Saving Her Bear: A Second Chances Romance

by Hart, Alana

  He pressed his mouth to her ear, letting her feel the labored breaths, brushing her hair into her face as she braced against him. She clutched the bark of the tree, her hips pinned so roughly that the jagged surface was scraping at her bare skin. She didn’t protest. Her cheek pinned to the bark, and he thrust into her, his body curling around her.

  “This is what you get for running,” he whispered, then bit into her shoulder, causing her to scream. She flailed her arms back at him, trying to hit whatever she could reach, but he simply grabbed her by the wrist and pinned her hand against the tree.

  My God, John Fenn is inside me, she thought. The man she’d dreamed of for so many years, was taking her with such passion, she could barely keep her feet under her. Nothing had ever felt like this – the helplessness, the ache in her belly to be his. She wanted to tear her fingers into him and make him hers. He seemed to want the very same as he clamped his teeth into her shoulder again.

  To keep her there, John’s entire body was in contact with hers; his knees knocking into the backs of her legs, his hips pressed against her ass as he drove inside her over and over, his chest pinned to her back. The only piece of him not wholly pressed to her was his head, as he moved from whispering in her ear to pressing his nose into the waves of her hair, smelling her like some hungry animal.

  His breathing grew hoarser with each thrust and Catherine pressed her hands between her hips and the bark, feeling the sting of broken skin from John’s rough handling. He thrust into her then with such force that it lifted her to her toes, scraping her bare hips across the bark. She cried out, softly, bracing herself for more. John’s hands took hold of her hips and he retreated from inside her, pulling her away from the tree. Catherine hissed at the touch of his fingers at her hips and he spun her around, forcing her to face him.

  In the moment he took to turn her, Catherine pulled from him, running deeper into the woods, her heart pounding. She heard him behind her, crashing through the underbrush, gaining on her. He was faster than she would ever be, and she knew it, but she realized as her frightened screams gave way to mischievous laughter, she loved it when he chased her.

  He grabbed her just twenty yards further into the woods and took her to the ground, straddling over her bare backside as he pinned her down.

  He lowered himself to her ear. “You’re really gonna get it now, aren’t you?”

  She giggled nervously, feeling John move over her. She whined, softly, wriggling beneath his weight as he squeezed her ass again, teasing her.

  “Are you going to behave?”

  Catherine nodded, her cheek rubbing deeper in the leaves on the ground.

  “Say it. Say you’ll behave.”

  “I will!” She whispered, half crying out as he pressed against her.

  “Good,” he said, a wicked laugh hidden beneath the tone, and then pushed himself lower, seeking his prize. He found it, groaning his approval as he slipped inside her again. This time he wasted no time, straddling over her, pushing her into the earth as he rode her, slipping in and out with deliberate force. She was pinned, prone and helpless against the damp earth as he grabbed hold of her wrists and pulled them behind her back, holding them for leverage as he moved in her. Her breathing grew harsh, blowing leaves across the ground beside them. His groans were slow and soothing, taking his time. Then he moved over her, pressing his knees between her legs, opening her to him. He grabbed her hips, yanking her back into his lap, and returned to his work, slamming into her anew, now with better purchase. She felt him, deep enough to be too much, and she cried out against the sensation, bordering close to pain. He dug his fingers into her injured hips, pulling her up into his lap as he thrust, her legs worthless and bouncing at his sides, unable to settle her knees in the dirt. She braced her arms under her, lifting her face from the ground. He grabbed her hair, tugging it back just once as she screamed, then released her, returning to this pummeling. She began to scream with each thrust as her body grew acclimated to his force, willing it on as she braced against it.

  He growled, lifting her. He rose on his knees, her face falling back toward the dirt as he suddenly tripled his speed. She screamed, smelling the soil and dead leaves that kicked up from her exhale.

