Her Big Bad Polar Bear (5 page)

Chapter 10

“Asshole!” Andy grumbled more than once. How dare Cosmo shove her off on his brother, then come around acting weird like he was...jealous. The thought that he might actually be jealous and want her for himself had her hopeful for a moment. That was ridiculous. Someone as perfect as he was, wanting someone plain and simple like her just didn’t happen.

She knew she was cute in a librarian kind of way. She got asked out occasionally, but her inquisitive nature always seemed to turn men off. It was hard to find a man that could connect with her intellectually and also attract her physically. She had thought Cosmo was different. The other night they had shared a lovely dinner and had a good conversation. She’d felt excited to be around him. Obviously it was a one way thing, though. She learned a long time ago that she couldn’t force something that wasn’t meant to be, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t disappointed.

What she needed to do now was to concentrate on her job. She wanted to eventually branch out from the company she worked for and start her own research and exploration company. In order to do that, she would have to have field experience and make a discovery. She had the location she would start with first, which was the frozen lake across from her cabin, and she had the means of transportation: the snowmobile. She just needed to figure out how to run the damn thing.

She put her big coat on with gloves and her toboggan. She had filled her backpack with a blanket, camera, her cell phone, a notebook and pen, protein bars, and two bottles of water. She wanted to make sure she had something in case she got stranded. She was thinking maybe she overloaded her backpack as she struggled to mount the snowmobile with her backpack on. It should be like getting on a motorcycle with skis, right? She lifted her right foot to try to straddle the seat and lost her balance. She fell backward onto the soft snow.

“Ugh!”

“That’s one way to not get on a snowmobile.” Cosmo chuckled from the porch.

Damn. She hadn’t heard him pull up. “What are you doing here?” She tried to get up, but her layers and coat made her too bulky and she fell back again.

Cosmo walked toward her, and the snow crunched under his heavy boots. She looked up at him as he bent and offered her his hand. “Let me help you.”

She thought about turning him down, but it would only make her feel more foolish. Her father had told her once to never turn down an offer of help because you never know when you’d have the offer again. She put her gloved hand in his. “Thanks.”

He pulled her up easily. “You’re too heavy.”

“Are you calling me fat?” She was furious and breathing hard.

“No, honey. You have too much stuff on and it’s weighing you down. You are the perfect curvy woman.”

She tried to act like his compliment didn’t mean anything, but it did go a long way toward easing her hurt feelings. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to wear other than this to keep from freezing to death.”

He pointed to the bag he had laid down on the porch steps. “I raided my sister’s closet and brought you some gear to wear. The goal is to wear layers but still be able to move around. Let me take your backpack while you go change.” He helped her remove the backpack.

“I need that stuff,” she said, looking at him suspiciously.

“There’s a cargo storage bin back here. I think the whole backpack will fit inside it. Go on. I’ll get the motor going for us.” He waved her toward the cabin.

She really didn’t have a choice but to grab the back and go change. About five minutes later she reappeared, wearing much thinner looking clothes and coat. She felt much warmer than she had before with the insulated and waterproof gear.

“Tell your sister that I appreciate the clothes.”

“Do you know where you want to go, or do you want me to drive you around the areas that have been covered by your fellow researchers?”

“I want to go over to Miracle Lake.”

He looked at her, surprised. “Why?”

She carefully lifted her leg and got on the back of the snowmobile behind him. She leaned around to watch him start the snowmobile.

“I thought I saw something out over the lake a few times. I wanted to check it out.”

“What did you see?” he asked loud enough to hear over the motor.

“A polar bear!” she yelled.

Chapter 11

Oh, shit!
She had seen him when he had come to check on her. This was not good. Yes, she was definitely his mate and he would eventually have to tell her the truth about him and his clan, but he wasn’t sure she was ready for that yet.

“You must have been mistaken. Polar bears haven’t been seen in this region in quite a while. They normally stick to the northern parts because there are better food sources.”

He drove over the lake, trying to keep away from where his tracks might be seen. He stopped by an outcropping of rocks. “There’s a cave over here. Would you like to look at it?”

She frowned at him, looking in the opposite direction. “Cosmo, I want to go over there.”

“Let’s see what’s here first.”

She didn’t look happy about it, but she got off the snowmobile and opened the cargo bin. She pulled out her camera, notepad, and pen. She approached the cave entrance he was standing next to. It was small, and Cosmo would have to bend quite a bit to fit inside there.

“Do you think there’s any wild animals inside?’

“I thought you wanted to be a great explorer, like Indiana Jones.”

“I’m a researcher. This is my first time in the field, and I am definitely not like Indiana Jones. Is that the type of movies you like to watch?”

“I like anything that gives me some action.” His double meaning made her pulse speed up. “What kind of movies do you like to watch? Let me guess. Kingdom of animals or planet discovery type channels.”

“I do watch those sometimes, but I like romantic comedies.”

