Bear’s Mate: Shifter Spice

Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Annie pulled into her usual parking space and sat there for a moment. Even now she was still shaking with anger over Tommy’s assumption. She had hoped she would be free of him and had expected Tommy to be relieved to be finally free from his girlfriend ‘with the rolls’.

But her hopes had been in vain. Now she was going to have to deal with the i***t. Part of her wished she hadn’t even started a relationship with Tommy. How many times had he cheated on her? How many times had he lied to her? She didn’t want to even consider the truth.

A rap at the window had her jumping but she calmed when she saw Garrett was standing by her car. Annie opened the door, Garrett holding it for her as she reached back in for her gym bag. She shut the door and locked up her car.

“Thanks for seeing me home.” She hitched her bag onto her shoulder. “I’ll be okay now.”

“You sure?” Garrett shoved his hands into his pockets and looked decidedly uncertain. “I mean, erm, you know...he might come back.”

Annie warmed to him. The man was gorgeous with a delicious body, protective, sweet and chivalrous. And this little display of uncertainty was cute. She wished she had met him before she had ever met Tommy.

“Not tonight. I’ve got a good security system and he won’t be able to get past the doorman.” She touched Garrett’s arm and something hot tingled against her fingertips. “I’ll be fine.”

But Garrett still didn’t look happy.

“I don’t like you being alone.”

“Garrett, I’m a big girl. I can manage.”

She squeezed his arm and the heat got stronger. Garrett looked at her hand and then at her. Their eyes locked and Annie felt a strong pull towards him. Something in her suddenly wanted to jump him and demand that he made love to her right there on the hood of her car. It was a primal urge that had her body pulsating.

Blushing furiously and grateful for the dim lighting, she released his arm and stepped away, not able to look at him.

“Goodnight, Garrett. I’ll see you on Thursday.”

She hurried away before he could answer and tried not to run as she made her way to the lobby. She acted cool and calm as she went through, nodding to the doorman, before taking the stairs. She needed to keep moving. If she stopped she was going to start thinking about what she wanted Garrett to do to her and turn back to beg him to do something.

This was nuts. She had to be on the rebound. When people were on the rebound, they thought that any handsome guy who looked at them would have s*x with them. Garrett was handsome and, as far as she knew, single, and they had been in each other’s company for a period of time, so of course he would seem desirable.

Maybe after they had seen each other more often in their sessions he would become less desirable.

Somehow Annie doubted it.

Puffing and red-faced, she reached her floor and went into her apartment. Tossing her bag onto the floor, she put both locks on the door and went into the lounge, kicking off her sneakers. Then she lay on the sofa and reached for the phone. A talk with Mary Ellen was just what she needed. If she called at the right time, Mary Ellen would be on her break.

Her best friend answered on the second ring.

“Talk to me, girl.”

“You on a break?”

“I’m back on in five so you’d better give me a condensed version. I’ll ask for the longer one later.” Mary Ellen’s voice took on a tone that said she was about to discuss something juicy. “So, how did it go? Is the trainer hot?”

Annie stretched and propped a cushion behind her head. Her whole body was going to ache but it was worth it.

“The session was great. I felt invigorated afterwards.”

“That’s good. And the trainer?”

Annie laughed.

“You and sex.”

“I’m about to go into heat. Indulge me.”

Annie was glad she wasn’t a wolf shifter. Much as she loved s*x she wasn’t sure if she could cope being controlled by the urge to have s*x as much as possible.

“His name’s Garrett. He’s good. He knows his stuff.”

“And from the tone of your voice, he’s hot.”

Annie remembered the first time she had laid eyes on Garrett and her p***y tightened. Then she remembered how she had reacted to him outside and blushed, glad that Mary Ellen couldn’t see her now.

“You could say that.”

Mary Ellen made a noise that sounded like approval.

“Well, you need some eye-candy in your life after that mess you used to date.”

The mention of her ex had Annie sobering up.

“Speaking of the mess, Tommy showed up at the gym.”

“You’re kidding?”

“Sadly not. He was waiting by my car when I got out. He said he had made a mistake and wanted to get back with me. When I refused he started getting physical.”

She heard Mary Ellen growling. Her best friend was very protective and had taken a dislike to Tommy from the get-go. Maybe she had sensed something with her wolf side. If only Annie had that part.

“That little bastard. I hope you told him where to go.”

“Not that it made any difference.” Annie recalled Garrett appearing and smiled. “But Garrett came to the rescue. He’s a lot bigger and stronger than Tommy so he sent Tommy skulking off. Even saw me home to make sure I was okay.”

