Page 3 of Grumpy Bear's Plus Size Love

“Kids,” I shout, “I’m going to talk to Addy for a moment, okay? Give me a quick minute.” I gesture for her to come to me, and I’m gratified to see her first settle the kids and only after that hurry to where I stand outside the door. I close it most of the way after she’s through.

“We’re going to get everybody out of here safely,” I say. She looks at me with hopeful eyes.

Chapter Three

Addison

“Addy, you’re very good with the kids,” he says outside the door. I know it’s not the time or the place but, for the love of all that’s good and holy, the man’s voice sounds like how a vibrator feels. “And I need that. I need you to keep them calm for me.”

“Okay,” I say with a nod. Well, now my voice sounds worshipful as well.

He looks at me and says, “I’m about to break a lot of rules. I’m going to take off my clothes.”

“Take off my clothes?” I ask. I’m taken aback but I can’t deny that (again, yes, even under the circumstances) my nipples become suddenly hard as hell.

He hesitates only briefly. “I can think of a million reasons to take off your clothes,” he says, “but under ordinary circumstances, even suggesting it would earn me a smack that I deserve. No. My clothes. I’m going to get undressed.”

“You’re… I’m confused.”

“I’m a shifter,” I say. “And the only way we’re getting everyone out of here is if I shift and break an exit through the wall.”

I stare at him in shock. So it’s true. Officially, shifters announced themselves to the world something like twenty-five years ago. You’ll see them on the news and suck but nobody I know has ever seen one in real life. There are plenty of people who think it’s just a big hoax. I hear a cracking sound and it makes me afraid the ceiling is going to collapse. “What do you need me to do?” I ask hurriedly.

He shrugs off his big fire coat and hands it to me. He also hands me his radio. The other things he takes off one by one. When he’s down just to boxers and a tee shirt, he says, “I need you to go back into the room with the kids. I need them all huddled in the corner and looking away. Once you’re all huddled and looking away, count to twenty. There will be a way out before you get there.” He lifts his tee shirt up and over his head. “Got it?” I stare at his chest and abs. For Pete’s sake, it’s like this man is sculpted by some supernaturally perfect erotic artists or something! I nod and he says, “I need to hear you tell me you’ve got it.”

“I go inside, get the kids huddled in a corner, and make sure they’re looking away. We count to twenty.”

“Good girl,” he says. Here comes the inappropriate arousal again! “You’ll hear me create the way out. After that, you get the kids out through the hole I made in the wall. You ready for that?”

I nod and stand there. Then, I remember he needs to hear it. I say, “Yes. Once you’ve made a way out, I’ll get the kids through.”

“You’ll need to stay as far from the building as you can while you walk all the kids around to the fire trucks.”

I nod. This time, he doesn’t tell me to repeat it. He stares at me. I wait. He finally says, “Now. I’m ready for you to go in there now, Addy.”

“Oh! Yes!” I squeal, turn around, and rush through the door. The roar of the fire is much quieter here. I say, “Firefighter Cameron has instructions for us. Everyone in the corner and kneel!” The kids are terrified. I can tell because they instantly obey. My whole being aches for that man. Wow. What the heck? I don’t say things like that.

I hurry to them and say, “Okay, there are going to be some flashes and stuff that can hurt our eyes so everyone needs to turn around and face the corner before it starts.” Once again, they immediately obey me. Once more, I feel terrible on their behalf. Once more, I feel really horny for Firefighter Cameron.

And I guess it’s right then that I realize I’m not afraid anymore. I’m certain Nathanial Cameron is going to save us. I’d like to tell you that I’m thinking with my brain when I come to that conclusion. That’s not the truth, though. I can say, at least, that I’m not thinking just with my pussy. I mean, sure, I’m turned on at the moment but that’s not what makes me feel so confident. It’s not my brain but maybe (and I’m sorry because I know this sounds kind of silly), maybe it’s my heart.

The kids are all turned around by now and I say, “All right. We’re going to count to ten.”

We start counting and at five I turn and look. I know Nathanial told me not to but I’m not going to miss my first look at a shifter.

I see Nathanial. I see him for about half a second. He’s completely naked but just as I register it, he disappears completely. Kind of. As I’m trying to look down and see his… well, for obvious reasons, he changes. It happens instantly but I can still see it happen, if that makes any sense. He changes and suddenly, there’s a bear unlike any I’ve ever seen before.

“Nine! Ten! Eleven!” I join back in with the kids and turn my head briefly just to make sure none of them are peeking.

None of them are but I can tell you that my mind is absolutely filled with the image of that bear. It was far, far larger than any bear I’ve ever seen or even imagined. I decide I’ll look back at him again when we get to fifteen but on fourteen, there’s an explosion of noise and dust. I turn and see a hole in the brick wall.

A damned hole in a brick wall!

I mean, he just broke through it. I immediately feel a moment of terror like maybe he’s hurt or something but that ends when I recall my responsibility. “Everybody up!” I say. Right now. Girls on one side, boys on the other. We’re going to march right through that hole.”

“Did he just punch a big hole?” a girl asks. Tabby is nine years old, and the worship in her voice is very evident. What does it say about me that I almost feel jealous? That’s stupid on so many levels, right? Don’t worry. I’m not an idiot. It’s just a quick flash.

I say, “I don’t think so, Honey. I think he did a fireman thing. Let’s line up right now. We’re going to march right out of her, okay.”

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