Chapter Five
This was what death felt like.
Lori clutched the edges of the toilet, noting that there was a little splatter on the rim from the last time she was bent over it, hurling her guts out. The thought made her stomach rebel again, but there wasn’t much left inside of her other than a little acid and water. Her eyes were red, tears running down her cheeks from the efforts her body made to get rid of what wasn’t there.
Her legs were shaky and her back hurt from her position. Luckily, she had braided her hair earlier so it stayed out of her face. The roiling of her stomach calmed so she flushed the toilet, washed her face and rinsed out her mouth. Her teeth always felt soft and mossy after throwing up, but the thought of brushing them made her gag, so she returned to her bedroom and crawled between the blankets.
The morning sickness, which hadn’t been so bad, had hit her like a freight truck over the past couple days. She had always known she was a grumpy sickie, but this… this was the worst thing that had ever happened to her. She wanted to just sleep for the next six months and only wake up after she had given birth.
Natasha slipped into the room, carrying a tray of tea and crackers. Despite how sick she felt, Lori felt a sudden pang of hunger. She straightened, eyes on the tray.
“Try to eat something.” Natasha put the tray on the nightstand. “This is ginger tea, and it should help with the nausea. Serena’s mother always had terrible morning sickness. It was odd, since most times shifters don’t get morning sickness. But she was absolutely miserable with it. My brother was beside himself with worry, thinking something was wrong.”
The tea was still too hot, but Lori took a cracker and nibbled on one corner. She didn’t want to eat too fast and trigger more vomiting. “Thank you. I didn’t think it was possible to feel like this. I was always blessed with a healthy immune system. You know, it’s been years since I’ve had a cold? I like to take care of myself. People think I’m not healthy because I’m carrying around extra weight, but that’s never slowed me down.”
Natasha nodded. “I could give you a massage if you want. It always seemed to help Annemarie.”
Lori nodded. Just having the physical touch felt like it would do wonders. She rolled to her stomach and Natasha adjusted the pillows so she would be more comfortable, then started to gently knead her back. It felt heavenly, and Lori relaxed so much that she nearly drifted off to sleep.
The next thing she knew, the smell of something greasy shot her stomach into overdrive and she lurched from the bed. She was barely able to make it to the toilet.
“Mom, really? Did you have to bring that over here?” Natasha scolded.
Lori glanced up from where she was over the toilet to see Hayley with some greasy meat on a stick, grinning and shrugging.
“You know,” Hayley said, “I always found that sex was a good cure for morning sickness. Go at it during the night, and the morning isn’t so bad.”
“You never got morning sickness,” Natasha said, her hands on her hips.
Hayley shrugged. “Because I was constantly having sex with your father, I guess.”
Lori glanced away, her face overly hot. Sex… It sounded wonderful, even in her current state. She could just imagine how her heightened sensitivity would feel with Clifford’s mouth on her body, his hands in her intimate places, that low growl ripping through his chest as he pinned her beneath his body.
“Mom stop it!” Natasha shuddered and slapped her hands over her ears. “Honestly! You have no boundaries sometimes. Leave Lori alone and take that greasy meat out of here. The poor girl is feeling lousy enough.”
Hayley finished off the meat, still watching Lori. She pointed the stick at her. “Listen to me, little one. You’re not going to get anywhere in life by denying yourself what you want. And you know that you want him. It’s obvious from just looking at the two of you that you and Clifford want each other. And speaking as a mother, I’d rather you two toss about the bedroom instead of having all those bedroom eyes out in public.”
Natasha threw her hands into the air. “I give up.”
Lori shook her head as she flushed the toilet again, then grabbed the scrub brush to clean off the accumulation of crud on the rim. Her hands shook and her face flamed. “Things are far too complicated for Clifford and me.”
“Complicated?” Hayley snorted as she ran a washcloth under the water and pressed it to the back of Lori’s neck. “If you mean because you’re pregnant, then don’t think about it too much. It’s as much his responsibility that you got knocked up as it is yours. So, it’s his responsibility to make sure that you’re comfortable. I don’t doubt that he’d be more than willing to do that if you asked. And if you’re worried about emotional connections, don’t be. He has girls coming and going all the time and he’s never fallen for any of them.”
How the hell did she think that was appropriate? Lori withdrew from her, unable to stop herself from glaring. “I don’t think that my sex life is any of your concern.”
“I’m just—”
“Trying to provoke me somehow, but I don’t get why or what you’re hoping to get from it.”
