There was no way I was sleeping away from her tonight. I couldn’t, even if I wanted to. I needed to be closer to her.
Lucas, my third oldest brother angled up to me, his eyes on Elizabeth. “As the leader of this here ranch, you have a job to do. There seems to be a gap in the fence up the hill. Someone called and said one of the cows got out.”
“Keep your eyes to yourself, Lucas.”
He shrugged. “Just trying to understand what you see in her. She’s kind of fat.”
I’d punched him before I even realized what I was doing. Lucas reeled back and tripped over a tree root that stuck out of the ground. “Fuck off.”
I headed in Elizabeth’s direction, where she was standing and watching me with her hand across her stomach. I knelt in front of her so I could press my lips to her belly. “I have to go up and see about an escaped cow. Will you be okay here for a couple of hours? I’ll come back just as soon as I can.”
She ran her fingers through my hair and nodded. “Of course. You don’t need company, though?”
I grazed her breasts on my way up, just to tease her, and growled when I heard her intake of breath. I wanted to throw her on top of one of the picnic tables and take her then and there. “I wish I could justify making you trek up the side of a mountain, but I can’t. You can keep me company later tonight, though.”
Her grin said she’d be glad to. “Be careful.”
I kissed her on the forehead and then hurried off towards my truck.
CHAPTER 16: Elizabeth
The sun was high in the sky and the BBQ was well underway when things went a little haywire. Carolyn and Bailey made me feel more than welcome. They treated me so well that I was starting to feel a little guilty for taking up all of their time. When they both had to go and check on stuff in the kitchen, I made my way to the drinks table and grabbed a bottle of water.
I’d been introduced to Alex’s brothers very briefly when we’d arrived. They’d seemed distant and cold, without one ounce of the warmth that Carolyn, Bailey, and Alex seemed to possess. When I spotted the oldest one, Matt, approaching, I quickly turned and attempted to get away.
As my luck would have it, he was just as freakishly tall as Alex and easily caught up to me. He lightly grasped my arm and pulled me to a stop. “Where are you off to, Beth?”
I frowned. Sam had been the only person to ever call me Beth and I hated it.
“Elizabeth. And I was just going to see if your mom needs any help in the kitchen.”
“She doesn’t. I was hoping to catch you without Alex hovering over you.”
A pit formed in my stomach but I tried to contain it. “Why?”
He frowned. “Well, I just wanted to make sure you’re okay with everything. It’s not every day that a woman agrees to become a mother just to help a guy take over his dead father’s ranch.”
I balled my hands into fists and looked around. “What are you talking about?”
He acted like he was shocked. “You don’t know?! Oh, no. This is crazy. I was sure you were in on it with Alex…”
I felt the urge to punch him, but contained it.
“Spit it out.”
“Our Dad wrote it into his will that the first son to have an heir gets the entire ranch. You’re a little money pot, Beth. You and that little bear in you. You’re bringing a huge fortune to Alex. It’s no wonder he’s been giving you sweet looks. I can just see the dollar signs in his eyes.”
I didn’t buy into it for a second. I’d talked a little bit to Carolyn about her husband. She told me that when it’s right, it’s right. She’d been drawn to her husband the same way that that I was drawn to Alex. Unexplainably. Inexplicably. Unrelentingly. As crazy as it was that I’d stumbled upon Alex, it was right.
“Does your ass get jealous of the shit that comes out of your mouth? If you’re going to bully someone, I suggest you don’t try to pull it on a girl who grew up in the streets of DC. Now, I’m going to excuse myself. Good luck with everything.”
I walked away from him and headed in the direction that I’d seen Alex go. I needed to see him.
It’d been a while since he’d left and I figured he’d be on his way back before too long. I’d just meet him on the road.
I hiked up the road and found Alex’s truck parked off to the side. His clothes were thrown on the hood of the truck and my heart began racing in my chest. What could he be doing that required him to take all of his clothes off?
