Bearllionaire: (BWWM) Paranormal BBW Bear Shifter Romance Standalone (12 page)

“I’ll protect you, Always,” Ryder said in a low, growly voice. “With all parts of me.”

She smiled and reached up to play with his hair. “All parts? Are there more than one?”

He smiled a half smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Maybe.”

“Keeping secrets, hm?”

“Not that I want to,” he said.

“Probably good, though,” she said, stroking a hand down the side of his face. “I’m only just now getting used to the idea of you wanting me. I’ll need some time to recover before you drop any other bombs on me.”

He seemed to wince at that but hid it quickly. What was that?

“What is it?” she asked.

He opened his mouth to tell her but then looked up at the window across from her and his eyes went wide with shock. “Shit.”

She flipped around, feeling a chill rush down her back as she turned to where he’d been looking. At the window, black eyes stared back at her. The bear from before. She screamed and pressed into Ryder as the bear reared up on its back legs and took a swipe at the window.

“Damn it,” Ryder said. “The worst possible time. I should have known.”

“Known what?” she asked, her heart trying to pound out of her chest as the window made a cracking noise and the bear reared back for another blow. It was monstrously huge, and she could feel how tense Ryder was behind her. Clearly, he was afraid of bears too. Who wasn’t?

The sound of shattering glass made her scream again. The bear reached its giant paw through the window, scraping in her direction. Then it pulled out with a howl of pain and reared back again.

She tried to grab Ryder’s arm, but before she could, he pulled out of her reach with a muttered apology. She looked into his eyes in disbelief as he left her alone on the bed. He gave her a look that said how sorry he was just as he reached the door. Then he ran through it, leaving her alone with the bear.

S
he didn’t have
time to feel her heart crack in two because the black bear had shattered more of the window. He reached both paws in and she grabbed a sheet to cover her nakedness as she tried to think what to do. She had only seconds. One more swipe and he’d probably be in. Dammit. Her body was limp, dizzy from the pleasure overload, not ready to go into fight mode, but she tried to drag herself from the bed and tripped.

The bear eyed her—she could swear it looked triumphant—and started to push its upper body through the window. Then its eyes widened and it howled in pain. The next second, it was gone, yanked back through the window by some unknown force.

She clutched the sheet around her and ran to the window. Outside, a tremendous brown bear with a shaggy pelt was fighting with the smaller black bear. The black bear didn’t seem to stand a chance, and he knew it. One massive swipe from the grizzly bear had the black bear running away from the cabin. It sent her one last resentful stare over its shoulder, as if it were promising it would come back, and then disappeared over one of the snowy hills in the distance. Her heart was still pounding, even when the bear was out of sight.

She could have died if not for the other bear.

What was it with her and bears lately?

The grizzly looked over at her, roared with its head back, and then shook off snow and ran off in the opposite direction of the black bear. She almost wanted to thank it, but that was crazy. For all she knew, this bear wanted to eat her too. She crossed the bedroom to the other side of the cabin and looked out. The grizzly was disappearing into the trees.

She ran to her phone. She needed to call someone. Anyone. She had to get out of here. She knew Leslie wouldn’t judge her for running. After she told her about the amazing Ryder Hart running away and leaving her naked and undefended, she’d be on her side for sure.

She didn’t want him to come back and apologize. He’d just sound like Scott. She hadn’t taken him for the kind of weak man that would hurt her and apologize later, like Scott was. But he’d sure acted like one. There was literally no good explanation for leaving her alone. He didn’t take his phone. He didn’t go for help, or if he had, he could have taken her. No, he’d just left her there like she meant nothing.

Right after he’d told her he loved her.

She dialed the number. No answer from Leslie. She tried Kylie. No pick up yet. Perhaps they were still driving down the canyon and didn’t have reception. The incident with the bear had felt like forever but could have taken place in mere seconds.

It was late, and she was alone in the mountains. Ryder might come back, but how could she trust him not to run again? And she couldn’t stay here with a broken window. The black bear might come back. The grizzly had weirdly seemed to be on her side, but the black bear… She knew it wouldn’t stop until it got her. She didn’t know why it wanted her, but it did.

There was one last number on her phone she could call. She had said she’d rather drop dead than ever ask him for help again, but she didn’t actually want to die in a bear attack. And right now, facing Ryder would be worse. After what they’d just shared, how vulnerable she’d allowed herself to be with him…

At least Scott was who he was. A worm. And though he’d been a little persistent over the last year, he’d never actually touched or forced her. He was a weakling and a cheat, but he wouldn’t make any move she couldn’t rebuff. Not if he wanted another chance with her.

