Safe with Her Bears

by Madeline Hill

  Max glared. Jules got the feeling Max didn’t appreciate Carter telling her that.

  Jules bit her bottom lip. She had to ask, though she still didn’t know how she’d answer the inevitable follow-up question. “How did you know my name isn’t Tanya?”

  Max stiffened, ears perking.

  Carter shrugged. “Shifters have heightened intuition, and we can read body language better than anyone. I could tell there was something off about you. I could tell you were lying.”

  Jules swallowed hard, her pulse quickening.

  “Look, we all have our issues, it’s okay,” Carter said, assessing her nervousness. “I don’t mean to pry.”

  She sucked in a breath. “No, no, it’s fine. Like I said, I don’t trust people easily.”

  Carter’s cheeks dimpled as he cast her a hopeful smile. “I hope you can learn to trust us. We’re just a couple Yellowstone bears. We don’t mean you any harm. If you stay with us, we can offer you protection, for at least tonight. It would be a hell of a lot safer than trying to brave it out here on your own.”

  Max rubbed the back of his neck. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and seemed a little bothered, though it was impossible to parse exactly what was going through his mind, his face stern and unreadable.

  “There are more dangers lurking in these woods than you’d think,” Carter warned.

  Jules nodded. She wasn’t sure what he meant, but she figured he knew what he was talking about, being a shifter and all. He didn’t need to convince her any further. The thought of spending the night alone, running on her blistered feet and shivering on the cold ground, sounded both nightmarish and exhausting. Plus, these shifters were powerful supernatural creatures who seemed to have an interest in guarding her. Perhaps it was the best thing that could’ve happened to her.

  “Okay,” she said. “I’ll stay. Just for tonight.”

  Carter’s face lit up as he grinned. Even’s Max’s lips tugged into a smile, but his features still looked overcast.

  “Our cabin is a long way from here,” Carter said. “We might as well cozy up here instead.”

  Max couldn’t help but stare at Jules’s figure as she walked in front of him towards the cabin. Her hips swayed and her scent wafted into his nostrils, driving him wild. He knew she noticed his attraction to her. Her cheeks were flushed, her breath hitched. He realized with pride that he had the same effect on her that she had on him.

  It wasn’t appropriate, he knew. But the intensity of his bear’s desire was so strong that he couldn’t hide it. He just hoped he’d have the self-control not to act on it.

  His anger at Carter had cooled. He understood why Carter did what he did. Hell, Max probably would’ve done the same if he’d gotten to her first. This curvaceous beauty was the type of woman who made men and beasts alike do foolish things. He couldn’t blame Carter for trying to mate with her. He wanted nothing more in the world than to mate with her himself; to tear her clothes off and claim her as his own, pound into her until he gave her a screaming, shuddering climax that rustled the pine needles off the branches of the trees.

  But he couldn’t. Neither could Carter, dammit.

  Fated mate, my ass. She’s just a hot, curvy girl and we’re bears with powerful urges… nothing more.

  They were doing an investigation. An unsanctioned, somewhat ridiculous, and possibly fruitless investigation, but it was an investigation all the same. Max resolved to ignore the unruly bear inside him and try to focus on simply gleaning information from the fugitive. Eventually, one way or another, they’d have to put an end to their ruse and finish the job. He winced, trying to will away his guilt.

  “Let’s make a fire,” he said as they stepped into the cabin.

  “Um, I don’t think we really need to,” Jules objected.

  “Why not?” Max asked, challenging. “It’s cold out here. I can see the goosebumps on your skin.”

  “Jules prefers the warmth of body heat,” Carter joked, winking at her.

  Her cheeks flushed.

  Max smirked. “Well, if you’d rather snuggle up with two half-naked bear shifters, I guess we could make that possible.”

  He regretted the words immediately. Stop flirting, Max…

  Jules cleared her throat. She looked torn. “Uh, look, I just—”

  She furrowed her brows and thought for a moment. “I have a stupid phobia. I hate fire. When I was little, my house burned down, and I almost died. Since then I’ve been terrified of fire.”

