The charred pork lapped over Vivian’s tongue. Her stomach grumbled as the food went down. Almost drowning had a way of making a person hungry.

The shock of the boat sinking and seeing Laurence naked and turn into a bear had left her wide-eyed and flighty. The taste of food in her mouth was bringing her back to her senses. Soon she would ask Laurence to help her find the black myrtle leaves she’d come for.

Laurence stood and stormed off into the forest. A few moments later, he came back with an armful of branches and dropped it beside the fire. “I’m going up on that rise to build a signal fire. You can stay here.”

“No. I’ll come with you. I still haven’t found what I came for.”

“What do you need anyway?”

“I need the leaves of a black myrtle. They only grow on this island and up on the islands in Puget Sound. It’s for a very important spell.”

“You cursing someone?” he asked bitterly. Vivian shrunk down. How did he know she was basically cursing Harold to hell? The guilt of it lapped against her throat and seeped into her stomach.

“No,” she stammered, but it was a lie. Her shoulders slumped. She followed Laurence through the forest and toward the cliff that rose high above the sea.

“Do you know what this black myrtle looks like?” he asked, turning back to look at her as he hiked through the forest in bare feet. Vivian could see fur half sprouted from his skin as his feet took on the look of hard paws.

“It looks like a regular myrtle, only the leaves are almost black.”

They continued through the forest and began to climb in elevation when Vivian spotted the tree. She scrambled up the mossy rise, over gray stones and fallen branches, to where the wide trunked tree grew from the dark soil. Its many twisting branches dripped with moss, and tiny ferns grew from the crevices in the wood.

The tree’s leaves were waxy dark green, so dark they appeared black. Vivian grabbed a handful from a low hanging branch and shoved them in her pocket.

“You got what you need?” Laurence asked. “We don’t have much light left. Come on.”

They continued up the rise until the forest cleared and Vivian could see the edge of the cliff the island was known for.

“Let’s start dragging some wood to the edge of the cliff,” he said, hefting a heavy branch in his strong hands. Vivian helped him carry branches and sticks until they had a ready bonfire.

“When we see a ship, we hurry up here and light this fire.”

“I can light it from the beach. That isn’t a problem.”

He nodded at her, skepticism in his eyes. “You’re sure. I don’t want to be stuck out here because you overestimate your abilities.”

“Yes, I’m sure,” she answered grumpily. She was getting tired of his attitude toward her. Even if he did save her life, she was too tired to be treated this way. What did she expect from a shifter? They were all the same––animalistic bullies.

Even his sister-in-law had been a bully in high school. She hadn’t said anything about it before since she was trying to make friends, but she’d avoided most shifters ever since dealing with them as a kid.

Laurence and Vivian began walking back down to the beach through the dense forest. Vivian followed him, unable to avoid the sight of his tight, round ass under his dark jeans. In Mystic Harbor, it was difficult not to run into shifters of every type, but she didn’t have any as friends. Laurence’s behavior was reminding her why.

No matter how completely sexy his big muscled body happened to be, and no matter how much her mouth watered when she’d seen him naked, she would not let herself be attracted to this man. She glanced at his broad shoulders, and her body betrayed her. He turned to look at her and sniffed the air. Frowning, he growled.

“Let’s hurry before it gets dark,” he barked at her.

She frowned, but she followed him down the hill and back to the beach. All at once, the sun seemed to plummet to the sea. Colors drew across the sky––orange, pink, and yellow mixing with the pale blue and growing violet of the oncoming night.

The brilliance of the sunset colors filled Vivian’s heart with longing and joy. She and Laurence both watched the bright orange sun sink into the waves, silently sitting on either side of the fire.

She wished she had someone she loved to share this with. Her heart hurt when she thought of her lost chances at love. The man she’d believed would be the one for the rest of her life had turned out to be a psycho freak who only wanted to use her power.

A silent tear slid down her face and she wiped it away. She’d given everything to Harold, and now all he wanted to do was control her, own her, and use her for his own evil ends.

