Stolen by her Bear (Black Ridge Bears Shifter Romance Series Book 1)

by Felicity Heaton

  Saint swigged his beer as he headed for the torches that formed a ring around the firepit, moved between two and stopped with them a few feet behind him. Before him, darkness stretched, but the moon was bright enough to cast highlights on the pristine snow that covered the rest of the wide clearing that reached down to the frozen river. It threaded the forest on the other side with silver and brightened the white caps of the mountains.

  The murmur of conversation filled the silence, and he smiled as he heard Knox charming a group of female cougars. For a male determined not to settle down, he wasn’t exactly avoiding female company.

  Awareness of everyone fell away as Saint lifted his head and stared at the inky sky, watching faint aurora chasing across it. His breath misted in front of his face, the air growing colder as night closed in. He took a pull on his beer, savoured it this time, thought about how surrendering to the winter sleep meant he missed this sight. It was stunning. This far south, the aurora were weak, but with his heightened vision, he could see them clearly. He lost himself in their beautiful dance.

  He tensed as a gentle hand came to rest between his shoulder blades, her palm searing him.

  “It’s cold,” Holly murmured, her soft voice like music to his ears, seemingly making the aurora all the more beautiful. Or maybe it was the thought of sharing it with her that made it more bewitching. “Too cold to be out without a coat.”

  He slid a look at her as she stepped around him on his left side and groaned as he found her wearing his one again.

  She smiled, her grey-green eyes sparkling with it. “Shame yours is taken.”

  Saint turned towards her, the aurora forgotten as she bewitched him instead. He moved his bottle and clutched the neck with two of his fingers against his palm, lifted his hands and tugged his coat closed over her. Held on to it as he gazed down at her, into her eyes.

  “You took more than my coat,” he murmured, warmth spilling through him, a trickle of nerves mingled in with it.

  A blush darkened her cheeks and he lifted his left hand to cup her face and feel it.

  His eyes leaped between hers as he thought about how they had come to be here, in this moment, and how grateful he was that it had happened. Grateful, but ashamed.

  “I’m sorry for what I did… for everything.” He smoothed his palm over her cheek, bathed in her soft look as she angled her head up, not a trace of anger or regret in her eyes. “I wish we’d met under better circumstances.”

  Holly sidled closer to him and pressed one hand to his chest, seared him with that touch, branding his heart with her name.

  “Stop apologising.” She brushed her fingers over his chest, idly stroking him. “I’ll never be sorry that we met. I’ll count my blessings every day.”

  Gods, she killed him. His beautiful, incredible Holly. A weaker female might have hated him, might have turned her back on him, but not Holly. She was strong on the inside too, was able to see past his mistakes and forgive him, to embrace the future without getting hung up on the past. He didn’t deserve her.

  He wanted to tell her that, but someone near the firepit muttered something about it being gone midnight.

  Her gaze broke away from his, lifted to the stars that glittered above them, and she sighed.

  “Christmas day.” Her eyes dropped to his, a twinkle in them that made him want to know what she was thinking. “If I was home right now, my brothers would be throwing presents at me.”

  Her smile was stunning, hit him hard in the chest, knocking the wind from him.

  “Brothers?” He frowned down at her, lifted his hand and tucked a rogue wave of black hair behind her ear, savouring the warmth of her skin beneath his fingers and how soft she was.

  It hit him that there was so much he didn’t know about her, so much they still needed to learn about each other, but he didn’t feel panicked or unsure about what was happening between them, didn’t begin questioning it at all.

  Because there was one thing he knew for certain.

  He wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

  They had all the time in the world to get to know each other.

  And in his heart he knew that the more he learned about her, the deeper his love for her would grow.

  She brushed her hair behind her ear again, her fingers briefly touching his, and shrugged, almost dislodging his coat. He drew it back over her shoulders, gathered her into his arms and held her as she battled the nerves he could feel in her. Nerves that ran through him too. They weren’t about this conversation, or telling him about herself. They were about where they had left things the last time they had been like this.

  She didn’t need to worry. He wasn’t going to make a fuss over what he had learned about her, and he wasn’t going to rush her into anything. The ball was in her court. They had all the time in the world after all.

  And every moment with her was precious.

  “I have three brothers. All older… all obnoxious.” She smiled and then grimaced, her tone shifting. “I don’t mean that. I love them. They just drive me crazy. They always spoil this time of year when I love it so much.”

  “How do they spoil it?” Because Saint wanted to know how badly he needed to hurt her brothers to stop them from ruining a holiday that, while most shifters didn’t celebrate it, clearly meant a lot to her.

  She gave a little shrug and refused to look at him, dropping her eyes to his chest and her fingers as she circled one of the buttons of his shirt. Her voice was quiet when she finally spoke.

  “They bring up how I managed to go another year alone.”

  Her pain flowed through him, and Saint decided that only death was a suitable punishment for how her brothers had treated her.

  Because she was talking about them teasing her for not having a male.

  Well, she had a male now. The one and only male she would ever have. And this male was going to make up for all the Christmas’s her brothers had ruined for her.

