Hunter Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Enforcer Bears Book 2) (11 page)

With a sigh, Steven sat down in the high grass, leaning against the trunk of a tree.

“Look,” he said a little gruffly. “I know you and I don’t talk. You had a job for me and I came. That was all this was supposed to be. You’ve got a good life—a job and a mate and soon, you’ll have a family to care for. I’m happy for you. But that’s not me.”

Curiously, Chris tilted his head. He was smart enough not to try and come closer, but instead settled down in the grass as well.

“You know you would have been welcome to visit,” Chris pointed out. “Anytime in the past, and now, too. My mate would like to meet her brother-in-law…”

“Don’t,” Steven said roughly.

In his mind, once more he heard the banging of the door, the shouting, the icy atmosphere in the tiny apartment. Chris had been too young then to truly understand. And Chris wasn’t like him. Chris could build himself a happy life and a happy family.

But Steven wasn’t like Chris. As much as he hated to admit it, Steven knew that in his blood, there ran the curse his father had left him. He was a loner. He couldn’t bear company. A bear like him was always wandering and searching for new places.

The fact that he’d fallen in love with Cleo wouldn’t change that. It hadn’t worked for his father, so why should it work for Steven?

“I’m just offering,” Chris said slowly. “Look, I know we’ve both got bad memories. Dad didn’t exactly leave us any good examples for how to build a family. But that doesn’t mean that we have to continue what he did. I don’t want to live like that. I’ve got a mate. We want to have a house full of cubs. And I’d love to have my brother back.”

Steven had to swallow. The picture Chris painted with his words was tempting. It was perhaps the most tempting thing he’d ever been offered.

To have a family. To have his own mate. To wake every morning with Cleo in his arms, to work in the warm sunlight on the patio as she drew with the sketchbook on her lap…

“I can’t,” Steven said roughly. “I’m not that sort of person. I’m just… not, OK?”

“OK,” Chris said slowly. He looked disappointed; the earlier grin was gone.

So what,
Steven told himself.
I can’t help it; it’s how I’ve always been. Better this than hurting them later on.

“I still think you shouldn’t give up so quickly,” Chris finally pointed out.

Steven bristled. “Giving up?”

He’d never given up! And he even had the scars to prove it. What did his brother know, who’d gone on to college, who’d planned out a happy life for himself and got exactly what he wanted?

It wasn’t as if Steven had
wanted
loneliness. He hadn’t chosen this! It was just… the best he could have.

Wanting more would just hurt everyone in the long run.

Your brother’s right though,
his bear finally spoke up.
You don’t want to leave right now, do you? You want to stay. I want to stay. So if you leave now, it’s not because I want to run and be free. It’s because you want to run. You’re running away.

Furious, Steven jumped up. He ignored his brother’s shout for him to wait. He shifted, feeling grass and leaves beneath his paws. The scent of his brother was strong like this.

The scent of his brother and his mate.

Even as a bear, it was hard to ignore the sudden longing that threatened to overwhelm him.

No—it was even harder, because now his bear showed him pictures of what it was he missed out on, all the things he wanted and knew he could not have: a mate to return home to from a run in the forest, a gorgeous mate who made him laugh and who knew how to use pencil and pen to draw out his soul and put it down on paper. A home to fill with warmth and their belongings. Cubs to teach how to fish and where to find the best berries and watch rolling around in the grass…

Impossible,
he thought again, and then he ran, determinedly ignoring the disappointment of his bear.

The squirrels were visiting again. This time, Cleo had left out a few nuts for them. With eager chirps, the two animals hopped onto the table, and Cleo leaned against the wall, pencil and sketchbook in hand, and began to draw.

It was warm; she was wearing a shirt and a skirt today, and had spent the morning chasing Steven through the shallow part of the lake. They'd risen early and painted the windows, and then decided that this would have to be enough work on such a gorgeous day.

The work on the house had progressed far more quickly than Cleo had hoped. She could afford being lazy every now and then. With Steven's help, all the cleaning and polishing she'd hoped to accomplish was already done. And not only that.

Steven had suggested several improvements to the house and carried them out: he'd sanded and polished the old staircase, which had been hidden beneath old, gray carpeting for as long as Cleo had known the house. Now, beneath Steven's skillful hands, the old wood shone in a beautiful, warm brown patterned with gold.

Steven had also begun to work on the patio. the plan was to expand it to twice its current size. This hadn't been on Cleo's list of improvements, but since all Steven needed for his task was more wooden planks and tools they'd rented from a friend of Sidney's, Cleo hadn't said no to the suggestion. Any improvement would make the house easier to rent out in the long run.

And of course, there was another reason. There was the fact that any additional project Steven found around the house meant that he'd stay around for longer.

Cleo bit back a sigh, sketching with quick strokes the current fight over a nut, busy squirrel tails quivering angrily.

