Chapter Four

Dale did not text or call Gavin the following morning. Nor did he do so in the afternoon. He wanted to. He was so distracted that he had trouble concentrating on his work. He feared he might hammer his own thumb at some point.

Perhaps he should have called Gavin, but he couldn’t bring himself to do so. Their evening had been more intense than Dale anticipated. Emotions Dale hadn’t felt in years rushed to the surface, breaking through his thick exterior in no time. After Gavin had gone home, Dale went for a long run in grizzly form. Even that did nothing to dampen his ardor.

He was slightly fucked. The human biker was under his skin.

After work, he headed to his parents’ house for dinner. His mother had no idea how relieved he was to have a plan to keep his mind occupied when she called him that afternoon to invite him over.

The meal was fantastic, even though Dale realized he was a crappy guest. Luckily his sister was there also. He could always count on Jackie to keep conversation rolling through the meal. Afterward, he lowered himself onto the couch with his third beer, rubbing one hand down his face and then staring at the ceiling.

“Talk to me,” his mother said as she took a seat next to him. His father and sister were still in the kitchen. They were speaking loudly, but he had no idea what they were discussing. “What’s up with you tonight? You’re inside your head like I haven’t seen in…a long time.”

Since Ethan. That’s what she meant to say. Five years. Dale blinked at the ceiling.

“Dale?”

He lowered his gaze to face his mother. She’d always been too astute. He should have realized. Nothing got by Gretta Gerben. “I’m fine, Mom.”

She nodded, unconvinced. Her expression told him she was not going to let this go. “Are you dating anyone?”

He groaned, dipping his face toward his lap now.

“You met someone?” Her voice was filled with excitement. She sat up straighter and leaned forward. “You did, didn’t you?”

“Mom…”

Her shoulders slumped then. “Wait, if you’d met someone, you wouldn’t look so forlorn. Distracted yes, but not hopeless. What happened?”

He forced a smile as he met her gaze again. “What are you, psychic?”

“I’m a mom. We know things.” She beamed.

“It was one…date. No big deal. No need to call the preacher yet.”

She rolled her eyes. “Your strange human references won’t get you out of talking to me, Dale,” she stated in reference to his joke about the church. Shifters didn’t bind themselves in the way of human unless it was necessary to keep human friends from growing suspicious of their unions. The binding process was physiological. It was forged when one or both parties bit the skin of the other and let their personal serum enter the bloodstream of their mate, binding them for life.

It could only be performed on another grizzly shifter, not a human. Arcadian law didn’t prevent shifters from having relationships with humans, but they did strictly forbid intentionally changing a human into a bear for any reason. And it was frowned upon to reveal themselves as shifters except in dire situations.

Dale had yet to find out precisely why or how Gavin knew about shifters in the first place.

“One date?” she continued, hopefully. “With whom? Where did you meet him? Are you seeing him again?”

“Mom…” He sighed. There was no getting out of this, however. She would hound him until he talked. And the truth was he adored his mother, and her advice was usually spot on. So he decided to give her a bone. “He’s human.”

She sighed. “Oh. That does complicate things a bit.”

“You think?” he teased. “Actually, it’s not as bad as you’d think. He knows about us. He’s here in town with Paige Osborn.”

“The woman doing that hilarious research project for the summer?” Everyone had heard the story of Paige’s arrival in Silvertip. The absurdity of her internship had spread like wildfire. She was finishing her degree in urban anthropology from U of C, and her human professor sent her to Silvertip to research why the people living there were stronger, larger, healthier, and lived longer.

Neither her professor nor anyone in their department knew that Silvertip was mostly inhabited by grizzly shifters, who tended to be heartier beings.

“That’s the one.”

“I thought she was in town with her boyfriend?”

“Yep.”

His mother’s eyes widened. “Is he…bi? Please don’t tell me he’s cheating on his girlfriend, and you know I’ll have your hide if I find out you had anything to do with the sanctity of someone else’s relationship. Dale Gerben, I raised you better than that.”

“Mom—”

She interrupted him, not finished. “Although it would explain why you’re acting so strange. Could you not meet a nice man who isn’t already attached?”

“Mom. Stop it. It’s not like that.”

She stiffened, her hands gripping her thighs. “What exactly is it like then, son?”

“The two of them have some sort of arrangement. They aren’t really together. It’s just for show.”

She narrowed her gaze.

“Honestly, if I understood it better myself, I’d tell you, but as it stands, all I know is that Gavin is in the closet, and I don’t know what Paige’s deal is yet.”

“Gavin. That’s his name?” She softened a bit finally.

