Or just contemplating him?
He pulled a deeper breath into his lungs and her scent was so clear she must have been in the room a moment ago. She was the reason he had awoken, her delectable fragrance rousing him from a deep sleep.
A dangerous sleep.
With the winter calling him and a storm raging outside, making the world quiet again, it would be easy for him to fall back to sleep and not wake until spring, not even if she clambered over him to reach the door.
Scratch that.
His body ached, hunger riding him hard. He would definitely wake if she was on him. Just the thought of her pressed against him was enough to have him growing aroused.
What was it about this female that made her affect him so deeply?
He crept up the stairs, eased to a halt at the top of them and stared at her, replayed every moment with her as he gazed at her where she lay on her side on the bed, her black hair spilling across his pillow, her slender body curled into a foetal position.
When he had seen her in the woods, he had thought her pretty enough, but when he had brought her into his cabin and pushed her hood back and seen her in the light, he had been forced to re-evaluate his opinion of her.
She was stunning.
Beguiling.
Her beauty stirred his blood, made him want to growl and take hold of her, and bend her to his will, until she submitted to him.
Saint forced himself to turn away from her, knew in his heart he wouldn’t cross a line with her like that, but he was tired, on edge, and didn’t trust himself. He had frightened her enough.
He trudged back down the stairs and sank onto the couch, tipped his head back and tried to sleep but it eluded him now.
He stared at the ceiling, at the spot where she was on the other side of it, unable to stop himself from focusing on her. He lost track of time as he gazed at that point, as her breathing and pulse steadily calmed.
He wished he could be like that.
Calm.
Her scent was driving him crazy though and he felt as if the cabin was too small with her in it, as if he would go out of his mind if he didn’t get some fresh air. Her fault. She made him crazy, had him twisted in knots as he tried to purge her scent from his lungs and failed dismally.
He dragged a hand over his face.
Gods, he was sure she had been stood close to him while he had been sleeping.
Had seeing him in his bear form frightened her?
He chuckled softly at that. He doubted it. He drew his hand away from his face and looked at the bite mark on his palm that was healing now. The little female didn’t seem afraid of anything, not really. She was a bold one. A brave one.
Which only made him admire her more.
Saint shut down that dangerous line of thought because no good would come of it.
She was mated to another and he had taken her as revenge.
He needed to remember that, needed to get his head on straight and shut down the unruly part of him that wanted her.
He shifted his focus to the world outside as he looked at the window to his left. It was dark, but not because it was night. Morning had come, but the storm was stealing what little light they got at this time of year. Snow whirled past the window, and his bear side growled at him to stay inside, where it was warm.
But he couldn’t.
He needed air.
Space.
A moment to catch his breath.
Saint shoved to his feet, stripped off his long johns and tossed them aside as he went to the cupboards. He grabbed a pair of black trunks from one of the drawers and pulled them on, followed by his weatherproof trousers and then his black and green fleece. He grabbed a pair of thermal socks and his boots, sat on the end of the couch as he tugged both of them on, and then stood and snatched his black coat from the rack.
He paused at the door, looking back at the loft, his focus locking back on the female.
Outside, the wind slammed snow against the cabin.
He shuddered at the thought of going out there, of leaving this place, when all he wanted to do was climb those stairs, crawl onto the bed and tug her against him, moulding her body to his, holding her while he slept. That need pounded inside him, growing stronger with every beat of his heart, an irresistible urge that took all of his will to shut it down.
He pulled his coat on and opened the door, resisted the urge to slam it behind him as he stepped out onto the frigid deck of his cabin. His face twisted as snow blasted against his side, as he peered into the haze of it, just about able to make out the forest and the cabins to his right. If it continued like this, it would be another whiteout. He trudged down the steps to the path the twins had made in the snow—a path that was already covered in four inches of fresh powder.
Saint tugged his hood up and zipped up his coat, huddled into it as he marched along the path, veered right at the firepit and headed towards the two cabins nestled against the edge of the forest.
A light was on inside the one on the left, the older of the two buildings. Knox lived there alone now, but he and his brother had shared it once, before Lowe had decided they both needed some space. Lowe’s newer cabin was a replica of the old one, a touch larger than Saint’s own cabin but similar in style, with a raised deck covered by the extended pitched roof but two windows on the lower half, one on either side of the door. Above that door, there was a smaller window that allowed light into the loft bedroom.
Smoke curled from the metal chimney to the left of the roof, was caught in the wind and swiftly merged with the constant flurry of snow.
Saint knocked his boots against the side of the steps up to the deck, clearing some of the snow off them before he ascended the few stairs.
He rapped his knuckles against the door and waited, looked back at his cabin, squinting at it through the snow as a need to go back speared him, had his mind filling with thoughts of the female.
When Knox didn’t answer, he knocked again, harder this time, impatient to have someone guarding Ember so she didn’t get ideas about escaping.
The door opened.