Mary Ellen sighed.

“That is so sweet. I think I’m half in love with this guy already.”

“I don’t think so, Mary Ellen.” Annie laughed. “Even under all that he’s still shy. You’d eat him up for breakfast.”

“Don’t worry. I don’t pinch off my girlfriends. So, when’s the first date?”

Annie’s heart stopped for half a beat. The idea of having Garrett as eye-candy was appealing but having a date with him...that was a dream well out of reach.

“You what?”

“When’s the first date? You’re going out with him, right?”

“Mary, he’s my personal trainer. I’m a client. That’s unethical, surely.”

Which was a shame because it was getting Annie all warm and fuzzy inside. But Garrett’s type would be someone who was slim and beautiful. He wouldn’t look twice at her despite what she thought she had seen. She was just fooling herself.

“Maybe, maybe not. But you should ask him out. He sounds like a doll.”

“I’m off men for now.”

“Liar.” Mary Ellen drawled teasingly.

“I’m serious.” Annie tried to sound firm. “No date. Not now.”

But even as she said it, Annie wondered if she was actually telling the truth.

Garrett came in from his run feeling invigorated. His bear had been let loose and had enjoyed the exercise through the woods. Now his blood was pumped.

He hadn’t felt this energized in a long time. Something had happened to him to give him a boost. His bear had been restless a lot of the night, his body in a state of arousal until he had dealt with it. Even then, he hadn’t slept well. But the run had woken him up and now he felt better than ever.

The bear inside was telling him something about Annie and Garrett wasn’t entirely sure what he meant. It was saying ‘mate’ but Garrett wasn’t going to take his beast as its word.

He had no clue what to feel when a mate came alone. The belief that you would know and things would click when you met your mate was a lie. His bear was sure of it but he wasn’t. He hadn’t got a clue.

All he knew was that he wanted Annie with every fibre of his being. He wanted to have her screaming his name over and over until they passed out. The thought of Annie naked and in his bed had Garrett’s c**k hardening again. Great, just what he needed.

It took a long cold shower to calm his body back to a state of normality - or as close as it was going to get. Then he dressed and pottered about the kitchen, making his usual morning breakfast. He was checking on the bacon under the grill when Mary Ellen appeared in the doorway from the back porch. She gave him a big grin and pretended to rap on the door.

“Knock, knock.”

Garrett chuckled, straightening up.

“I swear you can smell food a mile off.”

It was a ritual between them. Every Tuesday his childhood friend would turn up to have breakfast with him. Somehow she always came round at exactly the same moment.

“If you’re cooking it, I certainly can.” Mary Ellen looped her arms round his neck. “How you doing, big man?”

“I’m good.” Garrett hugged her back before moving away to check on the sausages, which were sizzling nicely. “How was your shift?”

“Terrible.” Mary Ellen made a face. “I’m looking forward to full moon then I can call in sick.”

“Don’t they notice the amount of times you call in sick at once? And at the same time every month?”

“I wasn’t on nights last month.” Mary Ellen plonked herself at the center counter. “Come on, dish up.”

Garrett laughed and began to serve the food onto two large plates. He always cooked in large quantities since as a bear shifter he had a large appetite. He piled both plates high with sausages, bacon, tomatoes, fried eggs, fried bread and beans. He also added a few slices of black pudding to Mary Ellen’s. Mary Ellen took her plate eagerly and began to wolf down her food, barely stopping to drink the milk Garrett had placed by her plate.

They were halfway through their breakfast when Mary Ellen spoke.

“I was talking to Annie last night.”

Garrett paused, his fork halfway to his mouth.

“Annie?”

“Your newest client.” Mary Ellen gave him a sly grin. “She told me she was going for private classes and I put two and two together that it was your class.”

Annie. Immediately, his c**k went hard again. Garrett coughed and shifted so Mary Ellen couldn’t see his lap.

“Oh, Annie.” He lowered his fork. “I didn’t know you knew her.”

“I went to university with her. She’s a cool gal.” Mary Ellen munched on her fried bread. “What did you think of her?”

Garrett chose his words carefully. He was too obvious when he was attracted to a woman. He had controlled himself enough if it was in a situation he was familiar with, such as his personal training sessions, but stick him in an environment he didn’t know he was like a fish out of water.

He became clumsy and awkward and the words came out jumbled and nonsensical. Annie was bringing all those flaws to the fore now and she wasn’t even in the room.

“She’s a pretty woman.” He said finally.

“That’s it?”

Garrett sighed.

“If I told you what I really thought of her, you’ll have me arrested.”

