About half an hour later, Bear shifted to human form to sign, "Close your eyes."
I followed his lead and assumed human form, too. "Okay."
He took my hand and led me forward. A faint buzzing hum filled the air. Where were we?
His hand let go, then I heard a soft cracking sound. Then I felt his cold, wet bear nose against my skin. I assumed he wanted me to open my eyes.
A mouth-watering sight greeted me. Bear had cracked a honeycomb wide open. Golden honey was pouring out of it.
My stomach screamed. I wanted that freaking honey so badly.
Bear grinned and nodded towards it, encouraging me to go ahead. I didn't waste any time. I shoved my hands, letting the honey pool in my palms, then stuffed it into my mouth. It tasted so good I moaned.
There was more than enough for me, so Bear stuck his long tongue into the gap and lapped it up. I quickly realized he had the right idea. My deer tongue was better suited to this than my human hands, so I shifted and went to town on the comb.
"This... is... so... good," I mumbled. My mouth was sticky with honey. The sweetness overwhelmed me.
I don't know how long we stayed there drinking the sweet golden liquid together, but by the end of it, I felt drunk. I groaned and staggered back, shifted, and fell on my ass. My stomach was warm and full, and most importantly, my cravings were satisfied.
I let out a content sigh. "Damn, that hit the spot."
Bear thumped down beside me on his furry ass. He was still in bear form, licking off his big paws. I couldn't help but laugh at how adorable he looked. When he was finished, he shifted and grinned at me.
"Did you enjoy that?" he asked.
"Hell yeah. That was amazing. Thank you, Bear." I leaned over to kiss him. It tasted like honey. There was a small leftover glob on his cheek so I thumbed it away. "Looks like you missed a spot."
After gorging on the honey, I felt exhausted. I fell back against the grass with a long sigh. Bear joined me. His eyes were similarly droopy.
"Is this what it feels like to be a bear?" I asked. "You just eat honey and get sleepy?"
"Pretty much."
I chuckled. "Well, that doesn't sound so bad."
Drowsiness crept up on me. A nap sounded perfect right about now. My cravings were satisfied, my belly was full, the bed of grass beneath me was soft, and best of all, my fated mate was curled up beside me.
So I slept...
Until a sharp pain woke me.
"Ow!"
I sat up with a hiss, clutching my side. I checked to see if a twig was poking me but there was nothing. The pain was coming from inside me.
"Uh oh."
Bear roused from his nap, blinking at me with a bleary expression. "What's up?"
"Um," I said. "I think the baby's coming."
Bear's eyes nearly popped out of his head. He was upright instantly, signing fast. "What should I do? How can I help?"
"I don't know yet. Just sit here with me."
Bear nodded and held my hand. When the next wave of pain came, I groaned and clamped down on him, then felt bad. I didn't want to crush his fingers every time I had a contraction.
"Hang on," I mumbled. "I'm gonna try something my dad suggested."
