Sweet Seduction (Cowbear Haven Book 1)

by Vanessa Devereaux

Chapter Four

  Joely sat on the edge of the bed with the suggestion box on her lap. Her mouth was still burning and she had the worst thirst of her life. Good thing there was a jug of water in her room because she’d be drinking all night.

  She opened up the box and pulled out the sheets of paper and set them down on the bed. She began to skim through them. Beef pot pie, chicken Marsala, beef wellington, huckleberry pie, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding…

  Shit, she’d bitten off more than she could chew, yeah no pun intended. She unzipped her backpack and took out her laptop. Hopefully they had an Internet connection because she needed to do some research on these dishes. Maybe even go to YouTube and see them being prepared.

  She sat back on the bed and fired up the computer and then searched for the Internet icon, clicked on it and yeah, she was in luck.

  Beef Wellington, by the looks of things was a dish for advanced cooks only. She jumped after suddenly hearing commotion outside. She slid off the bed, walked to the window and pulled the drapes back. A bunch of bears were heading out to the wooded area.

  She stepped back from the window, her heart pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears. These guys were bears; those bears could be guys she’d dined with less than an hour ago. Weird, scary, oh god this was bizarre.

  Your own damn fault…

  Someone knocking on her door made her almost pee herself. She wasn’t sure if she should answer it or not. Maybe when the guys turned into bears they came calling at your door. Remember what the bus driver had told you?

  There was another knock and she decided to ignore it and pretend she wasn’t in her room. She glanced outside again to see even more bears heading out into the wooded area.

  “Joely you awake?”

  It was Trey’s voice. Was he a bear now? Could werebears talk when they were bears? She should have done some research before she came here. She’d have to respond because he was technically her boss. She quickly wrapped the towel around her head and went to the door. She opened it back.

  “Sorry it took me so long to answer but I was in the shower.”

  Damn, I still have all my clothes on.

  “I just wondered if you’d seen the guys outside. They make lots of noise when they’re going out and I wasn’t sure if you’d looked out and it might be scary at first.”

  “No problem. Yes, I saw them but I didn’t think much about it.”

  Liar.

  “I’m glad to hear that. I’ll be joining them in a minute or two because we all go for a run after dinner and once you settle in you are welcome to join us.”

  There was no way she’d be doing that but she didn’t want to seem rude.

  “Sure, sounds like a great idea.”

  “Okay then, I’ll leave you to get back to whatever you were doing, showering wasn’t it?”

  Had she detected a tinge of sarcasm in that last sentence?

  “Sure was and I’ve left some conditioner in my hair so I should go rinse it out before it gets too soft.”

  “Sweet dreams,” said Trey.

  “You too,” Joely said, shutting the door.

  Too smart for his own good but then again she’d played into his hands with the whole towel around the head thing. She pulled it off and then walked over to the window. He was going to join them and she wondered if she’d be able to recognize him? It was worth trying.

  Chapter Five

  Trey had never been the sort of guy who liked to tease a woman but something about Joely brought out a devilish side of his personality he never knew he possessed. What was it they said about finding your true mate? They make you discover new things about yourself.

  No, that wasn’t it. Joely set herself up for teasing. Like telling him she’d just come out of the shower. He’d immediately seen she still had her clothes on and he caught a glimpse of the bone dry hair peeking out from under the towel on her head. He guessed she hadn’t wanted to answer the door until she knew it was him.

  Was she scared of living here?

  He went outside and ran over to the tree. Most of the other guys had already shifted and were out on their run. He’d have some catching up to do.

  Trey stripped off his clothing, relaxed and let nature do its thing. Oh how he loved shifting and transforming into his bear. He felt his muscles stretch and slowly he went down on all fours. One of the best sensations was letting the wind rip through his fur. He put his nose in the air. Smelled like it was going to rain soon. He needed to get a move on but first he had a feeling that Joely would be spying on him.