Knox rubbed the back of his hand across his eyes and then upwards, over the unruly wild waves of his dark blond hair. The male was already dressed, wearing weatherproof trousers and a thick black cable-knit sweater, and he had trimmed his beard too, leaving just a light scruff on the lower half of his face.
The fatigue in his stormy blue eyes and the fact he had washed up told Saint that Knox hadn’t been able to sleep, had been finding ways to pass the time in his cabin and had run out of things to keep himself occupied so he had settled on some personal grooming.
Knox grumbled, “What’s up?”
“I need you to keep an eye on Ember while I go for a walk.” Saint looked back at his cabin, wanting to curse as the snow grew heavier, trying to steal it from view.
“A walk?” Knox arched an eyebrow at him as he leaned his right shoulder against the doorframe and peered out. “Have you seen the weather?”
“Walked through it, didn’t I?” Saint growled and folded his arms across his chest, straightened his spine and made sure Knox got the message that he wasn’t messing around. “I just need to work off some energy. Thirty minutes tops.”
Knox looked beyond him to the snow. “It’s dangerous. Weather is getting worse by the second.”
He was aware of that, and appreciated Knox’s concern, but it wasn’t going to stop him. He needed to get some air and some space. Standing on the deck of his cabin wasn’t going to be enough. He had to get away from the female for a moment and get his head on straight, and that was something he couldn’t do with her scent taunting him.
“I won’t go far. Just a few laps around the property. I’ll stick to this side of the creek.” Saint hated to compromise, but Knox was looking as if he wasn’t going to agree to watching Ember for him, and he didn’t like how long he had been away from her already. He didn’t have time to argue with Knox about this, or ask Lowe.
He doubte
d Lowe would help him even if he ordered it.
He had seen the look the older of the twins had given him, had heard in his voice that he thought Saint had made a mistake by snatching Ember.
Saint was starting to feel the same way.
“Fine.” Knox grabbed his black coat and shoved his arms into it, his face darkening as he zipped it up. He pushed his feet into his boots and stepped out onto the deck. “But if you turn into a popsicle out here, I’m not saving your ass.”
Saint chuckled. “I’m sure I could rouse a shift if I get that cold.”
Although there was always a chance he would be too cold to make it happen. He wouldn’t be the first bear to die because he had left it too long before attempting a shift to keep himself warm.
Knox closed his door and stepped past him, and as Saint turned to watch him walking towards his cabin, a fierce need to growl and roar blazed to life inside him, born of the thought of Knox being near her.
Saint forced himself to take the steps down from Knox’s deck and to walk away, heading in the opposite direction, past Lowe’s cabin. The blind on the door twitched as he neared it, and Lowe stared out at him, a hard look in his blue eyes. The male still wasn’t happy about this turn of events. He averted his gaze and huddled down into his coat as the wind blew against his back.
It swirled around on him and caught his hood, pushing it back and blasting snow into his face.
He growled and tugged his hood back up, yanked on the elastics to tighten it against his head and looked at the untouched snow ahead of him as he walked, picking up pace.
His pace began to slow as a feeling built inside him with each step, setting him on edge.
The greater the distance between him and the female grew, the stronger his need to return to her became.
He looked back over his shoulder at the hazy cabin.
And he had the feeling it wasn’t because he feared she was going to escape.
Chapter 7
Holly woke with a start, the hairs on her nape rising as her senses locked onto someone standing over her. She opened her eyes and stiffened, scooted backwards on the bed to place more distance between her and the male.
Not Saint.
She blinked sleep from her eyes, struggling to shake its hold, and eased back a little more as she took stock. It was one of the other males she had seen when Saint had been bringing her to his cabin. Hope flared and then died, her first thought that it was the one who had looked ready to try to help her swift to fall away as she got a good look at him.
As her eyes met blue ones that were dark as he gazed at her, as he towered over her without saying a word. He didn’t need to speak for her to feel the threat, to know he wasn’t going to be as gentle with her as Saint had been. Darkness etched itself on his handsome features and the fear she had expected to feel when she had been faced with Saint last night was quick to come this time.
She backed away a little more. “What do you want?”
Her senses stretched out, making her feel like a fool as she searched for Saint, some part of her desperately hoping to find him in the room below. Nearby.
There was only this male.
When he said nothing, she hissed at him and bared her emerging fangs in a threat. She scrambled onto her knees and off the other side of the bed, placing it between them. He cast a look at it and then at her, and chuckled. She was well aware the bed wouldn’t stop him from reaching her if he wanted to, but it was her only line of defence. She couldn’t shift without shedding at least some of her clothes and she wasn’t about to strip in front of this male, giving him the wrong impression.
“Where’s Saint?” Her voice wobbled a little as she tried to reach further than the walls of the cabin with her senses and found nothing but silence. Not even a blip of a person or anything for that matter. She glanced to her right, to the small window, and watched the snow swirling past it.
Her heart started at a pace as she grew deeply aware that she was alone with this male.
