BEAR LOVE:
Pine Ridge Shifters #3
by Belinda Meyers
Copyright 2016
All rights reserved
Cover image used with permission
Chapter 1
When Jessica Quinn bumped into the stranger, a bear-like growl escaped his lips. Instantly she recoiled, feeling her eyes go wide.
“Excuse me,” he said.
He certainly was bear-like, she thought, tall and broad, his rugged face covered in whiskers. Could he be ... one of them?
He was waiting for a response, she realized, her mind lagging.
“Um ... uh ...” She mentally kicked herself. Was she staring? “Excuse me,” she made herself say, then winced. Brilliant, she thought.
He smiled, large even white teeth showing through the stubble. He really was quite handsome, in a roguish sort of way, with piercing blue eyes, wavy black hair, a strong jaw and very bitable full lips. He wore a tight gray T-shirt that hugged his eight-pack and pecs, which could have been carved from marble. Instantly she told herself not to think about it. About him. It was too soon. Much too soon.
“Can I get you a drink?” he asked. Despite herself, she liked the deep, rough, growly sound of his voice.
Suddenly she realized how close she was to him, just inches away from his deep chest, staring up into his mysterious blue eyes. She could smell him, or at least his aftershave, all musky and primal. It was almost like he was surrounding her, like she was in his embrace somehow.
Maybe it was the beer she’d just drunk (her first in months!), but she almost took him up on his offer.
“No thanks,” she made herself say. “My friend’s waiting for me.”
She nodded toward a table along the wall, where Suzanne was watching the interaction between Jess and the stranger with what could only be described as a lascivious smile. When she saw Jess looking, Suzy raised her bottle in a toast, or maybe encouragement. Did she want Jess to hook up with the guy?
The man glanced over at Suzy, and Jess thought she saw relief in his face. He had thought her “friend” might be a dude, she realized. Shit, now he thinks I’m available. Run, Jess, run!
“That’s too bad,” he said. “Maybe later.”
“Probably not. I’ve got to …”
She started to walk off without finishing. Her mind was such a confused jumble she didn’t know if she could have finished anyway.
He laid a hand on her upper arm near the shoulder, and she jumped. He hadn’t stopped her, though, or turned her roughly around. If he’d done that, she might have slapped him. He was just letting her feel him. Just the touch of his strong hand on her bare shoulder (WHY did I wear the strapless?) sent shivers through every part of her. Instantly she felt heat radiate from her core.
“If you change your mind, I’m over there,” he said, indicating the bar.
She’d turned half around to see him, and their eyes locked. She nearly fell into his deep blue orbs. Maybe seeing it, he grinned wider, kind of smugly.
“I’m Mike, by the way,” he said. “Mike Buchanan.”
She pulled away from his touch, but that confident spark in his eyes didn’t vanish. She found it both annoying and charming. She wanted to slap him and kiss him, maybe at the same time. He would like it rough, she thought. He made her want it rough.
“I was just going,” she said, as coldly as she could make herself, and strode away. Music and conversation surrounded her, along with the smells of buffalo wings, French fries and beer. It was a busy place Suzy had picked out, and Jess wondered how often her friend came here.
Jess couldn’t believe she had just run into the guy—Mike—like that. He must think she was an idiot. The truth was she hadn’t been in a bar in a long time, and she’d never been in a bar like this, way up in the mountains with the wind howling through the pines outside and country music filling the warm air inside. It had all disoriented her.
Jess stopped halfway to Suzy’s table, feeling strange somehow, and turned to see Mike still watching her. He smiled, tipped his head in cowboy fashion, then strode powerfully toward the bar. When his eyes left hers, Jess felt weirdly cold. It was as if she’d been standing in the sun, but the sun had shifted and now she was in the shade.
“What was that all about?” Suzy said when Jess sat down at the table, feeling more out of sorts than ever. “He’s as cute as they come! And did you see the way he was looking at you? I’d gobble him up in two seconds. And then I’d gobble him again, but I’d take my time.”
