ROMANCE: Bear Naked Seduction (Billionaire Bear Trio Book 1)
Page 193
She glanced behind her at the bedroom door. She couldn’t hear Hank, but could he hear her? How strong were a bear’s senses?
She gritted her teeth. It didn’t matter—none of her doubts or fears mattered. The alternative was to remain in the mansion and be obedient to that thing, and there was no way in hell she was accepting such a fate.
Andrea took off the screen before she climbed out of the window. Once her feet landed on top of a measly bush, she turned and stumbled away from the building. Ice seemed to envelope every one of her molecules, making it painful to inhale, much less move. She forced herself to move faster, anyway. The heat of desperation and panic managed to combat against the freezing cold, and she didn’t feel tired or slow as she ran; she felt invigorated—twisted as that was.
Once she was deep enough in the forest to be hidden amongst the tall yet narrow pine trees, she dared to turn in the direction toward town. Her adrenaline kept her running, though her legs burned and throbbed in agony. She hadn’t gone half a mile, and already, she began to cry in pain. The tears warmed her cheeks though, and she found the sensation more welcoming than humiliating.
She swore she heard a growl. Heaving out air by now, Andrea looked behind her.
There were nothing but trees—a couple of squirrels and birds amidst their branches.
Andrea looked forward again, nearly tripping over a tree root. She wobbled and scrambled onward, sweat seeping out of her skin.
Another growl—she knew she heard it that time. Rather than glance behind her again though, she tried to run faster. Pinprick-stings stabbed into her feet, especially when she stepped on a rock. A part of her feared she would break something in her haste, but she couldn’t let Hank catch up with her, no matter what the cost.
Her vision was blurred by the amount of tears pouring from her eyes. She wiped at them constantly, her pants turning into choked sobs. She would most likely suffocate herself at the rate she was going, and yet, she still did not slow.
Hank’s monstrous face appeared to her left, beside a tree, and she screamed while throwing herself against a different tree. It only took her a second to realize it wasn’t Hank, just some unfortunate placement of dying branches and twigs. She was torn between laughing with relief or sobbing harder; she ultimately did neither, instead propelling herself forward again despite her body’s many screams of protest.
She felt like she had ran for days through hell by the time she reached the street that led into town. She couldn’t even feel her feet as they pounded against icy asphalt and cement.
“Ma’am, you alright?” someone called by the first shop she ran by.
Andrea couldn’t answer. Regardless of her breathlessness, what could she say to this man? How could she explain this predicament?
Many more townsfolk approached her—questioned her—and she waved them all off. Occasionally, she managed to wheeze out that she was fine, but it was obvious that no one believed her. At least they didn’t try to stop her, though a few did follow her for a few blocks.
She got into the hotel she had checked into the day she arrived in Victoria. The host’s face blanched as she approached him.
“Dear Lord, ma’am!” the host cried out, hurrying toward her. “What happened? Are you all right?”
Andrea fell into his arms. He grunted under the impact, and she could feel him shake with the effort to hold her larger body up, but she didn’t care. She gasped and wheezed, breathing in his clean scents of soap and cologne. So relieved, so secured, she cried harder.
“Should I call the police?” the host asked breathlessly.
“No,” Andrea choked out. She tightened her grip on him and pulled herself up a little. “No, I just need to check out.”
The host gawked at her. “Are you sure? I think I should—”
“I’m sure,” she snapped. A bitter kind of dread bared down on her, making her helplessness feel all the worse. “Just get me a new key to my room.”
“Very well, if you insist.”
Opening her room door was like opening a portal to the past. For a moment, Andrea could do nothing but lean against the doorframe, her wide eyes scanning the unused room. How differently things would have gone if she hadn’t slept with Hank that first night.
Glancing around her and seeing no one, she trudged into the room and let the heavy door swing close. The soft click that followed comforted her—made her breathe a little easier.
Although she was tempted to collapse on the soft bed, her mind reminded her of the danger that was probably following her. She had just run through town in nothing but a nightgown. All Hank had to do was ask a bystander about her, and he would learn of her location in no time. That knowledge motivated her to get out of the nightgown and put on a warmer outfit that was also easier to run in.
Once she was fully dressed, the warmth that sunk into her flesh soothed away some of her panic. Taking deep breaths, she calmed further and thought more clearly.
This…this was huge. Obviously because her life was at stake, but the story itself…a whole different species of human? Was it witchcraft? Was it evolution? There was so much that Andrea didn’t know—that the world didn’t know. Was Hank the only one?
“Bears,” she said, remembering Hank’s words. “No one owns the bears.”
Hank, Reed, and Fernando…the Billionaire Trio…
God, she couldn’t abandon this. Although she also didn’t want to die or be imprisoned because of it.
A loud buzz made her jump and scream. Her fists up, her gaze darted about until it landed on her partially open suitcase. Out of the opening where she had pulled the zipper back, she saw a bluish light emit from it.
Andrea laughed, the sound hollow and dry. Swaying, she walked over to her suitcase and fell on her knees before it. Once she fished out her phone, she looked down at the caller ID.
“Crap,” she said, glancing between the name and the low battery. She answered the phone and pressed it to her ear. “I’m so sorry. I can explain.”
“I’ve been calling you for days,” Ms. Lee said. Her tone was rather impassive, but Andrea knew better than to be fooled by that. “Do you understand that, not only has your behavior been unprofessional, but it makes it appear as if you stole the company’s funds and ran off with them.”
“I was kidnapped.”
Ms. Lee paused. “That is not funny.”
