Forvever Bear (Return to Bear Creek Book 4)

by Harmony Raines

  “Teagan, you have to let it go,” Carter passed the baby to Caroline and got up. It was his turn to hug her. “Let it go.”

  “She went looking for my dad. She searched for years. But she only came looking for me when I was eighteen. And even then, she didn’t search, she was told she couldn’t have the address and she accepted it and moved to Cougar Ridge.”

  “You have to forgive her.” Carter rocked her in his strong arms. “You have to forgive everyone.”

  “It’s hard,” Teagan replied.

  “And you are tough enough and strong enough to do it,” Carter told her.

  “For once Carter is one hundred percent correct,” Caroline said. “It does no good to hold onto these things.”

  “Thank you. Both of you.” Teagan wiped her eyes. “OK, I have to go, I have a mate to meet.”

  “Before you do, write down your father’s name.” Caroline fetched a piece of paper and a pen. “I have some contacts in the army, they might be able to look into it.”

  “Look into what?” Teagan asked.

  Caroline’s face wore her I mean business expression. As an ex-soldier, she knew the workings of the world in a different context to Teagan. “What if he was lying for a reason?”

  “You mean a reason other than because he wanted sex with no repercussions?” Teagan asked.

  “Something like that.” Caroline handed her the pen. “What if he couldn’t tell your mom? What if he was undercover?”

  “A cop?”

  “Or a criminal. A terrorist. The list of reasons people lie is long. Or he could simply be an asshole who wanted sex.” Caroline shrugged. “Do you really want to know, Teagan?”

  “Yes. I do. I want to give myself and maybe my mom some closure.” She wrote the name down on the piece of paper and handed it to Caroline. “Thank you.”

  “You are welcome, goodness knows you have helped this family out enough.” Caroline hugged Teagan. “Now, you go and find this mate of yours while we crash.”

  Teagan checked her watch. “He’ll be finishing his shift.”

  “Then go get him. We’re going to want to meet him, you know, and check that he’s a good guy,” Carter called as she left.

  “He is a good guy, but we’ll come by and see you once you’ve recovered.” Teagan grabbed her bags; she’d packed everything, her decision made. She was going to move in with Cal, he just didn’t know it yet.

  Running down the steps, she dashed across to her car, opening the trunk to put her bags inside before slamming it shut. She took one last look at the mansion, taking in a deep breath and then letting it out. This was a new phase of her life. And she was going to enjoy it. If she never found her father, it didn’t matter, but she was going to forge a relationship with her mom, no matter how long it took and how slow she had to go.

  Teagan also decided to visit her foster parents in the next week too, and take Cal along for them to meet. While she was there, she would offer to help them with their latest foster kid. It would be a way to give back, a way to show her gratitude. As she started the engine and drove across town to Cal’s house, a sense of peace settled around her. She’d become bogged down in the details, and that was not where she wanted to live.

  When she arrived at his house, Cal’s truck was already there, and her heart beat faster at the thought of being with him. They didn’t have to have all the answers right now; they had months, years, to work it all out, neither of them were going anywhere, Teagan knew that as a fact.

  She knocked on the door, but he must have sensed her closeness and he opened it before she had lowered her hand to her side. “You don’t have to knock. What’s mine is yours.”

  “I like the sound of that, although the only thing of yours I want right now is here in front of me.” She stepped forward, and pressed her body close to his. He still had his uniform on, and he smelled delicious. “I want you.”

  Cal didn’t need to be asked twice, he lifted her into his arms and carried her up the stairs. Teagan kissed his neck, and whispered in his ear, “So this is what they call a fireman’s lift.”

  He kicked open the bedroom door, and deposited her on the bed, tearing off his T-shirt to reveal his amazing chest. As his hands tugged at his belt, and his pants dropped to the floor, he said, “And this is a fireman’s hose.”

  Teagan collapsed into giggles that rippled through her body. “I love a man who knows how to make a woman laugh.”

  Cal dropped his pants, and strode across to the bed, kneeling down next to her, looking very serious. “That was not supposed to be funny.”

