Rancher Bear Complete Series: PLUS NEW BONUS BOOK: Rancher Bears' Merry Christmas

by Candace Ayers

  Her eyes flashed and she crawled out from under me. She backed away slowly, engaging both me and my bear to chase. “I don’t want to hear about your poor ego. I want to see you work for me for a change.”

  She ran and I easily chased her down. When I caught her, I pinned her against a tree for the second time in our very short relationship and showed her that I was willing to put the work in for her. In fact, I’d give her as much of me as she could stand.

  THE END

  RANCHER BEAR’S DESIRE

  STORY DESCRIPTION

  John Long has his life under control. Everything is going according to plan. His girlfriend, the beautiful, vivacious socialite Mandy Scott, has finally agreed move with him from L.A. to his family’s ranch in Wyoming to give the ‘simple life’ a chance.

  All’s well.

  Until Bunny St. John enters his life in the form of personal assistant/pack mule for Mandy and suddenly, John’s small tranquil world erupts. There’s no denying Bunny is John’s mate.

  Bunny’s divorce papers are barely dry.

  She’s fed up with men, doubly fed up with bear shifters, and doesn’t care one iota about this whole ‘mate’ crap.

  All she knows is she doesn’t want to be the ‘other woman’, and she needs her job as Mandy’s assistant to get back on her feet.

  She is not going to let any man mess this opportunity up for her, including the hot-as-Hades bear shifter, John Long, who continues to claim that she is his mate.

  The two can only dance around the flames of desire for so long, though, before someone ends up getting burned.

  CHAPTER 1: Bunny

  “How soon can you start?” The voice on the phone was breathy and seductive in a way that would probably make any man take notice. It was also fake.

  I knew that, of course, because I’d once used that voice, too. Back when I was naïve enough that getting hitched to a man was the most important goal in my life. With a severe eye roll, I barely stopped myself from sighing. I didn’t have room to be a pessimist. Ms. Seductive Voice might be my ticket out of here.

  “Um, I can start immediately. Wouldn’t you like to know a bit more about me first, though?”

  I’d spotted the job advertised on line exactly thirteen minutes after it was posted. It’d taken me eight minutes to rearrange things on my resume and submit it. Another fifteen, and I’d gotten the call.

  “Not necessary. Your resume is adequate. I don’t need a miracle worker, Mrs. St. John. I just need someone capable of being an assistant. It’s not at all difficult.” She blew out a long breath and I didn’t have to try very hard to picture Jessica Rabbit smoking a Virginia Slim. “Really, you’re just going to be answering calls and picking up my dry cleaning. It’s not rocket science.”

  I bit my tongue hard to keep from telling her where to stick her condescending attitude. “It’s Miss. I’m not married,” I countered in a sickly sweet voice.

  “Good for you. Anyway. My name is Mandy Scott. I’ll be in Wyoming in three days. I’ll need you to go ahead to the house I’ll be staying in to set up my things. I’ll send you a list of everything I need, and your transportation instructions. Just text me after you get it and let me know when you begin working. Also, I’ll add the number of my father’s accountant. Call him and he’ll get your salary set up right away.”

  “Okay, I-”

  The phone clicked off in my ear and I slowly pulled my cell away from my ear and glared at it. “What the hell is wrong with her?”

  Even though I would’ve loved to call her back and tell her to take her job and shove it, I couldn’t. Truthfully, despite her shitty attitude, I was more than excited about the job.

  It came with a hefty salary, probably because Mandy was a miserable witch to deal with, a car, and a place to stay. Nothing could be better for me at this current time.

  Things hadn’t exactly been going superbly lately. Well, they were great in some ways and not so great in others. I’d finally gotten away from my lying, cheating, wretch of a husband, officially ex-husband. But, the only way he’d agree to a quickie divorce was if he got to keep everything. And he did mean everything. I left the marriage with only what shards remained of my dignity. While it was plenty for me, it sure as hell wasn’t enough to keep a roof over my head.

