Bears of Burden: STERLING

by Candace Ayers

  CHAPTER 5: Ophelia

  I huffed and puffed all the way to my seat. Frustration and bitterness fought to consume me whole. I was also sexually pent-up. My body was on fire and I couldn’t get the sight of Sterling lifting his head to smell me out of my mind. It was on a reel, playing over and over again. The man desired me. I’d felt the heat pouring off of his body and couldn’t miss the huge erection that he’d shamelessly done nothing to hide. I wanted him, too. I knew he had been scenting my wetness, embarrassment threatened to eat me alive.

  I’d done an amazing job of avoiding him thus far. Weeks had passed since I’d last caught a glimpse of him. Not that he’d been trying to find me. He’d seemed perfectly content with the flooziest of floozies Burden and surrounding areas had to offer. I was probably doing him a favor by avoiding him.

  I realized I was growling and looked around to find that several of the people sitting next to me were shooting concerned looks my way. I forced a smile and faced the track. He was making me crazy.

  I couldn’t exactly help how my bear reacted. I’d never learned to control her properly. She wanted to climb Sterling like he was a tree with a honeypot at the top. She wanted to roll around in his scent until we were covered in it. I just wanted to run away. It was too confusing, this battle raging inside. No one had ever really explained the shifter mating call to me. Mom was a bear and Dad was a human. As far as I knew, they’d just fallen in love and had two kids together. The shifter trait hadn’t even shown up in Kyle. Female bear shifters were much rarer than males, even in Burden, and I hadn’t been around shifters in a long time. Not enough to learn about mates, anyway.

  I got the gist. We were meant to be together, yada, yada, yada. Obviously, our fated mating didn’t account for one of us being a horn dog who slept with everything in a skirt. I could deal with not being with the man I was supposedly fated to be with. Clearly, mistakes had been made. What I couldn’t deal with, however, was the incessant pull I had toward him. Just seeing him turned my panties into a pool and my body into a volcano, begging to erupt. It was hard to freakin’ ignore that. I felt like I’d melt if he so much as touched me. I wasn’t prepared for dealing with that.

  I didn’t even know if it was possible to outrun the mate call, really. If I managed to keep pushing him away, would I just go insane and wither away in a pair of damp panties? The alternative seemed worse, though. Give myself to a man who couldn’t possibly be loyal to me and wither away from the suffering of daily heartbreak until death do us part.

  I took a deep breath and sat up straighter. I’d find a way to do some research to see if there was something I could do to release us as mates. If we could get out of it some way. Until then, I’d just have to put a muzzle on my bear—and lock my knees together.

  The races started and I was surprised to find myself leaning forward in my seat to get a better view. The cars were fast and as they rounded the corners, a fine mist of smoke and dirt washed over the stands. The engines were so loud that I couldn’t hear anything else, until metal hit metal. Crashes were minor, but it didn’t stop the heated exchanged between drivers afterwards.

  I hadn’t seen the car that Sterling had been leaning against earlier until nearly half an hour later. When I did spot it, my heart tried to crawl up into my throat. My bear paced as she watched her mate do something dangerous. The wrecks hadn’t been bad thus far, but the potential was there, wasn’t it? What if he got hurt?

  Without meaning to, I stood up and rushed down the stands until I was right up against the fence, alongside several teenagers and children. My fingers bit into the wire and I sucked in a ragged breath. I felt like I was taking a backseat to my bear’s reactions and had to look down to make sure I was still human.

  When the green flag flew and the cars roared forward, I didn’t blink. I couldn’t take my eyes off Sterling long enough to blink. He quickly maneuvered his car from the middle of the pack to the front. As he raced around the track, slinging dirt, I felt as though my lungs would explode. I couldn’t breathe as another driver clipped the side of Sterling’s car in a turn and the back of his car fishtailed for a second before he got control of it. He didn’t slow down at all, despite the lack of air in my lungs. He didn’t know that my bear was trying to kill me with her intense fear for her mate.

