The front door opened and Knox walked in, wearing only shorts. “Hey. Everything okay?”
Jasmine just stared at him, at his muscular bare chest. He had a collection of thick black curls in the center, and she could see the veins popping from his arms.
Slade said, “She saw.”
“Oh.” Knox gave her a concerned look. “Let’s just sit down and talk, okay?”
She walked numbly to the couch and sat. He sat across from her on the chair.
“Please don’t be afraid. Are you afraid?”
“I—I—”
He let out a breath in a hard sigh, then reached out slowly to take her hand. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m a shifter. I can change into a bear, but it’s something that I control completely. It doesn’t happen by accident or if I get mad or anything like that. I’m not like the Hulk. And even when I am a bear, I’m still me. I know what I’m doing and who I am and who you are.”
She stared into his gold eyes, listening carefully.
“Did you see that Darius showed up?”
She nodded.
“I chased him off. I doubt he’ll come back. Usually people get pretty scared when I shift. Do you have any questions?”
She thought about how all five of them were so huge and had the same gold eyes. “Are you all bear shifters?”
“Yes. That’s primarily why we live together. We’re actually a clan. Slade is the alpha. That’s also why we deal in honey.” He quirked his mouth into a crooked grin and shrugged. “Bears like honey.”
She chuckled a little at that.
“How’s your hand?”
She looked down at the place she’d been stung. It was now just pink, and the swelling had gone. She held it up to show him.
“Good.”
They sat in silence for a while, staring at each other, or at the floor, or at the wall.
Finally, he said, “Are you okay? Are you totally freaked out? Say something.”
“It’s surprising,” she said. “But I think… I think I’m not afraid.”
Knox moved to sit beside her. He reached out and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I will do whatever I have to to keep you safe.”
He tilted her chin up, then leaned forward and kissed her. It caught her off guard and she almost pulled back. But then she realized, he was kissing her. Kissing her.
She relaxed and kissed him back, enjoying the feel of their lips sliding together and pressing against each other. He ended the kiss and pulled back to look at her.
She broke into a grin and looked down, suddenly feeling shy. He pulled her into a hug and whispered into her ear, “I really like you.”
She hugged him back, letting the feeling of warmth take over her. In that moment, she had never felt so safe or cared for. She never wanted it to end. “I’m starving after the day we’ve had,” Knox said. “Will you go to dinner with me? Do you have plans or anything?”
“No plans.”
“Okay then.” He stood and took her hand and led her to his truck.
They drove to a small restaurant that she’d never seen before.
“I know this might not be the nicest looking place, but the food is amazing,” he said.
They sat at the table across from each other and placed their order.
“Thank you for everything today,” Jasmine said. “I feel like I’ve brought so much trouble into your life.”
“No,” he said. “Are you kidding? You’ve made things interesting. Though, I do wish you would have told me sooner about your ex. That way I would have known to tell the nurse at the hospital. But oh well, at least I knew before he showed up at the house looking for you.”
“But that’s the problem. He might come back. He does have a gun. You don’t need my problems on you. I should find another job.”
“What! No, don’t do that. You’re an amazing housekeeper, and we need you desperately. And don’t worry about him. One thing that comes with being a shifter is that if people find out, they like to come after you. We’ve been hunted before and we’ll be hunted again. There are guns and knives all over the house and on the grounds, but we’re all the deadliest weapons.”
She nodded. “You’re not bulletproof, though.”
“No, but in bear form, I’m much stronger. Bullets don’t do near as much damage as they would to a human.”
“I feel like… I don’t deserve you. To go through all this for me. We barely know each other.”
He reached across the table and covered her hand in his. “I want to know you more. You deserve to be safe. You deserve to be happy. Does working for me and spending time with me make you happy?”
“Yes. Very.”
“Okay then.”
“I like you, too.” It came out as almost a whisper, and she felt self-conscious saying it. A man like him shouldn’t like a woman like her.
“Do you?” He pulled his mouth into a glowing smile.
She nodded and giggled. “I have never felt this way. I didn’t like my husband very much when I married him.”
“Then why did you marry him?”
