Return to Bear Bluff Complete Series

by Harmony Raines

  “Can you tell me what happened? Did someone hurt you?” he asked. His bear had risen, standing alert, wanting to protect their mate, or defend her, whichever need arose.

  “He didn’t hurt me. Not physically,” she said quickly. Had she seen the flash of anger in his eyes? He tried to calm himself, not wanting to scare her off. “He set me up. And I spent six months in prison.”

  He let out his breath, the relief almost too much. “That’s it? That is your secret?”

  “Yes.” She nodded. “At least, that is my past. But with the letter, it seems my past might be coming to pay me a visit.”

  His mood shifted again, his bear roaring in his head. In a split second, the bear came through, spilling out into the night to stand before Amanda, tooth and claws, fur and rage, that someone might dare even contemplate hurting their mate.

  She placed a hand on his fur, her touch calming him. “This won’t help. You can’t kill him.”

  The bear slipped out of this world, and with a burst of static electricity, Jed was back. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t control myself.”

  “I’m sorry to have brought this on you.”

  “We need to tell Dylan. If someone is going to target you at work, we need to make him aware of this.”

  “I expect by now he already knows. Steph was going to tell him.”

  “Steph knows?” Jed asked.

  “She came to the office earlier.”

  “Good.”

  “Is it good?” She shook her head and hugged herself. “What if they get dragged into this?”

  “Are you sure he would come here? Maybe he just wanted to mess with your head?”

  She looked up at him, hope in her eyes. “You’re right. Perhaps he just wanted me to ruin everything myself.”

  “Let’s forget about him. If he comes here, we can deal with him. Together.”

  He put his arms around her and pulled her close. The tension in her body was still there. No matter what she said, she firmly agreed this man would come here. And when he did, Jed would be waiting.

  So, too, would his bear.

  Chapter Seventeen – Amanda

  It would be so easy to let herself believe what Jed said. It was plausible, that was for sure. However, Mason wasn’t the kind of man who simply wound people up. After leaving prison, a woman had approached her: Margo, their stories were identical. Only for Margo, the drama had continued. Every few months Mason would appear in her life, demand something, make subtle threats to get what he wanted and then leave. Margo despised herself. Amanda had resolved not to be that woman.

  She had taken the blame once, thought she was saving Mason’s son from a life without a father, when in reality she had been used in the same way as many women before her.

  The name change, the fresh start, it was hers, she deserved it. She refused to be a Margo, she wasn’t going to be an eternal victim.

  She was not going to let Jed become Mason’s victim either.

  That was what threatened to choke her. Long tendrils of fear wrapped around her heart, and squeezed. He had a family to help support. Mason would ruin that. Ruin everything, if she didn’t find a way to stop him.

  Jed held her in his arms, and she rested her head on his shoulder, looking out across the town of Bear Bluff below them. She wanted to live here. She wanted to belong here. Damn Mason.

  “Shall we go back to the house?” Amanda asked.

  “In a moment. First I want to tell you my news,” Jed said.

  “OK, I sure am ready for good news,” she said.

  “Dylan has asked me to be his foreman.” Jed paused. “That doesn’t sound like much, does it? Not when I’m a foreman of myself.” He sounded disappointed in himself.

  “Are you kidding?” she asked, her mood brightening. “He has such plans for the construction company. He aims to build it up into something huge. I think he misses his old life. And you are going to be his right-hand man.”

  “It’s the first time someone has actually believed in me.”

  “I believe in you,” she said, throwing away her own fears and wrapping her arms around his neck, and pulling him close.

  “You believe in the power of my hands,” he said, stroking her body. “And the power of my mouth.” His kissed her, his lips fierce, the specter of Mason no doubt in his mind. Jed lifted her up and then laid her down on the ground; she didn’t care about the damp grass beneath her.

  “What about the power of this?” She placed her hand over his hard cock, and they both collapsed in giggles. “Sorry, was that a mood killer?”