“He just wanted an easy lay, that’s all,” Jess said. “He sensed I was vulnerable and moved in for the kill. That’s all it was.”
Suzanne Mayhew barked a laugh. “You’re as vulnerable as a tank, honey. But even a tank’s got its weaknesses. Like a Howitzer missile. That man is your Howitzer.”
“Bullshit,” Jess said. Usually she didn’t talk like that, but Suzy brought it out in her.
Suzy only smiled and ordered a beer off a passing waiter, batting her eyes at him as she did; he did have a nice ass, Jess had to admit. Feeling like she needed more booze, she drained her current bottle and ordered another.
“The last thing I want is another man,” Jess said, once the new round had come. “Heck, I just got rid of the last one.”
“Here’s to freedom,” Suzy said, and lifted her bottle.
“Freedom!”
They clinked bottles and drank. Jess downed half her bottle in one long swallow.
“Thank goodness,” she said. “It’s over—the divorce, I mean. I never thought it would end.”
“A shame Andrew got the house.”
“I don’t care. At the end, I didn’t care about any of it. But it’ll be a long time before I’ll let myself be with a man again.”
“I get it,” Suzy said. “You need to find your feet again, right?”
“That’s right. Get my mojo back. Be independent. I’m so glad you asked me out here for the week. It’s good to get out of the city.” It had seemed like the perfect opportunity for a little adventure and girl-time. Now Jess wondered if that had been wise. Maybe she wasn’t ready. Especially if “adventure” meant “men”.
“But no more of that,” she added, eyes flicking back to Mike, and pulled another long sip. The bottle felt cold and wet beneath her fingers, the beer rich on her tongue.
Suzy smiled. “I think that’s a nice idea in principle, babes, but I wouldn’t let that hold you back from having a little fun.” She laughed. “Or a lot of fun, if that guy’s packing what I think he is.”
Jess felt her cheeks burn.
She glanced over to the bar, where Mike was talking with another rough-looking man while they both drank, then back to Suzy. “I think,” Jess said quietly. “I think he might be one of them.”
Suzy looked at her blankly for a moment. “Oh! You mean shifters?”
Several people at nearby tables glanced over. Jess made patting motions with her hands and said, “Shhh.”
“Please.” Suzy said. “Everyone knows this town has one of the highest shifter populations in the country. Proportionately, anyway. And most of those are bear shifters.”
“You think he’s a bear shifter?”
“Maybe. He looks the part, doesn’t he?”
The media was still buzzing about the “coming out” of the shifters, and that had happened two years ago. After her initial shock, Jess had accepted it and moved on with her boring life as a suit at a real estate company during the day and an unhappy wife during the evenings and weekends. She had never paid much attention to the endless stories about shifter events and politics. None of it could help her sell a house or fix her broken relationship with Andrew.
“You’re not a shifter hater, are you?” Suzy said.
“What? No!
” Jess gulped down a deep breath. “The truth is, I kind of think …”
Suzy leaned forward. “Yes?”
“Well …” Jess bit her lip.
“Yeeees?”
Jess drained the bottle. “I kind of think it’s sexy.”
“I’m here to tell you, babes, it is.”
“You’ve … been with one of them?”
“Been with is too plain a phrase. I had my world rocked. And that’s the truth. We didn’t leave the bed for a whole weekend, and I could barely walk when I did.”
“Why didn’t you stay with him?”
“We had a fling, and that was that. It was great, but …” Suzy rolled her shoulders. “Anyway, it was a-fucking-mazing. If that fella of yours is one, well, you’re in for a treat. I’m not saying all bear shifters are alike in bed, but if they can all do that growly thing …” She shivered in obvious delight, downed her beer, and they both ordered another from the waiter with the tight ass.
“Can I buy the next round?”
Jess and Suzy turned to see a handsome man with sculpted blond hair and full, pouty lips dressed in a tailored suit.
“Good evening, ladies,” he said.
“Evening,” Suzy said.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I’m Bryce Manner. You two look lovely tonight.”
