BEARedtoYouBBWShifterEroticRomanceARe by Tawny Taylor

hind legs, towering over her by nearly three feet. His hot breath huffed in her face.
    The instinct to turn tail and run buzzed through her like a jolt of electricity but she remained still. Watching his face, she raised a hand and stroked the thick fur coating his stomach. “Tarik, please come back to me.”
    She could feel his skin rippling under her hand, even through the thick fur. A moment later, he was a man again. A naked, shivering man. A man with sad puppy eyes.
    “You need to leave here,” he whispered. “You need to leave now. They know your name.”
    “Who’s they ?”
    “Omega.” His expression was an odd mix of emotions, too many to read clearly.
    “This, your problem, has something to do with your work? They know what? That you’re changing into a bear?”
    “Yes, they know. They did it to me.” He lifted her palm to his mouth and kissed it. “I can’t tell you more. I don’t know any more. Besides it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you’re safe. You need to go home, get away from here.”
    “That’s not going to happen as long as the strike is still going on. The flights out of Anchorage have all been cancelled.”
    “Where’s your truck?” He was starting to shiver harder. Although it was warm by Alaska’s standards, somewhere in the upper 50’s, it was still pretty chilly to be running around in one’s birthday suit.
    “You’re cold. I can get something for you to wear in my hotel room.”
    His fingers wrapped around her wrist as tight and unyielding as steel bands. He pulled her flush against him. She had more than a suspicion he hadn’t done that to block the chilly northerly wind. “No. You shouldn’t go back in there.”
    She tipped her head up to look him in the eye. It wasn’t easy, but she managed to speak, “All of my stuff’s in there, including the keys to my rental.”
    He grunted but released her. A bummer! “Fine. But I’ll come with you.”
    “I don’t think Joe’s in any condition to get in our way. He looked pretty bad off. I think he’s still alive, but barely.”
    Tarik’s expression darkened. “Yeah.” After a moment, he nodded. “Okay. Let’s go. But you must be careful.”
    “I’ll go in through the main entrance and let you into the building through the side door. My room is only a few feet from the door. Hopefully no one’ll see you.” Her face warmed. “Not that you don’t look absolutely fabu—”
    For the first time in too long, his lips curled into that naughty smile. “No need to explain. And speaking of looks,  you…you look damn good yourself. So good that I want to…” He took a step back. “No, I shouldn’t.”
    A little quiver raced through her body. “Shouldn’t what?”
    He gripped the back of her head with one hand, tangling his fingers in the hair at her nape. With a sharp yank, he dragged her against him. “This.” He slanted his mouth over hers and kissed her to boneless-ness.
    She literally drooped against him, relying on his other arm to support her as she kissed him back. Their tongues stroked and mated. Their breaths mixed. She moaned. He growled. She wished they were back at the cabin, in front of the fireplace, naked. At least he was naked. That was a mighty fine start.
    He broke the kiss much too soon. “Let’s go, before Omega sends someone else. I’m sure they know something’s happened to Joe by now.” He held her until she had her feet back under herself and her knees had regained their strength.
    “Yeah.” Her head kind of floaty and light, her feet skipping along the surface of the asphalt parking lot, she walked back into the hotel. It wasn’t easy, considering she was still in space-mode from that amazing kiss, but she tried to pay attention to who was nearby as she went back to her room. The door was still slightly ajar, thankfully, since she hadn’t had the chance to grab her keycard before being thrown over Joe’s shoulders and hauled outside like a sack of trash.
    It