Was there something about her that was just unlovable? Why hadn’t she ever found someone who just wanted her for her? Marietta had found a good man. Could she be so very different from her sister? Maybe she was just fundamentally damaged, and that was why Harold wouldn’t leave her alone.

After the sun sank and darkness consumed the landscape, the air turned cold. Her clothing had dried, but she shivered from the early spring chill and lack of blankets. How was she supposed to sleep in this cold?

“We’ll have to huddle together for warmth,” Laurence said irritably. He stood, looking annoyed and disgusted. Yet another man who thought she was unworthy. She sighed and lay down on her side. Laurence lay behind her, spooning her close. “If we don’t sleep like this, you will end up with hypothermia. I’m not trying to cop a feel or anything. It’s for your own good.”

“Heaven forbid,” she said, sarcastically. Her self-esteem was already dipping, and the last thing she needed was a lecture on how Laurence really didn’t want to touch her. He grumbled and shifted behind her, getting comfortable in the sand. Vivian squeezed her eyes shut tightly and tried to sleep.

In the night, she woke to the feeling of Laurence’s manhood stiff against her back. A surge of desire ran through her core, and she tilted her butt back to graze over the hard flesh pressing against her. She felt him stir behind her, turning slightly to press harder into her backside. He groaned and sniffed her neck, his mouth and nose touching the tender flesh behind her ear.

Desire ran through her. Consequences seemed so very far away. The fire still burned beside them, warming the front of her body while Laurence’s massive form warmed her back. His sharp teeth brushed her skin and she groaned. “Laurence,” she whispered, her breath heaving.

“Do you want this?” he asked, his voice full of gravel. His animal was so close to the surface. Vivian could feel his claws and teeth sharp against her skin.

She fought with herself briefly. Laurence had saved her life, more than once, but he’d been an ass to her most of the time. Vivian bit her lip, instinctively pushing her ass against his hardness. Laurence slipped his hand under her shirt, his sharp claws puncturing through her bra. The pricks of pain mingled with the growing pressure between her legs.

“Yes,” she whispered, turning to him in the firelight. She could see his eyes glowing with his animal underneath. His sideburns had grown full and hairy along his cheeks. He licked her neck, no longer holding back.

“Vivian, you smell so good. I want to taste every inch of your body,” he groaned, his voice thick with need. 

She gasped as he cupped her pussy over her pants and squeezed. “I want that too,” she said heavily, desire deepening her voice.

He flicked open the button on her jeans and slid them down her thighs. Vivian kicked off her shoes and pants before Laurence pushed down her panties. His hands dipped between her legs, grabbing at her soft flesh.

He grazed her core. She tilted her head and arched her back. He reached up, unzipped her coat, and pulled her out of the last of her clothes. He was over her in an instant, pinning her under his massive form.

She lay naked and bare under him. Her body shivered with excitement as he held her hands over her head. She looked into his eyes as they shone brightly with the animal within. The fire flickered behind him, outlining his body in a hot, orange glow.

He kissed her mouth hard and deep, and pressed his cock, still hidden inside his pants, against her wet pussy. She groaned and tilted her hips up to grind against him. His tongue pressed through her lips, dancing with hers. Their mouths consumed each other hungrily.

He kissed down her body, taking her pricked nipple between his lips. His sharp teeth nibbled at the hard flesh, sending an electric shot of desire through her nipples and down to her pussy, where it exploded. She gushed for him.

Laurence slid his kisses down her stomach, running his tongue around her belly button and puckering against the soft round curve of her belly. He growled and gripped her hips, moving slowly down between her thighs.

He kicked her legs open wide and ran his tongue up one thigh and then the other. His hot breath tingled on her folds, making her moan. She ran her fingers through his thick black curls.

“Your pussy is so pink and wet for me, Vivian,” he growled. He ran his raspy wet tongue up the seam and pushed through her folds and against her swollen clit. She mewled as he pressed tight little circles on her nub.

