***
Boomer watched his mate surface near the shore. She walked out of the water, letting it streak off her supple skin. When she looked back at him, the hunger in her eyes hadn’t disappeared. He felt it echo inside himself. He would give anything to carry her away from this chaos and finally claim her the way his beast begged him to.
She made a joke that he couldn’t hear and even Dominic laughed. Dominic didn’t laugh. When he pulled a fruity colored bottle from the cooler, she shook her head and reached for a can of beer. Boomer’s eyes nearly rolled back in his head. She fit in with them too well.
Hell, Emmy was bringing them together. Without her presence, there would have been at least one fight by now. The grill and ribs would be in the dirt. Someone would have burned themselves on it. Dominic would have thrown someone over the cliff.
This was tame compared to how the parties usually went. All because of the small woman that climbed the hillside once more.
“Do women like her grow out of the ground often? I need one like her,” Morgan half joked.
Boomer was tempted to pull his cousin beneath the water and let his mouth fill with water, but that wasn’t fair. Morgan had seen the mark. He knew to keep his distance.
On the hill, Emmy situated herself on the orange tarp. She threw her hands in the air, squealing as she flew down its slick surface and into the shallow water below. When she came up for air, her cackle was pure joy.
He was never going to give her back to humanity at this rate. Was there a future with her where she wasn’t in danger? One where his makeshift family of bears protected her? He didn’t know if he could let himself believe in the pipedream. The other bears had never been anything other than rough and aggressive.
He feared there would come a day when one of them wanted what he had. When they could no longer suppress the rage and greed of the beast inside them and tried to take her. What would Boomer do then? Would he be able to protect her, or would he find himself too late?
All of these questions weighed him down until he disappeared beneath the water. Fish darted around him. His hair floated on the current. The beast inside him hungered, but not for the food in the water. He saw her legs kicking beneath the waves and pushed toward her.
Boomer grinned before lifting toward the surface. Emmy squealed, but he gripped her legs. As he rose, she sat upon his shoulders. She panicked and reached to grasp his chin. It only brought a laugh out of him.
“This is why you have as many scars as you do! You’re crazy!” Her words were punctuated by laughter, giving away her joy.
“Want to do a water fight? We could put another woman on Morgan’s shoulders. Where did Orion go?”
She snickered. “Did you just call Orion a woman? You realize he broke your nose the other day, right?” Emmy paused, her own words giving her pause. “Speaking of that. How does your nose feel? You don’t look like it’s bothering you any. I could feel it and see if it’s setting right.”
Shit, he thought. He couldn’t tell her it had already healed. No human healed that fast. He needed to keep her from touching it. Already, she was touching his face, fingers reaching for his nose. He did the only thing he could think of and tossed her off his shoulders. She hit the water with a shriek.
Guilt filled him.
How long could he keep this up? There was no way he could lie to her for the rest of his life. There was no way anyone could tear her away from his bear. Boomer had dug himself a hole when he didn’t drive her into town the first day.
Emmy didn’t rise. His heart lurched into his throat and he dove in after her. How could he hurt her like that? What kind of monster was he? Yet, when he opened his eyes, Emmy was nowhere to be found. He looked left and right, up and down.
There, ahead, he caught the flash of pale legs kicking in the water. When he surfaced, she was whispering over Morgan’s shoulder. Jealous rage slammed him in the chest and made his beast grumble. He saw the way she cupped her hand around Morgan’s ear, imagined her lips on his skin.
Morgan laughed and gave her a thumbs up before disappearing into the water. Confusion caught Boomer off guard. He focused on Emmy, trying to figure out what game she was playing, when something caught his foot. It pulled him beneath the water.
Boomer twisted and fought against Morgan’s grip, but it was too late. Morgan swung him into the lake’s current. It caught Boomer and flung him away from the inlet. When he resurfaced, Emmy was kicking her heels atop the cliff, waving down at him as he drifted away.
She was a vixen, he thought. She’d gotten his own cousin to turn against him. Thankfully, Boomer was a natural swimmer. He dove beneath the surface and broke away from the tug of the current, heading straight for Morgan.
The water shuddered, and his gut lurched. It stopped him. He stopped and turned toward the water to find a scared Emmy drifting toward the lake bottom. Without thinking, he swam toward her. She was already resurfacing, but he followed just to make sure she was okay. His heart hammered away inside his ribs until he thought they would disintegrate into dust. He’d never known fear quite like that before.
Emmy’s eyes were wide, the whites showing as they darted in every direction. Boomer’s heart smacked his sternum.
“What is it? What’s wrong? Do you remember your name?” He reached for her head, thinking that she might have hurt herself again. The idea of her forgetting him made his stomach churn. He didn’t know if he could handle it.
“No, you moron!” Emmy snapped. “I lost my top!”
Relief hit him so hard, he belted out a laugh. It echoed along the cliff face behind them while she glared at him.
“This isn’t funny! I don’t know where it went, and I don’t…I don’t want the men to see my breasts.” Her voice devolved into a whine that tugged on his already strained heart strings.
