Ranger Bear (Return to Bear Creek Book 11)

by Harmony Raines

  “Are you looking at my ass again?” she teased, before turning around and slipping her panties down over her thighs.

  “I most certainly am.” He stepped forward, closing the space between them, and placed his hand on her round cheek, feeling the warmth of her skin. Avery leaned back against him, and rested her head on his shoulder, tilting her head back and offering her lips to him.

  Jacob brushed her hair back from her neck, and kissed her sensitive skin. He wanted to tease her, to make her want him. As his right hand stroked her ass, his left hand stroked her stomach, moving higher, to cup her breasts through the lacy fabric that still encased them. Her bra had to go.

  With fumbling fingers, he unclasped her bra, letting it fall to the floor. Using the palm of his hand, he chafed her nipples until they were hardened buds, before rolling them between his finger and thumb. Avery sagged in his arms, her mouth open as she gasped for air.

  Claiming her mouth, he became the air that she breathed, robbing her of her senses. She writhed in his arms, her ass pushing back on his cock, moving in a circular motion to stimulate him until he thought he would explode.

  Maneuvering them toward the shower, he relinquished her breasts for a moment while he switched on the water. Lifting her, he placed her down under the hot jets, and reached for the soap. He was going to massage every inch of her tired body.

  As he lathered the soap, Avery reached for the shampoo, and washed her hair, then she leaned back under the jet of water and rinsed it off, before applying conditioner. He watched her, enjoying the sway of her breasts as she raised her hands to her hair.

  He’d never wanted anything so much in all his life. Swallowing down his own desire, he soaped her body, starting with her neck and her shoulders and then working his way further down, paying particular attention to her breasts. She bent her head and watched him, her hands plunging into his hair, as he knelt before her and soaped her inner thighs.

  Teasing her, he moved closer to the center of her need, before sliding his hands away. Avery inched her feet apart, opening herself to him, inviting him in. Jacob teased her some more, he couldn’t resist seeing how far he could push her. But it was a torture in itself. His cock hardened painfully; he needed to be inside her.

  At last, he slipped his hand between her thighs, his thumb rubbing against her clit, making her whimper. Back and forth, his fingers gliding across her sex, while his thumb circled her clit before he leaned forward and flicked his tongue over the tortured bud.

  “Oh, please. Right. There,” she cried out as he licked and sucked her clit, while his fingers entered her, stimulating her inner walls, until at last she could hold out no longer and she came. It was a beautiful sight, Jacob looked up through the jets of water cascading down her body. Her mouth was open, in a silent Oh, her head thrown back, and her body moving in rhythm with his fingers.

  As her orgasm passed, she looked down at him, and placed her fingers under his chin, encouraging him to stand. “Fuck me.”

  Jacob switched off the water, grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her, then he grabbed one for himself and flung it around his hips. Taking hold of her hand, he led her from the shower.

  “Here.” She indicated the chair in the corner of the bathroom, which she pushed him toward, her fingers on his chest as she made it clear he was to sit.

  In one fluid movement, she straddled him, guiding him into her sex, and lowering herself down onto his hard shaft. Jacob closed his eyes and let himself experience every minute detail as she slipped down onto his cock. She was tight, her inner muscles strong as they gripped him. The friction was incredible, skin against skin, warm, wet, slick.

  Avery impaled herself on his cock, before lifting herself up once more. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she steadied herself and then slid back down to take him inside her. She found a rhythm, her hips circling, her body rising and falling. As slowly his senses returned, Jacob cupped her breasts in his hands and licked them, his tongue flicking over the hard buds.

  Avery reacted to this new stimulus, her hips bucking, as she rode him on toward the inevitable end of this journey to pleasure.

  When she came, her inner walls gripped him tight and she milked the seed from him, his essence flowing into her. Jacob put his hand on her shoulders, and lifted himself up, grinding his hips into her. She took all that he offered and left him begging for more.

  Begging for an eternity with her by his side.