His hands held her hips, his animal claws barely constrained. The sharp nails dug slightly into her skin as he licked and sucked her. He slid his tongue across her ass and pressed inside her aching hole. In and out he flicked, kissing her opening as he would her mouth. Vivian threw her hands back and grasped the sand, gripping the flowing particles between her fingers.

She bucked against his face, hungry for release. He growled against her pussy, the vibration unbearable. “Oh Laurence,” she begged. “Make me come.”

He licked her pussy up and down in quick bursts while she groaned in his hands. She cried out, desperate to orgasm when he sucked her clit into his mouth and bit slightly into the engorged bundle of nerves. Pleasure coursed through her body, vibrating out from her pussy and pricking her nipples into hard little stones. She gasped, “Oh, oh, oh,” as the climax clenched and throbbed.

Laurence rose above her. His massive form blocked out the blanket of glittering stars that shone from the clear velvet sky. He tore off his clothes and was upon her in an instant. His massive length pressed hard against her still tingling core. He groaned and pressed his teeth against the crook of her neck, hard, but not breaking the skin.

“I want to be inside you,” he said, kissing up her jawline.

“Me, too.”

“I’ve no protection, Vivian.”

“I’m on the pill,” she groaned, bucking against his shaft. The differences between them be damned, she wanted to feel his hard length inside her. She wanted it now.

With a quick jab, he thrust into her wet, ready core. Vivian’s eyes shot wide open as he stretched her, sinking deep. He gave another grunt and thrust balls deep inside her pussy.

Vivian panted, clutching his broad shoulders and muscled back. He was so large, so full. She moaned, barely able to take him. It had been a long time since she’d had a man inside her, and never a man this endowed.

“Your pussy is so tight, baby,” he said, pulling back until he’d almost slid out of her, his body slick with her juices. She groaned from the loss of him before he thrust back inside, filling her as she’d never been filled before.

He kissed her neck, nibbled her ear, and pumped into her like the writhing waves of the sea. All Vivian could do was hold on for dear life. The flood of desire and longing she’d been pushing deep down suddenly came to the surface and threatened to consume her.

She panted and gasped, groaning his name as he took her hard and fast on the sand. Each thrust was like heaven. She lost track of time and space and was only a bundle of nerves made for pleasure.

He pumped into her, a riot of sensation gripping her core. His thick member pressed against her inner desire, and the building tension finally burst anew. Her pussy gripped hard on his dick.

Laurence moaned into her ear. “You like that, little witch. You want it harder, faster.” She purred as her body clamped on his thrusting cock.

She quivered as he smacked into her, filling her with his body and soul. There seemed to be no space between them as the Earth tilted below her. His mouth clamped down on hers as he sent his tongue deep into her mouth. She could feel his already thick cock growing wider and thicker, slick with her juices and ready to burst.

He gripped her thigh and brought it up around his hip to pump deeper into her. With one, two, three quick thrusts, he exploded. His hot seed spilled deep in her pussy, jettisoning her climax to a new height. She gasped, mouth wide open as the last of his cum pumped into her wet core.

Her pussy throbbed as he slid from her. Semen slipped down her leg in a hot stream. She shuddered as he rolled over beside her. For long moments, she could barely think or breathe.

The sky above was alight with a trillion stars. The sound of the sea lapped against the shore of their little island. In that moment, lost on a beach in the middle of nowhere, they had known each other. But what of tomorrow?

She snapped out of her reverie and realized she’d totally fucked up. Again. She slapped her hand to her forehead. Her taste in men had never proved particularly good. Her last relationship had been a complete disaster, and here she was, fucking a grizzly bear who obviously didn’t like her much.

Vivian pulled her clothes back on, disappointed in herself. She seriously had a problem. No matter how attracted she was to Laurence and no matter how mind blowing the sex had proved to be, they would be terrible for each other. A witch and a shifter could never work.