She reluctantly dialed the number as a cold gust of wind blew into the cabin through the open window.

“Scott?” she whispered when Scott picked up.

“Janna? What the hell?”

“I need a ride.”

A pause on the other side. “Sure.”

“And you better not try anything.”

“Where are you?” he asked, sounding reasonable, like the Scott she’d first known.

“Up at the lodge.”

“Ah. With him.”

“Are you going to come get me or not?”

“I don’t know. You’ve been ignoring me.”

That was so Scott. Whiny and pathetic, but not threatening. “You owe me,” she said simply, hoping he still felt at least a tinge of the guilt he should feel.

He sighed. “All right. But after this, you owe me.”

She shook her head. If only her little town had cabs that weren’t affiliated with the lodge. “Fine.”

“A date?”

“Scott… don’t push it. I’m in cabin number three.”

“Fine,” he said. “See you soon. I’m leaving now.”

She hung up and set the phone on the bed, wondering when Ryder would come back in. What could he possibly say to excuse himself?

She got up, locked the bedroom door, pulled the curtains closed over the broken window, and changed into jeans and a sweatshirt. Then she began packing, shoving clothing haphazardly into her suitcase. When she was finished, she opened the door to the living room and picked up the clothing Ryder had scattered when he’d picked her up and started making love to her.

How they’d torn at each other’s clothing. It was pure, hot passion. But it was nothing more if he could leave her like that.

He’d said he’d protect her. Well, she was a grown woman and she could deal. She’d already done it once. Honestly, driving home with Scott wouldn’t be so bad after this. At least it would keep her mind off what a fool she’d been and the sheer shock she was still in that Ryder had run from the bear.

A part of her wanted to stay and listen to his explanation. But when she was fully packed and he hadn’t returned, she decided she couldn’t stay any longer. She sat on the couch and waited for Scott.

After a few moments, the door opened, and Ryder stood there.

Naked, his hair covered in snow.

She didn’t even know what to say. On the one hand, his face had become familiar to her. The features beloved. And she wanted to rush into his arms and feel safe again.

On the other, the image of him running out of the room without a word was burned into her brain.

“Janna, we need to talk,” he said, walking forward.

She took a deep breath, trying to calm her anger so she could stay cool and say what needed to be said. “About what? About how you left me after promising to protect me or about how you were apparently running around in the snow naked while I was in fear for my life?”

He blanched. “I know it looks bad, but I can explain.”

She heard her voice grow slightly hysterical but couldn’t stop it. “Oh really? Please do!” She waited, knowing there would be no explanation.

Ryder bit his lip and then shook his head and walked to the closet to pull out his travel case. He pulled on clothes, and she noticed he was shivering slightly. Well, too bad.

He walked forward as if to join her on the couch, but her furious expression stopped him dead in his tracks. She put up a hand.

“No, if you’re going to explain, explain from there. I can’t think when you’re close.”

One corner of his mouth almost quirked up at that, but he seemed to grasp the seriousness of the situation and what he’d done. She seriously hoped Scott drove slow so she’d get to hear whatever crazy story he came up with to excuse his actions. She could enjoy sharing it with the girls later.

“I…”

But a knock sounded at the door and Ryder turned toward it in shock. When he looked back at her, there was a hint of betrayal in those deep-blue eyes. “You called someone?”

She stood and grabbed her suitcase, fighting back tears. She didn’t want to hurt him, but what could he expect? That she’d stay the rest of the week with him after that? No way. “Sorry, Ryder. I know you think I’m a strong woman, but I’m not that strong. This isn’t going to work out.”

He scratched at his head, ruffling the hair there furiously, still looking like he wanted to say something but knew it would sound crazy.

Well, he could keep his secrets. And she could go back to her ordinary life. It wasn’t so bad compared to nearly being eaten by a bear.

“Don’t leave,” he said, walking forward to put his arms on hers. “You don’t understand. You could be in danger.”

She met his eyes. “Yeah, if I stayed with you.”

“No, just give me a minute to explain. I have to show you.”

“No,” she said. “I have to go. Maybe I’ll cool down later. Maybe at some point we can talk. But right now, I need to be home. Where I feel safe.” She opened the door and Ryder sucked in his breath and let out a low curse when he saw Scott at the door.

“Not with him,” he growled.

She felt her hackles rise and didn’t see why he had any right to judge her. “Yes, him. He may be a cheat, but he’ll get me home safe.”