Mary Ellen’s expression was triumphant. She slapped the table with a delighted squeal.

“I knew it! You think she’s hot, don’t you?”

“No doubt about it.” Being close friends Garrett could never hide anything from Mary Ellen. “And my bear is sitting up and taking notice.” He swallowed. “I think she may be my mate.”

He hadn’t said it out loud before but it felt right calling Annie his mate. It felt natural.

Mary Ellen beamed.

“Garrett, that’s great news.”

She leapt off her stool and hugged him. Garrett let her before gently pushing her away. He rubbed a hand over his face.

“I’m not sure, Mary. I don’t want to jump straight in and find out not only was I wrong but she doesn’t feel the same way. Plus, she’s my client.”

“Not once you’re outside the gym.” Mary Ellen grinned, her eyes glinting. “When I spoke to her, I could tell she’s attracted to you. She’d definitely go on a date with you if you asked.”

Garrett felt hope. Annie was attracted to him? He wanted to get up and do a little dance. But his insecurities held him back and he shook his head.

“I’m still not sure.”

Mary Ellen sighed and took his hand.

“Look, Garrett, you’re thirty-five. What would you rather have? A mate of your choosing? Or a mate picked out by your mother? Remember, she said she’d give you until your fortieth birthday but I wouldn’t put it past her to picking out someone long before then. Do you really want that?”

Garrett shuddered. As much as he loved his mother, she was a real socialite who wanted to move up the order in the bear shifter community. She despaired that Garrett was still single and turned away from the female shifters she paraded in front of him.

They had finally made a deal the year before; if Garrett hadn’t found a mate by the time he turned forty, she would be giving him a mate that she had chosen for him.

Her tastes and his were not similar and Garrett didn’t want to be stuck with a shallow, high-maintenance woman who ate barely anything except carrot sticks and went through money like it was water.

He knew the answer to that one.

“I’ll do it.”

Mary Ellen grinned and squeezed his hand.

“Good.”

Garrett switched off the CD player and clapped.

“Okay, let’s finish it there, Annie.”

Annie was still on the floor after doing several sets of sit-ups. Her arms were flung out to the side and she lay with her eyes closed, breathing heavily. Garrett couldn’t take his eyes away from her breasts as they heaved against her thin t-shirt. He swallowed, his bear whining to get out.

“Wow.” Annie wiped sweat off her forehead. “That was a monster of a session.”

Garrett felt his c**k harden, unable to tear his gaze away when Annie’s breasts pushed higher into the air as Annie stretched her arms above her head.

“You have no idea.” He growled.

“Sorry?”

Garrett blinked and saw Annie looking at him. He realized what he had said and pulled himself together. With what he was going to do, he didn’t want Annie thinking that he was mad.

“That was the idea.” He said quickly. He went over and held out his hand. “You can handle it, Annie. You’re strong enough.”

Annie took his hand and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Garrett barely strained himself. She may complain that there was a little extra weight on her but to Garrett, she was light as a feather. With her hair sweaty and frizzy, her eyes alight with exertion and her body streaked with sweat, she looked just as lovely as she would do fresh and dolled up.

They stood staring at each other, the heat between them getting stronger. Garrett’s c**k was yelling at him to do something and he watched Annie’s pupils dilate. Mary Ellen was right. She was just as attracted to him as he was to her.

The words tumbled out of him.

“You want to get a drink?”

He saw Annie’s eyes widen in surprise. Then he realized that he was still holding onto her hand. He dropped it and quickly backtracked as Annie stared at him.

“I mean, I know it’s unethical but it gives us a chance to wind down, get to know each other a little bit. If you don’t want to, that’s fine, but I was just wondering...”

“I’d love to.”

Garrett stopped, not sure if he had heard correctly. But with Annie standing there, a sweet smile on a mouth he wanted to kiss and explore, he knew it wasn’t a figment of his imagination. A silly grin moved across his face.

“Really?”

“Yeah.” Annie indicated herself. “But not with me all sweaty. Just let me go shower and change at home and I’ll meet you.”

The thought of Annie naked in the shower had Garrett’s heart pounding. He swallowed back a growl and hoped he didn’t look like he wanted to jump her.

“There’s a little bar down the road from my place.” Annie carried on. “You would’ve passed it on the way to mine on Monday.”

“I remember.”

Garrett didn’t but he could easily find out. Annie went to her bag and picked it up, slipping her water bottle inside and retrieving her keys. She sent a smile to Garrett that had Garrett wanting to skip the drink altogether.

“I’ll see you in forty minutes?”

Garrett couldn’t stop the smile on his face getting any wider.

“Sure.”