An Unexpected Affair by Lorelei Moone Read Free Book Online Page B

an ugly gash on her forehead with blood dripping from it. Her breaths were slow, calm, but not weak. Despite everything, she was still the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.
    Still, she wasn't conscious, so there was no way of finding out if that bump on her head was her only injury.
    With so many unknowns, and the bad weather continuing, Derek didn't have time to carefully deliberate his next move. He closed his eyes and focused on his human form, feeling his limbs contract back to their original shape.
    Taking advantage of his much more dexterous fingers, he freed Clarice of the seatbelt completely, then checked that both her legs were free underneath the steering wheel. He carefully levered her out of her seat, over the gear knob and into the passenger seat. Then he got out of the car completely, and with one arm supporting her shoulders, the other running through the crook of her knees, he lifted her up towards freedom.
    She was still limp, completely out of it, which was just as well because the situation looked bad. His clothes were lying in tatters somewhere in the woods, and he preferred not to have to explain his current nudity to her.
    There was no doctor nearby, and the storm was far from over. The cold rain started to chill his naked skin, and Clarice didn't have much warmth in her either. The nearest clinic was halfway across the island, and if the storm didn't get them on the way, the cold temperatures surely would. There was nothing else he could do but carry her home and hope that she'd wake up on her own. He had to trust that she would be fine without immediate medical attention.
    He started walking back up the same way through the trees as he had come earlier. But in his human form, without the protective thick fur, the cold significantly slowed his progress. Derek could feel his muscles tighten and lethargy wash over him.
    He looked down at Clarice's face. She was completely still, even as the heavy droplets hit her ivory skin. It took all the energy he had left to transform yet again, taking the utmost care that the claws his hands sprouted didn't hurt her. Once again covered in warm fur, he started on the walk home.
    Running on all fours would have been quicker and more comfortable for him, but as long as Clarice was protected against the elements in his strong arms, slow and steady would have to do. He kept going, zig-zagging through the woods while hunching over just enough to keep her dry.
    By the time they got back to the farmhouse together, her cheeks had even warmed to a rosy pink. If he didn't know any better, he might have thought she was sleeping.

Chapter Eight
    Clarice had the strangest dream.
    After crashing her car into the tree - or having the tree crash into her, she wasn't certain how it had happened exactly, she'd been trapped in a world of white noise. She couldn't move, couldn't scream, couldn't even feel her body.
    Somehow, she had made it out of the wreck and back to the cottage, though. She had been aware of her movements, somewhat, as well as the noises around her, but she hadn't been able to see much of what had occurred. The one thing that stood out to her was Derek's voice. He'd asked if she was okay, and if she was in pain. He'd hoped out loud that she hadn't been badly hurt.
    Clarice had wanted to tell him that it was fine, that he didn't need to worry himself, but couldn't open her mouth to form the words. She had caught a glimpse of his face looking down at her, before the overwhelming urge to sleep on had dragged her back into the white. Or perhaps all that had also been part of her dream, and it wasn't Derek who had rescued her.
    Somewhere between the car wreck and the farmhouse, she was certain that there had been another presence as well.
    She had crashed near the spot where she'd first seen that shadow in the woods and was now certain it had been the bear. Throughout her mysterious rescue, the bear had been watching all along, she could feel his eyes on her. At one