*****

She was kneeling and peering into the small cave. Nothing had been there for a while. There was nothing showing that any kind of animal was using it as shelter. She stood up and found herself between the cave wall and Cosmo. He towered over her. She looked up into his nearly black eyes and felt her body tingle. What was he doing to her?

“Cosmo?” Her voice was a whisper.

“I can’t seem to control myself,” he confessed as he leaned down and placed his warm lips against hers.

It was like touching an electrical spark. It traveled through her whole body, lighting her up. She knew what he meant now, about how he couldn’t control himself, because she was feeling out of control herself. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body into his. He was so warm; his heat seeped in through their layers of clothes. She opened her mouth, allowing him inside and it was pure bliss.

His tongue teased and caressed her, devouring her, and she welcomed it. She met his thrust and moaned with pleasure. She had never been kissed like this before. She wanted more—she wanted to be naked in his arms and have him inside her. Yes, she needed him to be inside her more than anything.

“Cosmo…” She was interrupted by a loud roar. A bear’s roar. “What was that?” She pulled away from him and looked around. Could it be the polar bear?

“Andy, do you think you can handle the snowmobile?”

She looked at him questioningly. “What do you mean?”

“You watched me control the snowmobile. Do you think you can take it on your own back to the cabin?”

“Yeah. I’ve driven a motorcycle before, so I think I can handle it. Why?”

“I want you to take the snowmobile back to the cabin.”

“Without you?”

“Yes. I need you to go to my truck and pull out my shotgun and keep it with you inside the cabin.”

“No, Cosmo. Come with me. I can’t leave you out here by yourself against who knows what that was.”

“Honey, it will take you about ten minutes to get to the cabin. I have a handgun. I will be fine. I want to make sure whatever that was doesn’t make its way to town.”

She was shaking her head. “Not without you.”

“There’s a farm nearby; a family lives there. I will make my way over there and have them bring me back to the cabin.”

This was the stupidest thing she had ever heard of. “You can’t hunt this thing with a handgun.”

“I’m pretty good with it. Trust me.”

“Should I call the Tour and Guide or the sheriff’s office and have them come help you?”

“Only if I don’t come back in an hour. I need you safe now.” He pushed her toward the snowmobile.

She turned to leave but stopped. “Cosmo, come back to me safe.” She pulled him down to her and kissed him hard. She let him go and rushed over to the snowmobile, then turned it on. She gave him one more look before moving forward on the snow.

*****

He watched until he couldn’t see her in the distance and then began to undress quickly. Cosmo was furious. He shifted within seconds to his polar bear form. He lumbered toward the crop of trees he knew the roaring came from. The moment he was near the other polar bear came out.

Cosmo didn’t wait. He launched himself at the other bear, taking him down to the snow. They rolled around. Cosmo swiped his claws at the bear’s side, making him roar. They both shifted into human form.

“Ivan, what the hell are you doing stalking my mate?”

Chapter 12

“I’m not stalking. I’m checking up on her to make sure she’s okay. Mate? Did I hear that right?”

“She’s mine. Keep your distance.”

Ivan held up his hands. “I understand. I like her, but I get it. She’s yours. Have you claimed her yet?”

“No. You interrupted us.”

Ivan snorted. “I was doing you a favor. You were so caught up in kissing the daylights out of her that you would have clawed each other’s clothes off if I hadn’t roared and distracted you.”

“How is you stopping us a favor?”

“Because it’s freezing out here and your mate is fully human. She wouldn’t be able to take the cold.”

Damn. He was right. He grunted and nodded. “I would have realized that at some point.”

“Sure, whatever. I’ll head back to town, then. It looks like you’re going to be busy for a while. Congrats man. She’s amazing.”

Cosmo smiled. “I know.”

*****

It tore her up inside to leave Cosmo out there by himself. She would have to call his office and let them know. At least his brothers could come out and help him. She felt totally helpless.

Andy could see the cabin in the distance, so knew she was getting close. She stopped for a moment when something in the snow caught her attention. She got off the snowmobile and walked over to the edge of the frozen lake. This was where she thought she saw the polar bear the first night. Her fingers caressed an imprint in the snow. She went to the storage bin and removed her cell phone, and took a few pictures. Then she stuffed it in her back pocket and hopped back on the snowmobile. She would use her impression identifier program to determine whether it was indeed a bear of some sort.

She parked the snowmobile in front of the cabin. She jumped off and ran over to Cosmo’s truck. The shotgun was hanging up on a rack behind the driver’s seat. Why would he leave a door to his truck unlocked when he had a shotgun inside? Anyone could take it. She checked the barrel, but it wasn’t loaded. She looked in the glove department, but there were no shells there. Maybe in the cabin?

She took the heavy shotgun with her and ran to the steps of the porch. She climbed the steps and entered the cabin. She looked around, not sure where the shells would be. She spent almost fifteen minutes going through every drawer in the cabin, but nothing. She needed to call for help, but it didn’t sound like Cosmo wanted to notify the sheriff. So, she called his office. Someone answered on the second ring.

