Werebears and Water Read online

  Table of Contents

  Werebears and Water

  Book Details

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  WEREBEARS

  AND

  Water

  CAITLIN RICCI

  On vacation at Werecon, werebears Vince and Rayce are looking forward to all the con offers. But they find an unexpected twist to their vacation when they meet Maia, a water nymph, who needs a place to stay after the hotel mixes up her reservation.

  Werebears and Water

  By Caitlin Ricci

  Published by Less Than Three Press LLC

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner without written permission of the publisher, except for the purpose of reviews.

  Edited by James Loke Hale

  Cover designed by Michelle Seaver

  This book is a work of fiction and all names, characters, places, and incidents are fictional or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, places, or events is coincidental.

  First Edition February 2018

  Copyright © 2018 by Caitlin Ricci

  Printed in the United States of America

  Digital ISBN 9781684311828

  Chapter One

  "Hey, Rayce, wake up!"

  Blinking against the bright sunlight, Rayce unfolded himself from the uncomfortable curled position he'd taken in the passenger side of the old Bug and yawned loudly. "Where are we?" he asked, pulling his black beanie down around his ears as he stared at the flat desert around them.

  Vince handed him a breath mint and turned up the stereo. "We're almost to Phoenix. We should be at the con in a little bit. Sleep good?"

  Aside from the twisting he'd had to do in order to get comfortable, Rayce had slept just fine. Problem was he'd been asleep for far too long. He shot Vince a look. "You drove at least six hours straight. I thought we talked about that. You were supposed to let me take over after I got a short nap." He took a new bottle of water out of the back and swallowed half of it before Vince answered him with a brief shrug.

  "You looked tired. And cute." He reached for Rayce, but Rayce batted away his hand. "Besides, you're gonna need your energy for tonight." Vince winked, and Rayce snorted.

  "Horny bear. A full day without sex. Poor thing," Rayce teased. Though, he admitted, he was missing Vince's touch as well. He reached over and placed his palm on Vince's jean-clad thigh. His short, painted black nails dented the thick material as his fingers dug into Vince's muscle.

  "You know, we could do something about my lack of sex," Vince suggested.

  Rayce tilted his head as he considered Vince's offer. He made a show of cleaning the dirt out from under his nails and looking out at the desert for a few minutes while Vince squirmed next to him.

  "You suck," Vince grumbled, apparently giving up on getting anything for the moment.

  Rayce stuck his tongue out at his boyfriend. "Not yet. Really think you can control this old piece-of-shit car while I do it? I don't need my head bashed against the steering wheel again like last summer in Maine."

  Vince's answer was to take one hand off the wheel and start undoing his jeans. "Yeah, I've got this."

  Smiling, Rayce undid his seatbelt and twisted around until he was kneeling on the seat. "We should have driven your dad's SUV," he said, trying to find places for his hands to balance on the small seat. At least there was no console to worry about.

  Vince laughed. "Next time. Though I was thinking about that last night. We could've driven the Expedition and saved some money sleeping in the back instead of renting hotel rooms."

  "Not to mention the dark-chocolate-covered honeycomb I forgot to take out of the SUV," Rayce said, leaning forward. "Now remember, you said you wouldn't crush my head."

  Vince's brown eyes were just as bright as his grin as he reached for Rayce, latched his hand against the back of Rayce's head, and pulled him into a quick kiss. "Yeah, babe, I'll make sure you're safe."

  His scruffy beard tickled Rayce's cheek as he leaned back and smiled at him. He nipped Vince's chin before lowering his mouth to his boyfriend's heavy cock as it bobbed proudly against his stomach. He slid one hand between Vince's thighs, balancing himself on the worn seat. They really needed to get a new car; too bad there was so much else to save up for. He shot a puff of hot air against Vince's tip and his boyfriend's hand tightened on the back of his head. Vince curled his fingers in Rayce's hair and pushed down. Rayce growled a warning low in his throat.

  Rayce lifted his head up. "I'm hurrying," he grumbled.

