Forbidden Love: A BBW, BWWM Paranormal Romance (5 page)

“
Ew, thank god the bears don’t do that. My
uncle would have driven the clan to civil war,” she scoffed.

Alex laughed. “I see your point. Are you
finished?”

Alice looked down at her plate. She’d all but
licked it clean. She nodded and he took it from her, handing her the
water again. She drank half of it in a gulp, then reclined against
the pillows. Her belly was full, her leg felt better than it had all
day, and she was completely relaxed from the good conversation. She
closed her eyes for a moment, and then realized Alex had been quiet
for a long time.

She looked up and found him staring at her again. “Why
do you keep staring at me?”

“
I can’t stop.” He had finished
clearing the plates and had stopped to watch her. Mesmerized by her
beauty, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her chocolate skin
glowed in the yellow light, and her full lips and sultry smile drew
him to her. He longed to touch her, feel the beauty of her skin. “I’m
sorry.”

“
What are you thinking?” she asked. Her
thoughts had strayed to when he’d stood naked before her, his
masculinity so alluring she’d almost asked him to kiss her. She
looked at him now, at the way he stared at her as if he might ravish
her, and was aroused.

Alex moved to kneel next to the bed, his eyes level with
hers. “I’m thinking about how much I want to kiss you.
Touch you.” He lifted his hand and brushed his fingers across
her cheek. His thumb traced the outline of her lips, and his other
hand rested on her ample thigh, caressing it softly.

Alice’s body responded immediately to his touch,
and she yearned for him. She tilted her head to the side and back,
giving him access to her lips or her throat, whichever he wished to
kiss first. Her eyes fluttered closed as his lips touched hers. Her
mouth opened to his tongue, and she played hers over his, sighing
into his mouth as if offering him a part of her soul.

She reached up and snagged her fingers in his black,
rugged hair, holding him to her. He rose from his kneeling position
without breaking contact and lay next to her on the bed. Even with
his eyes closed and his mouth occupied, he was careful not to touch
her wounded leg. Gently, he ran his hand along her hip and up her
waist under the tee shirt she wore, relishing the feel of her soft
skin. He ran his hand along her stomach, briefly pausing above her
mound before continuing up to her bounteous breasts and sighed when
their heaviness fell into his palm.

Alice’s hands were equally busy, exploring his
body. She touched his chest, traced his rock hard abs, and hastily
brushed her fingers over the bulge in his jeans. He jerked at the
touch, and she smiled into his mouth and did it again, teasing him.
The kiss deepened, their hands quickened as did their heart rates.

Alice wanted him, more than she’d ever wanted
anyone. And it terrified her. She jerked her mouth from his and put
her hands on his chest, holding him at bay.

“
Alice, what’s wrong? Did I hurt you?”
he asked. His hand remained on her hip, his thumb moving in a slow
arc, driving her mad with lust.

Alice sat up and gave him a little shove away from her.
He got off the bed, but remained kneeling at the side so he could be
close to her. He touched her knee gently. She caught her breath and
put her hand over his. She wanted the contact as much as he did.

“
Alex, we can’t do this. I mean, you’re
a werewolf and I’m a werebear. We could never be together, and
I don’t have sex with men I can’t have a relationship
with,” Alice told him. She wrapped her fingers around his. “I
. . . feel something for you, when we kiss, and I can’t feel
that.”

“
Why does it matter what we are? I feel something
too. I felt it when you first turned into a woman. I knew what you
were, and I didn’t care.”

“
It matters, Alex. My family will never let me be
with you, and yours won’t let you be with me. It’s not
meant to be,” Alice replied sadly. “Aren’t we a
pair? Romeo and Juliet of the supernatural world.”

He sighed a laugh, smiling only a little. “Just so
you know, I’m not letting this go.”

Alice tilted her head and frowned at him. “Alex.”

“
Nope. Not going to let it go. I will for tonight,
but we will discuss this.” He lifted the hand he held and
kissed the back of it. “If I’m feeling something this
powerful, I will not let it go because our families don’t like
each other.”