“Saint’s out.” The male’s deep voice was little more than a growl. “Seemed pretty irritated. You want to explain why my alpha needed to take a walk in a blizzard, cougar?”
“I wouldn’t know. Have you tried asking him?” she snapped, her hands shaking as she glanced to her right, at the window again, and then the banister.
He slowly moved around the foot of the bed, each step measured, his gaze never straying from her as he put an end to thoughts of vaulting over the railing and making a run for it.
“Told me to look after you.” Those words, spoken in a brusque tone with a hint of wicked light in his eyes, had her moving.
She leaped over the bed and ran for the stairs.
Shrieked when he grabbed her from behind, his arms locking tight around her stomach, crushing her lungs.
“Where do you think you’re going? I’m not about to have my alpha mad at me because you escaped on my watch,” he growled into her ear and she wriggled and kicked at his legs. He clucked his tongue. “Play nice now, little kitty.”
Like hell she would.
Holly reared her head back and smashed it against his face, ripping a grunt from him. The scent of blood laced the air and his grip on her loosened, and she broke free, stumbled a little as she landed with one foot on one step and the other further down the stairs.
“You little bitch.” He lunged for her.
She ducked beneath his wild swing and punched him in the groin.
Twisted and ran down the stairs.
Shrieked and drew up short as he dropped right in front of her, his landing shaking the floorboards.
His blue eyes flashed dangerously as he advanced on her.
“You give Saint this much trouble? No wonder he needed a walk. Surprised he didn’t kill you.” His grin was cold as it stretched his lips. “Don’t expect me to be so nice, Ember.”
She had been about to run, but locked up tight before moving a step as his words hit her.
“Ember?” She frowned.
He grabbed her while she was distracted, twisted his hand into her black hair and ripped a cry from her as he hauled her to him. She bumped against his chest, fought to ignore the pain in her scalp as her heart and thoughts raced, and focused her mind.
She brought her knee up hard between his legs and he released her as he doubled over.
Snarled. “You hit me there again and I’m going to get angry.”
Holly made a break for the other end of the couch to him, not missing how she was replaying exactly what she had done last night, or the fact that this time she was terrified. She didn’t have time to examine why she hadn’t feared Saint as she feared this male, shoved it aside for later and focused on evading him as he hurled himself at her.
She nimbly leaped to one side, watched him sail past and land hard on the floor.
Made a break for it.
Ran right for the door she had ignored several times when doing this same dance with Saint.
She yanked it open and wind slammed against her, knocking her back, and snow blinded her, the bitter bite of it swift to chill her skin.
The male grabbed her from behind again. “Not a chance. Saint will kill me if you go running back to your mate on my watch.”
“Mate?” Holly frowned and pieced something together. “You called me Ember earlier. You think I’m Cobalt’s mate.”
That was why Saint had talked about Cobalt coming to save her.
They all thought she was Ember.
Anger was swift to rush through her, heating her blood and boosting her courage. They had meant to take Ember from Cobalt, had wanted to hurt both her best friend and a male who was coming to mean a lot to her too.
Holly hissed and growled, wrestled against the male’s hold and when he only tightened his grip, she lifted her feet and braced them against the kitchen counter and the wall.
Bears were strong.
But cougars were made for jumping.
She gritted her teeth and snarled as she kicked of
f, as she sent both her and the male flying. He grunted as he landed hard, as wood cracked beneath him and she landed on top of him, half of her expecting to go straight through the floorboards. The bear’s grip on her went lax and she sprang from his arms, swiftly turned and brought her foot down hard onto his stomach. His legs and shoulders lurched upwards, his arms flying to his waist as he grunted.
“You son of a bitch!” She levelled another kick, striking him hard in his side, and leaped backwards when he made a grab for her ankle. “I’m not Ember. I’m her best friend… and you’re going to pay for trying to hurt her.”
She flexed her fingers, her nails transforming into short claws as a hunger to hurt the male shot through her, as thoughts of her beloved Ember being held as she had been, treated as she had been, darkened her mood.
Holly yelped as the male grabbed her leg and pulled, loosed a grunt as she slammed onto her back and the air exploded from her lungs.
Before she could muster the strength to move, the bear was on top of her, his legs pinning hers, his hands tightly clutching her wrists to hold them to the floor above her head.
She stared up into his blue eyes, her pulse pounding faster, her instinct to fight giving way to a desperate need to escape as fear rocketed through her. Thoughts of hurting him turned into nightmarish visions of him hurting her.
He tightened his grip on her wrists and she cried out as her bones ached, as fire lanced them. He opened his mouth to say something.
She shrieked again as the door beyond her head burst open, as snow blasted inside.
And a terrifying roar deafened her.
Chapter 8
Saint barely stopped himself from shifting and killing Knox as he grabbed the male by the back of his neck and hauled him off the female. She remained frozen to the floor in the position she had been, her arms stretched above her head, her wide eyes fixed on the ceiling.
Stolen by her Bear (Black Ridge Bears Shifter Romance Series Book 1) Page 6
