Bruins Peak Bears Box Set (Volume II)

by Sarah J. Stone

  Both brothers cooled down fast. Face off against Jana? No way! If anybody deserved to be Alpha of the Dunlap tribe after Boyd, it was Jana. Foicks picked himself off the wall and dusted off his clothes. Ash looked the other way and said nothing.

  Foicks looked around and shrugged. “I guess I’ll head over and see Rhys. I’ll see how his preparations are coming along.”

  Ash shrugged his jacket into place. “I’ve gotta go see Silas. The rest of my people will want to know about your plans.”

  Both brothers started away at the same time. They collided in their haste to get through the kitchen door, and Foicks had to wait for Ash to pull out first so Foicks wouldn’t run into him with his truck.

  Foicks growled under his breath as he gunned the engine down the road. He’d teach that good-for-nothing brother of his what was what if it was the last thing he ever did. So Ash thought he could horn in on Foicks’s trip to Renegade Ridge? Over Foicks’s dead body.

  He planned out exactly what he would tell Rhys. If anybody would understand the importance to get their foot in first on Renegade Ridge, it was Rhys. Foicks turned his truck toward Dodd Homestead. He could only hope and pray Rhys was home.

  He slowed down when he spotted a lone figure by the side of the road. All his anger evaporated, and all his plans flew out of his mind. His heart lurched in his chest when he recognized Haven.

  He rolled down the passenger window and grinned at her through the misty rain. “Are you lost, little girl?”

  Haven cracked a grin. “My mother always told me not to accept rides from strange men. She said they could be too dangerous.”

  He blushed and chuckled under his breath. “You don’t want to find out how dangerous I can be, honey.”

  “Let me guess. You’ve got a torture rack in your basement.”

  He popped the door open and pushed it toward her. “Why don’t you come along and find out?”

  Her smile faded. “I probably shouldn’t.”

  “Aw, come on, Haven,” he chided. “Can’t you see I’m trying to ask your forgiveness? Let a guy make up to you for being an insensitive chump.”

  She hesitated a moment longer.

  “You better get in. It’s starting to pour.”

  She cast a glance at the sky under her hat, but the rain spattered in her eyes. It drummed on the windshield and splashed off her hat. “Oh, all right. Just don’t try any of your moves on me.”

  He held up his hands. “Now, what moves could I possibly try on you?”

  She slid into the seat and slammed the door. She shook her hat off onto the floor and buckled up. He put the truck in gear and motored down the road. “What brings you out in this weather?”

  “I was just on my way home from the Mackenzies’. What are you doing?”

  “Oh, you know, just planning my world conquest. I’m gonna be the next Napoleon, you know.”

  She scanned him up and down. “You’re too short to be Napoleon. Besides, you’ve probably got a…”

  “A what?”

  Haven turned bright pink and looked out the window. “Nothing.”

  He regarded her across the seat. She was NOT about to just say THAT, was she? He couldn’t believe it. His heart raced. She dominated his whole awareness.

  His hands itched to touch her. What would she do? Would she jump out of the truck and run away? He had to try it. He sneaked his hand across the seat. He plucked her hand off her leg and gave it a squeeze. “Hey.”

  She glanced over. A grin struggled to break out on her lips. “Hey.”

  “I liked kissing you at the funeral. I forgot to tell you.”

  She humphed. “Well, I’m glad you liked it ‘cuz you ain’t never gonna kiss me again. You can kiss me in your dreams.”

  “I do.”

  She whipped her head around. “You do?”

  “Sure. All the time.” He snickered. “Do you want to know what I did last night?”

  She rolled her eyes to heaven. “I definitely don’t want to know what you did last night.”

  He pretended not to know what she was talking about. “I kissed my pillow and called it Haven.”

  She stared at him. She opened her mouth, but no sound came out. A sweet bloom flushed her cheeks. He dared to squeeze her hand again. “Do you think about me?”

  She turned away and nodded out the window. “I shouldn’t, but I do.”

