Hunter Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Enforcer Bears Book 2) (2 page)

The inlet! Cleo stopped when she suddenly realized that she’d seen it drawn on the map. It had been close to a symbol that had to be a waterfall.

Memories came rushing back. Following the creek upstream would eventually lead to a small pond, and that pond in turn was filled by a small waterfall that came cascading down from the rocks.

As children, they’d played at catching frogs in the pond. More often than not, it had ended with one of them toppling inside.

Cleo grinned and wondered if Sidney still remembered how one day, she’d emerged from the water with a huge, brown toad sitting on top of her head. They’d had so much fun here. And now that Cleo had returned as an adult, the lake and the forest had not changed at all. How strange it felt to explore those old paths and remember how exciting their adventures had seemed as children.

I’m the one who has changed,
she thought as she began to follow the creek away from the lake.
As a child, I always wanted to draw. But I also thought I’d have adventures. And I thought I’d always be happy when I was grown up.

It hadn’t been that easy. She’d followed her dreams—but where had that led her? With her creativity run dry, her heart broken, and everything she believed in shattered.

I trusted him,
she thought, anger welling up once more.
That’s what hurts the most. It’s not just that he broke my heart.

He’d also broken the part of her that had known how to trust.

I’m not making that mistake again. I don’t want to be cast aside for someone’s dream.

She had once thought that
she
was Walter’s dream… But clearly she’d been wrong.

Then she snorted. Maybe there wouldn’t even be a chance to make such a mistake again. Maybe she wouldn’t ever find someone who’d love her, the awkward artist with too many pounds on her hips and the impossible dreams.

I’m definitely not finding anyone out here in the forest.

Maybe it should feel scary to face two months of loneliness—but it was exactly what she needed right now. And out here, with only the trees and the sound of the waterfall for company, she’d soon forget all about her old life. She didn’t want any more heartbreak and pain. All she wanted was to find that part of her again where her creativity had gone to hide.

Then she walked out from beneath the trees, the small clearing with the pond opening up before her, and she gasped audibly.

There was a naked man bathing beneath the waterfall.

Cleo blinked, and stared, and blinked again.

The naked man was still there. And he looked…
amazing!
That was the only word that came to mind.

His skin was glistening with water. His shoulders were broad and his arms heavily muscled. His hair was a dark brown, nearly black from the water of the waterfall that kept pouring all over those strong shoulders, and Cleo couldn’t look away.

It didn’t feel real. Surely it couldn’t be real. These things only happened in movies!

The sun was gleaming on his tanned skin. There was a line of scars on his back, long, red scratches at a regular distance, as if some wild animal had mauled him once.

Cleo couldn’t look away. She knew she should feel scared—a stranger, naked, all the way out here in the forest!

But there was something else inside her that didn’t feel panic. It was as if suddenly, someone had flicked a switch, and the empty, dark part inside her had suddenly been filled with light.

I want to draw him.

That’s what she was feeling. Her fingers were itching for a pencil and her sketchbook.

She had never seen anything like it before: the sunlight reflecting from the myriads of tiny drops of water in the air as the waterfall cascaded down onto his body from the rock above him. The way his muscles flexed as he moved, the strength of his body and the ease of his movements, the way everything seemed to have come together for one single moment to spell out perfection: sunlight, water, and the sheer, heart-stopping physicality of his hard, masculine body.

Then he turned his head, and his eyes met hers.

As easily as that, the spell was broken. Reality caught up with her.

She gasped again, ready for flight while he stared at her in surprise and shock.

A second later, he jumped into the pool. When he emerged again after a moment, Cleo no longer felt quite as threatened.

There was a large string of some sort of algae that had wrapped around his head and dangled onto his shoulder. It looked slimy, a wet green-brown that kept dripping pond water onto his shoulder, and Cleo clasped a hand in front of her mouth to hold back her shocked laughter.

Not only was there a hot, naked guy bathing in the pond, but now he looked like he’d escaped from the set of a cheap action movie, with a particularly disgusting headband wrapped around his hair.