“
It’s not just that and you know it,”
Alice reminded him. “We’re different species. We couldn’t
have children.”

“
I told you we’re dropping it for tonight. I
need to think about all this.” He rose to his feet and pushed
her down onto the pillows. He tucked her in and kissed her forehead.
“Now, you need to rest. I’m going to get a blanket and
sleep right here beside the bed in case you need me.”

Alice shook her head at him, a smile on her face. She
wanted to talk about it that second, but he wouldn’t let her.
Ok, we’ll sleep on it
,
she decided as if it had been her idea.

“
Good night, Alex,” she said quietly,
looking at him.

“
Good night, Alice.” He bent at the waist
and kissed her, his tongue probing her mouth until she was regretting
her responsible decision.

*****

Bud and Mike had deposited Carl at the hospital and
called his wife to let her know he’d been attacked by a wild
animal. She’d been hysterical, of course, and had rushed to his
side, freeing the two men to return to the forest.

“
Remind me again why we’re going back into a
forest that is crawling with werebears and werewolves,” Mike
asked.

“
Because I want that wolf. And that bear. They’re
together somewhere. We just have to track them from the clearing,”
Bud replied, focused on the road so he didn’t miss the turn. He
remembered exactly where the clearing was and knew he could track
that damn werewolf with little difficulty, especially if it had saved
the werebear.

“
It’s getting dark. We won’t be able
to see anything.”

“
I have spotlights. We can’t let the trail
go cold,” Bud replied.

“
Hey, listen, man. Let’s go back in the
morning. I don’t want to be out there after dark,” Mike
said. He didn’t like the idea of going back at all, but in the
dark? No thanks.

“
Don’t be a damn wuss. We’ll follow
the trail and find out where they’re holed up, then go back in
the morning and get them.” Bud wasn’t missing this
opportunity. Two pelts, a werebear and a werewolf, would bring him a
ton of money. He’d give Mike a share, of course; ten percent.

He turned onto the road and parked close to the trail
they had followed to get back to the truck from the clearing. He
grabbed his gear out of the back, including his gun, a big spotlight,
and a back pack filled with the hunting essentials. Mike gathered his
stuff as well and they headed into the forest.

*****

Riley and Susan had reached the clearing and returned to
their human form. They could both smell the blood and knew it was
Alice’s. The scents of the poachers was clear, but a third
smell confused them both. They scoured the area for a stronger scent
when Susan yelped.

“
Riley, get over here!” she shouted. “I
smell something over here I’m not familiar with.”

Riley walked over, sniffed the area, and jerked back.
The closer smell revealed the distinct stench of a werewolf. He
looked around the area to be sure they were alone.

“
Susan, keep your eyes open. Alice ran into
poachers and a werewolf.”

“
Oh my god,” she whispered. “Do you
think she’s ok?”

“
She was alive when she left the clearing,”
he said, kneeling close to the ground. “Look here, her
footsteps disappear here, like she was carried.”

“
I see it, I see it,” Susan said. “What
do we do?”

Riley studied her curious face, lost in thought.
What
do we do now?
he wondered. Alice was
obviously in trouble, injured and who knew where, but he didn’t
want to put Susan in danger. He couldn’t make a decision. He
looked at Susan again.

“
Riley, what are we going to do? We have to find
her,” Susan said, putting her hand on his arm. “She’s
hurt.”

“
I know, but I don’t want to put you in
danger,” Riley replied. “But I guess we don’t have
a choice.”

“
No, we don’t. She needs us. And I’ll
be careful and do whatever you tell me,” Susan promised.

They transformed into werebears again and picked up the
trail of the werewolf that had taken their sister.

*****

“
Perfect.” Bud had been standing behind a
tree, just barely able to hear the werebears discussing their sister.

“
What do you mean, perfect?” hissed Mike.