With images of him having sex with someone against a tree, I let my pregnancy hormones drive me. I crept through the woods, deciding that I was going to catch him in the act. I’d been so sure of our connection just minutes before, and there I was, creeping through the woods in an effort to catch him with his pants down. Off. His pants were off.
I heard movement up ahead and stepped behind a big tree. I knew I looked crazy and I felt it even more so, but something wasn’t right.
After a few seconds, I peeked my head around the tree and screamed for all I was worth. Standing less than six feet from me was the biggest bear I’d ever seen. Not that I’d ever seen a bear face to face.
It just stood there, staring at me. There was something in its face that read annoyed, but that had to be the hysteria I was feeling. I was going to die and it would be Alex’s fault. If he’d just kept his pants on, things would’ve been different.
I made a movement to step backwards and the bear grunted at me. It reached its paw out at me and I had a vision of it hurting my baby. I snapped and reached out and slapped its paw away. “You’re not killing me. Not today. I have a baby in here and I will fistfight a bear to keep him safe if I have to.”
It backed up a step and then Alex appeared in its spot, naked and grinning. “You’d fistfight a bear for our cub?”
CHAPTER 16: Elizabeth
I blinked a few times, unsure if I was still alive.
“Wha… what just happened?”
He looked sheepish and ran a hand through his hair and blew out a long, slow breath. “No more secrets.”
I leaned against the tree. My mind was slowly trying to make sense of what I’d just seen. The bear had just… become Alex. One second it was a bear; the next second it was Alex.
“I’m sorry, Elizabeth. I didn’t want you to find out like this. My bear just smelled you and came towards you.”
I shook my head to clear it and then looked up at him. At Alex, the guy that I’d somehow fallen in love with without even knowing it. Alex, the bear-man. Man-bear? Something in me snapped back into place and I reached out and smacked him.
“I thought you were cheating on me! I saw your clothes and your truck and thought I was going to find you out here with another woman!”
He raised an eyebrow. “I just revealed that I’m a bear shifter and you’re pissed because you thought I was cheating?”
I thought about it. “Yeah. You scared the hell out of me. I just verbally whipped your brother for even suggesting you didn’t care for me and then I come out here and thought I’d find you… the way I did Sam. I was scared. Terrified.”
“Which one?”
“Huh?”
“You said you had words with my brother. Which one?”
“Matt. He’s an ass.”
“Did he touch you?”
I rolled my eyes. “Does it matter? Can we get back to the matter at hand? What the hell is a bear shifter? Am I dead? I feel like this whole thing is surreal.”
Alex caught my shoulders and pulled me against his naked body. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tight. “I’m a bear shifter. And no, you’re not dead. Feel my heartbeat?”
I pressed my ear to his chest and listened to it racing away. “Why is it going so fast?”
“Because I’m afraid you’re going to run away from me.”
I leaned away from him and shook my head. “I’m still here.”
“I’m a shifter. I can turn into a bear…”
It all made sense. As much something like this could make se
nse. I’d seen his eyes take on an inhuman glow multiple times. I knew there had to be something special about him that would explain that. I just never in my wildest dreams could have imagined it would be this. I’d watched True Blood like half of the rest of the country. I knew what shifters were. I just didn’t they actually existed. Like in real life. “Do it again.”
He moved away from me and in a blur of movement, his body contorted and he was a bear again. He huffed and went down on all fours so he was closer to my height. He was huge. Ginormous.
I reached out and slowly rested my hand on his head.
“Holy shit.”
He made a sound that was so similar to laughter that I couldn’t help but laugh myself. I stroked his head and neck, feeling the coarse hair beneath my fingertips. It was either real or this was hands down the most vivid dream I’d ever had.
“This is amazing, Alex. Can you understand me?”
He huffed again and nuzzled his face against me. A small flutter in my stomach surprised me and I looked down at it with shock on my face.
Alex was instantly standing next to me again. “What’s wrong?”
