by Ruby Shae
The place had music, dancing and half priced appetizers from six until closing. They didn’t plan on dancing, she knew Trent couldn’t go out on the dance floor, but they would get a great meal and she would get to see more of the town’s residents. Since she planned on making Bear Canyon her home, she wanted to see everything it had to offer.
The thought jarred her. When did she decide to stay and be Trent’s wife? She shook her head, because she shouldn’t have been shocked.
It had been when he’d showed up at her hotel room, and decided to trust her.
***
Trent checked his cell-phone again and watched from the couch as Tyler spackled the wall. Travis walked in from the kitchen and handed him a bottle of water.
“Oh man, you’ve got it bad,” Travis said.
“Is he checking his phone again?” Tyler asked, glancing over his shoulder.
“Yes, for the billionth time,” Travis said. “Relax dude, they will be fine.”
“Whatever,” Trent said. “I’ve seen you both check your phones just as often.”
Travis laughed, sat down on the other side of the couch and checked his phone again.
Trent rolled his eyes. They were all still early in their relationships, but he had a feeling he’d never stop checking his phone when Olive wasn’t by his side. He didn’t know if it was because he was older and wiser, or because he was tired of being alone, but his feelings for her were different than they had been with any other woman in his past. Including his ex. He’d dated the woman for two years and rarely thought about marking her.
The minute he’d met Olive he’d wanted to make her his, and the feeling hadn’t gone away. They still had another week left in their dating agreement, but he knew there wouldn’t be anyone else for him and he wanted to mark her now.
He took a long drink from the water bottle and surveyed the room. The wall only needed a coat of paint, and once that dried, they could clean up and put the furniture back. As expected, his brothers had been on his case since they arrived after breakfast and he knew they wouldn’t let up anytime soon. He didn’t really mind, though. He knew they had his best interests at heart.
The last five days flashed through his mind and he smiled. He’d taken the week off of work so he and Olive could get to know each other better, and they’d practiced both in and out of the bedroom.
He hadn’t been lying when he’d told her she’d been made just for him. No woman had ever molded around him so perfectly, and he loved the feel of her soft, feminine curves against his hard muscle. He’d been nervous at first to touch her with his rough, calloused hands, but those silly thoughts flew out the window when she constantly begged for his touch.
They had also spent time walking, exploring the town and talking about everything. He’d decided early on he liked her not only as a mate, but also as a friend. She was friendly, kind and smart, and she didn’t beat around the bush if she wanted to know something. Despite her circumstances, she also had pride without condemnation.
He’d taken her grocery shopping, insisted on getting her car inspected, and taken care of her finances. When he’d supplied her with a personal credit card, she’d cried in his arms again. He’d had to torture her with kisses until she agreed to take it, but they’d both enjoyed the punishment. Later, she’d thanked him with the same torment.
She’d cooked him dinner twice during the week, and they’d worked together to plan the menu for Saturday. She’d also bought the ingredients to make the cake for their reception.
He might be a bit biased, but she definitely had the skills to run her own eatery. From the way she’d selected her ingredients to the way she’d prepared the meal, she was obviously a master, but she could also plan, budget and organize better than most people he knew. Her food was spectacular and he believed she’d be successful in any venture.
Of one thing he was certain; she deserved more than cooking in his kitchen for the rest of her life.
He opened his mouth to say something and stopped when he found both men staring at him.
“What?” he asked.
“You’ve had that goofy smile plastered on your face all day,” Travis said.
“So, what about it?” Trent asked. He knew Travis was trying to entice him into a fight, but he wasn’t going to take the bait. Not today anyway.
“It’s good to see you happy,” Tyler said. “It’s been a long time.”
“It has,” Travis said. “We’re sorry about writing the letter behind your back, but we missed this part of you.”
“And we wanted you to have a chance at what we have,” Tyler added.
They’d protected him, cared for him, put up with his nasty behavior and stuck by him when others wouldn’t or couldn’t. Being so close in age, combined with their shifting abilities, had made them closer than most siblings and he knew his pain had been hard on them, too.
“Thank you,” he said. “I know it hasn’t been easy for the two of you these past few years. I appreciate what you did, even if you went about it the wrong way.”
“It was the only way,” Travis said. “You never would have agreed if we had asked your permission.”
“That’s true,” Trent said, “but you two still owe me.”
“It’s a trap,” Tyler said, hiding behind a pillow. “He’s going to make us build something.”
“Oh no,” Travis said, mimicking their little brother. “He’s still an asshole under all those smiles. We’ve been fooled again by the Emperor.”
Trent laughed as memories of their childhood game came flooding to the surface. Because he was the oldest, he’d always been the evil ruler intent on destroying the rebel band of do-gooders trying to eject him from power.
“Not build,” Trent said. “Renovate.”
“For Olive?” Travis asked serious, tossing the pillow aside.
He understood their apprehension. He’d asked them to build something for a woman once before, and after months of work, she’d betrayed them and burned it to the ground.