  Though Vince's hand relaxed in his hair, the werebear let out a high-pitched noise of need that made Rayce laugh. They were short on time and his boyfriend was notoriously impatient, so, after another moment of teasing him with warm puffs of air, he gave in to what they both wanted and swirled his tongue around the head of Vince's cock. Vince growled, but it wasn't a sound of anger or warning, more of possession, which was echoed in the tightening of his hand in Rayce's long hair. Rayce gave him an answering chuff. He was Vince's, and Vince knew that. Both of them did. He sighed at the first taste of salty fluid on his tongue and closed his eyes.

  Parting his lips, he pushed his mouth over the crown of Vince's cock before swirling his mouth around his head. Vince's breath caught and Rayce smiled the best he could around Vince's cock as he lowered his mouth farther down his boyfriend's shaft. He squirmed and rubbed his thighs together, delighting in the friction the motion sent through his core as Vince's low groans filled his ears.

  He took Vince as deep as he could and moaned loudly as Vince's cock pressed against the back of his throat. Vince didn't last much longer after that, his warm seed spilling into Rayce's mouth and coating his tongue. Rayce licked Vince clean and helped him get dressed again before sitting back in his seat.

  "What about you?" Vince panted, his breath coming in hoarse gasps.

  Rayce propped his arm up on the window and rested his chin on his wrist as he looked out over the desert. "Already did," he replied, not looking at him.

  Vince sniffed loudly and growled. "No you didn't. Don't lie to a werebear. You should know that, since you are one too. Undo your pants, I'll take care of you." He reached for Rayce, but Rayce batted his hand away. When he tried again Rayce snarled at him, warning him not to keep it up. "What the hell?" Vince snapped at him, putting both hands back on the steering wheel. "If you don't want to come, then just say so."

  Rayce sighed and closed his eyes. "I do. Sort of. It's one of those things."

  "Oh," Vince said, his voice going soft. "Sorry."

  Rayce looked back at Vince. Sweet, scruffy Vince was trying to understand, as he always did. And Rayce didn't know the words to help him out. He turned in his seat until he was facing Vince. Talking about this was always easier when he could see him, though he did pull the black beanie farther over his head. "I want to. Of course I do. Going down on you, hearing your noises, tasting you...It makes me horny too. But..." He shook his head, the words dying on his lips.

  "But?" Vince asked, glancing at him.

  Rayce shrugged. "I know I'm a guy. I know that. But coming...I do that like a girl." Vince nodded. "It's like...I'm a guy until I touch myself." Again Vince nodded, and Rayce glared at him. "Well? Say something."

  Vince laughed and shook his head. "You're my boyfriend. Boyfriend. We've been together since tenth grade. Four years now. You think I'm going to argue with you about this? You say you're horny but don't want to come, and that's fine. I'm not going to make you. Hell no." He reached over and ruffled Rayce's beanie, messing up both it and his hair undern
eath. "You're mine. My Rayce. I didn't know you when you were her and that's fine. I know you now. And I know you're stubborn, sweet, intelligent, sexy as hell and a damn fine kisser."

  "Sweet is a girl term," Rayce argued, though a smile played over his lips.

  Vince rolled his eyes. "You're sweet like salted caramel dipped in ghost chili sauce. Not like cordial cherries. That work?"

  Rayce nodded and flashed him a grin. "Much better. And Vince?"

  He glanced over at him. "Yeah?"

  Smiling, he put his hand back on Vince's thigh. "Thanks. For not pushing, I mean."

  Vince laughed and dropped his hand from the steering wheel just long enough to give Rayce's hand a squeeze. "You don't have to thank me for that, Rayce. Never for that."

  Chapter Two

  WereCon registration was in full swing when Vince pulled into the hotel parking lot. At least, Rayce hoped that was where all the oddly dressed humans were off to—otherwise, this was going to be a very strange trip. He got out of the old Bug and nearly tripped over Nessie waddling down the sidewalk. Or rather, two people in a Nessie costume. He smiled and gave them a wave to apologize before grabbing his backpack out of the backseat and joining Vince at the front of the car.

  "Still sure this was a good idea?" Vince asked, taking Rayce's outstretched hand.