  “Nothing can destroy my mood, not when you are lying here all helpless in front of me,” he said, his fingers on her zipper, tugging it down and then pulling her jeans over her thighs.

  “Helpless, am I?” she asked, sitting up, trying to get over the fact she was here in the open air, half naked for anyone to see.

  “Oh, very helpless. There is no way you can deny the power of my hands.” He slipped his hands between her thighs and touched her there. Two fingers pressing inside of her, feeling her slick, wet heat. “Or my mouth.”

  Jed knelt before her, pressing her thighs apart. Then he dipped his head down and licked along the length of her sex. “I think you might be right,” she admitted breathlessly as his mouth covered her mound, his teeth grazing her clit. She fisted his hair, urging him to make her come.

  The mountain was almost silent around them, sounds of small animals in the undergrowth and startled birds the only thing, apart from the soft sighs that escaped her mouth as he brought her to her first orgasm. His fingers pressed inside her, stroking her inner walls, while his mouth nipped and sucked at her swollen clit. Then her world exploded. The stars in the night sky were hidden, but the stars in her head were pinpricks of brilliant light.

  “See, helpless.” He kissed her neck, as she tried to regain her senses. Jed was right, she found him irresistible, but in such a good, honest way.

  “Let’s see how helpless you are,” she said, turning him onto his back, and tugging his jeans down over his thighs, so his cock was exposed. Then she straddled him, his hands sliding under her blouse, and pushing her bra up so his hands could cover her breasts.

  “I am ready to surrender to you.” His voice was serious. Telling her he was as helpless as she against the power of the mating bond.

  She rose up, taking his cock in her hand and then lowered herself down onto him, feeling the head of his cock press inside her, filling her. She closed her eyes, shutting out the world; it was only her and Jed out here. No one else could touch them. She hoped no one else could see them.

  Up and down, she rose, and then lowered herself on to him. Deeper and deeper she took him inside her. He stretched her, the friction amazing, both inside her and across her skin. His warm hands, worn rough with work, chafed her skin. Her senses took in everything he did to her, her nerve endings sending signals to her brain, where they combined into one earth-shattering orgasm.

  Circling her hips, she rode him, his hands moving to her hips, guiding her, his hips lifting off the ground to thrust into her. Both of them were lost, both helpless, and then they peaked together, and it was as if they found each other and neither of them would be helpless again.

  When they were both completely spent, she leaned forward and lay on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Jed stroked her skin, caressing her softly, while the darkness settled around them.

  “If only we could stay like this,” she said. “You and me. Perhaps we should just pack some food and go and live in the mountains.”

  He moved, sliding her off him so she lay next to him, and then he turned and faced her, his hand in her hair. Then he kissed her. Pulling away, he said, “That’s not who I am. That is not who you are. You came here to escape the feeling of being separate from the world, don’t let that son of a bitch win and make you forget who you want to be. My family is too important to me, and you are the most important part of it.”

  “Maybe I always take the easy
option,” she said. “If I’d stood up to Mason in the first place…”

  “Don’t. You did what you did for the right reasons.”

  “What I thought were the right reasons.”

  “And I admire you for that,” he said. “I’m proud that my mate put the welfare of a child above that of herself. It wasn’t your fault the father was still a lying son-of-a-bitch.”

  “Arghh. If only I could get him out of my head.”

  Jed got up off the ground and found her clothes, passing them to her. “Get dressed and we’ll go and find something to eat. That will make you feel better. Then if you want, I will suffer through one of those chick-flick movies… just for you.”

  “My hero,” she said.

  “Always.” He pulled her close and they walked towards the cabin, cutting through onto the path they had come along only a short time ago. Her head had been in turmoil then, but Jed made everything feel better, and as if they would always find a solution.

  “So, foreman. Does that mean you are the boss of me?” Amanda asked.

  “I guess it does,” he said, earning himself a playful slap across the chest.

  “Don’t even think about it.” She laughed. “We’re equal.”