  “I want to hear you scream,” he whispered, his words coming in a near hiss as he slammed into her. She clenched her legs around him, trying to slow him, but it was no use, he held her off the ground like a weightless thing, taking her as deep and fast as he liked. Her muscles failed her, exhausted from his battering, and she collapsed into the soil, letting her whole body go limp. He seemed to notice the surrender and rewarded it by slipping from inside her.

  He grabbed her by the arms and lifted her onto her knees, pulling her back against his chest. “Is my girl done fighting?” He asked, his breath labored in her ear.

  Catherine swallowed. “Yes.”

  “That’s what I like to hear. Turn around.”

  Catherine made to move, but her legs revolted beneath her, every muscle shaking from exhaustion. She moved slow, turning on her knees to face him. Even in the dark, she could see the stern glare to his beautiful blue eyes. She shivered.

  “Come here,” he commanded, grabbing her just under the knees and yanking her legs out from under her, forcing her back into the dirt. She gasped, startled by the forceful movement, fighting to hide the smile that crept onto her face. Catherine braced her hands against his chest as he lowered himself over her, prying her legs wide apart as he settled on his knees before her. He took hold of himself, guiding his cock back inside as he watched her.

  “Look at me while I take you.”

  He planted his hand into the dirt at her side and thrust down into her with such force, she couldn’t so much as make a sound. Then he moved again with equal force, watching her face.

  “Mmm, you like that, don’t you?”

  She gasped as he did it again, his eyes still fixed on her face, waiting for her to meet his gaze only to thrust home again, relishing in the way she flinched.

  “Not so hard,” she whispered, begging.

  “Tell me you’re mine.”

  “Please!”

  Her voice was beginning to carry as he moved inside her, his speed picking up with aching precision.

  “Please? Don’t beg. You know what I want to hear.”

  Despite the challenging smirk on his face, his thrusts retreated just enough to ease the pain, letting her feel the warm sensation of his body against hers, the smooth friction of his skin. She reached down to his hips, grabbing at the waistband of his jeans and pulling him deeper. “I’m yours.”

  He chuckled, and with the steady confidence of a man who knew his job well, lowered his weight onto her, digging his knees into the dirt for purchase. John thrust there, his weight rocking over her, moving her in the dirt. She could feel the dead leaves and the dirt beneath her head grinding into her hair with each thrust. She didn’t protest. He settled onto his elbows then, taking hold of her head in his hands, turning her to look at him.

  “You’re going to come for me now, aren’t you?”

  God, she loved the way he spoke to her. “Yes! God! Where have you been all my life?”

  He laughed. “That’s right. Come for me.”

  He moved with force, grinding into her as her body wore grooves into the soil. She lifted her legs high around him, letting her heels kick against his ass with the force of his movements. She was close enough to release, but she wanted more, wanted the searing, shuddering agony of it.

  She reached down, clutching his ass. “More!”

  “More?” He asked, his voice hoarse with effort. He responded with precision, grabbing hold of the collar of her red t-shirt and tearing it open. She startled at the force of it, whimpering under him as he grabbed the fabric of her brassiere and yanked the cups down to expose her breasts. He kept his rhythm, grunting louder and louder with each thrust, then planted his hot mouth over her breast, and bit her. She screamed, c
lutching her fingers in his hair as the bite lessened to a purposeful sucking, teasing her with his tongue. She pressed his head against her, as though the tighter she held his dark hair, the faster he’d go, the faster his tongue would move. He read her signals like a code breaker and pounded into her, teasing her other nipple with his fingers. It was enough. She flung her head back into the dirt, her mouth wide in a silent scream, and shook violently beneath him. He kept going, kept thrusting, carrying her through. Then she shuddered, exhaling in loud, desperate wails, riding the waves of her release. He arched his back over her, moving with deliberation as he held his breath, then like some ravenous thing, he roared over her, his body quaking. His thrusts softened, slowing until he was barely moving over her.

  “Tell me you came,” he said.

  Catherine chuckled, her fingers still curled into the tendrils of his hair. “You couldn’t tell?”

  He lifted his head to look at her. “Yeah, but was it a good one?”