  “Why shouldn’t you?”

  “Because you’re inaccessible. You’re too busy planning your world conquest.”

  “I’m planning my conquest of you.”

  She didn’t turn around. The truck rumbled through the rain.

  Foicks stole a sidelong glance at her. What was she thinking about over there? “Hey, baby.”

  “Who are you calling baby?”

  “Kiss me again. Kiss me like you kissed me at the funeral.”

  She kept her face turned. “You should be so lucky.”

  He pulled the truck over to the shoulder and threw it in park. He leaned toward her, and when he picked up her hand, he didn’t put it back. He pressed it between his palms to warm it. He murmured low in her ear. “Kiss me, Haven. Kiss me just once, and I won’t bother you again.”

  She glanced around at his face. “You promise?”

  He nodded. “Kiss me once, and if you tell me to leave you alone, I will.”

  She looked down at his mouth. Her soft dark eyes drifted back up to meet his gaze. Some spark of recognition burned in those deep eyes. He couldn’t think of anything else when she hovered there in front of him, so warm and inviting and delicate.

  Her tulip mouth twitched. She was thinking about it. The delicious memory of their kiss at the funeral hung heavy in that truck right now. Could it be that way again?

  He took a firm hold of himself and leaned forward. He laid his lips on that beautiful little mouth. It tasted more divine than he remembered. He gave her a little quick peck and leaned back to look her in the eye. “Do you want me to leave you alone now?”

  She shrugged. “I guess I can stand to put up with you a little longer.”

  He gave her another peck. “At least hang around long enough for me to give you a ride home.”

  “Okay.”

  His pulse pounded in his head. This couldn’t be happening. He leaned forward again, and this time, her lips caught hold of him. They nibbled him closer and wouldn’t let him run away after the first brief touch. He stared into her eyes, but he couldn’t understand what he read there. Her heart and soul remained out of reach, somewhere behind a wall of impenetrable stone.

  He pressed forward. He kissed her harder, and he laid her hand on his neck. He slid his fingertips down her bare arm to where her sleeve covered her up. That magical, daffodil skin wove a spell over his brain. He could think of nothing but kissing and touching her forever.

  He collapsed into her kiss. It went on and on without end. Her lips matched his movements. She opened her mouth to let his tongue slither inside. He swished his tongue from side to side in desperate hunger to taste her and experience everything about her before she slipped through his fingers.

  Her eyes pierced his soul, but he couldn’t discern whether she felt the same way about him. Did she care at all that she was robbing him of his heart and his life, right there in the cab of his truck?

  He drew back. “Haven”

  She clamped her hand down on his neck, and she jerked him toward her. “Don’t talk. Don’t say anything. Just kiss me.”

  Chapter 8

  Haven threw herself at Foicks in raging passion. She remained aloof as long as she could, but that kiss destroyed her last defense. She had to kiss him. She had to touch him. She had to feel those enticing sparks running down her arm where his fingertips touched her.

  She grabbed him behind the neck and crushed him mouth against hers. She could never let him loose or he would disappear. She had him right here, right now. Nothing could keep them apart.

  She flung her other arm around his shoulders and wrestl
ed him toward her. He scooted across the bench seat and hooked his elbow around her waist. All their reserve vanished in a tide of torrential desire.

  He hugged her so hard he lifted her off the seat. Her chest seethed under his chin. He tore at her mouth with his ravenous lips. Their tongues tickled and flickered between their lips.

  Never had Haven experienced anything like this. Holy macaroni! Was this how it was supposed to be? Is this what all the fairy tales were talking about? She fought for every inch of him she could get. She squeezed his shoulders under his shirt and clawed down his chest to his waist.

  He picked her up off the seat and sat her on his lap. Her legs wrapped around him. She didn’t know what she was doing. Her body worked to its on rhythm. How far could this really go? Was she really going to do it with him in his truck, in the rain by the side of the road? Doing it with him meant mating with him. Already the sharp swelling in his pants answered the saturated mess in her panties.

