The Grisly Grizzlies: Kneecap (The Grizzly Bear Shifters of Redemption Creek Book 3)

by Kim Fox

  Maximus never said as much, but I know that he’s never forgiven himself. I think he believes that she’s better off without him, so he’s never tried to look for her.

  The years passed. When the town was cleaned up and changed to Redemption Creek, we settled on this ranch and put our outlaw days behind us. Caleb came a few years after that, then the twins. Our lives became more or less peaceful, but the turmoil in Maximus has only been simmering.

  Pain like that doesn’t dissolve. It can only be washed away in blood.

  “Where is he?” Maximus growls, stepping forward.

  “Around,” Mastiff says with a shrug. “One of my wolves found him in a bar in Colwood.”

  Maximus turns to leave, looking like he’s going to jump into the truck and drive right over.

  “Hold on,” Mastiff says, calling him back. “That was a month ago.”

  Maximus stops and looks over his shoulder. “He’s gone?”

  “Like a strip of rawhide in a pack of dogs.” He looks around with an expectant smile but then frowns when no one laughs. “That’s a little wolf shifter humor. I guess you have to have a tail to get it.”

  “So, you know nothing?” Lachlan asks, looking impatient.

  “Not nothing,” Mastiff says. “Bledsoe was looking for someone.”

  Maximus’ face pales.

  “He’s looking for your girl, Maximus. He’s looking for Kennedy.”

  Maximus looks sick as he shuffles into his cabin and slams the door.

  With the conversation over, Mastiff tilts his head back and lets out a loud howl. Like a few days ago, the ranch is suddenly swarmed with wolves, but this time they only have motorcycles on their minds.

  I watch, ready for action as they each phase back into their human forms and find their motorcycles. One by one, they start their bikes and roll off the ranch until there’s only Mastiff left.

  “Did you get paid the million at least?” Lachlan asks.

  “Nah,” Mastiff says, shaking his head. “The fucker stiffed us. So we’re headed on a little road trip over to Chicago to fuck up his crew.”

  “If you meet a burrito eating fucker named Alessandro,” Jessie says, squeezing her fists. “Give him one in the nose for me.”

  Mastiff grins. “Will do. Good luck with The Beastly Bears.” He rolls his eyes as he walks to the last remaining motorcycle. “I swear, that name… Sounds like a damn children’s book.”

  The four of us watch as he waves and drives off.

  Did I mention I fucking hate wolves?

  14

  Kneecap

  “Do you even know how to sleep in a bed?” Tito asks with a grin on his face.

  “Have you ever been in a bed?” Ronin asks with a chuckle.

  “Have you ever seen a bed?” Caleb says, joining in the teasing.

  I just laugh as I carry the new mattress into my cabin while the guys watch. They’ve been teasing me a lot the past few days, ever since Mastiff and the dogs left, but for some reason, I don’t mind it. I laugh along, happy to feel like a real part of the crew.

  They follow me into the cabin as I haul the mattress to the bedroom. “Looking good,” I say, smiling at Nora as she paints the front room with Jessie.

  “Yeah?” she says, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. “You like it?”

  “I sure do,” I say with a grin. “And the paint looks pretty good too.”

  She laughs as I bring the mattress into the bedroom with the three clowns following me.

  “So, your feet go here,” Tito says with a grin. “Head on this big fluffy thing.”

  “We know it’s a little softer than you’re used to,” Ronin says. “But you can’t bring a rock into the bed to rest your head on. In the real world, we use pillows.”

  I grin as he throws it to me. “Sounds like the real world is full of a bunch of pussies,” I say, teasing back. “Real shifters use rocks as pillows.”

  “Maybe,” Caleb says as he hops up and sits on the dresser. “But I’m sure your mate doesn’t want a rock rolling over and crushing her head while she’s sleeping.”

  “I don’t!” Nora calls from the other room. “I definitely don’t!”

  “And what the hell is this thing?” I ask, playing along as I lift up a blanket.

  The boys don’t know if I’m serious or not.

  “Don’t worry about that,” Ronin says with a shake of his head. “Baby steps. Let’s just get you onto the mattress first.”

  The mattress creeks and whines as I lay my huge frame down onto it.

  “We’re going to need a bigger bed,” Caleb says, staring at me in shock.

  “Nora,” Ronin shouts. “I hope you don’t need more than a sliver of mattress to sleep on.”

  I smile as I rest my head on the pillow, staring up at the freshly painted ceiling. I can get used to this.

  My days of solitude are over. I’m ready to give up the animal life and rejoin society once and for all.

  And it’s all because of Nora. She’s calmed my bear in a way that I didn’t think was possible. He went from an aggressive bully to a total sweetheart. He loves her as much as I do, and he’s even starting to like me.

  We’ve made our peace at last, although I still haven’t brought him out to formally introduce him to Nora. I’m still not sure about that.

