Mountain Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Romance (Bear Haven Book 1) (3 page)

She put her forehead on her hands as he and Wyatt and his crew strode out of the restaurant's front door, the bartender shaking his head at them.

She’d been intending to simply leave, but now that seemed impossible.

“Dwayne, you watch her,” the man named Wyatt shouted, pointing in her direction. “Make sure she stays there so whoever wins can come back and claim her.”

Her eyes widened as a scruffy blond man sidled over to her and sat on the other side of the booth, eyeing her with a mean smile. She squirmed uncomfortably.

He was quiet, but she looked over at the exit, wondering if there was still anyway she could make a break for it. As if he sensed her intent, he got out of his side of the booth and came over to hers, sliding in next to her.

The booth was long, so despite his huge size, he didn’t touch her, but she felt intimidated all the same.

“Um, I think there’s been a mistake,” she said, looking into Dwayne’s face and hoping there was a way to convince him to just let her go. “I’m not… I mean… maybe I should go.”

“Naw,” Dwayne said. “Boss is gonna win you and then you’re coming back with us.”

“I beg your pardon,” she said, pushing against his chest. He had a rough face with features that seemed like a blunted version of the more handsome Wyatt, who was presumably out front, engaged in fisticuffs, if the shouts were any indication.

“Nah,” Dwayne drawled, leaning in closer. “You don’t gotta worry about fancy words with me, darling.” His eyes strayed to her blouse. “Damn, you look good enough to eat.”

“I, um… The men outside, I don’t think they’d appreciate you… taking liberties.” She looked over to the bar but saw even the bartender had gone outside.

The man next to her did something very odd next. He sniffed her, taking in a long, slow breath. “Damn, you smell good. What is that?”

“Perfume?” she squeaked, reaching in her purse for her Taser with as much subtlety as she could.

Dwayne didn’t notice, looking over in the direction of the men outside and then back at her with a hungry gaze. “I don’t know if I can resist taking a taste for myself…”

She pulled back in the booth, hand grabbing for the Taser. She hated to hurt anyone, but she’d be damned if she let anyone paw her.

Not after the night she’d just had.

She couldn’t believe she was thinking it, but she almost wished the mountain man would come back. But since he was currently otherwise engaged, she’d have to take care of things herself. She sighed and pulled the weapon out of its pouch, hoping it had enough voltage to take care of enormous, horny rednecks.

B
y the time
Shane pulled onto the road that led to the Skyline bar, all hell had already broken loose.

He groaned as he pulled up and parked, seeing that a crowd had already gathered out front, and in the middle, two men were fighting.

Given that he recognized some of the workers from the wildcat gang, who worked a ranch nearby, Shane wouldn’t be surprised if one of figures fighting was his brother. Maverick hated the leader, Wyatt, with everything he had. They’d been friends growing up, but then issues with their ranches and the land had come between them.

Wyatt’s ranch was just on the other side of Shane’s, and Shane knew if their land went up for auction, Wyatt and his wildcats would be the first trying to claim it.

And with the money Wyatt had inherited, they’d have no trouble winning it.

Unlike Shane, who’d always invested everything he had back into the ranch.

He shut his door and strode into the clearing, hoping the woman from the phone hadn’t come to meet them yet. If she had, he strongly worried the fight had something to do with her.

But he scented something odd the second he stepped out into the evening air.

The men in the clearing paused for a second as he approached. He recognized a couple of his men cheering on Maverick, who was down to a tee shirt and definitely squaring off with Wyatt. Both men looked like they’d taken a few hits, and given that they were both shifters with superior healing powers, he wasn’t really worried that either of them would hurt each other.

The scent in the air, sweet, feminine, delicate, like roses, was stronger as he strode toward the restaurant.

“Hey, bro,” Mav said, ducking a swing from Wyatt. “Whatcha doing here?”

“Where is she?” Shane asked as Mav swung forward, knocking Wyatt back.