  “Do you like presents?” He liked it when she relaxed against him, when the tension he could sense in her faded, replaced with relief.

  It struck him that she had expected him to growl and be angry with her brothers, or maybe tease her himself about how she had never been with a male.

  While he wanted to do the former, there was no way in hell he would ever do the latter. He could never hurt her, and teasing her about the years she had passed alone would hurt her. He was hardly one to talk either. He couldn’t remember the last time he had been with a female, felt sure it was long before Holly had matured. So long ago that as he thought about it, he started to get nervous too.

  “I do love presents.” She leaned into him, pressing her chest to his stomach and tipping her head back, gazing up at him with a little smile that said she didn’t just love them—she really loved them. “It’s not all about the presents though. It’s the lights. The cold weather that makes you want to cuddle up indoors. It’s being with those you love.”

  Her parents had named his fated female wisely.

  He pressed closer to her, thoughts of cuddling up in the warmth with her chasing around his mind.

  Together with being with the one he loved.

  And he did love her.

  “I could get you a present,” he said, liking the way her eyes twinkled at him now, lit up as she half-smiled. “Although, I might not be able to get it right away.”

  She wrapped her arms around his waist. “There is something you could give me.”

  He stared at her, eager to know what it was.

  Her gaze fell to his lips.

  “A kiss.”

  Chapter 20

  When Saint growled low, Holly was deeply aware that if he gave her this present, it wouldn’t end there.

  And part of her didn’t want it to.

  The rest of her was nervous, had been on edge from the moment she had accidentally revealed that her experience with males was a soul-crushing zero. She had tried to put it to the back of her mind when Ivy had pulled her into
the marquee, had done her best to conquer her nerves as she had talked with the brothers and their females, and had even danced with Rath.

  But the whole time, she had been aware of Saint’s gaze on her. A need had steadily built inside her, a desire to go to him that had only increased whenever she had glanced his way and found females looking at him too. When the urge to bloody her claws had grown too powerful, she had even growled and bared fangs at one of them. Rath had chuckled and apologised for her, ever the alpha, and had ushered her towards the door, telling her to go to where her heart really wanted to be.

  She had watched Saint walking away from Knox, drifting away from the crowds, heading towards the edge of the illuminated area of the sloping clearing, and had realised that deep in her heart, he was where she wanted to be. She wanted to be talking to him, snuggled close to him, bathing in his rare smiles and savouring the way he looked at her from time to time.

  As if she was the only female in the world.

  She wanted to feel the warmth of his skin under her palms.

  Wanted to kiss him again.

  Needed so much more than that.

  “Holly,” he husked and the slight tremble to her name gave away his nerves.

  She reached up, took hold of his black shirt near the collar and tugged him down to her. He didn’t hesitate to kiss her then, captured her mouth in a searing kiss that instantly inflamed her, had her heart racing and blood heating. She moaned, couldn’t hold it back as his tongue stroked the seam of her lips and she opened for him, as he invaded her mouth and stripped away all her defences.

  Saint’s answering groan sent a thrill chasing through her, had her pressing closer, desperate for more, hungry to rip another low rumbling moan from him. She liked hearing his pleasure, loved how it stoked her own. She skimmed her hands up his neck, caught his nape, and deepened the kiss, growing bolder as his lips danced against hers, as he gathered her into his arms and pinned her against him.

  The fire burning up her veins sparked hotter, an inferno that turned her reservations to ashes and unleashed her, freeing her of her inhibitions as it vanquished the nerves that had been plaguing her from the moment she had revealed she was untouched.

  Holly tightened her grip on his nape, pressed her short claws in and growled against his mouth, the low feral snarl startling her a little as it pealed from her lips. She trembled as Saint growled back at her, as his fingers dug into her hips and she felt the command in that wicked snarl. The urge to dominate him rose swiftly, had her kissing him harder, attempting to push him into submission.

  Saint didn’t back down.

  Electricity arced along her every nerve ending when he swept her up into his arms, tucking his left one beneath her backside and holding her on that side, away from his injured shoulder. She shivered as he gripped her nape with his right hand, as he seized control of the kiss.

  Moaned as he started walking with her.

  Her instincts fired, the most primal of them taking command, ripping control from her as she kissed and nipped at Saint’s lips. She pushed his left shoulder, used some of her strength on him, feigning an attempt to break free of his grip, to escape him. He snarled against her mouth and held her tighter, crushing her against him, and she quivered at the feel of how strong he was. That display of strength tamed the wild part of her, had her purring as she kissed him.

  She tangled her fingers in his dark hair and pulled his head back, savouring his growl of displeasure as she wrenched her mouth free of his. He frowned up at her, his dark eyes mesmerising her, holding her captive as she stared down at him. Holly wriggled against him, on fire for this male, fighting the instinct to push him harder, to make him lose control too.

  When they reached the treeline, she dropped her head and claimed his mouth, swallowed his groan as she kissed him, teasing his tongue with hers.

  A grunt burst from her lips as her back hit the trunk of a lodgepole pine. Saint grunted too, barely maintaining his footing, and then chuckled low as he breathed against her lips.

