Captivating the Bear

by Jane Godman

  Beauty...and Her Beast?

  Desperate to escape an arranged marriage, Lidiya Rihanoff sets off to find the only man who can help her. Ged Taverner wants the world to think he’s just the manager of a rock band, but Lidi knows the truth: he’s a king in exile—and a shape-shifter, just like her. She’s not ready for the overwhelming desire she feels for him. And he’s not expecting to find his destined mate...

  There was a question in his eyes as he looked down at her, and Lidi knew Ged was signaling that, at least for now, he had stopped fighting his feelings.

  He was letting her know she was in control of what happened next.

  Reaching up a hand, she hooked it around the back of his neck and pulled him down to her. Ged placed both hands on her waist and Lidi wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning into him, wanting closer, tighter. He held her like she was made of glass, and she could feel the hammering of his heart against her breast. He was nervous and she wasn’t. She had never been so sure of anything in her life.

  “I won’t break.” She whispered the words against his mouth.

  He made a sound that was midway between a laugh and a groan. “I want this...want you...so much. But—”

  She silenced him by pressing her lips to his.

  Jane Godman writes in a variety of romance genres, including paranormal, gothic and romantic suspense. Jane lives in England and loves to travel to European cities that are steeped in history and romance—Venice, Dubrovnik and Vienna are among her favorites. Jane is married to a lovely man and is mom to two grown-up children.

  Books by Jane Godman

  Harlequin Nocturne

  Otherworld Protector

  Otherworld Renegade

  Otherworld Challenger

  Immortal Billionaire

  The Unforgettable Wolf

  One Night with the Valkyrie

  Awakening the Shifter

  Enticing the Dragon

  Captivating the Bear

  Harlequin E Shivers

  Legacy of Darkness

  Echoes in the Darkness

  Valley of Nightmares

  Darkness Unchained

  Harlequin Romantic Suspense

  The Coltons of Red Ridge

  Colton and the Single Mom

  Sons of Stillwater

  Covert Kisses

  The Soldier’s Seduction

  Secret Baby, Second Chance

  Visit the Author Profile page at Harlequin.com for more titles.

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  Captivating the Bear

  Jane Godman

  Dear Reader,

  Captivating the Bear is the third book featuring one of the bad-boy stars of Beast, the rock band with a difference. Don’t worry if you haven’t read any of the other books. It won’t affect your enjoyment of this one. Although I do recommend the others. They are action-packed paranormal adventures and great love stories!

  Captivating the Bear is the story of Ged Taverner, Beast’s enigmatic manager. A frighteningly efficient businessman by day, in his private life, Ged has more secrets than the rest of the band put together.

  He is a bear shifter who is also the exiled ruler of the magical kingdom of Callistoya. When his crown was stolen from him, Ged built a whole new persona as a rescuer of endangered shifters. That’s how Beast was formed. The band members owe him more than loyalty, but they know nothing of his past.

  When Lidiya Rihanoff escapes from her prison cell and flees Callistoya, she knows there is only one man who can help her. Ged may have turned his back on his royal roots, but his country, and Lidi, the beautiful bear shifter who has tracked him down, need him.

  Even though Callistoyan tradition dictates they can’t be together, the attraction between Lidi and Ged is as powerful and magical as the forces driving them back to their homeland.

  I’d love to hear from you. You can contact me at:

  Website: www.janegodmanauthor.com

  Twitter: @JaneGodman

  Facebook: Jane Godman Author

  Happy reading,

  Jane

  This book is dedicated to my grandchildren. They bring so much joy to my life just by being in it.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Excerpt from Kindling the Darkness by Jane Kindred

  Chapter 1

  Lidiya Rihanoff was doing her best to be objective about the situation, which wasn’t easy when she was caught up in the center of a screaming, sobbing crowd.

  She had spent the last hour slowly working her way through the hysterical throng until she found herself a place up against the crash barriers. It had proved surprisingly difficult. Lidi had trained with warriors. She knew how to deal with combat situations. This was different. Faced with an adoring group of rock fans who did not want to relinquish the opportunity to get up close to their idols, she was at a loss. Her usual street-fighting tactics wouldn’t do. Eye gouging and throat punching would have brought her to the attention of the police officers who were standing at regular intervals along the route. In the end, she resorted to strategically using her elbows. When that didn’t work, she dealt out a few surreptitious ankle kicks.

  Now she was pressed right up against the barrier, with a clear view of the movie theater and its red-carpeted steps. From the mounting fervor, and the way the security guards were pacing back and forth along the street, she guessed the stars were about to arrive at any minute.

  It was winter, but the temperatures in the South of France were like a summer day in her home country of Callistoya. Sweat beaded her forehead and trickled down her spine as she was jostled and pushed. Even so, she couldn’t remove her sweatshirt. Beneath it, her long-sleeved T-shirt was torn, the shredded material revealing the injuries to her arm. She couldn’t risk drawing attention to herself.

