[Bears of Grizzly Ridge 01.0] His to Protect

by Elena Aitken

  In response, he pulled her tighter. “I sure know how to heat you up,” he teased.

  “You do.” Harper wiggled her bum and felt the instant response in his body. “You’re not the only one with those skills.”

  He kissed her hair with such tenderness that Harper felt something spark deep inside. It had been amazing sex, as she knew it would be. From the moment she laid eyes on Axel, she’d known he’d be an animal in bed and there was an attraction between them that couldn’t be denied, and hadn’t been. But there was something else between them, too. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, and that concerned her.

  When Axel kissed the back of her neck and bare shoulders, any concern she had melted away and headed directly to her core, and the insatiable need she seemed to have for the man. A need that had grown quickly and only seemed to be growing stronger.

  She pushed any thoughts that would distract her from the task at hand out of her mind and rolled over so she could press her breasts up against his hard chest and kiss him properly.

  Chapter Seven

  “Good morning.”

  Nina looked up from her iPad and tilted her head to examine Harper as she walked into the kitchen in the Den.

  “Judging by that look on your face, I’d say it was a pretty damn good night, too.” She winked and shook her head but in the next breath said, “Tell me everything. Is he as good in bed as he looks?”

  Harper opened her mouth to answer, but her friend cut her off. “No,” she said. “You don’t even need to answer that. I can tell. He was better.”

  “Oh yes,” she agreed. Harper poured herself a cup of coffee from the carafe in front of Nina. “So much better than you could even imagine.” She wasn’t one to kiss and tell, but then again she’d never had anything worth telling before. Now that she’d just spent an intense night with some of the most toe-curling orgasms of her life and an even more spectacular early morning, she had plenty to tell. More than that, she wanted to tell Nina. She sank into the chair next to her friend. “I have never—”

  “Never what?” Kade interrupted them as he walked out of the pantry with a bowl. He winked at Harper with eyes so much like his brother’s it was slightly unsettling. “Never mind. You don’t need to answer that. I think I have a pretty good idea of what you’re talking about.”

  A blush burned up Harper’s neck. Of course, everyone at the Ridge would know exactly what had gone on in Axel’s cabin. She shrugged. It didn’t matter. Not really. She was having fun. Letting herself go and enjoying herself the way she should have years ago. She was a modern woman with needs and a mind of her own. She could do whatever the hell she wanted to do, and damned if she didn’t want to keep doing Axel.

  Well, if everyone already knew what she’d done and planned on continuing to do, she was going to own it. Gone were the days of Harper allowing others to tell her how to present herself in public. It was long past time she made the decisions about how she was going to live her life. She tossed her hair over her shoulders and sat up tall. “If you think I’m talking about getting busy with that sexy big brother of yours, you’d be right.”

  “That’s what it was?”

  Harper froze at the voice and turned to see Axel, his broad shoulders framed in the doorway, the anger that vibrated from his body only barely contained.

  “Axel. I—”

  “You were just telling everyone how we’d been getting busy.” His words were hard and cold.

  Was he seriously getting upset at her for saying what everyone already knew? Sure, maybe she shouldn’t have said anything at all, but he had no right to get upset with her. She sat straighter and squared off her shoulders to him. “So what if I was?”

  A noise that sounded suspiciously like a growl came from him and his fist hit the doorframe with such force that Harper felt it across the room, but she didn’t back down.

  “Axel,” Kade interjected. “We were just fooling around. Talking about—”

  “Getting busy.” He repeated the words again, not taking his eyes off hers. This time when he said them, Harper could see hurt in his gaze as well as anger. Could he really be upset that she’d made light of their night together?

  “Axel.” She left her coffee untouched and rose from her seat. If it had been any other man standing there looking as though he barely had a handle on his anger, she might have been scared. But it was Axel. They may have only had one night together, but it was enough for her to know that there was nothing to be scared of.

  Except for wanting another night.

  She pushed the thought away and crossed the room to him. He stood unmovable, an impenetrable wall. When she reached out to him and touched his chest softly with her fingertips, the spark of energy that flew from his body into hers almost knocked her backward. What was it about touching this man? But she didn’t withdraw her hand. Instead, she pressed her palm to his hard muscles. “I didn’t mean anything by—”

  “Well, there’s the happy couple.” Together, Axel and Harper turned to see Luke come in through the back door. “I’m surprised to see the two of you before noon.”

  “There’s coffee, here,” Harper replied with a quick smile, desperate to defuse the situation.

  “That’s it.” Axel jerked back from Harper’s touch and instead of going after his brother the way she might have expected, he stepped backward and with impressive speed, moved through the main room and out the front door.

  “Axel!” Without thinking, Harper ran after him. Something she couldn’t explain drew her to him. But he was a lot faster than her, and by the time she got out to the large front porch, he’d disappeared. “Axel!” she called again.

