Captivating The Bear

“It’s not for me. And bring some women’s clothes to my room.”

“What sort of women’s clothes?”

“How the hell do I know? The sort women wear.” Ged drew a breath, reminding himself it wasn’t Rick’s fault his whole world had been turned upside down a few hours ago. “Go to the boutique in the lobby. Make up some story about your niece losing her suitcase. Tell them she’s tall and slim. They’ll do the rest.”

He ended the call and went to stand at the window, looking out at the view of the Mediterranean. When he’d arrived in Cannes, his head had been full of business deals and upcoming concerts. His usual distractions. Now he was barely seeing the beautiful promenade, the dark waters and the first light of dawn streaking the sky. Instead, his mind was focused on a grander view, one that encompassed dramatic mountains and sweeping forests.

From the moment he’d been forced to leave Callistoya, he’d made a conscious effort to put it from his mind. But he would never be able to erase it from his heart.

That old expression bear with a sore paw? That had described Ged for a long time. He had been angry about everything. Furious that the places he visited weren’t the same as his home. Judgmental of the people he met because they were different to the Callistoya nationals, annoyed that he had to explain his wants and needs, when in the past everyone around him understood them. Gradually, he understood what his rage was about. He didn’t hate new people and places. He just missed his old life.

Ged had no idea what had happened to him on that awful night when almost his entire family, as well as his fiancée, and most of his father’s council were murdered. He believed he had been either drugged or subjected to a powerful magic spell. He vaguely recalled standing at the entrance to the palace with Alyona at his side as they greeted the guests for their engagement meal. His next memory was of waking at the bottom of a deep ravine here in the human realm.

That was just the start of the nightmare. A frantic dash to his homeland had ensued, but his attempt to cross the invisible border into the magical land known only to shifters had proved futile. Somehow, the man who was the rightful monarch had, from that day forward, been locked out of his own kingdom.

Tortured by frustration and guilt, he had finally been forced to accept defeat and refocus his energy on a new life.

He hadn’t wanted this new start, but it had been forced upon him. Telling himself he had to come to terms with that, he had channeled his royal training into new experiences. He could either make the best of what had happened, or spend the rest of his long, immortal life ricocheting around the human world in a fugue of self-pity.

That was when the idea for his alter ego had been born. As a child, Ged’s favorite literary character had been Baroness Orczy’s Scarlet Pimpernel. The story of the society fop who led a double life as a daring rescuer during the Reign of Terror that followed the French Revolution had gripped his imagination. The palace corridors would ring with sounds of mock sword fights as Ged and his younger brother, Andrei, acted out heroic combat scenes.

Rock band manager by day, shifter rescuer by night. Ged had become his own version of his childhood hero. But the ache in his heart had never gone away. And Lidi’s presence had brought the homesickness and the memories back. Stronger, sharper and more painful than ever.

I’m a bear. We don’t do feelings. He bit back a laugh. Yeah, keep telling yourself that whenever the homesickness hits.

He looked up as the bathroom door opened and Lidi emerged. Wrapped in a fluffy white bathrobe, she had dried her hair and it hung in soft waves almost to her waist. His heartbeat stuttered at the sight of her, a new realization hitting him.

It didn’t matter what he told himself about old loyalties and past promises. He had become engaged to Alyona for the sake of his country, their union born out of politics. not love. He had convinced himself back then that he could have been content with a marriage of convenience. Right now, it was as if the fates were laughing in his face.

The moment Lidi had walked—or stormed—into his life, everything had changed. His feelings for her went way beyond anything physical. The fates had decided she was his mate. Whether he liked it or not, that meant he was responsible for her.

What he had to do now was find a way to make his past and present work together in a way that didn’t bring the future crashing down around them.

Chapter 3 (#uedf52ade-3f8b-54ff-b7c3-7b8631e532f7)

Lidi viewed the first aid kit with suspicion. “I can’t take this robe off. I’m not wearing anything underneath it.”

Ged groaned. “Comments like that aren’t helping me concentrate on the practicalities.”

She knew exactly what he meant. They were sitting inches apart on the bed and his nearness was so tempting it was sinful. Inexperience didn’t count. Her imagination was going into overdrive, heat surging through her in waves that were pleasurable, tormenting and wildly inconvenient.

Since Ged seemed determined to deal with her injuries, she reluctantly slid the robe off her left shoulder and down to the elbow on that side, clutching it tightly in place across her breasts with her other hand.

She already knew the cuts on her arm were bad. When she had broken the tiny bathroom window of her prison and forced her way through, she had been aware of the jagged shards tearing into her flesh. Because she had needed to slither down a steep wall and get away from the palace as fast as she could, it had been some time before she was able to take a look at her wounds. All she knew was, as she ran, she could feel hot, wet blood soaking her sleeve. When she finally stopped, everything had swum out of focus and she lay panting on her side until the world righted itself.

