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Oh God, she should have listened to her aunts! They'd warned her that he was a berserker, that he could turn into a beast, a killing machine.
What did a person do when confronted with a grizzly? Play dead? She pulled her knees up and hugged them, her back pressed to the tree. Her heart raced, thundering in her ears so loudly that she was afraid he would hear.
He would come after her. He would smell her. Hear her. He would come to kill her.
Was this what had happened to her grandmother? Was she mauled to death by a bear?
Elsa heard steps behind her, heavy and lumbering, coming toward her.
Hot tears gathered in her eyes. How could she have been so stupid? Why hadn't she heeded the warnings from her aunts? Would they ever find her body, ever know what had happened to her?
Get a grip. She squeezed her knees to her chest. She would have to play dead. No matter what the bear did to her, she couldn't react. God, please, let it leave me alone.
The bush beside her shook, and she heard a snuffling sound behind it.
Don't move. Don't react.
The bear lumbered slowly into view, making a wide circle till it stopped about fifteen feet in front of her.
Her heart raced, and she tensed, bracing herself for impact. It would attack any second now.
It sat.
She waited, but nothing happened. Slowly, she let her gaze wander up its massive body to its head.
It tilted its large head, studying her.
Howard's eyes. She inhaled sharply, then froze, determined not to react. But what grizzly had sharp blue eyes? Intelligent eyes that watched her every move. Was Howard in there?
The bear rose onto all fours, then walked toward her. Her fingers dug into her jeans. Don't move. Don't react.
It stopped about six feet from her and sat.
What was it doing? Playing with her before it attacked? Or giving her time to adjust? Adjust to what? Her death or her future?
It stood again and moved closer. She held her breath.
It nudged her foot with its snout, then looked at her. Its blue eyes looked peaceful, almost friendly.
She drew in a shaky breath.
It nudged her knee with its snout, then looked at her again.
"Howard?" she whispered.
It made an odd, groaning sound, then moved closer, its snout only inches away.
This was it. She closed her eyes. It was either going to let her go or maul her to death.
It nudged her right shoulder.
Burning hot flames shot through her birthmark. She gasped in pain, then slumped over as everything went black.
Chapter Sixteen
Holy crap! Howard shifted back to human form.
"Elsa?" He brushed her hair back from her face, his hand still gray from the shifting process.
She was breathing, but unconscious. He didn't know if she'd fainted from shock or pain. Maybe both. His nose still burned from where his snout had touched her birthmark.
With his hands now back to their normal color, he rolled up the short sleeve of her T-shirt. He'd been curious about her mark since their first meeting. The bear had been curious, too, but Howard would have restrained the beast if he'd known the touch was going to hurt her.
Heat radiated from the birthmark, an angry red circle on her shoulder with clawlike extensions. It resembled an animal paw and looked like a large animal had grasped her by the shoulder.
"Elsa, it's all right." No response.
He lifted her in his arms and carried her back to the stream. A few feet into the pool, where it was still shallow, there was a flat rock. He sat on it with her draped across his lap.
"Time to wake up," he murmured, trying not to think about her lovely rump nestled against his groin.
He dangled his hand in the cool stream, then stroked her cheek with his wet fingers. "Wake up, sweetheart." He dampened his hand again and brushed her hair back from her brow.
She moaned.
Was she still in pain? If he touched her birthmark with his bare hand, would it hurt her again? He looked around for something to use and spotted his cotton briefs nearby on the bank, where he'd dropped them on top of his pants. With his trousers and shirt both torn and bloody, the briefs were the cleanest choice. He grabbed the underwear, dunked it into the cool water, then pressed it against her hot birthmark.
Her eyes fluttered open.
"There you are." He smiled. "You were starting to scare me."
She stared at him, a dazed look on her face.
"You fainted." He sloshed his underwear into the stream again, then pressed it to her birthmark. "I didn't mean to make this burn again. I'm sorry."
A shudder skittered through her, then she frantically looked around.
"It's all right." He gave her a reassuring smile. "You should know by now that I'm not going to hurt you. I'm wild about you."
Her eyes widened, taking on a tinge of panic. "Wild?"
He winced. "Bad word choice. How about smitten? Infatuated?"
"No!" She scrambled out of his arms and stumbled onto the bank of the stream. "You - " She pointed a trembling finger at him. "You're - you're - " She blinked and looked him over.
"Four letters, starts with a b."
"Butt-naked!"
"That, too." He nodded. "Though it's probably a minor issue at the moment."
She dragged a hand through her hair as her gaze darted nervously about. "I didn't imagine it, did I?"
"No."
Her gaze landed on the tree where she'd hidden earlier. With a shaky breath, she pressed a hand to her heart. "I thought I was going to die." Her eyes shimmered with tears. "I thought you were going to kill me."
"Elsa." He started to get up. "Sweethea - "
"No!" She jumped, her hands spread out. "Don't move."
He sat back on the rock, half of his rump underwater. With his knees bent and his arms crossed over them, most of his groin was hidden. Which was good at the moment. "There's no need to be afraid of me."
"No need?" She waved her arms. "You're a bear! A huge, freaking grizzly bear!"
"And I didn't hurt you." He winced. "Except for the burn from your birthmark. I didn't expect that to happen. I thought it was a onetime deal." Maybe it was a onetime occurrence for him in each form as human and bear.
She bit her lip, watching him with a look that was part disbelief, part terror.
Dammit, he didn't want her to be afraid of him. Some day they would laugh about this, and the sooner that day arrived, the better. "I knew you were there, Elsa. I could smell your scent. And you moved through the forest like a herd of buffalo - "
"What?"
He smiled. That was more like it. He'd take her anger, embarrassment, annoyance - any emotion but fear. "Did you enjoy the show?"
"Watching you turn into a beast?" She shuddered. "Of course not! It was a horror show."
"I was referring to the peep show. When you watched me strip."
She looked away, her cheeks pink. "I - I didn't expect you to do that. I just followed you here out of concern for your health."
His mouth twitched. "That was kind of you."
"It was the least I could do. After all, you were injured bringing me flowers."
"Did you like them?"
"Yes." She gave him a sheepish look. "Okay. It wasn't just concern. I was curious. You said you were self-healing, and I wanted to see how it worked. The last thing I expected was for you to . . ."
"Shift?"
She shuddered. "Is that what you call it?"
"I have to shift in order to heal." He lifted his arms to the side. "See? The scrapes are gone. I had a real bad one here, just above my hip." He leaned to the side to show her.
Her eyes widened, then she looked away. "I believe you."
"And my cracked ribs are completely healed."
She turned back to him with an alarmed expression. "You had cracked ribs?"
"Yes." He ran his hands over his chest and across his abs. "I was in a great deal of pain."
Her gaze followed his hands. "I'm glad you're better now."
He lifted his leg nearest her. "I had some scrapes along my calf, and even here on my thigh."
A glazed look came over her face.
"Of course, you saw all my injuries when you hid behind the tree over there like a Peeping Tom."
She stiffened. "Excuse me?"
"I believe you gasped when I pulled my underwear off."
She gasped. "I did not! I was very careful not to make any noise - " She winced, and her face turned pink.
