MILITARY ROMANCE: The War Within Himself (Alpha Bad Boy Marine Army Seal) (Contemporary Military Suspense & Thriller Romance)

by Claire Branson

  “Laura is not your girlfriend and she does not wish to leave with you.” When he spoke he uncurled his fists and Laura saw exactly what she knew she had seen. Instead of fingernails he had long claws that had left deep gouges in his palms.

  “What the hell are you?” Marcus stared at him in horror as hair began to creep up from under Lee’s collar. Laura watched in astonishment as Lee began to drop down onto his knees. His back twisted as though he was in pain and Laura was sure she could hear the sound of bones breaking. It was like something out of a horror movie, something she never could have imagined would be true.

  There he stood on all four paws. His claws raking the sand as though he was about to charge. Laura stared at the golden bear who stood with his back to her. Oddly she was not scared anymore. She was glad to see him facing Marcus. She was glad to see the look of fear in her ex’s eyes. It was a look she had never seen on his face before but it was one that she loved.

  “I think you should leave.” Laura suggested to him. Marcus finally turned his gaze back to her.

  “You can’t honestly believe I’m going to leave you with that thing!” he pointed an accusing finger at Lee who instantly began to growl. Marcus took a step forward and Lee snapped at his leg with saliva dripping from his jaws.

  “I’m safer with him than I am if I go with you.” Laura jeered at him. She stepped forward then and placed her hand on Lee’s furry shoulder. He flinched as though he was shocked by her touch. When he looked up at her she could see the glint in his pale green eyes, the same eyes as his human form, those eyes that Laura suddenly realized she loved.

  He turned back to Marcus and Laura felt his fur brush her palm as he rushed forward. Laura watched as he charged at Marcus. The dark haired man’s eyes widened with fear as he turned and began to run back toward his car. His feet stumbled over themselves and he struggled to stay upright as he grabbed for the door handle.

  He jumped into his car and slammed the door shut just in time to get safely away from Lee’s snapping jaws. Laura watched as he fumbled for his keys and pushed them into the ignition. It took a few attempts to get the car running but as soon as he had he began to speed back down the driveway. Laura couldn’t help but smile as she watched him go.

  When Lee turned back to her, he did not move toward her. Instead he simply stared at her as he began to change back. His fur shortened and disappeared until his skin was smooth again. When he stood on two legs, fully formed, he continued to stand still. He stared at Laura as though he was waiting to see how she would react.

  He looked shocked when she ran toward him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly before planting her lips on his, “What are you and where have you been all my life?” Laura asked as she realized the last three years were over. Marcus would not be back for a very long time if he ever came back at all and she had Lee to thank for that.

  “I shouldn’t have done that.” Lee sighed and shook his head as he took hold of her wrists and pushed her away from him. Laura was surprised by his sudden lack of tenderness.

  “You shouldn’t have done what?” she asked feeling confused.

  “I shouldn’t have turned in front of humans,” he sighed, “It’s against our law.”

  “Who’s law?” Laura was more confused than ever. She had no idea what he was talking about and she needed answers.

  “It’s against the werebear code to turn in front of humans,” he told her, “It puts my whole race in danger.” Laura reached up and placed her hands on his cheeks.

  “I won’t tell anyone.” She promised as she looked deep into his eyes. He stared back at her with a conflicting expression on his face.

  “It’s not you I’m worried about.” He sighed. Laura smiled at him as confidently as possible and kissed him gently on the lips.

  “Nobody will believe a word he says,” she promised him, “He’s a lunatic anyway and nobody is going to believe the word of someone who goes around saying that men can turn into bears.” She laughed at the prospect of it as though she hadn’t just seen it with her own eyes.

  “I hope your right.” He sighed. Laura nodded and kissed him again. She felt the growl in his chest, rumbling against her breasts and it made her hot between her thighs. She had never needed someone so much in her life. Her heart fluttered as she grabbed hold of his hair in her fists and pressed herself close to him.

  He pushed her backward in an attempt to stop her and shook his head, “It’s illegal to lie with a human.”

  “You’ve broken one rule today,” she smiled up at him, “Why not another?” He smirked then as though he couldn’t deny her logic. His head lowered and he kissed her more passionately than before. He ran his tongue over her lips as though he was tasting her properly for the first time. His arms wrapped around her and he held the back of her head tightly. Laura enjoyed the feel of his muscles rippling against her as he held her.

  Chapter Five:

  “Take me inside.” She whispered. As though she had given him an order, he pulled her up onto his shoulder and she squealed in shock, “I meant walk me inside.” She giggled as he slapped her on the buttocks with a large hand. Her buttocks smarted with pain yet she felt the pleasure of it and knew that he was as turned on as she was.

  He carried her to the cabin, unlocked the door and slammed it shut behind them. The sofa stood close by and it didn’t take him long to have her on it. He threw her down and landed on top of her, his fingers already working on the buttons of her blouse.

  She grabbed the hem of his t-shirt and pulled it up her his head. Her heart skipped a beat at what she found beneath. His pecks were huge, tattooed with tribal spirals. His abs were as hard as stone and rippled as he moved above her. He kissed her neck and the pleasure forced her eyes shut as she gasped.