  After a couple of weeks on my best friend’s couch, I was more than ready to have a real bed to sleep in. Even if it meant working for a woman from LA who had about as much sweetness to her as a bowl of lemons.

  I slipped my phone into my pocket and went back inside to tell Star, my friend and temporary roommate, the good news. “I got the job!”

  Star raised her eyebrow at me. “The one you applied for like five seconds ago?”

  I nodded. “You’re looking at the personal assistant of Mandy Scott, from LA.”

  That eyebrow shot up even higher. “Mandy Scott? The Mandy Scott?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know about ‘The’. Is she famous, or something?”

  “Well, I’ve seen her on the cover of several magazines while I’m waiting at checkout counters. In fact, Mandy Scott is a regular tabloid fodder. She’s a socialite. Doesn’t do much of anything, from what I can tell. Just parties and looking stunning on a red carpet.”

  “She must do something. Why else would she need a personal assistant?”

  Star laughed. “You’ve got to get out more. Rich people don’t have to do anything to need a personal assistant. They want someone to handle their planner, their miniature dogs, their wardrobe, and probably even their diets. You’re about to become maid, cook, stylist, and dog walker.”

  I rolled my eyes and went to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. “Are you sure you just see covers of these tabloids? You seem to know a lot about this sort of thing.”

  “I may have flipped through a few pages, here or there. That doesn’t matter. I just want to make sure you’re prepared to do that kind of work for some rich brat.”

  I shrugged. “Maid, cook, stylist, dog walker? Sounds a lot like marriage and I did that just fine.”

  “You just got divorced. I’m not sure that classifies as fine.”

  “You know what I mean. I did the work part just fine. I’m divorced because my ex-husband couldn’t keep his junk in his pants. That, and he was, and is, a complete and total asshole.” I took a deep breath. “Anyway, I don’t have any other options right now. The pay and the perks are too good to pass up. I have to get off of your couch. I’m starting to become one with it.”

  “Honey, you know you’re welcome to stay on my couch for as long as you need to. I love having you around.”

  “I saw your latest man in all his glory last night. He walked right past me on the couch where I was laying, reading. He spotted me and, naked as a jaybird, continued on to get some milk. Which he drank straight from the jug, by the way. Then he nodded at me, looked down at his dick, and licked his lips. It’s time for me to go.”

  She laughed. “Oh, god. No wonder you want to leave so badly. I knew Frank was an asshole, but I didn’t realize he was that big of one. I’m sorry, Bunny.”

  I shook my head. “Don’t apologize. You’ve been so gracious in letting me stay here. I love you even more for it. I’m just in the way. Even if you love having me here, I’m still in the way. It’s time for me to get my shit together. And if that means scooping well-to-do Chihuahua doo-doo for a while, then so be it.”

  Star wrapped her arms around me, in a big hug. “I’ll miss you. I hate that you won’t be on my couch when I need you.”

  “You can call me, and I’ll call you. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of shit to get off my chest. After one conversation with Mandy Scott, I already don’t like her.”

  “Look on the bright side. At least you’ll get a fresh start. You might actually get a chance to meet a nice, stable, boring guy who wants nothing more than to see you smile.”

  I held up my hands and backed away. “Not interested. I can smile, live, and orgasm without a man’s help. I’
ve got everything I need right here.” I waved my hands, motioning up and down the length of my body, “I’m not falling into that trap again.”

  CHAPTER 2: John

  I watched the sun set over the lake beside my house and did my best to squelch the growing anxiety in my chest. As a bear shifter, I shouldn’t be freaking out like a little boy. I was a man, a bear, and I had things under control. Only, a nagging doubt in the back of my head warned that maybe I didn’t have everything under control.

  A bird swooped low and plucked a fish straight out of the lake and then hurriedly flapped away with it. A breeze gently floated the scent of water and pine over to me. My dog, Whiskey, snored lightly at my bare feet. Things were peaceful. I should’ve been dozing in the warm sunshine.

