Big Sexy Bear (3 page)

“You don’t have a choice,” Ares said, taking a step forward, making her pause.

But her anger at the situation made it impossible to back down. “I don’t care. I want to go somewhere else. I want a second opinion. I want—”

Ares was looking down at her with a hard expression she hadn’t expected, like he was angry.

Of course he was. She was acting like a petulant child. She knew she was, yet…

Maude gave them a hesitant look. “I’ll go make sure Mac is doing all right while you two talk.” Then she pushed past them and went into the other room.

Ares took another intimidating step toward her. “There’s no one else who could help you repair for miles. Bill is a good man. He does good work. If he says it takes a week, it does.”

“I know,” she said, fighting back the panic threatening to drown her. She didn’t need to show that to Ares. He didn’t need to know. “I just, I can’t stay here. We’ll find a bus… or something.”

Ares took another step forward, and she found herself backed against the front door. He braced his hands on either side of her head and looked down at her, and she could almost hear her heart thumping in her throat. She looked slowly up at him to see him studying her quietly.

“Let me go,” she said.

“Not until you tell me what’s bothering you,” he said. “I knew something was up when you were so reluctant to accept help or any kind of break from traveling. But if you want me to help you, you need to tell me.”

“What can you do?” She scoffed, trying to push past him but finding herself caged in his arms. “You’re just a construction worker in a small town.”

He sighed. “What kind of trouble are you in? I just want what’s best for you and Mac. If you tell me, maybe I can help you figure this out. Whatever it is, you shouldn’t be dealing with it alone.”

“And you shouldn’t be making it any of your business,” she said, pushing him back. He finally let go, letting her storm past him. She put a hand to her head as she strode quickly through the living room and out the sliding back door, telling Mac to be good as she went.

She didn’t need him following her and seeing her lose it. She never wanted him to see her weak. She ran to the other side of the house and leaned against the wall, facing the fence. The sun was high and the sky was beautiful and clear.

And she had a week for Ben to catch up to her and no way to run away from him and no one to protect her and Mac from him.

Unless you counted the nosy construction worker. But he was just a nice, albeit huge, guy from a small town. She couldn’t get him involved. It wouldn’t be fair. He and Maude didn’t deserve to deal with what was following them.

If it was only a few days… But a week?

She put a hand over her face and choked back a sob. She wouldn’t cry now. She’d gotten them through a lot of trouble. She’d pushed on and on through everything. To be stopped here would be too much.

No, she’d figure out something. She always did. But at least up until now, they’d always had the car.

Now they didn’t even have that. She sank back against the wall and closed her eyes, listening to the thrumming of her heart.

She just had to calm down. Then she’d think of the perfect plan to keep her and Mac safe.

A
res stared
in shock at the door Katrina had run out of. He hadn’t meant to chase her or scare her. He folded his arms and stared at the door, unsure of what to do.

He’d always been good with the ladies. Young and old. People in general. He liked people, and for the most part, they liked him back. There were a few people he was great at annoying, like Zeus and Hades, his military buddies who’d served in the Special Forces with him, but for the most part, he was an easy guy to get along with.

So why was nothing easy with Katrina?

He scratched his head. An uncomfortable part of him knew. He’d never expected to feel anything like this before, but he was definitely feeling it.

This mysterious, stubborn woman who wanted nothing to do with him might just be his mate.

His bear kept saying so.

Then again, Ares had never been a man of instinct. He was the weapons expert on his Special Forces team, and he was good at calculations.

But he had an idea he didn’t know the equation to winning over Katrina and making her trust him.

“Don’t be sad,” Mac said, pushing a train along the ground until it bumped Ares’s feet. Ares looked down at him and forced a grin. The kid was sweet to be worrying about adults at a time like this.

“Is she going to be okay?” he asked. He knew it was a little ridiculous to ask a kid that, but Mac was at least five or six and, despite being small, was pretty serious for his age. Probably the result of whatever he and Katrina had been through.

He resisted the urge to crack his knuckles, thinking about anyone wanting to harm these two precious people.

He still had to tell Zeus a kid had threatened to body-slam him.

“She’s okay,” Mac said solemnly. “She’s just scared of the bad men that are chasing us.”

The soldier in Ares woke up. He felt the change come over him, a cold stillness. A need to attack. To protect. He crouched on the ground next to Mac. “What do you mean the men chasing you?”

Mac looked from him to Maude, and then his eyes filled with worry, like maybe he’d said too much. “I don’t know,” he said, picking up his train again and running it over Ares’s foot. “Choo-choo.”

Ares locked eyes with Maude. Her lips were pulled into a grim line, her expression matching his own. She jerked her head in the direction of the yard. “I’ll watch him.”

Ares nodded and slowly stood, feeling adrenaline rushing through him. It’d been a long time since he’d had to defend anyone other than in the occasional bar brawl. Not since he’d had to back up his friend Zeus in saving his mate from the last motorcycle gang stupid enough to settle here.

