I’d been introduced to Alex’s brothers very briefly when we’d arrived. They’d seemed distant and cold, without one ounce of the warmth that Carolyn, Bailey, and Alex seemed to possess. When I spotted the oldest one, Matt, approaching, I quickly turned and attempted to get away.
As my luck would have it, he was just as freakishly tall as Alex and easily caught up to me. He lightly grasped my arm and pulled me to a stop. “Where are you off to, Beth?”
I frowned. Sam had been the only person to ever call me Beth and I hated it.
“Elizabeth. And I was just going to see if your mom needs any help in the kitchen.”
“She doesn’t. I was hoping to catch you without Alex hovering over you.”
A pit formed in my stomach but I tried to contain it. “Why?”
He frowned. “Well, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay with everything. It’s not every day that a woman agrees to become a mother just to help a guy take over his dead father’s ranch.”
I balled my hands into fists and looked around. “What are you talking about?”
He acted like he was shocked. “You don’t know?! Oh, no. This is crazy. I was sure you were in on it with Alex…”
I felt the urge to punch him, but contained it.
“Spit it out.”
“Our Dad wrote it into his will that the first son to have an heir gets the entire ranch. You’re a little money pot, Beth. You and that little bear in you. You’re bringing a huge fortune to Alex. It’s no wonder he’s been giving you sweet looks. I can just see the dollar signs in his eyes.”
I didn’t buy into it for a second. I’d talked a little bit to Carolyn about her husband. She told me that when it’s right, it’s right. She’d been drawn to her husband the same way that that I was drawn to Alex. Unexplainably. Inexplicably. Unrelentingly. As crazy as it was that I’d stumbled upon Alex, it was right.
“Does your ass get jealous of the shit that comes out of your mouth? If you’re going to bully someone, I suggest you don’t try to pull it on a girl who grew up in the streets of DC. Now, I’m going to excuse myself. Good luck with everything.”
I walked away from him and headed in the direction that I’d seen Alex go. I needed to see him.
It’d been a while since he’d left and I figured he’d be on his way back before too long. I’d just meet him on the road.
I hiked up the road and found Alex’s truck parked off to the side. His clothes were thrown on the hood of the truck and my heart began racing in my chest. What could he be doing that required him to take all of his clothes off?
With images of him having sex with someone against a tree, I let my pregnancy hormones drive me. I crept through the woods, deciding that I was going to catch him in the act. I’d been so sure of our connection just minutes before, and there I was, creeping through the woods in an effort to catch him with his pants down. Off. His pants were off.
I heard movement up ahead and stepped behind a big tree. I knew I looked crazy and I felt it even more so, but something wasn’t right.
After a few seconds, I peeked my head around the tree and screamed for all I was worth. Standing less than six feet from me was the biggest bear I’d ever seen. Not that I’d ever seen a bear face to face.
It just stood there, staring at me. There was something in its face that read annoyed, but that had to be the hysteria I was feeling. I was going to die and it would be Alex’s fault. If he’d just kept his pants on, things would’ve been different.
I made a movement to step backwards and the bear grunted at me. It reached its paw out at me and I had a vision of it hurting my baby. I snapped and reached out and slapped its paw away. “You’re not killing me. Not today. I have a baby in here and I will fistfight a bear to keep him safe if I have to.”
It backed up a step and then Alex appeared in its spot, naked and grinning. “You’d fistfight a bear for our cub?”
17
Elizabeth
I blinked a few times, unsure if I was still alive.
“Wha… what just happened?”
He looked sheepish and ran a hand through his hair and blew out a long, slow breath. “No more secrets.”
I leaned against the tree. My mind was slowly trying to make sense of what I’d just seen. The bear had just… become Alex. One second it was a bear; the next second it was Alex.
“I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I didn’t want you to find out like this. My bear just smelled you and came towards you.”
I shook my head to clear it and then looked up at him. At Alex, the guy that I’d somehow fallen in love with without even knowing it. Alex, the bear-man. Man-bear? Something in me snapped back into place and I reached out and smacked him.
“I thought you were cheating on me! I saw your clothes and your truck and thought I was going to find you out here with another woman!”
He raised an eyebrow. “I just revealed that I’m a bear shifter and you’re pissed because you thought I was cheating?”
I thought about it. “Yeah. You scared the hell out of me. I just verbally whipped your brother for even suggesting you didn’t care for me and then I come out here and thought I’d find you… the way I did Sam. I was scared. Terrified.”
“Which one?”
“Huh?”
“You said you had words with my brother. Which one?”
“Matt. He’s an ass.”
“Did he touch you?”
I rolled my eyes. “Does it matter? Can we get back to the matter at hand? What the hell is a bear shifter? Am I dead? I feel like this whole thing is surreal.”
Alex caught my shoulders and pulled me against his naked body. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. “I’m a bear shifter. And no, you’re not dead. Feel my heartbeat?”
I pressed my ear to his chest and listened to it racing away. “Why is it going so fast?”
“Because I’m afraid you’re going to run away from me.”
I leaned away from him and shook my head. “I’m still here.”