  The pain in her lungs disappeared as her body was overwhelmed with pleasure. She could feel his erection pressed hard against her as he pressed his hips toward hers. She reached down to the button of his jeans and popped it open. When she reached inside his boxers he gasped. She gripped him tightly and began to move her hand up and down his length.

  He grabbed for the top of her jeans and within seconds he had pulled them off. Laura gasped in shock as he placed a hand between her legs. His fingers worked expertly to rub her clitoris. His face came down to her chest and he ran kisses over her breasts. With his teeth he pulled the cup of her bra away and slipped his tongue over her nipples. She gasped in pleasure again as he slipped his hand into her pants and placed a finger inside her.

  She was slick with pleasure, her loins burned for him. She grabbed his head and pulled him up to kiss him again. As she looked into his eyes she could see her own need reflected. In that moment there was nothing she wanted more than to have him inside her.

  Her blood boiled in her veins as she pulled hard on his jeans and tried to get them off him. He helped her with a feverish smile and she found that his legs were as muscular as the rest of him. She felt as safe as ever as he pressed himself down against her. His body melted into hers as though they were meant to be that way. There was no awkwardness, no need to wriggle and move to get in the right position. Everything seemed to fit perfectly.

  He slipped inside her as though he had been meant to be there. She screamed in pleasure as he pulled out and rammed himself back inside her. Her fingernails raked his back and he growled in pleasure as she felt deep scratches along his spine.

  “Are you sure you’re not a bear?” his whisper was a laugh as he slammed into her again and she screamed shaking her head. Her nails dug into his buttocks and she pulled him closer forcing him deeper inside her as she arched her back in an attempt to come closer to him.

  Lee pulled himself out of her then and grabbed hold of her hips. In an instant he had flipped her over onto her knees and was inside her again. The intense pleasure built up inside her stomach as he slammed deeper than ever before. She tilted her head back and screamed. Her wrapped her hair around his fingers and pulled her head back to
kiss her throat as he slammed inside her.

  “You are so beautiful.” He whispered into her ear before biting her earlobe. She screamed as her climax came. He groaned as he finished. Hot liquid filled her and she gasped in pleasure. She had never felt so connected with some, had never finished at the same time as her partner. It was a new experience, a good experience.

  She collapsed against the sofa completely spent. He lingered inside her, perched over her, panting with his breath tickling her shoulder. Laura closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of him inside her. She tensed her muscles around him and he groaned as though he liked the feeling.

  He pulled out of her then and took hold of her hips again. This time he lifted her so that he could wrap his arms around her waist and pulled her up toward him. In one swift motion he was sitting down with her on top of him. She placed her knees on either side of him and kissed his neck as he wrapped his arms around her. He took hold of her head in his hand and pulled her back to look at her face.

  “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met,” he told her softly before he kissed her gently on the lips, “I can’t believe you’re here.”

  “Where else would I be?” she smiled as she kissed him gently on the end of his nose. He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

  “I will protect you for the rest of my life.”

  THE END

  Bear Lust: Authority

  Chapter One

  The streets were cold and dark. The lamplights flickered eerily as Callie made her way home from her shift at the bar. Her new town had been welcoming enough, but the cold nights were definitely not. She clutched her cardigan tighter around her as she made her way through the streets toward the small one-bedroom house she’d rented from an old friend.

  As she walked, she began to feel like she was being followed. The feeling of eyes on the back of her head sent a shiver down her spine. Yet every time she glanced around, there seemed to be no one around. The chill breeze whipped autumn leaves up from the gutter and into her path. They crunched under her feet as she continued on, wrapping her arms around herself, feeling colder at the thought of being followed.

  When she reached the end of her driveway, she pulled her keys from her pocket and made for the door. He hand shook as she tried to place the key in the lock and it took her a few moments to get inside.

  As she finally locked the door behind her, she realized how fast her heart was beating. It thudded against her chest so hard that it felt like she was going to cough it up. Her breath came in short gasps as though she had been running, and she closed her eyes to try and calm herself.

  That’s when she heard something move in the back of the house. Everything was in darkness. She flicked on the hall light and slowly sauntered down the room toward the kitchen. Her heart stopped as she heard the movement again. Holding her breath, she stepped forward and flicked on the kitchen light. The room was instantly enveloped in light. Her heart fluttered with fear for a moment as she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. When she turned, she sighed with relief.

  It was only Sammy, the neighbor’s ginger tabby who liked to let himself in through the cat flap on occasion. Dropping her bag on the kitchen work top, Callie went forward and picked him up off the table. He meowed and began to purr as soon as she rubbed behind his ears.

  “You had me scared Sammy.” She giggled feeling stupid that she had been so scared. She kissed the cat on the top of the head between his ears before placing him on the floor. “You know you’re not allowed on the kitchen table.” She gave him a playful tap with the end of her boot, and he purred all the louder, wrapping his body around her leg and rubbing himself against her with his tail in the air.