  He walked out from under the tree and looked up. Yep, sure enough she was peeking out from behind the curtains. Bears always loved to impress so he stood up on his hind legs to show her what a big Kodiak bear looked like in his prime.

  She didn’t look away or hide which was a good sign. He wanted her to be comfortable around this place. Yeah, she’d probably seen enough for now. He set off running, hoping he could catch the rest of the guys.

  He knew she couldn’t cook but she was going to learn on the job. He’d decided that a few minutes ago. She was here for a reason and whether she wanted to share that with him was her business. This was a place of finding hope and not being afraid of what was out there in the real world so she’d fit in perfectly.

  He was going to tease her though but he’d be doing it for her own good. Or was it for his? Had he already fallen for in her just the slightest way?

  No, of course he hadn’t. However, what was the standing on back legs and showing her what was on offer all about? A bear only did that when he wanted to attract a potential mate?

  He’d never spent so much time in his own head as he had since she’d come into his life. He saw the other bears up ahead and actually smelled them even sooner. The over spiced burgers were starting to take effect and there was nothing like bear farts to fowl up the air.

  *****

  The Kodiak bear was on the path ahead of her. She wasn’t scared because she knew it was Trey. She walked up to him and ran her fingers through his fur. It was rough against her skin. He pushed his nose against her thigh as she stroked him, feeling the powerful muscles of his back and shoulders.

  Before she knew it he’d turned back into a man and was naked. He picked her up and carried her over to the grass, set her down and began kissing her, touching her, his hand going under her dress and resting on her mound. He pushed the edge of her panties to one side and slipped his finger underneath the lace until her found her clit. Trey began massaging it and it felt so good…

  Joely sat bolt upright in her bed.

  She looked around. She was in her room. The one at Cowbear Haven and she’d been enjoying an erotic dream. One that had seemed so real that she’d almost climaxed. Why was she having that sort of dream and about Trey of all people?

  It’s because she’d looked out of the window at him in his bear form just before she’d climbed into bed. She’d once read that what you see a few hours before you turn in for the night influences what you dream about.

  She wiped her brow because perspiration had broken out on it. She got out of bed and went into the bathroom and turned on the tap. She put her face down close to it and splashed the cold water onto her skin. It felt good. Her body had felt good in the dream. In fact, it still felt good.

  She walked back to the bed and climbed in, quickly pulling the covers up under her chin. Whenever she woke in the middle of the night she usually couldn’t get back to sleep straight away. In fact, one night she’d been awake for three hours straight. She yawned and knew she had to be up at the crack of dawn to get the breakfast ready. She puffed up her pillow and closed her eyes.

  She wondered where Trey slept. Was his room on his floor, above her, below her?

  Don’t think about him.

  Did he sleep naked or in boxers? Did he wear briefs under those tight jeans?

  He’s older and wouldn’t be interested in you.

  She’d always had a thing for older guys and she’d n
ever known why.

  Joely flexed her toes, doing her best to relax, fall asleep and not think about the handsome werebear who’d invaded her dreams. The whole dream thing had made her feel horny. She was tempted to do some self-pleasuring but resisted the urge.

  She whistled, suddenly worried that maybe she’d wake someone in the next room.

  She wondered who was in the next room. Could it be Trey?

  *****

  The sound of raised voices and just plain chaos met Trey as he headed downstairs the following morning.

  “What’s going on?” he asked.

  “There’s no breakfast, that’s what’s going on?” said one of the guys.

  “Maybe Joely’s taking her time and wants to make it perfect this first time around,” Trey said.

  “She’s not even in the kitchen. None of the guys have seen her. We knew hiring a human was a huge mistake.”

  Oh great.

  “Tell Mikey and Seamus to go get some eggs and bacon cooking and I’ll go see what’s happened to her.”

