Mountain Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Romance (Bear Haven Book 1) (7 page)

He could sense restlessness in Jesse as the women entered and saw he was avoiding eye contact with the redhead, Bonnie.

Interesting. It wasn’t like Jesse not to get along with a woman. The few they’d had around always beelined straight for him. He had an easygoing, soothing nature they seemed to find safe.

Something must have happened between him and Bonnie when Shane wasn’t around.

He walked forward to give his mate a hug when he scented something familiar and unpleasant in the air. She walked into his arms, not picking up on his unease, and wrapped her arms around him tightly. The scent became stronger.

His eyes narrowed, the bear in him stirring, ready to roar.

She had the scent of another male on her.

Mav was the first to stand, nearly knocking over his stool as he got up with folded arms to address Harmony. “I’m sorry,” he said bluntly. “I won’t kiss you again, even if you beg.”

She grinned and then laughed. “Well, I wasn’t expecting that.”

Mav nodded. “Let’s get some dinner, right, Jesse?”

Jesse picked up on the hint and followed along. “Right, we have dinner waiting in the kitchen. You two can come with us. Shane, you want yours to go?”

Shane could barely move, barely speak. His bear was surging so strong.

Of course Mav, who was most in tune with his animal, would notice first that Shane’s mate had another shifter’s scent on her. Now he needed time alone with her to find out what had gone on and to wipe away every trace of the other male.

“Sure, we’ll take it to go,” he said tightly.

Ruby looked up at him, her blue eyes darkening slightly as she seemed to sense something was wrong. “Shane… I…”

He put up a silencing hand, waiting for Jesse to come back with the bag that held their food. “Let’s go talk in private.”

“Wait,” Harmony said, stepping forward.

Jesse caught her arm gently. “Let them talk. Shane couldn’t hurt a fly.”

Harmony bit her lip but nodded, and Ruby hesitantly followed Shane outside and across the clearing to his cabin. He opened the door, ushered her in, and then shut the door, leaving them in silence.

He’d been excited to see her. Her beautiful face, those lush lips and blue eyes. That sassy personality that wasn’t quite ready to settle down.

He’d been excited to ask how things had gone in town and to joke about the local barbershop and the state it was in.

Now all he could focus on was the scent in the air between them. The scent of a rival male.

He wished he could tell her everything. That he was a bear. That he knew without a doubt she was his mate and she would be happy here with him. That he could claim her now and keep every other male away forever.

Instead, he served dinner from the containers Fanny had prepared for them, and they ate quietly after he pulled her chair out for her and helped her get seated.

The longer the silence ticked on, the angrier she seemed to get. For better or worse, he could sense every bit of his mate’s mood, and she was definitely pissed with him.

Maybe he was being a bit of a baby about it, but he was also just trying to wait and calm his bear so he didn’t fly into a rage and go after the stupid cougar who’d left his scent on her.

Had he kissed her? Only saliva could leave that scent. His hands curled tight in response. He hadn’t known her long, but he’d already been inside her. Already felt deep within his animal that she belonged to him.

The time was coming to take the next step. He couldn’t leave her unclaimed in this territory for long.

He waited for her to finish eating, but halfway through, she pushed her plate aside and glared up at him with angry blue eyes. Her lashes were long and curled, adding to her feminine look. Dang, his mate was a striking woman.

“All right, I’m through with this silent treatment. I thought you were a simple, easy to understand man. The type who would say something that needed to be said. But you’ve been sitting there pouting ever since I got back. I’m beginning to wonder if Wyatt was right about you being a little off.” The words were mean, and they only lit the jealous fire raging inside Shane.

“Wyatt, huh? I let you go to town and you spend time with another man, gossiping about me apparently?”

She gasped in offense. “For your information, I didn’t let him gossip about you. I defended you.”

“But you kissed him,” Shane accused in a flat voice.

Her mouth dropped open. “Of course I didn’t. What made you think that?”

“You smell like him,” he said, hearing the low growl in his voice that meant his bear was close to the surface.

Her blue eyes widened, making her look vulnerable, fearful. The man in him wanted to back off, but his bear needed to be reassured before it tore itself out of his skin.

“I didn’t kiss him,” she said, sighing. “Wait, he did kiss my hand. I pulled away though, right after. I didn’t invite him to.”