  “Stupid man,” she muttered to herself. She couldn’t figure out why she cared so deeply after only one night, but she did. There were probably a million things she should have been doing, like checking in with the lawyer to see whether her career had been further destroyed overnight. Or maybe she should have been on the phone trying to minimize the damage that was no doubt being done to her reputation in her absence, but none of those things were important. Not when she knew Axel was upset with her. With a sigh of frustration, Harper ran down the stairs and headed into the woods in search of the man who was beginning to affect her in more ways than one.

  He needed to get away from her before his bear lost his control. What was happening to him? He never lost control. He was the level-headed one. He was the one who kept it all together. He was the one who was completely unaffected by females.

  Until now.

  Dammit.

  Axel ran hard into the woods. The need to shift into his bear and run along the ridge until the feelings that were barely under the surface were exhausted and gone was strong. It’s what he should have done the night before instead of taking the damn woman to his cabin. What had he been thinking?

  He hadn’t.

  He’d been going on pure instinct. And his instinct had said he needed to have her. His mate. No matter what the cost. And there would be a cost. How could there not be?

  The Jackson clan didn’t mate frivolously. They didn’t believe in it. Every match had to be thought out. Strategic for the survival of their lineage. It was why Kira had been cast out. As an alpha female, she’d been crucial to the lineage of the clan. But she’d chosen an unacceptable mate. Or, the way she told it, fate had chosen him.

  No. Axel didn’t believe in mates, or fated mates. Especially human fated mates. No. He shook his head to clear his head of thoughts of Harper, naked on his bed, her beautiful body pressed to his. It couldn’t happen. Nothing about them together should have happened. Unless it was meant to be a fling. One night of meaningless passion. Except it wasn’t.

  Not to him.

  Axel’s bear roared, threatening to escape.

  But that’s all it had been to Harper. He’d heard her in the kitchen when she thought he wasn’t there, and then again, her flippant remark to Luke right in front of him. Their night together had meant nothing to her.


  That’s what he ran from. What he needed to escape.

  His muscles bunched and tensed, ready to shift into the animal that would allow him the release his mind so desperately craved.

  “Axel!”

  The voice split the air, reaching him through the trees, followed moments later by her scent. She was in the woods. Axel slowed his pace, his ears tuned, listening for her.

  “Axel,” she called again. “Where are you?”

  There was a slight tremor to her voice. Was she scared? His instincts took over. No matter how she felt about him, he could not, would not stand for her to be hurt or scared in any capacity. He spun on his heel and took off in the opposite direction, directly for her. For his mate.

  The forest was more confusing than she’d thought. There were no paths leading her to Axel. Not that she expected there to be, but part of her expected him to appear the moment she set foot into the trees. But it all started to look the same. Harper stopped walking and turned slowly, trying to get her bearings.

  “Axel?” She called again, but she sounded less and less sure of herself, even to her own ears. “Where are you, you stupid man?” she muttered to herself and stomped off in a different direction. A move she immediately regretted as her foot landed in a hole of some kind and she crumpled to the ground in a heap. Pain radiated through her leg.

  “Ow!” Harper squirmed on the ground and muttered a curse of expletives as she extracted her foot from the hole.

  “That wasn’t very lady-like.”

  Her head snapped up to see Axel leaning nonchalantly against a tree trunk, as if he’d been there the entire time. He had a little grin on his face, but she could still see the hard press of his jawline that told her he was still upset. But she’d be dammed if she could figure out what he was so upset about.

  “It wasn’t supposed to be lady-like,” she retorted. She pulled herself up and crossed her bad leg up over the other so she could take off her shoe. Her ankle throbbed something fierce and she was positive it was already swelling up inside her boot. “It hurts. A lot. I think I broke it.”

  “You shouldn’t take that—”

  She pulled her boot off, the pressure instantly relieved.

  “Off,” he finished lamely.

  “Why shouldn’t I?” She stretched her leg. The pain was still present, but at least it wasn’t pressing down on her foot so intently anymore. “It feels so much better.”

  “The swelling will be out of control.” Axel bent down in front of her, and took her foot in his hands. His large hands were surprisingly gentle. It shouldn’t have been surprising, really, considering the care and attention he’d given her the night before. But that was different. “We’ll never get the boot back on,” he said thoughtfully as his fingers gently prodded her flesh.

  “Ow!” She tried to pull her foot back in reflex but he held firm; his fingers started smooth, gentle circles over her sock.

  “I don’t think we’d get it back on anyway. It’s pretty swollen already. Does this hurt?”

  “Ow!”

  “Can you move your ankle?”

  She tried and instantly shook her head. “No.”

  He looked up at her and she could see the genuine concern in his eyes. This man was increasingly difficult to figure out. “I hope a sprain is all it is,” he said. “But if it hurts all the way up your leg, you might have broken it.”

  She had to look away from his intense gaze. “I’ll be fine.” Harper slid her foot away from him and attempted to stand, but the pain that shot through her foot and up her leg threatened to drop her to the ground. She gritted her teeth, but the groan escaped anyway.

  Axel was on his feet, his arms around her in a flash. “Don’t try to stand. I just told you, it’s likely broken.”

  “It’s fine.”

  He shook his head and growled. “Stubborn woman. It’s not fine.”

