"Do you think you can get him to go for a run or something? I need to think, and it's kind of hard to do being snuggled like this."
Ford snickered as he pushed away from the car. "I can try."
Leon grimaced as George licked another line up the side of his face. "I'd appreciate it."
It wasn't that he minded being held by the bear so much. George was warm and furry, so it was actually kind of comforting. It was the licking he had an issue with. The entire side of his head had been slobbered on.
"Hey, George," Ford said, "don't you want to go for a run? I'll bet we can find you some berries."
George growled when Ford stepped closer. Ford immediately held up his hands and stepped back. "I'm not going to touch your mate. I just need you to put him down."
George's growl became more threatening.
"Now, George, you know I would never hurt Leon, but you might. You're very excited right now. I understand that, but you don't want to crush Leon, do you?"
The bear whimpered, which wasn't something Leon thought bears could do. He slid his hands through George's soft fur, stroking him more than petting him. An agitated bear wasn't something he wanted to face.
"Hey, big guy." And he wasreallybig. "Do you think you could set me down?" He grunted when George hugged him, squeezing all the air out of Leon's lungs. "Okay, okay." He patted George's furry arms. "Put the nice human down."
He heard Ford snicker, but couldn't look away from the bear holding him. He heard once that taking his eyes off a dangerous predator could get a person killed, and while he didn't think George would kill him, he was still a dangerous predator.
"Come on, George, put me down."
George whimpered again as he brushed his nose over the crook of Leon's neck, sniffing, before gently lowering Leon to the ground. There was something mournful in the bear's brown eyes as he stared down at Leon, something that tugged at Leon's soul and made him want to take his words back. Before he could, George let out a roar that shook the air around them then loped off into the woods.
Leon watched until the brown bear disappeared among the trees before turning to Ford. "Where's he going?"
"He's just going for a run. He'll be back."
Leon might have believed that if Ford had met his eyes, but the man seemed to be doing everything he could to avoid looking directly at him. Leon suspected he knew why. He just didn't know exactly what to do about it.
He liked George. He liked him a lot. He just didn't know if he was ready to settle down with the shape-shifter. He didn't mind George being a bear. That wasn't even an issue for him. He worked for a shifter.
It was the whole "till eternity" thing he had a problem with.
His work was important to him, but more than that, he enjoyed it. The thrill, the danger, the not sitting behind a desk day in and day out. Having a mate was going to make going out on missions for who knew how long almost impossible, and as big as George was, he didn't see being able to take the bear along with him as an option.
So, where did that leave him?
Them?
Leon walked over and leaned back against the car next to Ford. He crossed his arms just like Ford, as well. It looked like a comfortable position, and he was pretty sure they were going to be there for a while. Who knew when George would come back?
"Tell me what will happen to George if I don't stick around?" For some reason, the idea of the gentle giant being in pain didn't sit well with Leon.
"No."
Leon's eyebrows lifted as he turned to look at Ford. "No? Why not?"
"Because I refuse to guilt you into staying with him. George wouldn't want that. If you decide to stay, it's because you want to stay. Not because of what might happen to George if you leave."
That was a sound argument, but it also let Leon know that George wouldn't have an easy time of it if he did leave. That didn't exactly lessen the guilt that was starting to swamp him.
Leon turned when he heard a vehicle coming down the dirt road. "I thought this was private property."
"It is," Ford insisted.
"Then who is this?" Leon asked as a large SUV pull up behind his car.