“Yes.” Dale’s mouth went dry just speaking his name. Gavin was totally under his skin.

“So, you’ve already had a date with this complicated, closeted, human man? Didn’t they just get to town on Sunday?”

“Yes. I had him over for dinner last night. Paige was with Wyatt Arthur. I’m surprised you haven’t latched onto that rumor yet.” Dale chuckled.

“What rumor?”

“I’d bet my last dollar he’s her mate.”

“Wyatt?”

“Yep.”

“That is complicated.”

“Uh huh.”

“But it doesn’t explain why you’ve looked like your dog died all evening.”

“I don’t have a dog, Mom.”

She narrowed her gaze.

Dale sighed. “It was a fantastic evening. I haven’t been this attracted to someone in years. And he’s human. And he’s in the closet. I should run into the woods and never come back out.”

“Probably,” she agreed. “But sometimes the heart has other ideas. And yours has been sealed shut long enough. It’s time you moved on.”

Dale leaned his head against the sofa to stare at the ceiling again. “I’m not sure I have it in me, Mom. I don’t think I could survive if…” He let his words trail off. His mother knew him well. She understood perfectly.

He’d already had a human boyfriend. Five years ago. Ethan Spencer. Dale had given up the hope of ever binding to another being to be with Ethan. He’d loved the man more than anyone. They’d been happy. And then Ethan had died. And Dale blamed himself. Some things in life were insurmountable. Getting over Ethan and moving on with his life was one of them.

“I need to run.”

“Probably a good idea. Usually helps clear your head,” his mother responded.

Dale turned to face her and smiled. He couldn’t ask for better parents. Never once had they flinched when he told them he was gay. They’d been nothing but supportive his entire life. Here he was a grown man of thirty-two, and his mother was still mothering him. He communicated silently into her head as he stood, too choked up to speak out loud. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” she returned just as quietly.

“I’m going to head out back,” he said out loud.

She nodded.

His father and sister were still in the kitchen arguing jokingly about something. He nodded at them as he passed, and two seconds later, he was out the back door and jogging toward the tree line.

A deep inhalation told him no one was in the area, shifter or otherwise, and he leaped into the air as he hit the grove of evergreens, changing forms from human to bear before his paws hit the ground.

It was freeing, like he was truly in his skin when he was in his grizzly form. He closed his eyes for a moment to soak up the feeling, popping joints and stretching his neck. And then he took off running.

He ran nearly every day at least once, but tonight he hadn’t shifted in order to get somewhere. He’d shifted just to enjoy life. It felt wonderful to run free, shedding his stress and frustration along the way with every step forward.

»»•««

Gavin paced the few feet available to him in the ridiculously small apartment he was sharing with Paige. He hadn’t heard from Dale since last night, and he wasn’t about to be the first one to reach out. Perhaps it was petty of him, but he needed to leave the next ball in Dale’s court.

What Gavin had intended to be nothing more than a hookup had turned into something much more before the evening was over. It freaked him the fuck out a bit too. After all, the man was a fucking grizzly shifter. Gavin had known Paige his entire life. He’d found out she was a shifter ten years ago when they were fourteen. However, he hadn’t learned much about their species until recently when he relented to Paige’s pleading that he come with her to Silvertip for the summer.

Their fake relationship was in jeopardy, and it had nothing to do with Gavin or his evening with Dale. It was time for Paige to move on with her life, stop living in fear of her past, and take a chance on love. Gavin was fairly certain the man who represented her future and would help her get there was Wyatt Arthur.

This changed nothing for Gavin. He wasn’t out. Pretending to break things off with Paige wouldn’t do a thing to launch Gavin out of the closet. It would be upsetting to his parents who thought Paige and he were the perfect match destined to get married and have ten kids.

It would not be surprising to Paige’s parents, who were shifters and probably hadn’t bought into the fake relationship for a second, though they were both too gracious to say anything. They were also in Australia for eight months on a sabbatical.

Gavin could pack up his things and go back to Calgary. There was no law that said he had to stay in Silvertip, especially if Paige started seeing Wyatt. Nothing was keeping him there.

Except Dale.

He’d just met the man Monday morning. Sure, they’d fucked last night. They’d bonded. They’d been compatible in ways Gavin never imagined. But it was still a hookup.

Yes, Gavin could break up with Paige and go back home, but he absolutely couldn’t enter into a relationship with a man. And he was in no way prepared to come out to his parents. Gavin was an only child. His parents adored him. They worshiped him. The only thing they worshipped more was their god.

Gavin blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair. Why did he have to be born into a strict religious household and then cursed with homosexuality?