  By the time the checkered flag flew, there were dots in my front of my eyes and I was holding onto the fence to keep myself upright. I gasped in a massive breath of air and panted as Sterling safely drove into the winner’s circle. He slid his large frame out of the car and pumped his fist in the air as someone ran over to him with the checkered flag waving.

  Sterling’s eyes shot to me and his look was pure feral bear as he emitted a low growl. The sound reached me from across the track and I felt a fresh wave of arousal weaken me.

  On shaky knees, I turned and stumbled hurriedly to the parking lot, needing some time to get myself together. I had no idea what’d just happened, but I felt like I’d been through the ringer. Just as I got to my beat-up Toyota in the parking lot, a fat rain drop hit my face. I lifted my head and noticed the darkening sky for the first time. The wind picked up and I groaned as the clouds opened up their floodgates releasing a downpour.

  I grabbed the door handle and yanked. Nothing. I shielded my eyes and peered inside the car. Sure enough, there were my keys, sitting on the passenger seat where I’d left them. I ran around the car, trying each handle just to be sure. I was sure. I was locked out.

  I’d been so stressed about the interview when I’d pulled into the lot, it made sense that I’d done something brainless, but that didn’t make me feel any better about it.

  I plopped myself on the hood of my car, shrugging as it dented under my weight. I was already soaked from the hard rain and there was no use trying to find shelter. I was stuck sitting there until I could find help.

  Kyle didn’t even know where I was. He’d been gone when I had stopped at home to change and my phone had been dead, so I’d left it on the charger.

  I crossed my arms and closed my eyes. I guessed that, if worse came to worse, I could shift and walk home, but I was not much faster as a bear than I was as a human. I was a hell of a lot clumsier, too.

  “Quite the hood ornament you make, Ophelia.” Sterling’s deep voice teased a second before his scent washed over me.

  I looked up meeting his gaze, and sighed. He looked stunning in the rain. Dark hair slicked back, thick eyebrows wilder than normal, his blue-green eyes bright with excitement. Of course, the man would look edible in the rain.

  “Come on, let’s get you somewhere dry.”

  I slid off the hood and shook my head as the dent I’d left didn’t pop out. I glared at it and then looked up at Sterling. He grinned at me and shrugged. I shoved my hair out of my face and gestured for him to lead the way. I needed the interview, no matter how awkwardly soaking wet I was.

  He walked me through the quickly emptying parking lot to his truck. A big trailer was hooked to the back and I realized he’d need to get his car. I was keeping him from it.

  “Don’t you need to finish up here?”

  He nodded while unlocking his truck and opening the door. Before I knew what he was doing, he wrapped his hands around my waist and lifted me into the seat. “Hutch is going to help me load the car. I’ll be back in just a bit.”

  My skin burned where his hands lingered on my body. I sucked in a breath at how close he was and bit my lip. I felt myself slipping and I knew it was bad, but I didn’t know how to stop it. I was weak when it came to Sterling, and I’d had a really bad couple of days. Weeks, really. Maybe I didn’t have to commit to forever. Maybe, I could just steal a night.

  CHAPTER 6: Ophelia

  Thoughts raced through my head as Sterling shut the door and closed me into his truck. Crazy thoughts. I’d been adamant about staying away from the man who was now racing his car across the parking lot towards me. I’d been sure that complete avoidance was the best option. I was terrified that if I g
ot too close to him, physically, I’d get emotionally attached to a man who was clearly a womanizer.

  That fear was still very much alive, but so was my throbbing neediness downstairs. The need to be touched by him was overpowering any fear. My bear was screaming for him, and damned if my body didn’t agree. The hussy. Wasn’t it crazy to keep fighting the desires that were plaguing me? They were only getting stronger. Wouldn’t it be better to give in and get it out of my system?

  It was a cheap excuse, but I couldn’t stop thinking about how nice it would be to be the object of Sterling’s desire for more than the few minutes it normally took before I ran away from him. I felt exhausted from the rollercoaster of emotions that I’d been on. Was it so bad to reward myself with something good? Something to make me feel good.