  “Here they come!” The woman next to her spoke English, a language in which Lidi was fluent. Her screech was accompanied by a curious gesture. Putting her fingers on either side of her head, she made them into devil horns. A quick glance around revealed a number of other people doing the same thing. She laughed at Lidi’s bemused expression. “Sign of the Beast.”

  Two stretch limousines drew up to one side of the theater. On the opposite side of the street, hundreds of photographers were already in position with their cameras poised.

  A man bounded out of the first vehicle before it had stopped, and the flashbulbs went wild in time with the crescendo around Lidi.

  “Who is he?” She had to mouth the words to the helpful stranger.

  “Khan. Lead singer.” She got up close and yelled her response directly into Lidi’s ear. “The woman with him is his wife, Sarange.”

  Lidi watched as the group of glamorous figures exited the cars and posed on the red carpet. Her new friend bellowed out an ex
cited commentary. Next came Torque, the rhythm guitarist, with his blonde wife, Hollie. The dark-haired, muscle-bound man with the brooding expression was the drummer, Diablo. Then there was the lead guitarist, Dev, and the bass player, Finglas.

  Lidi paid only scant attention. Her interest in the members of the internationally famous rock band Beast began and ended with their ability to lead her to the man she was seeking. Was he here? She scanned the group on the red carpet. He had to be here.

  As if the intensity of her thoughts had somehow communicated themselves across the distance between the crash barriers and to the building on the other side of the road, a man strode down the steps. He was talking on his cell phone, clearly engrossed in his conversation.

  Lidi’s breath caught in her throat. Just from his height and the width of his shoulders she knew it was him.

  She gestured to the woman next to her, not trusting her voice.

  “Ged Taverner.” A little shiver ran through Lidi as she heard the name. “He’s Beast’s manager.”

  Ged Taverner. That was what he called himself now, but Lidi knew his true identity. The tall, imposing figure she was looking at was Gerald Tavisha, the rightful king of Callistoya.

  She had heard so much about this man that his nearness almost took her breath away. Until his exile he had embodied everything the warrior-heroes of the magical shifter state of Callistoya held dear. Chivalry, honor and a deep, abiding love of their country.

  Lidi would never understand why he had stayed away instead of raising an army and fighting the man who had stolen his throne. But all that mattered now was that she had found him.

  As she gazed across the distance between them, a new sensation swept over her. Stinging and cloying at the same time, like a hit of hot sugar surging through her bloodstream. It was the craziest feeling, a wild urgency that made her want to vault over the barrier and throw herself into Ged Taverner’s arms.

  She looked around her at the longing faces. Mass hysteria. That must be what she was experiencing. Despite her noble upbringing, she had put her dignity aside and been infected by the mood around her. But she wasn’t here to be part of this. She was a Rihanoff of Aras. She could rise above it.

  It didn’t matter what she told herself. The feeling persisted, growing stronger, becoming a wild, yearning ache throughout her body, but centering very specifically in the throbbing pulse between her legs. Everything around her came sharply into focus, every sense heightening until she was quivering with tension.

  What exactly is happening to me?

  Her concentration became centered on Ged and it appeared she was not the only one suffering. Frowning, he looked up from his call, the cell phone held slightly away from his ear as he scanned the crowd. Excitement powered through Lidi as a new realization hit her.

  It’s him. He is the reason I’m feeling this way.

  Across the yards that separated them, she knew he could feel the same longing that was driving her demented. An invisible cord between them was being tightened, drawing them closer together. Heat burned up the air between them. The urge to go to him and wrap her body around his was becoming a storm in her blood.

  Because of the distance, she couldn’t see the finer detail of his looks, but her impression was of strength and muscle, of ruggedly carved aristocratic features, a square, stubborn chin, wavy, butterscotch-brown hair, and eyes that faced the world with the same bravery and determination as her own. It was the look that had embodied Callistoya. Once. Before the unthinkable had happened.

  Just as she thought she couldn’t take any more, the group on the red carpet began to move. With a final wave to the fans, they made their way inside the theater. Ged remained on the steps for a moment or two after they’d gone, a look of confusion on his face.

  Finally, with a reluctant shrug, he turned away and the spell was broken. Lidi shuddered as her body tried to deal with the return to normality. She almost laughed out loud. Normality? For her, there would never be such a thing again.

  She had come here to find the only man who could save her father and her country. It had not been part of her schemes to also find her mate. But the decree of the fates was absolute. For every shifter there was a match. One true life partner. The rush of feeling she’d experienced when she gazed at Ged could mean only one thing. The fates had decided he was the one for her.