But he was a soldier, powerful and trained, and if Katrina needed protection, she was damn well going to get it.

He opened the sliding door, shut it quietly, and stalked around the house toward the direction of her scent.

He stopped abruptly when he saw her slumped against the side wall of the house, her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking.

Katrina crying?

He could face a squadron of men armed to the teeth, but a crying woman scared him shitless.

He didn’t want to break her.

He knew how to deal with her when she was being stubborn, feisty. He didn’t know how to deal with this.

Or maybe he did. He walked slowly closer, giving her time to notice his presence. When she did, she dropped her hands and looked up at him, and he was relieved to see she wasn’t crying, just on the verge of a panic attack.

He reached for her and she tried to push him away, but his inner bear needed to soothe her. He pulled her into his lap against her protests and leaned back against the house, resting his arms around her. After a moment, she went still, her breathing still rapid but slowly calming.

“Shhh,” he said, taking the liberty of running a hand over her hair, calming her. He couldn’t help it. He needed her to be okay, to know she was safe. His bear would ensure that. “It’s okay.”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s really not. I can’t stay here. I can’t go… It’s not okay.”

“No, I mean it’s okay to stay here for a moment and let someone take care of you,” he said.

She settled in his arms. “I guess so.”

“You’ve been doing this alone for a long time, haven’t you?”

She nodded. The thought made him sick. He hated men who preyed on women and men who left women alone in the world to deal with evil. And she had to protect Mac as well. Was he her son? She looked so young. Only in her mid-twenties.

“Mac told me about the men,” he said.

“Oh no.” She groaned, putting her hands over her face again. She dragged them down and faced him bravely. “What did he say?”

“That you were scared of the men who are chasing you.”

She laughed hoarsely, and he was a little relieved the strong Katrina he’d known so far was coming back to him. Even if he would be the one who was strong for them from now on.

Touching her made it even clearer. She was his mate. She’d been stopped here for a reason, and he’d clear out the bastards who threatened her and then make her his.

“I am scared,” she said, nodding. “But I’m used to this.”

Ares held back the anger inside him. It would have to wait because he couldn’t think clearly with his bear screaming for vengeance. “Who exactly is chasing you?”

“Mac’s father.”

Jealousy surged through him. He didn’t like the idea of another man having a claim on her or Mac.

She shook her head, reading his expression. “No, it’s not like that. I’m not with him. It’s Mac he’s after.”

“What do you mean?”

“Mac’s not my son. He’s my nephew. But he might as well be my son. I’ve been taking care of him as long as he can remember, and I’m his legal guardian.”

“Why?” he asked, his respect growing for the woman resting in his arms. He wanted to know everything about her. He wanted to keep her safe. And he wanted to make love to her and let her know everything would be all right.

And it was all so bizarre after so many years alone and just fine being so.

“My sister got involved with someone bad. She was young. When she died, her son came to me with a note explaining things she wanted me to know. We had a few years before that dirt bag of a father showed up, trying to take him, despite waiving his rights.”

“So he wants to take Mac back?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. “And me as well. Somehow, in the time I’ve been evading him, he’s become obsessed with me as well.”

“But why now?”

“Why the past year, you mean?” she asked, putting her hands up. “I don’t know. I know he wants Mac as a part of his life, an heir to his rotten organization. I’m not sure why he wants me.”

Ares knew why. She was gorgeous. The kind of woman a man would fight to the death for. Strong, courageous, kind. Loyal. He could sense all of that about her.

“Anyway, I don’t know how far back they are, but at least a few days,” she said. “But not a week. In a week, they’ll have found us.”

Ares sighed. What to tell her? He wanted to just tell her to stay here, that she’d be safe, but he wanted it to be her own decision. If he forced her, he’d be just like the men chasing her. She was a smart woman and could make up her own mind.

“What do you want to do, then?” he asked.

She looked at him in surprise, as if that were the one reaction she hadn’t expected. She tucked an errant curl behind one ear and pursed her lips thoughtfully. “I don’t know. For the first time, I can’t seem to think my way out of this. I can’t make that car part just appear.”

He nodded. “True.”

“I can’t impose on you and Maude,” she said.

“Of course you can,” he retorted, wrinkling his nose. “She’d love to have you.”

“How do you know each other anyway?” she asked.

He laughed. “I’ll tell you some other time.”

“Why not now?” she asked curiously.

He grinned. “Because right now I want you to think the best of me. We can save the embarrassing stories for later.”

She flushed, and he felt a little chagrined for flirting at a time like this, but it seemed to be what she needed. And she had a little smile on her face as a result of their banter.

She was in the prime of her life. She should have been having fun and going out with eligible men or doing whatever she wanted. Not running for her life and worried for her nephew.

It was about time someone stepped in to help this little family. And Ares was nominating himself for the job.

