Lucy was stunned. Dan pulled away after only a second or two of contact, looking down at her. His breath was coming quickly, matching her own. He was waiting for her to respond, to let this - whatever this was - carry on.

It wasn’t a good idea. She didn’t shift, but he did. He wanted her to, but she was determined not to. Was there actually going to be a future for them? Or was this just going to be a passing romance?

Did it matter? Dan’s nearness made her forget about all her concerns. All she could see and feel was Dan, and her desire for him surged through her. Standing on her tiptoes, she put her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

Their kiss was gentle and sweet, as though they’d been waiting for one another for a long time and had finally found each other. Dan didn’t push her or rush her in any way. Instead, he simply settled her against him and continued to kiss her slowly, evidently happy with taking his time. Every single sense came alive at once. One hand rested against the curve of her jaw, tipping her chin just a little, as the other dug into her hair. It felt like time just stopped around them. She forgot everything else. There was only Dan.

Eventually, he was the one who broke their kiss, although he rested his forehead against hers for a moment before smiling into her eyes.

Lucy swallowed, not sure what to say. Her heart was thumping and passion was threading through her veins. Ever since he'd pulled the shirt over his head, she'd not been able to stop her desire from spiralling almost out of control. He probably didn't realize it, but he was incredibly attractive. She'd sucked in a breath on seeing his broad shoulders and solid chest, her fingers almost itching to touch him. She'd tried to hide it, tried to look like she was completely unaffected, but he'd seen the way her cheeks had gone crimson as she'd watched him.

“Sorry, Lucy, I couldn’t resist,” he whispered, his arms still around her waist. “That was quite something.”

She smiled at him, their foreheads still pressed together. “Yes, it was,” she murmured. She couldn’t think of anything else to say, suddenly a little anxious about what this meant.

"Don't start worrying about things now," he said as if he'd read her thoughts. "Just enjoy the moment. We can talk about things later."

He stepped back, dropping his hands from her waist and smiling at her. “So, did you want to walk somewhere or go and get something to eat?”

Lucy grinned, glad that there was no awkwardness between them. “Is there anywhere else to eat except the Chinese takeout place?”

He laughed. "No, not really." His face suddenly became thoughtful. "But Tom and Savannah are out at the lake, and Nick and Jo are at the cabin." His brows lifted inquiringly. "If you like, I'd be happy to make us something back up at the shop. We'd have the place to ourselves, at least."

That sounded wonderful. Just some space and time to be with Dan, without anyone else around. “That would be great.”

“Brilliant.” He held his hand out to her and, after a slight pause, Lucy took it. Her hand slipped into his as though it belonged there. It felt right. Trying not to make a big deal of it, Lucy walked back towards the shop beside Dan, happier than she had been in a long time.

 

 

Dan hoped that his homemade pizza, with salad on the side, would impress Lucy. When he’d offered to make some food for them both, he’d had to mentally go through everything he had back at the house, and, thankfully, he’d managed to make his pizza without too much trouble. There wasn’t exactly a lot of toppings, so he hoped she’d like cheese and tomato, with extra cheese and a little bit of ham.

He smiled to himself as he served up the food. Taking a chance and kissing Lucy could have gone either way. She might have stepped back and asked him what the heck he was doing, ruining things between them for good. Dan grinned as he thought of how she’d eventually kissed him back. It had been slow and sweet, just how he liked it.

That didn’t get rid of the on-going issue between them, though. She still wasn’t going to shift, and he still couldn’t imagine being with someone who wouldn’t use that part of themselves. At the same time, Dan didn’t want to stop what they’d started. They had to just find a way through this, somehow.

“Dinner is served,” he grinned, handing her a plate.

“Wow,” she breathed, looking down at her plate before glancing up at him. “Did you make all of this?”

“Yup.” He grinned at her, before sitting down. “Don’t tell me how impressed you are until you taste it, though. It might not be as good as it looks!”

Lucy laughed, her eyes sparkling as she looked at him. “Well, whatever it tastes like, thank you for going to such an effort to make this for me.”

Dan lifted his shoulders. “How else would I impress you?”

"I think you've done that already," she murmured, her gaze glancing down his body before she looked away as if only realizing what she'd said.

