Except, they were both consenting adults. Why couldn’t they have a little fun? Well, for the sake of the slight soreness between her legs, she’d follow her logical side and let things cool off for tonight. But she couldn’t help feeling a little snuggly, with her stomach full and the cabin so warm and an hour of great conversation with a good-looking man.
Ryder wouldn’t let her finish the dishes, so she turned on the big-screen in the living room and watched reality TV while she waited.
When he came and sat down next to her, the air heated a couple degrees. He was just so damn big she wanted to just cuddle back against him. She’d fit right against that wide chest.
Luckily, he seemed to have the same idea because he pulled her close and wrapped an arm around her waist. She squirmed because the odd angle wasn’t comfortable with the Spanx. He ran a hand along her middle and then frowned.
“You should go take those off. You deserve to be comfortable. Also, let it be known that from here on out, whatever that thing is hiding, I would rather see.”
She frowned, not liking being told what to do, but when he pulled away from her, waiting for her to change, she sighed and gave in. It wasn’t like she wanted to stay uncomfortable. But there was a still a part of her that felt she had to strap herself in or minimize her fat to be loved. She was one half loving her body and one half afraid that anyone else hating it could break her fragile self-esteem.
She stood and went into the bedroom to change. She decided she might as well put him to the full test of how comfortable he liked her, so she changed into comfy, loose black workout pants that flattered her rear and a soft hooded sweatshirt in a flattering shade of pink.
His eyes warmed when he saw her, and she blushed in response. She knew she was acting like a sixteen-year-old on her first date, but she couldn’t help it. This was the most exciting thing to happen to her in a long time. And she needed lots of good tidbits to pass on to Leslie and Kylie so they could live vicariously.
“I wish my friends could see this,” she said. “It’s beautiful up here.”
He straightened as she sat, and then pulled her in against him to cuddle. He leaned over her hair. “You smell wonderful.”
“Um, thanks,” she said with a laugh. She inhaled his musky scent. Pine and forest and cold rivers. “You do too.”
“Thank you.” He smoothed his arm along her middle. “Much better. So soft.”
“Hey, no creeping,” she said, wriggling away. “And no touching my fat.”
“I’m touching you, not your fat. And if you don’t like it, I’ll stop.” He started to pull back, but she grabbed his arms and tugged them around her. They were huge, protective, and warm. No way she was giving them up.
Only problem was they made her think of earlier in the evening and what they’d done on the couch they were now sitting on. Damn.
“As for your friends, you’re welcome to call them up. As for sleeping arrangements, I didn’t mean to bring you to my cabin. It’s just when I thought about subjecting you to the parties at the lodge, and my brothers, I wanted to give you something private. You can take the bedroom, and I’ll take the couch. You can also call the girlfriends over and share the cabin with them.”
“Where would you go?”
“I’d still be here.”
“Um, no offense, but I don’t think they’re going to want to stay here with a dude in the living room.”
He frowned. “I didn’t think of that.”
“You didn’t think this through much, did you?”
“Honestly, I thought of it all on the spot when I saw you in that store and saw that Scott creep getting ready to make his move.”
She gave him a surprised look, then shrugged. “Well, I guess if it’s that short notice, you didn’t do too badly after all.”
“Glad you think so,” he said, holding her tight.
She held back a long sigh. He was so warm, so right. She wanted to stay here watching trashy TV while snow fell and just forget that life existed outside. She also wanted to take him back to the bedroom and make him prove what they’d had wasn’t a one-time thing. Already, her body was aching for more. She’d never been like that with Scott, never felt this constant, bone-weary need for him.
She didn’t think she was the type to be swayed by Ryder’s fame or reputation, so she wasn’t sure exactly what it was. Maybe it was just him. Maybe you really could get to know someone quickly if they were open enough.
Or maybe she was just letting her heart do more dangerous wishful thinking.
When it was dark outside, she said good night and reluctantly pulled herself out of his arms. He insisted he could set himself up on the couch and didn’t even go to the closet in her room. Instead, he pulled out a travel suitcase from a closet by the door. Ryder Hart was apparently the type who prepared for anything.
She watched him making up his bed on the couch and leaned against the frame of her bedroom door. She was surprised by the feeling of tenderness that hit her as she watched the big man trying to get comfortable on the too-small sleeping space.
Invite him in, a part of her said.
Not yet, the more persuasive part answered.
And because she’d already listened to the first part and done something far outside of her comfort zone, she allowed herself to stay inside her comfort zone on this. She bid him good night and shut the door.
But the look in his sapphire eyes stayed with her for hours before she fell asleep and then visited in her dreams, which were oddly about bears in the woods.
So when she woke to see a pair of plaintive bear eyes staring at her, she at first thought she was dreaming. But a minute later, when she realized she was all too awake, she let out a blood-shattering scream.
Chapter 8
Ryder jumped on the couch where he was sleeping and rubbed his eyes. Something had woken him. A scream. Had he imagined it? He leaned forward, listening keenly in the direction of Janna’s room.