Hayley leaned forward and winked. “Just shed your inhibitions and clothes.”
“Okay, that is enough. For real this time.” Natasha broke between them. With a glare at her mother, she put an arm around Lori’s waist and led her back to her room.
There, she fussed over Lori until she was comfortable and sat in a chair before insisting that Lori eat. The crackers became a couple slices of toast, and the ginger tea warmed her nicely. When she was done, her stomach felt much better and she felt perkier, even though she was tired. Hayley had disappeared in the meantime, and Natasha retrieved Lori’s tablet for her.
“If there is anything else you need, just let me know.”
“Thanks.”
Natasha slipped away, and Lori sagged back into the pillows. What was awful was that she felt good enough now to do something. At the same time, she felt good enough to actually sleep and didn’t know if that was going to last. With her eyes dragging downwards, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to try to get something done or just sleep and risk feeling awful again when she woke up.
Her mind drifted back to Hayley’s comment. Heat flared in her face and swirled in her core. As her eyes drifted shut, she thought of Clifford. His smile, his dark eyes, the way his muscles bunched when he pressed her to the wall…
***
The sound of screams and roars woke her. Lori didn’t have the luxury of confusion as adrenaline shocked her system. She jumped to her feet and raced into the hallway, where she stumbled a little over her feet. There were several gunshots and she dropped before realizing it all came from outside. Crawling, she returned to her room to grab her cellphone and call 911 before she peeked through the window.
Sprawled on the front yard were a half a dozen bears fighting. A bright white bear held them off, lunging and swiping his paws. Clifford. He was the biggest bear down there, his body pure muscle, with a pointed face and paws the size of car tires. The other bears, ranging from shades of brown to blonde, circled him. Two other creamy bears–Natasha and Hayley, most likely–charged from the house and rammed into the larger males. Lori’s heart jumped into her throat. Even though she searched the scene wildly, telling the 911 operator what she saw and where they were, she didn’t see the person with the gun.
The intruders charged the three white bears. Clifford leaped on the biggest one. His fur was stained with blood. And then suddenly an even bigger bear, black as midnight, charged into their midst. He grabbed a blonde by the scruff of the neck and dragged him back before ramming into a brown one.
Within moments, the tides had turned. The intruders ran off towards a van. The black bear reared to his back legs and let out a bone-chilling roar before slapping the ground. Lori shuddered, almost feeling the earth shake.
Lori found her legs. Still clutching the phone with the 911 operator forgotten, she ran down the stairs. When she burst onto the porch, she saw Serena with a shotgun in her hands. So, she was the shooter. Clifford, Hayley, Natasha and the black bear returned to the porch. Clifford shifted, his fur giving way to taut muscles, and hurried her back inside.
“Are you okay?” she asked over and over again. “You’re bleeding! I’ve got 911 on the line, they need to send an ambulance.”
Serena took the phone from her. “Hello? My name is Serena. The crisis has been averted, but we still need some police out here…”
She moved away, still talking on the phone, while Lori hugged Clifford tightly. Her heart pounded so hard she was afraid it might crack her ribs and her eyes burned. Clifford hugged her back, then picked her up and carried her into the living room. The big black bear, who had by this time shifted into a tall, muscular, olive-skinned man, followed.
“Are you okay?” Lori demanded, a hint of fury starting to tinge her voice. He needed to answer her, goddammit!
Clifford kissed her gently. Too gently. And it lasted too brief. “I’m fine. Are you?”
“I wasn’t in the fight.” Lori wrapped her arms around him and breathed out a relieved sigh. Her whole body began to shake and Clifford’s grip tightened on her.
“Want to introduce me so I can go do a parameter check?” the newcomer asked. His voice was rich, deep molasses.
Clifford released Lori, but she put her hand in his so that their connection wouldn’t break. A bit clingy, perhaps, but she didn’t care. “Everybody, this is my good friend Tristen Cade. I called him to come help out with security until Bauman’s threat can be neutralized.”
“And it seems like a good thing I came when I did. This little one,” he gestured to Serena, “is the only one of you bunch who showed any sense. I’m going to make sure they’re not coming back and then you and I have a lot to discuss, Boone.”
Clifford nodded at him with a grin. Tristen let out a huffy breath and walked away. Lori didn’t care to ask more about him. She wrapped herself in Clifford’s arms again. So what if he was completely naked? So what if Serena and Hayley were still in the room, and Hayley was naked, too. She closed her eyes and buried her face in Clifford’s skin. He was safe. And that was good enough for now.