  Trey took the stairs two at a time. If she’d left in the middle of the night he had no idea what he was going to do. Maybe he shouldn’t have done the whole big bear standing on his back legs thing. Maybe it had scared the shit out of her and she’d fled.

  His annoyance grew with each stair he climbed. He was so pissed off about losing a cook. In the short time she’d been here, Joely had some strange effect on him, had him thinking about the future and mates and now he’d never see her again. He arrived on the second floor and headed down the hallway to her room. He knocked on the door.

  “Joely are you in there?”

  No response but not one to give up, he knocked again.

  “Joely, you okay?”

  Relief washed over him when she opened the door and yawned. Her hair was in disarray, sex head he called it. It made him instantly hard thinking about making love to her, her head on the pillow and the resulting ruffled hair after a night with him.

  He tried to stop thinking about her in a sexual way but the t-shirt she was wearing was tight, it pulled across her boobs, making her nipples stand out like beacons to him.Trey suddenly didn’t know what to say or couldn’t remember the reason he’d come to her room.

  “What time is it?” she asked, yawning yet again.

  “It’s 7.30 a.m. and you were supposed to serve breakfast thirty minutes ago.”

  “Geez, I overslept.”

  “Didn’t you set the alarm on the clock?”

  “I did but I couldn’t sleep and I turned it off thinking I wouldn’t need it and…I’m so sorry. I promise you it will never, happen again.”

  “I hope it doesn’t because we have some angry guys downstairs.”

  “How about I pull on my jeans and I’ll be right down and make the best breakfast they’ve ever eaten.”

  “Okay, but don’t be long.”

  Trey turned around and headed back down the stairs. At least she hadn’t left and who could be angry with a woman who looked that good in the morning. He had to admit the whole no make-up and tousled hair was his kind of thing.

  He headed to the kitchen. “Joely is on her way,” he told the crowd of guys who’d gathered in the dining room.

  “Glad to hear that because I’m tired of doing all the cooking,” Mikey said.

  Just as he’d said that Joely turned the corner. She’d tired her hair up in a ponytail and had changed into another t-shirt clearly without a bra underneath and the jeans showed off every lovely curve she possessed.

  “What needs doing?” she asked.

  “How about make the toast and get the bacon out of the fridge,” said Trey.

  He watched as she ran about, put a load of bread into the five toasters, and then got the boxes of bacon out and handed them to Mikey. The cold air from the fridge had made her nipples hard and the t-shirt was transparent. He didn’t know how the guys would react when they saw her. He knew how he was reacting.

  “I think you should put an apron on,” Trey told her.

  He looked straight at her boobs and couldn’t seem to focus any place else. Trey grabbed the apron and handed it to her. “We don’t want you getting that t-shirt messed up,” Trey quickly added.

  I also don’t want other werebears ogling those breasts and nipples.

  She grinned at him as she tied it around her waist. He guessed he wasn’t that great at lying.

  “I’ll go tell the guys to get seated and breakfast will be served shortly,” Trey said.

  He wanted to calm everyone down before a riot broke out and he also needed to get out of the kitchen. His temperature was rising and it had nothing to do with the oven and burners being turned on at full blast.

  She made him hot and horny and normally that wouldn’t be a bad thing but she worked for him and Cowbear Haven, and this was downright inappropriate.

  “Is breakfast nearly ready because we have fences to repair in the outer pasture,” David called to him.

  “It’s on its way,” Trey assured him.

  “So she hadn’t quit,” Ian asked. He sat down beside Trey. Ian was second in command and in charge when Trey was gone from the Haven.

  “No, she’d just overslept.”

  “She seems very young to be head cook.”

  “She’s packed lots of experience into her short life.”

  “You smell something burning?” Ian asked, putting his nose into the air.

  The piercing sound of the smoke alarm sounded throughout the lower level of the house.

  “I better go check on the kitchen,” Trey said, standing.

  “And the cook too,” Ian said, winking at him.

  Chapter Six

  No, no, no this isn’t happening.

