Lucas

Lucas sat in the hot water as the bubbles poured over his sore muscles. The only problem with having this many guests, is that you were never really alone. Three people had passed him by in the ten minutes that he'd been sitting in the hot tub by himself, and the reason that he had taken so long to chop all the wood today was because every time he or Liam got a good pile going someone would stop by and ask about the family or what he was doing for work. Then they would take some wood for their individual fireplaces. It was exhausting. But now he was doing shots of bourbon and hanging out in the bubbly water in just his boxers. This was what vacation was all about. And if he got lucky, a hot little thing was about to come around the corner and join him. The sun was just beginning to set as Isabella finally came out of the back of the cabin in a bath towel and slippers. He could just see her bra strap peeking out from above the towel. Her teeth were chattering and she was moving quickly.

“Hey you better be careful, there’s ice over there.” As soon as the words had escaped his lips she was down. Shit. The towel went flying and he heard her crash into snow. Quickly he stood up in the hot tub and hopped out running to her aid. He was sure it sounded like it hurt, and not just her ego.

But by the time he reached her he was shocked to see she was already standing up, her face was bright red with embarrassment but he was also surprised to see something else. He tried to focus directly on her eyes but he couldn't help to look down at her exposed breast. God damn, this girl. She made all the right moves, and she didn’t even know it. All that he could do was point. What was it about this girl that made him so awkward? He usually had great game.

“Are you… A little cold?”

“Uh yes, I just fell on my ass in the snow. Stupid friggin winter. This place sucks.” Isabella folded her arms across her chest and realized at that moment even though she was still covered in snow that her hand grazed her exposed nipple. “Holy shit!”

“Yeah, sorry about that. I just didn't really know how to say that your boob was hanging out.”

Isabella swept the towel from the ground and even though it was covered in snow she wrapped it around her body.

“I guess we’re even now though. I've seen yours and you’ve seen mine. You’ve got to admit the view has been good for both of us today.”

She rolled her eyes but he saw a little smirk playing on her perfectly formed lips. They were tinged red from wind. “Are you okay though? You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”

“No, I’m fine. Mostly I lost my balance into that snow pile. My ass is going to have a bruise though, I know it. Uh I just feel so dumb. There’s so many people around.”

Lucas looked around but didn’t see anyone. “Currently you’re good, no one saw but me. But I think we should get in before someone else sees you in those hot pink undies. Nice choice by the way.” Ah and there it was, his perfectly flirty game.

“Sounds good to me.” He took her hand and led her back to the hot tub where he walked in first, never letting go, and she followed ascending the stairs and stepping into the warm water. Immediately she sat down all the way to her chin and closed her eyes leaning her head back on the side of the hot tub.

“Feel better?”

She nodded but didn't say anything. For a while Lucas just sat and watched her enjoy the heat as he had been doing. He heard the sounds of the night start to flow around them, a whistle through the tree limbs and some birds chattering off in the distance. Super supernatural hearing was a gift, but sometimes it was also a curse. He had heard Isabella and her mother talking about him, and although she admitted that he was good-looking, she hadn’t said that she felt anything for him. He was becoming more and more concerned that he might not get his Christmas wish.

“So was that your bike out front?” Isabella finally said cracking an eye open at him.

“Yes I have a motorcycle. Actually, I have a few, but the other couple are pet projects. They're not in any working condition to get out here.”

“And where were you coming from?”

“Delaware. From my parents’ place anyway, I own a place up in Pennsylvania.”

“Gotcha. I wasn't sure.”

“What about you? Where is your family from?”

“Jersey. We lived in New York most of my life, but my father's business moved so that's where we are now. Plus you know, the time issue.”

“Yeah, that always seems to come up as a problem.” It wasn't that shifters were immortal, they just aged much more slowly than humans did. It was one of the reasons that he hadn’t gotten serious about any of the human girls he was with. If any of those girls became a long-term companion they would be ready for a nursing home and he would only look like he was in his early forties. That wasn't fair.

“Is that why you’re single? I mean your mom seems pretty concerned.”

He was taken aback by her question, it was like she had been reading his mind. “Kind of.”

“Same. I’ve met a couple shifter guys I liked, but I knew it wasn’t forever. They weren’t my mate or anything.”

“Yeah, I get that.” Why was she bringing this up? Did she think he could be her mate, he wasn’t sure.

“So what’s your deal? Living with your parents. Do you have a job or anything?”

She sat up and looked at him and surveyed him looking a little surprised. It was probably the lack of empathy in the question, Lucas had the tendency to be kind of blunt.

“I don't know. I had plans before this whole law came into effect. I was living on a college campus, I was meeting people. Then I had to move back home and now that I've graduated I just haven't really found my place in the world. No job, just a few friends, and definitely no boyfriend. I just haven't found the right guy I guess. It all feels very fluid right now, it’s kind of unnerving.”

He nodded slowly mulling over her response. Could he be the right guy? The one to finally get her to settle. He watched the beauty in front of him, she was unlike anyone else he had ever met. There was an easy flow to their conversation that he had never had before. She was so different and yet so perfectly molded to be his. But he just met her, how could he tell her that he wanted to see her again when they weren’t even dating?

“So when you go home...”

She sighed looking out into the darkness. “It’s back to my parent’s house. Living like a prisoner.”

He felt sorry for her. The law hadn’t affected him, but he could tell how destructive it had been for her. He slid around the hot tub and grabbed the bottle of bourbon off the shelf behind them and took a swig. He handed her the bottle and sat down next to her. “A toast?”

She took the bottle and held it up, “To the right guy, wherever you are.” She lifted the bottle to her lips and downed a shot. She passed it back to him and he took another swig feeling the burning liquid flow down his throat.

“How do you know when you'll find him?”

She shrugged, “I guess I don't really know.”

“Then you could have already found him, right?”

She looked at him and her eyes brightened just a little bit. Their lips were only an inch apart. If he just leaned in… suddenly the birds that had been chirping in the trees in the not too far distance came hurtling towards them. Lucas backed away from Isabella just in time to see two bears sprinting through the woods. Playfully chasing each other and tackling one another to the ground. They were gigantic and he felt the vibrations of the ground move beneath the hot tub as the water sloshed around.

“Liam.” Isabella said shaking her head. “And I'm guessing that's the leggy blonde, though I can't remember her name. Super light fur though, so it’s makes sense.”

Liam was such a bastard. Not only was he playing around in the woods with some hot bear, but he had interrupted Lucas making his move.

He thought about Isabella’s bear for a second, and his own rumbled with agreement. Her fur would be perfect and light just like her hair. The sun would play off of it and it would probably glow at just the right angle.

Isabella turned back around and once again they were so close, if he just reached out and touched her. If he was unlucky Liam would intervene again, so he had to take his chance while he had it. He leaned in and laid a light kiss on her lips. His bear prowled beneath the surface ready to claim her. There was something so special about this girl, that the beast just needed to get his claws into her. Her hands wrapped around his face and he pulled her into him so easily with his supernatural strength. But just as he reached around her waist and let his hands linger on the flesh of her back he heard the bears coming through the trees again. She pulled away and looked off to the right and he watched as the bears tumbled once again into the snow. Liam was killing his vibe.

“Maybe we should take this inside? Somewhere a little more private?”

She smiled at him and grabbed the bottle from behind his head taking another swig. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.” She stood holding a bottle in one hand and held out her other to him. He couldn't take his eyes off of her voluptuous body. Breasts that were just a little too full for her bra, and a tiny waist that he could wrap his massive hands around. She was perfect in every sense of the word. He followed her out of the hot tub and back into the cabin. The minute that door was closed, she would be his.