Her Bear Protector [The Protectors 1] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Doris O'Connor

  A wayward thought crossed his mind, of his Tina being heavy with his child. Ronan shook his head at himself. Where had thought come from? He wasn’t ready to be a father yet, as much as he loved children. Working with them every day in the local nursery was enough to satisfy that urge, wasn’t it? And besides he had no idea what Tina would think about that. Maybe she didn’t want children at all. She was on the pill after all. Ronan couldn’t help but wonder why. By her own admission it had been a long time since she’d last been with a man, so why the need for birth control?

  So many questions, so little answers. He finished washing her down, and his gaze fell to the rocking chair in the corner. It had been in his family for generations. His own mother had sat in that chair rocking him off to sleep as a baby, and he couldn’t shake the image of Tina sitting in here, holding his own child.

  Enough. This was insane.

  He tucked Tina back under the covers, took the water back to the bathroom and tipped it down the loo, and then chucked on a pair of jeans, and stepped into his trainers.

  He was pretty sure he had some pizza in the freezer. Exactly what the doctor ordered to feed his sub when she woke up.

  * * * *

  Tina drifted in and out of the most wonderful dream, during which she’d had spectacular kinky sex with none other than Ronan. The dream shifted, and still he was there, murmuring to her, calling her his good girl, while he did delicious things to her body with something cool and wet. Tina stretched like a cat, and promptly winced as her muscles protested. Hmm, that shouldn’t happen in a dream, and what was that smell? Her stomach rumbled and her eyes flew open to the sight of Ronan carrying a tray of food into her bedroom. Only she wasn’t in her bedroom, was she? Heat flooded her cheeks, as she remembered where she was and what they had done together. No wonder she was sore in her nether regions. He must have cleaned her up when she was asleep, because she didn’t feel sticky or dirty, apart from the wetness between her legs, which seemed to be a permanent feature whenever she was around Ronan. Ronan too, looked freshly showered. The longer ends of his hair were slightly damp still, and her mouth went dry when she took in what he was wearing. Back in one of the vest tops he favored, a white one this time, worn black jeans hugged his ass, and his thighs flexed and strained the denim when he bent down to put the tray on the bed next to her. Much to her amusement it was one of those with little legs underneath and she scooted upward to make room, while carefully holding the sheet over her boobs. Ronan smiled when he noticed, and he bent to kiss her. A mere whisper of a kiss, but it sent her libido into overdrive nonetheless. How she could be so willing and ready for round whatever it was, she had long since lost count, she would never know. Ronan sat down next to her and held one of the slices of pizza up for her to eat.

  She tried to take it out of his hand, but he shook his head and growled. The emergence of his bear made her drop her hand and she obediently let him feed her. The act should have been ridiculous—she was a grown woman after all—but it felt anything but. Instead it felt natural and right, and a comfortable silence fell between them, as Ronan took it in turns to feed both him and her.

  By the time they had polished off that plate of pizza, she had drunk seeming gallons of water, and had several chunks of dark chocolate at his insistence, the shadows outside the window were lengthening. It would be dark soon, and Tina worried her bottom lip between her lips. Did he expect her to stay the night? What was the protocol when you had hot, kinky sex with a man who shifted into a bear? A man who you’d found gravely injured only this morning? A sliver of unease went down her spine. How could she have forgotten that? She never did ask him what that had been all about. Tina shivered in earnest, and Ronan took the tray away, grabbed a woolen blanket from the end of the bed and wrapping it around her shoulders, hugged her tight.

  Instantly his warmth suffused her, and her teeth stopped chattering. What the hell was that about? She wasn’t normally such a retiring wall flower.

  “Sorry, I’m okay now. I don’t know what came over me, really.”

  Ronan released her slightly, tipped her chin up and smiled down at her.

  “I do. We had an intense scene, and it’s entirely normal for the bottom to feel rather… err emotional, shall we say. Chocolate helps, hence I made you eat it.”

  He grinned at her frown of confusion.