  “Whatever you say,” Jed answered.

  They had reached the cabin; hand in hand they climbed the two steps to the wooden porch. There she stopped. The door was open. Not just unlocked, but ajar. She froze, and a shudder passed through her.

  “You should go, Jed.” She pushed him behind her.

  “He’s here?” Jed said, his whole body bristling. He moved to surge past her, but she caught his arm and somehow managed to stop him.

  “This isn’t your fight.”

  “Like hell it’s not!” He tugged his arm out of her hand, and pushed the door wide open.

  “Please, Jed. I have to do this. I’ll just tell him he can’t manipulate me.”

  “That’s what you think,” a voice said from inside the cabin. “And you might have been right until I followed you two up on your lover’s tryst.”

  Amanda put her arm across Jed’s chest. “Let me talk to him.”

  Jed tensed and for a moment she though he was going to deny her the chance of dealing with Mason herself. This was her fight, her problem to deal with. Of course she appreciated his backup, but only if absolutely necessary, and only if she knew for sure he wouldn’t kill or otherwise maim Mason.

  Damn if she wouldn’t like to maim him herself, though. Her hand curled around the pepper spray in her pocket. Maybe she had found a beast to use it on after all.

  “That’s right, you want to hear me out before you do anything rash, big man.” Mason stepped closer and Amanda couldn’t believe how bold he was. The man who had broken into her house was not a big man; Jed could probably snap him in two.

  “How did you find me, Mason?” She couldn’t see how he could have just stumbled upon Dylan’s website and found her there.

  “I went to see your parents. Said you were an old friend, and I wanted you to be the godmother of my son.” He grinned. “They weren’t very helpful. Which annoyed me no end. You are mine, Amanda. Mine to toy with when it suits me, and you left. So I started digging. It took me a couple of weeks, but then I stumbled across an obituary, and there it was… Maria Orson, beloved grandma of Amanda Peaks or some such rubbish. I had a lead and I followed it, right to your door, Amanda Orson. You must have thought you were so clever.”

  “What do you want, Mason?” she asked. Relieved that neither her mom or stepdad had revealed her whereabouts, but surprised they hadn’t warned her. Of course, they wanted her to make the most of this fresh start, and worrying someone was looking for her would not have allowed her that luxury.

  “That is the question.” He looked around the room. “Nice place you’ve got here. I’ve always thought it would be good to live in the mountains. Looking down over the town. Bear Bluff, isn’t it? All that fresh air.”

  “Get out, Mason,” Amanda said. “You have nothing to gain here.”

  “I disagree. I think I have a lot to gain. From you. For starters.”

  “Why?” Amanda asked.

  “Well, I have something you want. And that something is worth a lot.”

  “What something?” Amanda spat.

  “A little video.” He lifted his phone up in the air. “Like I said, I followed you two.”

  “So you’re going to hawk a sex tape of two people no one knows or cares about?” Amanda asked.

  “Oh no, Amanda. God knows no one would be interested in seeing you sitting on top of him.” Mason’s lip curled up in disgust.

  “Then what?” But she already had an idea. When she sensed Jed moving behind her, she knew he did too.

  “There is someone bear in it,” he said and then laughed. “I’m too funny.”

  “No, seriously, you are not.” Jed came to stand by her side, fists clenched.

  “Now, big guy. I have this ready to send. One false move and the whole world knows what a freak you are.” Mason stepped right up to Jed. “I own your bear hide.”

  “Do you have a death wish?” Amanda said. “Or do you think this is it, you’ve hit the big time?”

  “Oh, yes. You see while I was waiting for you two to stop rutting and come back to my new cabin. I was giving the town below a bit of thought. And you know what I figured? No? Well, I figured that if there was one freak in town, there were bound to be more. That boss of yours, for instance. Now he’s a millionaire. I would like a share of it. In fact, I would like a share of the whole town. This cabin is not going to be big enough. I want a mansion.”

  “You are delusional.”

