Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume III)

by Sarah J. Stone

  Now, Natalie and her brothers could do nothing to repay that kindness. No one could help Briar except Silas and Dana. At least she could share this tragic time with her brother and sister.

  Natalie waited, but Riskin didn’t see her standing right in front of him. She took a silent leave and headed for her own room. She wanted to check in with Max before she went to sleep, too.

  Max turned strangely distant after their last exchange. So many references in one day to meeting up somewhere couldn’t bode well. He must have been getting cold feet.

  She padded down the carpeted hall. Briar and Grace chatted in their room, and Natalie caught sight of a suitcase open on the bed. So much the better. As long as mother and daughter stayed together, they would be fine.

  Natalie turned her bedroom doorknob when she heard a knock from the living room. Riskin’s footsteps crossed the living room, and the front door gave its telltale creak when he opened it.

  Rapid fire voices echoed down the hall. “What’s going on, man?” Riskin asked.

  Natalie recognized Silas MacAllister’s clipped tones. That voice sent shivers through her. “We got a problem. Your brother is hanging around my house. He wants to challenge me.”

  Natalie froze, and Riskin’s voice strained to the breaking point. “Did he attack you?”

  “He talked to Shaw behind my back,” Silas replied. “I overheard them, but they don’t know I heard. Shaw wouldn’t play ball, but your brother won’t back down. He plans to challenge me and put Shaw in my place as soon as my Pop dies.”

  “That won’t happen,” Riskin told him. “I’ll take care of it.”

  Silas hesitated. “You promise?”

  Something made a slapping sound. “I promise. Go home, man. You don’t belong here. You belong with your family. I won’t let him do anything to disturb you at a time like this.”

  Silas growled under his breath. “He already has.”

  “I know he has, and I appreciate you coming to me instead of tearing him a new rear end. You had a right, and I wouldn’t blame you. Leave him to me, and I’ll make him wish he’d never been born.”

  “I don’t want that,” Silas told him. “Just rein him in. Keep him off my property, at least until…”

  Riskin cut him off, “I’ll rein him in, and a lot more besides. Don’t give it another thought. Leave him. I’ll take care of it.”

  Silas’s voice faltered. “Thanks, man. I knew I could count on you.”

  The front door creaked again. “Get out of here. You’re a mess. I’m bringing your sister home as soon as she packs her stuff.”

  Silas’s voice faded into the night. “Thanks again. I’ll see you later.”

  The door clicked closed, and Riskin’s bootheels clomped down the hall to his own room. The wind whipped the branches outside. Natalie closed her bedroom door on the world. There was nothing more to hear out there.

  She sat down on her bed and pulled her tablet toward her. Her blood burned in her veins as her fingers danced over the keyboard. I missed you today.

  Max usually replied right away, but this time, a minute passed without any notification popping up on her screen. She stared at the tablet. Still nothing. Another minute ticked by. The tablet sat still and dead on her lap.

  Where was he? What was he doing? A million doubts flashed through Natalie’s mind. Had he changed his mind about her? Maybe he met someone else. A bunch of text on a screen couldn’t compete with a real, live woman. Was it all over between them?

  She should have known better than to get involved with an outsider. This could only lead to disaster. He would be doing her a favor never to reply to her messages again.

  She raised her hand. She would send one more message, and never again. If he didn’t reply, she would let the whole thing go. She swallowed down a lump in her throat even thinking that way, but she had to do it. She had to maintain her dignity if she did nothing else. She didn’t want to lose Max, but she wouldn’t be one of those internet stalkers who bombarded a guy with messages he didn’t want.

  The longer she sat there in silence, the more her mind raced. Maybe he dropped his phone in a mud puddle. Maybe it quit working and had to go in for repair. Maybe he was going crazy because he wanted to message her and had no way to do it.

  Anything could explain him not answering. If his phone stopped working, how would she get in touch with him? Maybe they would never speak to each other again, even though they both wanted to.

