The Steel Bear: A BBW Bear Shifter Romance (Highland Brothers) (4 page)

H
e felt
her leg flat against his thigh. He looked into her eyes and felt the bear stir within. He knew what this meant. The kiss. The fucking kiss had them both restless.

“Thanks for your help with the design.” He meant to reach behind her to turn the light off, but instead as his hands moved through the air they ended up cupping her face between them, pulling her roughly against his mouth. Again.

His tongue twisted against hers, tasting the cool mint on her mouth. His hands roamed through her hair, pulling and tugging as he nipped and sucked at her lips. She was fucking delicious.

A sweet moan escaped her lips and he reached for the hem of the T-shirt.

His eyes flashed to hers. “Are you naked under here?” He knew the answer. He could feel the soft warm flesh, but he couldn’t believe she would walk in here without panties. She needed them on. He needed her to have them on.

His mind raced. Kissing was one thing. Knowing she was naked was something else. He felt the sudden jerk of his cock at the new knowledge.

She nodded, her eyes pressing him on.

“Fuck,” he growled. “What are you doing, Mila?” He closed his eyes. “Panties. Where are they?”

Her hands snaked around his neck, pulling him closer to her. His hands froze at the small of her back. If he moved, he would drag the shirt up over her round bottom. She would be bare. She would be in his arms naked.

“I took a shower. This was the only clean thing I had to wear. Remember?”

Her nails traced a straight line down his back. He arched into her touch.

“Right. I remember.” He stood like a solid statue, fighting the urges deep within him. He wanted to take her here and now. He wanted to bend her over the table and drive himself deep inside her. He wanted to hear his name on her lips like she had never said it before.

God, what was he thinking? This was Mila. She was the best assistant he had ever had. She brought him his damn coffee every morning—not sex. No.

He took a step back, feeling the heat between them cool. The look in her eyes faded from lust to embarrassment.

“We can’t. You and me. No.” He almost walked into his bedroom door he was in such a hurry to create distance between them.

He closed the door, leaving her alone.

He wasn’t going to fuck Mila. No. The next woman was going to be his mate. He wanted a she-bear. It would make things easier. Things would make sense. It was what he had always wanted. He just hadn’t met her yet.

His heavy frame sank into the bed. He pulled the covers to his shoulders and turned off the light. Sleep. He would sleep tonight, and tomorrow she’d drive back to Seattle. He closed his eyes, begging his mind to dream about anything but Mila.

C
rawford could hear
the trickle of the stream bubbling and lapping the rocks near the pond. The mist clung to the trees and leaves with thick swirls like gray tufts of cotton. He tried to push them aside so he could see the lake.

He loved the lake. It was his favorite part of the Highland House property. The air cleared slightly. This had to be a dream. The colors were unusual. He saw glints of pink and purple in the water. He peered closer when he heard a sound behind him.

He spun on his heels. The leaves rustled and a branch was shoved out of the way as Mila tipped into the clearing. Her hair fell around her shoulders in golden waves. Her skin glowed with radiant light. The fog fell away as she stepped toward him.

He took a deep breath. She was naked. Gloriously, lusciously, tantalizingly naked.

His bear growled, stirring a rumble in his chest.

There were no words spoken between them. Crawford couldn’t move. His feet were rooted in the lake’s shoreline. Mila walked toward him, as if she were floating through the mist. Her body glistening. Her breasts bobbing toward him. Her nipples pointed at his chest. The curves of her hips round and voluptuous, swayed as she walked.

He stared directly in her green eyes. She stopped in front of him, pressing the palms of her hands flat against his chest. She looked into his eyes, tilting her chin upward, her soft lips parted, her tongue toying behind her teeth.

“Mila,” he finally managed to whisper.

“Shh.” She placed a finger over his lips.

“What are you doing here?” His eyes closed as her hands explored the planes of his chest. Her touch was magic.

“Don’t you know?” She kissed his chest, stopping to draw hot circles with her tongue.

He shook his head. His body was coming to life under her touch. “No.”

“It’s me, Crawford.” She slipped her hands around his back. “I’m the one.”

Crawford sat upright, tossing the covers off the bed. Fuck. What in the hell kind of dream was that? He ran his fingers through his hair, trying to pull the dream back to the center of his focus.

It was fuzzy, but he could feel her pressed against him. He could see every inch of her skin. His heart beat faster. He saw the look in her eye for the first time. It was the one that greeted him every morning in the office. Why didn’t he recognize it until now? This woman was completely in love with him.