“My parents. They brought me here from Iran when I was very little. They wanted to go back, but I didn’t. I was almost 18, so they agreed to let me stay if I married a Persian man. That they chose.”
“Oh wow. Must be horrible having to be married to someone you don’t like. Did he treat you good at all?”
Tears flooded to her eyes again, making her even more self-conscious. She swiped at them quickly. “Not really.”
He squeezed her hand. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that now. I’m not perfect, but I’ll treat you right. I’ll protect you.”
“I’ve never felt so safe in my life.”
After dinner, they returned to Knox’s house. “I want you to stay here tonight. Just to make sure you’re safe and the bee sting is okay. You can sleep in my room and I’ll take the couch.”
“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I’ll be fine at home.”
“No way. My bedroom is clean and everything. I have this really amazing housekeeper who does a fabulous job.”
“Thank you, but really. I’ll be okay.”
He shook his head. “I’m insisting on this. Do you live alone?”
“No, not really. I’m… staying at a women’s shelter.”
He looked over at her, surprised. “Really?”
“Yes.”
“Then there is no way I’m sending you back there tonight.”
They pulled into the driveway and found the other men outside, gathered around the hive of dead bees. She and Knox entered the house, and she put her leftover food in the refrigerator.
“I’m going to go outside for a minute to see what’s going on. Why don’t you go upstairs and get settled? Grab one of my shirts or something to sleep in, okay?”
He hugged her and kissed her forehead before walking outside. She walked slowly up the stairs, the weight of the day crashing down on her.
The bed had been made by her earlier in the day and now she turned down the sheets. She took a t-shirt from his closet and changed into it, then stretched out on the bed to wait.
Several minutes later, the door opened. She sat up and froze. She’d expected Knox. Even one of the other guys. Instead, staring down at her with a triumphant grin on his face, was Darius.Jasmine’s first reaction was to scream. She let out a yell so loud, it hurt her throat.
Darius laughed. “All your friends are outside. No one can hear you.”
He came toward her and she backed away, off the bed.
“You are going to come with me.”
“No, I’m not. Get out of here. Get away from me!”
“You can’t escape me. I’m your husband.” He took another step toward her. He was at the foot of the bed, ten feet away. “What would your parents say if they knew you had left your husband and were screwing another man? You would bring nothing but shame on them!”
“What would your father say if he knew you be
at your wife when she didn’t make dinner correctly?”
Darius laughed and stepped closer. “He would say, ‘Good job.’”
Knox had said there were guns and knives all over the house. Could some weapon be in his room somewhere? She didn’t remember ever seeing one when she cleaned. Maybe in the drawers.
“Then your dad is as sick as you,” she said.
He leapt at her and she didn’t have time to think about finding a weapon. He grabbed her wrists and pushed her to the floor. He climbed on top of her and pulled Knox’s t-shirt up to her waist.
“You are my wife. Now do your wifely duty.”
She screamed again and clawed at his face. He leaned back and smacked her hard across the cheek. With as much force as she could gather, using all her fear and adrenaline, she pushed up with her hips, tilting at the same time, and managed to throw him off balance enough that she could slide out from under him.
She ran faster than she ever had before. When she came to the end of the hallway, she nearly collided into the wall, she was running so fast. She gripped the railing tight, almost tripping several times before her feet landed on the floor of the entryway.
He was right behind her. He reached out and grabbed the end of her shirt, but she took off again, out the front door, and pulled out of his reach.
The gravel on her feet hurt. She ran into the grass, which was softer, but she was heading for the woods. How she wished she hadn’t changed yet and still had her sneakers on.
Her feet hit the first branch of the woods and she crumpled for a moment in pain. She could not run fast in the woods with all the rocks and branches, no matter how badly she wanted to. She hurried along, but with Darius right behind her, and him wearing his thick boots, he caught up to her quickly.
He reached out and closed his wrist around her arm, then yanked her back so hard, her face smacked into his head. She felt dizzy with the shock and pain and tried to yank free. Once she regained herself, she kicked him hard in the knee. He cried out, but didn’t let go.
Then he pulled out a knife from his waistband.