Another scream rang out, and he ran off the couch, dragging his blanket with him, and strode to her door. He knocked hurriedly, and when she didn’t respond immediately, he barged in.
She turned to him with tear-stained eyes, and he felt his heart clench in his chest. So this was the effect of a mate. He’d thought his heart was going to stop when he heard her scream. He let out a breath and walked over to her bed. She was staring mutely at the window, pointing with a shaking hand.
“Bear,” she muttered. “I saw a bear. I swear it.”
He bit his lip. “What kind of bear?”
“It was black,” she said.
He sighed with relief. He could take on any black bear that got ideas. He could take on any grizzly as well, but it’d be more complicated. Luckily, he expected he and his brothers were the only ones in the area with grizzly blood. But bear shifters could mate interspecies, and with him awakening the more animal side of her, he should have expected that bears would already be circling. He would probably have to shift into bear form to patrol at nights. He’d prefer sleeping here in her room to watch her, but she didn’t seem to trust him that far yet. And also, if he had to shift, she’d see him. And he didn’t know how to explain that yet.
He sat on the bed and put an arm out, and she cuddled under it. Damn, he loved the feel of her feminine, warm body under his. Every bear he knew loved ladies with curves. Not that other ladies weren’t fine, but there was something about a lady with extra that made him feel more secure. It probably had something to do with bears in the wild and reproductive rates. He thought he recalled his father saying something to that effect, that female bears without the right amount of extra weight couldn’t get pregnant.
But right now, he didn’t care about getting Janna pregnant. He could cross that bridge when he came to it. Right now, he cared about making her feel safe again.
He needed her to feel safe as much as he needed to breathe.
“Shh… it’s okay. Tell me what happened, from the beginning.”
She s
niffed and took a deep breath, and he felt her grow stronger in his arms. He loved that about her. She didn’t just keel over and let life walk on her. But that didn’t stop a fierce protective instinct from rising in him and making itself known. “I had weird dreams last night. About bears, for some reason.”
He swallowed. Should he tell her now? Would she run screaming? He’d always avoided women for just this reason. If there had been a bear shifter female around who could shift, it would have been easier to explain. But how did he explain it to someone who was mostly human? And once he did, how did he keep her from thinking he only meant to breed her? It was complicated being part human, part animal.
“Anyway, when I woke up, these dark, almost black eyes were staring at me. Staring straight into me. And I had the evilest feeling when I looked into them. I felt—and this sounds crazy, I know—but I felt it wanted me.”
He gritted his teeth and suppressed a growl. Yes, he supposed the bear would want her, with her curves, her strong spirit, everything he liked about her.
Only one problem, she was his. Once he’d claimed her in the way bears claimed mates, the other bears would know she was taken and back off. But until then…
Bears weren’t like wolf shifters, who were more common and marked their mates merely through unprotected sex and mutual orgasm. The bear claiming ritual was more complicated and frankly, a little odd and not something one could just pull off without explaining. Not that he’d ever do that to an innocent woman.
But how to explain?
She snuggled into him. “Anyway, I’m glad you’re here.” She let out a dry laugh. “I still can’t believe I’m here with Ryder Hart.”
And I can’t believe I’m here with a warm, loving dream of a woman who is perfect in every way except not knowing I can turn into an animal.
Still, Ryder knew he’d shift if he needed to protect her. He’d do it without thinking and without caring if she hated him after for hiding his secret. The thought of any harm coming to her was unacceptable. Every minute with her made him more unwilling to picture life without her.
It made life back in Silicon Valley seem too empty. Maybe it was time to retire. Travel. Keep up the philanthropy but live off the proceeds of his investments.
He nuzzled his mate’s head, comfortable with calling her that now. No, he’d probably always be a shark in business, but with Janna, his life could be more balanced. Maybe they could spend part of the year here, maybe in San Diego, where she was from…
He realized she was stirring against him nervously and wondered what he should say now. Marry me? I know it’s only been a day or two, but I’m certain we could spend our lives having fun together?
No, that wouldn’t work.
“I’ll go check outside the cabin,” he said, standing. But she tugged on his sleeve.
“No, don’t go out there. He could be out there still.”
“I have bear spray,” he said.
She kept her hold on his sleeve, and he was amused by her protectiveness of him. “No, just wait. How about we get ready for work and head out together. You wanted to get an early start on the paperwork, right?”
“Right,” he said, impressed once again by her bravery. She wanted to come with him. She was one in a million. He’d been right to listen to his bear. “Well, I’ll get dressed, then. Will you feel safe in here? I can turn around and cover my eyes.”
She laughed, a low, sultry sound that had his groin tightening in response. “No, I’ll be fine. But if you did stay, I think covering your eyes would be beyond the point. Considering what we did.”
He groaned. “Don’t remind me.”
She laughed again and shooed him out, and he let out a long sigh as he pulled clothing from his travel bag. He was halfway dressed with no shirt when she came out, her hair in a tight ponytail with wispy curls escaping at the front in an adorable way. He froze, shirt over his head, and watched her gaze travel down his abdomen.
