Chapter 19 #2
And my first thought was Uly. About how my bear—and now me—couldn’t live without him. About how I remembered sex with Jenna, and how it sometimes got loud and physical. Uly wasn’t a bear. He didn’t have the stamina or the strength.
“You’re hedging. What’s up?”
“I…. Can you put me on speaker so Tom can hear this too?”
The first time she disconnected the call, then when my phone rang I chuckled.
“I am so sorry!” she practically shouted. “I never get that button right. I have you on speaker now. What’s going on?”
“Well, I… met someone.”
“Really? Great! It was Ms. Lopez, wasn’t it?” She sighed. “We knew you two would hit it off.”
“It wasn’t Ms. Lopez,” I cut in. “In fact, you don’t know the person. I met them in Milwaukee.”
“Well, tell us about her!” Tom said, a smile in his voice.
“See, that’s the thing. It’s not a her, and he’s human.”
Twin gasps came through the phone, then there was silence.
“Did you hang up on me again?” I queried.
“A human?” Sandy asked.
Not a question that it was a he, only that he was human. “Yes. Let me tell you about him.”
So I did. From our initial meeting to the boys calling him Momma, I detailed everything.”
“So the boys shifted? That’s amazing. This Uly must be something special.”
“I think he is. He’ll be living in town, staying in the mansion.”
“Good. You needed someone and Uly sounds like the right person for the job.”
“You don’t care he’s a man?”
A very inelegant snort from Sandy. “Oh, come on. Most bears I know have had dalliances with members of the same sex at some point in their lives. Some even settle down together permanently. It’s not a shock at all. But why him?”
So I went through the whole thing about mates that Chaim and Benjy had dropped on me. When I finished, Tom chuckled.
“Sandy smells like the lake on a cool, misty morning. I could lay in bed and be surrounded by that scent all day.”
“Mates,” I whispered, my mind reeling that others knew too.
“Yup. I always knew it. I remember the stories that used to be told, about how we had someone out there that was perfect for us. I knew, the very instant I met Sandy, she was the one for me. Then your father forbid spreading the tales, saying we were hurting our own people by giving them such lofty hopes.”
How many lives had he ruined by not allowing mates to be discussed? The more I learned, the less I liked the man.
“Though I am surprised about it not being just one mate. I’m glad, though. I wouldn’t like the idea of someone finding their mate, then being alone if something happened to them. Seems like the Fates are looking out for us.”
“Do you think we can do a call one night so we can say hi to the boys and meet Uly?”
I swallowed hard against the lump in my throat. “You’d want to meet Uly?”
“Of course. If you love him, then he’s got to be someone special,” Sandy said.
I must have hedged too long.
“You do love him, right?” Tom questioned.
“I do, but….”
“Get it out. Tell us what’s on your mind. And if you don’t, we’ll be turning around and headed home tonight,” Tom insisted.
“He’s human,” I whispered.
“Yes, that’s been established. So are you. So are we. Your point?”
“What if I hurt him? I mean….” Ugh. How did you talk to a woman old enough to be your mother about sex?
“You’re worried about hurting him during sex, right?” she asked.
“Yes’m,” I barely got out, my cheeks heating.
“We understand that we’re aggressive. The stories we could tell you about things we’ve done…..”
“Oh, God, please don’t. No need to add emotional trauma to my list of issues.”
He chuckled. “You’re not an animal, Mr. Lockhart. You’re part of an incredible melding of a being that had existed forever. Unless you’re planning on rutting with Uly in form, you can be gentle.”
“But Jenna hated being coddled,” I blurted out.
“Because she was a bear, and nothing annoys us more than people thinking we’re weak.”
That was true. People—humans—always assumed Jenna wasn’t physically strong because she was a woman. She was forever having to educate them on her strength. Could I really be gentle with Uly?
“I’ll have to think about it,” I finally said. “And Sandy? I’d love for you to call one night. The boys have been asking about you.”
“We’ll do that later this week. Right now, we’re going fishing with our new bear friends.”
“You have fun with that. Talk to you later. And thank you for listening to me.”
“No, thank you for telling us. We can’t wait to meet your guy.”
“I’m sure you’ll love him.” A light rap sounded at the door, then it opened and Cait peeked inside. “And I have to go. I have a meeting in about ten minutes, and the boss is giving me the evil eye.”
They chuckled. “Tell Cait we said hi and that we miss her.”
“Will do. Talk to you soon.”
I hung up and my day continued full throttle.
Now? I was home. My sanctuary. I’d go in, decompress while I had some dinner with the kids, then read them to sleep.
After that, I’d have a few hours to myself to think on how to proceed with Uly.
And I really wanted that. Every time I caught a whiff of him, my cock ached.
I’d end up taking multiple showers throughout the day. I never smelled so clean.
As soon as I opened the door, twin missiles were launching themselves at me. I scooped them into my arms and listened as they started talking about their day and how Uly had taken them to the park and Uncle Benjy brought them yummy food and… and… and…
Suffice it to say, their day was as busy as mine, but much more of a joy to listen to.
“Did you like your picnic?” I asked Uly.
“Loved it. Chaim is a great cook.”
And he was. He used to make high protein things for me and Benjy to partake in after our workouts. Even our chef at the time couldn’t cook as well as he did.
“Say, listen,” he asked. “Do you have a minute?”
“Of course. You guys? Do me a favor, okay? I want you to go to your rooms and play with your toys until dinner is ready, all right?”
“Okay, Daddy!” they shouted, then scampered off toward their own sanctuary. I turned to Uly to ask if something was wrong when he shoved me up against the wall.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded.
Then he was all over me, sliding a hand down and across my cock which jumped at the attention.
He grabbed my tie and pulled me closer to him, and I was too shocked to stop him.
He slammed his hands on the sides of my face, then jammed his tongue between my lips and scraped it over my teeth.
When I finally got with the program, I lifted him off the floor and mauled his mouth.
“Uly….” I ground out.
“After dinner? When the boys are asleep? I’m going to show you why you should never underestimate the mate of a bear.”
And my world stopped spinning as I realized I was so getting laid tonight!