  “Oh.” She tried to keep her laughter inside but it insisted on erupting. “Sorry.”

  “You will be.” His face was deadly serious as he leaned over her, his hands on the buttons of her shirt and she held her breath wondering what his next move was going to be. Had she upset him? Had she dented his male ego?

  His fingers inched lower, and then he tickled her. The kind of tickles that were the right mixture of pressure and movement. He played her, making her laugh and writhe under him until she was breathless. Then he kissed her into further submission.

  Teagan wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. “I am in love with you, Cal.”

  “The feelings are reciprocated.” He kissed her again.

  “Say the words,” she whispered in his ear.

  “I love you.” He moved to straddle her, his fingers finally undoing her shirt, and pushing it back so he could run his hand along her stomach, teasing her. There was no giggling this time; her body longed to feel his skin against hers, to be one with him, to call out his name in the midst of her orgasm.

  Cal took her hand and pulled her to a sitting position. Then he pushed her shirt off her shoulders and unclasped her bra. With his hand on the small of her back, he held her close, ducking his head to suck her nipple into his mouth, and roll his tongue around it again and again.

  Teagan lowered her hand into his lap, and wrapped her fingers tightly around his hardness, pumping her hand up and down, up and down, slow and fast, until he squirmed where he sat, his legs still astride her. The first drop of precum stickied her hand, she wanted to taste him.

  Shuffling backwards, she lowered her head and took him in her mouth, the angle was awkward but she coped, one hand cupping his balls and fondling them as her mouth sucked and licked his whole length from root to tip.

  “Fuck, that is good,” Cal ground out, his hands fisting her hair and then running down her back to circle around to cup her breasts, and tweak her nipples. The heat inside Teagan grew to the point she thought she would explode, without him even touching her core. He groaned, his hand pulling her hair harder as he lost control.

  His seed spurted into her mouth and she swallowed it down, his essence like the rest of him, unique. With her right hand fondling his balls, she milked him dry, while his cries filled her ears. She had promised herself she would be an equal in every part of their life and with his growls of pleasure in her ears, she had accomplished that.

  Cal slumped forward, his arms around her as he recovered himself. When his breathing finally returned to normal, he kissed the top of her head and then slid down her legs, and off the edge of the bed. He knelt on the floor, taking hold of her feet and dragging her toward him.

  Her stomach clenched, she knew what he intended and she knew how good he was going to make her feel, how hard he was going to make her come. Cal placed his hands on her outer thighs, and moved her closer, positioning her body so that he could gaze on her intimately, then he dipped his head and kissed her clit, making the world spin around her.

  His mouth covered her clit, and all of her awareness centered on that one place where he nipped and sucked until she whimpered with built-up emotion. Moving his right hand, he caressed her thigh, trailing his fingers across her skin, moving ever closer to where she needed him to be—inside her. Deep inside her.

  One finger, then two, stroking, probing, moving to graze her inner walls, questing for t
hat spot inside her that acted like a button, setting off a chain reaction inside her. Small explosions started deep inside her, spreading out in bursts as her nerve endings caught fire. She gasped, arching her back, pushing forward wanting more, even though it all felt like too much. Her vision blurred, and stars sparkled across the inside of her eyelids. She was flowing in the heavens on a cloud of pleasure, made perfect by her mate.

  As the sensations passed, he moved. Cal circled his arm under her and pulled her back up the bed until her head rested on a pillow. In one fluid movement, he lay between her thighs and guided himself into her slick, wet depths. One hard thrust and he filled her, his cock sliding against her inner walls. Then he stopped.

  “Fuck,” he cursed, moving to pull out.

  “What’s wrong?” She wrapped her legs around his body, holding him close.

  “The condoms are downstairs. I didn’t expect this to happen so fast.” He moved to pull away again, but she held him close, while her head and her heart fought for dominance. She wanted a career, but she wanted to make beautiful babies with her mate. Watching their children grow up and become shifters, teaching them everything about who they were and where they came from was so important to her.

