The Bear Buys a Bride (A Second Chance Christmas in Bear Creek Book 1)

by Harmony Raines

  Unless your name was Peter.

  No. She would not let thoughts of him spoil this moment.

  Not trusting herself to speak, Sian slid her hand around the nape of Matthew’s neck and pulled him close. He came willingly, their bodies resting next to each other on the bed. Skin against skin, he sought her lips and claimed her mouth with an intensity that ignited her desire. Sian opened her mouth and he slid his tongue along her lower lip tasting her, teasing her. Every nerve ending in her body anticipated his touch, aching for his fingers to caress her soft skin.

  Sian shifted her weight on the bed, angling her body toward him. Matthew took advantage and unclasped her bra and her breasts spilled out, only to be captured by his large hand. With a sigh, she closed her eyes as he teased her nipple with his thumb, his work-hardened hands gentle despite their strength. She reveled in the knowledge that this was the person she was supposed to spend the rest of her life with. She sure could get used to having him in her bed.

  He broke their kiss and lowered his head, capturing her nipple in his mouth. Rolling his tongue around and around, he kicked her arousal up a notch. Sian stroked his toned skin, exploring his body, her fingertips gliding over the contours of his muscles, working downward along his toned abs and then lower until she curled her hand around his hard length.

  Matthew groaned and nipped the sensitive skin of her breasts, while his fingers slid across her skin, lower, much lower until he caressed her mound. Sian opened her thighs, wishing the fabric of her panties wasn’t a barrier between them. Yet his touch was somehow magnified as he played his fingers across the cotton fabric edged with lace.

  Then he moved, his mouth leaving her breasts, to place butterfly kisses over her soft belly. She gasped as his teeth grazed her mound, his tongue flicking out to tease her sensitive bundle of nerves and then his fingers curled around the elastic of her panties and he pulled them down over her curvy thighs. Triumphant, he crawled back up the bed, his body slipping between her thighs and she opened her legs wider to accommodate him, urging him on, needing him to claim her.

  Matthew’s intentions had never been plainer, his expression one of open hunger as he guided himself into her. If she had ever doubted he was a shifter and she was his mate, then the look of pure naked desire on his face would dispel any doubt. Pushing inside her, Matthew thrust his powerful hips forward, impaling her on his hardness. The sensation was incredible as skin slid against skin. Electricity sparked between them as their passion grew.

  He moved, in and out, pushing deeper as if he wanted to crawl inside her skin and be one with her. She ran her nails along his back, urging him on, deeper, harder, his powerful body taking her, waking her dormant body. Sian nipped his neck as he took her toward a shattering climax. She couldn’t hold on, her body, now awakened, needed to reach new heights. When she came, it was as if she’d lost control, giving herself to Matthew and trusting him to go with her wherever their lives might lead.

  As her inner muscles pulsed and throbbed around his hard length, he cried out and lost control, his seed spurting deep inside her. A hot flash containing his very essence. So this was what it was like to mate with a shifter. She envied any woman who did not have the same connection with their man. But perhaps normal couples felt this connection even without the shifter element. Perhaps it was only her marriage to Peter that lacked the same spark.

  “No regrets?” he asked as she lay in his arms, their breathing not yet returned to normal, their bodies slick with heat.

  “Never.” She rolled over and stroked his face with her fingertips. “This is right. This is where we’re supposed to be. I just need time to make sure the girls are happy with the situation. With us.”

  “Us. I like the sound of that.” He stroked her back and tilted his head to look in her eyes. “I’ve only thought of me for so long. But that’s all behind me.”

  “Even if a multi-million dollar property deal came between us?” she asked.

  “Money means nothing next to how I feel for you.” He smiled as she rolled her eyes. “I mean it.”

  “And since you can’t lie, I suppose I’ll have to believe you.”

  “You should, because it’s the honest truth.”