  Crap. There had been a very good reason that I hadn’t wanted to come tonight. I’d never been good at resisting temptation. That’s why my ass wasn’t smaller. But, as strong as my cravings for sweets were, my craving for Sterling Mallory was that—times ten.

  I knew better, but I couldn’t help but throw caution to the wind. Sterling had hurt Kyle in a dick move. He could potentially hurt me—if I let him. I didn’t have to let him, though. I could make this night all about me. I could and I would. Tonight, I would indulge myself—just tonight though.

  I rubbed my hands down my wet thighs and blew out a rough breath when I realized that I’d already made up my mind. I was going to sleep with Sterling. Tonight. No matter how bad of an idea the angel on my shoulder said it was. No matter how bad of a sister it made me. I pushed Kyle out of my mind and turned in my seat to watch Sterling loading the car onto the trailer.

  It was insane. God, so insane. I was going to do it, though.

  I rummaged around in my purse for mints and popped two in my mouth before discreetly sniffing my pits to make sure I smelled fresh. I just smelled rain, so good to go. I’d thrown on an older sundress before coming and it was cute enough. I tugged it up a little on my thighs and said a prayer of thanks for the laser hair removal I’d had done in Nashville.

  I tugged my hair out of its ponytail and tried to rake my fingers through it so it would look sexy instead of like a wet mop. I had to work without a mirror. I wasn’t going to chance Sterling seeing me check myself out while waiting on him. I probably wasn’t at my prettiest, but he probably didn’t care. He didn’t seem to have a type, so I’d probably do.

  I forced myself to be still and waited while he finished up with the car. He was dripping wet and grinning like a little kid when he climbed in.

  “Sorry about making you wait.” He pushed his hair back and started the truck. “Dang, sorry about not turning on some heat for you. You’re probably cold.”

  I shook my head and opened my mouth to reply, but I seemed to have lost the ability to speak. I spun my head to look out of my window and mentally slapped myself.

  “Okay, what kind of interview questions do you need to ask?”

  Interview. Questions. Shit. I turned back to him with pink cheeks and said the first thing to pop into my head. “Why’d you do what you did to Kyle?”

  Double shit. Not what I had meant to ask. Not what I wanted to bring up at all on the night that I’d just vowed to forget about Kyle so I could selfishly indulge in some raunchy sex.

  Sterling coughed and adjusted the vents. “Karen wanted a really personal interview, huh?”

  I groaned. “No. I’m supposed to interview you about the race and winning. Forget it.”

  He turned to me and just stared for a few seconds longer than I was comfortable with. I pushed my dress down and crossed my legs. I was an idiot, both with my foot-in-mouth and with my stupid decision to sleep with him.

  “No, it’s okay. We didn’t really talk much last time we were together, did we?”

  My face heated and I thought about getting out and walking home. I might salvage a bit of my dignity. “No, we didn’t.”

  “John Wayne has healed just fine, thank you. You never even checked on me.”

  I snorted and shifted so I could face him. “John Wayne? No. Forget I asked.”

  His grin was crooked and sent tingles straight to my core. “You sure? It’s a good story.”

  Maybe sleeping with him was back on the table. “I’m sure. And, of course, I didn’t check on you, Sterling. I don’t know the normal protocol for punching someone in the penis, but I’m pretty sure it’s not to send get well cards afterward.”

  “It would’ve been a polite thing to do.”

  I laughed and shook my head, sobering up. “A polite thing to do would’ve been to refrain from sleeping with Kyle’s fiancée.”

  He sighed and nodded. “You’re right. I fucked up. I can assure you that there’s not a single mistake I regret more.”

  “Why’d you do it?”

  “Fuck, Ophelia.” He shifted in his seat and gripped the steering wheel. “Want to go for a ride?”

  I glanced over at my car and shrugged. “I locked myself out of my car. I guess.”

  The heaviness faded as he grinned again. His eyes flashed as he put the truck into drive and pulled out of the lot. “I’ve got to drop the trailer off at Hutch’s shop, but then I have something I want to show you.”

  I watched the road fly by and uncrossed my legs. I noticed his eyes stray to them and my heart beat faster. I knew he could hear it, and that just made the situation that much hotter. I was too far gone. Being alone in the truck with him had been a line. Crossing it meant that I couldn’t go back until I’d completed my mission.