  She laughed, reaching down to touch his hips. “It was a good one.”

  John made a subtle gesture, pretending to punch the air in quiet celebration. She laughed again.

  John slumped down beside her, taking her face in his hands. “I want you to be mine, Catherine.”

  His words were so intense, it almost frightened her. No man had ever looked at her the way John did, never kissed her or made her laugh like John did. This must be too good to be true.

  “I thought you just claimed me,” she said, smirking at him.

  “You have no idea,” he said, grinning. “But I mean it. I want you. I don’t want some passing thing. I want you to be mine.”

  Catherine swallowed. He’d gone from a ravenous beast, to this stern lover, declaring his desires as though he meant to plan the next six lifetimes. “How do you know you want me?”

  He touched her face. “I’ve always wanted you to be mine.”

  “Then why didn’t you make me yours last time?”

  “Because I had to know you meant it. That if you were going to be mine, you’d be mine always.”

  Catherine gasped. How could he ask something so powerful? How could he declare this kind of devotion so confidently when other men couldn’t even agree to second dates without drama? Was he really that sure?

  Finally, as he watched every inch of her face, she took a deep breath and nodded. “Yes. I want to be yours.”

  John smiled and kissed her. Then he rose from the ground, hoisting her onto her feet. She stood there naked from the waist down, her torso barely covered now by a torn red t-shirt. He scanned the forest floor, searching for her shorts, and handed them to her, returning to the chivalrous creature he was when the sun was up. He stood there, rubbing his thighs as he complained of sore muscles.

  She glared at him. “Don’t complain to me about sore.”

  She made a point of letting him see her dust off her backside before she pulled on her shorts.

  “Oh is that so?”

  The waistband of the jean shorts grazed against the scrapes on her hips and she hissed. John furrowed his brow and she showed him her battle wounds.

  “Sweetheart, I wish you’d told me. I would have stopped or -”

  “I didn’t want you to stop. I enjoyed every second of it.”

  John grinned from ear to ear, reaching for her. He pulled her in, nuzzling his nose and cheek against the top of her head, then kissing her and squeezing his arms around her. She felt contained, like a pocket sized little treasure, precious in his arms. He turned his attention to his own zipper and repositioned himself as he did up his fly. They began their trek back toward the road, John slipping out of his hooded sweatshirt, handing it to her.

  “You’re gonna get some looks when you roll back in to the Calhoun house.”

  Catherine gave him a skeptical look. “Why’s that?”

  John made a grand flourish of pulling a couple dead leaves from her hair. She reached up, feeling the brush and dirt caked there and began to laugh.

  “Damn. Bennett’s gonna have a field day.”

  “He really is.”

  Catherine shimmied inside his baggy sweatshirt, breathing in the scent of him as she zipped it up. “So, uh – will it always be like that?”

  John raised an eyebrow. “Not unless you want it to be.”

  She smiled. “I think I might enjoy cozy sex from time to time. Going forward. If I really am ‘yours,’ as you said.”

  “Oh, you are,” he said, grabbing her ass and giving it a good squeeze.

  She felt warm, settled almost, like she knew his company was a constant. Unlike other men, John Fenn didn’t feel like a wavering thing.

  “Nice touch on the stick dolls, by the way. You were planning this, I take it?”

  “What do you mean?” He asked.

  Catherine scanned the branches around them until she found what she was looking for. She smacked the doll, watching it swing there from a long piece of twine.

  John shook his head. “Oh Jesus, that’s fucking creepy.”

  “Cut it out, I know it was you.”

  John stared at her, eyes wide and brows up. “I swear to you on my family name, not me. Are there more of them?”

  Catherine pointed out another two or three in the more distant trees, and John grabbed her around the shoulders, pulling her away from them as though they might bite. “Don’t touch em. You might catch the hermits.”

  Catherine laughed as she turned back toward the truck, ready to trudge through the underbrush. The smell caught her so suddenly, she almost gagged.

  “Catherine,” John said. It was barely a whisper. “Don’t move, baby.”