“I’m a shifter. I can turn into a bear…”
It all made sense. As much something like this could make sense. I’d seen his eyes take on an inhuman glow multiple times. I knew there had to be something special about him that would explain that. I just never in my wildest dreams could have imagined it would be this. I’d watched True Blood like half of the rest of the country. I knew what shifters were. I just didn’t think they actually existed. Like in real life. “Do it again.”
He moved away from me and in a blur of movement, his body contorted and he was a bear again. He huffed and went down on all fours so he was closer to my height. He was huge. Ginormous.
I reached out and slowly rested my hand on his head.
“Holy shit.”
He made a sound that was so similar to laughter that I couldn’t help but laugh myself. I stroked his head and neck, feeling the coarse hair beneath my fingertips. It was either real or this was hands down the most vivid dream I’d ever had.
“This is amazing, Alex. Can you understand me?”
He huffed again and nuzzled his face against me. A small flutter in my stomach surprised me and I looked down at it with shock on my face.
Alex was instantly standing next to me again. “What’s wrong?”
“He just kicked, I think. It’s early, though. When you put your face against my belly, he moved.” I laughed. “Is he going to come out a bear?”
He looked appalled. “Of course, not!”
I laughed even harder. It was all so crazy. “I’m kidding, Alex. He will be like you, though, right?”
He nodded and watched me curiously. “He will. And one day he will feel the same pull towards someone as I feel towards you. My whole family is like this. I’ll explain everything better later.”
I nodded. “Yeah, you will.”
“How are you taking this so well?”
“I don’t know. I think all of this has just been crazy enough that I’m more stunned than anything. Maybe
I’ll freak out later. Maybe I won’t. How do people normally take this news?”
He touched my cheek. “People don’t normally find out. That’s why the town was so closed up when you got here. It’s a big secret to keep.”
I pouted. “But they were nice to Sam.”
Alex growled and pulled me into his chest. “Mine.”
I nipped at his chest. “Were you trying to eat me earlier? Is that a thing?”
His laughter rang out loud and clear through the forest.
“No. We do not eat people. There is something I wanted to explain to you, though. About mates.”
“Mates? Bailey said that before. Are we mates?”
“Yes. Mates are just like they sound. Soulmates. You were meant for me and I was meant for you. I could feel it the very first time I laid eyes on you at the rodeo. I knew you were mine.”
I kissed him then, desperate to feel something solid. “What does it mean?”
He kissed me back. “It means that we’re going to be together for a long time. It means that I love you, and that my heart belongs to you.”
I grinned up at him. “This is all so insane and I’m sure you’ll have to explain it all a million times later, but right now, I just want to be close to you. As close as I can get.”
He ripped the straps of my dress and pushed it off my shoulders. With a predatory look on his face, he pushed me against the tree. “As close as possible?”
My body reacted instantly, the same way it had this morning and three months ago. Maybe it was the mate thing, or maybe it was just how hot Alex was. I couldn’t be sure, but either way, I wanted him. “What did you have to explain to me about mates? I have about two more minutes of listening before I’m tackling you and having my way with you.”
He pushed my dress over my belly and hips and let it fall to the ground. His fingers cupped my sex and his mouth landed on my neck. “This. Mates claim each other. I wasn’t trying to eat you earlier. I want to claim you as mine. Everything in me is screaming at me to mark you so no one ever thinks they can touch you again.”
His lips felt amazing against my skin and I was ready to agree to anything. “Is it a hickey?”
He flicked his tongue over the same spot. “No. I bite you. It’s a bond between us.”
“Will it hurt?”
“Maybe for a second or two. It’ll be worth it, though.”
I rocked my hips against his hand, trying to get him to rub my clit. “Do you still want to?”
He scraped his teeth there and made me gasp with pleasure. “Fuck, yes. I’ve wanted to since that first night. It took everything in me not to do it.”
I tilted my head farther to the side. “I want you to mark me. I want to be yours. Do I mark you?”
He yanked my panties down and easily lifted me until my core hovered over his dick. “When I mark you, Elizabeth, everyone will know that I belong to you. You own my heart, little one.”
I cried out as he dropped me onto his shaft and pinned me against the tree. I dug my nails into his shoulders and held on. I wanted him more than anything. Nothing else mattered.
Alex drove into me again and again, filling my body until I thought I couldn’t take anymore. “I’ve missed you so much. Never leave me again.”
“My bear, make me yours.”
My body was close already. Alex seemed like he was right there with me. His thrusts were erratic and his grip on my thighs punishing. I tilted my head to the side, inviting him to claim me. I wanted to be tied to him forever.
Alex let out a roar louder than anything I’d ever heard and then sank his teeth into my neck. Stinging pain lasted for only a second before blinding pleasure filled me and I tumbled into the strongest orgasm of my life. I ripped my nails across his back as the pleasure shook me. Alex jerked into me once more before I felt his seed filling me.
I felt him licking my neck but my head was so light that it just rolled back. My body felt like all my bones had been removed. I slumped against the tree behind me and mumbled his name.