“How did you keep going with injuries like these?” Ged’s hand on her elbow was gentle as he bent closer to examine the damage to her flesh.

“I had to.” That was what she had told herself at the time, forcing herself on, one pain-filled step at a time. “Once I had managed to get out of that cell, it would have been crazy to let anything stop me.” She managed a smile. “I was even wearing the clothes I’d been captured in. You don’t think I’d have chosen to make that journey in ankle boots and without a warm coat, do you?”

His face was inches from hers as he raised his eyes to look at her. “This should have been stitched when you did it, and you’re lucky these wounds didn’t become infected.”

“I bathed my arm in fresh water whenever I got the chance. And I’m a shifter. You know as well as I do that we heal fast.”

“Are you always this stubborn?”

Lidi started to laugh. “Let me see...my father once asked my mother if an evil spirit tricked them and substituted a mule shifter for their bear baby. Does that answer your question?”

He smiled. “After three weeks, it’s too late for stitches. All I can do is apply a balm and put a dressing on your arm.”

Lidi watched as he scooped lotion out of a tub. When his fingertips touched her arm, she flinched and Ged raised questioning brows.

“Am I hurting you?”

“A little.” It was true, but her reaction had been more about the impact of his touch. Or rather, the intention behind the contact. He wanted to heal and comfort her.

Their DNA was half-human and half-bear. While bears were solitary creatures, shifters mated for life. Until they met their mate, they were free to live by human rules. But Lidi was a Callistoya noble, constrained by centuries of formality and duty. Their land had not moved in step with the mortal realm.

Her mother, in particular, had been determined that her daughter should observe the traditions of the ancient name into which she had married. From the day Lidi was born, Olga, Countess of Aras, had sworn her only child would marry well. She would train her daughter to rise above her instincts and marry for convenience instead of love. Even if she found her fated mate, Lidi, as the daughter of an aristocrat, would not be allowed to spend her life with him. Her parents would choose her partner. With that in mind, Olga had raised her in the ways of the bear.

There had been one problem with that plan. From a very early age, it was obvious that Lidi was unlike other bear shifters. Words like unusual and flighty were always attached to her. Her father scratched his head over her while her mother described her as overemotional, possibly the worst character trait she could conceive of. No matter how hard they tried to confine her spirit and mold her to their expectations, Lidi didn’t change. Among her werebear counterparts, she was quicksilver to their lead. Ruled by her powerful human emotions and intuition, she refused to conform, preferring a life of rebellion to one of compliance.

During her early years, Lidi’s mother had played the part of a bear in the wild. Demonstrating affection, protection and devotion, she had remained close to her daughter only until Lidi reached an age when Olga judged she could survive on her own. After that, mirroring the actions of a bear mother in the wild, she had tenaciously cast her aside. It was a tactic that worked effectively for most werebears.

But Lidi wasn’t like most werebears. She could still remember the shock and distress she had endured. The mother who had protected and cared for her one day was coldly turning her back the next. Her half-human heart had shattered, her two-year-old cries echoing through the stately corridors as her governess dragged her away. Even now, she awoke sometimes to find her pillow damp with tears and her hand outstretched as though reaching for her mother’s skirts.

Ged’s fingers smoothing the herbal-scented balm over her damaged flesh was the first positive touch she had encountered since her mother’s last embrace. It was almost too much to endure.

He used gentle, circular strokes to apply the balm, the action stinging slightly while also warming and soothing. Everything faded away except Ged and the point where his fingers caressed her. With a sigh, she gave in to temptation and rested her forehead against the smooth, hard muscle of his shoulder. Just this once, she would let someone else take over. She would allow herself these few minutes of bliss, of surrendering to the feeling of every care and hurt being smoothed away. By the time he finished, she was almost asleep.

Ged carefully placed adhesive dressings over the cuts. “They should stay in place without bandages.” He held out a couple of painkillers. “Now take these and get some sleep.”

“I have to get home—”

His fingers on her lips silenced her. “When you travel on a plane and the crew give you the safety information, they tell you to fit your own oxygen mask before helping others.”

She frowned. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’ve never been on an airplane. This is the first time I’ve left the kingdom of Callistoya.” Her voice was muffled by his hand.

Ged laughed. “I should have remembered we come from the land that time forgot. I was trying to find an analogy to explain how you should take care of yourself before trying to look out for your father. Sleep will refresh you.”

The bed was tempting, and what Ged was saying did make sense. Exhaustion hit her all at once, leaving her feeling as though she’d run into a brick wall. “Okay. I suppose a few hours won’t make much difference.” If she was less tired she might actually be able to think of a way out of her predicament.

Within minutes, she was nestled between crisp sheets and plump pillows. Although her troubles tried to intrude, her body relaxed and she began to drift into slumber. She was conscious of the tiny sounds Ged made as he moved around the room, but the knowledge that he was close by added to her sense of well-being.

For now, she would let him take care of her. There would be enough time tomorrow to continue the fight.

* * *

“We have a problem.”