  “Oh, that’s awful! I’m so sorry,” Carter said, sounding concerned, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

  Max suppressed a groan. Carter didn’t seriously believe her, did he? She was lying, of course. She just didn’t want the light of the fire or the smoke to draw any attention from the cops.

  “That’s terrible,” Max said. “But you won’t survive for long out here without building a fire.”

  “W-well…” Jules looked down and bit her bottom lip. “I didn’t expect to get lost out here. I never thought I would need to build a fire.”

  “Don’t worry,” Carter said, a glimmer of mischief in his blue eyes. “Tomorrow we’ll help you find your way back home.”

  Jules nodded and smiled, but her upturned eyebrows and watery eyes conveyed worry.

  Carter turned and grabbed the worn blanket off the mattress, wrapping it around Jules’s shoulders.

  “How’s that?” he asked.

  She looked into his eyes with a grateful smile. “Thanks. I’m sorry, you guys must be freezing to death.”

  Max clenched his jaw. He wasn’t falling for her act. She was only pretending to be sweet and concerned, but he knew all she really cared about was making a clean escape.

  “Don’t worry about us,” Carter assured her. “Grizzly blood runs hot day and night.”

  They ended up sitting on the floor of the cabin, forming a loose circle. Even without a fire, the room was illuminated by the milky rays of the moon. A frosty white glow radiated from Jules’s porcelain skin, her jade eyes glimmering. Max had to continually assert his willpower to keep from getting lost in those magnetic eyes.

  “So.” Jules glanced back and forth between the two men. “I don’t even know where to begin. I have so many questions.”

  So do we, Max thought, smirking.

  Carter stretched his arms and wrapped them around his knees. “I’ll give you a basic run-down. Max and I were born and raised here in Yellowstone. We belong to the most ancient, and arguably most powerful, clan in North America... with the exception of the Blackwater clan up in Alaska and the Yukon.”

  “Do you live out here in the wilderness?”

  He shook his head. “Nope, we live like humans most of the time. We both lived in California for six years. Didn’t move back up here until last November.”

  “Do you work?”

  Max nodded quickly. “Back in LA, we were... mall security guards.”

  Carter chuckled.

  “Security guards?” Jules smiled. “I’m sure no one dared steal anything with you guys around.”

  Carter glanced at Max and they shared a secretive smile. They’d actually been cops and had spent years patrolling inner-city streets. They were great at their jobs and Max missed the gritty excitement of it, but Carter missed his family and had convinced him to move back home.

  “What do you do for a living, Jules?” Max asked.

  She cleared her throat. “Oh, well, nothing right now. I’m... in between jobs.”

  “So are we,” Carter lied. “We have a cabin outside of West Yellowstone. We’re just taking some time to enjoy nature and reconnect with our clan.”

  “And what brought you out here, Jules?” Max asked.

  “Well, I’ve always loved this area. I love to hike and camp. I’ve always had a special connection to these woods, these mountains. I can’t explain it.”

  Max could sense she was telling the truth about that, at least.

  “When I was little, my fath
er would take me here in the summertime. We’d camp out, hike the trails, go watch the geysers. We really bonded… now every time I come here, it reminds me of him.”

  Jules lowered her eyes, sadly reminiscing. A troubled look shadowed her expression.

  Max felt a prick of sympathy in his heart. He could sense the loss in her words. Her father was gone. A warmth spread through him, and he felt a newfound connection with her, as he was well acquainted with loss himself. Without really thinking, he placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. She turned to him, her eyes widening, lips parting. The flames of passion ignited deep in his soul, and his bear roared with need. Her eyes smoldered as she gazed at him, with a slightly bewildered expression, like he was a puzzle she was trying to piece together.

  Suddenly Carter grunted. “So, uh…”

  Max snapped out of his trance and cleared his throat, pulling his hand away. Jules’s cheeks were flushed.