He knew one thing for sure, and he’d known it for many years—the god his parents worshipped was a cruel god Gavin didn’t want anything to do with. He’d stopped attending church the moment he moved out at eighteen, and since then he’d only begrudgingly attended with his parents on mandatory holidays when he happened to be home. Just to avoid rocking the boat.

Gavin continued pacing.

Dale.

The man lit him on fire.

Paige was at Wyatt’s with no intention to return to the apartment until tomorrow. If that didn’t say something about her connection to the shifter…

He could jump on his bike, show up at Dale’s, and seduce the man.

No. He couldn’t. Not uninvited. Not without warning. He slapped his palm to his forehead and glanced at his phone again, as if it might miraculously have a text that hadn’t been there moments ago. It did not.

He needed to stop obsessing and go to bed. He had a perfectly functional hand attached to his arm that could work wonders when combined with his imagination.

»»•««

At nine o’clock the following morning there was a knock at the door. Gavin opened it without looking through the peephole and immediately regretted the decision. He nearly groaned as he set his gaze on Kelly Smith. Great.

Kelly had shown up in Silvertip the same day as Gavin and Paige, claiming the university sent her as a reporter to follow Paige around while she did her summer internship. Kelly rubbed Gavin all kinds of wrong, and she didn’t alter his opinion this morning.

Dressed in a skirt and blouse that seemed like something his grandma would wear, she stood as tall as she could—about five four—shook her mousy brown hair off her face, and smiled too wide. “Hi. Is Paige here? I was hoping to shadow her today and get started on my reporting.”

Fantastic.

“No. Sorry. She left early,” he lied. No way in hell was he going to tell this crazy woman that his “girlfriend” had spent the night with another man.

Kelly’s eyes widened. Not a shock since everyone knew Paige didn’t do much of anything this early in the morning. “Do you know where she went?”

“Sorry. She didn’t say. I’ll tell her you stopped by though.”

It looked as though he’d told Kelly something horribly tragic the way her shoulders and face fell at the same time. “Okay. Have her call me.”

Luckily Paige herself called not long after Kelly left, and fifteen minutes later, Gavin was in Paige’s car heading toward Wyatt’s house to bring her clothes.

They’d known each other for years. They were close. They were the best of friends. But somehow, rooting through Paige’s belongings had seemed a bit above and beyond. Nevertheless, by ten o’clock, he pulled up to Wyatt’s mountain home for the second morning that week.

On the one hand, he was excited at the prospect of running into Dale. On the other hand, he was nervous as all get-out.

Wyatt opened the door and ushered Gavin inside. The two of them had hardly spoken the few times they’d encountered each other. Gavin felt like he knew enough about Wyatt from listening to Paige, however. Enough to know Wyatt was a good man who wanted nothing more than to win Paige’s heart and make her happy. Gavin sincerely hoped he was succeeding, for Paige’s sake.

While the two apparent lovebirds headed to the bedroom to argue about Paige state of undress, Gavin looked out the window to see Dale at work. He had a hammer in his hand and looked like he was about to hit the nail in his other hand, but his gaze was on the back of the house. On Gavin. If he could see inside.

Gavin headed for the back door and wandered outside. It wasn’t as though he could turn around and drive away without saying anything. After all, Dale would have already scented his arrival. “Hey,” he began, tucking his hands in his jeans pockets in attempt to look casual.

“Hey, yourself. Looks like your girlfriend spent the night,” he teased.

“Yeah. I brought her clothes too.” Gavin rolled his eyes.

Dale laughed. “No one would believe your convoluted story if you spent two hours trying to explain it.”

“You believe it though.” Gavin held Dale’s gaze.

Dale sobered. “Of course. But I’m not fully human.”

They stared at each other. Gavin didn’t know what to say next.

“Come here,” Dale commanded, his voice deeper, taking on the demanding quality that brought Gavin to heel on more than one occasion two nights before.

Gavin shuffled closer until he stood at the edge of the deck, inches separating him from Dale who remained on the ground, putting them at eye level as they’d been the first time they met.

“I should have called.”

Gavin shrugged. “It’s only been one day. We didn’t make promises.”

“You don’t believe that.”

Gavin sucked in a breath. “No.” He glanced over Dale’s shoulder. “I masturbated to thoughts of you last night.”

“Good. I did the same.”

Another uncomfortable silence.

Then Dale spoke again. “I can’t make promises. I don’t want a boyfriend.”

Gavin chuckled sardonically.

“What’s funny?”

“You can’t make promises? I’m not even out. I can’t be seen in public. I’m so inexperienced that you will grow bored of me by the end of the week.”