“I really didn’t want to have to use this,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to damage that pretty face of yours, but I guess I have no choice. Maybe if I cut you up, this bear man won’t want you. No one will want you then.”
She tried again to pull free. She kicked him. She tried to hit him. But he was faster and he still had shoes. He pulled her along, deeper into the woods.
She couldn’t think or decide what to do. If she couldn’t get away, what else was there? She realized she was outside now. And so were Knox and his friends. If she screamed here, they might hear her.
Jasmine opened her mouth to scream, but instead of her voice, heard a thunderous roar. She whipped her head toward the sound and saw a huge black bear bounding toward them.
The relief was so great that her knees failed, and she fell to the ground. Darius let her go and faced the bear, knife in hand.
“This is between a husband and his wife. This is not your business,” Darius said. She thought she could hear the fear in his voice, though.
Knox charged at him. This time, instead of running, Darius charged back and sunk his knife blade into Knox’s stomach.
Jasmine screamed. This scream, for fear of Knox’s life rather than her own, was more horrified than terrified. She needed him. If anything happened to Knox, she was at the mercy of Darius.
Knox roared loudly and swiped his paw across Darius’s face. Darius cried out in pain. Knox swiped at him again, and sent the knife flying through the air. Jasmine saw where it landed and scooted her way over to it.
Her fingers closed around the handle. She glanced down at it, at Knox’s blood all over the blade, and her hand shook. She got to her feet, trembling. She could barely hold onto the knife. As she reached for a nearby tree to steady herself, Knox took another swipe at Darius, who was trying to protect his head.
Jasmine stumbled her way over, holding onto trees, until she was behind Darius. Then, with wild determination, she hobbled forward. Knox probably saw her. She didn’t look at him. Darius was so focused on the bear in front of him that he hadn’t noticed she moved.
She took one step, then another, her feet aching with the pain of twigs and rocks. She took one more step, and sunk the knife blade deep into Darius’s back.
He cried out and spun, his eyes savage and horrified. He fell to the ground, grasping the place in his stomach where the tip of the knife stuck out, blood pouring free around it.
Jasmine was panting. She watched him lie there, blood gushing from his stomach and dripping from the cut on his face. She braved a glance at Knox, who sat still, observing.
The woods seemed to go eerily quiet. Darius started to shake, then he was still.
Jasmine waited a while, but eventually went over to him and, with extreme caution, picked up his wrist. She felt for a pulse. She waited to feel or see something moving in him. But there was nothing.
She looked at Knox, still terrified, but now at herself, at what she’d done, at what he’d think. She could go to jail for this.
“He’s dead,” she whispered. “I have to run. I don’t want to go to jail.” Tears began streaming down her face.
Knox’s golden bear eyes looked sympathetic somehow, if that was possible for a bear. He stood up on all fours, swiped the knife out of Darius’s back, and with large, fast movements, used his claws to cut him up, in the spot where the knife wound had been. He flipped him over and continued to maul him.
Jasmine watched, realizing finally that he was covering up what she’d done. He stopped and checked the body, sniffing around it. Then he sat down again, and laid down on his side.
Strange, she thought. She’d never seen a bear act like that, but when the bear started to shrink and the hair receded into skin, she knew he was changing back.
He stood up, and he was naked. Blood poured out of the stab wound in his stomach, but he hardly seemed to notice. He covered himself with one hand and wrapped his other arm around her. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
She shook her head. “I don’t know, not really.”
Knox backed up and looked her over. “You have a bump on your head. A few scratches. Your cheek’s red. Did he hit you?”
She touched the place on her forehead where she’d banged into Darius, then where he’d slapped her. Her feet, too, hurt and she lifted one, then the other.
“Okay, we need to get back to the house. Can you carry the knife?”
She went over and picked it up.
“Try not to get blood on you.”
In one motion, he picked her up and carried her out of the woods.
It felt weird, knowing he was naked. But she buried her head into his chest and breathed in the smell of his sweat. His arms, tight and strong around her, were like a security blanket. She held the knife away from her and him, trying to do as he’d asked.
Owen (BBW Western Bear Shifter Romance) (Rodeo Bears Book 2) Page 82