Bears of Burden Complete Series Box Set

by Candace Ayers

  “Hello?”

  “Hi. Is this Wyatt Drexel?” A light giggle sounded and then a muffled whisper. “I was just wanting to get in touch with someone about the survival tour this week.”

  My heart kicked up its pace and I swallowed hard. “This is Wyatt. What can I do for you?”

  “This is Georgia Prescott. I’m Allie’s friend.” She hesitated for a second and then continued. “Do you have room for two more this week?”

  My throat turned to a desert. I coughed to clear it, but I still sounded rough as hell when I spoke. “Sure… yeah, absolutely… I have the space.”

  There was some more muffled whispering followed by the sound of skin slapping skin. I could hear Allie curse in the background and then another slap. “Sorry about that… apparently, Allie is too busy to attend this week. I guess I’ll just need a reservation for one.”

  Suddenly my heart was banging against my chest so hard it felt like it might break itself free. My dick hardened, and I couldn’t contain the low groan that escaped my mouth.

  “Wyatt?”

  “Space for one. Gotcha.” I didn’t want to get off the phone with her, but I didn’t know what else to say. This kind of thing wasn’t my strong suit. “I’ll be at Thorn’s bar tonight if you want to talk about the trip or anything…”

  “Maybe.”

  I almost laughed. “Maybe?”

  She sighed. “This is a very big town and I’m a very busy woman, Mr. Drexel. I’ll see if I can pencil you in.”

  I did laugh then. “Of course. I should’ve guessed you’d have your social calendar full. What with the myriad of offerings here in Burden. There’s the grocery store, the salon, the churches, and the bowling alley.”

  Her laughter turned husky and I could almost feel her pulse racing through the line. “Don’t forget about all of my suitors. I’m a lonely girl in a town full of seemingly strapping men.”

  I growled and didn’t try to hide it. “None of them are strapping, I can assure you. They’re all terrible.”

  “All of them, but you?” Her voice had gone quiet and I knew she was feeling the insane attraction the same as I was, without either of us ever having seen the other.

  “All of them but me.”

  “Maybe I’ll see you there.”

  My bear wanted me to beg. I wouldn’t, though. Not yet. “If I’m lucky.”

  She said a quick goodbye and then she was gone.

  I blew out a rough breath and shook my head. I was done for. Her voice alone had me craving her. I didn’t think it was possible to survive a face to face encounter. I forced myself to sit at my desk and get some work done. I had to do something, anything to distract myself.

  I sat at my usual seat at our table in The Cave, my eyes glued to the door. Allie had come in an hour earlier but Georgia still hadn’t shown.

  “You’re starting to breathe heavily and everything, brother.” Thorn had resorted to taunting me, while our buddies Hutch and Sterling, just laughed, egging him on.

  “Did I make fun of you like this when you were miserable over Allie?”

  “Yes, you fucking did. I wanted to rip your head off.”

  I sat back in my chair and let it balance on two legs. My bear was restless as shit waiting to see our mate.

  Allie stopped by the table and poured me a shot of whiskey. “You okay, Wyatt?”

  I let the chair down and nodded. “Sure.”

  She made a face at me but it was lost because at that moment the door opened and that delicious, irresistible fragrance floated over me again.

  I turned, a low growl in my chest that sounded damn near like a purring kitten. Gliding towards me was the sexiest woman I’d ever laid eyes on.

  Generous curves stretched a mouthwateringly tight black dress that was more straps than anything. Heels higher than I’d ever seen gave an alluring sway to her walk as long auburn curls streaked with highlights hung down her back and bounced as she walked. Most heart-stopping of all were the pair of large, bright green eyes locked onto me.

  My blood pulsed, my dick thickened and grew, straining to break free of my pants, and it was all I could do not to tackle her to the floor of the bar and mark her right then and there.

  I knew I would be attracted to my mate, that’s how it was supposed to work, but the idea I had in my head paled in comparison to the reality. With her smooth skin, sweet scent, gorgeous eyes, never could there have existed a woman more beautiful. Never could there have existed a woman who even came close.