“He just kicked, I think. It’s early, though. When you put your face against my belly, he moved.” I laughed. “Is he going to come out a bear?”
He looked appalled. “Of course, not!”
I laughed even harder. It was all so crazy. “I’m kidding, Alex. He will be like you, though, right?”
He nodded and watched me curiously. “He will. And one day he will feel the same pull towards someone as I feel towards you. My whole family is like this. I’ll explain everything better later.”
I nodded. “Yeah, you will.”
“How are you taking this so well?”
“I don’t know. I think all of this has just been crazy enough that I’m more stunned than anything. Maybe I’ll freak out later. Maybe I won’t. How do people normally take this news?”
He touched my cheek. “People don’t normally find out. That’s why the town was so closed up when you got here. It’s a big secret to keep.”
I pouted. “But they were nice to Sam.”
Alex growled and pulled me into his chest. “Mine.”
I nipped at his chest. “Were you trying to eat me earlier? Is that a thing?”
His laughter rang out loud and clear through the forest.
“No. We do not eat people. There is something I wanted to explain to you, though. About mates.”
“Mates? Bailey said that before. Are we mates?”
“Yes. Mates are just like they sound. Soulmates. You were meant for me and I was meant for you. I could feel it the very first time I laid eyes on you at the rodeo. I knew you were mine.”
I kissed him then, desperate to feel something solid. “What does it mean?”
He kissed me back. “It means that we’re going to be together for a long time. It means that I love you, and that my heart belongs to you.”
I grinned up at him. “This is all so insane and I’m sure you’ll have to explain it all a million times later, but right now, I just want to be close to you. As close as I can get.”
He ripped the straps of my dress and pushed it off my shoulders. With a predatory look on his face, he pushed me against the tree. “As close as possible?”
My body reacted instantly, the same way it had this morning and three months ago. Maybe it was the mate thing, or maybe it was just how hot Alex was. I couldn’t be sure, but either way, I wanted him. “What did you have to explain to me about mates? I have about two more minutes of listening before I’m tackling you and having my way with you.”
He pushed my dress over my belly and hips and let it fall to the ground. His fingers cupped my sex and his mouth landed on my neck. “This. Mates claim each other. I wasn’t trying to eat you earlier. I want to claim you as mine. Everything in me is screaming at me to mark you so no one ever thinks they can touch you again.”
His lips felt amazing against my skin and I was ready to agree to anything. “Is it a hickey?”
He flicked his tongue over the same spot. “No. I bite you. It’s a bond between us.”
“Will it hurt?”
“Maybe for a second or two. It’ll be worth it, though.”
I rocked my hips against his hand, trying to get him to rub my clit. “Do you still want to?”
He scraped his teeth there and made me gasp with pleasure. “Fuck, yes. I’ve wanted to since that first night. It took everything in me not to do it.”
I tilted my head farther to the side. “I want you to mark me. I want to be yours. Do I mark you?”
He yanked my panties down and easily lifted me until my core hovered over his dick. “When I mark you, Elizabeth, everyone will know that I belong to you. You own my heart, little one.”
I cried out as he dropped me onto his shaft and pinned me against the tree. I dug my nails into his shoulders and held on. I wanted him more than anything. Nothing else mattered.
Alex drove into me again and again, filling my body until I thought I couldn’t take anymore. “I’ve missed you so much. Never leave me again.”
“My bear, make me yours.”
My body was close already. Alex seemed like he was right there with me. His thrusts were erratic and his grip on my thighs punishing. I tilted my head to the side, inviting him to claim me. I wanted to be tied to him forever.
Alex let out a roar louder than anything I’d ever heard and then sank his teeth into my neck. Stinging pain lasted for only a second before blinding pleasure filled me and I tumbled into the strongest orgasm of my life. I ripped my nails across his back as the pleasure shook me. Alex jerked into me once more before I felt his seed filling me.