He pushed toward her and took her in his arms. Her hands pressed between their bodies, covering her bare breasts. His eyes dropped to her bare skin, sending his blood rushing south. The lost top was nowhere to be found. He suspected it had gotten caught in the current Morgan tossed him into earlier. There was no way he would find the flimsy strip of fabric now.
“I have an idea as long as you trust me.”
Her lips pressed together, twisting to the side. She didn’t look upset, only suspicious, and it made him smile. He ducked and yanked off his shorts. Emmy let out a sound of surprise. Boomer grinned when her gaze lingered on him longer than he thought it would. Of course, she couldn’t see much beneath the water.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“I’m helping.” He turned his shorts upside down and ripped a hole between the legs. “Alright. You’re going to have to let go of your breasts for this to work. I would promise that I won’t look, but I’m not going to lie to you like that.”
Her cheeks turned pink, but he caught the ghost of a smile before she looked away. Something about this warmed him. He was taking care of her and it felt good. Ever since he became a teen and left behind the life of a cub, Boomer had functioned on his own. It’d been a quiet life with little to worry about. Now, his heart stretched and made room for this human girl, a tiny spit fire he shouldn’t love the way he did. Tending to her needs satisfied something inside him he hadn’t known was there.
Slowly, Emmy let go of her breasts. They floated on the water and brought more of his blood lower. His stomach tightened the closer he swam He had her lift her arms in the air, so he could pull the waistband over her head. She grumbled something about his idea being ridiculous until her head emerged through the hole he’d made.
Her lips parted, and her eyes widened. He pulled the waistband over her breasts, sad that he had to hide such perfection.
“You made a shirt!”
He laughed. The urge to pull her close was overwhelming. Would he be able to taste her mouth again? Or, would she walk away before he could memorize everything about her? Each through struck a discordant note inside him. The bear shook and growled against
the feeling, but neither could stop it.
This fear.
“What is it?” Emmy swam closer to him. The makeshift shirt was cute on her, the legs of the shorts covering her arms to her elbows and revealing her stomach.
“Nothing,” he whispered. “Do you feel better now?”
“You didn’t have to destroy your own clothes for me. You could have swum back to shore for my shirt.”
“Where’s the fun in that? Now you’re wearing something that belongs to me. Even if I ripped it, I like seeing you in my clothes.”
What had once been a pink flush turned brick red, but no matter how she tried to hide it, he could see her grin. Together, they pushed back toward the shore. Dominic was waving to them. The ribs must have been done or at least close to it. The smell filled the air around the small beach and he beard Emmy’s stomach growl.
They walked ashore. For a moment, Emmy was so distracted by her own hunger that she didn’t notice Boomer. Then, Orion let out a squawking laugh and doubled over, pointing at Boomer. Emmy spun and clamped her hand over her mouth.
“What? I don’t get what’s so funny.” Boomer lied. He put his hands on his hips proudly, even if he was still a little hard from seeing Emmy half naked in the water.
“You don’t have any underwear!” Emmy shrieked.
She covered her face, but he caught her peeking out from between her fingers. He grinned all the way to his truck, where he grabbed a spare pair of jeans from the cab. When he returned, Dominic had passed out paper plates filled with tender meat. He nodded to Dominic when he saw a plate in Emmy’s hand and sauce already on her fingers.
He claimed one for himself, stacking the ribs one on top of the other. There was a tub of pasta salad in one of the coolers that the guys were already eating out of.
He moved to sit on the ground at Emmy’s feet. The bear inside him eyed every other man on the beach, warning them. No one would take a step toward his mate. She moved so that her leg touched his arm. He didn’t dare look up at her to see if she knew what she was doing. He simply savored the moment, holding it close and reminding his beast that this wasn’t going to last forever.
Perhaps he would take her back to town and spend the rest of the day hunting her ex. He would make sure that man didn’t bother her for the rest of her life. His gut clenched and twisted when he realized he couldn’t protect her from every asshole that entered her life. Not unless he wanted to stalk her for the rest of their days.
He couldn’t do that. If he took her back to town, every string needed to be cut. His bear wouldn’t be happy to watch from afar. It would rage every time it saw her, every time it remembered how they loved her but couldn’t touch her.
Boomer was trapped in his own plan.
“You guys aren’t afraid that the smell of the grill will attract the bears?”
Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at Emmy. Orion’s jaw hung open. Reid looked to Boomer, questioning. Morgan shook his head and sighed. Boomer could feel his body grow tense. He silently dared each of them to say something. Part of him wanted one of them to throw a wrench in his plans. He didn’t want to be the one to tell her, to bear the guilt of having ruined her life.
If one of the other bear shifters told her the truth, then Boomer wouldn’t be the one to blame for sentencing her to a life among them. It wasn’t fair of anyone and, in the end, no one said anything.
“What?” I don’t get it. “You all act like you’re part of some bear cult. I’m starting to get a little freaked out.”
Once more, they all looked to Boomer. The message was clear.
Tell her the truth or let her go.
A growl rumbled through him before he could stop himself. Emmy looked down at him, confusion and fear on her face. He was about to say something when she shot up from her seat and staggered away from him.
“If you all want to be weird, have fun. I’m going to go sit on the truck until it’s time to go home.”