Shane stood abruptly, ready to ride over to Wyatt’s ranch and give the grabby cougar a piece of his mind. With his fists.

“Wait,” she said, running to him and grabbing him around the waist. “Don’t do anything stupid. Don’t go acting like Maverick. We’ve had an amazing time since we’ve been here. Don’t go ruining it by running out on me right now for unnecessary violence.”

“Defending my mate is not unnecessary violence,” he said, folding his arms and bristling as he looked down at her. He didn’t know how they did things back in New York, but out here, men didn’t allow other men to make moves on or insult their women.

“Please,” she said, smoothing his flannel collar. “You’re the only one I’ve looked at since I’ve been here.”

“All he did was kiss your hand? He didn’t try anything else?” he asked carefully, trying to keep himself reigned in.

“I promise,” she said. “Nothing else.”

“Fine,” he said. “I’m sorry I overreacted. But I told you you’re mine. I hate the thought of another man touching you. And if anyone harms you or threatens you, I’ll harm them back. Understood?”

She swallowed, her eyes full of concern or something else. Something glowing.

Wait, did she find his possessiveness hot? Perhaps he should check that out…

“
I
want
to be the only one to touch you,” he said, pushing chairs out of the way as he backed her up in the direction of the bedroom.

“I… I want that too,” she said.

“Show me,” he said. “Show me you understand.” He pushed the door open and backed her in until her legs hit the mattress.

“I want you,” she said. “I only want you. Wyatt means nothing.”

“I want you,” he replied, reaching for her sweatshirt and pulling it over her head. “All I’ve been thinking about since you left is having you in my arms again.”

“I’ve been thinking of you too. How could I think about anyone else when you’re filling my thoughts all the time?”

He grinned. “I like the sound of that.” He unhooked her bra and pulled it off, baring her breasts. “Damn, that’s beautiful.” He kissed each nipple and then closed his eyes thoughtfully. “Something’s missing. Wait here.”

She did, leaning lazily back on the bed as he ducked out of the room and ran for the kitchen.

He grabbed something from the cupboard and walked back to her, holding it in one hand as he pulled his shirt over his head with the other.

“Honey?” she asked, eyes wide. “What are you doing with that?”

“You’ll see,” he said, smiling as he dropped his jeans and walked toward her in a pair of tight boxer shorts that revealed pretty much everything but gave him a little modesty.

“Sticky,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

“But sweet,” he said. Right now he just wanted an excuse to let his lips linger longer on her gorgeous full breasts. He pressed her back against the pillows and then lifted the honey and drizzled it over her chest, taking care to top her nipples. She gasped as he settled his mouth over her, savoring the sweet taste as he swirled the hardening nub beneath him.

“Oh, that’s…”

“Sensitive, right?” he asked. “It makes your skin stick to my tongue. It makes it easier to taste you.” He scented the air. “And it matches your natural scent. Honeysuckle.”

“No man ever mentioned me having a scent before,” she said.

“Oh, you do,” he said, hearing her breath accelerate as he licked her clean and then drizzled honey over her shoulder and down her arm. He cleaned her with rough strokes of his tongue that made her moan and arch as his hand stripped her pants and underwear, leaving her naked. He found her center at the apex of her legs. She was already wet and wanting.

His mate.

“Here you don’t need any honey,” he said, stroking lovingly with his hand, testing inside her wetness and feeling her clench and relax. “So sweet. You’re making me so hard.”

“You make it hard to relax,” she said. “It all feels so good."

He brought her hand to his lips and licked the sweet stickiness off, taking time to apply pressure to each sensitive fingertip.”

“Oh!” she said, jerking back. “That… Dammit.”

He caught her hand, pulling it back in and slowly sucking over her finger, keeping eye contact with her all the time, watching her pupils widen with arousal as he stimulated nerve endings she’d ever had touched before.

“How do you know?” she asked, arching and finally taking her hand back as he started down the other side. “You shouldn’t know… no one has…”

“Because I was made for you. And you were made to meet me under a Montana sky.”

She sighed as his finger came out of her wetness and rubbed over her sensitive nub, heightening the tension of her sensation. She moaned loudly, then again as he continued to stroke. He moved faster, playing and swirling as his tongue trailed lazily down her arm and over her fingertips.

She was sweet, so sweet, and he loved the scent of her musk in the air, mingling with the honey and his own masculine scent. They were a family, or they would be soon.

