Brother Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Mountain Book 2) (2 page)

Her decision made, she ran up the stairs to her apartment, thankful the path to her door was well lit and visible from the street. Once safely inside, she curled up on the couch with a crochet afghan and closed her eyes.

Dreams were dangerous, but for one night, she allowed herself to imagine what it would be like to sleep wrapped in Seth’s warm embrace.

In her mind, his arms replaced the blanket and kept her warm until the morning light.

Chapter Two

“Hey,” Seth said absently when he walked into the sheriff’s office. He went straight to the window and tried to spot the café, but the building was too far away. He rubbed his chest and looked around the room, not seeing anything.

“Hey, what’s up?” Gage, his brother, the sheriff, asked. Seth had moved away from the window and paced the floor. He barely noticed the other men in the room as he tried to make sense of what happened in the café. He wanted to go back and see Ana, watch over her, do everything in his power to ensure her safety. The strong feelings made him edgy.

“I feel…,” he glanced at Dave, the deputy, and searched for the right word. “Weird.”

That pretty much summed it up.

“Weird,” Gage deadpanned. “Dave, could you go over and check on Mr. Thompson? He seemed a bit wobbly yesterday and I’d like to make sure he’s okay.”

“Sure thing. I’ll be back later, guys.”

Gage used his foot and pushed out the chair next to him.

“Sit down. What’s going on?”

Seth sat in the chair, but he felt like he would crawl out of skin any minute. His bear wanted to run back to the café and claim Ana. He wanted to make her immortal, so he could ensure her safety when he couldn’t be by her side.

“I met the new waitress over at Randy’s.”

“Yeah, and?”

“I want her.”

Gage nodded, but he didn’t say a word.

“I mean want her, want her. Like now. But it’s more than that. I want to protect her, care for her, hang out. Hell, I don’t care what we do, as long as she’s by my side.”

Gage continued nodding, but he didn’t speak.

“I don’t think you understand,” Seth added. “I want her more than anything. I can’t stand the fact that she’s there and I’m here and she’s not even a block away. My bear is clawing to get out and get her. Mark her. I don’t know what the hell’s going on. How do I make this feeling go away?”

The asshole had the nerve to laugh.

“What the hell are you laughing at? I’m dying over here and you’re fucking laughing. God dammit. Help me, man. How do I get rid of this feeling?”

“You don’t,” Gage smirked. “That, brother, is the way you should have felt fifty years ago before you asked Elsa to be your bride. It’s the way we shifters react to the woman we want to spend eternity with. Do you think she’s interested?”

“Yes. Maybe. No. I don’t know,” he leaned over and hung his head between his knees. “How did you cope with this for nearly two years? I feel like I’m going crazy.”

“You can learn to control it, but it’s difficult. I kept everything I knew about Kate hidden in the back of my mind. I never let her come to the surface, not even for an instant. I don’t think you need to do that though, in fact, I think the sooner you claim her, the sooner you can ensure her safety.”

Ensure her safety.

Those three words caused him to focus and he sat up and faced his brother.

“What do you know?”

“Not much. She came into town a few days ago and applied for the job at Randy’s. She asked him to pay her daily, in cash, and he agreed. Kate said she arrived on foot carrying a bulky backpack, but she and her clothes were clean. She also didn’t have a place to stay and had asked the location of the nearest hotel. Katie spoke to the Jackson’s and they agreed to rent her their guest apartment for five hundred dollars a month. She paid in cash.”

“That’s a lot of cash to be carrying around,” Seth commented.

“Yeah, and there’s more. She says her name is Ana, but she usually doesn’t respond the first time someone calls her name. Randy, Kate and Dave have all tested the theory and she doesn’t answer them until the third try. I’m pretty sure it’s not because of a hearing problem.”

“What do you think? Do you think she’s running from the law?”

“She’s running, but I don’t think the law is involved. I can go over to the capitol next week and check the database, but without any information, it’s like searching for a needle in a haystack. I can only view the pictures and see if any of them look like her.”

“Do you think she’s dangerous? Should we be concerned she’ll hurt someone in town?”

“What do you think?” Gage asked, clearly not ready to place labels on the newcomer.

“I think she needs protection. My bear is dying to shield her from the world, and it would make sense given how many times she glanced out the window during my lunch.”

“I agree. I think someone is after her. If we can get her to confide in us, we may be able to help her as a community. Either way, it will be easier for you to defend her if you know what you’re up against.”

“I’ll try and get to know her. Maybe she’ll learn to trust me.”

“Keep me posted, and let me know if you need back up,” Gage said. “For now, I suggest you shift and run. It won’t make them go away, but it will dull some of the stronger urges. At least until tomorrow,” Gage laughed.

“Ha, ha. You’re a regular comedian,” Seth said as he got up to leave.

“I’ll be here all week. Stop in anytime,” Gage yelled behind him.

When he stepped out onto the street, he saw Dave walking up to the building.

“Everything okay?” The man asked.

“Yeah, I’m good. Thanks for bugging out for a while.”

“No problem, man,” Dave said. “See you later.”

“Yeah, see you.”

He looked down the street toward the café and ran a hand through his hair. The setting sun reminded him it would soon be dinner time, but as much as he wanted to go back to the café, he decided to take his brother’s advice. He wouldn’t be able to breech her defenses if he acted like a maniac or a sex starved jackass.

He needed to take the edge off.

He forced himself to turn in the opposite direction and walk away. He kept walking up the hill of his brother’s property and into the National Forest. Once there, he surveyed the area and when he deemed it safe, he shifted into his bear form.

Thankfully, the magic allowed them to shift with their clothes on, so he didn’t need to strip first, or find a place to hide his clothes. The ability had saved him from several awkward situations over the years.