“I’m not joking—I’m not making up an excuse.” Andrea used her other hand to grab at her hair. She felt insane, like she had imagined the last few days and she was trapped in a mental ward. While knowing this wasn’t the case, that trapped-feeling still remained heavy in her chest. “Please, just listen. All of this is going to sound crazy, but Hank—the whole Trio is…” Andrea’s mouth hung open. Try as she might, she couldn’t force the accusation out.
“The Trio is…what?”
Andrea’s throat constricted. Telling the truth wouldn’t save her; it would condemn her. Ms. Lee wouldn’t believe her, and hell, if the situation was reversed, Andrea wouldn’t believe her either.
“Ms. Watson?” Ms. Lee said, tone sharper. “This is very serious. If you are lying to me just to get out of trouble—”
“It’s a conspiracy, I swear,” Andrea said. Her nails clawed into her scalp, her mind running wild. “It’s hard to explain, but Hank told me that three of them are up to something. And it does have something to do with bears, just not what we thought. It’s like a…”
“What? A cult?”
That worked. “Yes, yes, it is like a bear-cult! The way Hank talked about how no one ‘owns’ the bears. I tried to get more information out of him, but then he locked me in a room and told me I had to stay with him until he figured out how to fix this mess.”
Ms. Lee sighed, the sound static-y on the phone. “Are you all right?”
Andrea swallowed. “Yeah. I was just leaving.”
“Good. Get out of there. Your safety is the most important thing. Just get back here, and we can handle the charges against Hank toge
ther.”
“No!”
“Excuse me?”
Andrea swallowed again. “Ms. Lee, there is something weird happening here. I need to figure out what it is.”
“By getting yourself killed?”
“No. But if we charge Hank with a crime that I can’t prove happened, nothing will come of it. He and the Trio will just be suspicious of Monumental Press.”
“They will be, anyway,” Ms. Lee said. “If the world at least suspects that Hank held you hostage, he will be less likely to act drastically and harm you. The public eye can be good like that.”
“Please,” Andrea breathed, her grip on the phone so tight that she shook. She lowered her other hand to cradle the device, its warmth pleasant. “Please, trust me. Let me go to Reed O’Connor’s in New York City. Let me at least ask him some questions, and if it goes nowhere, then I’ll come back home and press charges. But please, we need this chance.”
Ms. Lee was quiet for a long moment. Then, her voice much softer, she said, “Are you still in Victoria?”
“Yeah.”
“Get out of there first. Go to New York City if you must…if you really think it is important to do so. But you stay in contact with me. The second I think something is happening, I’m calling the authorities and the Trio’s name will be marred forever. Understood?”
Relieved yet conflicted, Andrea nodded stupidly before she remembered her boss couldn’t see her. “Yes.”
“All right then. Hurry up and get out of there. Call me when you are at the airport, and then call me again when you land in New York City.”
“All right,” Andrea said, hanging up her phone and turning it off before the battery died.
Shoving the device in her suitcase, she quickly picked up the dark bag and hurried out of the hotel. She had wasted enough time there—she needed to get out of Victoria before Hank caught up to her—needed to reach Reed O’Connor—needed to figure this entire mess out before it ended her.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Ready to keep reading? Get Book 2 and Book 3 now!
Book 2: Bear Naked Passion
Book 3: Bear Naked Satisfaction
Index
To begin reading “Bear Naked Seduction (Book 1)” – CLICK HERE
Bonus Catalogue of Sample Books (Limited Time only)
Paranormal Romance
Werewolf in the Shadows
Between Two Wolves
Some Like It Gruff
Interracial Romance
Knocked Up By The Doctor
Rebound with My Dad’s Best Friend
Friends to Lovers
An Office Love Affair
Cozy with My Dad’s Best Friend
The Hot New Doctor
Bad Crush for My Dad’s Best Friend
My Guardian Bad Boy
Love in Bloom
Contemporary Romance
Nurse for a Badass
In Good Hands with My Dad’s Best Friend
Tangled with the Twins
Doctor, Doctor
My Billionaire Ex
Bad Boy to the Rescue
Lesbian Romance
The Summer with Clara
If It Isn’t Her
Teach Me Love
Rebound with the Ex
Best Friends with Benefits
Catálogo de bonificación de libros de muestra (por tiempo limitado)
Paranormal Romance
Lobo de las Sombras
Entre dos Lobos
A algunos les gusta bronco
Interracial Romance
Derribado por el Doctor
Rebote con mi papá del mejor amigo
Para los amantes de amigos
Una historia de amor de oficinaa
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El nuevo doctor caliente
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Mi tutor Bad Boy
Amor en flor
Contemporary Romance
Una enfermera para un Badass
En Buenas Manos con mi papá del mejor amigo
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Doctor, Doctor
Mi millonario ex
Bad Boy al rescate
Lesbian Romance
El Verano con Clara
Si no es su
Me enseñan el amor
Con el Ex de rebote
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Catalogue Bonus de livres d'échantillons (durée limitée)
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Loup-garou dans l'ombre
Entre deux loups
Certains l'aiment bourru
Interracial Romance
Frappé vers le haut par le médecin
Rebond avec le meilleur ami de mon père
Amis aux amoureux
Une histoire d'amour de bureau
Cosy, avec le meilleur ami de mon père
Le hot nouveau médecin
Mauvais écraser pour le meilleur ami de mon père
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Une infirmière pour une Badass
En de bonnes mains avec le meilleur ami de mon père
Tangled avec les jumeaux
Docteur, docteur
Mon milliardaire Ex
Bad Boy à la rescousse
Lesbian Romance
L'été avec Clara
Si elle n'est pas sa
Enseigne-moi l'amour
Reprise avec l'ex
Meilleurs amis avec des avantages
Index
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