He looks like a low-budget Rambo,
she thought, and now she could no longer hold back the nervous giggle.

She was still tense, ready to flee should he take even one step towards her—but with the algae, he suddenly seemed no longer quite so dangerous. And he hadn’t moved, which was at least something.

“This is private property, you know,” she called out after a moment, once she regained her composure.

Her heart was still beating fast, but she was determined that she wouldn’t show any fear. It wasn’t far to her house. If she ran, she’d make it back before he even made it out of the water, because she knew how slippery the old rocks were that lined the pond. And then she’d lock the door and call the police.

“Sorry,” the guy called back. He was staring at her, eyes wide and startled, and then lifted his hands as if to reassure her. “Uh, would you… would you give me a moment so I can get dressed?”

Cleo glared at him. “I’m not turning my back on you!”

He gave her a sheepish look in return, but she still didn’t quite dare to relax. He did look harmless… But still, that was no explanation for why a stranger was bathing naked in her pond.

“I’m really sorry,” he said. Then he winced, one of his hands rising to carefully touch the algae that still clung to his head. “What the… yuck!” he said when the slimy mass wrapped around his fingers.

Cleo blinked when suddenly, he was gone again. A heartbeat later, he came up once more, sputtering and shaking himself.

Droplets flew into all directions, sparkling in the sun. The algae was gone, and Cleo couldn’t quite bite back a smile when he hurriedly combed his wet hair out of his eyes.

He was gorgeous—all muscles and gleaming skin and chiseled jaw, but at that moment, she found herself suddenly reminded of an oversized puppy shaking off the water.

“So, I believe you were about to tell me just what you are doing on my property?” she said and slid her hand demonstratively into her pocket. “And make no mistake—I’ve got my phone with me. I can have the cops out here in no time.”

There it was. She touched the hard plane of her phone in relief. What she hadn’t told him was that it was often difficult to get a signal out here, but with some luck, the threat of it would be enough.

“Okay, okay,” he said and raised his hands again. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t know anyone was living out here. I’m—well, hunting. In fact, you probably shouldn’t spend too much time walking around on your own until we’ve caught the beast.”

“The beast,” she repeated.

The look she gave him clearly said that she was waiting for a good explanation.

The guy grimaced. “It’s a jaguar. Possibly wounded.”

“Mmhm.” She didn’t believe a single word of his story.

She knew there were no jaguars out here. She felt a little insulted, actually, that he was trying to sell her such a crazy story.

“Look, it’s complicated.” He took a deep breath, then he sighed. “And I’m, um. I’d feel more comfortable having this conversation dressed, and I think you might feel the same?”

“Don’t you move,” Cleo repeated with another fierce glare. “If you so much as take a step towards me, I swear I will call the cops on you.”

At that threat, he gave her a little laugh. He reached up with one hand to brush away more of the dripping wet hair that kept falling into his eyes.

“Actually, maybe you should,” he said with an apologetic smile. “I’m not good at this. Explanations. Or people. I’m just here to hunt. But if you want to call, just ask for Chris Anders…”

“The new cop?” Cleo suddenly remembered the gossip her cousin Sidney had regaled her with.

“Yeah, that’s the one!” He gave her a relieved smile. “He’s my brother, you see! And he’s why I’m here. Because there was that wounded jaguar, and I’m a hunter, so…”

“A hunter. Of jaguars,” she repeated, and then narrowed her eyes at him.

“How can I explain this?” The man looked sheepish. Water kept dripping down his body. “For one thing, he shouldn’t be here. This isn’t jaguar country. And for another, he should be locked up. I mean, away. Away from humans!”

“Humph.” Cleo made another doubtful sound.

She couldn’t shake the feeling that he was hiding something from her. She hadn’t been back to Linden Creek in a long time, but in her childhood, no one had been hunting jaguars in these woods. And why the hell did he seem so nervous?

“All right,” she said resolutely. “I’m going back home and calling the police to check up on your story. And you had better get dressed and leave.”