“Inside, of course, with Dwayne,” Mav mumbled. “We’ll get back to her in a minute. After I win.”

Shane growled as he tuned his hearing toward the bar and heard a feminine squeak of alarm. Every protective instinct in his body lit on fire as he left his idiot brother and ran for the front door.

The men around him ignored him, but maybe they weren’t as affected as he was by the scent. He’d never smelled anything so erotic or troubling. He could almost feel her, imagine her, even before he swung open the front door and charged in.

Just as he walked into the main room, he saw them. Dwayne, caging a smaller person with soft blond hair in a booth. Rage flared up in him. He hadn’t been around a lot of women in his life, but he’d be damned if he saw even one of them mistreated and didn’t do something about it.

Dwayne was going to be seeing double or missing some of his anatomy, depending on how far he’d gone with the little female.

Then he heard a loud buzzing and clicking sound, unlike anything he’d ever heard, and Dwayne groaned and flopped around before hitting the ground, still convulsing.

Shane raised an eyebrow as he skidded to a stop in front of their booth and looked down at the sight in front of him. Dwayne was incapacitated for the moment, so Shane kicked him aside with one foot and looked down at the woman who’d tased him.

In her hands was a heavy-duty Taser in the color pink, and Shane shook his head, impressed and aghast at the same time. Impressed that she’d handled herself against someone like Dwayne, aghast that she was here alone in the middle of nowhere where something much worse could have happened.

He stuck out a hand, and she shyly looked up and met his eyes. As she did, a shock as strong as lightning went through him. When her hand reached for his, her touch lit him up, making him stumble a step back, letting go.

As his eyes zoomed in on her, the rest of the world seemed to fade away. All he saw was clear blue eyes with dark lashes. Pale peaches-and-cream skin and soft, light-blond hair. A beautiful body, curvy and rounded, just how bears liked their mates. Gorgeous breasts rising as she breathed just above a beautiful silky blouse he’d certainly never seen any woman around these parts wear.

No wonder she’d started a fight.

But that was all over now. There was only one male she belonged to, and that was him.

So despite usually being a very civilized bear shifter, one who adhered to society’s rules, the animal inside him took over. Without so much as a hello, he reached down, scooped her up, threw her over his shoulder and carried her out of the bar.

The men fighting looked up in stupefaction as he walked by, but before they could do anything about it, he’d settled her in his front seat, much to her shock, locked the doors, and started the car. He ignored Wyatt’s men chasing him as he pulled out onto the road that led up to their ranch.

The woman was silent, watching wide-eyed as the men chasing them slowly fell back in defeat.

He didn’t know what she was going to say about this when she got her voice back, but he didn’t care.

He wasn’t going to give anyone else a chance to claim his mate.

S
he was
quiet for a moment as they drove, and then she turned to him, cheeks flushed, lips tight, and simply stared at him for a long second.

He swallowed. Merely her gaze on him made him feel tight. Coiled. Ready to spring.

“So who are you?” she asked, folding her arms. “And where are you taking me?”

He glanced over at her just before taking a quick turn on the winding mountain roads. “I’m Shane McAllister,” he said quietly. “Obviously.”

“Well, not obviously to me, because I just met a man claiming to be Shane McAllister, and he didn’t look anything like you. Well, a little like you,” she amended. “But not much.”

His lips quirked at one side. “And were you disappointed?”

“Maybe,” she said. She sighed and slumped in the seat. Then she sat bolt upright, looking around them. “Actually, I have to get back to my friends. They’ll be wondering where I am.”

“Your friends?” he asked.

“Yes. You didn’t think I would just come out here all alone?”

He raised a brow. “So where are they now?”

“They got sick,” she said. “Well, one of them did. I did have a Taser though.”

He couldn’t resist smiling at that. “That you did.”

“I took care of him well enough, I think,” she said.

“Oh, certainly,” he agreed amiably.