  He broke away from her mouth to nuzzle into her neck. He buried his eyes against her skin and inhaled a deep breath of her scent. “Haven.”

  She bit his ear. “Are you talking to your pillow again?”

  He burst out laughing, but he didn’t come out from his hiding place. He hugged her close and rocked her against his lap. “Come home with me.”

  She kissed his temple. “You know that’s not possible.”

  His head shot up. “No?”

  She gave him another long, magical kiss. “Just take me home.”

  He clasped her close. “I don’t want to let you go.”

  She closed her eyes and rubbed her crotch into her pelvis. That incredible pleasure gushing through her blotted out everything else. She never wanted to let him go, either, but she had to. She understood that.

  She rest her cheek against his hair and swayed in his arms. Nothing ever felt so right, but something lurked in the background where she couldn’t see it. Did he sense it, too? She couldn’t go home with him with that shadow haunting her.

  She slid off his lap, but she couldn’t let go of his lips until the last second. She searched his eyes, but he couldn’t give her the answer she sought.

  He broke the seal between their mouths. “Did you like that?”

  “You know I did.”

  He let her go. “Not enough, though?”

  She sat down next to him on the bench seat. “Just drive.”

  He adjusted the package in his pants so he could sit straight. He put the truck in gear and steered into the downpour. The windshield wipers slapped back and forth as fast as they could, but they couldn’t keep up with the torrential sheets drumming on the roof.

  Haven stared out the window. Why did she hold back from him when she knew she wanted him? Why didn’t she show him how much she wanted him?

  God, she wanted him! She couldn’t keep her hands off him. If only she could get hold of him, of his naked skin, she would tear him to pieces with her teeth. She would leave him a sobbing wreck with her devouring passions.

  She settled into his side, and he laid his arm around her shoulders. He hugged her against him and drove with his other hand. She tucked herself against his giant frame. She was safe here for now. What would happen when she tried to leave him? Would she break down like Virginia without her mate?

  Foicks wasn’t her mate, though. Was he? How could he be? How could she get so attracted to someone so fast? How could she care for someone she disagreed with so much?

  She sighed under her breath, and he glanced over. “Are you sorry about what we just did?”

  “No, I’m not sorry. I only wish…”

  “What do you wish?”

  “I wish we could do more of it.”

  “We can if you come home with me.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t, not yet.”

  “What’s stopping you?”

  “I don’t know. Something’s not quite right. I mean, it’s right and all. It could never be more right. Just something keeps stopping me. I don’t know what it is.”

  He hugged her again. “Never mind. We’ll work it out. When I get back from visiting the NightShade, we can spend all the time in the world together.”

  Haven stiffened. “When you what?”

  “When I get back from visiting the NightShade. Walker suggested I go see them, to find out what they’ve got and whether they’ll fight with us. Then that shmuck Ash decides he wants to go to, but I’ll never let him. We can’t have two people talking to them at the same time, telling them two different things. That would never work. I’ll go first and see what’s what. When I get back…”

  She exploded out of his arms. She pounded his chest and shoulders and face with her fists and screeched to high heaven. “You bastard! You prick! Pull over! Pull over right now! I swear to God I’ll thump you into the pavement. You lying piece of filth! I never want to see you again. Get off me! Don’t you dare touch me. Pull this truck over before I gouge your stinkin’ eyes out! You punk! You murderer! I never want to have anything to do with you again. I hope you die. I hope you get your head shot off. I hope your brother poisons you in your sleep. I hope you suffer worse than the lowest scum in hell!”

  He protected himself as well as he could without crashing the truck into a tree. He flinched and held up one arm to fend off her blows. “What in God’s name is the matter with you? Hey! Cut it out! What did I do?”

  “Pull this truck over before I kill you myself! You liar! Give me that!” She made a grab for the steering wheel. She almost wrenched the truck into a ditch, but Foicks fought her off in time to guide the vehicle to the shoulder.