“Sorry,” he said again, looking at her with an unreadable expression.

There was something strange about his eyes. They were brown—a deep brown, like the bark of a pine tree warmed by the sun. Staring into them made warmth spread through her. It was difficult to look away. With the sunshine on his gleaming skin and the waterfall behind him, for a moment he looked like a wild creature of the forest.

He looked… mysterious. As though an animal was staring up at her from the pond. Maybe a big, agile cat, like the one he claimed he was hunting. Or a large, majestic stag, the king of the forest.

No,
she then thought, swallowing when her mouth suddenly went all dry.
Like a bear. Like a strong, protective bear, a guardian of the forest.

How weird. He was just some random guy trespassing on her property, scaring her half to death. But for a moment, she could have sworn that instead of him, she’d seen that bear from her Grandma’s painting.

He’s got the eyes of a bear…

Again her fingers itched for a pencil, a brush, anything at all that would allow her to put these strange emotions down into a form that would maybe make sense. Instead, she forced herself to turn around and walk back up the path that led straight to the patio of her small house.

She listened for the sound of steps. She still held her hand tightly clenched around her phone.

But there was no sound but that of the birds and the wind. Once she’d made it back, she locked the door tightly regardless, and then called the number of the local police.

Steven Anders stared with mingled shock and embarrassment at the spot where the most gorgeous woman he had ever laid eyes on had just vanished into the forest.

Congrats, she now thinks that you’re a pervert,
Steven told himself, then groaned and covered his face with his hands.
I never should have come here.

I’m not leaving,
his bear said.
I’m not leaving ever again.

Steven clenched his jaw.
We’ll leave as soon as the job is done. As we always do. Remember? A lone bear, wandering around, hunting—

I’ve changed my mind,
his bear grumbled in his head.
I was wrong. I want a mate now. I want—

“Don’t say it,” Steven warned his bear out loud.

Her,
the bear finished, sullen and determined.

“I don’t want to hear it!”

She’s our mate. I’m not leaving.

“This can’t be happening,” Steven groaned, and then looked around once more in sudden embarrassment.

What if she’d overheard his conversation?

“Great. She’ll think I’m a pervert and a lunatic,” he muttered. “What a great way to make an impression.”

Steven had come to the woods of Linden Creek because his brother Chris had run into trouble with a band of criminal jaguar shifters. Chris had dealt with them, and two shifters were behind bars now.

But one lonely, wounded jaguar had escaped into the forest. And a feral shifter, maybe wounded, maybe gone mad, was a problem Chris didn’t want around.

Steven was the sort of shifter who was called in situations like this: big, strong, and aware of how to handle himself in a fight. And he knew how to stay out of trouble with non-shifter authorities.

Not that this was as much of a problem, with Steven’s brother in charge of law enforcement in this small town. But Chris had only recently settled down with his new-found mate. A wild jaguar attacking tourists was the last thing he needed, and Chris couldn’t just take off weeks from his job to go hunting for a feral shifter in the endless, wood-covered hills and valleys of the area.

I couldn’t live like that,
Steven thought and looked around.
All that responsibility. No freedom to take off and run. How’s that any different from being caged?

Everything was quiet. He took a deep breath.

The air smelled clean—clean like the water cascading down the rock into the pond. Leaves rustled above his head. The sun shone down onto the small clearing. The bright blue sky was reflected in the surface of the pond.

As Steven watched, a small lizard slid from a rock into the water. A bumblebee came buzzing past, slow and heavily laden with pollen.

The forest smelled inviting. The darkness beneath the trees called him. There were a hundred different paths to explore. There were caves to find, berries to gorge on, honey to steal, rocks to climb. He wanted to run for hours, until he found a place where the wind smelled different, and where new paths would lead to him to different places with new adventures waiting for him.

He wanted to roll in the moss, or find a sun-warmed glade to curl up and nap in. That was all the happiness he’d needed since he’d been a child. Why should that change now?

It
had
changed. He could feel it.