  She felt tiny in his embrace, he encircled her so completely. Despite herself, and the frustration she’d felt for him only moments ago, a coil of heat flared up in her core at his closeness. Damn, she wanted him again.

  Always.

  “Maybe we could just sit for a minute.” She managed to get the words out, despite the flurry of feelings that roiled through her. “It should be okay in a little bit.”

  He shook his head, but released her and helped her sit again. He moved a short distance away and sat on a log facing her. They stared at each other for a moment, each waiting for the other to speak first. Finally, Axel broke the silence. “What were you thinking, wandering through the woods like that? You could have gotten lost.”

  “But I didn’t.” She raised her chin defiantly.

  “You would have if I hadn’t come to find you.”

  She pressed her lips into a hard line. “That’s not true. You didn’t have to find me.”

  “You’re right.” His grin was mischievous and dammed if it didn’t do all kinds of things to her insides. “All I had to do was follow your scent.”

  Scent? Of all the things to say, that was definitely the oddest. Her confusion must have shown on her face because Axel quickly modified, “I meant, your voice. You’re very loud, you know. Easy to find in the woods.”

  “Well, that’s a good thing, right?” She crossed her arms over her chest. Mostly to keep them from shaking at his closeness, but if it made her look tough, that was an added bonus. “Being loud, I mean,” she continued. “You know, to keep the animals away. It obviously worked.”

  He grinned again, and Harper could see the flash of desire in his eyes. “Almost,” he said.

  “Almost?”

  “You kept them all away but one.”

  Heat rushed through her and settled in a pool of moisture between her legs. Her body screamed at her to forget all the confusion from earlier and just go with her original plan of having fun with him. But she couldn’t. “Why did you take off like that?”

  Axel recoiled as if she’d slapped him. He didn’t even pretend not to know what she was talking about. “I needed some space.”

  “From me?”

  “From everything.”

  “You were mad at me,” she said. “At what I said to your brothers.”

  He nodded.

  “That’s not fair. I didn’t say anything wrong.”

  “Yes, you did.” His voice was deep, each word almost a growl. “You made light of what happened between us.” His brown eyes darkened with intensity. “And there was nothing light about what happened.”

  Harper didn’t know whether it was his choice of words or the way he looked at her with so much want and…possessiveness…but her body came alive under his scrutiny. He was absolutely right; there was nothing light about what went down between them. She’d been trying to ignore it, but with him right there, the way he stared at her…she couldn’t.

  And when he got up, crossed the distance between them and lifted her from her seat, being careful to hold her so she wouldn’t put weight on her foot, she was instantly lost in him.

  With one arm wrapped around her, supporting her body against his, Axel’s other hand cradled her face. “I know you feel it, too,” he said, his voice a rough whisper.

  All she could do was nod in response. She didn’t know what she was feeling, but it was definitely something.

  “Say it.”

  “Say what?”

  In answer, his mouth covered hers; his tongue plunged into her mouth, tasting the sweetness he’d craved since letting her out of his bed that morning. He never should have let her leave. Never should have let her go into the Den and make out like what they’d shared had been anything less than a perfect union of mates. She didn’t know it yet, but she was his. Utterly, undeniably his. Every nerve in his body felt it.

  He pulled away from her, sucking on her lower lip and leaving it swollen and sexy as hell when she looked up at him with shuttered eyes so heavy with passion she could barely think straight. “Say what you’re feeling,” he commanded.

  Harper shook her
head from side to side. “But I don’t…I can’t…”

  “You can.” He held her chin in one hand, holding her still, forcing her to look at him. “I know you feel it. I can sense it with my body.” Her eyes flashed with something. A spark of acknowledgment, maybe. But still, Harper was confused. Of course she was. Hell, he was, too. But the more he thought of it, the more he knew it was true. But Harper had no idea what was happening to her, what Axel suspected she was. If she was his mate, the way he knew she was, then Harper had to have some bear in her bloodline. It was probably such a small part of who she was that she likely had no idea. Which was why she couldn’t explain or understand the feelings she had toward him. The undeniable pull toward him.

  “Axel. I don’t know what you want me to say. I…being with you…” Her voice was small, confused, almost scared. He couldn’t stand seeing his strong mate so conflicted. “Well, it’s been fun being with you. But that’s all it is.” Her words hit him in the heart. “It can never be anything more,” she continued. “I’m worried you think there can be more with us, and as much as I…”

  He stopped listening. He’d heard all he needed to in order to know there was no choice. He was going to have to tell her the truth. He was going to have to show her his bear. Help her to understand so she could come into her own and never be uncertain again.

  “Harper, stop.” He interrupted her. “I need to show you something.” He set her down again, feeling the loss of her in his arms the second she was gone. “And I want you to promise that you won’t get scared or freak out.”

  She shook her head. “You’re scaring me right now. Axel…what’s going on?”

  “I promise, there’s nothing to be scared of, but it will seem odd. At least at first. But it will help you understand a few things.”

  “What things?”

  “How you’re feeling.” He pinned her with his eyes and she settled instantly, the way he knew she would. “Because I know you don’t mean what you just said.”