling in my chest when I’d seen her. And
yes, okay I’d had a strong pulling in my groin too. I laughed when I recalled
her face when I’d passed along the permits to her and the idea that my party
guests should be allowed to indulge in sexual activities if they so wished.
She’d blushed. It had been so cute on those beautiful cheeks of hers. Suddenly
I was so looking forward to dining. No eating alone tonight.

Chapter Five

I lifted my spoon and sank it into the soup and took my first
mouthful.

“I’m guessing this doesn’t come out of a can,” I said.

“No, and never mention the words food and can in the same
sentence when Mabel’s around.” I looked at the permits sitting on the desk in
the bedroom I’d been assigned. He could get a fair fortune for them, not that
he needed any more money.

I glanced at my watch and realized if I didn’t get a move on
I was going to be late for dinner. I was sure Bear liked punctuality. Luckily
I’d taken Josie’s advice and brought along a few evening dresses with me. The
red one was for the party so I opted for the blue floral one. I slipped off the
towel I’d wrapped around myself, grabbed my bra and panties, and after putting
them on, I stepped into the dress. After putting on my shoes, I headed out of
the door and down the stairs. I noticed Ted dusting two of the statues in the
foyer.

“Good evening, Ms. Bixby,” he said.

“Would you please call me Allison?”

“As you wish, Ms. …Allison.”

“You’re doing a great job at making them shine,” I said.

“Lots of practice I suppose. Mr. McCready likes everything
spic and span, especially when we have guests such as yourself.”

“So you’ve worked for him a long time.”

He nodded.

“And you’re also a…”

“Bear shifter, yes that I am and very proud of it.”

“And you have every reason to be.”

And I meant it. Some of the nicest people I’d met had been
bear shifters, and I was glad that the Alliance was slowly putting their bias
and bigotry behind them. I never thought I’d see the change in my lifetime, but
I was happy I was here to see history unfold.

“Thank you, Ms. … Allison. Now may I escort you to the dining
room?”

He offered me his arm, and I took it.

“Something smells delicious,” I said.

“That will be Mabel’s wonderful cooking, and she, by the way,
is one of you.”

“One of me?” I asked.

“You know, she’s a non-shifter.”

“And still a great cook.”

He looked at me, and I winked, hopefully letting him know I
was only kidding.

Paintings of bears lined the walls as we made our way along a
corridor.

“That one is Mr. McCready,” said Ted.

I stopped to take a closer look.

“Fine-looking bear isn’t he?” asked Ted.

He was indeed. I’d never seen one in person, and if I did, I
wasn’t sure if I’d want to run into one as powerful and strong looking as Bear.

“He’s a Kodiak?” I asked.

“Oh yes, and he’s very proud of his heritage.”

We continued walking until we got to a room with a huge table
in its center. Bear was already seated at one end.

“Good evening, Ali,” he said.

“Good evening to you too, Bear,” I said.

Ted pulled out a chair for me, and I sat. Despite the large
table, my place setting was right next to Bear’s and our knees bumped.

“Enjoy your meal,” said Ted before he left.

“Ted seems like a wonderful employee,” I said as Bear poured
me a glass of wine.

“He is. His father and my father were best friends.”

I lifted my glass and took a sip. It was a different wine to
earlier but still just as good.

“Your parents, are they still alive?” I asked him.

Bear shook his head. “No, both my parents and Ted’s family
were killed during the war.”

The war. My own parents had told me about it. We also learned
all about it at school but of course from the side of the humans who’d said the
shifters were barbaric and asked for all they’d received. It was shortly after
their defeat that the ban to limit all sexual contact begun. The troublemakers
who’d begun the revolt against the non-shifters were rounded up and shipped away
never to be seen again. Rumor was that formed what were known as safe havens,
bear sanctuaries for bears on the run or who no longer wanted to be part of our
bigoted society.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said. “Were you sent to one of
the camps?”

Orphan bear shifters were raised in camps that I knew weren’t
the nicest places to grow up.

“No, my grandmother was still living, and she took me in and
raised me.”

“She must be very proud of you.”

“Yes, she was, but sadly she died two years ago. She would
have loved the party I’m about to throw.”

He looked down at the table and then up at me. I could see
tears forming in his eyes and it touched my heart. This big hunk of a man who
transformed into a Kodiak bear had a soft side. I liked that quality a lot.

I don’t know why but I slid my hand across the table and
wrapped it around his palm. I say wrapped, but it was more like rested because
his hand was so huge that I barely covered half of it.

There was silence and almost an awkwardness that made me
instantly regret my decision to reach out to him. Luckily a woman headed into
the room carrying two bowls of soup.

I pulled my hand away, and she looked at me and then at Bear.

“I hope you’re both famished because I’ve made my finest
roasted butternut squash soup.” She placed a bowl in front of me and Bear. The
steam rose from it and hit my nostrils, and suddenly I realized just how hungry
I was. I’d been too nervous about coming here to eat anything substantial for
lunch.

“This, by the way, is Mabel, my head chef,” said Bear.
“Mabel, this is Ms. Bixby who’s overseeing the logistics of the party.”

Mabel stuck out her hand to me, and I shook it.

“It’s nice to meet you, Ms. Bixby. Now you two tuck into that
while it’s still piping hot.”

She walked over to a side table and retrieved a basket of
bread and put it down between me and Bear.

“I’ll be back soon with the main course. It’s one of Mr.
McCready’s favorites. Not everyone likes it, so if you don’t, I can quickly
whip you up an omelet. She turned and left before I could respond.

