Big Bear Mountain - The Complete Series

by Bianca James

  “It started off with me cosigning a loan for his new motorcycle, then, there were other papers he had me sign. They looked like insurance papers. He told me he wanted me to be taken care of in case anything happened to him. I was so caught up with being treated like a little princess and having someone find me attractive that I didn’t really care. I was stupid. I know that now. I knew it then, too, if I’m totally honest.”

  “And he skipped town again and left you with a bunch of loans you knew nothing about, right?” Declan said as he took his steak of the grill, leaving hers to cook the way humans like them.

  “Worse than that, even. At least the banks and finance companies called during office hours. He had gambling debts and when those guys tracked down where he lived, or used to live, they decided I was responsible for his debts if I couldn’t tell them where he was. It was awful …” Tears welled in her eyes as she sobbed, struggling to continue. “I was such an idiot. Guys like that don’t fall for girls like me.”

  Taking her steak off the grill, Declan brought both steaks over to the table and covered them in foil to rest them before serving. Then he stepped behind Olivia and put his hand on her shoulder. His human almost wept in sympathy for how she must have felt at being conned like that. His dragon seethed with fury deep inside. He wanted to tell her she was beautiful and he loved her curves, but something held him back. The time wasn’t right.

  Olivia was crying in earnest now.

  Chapter 17

  Olivia

  “You’re a great cook,” Olivia commented as she cut into her tender, perfectly seasoned steak. “And this salad dressing … I’ve never tasted anything quite like it. It’s delicious.”

  “Not a bad effort for a drug dealing biker?”

  “Are we ever going to let that go?” She rolled her eyes.

  “No. Not yet, anyway.” He smiled. The kind of smile designed to make her heart melt.

  And it did. But she didn’t want it to. Too many painful memories. It was safer and far less painful just to be alone and not get involved. It wasn’t worth it for another failed relationship. She wasn’t a one night stand kind of girl, never had been, either, but who wouldn’t be tempted to share a night of unashamedly wild sex with a fit, toned, gorgeous guy. With dimples to die for. With stunning, ‘come-to-bed-and-let-me-fuck-you’ eyes. Not to mention the abs that felt like they’d been chiseled from solid granite that she had clung to during their ride on his bike. The ride she felt ended way too soon.

  Don’t even think about it. Abort the mission, girl! Now, before you get hurt. Again.

  Looking for a distraction, she changed tack. “You promised to tell me your story. Like, how you managed to heal the injuries from one of your bar fights in a matter of a few hours.”

  “It’s a long story,” he countered.

  “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me the truth.” There was a tone of defiance in her voice.

  “It’s complicated.”

  “I’m not stupid. And you did promise, unless that was a lie just to get me here, in your cozy little bachelor lair.”

  He held up his hands in capitulation. “No, it was nothing like that. Besides, I’ve been nothing but honest with you.”

  She quirked her eyebrow at him.

  “You think I’m bullshitting you now? You’re going to have a hard time with what I’m about to tell you.”

  She stared at him intently, daring him to continue.

  “OK, then … I have a gift. I’m not like you. Or any other normal human. I heal fast. Really, really fast. You’ve seen it yourself; your mind just can’t deal with something it can’t explain rationally.”

  “So you can go around picking fights and getting into trouble and no matter how badly you get hurt, you heal in record time, is that what you’re telling me?”

  “No! Well … yes, but not about the fights. I’m not a street fighter or bar brawler.” He looked around. “Do I look like some kind of degenerate to you?”

  “How do I even know this is your place?”

  “You’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?” He slumped in his chair as he picked at his food.

  She shook her head slowly from side to side.

  “The other night, when I saved you from those guys? That’s what I do. I don’t run around getting into fights just because I want to be the alpha in the bar or club. I help people. People like you. It’s what I do. I help people who can’t always help themselves.”

  “So now you’re telling me you’re Batman?” she mocked.