“
They’ll lead us right to the camp. We don’t
even have to do any tracking,” Bud replied. “We can come
back in the morning and the wolf pack will be ours for the taking.
Maybe a werebear or two as well.”

“
How are we going to follow them? They’re
faster than us and they might hear us.”

“
They’re too worried about finding their
sister. They’ll never know we’re here.” Bud watched
them transform and run in the opposite direction. “Come on.”

Bud ran after the two werebears, with Mike trailing
behind him.

*****

Riley and Susan arrived at the werewolf camp only
fifteen minutes later. They transformed back into their human forms
and circled the camp, looking for signs of their sister.

“
I can’t see her,” Susan whispered.
From the vantage point they’d chosen, they could see the entire
camp. Alice was nowhere in sight.

“
Me either,” Riley replied. His swift eyes
took in every detail of the camp. Susan could hear the anxiety and
anger tainting his voice. “She’s here, though. I can
smell her.”

“
Me too. I hope she’s ok.” Susan
touched his hand so he’d look at her. “We have to get the
others. We can’t do anything tonight by ourselves.”

“
I agree. Dammit, where is she?” Riley’s
fury exploded briefly, but his calm returned quickly. “Ok, we
know where she is. We’ll go home and bring back the clan to get
her.”

“
You think she’s been kidnapped?”

“
Must have been. She wouldn’t stay here
unless she had to.”

“
You’re right,” Susan replied. “Let’s
go.”

Riley looked at the camp again, hoping to see his
sister. He turned to Susan and nodded, they transformed, and ran
north.

*****

“
Did you hear that, Bud?” Mike had forgotten
his fears in his excitement. “Werebears and werewolves in the
same place! We’ll be millionaires!”

“
Calm down.” Bud’s thoughts were
racing. How could he take down a werebear clan and a werewolf pack
without more help? “Let’s get back and make our plans.
Tomorrow, we come back and get us some pelts.”

Alice
could hear Alex’s breathing as it deepened into sleep breaths.
She smiled, comforted by the sound, although she knew she shouldn’t
be. She touched her lips that were swollen from his kiss and traced
the path his hand had followed along her waist and across her
stomach.
I shouldn’t be feeling this
,
she admonished.
He’s a wolf, I’m a
bear! Our parents will kill us!

But
then she remembered she was an adult, more than capable of making her
own decisions. Many females left the clan for another once they chose
a husband, if he was from a different clan. Some males would switch
clans as well, joining his wife’s clan. Usually the couple
decided that based on which group they got along with better.

Alice knew she could leave the clan if she married, or
she could invite her husband to join hers. She snorted and heard a
disruption in Alex’s breathing.
She put her hand over her mouth and
giggled. She glanced down at him to make sure she hadn’t
wakened him. He murmured sexily and changed position, but did not
wake.

She returned to her thoughts.
Marrying
a werewolf isn’t exactly what that rule was made for
,
she reminded herself.
And
why was she even contemplating marriage anyway? They’d kissed,
that’s all. But something inside her called to him, craved him,
and she was sure he felt the same way. His eyes had told her when
she’d stopped the kiss. That hadn’t been just lust in his
eyes or on his face. He was falling for her as hard as she was
falling for him.

Why had she stopped him? Why?
Because
you’re the responsible one blah blah
,
she thought. Yes, she was an adult, but she didn’t want to hurt
her family through her actions.
God, the Romeo
and Juliet reference earlier was so accurate.

She sighed heavily and peeked over the side of the bed
at Alex’s sleeping form. His hair showed starkly against the
white pillow case, only slightly disheveled due to his shifting
positions in his sleep.
She hadn’t asked him yet what tribe
his clan belonged to, but his Native American heritage was clear in
the chiseled lines of his jaw and cheeks as well as in the beautiful
tanned skin she’d seen so much of earlier when he’d
changed from werewolf to human form. His bare chest rose and fell
with every breath, and she longed to trace the outlines of his
muscles with her finger, or maybe her tongue.