  I brushed my hand over my knee and nonchalantly shifted the hem of my dress up a bit. “Where are you taking me?”

  “It’s a surprise.” His voice was deeper and I could hear his heartrate increase.

  “How did winning feel?” I tried to distract myself, because if I didn’t, he was going to know in just a few seconds exactly how turned on I was.

  “Better with you in the stands.” He passed a car going too slowly for his liking, and adjusted the heat. “Shit. Are you hot? I’m burning up.”

  I smiled to myself and fanned the neckline of my dress, flashing him hints of cleavage. “It is a little hot.”

  He swerved to miss a downed tree-limb and swore. He remained quiet, but his eyes moved to me over and over again. I shifted my dress up higher and then lifted my hair off of my neck and fanned myself. Pretending I didn’t hear his growling, I sighed heavily and trailed my hand down my neck and across my chest.

  “I can’t wait to get out of this wet dress.”

  Sterling blew out a breath and jerked the truck into Hutch’s parking lot. He scrubbed his hand down his face and looked over at me. “I’ll be right back.”

  I just smiled. I liked seeing him so unnerved and knowing it was because of me. I felt empowered, and knew I was making the right decision. Just for tonight.

  CHAPTER 7: Sterling

  My dick was hard enough to bend steel. I didn’t know what was happening in the truck. As I unhitched the trailer, I looked through the back glass at Ophelia and growled. If I wasn’t sure that she hated me, I’d think she was toying with me. Flirting. Trying to drive me fucking insane.

  I’d thought I was being sly, getting her alone with me, but now I wasn’t sure it was such a great idea, after all. My bear was begging to mark her and I wasn’t doing well controlling him. I couldn’t stop staring. The few inches of thigh that were showing, the quick flashes of her chest. I’d damn near ran us off the road trying to glimpse more of her bare flesh.

  I could smell her heat, her neediness, but I knew that didn’t mean she wanted me. Hell, she still wasn’t over what I’d done to her brother. To pretend that she wanted me was wishful thinking to an extreme.

  I caught her watching me and swore. I was going to take her to the cave I’d found in the side of the mountain where I lived. There was fool’s gold lining one of the walls and it gleamed, even in the dark. It was the place I liked to go when I wanted to be alone, yet for some self-sabot
aging reason, I wanted her scent there, in my private sanctuary. She’d probably hate it. It was raining harder. It would be slick with mud. She was in a dress. I was practically a stranger, taking her to a dark cave. It could come across creepier than I’d originally thought, but this might be my one and only shot.

  I finished unhooking the trailer and hopped back into the cab. Drenched again, I looked over at her and swore that her dress had gotten even shorter.

  “The surprise?”

  I nodded. “You mind getting wet again?”

  Her eyes flashed, the silver glowing. “Again? As though I haven’t stayed dripping wet this whole time.”

  I had to bite back a groan and force myself to keep my eyes on the road. The whole night was a gift, but hearing things that could be construed as naughty come out of her mouth was enough to supply me with wet dreams for a month.

  “When did you start racing?”

  Racing? What was that? I tried to clear my brain of the heated images of her body, but it wasn’t working. “Eighteen.”

  “What made you start?”

  “I like to go fast.” I’d gone stupid.

  “Sometimes fast is fun.” She bit the tip of her finger and then caught the neckline of her dress and tugged at it. “Sometimes slow is even better, though.”

  “Fucking hell.” I turned onto my road and quickly parked at the edge of the overlook. “I’ll come around to get you.”

  I got out and just stood in the rain for a second, trying to cool down. I couldn’t be completely sure that I wasn’t imagining it, but she might be teasing me. Shaking my head, I walked around and opened her door.

  She slid herself out, her body brushing against mine on the way down. Her sandaled feet slipped in a bit of mud and she grabbed my arm to still herself. Her pupils were dilated and her mouth parted slightly as her fingers flexed on my muscle. “I didn’t realize you had to work out to be a race car driver.”