  “Not exactly. I don’t wear a cape and I’m not exactly a bat.”

  “And who pays you to run around ‘saving people’? It looks like it pays nicely. A lot more than I earn at the diner, that’s for sure.” She gestured toward his kitchen with its finely crafted shaker cabinets and granite counter tops.

  “I have investments. I don’t get paid for what I do.” He braced for the next round from her.

  “So, you really are Batman. A trust fund brat with too much time on his hands and a need to prove himself.”

  “Look,” he growled, “ we could do this all day, but if you’re going to just pour crap on everything I say, then what’s the point of that? I’m trying to open up to you, but you just don’t want that, do you?”

  Yet, she did. Very much so. More than she would ever have thought possible. She sensed his attraction to her and that made her afraid and filled her with longing at the same time. She was drawn to him in a way she felt more powerless by the second to fight.

  “No I don’t. I can’t even think why I thought I cared enough to ask in the first place.” She pushed her plate aside and stood abruptly.

  Chapter 18

  Declan

  Declan’s dragon sensed her fear. His human could sense her deep attraction to him and her overwhelming need to deny it and fight it. His chair scraped loudly against the floor as he pushed it back and stood, glaring at her, smoldering lust in his eyes. Like a big cat, he moved sleekly and with amazing speed as he rounded the table to stand before her.

  She held up her hands to push him away, instead they came to rest on his impressively muscled chest and she clutched him for dear life as his mouth covered hers with an urgent, needy kiss.

  She opened her mouth to receive him, her need and urgency meeting his with equal fervor as their tongues found one another and danced together in each other’s mouth. Declan hungered for her and his hands found her hips, which he grabbed with abandon and pulled her against him with his powerful arms. Olivia couldn’t resist. Nor did she have any intention of doing so.

  Breathless and eager, Declan fisted a handful of her hair and plundered her mouth more deeply and possessively with his serpent like tongue. Olivia responded by grinding her pelvis against him, the warmth from her sex radiating against the hardening in his jeans. He ached for her. Longed to bury himself inside her and claim her as his mate.

  Every inch of him burned with desire to take this woman and impale her on his rock hard manhood and become one with her in ways she could never even dream of.

  Keeping one hand firmly gripping her ass, he used the other to grasp her breast, marveling at the responsiveness as her nipples hardened to pebbles in his hand. She shivered involuntarily when he squeezed and rolled it between his thumb and fingers, and then she started breathing again. Neither of them had even noticed that she had stopped.

  Picking her up as if she weighed nothing at all, Declan lifted Olivia and sat her on the edge of the table. His display of extraordinary strength puzzled her momentarily before her carnal instincts took over and she gave into them completely.

  She hooked one leg around Declan’s legs, pulling his hardness tighter against her waiting mound. She felt the heat rising and the unmistakable dampness in her panties. Declan sensed it also and he knew she wanted him. His dragon could smell the musky aroma of her need and so could he. They wanted her desperately, too.

  Without hesitation, he hoisted her dress above her waist an
d pulled her panties aside, plunging his fingers between her hot, wet folds.

  “Oh, yes,” she murmured into his mouth. “Yes!”

  Gently, he explored her, finding what gave her pleasure and enjoying her soft cooing when he found something she liked. With moist fingers, he found her swollen bud and began to stroke it, first one side, then the other. Teasing her as she tried to push her hips toward his magic fingers.

  “Ohmygod!” she wailed as he increased his tempo on her clit and applied just the right pressure with his expert fingers. “Oh-my-fucking-god!” She arched her neck back, ending their kiss as she gave in to the pleasure that was building inside her.

  Declan knew she was close and wanted, more than anything, to pleasure her before taking her for himself. He continued circling her sensitive nub with his fingers, increasing the speed gradually, in response to her moans of pleasure.

  “Let yourself go, baby. Enjoy it. This is one is all about you.”