“So there was really no need to go all caveman on me and drag me out of there.”

“I was rescuing you,” he corrected, palming the wheel on another turn, making the SUV lurch slightly.

“Well, maybe I didn’t need to be rescued,” she retorted.

There was a tension in the air, rising between them. He was attracted to her. More than that. And she was attracted to him. He knew this was a dangerous thing. Him being alone with her. Him taking her back to his home.

But he couldn’t help it. It was as natural as breathing. And he wasn’t leaving her in town, undefended, with a bunch of hungry shifters fighting over her.

He guessed this had been Maverick’s goal all along. Get her out here to hook her up with Shane by using his profile. But he’d have to find out later, when he punched Maverick for getting her into this mess.

“Maybe not,” he said. “But I wanted to rescue you.”

She opened her mouth to say something but then shut it abruptly. “Well. I need to go back to my friends.”

“You can call them,” he said.

“Then where are you taking me?”

“To my ranch. That’s what you came out here for, right? To get to know me? To see my ranch?”

She bristled but said nothing. Ah-ha. He’d caught her.

“I mean, I hate to see a lady come all the way to Montana and not get what she was looking for.”

“Well, so far it definitely hasn’t been what I’m looking for. Why did that man show up instead of you?”

Shane scratched his head. Depending on how much she hated Mav for what he did, he wasn’t sure he wanted to admit the man was his brother. But honesty seemed like the best policy in this situation.

“That’s my brother. He sort of… thought he could ‘help’ with my profile.”

“Oh,” she said, her pink-glossed lips making an adorable little O shape that he desperately wanted to kiss. His whole body was responding to her. All he wanted to do was get her into his lodge, shut the door, and show her exactly why she should agree to be his mate.

But he had to be careful. A lot was resting on his ability to win her over. Not just his own happiness, but the land and his brothers’ well-being.

“Anyway, he meant well. Though he shouldn’t have left you unattended.”

“Who was that man he was fighting?” she asked.

Shane wrestled back a growl. He didn’t want to talk about other men. Not with her. Not when he’d just found his mate and all he really wanted to talk about was them and their future.

But she wasn’t a bear. She was human. He’d have to approach this carefully.

“Just a neighbor.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Look, things are a little different up here. What’s important is you’re with me now, and things are fine.”

“Are they?” she asked, throwing her hands up. “I’m in the middle of nowhere with a man I barely know, surrounded by men who will fight at the drop of a hat, and my friends don’t even know where I am.”

“First, your friends are going to know soon. Second, you aren’t surrounded by men anymore, and third, yes, you don’t know me, but you knew that when you flew out. So something prompted you to do it. And I’m guessing what it was is the same thing I’m feeling.”

“Oh, and what’s that?” she asked stubbornly.

“That we’re made for each other." He gave her a quick sideways glance. "Do you believe in love at first site?”

He pulled up the road to the ranch and saw her eyes widen at the beautiful vista in front of her. The wide swaths of green grass, the well-kept lodges, the pine-covered hills.

“We’re here,” he said.

“Love at first sight?” she murmured, hand on the door handle as she stared in front of them. “You know, I just might.”

He grinned. She might have been talking about the land instead of him, but good enough. If she fell in love with the land he’d loved all his life, she couldn’t be too much different from him.

It was a good start at least.

He got out, went around to her side, and lifted her down from the truck. Her body was soft, and he hated releasing it. She was warm, she smelled intoxicating, and it was all he could to do to resist kissing her and instead extend an arm for her to take so he could lead her to the main lodge.

Even if he hoped she’d be sleeping in
his
cabin tonight.

J
esse was
out in front of the ranch when Shane came walking up with his new mate and hopefully soon-to-be bride.

Jesse’s light blue eyes glinted with carefully masked interest as he surveyed the two of them and then looked in the direction they came from.