Dale lifted a hand, hesitated a moment, and then grabbed Gavin by the wrist. “You’re green, but it’s refreshing. It makes me fucking hotter than hell to know that no man has been inside you. I’ll be the first.”

Gavin gasped at Dale’s mention of them fucking as if it were fact. He started to pull back, worried someone would see.

But Dale held on tighter. “Considering you’ve spent the last few years pretending to be in a relationship with a shifter, I’m a little surprised by how little you know about our species.”

“I guess Paige sheltered me. She didn’t share many details. I honestly didn’t realize how much was involved. When I prodded her as teenagers, she put me off, so I stopped pushing. She was hurting. I left it alone.”

Dale nodded. “I need to you understand a few things.”

“Okay.” Gavin glanced around.

“First of all,” Dale stepped closer, so close that their faces were inches apart, “no one can see you right now. I would know. I can scent anyone approaching, human or shifter, from a distance. The only people nearby are Wyatt and Paige, and if you think you’re fooling either of them, you need to be a bit more educated on the ways of grizzlies.”

“Educate me,” Gavin murmured.

A slow smile spread across Dale’s face. “Gladly. But for now, you need to know that it isn’t just your scent I can detect, it’s also your state of mind.”

“What do you mean?”

“I, or anyone else for that matter, can tell if you’re scared or happy or angry or any other emotion by the pheromones you put off.”

“Or aroused.”

“Exactly.”

“So they probably figured that out Monday morning.”

“Yes.”

“Is there anything I can hide from you?”

“Yes.” His smile broadened. “I can’t read your mind.”

Gavin chuckled. “Well, there’s a relief.”

Dale shook his head. “No. I’m being serious. And it will drive me nuts. Trust me.”

“Why? Do you read other people’s minds?” Holy shit.

“Yes. Shifters can share their thoughts and even communicate with other shifters in close proximity. When they get too far apart, the connection breaks. They can also block each other from their thoughts or a private side conversation.”

“Shit. You’re serious?”

“Yes. And another thing—once two grizzlies bind together, they can communicate with each other for much longer distances. Immediate family members can too.”

“I knew Paige had a special connection with her parents, but I didn’t realize it was that strong. We didn’t discuss much of anything except that she could shift. Sometimes I would ask her if others around us were shifters, but she didn’t like to talk about it often.”

“Not surprising. It’s rare for a human to know about us. We take that responsibility seriously and don’t divulge more than we need to.”

“Why are you telling me all of this now?” Gavin’s pulse picked up.

Dale shrugged. “I have no idea, except that I’m fucking attracted to you, and I want you to trust me. I won’t mention the future because neither of us is in a position to make promises, but I would like you in my bed as often as possible for as long as it suites us.”

Damn, he was blunt. And every word he said turned Gavin on further. His cock was so stiff from listening to Dale’s voice that the words themselves were hardly pertinent.

Dale glanced down at Gavin’s crotch. “I’m guessing we have a deal.”

Gavin groaned. “I hate that you’re aware of my level of arousal and I have no idea of yours.”

Dale slid his fingers down to Gavin’s hand and jerked it to the front of his jeans. “Does that answer your question?”

Gavin cupped his lover’s cock, applying pressure.

Suddenly, Dale jumped back about three feet and spun around to face the mountains.

“Dale?” Had he done something wrong?

“Sorry. Don’t move. Give me a second.” He tipped his head back and inhaled slowly. “Someone’s coming.”

“Who? Where?”

“Human. Female. I don’t recognize her scent. Never met her before.” He turned back around to face Gavin. “She’s in the trees working her way toward the edge of the property.”

“Jesus. Isn’t that a bit weird?”

“Very.” He glanced at the house, and his expression went strange.

Gavin opened his mouth to say something but then decided to hold off. If he wasn’t mistaken, Dale was communicating with someone inside.

Sure enough, Dale’s eyes lost their glassy look a second later, and he looked toward Gavin. “Wyatt’s coming out.”

The world got even weirder a moment later when Wyatt appeared on the deck, wandered over to the two of them, and then said nothing. He toed a plank on the deck, but the only word he spoke was a soft fuck.

Gavin looked back and forth between the two men who stared at each other, still saying nothing. For a moment, Gavin panicked. Were they talking about him? But then he glanced at the tree line as movement caught his attention. Whoever Dale had scented was standing behind a tree. She was also doing a piss-poor job of hiding. Flashes of color kept catching Gavin’s eye.

Dale leaned over and began hammering nails into the side of a board, one after another. He wasn’t attaching the two-by-four to anything, just plowing nails into it.

After the longest minute of silence Gavin had ever endured, Wyatt lifted his face and announced that breakfast was ready.