  7

  Georgia

  Holy crap-oly. How was I supposed to walk? I quickly looked down at my feet and chanted to myself. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot again. Left foot again. There you go. Now, pick your head up.

  Except, looking up made me forget how to walk again. The man sitting next to Thorn was drop-dead gorgeous. Enough so, that I was tempted to brush my fingers under my lips to make sure I wasn’t drooling down my chin.

  As I moved closer in the dimly lit place, his face came into clearer focus. I swallowed hard. He didn’t look a thing like any of the Ken-doll types I usually dated. He wasn’t elegantly attired, well-kept, or even clean shaven. This guy looked like he could eat Ken dolls for breakfast.

  A wide, strong jaw and thin lips surrounded by a full beard contrasted with the thick, soft eyelashes surrounding his deep brown eyes. His hair was messy and slightly too long. It curled in every direction, like he’d been running his fingers through it. It was sun kissed, matching his tanned skin. A worn T-shirt stretched to cover his wide shoulders, clinging to his obviously defined chest and abs.

  I stumbled and caught myself on the back of another guy’s chair. I didn’t bother looking at him as I apologized, just straightened my shoulders and continued the rest of the way to the table.

  Allie slipped her arm around my waist and grinned. “Guys, this is my best friend, Georgia. Georgia, these are the guys. You know Thorn, that’s Hutch, Sterling, and Wyatt.”

  Wyatt. I’d been hoping Mr. Drop-dead gorgeous would turn out to be Wyatt, the guy I’d spoken to on the phone. His voice had been as deep as the ocean and it had sent tentacles of pleasure coursing through my body. I was eager to cozy up to him tonight and hear more of his velvet voice.

  I kept my eyes on him, and shot him a smile. “Looks like you got lucky.”

  I was surprised my dress didn’t disintegrate the way his eyes burned into me. He stood up and held the back of his chair. “Not yet. You want to sit down?”

  I felt myself swaying in his direction, and clung to Allie’s side. “I’m going to run to the little girl’s room. Be right back.”

  Allie laughed and let me tug her away from the table full of men. I realized that the other guys had been staring at us, but I didn’t care.

  “Bathroom. Now,” I hissed.

  She pulled me in the opposite direction and into a small bathroom. I locked the door behind us and leaned on it.

  “What. The hell. Was that?”

  She smiled smugly and raised her eyebrows. “I know something you don’t know.”

  I glared at her, the singsong way she said it grated on my nerves. “Tell me or I’m shoving your head into a toilet.”

  “Pfft! Like you could. I’m bigger than you.”

  “You’re taller than me. There’s a difference.” I flexed. “I could take you.”

  She rolled her eyes. “So, last night, Wyatt smelled you, and...”

  I made a face. “He smelled me?”

  “Yeah, like how Thorn smelled me.”

  I thought back to the things she’d told me and frowned. “But, he was wildly attracted to your scent because you’re his mate.”

  Allie cocked her hip out and waited.

  When it hit me, I gasped and smacked her in the shoulder. “Shut up!”

  She winced and rubbed her shoulder. “Dang, you hit like a man.”

  I was in complete shock. I bent over the sink and tried to even out my breathing. “A mate? That’s not happening.”
r />   “It’s not a bad thing, G. It’s good. Really good.”

  “I don’t know him at all. How can he be my mate? Oh, fuck. Is he going to want to bite me tonight? I’m not ready for this.” I clutched at my stomach trying to keep from losing my lunch. I felt myself sway on my feet. This couldn’t be happening.

  She grasped both my upper arms in her hands and shook me slightly. “Calm yourself, Georgia. You look like you’re going to be sick. I’ll tell you what, let’s go back to my place and we can talk about this. It’s not a bad thing, promise.”

  Bad thing? It felt like the worst thing. When he was just a sexy man, that was one thing. A mate? That was like…like… a marriage. I wasn’t anywhere near ready for something that serious. I was starting to sweat. “Yeah, let’s get out of here. That sounds like a plan.”