“Hon, we look lovely every evening.”
Something flashed in his eyes. Anger at being corrected? “Of course,” he said. “I have no doubt.”
“My friend is just teasing,” Jess said. “But I think we’re good—for drinks, I mean.”
“I was thinking a bottle of something vintage,” he said. “Something precious for something precious. I’ve been told they have a nice selection of aged wines here.”
“Something old for something young?” Suzy said, and laughed. “Thanks, Bryce, dear, but Jess is right. Besides, one of us needs to drive home, and we still haven’t decided who.”
His green eyes narrowed, just a fraction, as they swiveled to Jess. “You seemed to have plenty of time for that animal.” Without looking, he nodded toward the bar, and Jess saw that Mike was still there beside his friend. “I saw how you two got on.”
“So he is a shifter?” Jess said, intrigued despite herself.
Bryce sneered. “He’s an abomination.”
“That’s a little harsh,” said Suzy.
Bryce ignored her. Still talking to Jess, he said, “I thought I could save you from the shame of consorting with a brute like that, but I can see my efforts are wasted.”
“Guess so,” Jess said. “Oh, and you know where you can stick your wine bottle.”
“Bitch.”
“Hey!” said Suzy. “Back off, pal.”
“Oh, I’ll back off, all right. You two stupid cows aren’t worthy of my time, anyway.”
Suzy stood up angrily and made to slap his face. He was too fast, though, and caught her wrist.
“Do not touch me, slut,” he said, squeezing.
Jess shot to her feet. “Let go of her.”
“I thought you didn’t have time for me,” Bryce said. “Glad to know I have your attention now.”
A growling voice came from behind him: “Let go of her, asshole.”
Bryce spun. He was tall, but Mike was taller, and broader, too. Jess felt something warm inside her when he cracked a fist into a meaty palm.
“I don’t think the ladies want your company,” Mike said.
“I didn’t ask your opinion,” Bryce said.
He had let go of Suzy, who took Jess’s hand and pulled her away, or tried to. Jess didn’t budge. She wouldn’t abandon Mike. If Bryce tried anything, she would jump on his back and slow him down so he couldn’t hurt Mike, at least not much.
Not that Mike looked like he needed her help. From the glower he was sending Bryce, he appeared ready to rip the blond guy apart with his bare hands.
“You ready to take this up a notch?” Bryce said, casually unbuttoning the top button of his expensive shirt.
Mike snorted. “Your funeral.”
A crowd had gathered around them, but a burly figure barreled through from the bar, shouting, “Break it up, people! Break it up!” Reaching the site of the confrontation, he said, “Mike, at it again? Really? And who are you, fancy fella? Never mind. Both of you, take it outside if you’re gonna take it, but I hope you have enough sense not to.” He glared at both of them, rolling up his sleeves to reveal burly arms covered in coarse black hair. He had thick black eyebrows and lively hazel eyes. Jess thought he might be the barkeep or even the owner. “Do I need to ask the hard way?” he added.
Bryce sneered, something he was good at with his pouty lips. It made Jess want to punch him.
“I’ve had enough of your establishment,” Bryce told the barkeep, if that’s what he was, and flicked imaginary dust off his arms. “It’s as rough and dull as you are.”
He moved toward the door. Several other men, all wearing haughty expressions and expensive clothes, fell in with him, and soon the lot of them were gone. Jess breathed a sigh of relief.
“Pricks,” Mike said.
“I mean it, my friend,” the barkeep told him. “No more fighting in here. Got it? Especially not you. I don’t need my place trashed again. That jerk might think this place is rough now, but it was a lot rougher after the last time you cut loose.”
Mike spread his arms. “Who, me? Abe, I’m a lamb. Well, okay, not a lamb, exactly. But I’m—”
“Yeah yeah.” Abe sighed. “At least you helped fix the place back up afterward, I’ll give you that. Anyway, I gotta get back to the bar. Those drinks won’t serve themselves. Just hold it in, alright?” By it Jess wondered if he might mean Mike’s bear. Without another word, Abe crossed back to the bar, and the crowd that had formed to watch the fight gradually broke up and went back to their drinks and conversation.
