Alex growled at his little sister from over my head. “Bailey.”
“Okay, we’re going. Come and find us when you’re done, Alex.” Carolyn sounded happier than earlier, singing her words instead of speaking them.
Alex leaned back and looked down at me. “Hi.”
I bit my lip. “Hi.”
He grinned. “You already said that.”
I felt his eyes dip lower and then felt him stiffen as he breathed in deeply. I knew he was seeing my belly and I knew things weren’t going to be as nice as they’d just been. I pulled away and went back to the counter. “As you can probably see, I gained a little weight while I was away.”
He stuttered out nonsensical words and kept his eyes on my stomach.
“Bad joke, you’re right. I’m actually pregnant. I found out last month and I’ve been trying to think of a better way to tell you, but a singing telegram just didn’t feel right.” I continued on when he still remained frozen. “Another bad joke. Okay. Well, he’s yours. I just… know. I’ve been to the doctor and he’s healthy. Bigger than normal babies his age, but healthy.”
“He?”
“The man speaks!” I laughed awkwardly and wrung my hands together. “I don’t know for sure yet, but I just have a feeling. I’m sorry to just burst back into your life like this, Alex, but I thought you might want to know.”
He shook his head.
My heart sank. I had envisioned a thousand different scenarios, but I hadn’t been able to stop my hope from building. There had been something between us that night. There still was if the way he grabbed me meant anything. Maybe I was mistaken, though.
“Okay. I’m sorry.” I turned to leave and tried to fight the tears back.
“Wait! Where are you going?” He rushed over to me and grabbed my arms. “I didn’t mean no. I’m just… shocked. I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again and then you’re here. Carrying my baby…”
I rested my hands on his chest and felt my body respond to his. “I can’t imagine how big of a shock this is. Why don’t you take some time to process it?”
He frowned down at me. “I don’t need time.”
“You don’t?”
“No. He’s mine. My father made me the man I am today. There’s no way I’m leaving this little guy-or girl- without a father. Absolutely not.”
His intensity hit me right in the chest and I had to look away from him. I wanted him to feel the same intense possession with me, but I knew that was an insane feeling. Nothing was making sense with him standing so close. I needed some space to figure things out.
“I think I need to rest. I’ve been feeling sick lately. Is there a cab I can call for a ride back to town?”
“A cab?”
I shifted from foot to foot, feeling a little more than antsy to get away. “I need some space.”
I spun around and rushed to the door. It swung open just as I got closer and I charged past the young man standing there. I just wanted to get away.
“Elizabeth!”
“Beth?”
I turned too quickly to the right and went down hard on my hands and knees. It knocked the air out of my lungs, but I still managed to croak out the one name I thought I’d never say again. “Sam?”
CHAPTER 12: Alex
My heart was raging in my chest. I’d been dreaming about seeing Elizabeth again since the moment she left. I’d been an idiot for letting her leave. I knew she was my mate and yet I didn’t fight for her because I was too busy panicking like a pussy.
I’d managed to drink my way through enough whiskey to float a boat while she’d been away. I’d tried to find her, but I had nothing to go on besides her first name and that she lived in DC.
Then, she was there, standing in front of me, smelling like heaven. It’d taken me a few minutes to realize that she was softer and her smell had changed. She smelled like me. The little cub inside her smelled just like me.
I’d managed to fuck it up, though. I was still hungover and my head was throbbing, so I’d said the wrong thing. All I wanted to do was carry her back to my trailer and keep her by my side. Well, I wanted to sink into her again and again while claiming her, too. I’d smelled her arousal in the air and I was seconds from dragging her away like a caveman.
I chased her as she ran and watched as one of the guys working on setting up the tents called her name. She twisted and then went down hard. All I could think about was the fact that my mate was hurt.
I ran to her side and went to my knees beside her. “You okay? Talk to me, sweetheart.”
The idiot who’d called her name came closer and I let out a violent growl at him. He wasn’t getting close to my mate. She was mine and I’d kill anyone who tried to take her from me.
Elizabeth coughed and climbed back to her feet. I could smell her blood in the air and it made the animal in me a little wild. I was close to turning and letting my bear loose on everyone around us.
She rested her hands on my shoulders and looked down at me. “Did you just growl at him?”
“Just letting him know to stay the fuck away.”
She tilted her head to the side. “You know he’s my ex?”
I turned my head to face the little fucker who’d hurt my mate. I stood up and towered over him, reveling in the stench of fear coming off of him. “You’re the fucking idiot who cheated on her?”
Elizabeth held my hand and tugged me towards her. “Come on. Just take me home.”
My bear stood up even taller. “Home? The trailer?”
She nodded. “Yeah. Don’t do whatever you’re thinking of doing.”
The little shit came closer. “Beth, what are you doing back here? How do you know this guy?”
She rubbed her stomach and looked every bit the mother bear that I’d pictured in my dreams of her. “It’s none of your business. Go away.”
His eyes trailed down to her stomach and I watched as he breathed in and scented me on her. “You’re pregnant with this fucking guy’s kid?”
I stepped closer to him and Elizabeth put herself between us. She looked up at me and rested both of her hands on my chest. “Take me home. Please, Alex. I hurt myself.”