He was proud as she studied him. As a bear shifter, and a grizzly at that, his physique was matchless. Naturally muscled and buff with great tone. Rare for someone his height who was not a shifter. At 6’7”, Ryder was a force to be reckoned with, cashmere sweater or no. And he liked that he knew he was capable of protecting her from almost anything in the world. Anything on legs, that was.
Her pretty brown skin flushed and she looked away, seeming like it was hard for her to do. He bit back a grin. His mate liked the way he looked. Perfect. He pulled on his favorite sweater. A deep emerald green that reminded him of runs in the forest. He did up his belt and put on shoes and socks while she did up her coat. His mate looked gorgeous today, in red again. A red sweater with dark, tight jeans that drew attention to each little curve of her luscious body.
Ryder hoped it wasn’t obvious that his mouth was watering. She walked over to him, and he found himself once again appreciating her height. If she hadn’t been somewhat tall for a woman, it would have been more difficult for him to kiss and hold her. He liked that there was enough of her to feel bountiful and luxurious in his arms. Though he had a feeling that if he’d met her any other way at any other weight, he still would have been smitten.
It was what she had inside her as well. That obvious integrity and that infallible independence that inexplicably made him want to take care of her.
There was something satisfying about a woman who was able to live without you but wanted to live with you.
He grinned as he followed her out to the truck. Even in her long trench coat, he could see her large ass swaying tantalizingly, and he adjusted the front of his pants to be less painful when he was sure she wasn’t looking. His inner bear stayed on the lookout, scenting the air for any hint of a competing predator. He was uneasy about the black bear.
But black bear shifters were just so submissive compared to grizzlies. He really wouldn’t have to worry until one of those set their sights on Janna. And if either of his brothers did, he’d slap them silly.
But he couldn’t forget Janna saying how evil it had felt to look into the bear’s eyes. It kept him slightly off balance on the entire walk to the lodge. He smiled and listened with one ear as Janna laid out her plans for going over the books for the lodge, but he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about the fact that someone had come to scare his mate when she’d been under his protection.
His protection. Neither his grizzly nor his human was accustomed to people daring to mess with things that were his. And now that he had someone who meant more than anything, he didn’t like that it was happening now.
“You okay?” she asked. “You look tense.”
“I’m fine,” he said. “I’m glad the bear seems to be gone. Honestly, he was probably just drawn by the food and scared off by your scream.”
“That’s true,” she said. “He seemed just as startled by my yelling as I was by him being there when I woke up.”
“Creeper bear,” Ryder muttered.
“Creepbear?” she said, putting the two words together.
He laughed and put an arm around her and was happy when she didn’t resist. He really had no right to, especially when they were about to go in under the guise of merely working together, but he couldn’t help wanting at least to show some possession before they encountered other men, like his brothers.
Speak of the devils, Riley and Ryan were standing by the front desk. Riley was flirting shamelessly with a blushing front desk lady, and Ryan was studying his nails, looking bored. Then again, if Ryan wasn’t outside having some kind of sporting adventure, he was always bored.
Ryder drew himself to full height, trying to look intimidating as they approached. He could feel the pheromones from his future mate and knew his brothers would be aware of it. Sure enough, Riley looked up with a grin in those keen hazel eyes that had won so many women’s hearts and stared from Janna to Ryder with a look that said he knew exactly what was going on. Ryan looked up long enough to give a nod, scent the air, and then go back to whatever game he was messing aroun
d with on his phone.
“You guys gonna go over the books?” Riley asked. He stepped forward and held out a hand to Janna. She took it, and he was about to bring it to his lips to kiss it when Ryder swatted a hand between them, breaking contact.
“Yes. What are you two up to today?” he asked, hoping his stern tone implied as severely as possible that they should make themselves scarce.
Riley’s grin only deepened at his brother’s serious expression. “I’m thinking about hitting the slopes, letting Ryan teach me something.”
“He has a crush on one of the lift operators,” Ryan muttered.
“Do not,” Riley said, pouting. Riley may have been in his mid-twenties, but sometimes it seemed like fame had kept him in suspended animation as a teenager. But then, at other times, he could be almost too serious and prone to depression. And that’s when he tended to fly out to Ryder to recover and get some privacy. They’d watch Ryan doing whatever sport he was doing and talk about the old days.
Except for some things. Some things from the old days they never talked about.
Like how their dad had started ignoring them and how their mother had died alone on an icy road.
Riley tapped him on the shoulder, winked at Janna, and dragged Ryan off by the elbow.
Supposedly, a lift operator was about to have a much more difficult day. Riley knew his exact effect on women and enjoyed flustering them. Ryder didn’t get it. He wanted Janna to be comfortable with him. Happy. Not jostled.
He waved at Riley and Ryan as they left and turned to the front desk lady, who was staring after them and patting her hair back into its bun.
“How have things been this morning, Amanda?”
“Good,” she said, blushing and looking embarrassed to have been caught off guard. She was married with two kids and lived in an apartment here at the lodge. Did Riley have no shame? “Anything I can get for you this morning?”
“No,” he said, glad he had such a capable woman serving as front desk help as well as concierge. “Just taking Janna back to look at the books.”
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