“Yes,” he said simply.
“Where?” Tyler asked.
“That vacant café on Main,” he said, his voice steady. “I haven’t told her about it. I want it to be a surprise wedding gift, but I wanted to run it by the two of you first. We’d have to get her input, too, so we can give her exactly what she wants.”
“I’m in,” Tyler said. “I think it sounds like a great idea.”
“Me too,” Travis chimed in. “I guess I’d better get that wall painted so we can go buy a building.”
Trent found it ironic they were buying a building they’d built two years before, but it would help them cut through a lot of the red tape. If they hurried, he’d have the deed by the end of the day.
Chapter Six
Olive laughed at Tyler’s joke and shoved another onion ring into her mouth. Trent smiled and kissed her temple before taking another swig of his beer.
When they’d arrived earlier, he’d followed her into the dimly lit building and then placed his hand on the small of her back and kept it there as he introduced her to some of his friends, including the sheriff, and guided her to their table.
His brothers had found a round table toward the back of the bar with four chairs so they could take turns standing and sitting. The other two couples bounded off to the dance floor, and she turned to face him, sliding her arms around his waist.
“Do you want to sit down?” she asked.
“I’m okay. You can go dance with them if you want.”
“No way. I’m exactly where I want to be.”
She kissed his chin and waited for him to him to claim her lips in return. When he didn’t, she turned back toward the crowd and raised her beer to her lips. Trent’s hand went back to the small of her back, and she had a feeling he was sulking about the dancing or his leg was bothering him.
He’d warned her he might continue to be grumpy sometimes and she figured this was one of those times. Some demons had to be conquered without h
elp, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t try and distract him. She turned to face him again.
“I hope you like the new swimsuit I bought,” she said. “I can’t wait to wear it tomorrow.”
He continued to stare at the dance floor, but when he grunted she smiled and tried again.
“I bought some other things, too, but I can only wear them in front of you.”
“Really?” he asked, finally looking down at her.
“Yes, really. There’s satin, lace, chiffon and something edible, only to be fair, the edible thing came from the candy store.”
“When do I get to see, sweetheart?” he asked.
“How about tonight? Are you done eating?”
“I’m done eating food, but that sweet pussy is another story.”
“Good, when they come back, let’s go. I’m going to use the restroom before we leave.”
“Okay,” he said, but he didn’t let her go right away.
He studied her face, for what she didn’t know, and then smiled and planted a chaste kiss on her lips. She hugged him and whispered in his ear.
“Be back soon.”
A couple of minutes later, she washed her hands and smiled as she fixed her hair in the mirror. She was happy she’d been able to coax him into leaving. While she’d had a good time in the first hour and a half, she now selfishly wanted to take her man home and keep him all to herself. His subtle possessiveness had ramped up her ongoing desire for him and she couldn’t wait to get him home and show him all of her naughty purchases.
When she walked out of the bathroom, someone grabbed her and slammed her into the wall. The momentum forced her head back and pain exploded behind her eyes. As she tried to get her bearings, the man pressed his body against hers, holding her in place.
“Don’t scream,” his hushed voice said, and she immediately recognized it as belonging to her ex. Suddenly, everything came back into focus and her ex held her against the wall. He flashed a gun in her face and then pressed it into her side. “If you scream, I’ll shoot, do you understand?”
She nodded. He leaned forward to kiss her, but she turned her head, forcing him to kiss her cheek. He pressed against her harder and used his free hand to turn her head toward him.
His hair was greasy and stringy, as if it hadn’t been washed for days, and his mouth and body odor made her want to gag.
“When we’re married, I’ll kiss you anytime I want,” he snarled.
“I’m not marrying you,” she said. “What the hell are you even doing here?”
“I’ve maxed out my expense card and your father won’t give me any more money until I bring you back,” he said. “The stupid horse was a longshot, but it was supposed to win me my freedom. I can’t wait to see what the old man says when he finds out you’ve been fucking around with shifters. He’ll probably let me off the hook from marrying your fat ass.”
She glanced down the short hallway and saw Trent walking toward them.
“Trent!” she yelled, and they made eye contact before Charles jabbed her in the side.
“Kiss me like you mean it or your boyfriend gets a bullet in his head,” Charles whispered.
She kissed him the same way she used to when they dated, void of emotion and disinterested, but it seemed to do the trick. When he finally let her go, Trent had turned and retreated back toward the main room.
“Trent!” she yelled again, but he didn’t turn back.
Why had he left her?
“That was easier than I thought. It seems even a cripple will let you go once he’s had his fun. He’s probably raising his glass in a toast to me right now.”
Tears slipped from her eyes as she stared after him, but he never reappeared.
“All right, let’s go.”
Charles pushed her into the back door, and then pressed the gun into her side and used his weight against hers to get the door opened.
The warm summer evening washed over the both of them and she coughed loudly as she looked around the parking lot. Unfortunately, the lot seemed hopelessly bare of bears, or anyone else for that matter.