  Chapter Seventeen – Avery

  Sex had never been that good, Avery mused as they drove into town the next morning.

  She’d woken with a deep-seated ache in every muscle of her body, which she chose to ignore, she had a job to do. Brad had called while she and Jacob were eating dinner last night to say he had got a confession out of Joe, who had been easy to break. Partly because he said his mom was going to kill him, and also because he wanted to cut a deal.

  In short, Brad had in his hands a signed statement that said Chief Banner had set up the whole thing. The only part of the puzzle Joe could not fit into place was the identity of the eagle. Joe Hislop firmly believed the eagle was a real bird and appeared to have no idea what Brad was talking about when he mentioned shifters.

  From this, they had formulated a plan. Joe had placed a call to his mom asking her to get Chief Banner to meet him and pick up the drugs. He’d lied and said he was stuck in Bear Creek with Manny, who was in the hospital after a bear attack.

  At the same time, Jacob had spoken to his brother Kit, who had arranged for the hospital to add a fake patient to their system. According to Bear Bluff Hospital, Manny Maxwell had been admitted with wounds likely sustained from a bear attack.

  Chief Banner had duly called to check the details, and arrange a transfer of the patient to Holloway Country Hospital. The chief had lied and told the hospital in Bear Bluff that there was a warrant out for Manny’s arrest and that he would come over and see to the transfer personally.

  When this was relayed to Joe, the implication that if Chief Banner took custody of Manny he likely would never be seen again was not lost on him. It was enough leverage to entice Joe to play along in the hope that Chief Banner would incriminate himself enough to make a solid case for the prosecution. There was no way Chief Banner was going to be allowed to wriggle out of this one.

  Avery had placed another call to Lonnie, inviting him to Bear Creek, but not giving any details. Although she trusted Lonnie implicitly, she was not going to risk anything going wrong. There could be no leaks in this plan.

  “How are you feeling?” Jacob asked.

  “Good. We have everything in place. Joe will wear a wire when he meets Chief Banner. Brad has arranged for someone to pretend to be Manny, since he is not cooperating.”

  “Won’t he know it’s not Manny?” Jacob asked.

  “Apparently, they’ve only met a couple of times, in dark places, so it’s doubtful, but just in case, Joe will tell the chief that Manny has facial injuries.” It all sounded plausible. She’d gone over the details several times with Brad this morning, while Jacob had taken a run over the mountain. As they worked out the finer details, she had to admit she liked Sheriff Brad. He was smart and professional. A man she could work with.

  Was she really thinking of abandoning her career path, and coming to live in a backwater town?

  When she looked across at Jacob, she knew the answer was yes.

  “So, the fake Manny is going to look like a mummy?” Jacob asked.

  “A little. Just enough to disguise his features.” Avery grinned at the image of Chief Banner trying to question a mummy. “I’m hoping Lonnie gets here in time.”

  She looked at her phone. There had been no new messages or calls from Lonnie since she’d spoken to him last night. Avery hoped everything was OK with him. The whole thing had left him looking frail. Avery hoped if they could clear his name, he would bounce back.

  “He will, and if he doesn’t, maybe he’ll be here to celebrate with you when Chief Banner gets what
he deserves.” Jacob tried to soothe her nerves.

  “Brad has a nice cell set aside for the chief. He’s kind of livid another member of the police force, a high-ranking one too, has brought drugs into his town.”

  “He’s not the only one,” Jacob assured her as he parked the truck outside Brad’s office. They both got out and headed inside, where they found Brad making the final preparations.

  “Anything I can do?” Avery asked.

  “Nope, we’re good to go.” He grinned as he looked at her and Jacob. “You two look happy.”

  “We are,” Avery said hastily. “We cracked a big drug-smuggling ring.”

  “You did.” Brad turned to face them. “You know that eagle is still sitting in the corner, sulking.”

  “Any idea who he is?” Jacob asked.

  “Well, I could hazard a guess, since a certain store in town has not opened for business this morning.” Brad’s brow creased as he nodded his head, his eyes opening wide as he waited for them to guess.