As he kissed over the top of her hand, he scented the other male. With a growl, he licked hungrily, covering the spot and removing any trace. Her moans became more frantic, more desperate as his finger swirled tighter and tighter. He dipped into her once again, stroking the rough spot just inside her and then coming over her clit again, which was straining against him.

“Shane,” she gasped out. “Shane, I need you inside me.”

He grinned and pulled off his briefs. His mate liked to come with him inside her. That was a good feeling. He reached for a condom, tore it open, and slid it on, quickly sheathing himself inside her.

He felt the bear in him roar in contentment. His mate. This was how they were meant to be. She would be only for him, and he could protect her forever. It was perfect.

She was gasping, writhing, so he began to move, loving her wet heat and the sounds they made as they came together. The rising scent in the air. Loved how they fit, so tight but so perfect.

She called his name again and again, as he moved them both toward the point of no return. He held back and let her go first, watching her writhe in ecstasy as the first release took her. She pulled at her hair and screamed, and he felt deep pride welling in him at his ability to please his mate. He focused so as to not lose himself in the moment.

He loved her skin, shining with afterglow and sweat and sticky with honey as he pressed against her.

Loved her lips, twisted in pleasure, calling his name. Telling him she was his.

He rewarded her by moving again, loving her little gasps each time he filled her completely.

“I love it,” she said. “The feel of you inside me. There’s nothing like it in the world.”

“Good,” he said. “Then marry me.”

She froze and looked up at him, and he bit his lip. Perhaps this was the wrong time to mention it. But he kept moving, and her eyes rolled back in another release as her sex tightened around him, pulling his own release from him. He groaned as he felt himself jerk inside her, heard her release sigh after sigh as her fingers dug into him and she rode out the last few tremors of her release.

They were both sticky and sweaty as they came down from the high, and he picked her up and headed for his shower, determined to clean and take care of her.

“I can walk,” she protested as he kicked open the door to their bathroom. “Actually, my legs are kind of jelly.”

“I know,” he said, kissing the top of her head. “I take full responsibility.”

“I don’t know if I can do a shower right now,” she said shakily. But she looked well pleased, her cheeks flushed pink, her lips full and parted in a small smile. Just how he liked her to look. If he could make her look this happy for the rest of their lives, he’d be happy.

“I’ll hold you up,” he said. “I’ll always support you. Through richer or poorer. In sickness or in health.” He held her with one arm as he turned on the water and felt it to check the temperature.

“That sounds a lot like a proposal,” she said.

“Maybe it is,” he replied. She was quiet again, and when the water was right, filling the bathroom with delicious steam, he stepped in and sighed. She felt so good in his arms. Naked and wet and trembling.

He grabbed the body wash she’d brought and laughed at the fruity scent as he squeezed it out of the bottle. “You’re gonna get me in trouble with the guys for this.”

She shrugged. “Hazards of living with a woman.”

“I’m okay with that,” he said, squirting some onto her chest and arms and working it into a lather. She was a curvy woman, but she was easy for him to hold in his huge arms. Just the right size. She sighed as he sat on the long bench in the shower and propped her up with one arm as he smoothed lather over her with the other. The fruity scent filled the room, mingling with their scents and filling him with even more pleasure and contentment.

He slid off the condom and tossed it in the nearby trash and then washed himself as he let the water pour over them, rinsing his mate and her beautiful glowing skin.

He didn’t think he could get any closer to heaven than at this moment.

“About that proposal,” she said. “Did you mean it?”

He held her close as the steamy water poured over them. He ducked his head over her to shield her from the spray. He loved the feel of them naked together. And alone. “Of course. I mean, there are things that would have to be worked out. Things I would still have to tell you. Talk to you about. But right now, let’s just enjoy the moment.”

She appeared nervous about that for a moment and then sighed against him and nodded. “Okay, I can do that.”

“Good,” he said. Because he still didn’t know how to tell her everything without running her off.

If only there were an info packet detailing how to tell someone you were a bear. But bear shifters mating with humans was a pretty new thing, as far as he knew. Not that he knew much about it. All he knew was he must have a lucky star over him for this all to work out so perfectly.

When they were both thoroughly overheated from the shower, he took her outside and wrapped her in a towel. Then he set her on the bed and went back into the bathroom to grab robes. He had two, and he held one out for her, wrapping her in it and laughing when it covered her head to toe.

