Bearly Living: Foxhollow Den #1 (Alaskan Den Men) Read online

  Bobbie’s smile faded, and her mouth tightened. Grant watched the flecks of gold in her eyes sparkle. She didn’t turn around, instead pointed an index finger behind her. “Your brothers?”

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  “No.” She pulsed a low growl. Her eyes changed to full gold, and her pupils dilated. “I’ll take care of it.”

  Grant stood to block the door. “What are you going to do? Chase them down the street in bear form? You’re likely to get a tranq in the ass.”

  Bobbie knocked over her chair as she stood, her breathing erratic, and her eyes boomeranged from one side of the room to the other.

  If Grant didn’t do something, she’d shift and possibly destroy the inside of her café. Not seeing any other option, he pulled her body close against his chest and restrained her arms. She didn’t fight, but her breathing pushed her breasts into him.

  “Control it,” he ordered.

  “I can’t.”

  “Don’t let the bear win. Think about something else.”

  Bobbie tossed her head back, exposing the smooth skin of her throat. “I can’t.”

  Regret would come later, but right now he needed to give her something else to think about.

  ∞∞∞

  Grant’s mouth crushed down hard on top of hers, jolting her out of the shift frenzy. The sloppy, forced kiss wasn’t what Bobbie expected. He withdrew as fast as he’d descended upon her, and she realized a startling truth. The bear inside stopped wanting out. Instead, for the first time in a long time, her inner bear and her outer human agreed on something.

  They wanted more of him. More wet, sloppy kisses.

  With her arms pinned roughly against her sides, she had no choice but to notice everything about him. Up close. His honey-colored eyes were framed with dark lashes. He had more than a few freckles sprinkled on his nose and across his cheeks before becoming covered with several shades of brown stubble. When the light hit his beard just right she could see a few flecks of red as well. Sexy. His body was hard. From his chest to stomach to the front of this thighs.

  His grip loosened, but she pulled him back against her and dug her sharp nails into his back. When his mouth parted slightly at the pain she inflicted, she took her chance and pressed her lips against his. She didn’t waste any time, immediately sliding her tongue against his lips, wanting to enter his mouth.

  He met her halfway, and their tongues danced at the edge of the other’s lips. His low moan incited her to pull back and nip at his neck. He could take her roughness. She knew it as sure as she knew she could take his. This was exactly what she needed. Screw the peace and quiet of small town Alaska; she needed a knee-wobbling, hard, and rough encounter with this man.

  “What the eff is going on?”

  Bobbie jumped away from Grant and wiped the back of her hand across her mouth. Her cousin Samantha had the worst timing.

  Grant righted the chair she’d knocked over and grabbed his plate from the table. He walked past Samantha and into the café’s kitchen.

  Samantha leaned against a table. “Were you just making out with a Wright?”

  Bobbie glanced at her hands. No itching this time. No residual effects from her outburst. No bear trying to break through and wreck everything. “That Wright just kissed the shift out of me.”

  She trotted to the kitchen and out the back door. Grant had almost made it out of the alley when she called to him. “Hey.”

  He stopped, but he didn’t turn around. “Thanks for the steak.”

  “Can we do it again?” she asked, hating the anxious tone of her voice.

  He faced her, his expression serious. “No.”

  “Why not?”

  A heavy, exaggerated sigh lifted his chest up and down. “Our families don’t mix.”

  “Why? Because of some stupid land dispute?”

  He crossed his arms. “Yes.”

  “I bet you don’t even know where that strip of land is,” she said, mimicking his stance.

  His defensive posture slackened. “Of course I do.”

  “Good. Pick me up at nine this evening, and you can show it to me. I’ll pack us a dessert.”

  Chapter Three

  The picnic basket filled with a variety of donuts reeked of desperation. Bobbie took back the thought. The s’mores-inspired donuts smelled delicious. The bottle of red wine, thick picnic blanket, plus the lack of bra and panties under her light blue cotton shift were what pushed her to a new level of desperate.