  Yet, I couldn’t relax. I hadn’t been able to in months, but I’d chalked that up to living in LA. I wasn’t cut out to be a city boy. I didn’t like big buildings, tight spaces, smog, or even people, really. I’d stayed with my girlfriend, Mandy, in her penthouse apartment for more months than I cared to remember. It was part of our deal, but most of the time I spent feeling like I was beating my head against a wall. I got nothing done, felt sick from the air quality, and grew to despise take out.

  We had agreed that I would try out LA for a while and then she would try out Wyoming for a while. Looking out over the water and trees, I couldn’t imagine having to make a deal with anyone to coax them into coming here. Landing, Wyoming had been home for me since birth. My family owned the ranch where I worked, when I wasn’t off in LA. Wyoming was beautiful, and to me, it was everything.

  Mandy hated the idea of it, though. She was a city girl. She’d been weaned on red carpets and luncheon dates with A-list celebrities. She acted as though Wyoming was a death sentence. Part of me knew she was only giving Wyoming a few months simply to say she’d tried it. She was also supposed to be working on a book, so the time away from the hustle and bustle of the city would be good for her.

  No matter how much I knew that Mandy wasn’t my mate, I also thought that she was, maybe, the girl for me anyway. Not every shifter is fortunate enough to find his true mate. My brothers were enigmas. All four of them had found their mates fairly recently. Somehow, all of their mates had just ended up in Landing.

  I knew that wasn’t going to happen for me, though. It was just a gut-deep feeling that I couldn’t get rid of. I’d had it since I was a kid. When I heard stories about bears finding their mates, about my parents finding each other, I just knew, for whatever reason, that it wouldn’t happen for me.

  It was why I was okay to settle down with a woman who wasn’t my mate. I loved Mandy enough. It wasn’t the kind of unbreakable bond of love that my brothers had, but I wasn’t my brothers. I didn’t need that kind of wild and passionate love. I just needed enough.

  Mandy wasn’t ideal. There were things that I wished were different, but she was a nice enough girl underneath, besides being attractive and vivacious. I liked the woman that stayed in with me and cuddled on those rare Tuesday nights in LA. She was soft and she smelled good. I was a simple guy.

  When I’d finally talked her into following me to Landing, though, the tightness in my chest just clenched harder. My bear became more restless than he’d ever been in LA, and I couldn’t remember the last time I’d spent so much of my days as a bear.

  I’d spent the last couple of weeks fixing up the house so she could enjoy her time there, but I wasn’t too blind to know I had a bad case of cold feet. A part of me wanted to call it off. I didn’t know what my end game was here. Did I expect her to fall in love with Wyoming and choose to stay? Did I even really want her to stay?

  I had never before been so confused and wishy-washy. I was the level-headed brother. This back and forth wasn’t me.

  Yet, as I sat drinking my beer, my mind was playing ping pong with my thoughts. I looked over my shoulder at my house. It was my space. I hoped Mandy would be pleased and excited when she arrived, but I was slightly skeptical that it was going to happen that way.

  The tension in my body too strong for me to relax, I went back inside and sat down at my desk. I had a hundred pages due soon and the deadline was sneaking up on me. My editor would be pissed if I asked for another extension. He didn’t seem to understand that my brain couldn’t function properly in the blaring horns and chaos of LA.

  I opened the document I’d been working on earlier that morning and starting typing out the story that’d been trapped in my brain the entire time I was in the city. I had a whole lot to do and not much time before Mandy arrived, so I got busy.

  *****Bunny*****

  Working for Mandy had already proven itself to be a pain in the ass. She texted me at all hours with new demands. Her latest texts had nearly sent me to LA to slap the hell out of her. She had no manners and I doubted she’d ever been taught to play nice, especially not with the hired help. Barely two days in and I want to throttle her. Two days.