  Just then, the screen brightened and the notification chirped. A message flashed across the window. It’s always nice to hear from you.

  Natalie’s heart pounded, and she tapped out her message. I need to talk to you.

  81. Chapter 6

  Silas skidded to a stop inside the trees beyond Dodd Homestead. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and read Penny’ message. His heart skipped a beat. This could be it. This could be the line in the sand. She wanted to meet him. She said so a million times.

  I need to talk to you.

  That could mean only one thing. He already knew what it would be before he tapped out his reply. I’m listening.

  I want to meet you—for real. I don’t want to wonder anymore. I want to know if we’ve got any hope of being together. I don’t want to live in doubt anymore. I don’t want to be afraid of what will happen when we meet in person. I want to know for sure if we have as much connection in person as we have online.

  His thumb skipped over his phone. I feel the same way, and I want to meet, too, for all the reasons you just said. I’m sure we will have that connection, and I want to take it to the next level.

  He barely breathed while he typed out this message. What was he thinking? How could he meet her?

  Are you sure you want to go through with this?

  His hands shook holding the phone. Of course, I’m sure.

  What if it doesn’t work out? What if we hate each other?

  I could never hate you, Penny. I love you more than anything. I don’t want to blow the good thing we have, but I’m willing to risk it if it means we have a chance to be together. What do you say? Are you willing to take the chance on some guy you’ve never met?

  You know I am. You know I want this more than anything.

  Then let’s do this. Once he got those words out, the letters flew off his fingers. He didn’t give himself a chance to back out.

  How are we gonna do it? she asked.

  Now, came the sticky part. One of us will have to fly across the country to meet the other.

  I’ve got a full work load this week, so I probably can’t do it until the end of the month.

  Silas snatched that lifeline for all he was worth. I’m busy, too. I’ve got three contracts to complete this week.

  When are you available?

  Yeah, Silas. When are you available? You just said let’s do this. So when would he do it? Never, that’s when. It sounds like neither of us really wants this to happen.

  I want this to happen, she told him.

  I want this to happen, too.

  Then what are we gonna do about it?

  Silas threw all caution to the wind. Why don’t we meet somewhere in the middle? That way, one of us won’t have to take all the risk while the other sits at home and waits.

  What do you suggest?

  I suggest we both fly halfway across the country. Do you know Ross Cove? That’s midway between us. We could meet there.

  Silas grasped at any straw. Ross Cove was the next town down the highway from Iron Bark. Penny didn’t know anything about Bruins’ Peak. He could get to Ross Cove without traveling too far away from home.

  He consoled himself he was really saving her half the airfare to Florida. He could meet her, and then they could decide what to do about it. She might be so ugly he couldn’t stand the sight of her.

  Unlike most internet romances he heard about, Max and Penny never exchanged photographs of themselves. Silas didn’t suggest it, and neither did Penny. Neither of them had the first clue w
hat the other looked like. Silas dreaded Penny finding out who and what he really was. She would head for the hills if she ever suspected he was a bear shifter from Bruins’ Peak. That would be his worst nightmare.

  To his amazement, Penny came back immediately. That sounds great. I know where Ross Cove is. I can fly in, and I’ll meet you at the airport. How about the 30th of this month?

  Silas stared at the phone in his hand. He didn’t expect her to agree just like that. Now, what was he going to do? He suggested this meeting. He couldn’t back out on it now, especially since he would meet her only a short drive down the highway.

  He watched his thumb punch the letters. Sounds good. See you there.

  What was he thinking? He shouldn’t have done it. He should have let well enough alone. He could have kept this shadow romance going for months, maybe even years, without forcing this.

  He couldn’t turn her down, though. She captivated him. He wanted nothing more than to meet her, to see if she captivated him as much in person as she did on a screen.

  Her message came back. I can’t wait to see you.

  Me, neither. I’m excited to meet you at last. That much, at least, was true. He didn’t have to lie. I don’t know how I’m gonna wait so long.