  “Really? Because I have the proof. Right here.” Mason waved his phone in their faces. “Want to see?”

  He pressed play, and sure enough, there was Jed shifting into a bear. The light wasn’t good, and it looked fuzzy. But it was there.

  “No one will believe you,” Jed said.

  “They might. Blood samples would do it.” Mason sneered. “You have sisters, are they little freaks too? What if one of them went missing? Kidnapped by aliens and experimented on. I’ll let you fill in the blanks. You can’t protect everyone, all of the time.”

  Jed lunged at him, but Mason ducked, giving Amanda a chance to get between them. “No, Jed. That’s what he wants.”

  “Sensible girl.” Mason smiled. “So you are going to get me what I want?”

  “No. I’m going to get you what you deserve.” She walked up to him, her voice low. “You’re right, there are bears here.”

  “And they will pay me to keep their secret.” He nodded his head, the thought of eternal riches making his eyes shine bright.

  “And you know what else?” She smiled, and he looked worried, but he was still sure he had the upper hand. “They are everywhere. And you can’t tell. Nothing to give them away. So one day. You might be sitting in your nice mansion, and you order pizza. How do you know that the pizza man won’t be a bear? Or a lion. You will never be able to trust anyone again.”

  “I could live with that,” Mason said, but he took a step away from her.

  “And what about when you go to the authorities with this video? How will you know you aren’t handing it over to a bear? Or a snake, who could just wrap himself around your neck and make sure you never say another word to anyone. Ever.”

  Behind her, she could feel the air shimmering, the build-up of static electricity as Jed prepared to change. Mason must have felt it too, and Amanda took the chance, while he was off guard, she sprayed the pepper spray in his face and grabbed the phone from him.

  “Run,” she said. “You weak little man. I gave you a second chance, a chance to be there for your baby. But you have thrown it away. You will never stop looking over your shoulder, Mason. Because they’ll know about you now. I’ll make sure they know that you know. And they are everywhere.”

  Mason rubbed his eyes, a cry escaping him.

  “I said run, Mason. There’s a bea
r who wants to eat you,” Amanda said, sending Mason bolting blindly for the door. Jed didn’t pause. He shimmered out of existence to come back as a bear, who was about to hunt his prey.

  Chapter Eighteen – Jed

  “That worked out well,” Jed said, as he came back into the cabin, to find Amanda on the sofa sobbing. “Hey, it’s OK.”

  “Is it? What if he talks to someone?” Amanda asked. “I’ve put you all in jeopardy.”

  “You don’t think this is the first time something like this has happened?” Jed asked, sitting down next to her.

  “So this is a regular occurrence?” she asked, feeling stupid.

  “Not regular. But it happens enough that there must be some kind of clean-up crew.”

  “Will they kill him?” she asked, not wanting Mason’s death on her hands.

  “I doubt it. He’ll get little reminders that it’s in his interest to keep quiet. And I believe if all else fails there is a kind of facility where he can be stored.”

  “Stored?” she asked appalled.

  “He’ll probably have a more meaningful life shut away then he ever will on his own.” Jed put his arm around her. “But I think Mason will try to forget any of this ever happened. By the time he finds his way off the mountain, all he’s going to want is to go home.”

  “You left him on the mountain?” she asked. She hid a smile, trying to sound shocked, but he could see the glint in her eyes.

  “A man could roam around for days up there,” Jed said. “Maybe tomorrow I’ll go and take a look to see if he’s OK.”

  Amanda put her arms around Jed. “Or the day after. That man deserves everything he gets.”

  “I wonder if he knows you saved his life. Because if it had gone any other way, it would have been his body lost up there on the mountain. No one threatens my family.”

  Her smile dropped. “Is there someone you have to call? To tell them about him. About his threats.”

  “I’ll talk to Declan tomorrow. Sheriff will know who to call. We’ve had hikers passing through who say they’ve seen odd occurrences, and Declan can usually set them straight as to what they really saw.”