Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Bonus Book #1
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Bonus Book #2
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Epilogue
Seduction of the Bear
Bear Kamp
Rachel Robins
Contents
Just a Little Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Thank you
Bonus Book #1
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Bonus Book #2
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Epilogue
Just a Little Note
Hey there, firstly I'd like to say thanks for taking a look through my book! I'm a small author and this first book is relatively short to pilot how well this series is received. If this has some good results, I'll continue making these but longer!
I also have a short book on my website for you to read too, all you've got to do is enter your name and email here:
http://freebook.rachelrobinsauthor.com/
The book will eventually be extended when I have the time. Working a 9-5 doesn’t really correlate with writing very well but I’ll make it work! Don’t worry!
May you please like my Facebook page here for updates:
https://www.facebook.com/Rachel-Robins-1612641112366174/
If you want, you can message me on Facebook about the books etc. I’m very forgetful sometimes so asking me about a book out of the blue can make me think. I personally prefer to just talk everyday stuff like politics etc. I also post a meme everyday so be prepared!
You may also contact me on this email: [email protected]
We can have a chat on who knows what, talk about the book or even if you've got some constructive criticism then fire them my way!
If you enjoyed this book, then a review would be greatly appreciated for a small-time author like me. Your help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks a ton!
Chapter 1
Kate
“Get out!” Kate threw her body against Derek’s, trying to shove him out the door.
“Oh, sweetie, that isn’t how this works. I paid for this house, so it’s you who will get out.”
“You’re a bastard!”
“I’ve been called worse, by better people.”
“Why are you doing this? What did I do that made you hate me?”
“Nothing, Kate. You didn't do anything, for years now, and I’ve found someone who does so much more.”
He shrugged with indifference, and then slipped past her. With just a few words he had managed to wreck her entire world. Yet, he remained pleasant as if they had been talking about the weather. He really hadn’t needed to say anything. She had known for a while. Deep down in her gut, she had known he had been cheating. Women always said they just knew, and she never understood that until now. Everything in her had been screaming at her for months to check his phone, or his credit card statements. Yet they both would lay on the counter untouched as she simply stared at them.
It had been hot and sunny the day they had met almost nine years ago. Kate looked out the front door window; it was one of the coldest days of the year in New Orleans, and rain was pouring down. It seemed fitting. She rubbed her arms to ward off the chill, but not from the weather. The coldness came from the man she had loved for the better part of her life.
She heard the door shut to Derek’s office. For months, he had been sleeping in there on the nights he was home. Kate could have never dreamed everything they had had would have fizzled out to this. With nowhere else to go, she went into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of wine, and tucked herself away in her room. The wine went down smoothly as she sunk into the depression that had been waiting for her.
Days crept by, and she barely left her room. Derek didn’t bother checking on her. He had made it clear that he didn’t care what she did. The only contact he had with her since had been slipping the apartment and job section of the newspaper under her door one morning. He had been right about the house being his. She had never worked as long as they had been married. With the money he made as an account manager for an oil company, she hadn’t needed to. Like any spoiled housewife, she had jumped from one hobby to the next.
A week after he had dropped the bomb that he was moving on with his new girlfriend, Kate finally decided to rejoin the real world. Her phone had been dead for days; when she finally got it powered on, a flood of text messages and missed calls dinged. Kate’s stomach turned at the thought of telling everybody what they had suspected for months. Her friends may not tell her they had told her so right off the bat, but eventually, they would. Things between her friends and family and Derek had been rocky for years.
He kept telling her it was because they were jealous of their wealth and relationship. Now she realized her friends and family had been right all along. Derek was a controlling, egotistical asshole. He was also a liar and a cheat. Kate’s hands shook as she picked up her phone to call her best friend, Emma. Part of her wished it would just go straight to voicemail, but the other part prayed Emma would rush over to comfort her.
Emma had been her best friend since college and had hated Derek from the start. Emma hated most men, though. Her dad had left her mom for a girl not much older than Emma when she was in her freshman year
at Tulane. Soon after, Emma’s boyfriend had cheated on her with her dorm mate. Ever since, Emma had taken a “love them and leave them” mentality towards all men. As much as Emma would want to jump up and down at the demise of Kate’s marriage, Kate knew Emma would be her biggest support through it all.