  Ugh. She disliked that word with deep passion. Desperate.

  Ever since her mom divorced her bear-shifter dad and refused to acknowledge Bobbie’s bear side, Bobbie had a growing ball of anger in the pit of her stomach that allowed her bear to break free more and more frequently. Even stubbing her big toe caused an episode. She loved working in advertising in Florida. Even more than that, she loved being around people. Normal people. Over the past few years she’d wrecked several personal and professional relationships. All because of the bear inside.

  The thing that made her abnormal. And she was desperate to keep that thing locked away.

  Grant had stopped the bear-isode with a single kiss. Think of the power his strong hands would have when they explored her body and brought her to climax. She didn’t doubt he could. Gooseflesh raised on her arms. If he’d just show up tonight, she’d proposition him and test her theory. A few weeks of hot sex, and she’d be good for a few years. Anger issues solved.

  Her ad agency knowledge would be useful. All she had to do was get him to open the packaging, and then he’d be sold.

  A light tapping from the back door snapped her out of the sexy daydream. She opened it to find a clean-shaven Grant with a camo skull cap covering his hair. A woodsy aftershave tickled her nose. He still wore the faded jeans from earlier, but he’d switched out the white T-shirt for a black one and wore a dark camo long-sleeved shirt over it.

  “Why are you dressed like a tree?”

  He studied her dress. “Why aren’t you wearing a bra?”

  Heat from an immediate blush warmed her chest and closed in on her cheeks. She’d lie now and hit him with the truth after dessert. “Um, in case your brothers interrupt our evening and I accidently shift. I didn’t want to ruin my nice bra and panties.”

  “You aren’t wearing panties, either?” His gaze centered on the spot just below her stomach.

  “I, uh, need to get the picnic basket.” At least his expression held a decent amount of male curiosity. Maybe this won’t be so hard to sell after all.

  He took the basket-of-seduction from her, and she followed him into the back alley. When she didn’t see a vehicle nearby, she stopped. “Where’s your truck?”

  “Down around the corner.”

  A few extra steps, and she caught up with him matching his stride. “I must say, I’m not used to being a dirty little secret.”

  His dark eyebrows drew together in a heavy frown. “How much has your cousin told you about the issues between our families?”

  Bobbie took the basket from his hand as they approached the back of his truck. “She just said it was some land dispute. Which is a big deal up here, I guess. People get killed over land.”

  “So she’s never mentioned my sister Caroline?”

  “Not that I recall.”

  He opened the truck door for her. After shutting it firmly, he trotted around the front to the driver’s side. Her curiosity piqued, she held the picnic basket handles tightly while waiting for him to continue the story. He pulled into traffic and headed north outside of the borough limits of Foxhollow.

  Ten minutes of silence, and then he dumped the rest of the story in her lap. “Your cousin Samantha slept with my sister’s fiancé six months ago. The night before the wedding. Caroline walked off into the woods, and we haven’t seen her since. Now there’s a rift between the families.”

  Holy shit. Definitely not the story she’d been expecting. Samantha had never once mentioned a tryst with an engaged man. Still
, she’d wait to hear Samantha’s side of the story before she passed any judgement. “I didn’t know that. So why do the families tell everyone it’s over land?”

  Grant shrugged one shoulder. “The land dispute came shortly after. It’s a small sliver of land the first surveyor got wrong when some land exchanged hands several years ago. Now there are several surveyors involved, and it’s become a legal thing.”

  Bobbie didn’t press him further. The feud wasn’t her fight, and loyalty to her cousin prevented her from taking anything at total face value. Plus, she wouldn’t be here long enough for it to matter. She had one goal, and the man beside her could help accomplish it.

  He pulled the truck off-road and followed a worn grassy trail through the trees. “Here we are.”

  The dense forest didn’t really afford a place to spread out a blanket. “Did you really bring me out to the strip of land?”

  “No, I need a lookout while I bury some bait.”

