Max’s senses were in overdrive.

The bear stretched and preened in his chest, conscious of the fact that he had saved the day.

Max himself was flying high on the incredible experience of having taken its form. Those urges to shift had gotten stronger and stronger the older he was. But he’d never been able to let go, to just give in like that.

And he had done it because of Sarah - to protect her.

The sound of the rain outside on the leaves was like applause.

She sat beside him, ensconced in his flannel - their scents intertwined in a most pleasing way.

She looked up at him with an inquisitive expression.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked her.

“Nothing,” she said. “Just thinking. I’m glad you can shift. We would have been in real trouble with those wolves.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” he said. “They’re scared and hungry. We might have been okay.”

“I’m glad we didn’t have to find out,” she smiled.

“Me too,” he said. “Want some marshmallows?”

“No way,” she said. “You’ve got marshmallows?”

“I always have some in my pack,” he said. “You never know when you might have a campfire.”

She laughed and he enjoyed the musicality of it.

Sarah seemed so relaxed now that they were out of the office. This was more like last time. Maybe she was like him, happiest outside.

There were plenty of people who would have been cold, clammy and miserable with nothing but a dark cave and the tiny tarp-covered fire to protect them from the storm.

He was glad she wasn’t one of them. Especially with what he was about to tell her.

He slid two marshmallows onto sticks and joined her by the fire again.

“Awesome, thanks,” she said, taking hers and holding it carefully up over the flames.

“I’ve got more food in my pack,” he said. “And more tarps. And that’s a good thing because we’re probably going to have to spend the night up here.”

Sarah bit her lip.

“It’s not safe to hike during a lightning storm,” Max said. “And the creek is probably swollen over the banks. We won’t be able to cross for a while. I’m so sorry. The forecast said the storm was supposed to miss us.”

“It’s fine,” she said.

“Is there anyone you need to call?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“I thought you were going back tonight,” he said. “Don’t you want to call your boss?”

“No, I don’t need to do that,” she said with a wry smile.

Interesting.

“I’ll wander down in the morning and check out the creek,” he told her. “With any luck it will go down quickly and we can get across. If not, we’ll hike around the long way.”

“Sounds good,” she said.

They toasted their marshmallows in silence for a little longer. It should have been cozy under the tarp with the rain coming down around them.

But something in the silence felt like anticipation.

Sarah’s lips were buttoned, as if there were something she was trying not to say.

“Hey,” she yelped.

He must have been too busy watching Sarah. He’d inadvertently let his marshmallow get too close to the flames and it had turned into a fireball.

“Damn,” he said, blowing it out.

Sarah laughed again.

“What are you laughing at?” he teased.

She shook her head, eyes dancing.

“Are you laughing at my burnt marshmallow?”

He pulled it off the stick. It was warm and gooey at the center.

Sarah watched him.

On a whim he held it out to her.

Quick as a thought she licked it off his fingers.

The bear groaned in his head as he watched her clever pink tongue brush his hand and then dart into her mouth.

“Mmm,” she hummed, closing her eyes in ecstasy.

“There’s some on your lip,” he whispered.

“Can you get it for me?” she asked, green eyes open again, watching him like a kitten.

Anticipation hung in the air like a physical thing.

Max leaned toward her slowly, so slowly, and licked the bit of sweetness from the corner of her mouth.

The marshmallow made her breath smell like a breeze wafting out of a candy store and for a moment he felt like a kid with a twenty in his pocket, ready to clean the place out.

He pulled away slightly, giving her a chance to change her mind.

But Sarah only gazed up at him, those luminous green eyes hazy with need.

Max growled in surrender and kissed her with all the pent-up passion of the year he’d spent missing her.

The moment his lips touched hers felt like coming home. He hoped she could feel it too, this rightness when they touched.

Sarah kissed him back, her soft lips firm against his, her mouth melting open at his urging.

He meant to go slowly, but he found his arms going around her, crushing her to him, her shoulder blades under his hands like angel wings.

The world disappeared - the rain, the fire, the dampness of the cave. There was nothing for Max but Sarah, warm and willing, her heart beating against his chest.

He lifted her in his arms and brought them into the cave, where he laid on the tarp and pulled her on top of him.

Sarah froze above him.

It was too dark to see her expression. He hoped he hadn’t crossed a line. This woman was impossible to read - cold one moment and warm the next, stand-offish then flirtatious.

Ours, the bear said firmly. Ours.

Max was glad one of them was sure.

Sarah lowered her head and brushed his lips with hers, a light, teasing kiss guaranteed to make him lose his mind.

She repeated it, lingering this time.

Max wrapped his hands in her hair, holding her close, exploring her sweet mouth.

Sarah whimpered and pressed herself closer against him. The peaks of her nipples pebbled against his chest.

He slid his hands down over her shoulders, along her rib cage, thumbs sneaking inward to caress the outer swell of her breasts.

She pressed her hips to his and he saw stars with the pleasure.

He flipped them over, cradling her head in his hand to protect her from the hard cave floor under the tarp.

She reached for him, fingers wrapping around his shoulders.

He smiled down at her in the darkness and smoothed a hand down her body, tracing the curve of her ribs, waist and hip. He wished he could see her better. But his other senses seemed to be surging to make up for his lack of sight. He closed his eyes as the bear catalogued her warmth, her delicate scent.

He leaned down to nuzzle her neck.

She gasped as he nipped lightly, then licked and sucked where his teeth had been.

She arched her back and he wrapped a hand around her hip, kissing her tender skin fervently to stop himself from ripping the clothes from her body, taking her fiercely.

She needed him - he knew it, as much as he needed her, maybe more.

But he had frightened her away once.

This time he would be more careful.