Return to Bear Bluff Complete Series

by Harmony Raines

  “How do you feel about us?” he asked. They had reached the path they had to follow across the fields. Matt tried to help her over the gate, and although her first instinct was to push him away and tell him she was capable of climbing over herself, she let him. It was kind of nice to feel a little needy, a little protected.

  Weakness, she reminded herself. But she didn’t push his hands off her waist as he eased her landing on the other side of the gate.

  “I’m trying not to look too closely,” she said honestly, because he made her want to be honest.

  “Why? Are you afraid?” He quickly added, “That is not a criticism.”

  “Not afraid, exactly.” Or was she?

  “Then what?”

  The ground was dry; they would leave no paw prints here if they shifted, but they were too close to town, so they walked on. Her bear was itching to get free and cavort with Matt’s bear.

  “It’s easier, safer, if you don’t have to work out someone else’s feelings.” That didn’t explain it, but was she ready to bare her soul to him? If she did, and she frightened him away with her honesty, it was better to know now, before she got in any deeper. “My dad left, as you know. And for a couple of years, it was me and my mom. We had fun, I was the center of her world, and she was the center of mine. Then, she went on a vacation with some friends. I was left home with my aunt. She was OK, but was career driven, so when my mom decided I was not going to fit into her perfect new life with her foreign boy toy, I went into foster care.”

  “And that’s made you wary of trusting people.”

  “It’s made me wary of everything. I couldn’t work out if my dad and my mom truly were mates. Why would my dad lie about such a thing? That hit me hard, not knowing if I can trust the mating bond.”

  “But you feel it too? The bond between us? It’s not like your mom, who fell in love with the romance of it, rather than the reality of it. She never experienced the hook that’s embedded in your heart that pulls painfully when you’re more than ten feet away from your mate,” Matt said gently.

  “I know. That I could deal with, my dad could have made it up. But then there’s the other side. My parents both left me. What does that say about me as a person? I’ll tell you, it makes me feel as if no one loves me, not without conditions. That’s what a parent’s love is supposed to be, a mate’s love too: unconditional.”

  “This is different. We’re different.” He stopped walking, turning her towards him. “That won’t happen, not with us. Not if you stop fighting what’s between us.”

  “Fighting is how I survived. I went through a couple of foster homes, and then I settled in one, they were great, I felt loved, part of the family. But what I didn’t know was they were planning on adopting a baby and when that happened they stopped fostering. I was seven years old, and on the day I left what I’d thought of as my home, I decided that there was no room in my heart for love, no room in my heart for trust. I couldn’t do it anymore; I couldn’t risk the heartbreak.”

  “Hey,” he said, stroking her cheek, as her body trembled with the emotions she had stored away. So much of her was closed off; emotionally, she was still that seven-year-old girl, even though all that crap happened over twenty years ago. “It’s time for that little girl to let go, and for you to start trusting people. Trusting me. And what about Dylan and Jed? I see how much you like them.”

  She nodded, her voice hoarse. “Dylan gives me hope: he went to juvie, he turned his life around. And Jed, he shows me what it would be like to be part of a family.”

  “That’s what I’m offering you, Grace. A chance to have all that. It doesn’t matter where either of us come from, it’s where we go from here that is important. From this moment onwards, each step we take, takes us into the future. Our future. Let’s make it amazing.”

  She wanted to believe him; she wanted to step into his vision of their future. “What did you do to earn your fortune?”

  “I hustled, each deal bigger than the last.”

  “Funny, I thought you’d made it as one of those personal lifestyle coaches.”

  He laughed. “Maybe that’s what I’ll do when I retire. I can use you as an example of my life’s work.” He pulled her close and looked down into her face, his eyes honest as he said, “If you will give me the chance to help you. To walk this road by your side.”

  She stepped back, and resumed their journey to the mountain. “That depends on if you impress my bear, who is waiting to meet you.”

  He took her hand and ran forward into the darkness. “Another challenge, and one I intend to meet head on.”

  She ran with him, a new hope blossoming inside her. Coming to Bear Bluff had changed her life, and Matt was like the finishing touch. She was ready to believe, and she was ready to become something more, to learn how to belong to a community and a family.

  Chapter Eight – Matt

  They crossed the fields, passing very close to where Jed’s family lived before looping around and following a trail up into the lower slopes of the mountains. There they stopped, under the cover of the tall oak trees. This part of the mountain was still populated by the ancient deciduous forests that could be dated back to ancient times, when bears roamed freely all over the land.

  “Are you ready?” she asked.

  “More than ready,” he said, a stirring in his belly that was not only brought on by how close she was to him, but by how close he was to her bear. Matt’s own bear was simmering under the surface, so close it would only take one small lapse in his tight control and the bear would be free. “Ladies first.”

  She cocked her head and listened, seeming unsure. Was there danger here? Matt listened too, and was satisfied there was no one within their vicinity, and his senses stretched out further than most humans.

  “I’m still practicing,” she said as way of an explanation.

  “Practicing?” he questioned.

  “I grew up away from any other shifter. I used to go out on my own when the change was on me.” She smiled, a weak smile in the moonlight, filled with her loneliness.

