Her Bear Protector Trilogy

by Bonnie Burrows

  But not if developers bought the land and kicked us all off of it. Not only would I not become an immortal bear shifter, able to spend eternity with the love of my life, but no one would be immortal anymore. I didn't even have a clue where we'd go.

  Emily agreed that we did have bigger problems than my upcoming wedding possibly having to be rescheduled. "But, look. Let's not even think about that yet, though. Yes, we're in some serious family trouble if a developer is actually going to buy the land. But we don't know that for sure yet. Houghton's a small town, and like any small town, people like to talk about things that may or may not be true. People exaggerate things. They get their facts wrong. So I shouldn't have even said 'this is terrible' a minute ago. We don't even know if it's anything yet. Let's just not jump to any conclusions until we talk to Aaron and everyone else." Aaron was the leader of the bear shifter family.

  I agreed with Emily that we shouldn't jump to conclusions. But my stomach was in a tight knot by the time we parked in front of my cabin.

  I dashed inside and put my dress in a closet, not wanting there to be any chance of Aaron seeing it before our wedding day, and then Emily and I set off down the path that led to the family cabin settlement. The skies continued to darken, mirroring my mood. Everything in my life had been going so perfectly. Maybe a little too perfectly.

  I'd come to the wilds about five months earlier to clear my head after my parents' deaths. I'd immediately met Aaron, and we'd fallen in love. But then a pack of murderous, evil shifter-wolves who'd been created by the same Native American mystic who had created Aaron and his brothers, returned to the wilds to cause trouble, even though they'd been banished. Aaron and his brothers killed them all. All but one of them, that is, a shifter wolf named Victor. But even he had eventually been killed, though not without a little difficulty. And then Aaron asked me to marry him. And since then, our life had been total bliss.

  Summer had turned into early fall, painting the deep green forests with accents of yellow and amber. I'd begun living at Aaron's cabin in his family's cabin settlement full-time. Our love deepened. Every member of his family accepted me as one of their own. Some days, I was so full of joy I could barely settle down enough to paint, which I did for a living. But when I did, and sent the paintings off to a gallery in Detroit that handled my work, they usually sold fast. My art career was exceeding my wildest dreams. Everything was good. Everything was actually perfect. So I almost should have been expecting something to throw a wrench in all that perfection. Something random, like a family who'd owned a big chunk of the wilds suddenly selling it to a developer after a hundred-odd years.

  The dark skies opened and rain began pouring down in sheets just as Emily and I reached the cabin settlement. We stepped inside the communal family meeting cabin, and I shivered, but not because the rain had been cold; it hadn't been. Aaron sat at the head of the big round table, surrounded by his six brothers, Seth, Calvin, Lucas, Samuel, Andrew, and Cole, and his two-sisters-in-law, Jasmine and Sarah. He held a piece of paper, and his expression was grim. Everyone's expressions were grim.

  Emily tossed her jacket on a little table by the door. "So it's true, then. The Blakelys have decided to sell the land to a developer, and we're going to have to leave. We just heard in town."

  Aaron didn't answer, and I took his non-answer as a yes. My heart sank. Emily took a seat next to her husband, Calvin, and I sat down next to Aaron.

  After giving me a quick kiss, he spoke. "Yes, unfortunately, it's true that we are being asked to leave. A messenger hand-delivered this letter earlier. It states that the Blakelys are, in fact, going to sell the land. The developer wants us gone within a week."

  Emily made a little gasp. "We can't leave, though. For one thing, then we won't be immortal anymore, and I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm pretty darn happy here in this forest paradise of ours, and I want to spend eternity in it with my husband."

  I couldn't have agreed with her more. I wanted nothing more than to spend eternity in the wilds with Aaron.

  "And for another thing, all selfish wants and desires aside, when you seven brothers were created by Six Clouds, you promised him that you'd protect the wilds forever. You all promised that you'd all protect it from any evil and anyone who would try to change the land or destroy the natural habitat. And I'm sure that includes whatever this developer has in mind to do. After all, developers don't just let land sit wild and free in its natural state; they develop. They plow, and bulldoze, and destroy. And doing that to all this natural beauty would be a crime. It's what Six Clouds created you seven brothers to prevent. So...." Emily took a deep breath. "I'm not a violent person, and I won't attack anyone, while in either human or bear form, unless someone I love is in danger, or unless someone attacks me first. And I think we all feel pretty similar. So physical attacks are definitely off the table. But I wouldn't be opposed at all to doing a little scaring and intimidation in bear form. And if the developer and his people try to shoot us, let 'em. They can't kill us."

  Six Clouds had created the bear and wolf shifters to be un-killable, except from a bite directly to the heart delivered by another shifter. A bullet would only temporarily stun them.

  Most everyone at the table chimed in, saying they'd all be on board to do some scaring and intimidation to get the developer off the land. I wished I was a bear shifter myself so I could help.

  But Seth, one of Aaron's brothers and his second-in-command, didn't say anything. He and Aaron just exchanged a couple secret looks before he spoke.