  “What has my bottom got to do with anything? I mean, I know it’s large and rather sore at the minute, but …. Oh, you mean, bottom as in you’re the top and… stop laughing. This is not funny.”

  Ronan sobered with some difficulty, and she stuck her tongue out at him.

  “You’re really too adorable like that, but a word of warning. You stick your tongue out at me in a scene and punishment will follow, babe.” His voice dropped an octave to what she was beginning to realize was his Dom voice and her insides tightened in need. God, she would just about do anything for him, when he used that tone of voice.

  “Will I get another spanking?” she asked, and Ronan shook his head, his blue eyes sparkling in amusement.

  “I have created a monster, it seems, and no you will not.” She pouted at that, surprised at herself at how disappointed she felt. If anyone had told her only yesterday, that she would crave a spanking session, even though her butt was still sore from the last one, she would have called them insane. Especially considering her past. With Ronan, however, giving over control felt freeing, and exciting in equal measures.

  “One, you enjoy them too much for them to punishment,” Ronan said and pulled her out of her thoughts. “Two, you’re still sore from the last one, and three, we need to talk.” He hesitated and ran a hand through his hair. “About the scene and other things.”

  She didn’t like the thought of the other things they needed to talk about so she latched onto the first part of that sentence.

  “What about the scene. What have we got to talk about?” she asked.

  Ronan pinned her with the intensity of his gaze, and she squirmed slightly.

  “How you felt. What, if anything you would rather I didn’t do. My perception of how it went. That sort of thing.”

  He nudged her on the nose and she smiled.

  “Oh, I see. Well that’s easy. I loved it and can’t wait to do it again. And yeah, that surprises me, too. It was hot.”

  She dropped her gaze and cursed her inherent propensity to blush. She wasn’t some schoolgirl for fuck’s sake, and she’d had plenty of sexual encounters at Uni, even the odd one-night stand, so why then did she feel like a virgin on her morning after?

  “You didn’t seem that fond of the nipple clamps.” It was a quiet statement rather than a question and Tina shook her head in denial.

  “Oh no I was, I simply had to get used to them, and they were too tight at first. It was too intense.”

  “Duly noted, anything else I was too full on about?”

  She looked up at him, and lost herself in the tender expression in his eyes.

  “No nothing, but this is all about me. What about you? Is there anything you want me to do for you, that I didn’t?”

  Ronan cupped her face and her heart turned into a jackhammer.

  “No, my sweet. Your submission, as much as you’re willing to give me is all I need. And for the record you submit beautifully, and were so responsive, I went much harder on you than I normally would be with a new sub. You’ll have bruises tomorrow.”

  The thought of his marks on her body made her ridiculously happy and she grinned like the cat that got the cream.

  “I see you like that thought, too. Are you sure you’re not into pain?” He winked at her, and Tina barely resisted the urge to stick her tongue out again. Instead she sniffed and drew herself up as tall as she could.

  “I let you know I am not. I cry like a baby when I stub my toe, but what we did was different somehow. I can’t explain it, really.”

  “You don’t have to,” Ronan said. “I’m only making sure we’re singing from the same hymn sheet, that’s
all.”

  She had to laugh at that expression.

  “Now, that we got that out of the way, we need to talk about what you walked into this morning.”

  He grew tense and the air thickened with tension, and she sighed.

  “I was afraid you would say that. I don’t need to know, you know. Please let me bury my head in the sand a bit longer and pretend all is well in this world?”

  “I’m afraid that’s not an option any longer, Tina. Besides, you need to know who to stay away from and how to defend yourself in case… in case—”

  “In case of what, Ronan? You’re scaring me here. What attacked you last night? Whatever it was must have been big. You shift into a freaking grizzly for Pete’s sake, and why would they attack you anyway. Who are you really?”

  A sad smile lit up Ronan’s harsh features and he grasped her hands and held them. It worked at soothing her churning gut a little at least. She was so not going to like what he had to say, she just knew.

