Protector Bear (Bear Creek Protectors Book 4)

by Harmony Raines

  “Sure it is.” He cupped her face in his hands, his thumbs stroking her cheeks, waking a fire inside her.

  “I know it’s a lot to ask since I already have two children. I know you want your own...” She was lost in his mesmerizing eyes.

  “It’s okay.” He lowered his head and kissed her lips. “If we didn’t have kids, it wouldn’t make or break our relationship. I’d just as happily climb all over the mountains and walk through the forests with your children. Because they are my family now, too.”

  “Are you trying to get me into bed?” she asked breathlessly as he broke their kiss.

  “I might be.” He kissed her again, nipping her bottom lip with his teeth, while his hands roamed her body.

  “Whatever you’re trying to do, it’s working.” Cynthia hung on to him, her fingers gripping his arms as she tried to stay on her feet.

  “We should get the tent up and make a fire.” He stood for a moment and let her senses come back to her. When he was certain she could support her own weight, he let her go, leaving her swaying like the trees in a breeze.

  “I sure could get used to having you around.” She watched him as he walked away. Damn, he was hot. His broad shoulders and strong back...and his toned butt.

  Cynthia sighed and turned away. If she didn’t get a grip, she’d never get the tent up and they’d be sleeping under the stars. With only Hunter’s body to keep her warm.

  “What a hardship,” she muttered as she opened her backpack and pulled out the tent. “We’re going to sleep in that?”

  It didn’t look big enough for one person, let alone sharing it with a shifter like Hunter. However, when she unpacked it and spread it out on the flat ground, she figured they might fit in if they squeezed tightly together. And she was all for squeezing tight with her mate.

  While she worked, she let her mind loose, freeing it from the confines of the tight control she kept on it while she was working. Usually, this freedom meant she dwelled in the darkness of her job, but today, instead of worrying about the lost children, she focused on her future with Hunter. A twinge of guilt tried to sidetrack her, but she figured she’d allow herself to indulge in a little daydreaming about being the wife of a man like Hunter.

  Or anyone’s wife. That kind of relationship had seemed to slip through her grasp. Since Connor’s death, she’d kept herself focused on her children and her job. Maybe it was time to readjust that focus.

  Did that mean her plans to go back to work would once more be put on hold? When she’d set off to find the children, she’d decided that this was who she was. A woman who went out to protect those who could not protect themselves, to give a voice to those who could not speak for themselves.

  Would she be content as a wife and mother?

  Her hand stroked her stomach, she could still remember when it was swollen as she carried her children. Cynthia had reached a place in her life where she believed she would never find a man she could trust to help her raise her children. This had led to the belief she would never have any more children. But Hunter challenged all those beliefs. Each and every one of them, and she loved him for it.

  “I thought you’d have that up by now.” His voice in her ear made her jump.

  “You shouldn’t creep up on people like that.” Instead of feeling scared, she was elated to have him so close. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end as his breath warmed her skin.

  “I’ll light the fire.” As quickly as he’d appeared, he was gone, placing the wood down on the ground and then breaking off small bits to make kindling.

  Cynthia focused on her own tasks, even though the nearness of him invaded her thoughts and her body seemed to be pulled toward him. She guessed that’s what they called animal magnetism. Smiling at her own joke, she focused on the tent and began putting it together.

  “There.” She stood up, her arms folded across her as she looked at the small two-man tent. “It’s going to be a squeeze.”

  Hunter came to stand next to her as the fire he’d made crackled and spat. Small flames danced over the wood, and soon the smell of smoke filled their little campsite. “I can’t wait to squeeze in there with you.”

  “I can’t wait to eat.” She looked past him toward the fire. “I don’t suppose we have coffee in the packs, do we?”

  Hunter nodded. “Instant, yes.” He took her hand and led her to the fire, where he’d cleared the ground and set out two logs for them to sit on. “Okay, let’s make dinner.”

  “Our first time making dinner together.” She set their packs down on the ground and they rummaged through them, sorting out all the cooking utensils, and the small kettle into which Hunter poured some of their precious water and set it to boil.

  “We might need Liam to make provision drops if we’re out here too long.” Hunter pulled out some packets of dried food and set them down on the ground. Then he unwrapped a couple of fruit pies. “I asked the lady at the diner to wrap them well. I figured we might need a treat tonight.”

  “You figured right.” Cynthia helped Hunter prepare the food. They boiled water for coffee and to add to the emergency rations, but Hunter also had some partly-baked bread rolls which he cooked in a makeshift oven made from rocks he’d found on the forest floor. “You really are a keeper.”

  “Thanks. If all I have to do is cook for you and keep you warm, I’m in for an easy life.” He sat down on his log with a plateful of food and a cup of coffee beside him on the ground. He looked so at home out here in the forest.

  “This would be like a vacation to most people.” She ate her food and washed it down with her instant coffee, which was so good it rivaled anything she’d ever tasted. She suspected it was because she was so hungry and hadn’t drank coffee all day.

  “I often thought it would be great to take people into the mountains and teach them survival skills.” Hunter ate slowly, savoring each mouthful, while Cynthia wanted to eat as fast as she could. But she slowed down and enjoyed each mouthful.