  “It seems we’ve all got a love for Yellowstone in common,” Carter said. He fixed his eyes on Jules as if trying to draw her attention away from Max. “I know every square mile of this park like the back of my hand. Our clan has a deep, spiritual connection to this land. I really think it’s…”

  Carter continued, but after a few moments, the words faded to an incomprehensible garble in Max’s ears as he was distracted by Jules’s round breasts that rose with every breath. He grazed her body with his eyes, his animal hunger growing, his cock stiffening and throbbing against his leg. He felt the heat of her body and inhaled the intoxicating scent of her womanhood. She was aroused; that honey-sweet odor was still wafting through his flared nostrils. Without meaning to, he let a low, sultry growl escape his throat.

  Jules turned to him, eyes wide and cheeks aflame.

  Fuck.

  Max was beginning to realize just how impossible it would be for two grizzly shifters to share such close quarters with a sexy woman who seemed to be giving off a “fuck me” scent in spades. There was no way they could spend an innocent, platonic night with her in this cabin. It would drive Max wild. He’d have to leave and separate himself before he inevitably gave in to his carnal urges and mounted her like a brutish animal.

  What were they even doing there? What did they hope to accomplish? Max should’ve known better than to follow Carter’s lead. Max loved his best friend, but he was a damned buffoon sometimes, thinking with his heart and his cock rather than his head.

  Max’s mental admonishment was suddenly interrupted by a shocking sensation. Jules had placed her hand on his thigh and was slowly inching upwards. She was gazing into his eyes, as if in a trance, her face flushed. The air sizzled between them.

  “W-what are you...” Max stammered.

  Carter’s voice trailed off as he watched the sight, bewildered. Jules leaned in close and paused there, inviting him to close the distance between them. Max inhaled deeply, shuddering as a current of arousal whipped through him like electricity. He stared at her plump pink lips. His bear roared ferociously inside him, shattering his tenuous grip on his self-control. He’d been hanging on to the ledge by his fingertips, and now he felt himself careening down, swallowed by the dark influence of his carnal nature. In an instant his lips were against hers.

  8

  Jules melted in the heat of Max’s kiss.

  She didn’t know what had gotten into her. First she’d made out with Carter, and now she was kissing Max. He was a complete stranger! She had no business kissing either of them, especially in these circumstances. But her arousal had been growing at an alarming rate, to the point where her body screamed and she could no longer ignore it. Something in Max’s charcoal eyes completely hypnotized her, invited her, drew her in like a magnet, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to rest until she’d given in to him.

  Her body seemed to move of its own accord, despite the protests of her logical mind.

  There was no denying it. These two shifters drove her absolutely wild. They were powerful, hulking beasts that oozed lust from every pore. Being alone in this dark cabin with two half-naked shifters on both sides of her, she now found herself throwing caution to the wind.

  Max’s startling silver eyes glimmered in the moonlight as he pulled away, his brows raised in shock. Clearly he wasn’t expecting this to happen, but the fire burning in his gaze told her he welcomed it.

  Carter growled with envy. She turned to him and licked her lips, extending an invitation with her eyes to him as well. She wanted— needed—both of them, desperately. In this moment, nothing else mattered. The fucked-up details of her life fell away, one by one, drifting out of her awareness like autumn leaves: the police chase, the drugs, Nick and his thugs. None of it mattered, at least not in this moment.

  All that mattered was these two men sitting beside her, their breath rough and ragged in the cool night air, the sweet, woodsy scent of pine along with the smell of their animal sex mingling in her nostrils and putting her under a spell.

  Carter grunted as he took her cheek in his hand and pulled her against his mouth. She moaned, parting her lips. He darted his tongue inside, exploring her greedily. Fire sizzled between her legs as Max slid his palm up her thigh, inching upward. Without conscious direction, a wandering hand found itself in Max’s lap, fondling the stiff erection that jutted beneath his pants. He groaned as Jules’s fingers fumbled with his zipper.

  She pulled her mouth away from Carter and latched onto Max’s lips as her hand found his cock and pulled it out to freedom. A gleaming droplet welled at the tip, broke off and slid down his length.

  Jules tightened her grip on Max’s cock, stroking him slowly up and down. Carter growled next to her, close to her ear. It wasn’t a growl of anger but one of lust. She turned to him and smiled dreamily, drinking in the striking, cool blue of his gorgeous eyes. He leaned forward and pressed his impossibly soft lips against hers, and she closed her eyes and moaned.

