Ours
Authors: Hazel Gower
Evernight
Publishing
Copyright© 2013 Hazel Gower
ISBN:
978-1-77130-354-5
Cover Artist: Sour Cherry Designs
Editor: Cheryl Harper
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of
this copyrighted work is illegal.
No
part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without
written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and
places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales,
organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
To my amazing family, thank you for all your support. I
love you all.
A big thank you to my awesome editor for making
this story shine, and for putting up with me throughout the whole process.
Lastly to my fans for all your wonderful emails, thank you.
OURS
The Bears, 2
Hazel Gower
Copyright © 2013
Chapter One
“I can’t believe
you’re making us do this, Susie. Shouldn’t we wait until Sammy is out of
hospital, so she can come with us?”
because of what had happened to Sammy.
Susie turned and winked at her. “You are the smallest of
all of us, Sandy. Are you even over five feet? Anyway, we could all use the
exercise to lose weight, not that you’re huge or anything. I weigh more, but…”
followed Susie into Healthy Bodies. “I am five-two, thank you very much. I’m
also quite happy with my size fourteen body.” Muttering under her breath, she
added, “I wouldn’t be surprised that you weigh more.
I’m
not pregnant.”
Susie paused before the locker room and stared at her. “How
on earth did you know? We haven’t told anyone.”
she and Jane didn’t know she was knocked up was just hilarious. “Susie, you
suck at keeping secrets.”
Jane laughed. “Not only do you spend half your morning at
work in the bathroom, but you touch your tummy and always have a huge smile.
Plus those men of yours won’t even let you carry your handbag.”
“The only thing I’m dying to know is
who’s
the baby daddy
?”
“I’m betting it’s my
brother.”
Susie squealed and wrapped her arms around the man.
“Zack.”
Zack picked Susie up and kissed her lips. A second later,
she was snatched out of his arms, and two very pissed-off men glared at Zack.
“Keep your fucking hands and especially your mouth to
yourself, brother. You may be Mum’s baby, but you’re big enough to get your ass
kicked.”
Zack chuckled and took a step in
sniff the air.
Now that he was closer,
She looked up, way up, to see long, shaggy midnight black hair that hung over
the brightest sapphire blue eyes she had ever seen. He had strong high
cheekbones that shaped into a square jaw and full puffy lips.
Oh God, he has the face of an
angel.
She gulped and gazed
leisurely down the rest of him.
Oh my,
where did Susie find all these gorgeous muscle-clad gods?
The thing about
this particular guy was his bulging muscled and tattoo-covered arms.
patterns and find how many he had and how far down they went.
Curious, she asked, “Are there any more of you Bear boys
around?”
Susie, Blake, and Brian chuckled, and out the corner of her
eye, she saw Jane slowly moving toward Zack.
“How do I become a part of this family? You are all so
yummy.”
Jane had her sights set on Zack, so
got her claws into a man, she didn’t let go until she wanted to. Not that
had a chance with the hunk of a man currently maneuvering himself closer to her
and away from Jane.
Shrugging at the weird occurrence, she eyed Susie’s men,
hoping they would give her an out so she could go home, read a book, relax, and
pray her brothers left her alone for one night. “I would think you two wouldn’t
agree to let Susie do this self-defense class. What with her being pregnant.
Isn’t it a bit too violent for her?”
Brian, who held Susie, seemed to grip her tighter and
whisper in Susie’s ear. Blake, on the other hand, snarled. “She’s not doing the
class. She doesn’t need to.
Right, sweetheart?”
a huff, and walked through the locker room door without saying a word.
“Well, I think you were told.”
****
Zack watched the little redhead follow his sister-in-law
and breathed in her lingering scent.
Strawberries and honey.
Yum.
He pictured her in his mind. A tiny fragile
little thing, she looked barely five feet tall, her bright firebird-red hair in
a plait that fell to just above her delectable tight bottom. She had warm
chocolate brown eyes that shone in her heart-shaped face, a dainty nose covered
in freckles, and a full bottom lip. He’d also never forget her full round
breasts, her shapely body, or her short legs. He would bet his tattoo shop that
her feet weren’t any bigger than a size six. Zack loved that she wasn’t a stick
figure, and he would have something to hold onto when they made love.
A loud sigh interrupted his daydream, and he opened his eye
to see the blonde in front of him. Looking around, he heard his brothers
arguing to the side of the locker room door about Susie going to the classes
that he was doing with their cousin Jake.
A cleared throat made him turn back to the blonde in front
of him. “Ah, what can I do for you, lady?”
Zack had always
enjoyed the touch of women, but as fingers trailed up his chest, he shivered in
revulsion at the touch of a woman who wasn’t his mate. Catching her fingers before
they went any farther, he stepped away as she said in sulky voice, “I was going
to ask you what you were doing later.”
He shot a glance at
the locker room door then back at blonde. “What’s the little redhead’s name?
The blonde frowned, turned to the door, shrugged, and
answered, “Good luck. Don’t let
Zack watched the blonde follow Sandy, his mate, into the
locker room.
After looking at his brothers, who were still fighting, he
went to find his best friend and
cousin
Jake and get
ready for the class. Something that had started out as a favor had turned out
to be one of the best decisions he’d ever made. With a grin on his face, he
looked forward to the evening ahead.
****
Jake watched the women file in and gave an inward moan at
half the bunch. Some were taking this seriously, dressing in track pants and
singlet tops or workout clothes. The other half… Jake shook his head as he
watched the other half, who wore jeans or corduroy pants, and
a couple were
in short shorts. He could tell straight away
the ones who were going to take what he said in. The other half were only here
to flirt with him and Zack. The Bear family men were a hot commodity.
Looking over at Zack, Jake noticed that his gaze never left
a petite redhead. At first, Jake thought she was a teenager, but when he
focused on her, he could see she was in her early twenties. She was a cute
shapely petite thing, who at the moment was staring at him with wide eyes.
Jake froze when two women grabbed his arm to get his
attention. He shot a glare at the two, only to stop when he realized what he
was doing. Not only that, without realizing it, he’d been walking toward the
redhead. Who was this woman?
Smiling down at the two ladies, he checked his watch and
noticed it was 6:35. He was five minutes late starting. Nodding to Zack, he
stepped away from the girls who held onto him and yelled, “Hello, ladies, and
welcome to self-defense class. Today is the only day I will start at this time.
From next week on, if you’re not here by six thirty, then you will not be let
in.” He watched as the women nodded and some groaned. “My name, for those who
don’t know me, is Jake Bear, and the other instructor is Zack Bear. For the
next eight weeks, you will learn everything you can do if you are attacked and
need to defend yourself.”