Something had changed since his eyes had met hers, all wide and shocked. Her lips had parted for a little gasp. Her eyes had seemed to look right into his heart, green like the forest and framed by long, dark lashes. The wind had played with strands of her hair, red curls that gleamed in the sunlight, glossy and soft. He’d never wanted anything more than he’d wanted to brush those curls out of her eyes at that moment.

His mate. His bear thought she was his mate.

Steven had hoped that it would never happen, because what did he have to offer a woman? He liked to run wild. He liked the loneliness of the forest. The life he’d led had left its marks on his skin.

And there she had stood, soft where he was scarred, her body that of a goddess, all luscious curves that he couldn’t stop thinking about.

But her eyes,
he thought again.
There was something about her eyes. As if she was seeing me. The real me.

That was impossible, he knew that. His brother had told him that there were no other shifters around in Linden Creek. No one but his brother and his brother’s mate knew the truth about Steven.

She can’t know. She would have run if she saw me shift into a bear.

But then, what was it that he’d seen on her face in that final moment? Could she have felt the same call he did? Could she have recognized him as her mate as well?

This is far too complicated for a simple case of catching a jaguar,
he thought, and then frowned at his surroundings.

There was still the matter of the jaguar. He had been hunting him for a while now, and so far, without success. But wherever the jaguar was hiding, it couldn’t be too far away. He’d found paw prints here, and once or twice, he’d caught his scent.

His lair must be close. That’s why he keeps returning. Which means that she’s in danger.

Maybe he should let Chris handle it. After all, that was Chris’s job. With some luck, she’d even believe the jaguar story if Chris confirmed what Steven had told her.

You should tell her that she doesn’t need to worry,
his bear grumbled.
We’ll keep her safe.
We’ll protect our mate!

I don’t think that will go over well,
Steven replied silently.
And I’m not good with humans. Look at what a mess we’ve made of this already.

I think she likes us,
his bear huffed.

Steven had to laugh. “I’d like to have your optimism,” he muttered, and then finally waded out of the pool to get dressed.

Maybe Chris would pay him a visit. Steven didn’t like the thought of walking into town. In the forest, he felt in his element. Sometimes he thought that he’d be happiest if he’d simply never shift back into his human form.

But now you have someone to be human for,
his bear whispered in his head. He sounded suspiciously smug.

Steven pretended that he hadn’t heard. But he couldn’t stop thinking of the way she’d stared at him. She hadn’t backed down. She had even threatened him.

That had been pretty brave.

Still. He’d seen how relationships could go wrong. He couldn’t do that to her.

He wouldn’t.

Ha,
his bear grumbled again.

***

Two days later, Steven was walking along the road that led back to the lake where the jaguar’s scent kept reappearing, when a car slowed down, and then stopped next to him. Steven had been half prepared to make his escape into the forest, because the last thing he wanted was to talk to another person. But then the window went down, and he found himself once more captivated by familiar, green eyes.

“Hi,” the red-haired woman said.

His mate. Once again he felt that irresistible pull.

She gave him a small smile. “So, um. I just wanted to say that I did call the cops, and your brother told me you didn’t just make up a crazy story about a jaguar. Sorry I didn’t believe you, but…”

“It’s all right,” he said, resisting the urge to move a little closer. “It sounds like a crazy story, but the jaguar is real. And he’s still around. Have you thought about moving back into town for a while, until it’s caught?”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she said. Her fingers tapped nervously against the wheel.

Chris probably told her the same thing,
Steven realized.
Damn
.

And she hadn’t listened.

“Look,” he began, “I know you think it’s just some random cat hiding somewhere out here, but—”

“I’m safe enough in the house, isn’t that right?” she interrupted. “And you haven’t evacuated the entire lake, so why should it be different for me?”

Because you’re our mate,
his bear supplied.

Steven bit his lip to keep from saying something foolish.