  Rayce laughed and shrugged. "Not sure yet. But do you really want to drive the fifteen hours back home to Denver? Because I really don't." Vince shook his head, expression souring, as if he was considering it. "See? There you go. Besides, this is supposed to be one of the best were conventions in the States."

  Vince leaned in close, and Rayce shivered as his warm breath tickled his ear. "Yeah, but too bad we're the only actual weres here."

  "That you know of," Rayce replied. Vince relented with a shrug. Rayce was right; they didn't know if they'd meet more people like them. The only reason they'd been lucky enough to meet each other was because Vince's dad had kept in touch with the clan after he'd moved away in his twenties. But Rayce hadn't met anyone outside of their little group. Not just no bears, but no nothing.

  He fixed his beanie over his face and pulled his hair down. Though his features were pretty androgynous to start with, he was still self-conscious when they went out in public. He hadn't been mistaken for a girl in over a year, but that uncomfortable feeling still coiled in the pit of his stomach as Vince led the way up the sidewalk to the large hotel.

  The noise level in the lobby was nearly deafening as they entered and were immediately surrounded by at least a hundred other people, most of them dressed in bright costumes. Someone in a wolf mask growled at him, though for what, Rayce had no idea. He bared his teeth and straightened up, hoping to appear far larger than his barely there height of five-foot-five. Well, barely there for a guy, maybe. Back when he'd been "her," he'd been just a little under model tall and impossibly thin. The envy of all the girls in his eighth-grade class. Maybe some of them had gotten over it when he'd come to school the next year wearing baggy clothing and informing his teachers that he was now Rayce. But probably not. They'd always been a pretty catty bunch of idiots.

  Vince pulled him along and Rayce stepped around the masked person, carefully avoiding some kind of cat kneeling on the floor. She, and Rayce was sure the cat was a girl because she was wearing a leopard bikini, meowed at him and licked her lips before pretending to clean herself. Rayce wasn't sure whether to be flattered at the idea of being hit on or weirded out by someone covered in black polka dots.

  "Back off, kitten," Vince said. "You're not his type."

  The girl shrugged, meowed again, and twirled her tail around her wrist as she rose.

  "Please tell me you didn't sign us up for a sex convention," Vince grumbled once she had walked away.

  Rayce shook his head. "It's not. Or, I don't think it is. The site said nothing about that, if it is. Though, if it were..." He gave Vince a weak smile and shrugged.

  Vince rolled his eyes and gave his hand a tug. "Nice try, furball. But you and I both know that it would take some drastic type of miracle to get another person in on this love fest, although I'd be a lot more open to it if they happened to be a were like us," he said as he led Rayce toward the crowded check-in desk. When faced with a group of teenagers lurking in front of it, he cleared his throat, and when that didn't get their attention, he growled.

  Rayce squeezed his hand, reminding him that humans didn't usually growl at strangers. At least the sane ones didn't. But as the teenagers parted for them, he wasn't too sure that acting like a bear wouldn't get them exactly what they wanted for once in this crowd. He tried it with one of the teens, curling his lips back and lifting his head. Surprisingly, the boy backed up, though whether it was because of Rayce's show of dominance or because he thought Rayce was crazy, no one would really know. Rayce was leaning toward crazy, as the boy pulled his friends along, their plastic masks clutched tightly in their hands.

  "Two checking in," Vince said, laying his ID and credit card on the desk in front of a smartly dressed woman in a black suit.

  "Welcome to the Hotel Giada, Mr. Blackmoore." She barely glanced at his cards before handing over a pair of keycards. "You and your..." She looked between them, bit her bottom lip, and let her words trail off uncomfortably.

  "Boyfriend," Rayce supplied for her, coming closer and putting their joined hands on the desk.

  But then she smiled at them both, and the beauty of that simple gesture caught him off guard. "Right. I knew you were together. I saw you holding hands as you came up. But I couldn't tell if you were wearing wedding rings or not. So, right, Mr. Blackmoore, you and your boyfriend are in room one-twenty. It's straight down the hallway to your left and all the way at the end."