  Chapter Eighteen – Matthew

  Matthew spent the rest of the day floating around on a cloud of happiness. A big white fluffy cloud, the kind that skims across a startling blue sky on a summer’s day. If only he’d known how finding his mate would feel, he’d have spent his whole life looking for her, tearing the world apart until she was in his arms.

  His hands tightened on the steering wheel of the truck he still had on loan from Gus. He was already convinced that he had to trade his car in for a truck. As soon as he had time, he’d head on down to the local car dealership and see what they had on offer. He wanted something reliable, the kind of truck that wouldn’t break down easily. The girls would have to get to school no matter the weather and they wouldn’t do that driving down the country lanes in a car, no matter how heated the seats were.

  He wriggled in the large seat of the truck, he’d never used the heated function since his bear blood always kept him warm. But Sian might have appreciated it. A smile crept over his face. Maybe before he sold the car, he should take her to someplace quiet and make love to her on those heated seats. It certainly would be a unique lasting memory of the car, which until now had been his most prized possession.

  Not anymore, his bear told him. No material thing could eclipse the feelings he had for Sian.

  Love. Where the hell did that come from? It had hit him as soon as the words were out of Sian’s mouth. Hit him hard, right in the solar plexus.

  He parked the truck outside the empty house that Sian used to live in. It was a temporary place for him to sleep. All he had to do was bide his time,

  Unlocking the front door, he went inside and switched on the lights. If he inhaled deeply and focused his inner senses, he could single out Sian’s scent from all the others that filled the house. He closed his eyes and conjured up an image of her lying on the bed in her undergarments. She was stunning, soft and ripe like a peach.

  His bear burst out laughing. Don’t ever say those words out loud, his bear told him. Not if you want Sian in our lives.

  A bubble of laughter built up inside him but before it could go pop, there was a loud knock on the door.

  He stiffened, his senses exploring outward, trying to figure out who it was. Of course, they would be here for Sian, or maybe it was one of her daughters’ friends. Yet the scent of a man reached him through the drafty wood of the front door. A scent he’d smelled before.

  Trying to contain his anger, he spun around and yanked open the front door. “Peter.”

  Peter took a step back. “Why are you in this house?” he accused. “You don’t live here.”

  “Actually I do. Not that it’s any of your business.” Matthew smiled sweetly, trying to contain his bear who was itching to spring out and rip Peter’s throat out.

  “That’s where you are wrong. You are standing in my wife’s house.” Peter jabbed his finger at Matthew but quickly retracted it. “You have no right.”

  “As I understand it, you and Sian are getting a divorce. In fact, if you’d manned up and paid her the money you owe her, you would no longer be man and wife.” He gave Peter a withering look, as if trying to decide if he even counted as a man.

  “You’re just after the money she’ll get from the divorce settlement,” Peter accused.

  “Peter, watch your words, please. I don’t want to take you to court for slander.” Matthew leaned forward, his voice low and menacing. “Believe me, you won’t walk away with a penny to your name.”

  “You are threatening me?” Peter asked, outraged. “Does Sian know what kind of man you are?”

  “Yes. She does.” His deadly calm voice unnerved Peter.

  “I can’t believe she let herself be bought by a man like you,” Peter spat.

  “A man like me? You mean the kind of
man who can see what a wonderful woman Sian is and how she’s raised two great kids?” Rage flared inside Matthew, but he let it simmer, determined not to let it boil over and cause trouble for Sian.

  “My kids.” Peter jabbed his thumb at his own chest.

  “Really? Because as I see it, you haven’t been a husband or a father for a very long time.” His words were like a slap across the face to Peter.

  “She’s told you this?” Peter asked incredulously.

  “No, she didn’t have to tell me, I can see it with my own eyes.” Matthew quelled the rising tirade that surged inside him. “You don’t know how lucky you were.”

  “How lucky I am,” Peter corrected. “Sian is still my wife, Ella and Rachel are still my daughters.”