“Like hell,” Ryder growled, coming between her and Scott. This display of protective dominance nearly made her knees weak again, but her rational mind was now firmly in the driver’s seat and she wasn’t letting it out again. She pushed hard on him, but he didn’t budge.

“It’s not your choice! You can’t force me,” she said.

At that, he let out a frustrated exhale and moved to the side. She walked to Scott, who put an arm around her waist. She let him. Not that she wanted him to, but she needed Ryder to get the hint and back off. At least for now. She needed to go cry it out somewhere where there were no bears and no confusing billionaires either.

“Wait,” he said. “Just give me a minute to explain.”

She clenched her suitcase. Everything in her body wanted to listen to him, wanted him to have a way to make it all okay. But she knew he couldn’t. “You should have explained before you left me alone,” she said.

Scott looked down at her curiously, but she just pulled away from him and walked out the door, dragging her suitcase behind her. Scott’s truck was close by, and he loaded her luggage without a word and helped her into the passenger’s seat.

Ryder came out into the snow in his bare feet, looking more like a desperate beggar than one of the most powerful men in the tech world. His blue eyes bored into hers, begging her not to go.

She turned away as Scott shut the door and refused to look up as they pulled away. She heard an angry roar and looked up to see Ryder had disappeared. Probably back into the cabin. He was good at running.

As they pulled out, she swore she saw the grizzly bear from before running across the white snow and back behind the lodge. It simply confirmed she’d made the right choice.

She leaned her cheek on her hand and rested her head against the frozen window, hoping Scott would just stay silent for the rest of the ride.

R
yder ran angrily
in his bear form, wondering what he could have done differently while at the same time knowing there was nothing else he could have done.

He couldn’t shift in the room with her. Even if he could get past the fear of telling her what he was, he knew there was a big risk that with his huge bear there, she could get hurt. And he wouldn’t be able to get out the small window once in bear form. Or the bedroom door. And he would have wasted precious time having to lumber around to the back.

No, the best, quickest thing to do, instinctively, was run and change as quickly as possible so he could get the bear away from the window and keep his mate safe.

Damn! He’d been so close. She’d been opening her heart to him, trusting him, and now she thought he was the worst kind of man. Even worse than she probably could have imagined to be fearful of.

He hadn’t thought about how it would look. He’d simply thought about what would be safest for her and done it, hoping he could explain afterward.

Oh, how he’d wanted to kill that stupid bear who dared to threaten her. But he knew it could traumatize her to watch him take it apart. So he’d simply chased it away and then patrolled the cabin until the scent had faded completely and the bear was far gone.

By the time he’d gotten back in, it had been too late. Oh, how the triumph of protecting her had faded when he’d seen the hate in her eyes. How it had stabbed him in the gut to see she’d immediately turned back to the man that hurt her in the beginning.

He’d wanted to charge the car and slash the tires and carry his mate inside and make love to her until she listened. But he couldn’t. It would only hurt things between them more.

She’d said maybe they could talk later. If only he didn’t go mad worrying about her in the meantime.

He wasn’t worried about Scott. Jealous, yes. Angry, yes. But he’d seen nothing about the man that said he was going to take advantage. If anything, he’d seemed a little afraid of Ryder. Understandably. He was coming between him and his mate at a time when Ryder needed to protect her.

And Scott had no chance of it. When he’d smelled him while fresh from his bear form, he’d known. There was no bear in Scott. So what would he and Janna do if the black bear decided to follow them back to town and pay a visit to them there?

He growled and slashed at a tree when he thought of the possibility of Scott
not
taking her home. Maybe she wouldn’t want to be alone tonight.

But damn it, she had to know better than that, didn’t she? Scott could be nice, he was sure, but in the end, he’d still be the weakling that broke her heart. At least Ryder only broke her heart while trying to protect her life.

Even now, he couldn’t regret what he’d done because he’d rather she was unharmed and angry at him than hurt. Angry, he could fix.

Even if the jealous, possessive animal inside him almost wanted to give up now that it looked like she’d chosen another male. Almost. In reality, every part of him wanted to fight. Fight until she was safe, fight until she was his, and fight until she was back in his arms.

He huffed as he ran down the road where they’d gone, trying to retain his human reasoning. He was Ryder Hart. Shrewd. Powerful. He made grown men tremble in boardrooms. He could control this. He could.

But his bear was still charging down the road, following the scent of the truck his mate had left in, staying just far enough out of sight not to scare her by letting her see him.

What he planned to do when he caught up, he didn’t know. He just knew that every part of him needed to see her safe. A little ways down the road, he stopped.