  “A lookout?”

  “Yes, sniff around, and let me know if you smell any humans in the area so we aren’t on the receiving end of a bullet. I don’t trust anyone who’d trespass and put out bait.”

  The scent of bears was much easier to pick up than the scent of humans. Human smells lingered and stuck to everything. Mostly immune to them after years of living as one of them, she doubted she’d be any help. “Not a great idea. I don’t have as sharp a sense of smell as most bears would.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because I’ve spend most of my life avoiding anything to do with being a bear.” Nothing about this evening was going as planned. “Maybe you should just take me back to the café.”

  Grant placed his hands around her waist and lifted her into the bed of the truck with ease. “If you be my lookout for thirty minutes, I’ll take you to a private spot not too far from here, and we can have the picnic.”

  “Deal.” Her hips wanted more of his hands, and she’d be damned if she let her hips down. She couldn’t have misread the signals from earlier. He’d definitely shown some interest in what she had under her dress.

  Bobbie stood in the truck bed and performed her lookout duties. The light breeze blew her skirt against her legs, and the hem tickled her calves. She lifted her nose to the air, but the only smells she could distinguish were wild roses and the pungent bait mixture containing fish guts.

  Grant dug a wide hole and dumped the fish pieces from three metal containers into it. He covered the hole and tossed the shovels into the truck bed. She took his hand, and he helped her down to the ground. He held her close for a brief moment. “There’s a clearing about thirty minutes’ walking distance past the edge of this forest.”

  “We’re going to walk?” She’d yet to give up wearing flip flops, and they weren’t made for hiking.

  Grant glanced at her shoes. “You really are a city girl, aren’t you?”

  “I miss the hustle and bustle a little.”

  They walked in silence for a few minutes, and she looped her arm through his. He didn’t pull away, but she could feel his posture stiffen.

  She met his thoughtful gaze with her own as he searched her face.

  “Why are you here?” he asked. “In Alaska, I mean. You’re obviously a true Florida girl.”

  “Some jerk bet Samantha she couldn’t make a donut café successful. We thought that was total B. S., and a business plan was formed.”

  He jabbed her with his elbow. “Funny. So what’s the real reason?”

  “I lost a client because of my ‘too aggressive nature,’ so I shifted in my office and shredded the furniture. When my boss found me naked in a pile of broken desk pieces, he asked me to leave and never, ever come back.” The information was easy to relay to another person, but after saying it she always felt a hard twist in her gut.

  “How did that lead to donuts?”

  “Baking donuts calms me. And when Samantha called asking if I wanted to join in on buying the old steak house, I didn’t think twice.”

  “Why did it have to be my favorite steak house?” The bottom portion of his lip protruded just the tiniest bit.

  Bobbie shook her head at his pout. “The owners were retiring and wanted to sell. We didn’t steal your favorite place out of feudal spite.”

  The smile she’d been hoping to see finally made its way to his lips. “When will you go back to Florida?”

  Bobbie focused on maneuvering her flip-flops through some overgrown brush. “When I get the bear under control.”

  “How do you plan on doing that?”

  They walked into a clearing of tall grass and more wild rose bushes. Butterflies flitted from flower to flower. He set the basket down and removed the blanket from the top.

  As she helped him spread the blanket evenly on the ground, she worked up her nerve. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. I’ve been able to stop myself from time to time, but I’ve never had anyone help stop me like you did today. I’d like your help.”

  “Okay.”

  “Really, okay?”

  “Sure.” He sat down on the blanket and dug through the picnic basket. Helping himself to a white chocolate donut, he chewed thoughtfully for a few moments. “We can meet out here a couple times a week.”

  “A couple times a week. Wow.” Insatiable. She liked it.

  “Yeah. I had to do the same with the twins. Not everyone controls their inner bear or shifts smoothly. They even have a camp that specializes in helping teens get it under control.”

  “Wait. What?” She stopped herself mid-sitting and stumbled forward. Grant didn’t seem to notice.