  “I’m a protector, Tina. Shifter police if you like. My family has been protectors for centuries. We guard the humans, and the paranormal beings that are unable to defend themselves from those that wish to prey on them. It’s more than just a job, Tina. It’s who I am, and the main reason why I didn’t make a move on you the minute I saw you. God knows I wanted to. To know my mate was in that village unprotected when the undead were overrunning the countryside, it damn well nearly killed me.”

  Tina snatched her hand out of his grasp and held it up to stop him from speaking.

  “Hold on, did you say, the undead? Vampires exist? Here?” Her voice rose to a shrill shriek in her agitation and Ronan winced. “That’s who you fought last night? Vampires?”

  He nodded once and she pulled that blanket tighter around her shoulders.

  “That particular threat is killed off for now. I finally got the sire of them all. That’s her car out front. I had to lure her into my home, pretending to be under her influence. It seems I’m not as good an actor as I thought I was. She called my bluff and what’s more several of her offspring descended on the cottage, too. Having invited her in, it gave them immediate access, too. One thing I will have to report to the authorities, so that other protectors do not make the same mistake. I’ll spare you the details, but it was bloody and gruesome. I won in the end, however. Once her head came off all of her children flew into dust, too. I can only assume those roaming the countryside will have befallen the same fate. I will have to go on patrol to make sure though. That vampire was a particularly nasty creature who has taken many other protectors’ life. She killed the previous occupant of this cottage.”

  The fact that someone used to live in this cottage before Ronan was news to Tina.

  “Someone lived her before? I never would have guessed that. It always looked abandoned, before.”

  Ronan nodded and looked so sad all of a sudden that she had to touch him. Tina traced the swirls of ink on his arms, and linked her hands behind his neck. Ronan ducked his head until their foreheads touched and he seemed to grow strength from the simple contact.

  “My cousin chose to live a solitary life.”

  She pulled back slightly at that admission and he tapped her nose with his finger.

  “It’s okay. We weren’t particularly close, but he was family, and I knew I had to come here and seek revenge. For him and the others that nest of vamps has killed over the years. When I saw you, it became even more personal. The village is under a protection spell that will keep anything and anyone out that wishes to cause the inhabitants harm, so I knew you would be safe there, but the nature of your business takes you all over. That’s why I had you come clean for me. I could keep an eye on you, and I made sure when you were out after night fall I followed at a distance until you were safely home.”

  Tina’s mouth fell open at that.

  “I never saw you,” she said and Ronan laughed and untangled her hands from behind his neck.

  “I wouldn’t be very good at my job if you had now, would I?”

  “But I thought you were a nursery teacher and you rescue people of mountains, so how can that be your job?” Her head hurt trying to make sense of it all, and she rubbed her temples in a vain attempt to soothe it away. “I’m so fucking confused.”

  “I am a nursery teacher. All of us protectors have jobs in the human world. My cousin didn’t, but he was very much the exception. We can protect you better when we are part of the community. And the mountain rescue is a good cover for when I’m roaming the hills. Besides, why would I not use my natural abilities to help people where I can?”

  He shrugged his massive shoulders, as though it wasn’t a big deal, and Tina’s stomach lurched. Later on she would look back on this moment as the one that crystallized things for her. The moment when she admitted to herself that she loved this man with all her heart and soul.

  “There’s one thing you need to understand, Tina. There is no option for me. I was born a protector and any children of mine will be protectors, too. So, if you and I make this work, and I hope to fucking god, I haven’t scared you off completely now, then you have to accept that. My bite won’t change you. You will still be human, though you will age slower like us shifters do, and you will be immune from most if not all diseases, but, and this is the crunch point. My enemies will go after you, and any children we may have will be protectors and thus at risk, too.”

  A grim smile kicked up his lips at her sharp intake of breath.

  “I know that’s a lot to take in, and it’s getting late, so I’m going to escort you home, so you can think about this in peace and let me know your decision as and when.”