He let out a long sigh, signed the form the man in front of him was waiting for, and then sent him away with a wave of his hand. “Maverick got up to something, didn’t he?” he asked.

“How’d you know?” Shane replied wryly. “But yes. And I need you go to down the mountain and pick up whatever she needs from her friends. Also, make sure they’re in a safe place while you’re at it. Don’t need any of the wildcats causing them trouble.”

Jesse gave a mock salute. “Aye-aye, captain.” He walked down the front drive, pulling his keys out of his pocket and jangling them in his hand. He stopped and gave them a glance over his shoulder. “You all right here alone?”

Shane frowned. “Yes.” He didn’t miss the teasing glint in Jesse’s eyes as he turned back to continue walking to the large garage that held their trucks.

The woman next to him was silent. He realized he didn’t even know her name.

“Um, let’s start over,” he said, extending a hand and thinking of where to take her next. He could take her in and get her set up in a room of her own, but somehow he thought it would be more romantic to take her to his place instead.

He just wasn’t sure if the average human woman would find that offensive.

More importantly, if
this
human woman would find that offensive.

“I’m Shane McAllister, and I run the ranch here. The man who botched my profile and lured you out here is my youngest brother, Maverick, and the man you just met was my other brother, Jesse. Together we own the ranch.”

“I’m Ruby Hoxton,” she said softly, taking his hand and looking up at him with an expression that appeared something like awe. “And I’m pleased to meet you.”

“You as well,” he said, clearing his throat. Her scent was stronger, warming him, tempting him. It was clear from the glitter in her pale-blue eyes that were like silky mountain cornflowers that she wanted him. She barely knew him and she wanted him.

And he wanted her as well.

He made the decision then and there, while trying not to look down the gap of her peach-colored blouse at her perfect breasts.

He would take her to his cabin. Let Jesse bring the luggage up later.

He couldn’t wait to put his hands on his mate.

“You know, given what happened with my brother, I think I better take you somewhere safer than the main lodge,” he said, turning her in a different direction, toward the towering trees that sat a little ways off in the distance. His private cabin was there, and it was the perfect place to get some time alone with Ruby.

And if she didn’t want time alone with him, why would she have come out here?

“Safe?” she asked, blue eyes widening.

Despite her pretty curves, everything about her seemed sort of fragile. From her pale, almost translucent skin to her soft, light-blond hair to her ruby-red lips that matched her name, she was made for being beautiful, not durable, and that wasn’t what you typically wanted for a partner up in these mountains.

Then again, she’d been brave enough to fly out here despite not knowing anyone in the area, and she’d gone to a bar by herself, which he still wasn’t sure if it was brave or stupid to do, and she’d tased a wildcat without much thought.

So between that and the insistence of his bear, he was pretty sure she was a good match for him, even if it didn’t seem so on the surface.

He just hoped she could come to love the raw wilderness of this place as much as he had. Not just as a vacation spot, but as home.

“Am I in danger here?” she asked softly, following him over fallen logs and crunchy dried pine needles.

He put an arm around her, noting how small she felt under his muscles. “No, of course not. Not with me here.”

“Good to know,” she said. “I know it was kind of an odd thing to do, coming out here to meet a man I’d barely even talked to, but it just felt right.”

He eyed her carefully. Damn straight it felt right. It had felt right to him from the first damn second he’d laid eyes on her at the bar, all curves and fire and sass.

But now she was so different, so quiet, and he wondered if she was anticipating all the same amazing, delicious things he was.

When they got to his cabin, he walked up the front path to the door and unlocked it, gesturing her to come in. But she paused, looking up at the trees around them, the foreboding log building where he lived, as if she were worried she was going into an animal’s lair.

Suddenly, reality seemed to be impinging on the magic of the moment.

Yes, he was expecting a woman he’d barely met to come home with him. Yes, she had no reason to.

Yet, as he waited patiently, no commands or pleading, she simply walked forward, put her hand in his, and strode into his home.