  Joely frantically waved the dishcloth in front of the smoke detector. She wasn’t tall enough and it was of little use because the damn thing still cried out. Trey walked into the kitchen.

  “I’m so sorry, some of the bacon fat ignited and started smoking,” she told him.

  “It’s okay and let me do this.”

  He took the cloth from her and as he waved it around, the thing finally stopped its high pitched squeal.

  “The breakfast’s ready, do you want me to go serve it now?” she asked.

  “Oh yeah, the men are starving and most of them have chores to get to. Here let me help you carry some dishes out to the dining room.”

  Joely handed him a platter of bacon and one of scrambled eggs that Mikey had worked on. She took the toast and another platter of bacon and followed behind him

  Whistles and cheers greeted them as they stepped into the dining room.

  “Okay guys dig in,” Trey told them.

  “Hey Trey, did you remember that it’s Ian’s birthday next month? We were thinking of throwing him a party and thought Joely could make a surprise birthday cake for him.”

  This was getting worse by the second. Birthday cake. Would he be happy with some brownies courtesy of Betty Crocker?

  “Sure, we can do that and I’m sure Joely will bake one to make him proud,” Trey said.

  He turned to look at her. Could he see that she’d lost all the color in her face because it sure felt like that had happened?

  “I certainly will,” she said, thinking she might have to climb out the window and escape by then.

  “In fact, Joely and I are going into town later to buy supplies so we’ll get everything she’ll need,” Trey said.

  Maybe she’d plan her escape while they were out, simply slip away while Trey wasn’t looking.

  He put his hand on the small of her back and guided her back to the kitchen. “Is that okay with you?”

  “What making the cake?” Joely asked him.

  “No, going into town for supplies.”

  “Sure, it’s fine.”

  “I’ll warn you things can get ugly,” Trey said.

  “Ugly?” she asked.

  “Yeah some people aren’t too happy to see us outside the boundaries of Cowbea
r Haven.”

  “Don’t worry about them. I sometimes get snide remarks because I’m on the heavy side.”

  “Nothing wrong with having curves. In fact, I like them. I mean…”

  Joely smiled and realized that Trey blushed a lot and often put his foot into his mouth which she actually found refreshing and adorable. Just how could a muscular guy who had to be at least six three and sometimes was a bear, be considered adorable?

  “Did I say something funny, something wrong maybe?” Trey asked.

  Joely shook her head. “You’re adorable, that’s all.”

  She put her hand over her mouth unaware she’d let that one slip out. He was blushing again.

  “How about we both get something to eat and then I’ll meet you out front in let’s say…” He looked at his watch. “Thirty minutes.”

  *****

  Adorable. Is that what she thought of him? Just what did a woman mean when she called a guy that? Trey stepped back from the mirror and looked at his reflection. It was all the damn blushing he’d been doing. He guessed that’s what she’d meant by adorable.

  He grabbed his aftershave and slapped it onto his cheeks.

  Never blushed so much in my entire life. He’d have to try and control it as best he could.

  He grabbed his cowboy hat and left the room. He walked down the stairs to see Joely already waiting for him despite the fact it was only fifteen minutes since they’d parted company.

  Her hair was tied up in a ponytail, she’d changed into shorts and a t-shirt, sneakers adorned her feet, no socks, just tanned legs. He wasn’t blushing this time but he was staring. Staring and admiring the view.

  Trey noticed a few of the other guys walking back taking sly glances at her. She suddenly noticed him descending the stairs. They looked at one another, neither one seemingly able to take their eyes off one another.

  Finally Trey spoke.

  “You all set?” he asked her.

  “Sure am.”

  He put his hand on the small of her back, quickly realizing that was a mistake. Her body was warm and welcoming. He opened the front door and let her go ahead of him. Once outside, he handed her the list of items they needed to buy.

  “All this,” Joely said. “This is going to cost a fortune.”