  “Maybe we should stop kissing until we get to my cabin.”

  His cabin?

  No. She wriggled, squirming in his arms, every instinct she possessed snarling at the thought of having to wait that long. It was too far.

  She looked around them, realising that they had only just passed Ember’s cabin. She wouldn’t make it to Saint’s home. She would explode before she reached it, felt too tight with need already.

  He growled when she shoved his left shoulder, putting all her strength behind it this time, and twisted free of his grip. She grinned as her feet hit the ground, as she pirouetted away from him and evaded him as he reached for her. She lifted her green dress and began running.

  For Cobalt’s cabin.

  The roar that cut through the still night air behind her sent a thousand chills skating over her skin, had her biting her lip as a fresh rush of arousal blasted through her. She breathed hard as she ran, her senses fixed behind her, that thrill growing stronger as she felt Saint chasing her.

  And closing in.

  Holly ducked around a tree, felt a little bad as Saint hit it and grunted, but thrilled too as he growled and kicked off, running harder. Chasing her. Gods, just the thought of him catching her had her close to the edge, on the verge of coming undone. She refused to slow though, obeyed her instincts as they pushed her to run faster.

  To make Saint work harder to catch her.

  Ahead of her, the trees thinned, and she spotted the raised L-shaped cabin. The moon cast silver light over it, making it as clear as day to her, and she set her sights on the steps that led up to the deck, determined to reach them before Saint reached her.

  The cold snow numbed her feet and made it harder to run as she broke out into the clearing.

  Saint didn’t seem to have that problem.

  She shrieked as he caught her from behind, twisted her and slammed her back into one of the thick posts that supported the front of the roof. A moan rolled up her throat as he claimed his prize, seizing her mouth in a hard, bruising kiss.

  She wrestled her dress up, freeing her legs, and wrapped them around his waist and her arms around his neck as she kissed him. He groaned and pressed between her thighs, sending another thrill chasing through her as his body met hers and her thoughts spiralled, becoming a frantic blur of things she wanted to do to him, and things she wanted him to do to her.

  Saint clutched her backside, ripping another moan from her, and pinned her to him, pressing the hardness in his jeans against her as he moved with her.

  She groaned as he mounted the steps, as he kicked the door open and carried her inside. The heat of the fire washed over her, but it couldn’t compete with the flames that licked through her veins as she kissed Saint, as he kicked the door closed behind them and walked with her.

  Not towards the bedroom.

  She broke the kiss, intending to guide him towards it, but could only groan as he laid her down in front of the stone fireplace, settling her on the thick fur. Her heart thundered as he released her and drew back, as he supported his weight on his left arm and gazed down at her, hunger darkening his eyes.

  “Your shoulder.” She lifted her hand and feathered her fingers over his right shoulder, careful not to apply any pressure in case she hurt him.

  He didn’t take his eyes off hers. “It’s fine. Not sure I can feel pain when I’m with you. Can’t feel anything but this… need.”

  She felt the same way. Her head was foggy with desire, her body trembling with an ache for him to caress it, and she felt sure she would go mad if he didn’t kiss her again soon.

  “I need you, Holly,” he rumbled and his eyebrows pinched, his nostrils flaring as he looked her over, setting her on fire with the heat of his gaze. His eyes lifted back to lock with hers. “But we’ll take things slow… Whatever you want to do is fine by me. I don’t want to pressure—”

  Holly seized his nape and pulled him down to her, kissed him hard to silence him because what she wan
ted was to satisfy this hunger he had ignited in her, to ease it before it drove her crazy. She didn’t want slow. She didn’t want to pace herself at all. She wanted him. All of him. Nothing held back.

  And she wanted that forever.

  Felt sure of it as she kissed him, as he settled his weight on her and kissed her back, his lips soft against hers as he slowed the kiss, apparently determined not to rush her. While she appreciated it in a way, she also wanted to scream.

  She had waited too long for a male like Saint, had honestly believed she would never feel this, would never find him, and that she would spend the whole of her life alone.

  Now everything she wanted was right here in her arms, within her reach.

  And she was taking it.

  Taking him.

  She pressed her hand to his chest, careful to avoid his injury, and pushed, caught him off guard so he couldn’t resist her. He grunted as he rolled, as she followed him and ended up on top of him, astride his hips. She planted her hands to his chest as he stared up at her, shock rippling across his handsome face.

  “I don’t want to wait.” She attacked the buttons of his shirt, almost growling when a few of them gave her trouble as her fingers shook, the thought of touching Saint making her a little giddy.

  Saint relaxed into the fur, didn’t fight her as she worked her way downwards, as she slowly parted his shirt with each button she undid. She stared at that V of muscles she exposed, growing hotter with every inch of him she revealed, and bit her lip and groaned when she finally undid the last button and his shirt fell open.

  “Gods, you’re glorious,” she breathed.

  Saint chuckled softly.

  She turned it into a groan by planting her palms against the broad, hard slabs of his pectorals and stroking her fingers over them. The short dark hairs that covered them tickled her as she explored him, her pace more leisurely now that she had what she wanted.