  “Oh. My. God,” Nora says when she walks into the room and sees me taking up ninety-five percent of the bed. “Do they make something bigger than a king-sized mattress?”

  “They do,” I say with a grin. “Shifter-sized.”

  She tilts her head. “What’s that?”

  “King-sized with another queen-sized pushed beside it.”

  She lets out her gorgeous laugh as she climbs onto the sliver of bed left and curls up to me. “I like it just like this.”

  “You say that now,” Tito says. “Wait until he starts snoring.”

  “You’re going to need noise-canceling headphones,” Caleb teases.

  “Not enough,” Ronin says. “You’re going to need your own cabin. On the other side of the mountain preferably.”

  I grin as I look at the three latest members of The Grisly Grizzlies who I now call my friends. “I think I have it from here, boys. Out!”

  They start laughing as they rush out of the room, elbowing each other into the walls as they go.

  Nora climbs on top of me, leans down and gives me a kiss. I let out a moan as her tongue slides against mine.

  “I’m still here!” Jessie shouts from the other room. “Ya know, painting… while you guys are slacking in there and getting your freak on!”

  Nora laughs as she sits back up, straddling my body. “Don’t worry, we’re not christening the mattress.” She grins as she turns to me with a whisper. “Not yet.”

  She kisses me one more time and then climbs off to go finish the painting.

  Nora has gone all in. With our relationship. With the move. With everything.

  She’s officially a resident of The Grisly Ranch in Redemption Creek, Montana. And I couldn’t be happier.

  She even has a meeting with the landlord who owns that nice little shop in town that she’s had her eye on for a therapist’s office. She’s been so excited about it, and tomorrow we’re going to find out if she gets it.

  Unsurprisingly, one of the conditions of her moving in with me was for me to ditch the cave. My cabin had been a little neglected over the years, so we’re fixing it up and moving in. Last night was the last night we spent in the cave and now we’re officially moving back in. It’s back to living like a human for me.

  I won’t miss it. I’m excited to be starting a new chapter, especially since that chapter is starting with Nora by my side.

  We spend the rest of the day fixing up the cabin and moving all of our new furniture in. Maximus has been a bit of a wreck emotionally since Mastiff dropped the bomb on him about Kennedy. He’s still not sure if it’s true or if the old dog was just tricking him to get his motorcycles back, but he’s
barely come out of his room all week.

  So, I’m thrilled when he joins us for dinner, officially welcoming Nora to the crew. He’s got a big smile on his face as he pulls out a wrapped present. At first, I think it’s for Nora, but he places it in front of me.

  “I know you’re not big on clothes,” he says. I’m squirming in my jeans and t-shirt as he says it. “And I’m sure none of us want you walking around naked all of the time.”

  “No!” Lachlan shouts with a horrified look on his face.

  “We definitely don’t want that,” Caleb says, shaking his head.

  “I want that!” Nora says, raising her hand with a grin.

  “So, to compromise,” Maximus says. “I got you this.”

  I’m confused, not knowing what it is as I rip the paper and open the box. I grin as I pick up the beige fabric and spread it out.

  “A loincloth?!?” Tito says with a horrified look on his face. “He’s going to be walking around in that?!?”

  My heart starts pounding in my chest as I look at it with a huge smile on my face. The truth is, as much as I love society, I fucking hate clothes. They’re so tight and always feel like they’re trying to attack me.

  Everyone turns away with a “hey,” or a “don’t,” or a “next time a warning please,” as I pull my jeans and underwear down. I’m grinning like a kid on Christmas as I get completely naked and pull my loincloth on.

  It fits perfectly. I’m in heaven.

  “I like it!” Nora says, biting her lip with a seductive grin as she watches me.

  “Well, you’re the only one,” Lachlan says, shaking his head as he watches me strike a few poses.

  They can laugh all they want. No more clothes for me. I’m never taking this thing off.

  A few hours later, my loincloth is off. This time, I’m glad to remove it.

  Nora and I came back to the cave one last time to say goodbye and before long, we were all over each other and the clothes came off.

  She’s lying on her back, breathing heavily as I grip my hard cock and come forward between her spread legs. I drag my thick tip up her folds and her back arches as a trembling moan rumbles out of her parted lips.

  Her hands wrap around my triceps, pulling me closer, pulling me into her. Without hesitation, I slide my cock into her wet waiting hole. She wraps her arms around my neck like she never wants to let me go as I slowly slide inside her.

  “I love you,” she whispers into my ear as I press all the way in, grinding my hard pelvis against her clit.

  “I love you too,” I say before giving her a deep kiss that has her moaning into my mouth.

  Our bodies feel like we’re made for each other. I truly think they were.

  Nora tightens her legs around my waist and tilts her hips up to get even more of me inside her.

  We stare into each other’s eyes as I thrust in and out of her until our orgasms hit and we’re trembling in each other’s arms. My heart is hammering in my chest as I release deep inside her, and I can only breathe again once I feel her coming along with me.