  “Is that really what you want? Is that really what you think Sian wants? To stay married to a man who treats her with no respect, who didn’t even have the decency to pay her the money from the sale of your house. You made her go to court, you put her through all that stress and still never paid her.” He just about stopped himself from yelling at Peter, telling him he was no longer the man in Sian’s life and the sooner he realized it, the better for all of them.

  “Once the girls leave home, we’ll be together again and back to how life was before,” Peter insisted. “So I’m holding on to the money.”

  “Peter, Peter, Peter.” Matthew shook his head to emphasize his words. “She loves the girls and they might live at home for years.” He raked a hand through his hair, trying to let go of the anger building inside him. “I don’t understand how you would want them to leave home. They are your flesh and blood, you conceived them, most people would kill to have two beautiful children.”

  “But they spoiled everything. We never talked about children then we were having a baby and all our plans were over. Finished. I wanted to love them, I really did. But we had plans. Surely a man like you, someone who has amassed such a great deal of wealth, can see that?” Peter stepped onto the defensive.

  “I’d give everything I have to be a husband and father to a family,” Matthew spoke from the heart, but Peter saw an opportunity.

  “I’ll trade you. All your wealth for my family. I’ll walk away, pay Sian the money from the house, leave her happy...”

  “I don’t know how I’m stopping myself from punching you in the face,” Matthew said calmly.

  “But we’d both get what we wanted.” Peter could not see the flaw in his idea.

  “But I already have everything.”

  Peter’s eyes narrowed. “Sian is my wife. Ella and Rachel are my children.”

  “Are you willing to change to give them the life they deserve?” In that moment, Matthew was scared, scared he might be throwing Sian and her daughters back into their old life. If Peter decided to turn himself around and truly show them love and affection, would they go? And would they be better off if they did?

  Yet this was a man who only moments before was trying to trade them for Matthew’s fortune.

  “I love Sian,” Peter insisted.

  “The woman she is now, or the woman she was when you first met? They are two different people, Peter. Can you see that?” Matthew saw the moment of realization in Peter’s eyes, when he understood he’d been living in a fantasy world. “You can still have a relationship with them. You can still be part of their lives. But you need to do the right thing, Peter.”

  A pang of guilt swept over Matthew. Had he returned to his old manipulative ways? Should he have stayed out of Peter and Sian’s lives and let them resolve their differences?

  No, he knew no man could ever make Sian as happy as he could. As a shifter, his life was devoted to being there for her, through whatever life might throw at them.

  Peter didn’t say a word. He simply turned around and walked away, leaving Matthew in a state of uncertainty.

  Chapter Nineteen – Sian

  Sian lay in bed unable to sleep. She missed Matthew, it was as if a part of her were missing. Yet she wasn’t ready for him to move in with her and the girls. Not yet. Before that happened, she needed to resolve the issues with her marriage. Matthew might seem to be an ordinary man, but he wasn’t, he was well-known in the business community and she didn’t want his name mired down in a scandal.

  Punching her pillow, she tried to get comfortable, before huffing loudly and turning onto her back. She stared at the ceiling. She stared at the window. Her mind filled with endless lists of what she needed to do to get the grooming parlor fully ready for business. Which inevitably sent her mind spiraling down into anger, which was solidly directed at Peter.

  Which inevitably switched to worrying about how her broken marriage would harm Matthew’s reputation.

  By the time she finally fell into an exhausted sleep, it was past one o’clock and it seemed no sooner had she slipped into sleep than the demanding sound of her alarm clock was jerking her awake.

  She dragged a hand through her hair and swung her legs out of bed. Staggering across the room, she headed for the shower, hoping it would wake her up enough to function for the day.

  “You look terrible,” Rachel commented bluntly as she entered the kitchen, where Sian was making toast.

  “Thanks.” Sian smiled brightly. “Just what I needed to hear.”

  “I say it with love,” Rachel told her mom. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes. I just couldn’t sleep thinking of everything I need to do to get the grooming parlor ready. I wanted to do a grand opening before Christmas, but I don’t think it will happen.” She sighed and poured a second cup of coffee.