  “Grace, I never thought about that.” He touched her, a fission of electricity passing between them.

  “It wasn’t easy. But I’m getting the hang of it now. Although if I do something … weird, please tell me, I’m still trying to figure out bear etiquette.”

  He laughed. “I’ve never considered bears as having etiquette, but I guess we do.”

  Matt moved closer to her, his hand brushing her long black hair from her shoulder, and he looked into her eyes, seeing the hope blossoming there. Without thinking, he lowered his head and kissed her, his tongue slipping into her mouth, tasting her. Small bursts of pleasure erupted across his tongue, as her tongue entwined with his.

  Grace didn’t fight him; instead, she pressed her body close to his, her soft curves molding to his hard chest. With a groan, his arms tightened possessively around her, and he had to fight the urge not to throw her down on the piles of leaves that had fallen to the ground as the seasons changed and winter approached.

  When their kiss ended, she stepped back and said, “I don’t think that is part of a bear’s etiquette.” But the flush on her pale cheeks told him she had enjoyed their kiss as much as he had.

  “I apologize,” he said, with a small bow. “I didn’t mean to take advantage of the situation.” He dropped his voice to a husky whisper. “But you are too damn irresistible. I think we should run together, I need to let off some … heat.”

  “Are you hot, Matt?” She closed the space between them, her body pressing against his once more, teasing him, making him hotter. And she knew it. Which made him feel happy, and aroused; of course she would always arouse him. This was more about her growing confidence, her newfound trust in him, which allowed her to push the boundaries of her comfort zone.

  “You are pushing my self-control,” he said, and then, with a quick kiss on the cheek, he pulled away from her and shifted, his big grizzly bear appearing mid-leap, to d
ash off up the trail.

  Behind him there was a sizzling burst of static electricity. Grace had shifted. Unable to help himself, he turned to look back at his mate as she came rushing headlong towards him. Instead of slowing, she kept coming, and with a sideways shift of her hips, Grace bumped into him, racing into the lead.

  She does need to learn bear etiquette, he said to his bear.

  Then let’s teach her, his bear said and ran off after her, his giant paws struggling to gain a grip on the stone trail, and he sent small stones spilling down the trail behind him. He’d been away from the mountains too long, he was out of practice, and although he considered himself fit, he could not catch his bear mate, who was up ahead, weaving along the twists and turns in the trail with ease.

  Maybe being behind was the best place for him: he had ample time to watch her ass. And what an ass it was. His human side shook his head. Bears.

  The joy his bear felt at being with their mate was pushing towards euphoria. His heart beat so rapidly, Matt was worried it might explode, but nothing was going to allow him to slow down and risk losing her.

  Then they did. Rounding a tight bend, she was nowhere to be seen. He skidded to a halt; the path forked and he didn’t know which way he was supposed to go. Sniffing the air, his bear senses tried to locate her. Left. He sprang forward, his stocky back legs catapulting him forward, and the race was on again.

  Up, higher and higher, he climbed, the night air cool, a reminder of the season: fall was nearly at an end and winter would soon be here, with snow and ice, which clumped in a bear’s paws, but which also offered unbridled fun. Sliding down a slope, head first in the snow, was one of the joys of having a shifter side.

  His brain filled with images of him and Grace running through the snow. This dream came to an abrupt end, when he saw her up ahead, no longer a bear, but a human sitting on the ground, waiting for him.

  He approached her cautiously. Grace looked up and smiled, her breathing heavy, her breasts heaving, and his bear huffed up to her to be stroked, knowing that the human side of their partnership was fighting to go back to their mate, to sit beside her and talk, under the moon and the stars.

  Chapter Nine – Grace

  “How did I do?” she asked, as soon as he was back to his human form.

  “I thought you were trying to lose me,” he said, seating himself next to her and looking out in front of them. “That’s quite a view.”

  Grace turned to look out over the valley below. “It is. I love how the mist rolls in, you can just about see the lights of the town below, but they look like stars shining through a cloudy sky.”

  “So it looks as if we’re in an upside-down world,” he said, tilting his head up to look at the clear night sky. “Wow, you’d almost think we were floating in space.”

  “I know.” She looked up at the moon. It was nearly full, its eerie glow covering the mountainside. She shivered, not from the chill of the air as it settled around them, but from the nearness of Matt. “No one else comes this way. They all tend to head towards the Bluff. The view there is amazing too.”

  “You try to avoid the others?” he asked.

  “On the whole. When I moved here I was worried about being accepted; everyone knows I’m on Dylan’s workforce, and why.”

  “Although you’re older than the others.”

  “I am,” she admitted. “It’s good to see the young teenagers, they aren’t so bent out of shape.”

  “I don’t think you’re so bent,” he said,

  “I was. After I left foster care, I tried to make a go of it. I’d gotten a good education, studying took my mind off the rest of my life. But I struggled to hold down a job.” She lay back on the damp grass. “I like the construction work better. There are no office politics to navigate. I was never good at that.”

  “Is construction where you see yourself staying?” he asked.