His head started to clear, and the scent of the truck was fading. When he did see Janna again, he needed to be Ryder, not a bear. A bear would only scare her. And yes, he would have to show her his bear; it was the only way things would make sense and she would know he hadn’t left her. But not yet. First, he needed to know she could give him a chance as a man.

Jealousy dug deep into his chest and he fought the transformation back into a man. Nothing good could come of wandering naked in the woods right now. He ran as fast as his legs could carry him, which was very fast, back to the cabin and hurriedly transformed and changed into his clothes when he got inside the living room. Then he put on boots, grabbed his phone, and ran to the lodge.

He unlocked the phone as he ran, dialing the first number that came to mind.

“Ryder?” Riley’s voice was groggy, slurred. “What’s up, man? It’s late.”

“I need a guy on surveillance,” he snapped, hoping his brother would immediately catch the seriousness of his tone.

“Whoa, okay. Why?”

“I need one of your bodyguards. Can you spare him?”

“Sure, what happened? You okay? Where are you? I can come out.”

“I’m headed to the lodge. Almost there.”

“I’ll see you in a minute.”

Ryder reached the side door to the huge lodge at the same time Riley opened it for him. His younger brother drew him into a bear hug and held on tight, then released him. Ryder bristled at the contact. Not all bears liked hugs.

“Where’s Mike?” he snapped.

“He’s getting dressed. I don’t have them on duty when I’m just at the bar.”

“Why did you bring them, then?”

Riley shrugged. “You never know.”

Ryder put a hand to his face and sighed. “Fine. I’ll write down the address. I need someone outside. Watching for bears, in particular.” Since Mike was a highly trained wolf shifter, Ryder knew he could handle it.

Riley raised an eyebrow, finally grasping the seriousness of the situation. “Bears? Or bear shifters?”

“I think you know,” Ryder said.

“Shit,” Riley said. “Janna?”

Ryder nodded. “I had to leave her to transform. A bear attacked the window. She thought…”

“She thought you ran away!” Riley’s eyes widened and he barked out a laugh. “That’s hilarious.” At Ryder’s scowl, he frowned and shook his head. “I mean, it would be if it hadn’t blown everything to shit, right?”

Ryder just glared.

“All right, Mike’ll be on the job. How long do you want him?”

“No more than a couple days. I’m giving her space so she can cool down, and then I’ll talk to her.”

Riley sighed and put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. Ryder glared at it, and he removed it. “Look, you know women don’t actually want that, right?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean they hate when you give them space. When they say they need space, they usually want you to chase them. Sometimes they’ll get mad if you don’t.”

Ryder scoffed. “That’s absurd. Why would I go against what she wants?”

“Because she’s wrong and you know it. And it hurts her to be thinking the wrong thing, and you can correct it for her.”

“She wouldn’t talk to me. Hell, I don’t blame her. I don’t know what I would have done differently. I should have explained or something. I should have taken a second to tell her. Anything but just run out of the house and have her see me walk in a few minutes later, totally naked.”

“That does look weird, bro. All the more reason to track her down and make her see the truth.”

Ryder raised an eyebrow. “See, but that’s the thing with dating humans. I can’t just show up and intimidate her with my bear. It’d scare her.”

“More than seeing you run away from a fight to play naked in the woods? Nah, I don’t think so.”

When had his brother gotten so wise about women? Practice made perfect maybe, he thought skeptically. But he couldn’t deny Riley might be right about Janna. “What do I do?”

“Now
that
I don’t know. I’ll send Mike down there, but I’d get your ass down there as soon as possible.”

“Tonight?” he asked.

Riley shrugged. “I don’t know. Might be smart to let her get some sleep. How did she get back down?”

“Her ex,” Ryder said, blurting it out through a lump in his throat.

“Damn!” Riley exclaimed. “She threw you aside fast. You sure you want this one?”

Ryder’s expression darkened. “I
only
want this one. I’m going to fix this.”

“Sure, bro,” Riley said, shaking his head. “But how, I don’t know.”

“I’m an alpha,” Ryder said. “I’ll figure it out.”

“Sure.” Riley placed the call to Mike and then slipped his phone back in his pocket. “But maybe you’ll want to get down there and stay somewhere in town. So you’re close in case she needs you. And so you can see if the ex takes her home or to his place.”

Ryder felt his bear rise up inside him. He wouldn’t let that happen. Scott would only take advantage of her and hurt her again. He liked to think Janna would never go for it, but he’d left her hurt and probably feeling vulnerable.

Still, he’d tear Scott apart before he let him touch her.

