Authors: Harmony Raines
Fated To Her Bear
Fated To Her Bear
Bear Bluff Clan
(Book Five)
*
Note from the author:
My books are written, produced and edited in the UK where spellings and word usage can vary from U.S. English. The use of quotes in dialogue and other punctuation can also differ.
***
All rights reserved. This book, or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written consent of the author or publisher.
This is a work of fiction and is intended for mature audiences only. All characters within are eighteen years of age or older. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, actual events or places is purely coincidental.
© 2015 Harmony Raines
Silver Moon Erotica
Kindle Edition
Ciara looked down at the directions scribbled on a piece of paper. She was sure this was the right road. However, as the road climbed higher over the lower slopes of the mountain, she was feeling unsure. Maybe she had missed a turning. The directions were clear, though, so she carried on. When she hit a dead end, she would turn around and retrace her steps.
In the meantime, she took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the mountain air. It had been a long time since she had been out in the open like this. The lower slopes of the mountain were similar to the wide-open plains where she grew up. She vividly remembered running wild and free across them.
Ciara shut off that train of thought. It was the very reason she had left, to escape the life laid out before her. If she hadn’t taken control of her own life, she would probably be surrounded by a couple of children by now, instead of enjoying a successful career as a vet. By working hard, she had assured that her destiny was her own—she would never be dictated to, never told what she could and couldn’t do.
“Ah, there it is,” she exclaimed, coming out of her daydream. She turned quickly, making the stones fly up from the road as her tires spun at the abrupt change of direction. Climbing higher, she took a moment to appreciate the position of the ranch house, nestled close to a small wood. In front of the house were meadows filled with cattle and horses. A picture of idyllic bliss.
She pushed those thoughts out of her head. She didn’t want to settle down. She had studied and trained hard to become a veterinarian; she wasn’t going to throw that all in to become a wife and mother. Not yet.
Parking her car in front of the house, she got out, shielding her eyes from the bright sun as she looked for any signs of the owner. No one around. Going to the trunk, she opened it up and took out her boots, swapping them for the comfortable shoes she preferred to drive in. Then she took out her bag and headed towards the house.
“Hello,” she called. No answer. Strange, the call said it was urgent. The office had sent her straight out here, but no one seemed to be home.
Blowing air out through her mouth, she went to the door and knocked. Still no answer. She tried again, knocking so hard her knuckles hurt. She was tempted to try the door handle, but decided against it. She wasn’t here for a house call; she was here to examine a sick horse.
Ciara headed back to her car, not sure what to do. Standing looking around, she spotted the barn, hidden away by the side of the wood. Going over and checking it out was the sensible thing to do, just in case there really was a horse in distress. With bag still in hand, she covered the short distance to the wooden barn, hearing the sound of horses moving around inside. And a voice.
Deep and very masculine, the sound sent shivers down her spine. It invited her in, not with words, but with the tone. It resonated deep in her soul. Ciara swallowed her desire to fling open the barn door and head straight in there. The pull was so strong, and it scared her to death. The very thing she had been running from was inside the barn, his voice calling to her like a siren’s song.
Flattening herself back against the side of the barn, she stood wild eyed and frightened. What was she supposed to do? She had spent the last few years supporting herself through vet school. Now, the very thing she wanted to escape was in the barn behind her.
Ciara fought with herself. She couldn’t leave; the reason she came up here had not changed. She was here to treat the man’s horse. Wasn’t that why she had become a vet in the first place—to help animals? But if she walked through that door, she would become something she had desperately tried to avoid. Damn, she had even left her hometown to dodge this. Her mate should be waiting back there for her, not in a barn on the side of a mountain in Bear Bluff.
“Steady, girl.” The voice spoke again, calm, soothing. Yet distressed.
Ciara closed her eyes, willing herself to have the courage to face the fate that was before her. She was a vet; there was no way she could simply walk away. If saving the horse in the barn meant meeting her destiny, then that was what she would do. Right now.
Rummaging in her bag, she took out a facemask. It would cover the lower part of her face, and maybe she could get away without him seeing what she was,
who
she was. If there was time, she would have run back to the car to fetch a cap to pull down over her eyes. Yet she knew she was out of time. The message had said it was an emergency, and she had to do her duty.
“Hello,” she called quietly, the sound muffled through the mask.
“Hi. In here.” Footsteps came her way; the barn door swung open, and he stood there in front of her. Six foot four inches of hard-toned muscle, with a handsome face to finish off the gorgeous effect. Much too good for her. She shielded her face.