  A hand fell on her upper thigh, thumb delicately stroking her skin. Another hand pressed against the softness of her belly, inching up towards her breasts. With her eyes closed, she wasn’t sure who the hands belonged to.

  Carter broke the kiss and brought his lips to her neck, licking and nibbling the soft flesh. She turned to Max again, his cock still in her hand. In an instant his mouth was on hers, taking a taste of her lips for himself. His tongue darted into her mouth, exploring, and then both hands were on her, squeezing the round swell of her breast and rubbing right at the apex of her arousal, between her legs.

  As she kissed Max, she reached over with her free hand and searched for Carter’s cock. He had already taken the liberty to free it, and she quickly found the huge, throbbing shaft. She wrapped her fingers around it and squeezed, stroking both of them at the same time, in the same rhythm.

  Carter put his hand on her cheek and tore her away from Max, taking his place on her mouth. He plunged his tongue inside, growling deep in his throat. The vibrations of his sultry voice echoed down her body, making her shiver. Max went to work pulling down the straps of her tank top, running his hand along the white flesh of her large breasts before pushing the fabric down completely, then tugging down her bra to expose her fully. She gasped as her nipples hardened in the crisp air. Max licked his lips and lowered his head, taking her nipple in his hot mouth, sucking on it, rolling it over his tongue.

  Jules pumped them both. She felt the heat emanating from their beastly bodies. Her own temperature was rising, and her face felt hot and flushed. She bucked her hips forward at Max’s touch, moaning into Carter’s mouth. Max unbuttoned and unzipped her shorts and slid his hand under the band of her panties, finding her wetness. She shivered at the touch of his fingers on her swollen clit. The pressure was building relentlessly, and she felt like she might finish already. She’d never been this turned on in her entire life.

  Carter kissed down her neck over her chest and found her free nipple. Both of them were sucking her now, and she thought she might pass out from the sensation. Max moved his hand down, sliding two finge
rs in between her folds. She cried out as he penetrated her, pushing his digits deep inside.

  “Oh, Max...” she moaned. “Yes, yes... more of that...”

  Her hips bucked, communicating her want. Carter took both hands and pushed her shorts and her soaked panties down her thighs and over her knees. She helped him kick them off completely. Then he spread her legs apart and kneeled down. He pulled Max’s fingers out of her before pressing his face right up against her.

  She cried out when she felt his hot tongue against her thrumming clit, licking and sucking. He tasted her, growling in hunger. Max brought his fingers to her mouth. She parted her lips and he slid them inside as she stared, mesmerized, into his eyes.

  “Let me suck you,” Jules breathed, her head swimming. She felt almost drunk, too intoxicated to form coherent sentences.

  Max nodded, rising on his knees to her side, bringing his thickness right to the level of her mouth. She licked her lips and opened her mouth wide, eager to take him in. He pressed his hand against the back of her head, gently guiding himself into her mouth. She closed her lips around him. He was big—thicker than any man she’d been with—and she knew she’d have to prop her jaw wide open to take him all the way. But she was ready for the challenge.

  As Carter shoved his tongue deep inside her, eating her with ravenous hunger, she sucked Max hard, swirling her tongue around his shaft. Max cocked his head back, growling, and bucked his hips forward, pushing himself deep inside.

  “I’m sorry,” he panted. “I got carried away.”

  He withdrew all the way out. Jules coughed and sputtered but shook her head. “No, it’s okay...”

  “Please, let me know if I’m hurting you,” Max said softly before pushing his cock back into her mouth. She inhaled deeply through her nose, preparing herself. She opened wide and sucked him hungrily, relishing the musky scent and taste of him.

  Carter continued licking and sucking her, giving her what she thought must certainly be the best cunnilingus anyone had ever received. She moaned against Max’s cock, the sensations growing in intensity, her arousal mounting with each passing second. She bucked her hips into Carter’s face, pressing her hands on the back of his head, pushing him in. She wrapped her legs around his neck and shoulders. He was hitting that spot with his tongue, that incredible spot that made her scream and gush, and she wanted to push him deeper and deeper.