Awakened by her Bear (Black Ridge Bears Shifter Romance Series Book 5)

by Felicity Heaton

  “Come back in an hour and we’ll have dinner on the go. I thought we could grill up some steaks and you could get to know everyone a little better.” Lowe’s blue eyes lit up as he rolled up the sleeves of his light green checked shirt. “Like a welcome party.”

  Bronwyn’s gaze seared Maverick, something crossing her eyes that he couldn’t interpret. “I’m feeling a little tired from my journey. I drove through the night. Maybe I should just turn in early.”

  “We’ll postpone the party until tomorrow then.” Lowe’s smile was understanding.

  Far too fucking gentle and sweet.

  Maverick battled the black urge that surged through him.

  One that only grew worse when Bronwyn smiled back at Lowe and nodded. Maverick wanted to punch the male, the seething, wretched part of him that was looking for a fight labelling Lowe as the perfect candidate to be on the receiving end of his aggression.

  Maverick grabbed Winnie’s arm and marched her around Saint’s cabin on the creek side of it, away from all the other males. He kept his gaze locked on the small cabin on the other side of the rippling river, refused to look in the direction of his one that stood near one of the bends, close to Saint’s cabin. If he looked at it, he would want to take her there.

  Letting her set foot in his cabin would be a mistake.

  Being alone with her right now would be a mistake.

  He needed to run.

  “Which is your cabin?” Her soft voice invaded his thoughts, slicing through them, separating one urge from another for once. Fighting lost out to his other primal need, one he wouldn’t be indulging with her.

  He grunted and pointed to it, wanted to tell her to stay the hell away from it for her own sake, but ended up saying different words.

  “I’m just there if you need anything.” And by anything, he meant anything.

  He clenched his jaw. No, he didn’t. He mentally drew a line between them, shoved the urges she awakened in him into a box and locked it. It wasn’t going to happen.

  He released her and picked his way across the boulders that acted as steppingstones across the creek, not bothering to check whether she was following him. He didn’t need to. He was hyper-aware of her as she made her way from one boulder to another, muttering to herself about how she didn’t have long legs and was worried she would fall into the water.

  Maverick denied the urge to turn around and help her. If she fell into the creek, she would get a little wet, that was all. It wouldn’t kill her. The water was only a couple of feet deep.

  He stomped up the steps onto the raised deck of the nearest cabin, one that stood on the pebbly bank just forty feet back from the river. It faced his cabin, had a nice view of the other side of Black Ridge and the mountains, and it had been recently renovated. She would be comfortable here.

  Far away from him.

  She finally reached him, a little out of breath as she clutched her bag in a death grip. Her smile was bright as she took the steps up to him.

  “I thought I was going to fall in there for a moment. Would have been one way to get a new laptop.” She released her bag and peered past him, into the window on the door of the cabin. “This looks nice. Cosy.”

  She turned her back to the cabin and sighed.

  “What a view.”

  He had just been thinking the same thing as he had gazed at her.

  Maverick shoved the door open and stomped inside, torching that thought. He really needed to run.

  He kept his distance from her as he checked the cupboards of the small kitchen next to the door in the open-plan room. “Rune set you up with plenty of snacks and stuff. Water. Tea and coffee.”

  The damned black bear had thought of everything apparently. There were even feminine products on the counter near the sink—deodorant and a razor, one of the nice bottles of soap from the larder. Maverick kept his eyes off the last one, not needing to feed his already busy imagination more fuel. He was not going to imagine Winnie all naked and in the bath, soaping herself up.

  He flexed his fingers again. Shook them, wishing he could shake off the tension just as easily.

  “You can boil the kettle on the stove. Bathroom is in the building in the middle of the other cabins back there. Should be a flashlight in one of the drawers if you need to go out at night.” He gave the small room an awkward once-over, unsure what else to do. “I’ll, uh… I’ll leave you to it.”

  She moved a few steps into the room, towards the log burner, and he edged past her.

  Froze when she touched his arm.

  Maverick looked at her.

  Her smile hit him hard, flooded him with a need to tug her to him and hold her when it wobbled, betraying her nerves. “Thank you.”

  Maverick shrugged it off.

  Her hand trailed off his arm as he backed towards the door.

  He hated the way she looked at him as if he was her saviour.

  When he was a monster.

  Chapter 6

  Bronwyn was dreaming. The same dream she’d had a thousand times. She moaned and arched to meet the powerful hard body of the male on top of her, dug her fingers into his shoulder as he moved inside her. She clung to him as she breathed hard, as he panted against her neck between kisses, laved her with his tongue and tightened his grip on her thigh.

  On a low wicked growl, he shifted his hand to her backside and held it in a fierce, bruising grip, and thrust faster, deeper, ripping a groan from her lips as he dominated her. She sank against the hard surface beneath her that chilled her bare back, shuddered and ached for more as he pulled her closer to him, holding her hips up as they hit thin air. He grunted as he curled his hips, as he plunged deeper still, every frantic thrust making her breath hitch as she soared higher.