  Silas had to force himself to look up from the screen so he wouldn’t crash into tree trunks on the way home. He stopped every few paces to read his phone and return her messages.

  Shadows hemmed him in on all sides, but the glowing screen commanded his full attention. He couldn’t put the darn thing down. Every time he replied to one of her messages, he waited in breathless anticipation for the response.

  He caught sight of MacAllister Homestead through the trees. The porch light burned in front of the door, but other than that, not a single light shone in the windows. Briar must not have come back from Dodd Homestead yet. It was long past Grace’s bedtime. She probably wouldn’t come back until morning now.

  He lifted his eyes from his phone to stare at his home. For the first time in his life, he was an outsider here, even as he ascended to the position of Alpha over his tribe. Not one person in the place understood him. Not one person on all Bruins’ Peak could know what he was going through. He couldn’t confide in the people he cared for most, and he certainly couldn’t confide in Penny.

  What in the world was he doing, talking to some human woman across the country? He must enjoy torturing himself and giving himself another stress—like he really needed one right now.

  The phone buzzed in his hand, and the shiny screen overshadowed everything else. I miss you.

  He couldn’t help but respond. I miss you, too. I keep dreaming about holding you and kissing you.

  Sometimes, I feel you with me even when you’re not.

  Excitement scorched Silas’s guts. These exchanges fired his blood. Do you feel my arms around you?

  Yes. When I lie on my bed and close my eyes, I imagine you’re lying next to me, and we’re kissing.

  He pushed open the front door and padded on silent feet up to his room. He didn’t want to disturb the ghosts hidden in every corner of this house. He rested back on his pillow.

  Another message came from Penny. Where are you right now?

  I’m lying on my bed, just like you said. I’m imagining you lying on top of me and kissing me.

  Even as he typed these words, her delicious shade filled his mind and tingled all over his body. Her softness covered him. No woman ever filled his senses like this. His blood rushed to his crotch when he thought about her with him. He wrapped his arms around her ribs and lifted her up to meet his kiss.

  What would you do if I was there?

  He didn’t have to think about that. He only had to close his eyes to see her above him. You’re lying on top of me. Your hair is hanging around your face, and I can feel your lips touching mine. I’m running my hands up and down your back, and your legs are sliding between my knees.

  Are you getting excited?

  Yes.

  Touch yourself and think about me.

  I am. He slid his hand down his chest to squeeze his aching crotch. She could command him to respond even when he didn’t want to. Are you touching yourself?

  Yes. I want you. I want your mouth on me.

  What do you want me to do?

  Roll over on top of me. Kiss me down my neck.

  Unbutton your top? Kiss down your chest?

  Yes. You know I want it.

  How bad do you want it?

  So bad. You know I don’t want anybody but you.

  Do you want to wrap your legs around my waist while I suck your nipples?

  Oh, yes.

  He rubbed his crotch harder. This could go on all night and usually did. They worked each other up to a fevered pitch of sexual excitement ending in mutual self-satisfaction. They did this almost every night except when one of them got too tired or had to work.

  One hand touched his body while the other tapped out messages to her. He described what he would do to her and how he would do it if she was with him. He stroked his chest to give himself the sensation of her breasts brushing his skin. He buried his face in his pillow to imagine kissing her.

  He shouldn’t do this. He shouldn’t want her. He shouldn’t touch himself thinking about a human woman. She could take him away from everything he knew and loved, but he couldn’t stop himself. He wanted her. He wanted her here, in his room, in his bed. He wanted his hips moving between her legs and her bare skin caressing him all over. He never wanted anything else.

  In the end, he couldn’t consider his doubts anymore. He had to go through with this. He had to bring himself to his natural fulfillment. He couldn’t sleep if he didn’t. He couldn’t concentrate. She completed him in ways he couldn’t imagine.