With the jaguar shifter in jail, everything had returned to the peace she'd come to expect. The days were long and filled with sunshine and Steven's company. During the day, Steven would often go for runs in the forest so that his bear could stretch his legs, and Cleo would take out her pens and brushes and sit down to draw and paint.

She could draw again now. She'd burned the old sketch of Walter, and since then she hadn't wasted another hour thinking of him.

Instead, her head was filled now with green leaves and dark ponds and mysterious brown eyes. She'd painted the lake; she'd painted trees and shady glades; she'd painted sunlight on moss and moonlight on shivering branches.

She'd even painted a bear bathing in her pond, and squirrels stealing her nuts. Inspiration had returned full force, and Cleo knew she should be glad for what she had. She shouldn't question it.

Still. Summer wouldn't last forever. Another month or two, and the leaves would turn red and yellow. And after that...

Where does a bear go in winter?

She didn't think Steven would go and hibernate in a cave. Still, they hadn't talked about what would happen once winter arrived. In fact, Steven always turned suspiciously quiet once the topic came up.

He calls me his mate... But does that mean he's going to stay forever? And if it is, why doesn't he say so?

Cleo sighed. One of the squirrels chattered angrily when the other stuffed the remaining nuts into its mouth.

He doesn't trust himself. But I trust him. I trust him enough to want him to stay... forever.

She leaned her head back against the wall and look up into the sky. Fluffy white clouds were slowly sailing across the sky. Tomorrow would be hot as well.

I wish he'd talk to me about whatever it is he's so afraid of. I know him. I know him better than any other person I've ever met. We were trapped underground. We survived together. How can I not trust him after that?

Cleo put down her sketchbook when the squirrels finally raced back into the trees.

Why were men so complicated? Maybe she needed to get out of the house for a while. She could call Sidney and schedule a girl's night out—just a few hours of drinks and a cheesy movie. Maybe Sidney would have some advice for how to deal with a half-wild bear shapeshifter scared of commitment.

Yeah, right.

Cleo giggled as she tried to imagine Sidney's reaction to the revelation that Cleo had found herself a man in the forest who could turn into a bear.

Still, the idea wasn't bad. Maybe the drive back into town would clear her mind, and having Sidney to commiserate would surely cheer her up.

She stood and stretched. Then she frowned when she picked up an unexpected sound. It was the sound of tires on the gravel that led to her house from the road—and she hadn't expected any visitors!

Was Sidney dropping by for a visit?

But the car she saw when she walked around the house wasn't Sidney's old library van. It was a gleaming silver SUV with tinted windows.

Cleo felt apprehension rise up in her.

Slowly, she moved closer. Perhaps it was just a rich tourist who'd gotten lost. Google Maps wasn't as reliable out here, and every year there were a handful of people getting stuck somewhere thanks to their GPS.

The door opened, and a man in his forties left the car. He was wearing a dark suit and sunglasses, and Cleo kept frowning. He didn't look like a tourist. What the hell was going on?

"Can I help you?" she asked, trying to memorize the numbers on his license plate, just in case.

The man pulled off his sunglasses. "Timothy Higgins," he said.

Cleo felt her anxiety turn to annoyance. "The son of Jeremiah Higgins?"

It was bad enough that the man had bought up pretty much what remained of the lake. Cleo had been too young to be told the details, but there had been bad blood between him and her grandfather too, from what she'd heard.

Only now her grandfather was dead, and Jeremiah Higgins was still going strong, buying more and more land until Cleo was the only one left who had refused to sell.

"The very man!" Higgins smirked. "Heard you had returned to work on the house, Miss Waters. I thought I'd drop in with a little offer. No need to say anything now. Just take your time and read through it all."

He held out a brown manila folder.

Cleo crossed her arms. "I've no intention to sell this place. My family has owned this land since before I was born. My grandfather built this house himself..."

"Ah, and it would be such a pity if anything happened to it." The smirk on Higgins' face vanished. He put his sunglasses back on. "It's a hot summer. There's been fires further south. A terrible thing."

Cleo's mouth went dry. "Is that a threat?" she asked, barely able to believe what she had heard.

"A threat? No. Just a warning. A helping hand for my neighbor." Higgins briefly smiled, his face still cold. He held out the folder again.

When Cleo didn't react, he dropped it to the ground.

"Have a look. You'll find my father's terms are quite generous. You won't get a better price. And you wouldn't want to live out here all on your own anyway. That's so dangerous for a single woman..."

Cleo clenched her teeth to keep from responding. She'd had to deal with a lot of assholes in her life. What did one more matter?

She'd have the final laugh when she'd burn that envelope later today.

"I'm quite enjoying life out here. Have a good day," she replied coldly.

For a moment, Higgins didn't move. He seemed tense, and Cleo's hand felt for the phone in her pocket. Even if she called the cops, it would take them a while to get here...