Alex held me tight in his arms and lowered us both to the ground. He laid me on his chest and held me tight. “It’s okay, little one.”
I lost track of how much time we’d been there, recovering, but the night had fallen without my knowledge. I idly played with Alex’s hair and pressed kisses against his chest.
“How do you feel?”
I lifted my tired head to stare at him and gave him a satisfied grin. “Like I should’ve stayed here three months ago and kept doing that.”
He grunted. “I should’ve tied you up and made you stay.”
I flicked my tongue over his nipple. “You should’ve, mate.”
Alex hardened under me and shifted us so that I was straddling him. “Are you too tired?”
I grabbed him and then lowered myself onto him, filling myself with my mate. “Never.”
He reached up and filled his hands with my breasts. “I love you like this. Ride me, Elizabeth.”
Who was I to deny my mate? I leaned over him and kissed him long and hard. “I love you, bear.”
“Always.”
THE END
NEXT BOOK IN THIS SERIES
Running out of time, and with a nasty ex literally nipping at her heels, Leila Harold bribes her way into a mail-order bride service. She just needs a way out of town.
Matt Long has had a hell of a six months. Hiding out like a hermit, fighting with his brothers, drinking himself under the table. He forgot all about the mail order bride website, AKA the drunken mistake.
He tries to scare his “bride” away, but not even a cranky bear like Matt can fight the mating pull.
Get Rancher Bear’s Mail Order Mate HERE
(Get the entire Rancher Bears Series HERE and save.)
Thorn
Bears of Burden
In Burden, Texas, bear shifters Hawthorne, Wyatt, Hutch, Sterling, and Sam are livin’ easy.
Beer flows freely; pretty girls are abundant.
The last thing these good ol’ bears are thinking about is getting hitched.
Until fate comes knocking…
Allie McMichael is running scared.
Not from monsters in the closet or creepy things under the bed.
She’s scared of commitment.
On the run from a would-be fiancé, Allie finds a temp job out in the middle of nowhere.
Love is the furthest thing from her mind until she meets her big, burly boss.
Bear shifter Thorn Canton is a successful tavern owner and confirmed bachelor
To Thorn, a mate might mean a fate worse than death—literally.
But da-yum if that new barmaid isn’t wearing down his resolve at every turn.
1
Hawthorne
“Check out the blonde in the pink dress.” Sterling Mallory whistled under his breath. “Da-yum, she’s a looker.”
I’d already noticed. I’d also gone back to her place the week before.
I stretched back in my chair and flashed a wide grin. “Go ahead, call her over. It’s been what? Twenty minutes since the last time you struck out with a woman? ‘Bout time for you to try again.”
Sterling’s big brother, Hutch, clapped me on the back and huffed a laugh. “Twenty minutes? Hell, you must’ve missed that bouncy little redhead not ten minutes ago.”
Sterling shook his head. “She was a lesbian. Don’t count as striking out.”
It counted. I slid a glance towards the bar. Abram, my assistant manager, nodded. Everything was fine, which meant I could stay and relax for a bit longer in my favorite chair at the corner table with my lifelong buddies, Sterling, Hutch, Sam and…
“Where’s Wyatt?”
Sterling ignored me and left his chair to approach the blonde, who was eyeing me, a coy smile playing at the corners of her lips. I just shook my head and tipped my old John Deere cap at her. Sure, she was a beauty, but I wasn’t about to give false impressions. I didn’t go back for seconds.
“Last I knew,
Wyatt was headed up the mountain with another group of would-be survivalists.”
A shudder ran down my back. “How he deals with some of those crazies, I’ll never know. I swear that bear attracts the nut-jobs.”
Hutch nodded and then nearly snorted out his beer. The pretty blonde had just slapped the hell out of Sterling. “Another strike out. Looks like little brother is going home alone tonight.”
“Nah. He always manages to find himself a pity screw.” Even as the words left my mouth, a tall brunette came up to Sterling and cupped his bright red cheek. “See. I don’t get it, but some women love the wounded ego thing.”
The ear-splitting sound of shattering glass echoed through the place followed by a collective groan from a group sitting at one of the tables up near the juke box. As the crowd parted, I spotted Cammie rushing to clean up a massive mess of spilled beer and broken mugs. From what it looked like, she’d dropped an entire tray of drinks. Damn.
Sam Jennings chose that moment to plop down in his usual seat beside me. He followed my eyes to Cammie and her disaster and shook his head. “What’s that? The fourth time this week?”
I pushed off from my chair and stretched out my legs. “Fifth. I don’t think this is going to work out.”
I left them sitting there and joined Abram at the bar. He’d been my assistant manager for years and knew what I wanted before I did most of the time. “What’s the deal with her?”
His eyes went to Cammie then trailed over to Sam. “Your buddy bedded her and hasn’t called her back.”
Fuck. I had a strict policy about my friends staying the hell away from my waitresses. It was hard enough to keep good help around, what with dealing with a bar full of drunk shifters, and humans alike, day after day. I glared over at my best friend and decided I was going to bleed him later.
Shifter Starter Set Page 5