In bear form, he sniffed out his surroundings and roamed away from the family he smelled on the other side of the embankment. He kept walking, periodically sniffing the air, until he didn’t detect any humans near enough to spot him.

Then he ran.

***

Ana stood in front of the meat section in the tiny grocery store and compared the two varieties of ground beef. Eventually she opted for the healthier, more expensive variety and moved on to the canned vegetable aisle.

For the past month she’d bounced around from state to state and lived in hotels, hostels and shelters. Each city offered little comfort and within days the thugs searching for her would find her again.

The last time she ran, she headed north and hoped the approaching winter would be too cold for the California men. She’d stayed in southern Montana for a week and when there was no sign of them, she ventured even further north and found Bear Mountain.

The tiny town would offer little security if the residents hated outsiders, but they seemed to welcome her easily. She was tired of running and though she had only been in town for a few days, she somehow felt safe. Her instincts said she could trust the community and she wanted to believe them.

For the first time in weeks, she had the amenities to cook a meal for herself. In order to save as much as possible, she’d decided to make two casseroles and freeze the leftovers. Randy would let her have a free meal at the café on the days she worked, so she only needed to worry about two meals on those days. She added eggs, bacon and cheese to her basket and walked through the freezer section.

The few flavors of ice cream called to her and she quickly calculated the amount in her basket to see if she could afford to indulge in her favorite snack. She’d made a budget for herself and she still needed to pick up a quart of milk. Although she could probably spend a few more dollars without much consequence, the unknown kept her from buying something she could live without.

“What’s your favorite flavor?”

She jumped back and released a tiny scream before she looked up into Seth’s brown eyes. She swayed, and would have fallen to the floor if his large hand hadn’t reached out, grabbed her bicep, and steadied her. His swift reaction charmed her, but his hand on her bicep sent electricity racing to her core. He was everything she’d ever wanted in a man, and somehow he was still touching her.

“Easy there,” he said.

The compact aisle seemed to shrink with his presence and his hand lingered longer than necessary as they stared at each other in the small confined space.

Too soon he loosened his grip and rubbed her arm where he’d held on.

“Sorry. I hope I didn’t hurt you by holding on too tight,” he said.

Never!

His touch had been perfect and she wanted to feel his strength everywhere.

“No, it was—” she cut herself off before she revealed too much. “Thank you.”

The heat from his touch blazed and spread like wildfire all over her body. Her cheeks warmed when she thought about what he would feel like on top of her, pressing her into the mattress.

“You’re welcome, although technically it was my fault for startling you in the first place,” he laughed. “So, you never answered me. What’s your favorite flavor?”

She stood in the frozen food aisle, sweating, and when she noticed he seemed unaffected, she couldn’t hide her embarrassment. Instead of trying to impress him, she blurted out the truth.

“All of them. I’d buy one of every flavor if I could.”

Oh. My. God. Shut up, idiot!

What the hell was she saying? No man wanted a woman that looked like her, let alone one who admitted to being addicted to ice cream.

Tears pricked her eyes and she abruptly turned and raced her cart toward the check-out counter, blinking rapidly. If the older woman behind the counter noticed her glossy, red-rimmed eyes, she didn’t comment.

She heard Seth approach, and she knew he’d purposely created a racket so she wouldn’t jump again. The man might be big, but he was light on his feet. The woman behind the counter glanced at Seth and then smiled at her as if she knew a secret.

“I got mint chip, pecan praline and rocky road,” he said as he placed the three half gallon tubs on the little conveyor belt. “My freezer won’t hold one of every flavor, so we’ll get another three next time.”

She shook her head, on the verge of rejecting his gift, but when she looked up at him a wide smile lit up his face. He went from handsome and sexy to downright lethal. If she got too close, she’d never recover, but his smile was contagious. She couldn’t help smiling in return.

She didn’t know his intentions, but the simple gesture touched her heart and her eyes welled up with unshed tears, causing his image to become blurry. A single drop escaped out of her right eye and she turned to wipe it away.

He used her momentary weakness to his advantage.

“Add these on, Cora. I’m paying for everything.”

“Seth—” She snapped her head toward him.

He looked at her and raised an eyebrow, as if daring her to protest, and she held her tongue. She didn’t need to cause a commotion her first week in town. As it stood, the rumor mill would go crazy knowing he’d not only bought her ice cream, but he’d paid for her groceries, too.

He picked up both bags and she led them out of the store. She continued walking toward her apartment and he followed.

“So, we’ve got dessert. How about I make us dinner to go with it?”

She contemplated how to answer. She wanted to spend time with him and he’d offered the perfect opportunity. She’d get to see the inside of his apartment, and still get to taste a home cooked meal.

Made by him.

If things went well, she might get the chance to touch him.

That was the danger. She feared if she touched him, he’d ruin her for all other men, but then what did it matter? She already knew she’d live out the rest of her life alone, and if the thugs caught up to her, she’d be dead sooner than later anyway. It would be nice to have some fun.

“Before you say no, keep in mind that I’m the one with the ice cream. Three flavors, too,” he winked and she couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped.

“Okay, you win. Dinner sounds great.”

They made a quick stop at her apartment and he waited outside while she ran in and put her single bag of groceries away. Then he escorted her to his home.

The layout was bigger than her living space, but it hadn’t been what she expected, though she couldn’t put her finger on why. She looked around the room and realized the furniture, though old and well kept, had a feminine quality to it.

Dread washed over her as she briefly wondered about his marital status. It hadn’t come up in conversation, but she didn’t want to be caught in the middle of a lover’s quarrel or worse. Besides, the thought of him with another woman made her sick to her stomach. She wouldn’t be able to handle seeing him around town with another woman on his arm.