  Stifling a groan, she tried to get her errant emotions under control. Arousal? Attraction? Gazing longingly at the handsome bear-shifter king? Being struck dumb by my fated mate? I don’t have time for this right now.

  Lidi had a plan and she was determined to stick to it. Resolutely, she turned to her helpful new acquaintance.

  “Do you know where the band are staying?”

  * * *

  Ged Taverner tried to concentrate on what the man standing next to him was saying.

  “Small venues are a nightmare.” Rick, Beast’s head of security, gazed moodily out at the crowd of fans. “Give me an arena or a sports stadium anytime.”

  Ged managed a suitable reply, saying something about the importance of this theater in Cannes as the most suitable place in which to screen the premiere of the band’s documentary. The whole time, his mind was preoccupied.

  What the hell had just happened?

  One minute he had been walking down the steps, talking on his cell with a French national newspaper about an interview, the next...he shook his head. It had been like a bolt of lightning, hitting him full-on as he walked out into the sunlight. He had no idea where it had come from, or what had caused it. When he had raised his head, seeking the source of the enchantment that held him helpless, he had known with absolute certainty that it was coming from somewhere in the throng of fans across the street.

  As his eyes scanned the crowd, he had been in the grip of the most powerful emotion he had ever experienced. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t shake free of it.

  Who are you?

  Ged was a shifter. His bear senses had kicked in, taking over from his human perception. Although it wasn’t his dominant sense, his sight was good. Even so, trying to pick out one person among the mass had been impossible. But scent...that was a different matter. He could pick up a smell twenty miles away. The delicious aroma from the other side of the street had made his nostrils flare. It reminded him of clean, warm fur. Of winter sunshine, fresh, clear water and deep, dark pine forests.

  How could he have been so sure the origin of that new fire in his blood was female? The answer was simple. Not only was his reaction to her knee-weakening and breathtaking, it was also zipper straining. His tailored pants had started to feel snug and he had dug his hands into his pockets, cursing the fate that had decided to put him in this predicament while he was wearing a tuxedo. Scratch that. He had cursed the fate that had decided to put him in this situation. Period.

  Because he knew what had happened. Of course. Shifters were creatures of tradition. Their lives were ruled by legend and magic. Ged, along with every other werebear, had been brought up to respect the ancient traditions that ruled his life.

  There is one mate for each of us, and we will know our mate instantly.

  He had heard other shifters talk about that moment of recognition. He’d even seen it happen recently for two of his friends. That moment of seeing their mate for the first time and knowing there was no going back. They described it as being like a drug, an injection of pure, undiluted passion direct into the bloodstream, delivering a perfect high. An instant, uncontrollable addiction.

  Ged understood all of that. But there was no way it could happen for him. A king in exile? Even if he had any sort of order in his life, he was a bear. Other shifters could do the mates-for-life thing. Callistoya werebears were notorious for the control they had over their emotions. Even if he was prepared to accept the concept of instant, lifelong passion, it wasn’t happening with someone he hadn’t even looked in th
e eye.

  That was what he tried to tell himself, but his body was giving him other messages. When the time came to go into the theater, it took all of his considerable strength to turn away. Every nerve ending was crying out to cross the street and find her. Every fiber of his being was alight with the need to grab her, claim her and never let her go.

  Need her. Now.

  The strength of that feeling hadn’t faded once he was inside the building. The burn wasn’t as fierce, but it was still there. He still hadn’t seen her face, but she had started a fire in his blood and it was raging out of control.

  He sat in the elegant theater, surrounded by celebrities, and watched the images on the screen. At least, he assumed that was what he did. He had no memory afterward of watching the documentary that had consumed so much of his life over the last twelve months.

  At the after-party, he accepted the congratulations and praise, laughing off any suggestions about the awards that were likely to come flooding his way. He knew the movie, a snapshot of six months on the road with Beast, was good. The strength of the story was in the editing. The truth would never be told. The world would never be ready to learn that one of the most famous bands on the planet was really a group of shifters.

  As he drank too much champagne and discovered that, as usual, there weren’t enough dainty canapés to fill his large frame, part of Ged’s mind was disengaged from the elegant occasion.

  Who was she? It couldn’t be coincidence that she was here in Cannes at the same time as him...

  A strong grip on his shoulder shook him out of his musings. “I’ve got to hand it to you.” Khan, the band’s lead singer, gestured around the room, encompassing the group of designer-clad guests. “You sure know how to throw a dull party.”

  Ged laughed. “Tonight is about money and influence, not about getting wasted and behaving outrageously. Make sure Torque knows that before he sets fire to the drapes, will you?”

  “I guess that means swinging from the chandeliers is forbidden?” Khan was a weretiger. Intuition wasn’t his strong point, but the two men had been friends for a long time. His eyes scanned Ged’s face for a moment. “Everything okay with you?”