“Vedar Scout and Tour, this is Dahlia. How may I help you?”

“Dahlia, this is Andy Johnson. We need some help out here at Miracle Lake.”

“We?”

“Cosmo and I were out on the lake. We heard what sounded like a polar bear roar. He told me to bring the snowmobile back and wait for him. I can’t find shells to the shotgun. I left him there. Oh God!” She was starting to have a panic attack.

“Calm down, Andy. Cosmo stayed behind to check out the...noise that you heard, right?”

“Yeah. He said that there was a farm close by that needed to be warned about the creature and that he would have someone there bring him back within the hour, but it’s been over twenty minutes.”

“He probably went to Jeb’s place. It’s the closest to Miracle Lake besides your cabin. Just stay there and I’ll try calling Cosmo on his cell or Jeb’s. Then I’ll call Cosmo’s brothers to come out if I can’t get a hold of them.”

“I’m going back out. He’s all alone.”

“No! Andy, look. We can’t be searching for both of you if you get stranded out there. Didn’t Cosmo teach you the number one rule about snowmobiling is to never go out alone? Never mind. Just stay there. Give me fifteen minutes to make some calls and then I’ll call you back. Okay?”

“I’ll give you seven minutes. Cosmo has no transportation, no food, or water. The temperature is dropping as we speak.”

“Okay then, seven minutes. I’ll call you back.”

Andy hung up the phone and realized that she forgot to ask if there were any shells for the shotgun. She tossed the useless thing on the table. She paced back and forth, checking the clock on the wall. Where was he? Was he okay? She was startled when the phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Andy, he’s fine. He’s on his way,” Dahlia’s calm, gentle voice told her.

She felt an immediate sense of relief and cried a little. “Oh, thank God! I was so worried. I didn’t want to leave him and I didn’t know what to do.”

“You did fine, Andy. Cosmo said that you were very brave. Stay there until he comes.”

“He’s fine, really?”

“I promise you he is. He’s coming to you, so don’t go anywhere.”

She nodded her okay even though Dahlia couldn’t see her. “Yes, okay.” He was okay. She could breathe again. “Thanks, Dahlia.”

“No problem, honey.”

She hung up the phone and plopped down on the couch in relief. He was okay. She wiped the tears from her cheeks. When he got back, she was going to kill him for having her leave him like that. What was he thinking? She needed a distraction badly. She got up and went outside to the snowmobile and pulled her stuff out of the cargo bin. She headed back inside, shivering.

She pulled out her camera and notebook. It was a digital camera so she could look at the images on it. She zoomed in on the tracks. That had to be polar bear tracks. She got up and went to the bedroom and set up her computer at the small desk in the corner under the window. She pulled the camera cord out and plugged it into her computer, then pulled up the track identifier program. It was going to take about an hour. She went to the main room and sat on the couch, and added her findings at Miracle Lake to her notes. A knock at the door of the cabin had her stumbling to answer it.

“Cosmo!” she yelled out, jerking the door open only to stop dead in her tracks. It wasn’t Cosmo standing there, but… “Denny?”

“Hi, Andy.” He smiled at her.

“What are you doing here?”

“Can I come in? It’s freezing.”

She opened the door wider and allowed him to pass by. She closed the door behind them, feeling anxious and confused. “Why are you here?”

“I wanted to see if you have gotten anywhere with those notes.”

Notes? Oh, the notes. “Yes, over here at the coffee table. I finished what I could after I changed some things.”

He sat on the sofa and reached for the notes on the table. “What have you done?”

“Some of the notes weren’t complete. I had to search for the rest of it and finish them. Those are my additions on the side there.” She leaned over to point on the paper. “I couldn’t find anywhere in the notes where Miracle Lake was searched.”

“It’s not a hot spot for us, so it was marked off our list of possible locations to investigate. No polar bears have been sighted here in like twenty years.”

“I saw two myself this week and I think I found tracks to one.”

Denny shook his head and looked down at her. “It couldn’t have been polar bear tracks. I’ll take the notes and fix them up.”

She frowned. “The notes don’t need fixing. I fixed them already.”

“Are you hungry? There’s not much in town but the little diner there has decent food.” He placed his hand on her knee.

What? He just insulted her and now he was asking her out? She pushed his hand off her. “Denny, I think you should leave.”

He reached for her, pulling her upper body against his. “Stop playing hard to get, Andy. We’ve been dating for a while and now we should take it to the next level.”

“We’ve had one date and that was months and months ago. We aren’t taking anything anywhere.” She shoved at his chest. “Let me go.”

“Come on, baby. Kiss me.”

“No!”

A loud crash at the front door had them both turning in surprise.

“I believe the lady told you to let her go. If you want to keep your hands, I would advise you to do that now,” Cosmo growled out.