  She flipped over onto her stomach and looked at him intently. “I don’t know. I like it, it’s easy, you hit the nail with the hammer and it goes in straight, or it doesn’t and you start again. Mostly, though, I like making broken things good.”

  “Do you see yourself as broken?” he asked, and she turned onto her back, avoiding his eyes. “Sorry. That came out wrong.”

  “No. You’re right. I am broken, or at least part of me is. That’s why I ended up in prison. I struggle to empathize with people, to know the boundaries.”

  “What happened?” he asked.

  She got to her feet quickly. “I don’t want to talk about it. Look to the future, isn’t that what you said?”

  “I did,” he agreed, getting up to stand beside her and look out across the valley one more time. “It doesn’t matter to me. If you ever want to talk about it, I’m here for you. If not, then that’s fine, too. I’ll never pry into your life, Grace.”

  She pressed her mouth together in a thin smile. “Thank you.” Her brow creased, and she shrugged. “It’s not as if it’s so terrible.” She glanced across at him. “I met women in prison who would love the project you have planned.”

  He smiled, showing his teeth. “You know, I have an idea of how you can make a difference. If you’re interested?”

  “That depends.”

  “Of course it does.” He turned to look at her directly. “I don’t know who you are. I don’t know the path you’ve walked. And I certainly can’t relate to other women who need a fresh start in the same way you can. So, what I’m asking, in a roundabout way, is if you would consider being a spokesperson for the project. A woman who’s seen things from both sides.”

  “I… I don’t know. I told you, I’m not good at empathy.”

  “But you’re learning. Each and every day. Please, don’t say no. Not yet.” He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Maybe that’s why we’re going to be so great together.”

  “Are we going to be great together?” she asked, both nervous and excited at the prospect of helping other women like her.

  “I think so. Want to go back to my hotel room and see exactly how great?” he asked. “That was smooth, I know.”

  “Very smooth.” Breathing in the cold air, she considered his proposition. Was there really any point in denying the inevitable?

  No, her bear said.

  “OK.”

  “Really?” he asked, completely shocked.

  “Yes. Really.” She slipped away from him, and turned, about to shift, she shouted. “If you can beat me to the bottom of the mountain.”

  The blood pumped through her veins as she raced back down the trail, the stones gave way under her big paws, sending her slipping and sliding around bends, nearly losing her footing completely at one stage. However, she kept going, trying to decide whether she wanted to go back to his hotel room. She’d agreed to it, but her challenge gave her a get-out clause, because she knew she could outrun him.

  The sound of him hot on her heels made her reconsider the outcome. He must really want her, if the speed at which he was throwing himself down the mountainside was anything to go by. Then she couldn’t hear him anymore. Slowing, she tried to listen for him, worried he’d fallen and hurt himself. If he had, how would she get him down off the mountain?

  A crashing sound to her left made her swing her big bear head around and look into the trees. He’d taken a shortcut, and was plowing through the undergrowth, slowly inching ahead of her. That was not part of the bargain, but was she really going to call him out on this?

  Would she call him a cheat and refuse to go back to his room? Hell, no! her bear’s voice resounded in her head.

  That did not mean she was going to give up. Picking up her pace, she bounded down the trail, claws digging into the ground to stop herself from sliding as she ran at break-neck speed. In her peripheral vision, she could see Matt ahead of her. He was going to win.

  One last valiant effort shortened his lead, but when she slithered to a halt, he was already at the place they had shifted at earlier. He’d won, but his bears flanks rose a
nd fell so deeply, she knew he’d thrown everything into the race.

  “Impressive,” she said, shifting back into her human form. He nodded his bear head, and she giggled. “You really wanted to win, didn’t you?” she asked.

  He nodded again, his head down, and then the air shimmered and she watched him change, something she had never experienced so close-up. The air seemed to fill with particles of electricity and his bear seemed to completely disappear, before Matt filled the space where the big animal had stood only seconds earlier.

  “Amazing,” she breathed.

  “I’m guessing you don’t mean my run down the mountainside.” He stood up straight, his breathing returning to normal. “I haven’t run that fast since my younger days. A city bear does not have the space to stretch his legs.”

  “You’ll enjoy living here, then. We can come out here all the time.”

  “Does that mean you are already considering me being in your life?” he asked.

  “It may,” she said. “That depends on your later performance.”

  “My later performance?” he asked. “You mean in bed?”

  “I mean sex. That’s what you want, isn’t it?” she asked.

  “No.” He came close to her and lowered his head. She thought he was going to kiss her; instead, he said, “I am going to make love to you, Grace. Like no other man can.”

  “That’s quite a promise.”

  “And one I will keep.” He pulled back with a groan. “We need to go. If I kiss you here, I’m most likely going to lose control. I hope you aren’t tired.”

  “No,” she said breathlessly.

  “Sure?”

  “Positive.”

  “Good, because I want to make love to you all night. Once you are in my bed, I’m going to make sure you never want to leave.”

  Grace shook her head. “Overconfident.”

  “No. Truthful.” He took her hand. “You can judge me for yourself.”

  Pulling her along, he marched back across the fields. She was sure he wanted to lift her up, throw her over his shoulder and run back to his hotel. They said little to each other, both too wrapped up in their own thoughts.