  “Yes! Fuck yes! Don’t stop. Please don’t —”

  The wave of pleasure that had been amassing inside her smashed through her body, like nothing she had ever experienced, causing her to convulse as the euphoria swept through her entire body . Throwing her head back and rolling her eyes, she screamed with pure ecstasy as her release continued to cascade through her relentlessly.

  Chapter 19

  Olivia

  “You said you had a special power, but what the fuck was that?” Beads of sweat glistened on her upper lip sparkled as she spoke almost breathlessly.

  “If you don’t know what that was, then you really need to get out more. Seriously,” Declan said as he withdrew his hand from her panties and breathed in the heady scent of her orgasm from his fingers.

  “Very funny. Seriously, that was incredible. I’ve never had anything like it. Not even close. Now, let me do something for you.” She reached down and unzipped his jeans, ready to free the burgeoning manhood which bulged further at her touch.

  Declan didn’t waste the opportunity. Without waiting for her guidance, he took his cock in his hand and guided its bulbous head between her hot moist folds, preparing to plunge it deep inside her.

  With his free hand, he cradled her chin and looked her in the eyes. His erection stirred uncontrollably as he began to bury his full length inside her tight, hot channel. A primal growl of lust rumbled in his throat and for the briefest moment, his dragon glimmered within, almost breaking free before he managed to suppress the shift.

  She pulled her head back from his hand. “Your eyes …” She shook her head in disbelief.

  “What about them?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

  “They … they changed color when you blinked. They turned bright red. Then they changed back again.” Fear crept into her voice as alarm bells started sounding in her head.

  What the …

  Pushing him with all her strength and scooting herself back on the table, she forced him to withdraw from her, almost regretting her action as she immediately missed the feel of him filling her.

  “There’s something I need to tell you, but now really isn’t the time.” He reached for her face again.

  She pulled away from his reach sharply. “I don’t even want to know. There’s something not right about you. I should have gone with my instincts. I should never have come here.”

  Reaching for her purse, Declan took hold of her arm to stop her leaving.

  She looked down at his hand on her arm before looking him in the eyes again. “Let go! Now! I’ll break it … you know I will, too!” she threatened, her eyes cold and unforgiving.

  Letting go, Declan pleaded with her. “Just hear me out. I want to explain, but I’m worried you won’t understand.”

  “That’s the first truthful word that’s come out of your mouth since I met you. I won’t understand because I won’t even hear it. I’m out of here and don’t dare try to stop me.”

  “If you just give me five —”

  “Five minutes of my life I’ll never get back again? I don’t think so. You’re lucky I don’t call the cops. You’re a freak and I never want to see you again!”

  She glared at him, not totally finished with her rant, but words failed her. She simply shook her head and said, “Wow!”

  And with that, Olivia stormed out the front door, slamming it shut as she stood at the top of the stoop and wondered how the hell she was going to get home without enough cash for cab fare. Her lip trembled and tears stung her eyes. She thought how she’d been taken for a fool again, falling for a guy who couldn’t possibly be interested in her.

  Chapter 20

  Declan

  He knew going after her would be a huge mistake. When a woman looks at you like that and says ‘Wow’, there’s nothing that can be said or done to put things right. Declan had many attributes, but stupidity and insensitivity weren’t among them. Instead, he dialed the local cab company and asked them to send a cab over to pick up the woman sobbing out front of his brownstone.

  With the kind of fierce determination that is a very common trait among dragon shifters, Declan set about making a plan to set the record straight. He had no idea how to make that happen, but if raw determination held any weight, then Declan was in with a good chance.

  But first, he had to work off some frustration after having his mating urges foiled at the last moment. And the only way to do that was to fight.

  By the time he got to the gym it was mid-afternoon, leaving Declan the run of the place, at least until the after work crowds started to converge on the tiny suburban club.

  “Feel like sparring?” he asked one of the trainers, known as Mack because he was built like a Mack truck. He hardly looked like he had anything better to do.