  "Um, I think you're all forgetting something." Seth cleared his throat. "Hey, everyone. I think we're all forgetting something. Everyone should probably quiet down and listen to what Aaron was starting to tell us before Emily and Kyla got back."

  Everyone stopped chattering about intimidating the developer and looked at Aaron.

  Calvin cleared his throat. "Sorry, Aaron. You're the leader of this family, and we want to hear what you have to say. How do we solve this problem?"

  "Well...there's an easier way to get the developer off the land. A much easier way than using scare tactics and intimidation."

  Emily leaned forward in her chair. "What is it? What do we do?"

  "Well, we're all going to have to get shovels. And we're all going to have to dig."

  CHAPTER TWO

  Everyone looked confused, and I knew I probably did, too.

  Aaron surveyed us all, his deep green eyes twinkling. "The backyard."

  Suddenly, everyone but him and me started speaking at once, mostly exclamations like "Oh, right!" and "Of course!”

  But nothing said really clued me in as to why we'd all be digging in the backyard and how that would get the developer off the land.

  As all the exclamations died down, I turned to Aaron, smiling a little. "Okay, I think I'm going to need this spelled out for me."

  He grinned, revealing straight white teeth. I loved the way they contrasted with his golden summer tan, which hadn't yet begun to fade.

  "We're going to offer to buy the developer out. We have several million dollars in cash and gold buried in the back yard."

  I sat speechless for a second or two. "How...."

  He grinned again. "The family woodworking business. We've been crafting and selling our furniture for nearly a hundred and fifty years now, and we've really never had much urgent use for the money...although, I always thought it wise to store it up for an event like this, an event where we might have to buy the land. Kind of always wondered if it would ever come to that, though. The Blakelys have always seemed so intent on holding on to it. Until now, I guess."

  I slumped in my seat, weak with relief, sighing. "So we can just outbid the developer and buy the land ourselves? So this will all be okay, then?"

  Aaron took my hand. "Yes. I believe so."

  Seth frowned, his hazel eyes troubled, not seeming entirely convinced. "I wonder why old Alistair Blakely finally decided to sell the land, though. It just seems so sudden. And it's be
en in his family for so long."

  Aaron sat back in his chair, folding his brawny arms over his muscled chest. "Well, it makes sense to me. Alistair's quite an old man now. He's got to be in his mid-to-late eighties. And he has only one surviving relative, a granddaughter. I bet he figures on leaving her an inheritance more liquid than land when he passes. Or maybe he just wants to spare her the trouble of having to sell the land herself someday."

  Seth moved his gaze from a vase of wildflowers in the center of the table to Aaron. "Maybe. But something just tells me he's not hurting for liquid cash to leave his granddaughter. I read an article in the Houghton paper a while back that said that Alistair and his granddaughter were living in a ten-million-dollar mansion in some fancy suburb outside of Detroit. A mansion they'd paid cash for. And I'm sure the granddaughter could easily hire someone to sell the land for her if she ever so chose someday."

  Aaron shrugged. "Well, all that may be so. But why Alistair Blakely's decided to finally sell the land really isn't even any of our concern. All we need to be concerned about is raising enough capital to outbid the developer. Which shouldn't really be much of a problem. I heard some years back that Alistair had had the land appraised at just over a million dollars. So I highly doubt that the developer is offering more than two, at the very most. And that's only if they're very, very motivated to buy. And we can probably raise enough cash to put in a bid of double that amount, even triple, quadruple, or maybe even more if need be. But first we need to get our money out of the ground, and that's where our concern should be. Whatever reason or reasons Alistair has for selling the land right now, let's not trouble ourselves speculating about them."

  Seth nodded. "You're right. I know you're right."

  Aaron glanced at the letter. "Alistair requests that we meet him Monday morning at nine at some office space he's rented in Houghton for the duration of this land-selling business. And I'm sure he intends the meeting to drive home to us the point of the letter...that we are to move or dismantle our cabins and leave the land. But I imagine he's going to receive quite a surprise...and probably a pleasant one when he learns that we're willing to pay more than whatever the developer is offering for the land. But like I said, first we need to unearth our money. And we only have the rest of today, tomorrow, and Sunday to do it. So I suggest we all change into some work clothes and grab some shovels so we can start digging as soon as the rain stops. I don't think it's going to last long."

  Everyone agreed, and just then, the rain pelting the roof seemed to stop. We all went outside and into our respective cabins while a little sun peeked through the clouds. Seth, Cole, and Samuel, who were all single, shared a cabin, while Aaron and I had our own, as did Calvin and Emily, who were married, and Andrew and Jasmine, and Sarah and Lucas, also married couples. The cabins were lovely, blond oak, single-story structures of the highest quality, because they'd been made by the family with all their years of woodworking experience. But Aaron and I did have one slight problem with ours. We couldn't seem to keep our hands off each other while we were in it. This had led to more than one occasion of being late to Sunday dinner in the communal meeting cabin.