“Hey, girl! Where the hell have you been?” Emma answered, annoyed.
“Sorry. Can you come over?” As soon as Kate heard Emma’s voice, she chickened out.
“Sure. Everything okay?”
“I could use a girl’s day, is all.”
“Okay. Be there in a few.”
Kate hung up without saying much else. Her nerves and lack of nutrition had her hands shaking so badly, she could barely hold onto the phone. Kate gradually tried to pick herself up. First, she showered, and no matter how hard she scrubbed, the feeling of failure didn’t seem to wash away. Her marriage had been her life, and to have it fail appeared to be a total life failure. Once she was dressed, she padded her way downstairs to find food. Her hair was naturally curly, which she was thankful for, so she could just let it go and it would look halfway decent.
The kitchen was barren. Anything that had been in there a week ago was pretty much expired. Derek never cooked so he had apparently been eating out or maybe he hadn’t even been there every night. She had refused to leave her room to check, afraid she would break down and cry in front of him. That was one thing she refused to do: let him see her cry. She found that she didn’t necessarily miss him as much as she felt like she had ruined her life for nothing.
With nothing to eat, she decided to order in Chinese from her and Emma’s favorite spot down the street. Emma lived in Metairie, one of the major suburbs of New Orleans. Kate was born and raised in New Orleans, but Emma was a transplant from West Virginia. Her small town stories always made Kate feel homesick for something she had never even had. Kate had been an only child, and once she had married Derek, her parents took off to travel. They eventually even sold their home in Metairie, and they just stayed in hotels on the rare occasion they were back in town.
Derek’s family was large, but they didn’t speak to Derek much. Kate had always accepted his version of the story, that they were criminals and beggars. Now she wondered if she hadn’t missed out on a chance at a big family over more of his lies. They had eloped, so she had never got to meet any of his family. She knew he had two sisters and a brother, though. Kate thought about trying to contact them now, but that would be pointless. Even if they were all lies from Derek, they would have no interest in his ex-wife who had gone along with snubbing them all these years anyways.
“Hello!” Emma’s voice rang through the house. Suddenly Kate felt her heart swell. The tears she had been holding back started to fall. Emma immediately scooped her up in a hug and held tight while Kate sobbed.
“I’m going to kill him.” Emma’s voice was steady with anger. Kate had no doubt that Emma meant her words. Emma was fiercely protective of those she loved, and she hated seeing anybody hurt. Especially if it was due to a lying, cheating man.
“You were right. This whole time you guys were all right. I’m so stupid.”
“You're not an idiot. You were in love.”
“I don’t know what I’m going to do. I need to find a job, and a place to live.”
“You can stay with me until you get on your feet. I don’t know how you’ve stayed in the house with the fool for this long.”
“I don’t even know if he’s been home. Well, he was one night because he slipped the classifieds under my bedroom door.”
“Bastard! Do you want me to help you pack? We can have you out of here in an hour.”
“No, I can’t move in with you. You have a one-bedroom. I don’t want to impose on you. Besides, I need to find my own way. I’ve lived on Derek’s coattails this whole time. I don’t want to just jump on yours. That’s not fair to you or to myself.”
“I can appreciate a woman wanting to stand on her own two feet. However, this city is expensive and even though finding a job should be easy, getting the money for a decent place to rent in a safe neighborhood will be next to impossible.”
“I’ll think about it. Honestly, though, I don’t plan on leaving here until I have some money saved up. Derek can take his whore to a hotel for all I care.”
“That’s the spirit. Besides, I would assume he’ll owe you some alimony when this is all said and done.”
Kate shook her head. She hadn’t really thought about the divorce, but the mention of alimony left a bitter taste in her mouth.
“No, I don’t want his money. Money is power to him, and I’ll be damned if I take another dime from him.”
“Good for you. I’d take the money, though. You deserve it for putting up with his ass all these years.”
“Nope. When this is finalized, it’ll be a clean break. I’m even going to change my name back to my maiden name. I may make him pay for that.” Kate laughed at the thought. Derek wouldn’t care that she’d want her maiden name back, but he’d be pissed about having to pay for it. Not that it was a lot of money; just the principle of it would irritate him.