  “Can you try to act normal as we walk out? I don’t want him to know that I told you. Wyatt’s a good guy and it would hurt him to know that you’re running from him over this.”

  The idea of caring what Wyatt, or any other man thought felt like a ball and chain around my ankle. “Why should I care about that? Jesus, this is the worst. Okay, let’s go. Can you snatch a bottle of liquor on the way out?”

  She grinned and nodded. “I wouldn’t be your best friend if I couldn’t.”

  We walked back out and I stood on the opposite side of the table from Wyatt as Allie grabbed a bottle. Even though I refused to look at him, I could feel his eyes boring into me and my body reacted as if he was stroking his large hands all over me. My nipples hardened to tight little buds and my panties grew damp with arousal.

  Wyatt’s beer bottle shattered in his hand as he tipped his head back slightly and took a deep breath in. When he opened his eyes again, they were glowing.

  I knew what that meant. Allie told me all about their shifting ways. It should’ve scared me that he was reacting like that to me, but instead, I had an almost irresistible urge to dive across the table and settle onto his lap. My body, the little hussy, demanded I offer myself to him immediately.

  “Georgia?”

  I shook myself and looked down at Thorn. “Huh?”

  He laughed. “I asked if you were sure you wanted to do the survivalist week with Wyatt. It’s pretty rough.”

  I looked back at Wyatt, which was a mistake, because I suddenly went stupid again. “Um… I’m ready for it. I’m sure I can handle him. It. I’m sure I can handle it.”

  Allie snorted from behind me. “Smooth.”

  I cleared my throat and looked at everyone else, careful to avoid Wyatt. “We’re leaving now. We’re going to have a girl-party. Nice to meet everyone.”

  Wyatt stood up and was coming around the table, a determined look on his face, but I was faster.

  I dragged Allie away before she could even kiss Thorn goodbye. “Bye!”

  8

  Wyatt

  I watched my little mate run away and emitted a long, slow growl. She wanted me. I could smell her arousal. I didn’t get why she was running away.

  Thorn shook his head and thumped his beer down. He obviously agreed with my thoughts. “This isn’t working. She just stole my woman and my damn waitress.”

  Sterling stood up and stretched. “She’s a hot piece of ass, Wyatt, but she’s got trouble written all over her.”

  I shoved him backwards a few steps. “Careful.”

  He grinned at me and then turned to the dancefloor. “I’m going to be careful. I’m going to go out there and find a nice, easy, sweet beauty to take home. Someone not-high-maintenance who isn’t going to hand me my ass before I get a piece of hers.”

  I wanted to hit him but, despite his complete lack of class, I wondered how much of what he was saying was true. Georgia did look like trouble. I wanted her like I’d never wanted a woman before, but I could still see trouble.

  Thorn slapped me on the back and headed towards the bar. “Good luck, man. You’re going to need it.”

  I stared at the door she’d disappeared through. Fuck. I knew, without a doubt, that my life had just gotten a whole lot messier.

  The rest of the weekend dragged. I smelled Georgia in the wind a hundred different times, drifting from spots she’d just been. It was like she knew I was coming her way and ran just before I got there. It was pure fucking torture.

  By the time Monday morning came, I was ready to tear my hair out. My bear was just as agitated as I was. He didn’t like feeling toyed with any more than I did. By that point, I’d pretty much given up any hope that she’d show up for the tour. I’d accepted that I was going to spend the week in the woods without her. It wasn’t my first choice, but not having the teaser of smelling her constantly dangling in front of me would be a welcome reprieve.

  When she showed up, wearing a flirty little pair of shorts that looked soft enough to cradle a cub and a skimpy top that fell off her shoulders, I cussed out loud. She was dragging a rolling suitcase behind her and wearing flip flops.

  She looked around at the group of people who’d gathered for the tour and her face twisted. She looked down at herself and then back at them. “Well, shoot.”

  I laughed before I could help it and ambled over. “Allie and Thorn didn’t mention that you might need some different gear for this?”

  She looked up at me and tugged her bottom lip into her mouth. When she released it, there were tiny teeth marks indenting it. “No, they didn’t. I’m not dressed right. I don’t even have one of those bag things.”