  “Why don’t you?” she asked. “It’s a good way for people from the city to learn about the wilderness around them. You could make it shifter focused.”

  Hunter waved his fork at her. “That is a good idea.” He paused and looked at her with his head tilted to one side. “Although one of us will have to stay at home and look after the children. And your career is important to you.”

  She chased a piece of bread around her plate with her fork. As she watched it, she tried to figure out exactly what she wanted from life. “I don’t mind staying at home. I miss the kids. I think when this all happened, I had a rush of nostalgia. You know, I thought I was missing out on something. But it turns out the thing I’m really missing out on is watching my children grow up.”

  “There’s a common ground somewhere.” Hunter got up and came to sit beside her. “It doesn’t have to be one thing or another.”

  She thought about his words for a moment. “You might be right. I could ask at the local paper if there is an opening for a reporter. I could cover local news while also tackling wider issues.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me, and what newspaper wouldn’t like Cynthia Callaghan on their news team?” He finished his food and stared at the fire. “I never guessed I’d fall in love with someone famous.”

  “Really? I’m surprised, since you spend so much time guarding the rich and famous.” She nudged him. “So this is it, we’re planning our lives together.”

  “We are.” He stood up and began to tidy the camp. “We should get some sleep. If not, we’ll stay up all night talking.”

  Cynthia got up and helped him put everything away. “We don’t want to attract wild animals,” she said with a small smile, which she hoped was sexy, but might look like she had a stomach ache. She was out of her comfort zone when it came to flirting.

  “You drive me wild.” He caught her in his arms and pulled her close, a growl rumbling in his chest.

  “I am falling for you.” She stroked his cheek and then leaned forward
to kiss his lips. “In a big way.”

  “That’s my plan,” he told her. “Lure you out here into the forest and offer to worship you with my body.”

  “And there I was thinking you only planned to protect me with your body.” She slipped her hands around his neck. “Want to go make out in the tent?”

  “I can think of nothing I want more.” He let her go and picked up the backpacks, checked there was nothing left out and then stamped on the fire, pitching them into darkness.

  A shiver of desire and fear raced through her. She was alone in the forest with a bear.

  How crazy was that?

  Chapter Twenty-Four – Hunter

  Cynthia drove him crazy, she got under his skin like no one else ever had. His heart beat for her, pumping blood through his veins so he could truly worship her. Not just her body, but everything about her deserved his undivided attention.

  As he fumbled with the opening of the tent, her hands closed around his and helped him with the zipper.

  “Anyone would think you were a little excited to be sleeping under nylon tonight,” she purred.

  “I am excited.” He shouldered his way into the tent and set Cynthia down on the sleeping bag she’d laid out for them.

  “How excited?” she asked.

  “You have no idea.” He lay down next to her and pulled her close.

  “Can you give me an idea?” Cynthia asked.

  “No. I can give you a reality.” He slid his hands under her sweater and lifted it up, dragging it over her head.

  “You are my new reality.” She cupped his face in her hands and kissed his lips as he threw her sweater to the corner of the tent, which was all of a foot away. But he figured it was the thought, or the action, that counted. His need for her burned hot and fierce, like wildfire, all-consuming. It didn’t matter where they were, soft comfortable bed, or hard forest floor, he would always want her anytime, anyplace.

  He unzipped her jeans and she wriggled out of them, his elbows hitting the roof of the tent as he fought to get them off her feet. Over her boots.

  “I forgot about those.” He slid down to the end of the tent and unlaced her hiking boots, which he placed at the end of the bed. He wasn’t going to throw them and risk hurting her.

  We can never hurt her, his bear’s words echoed in his head.

  Hunter knew it wasn’t as easy as that. Accidents happened. Sometimes no matter how hard you tried, people got hurt.

  His bear growled in agreement and settled down in the corner of his mind to sleep.

  “Maybe you should get naked, too.” Cynthia propped herself up on one elbow and raised an eyebrow, indicating his clothes.

  “Sexy and clever.” He winked at her and she giggled.

  “Not clever, it’s human nature to want to see your man naked.” She settled down to watch him strip his sweater over his head, followed by his T-shirt. Then, somehow, with his body contorted at odd angles, he managed to remove his jeans.

  “I’ve been in some tight spaces before, but this is the worst.” He collapsed down by her side and pushed his clothes to one side.

  “Then let’s make this the best.” She kissed his chest, small butterfly kisses that drove him wild. His need for her grew with each moment he spent with her. His hunger for her remained unsated.

  “It already is the best.” He kissed her shoulders, turning her gently onto her back, and sliding between her thighs as her tongue curled around his nipple. He groaned, a primal sound that filled the small space of the tent. Her scent thrilled him, her touch aroused him.

  “I could get used to this.” She kissed him, her own hunger matching his as she spread her thighs wider and he nestled deeper between them.

  “I’m not going anywhere.” He nipped the sensitive skin of her neck, and slid his hands between their bodies, pushing her panties to one side and slipping a finger inside her. She was as aroused as he, ready for him. But he wanted to push her further, until she ached for him with every fiber of her being.