  “It’s OK.” She relaxed. “If we have babies, we’ll find a way to make it work.”

  “Are you sure?” Cal asked, and the light in his eyes showed his excitement.

  “A bear needs cubs.” Teagan cast off all her doubts. Moving her hips in a circular motion, she stretched herself around his hardness. Cal grunted, biting his lower lip as he fought for control.

  “Is this because you want kids, or because you think it’s expected?”

  “I wouldn’t commit to something so huge if it wasn’t what I wanted.” She lifted herself up to rest on her elbows. “I want to be a family. I want to raise my kids and nurture them the same way my foster parents nurtured me. And maybe one day, we might foster or adopt. Bear Creek is the best place in the world for a bear cub to grow up.”

  He kissed her, no more words needed as he pulled out of her and then thrust forward to fill her. Teagan rose to the challenge, using her hands, her body, and her mouth to drive him wild, until he erupted inside her, his essence flowing into her. If they made a baby tonight, it would be welcome. It would be loved, and wanted, and cherished, in the same way she cherished Cal and he cherished her in return.

  Chapter Sixteen – Cal

  “What are we doing?” Teagan asked Cal as he drove up to Walt’s place. Even though Theo and Fern lived there too, Cal still remembered it as Walt’s place from when he was a kid.

  “It’s a surprise.” Cal hadn’t been this way since he had returned to Bear Creek, and he had forgotten how beautiful it was up here high above the town. The trees grew tall, stretching up to the sky, interspersed with pockets of open ground where you could look out onto the world below.

  “I get that. But what kind of a surprise?” Teagan asked.

  “The good kind,” Cal assured her.

  “That makes me feel so much better,” Teagan answered.

  “Good.” He grinned at her. “You’ll like it, I promise.”

  The car mounted the last section of steep road leading to the house on the hill. As the house came into view, Cal could not believe the changes. “Wow.”

  “Theo extended it when he moved back here,” Teagan told him. “Looks good, doesn’t it?” Teagan leaned forward in her seat and peered out of the window. “Why are there so many cars here?”

  “Because we are going up the mountain.” Cal’s bear shuddered in excitement. Cal had fought to contain him since they had made plans to go into the wild for a few hours with his mate and a few other bears.

  “We?”

  “Yes, my family, some friends. We thought we’d go and explore our old haunts and introduce you to a few new ones.” Cal glanced across to Teagan. “Is that OK?”

  “Yes! I haven’t been over the mountain very much.” Her voice barely contained her excitement. “I’ve been so busy with the brewery and the newspaper, I’ve put off going much further than the lower slopes.”

  “So Fern was telling us.”

  “Wait, how is Fern going to come with us?” Teagan asked.

  “She’s not, she offered to babysit so that Carter and Caroline can come with us too.”

  “On her own?” Teagan asked.

  “No, Walt will stay here, and Dani too. She’s Jamie’s mate, isn’t she? I haven’t met her yet.”

  “She is. Dani is the first-grade teacher at the school.” Teagan smiled happily. “Your brothers and sisters, and your mom and dad?”

  “It was my mom’s idea.” He gave her an apologetic smile. “I told her about your mom, and your dad, I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all,” Teagan said. “We’re family, right?”

  “We are.” He put his hand in his pocket and drew out a box. “Which reminds me.”

  “What are you doing?” Teagan asked.

  “Proposing.” He got out of the truck, dashed around to her door, and pulled it open. Then he got down on one knee. “Teagan, will you marry me, please?” He’d beg if he had to.

  Teagan slid out of the truck and landed in front of him, tears in her eyes. “You didn’t have to.”

  “Yes. I did. I want you to know I’m in this forever. I will never leave. Ever.”

  “I know that.” She reached out and stroked his cheek, before dropping to her knees and hugging him. “Yes. If you are sure, then yes, yes a million times over.”

  Cal kissed her, the ring forgotten as they held each other close. “You have no idea how happy you’ve made me.”