  “A knapsack?”

  She grabbed a strand of her hair and tugged at it. “I think I’m just going to head home.”

  I reached out and lightly squeezed her shoulder. Ignoring the tingling that started in my fingers and traveled up my arm, I shook my head. “You’re here now. Come into my office and I’ll see if I have anything you can use.”

  She surprised me by following me in. She looked around and frowned. “I probably should go home. I decided to do this without thinking first. I’m a city girl.”

  I found an extra knapsack under my desk and tossed it to her. I wasn’t taking no for an answer. “Put your clothes in there. I should have a few extra things you’ll need.”

  “Are you listening to me?”

  I stopped and turned to face her. She was a tiny thing, at least a foot and a half shorter than me in her flip flops. And beautiful. I couldn’t help the places my brain went when she looked at me with her hands on her hips and her lip sticking out in a pout. “I’m listening. I’m just not letting you run back home. You wanted to do this for a reason. So, let’s do it.”

  Her cheeks flushed and she took a step back, right into a pile of gear I’d been meaning to clean up for weeks. Her arms windmilled as she lost her footing and toppled backwards.

  I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her, keeping her from cracking her head open. “Whoah, there.”

  She glanced up, eyes heavy. “You’re fast.”

  Her eyes were flecked with gold. They were wide and full of wonder as they stared at me. Her plump mouth was slightly parted and I could smell strawberries on her breath. I pulled her tighter against my chest, savoring the feel of her in my arms.

  “Wyatt? I wanted to surprise-”

  At the sound of a woman’s voice, Georgia pushed me away from her and stepped way out of my reach. “Better get my stuff switched over.”

  “Stay. I’ve got to give you a few tools.”

  “Looks like one big one in particular.”

  I looked over and blinked at the woman in the doorway. It took me a second, a second too long, to place her. In that second, she’d sidled up to me and waved a tin pie pan under my nose.

  “I made you a wild berry pie from those berries I picked last week.” Sarah, the floral scented woman from my desk, smiled at me before darting a frustrated look Georgia’s way.

  I could’ve slapped myself stupid. The last thing I wanted was Georgia getting the wrong idea. I’d been a careless idiot for sleeping with Sarah, but there wasn’t anything I
could do to change it now. “Thanks for the pie. We can all share it after dinner tonight.”

  She frowned but didn’t argue with me.

  Georgia, on the other hand, wasn’t as magnanimous. She’d lugged the knapsack out of the office and was outside, already shoving clothes into it when I walked out. I watched her. Everything she was switching over looked pink or frilly or too sexy. “Did you pack anything warm?”

  She sent me a slight glare and then looked over at Sarah. “If it gets too cold, I’m sure I can just follow your lead and find a snuggle buddy to warm up with.”

  I noticed the men around us for the first time and let out a low growl. If any of them tried to warm up my mate, I’d tear their arms clean off. “You need a jacket.”

  She tugged a pathetic looking sweater out of her suitcase and held it up proudly. “Does this pass inspection?”

  Her attitude set me on edge because I knew that she was going to be freezing when the sun went down. As much as her sassiness made my blood boil, it also hardened my dick to steel. I wanted to grab her and yank her over my knee. “Nope.”

  Her eyes narrowed and then she looked over at Sarah again. “When did y’all meet?”

  I didn’t trust the drippy sweetness in her voice. I doubted there was anything anywhere near that sweet in my little mate. She was proving to be a fiery one.

  Sarah looked up at me and licked her lips. “Not too long ago. Long enough, though.”

  Georgia straightened and sent a grin towards her. “He’s good, isn’t he? Must’ve been even better with you. Good enough for a pie, at least.”

  9

  Georgia

  What the hell was I doing? I’d somehow lost my damn mind. I should’ve been heading back towards that crooked little trailer with the dented floor and crawling back into bed. I didn’t belong on some nature hike trip. I belonged in the salon with matching highlighted blondes, gossiping about the local men. Yet, there I was, sinking my claws into Wyatt so the woman with the pie would get lost.