Dirk: A Stepbrother Romance(94)
She started to turn towards him, looking to initiate another embrace, when she heard a loud cracking sound. Her face went ashen, even as Darryl tried to signal her not to move, but it was too late. A huge fault opened up right beneath her and as one entire piece flipped up, Aria slid into the freezing sea and disappeared beneath the ice in a flash. Her scream was cut short and was replaced by an abrupt silence.
Darryl scrambled towards the gap in the ice, realizing he could easily join her if he wasn’t careful. He spotted her almost instantly, several feet away, under the thick ice. His fist beat at the ice near her, almost instinctively, but it was far was too thick to break through.
From under the ice, Aria was in shock from the searing cold and gripped by absolute terror as she stared wide-eyed up through the ice, her eyes darting to and fro as she beat at it and searched for a way to freedom. Through the distortion of the ice she was suddenly able to make out Darryl as he sprawled on hands and knees above her, as he too pressed his hands against the ice. But just as he was there, his hands suddenly pulled away. It had already been ten or fifteen precious seconds since she had gone under. She could not see what was happening…all she saw was shadow and a flurry of movement. She saw shadows…clothes... appearing on the ice…and a cast off boot it seemed. His hands were again against the ice except now things were no longer making sense. His hand pressed above her was changing…it had changed…She made out an enormous paw…and a second…Above her now through the ice was a mammoth shadow. It almost looked like a great white bear.
Aria knew that she was losing consciousness and that these were probably her last moments. She had liked him so much. Her body and mind were shutting down her brain was now causing hallucinations. She almost had no feeling now. The pain of the cold was gone. Suddenly she felt a massive pressure wave come through the water as the bear entered the water and swam up beside her. She felt her entire body tossed in the current as the bear positioned itself beneath her. Its massive body was pushing her through the water. Just as she saw stars and blackness closing in on her vision her head broke the surface. She felt her body lifted like a puppet’s. The bear had the belt of her jeans in its jaws as it lifted her out of the water and onto a safe patch of ice a good distance from the hole. Even as she lay there, waves of emotional relief and physical shaking coursed through her as she tried to make sense of the whole ordeal
“Strip.”
Aria heard the word in her mind and she looked over at the white bear with black markings. It was looking at her with familiar eyes. She was already so shaken her mind did not even question the impossibility of this beast. Somehow the power of the message, and some strange familiarity were enough, and she tried to pull her clothes off with her trembling fingers. The bear came forward and with a clawed paw caught at her jeans and actually ripped almost literally ripped them off. She gasped at the biting wind on her cold, bare flesh as she managed to remove the last of her soggy garments. The polar bear sat down in front of her and urged her forward with her paw. She understood and nuzzled up against it warm belly. It’s thick water repellant hairs felt dry against her cool skin. She instantly felt the warmth envelop her and after several minutes, her shaking body lay warm and still against the bear which had now curled around her. Burying her face into the warm animal, she thanked him silently, feeling the bear instantly hug her tighter.
After a short time she felt her strength coming back and she sat back up, finally turning her attention back to the miracle of the enormous bear besides her. She had one last shock to endure as she watched the bear begin to shrink and morph before her eyes. Its fur receded even the entire body began to change shape. So much for the law of the conservation of mass, she thought. The entire creature transformed almost eloquently back to that of the man she knew. Finally he just sat there, naked before her. Although she was still freezing, naked herself in the cold, she could not take her eyes off the tattooed man as he got up and walked towards her. He grabbed her hand as he gathered up the clothes he had apparently strewn about in his haste to shift and rescue her such a short time before. He handed her each item of dry clothing in turn so she could dress. Although he was still standing there totally naked, he even handed her his boots. Through the clearing haze, confusion, and outright shock of this entire experience she must have still registered an extra layer of incredulity as she covered herself with the last of his clothing.
“I don’t feel cold the way that you do.” Was all he said.
A million thoughts and feeling still fought for supremacy in her mind as the pair walked quickly off the ice sheet together. She had no idea what she had seen, but she knew she loved this man, and she knew he had saved her. They walked hand in hand.
This experience had solidified it for Darryl. She was the one and he would do whatever it took to make it work. Now she the truth of who, and what she was. His heart was still pounding from the scare he had just undergone at the idea of losing her. As the truck finally came into sight, he contemplated how to proceed. She now knew more about him than anyone else outside of his immediate clan. He did not need to worry about telling her anything, she already knew his secret. He looked back over at the quiet woman. She was boiling on the inside and he could still hear her thoughts rambling in her head. There was still one feeling that was felt over everything else. Love and lust, even more powerful though, was the acceptance that he felt from her.
“We should go back to your house, to warm up … and talk.”