Then there was a sudden loud roar, and Cleo had the satisfaction of watching Higgins scream.

A bear came thundering through the undergrowth. Leaves and branches scattered as he blundered through, a massive beast of bristling fur and fury, teeth bared as it made straight for Higgins SUV.

Steven!

After a first second of fear, relief flooded Cleo. She'd recognize him anywhere.

That was Steven; she could see the scars, the slashes that showed in his fur and which striped his chest and his back in his human form.

She could feel it too. Where such a large predator should cause panic in her, a calmness now spread inside her. Her heart was filled by warm certainty. It was almost as if she could feel two heartbeats inside her chest: Steven's strong, protective heart beating alongside hers as they stood next to each other, ready to defend their home.

"Actually you are right, Mr. Higgins," she said out loud, calm despite the bear rearing up next to her. "It's dangerous out here in the forest. You should leave. And don't come back."

Higgins' hands were shaking as he tried desperately to open the door of his car. She could see sweat drip down his face, his skin pale with terror.

As soon as he'd made it inside, the car's engine screeched and the car backed out of her driveway with gravel flying everywhere. Behind the windshield, Higgins' face was still a mask of terror.

Cleo grinned, filled with elation.

"That was fun," she said, once the car was gone. "Can you believe that asshole dared to threaten me?"

When she turned, Steven stood next to her, naked and still tense with fury.

"I overheard part of it," he said, voice still rough. "You know him?"

Cleo nodded. "His father bought up all land around the lake. Our house is the last left. There was bad blood between my Grandpa and Higgins too, it goes back years. I don't know what exactly happened. I was too young then. But my Grandma always called him a robber and a scoundrel."

Steven bent down and took hold of the folder Higgins had left behind. Slowly, he leafed through the papers inside.

"He's offering you quite a bit of m
oney for the house," he said. "Though I've no idea what property out here is worth..."

Cleo snorted. "He's tried it before. When I arrived, there was a letter on my porch. But I'm not selling. My grandparents hated him. And he bought out all the other houses at the lake. When I was a child, there were families coming h
ere for their summer vacation. Now he wants to turn it all into some luxury retreat. The entire lake at his disposal. Sidney said she knows someone on a committee who overheard plans that he's trying to build man-made islands in the lake too. Do you know what that would do to the animals in the lake? My family's lived here their whole life. I won't let him drive me out so that instead, some starlet can fly in for a weekend."

Steven nodded slowly, then closed the folder. "He can't make you sell. But it seems like he's at least trying as hard as he can. I wonder what happened back then to make your grandparents hate Higgins. Did he threaten them too?"

Cleo looked out at the forest surrounding her. It had been a long time, but she could still remember her Grandpa so clearly: his huge hands holding the fishing rod, his gentle smile, the patience with which he'd show them all sorts of secrets in the forest: a robin's nest, a perfect circle of mushrooms, a clearing with ripe blueberries.

"I think there was a legal battle, a long time ago,” she said. “I wish I could remember; I was very young, and later on, the topic made my grandparents so upset they never talked about it. But I think my grandfather believed that half the lake was his. It was a right that goes a long way back—to his grandparents, perhaps. Anyway, there w
as probably no proof. I think there was a court hearing. But that was the year of the fires. A lot of documents were lost when the town hall burned down. And the next year, my grandfather died."

Cleo closed her eyes and took a deep breath. There was the pricking sensation of sudden tears. The memories had brought back the old pain. She wished her grandparents could have seen her graduate college, at least.

She wished her Grandpa was still alive to go fishing with her. Or to help her figure out the secret of Higgins' sudden interest.

"I wonder..." she murmured slowly. "It's not the only secret they left behind. There's the map and the cave, too. I wish they'd left a letter instead. I don't think I can figure this out on my own."

“Hey.” Steven pulled her close. “You’re not on your own.”

Cleo turned in Steven’s arms. “Thanks for scaring him away. I don’t think he would have tried anything, but you heard him. I wasn’t just imagining it—that was a real threat, wasn’t it?”

“Yeah.” Steven nodded slowly, looking troubled. “Yeah, that was a real threat. To my bear, he smelled like aggression and fight. I’ll keep close to the house in the future, in case he tries to make good on that threat. But in the long run…”

“I need to figure out what it is his father really wants,” Cleo murmured against his shoulder. “I’ll give Sidney a call. She knows all the gossip. Maybe the library has old papers…”

“And I’ll take another run around the house. Just to make sure.” Steven’s voice was dark, a hint of a growl in his chest.

Despite her fear, Cleo shivered a little, her knees weak at the sexy sound. A month of that, and he still drove her crazy.

She swallowed and trailed her hand down his naked chest, his muscles flexing beneath her touch.

“I’ll be waiting inside once you are done,” she purred softly.

Steven’s eyes turned dark with desire. This time, the growl in his voice was more pronounced. “I’ll hurry.”

***