  His free hand came down on her shoulder, pinned her to the table as he moved faster still, his breath fanning her neck, teasing her nape as it swirled around her. She wrapped her legs around his waist, worked her body against his, seeking that one push she needed to tip her over the edge. She tensed around him, clenching and unclenching, desperate now as his sweat-slicked body stuck to hers, as he drove into her and his fingers dug into her flesh, adding a spark of pain to the pleasure rolling through her.

  Her entire body was on fire, blood burning as she strained.

  A cry burst from her lips as release hit her in a blinding rush, as her body jacked up off the table and every inch of her quivered.

  His grip on her tightened as he plunged deep into her, as he arched backwards and roared as he came, spilling inside her.

  She drowsily stared at his face as bliss swept through her, each throb of his length causing an aftershock of pleasure to ripple along her nerves.

  His grey eyes opened and locked with hers.

  Bronwyn shot up in bed, panting hard and tingling all over, struggling to catch her breath as her heart thundered. She pressed her hand to her bare chest and sank onto the damp mattress on an exhale, stared at the ceiling as she slowly relaxed.

  It was always the same.

  It was always Maverick.

  Her breaths evened out, her pulse settling as she drifted in the warm haze, the aftermath of her dream of him. This one had been particularly intense. Because she had seen him again? It had felt more real this time. She drew down a deep breath and caught his lingering scent in the cabin, moaned as her skin felt too tight, as need rolled through her again in response to the earthy masculine smell of cedar with a hint of smoke.

  She focused on the world outside the cabin, trying to sense if anyone was nearby, and then bit her lip and skimmed her fingers down her collarbone. Her pulse jacked up again as she closed her eyes and lost herself in a fantasy, imagining it was Maverick’s tongue stroking her as she swept her fingers around the curve of her breast and teased her nipple. Her other hand glided down her stomach, beneath the covers, and she moaned as she touched herself, as she rocked into it and gave herself over to need. It took only a few brushes of her fingers to have her coming undone again, her hips
lifting off the mattress as release rolled through her.

  Bronwyn sagged into the mattress, hoping she was sated this time, that she could see Maverick without making a fool of herself. She grimaced as she remembered what he had told her about the bathroom and what she had noticed during her exploration of the cabin yesterday. She was going to have to wash up in the sink before she saw anyone. The last thing she needed was Rune or Maverick smelling it on her.

  Oh gods, she would die of embarrassment.

  She looked over at the nightstand to her left, one of a pair in the loft bedroom, and rolled towards it. She grabbed her phone and switched it on. The signal was poor. No messages or missed calls though.

  A knot formed in her stomach again as she stared at the screen. What was she doing? Could she really lure Maverick and Rune into a trap after everything they had done for her? She wasn’t sure that she could. She didn’t want to hurt them, but then she didn’t want to hurt her brother either.

  She sat up and pushed the covers aside, slipped from the bed and grabbed her clothes. Her senses stretched around her again. She was still alone. She hurried naked down the stairs to the ground floor of the cabin and set her clothes down on the small counter near the sink.

  Made fast work of washing herself using the water and soap, and then drying herself with a towel.

  Mostly because the damned door didn’t have a lock.

  She wasn’t sure what would be worse—Rune or Maverick smelling what she had done alone in this cabin in her bed or one of them walking in on her while she was naked and desperately trying to wash the evidence away.

  Her cheeks heated at the thought of either of those things happening.

  Really heated when she thought about Maverick walking in on her while she was nude.

  Her mind raced forwards, her overactive hormones quick to leap on that thought to have several scenarios playing out in her head, all of them wicked. She growled and shut them down, dressed quickly in her jeans and burgundy camisole top in the hope it would stop her newly-awakened needs from hijacking control again. Someone should have warned her that maturing sucked.

  Although, her body hadn’t been this out of control back in Whistler.

  Back at her pride, plenty of males had noticed her maturing, and some of them had even offered to help her out with taming her new urges and needs. None of them had appealed to her though. Her mind had been firmly set on one male, her body awakening for only him, and he had been nothing but a dream until now.

  It hit her that was the reason she was constantly battling a primal hunger that felt as if it was going to seize control at any moment and make her do something embarrassing.

  Like climbing Maverick like he was a tree in front of everyone.

  Maverick was the problem.

  She had been fantasising about him, feeding the primal beast inside her with dreams of him, both while she had been asleep and while she had been awake and alone in her bed.

  In the shower.

  In the woods even.

  Her cheeks flamed as she recalled that one.

  She had been on a hike and had found a quiet spot near a waterfall, and had pictured Maverick under the spray, Maverick striding towards her through the clear water, running his hands over his head to slick his wet black hair back, water rolling down his bare body.

  Maverick grabbing her and pulling her against him.

  Bronwyn shrieked as a knock sounded, tensed and whirled towards the door, her heart jammed into her throat.

  “Sorry!” Rune hollered.

  Her legs shook as she hurried to the door, as she paused with her hand on the knob and breathed slowly to settle her racing pulse, and tame her unruly desire. When she had both back under control, she opened the door and plastered a smile on her face.