T
he next morning
Mila waited in the Highland kitchen. She would have hopped in her car and driven back to Seattle with the contract if only Crawford had signed the damn thing before they went to bed last night. She didn’t know if there was possibly a more humiliating way to face your boss over a cup of coffee than after you had thrown yourself at him, panty-less, after you’d just redesigned his building.

If he fired her, she would understand. She had crossed every imaginable boss-assistant line in existence.

She waited at the kitchen bar for Crawford to emerge for the morning. She had a pen resting on top of the contract. All he had to do was sign and she would be out of here.

She took a sip of the coffee she had brewed. Maybe this could be a good thing. She could say she’d kissed him. She had her chance and now she knew he wasn’t interested. No more daydreaming and plotting. No more scheming. It was decided. She would bury this crush and move on. The first thing she would do after delivering the contract was update her resume.

She held the mug between her hands. At a new firm she could start over. She could wipe this crush from her memory bank. It was the best plan. The best way to extract herself from utter humiliation.

She wandered to the library and opened the drawers in search of a pad of paper. She sat at the desk and began crafting her resignation letter.

She walked back to the kitchen. Crawford was standing next to the coffee pot.

“Good morning.” He smiled.

“Good morning.” She forced a grin. She wasn’t going to act differently, even though her insides turned to puddles of mush when he looked at her.

“What’s that?” He pointed to the folded notice in her hands.

She cleared her throat. “I’ve decided to hand in my notice.” She stepped forward, shoving the letter into his hand.”

“What?” He shook his head. “Don’t do that. I don’t want it.” He tried to give it back to her.

“I won’t leave of course until you have a proper replacement. I hope you’ll give me a reference.”

“Mila, if this is about last night. I think we just need to take a breath.”

“Yeah. You already said that.” She pulled her shoulders back.

“I won’t accept it.” He shook his head. “No. You can’t just go like that.” He stormed past her, ripping the letter and throwing the scraps into the fireplace.

“I’ll write another one in email,” she stated. “I’ll send it to human resources. You’ll have to accept it.”

“No. You’re not leaving because of something stupid I did.” He paced in front of the fireplace, but she questioned whether he was talking to her. “No.”

“Crawford, I think we both know last night made it clear that it’s time for me to move on from Highland Agency.” She didn’t expect the sting of tears to hit the corners of her eyes. But they were there, nonetheless, burning the tips of her lashes with fresh salt.

“But it’s not.” His eyes became frantic. “You haven’t even given me a chance.”

She walked past the couch, nearing him. “What do you mean?”

“You can’t leave yet.”

“Well, I am. So, please sign the contract and then I can drive it to the board for you. Hide out here until you have the perfect design. We won’t have to see each other again.”

She saw a smile creep over his gorgeous, edible lips. The lips she now knew always tasted like red wine.

“I think I need to review the contract before you take it.”

“But you already read it last night.” Her hands flew to her hips.

He shrugged. “I need to be sure.”

“Crawford, I…” She wasn’t that brave. She might have given her notice, and she might have thrown herself on the man last night, but she couldn’t force him to sign the contract. She’d just have to finish her coffee and wait him out.

H
e tried
to tell himself it had only been a dream, but when he awoke this morning his bear was aching for her. He thought he would crawl out of his skin if he didn’t touch her. He didn’t know how it had happened, but Mila had turned his world upside down. And now before he could figure out what everything meant, she was ready to leave.

He wasn’t going to let that happen. He had to know if she was the woman. He had heard about bears dreaming about their mates. He wasn’t ready to say that the dream was a vision, but it sure as hell felt like it.

He had to know if somehow in all this craziness he had his mate within his grasp.

If somehow the woman he had been searching for had been next to him all along.

He chuckled as he watched her sulk on the couch.

“When does this have to be delivered?” He held up the contract from the board.

“If we don’t have it in their hands by five o’clock tomorrow all terms all null and void.”

“Hmm.” He folded it in thirds, and shoved it behind the family photos scattered across the mantle.

“What are you doing? I thought you said you would review it.” She rose from the couch.

“We have plenty of time to get this back to the city. How about some breakfast?” He saw her eyes light up. She had to be hungry. He hadn’t offered her anything since she arrived last night.

He felt the hesitation in her response. “All right. Food does sound good.”

“I can make a mean omelet. How about that?”

“With bacon?” she asked.

“Is there any other kind?” He started opening cabinets until he found the omelet pan stashed under the stove.

“Not in my book.” She settled on the barstool. He felt her eyes on his back.

Crawford began to stir milk and butter into the eggs as he whisked them in a frenzy. Within minutes he served hot cheese and bacon omelets on two plates.

Mila took a bite, her lips smiling as she chewed. “This is amazing. Better than Fancy’s Diner.”