  “As long as we don’t advertise it to the families, then I have no problem teaching you how to control your anger and get you in touch with your bear. You’ll be back in Florida in no time.” He dabbed at his mouth with a cloth napkin, missing the white chocolate icing on his chin.

  “Oh. Okay.” So no sex. Wait. That’s not okay. “No. Actually, that’s not what I had in mind.”

  “What did you have in mind?” His eyebrows knitted together accentuating his question.

  Bobbie moved closer and sat down in front of him, invading his personal space. First, she wiped the white chocolate off his chin with her thumb and licked off the sugary goodness. Then she slid the tips of her fingers down his stomach stopping just above his hips. “This is what I had in mind.”

  He didn’t push her away but scooted back slowly. “I don’t think we should go there.”

  “I want to go there. Really, really go there.” She didn’t want to get further in touch with her bear. She wanted to kill it with desire. The instant attraction for Grant was like nothing she’d felt before, but she didn’t need the boyfriend experience. She wanted to pin him to the ground and ride him until she burst with pleasure.

  And she would not take no for an answer.

  ∞∞∞

  Grant was in so much trouble.

  “You’re thinking too hard,” she said, her hands playing at the bottom of his T-shirt.

  If she moved two inches lower she’d find hard. He’d been fighting his erection since she’d opened the door of her café wearing nothing but a thin dress outlining every single curve of her delicious body. He still couldn’t explain why he’d shown back up at the café, but he’d been unable to think of anything else since meeting her. “I’m not sure what to think.”

  “While you work on your thinking, I’m going to get the rest of this chocolate off your chin.”

  Bobbie pushed her way onto his lap, wrapping her legs around his waist. He sucked in a sharp breath as she kissed his jawline and then used her tongue to forge a hot path across the front of his chin.

  This woman made him so hot. “We just met a few hours ago.”

  She ground her hips against him. “I’m not looking for a mate. But the kiss from earlier is all I can think about. You stopped my shift. That’s something I want to explore. And I think we’d be good together in bed. Great actually.” Her kisses continued up his jawline
near his ear. Flicking her tongue against his earlobe, she continued to make a case. “The guys I’ve been with in the past have always labeled me too aggressive. I think you can handle me.”

  He had the distinct impression this interaction between them was more about her handling him. “Handle you out here in all this daylight?”

  “I like the midnight sun. The better to see you with, my dear.” She kissed over his eyelids. “The better to touch you with.” Her hands pulled up the bottom of his T-shirt, and her warm palms connected with his skin. “The better to taste you with.”

  “Bobbie, wait.” Man, he liked the way her name rolled off his tongue.

  Her face displayed an array of emotion, and when she cast her eyes down to the blanket, it appeared she’d settled on embarrassed. “I really am too aggressive, aren’t I?”

  “It’s not that.”

  She quirked an eyebrow. “Don’t like blondes?”

  “I won’t lie and say I don’t want you. But I think we need to set some boundaries.”

  This time she wiggled both eyebrows. “Oh. Like don’t-stick-it-in-there boundaries?”

  “No. More like what happens if our families find out?”

  She used her thumb to trace his ear lobe. “At the end of summer we’ll part as well-satisfied, secret friends. Emphasis on the secret. There’s no need to involve the families. Haven’t you ever wanted something just for you?”

  He did. She topped that very short list. But he needed something else from her. “One more condition.”

  “You need conditions for casual sex? You’re spoiling the mood.” Bobbie slid off his lap and picked through the picnic basket. The fire in her eyes dimmed with each passing moment.

  “You also have to get in touch with your bear side.” It was the animal inside him—not only wanting to protect her but wanting her to protect herself. If someone from the outside looked in and asked him why this condition was so important, he wouldn’t have an answer that made sense. He just knew it to be a truth. The hurt of losing her job radiated in her words when she’d told him the story. This would be the only true way to ensure she got the bear under control. And as much as he wanted her, it’d be a deal breaker if she said no.