  While we changed into work clothes to dig for the money, I glanced at Aaron, who was dressed only in boxer briefs mid-change. He was tall, six-foot-three, and I never tired of studying his long, well-muscled limbs. I also never tired of studying the way his broad shoulders contrasted with his trim waist and hips. And I certainly never tired of studying the hard planes of his chiseled chest.

  One other thing I didn't think I'd ever tire of as long as I lived was the fact that shifter bears possessed increased sexual appetite and stamina. With a fiance like Aaron, this was a fantasy come true.

  While I stood in just a bra and underwear, rummaging through a drawer for some clothes I wouldn't mind getting dirty, I saw in the mirror above the dresser that he was giving me a few looks from beneath his dark lashes. I knew those looks well, and I smiled a little, pretending to ignore him, but at the same time, leaning over the dresser drawer a bit more than necessary to look for my clothes, because I knew the sight of my full, rounded rear made Aaron crazy. And teasing him was fun.

  He came over to me, gently turned me to face him, and pulled me close. "Let's just relax a little before we change. Did you find your wedding dress today?"

  I nodded. "Mm-hmm. I found one I absolutely love. It's exactly what I wanted."

  "Good."

  "So you really think this whole thing with buying the land will be fine, and we won't have to postpone the wedding?"

  "Yes...to both those things."

  "Good." I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. "Because I just can't wait to become your wife."

  "And I can't wait to become your husband."

  He dipped his head and began kissing me, his hands at the small of my back, pulling me closer to him. Pulling me closer to the already-stiffened shaft at the front of his shorts. I kissed him back, and he slid his hands down the back of my sheer lace underwear and began caressing my bare bottom, a low rumble in his chest. I made a little noise between a sigh and a whimper, still kissing him, relishing the feel of his warm strong hands on my skin and his hardness pressed against the soft curve of my belly. Aaron loved my curvy full figure, almost seemed drunk on it sometimes, a fact that made me even more attracted to him than I already would have been anyway. A fact that made me more uninhibited while making love than I ever thought was possible.

  But soon I broke the kiss and pulled away, unable to resist teasing him further. "Well, this is really nice and all, but we should probably get back to dressing now so we can go out and dig."

  My mouth twitched with a smile, but I fought it and continued. "We can get back to this later. I'm thinking I have some free time in maybe like...four days or something? Five at the most. I'll have to check my schedule."

  "You're cruel."

  I couldn't help but let a little giggle escape my mouth. "I know."

  Aaron resumed caressing my naked bottom, his hands warm, slow, and strong. "Kyla, Kyla, Kyla. Haven't I already told you what happens to cruel girls who tease their soon-to-be husbands?"

  He had. Many times. But I wasn't quite sick of hearing it.

  I struggled to keep a straight face, which was becoming a little easier to do. "I have no idea what you're talking about. I'm pretty sure that when cruel girls tease their soon-to-be husbands, a pretty good time is had by all. And that's the end of it."

  He chuckled, the rumbling in his chest sending currents of electricity racing all the way down to my toes. "No. No, Kyla. That's not what happens. Not at all. You must have forgotten what happens."

  Suddenly having no problem at all keeping a straight face, I spoke, my voice coming out in a near-whisper. "Oh? Then, what happens?"

  He moved his mouth to my ear. "When cruel girls tease their soon-to-be husbands, they have to suffer the consequences. They have to suffer a few good, hard swats right on their bare bottoms."

  I was already pretty familiar with the consequences of being cruel to Aaron, and although the consequences didn't feel exactly great in the moment, afterward, I always felt nearly weak with desire and excitement. And just based on how granite-hard Aaron's manhood would be after administering my consequences, and just based on how sometimes his hands would even be trembling after, I was pretty sure he felt the same.

  He stopped caressing my bottom and gave my cheeks a firm squeeze. "Naughty girls who tease their soon-to-be husbands have to submit to a good, hard spanking."

  I swallowed, even as an ache developed low in my belly. "Oh, yeah? Well, that's only if you can catch me."

  I whirled out of Aaron's arms and began striding over to the opposite end of the cabin. But I only made it a few steps before he caught me, right in front of our bed.

  "Well, thank you, darling. I didn't expect you to so helpfully walk yourself right over to where I intend to position you for your spanking."

  I swallowed again, even as the bud at the center of my
womanhood began tingling. "Oops."

  I really hadn't intended to have him stop me by the bed, although I really didn't mind.

  Aaron gave me a sly grin, his eyes glassy. "An honest mistake in my favor. I'll take it."

  And with that, he gently bent me over the bed, pinned my wrists behind my back with his left hand, and pulled my underwear down with his right, exposing my naked bottom. I bit back a sound between a moan and a whimper. Aaron circled both of my rear cheeks with a slow, firm hand, his voice coming out as a low growl.

  "Now, while I'm spanking you, I want you to think about how cruel it is for gorgeous, lusciously curvy girls to tease their soon-to-be husbands."