In fact, it was too empty. Would Trent come for her, or had he truly left her behind? Either way, she needed a plan. She studied her options, and to buy time, she started talking.
“You do know you’re in a shifter town, right?” she asked.
He pushed her toward his car, and she tripped on the loose gravel and fell onto her hands and knees. She got up slowly, and once she righted herself, she saw Trent step out of the back door of the bar.
Elation swamped her, but she kept her face a mask of indifference. Charles hadn’t heard the door open, and she had a feeling Trent wanted the element of surprise.
“So what? Those little dogs aren’t going to help you. Besides, you belong to me. Now quit stalling and get in the fucking car,” he yelled.
“Actually,” Trent bellowed out into the darkness, “we’re not dogs, and we’re not little.”
Charles had turned to face Trent just in time to see five grizzly bears emerge from each side of the building. The man soiled himself, adding to his stench, and dropped his gun.
Olive kicked the weapon underneath a car and ran into Trent’s arms.
He wiped away one of her tears and studied her face.
“Are you okay?” he whispered.
“I am now.”
She held onto him tight, as if to absorb his warmth, and his arm anchored her to his side.
“You didn’t think I’d let you go without a fight, did you?”
She shrugged as more tears escaped. Truthfully, she hadn’t known what to think. She’d been so sure he loved her, but when she saw him walk away, it had shaken her confidence.
“Hmm…,” he said, and kissed the top of her head. “I guess I’m going to have to show you what it means when a bear finds his mate. Let me finish this first; poor Charles is having a meltdown.”
She turned to see Charles sniveling and begging for his life while the bears watched him with bored expressions on their faces. A few of them even rolled their eyes, and she couldn’t help but smile at Tyler and Travis.
The red flashing lights of a squad car lit up the night and the bears cleared a path so the sheriff could get through.
“Charles,” Trent yelled. “We’re not going to press charges, I think you’ve been punished enough for one night, but you need to get into your car right now and leave. The sheriff will follow you until you hit the main road, and then you can never return. You must stay away from Olive and stay away from Bear Canyon. If you ever lay a hand on her again or come back to this town for any reason, I’ll kill you, and I’ll get my friends to help.”
Angry bear roars filled the night as the bears sounded off in agreement to Trent’s words. Charles crawled to his car and sped out of the parking lot with the sheriff on his tail. The bears shifted back into their human forms and one of the men pulled a pair of plastic gloves out of his back pocket and retrieved the weapon. She recognized him as one of the deputies she’d met earlier, and watched as he dropped the weapon into a plastic bag.
“Thanks guys,” Trent said to each man as they filed back into the bar.
“No problem.”
“Anytime.”
“Bears rule!”
Salutations filled the air, and some of the men nodded once, or slapped Trent on the back as they walked passed.
“Well, that went well,” Travis said when he approached. “Are you okay, Olive?”
“I’m fine, Travis, thank you,” she said.
“Great job, bro,” Tyler said. “Don’t be too hard on him, sis. It killed him to leave you in the hallway with that asshole.”
“I won’t,” she promised, and tightened her arms around Trent.
“Ready to go home?” Trent asked when they stood completely alone in the lot.
“Yes,” she said simply.
They walked to his truck hand in hand, and Travis drove them home.
***
Trent cut through the
water with ease and when he reached the edge of the pool, he turned around and repeated the aggressive strokes that carried him to the other side. He punished the water as he moved swiftly through the waves with only the light of the moon to guide him.
The events of the evening flashed before his mind, and the onslaught of emotions he’d felt in that hallway threatened to drive him insane. Anger, possession, fear and revenge had topped the list, but he’d been forced to walk away. It didn’t help that he had been feeling sorry for himself before Olive had enticed him with lingerie.
If it had just been the man, Trent could have taken him down easily, but the fact that he had a gun posed a more serious problem. He couldn’t risk Olive’s safety with an unplanned attack.
He’d remained calm, sought out his brothers and friends for help, and then followed the couple out the back door. The look on Olive’s face had pained him. Even if it were only for an instant, she’d believed he’d left her. The realization felt as if someone reached inside his chest and yanked out his heart.
The drive home from the bar had been quiet, and Olive had insisted on showering, alone, to remove any trace of the other man. He didn’t let her go until she relayed all the details of the encounter he’d missed and showed him her injuries. She had a bump on the back of her head, and her palms had several cuts from her fall.
He hated that she’d been hurt, and once again questioned his actions.
Did I do the right thing?
He stopped in the middle of the pool and wondered if this was this what having a mate was like, and if so, how did his brothers survive. What the hell would happen if she got pregnant? Would he make a good dad? A good mate?
Lord, he was going insane.
He took a deep breath, held it, and allowed himself to sink to the bottom of the pool. When he couldn’t hold it any longer, he pushed up to the surface and saw Olive standing by stairs wearing his bathrobe.
“What are you doing out here?” she asked.
Her smile had returned, and lust and desire warred with his fears.
