Adrian Read Online Free Page B

smile.
    I blink in confusion as I wonder what he thinks is funny. We enter into the aroma of cinnamon and sugar baking, and Annie rushes toward us. “Welcome!” She hugs and kisses everyone and saves me for last. She scans my body with her eyes and says, “You are one mighty-fine-looking werebear, Ginny. Now come with me.” She takes my arm and leads me away as I glance over my shoulder at Adrian. He winks, and I turn back as Annie says, “Let’s go for a run. I have a feeling your bear needs it.”
    I guess we aren’t wasting any time before I begin my training, and we stop in a small area that is just past the kitchen. It’s a typical New England mudroom lined with hooks and cubbies for outdoor clothing. Annie talks as she begins to strip off her shirt. “So I hear you have trouble with staying human, is that right?”
    This woman is treating getting naked with a near stranger as if it’s normal, and I follow her lead as I pretend it’s not a big deal for me either as I lift my shirt over my head. “Yeah. Mostly when I get angry or frustrated.”
    “Don’t take this the wrong way, but are you usually a hothead?”
    I slide my only pair of jeans down over my hips, and the denim rasps over my thighs. “No. Well. I didn’t used to be. But lately I feel as if my emotions are magnified.”
    Annie is completely nude, and she nods at me as I remove my bra. “Huh. I think Adrian’s right. Your bear is acting out because she’s feeling trapped.”
    I pick up my clothes off the floor, and my shoes thump when I place everything in a cubby the way Annie does. The low growl that’s been happening all day rumbles through me, and Annie grins as she says, “C’mon, you’re going to love this.”
    We step outside, and she asks, “How do you usually make the shift happen?”
    “I don’t. It just does when I don’t want it to.”
    “Really?” She frowns. “Adrian didn’t teach you how to shift?”
    “He didn’t have to. When he bit me, it hurt, and I shifted right away.”
    Annie says, “Damn, talk about an orgasm like no other.”
    My jaw drops, and she says, “Please tell me he bit you during sex, because if he--”
    “He did.” My cheeks are flaming with heat, and I chuckle before I say, “Not much is sacred for you, is it?”
    She rolls her eyes. “Get used to it. Believe it or not, people used to think I was kind of a prude, but now I just let my thoughts fly like most werebear. It’s a heck of a lot easier.”
    “I suppose it is. So?”
    “Right. Okay. Do you have trouble shifting back to human?”
    I shake my head. “I focus on breathing and imagine my skin closing around my fur.”
    “Good. To shift, what I want you to try is to think of something that has made you angry, and when you sense your bear start to prickle against your skin, imagine opening it up to let the fur out.” She frowns. “Does that make sense to you?”
    “Yeah.” I close my eyes and return to the frustration I felt when I was trying to memorize Aleck’s new song. The growl inside me gets loud, and this time my prickle barely starts before I realize I’m a bear. A roar sounds, and it takes a second for me to realize it’s me. I gaze at Annie, who is now the one with her jaw wide open. Shit. I did it wrong. I take a deep breath to shift back to human, and just like shifting into a bear, it’s almost immediate.
    Annie shakes her head and whispers, “Holy shit.”
    “What?”
    She scowls for a second, and I recognize the look as the one Adrian gets when he’s talking to me in his head.
    I grab her arm and speak louder. “What?”
    The door squeaks open, and I turn to Tristan. I lift my leg to cover myself as I cross my arms over my breasts. He gazes at my eyes only and says, “Annie tells me you can shift instantaneously.”
    “Yes.” I say it as if it’s a question.
    He asks, “Can you do it again?”
    I glance at Annie, and she nods encouragement, so I close my eyes to perform. I’m nervous, but that