  She froze, overwhelmed by a sudden sense of dread. Her eyes instantly welled with tears. She recognized the smell. It wasn’t something she would easily forget.

  Catherine stared toward the tree line, holding still as she listened for John to give her further instruction. She couldn’t see the threat, couldn’t tell where it was coming from, but she felt it nonetheless. A moment later, she heard it – a deep chested grunt, followed by the sound of the creature sniffing at something. Suddenly the woods came to life with sound as some massive shape moved through the brush, careening toward her with purpose. She turned in time to make out the massive black shape, barreling toward her from behind a nearby boulder. She screamed, backing away.

  “No! No! No! Hey now! Get!” John hollered, lunging to her, and throwing her onto the ground behind him. The bear slowed before him, but did not recoil. John stood much as he had the night before, leaning toward the beast, as though challenging it.

  “Go bear! Go!”

  How could this happen again? She thought. Twice in as many nights. She’d lived in Maine, seen bears many times, but never this close – never from anywhere but the safety of a window in a house with four walls. She watched the bear jerk toward John, growling angrily, and she began to pray.

  Please don’t hurt him, she thought. Please, don’t hurt him after I just found him again. Please.

  The bear roared, mouth open and dripping saliva. She scrambled away a few more feet.

  “Catherine! Don’t move!”

  She was panting, bordering on an asthma attack, the stench of the bear overwhelming her from this close.

  “Go bear!” John yelled one more time.

  The beast turned from him and charged toward her, coming to loom like death over her. John was on her instantly, yanking her to her feet and out of its way.

  The bear took two more steps toward them, as John pressed her behind a tree. “No matter what happens, Catie, don’t run! Do you hear me? Don’t run!”

  “What?!”

  With that, John surged toward the bear, smacking it in the face to draw it away from her. The bear turned for him as he backed deeper into the woods.

  “John! What are you doing? Stop it!” The terror was giving way to helplessness, and she was openly sobbing as the bear swatted at John.

 
John pulled off his shirt, flapping the light fabric into the bear’s face as the bear followed him further away from her. “God damn it, I don’t know him, Catie. I don’t -”

  “What do you mean you don’t know him? Stop it, John! Please! You’re making him mad!”

  The bear seemed to glance back at her. “I don’t have a choice. Close your eyes, baby.”

  Catherine couldn’t close her eyes if her life depended on it. She searched the ground at her feet, found a good sized rock and lobbed it at the bear’s haunches. She instantly regretted the decision as the bear turned, roaring in her direction with hungry intent.

  John lunged toward the animal, his pale chest the only thing clear in the darkness as the bear barreled at her. Catherine fell back, her backside slamming into a boulder as she landed. The pain was unspeakable, but she braced for the attack, her hands splayed before her as the bear came at her.

  The massive black shape toppled onto its side as something even bigger tackled it, bringing it down with a thunderous crack as they slammed into a young birch tree. Catherine screamed to see something that huge appear before her – like from nothing, taking up the space where John had been. Yet, this something wasn’t John. His pale form was gone, and here stood a massive, eight foot tall, brown bear.

  “John! John?!”

  Dear god, where is he? He must be hurt! Please God, don’t let him be hurt!

  Catherine tried to move away, but the muscles in her backside were atrophied from her injury. She lay there helpless, watching the massive brown bear slam its front paws into the chest of her attacker. The black bear roared up at his opponent, rewarded for his efforts by the brown bear clamping his jaws around the black bear’s throat. The sound it made was pathetic, whimpering in a plea for mercy. The brown bear released its hold, and the black bear scampered up and away, its wide caboose teetering from side to side.

  Catherine listened as the black bear retreated crashing through the brush. She lay there, helpless and alone, staring up at a beast twice the size of the first, waiting for it to turn and claim its meal. John was already gone, certainly lying hurt somewhere in the dark, and she was alone, her body half broken beneath her. She gathered up all her strength, clenching her jaw as she shifted on the ground. If she was going down, she was going down fighting.