“Wow. That’s a compliment. Isn’t that your favorite spot?” He took a bite to taste his masterpiece.

She looked at him. “I-I, yes. It is. I didn’t know you knew that.” Her gaze fell back to her plate.

“Sure. You get breakfast from there every Wednesday. And sometimes on Fridays,” he added.

“I guess I do.” She reached for her coffee.

Realizing her cup was empty Crawford brought a freshly brewed pot to the bar. “How about a refill?”

She giggled and he felt warmth spread through his chest. “This is a first.”

“What’s that?” he asked.

“It’s usually the other way around. I don’t think you’ve ever gotten coffee for me before.”

“I guess I haven’t.” He placed the carafe on the counter.

There was an ease between them he hadn’t noticed before. Mila was someone he had spent almost an entire year with, but he felt like he was seeing the real woman for the first time.

“Well.” She sighed. “As soon as the contract is signed I’ll drive back and we can work on finding the next girl to fetch your coffee. All right?”

Before he could respond, she stood from the stool and began cleaning the kitchen. She ran the faucet, clanged the pots and pans, and loaded the dishwasher. She was avoiding him.

As she bent over the sink and the rack to load the plates, Crawford’s eyes traveled over the swell of her bottom, down her legs to her feet. He hadn’t noticed it until now, but she was wearing high heels. He swallowed hard, knowing his bear was growing impatient.

S
he didn’t know
what else to do, but make herself useful in the kitchen. She was used to helping Crawford in the office. This felt like the natural state of things. She soaped the pans before wedging them in the dishwasher.

It felt as if he were watching her. But she focused on the dishes. She had given him her notice, and for some strange reason he was rejecting it. It didn’t matter. He had rejected her last night. She couldn’t stay. Today she needed to say goodbye to him and start healing her heart.

He was probably acting nice and sweet because he felt guilty. Her last boyfriend had done the same exact thing. The morning after their breakup, he offered to fix her computer. He told her he wanted to make sure she was ok without him. It was more of an insult than anything. She had slammed the door in his face.

Crawford didn’t look guilty though. He looked happy. His eyes sparkled with that look he had when a great idea had hit him.

“Did you come up with anything else for the drawing?” she asked.

“Not yet. But your modifications made a huge difference. I think I know what I need to do next.”

She wiped the counter, scrubbing the grease splatters from the bacon pan. “Good.”

“What do you think about going for a hike?” Crawford was behind her, nearly touching her back when she spun into him.

“A hike?” She made the mistake of looking into his eyes. They were dark with mischief.

“Yeah. I gave you the house tour last night. Want to see the property? There are trails, a lake, the garden, and there is a hunting cabin. You don’t want to drive home without seeing all of it.”

“Another cabin at the cabin?” It sounded silly saying it.

“It’s a place my brothers and I like to hang out sometimes. It’s rustic. What do you say?”

Her teeth sank into her bottom lip. “I don’t have the proper hiking wardrobe.” She pointed at her high heels.

“Ahh. Right. Let me see if I can find something for you. Be right back.”

Crawford disappeared from the kitchen. She heard him slamming drawers and closet doors before he emerged at the bottom of the staircase.

He offered her a set of clothes. “I know this isn’t your usual style, but I think it will work.”

She examined what he had brought her. Another T-shirt, a flannel button-up shirt, and a pair of pajama pants. None of this was going to fit.

“And shoes?” she asked.

“I could carry you?” he suggested.

Mila felt the blush on her cheeks. “No way.” Next to Crawford she felt petite and feminine, but she wasn’t about to test his weight-lifting abilities on a hiking trail.

“Oh wait!” He held up a finger. “There’s a chance my mom left a pair of running shoes here over the holidays.”

He dashed to the garage and returned holding a pair of sneakers. “I think these will work.”

Mila took the shoes. “I will try it all on. Be right back.”

She climbed the stairs, trying not to analyze why Crawford was suddenly trying so hard to keep her at Highland House.

The edges of her heart wanted there to be a reason. The kisses they shared. The touches over the drawing board. The new way they had met each other. But the deeper recesses of her heart told her she was being foolish. If the man hadn’t noticed her all year, one night wasn’t going to change shit.

She trotted to the guestroom and assembled an outfit out of what he had given her.

By tying the flannel shirt around her waist, she could keep the pajama pants up. The drawstring wasn’t long enough to tie it securely. The waistband kept hanging off her hips.

She looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was long and loose over her shoulders. Other than the powder and lipgloss in her purse, she was makeup-free. It didn’t matter anymore anyway, she told herself.

She trudged down the stairs. She needed to get this over with. The longer she was around Crawford, the more her heart was going to hurt.