  "Uh, thanks," Rayce said, reaching up to take the cards with his free hand and feeling stupid for assuming the worst from her.

  "Enjoy your stay, and please let us know if you need anything at all."

  He nodded and followed Vince away from the desk as more guests pushed in behind them.

  "Let's go check out our room and get settled in. Then maybe we'll have time for a nap," Vince said.

  Rayce grinned up at him. "You don't want a nap. You want to be in bed, but napping is hardly what you want to do in it."

  Vince blew him a kiss. "How'd you know?"

  "Your smell." Rayce twitched his nose to further add to his point, though he was glad he could still distinguish Vince's heady musk from every other man's in the crowded room. "And I'm not against a bit of a cuddle."

  Vince leaned in and kissed his forehead. "Good. Because I plan to cuddle you a lot."

  Laughing, Rayce lifted his mouth to meet Vince's. "Right. Like you'd cuddle without getting laid first."

  "Wow, you make me sound like a total asshole. I'll cuddle you. As long as you're naked next to me, I'll do whatever you like." Vince gave him a wink and turned, starting down the hallway the receptionist had said to go.

  "What do you mean I don't have a reservation?"

  Rayce, like many of the men in the lobby, turned at the sound of the shrill scream. His eyes widened as he saw a petite girl with a cascade of red hair falling down her back slam her palms on the desk.

  "I booked the room three months ago!" she cried, her voice ending on a whimper that made her sound damn near pitiful.

  The receptionist shook her head. "I'm sorry, miss, but I don't see you listed here. And we're completely booked up for the convention."

  Her chin trembled and, as Rayce watched, she shook her head and wrapped her arms around her middle.

  "Rayce?" Vince said, coming up behind him. "What's up?"

  He nodded toward the girl, but since she was the focus of nearly everyone's attention, he didn't need to. "She looks so pathetic up there," he whispered, his gaze never straying far from her.

  Vince sighed. "You and your damn helpless woman complex." Rayce turned his head and stuck his tongue out at him. "Don't show it unless you're willing to use it," Vince teased him, stepping
in close to his back.

  Though Rayce blushed deeply, a thrill ran through him at the heat behind Vince's words. But then the girl made a sniffling noise, and all thoughts of sex drifted away. It probably wasn't loud enough for most of the men to hear, but for them and probably any other were in the room, it was unmistakably the sound of a creature in distress. And it threw his protective instincts into overdrive.

  He wasn't thinking as he let go of Vince's hand and moved forward. He didn't even know what he'd done until he found himself standing next to the girl with the receptionist looking at him.

  "Hey," he said, trying to sound gentle and unthreatening. She was much smaller up close, barely coming up to his shoulder. Next to Vince's towering height of six-two, she would be damn near tiny.

  She wiped her eyes and looked up at him. "Um. Hi?"

  Rayce smiled. She was also a lot prettier this close, too, with little freckles covering her cheeks and the bridge of her nose. "So... I couldn't help but overhear that you need a room, and—"

  "I'm not having sex with you just because they lost my reservation!" she snapped at him, scrambling backward and knocking over her suitcase.

  His mouth falling open, Rayce shook his head and lifted his hands. "No! Not at all. That's not what I meant at all. Not even close." A few of the men around them snickered, and the clerk looked uncomfortable.

  Vince came up behind him and nudged him with his shoulder. Feeling instantly calmer, Rayce looked back at Vince, who was all smiles. "Nice try, but if she doesn't want to bunk with us, that's her problem."

  Rayce looked back at the girl and hoped things wouldn't end like that. Not because he liked her or even actually knew anything about her. But he couldn't just leave her when she needed help. And they were probably some of the few guys in the lobby who wouldn't try to jump her, given a chance. Not that Rayce didn't think she was pretty, but, well, sex was complicated.

  Vince reached for his hand, and Rayce slipped his fingers inside, pulling him close. "Okay," he said, softly accepting that the girl didn't want his help. It was sad, but there was nothing he could do about it. He'd tried. Vince told him often enough that he couldn't help people that didn't want his help. Someday he might actually accept that.