A knock on the door signaled the arrival of their food. Kate searched through her purse to find her cash she had stashed away. It wasn’t much, but she wouldn’t starve for a while either. She paid the delivery boy and deposited their food on the table. She didn’t realize how hungry she had been until the smell of greasy Chinese food hit her. She and Emma ate ravenously.
“When was the last time you ate? You look like you’ve lost ten pounds, and you just inhaled that General Tso's.”
“It’s been a while. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until it was in front of me.”
Kate looked down at herself; she did seem thinner. She wasn’t heavy to begin with. Her body type had always been athletic, thick and curvy from years of running and playing volleyball. It never bothered her until now. Without knowing what the other woman or women that Derek had cheated on her with looked like, she had to wonder if they were skinny. Were they blonde or brunette with straight, perfect hair? Derek had always been weird about his own weight, constantly watching what he ate and working out. Kate had been at ease with herself, and Derek never seemed to complain about her body.
“Stop!” Emma thundered.
“What?”
“Over-analyzing. You’re perfect, he’s a douchebag. End of story.”
“I guess I hadn’t thought much about what the other woman looked like.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re perfect. Any man would die to be with you. Let’s go out! You need a night out on the town. Let a real man hit on you, or maybe even take you home.”
“No. No way. I can’t even think about that right now. I just need some girl time.”
“Well, I’m not about to be here when shithead comes home. You know I won’t be able to keep my mouth shut. So either go with me or stay here and wallow in self-pity. Your choice.”
Kate opened her mouth to respond and then immediately shut it. The idea of having a man around her at all made her sick to her stomach. The thought of having a girl’s night with Emma and their other friends sounded so freeing. It had been too long since she had taken them up on an offer to go out.
“Fine, I’ll go. Come help me pack and get ready. I won’t want to come back here tonight regardless of whether or not he’s home.”
Emma squealed with delight as they headed to Kate’s room. They made quick work of packing up an overnight bag. Emma insisted that Kate bring provisions for a few days just in case the idea of coming back to the house dimmed once she got out. Kate didn’t want to impose on Emma, but the idea of staying with her and having her constant support was tempting.
“Okay, now let’s get you ready to go out.”
“I was just going to wear this.” Kate knew she wasn’t the height of fashion in a pair of blue jeans and a black, long-sleeve shirt, but she was comfortable. She really didn’t want to impress anybody, but Emma had her stubborn look on her
face. Kate knew there was no getting around it. She sighed and threw her hands up in defeat.
“Yay!” Emma clapped her hands in delight. She walked back into the closet and started looking through everything. In the end, Emma kept it simple and had Kate change into tight, straight-leg jeans with a black, long-sleeve bodysuit. She paired it with a crisscross bralette that showed off her cleavage, and simple yet sexy black heels. It wasn’t too outrageous, but Kate would have rather been in flats. Her argument was futile as Emma had already grabbed her overnight bag and was out the door.
“Can I at least know where we are going?” Kate pouted as she climbed in the passenger seat of Emma’s Mustang.
“A new bar called The Kamp over on Jefferson. It’s supposed to be full of smoking-hot men.”
Kate slumped back in her seat and tried to mentally prepare herself.
Chapter 2
Austin
Austin closed the accounting program on his laptop and leaned back in his desk chair. His home office had turned out nicely after months of working at his kitchen table. There was an office at The Kamp, but he refused to work there. The number of people who knew he was the owner of the newly established bar was limited. For some reason, his animosity seemed to come off as a marketing ploy. Now every magazine establishment in the area was hounding the bar for an interview with the owner.
He didn’t mean it as a ploy. More than anything he only wanted to be left alone. He liked the bar and was proud of his accomplishment. At one time he would have been the bum, drunk and angry at the bar, begging for another round. Now he was the owner. Times had changed, and he desperately hoped he could stay on this new path.
His bear was restless, though. In human years he was just middle-aged, but in shifter years Austin was much older. Even more so since he had yet to find his mate. The darkness that haunts a shifter was looming within him. It grew every day he went without the light and love of his mate. Holing up in a bar wasn’t the most promising way to find his mate, but he was old and tired of the hunt.
Seduction of the Bear (Bear Kamp Book 1) Page 1