He let out a sigh of relief and shut the door behind him.

R
uby didn’t know
what was happening to her. One moment she felt like she was in the middle of a bad western, with a bar fight breaking out and a gross man coming on to her, and the next she’d been in some kind of fantasy, with the most gorgeous man she’d ever seen in her life whisking her away from danger and off to his cabin in the woods.

His brother had been a piece of handsome too, with his golden hair and blue eyes, but she couldn’t even really consider him with Shane around.

Shane had dark coloring, from his brows to his blackish-brown hair, and his features were even more striking in person. More 3-D. But so handsome. A long, straight nose, a straight forehead, a jaw that looked carved from marble. Lips that appeared stubborn and kissable at the same time. The faintest hint of stubble on his cheeks and jaw, as if even freshly shaven, he had a bit of a shadow. Plus an adorable dimple right in the center of his chin.

He wore a work shirt under a leather jacket and worn jeans beneath that. But under the rugged, serviceable clothing, she could tell he was a man used to getting what he wanted. Taking what he wanted.

And now she was here in his cabin.

She’d seen enough horror movies to know how stupid that was, but the same magic that had made her feel meeting him would be okay had made her think she could go in with him.

Not to mention the fact that the sight of his big, tall body was doing things to her hormones she’d never thought possible. She’d been wet from the moment he’d touched her. And his shimmering, dark-green eyes seemed to know it.

He turned to her, probably wondering what she thought of his cabin.

It was bigger inside than it seemed from outside. There were antlers mounted above the fireplace and a painting of the mountains on the far wall. There was a small kitchen off to the right and in the other direction, an open door that probably led to the master bedroom.

She felt her cheeks flame to heated life as she thought about what could happen there.

She surveyed him again, unable to keep her eyes from wandering over his impressive frame. He was more than a cowboy from one of her novels. He was a mountain man, as rough and hewn as the untamed land around him. But the intelligent, hot, appraising look in his eyes said he knew how to be gentle or rough, depending on what the situation called for.

And right now, it called for him to put his hands on her.

Ruby had never been particularly good at going slow, but this was going to set a new record for her. She walked forward and flung her hands around him, reaching up on her toes for a kiss. A slight grin spread over his gorgeous lips as he leaned down to take her, swiping inside with his tongue as they clashed in a battle of passions.

She moaned, and he swooped her up in his arms and headed for the door she’d seen open. He kicked it wide and she looked forward, and sure enough, it was the master bedroom. She let out a little squeak as he tossed her onto the bed and then joined her, licking the bottom of her ear in a way that sent shivers straight through her.

“I barely know you,” she gasped, clutching his shoulders as he nibbled her earlobe and then made his way along the shell of her ear, making her writhe all the while.

“Oh, you know me,” he said, making her squirm as his hand found her breast, lightly squeezing, testing, his thumb finding her nipple and flicking once, then twice. “My name’s Shane, and I’m your mate.”

Mate? That was an odd way of saying it. “So you really believe in love at first sight?” she gasped out.

He nodded, putting both hands over her breasts, cupping them, and making her feel safe and on fire at the same time. “I do. And you’re it for me.”

“How can you make a decision like that so fast?” she asked, shuddering as he pulled up the hem of her shirt. She raised her hands so he could pull it off, baring her bra to him.

He unhooked the clips and let it fall away, his eyes going an impossibly dark green as he studied her. “How could any man look at you and
not
make a decision that fast?”

“I don’t know,” she said as he grazed her nipples again, this time as they were bare. “But a lot of them do.”

He leaned forward to take one in his mouth. “Well, if you feel like you need to get to know me, feel free to ask questions. But all you need to know right now is I’m going to give you more pleasure than you’ve ever had in your life.”

She wanted to say he already had, but that seemed sad, so she kept her mouth shut, biting back a moan as his tongue lazily wound around her in circles, drawing the tension in her ever tighter.