I felt him licking my neck but my head was so light that it just rolled back. My body felt like all my bones had been removed. I slumped against the tree behind me and mumbled his name.
Alex held me tight in his arms and lowered us both to the ground. He laid me on his chest and held me tight. “It’s okay, little one.”
I lost track of how much time we’d been there, recovering, but the night had fallen without my knowledge. I idly played with Alex’s hair and pressed kisses against his chest.
“How do you feel?”
I lifted my tired head to stare at him and gave him a satisfied grin. “Like I should’ve stayed here three months ago and kept doing that.”
He grunted. “I should’ve tied you up and made you stay.”
I flicked my tongue over his nipple. “You should’ve, mate.”
Alex hardened under me and shifted us so that I was straddling him. “Are you too tired?”
I grabbed him and then lowered myself onto him, filling myself with my mate. “Never.”
He reached up and filled his hands with my breasts. “I love you like this. Ride me, Elizabeth.”
Who was I to deny my mate? I leaned over him and kissed him long and hard. “I love you, bear.”
“Always.”
THE END
RANCHER BEAR’S MAIL ORDER MATE
STORY DESCRIPTION
Matt Long has had a hell of a six months. Hiding out like a hermit in the little cabin at the top of the mountain, fighting with his brothers, drinking himself under the table, and sleeping all day. When he isn’t roaming the woods as his bear, Matt is wallowing in misery and guilt.
Running out of time, and with a nasty ex literally nipping at her heels, Leila Harold makes a desperate move. She bribes her way into Beatrix’s Buxom Beauties, a mail-order bride service. She just needs a way out of town. But, when Leila opens the door to the small cabin deep in a pine forest in Landing, Wyoming, instead of finding her intended, she comes face to face with a giant grizzly bear. Lovely.
Matt had forgotten all about the mail order bride website. It was a drunken mistake. He tries to scare her away with his bear, but she just seems more annoyed than anything. She’s not new to the shifter game.
Both, however, are new to the magnetic pull of finding one’s tr
ue mate. They try to fight it, but it’s no use.
Not even a cranky bear like Matt can run true love away.
CHAPTER 1: Leila
I was wearing the same clothes that I’d worn the day before. Jeans and a thick sweater that’d seen better days. My hair was dirty and hanging limply from a ponytail. I hadn’t touched makeup in years, so every dark circle and bag was clearly displayed, without a trace of concealer to hide behind. What I’d give for a stick of concealer. What’d I’d do for a chance at a hot shower.
“Next stop, Landing. Two hours until arrival.” The bus driver announced over the static filled speaker system. He glanced at me through the rear view mirror and shook his head. “Sure you’re okay, lady?”
I hugged myself tighter and nodded. “Never been better.”
It was the truth, and wasn’t that just the saddest thing ever? Two years earlier, I would’ve seen that bus as a big doom wagon. What a thing perspective was. That bus was a freedom wagon, carrying me straight to another chance at life.
I knew nothing about Landing, Wyoming, except that there was a man there named Matt Long who was desperate for a wife. My stomach twisted, but I knew that no man could be as bad as my ex. Even if Matt Long was a balding man who wore gold chains and referred to me as his bitch, he’d be better than my ex.
I stood up and made my way to the bathroom at the back of the bus. The only other person who’d gotten on the bus in Cheyenne had gotten off earlier in the trip, so I had no competition. The tiny room smelled like death and I prayed the smell didn’t stick to me.
My reflection in the small mirror was sad and pitiful. The last fight I’d had with my ex showed in ghost-like prints across my neck and throat. A bite mark here and five finger impressions there. A real standup guy, he’d been. I pulled the sweater higher and tried to imagine myself as a beautiful bride arriving to meet her new husband for the first time.
Everything was wrong with the picture. Matt Long had ordered a bride. Instead of that bride, I was showing up. A beat down, beat up, smelly mess of a woman who’d bribed her way into a mail-order bride service last minute. The poor man.
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