  Once he got the truck into Park, he used both hands to battle her punches away. “Knock it off! What’s wrong with you? What are you carrying on for?”

  She struggled out of his hands and jumped across the bench seat to the passenger door. She yanked the handle and shoved the door open. “You rat! Don’t you ever touch me again! You rotten son of a whore! Get away from me! I never want to see you again.”

  He dove across her and grabbed the door. “Hold it right there, Haven. It’s pouring rain out there. At least let me take you home.”

  She kicked the door so hard the handle tore out of his hand. It whipped back and slammed closed on her. She had to work the handle to get the door open again. “Do you think I give a hoot about a little bit of rain? Go play with yourself. Go kiss your pillow and call it flippin’ NightShade for all I care. You’ll never lay a finger on me again.”

  He made another grab for the handle, but she moved faster. She pushed the door open and would have rushed out into the rain if he hadn’t caught hold of her arm. He brought his face right up in front of her eyes and hissed low. “You’re not going anywhere, Haven, until you tell me what I did to make you so mad. You can’t kiss me like that and then turn around and tell me to go get my head shot off. What is wrong? What did I say?”

  “Do you think I give a crap if you live or die? You might as well be dead after what you said. Go on. I don’t care. I’m not gonna hang around waiting for you, so don’t jerk my heart around with your parlor tricks and games.”

  “What makes you think I’ll die? All I said was…” He stopped and stared at her.

  She gave her arm a yank, but he caught her even tighter and held her back. She tried one more time. His fingers dug in so tight they sent a blast of pain shooting through her. She tried to rage at him again, but her voice broke. “I cared about you. I’m a stupid little kid for thinking you could care about me. I ought to be smacked for looking sideways at you.”

  He opened his mouth and closed it again. “You cared about me? Are you mad because I said I was going to see the NightShade?”

  She waved her free hand. “Go. What do I care if you never come back?” As soon as she got the words out, she clamped her mouth shut to stop her lips trembling. She turned away from him and stared out through the window so he couldn’t see her face.

  His hand fell onto the seat, but she didn’t notice he wasn
’t holding her anymore. “You’re worried I won’t come back?”

  She couldn’t summon the rage to rant and curse him anymore. She croaked through the lump in her throat. “You think anybody who tried to stop you must want peace. I don’t care about peace. I just… Well, how are we supposed to find out if we’re mated if you keep running off all over the place?”

  He stared at the back of her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

  “Every time I see you, you’re talking about leaving. I can’t stand not knowing if you’re coming or going. I don’t care about war or peace. I just want you here. What if we’re mated and you go off and get killed somewhere? What’s going to happen to me? I’ll be left alone, and I’ll die, too, just like Virginia Dodd. I can’t stand the thought of losing you.”

  His hand tiptoed across the seat to close around hers. “Are we mated, Haven?”

  She didn’t pull away, but she still wouldn’t look at him. “Don’t talk to me. I don’t want to be mated with you. Mating with you would be my worst nightmare.”

  He slid across the seat to sit next to her. He breathed into her ear. “Don’t say that. Mating with you would be a dream come true for me.”

  She whirled around to face him. “You liar! Don’t you dare lie to me about that!”

  “Why do you keep calling me a liar? I just said mating with you would be a dream come true for me. I’m not lying. It’s the truth.”

  “Then why do you keep running away from me?” she wailed. “You keep coming up with every reason in the world to leave me alone. Don’t you dare talk about mating with me, and then turn around and say you’re leaving.”

  His eyes widened. “You want me to stay…with you?”

  “Of course I do! What do you think I’ve been saying all this time?”

  He stared at her in shock. Their entwined fingers lay on the seat between them. “I never knew you felt that way.”

  “What do you think that kiss was all about? Do you think I go kissing guys like that every day?”

  He leaned back in his seat, but he couldn’t stop staring at her. “This is nuts.”