  “Mike’s store?” Jacob asked, looking happy when Brad nodded again.

  “One and the same.”

  “Well, how about that!” Jacob looked equally pleased. “That will save me ripping his head off if he looks at my mate wrong.”

  “Does he know that you know?” Avery asked.

  “I called him Mike when I took his breakfast this morning, but he’s still sitting in the cell wearing his feathers. He’ll crack sooner or later. I have all the time in the world, since there are no rules about keeping suspect birds here indefinitely.” Brad looked at his watch. “Ninety minutes until show time. I need to get moving.”

  “We’ll follow shortly,” Avery said. “I need to give Lonnie a couple more minutes.” She looked at her phone again and then decided to call him. Avery scrolled through her contacts and tapped the screen to dial his number, but he didn’t answer and she ended the call. “Must be still on the road.”

  “Well, I’m going to get going.” Brad looked up as two of his men walked in. “Harrison, you’re with me. Tad, stay here and watch the other prisoners. Keep a check on Squawky back there, I have the camera on him in case he decides to shift back to being human.”

  “Sure, I’ll watch him.” Tad went around to sit behind his desk, while Harrison waited for his orders.

  “I’m going to get Joe. We’ll drive across to Bear Bluff and get the wire on him. Chief Banner is due in town in ninety minutes, I want us in position in an hour.” He nodded to Avery and Jacob. “Don’t be late and miss the show.”

  “We won’t.” Jacob put his arm around Avery’s shoulder and she leaned into him.

  “What if Lonnie doesn’t get here?”

  “Then we go to the hospital without him. Just tell Tad to make Lonnie stay put here.” Jacob kissed the top of her head. “Once we have Chief Banner in custody, Lonnie will get his name cleared no matter what.”

  “I know.” She liked how Jacob tried to comfort her.

  “Is this him?” A big SUV pulled up across the road. As soon as it stopped, the doors were flung open and two men got out.

  “That’s Lonnie. And my dad.” Avery peered through the window, and then went to the door and yanked it open. “What are you doing here, Dad?”

  “I thought Lonnie might need some support. And since he was there for me when I needed him, I wanted to return the favor in some small way,” her dad told her, leaning heavily on his walking stick.

  “It’s so good to see you both.” Avery put her arms around both men. “The team is back together again.”

  “Which is something me and your dad have been talking about,” Lonnie told her as they walked back to the sheriff’s office.

  “Are you going to tell me?” she asked as they went inside.

  “We're going to go into the private investigation business. Your dad is great with the internet, and I’m still good on my feet.” Lonnie looked a lot happier; his features had lost their pinched look.

  “You are going to leave the police force, after everything that’s happened?” Avery asked, a little disappointed.

  “Semi-retired sounds good,” Lonnie admitted. “This has given me an opportunity to reassess my life. I want some time off to enjoy with my wife.” He saw the look on Avery’s face. “This thing hasn’t beaten me. And if we don’t get Chief Banner today, I will stay on until we do. I haven’t worked all these years in the police force to let a man like that taint my career.”

  “Honey, Lonnie and I used to talk about this when we worked together. Before…Well, before I became useless.” Her dad gave a sad smile.

  “You’ve never been useless.”

  “Tell that to your mom when she asks me to do chores around the house,” her dad joked. “Really, this is what we always talked about doing. But Lonnie stayed on to watch over my baby girl.”

  “Dad, I’m a grown woman,” Avery insisted, aware of Jacob watching the whole conversation.

  “You will always be my baby,” her dad answered, giving her a hug and a kiss.

  Avery hugged him right back before pulling away. She had news of her own, and she could not wait to share it. “There’s someone I’d like you to meet.” She also needed to change the subject before her dad and Lonnie embarrassed her anymore in front of the man she loved. “This is Jacob.”

  “Hello,” Jacob greeted the two men.

  “Jacob.” Her dad stepped forward, hand held out in welcome. “It’s been a long time since my daughter has introduced a man to me.”