  “It might,” Rachel said. “You know there’s such a thing as a Christmas miracle.”

  “Christmas miracles always seem to happen to someone else.” Sian hated sounding so negative. “But I can hope.”

  Rachel’s phone beeped, and she pulled it out of her pocket and looked down at the text she’d received. While she was answering it, Sian wandered over to the window and looked up at the mountains. She couldn’t imagine a better view. Sipping her coffee, she imagined how the landscape would change as the seasons turned.

  Promising herself she would look at the view from the window every day of her life here and give thanks for all the good things in her life, she turned around and switched back into mom mode. “Are you ready for school?” she called up to Ella who had come down early for breakfast and was now fixing her hair and applying light makeup.

  “Five minutes,” Ella called back down in reply.

  “I just have to brush my teeth and I’ll be ready,” Rachel said, leaving the table and running upstairs.

  Sian finished her coffee and rinsed the dishes before grabbing her purse and heading for the door. The car would need deicing before they left. But as she opened the front door, the sound of a truck engine reached her. A small smile crossed her lips. Matthew.

  “Hi there.” She grabbed her coat and went out to meet him.

  “Hi.” He got out of the truck and came to her, scooping her up in his arms and holding her close. The warmth of his body was welcome against the chilly morning air.

  He kissed her, robbing her of her breath and of her senses. Sian kissed him back, her body pressed against his as her hands curled around his neck. “Well, that’s woken me up,” she announced when he finally let her go.

  “Didn’t you sleep well?” Matthew asked.

  Sian put her hands to her cheeks. “Is it that obvious?”

  He cupped her chin in his hand and lifted it so their eyes met. “You always look beautiful to me.” He kissed her lips and heat flooded her face.

  “I have to get the children to school.” She took a reluctant step back. “And my car is iced up.”

  “Why don’t I take them?” Matthew asked. “The truck has great traction and it’s already defrosted.”

  A frown creased her brow. “I don’t know...”

  “We could ask them,” he suggested. “I won’t be offended either way.”

  “Okay.” That sounded reasonab
le to Sian. She didn’t want to stop Matthew and the girls from bonding, but she also didn’t want them to feel pressured into spending time with him.

  But when they went inside, the girls seemed more than happy to accept a ride from Matthew.

  “Matthew offered to take you to school...” Before Sian had finished speaking Ella nodded.

  “Sure. Gives you a chance to finish arranging the house.” Ella kissed her mom on the cheek and bounced toward the door, her school backpack slung over her shoulder.

  “What’s happening?” Rachel asked as she reached the bottom of the stairs. She looked up at Matthew and then turned her attention to Sian.

  “Matthew offered to take you to school.” If Sian didn’t know better, she would guess there was something happening that she wasn’t aware of. But they hardly knew each other. Concern nagged at her mind. But the girls were sensible, and she trusted Matthew.

  “Okay, let’s go, I don’t want to be late.” Rachel and Ella exchanged glances that she couldn’t fathom, and they left the house, talking quietly to each other.

  “I’ll see you later today.” Matthew kissed her cheek and then headed for the door.

  “You aren’t coming straight back?” Sian asked. She would like to share a cup of coffee with him before she was due over at the shelter for her morning shift.

  “I have a few errands to run.” He walked backward, drinking in the sight of her before he turned and walked out of the door, leaving her a little puzzled.

  She was definitely reading too much into the situation, perhaps because she had become mistrustful since Peter had his affair. That had hurt her badly. She’d put up with his behavior because she believed families belonged together. She also naively hoped Peter would wake up one morning and realize just how much he was missing out on.

  Perhaps it was time to stop believing in that dream once and for all. Peter was no longer an option, she didn’t want him in her life. Certainly not as a husband. Compared to Matthew, he was a pale shadow about to be eclipsed by a brilliant sun.