  He heard the stories about Bruins finding themselves in their mate, so how could this happen to him with someone he never met? Was she another Bruin, living on the other side of the country? Maybe she would come to live on Bruins’ Peak the way Ash and May went to live on Renegade Ridge.

  He could only hope, but he dared not let himself dream of that. He didn’t want to meet her. He didn’t want to see her. He wanted to forget this whole thing, but he couldn’t. He needed it. He ached for her messages, for her steamy suggestions. He lived for this and nothing else.

  82. Chapter 7

  Natalie cracked two eggs into a frying pan and whisked them to a scramble when Riskin and Briar came out of their room. Grace trotted to Natalie’s side. “Where’s mine? Are you making mine?”

  Natalie rumpled the girl’s hair and laughed. “What are you doing here? I thought you were gone to MacAllister Homestead last night.”

  “It took too long getting out the door,” Briar told her. “I decided to spend the night and go today. Grace was too tired to go last night, so we just fell asleep.”

  “Well, you can’t go without breakfast,” Natalie replied. “Sit down, and I’ll make you some eggs.”

  “I want mine over easy,” Grace informed her.

  “I know that, Pumpkin,” Natalie replied. “You always have yours over easy. I would have to be pretty dense not to hear you tell me that every morning.”

  Grace cocked her head to one side. “What does ‘dense’ mean?”

  Briar interrupted, “You don’t have to do that, Natalie. I’ll make it.”

  Natalie pushed her sister-in-law away from the stove. “Get out of here. I’m doing it. Now sit down. You’re the bereaved family. I think I can make breakfast for once.”

  “It’s not for once,” Briar argued. “You make breakfast every morning.”

  Natalie chuckled. “Well, maybe not every morning.”

  Riskin took the milk out of the fridge. “I’ll just have cereal, so don’t make anything for me.”

  Natalie took a tray of eggs off the shelf. “That reminds me. Have you seen Rhys?”

  “I haven’t seen him,” Riskin replied. “He didn’t come home last night. His bed hasn’t been slept in.”

&nb
sp; “I wonder where he is.”

  “He better not come around until he learns how to behave,” Riskin snarled. “If he keeps making trouble, he better stay away from me.”

  Natalie put out her hand to her brother. “Aw, give him a break. This is hard on him. He’s never gotten over his defeat. He’s just trying to find a place for himself on this Peak.”

  “Well, he’s got a strange way of going about it,” Riskin replied. “Haven’t I done everything to make up with him? I’ve made him my second. I’ve included in him all the tribe business, and he keeps shoving his attitude in my face. I won’t put up with it, especially not at a time like this.”

  “I understand,” Natalie replied. “Just try not to come down too hard on him.”

  Riskin grimaced and turned away. They said no more on the subject of Rhys, and Briar broke in by talking to Grace. “Finish your breakfast, Pumpkin, and we’ll go over to Grandma and Grandpa’s house.”

  Grace jumped up without eating anything. “I want to see Grandpa! I want to show him my gemstone collection.”

  Briar’s face pinched. “You might not see Grandpa today, but maybe you can show him another time. Come over here and let me do your pigtails before we go.”

  “I want to see Grandpa!” Grace screeched. “You never let me see Grandpa anymore.”

  “Your Grandpa’s not feeling too good these days,” Natalie told her.

  “I’m bringing my gemstone collection, anyways,” Grace shot back. “That will make him feel better. He told me visiting with me always makes him feel better.”

  Briar and Riskin exchanged glances over the girl’s head. Natalie turned around from washing the frying pan. “Why don’t I go with you? I’ll look at Grace’s gemstone collection. That will keep her busy while you…you know.”

  Briar’s eyes flashed open. “Would you really, Natalie?”

  “Sure,” she replied. “She doesn’t want to sit around a boring old house at a time like this, and you’ve got better things to do than entertain her. I’ll go along, and me and Grace can keep each other company. How does that sound?”

  Briar seized Natalie’s hand. “Oh, thank you! You’re a lifesaver.”