Dan’s eyebrows rose, going hot all over. Perhaps the whole shirt incident hadn’t been a bad thing, after all. The thought of her hands on his skin made desire course through him and he had to drag his eyes away from her before he did something silly, like throw his pizza to one side and drag her into his arms again.

Swallowing hard, he focused on the pizza on his plate, until his blood cooled.

“So,” he continued, looking at her. “What do you think Dominic’s up to right now?”

She grimaced. “Nothing good.”

He tipped his head. “I don’t want to start asking you something that’s going to make you mad at me, but - ”

“You’re going to ask me about the not-shifting thing, aren’t you?”

Dan couldn’t help but grin. “Yes, I am.”

Lucy sighed, rolling her eyes. “I really don’t want to talk about this, Dan. You’re not going to change my mind.”

He lifted one eyebrow. “Really? Not even if I show you that not all shifters are like your brother?”

She shook her head, filling her mouth with pizza so that she couldn’t answer.

"Then, will you at least talk to me about it?" Dan asked, gently. He could see the hesitation on her face but willed her to say yes. He was growing closer to Lucy, he could tell, but she still wasn't ready to open up to him. If only he could get her to talk, then perhaps he might be able to get her to trust him enough to show him her bear. Dan was pretty sure that once she got back into her bear, she wouldn't be able to stop shifting again so easily. While he waited for her to finish chewing on her pizza and answer him, he thought to himself about everything that they could do together, as bears. Tom and Savannah had their lake, Jo and Nick had their cabin. They would have to find somewhere different, somewhere special. Somewhere for just the two of them. A place they could go whenever they wanted to have some time alone.

“I might,” Lucy said eventually, making Dan smile. “But not yet.”

He shrugged. That was better than an outright no. “Dominic really didn’t treat you well, did he?”

Anger flared in her eyes. “No, he didn’t.”

Dan chewed slowly, wondering whether or not to ask his next question. “Did he ever hurt you?” he asked, quietly. “Physically, I mean.” It had been a bit of a risky question to ask, but Dan wanted to know. The way Dominic had been treating Lucy the first time they’d met had made him angry enough.

"No," Lucy replied, softly. "No, he didn't. Although," she continued, looking directly at him. "If you hadn't come along when you had that night, I'm not sure whether things would have stayed that way. He probably would have dragged me along with him whether I liked it or not."

Rage flooded Dan’s veins, burning him from the inside in. His bear roared loudly and Dan physically bristled.

“Don’t go and do something stupid,” Lucy said, in a warning tone. “Besides, there’s nothing you can do against Dominic. Not by yourself.”

Dan knew that was true but still he wanted to rip into Dominic for treating Lucy so badly. Reminding himself that this was exactly the kind of behavior Lucy didn't want to see managed to calm him down, his fists slowly uncurling as he looked at her steadily. "I don't like the way Dominic treated you, Lucy," he growled. "He's given you the wrong impression about shifters. We're not all like that."

“I know,” she said, frankly. “You keep telling me that, Dan.” She looked at him for a long moment, with something like indecision in her eyes.

Recognizing that Lucy had a lot to work through, Dan chose to drop the matter. "Listen," he said, softly. "Why don't we talk about something else for a while? I understand that the shifting thing is something of a big deal and there's a lot going on, so, until you're ready, we won't discuss it again."

Her eyes widened slightly. “Really?”

“Sure.” He gave her a slight smile, hoping that she’d trust him enough one day to let him show her exactly what a good shifter looked like.

“What about asking me about Dominic?”

Dan shook his head. “Nope. I won’t ask any more. Not until you’re ready to talk to me about it, if that day ever comes.” He tipped his head slightly, studying her thoughtfully. “I want to respect your boundaries, Lucy. Although, if Dominic does come along, I can’t promise I won’t go for him.”

Shaking her head, Lucy let out a quiet laugh. “Believe it or not, it’s actually quite nice to have someone who wants to defend me. It’s pretty different from what I’m used to.”

Dan tried to smile, despite his bear still roaring and angry inside at the mention of Dominic. “I’ll always be ready to defend you, Lucy,” he muttered, dropping his head and picking up another slice of pizza. He vowed that he would never let Dominic hurt Lucy again, not even if got beaten to a pulp in the process. She had to see that someone was going to stand up for her, even if it was a guy who managed to put his shirt on inside out.