“I can see that you’re intrigued by what it could possibly
be,” said Bear. “And yes, eat up before the soup gets too cold to enjoy.”

“And are you a good cook too?” I asked.

“Even if I wasn’t wealthy, I’d work day and night just to pay
Mabel because I’d starve. How about you?”

“I’m obviously not up to Mabel’s standards, but I’ve been
known to make killer chocolate chip cookies.”

“You do know they’re my favorite kind, right?”

“I didn’t, no.”

Mabel chose that moment to come back in pushing a cart with
covered platters on it.

“I can see by your face you’re really intrigued now,” said
Bear. “Lift your nose in the air and see if you can figure out what’s under all
those platters.”

“Try it, Ms. Bixby. Mr. McCready’s made me almost as good as
a bear at detecting smells and odors. Such a gift for a chef,” said Mabel.

Bear reached across the table and put his fingers under my
chin to tilt up head upward slightly. I loved the feel of his hand on my skin.
Too much maybe. I couldn’t concentrate on the smell.

“Close your eyes. It helps if you eliminate one of your other
senses,” he said.

That could be true, but the sense of being touched,
especially by this sexy werebear was making it difficult. I finally closed my
eyes and took a deep inhale.

“Cabbage,” I said.

“Close, very close,” Bear said. “What else?”

I took another breath, thinking how easy this was for him. He
rubbed his finger under my chin, making me shudder in a very good way. My
nipples grew hard and pressed against my bra.

“Something savory,” I finally said. “Meat.”

“I think you should let her have that one,” said Mabel.

“I will but with my training she’ll be just as good as a
bear,” he said.

With his training. Unless he was going to give me a crash
course over the next few days, did that mean we would be seeing more of each
other after my assignment was over?

“Open your eyes and take a look,” Bear said.

I glanced at the cart and saw mashed potatoes, a jug of
gravy, Brussels sprouts and what looked like Salisbury steak.

“He loves all this, but if you’d prefer an omelet or a
sandwich, I can whip one up in no time,” said Mabel.

“No, actually my mom used to make Salisbury steak all the
time when I was young. I might have to pass on the sprouts, but this is fine.”

Bear put his napkin over his lap and placed a Salisbury steak
on my plate while Mabel handed me the bowl of potatoes.

“I’ll let you two enjoy your meal, and I’ll be back with
dessert shortly.”

“Are you sure you won’t have some of these? I can assure you
they’re not like anything you’ve ever tasted,’ Bear said, lifting up the bowl
of sprouts.

“Nope, I think I’ll pass. You know they give you gas, right?”

I shouldn’t have said that. I hardly knew him, and that had
been so inappropriate, or so I’d thought until he burst out laughing.

“Believe me, bears have no trouble with them.”

I watched as he piled a load of them onto the plate and then
poured gravy over everything.

I bit into the steak and had to say it was nothing like the
kind my mother used to make.

“What makes you love these so much?” I asked him. “Well apart
from them being so delicious.”

“My grandmother was very poor, so I went to work for a
non-shifter family. As I pulled weeds and cut grass, I’d look inside their
house and see them eating this very same meal. I said to myself, if they ever
allow us werebears to go into business, I’m going to be rich and when that
happens I’m going to eat this very meal, and it will be made by a top chef.”

“Did you know that they’re not real steak?” I asked.

“It didn’t matter because I just wanted us bears to have what
you non-shifters had.”

I could understand that, and I suddenly saw what drove him
and how he’d become as rich as he had.

“Now, I’ve answered a lot of your questions so it’s time for
me to ask some of my own.”

I guessed that was only fair.

“Why did you choose to go into event management?”

“I actually didn’t. It sort of chose me. I’m trained as a
hairdresser.”

He stopped eating and looked at me, almost as if I was
joking.

“First day on the job at the salon, I discovered I hated it,
but I’d paid a ton of money to the school so I had to find something else to
do. Josie was one of my clients, and she invited me to join the company.”

“That’s an interesting story,” said Bear. “More wine?”

I was already feeling a little light-headed from the large
glass he’d poured but what the hell. “Sure, but half a glass this time.”

“And you’ll be taking over for Josie when she has her baby?”
Bear asked.

“So you already know something about me.”

“Yes, like you haven’t had a regular boyfriend for over a
year, and you’re allergic to shellfish.”

Had he been checking on me because he had some interest in
me? Wishful thinking because with his next statement, my fantasy balloon burst.

“When I hire someone I make it my business to know
everything.”

Earth to Allison, come in please, it’s all business with
Bear.

He leaned back in the chair and took the wineglass in his
hands. “How do you feel about running the company while your boss is gone?” he
asked.

“I’m nervous, but I know it’s a challenge for me.” I took
another helping of potatoes and guessed I should do some exercising later.

“And do your plans include a family one day?”

“I do but finding the right man isn’t easy.”

He glanced at me over the glass he was drinking from. “It’s
all about meeting the right mate. We all have one out there it’s just a matter
of being in the same place as them.”

He’d narrowed it down to a common denominator. It almost
sounded way too simple and easy, but I had to admit he was right.

“And what is it you look for in a mate?” he asked me.

I was midbite and swallowed the potatoes that were literally
melting in my mouth. He wasn’t joking when he said he’d be asking me questions.
It was becoming more of a cross-examination. This question took me by surprise
because I realized I’d never really made a list of qualities I liked in a man.
I was more of an “I’ll know it when I’m with him” sort of girl.

“Sense of humor. He has to have that.” The words rolled off
my tongue as if I had given the question a lot of thought.

“That’s a good one. Life’s not always easy and laughing helps
you get through the day.”