Mike’s attention turned from Jess to Suzy.
“He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Mike held out one of his large hands, and Suzy, with an expression of wonder on her face, put her own hand in it.
Jess felt a momentary flash of jealousy but told herself she was being silly. Mike was just being kind, that was all.
He examined the wrist, grunted again, and released Suzy. “I don’t think it’ll bruise,” he said. “If it does, it’ll be small.”
“Thank you,” said Suzy.
“Who was he?” Jess asked. “Bryce?”
“Oh, just some rich asshole come in to ski," Mike said. "Those guys with him are his buddies. Probably they all met at some frat house back in college. You get a lot of jerks like that in the on season. I should know. I’m a ski instructor.”
Jess tried to restrain a laugh, but couldn’t quite do it. “A ski instructor? You?”
He looked mildly offended. “What’s so funny about that?”
A werebear ski instructor! It was too funny. And damn sexy, too.
“Nothing,” she lied. “Only … I don’t know how to ski.”
He eyed her up and down, and she liked the expression in his blue eyes. She felt a tingle thrill all the way through her.
“Come up to the slopes, then. You can find me in the Pine Ridge Ski Resort. There’s only one.” He paused. “I could give you some pointers tonight.”
“Tonight?”
“Why not? I could take you out to the slopes under the moon. Nothing like a snowy mountain under the moonlight. And it’s nice and bright. We’d have plenty of light.”
Yeah, but for what? She wanted to say yes—ached to say it, really—but she made herself shake her head. “No thank you.”
Suzy had been watching all this with great interest, and now she chipped in to say, “She’s got to drive me home, Mike. That’s your name, right? But I’ll work on her. She could use some lessons … in something.” She giggled and bumped Jess’s shoulder, and Jess felt herself flush.
“Alright, then,” Mike said, his eyes moving from one woman to the other. Tipping his head again, he ambled away, and Jess
admired the way his jeans hugged his behind, which she could just see below his jacket.
“Woo,” Jess said, fanning herself with her hand. “That was intense.”
“You’re tellin’ me.” Suzy’s eyes sparkled. “How could you say no? Oh, he’s a dream!”
Jess let out a long breath. “Like I said. I’m just not ready. Trust me, if I was …” She grabbed her bottle of beer and downed it. “I can’t take any more excitement, and after another beer I’ll be too tipsy to drive, anyway.”
“Let’s go.”
Chapter 2
Mike watched the women leave sadly—especially that Jess. She hadn’t introduced herself, but he’d caught her name when her friend mentioned it. He hadn’t meant to eavesdrop, but he was powerfully interested in her—his bear practically screamed for her—and hadn’t been able to resist paying attention to her while she sat with her friend. The truth was he’d noticed her as soon as she came in. Hell, he’d positioned himself by the ladies’ bathroom to be there when she came out. Not the most romantic way to meet a woman, he knew, and kind of creepy, but hell, she was hot. More than hot. Something just felt right about her.
Could she be … ? From the way his bear was growling inside him, he suspected it might be so. He shook his head and pounded back his beer. It wasn’t to be, he told himself.
“What’s eatin’ you?” Rick said beside him. Rick was one of Mike’s fellow ski instructors, a friend and member of his bear shifter crew.
“Nothin’,” Mike said.
“It was that curvy woman, wasn’t it?” Rick chuckled. “Huh. Definitely a city gal. What’s so interesting about her?”
Mike shrugged and flagged Abe down for another drink. Once he was slurping it, he said, “Mind your business, Rick.”
Rick scowled. “You just avoided one fight. You want to start another?”
“I didn’t avoid it. That jerkwad ran out before I could finish it, that’s all. Besides …”
“Yeah?”
She wouldn’t have wanted to see me like that. And if she knew I was a shifter …. “Nothin’.”
Bear Love Page 1