  “Are you hungry?” She smiled as she grabbed a pack of ham from the fridge and pulled a few pieces apart for him. He meowed as she threw them onto the floor and then began to guzzle them down.

  She flicked on the kettle, ready for a nice hot cup of tea to warm her up and shake away her nerves. Then she heard the footsteps. They were coming from above her head, where her bedroom was. Her heart stopped, and her breath caught in her throat. She knew then that she definitely wasn’t hearing things. The floor boards creaked overhead. Fear pulsed through her so hard that her fingers went numb and her toes curled.

  Sammy had gone quiet too, looking up at the ceiling as though he had heard it. She took her phone from her pocket and dialed for the police. Her heart pounded, and her hand shook so violently that was sure she would drop the phone if she didn’t hurry.

  As soon as they answered, she whispered into the phone, “I think there’s someone in my house.”

  All of a sudden, she was grabbed from behind. Her phone dropped from her hand as she was pulled backward, and she screamed right from her gut. Something hard and heavy hit her on the back of the head, and her vision grew blurry. She dropped to the floor just as everything went black around her. The last thing she heard was Sammy hissing in defiance.

  Chapter Two

  When Callie woke up, the light was so bright that she had to blink several times to adjust her vision. Her memories came back to her in a flood, and she flew into a sitting position. The back of her head screamed in protest, and she pressed her hand to where she had been hit.

  To her astonishment, she was not in some dingy basement, kidnapped by whoever had hit her. She was in what seemed to be a hospital room. Everything was white and blue, and the smell was so clean that it almost stung her nostrils.

  She looked around to see a man in the doorway. He walked slowly toward the bed as though he was trying not to startle her.

  “Miss Langley, I am Officer Darren Lowe,” he told her as he pulled his badge from his pocket and showed it to her. She nodded. He was a handsome man with sandy blond hair and an afternoon shadow on his jawline.

  “What happened?” she asked as she rubbed the back of her head, still feeling the pain smart through her skull.

  “You called the station and told one of our operators that you thought someone was in your house,” the officer explained. “When she heard you scream, she knew something had happened to you. We were able to track the GPS on your phone. I was the first on the scene.”

  “Did you get whoever was in my house?” she asked. She still remembered the fear of being grabbed from behind. It made her heart pound, and the machine she was hooked up to began to go crazy. Officer Lowe moved forward and sat down on the chair beside the bed.

  “Miss Langley, you have no need to worry,” he told her gently. “You are safe here.”

  “Did you catch him?” she asked again. The man shook his head. Callie’s heart sunk.

  “Then I am not safe anywhere,” she told him. Lowe looked confused at that. He took out his notepad from his breast pocket and removed the pen from the holder on the side.

  “Something tells me you know who attacked you.” He looked at her intently as though he was watching for some kind of tell. The truth was that Callie had no trouble with telling him what was going on.

  “I think he is someone from the town I used to live in,” she explained. “I had some trouble over there with people breaking into my house, moving things around, but things were never stolen, so the police could never do anything because there were no signs of forced entry either.”

  “And is that why you moved?” the officer asked. Callie nodded. The thought that whoever it was wanted her so badly that they had followed her across state lines made her entire body cold with fear.

  “I won’t be safe until he is caught,” she whispered almost to herself, but the officer looked just as worried as she felt.

  “Miss Langley, I assure you I am going to find whoever did this to you, and I will put them behind bars.” He promised her. Callie was taken aback by his personal way of speaking as though it was his mission to make her safe.

  “Thank you, Officer Lowe, and please call me Callie,” she told him.

  “Only if you will call me Darren.” He smiled, and she found herself smiling back.
His face was warm and welcoming as he stood up and picked out a card from his pocket. He handed it to her and added, “If you need anything just give me a call. I’m going to have a guard posted outside your room until this man is caught.”

  “Do you know when I can go home?” she asked. She longed for her own bed. Already the hospital bed was making her back ache, and the smell was making her feel lightheaded and sick. She hated hospitals ever since she had watched her mother die in a hospital bed. It always brought back the painful memories of watching her mother fight against the cancer that was sure to take her life.

  “I’m afraid I don’t know.” He shook his head. “I will ask your doctor to come and have a word with you.”

  “Thank you.” Callie watched him go and felt as though she wanted to call him back. She didn’t want to be alone. She didn’t want the chance to close her eyes and see her attacker in her dreams. She didn’t want to feel that fear again, to have him watching her, his eyes on her back as he’d clearly followed her home.

  Chapter Three

  The doctor arrived less than half an hour later. She was a tall woman with long blonde hair that was tied in a heavy bun at the back of her head and glasses that kept slipping down her nose as she spoke. “Miss Langley, it’s good to see you awake.” The woman smiled as she looked over Callie’s files and then placed them on the bed.

  “Would you mind if I give you a quick examination?” she asked as she took a small pen-like torch from the breast pocket of her white lab coat. Callie shook her head and instantly regretted it. The pain intensified in the back of her head. She squinted her eyes and gritted her teeth against the pain.

  “Are you in pain?” the doctor asked, clearly having seen her reaction. Callie was about to nod when she realized she was only going to hurt herself again.