She curled her hands into the covers beneath her as he moved to her other breast, continuing the slow, circular strokes that were driving her wild. His cabin was the perfect temperature, and she’d never been more comfortable in her life. It made no sense. Then again, many things didn’t.

Like the fact that she’d given everything for Bill only to have him refuse to commit, forcing her to finally dump him, but only after being demoted.

Like the fact that right here in this little cabin in a place farther from home than she’d ever been, she felt like she truly belonged.

Yet she was nothing like this wilderness. She liked her pedicures and shopping and cute shoes.

It was hot being topless, but she wanted to see him as well. Wanted to see if he was hairy or smooth under that shirt. Wanted to feel his muscles in her hands.

He growled as she reached for the top button on his shirt, leaning forward so she could easily undo it. She fumbled as she slipped the first one out of its hole, too excited to have much fine motor coordination.

He gave her a rakish grin and sat back, reaching for each side of the shirt with his hands. Then he yanked it open, sending buttons flying in the process. He shrugged out of the sleeves, leaving her face to face with the most beautiful chest she’d ever seen. Clean, squared-off pectorals lightly dusted with hair, tapering down to a fine line of rugged abs and lean hips with a line of hair trailing into his jeans.

Damn, did she want to see what was waiting even lower.

“Sorry about your shirt,” she said, pulling him closer to whisper in his ear even as her hands wound their way over his strong, bare shoulders and his hard chest. Could all of this really be hers?

She wanted to think so.

“I’m glad you approve,” he said. “And as for the shirt, you can always sew me another.”

Her eyes flew open, glaring at him, but he simply kissed her, a grin on his handsome lips. “A joke. I live in the mountains, but I don’t really expect my little woman to do my sewing.”

She sighed in relief as his hands squeezed her breasts and then moved to undo her jeans before sliding them down, revealing the black satin panties she’d worn on their date.

“Nice,” he said. “I like it.”

“Good,” she said. “I wanted you to see them.”

“Don’t get me wrong, though,” he said gruffly. “I can be very old-fashioned in other ways.” He toyed with the edge of her panties before teasing them down low 'till she was all but uncovered. His lips kissed the edge, right over her hips, and she squirmed.

“Oh? How so?” she gasped out.

He pulled them all the way off, and she had only a second to feel the cool air before his mouth found her, kissing warmly over her center in a way she'd never been kissed before.

Bill had always wanted blowjobs, but he’d never been interested in returning the favor.

“Old-fashioned as in I like doing everything for the mate in my life. I want her to just relax and enjoy things. I don’t want her straining herself.” He grinned and licked over her, flicking playfully over her clit, and she groaned and arched back.

“I can deal with that I guess,” she said, her hands finding his hair and tugging on the dark tresses as he went back to kissing her senseless between her legs.

How could anything in the world feel so good? It was a sin to feel so good so easily. But she’d sin all the time if it meant this kind of pleasure.

“Good,” he said, flipping her onto her stomach as his tongue stroked her again, from a different angle this time. His hands found the curves of her ass and held tight. “You have a gorgeous ass, you know that?” He ran a hand over it lovingly. “I could touch it all day.”

“I’m glad you like it,” she said, wiggling it teasingly.

“Careful,” he said. “I’m on a tight string here. Keep that up and I might just take you right here, and I was kind of hoping for a romantic dinner before I take you all the way.” He sat up and held her ass against him. “Then again…”

“Screw dinner,” she said, hungry for him, tingling to have him inside. “Take me. Like this.” It felt almost animalistic how badly she wanted him to take her, from behind, roughly. She’d never had anything like it, and she could already imagine it, her holding the headboard as he knelt behind her, thrusting in from behind.

“All right,” he said gruffly, pulling something out of his pocket that sounded like a condom. She wished she could turn around and see him slide it on, but she liked this position. Bared to him, achingly wet, waiting.