  “I think I do.” She smiled, and to Cal it was as if there were two suns shining down on him, the one in the sky, and the more radiant one who was his mate.

  “She said yes?” His mom and sisters appeared from the side of the house.

  “Were you spying on us?” Cal asked.

  “No, just looking in this direction,” Ronni countered.

  A round of hugs ensued, during which he removed the ring from the box and slid it onto Teagan’s finger. It was a simple design, the gold band twisted and mounted with a diamond solitaire.

  “It’s beautiful, Teagan,” Fern said, coming to join them. “I’m so happy for you.”

  “Thanks.” Teagan hugged her. “Who would have thought we would both find our Prince Charmings?”

  “Prince Charmings aren’t all they are cracked up to be,” Fiona said with a snort. “But I think on this occasion you have the real thing.”

  “Thanks, Fiona,” Teagan said. “Are you coming with us?”

  “No.” Fiona shook her head. “I don’t want to breathe fire on you all.”

  “One day you are going to have to show us your other side,” Teagan said.

  “One day, but not today.” Fiona hugged Teagan. “I’m so pleased for you.” She looked a little tearful when she let Teagan go. “I have work to do. I only came to say congratulations.”

  With that Fiona left, and the rest of them all headed toward the house.

  “Are we ready?” Cal asked. His bear was itching to be free, to run until his lungs burned and his heart thumped in his chest. He longed to feel the dirt beneath his paws, his claws digging into the ground as he climbed the mountain, muscles straining, fur stirred by the wind.

  “We are,” his dad said, taking his mom’s hand. They looked like two lovers on a date.

  One by one, they shifted into bears and made their way up the mountain trail. Cal and Teagan waited until last, wanting to see each other in all their furriness.

  “Have fun.” Fern went inside to join Dani and the children.

  “We will,” Teagan said. “After you.”

  Cal let his bear free. The air buzzed with static electricity as he disappeared from this world, to reappear on four short legs, his snout raised to inhale the scent of their mate as a bear. She smelled delicious to his bear, but when she shifted into her bear, if it were possible, tha
t deliciousness increased tenfold.

  Grinning like a foolish bear, he nudged her with his short snout and then ran off, listening to her paws hitting the ground as she ran after him. They followed the trail, the scent of the others telling him which way they had gone. All the time they climbed, he let his senses roam. Cal’s bear could hear and smell her, but something more; as if he had his own personal radar locked onto her, he could sense her presence.

  His strong legs carried him up the mountain trail, which wound right and then left, tight curves leading to long, steep climbs as it followed the contours of the mountain. Several times he stopped, and turned to look out over the world below them. They could see Bear Creek nestled in the valley below, the silvery creek in which they had first met, meandering through it before disappearing into the distance. Teagan stood next to him, and they brushed against each other, body against body, fur touching fur. This was perfection. His mate, his fiancée, by his side.

  Fiancée, that made his bear grin. Cal stood in contentment by her side. Neither of them in a rush to break their connection, until a roar from above told them to get moving. The others were waiting.

  He turned back toward the trail and began to climb: there was a wide plateau not far above them, and that was where they found the others, all lying on the ground. Jax and Davy were play-fighting, while a bear whom he thought must be Jamie was rolling on his back, feet in the air. The rest of the bears were lying or sitting down, enjoying the warmth of the morning sun.

  When Cal and Teagan reached them, they got up, ready to go. His dad led them through a narrow gully and out the other side, before turning to climb a steep, rocky path. Teagan looked at him questioningly but followed all the same. Cal wanted to reassure her, to tell her the journey was worth it. Their destination was a waterfall tucked away between two steep-sided rock faces. The water spilled down off the mountain and filled a pool, which was famous among the bears in these parts as the best place to swim on a warm day.

  They reached the top of the path and walked single file along a narrow trail. Cal mused how odd they would look to any human observer who knew about bears. This little adventure, if caught on camera, would likely raise a debate as to how bears lived in the wild. Known as solitary creatures, this outing would definitely throw all that up for debate.