  In and out he stroked her inner walls, listening for her sighs of contentment. The tension in her body grew, her fingers stroking his skin were firmer, her tongue more insistent as she licked his nipples. Cynthia slipped her hand down over his back, and lower, to press against his butt as if urging him on.

  She wanted him, he was in no doubt about that. And he could not hold on much longer. The need to bury himself inside her was almost too much. It overpowered him, an uncontrollable urge.

  “Make love to me,” she whispered in his ear.

  “Your wish is my command.” He lifted his head, a frown creasing his forehead. “That’s the cheesiest thing I’ve ever said to a woman. No, that’s the cheesiest thing I’ve ever said to anyone.”

  “I like cheese.” She kissed his lips and he entered her, pushing deep inside her. She gasped against his mouth, her teeth nipping his lower lip as she wrapped her legs around him.

  Hunter moved, slowly, deliberately, taking her, claiming her out there in the wilds of the forest.

  Forgotten were the reasons they were here in these intimate moments where a shifter took his mate. The world outside did not belong to them, and they did not belong to it. They were the only two people in existence as he made love to Cynthia, the woman who would be his lifelong partner and hopefully, the mother of his children.

  The friction between their bodies was incredible, his nerve endings on fire as they made contact with her flesh. Hunter flexed his hips and pulled out of her, before thrusting deep inside her once more. Over and over, he impaled her on his hard length until he could hold on no longer.

  With a guttural cry, he came, jerking into her, his seed filling her.

  Cynthia shifted under him, changing the angle of her body. She needed more and he would give her what she needed. In everything they did. In every facet of their lives, he would fulfill this promise to his mate.

  Sliding his hand between them, he touched her, stroking her mound, teasing the sensitive bundle of nerves between her thighs. Her voice rose, small cries as she climbed toward her own climax. Her fingers clutched at him, her nails digging into his flesh as at last she came, her inner walls pulsing around him.

  Hunter strained to push deeper, as she gripped him tight, her orgasm powerful. She nipped his neck, driving him crazy. He wanted to stay like this forever, the high of making love to her was addictive.

  But the high of lying by her side, holding her in his arms when their orgasms had subsided, was even more.

  “It’s like being in our own little cocoon.” Cynthia reached up and touched the roof of the tent.

  Hunter pulled the sleeping bag around them as a shiver passed through her. “And I’ll be your warm blanket for the night.”

  She turned onto her side and faced him, stroking his face with her fingers. “From now on I want you to be the first thing I see in the morning and the last thing I see at night.”

  “I’ll always be here.” He kissed her cheek and held her close as his senses roamed out into the forest. There was no one else out there in range. They were all alone.

  And he liked it that way. Just for tonight. He knew that Cynthia’s children would always be there and would often be the last thing they saw at night if one of them was working away or if the children had a bad dream. But he understood the sentiment behind her words.

  Just as he was beginning to understand the complexities of their lives together. Not just because Cynthia had children, but because of their careers, too. But he was certain they could make it work. That’s what relationships were all about. He’d seen it with his parents, even though they were mates and meant to be together, it didn’t mean that life was always perfect.

  There was conflict, there were choices made and sacrifices, too. But through it all, they loved each other and that was one thing that would never change. He’d grown up knowing that.

  “What was that?” Cynthia sat up in the tent, her breathing rapid.

  “I’m not sure.” Hunter shifted his
body and sat up, his ears straining to listen to the sounds of the forest. He’d fallen asleep without realizing. Lulled by images of Cynthia and her children and the life they would lead together.

  “There’s something out there,” Cynthia spoke so quietly it was no more than a whisper.

  He nodded, his senses pushing out further into the forest. But he didn’t have to push too far, his senses picked up the presence of another shifter almost immediately. If he hadn’t been asleep, he would have sensed it from a greater distance. “It’s a shifter.”

  Cynthia’s hand clutched his arm. “A good or bad shifter?”

  Hunter shrugged, aware that whoever was out there might be able to hear everything they said. There was only one way to find out. He would have to go out there and confront them. “Stay here.”

  He pulled on his pants, unzipped the tent flap and slid out. There. He saw it, a small bear, fully grown but immature. The bear looked up at Hunter from where he was sniffing around the fire. It froze, small eyes fixed on Hunter, and then turned to run into the woods, which were still shrouded in darkness.

  He was fast, but Hunter was faster. In one swift leap, he shifted in midair and ran after the bear as he left the perimeter of the camp.

  Hunter knocked the young shifter to the ground. The young bear rolled over and over, before leaping to his feet and running into the forest.

  Hunter had a choice. Let him go and track him or follow close behind.

  His bear swung his head around and looked back toward the tent. He couldn’t leave his mate out here alone in the forest. His first need was to protect her.

  And she’ll tell us to follow the bear cub, his bear told Hunter.

  He wasn’t exactly a cub, Hunter said.

  Near enough. And he was scared. His bear lifted his head and sniffed the air. We can track him, he’ll lead us to the others.

  There are others. You are sure? Hunter asked his bear.