“I’ve come to look at your horse,” she said, looking at his boots, which shuffled anxiously. Did he know already that she was his mate?
“Are you OK?” he asked. “I asked for a horse vet. Is that you? I’m Ryan, the person who called.”
“Yes, I’m the vet; want to show me where your horse is?” Ciara let her hair fall over her eyes, covering her face as she moved towards the open barn door. She did not want to introduce herself if she could possibly avoid it.
“This way,” he said, leading her back into the dim barn. She could feel his eyes on her, trying to figure out what lunatic was about to look at his horse.
“What seems to be the problem?” she asked, wanting to reassure him that she knew a lot about horses. A whole lot. In fact, there was probably no one in the area more qualified to examine his horse.
“She’s in foal; it’s not due for another couple of days, by my reckoning. But the mare’s not right.”
The mare
: another man who just looked at horses as just a beast of burden. Typical that he would be like that, this man who held her future in his big, broad hands.
Don’t look at his hands
, she told herself. Don’t imagine them on your body. Too late.
Her breath caught in her throat, and she felt faint. No matter how much she thought she could fight the mating bond between them, it wasn’t going to happen. Not when he was so close.
“Are you OK?” he asked, concerned.
“Perfectly,” she said, although her voice sounded strained.
“Do you want some water? You sound a little … peculiar.”
“No. No, I’m fine. Let me look at your mare.”
He went ahead of her, opening one of the stall doors to reveal a beautiful grey mare. She had dapples all over her, and her belly was swollen by the foal inside her. As he approached, she nickered to him, and he stroked her muzzle, crooning to her, telling her it would all be OK.
Ciara’s stomach fluttered. She would love him to stroke her skin like that, for him to say sweet things to her, make her feel as though she were safe in this world.
“Do you want to hold her while I examine her?” Ciara asked, stroking the mare’s neck.
“Sure, she likes being tickled under her neck too. Don’t you, Sapphire?” He stood talking to her, stroking her neck, while Ciara opened her bag and took out her stethoscope. Putting it to her ears, she listened to the mare’s breathing and heartbeat. Everything seemed perfectly normal, so she turned to examining the sounds in the mare’s belly.
“Everything sounds OK,” Ciara said, going to the back of the mare and taking her temperature. “Normal.”
She only wished her own temperature was normal, and she knew that if a doctor listened to her heart through a stethoscope, he would probably tell her she was having a heart attack. Still trying not to meet his eyes, she put her stethoscope and thermometer down and put her hands on Sapphire’s swollen belly. The foal moved against her hand, but she couldn’t tell if it was OK.
“What makes you think she’s not right?” Ciara asked.
“Just a feeling,” he said. “I know it sounds lame, but I’ve had Sapphire for about seven months. She was in a bad way, the foal came as a surprise, but I fed her up and nurtured her back to health. I’ve spent a lot of time with her. As I said, as a vet, you wouldn’t understand. But it’s a feeling I have.”
“So you have a strong bond with her?” Ciara could feel herself softening to him. That spelled danger.
“Yes. Very.” He rubbed Sapphire’s head and the mare rubbed him right back, as if comforted by his presence.
“Have you changed anything about her routine? Feed, friends, horses get very attached to others. You haven’t brought her in away from the herd she mixes with?”
“No.” He looked over his shoulder. “She’s friends with the old pony over there, Minty. He was here when I took on the farm. I put them together because he would be quiet and not bother her. They have become fine friends.”
Ciara stared at Sapphire for a few minutes. “I can examine her internally, but with nothing concrete to go on, it’s a hard call. I don’t want to hurt or upset her, or the foal.”
“Is there nothing you can give her? A pick-me-up?”
“I don’t want to treat her with the wrong thing.” Ciara moved around to the front of Sapphire, becoming very aware of the man’s presence, so close to her. “I just need to check her gums, see if she’s anaemic. The foal is taking a lot of goodness from her.”
He shifted one step to the side, still too close for her beating heart. And then he did something she hadn’t expected; he breathed in her scent. She closed her eyes, waiting for his reaction.
There was something about her, despite the ridiculous mask she wore over her face to stop him looking at her. It had started as a slight tingle along his spine, something he had never experienced before around a woman. It was deeper, more profound than pure sexual tension. He was sure of that; after all, she had a facemask on, and there was nothing remotely sexy or alluring about that, especially since she kept her face averted from his.
He had longed to take hold of her and make her face him, but he didn’t want to behave inappropriately towards her. She had come out here to treat Sapphire, a mare he had found tied up in a field of mud a few months back, beaten by her owner. He had paid well over her market value, just to be able to get her back to his ranch.