“As long as you stay inside, you should be fine,” he admitted reluctantly. “The jaguar is hiding. Sorry, I don’t want to scare you; he’s clearly hiding from all humans. I’ve been hunting him for a while now. But you know how it is. A scared animal becomes dangerous as soon as it thinks that it’s trapped.”

“No walks in the forest for me, understood,” she said. “Though I told your brother that I’m taking the boat out onto the lake instead, and no jaguar’s keeping me from that.”

“You should be fine on the lake.” For a moment, he contemplated whether he should offer to keep her company if she wanted to take a walk in the forest after all. Then he remembered how they’d first met. Maybe he shouldn’t push it, not after that memorable first meeting…

Coward,
the bear growled in the back of his head.

Something seemed to take over and made Steven take a step forward then—a force that drew him right towards her. He’d never felt as helpless as when he looked into her eyes.

All of his old instincts said to run, to leave behind what could only end in more pain and the loss of the freedom that he cherished above everything else.

But now a new instinct had taken over. And that instinct wanted to be close to her to admire the warmth of her eyes when she smiled. That instinct pulled at him relentlessly. For the first time in his life, there was a new need that overwhelmed even that old need for his freedom.

The need for his mate.

Steven had almost pitied his brother whose bear had been chained down by love. But now he looked into her green eyes, and the old call of the forest had lost its strength.

He still wanted to run, to shift and be free.

But he wanted to be close to her as well.

Who needs new forests when we can have a forest close to her,
his bear said softly.

No,
Steven thought.
No, no, no. I can’t do this. I know how these things end! I’m not my brother. I’m not like… I’m not a tame bear.

He forced himself to take a step back, and something in her eyes seemed to shutter. She sat up straight in her car once more.

“Anyway, I should really go on. I’ve got a lot to do,” she said, then hesitated for a moment. “I’m Cleo, by the way. And, uh. I was very glad your brother confirmed that you’re not a pervert—”

“I’m Steven. And I’m very sorry for trespassing.” Steven winced, embarrassment creeping up in him once more at the memory. “Like I said, I thought the area was deserted in the off-season, and the animal’s trails keep leading back to this lake.”

She gave him a small smile. “It’s fine; I talked to your brother. And it seems to be important to catch that jaguar before something happens. But I would appreciate it if…”

“If I don’t bathe in your pond anymore?” he finished for her, and they grinned at each other. “Yeah, I promise. I’ll pick a different spot along the lake. It isn’t all yours, is it?”

“Most of it belongs to Jeremiah Higgins, actually,” she said, and for a moment a frown settled on her features. “He bought a lot of land here. In the end, my Grandma was the only one who didn’t sell to him. Though he doesn’t live here. As long as it’s all officially sanctioned by the police, I don’t think he’ll care. He’s trying to rework it all into a luxury weekend retreat resort.”

“And you’re…?” He nodded towards the buckets of paint in her car.

“Definitely not turning it into a luxury resort,” Cleo said firmly. “For one thing, I don’t have the money. Also, the house is perfect the way it is. I hope I can rent it out when I’m done—but it will be families with children who want to spend a summer at the lake. I used to love summers here. We’d run around until the sun went down, and my Grandpa would start a fire. He’d grill fish he’d caught himself and tell us stories about the animals that live in the forest, and we’d try to count fireflies…”

“Sounds like a perfect childhood.” Steven had to swallow back sudden memories that had risen—his dad shouting, coming home drunk, running off without a word.

That was the bear in him,
he reminded himself.
His bear made him run. Just as yours does. She doesn’t deserve that.

Cleo took a deep breath. “It was,” she agreed after a moment. “I’ve had a bit of bad luck lately. I think that’s why I came back. To see if I could figure out where I went wrong. That’s what my Grandpa always said: if you get lost, return to where you lost sight of the others and wait.”

“So you’re waiting now?” he said softly, studying her face with sudden new interest.

What could have happened to a woman like Cleo to drive her to seek solace in the wilderness? Had someone hurt her?

No one will ever hurt her again,
his bear growled.

As much as Steven tried, he couldn’t fight back the sudden surge of protectiveness.