Immediately, I calmed and lifted her into my arms. “We’re going to a doctor.”
“No, I just need some alcohol and a-”
“A doctor. After that, I’ll take you home.”
She grumbled, but let me carry her away. “I know I’m even heavier now. You can put me down, Alex.”
I opened my truck door and put her inside gently. I lingered next to face, breathing in her scent. My bear, who’d been pissed at me for months, decided to talk to me again in that moment. He demanded I mark her and refuse her if she ever said she wanted to leave again. He didn’t understand that human females wouldn’t like that.
“You’re not heavy. You’re perfect and pregnant with my baby.”
She sucked in a deep breath and chewed on her bottom lip.
“I missed you. I looked for you.”
Elizabeth’s eyes went wide. “You did? Why?”
I tucked her hair behind her ears and cupped her face. “Because I wanted you here with me.”
“You did?” She sounded shocked.
I planned to show her how much I wanted her at my side. “Let’s get you to the doctor and then we’ll talk tonight.
CHAPTER 13: Elizabeth
After the doctor’s visit, where I was checked out and had the newly shredded skin on my knees wrapped up, Alex drove me to his trailer and insisted on carrying me inside. Only after he’d gotten me settled on his couch with a blanket and a glass of water did he sit beside me.
“Do you need anything else?”
I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes. “No. I’m fine. And I don’t need this blanket, either. It’s about a thousand degrees outside, Alex.”
He pushed it back at me when I pushed it off. “Maybe the baby is cold.”
I stared at him with a blank face. “You’re kidding.”
Alex sat back on the couch and shook his head. “What? It could happen, right?”
I sighed. “I’m having a baby with someone who thinks my baby can be cold inside of me.”
He reached over and grabbed me before dragging me into his side. “Our baby.”
I looked up at him and tried to contain the excitement that built in me. The way he was talking, it sounded like he wanted to be with me. My head spun from how crazy it all was, but I wanted it more than anything. I’d come hoping that he would want something with me.
“This feels insane, Alex. What is this thing between us?”
“I could tell you but you’d probably tell me that I’d lost it.”
I stretched out and rested my head against his chest. “I just quit my job for the second time and told my landlord that I would let him know whether or not I’d be needing the apartment past this month. I got a flight across the country and then a bus to the smallest town ever, where people don’t seem to like me very much. Just on the off chance that you could possibly want to do this thing with me. Try me.”
Laughter rumbled deep in his chest. “We’re meant to be together. You were made for me.”
My heart raced against my rib cage. “You believe that?”
He caught my chin with his finger and turned my face so I was staring at him. “It’s true. I believe it with my whole heart. That’s just the way things work in my family, Elizabeth. My Mom and Dad were the same way. They were meant for each other the same way we are.”
I could feel his sincerity and was overwhelmed with the need to sob. I couldn’t fight it and ended up with my face buried in his chest. “I’m sorry!”
“What’s wrong, Elizabeth?”
I sagged against him. “I’m hormonal and that was the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard.”
He just held me tighter and pressed his lips to my head. “Thank you for coming home to me, little one.”
CHAPTER 14: Elizabeth
The next morning, I woke up early and started my day by vomiting in Alex’s bathroom sink while he was peeing. Thankfully, I hadn’t eaten much the night before. I dry heaved into the sink after everything was out of my stomach and groaned.
Alex flushed the toilet and came up behind me and rubbed my back. “Are you okay, baby?”
I shook his hands off of my back and turned the faucet on to rinse everything away. “You just peed and then rubbed all over me.”
“Sorry.” After a second, he continued on. “Are these the pregnancy hormones talking?”
I stood up straight and glared at him through the mirror. “Don’t ever ask me that again.”
“Right. Good point.” He washed his hands and then dried them on his shirt before wrapping his arms around me. “Is this okay?”
All of my anger faded. I sagged against his chest and nodded. “I’m sorry. I just slept terribly and this little guy isn’t happy if he isn’t causing me some trouble.”
“Let me stay with you tonight.”
I felt how sincere he was in wanting to stay with me poking against my back.
We’d spent the afternoon and night talking and getting to know each other. We’d gone over the basic things, anyway. I knew his favorite color was brown and was seriously worried about him because of it. I knew he loved sweets and kept a bag of skittles in his truck at all times. I knew that he was the youngest out of four brothers, but solidly older than his little sister, Bailey.
Despite knowing all of the things that he could verbalize to me, the good and the bad, I hadn’t felt like I knew him enough to start sleeping with him. It seemed silly and I knew that Alex wasn’t in love with the idea of sleeping apart, but I thought it would make me feel a little more in control. Instead, I’d tossed and turned all night. I could smell him all around me in his bed, but not having him there to touch and hold kept me squirming. My body wanted him and I couldn’t fight it.
“Okay.”
His hands moved up my stomach, stroking underneath the T-shirt I wore, until the tips of his fingers teased my breasts. His dick pressed into my back even harder and I felt myself go from dry to drenched in seconds. He cupped my breasts in his big hands and ran his thumbs over my sensitive nipples, causing me to moan and arch into him. “Pregnancy looks fucking amazing on you, Elizabeth.”