But what if Janna
wanted
Scott to touch her? The thought made him nearly lose control of his bear right there.

But then he took a deep breath and summoned the rational mind that had made him who he was. In this fight for his mate, brain would be just as important as brawn.

And his brain combined with his passion had never let him down.

“I’m going down there. But I still want Mike.”

“Sure thing. I’ll text him your number. He can keep you updated. Where will you stay?”

“I’m not sure,” he said. “I’ll sleep in the woods if I have to.” He turned to go and then stopped and put a hand on Riley’s shoulder. Riley looked shocked at the contact. Ryder shrugged. “Thanks for the help.”

“Sure thing,” Riley said. “And Ryder?”

“Yes?”

“I smelled it too. She’s at least part bear. That’s why she’s having so much trouble. When you tell her, at least a small part of her should accept what you say as the truth.”

“I hope so,” Ryder said, turning to go.

“What will you do if she doesn’t?” Riley called after him.

Ryder looked at his brother over his shoulder. “I’ll negotiate.”

At that, Riley went completely silent and then barked out a laugh.

Ryder went back to the cabin, packed, and then got in his Range Rover and headed out into the snow-blurred night.

He’d be there for his mate whether she wanted him or not. And then he’d make her see she was meant for him, by whatever means necessary.

W
hen they arrived back
at her place, Scott helped Janna out and followed her up to the door.

Now for the awkward part,
she thought.

She gave him an awkward hug, which he barely returned, but he still didn’t leave.

“What happened?” he asked.

She folded her arms over her chest and looked down. “I don’t want to talk about it. Look, Scott, I appreciate you picking me up, but after you hurt me, I’m not really interested in anything further with you.”

He sighed. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. You were the best thing that happened to me. I guess I just… wasn’t thinking.”

She set down her suitcase with an exasperated sigh. “You were thinking, all right. You were thinking with your other head, and now you regret it because she left.”

He frowned, pouting. “Look, can’t we let bygones be bygones? You’re not the woman I cheated on. You’ve been getting stronger every day. I can tell. When you called me, I thought you were ready to bury the hatchet.”

“No,” she said, shocked he could even think that. “I don’t know if I’ll ever be ready to bury the hatchet. Do you know what you did to me, Scott? How hard you made it for me to trust men after that?”

He scowled. “Apparently not enough for you to not run off with that Ryder guy. I guess money talks, huh, Janna?”

She frowned. “That’s none of your business. I’m not yours anymore. I’m not sure if I ever was.”

“You were mine,” he said, and the wistful look on his face almost made her heart twinge with a bit of regret for how things had happened. But they couldn’t go back. Even if she was learning to let other men in, she couldn’t with him. She’d be stupid to.

Maybe some people could overcome cheating. Especially if the partner confessed. But she’d caught him, and he’d stayed with the other woman as long as he could.

He only came back to Janna when she was the only option.

At least Ryder had treated her like the first option. He hadn’t come on to any of her friends. Well, she didn’t know what he’d done when she wasn’t around, but he’d been around her pretty much since he’d gotten into town.

Nothing made sense. From the minute he’d met her, he’d been protective, brave, strong. Why did he run?

But her heart sank as she wondered if she was simply trying to find a way to let him off the hook. Or was it just that her intuition kept saying there was more to it than met the eye?

She couldn’t tell and she was too tired to do it right now, with Scott on her porch.

“Good night,” she said. Then she turned, unlocked the door, and went inside, not waiting for Scott to protest.

The apartment was dark and a little cold. She’d turned the heat down before she left.

Everything here was so familiar. Knickknacks she’d had since she was little littered the fireplace mantle. The small living room had a couch, a worn but practical rug, and a comfy chair by the window where she could read. There were still books strewn across the seat.

She walked to the chair and slumped down in it. She picked up one of the romance novels she’d been reading previously and leafed through it.

Book romance was a little unsatisfying after being so close to the real thing. She bit her lip and closed the book, setting it on her lap. Then her eye locked onto something outside, and she sat up a little, staring out.

There was an unfamiliar car parked on the other side of the road. The windows were tinted so she couldn’t see inside. A shudder of fear went through her, and she remembered the phone message. She stood to look out the window. Scott’s truck was gone. Supposedly, he’d gone home with his tail between his legs.

She was proud of herself for standing up to him. She could remember a Janna who wouldn’t have. Who would have begged him to come back. But she knew she was worth more now. Ryder had made her feel that way.

But then he’d run. But that didn’t change the things he’d said or the way he’d only had eyes for her or the way he made her melt in his arms.