Beauty & The Bear

8

Hayley

Dinner goes really well, we laugh and eat until we can’t eat another bite and it feels like hours go by before we decide to clear our plates away. We head to the kitchen and do the dishes side by side. Kaine splashes water at me playfully, hitting me across the chest and neck.

“Ohhh it’s on” I giggle and dip my hand in the water, picking up a handful of bubbles before tossing them at him.

His hand snakes around my waist as he pulls me into him and his lips come crashing down on mine, he pushes me against the counter, caging me in with his arms. I don’t feel trapped in the slightest. His lips are soft leather against mine, moving in perfect sync. His tongue glides along my bottom lip before giving it a soft bite.

He pulls away too soon, backing up a full step. I stare at him while breathing heavily as I straighten myself up.

He smiles and returns to finish up the dishes, seemingly unaware of what he’s doing to me. By the time I have calmed my heart rate and gotten my breathing under control, he extends his hand over to me,

“May I have this dance my lady?” I place my hand in his, looking down at the size difference. He twirls me into his arms, and begins dancing with me. I rest my head on his bicep as the music plays softly in the background.

“I have one more surprise, follow me” He stops twirling me and leads me out the patio door and down the stairs to the back yard. His hand is warm as he leads me towards a gazebo. Inside there is a large futon with cushions and a drop screen a few feet in front of the futon.

“Up for a movie?”

I walk over and sit on the futon, sinking into the cushions and wait for him to set up our movie. I lean back as the movie starts and Kaine sits beside me, the futon sinks deeply under his weight. He put on a romantic movie, ‘The Notebook’. We sit in silence as the movie plays, after a while I readjust and slowly lean into him, resting on his shoulder. His hand comes down gently on my knee, feeling searing through the thin fabric of my dress.

My heart feels like it’s going to explode if I don’t feel more of him, soon.

“If you’re a bird.. I’m a bird” I mumble along with the movie.

“Have you seen this before?” Kaine whispers in the dark

“A few times” I look away from the screen, looking up at him, it’s dark enough that I can’t fully make out his face. He’s already looking at me, he’s been watching me for a while now, I have felt his eyes on me, making me itch with need.

He reaches a hand up to my face, pulling at a strand of hair before pushing it behind my ear. His hand cups my jaw, tilting my face towards him.

“We should watch the movie” I whisper.

“We should” He agrees but he doesn’t make any move to release me.

There’s something in his eyes as he stares me down, something primal, needy and wanting. I think I want the same thing he does. I know he’s too much of a gentleman to make any forward moves on me, so if I want anything I’ll have to initiate it. I move nervously, going to my knees in front of him, he understands exactly what I’m after and pulls me onto his lap so I’m straddling him.

His hands hold my hips tightly as I wrap my arms around his neck and slide forward, slightly grinding into his lap. Our breathing is heavy, my dress is hiked up to my thighs as our lips collide. My fingers slide into his hair, tugging on it, he tilts his head back a bit, making it easier for me to lean down to kiss him. He breaks off our kiss and pulls on my hair, making my head fall back as he kisses down my neck. Licking and nibbling as he goes,

“Kaine…” I whisper against his soft kisses, it feels so good, I don’t want it to ever stop. His hands are all over me, on my hips, my back, in my hair, everywhere. I want him to consume me whole, and I don’t care if I wake up in the morning feeling any regrets. Here and now in this moment I want to be devoured by him.

“Please… Kaine” I beg of him.

“We’re going to take this slow” He whispers into the hollow of my neck, “I don’t want you to have any regrets”

I could melt into him right here and now, it’s too much. I can feel that I’m drenched already and this is not helping my situation at all. How can this man seem so perfect?

How can he sit here and act like he doesn’t want anything more than I’m willing to give, and even then he doesn’t want to move too fast? He doesn’t want to push too far too quickly.

My throat suddenly feels tight, tears well in my eyes.

He’s the exact opposite of Jason.

Kind, sweet, compassionate and understanding.

Not malicious, spiteful, I don’t feel like I have to constantly walk on eggshells around Kaine.

Sensing my sudden overwhelm, he brings his hands up and cups my face, his thumbs easily wiping at my falling tears, “hey, hey, what’s wrong?” He whispers

I shake my head, unable to speak.

“It’s okay, just breathe. I promise you’re completely safe Hayley. I won’t make you do anything your not comfortable with”

“That’s just it… I am comfortable with you… I do want more… but after my last relationship I’m terrified, you are the total opposite of everything I’m used to and it scares the s**t out of me Kaine” My voice is trembling as I speak.

He runs his hands up and down my arms gently, in a comforting manner as he listens to everything I say.

“Hayley, I don’t know what you’ve been through. I hope you can trust me soon to tell me about it. But in the meantime let me make you a promise. You never have to worry about anything when you’re with me”

“His name was Jason…” I lay my head on his shoulder, feeling him wrap his arms around me like a big warm blanket of comfort. He holds me to his body and I can still hear the movie playing behind me. I try to focus on what is happening, but my mind is going a million miles an hour. Did he hear what I said?

His hands gently trail up my lower back, over my scars. “Did he give you these?”

Even though it was over a year ago now, it still feels fresh. Like it happened yesterday, and it's as raw as it was when it happened. I flinch slightly under the heat of his fingertips through my dress.

I nod slowly, reliving the memory of it.

“You’ll never have to talk about it again if you don’t want to”

My breath is ragged, like it’s being torn from my chest. Something inside me is telling me that I need to tell him, if I’m ready or not to open the old wounds. I need to.

“Jason.. He was my husband.. We were married for four years. It started out fine, like any normal marriage. Things changed very quickly, before I knew it he was abusive and one night he went too far. After that night I knew I had to leave, I never went back, I got as far away as I could, I wanted a fresh start, a new life”

“Thank you for sharing that with me. I know it was not easy for you to reveal yourself to me in such a naked way. You can trust me, I will never betray you”

I can see from the look in his eyes he is telling me the truth. “Thank you” I nod, nuzzling into his shoulder as I try to control my tears.

I feel his hand soothing my hair, a shiver goes through my body.

He scoops me into his lap so that he’s cradling me against his body now, my head against his chest. He pulls at a blanket I hadn’t noticed before and covers my legs.

By the time the movie is over I am fast asleep in Kaine’s arms. The moonlight and the warmth of his body lulled me to sleep faster than it had any right to, his fingers tracing small lines up and down my body.

When I open my eyes again I'm no longer outside but in a large bed with the blankets pulled over me and sunlight creeping in the large bay window. I bolt upright in the bed, making myself slightly dizzy with the quick motion.

Looking around the room I can tell it's Kaine’s bedroom, the feel of it is very masculine but somehow soft around the edges. There's a wooden dresser on one wall, a huge picture of two bears sits above it. The trees behind the bears look like something out of a fairytale.

I crawl to the foot of the bed, looking out the window, it's raining. I watch the way it pelts down on the lake for a moment, I'm mesmerized.

My feet hit the hardwood floor with a soft thud as I get out of Kaine’s bed. I find a sweater on the back of his door and I hope he doesn't mind as I slip it over my head. It's chilly, I have goosebumps on my arms as I open the door and step into the hallway.