  Ronan sounded so matter of fact about it that Tina’s temper erupted in spectacular fashion. She punched him in the belly with so much force that her knuckles crunched, and pain shot up her arm. Mr. Rock-Hard-Abs protector, of course, didn’t even flinch. He did take her hand to inspect her knuckles, and Tina screeched and snatched it out his grasp.

  Holding onto the blanket for dear life she scrambled off the bed on the opposite side to the one where he sat.

  “Don’t fucking touch me,” she screamed and he flinched. A wealth of emotion crossed his features before the mask came slamming down so hard and fast, it squeezed her heart in an ice cold fist. Hands clenched at his sight he looked a stranger, and every inch the ruthless killer, his profession made him. He might kill to protect human kind, but that didn’t change much right now in Tina’s eyes.

  “How many have you killed in this protecting of yours?” She spat the question out at him, and Ronan shrugged his shoulders.

  “Does it matter, Tina? I do what I have to do to keep you all safe. To make sure you humans can carry on deluding yourself that all the things in fairytales are simply that. I’ve got news for you though. Every last one of those myths and legends are based on truth.” His voice, too, rose in his agitation, and the windows shook with the growl of his bear. “There are far more things out there, than you humans could ever begin to comprehend, let alone cope with. Someone has got to be there to keep the two worlds separate and everyone safe. That someone is me, and others like me, and yes, as part of that I kill. It’s what I do and I don’t make any excuses for that.”

  He stopped talking, his broad chest heaving, as though he was truly struggling with his emotions and how to contain his bear. She could almost see it prowl under his skin, and Tina blinked back tears.

  “I see,” she murmured and turned her back on him. “Can you please find me some clothes? I just want to go home now—alone.”

  “Out of the fucking question. I will follow you and see you to your door. Better still I’ll take you on my Harley. That car of yours is an accident waiting to happen. You will leave it here, so that I can go over it for you.”

  Tina swung back around to glare at him, but he stood here like an immovable mountain, and the angry retort died on her tongue. Where was the man who held her so tenderly, brought her to the heights of passion and made her fee
l loved and cherished.

  “I’m not going on that motor bike with you. I’m using my car. You have no authority over me, though I grant, I can’t stop you from following me.”

  Ronan’s head reared back as though she had physically slapped him, and in truth she felt sick to her stomach. Why did all these hurtful things spill out of her mouth? It was too late to take them back now though, because Ronan rummaged through his wardrobe, threw a pair of old joggers and T-shirt on the bed for her and left. The windows rattled with the force he used to slam the door shut, and Tina burst into tears.

  Chapter Nine

  Ronan paced the floor. Fuck it all. How had that all gone so damn wrong? Tina’s sobs carried down the stairs, and his skin itched. His bear wanted out. Fuck, he couldn’t stay here and listen to her tears. If the foolhardy woman was determined to get back into that car, then he could at least give it a check over to make sure she didn’t kill herself on the way back to the village. Anything was better than listen to her misery.

  Night had fallen in earnest during their disagreement, row, what the fuck did he call that? When she’d said he had no authority over her, the words had winded him, like no physical punch could. Had what they shared meant so little to her? That was not the Tina he had come to know.

  Ronan yanked the front door open and took a deep gulp of the night air. He needed to run, to kill off that restless energy inside of him. Fuck, he needed to kill something. Maybe Tina was right. Maybe he was just a ruthless killer. His bear roared at that, eager to sink his flesh into his prey, to tear skin from bone, and severe limbs. Ronan shook his head and sniffed the breeze more carefully this time. Nothing amiss greeted him, which was one thing. The mood he was in right now, he would do anyone prowling his territory some serious damage. Instead of shifting and bounding off into the forest, he closed the distance to Tina’s beat-up little Mini instead. Not for the first time he wondered how that thing still worked. She’d repainted it into a fluorescent orange, after a trip into the nearest big town, when, by her own admission, she had forgotten which layer of the car park she had left the thing.