What the hell? Gavin nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden declaration, but he followed Wyatt into the house with Dale on his heels. “So fun chatting with you guys,” he joked.

Wyatt glanced back with concern etched on his face.

Gavin waved a hand in front of him. “Kidding. Not going to say it isn’t weird, but I get that you were discussing the situation silently. I’m still learning your habits. The only shifters I was ever around were Paige’s parents, and they were far too proper to have risked making me uncomfortable.”

“Sorry.” Dale looked chagrinned as he shut the door behind him. “I guess if your only shifting friend is Paige, you aren’t used to being around that sort of thing.” He headed straight for Paige, hand lifted, as she stood from her spot at the table. “Dale Gerben. Nice to meet you.”

That was when Gavin realized Dale and Paige hadn’t even met until now.

She smiled up at Dale. “You too. The deck looks fantastic.”

Dale blushed, his dark skin turning a shade darker. Sexy as hell. “Thank you, ma’am.”

Wyatt shifted his gaze toward Gavin. “Did the Osborns realize you know about shifters?”

Gavin shook his head. “No. There was no way to tell them without…” How much had Paige told him about her past? Gavin sure wasn’t going to be the one to let the man in on her secrets.

“I see.” Wyatt nodded. Did he?

Gavin stared at Paige, who had changed clothes since Gavin’s arrival and was now wearing a sweatshirt that was ridiculously too big for her frame.

Dale inched closer to Gavin, his brow furrowed. “Didn’t mean to make you feel left out.”

Gavin nodded. “I didn’t mean to imply… I mean don’t worry about it. I totally understand.” He backed away from Dale and set his hands on the back of a chair at the table. It was ridiculous for him to attempt to separate himself from Dale. After all, Wyatt and Paige were sharp enough to know something was going on between Gavin and Dale, but it still made Gavin uncomfortable. He wasn’t in the habit of being open about his feelings toward another man in front of anyone.

Paige headed for the sink with her breakfast plate, nodding toward the back of the house. “Will someone please tell me what’s going on?” Finally. Gavin was interested in hearing about whoever was inside the tree line also.

Wyatt answered her. “Your reporter lady followed Gavin here. She’s hiding inside the tree line taking pictures of Dale working.”

“What?” Paige shouted.

Gavin stiffened. Fuck. Why hadn’t that occurred to him? He turned to fully face her. “Told you she was odd this morning. Pissed off that you weren’t there. I didn’t notice she followed me, or I would have tried to lose her.”

“Maybe she didn’t follow you, and it’s just a coincidence.”

“Could be, but it’s a hell of a coincidence,” Dale added as he headed for the coffee pot and then helped himself to a full mug of steaming caffeine.

“I can’t imagine what that woman wants. She’s annoying as shit,” Gavin added, keeping his gaze on Dale’s back. Even the man’s back was ripped. It was difficult to follow the conversation in the room with Dale wandering around. Paige kept talking, her voice becoming a background noise in Gavin’s head while she worried about Kelly, the weird-as-fuck reporter.

Gavin couldn’t take his gaze off Dale who leaned against the counter, crossing his ankles and sipping the hot coffee. The muscles in his arms and chest bulged. He wasn’t even wearing a jacket, and his black T-shirt pulled tight across his pecs, making Gavin wish he could run his hands over the firmness of them.

With a smirk, Dale suddenly lifted his gaze and winked at Gavin.

It was Gavin’s turn to flush, and he was certain he did, jerking his gaze toward the table after being caught ogling the chiseled perfect man he’d had sex with two nights ago.

Suddenly, Wyatt interrupted his embarrassment. “Just so I know, Gavin? What time is late enough in the morning to speak to this woman?”

Gavin cleared his throat. “Always safe by noon.”

Dale, still smirking, wandered toward the table to grab a strip of bacon. He was looking at Gavin, but he spoke to Wyatt. “What do you want me to do? I need to get back to work. I’m not seriously going to lounge around in your kitchen shooting the breeze all morning just because some reporter is hiding in the trees.”

Wyatt agreed. “Yeah. I can’t imagine she’s dangerous, and I doubt she’ll approach because she’d look like a fool, so ignore her. Let me know when she leaves.”

Dale laughed and shook his butt toward the glass door. “Got it. Guess I’ll just keep my ass to her so she can get a shot of my best feature.”

Gavin was not about to be left standing in the kitchen with the lovebirds, especially if Dale was heading back outside, so he followed. He felt a little stupid, so he attempted to make a joke. “I already ate. I’ll just sit and look pretty and pretend I’m supervising.”