  “With you? No ways. I’m still recovering from the last round we did,” replied the broad shouldered trainer with a tribal tattoo across his shoulders.

  “You’re a pussy. I hardly touched you. How about a few non-contact rounds with the fighting sticks, then? Unless you’re scared, of course.”

  He took the bait. “I ain’t scared of nothin’. Your puny ass is the one that should be afraid,” he said as he grabbed a pair of Escrima sticks from a nearby box.

  Despite appearances, Mack and Declan were good friends, but they were both fiercely competitive and although he didn’t know it, Mack was always at a disadvantage against Declan’s dragon. Sometimes he felt like sharing his secret with his friend, but he’d never shared it with anyone else. He didn’t know how to tell them and hated the thought that his few friends would abandon him if they found out who or what he was.

  Wearing body armor and headgear, Declan and Mack warmed up for a few rounds before really going at it. Before long, Mack was backed into a corner struggling to fend off the lightning fast strikes from the blur of Declan’s sticks.

  “Hey man! What’s got into you today?” Mack demanded, removing his headgear and taking out his mouth guard. You not getting any action at home or somethin’?”

  “Sorry, man. I got a bit carried away in the moment. Had some frustration to work out. Didn’t mean to take it out on you. Well, actually, I did, but I knew you could handle it.”

  “So, wassup?” asked Mack. His concern for his friend was in his voice, even if he wasn’t showing it on his deadpan face.

  “It’s nothing. Really, I don’t want to talk about it. Besides, there’s nothing you can do. I’ll sort it out myself. Or make a bigger mess than I already have. Either way, I’m right on it, having done such a great job so far.”

  “You better spill the beans fella or you’re gonna get another ass woopin’. Now get on with it.”

  “Another what —?” Declan burst out laughing before he could finish. When he regained his composure and Mack stopped laughing along with him, Declan told him about the girl he met at the diner, the story she told him and how their first date ended with her rushing out in tears.

  For the next 10 minutes, Declan listened with admiration as the two hundred and twenty p
ound fighter shared with him some wisdom that Declan knew in his heart would turn things around and allow him to claim the mate of his destiny.

  Chapter 21

  Olivia

  With little sleep and a lot of distracting thoughts going through her mind, Olivia could think of a lot of places she’d rather be than waiting tables and listening to people’s problems at the diner. Uncharacteristically, she was getting orders wrong and generally not in the best of moods.

  “You really shouldn’t be here, Olivia. If you’re sick, go home. I’ll get someone to cover for you,” Mal said, concerned that she might be feeling ill. She looked like crap.

  “Sorry. I’ll be fine. Haven’t slept, is all. I’ll crash when I’m done here and I’ll be as good as new tomorrow. I promise.”

  Mal looked uncertain and raised his eyebrows.

  “I’ll be fine. Stop fussing. You cook, I’ll take the orders … now get back to work, boss.” She tried her best to smile but managed only a highly unconvincing grin and her tired eyes looked sad and beaten.

  Trying to put on a brave front, Olivia opened her pad and walked as fast as her aching feet would let her, toward a booth occupied by a couple of regular cab drivers.

  “Hey Liv, you look like you could use a holiday,” one of the cab drivers laughed as she approached and he noticed her drawn, tired features.

  “Tell me about it. This,” she looked around the diner, “is as good as it gets for me as far as holidays go. Thanks for mentioning it, though,” she responded without a glint of humor in her eyes.

  The other cabbie tried to fill the awkward silence, “The usual times two,” he ordered.

  With a flourish, Olivia tore the order from the pad before flipping closed and hurriedly poking it in into her apron as she made her way to the kitchen to place the order. As she spiked the order, she noticed a thumbprint of blood on the order. Paper cut. She hadn’t even felt it, but proceeded to the first aid kit for a band aid before she ended up putting a big bloody thumbprint on someone’s breakfast plate. That wouldn’t be cool.