Home. He wasn’t sure if she was aware of what she was doing. Each time she called his cabin home, a part of him screamed with greedy delight. He would let her hang whatever curtains she wanted as long as she called it home for the rest of her life.
That depended on one thing, though. That Boomer tell her the truth. He would. Tonight, before the sun rose. He would tell her everything. Against his better judgement, he decided he would give her more than one choice, too. If she hated him, if she feared him, he would take her back to town and pretend he never said anything.
It could get them both killed. If anyone ever found out, they would send someone from the closest Den to deal with both her and Boomer. He wanted to risk it, though. None of the shifters on the beach would rat him out. Not even mouthy Orion.
He watched her stalk toward the bed of his truck and hoist herself into it, positioning herself so that her back faced him. He longed to race over to her, to pour his soul out to her. Instead, he stayed where he was. This wasn’t the moment. It wasn’t the right time.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing with her?” Dominic hissed. His jaw was tight, and his teeth flashed between his dark lips.
Boomer surged to his feet and entered Dominic’s space. The two of them had never fought before, but Boomer was ready to throw a fist. If Dominic thought he was going to make demands, then he was very wrong.
There were no Alphas here. This wasn’t a pack.
“You’re a fool if you think this won’t end badly.” Dominic didn’t back down. Everyone else stood with wide eyes. Dominic never raised his voice. He never challenged anyone. “We like her. All of us. Don’t think we’re going to let you break her heart and get away with it.”
Dominic’s words slapped sense into Boomer. His beast still beat against his mind, raging and roaring to be let out, but as Boomer looked from face to face, he realized they were on his side. They wanted him to tell her, to ask her to stay.
The weight of the moment dawned on him. When was the last time they’d gotten together for something like this? It happened maybe once a year and ended in flying fists and fur.
Chapter Nine
They lay on the grass. The moon smiled overhead, nothing more than a glowing grin in the sky. She reached across the grassy expanse, her knuckles brushing his. The day filled her with warmth, but the night was opening a door in her mind.
Little by little, one after another, truths started to reveal themselves. She’d come to the party, hoping to learn more about Boomer’s secrets, and now she was left to face the ones that should have been locked away forever in her own mind.
A sob shot through her and escaped her lips. Tears streaked down her temples and into her hairline. Boomer rolled over, jerkily, and reached for her as if she were hurt. She wanted to beg the doors to close. The memories could go back to the murky shadows for all she cared.
The scar on the inside of her arm, the one Boomer had noticed the day before, stung with the memory that rose to the surface. The face she’d found in her phone scowled at her. A hand wrapped around her wrist and yanked her off balance. She shut her eyes against the memory, but that only made it brighter, clearer.
Hayden told her he loved her. That they were meant to be. She’d only been a freshman in college, her future should have been wide before her, and yet she’d let him shrink it down to just him. It’d been a miracle that she’d gotten her degree at all.
Once he had her, the wedding band as a shackle on her hand, everything about him changed. Emmy needed to be perfect, at all times. When she wasn’t—her arm burned again, and she clamped her hand over it—Hayden hurt her. He treated her like a dog that couldn’t remember its training.
She’d left, escaping with a drop of courage and a few dollars in her pockets. That was three years ago. It’s taken two years to get the divorce finalized. The papers meant nothing to Hayden, though. He never stopped hunting her. He’d claimed her and no one else would.
She’d come to these mountains hoping for the reprieve of silence, but i
t was too much. She knew, the moment she left the wilderness, that Hayden would be waiting for her. She couldn’t take it. The endless onslaught of his relentlessness.
“Hey, come back to me.” Boomer’s voice infiltrated her mind. It sang, clear and bright, slicing apart the vision behind her eyes. “You’re safe here. You’re safe with me.”
He drew her into his arms, pulling her atop his lap so that his body shielded her from the world. Only, he couldn’t shield her from the things that floated to the surface of her mind. She gripped his shirt and buried her face in it. His scent greeted her. It pushed back the scowl that haunted her. It lessened the pain in her skin.
He murmured sweet nothings into her hair, rocking her back and forth. Boomer knew what was happening, it seemed. He let her cuddle him like a teddy bear until the nightmares went away.
“I met him,” Boomer admitted. “Your ex-husband, I mean. The day we came across the search and rescue team, he was with them. I lied and said they weren’t looking for you because I couldn’t bear the thought of sending you back to him. Just a minute in his presence and I knew he was bad news.”
Emmy sobbed into his shirt. She was so grateful it hadn’t been her ex-husband that had found her on the side of that hill. There was obviously someone still looking out for her because the group of men that had found her made her feel safe. She wanted to stay with them, to stay with Boomer.
“Theodore,” she whispered.
“This is the only moment for the rest of your life that I will allow you to call me that.” His voice was teasing, trying to lighten the mood. She smiled at his effort.
“You know my secrets. Tell me yours. Tell me if I should run away from you, too.”
He held his breath for a long moment. She feared he would say nothing, that he would continue to keep her in the dark. She deserved to know. Life couldn’t be filled with pain all the time. The past few days had been wonderful and all she wanted was to know if she could trust him the way she had.
To Love a Bear Page 8