  “Good to meet you.” Jacob grinned as he shook hands with both of them.

  “You too, son. You look like the kind of man who might actually have a chance at taming my daughter.”

  “Oh, I don’t think she needs taming,” Jacob said, humor flashing across his eyes.

  “Good answer.” Lonnie laughed and gave Avery a wink.

  Before the conversation could go any further, Brad came out of the holding cells with Joe, who had his hands cuffed behind his back. “We’re all here. Are we ready to go?”

  “We are,” Avery said. “It’s time we wrapped this up, so we can all get on with our lives.” Jacob caught her eye, and she blushed uncontrollably, which made him smile, his dimples showing. Avery’s breath caught in her throat. She was so incredibly lucky to have met a man like Jacob, and she planned to hold onto him with both hands.

  Or maybe she should cuff him to the bed, so he never got away?

  Chapter Eighteen – Jacob

  They followed Brad over to Bear Bluff Hospital. After parking their cars, they headed inside to be met by Jacob’s brother Kit.

  “We have your fake patient in a room on the second floor. One of the orderlies volunteered, so we’ve bandaged him up. There is also a room next door where you can set up your equipment.” Kit kept looking at Avery. Of course, Jacob had broken the news to his mom that he’d found his mate. The news had spread. In truth, Jacob had been half-worried that all of his family would have been here at the hospital to meet her.

  “Thanks, Kit,” Brad said, as they all headed to the elevator, the sheriff keeping a firm hold on Joe. “Joe, you know what your job is. If we don’t get an admission from Chief Banner, then the deal is off.”

  “I get it,” Joe said acidly. “I just want this thing over with, and that bastard to pay for getting me into this.”

  “You made a choice to be a dealer, Joe. You can’t blame anyone else.” Brad punched the button to call the elevator, and they all stood patiently waiting for it to arrive, except Joe who shuffled his feet nervously.

  “Kit, this is Avery.” Jacob introduced his mate to his brother. At least it might stop Kit from staring.

  “Hi, Avery. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to meet finally you. I thought my brother was going to end up on the mountain like Wyatt, all alone.”

  “No, my backup plan was to move in with you and Suzie. So you could look after me in my old age.” Jacob grinned at his brother.

  “Always room under my roof,” Kit said coolly.


  “You say that now that you know it’s never going to happen.” Jacob took Avery’s hand and squeezed it reassuringly as the elevator doors opened.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Avery teased him, “if I get bored of you, I might kick you out.” His hand tensed around hers and she gave a small laugh. “With those big puppy dog eyes and those dimples, I might be persuaded to keep you.”

  “I like this woman. She’s smart and not afraid to sass you.” Kit grinned, and Jacob experienced a wave of relief: Avery was going to fit in with his family. Just fine.

  Kit pressed the button to take them to the second floor, and they all stood in relative silence for the short ride. When the doors opened, Kit showed them to the rooms set aside for the investigation. “I’ll have reception buzz you when your Chief Banner arrives.”

  “Thanks, Kit, much appreciated,” Brad said.

  “No problem. Glad to be of help.” Kit walked off and the rest of them entered a hospital room, where a man lay in bed, his face heavily bandaged.

  “OK, we have to set up the camera and a mic. Then I’m going to uncuff you, Joe. If you run, you know I’ll hunt you down.” Brad’s voice held an open threat.

  “I get it.” Joe stood by the bed while Brad, with the help of the others, hooked up a wireless camera that fed a live feed to a laptop in the room next door. It was good to be doing something while the time ticked away, and the trap they had laid for Chief Banner grew near to fruition.

  “We’re good to go,” Lonnie called from the next room.

  Brad looked at his watch. “It’s time. Joe, you sit by the side of the bed, and I do not want your ass to leave it until Chief Banner arrives. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.” Joe sat in the chair but looked mutinous.

  “You have one shot at this, no second chances.” Brad pointed his finger at Joe as if he were scolding a child, then he signaled them to all clear the room.