  When I thought about it, I envisioned Star’s couch and felt warm tingly feelings for it. It never sent me to Rodeo Drive just after midnight so I could be standing outside of Gucci first thing when it opened for the purse she already had in two different shades. It never put me in a rental car and sent me driving through the middle of nowhere to find the house she’d be moving into. And it never forgot to mail me the key to said house but asked me to break in instead.

  She was scatter brained and disorganized, but that was okay with her because she wasn’t the one who had to suffer for it. I, on the other hand, was not okay with it. I had a feeling that Mandy and I were due for a long conversation about how she ran this operation.

  As it was, Mandy was still in LA, and I was standing at the bottom of a steep driveway that I was afraid my tiny rental car wouldn’t drive up. It was barely six in the morning and I’d driven all night on zero sleep.

  The sun wasn’t even up yet. That was a good enough sign to me that I should still be in bed.

  I just had to keep reminding myself of the money I’d be making. I wouldn’t have to work for Mandy forever.

  I started my hike up the driveway and kept an eye out on the woods surrounding me. The last thing I needed or wanted was to get mauled by a wild animal, or an animal that wasn’t wild.

  With my heart pounding in my ears and that thought racing through my brain, I picked up the pace and raced up to the large porch of the house. My aversion to breaking in was suddenly gone and all I wanted to do was get into the relative safety of the inside. I went around the porch, pushing on windows until I found one that creaked open. That was the only invitation I needed, I thought, as I wedged my body through the gap and quickly closed it behind me.

  CHAPTER 3: Bunny

  I knew the house would be empty because Mandy was still in LA, so I wasn’t stealthy in my movements. I looked around, not thoroughly, and then headed upstairs. There were several bedrooms, but I picked the one that smelled the best. It reminded me of sunshine on a fall day. I kicked off my shoes and pants before climbing under the sheets.

  Mandy might have won the battle by getting me out and about at god-awful hours, but my phone was downstairs in my purse, and I didn’t have anything else to do right now. She wouldn’t be arriving until the following day and the tasks she had for me, I could do after a nap.

  I wrapped myself in blankets and curled into myself. The bed was more comfortable than I could ever remember a bed being and the delicious scent was even stronger in the bed. I was going to have to find out what kind of detergent the cleaners used.

  I yawned loudly, and was unconscious in seconds.

  The sound of a door opening and slamming shut downstairs had me sitting up so fast I immediately got the hiccups. I swore under my breath and tried to do the breathing thing Star had taught me to get rid of them. Movement downstairs sent me scrambling from the bed, to the door. I pushed it mostly closed and then crept over to my pants. I searched the pockets before remembering that my phone was downstairs. Shit!

  I knew the mome
nt whoever was downstairs heard me because a loud roar of anger practically shook the house and then doors started flying open. I went to the window and looked out, but the drop was too far down. There was a bathroom attached to the room, but there was nowhere to hide it there. It had to be the closet.

  I snatched up my clothes as I went and backed into the closet. I pulled the door closed and pressed my back against the wall opposite the door. I still had the hiccups, but I was keeping my mouth closed, so they weren’t as loud. Maybe the intruder wouldn’t hear me.

  Heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs and trekked from room to room until they got to the one I’d been in. I balled up my fists and tried to ready myself for a fight. The person was, without a doubt, about to find me. In the back of my mind, I couldn’t help but notice the enticing scent I’d been noticing earlier was stronger in the closet. The clothes that were hanging all around me were teasing my nose.

  What happened next was a mess. The door was yanked open and, without looking, I bolted forward. I smashed into what felt like a solid rock wall and fell on my ass, in a heap of clothes from the closet that I yanked down in my fall. The metal bar that kept the clothes hung came off of its hooks and smacked me right on top of my head.

  I was, by no means, a tiny girl. I stood nearly five foot ten inches tall, and I had plenty of curves. My weight caused the bar to come down with so much force that it felt like I’d been shot in the head. Not that I necessary knew what being shot in the head felt like.

  I grabbed my head and swore vividly. “Son of a bitch!”