Page 31 of Bearing Secrets
One by one, Kirell guided her vision to the various stars that made up Ursa Major: Alkaid; Mizar; Alcor; Alioth; Megrez… and a dozen others whose names she quickly forgot. The shape began to resolve itself from the rest of the sky, however, until she could easily spot it after looking away.
“You certainly have a thing for bears in your family, don’t you?” she remarked, sitting up, wondering if they were ever going to get to the point of why he was out there.
“There’s a reason for that, and I’m going to show it to you.” Kirell stood up. “Whatever happens, promise you won’t freak out? I need you to—”
His head snapped around as something moved in the darkness, shuffling forward.
“Natalia, it’s okay. It’s not what you—”
The rest of his words were drowned out by her scream as a giant beast of a grizzly bear came ambling into the firelight.
13
Her fear flung her backward, the chair tipping back up and over, spilling her to the ground in a puddle of limbs and baggy sweats. Desperately, she worked to untangle herself before the bear could maul both of them to death.
“Natalia, it’s okay!” Kirell shouted just as she got to her feet and tried to take off for the perceived safety of the sauna.
“It isNOTokay!” she hollered back, feet slipping out from under her as she tried to move them too quickly. “That’s a bear! You’re just so obsessed, you probably think you’ve seen your god!”
Her frantic escape took her another three or four steps before giant arms wrapped themselves around her torso. Screaming at the perceived bear attack, she flailed violently, trying desperately to hit anything and everything to get the bear to drop her before it ripped her open and ate her entrails as a snack. The visions of such an act were flashing through her brain.
“CALM DOWN!” Kirell bellowed in her ear.
“Fuck you! I’ve seen The Revenant, I know what happens to Leo! I’m not letting it happen to me!” She kicked and squirmed, slipping out of his grasp through the simple experience of sliding out of the sweatshirt.
“Stop.” Kirell readjusted his hands to keep holding her.
Natalia hissed as he inadvertently clamped down over one of her breasts, holding tight.
They’re so small, he probably doesn’t even know.
“We’re safe,” Kirell repeated, not letting go, only squeezing harder as she tried to run.
“Uh, dude. Those are bears. You know, lions and tigers andbears. Oh, my!They don’t sayoh myfor the lions or tigers, but for the bears. Bears are carnivores. They eat meat. I am meat, and I don’t particularly need to get eaten tonight.”
“Well that’s a shame,” he growled into her ear, sexual overtones clearly evident.
“Really? Seriously? You’re going to make a sexual joke now, while there’s a two thousand-pound killing machine right behind us? Why are you so intent on dying? We should be somewhere else, Kirell. Somewhere far away. We need torun,man.”
By now, Kirell was laughing. It wasn’t a high-pitched hysterical noise either, but one of genuine amusement.
“We are perfectly safe. This is what I was going to show you.”
She started to calm, at least outwardly. Internally, adrenaline was still very much pumping, trying to get her to take up theflightoption of fight or flight. But Kirell didn’t seem the least bit bothered.
“If this is your way of telling me you keep pet bears, I’m going to be severely pissed at you.”
Pulling his hand off her breast—and almost immediately missing the warmth of his rough, calloused hand—she tugged both her bra and sweatshirt back into position before turning around slowly. What an evening this was turning out to be!
The bear was still there. It locked eyes and growled at her almost immediately.
“What the fuck!” she yelped, backing away, but somehow, Kirell was right behind her and she ended up slamming into his rock-hard chest. Arms clamped over her shoulders and held her tight once more. “Why aren’t you scared?”
“Because,” Kirell said with a chuckle, “I didn’t call Kellas a pet.”
Natalia looked up over her shoulder at her...protector? “Kellas? You gave your pet bear a human-sounding name?”
“I am not a pet!”