I opened my eyes and watched through the mirror as he pulled my shirt off and took in my naked body. I flushed and wanted to look away, but I made myself watch. My body had grown and changed in those three months. My stomach was fuller and protruding, as were my breasts. They’d already grown almost a cup size and it was a cup size that Alex was enjoying.
His tanned hands holding my pale breasts was something I’d have a hard time ever being able to forget. He leaned down and ran his mouth against the line of my neck. “I want you to be mine.”
I tugged at his hair. “Just yours?”
His teeth settled against my neck and slowly he added more and more pressure until there was a slight pain, but even more pleasure coursing through my body. His eyes met mine and flashed golden.
I gasped and spun around to face him. “What just happened?”
His chest heaved and he turned and left the bathroom. “Nothing. I’m going to get dressed. I have to help Mom finish up with the rest of the BBQ.”
I watched as he left and then turned back to the mirror. My mind was racing because I was one hundred percent sure I’d watched his eyes change colors. I’d never seen anything like it. “Alex?”
He moved back into the bathroom doorway and crossed his arms over his massive chest. “Yeah?”
“I want to be yours. No secrets, though. Okay?”
“Of course.”
Things were weird. I could tell he was hiding something from me. I don’t know how I knew it, but I did. The connection I felt with Alex wasn’t normal. It hadn’t been normal from the start. I felt as though I was already in love with him and I’d spent less than forty-eight hours with the man. When he spoke of us being meant for each other, I believed him, no matter how crazy my brain told me it was. Because I felt it too.
I’d been drawn back to Landing, Wyoming. Despite not enjoying it the first time around, I’d been pulled back like an addict. Everything in me had itched to be back until the bus crossed the city limits sign. I felt pulled to Alex the same way. I couldn’t make sense of it, but for some reason, that was okay.
CHAPTER 15: Alex
Elizabeth sat between my Mom and Bailey, listening to them go on and on about babies in Landing. Babies in Landing came sooner than normal babies. They were bigger and tougher and would be changing into a goddamn bear within a few months of being born. That was something I was going to have to talk to her about before it happened, because Mom and Bailey were leaving that out.
She’d almost seen the bear in me come out to play. I’d nearly marked her in the bathroom. I’d been seconds from sinking my teeth into her delicious tasting skin and leaving a claiming mark for the rest of the world to see. She’d panicked when she saw my eyes, though. There was no way she wouldn’t panic when I told her about the rest of it.
My heart pounded away in my chest at the mere thought of her running from me when she found out. I already loved her. Talking to her, listening to her speak, hearing her soft whimpers when I touched her, I couldn’t get enough. My heart was hers.
I kept an eye on her at all times, making sure no one got too close. I knew she smelled like me and carried my scent at a basic level because of our little cub, but any bear within twenty miles would be able to smell the honey scent she put off. They’d be able to smell her arousal, too. Just like I could every single time she looked at me.
“You really did it, huh?” My oldest brother, Matt, said as he stopped beside me.
I was leaning against a shade tree, enjoying watching instead of participating in the festivities. I sent a cross look at him and straightened. “Don’t start.”
Matt, as the oldest, always assumed that he would get the ranch when Dad fina
lly passed. Dad had been gone for a few months and until Elizabeth showed up at our doorstep the day before, nothing had been decided. He knew how much his oldest sons cared about money, but he wanted them to care about family, too.
Bears didn’t reproduce at the rate that other shifters did. Mom and Dad were a freak occurrence. Our population had dwindled over the years, and if bears like my brothers didn’t learn to care about family, our population would dwindle to nothing. In trying to teach his sons a lesson, Dad left a stipulation in his will that the ranch would go to the first son to produce an heir.
I’d discovered that little bit of information the month after Elizabeth left. Her leaving wrote off any chance I’d ever have of inheriting the ranch by being the first to produce an heir. Without her, I’d never want to have cubs. Hell, I hadn’t even wanted to look at another woman since I’d met Elizabeth. Not inheriting the ranch was of no consequence to me. I’d never been huge on responsibility anyway. But, seeing her show back up with my cub growing inside of her belly, changed something in me. It was as though a fire had been lit deep within. Now, I would soon have a family to provide for.
My brothers were furious. Matt and Luke had been too busy looking for loop holes in Dad’s will to actually get out and try to find a mate. It served them right, groveling over an inheritance with our dad’s body not yet cold.
Matt shoved me and stormed off in the direction of the house. He cast a glare at Elizabeth that had me growling at his back.
I looked back at Elizabeth sitting with my family. They would accept her, eventually. Humans always made bears uncomfortable at first, because they couldn’t be themselves, but knowing she was carrying my baby bear would warm them up. Then, when I finally claimed her as my own, they’d treat her like one of the family.
Elizabeth looked up at me with a grin on her face and waved at me. My dick hardened in my pants and I had to shift my footing to remain comfortable. She glanced at my pants and then giggled before turning back to her conversation.
Rancher Bear Complete Series: PLUS NEW BONUS BOOK: Rancher Bears' Merry Christmas Page 4