“Stay,” he said simply. “They’ll never guess you’re here. I’ll make sure Bill puts your car in a back room where passersby won’t see it. No one has seen you so far, and no one’s going to rat you out. People here are used to visitors and tourists passing through or staying a few days. You’ll be safe here. I promise.”

She shook her head. “You’re a really nice man, Ares. The nicest I’ve ever met.”

That’s a shame,
he thought. She deserved to meet tons of nice people.

“But I really don’t want to put you in this position. I don’t want you getting hurt,” she said hesitantly.

He nearly laughed at the ridiculousness of it, her worrying about the welfare of a hardened soldier, one of the best in the world. But he wasn’t ready to tell her that yet.

“You’re a really good man,” she said. “But you can’t protect us.”

He let out a snort. “Good? Nice?” He scoffed, shaking his head. “Oh, Katrina, Katrina. Trust me. Nice guys like me end guys like him. I can protect you just fine. I
will
protect you. I promise.”

She opened her mouth to protest and her eyes locked with his, a soft, vulnerable look in them as she stared up at him.

He couldn’t resist her look of want or her parted lips or the soft feel of her body against his own.

“I’ll protect you, Katrina,” he promised again. Then he lowered his mouth to hers and sealed the vow with a kiss.

K
atrina couldn’t believe
what she was doing as she opened her mouth and relaxed into Ares’s gentle kiss. His lips were masculine and hard, but the soft stroke of his tongue lit her on fire.

She knew it was an odd time to kiss a man, but when was the right time? It’d been so long since she’d been held, comforted, or touched.

And Ares was offering her the one thing she wanted most in the world. Safety.

She knew she probably shouldn’t believe him. He was a construction worker. A good man but completely incapable of taking on the kind of men Ben would send for her.

He was the kind of man any woman would have wanted. The hot guy next door you could build a home and family with. The kind she might have had if her sister hadn’t taken up with that awful man.

But she couldn’t regret that, because it brought Mac into her life and he was the brightest spot in it.

Sometimes she did wish for a partner. Sometimes she felt the burden of protecting them was too heavy and she daydreamed about a knight who would help her carry the weight.

Ares probably couldn’t be that knight, but she could pretend for now. Relish his sweet promises and the warm protectiveness he exuded and let herself believe he could actually keep those promises, even if she knew he couldn’t.

No one could. It wasn’t fair for them to. She didn’t expect it.

But for the next few minutes, all she would expect was for this kiss to wipe away all her trouble, to sweep through her body with warm comfort, washing away the remnants of stress and panic still coursing through her.

And it worked. As she wrapped her arms around this man she barely knew, feeling his sinuous muscles beneath her fingers, she felt safe for the first time in so long. She didn’t care if it was a fantasy; it was delicious. She stroked her tongue with his, entwining in a way that drew a low groan from his chest, turning her on.

She ran her hands over his back. Damn, he was gorgeous. The feel of him…

She let out a soft moan as his tongue stroked deeper, as his arms wound around her waist, touching the soft flesh there like it was treasure. It was something she’d never expected to feel, something she’d given up on long ago.

But right now, with Ares, she was the girl from the fairytale. This was her chance at the ball with the hot guy.

At least it would have been if Maude didn’t come around the corner right at that moment.

“Well, I’ll be. Ares, in broad daylight? I raised you better than this.”

Ares pulled back reluctantly but gave her a playful grin. “Oh, come on, Maude. You really want to take credit for raising me?”

“As much as anyone can, rascal.”

He laughed and stood, pulling Katrina gently to her feet. “I was just trying to make her feel better.”

Maude glared at him. “I don’t doubt you could make a woman feel better rather easily that way, but you better keep your hands to yourself until we figure out what we’re doing.” She turned to Katrina with a much kinder expression. “About the men chasing you, I mean.”

“Where’s Mac?” she asked, looking alarmed before Maude put up a hand.

“Inside, watching a show. We’ll join him in a minute.” She stuck an elbow in Ares’s side, and he grunted. “Did you at least talk her into staying, you oaf?”

He grinned and looked at Kat. “I think so.”

She blushed, feeling the blood pool up inside her like she was a cartoon character. “I don’t know. I don’t want to put the two of you in danger.”

Maude shared a look with Ares that held a wealth of hidden meaning. Then she turned back to Katrina. “I don’t think you have to worry about that, dear.”

“Oh,” Katrina said faintly, wondering what the heck that meant.

Was Maude some kind of ex secret agent? She seemed fiery enough. Kat also wanted to know what her real relationship was to Ares. Why had she said she’d raised him? And why was she so mean to his face and always trying to praise him behind his back?

She didn’t understand these people. But on the way back to the house as they argued back and forth about where they’d get lunch, she had to laugh.

They might be the oddest people she’d ever met, but somehow, being with them was the closest to home she’d felt in a long time.

She walked with them, considering what Ares had said. He might be right about Ben not knowing they were there. Maybe they really could hope not to be found, at least for a few days.