“Do you like what you see?” he asked in a husky voice.
“I’ve seen better,” she said, not meeting his gaze.
“Liar,” he growled. “We can already practically read each other’s minds by the scents we give off. You want me as much as I want you, little kitty. Now, sit tight while I get your ass something to eat.”
Rollo hurried off into the night, shifting in mid stride. He galloped through the clearing and into the wood, smelling the sharp scent of pine needles as they broke under his feet. He bolted through the forest, sniffing out the potential prey who lived there. He smelled the musky scent of a buck, not far down a damp ravine. It would be good meat for his mate, and they would both feast tonight and tomorrow on its flesh.
The water trickled down below him, he could smell it rising in the darkness as he approached. On quiet feet, he stepped into the ravine, blocking the buck on every side. The buck’s heartbeat thrummed in Rollo’s sensitive ears just as its head shot up in awareness of the bear’s presence.
He charged forward, growling and baring his teeth as he barreled toward the startled buck. The deer bolted on his hind legs and scurried toward the edge of the ravine, trying to climb up the steep slope to safety.
The bear swiped at the buck’s hind leg and slammed it down onto the muddy ravine floor. With a quick bite, Rollo snapped its neck, tasting its lifeblood lap over his tongue. Now he had food for his mate.
Rollo shifted into human form and slung the heavy animal over his broad shoulders, his shifter strength hefting the load. With his naked, taut body streaked in mud, Rollo climbed out of the ravine and carried his kill through the forest. It took him forty-five minutes to walk back to the cabin. When he deposited his load outside, he noticed the door was cracked open.
He growled and sniffed the air as he pushed inside. Zoe was gone. Dammit. He should have known she would break free. The cuffs were discarded on the cabin floor. He turned quickly outside and jumped into his bear form, tasting the air in an attempt to pick up her scent.
He could smell her faintly on the breeze, and followed the scent into the forest. He picked up speed as her scent grew stronger. Soon, he found himself in a grove of tall old-growth spruce trees. He inhaled the piney fragrance, trying to pinpoint her location. It was as if she was everywhere and nowhere. Rollo turned around, his massive brown grizzly body smashing over underbrush as he moved through the trees. He growled and reared up on his hind legs, letting out an intimidating roar.
His pussycat must have taken to the treetops, and he couldn’t climb all the way up the tree to get to her. He tried to locate exactly where she, sniffing from one trunk to the next. The forest towered overhead and the first rays of morning sunlight appeared in the dim dusky sky. He spotted movements about twenty feet above him and reared against the solid trunk, trying to push her out. Even with his massive size and strength, it was no match for the sixteen-foot wide tree.
The sound of her high-pitched growl fell from above him as her claws dug into his back. The velvet bag of jewels fell at his side. He swiped at her, and she went tumbling down onto the forest floor. In a frantic attempt to escape, she twisted away, trying to run. Rollo charged at her and pinned her to the ground, pressing his teeth against the back of her neck in a holding bite.
With a feline scream, Zoe shifted. Her black and yellow patterned hide melted into golden tan skin, and a pile of long black hair flowed from her head. Rollo let go of her neck but carefully held her under him as he shifted. They were entangled in each other, flesh to flesh on the damp forest floor. The golden rays of the sunrise filtered through the forest canopy and illuminated the green dew covered leaves of the underbrush around them.
Zoe twisted under Rollo, trying to push him away. His superior strength allowed him to hold her still. She whimpered, begging to be released.
“You shouldn’t have tried to escape,” he whispered into the back of her neck.
“You’re holding me prisoner,” she spat back, her cheek pressed against the soft forest floor.
Rollo stood up, bringing Zoe with him. He held her wrist in his hand and looked down at her naked form. He hadn’t seen her this way before and couldn’t help the magnetic draw he felt begging to be at one with her body. He stiffened, his eyes absorbing every beautiful curve he had only seen hinted at under her clothes.
“Why don’t you tell me the truth, Zoe? I’m only trying to protect you. To protect us.”
“Rollo, we both know that this will never work.”
“What are you so afraid of, Zoe?” he asked her.