It only came to his shins.

“Stop laughing,” she said. “We can’t all be as big as you.”

“Yup,” he said, smiling. “Some of us have to be cute, tiny mates.”

“You’re the only man who would think I was tiny,” she said, rolling her eyes and then grinning as he caught her in his arms and nuzzled against her. “You have a habit of picking me up.”

“I like feeling you in my arms,” he said. “Anything wrong with that?”

“No,” she said. “I guess not.”

“Want to see something cool?” he asked.

“What time is it?” she asked, looking out at the night, which was dark now with the moon up.

“Late,” he said. “It was already getting late when you came back.”

“Your fault for keeping us so late after lunch.”

“Well, I wanted to get to know your friends.”

“I appreciate that,” she said.

“So I’m sorry for overreacting before. Can I take you outside and make up for it by asking all the things I should have?”

She nodded, then looked at her robe. “Am I okay going in this?”

He growled and tilted his head. “I suppose so. No one comes out by my cabin. I’d scent them if they did.”

“Okay,” she said, pushing out of his arms and standing. “I can walk now.”

“But I want to carry you,” he said, picking her up.

She sighed and snuggled in. “All right, but only because I like it. But put me down when there are other people around.”

“Okay,” he said. If other people came around, he’d get her back inside anyway. As much as that robe hid everything, his naked mate was only for him.

He carried her out to the back porch that faced the mountain and sat in the rocking swing he’d put there for when he wanted to be alone and look at the stars. He set her beside him and put an arm around her to cushion her back and neck.

She tilted her head up and looked at the clear, dark sky and its thousands of stars. “Wow, the sky is never like this where I’m from.”

“Because we’re far from city lights or pollution. I know it would be a change for you, but there are benefits,” he said, absentmindedly stroking her hair. “Here. You enjoy the stars, and I’ll ask the things I should have when you got back from your trip.”

“Okay,” she said, nodding.

“How was it? What did you think of the town?”

“It was okay,” she said. “Even smaller than I thought. And the barbershop was closed. Although oddly, Wyatt approached me with a job offer.”

He growled, feeling the bear stir inside him. Luckily, the animal was still pleased with having satiated his mate and that helped.

“You hate when I even talk about him, don’t you?”

He swallowed. “I mean, you don’t have to look as nervous as you did earlier, but yeah. We deal with things differently here, and when someone puts a hand on something that isn’t theirs—”

“But I’m not yours… I mean, not officially. You don’t get to just fly off the handle.”

“You know how I feel,” he said, putting her hand over his heart. “But I don’t know how you feel. Until I do, I’m going to feel insecure about every man who comes around you. As far as I’m concerned, they all see what I do and they’re trying to steal you.”

“They aren’t,” she said. “Though I do think I get more male attention here than I would elsewhere.”

“Right, and I hate it,” he growled.

“But you’re the only man I look at. As I said.”

“Then we should make it official,” he said.

“Marriage?” she said.

He cocked his head. Was now the time to tell her? He looked out at the darkness. No, he’d tell her in the morning, when everything was fresh. “Sure,” he said.

She looked concerned by that. “What do you mean sure?”

“I mean marriage is only the start for me. Marriage is only part of what I want. I want so much more, but marriage will do.”

“I don’t understand you,” she said, reaching up to touch the stubble on his face and scratch her nail lightly over it.

“You will,” he said. “Just give me one more day, and you’ll know everything.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” she said. “But I trust you. I can’t help it. Every time I think I’m going too fast, you win me over. But I have one request.”

“Name it,” he said.

“My parents can visit whenever they want to?”

“Of course.”

“They travel a lot, and I know they’d like to come here and see me.”

“I’d be happy to have them.”

“What about your parents?” she asked.

“Dead,” he said. Though he wasn’t positive. His father had mated with a wild she-bear, one who hadn’t wanted to stick around, as was somewhat common for their race after the first year with young. As a matter of fact, he’d mated with a different woman each time, something Shane had always been disgusted by.

But that was in another time, a time when bears had been encouraged to ignore the idea of a fated mate and just mate as much as possible for the hope of progeny.

He was glad he got to settle down with just the right one and be loyal to her forever. He was a one-woman bear.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly.

“It’s okay. My father was an odd bird, and I never really knew my mother. I guess my brothers are my main family.”