  Rune ran a hand around the back of his neck, scrubbed his close-cropped dark hair, and lifted a tray he held balanced on his other hand. “Thought you might like some fresh coffee. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

  She stepped back to let him in, shut the door behind him and pulled the blind up, her hands trembling a little as she realised how close she had been to Rune showing up while she was undressed. Gods, she was glad she had drawn the drapes and put the blind down last night before hitting the sack. Rune might have gotten an eyeful while he had been crossing the creek.

  “Coffee smells good,” she said, fighting a grimace.

  Rune set the wooden tray down on the kitchen counter and frowned over his shoulder at the log burner. “Not got that going yet?”

  “I only just woke up.” She went to move to the burner.

  Rune beat her to it, strolled over to it and eased down, his black jeans tightening over his thighs and his T-shirt stretching taut across his broad back as he worked to build her a fire. “Gets chilly in the mornings even in summer this high up.”

  She rubbed her arms, deeply aware of that as her skin turned to gooseflesh.

  Rune glanced at her, his blue eyes holding a hint of concern, a look that transported her back to the compound. He had always looked at her like that, had always been worried about her. For a male who many had viewed as a violent brute, a dangerous and often unhinged bear, he had a big soft heart hidden beneath his hard exterior.

  A heart she felt sure had been stolen by the pretty wolf she had met.

  “So… Callie is your mate?” She poured coffee into two mugs, leaving the third empty. She stared at that one, sure Rune had brought it for Maverick.

  Was he expecting Maverick to join them? Her heart drummed against her ribs at the thought of seeing him again after her dream of him.

  “She sure is. Only been mated a few weeks, so we’re still in that honeymoon stage. She’s looking forward to getting to know you better later. If you want, I can ask her to drop in, maybe bring you some warmer clothing?” Rune shut the door of the burner and pushed to his feet.

  She rubbed her arm again. “Noticed my astounding lack of sensible clothing, huh?”

  Rune’s lips curled into a faint smile. “Always noticed everything about you, Winnie. Never was anything you could hide from me. Guess that’s why Maverick always used to tease me about being your adoptive father.”

  She smiled at him, warming inside as she thought about how things had been between them. Maverick was right about Rune. He had always been more than brotherly towards her. He had been fatherly. She had the feeling he had played the father role for Maverick too, back when he had arrived at the compound, before he had matured.

  Now they were like brothers.

  Were closer than she was with her own flesh and blood.

  She stared at the coffees and rubbed her arm as she thought about Andrew, as sorrow laced with hurt swept through her, drawn up by how things between them had changed over the years despite her attempts to keep things as they had been. She had been close to him once, a long time ago now, before the compound, and part of her longed to be that close to him again, to heal the distance between them.

  A distance she didn’t understand.

  Some part of her was convinced she had done something wrong, had been a bad sister somehow, but whenever she took a moment to be alone with her thoughts, she couldn’t think of anything she had done to drive him away.

  She pushed aside her sombre thoughts, trying to rid herself of them, but it was impossible as she felt Rune’s gaze shift to her, as she thought about Maverick, and the choice she had to make.

  Sorrow over how things had changed between her and Andrew morphed into sorrow over the fact she was considering betraying two bears who had been nothing but good to her.

  When the air in the room thickened, the sense that Rune was waiting for her to say something pressing down on her, she forced herself to speak.

  “I left in a hurry. I thought I had a fleece or a jacket in the back of my car, but apparently not. I must have taken it out to clean it.” She poured milk into her coffee and sighed as she stared at the empty mug. “You want milk or cream in yours?”

  “I
’ll take it black.” Rune reached around her and swiped the mug before she could pass it to him. “Maverick didn’t say much about the trouble you’re in. He headed off for a run shortly after getting you settled.”

  She frowned at him, pausing with her mug near her lips. “He didn’t come back from that run? Should we be out looking for him?”

  Her hands shook as fear swept through her, thoughts that the hunters might have tailed her to Black Ridge and already captured Maverick filling her with a desperate need to forget everything and search for him, even when she didn’t know the valley.

  Rune waved her away. “Nah. He’s fine. Probably won’t see him until the afternoon. When he gets like this—”

  She didn’t like the way he cut himself off or the look he gave her, one that spoke volumes. He thought he had said too much and was holding things back from her.

  “Like what?” She took a step towards him, lifted her hand and gripped his bare arm. “Like what, Rune?”

  He looked as if he didn’t want to tell her and that only made her want to press him harder, filled her with a need to know what was wrong with Maverick, increasing her need to find him and make sure he was safe.

  Rune heaved a sigh.

  Turned away from her and gazed out of the window in the door.

  “Maverick… he never adjusted well. He… Sometimes he needs space. Sometimes running is enough. Sometimes he goes to the lodge for a week… or a month. It’s his way of coping.” He glanced at her and away again, his ice-blue eyes narrowing into a hard look that had a hint of regret, or possibly shame, about it. He sipped his coffee, lowered his mug and heaved another long sigh. “Sometimes it isn’t space he needs. Sometimes we both need to fight. Maverick especially. Fighting… It’s all he’s really known.”