  Later, we’re back outside and ready to leave, but Nora doesn’t want to go.

  “I want to meet him,” she says, crossing her arms over her chest as she stares at me with a challenging look. “It’s time.”

  I take a deep breath and sigh. She’s been bugging me to meet my bear for days now. I know that he definitely wants to meet her, but I’m still not so sure. Years of torment and causing me all sorts of trouble have gotten me a little wary of him, but lately he’s changed so much. I know he won’t hurt her. I can tell.

  “It’s going to be fine,” she says, stepping forward. “I know he’s not going to hurt me and I really, really want to see him again. He saved my life when the wolf was on top of me. I just want to say thank you.”

  I take deep heavy breaths as I look at her.

  “Please,” she says, begging me. “Is it because you’re jealous?” Her face is so damn kissable with that sexy grin on it.

  “Fine,” I say, exhaling hard. “But if I feel a hint of aggression, I’m pulling him back in.”

  “Please do,” she says with a laugh. “But it’s going to be fine. He’s my friend.”

  I step back and slide my loincloth off, trying to search my bear for any signs of hostility. But there’s none. He’s just waiting patiently inside me, no growling, no anger. He’s like a completely different bear, just like I’m a completely different person.

  Nora’s eyes widen in excitement as I let my grizzly bear come forward. I feel it immediately as he rips through. Love. He’s gushing with love for this girl.

  I smile to myself as I get pulled down inside, watching through my bear’s eyes as he slowly steps forward, smelling her. Her sweet scent is magnified by a hundred through my bear’s nose.

  “Hi,” Nora says, smiling shyly at him. “I’ve been wanting to meet you.”

  He gently lowers his head and lets her pet him. Grumbles of contentment are rippling through him as she digs her fingers into his fur and scratches his skin.

  I can tell that he’s thrilled to finally be around her, which makes perfect sense. This is Nora after all. She is incredible to be around.

  My grizzly groans in delight as she wraps her arms around his big head and hugs him. “Thank you for saving me,” she whispers into his ear. “And thank you for being cool while I got to know Kneecap. It means a lot.”

  I’m drowning in waves of love and affection down here and loving every minute of it. So, this is what it feels like to be a shifter living in harmony with your bear. I could never understand how other shifters liked living with their animals. It never made sense to me. But seeing Nora through my bear’s eyes, feeling what he feels for her, experiencing this peace and love—It makes sense now.

  I can get used to this.

  “Now it’s our turn,” she whispers. “Let’s get to know each other.”

  I watch through my bear’s eyes as the two of them walk down to the river. Nora has her hand on his shoulder as they go, talking to him in a soft voice.

  They look so cute together. I’d be jealous if I wasn’t so damn happy.

  Just like my bear.

  Epilogue

  Nora

  “Doctor Nora Marchesi,” I say as I read the letters stenciled onto my door. “Therapist.”

  I can’t contain my grin. This is so exciting!

  “This is amazing,” Kneecap says, looking around my new office with a proud look on his face. “You did amazing.”

  I want to kiss him. I want to kiss my new desk and my new chairs and my new plant tucked in the corner. Instead, I just jump up and down, barely able to contain my excitement.

  “I wonder what kind of crazy characters you’re going to get in here,” Kneecap says with a laugh.

  I take a deep breath. “I just hope I can handle them.”

  “If you can handle me and my bear,” he says with a laugh as he picks up my new stapler and examines it, “then you can handle just about anyone.”

  My excitement for my new therapist’s office turns to excitement for something else as I watch him walk around my office in his jeans and button-up shirt. The guy only wears his loincloth around the ranch, but when he comes into town, I make him wear real clothes. He looks like a delicious caveman when he’s strutting around the camp shirtless in his Tarzan loincloth, but he looks just as good all dressed up with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up tight on his thick forearms.

  I swallow hard as I watch him.

  “Want to christen the new office?” I ask with a sexy grin.

  His eyebrows fly up in shock as he turns to me, but they quickly narrow into a heated stare. “Definitely.”

  I walk over to the door and flip the OPEN sign to CLOSED.

  My grand opening is going to have to wait an hour.

  Maybe two. ;)

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  Bonus Chapter 10.5: When Kne
ecap and Nora are still getting to know each other, they treat themselves to a couple’s massage, but it’s no treat for Kneecap when he finds out that Nora has a male masseuse. All the candles and soft music in the world won’t keep his anger from erupting when he sees the man’s hands on his girl’s body.

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  More from Kim Fox

  Click Here to see the Complete Kim Fox Collection

  The Grizzly Bear Shifters of Redemption Creek

  Lachlan

  Caleb

  Kneecap

  Tito & Ronin

  Maximus

  The Barbarians of Zandipor

  (Completed Series)

  Barbarian One

  Barbarian Two

  Barbarian Three

  Barbarian Box Set (Books 1-3)