Montana Wild Bears: Books 1-4 Bundle (BBW Paranormal Werebear Shape Shifter Romance Boxed Set) (2 page)

 

Getting the car was mercifully easy, but getting her suitcase in it was anything but. The young redheaded scientist hoisted the overstuffed thing into the trunk, muttering a few choice salty words that would have made a sailor blush. She glanced around herself sheepishly and grinned when she saw that only a man fumbling around with his own rental had paid any attention to her. He gave her a friendly smile and a wave. It was almost like being back in California, only the people were nicer. But the weather was certainly colder. Tess hadn’t noticed the cold nipping at her nose until she stood victorious over her conquered suitcase. Suddenly, the adrenaline wore out and she was left as she had been when she stepped off the airplane – tired and in need of a good sleep.

 

Hanging her head, she slammed the trunk shut and clambered into the driver’s seat. When her high-heels sunk into the plush mat on the floor, she was reminded once again why travelling was supposed to be done in comfort, not style. Tess slipped the shoes off and stored them on the floor in front of the passenger seat, enjoying the feeling of blood finally returning to her toes. Beauty required sacrifices, right? Well, she wasn’t sure if she was interested in going down that particular road of self-mutilation again for a while.

 

With certain resignation, she turned on the car and cranked up the heat. It was time for the five-hour drive far, far away from civilization. She made it out of the Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport easily enough and when she got onto a highway that at least seemed to be heading in the right direction, she exhaled deeply. Her sense of direction had always made people travelling with her want to tear their hair out and usually left the girl with a split lip from chewing it too much. It was a nice change to
not
be lost for once.

Nailed it,
Tess congratulated herself. The radio was blaring Taylor Swift and she couldn’t help but bob her head along with the beat, taking whatever help she could get in keeping her awake for the long journey. Coffee could only do so much, after all.

 

The trip had almost come out of thin air. One day, there had been a hurried phone call, demanding to know if she was Tess Laurelton, PhD, the woman who published the article about grizzly bear mating habits and territorial behavior. As it happened, she was just that person. The next question had almost floored her. The supervisor of the Mountain Ridge National Reserve wanted her, the lab rat, to go out to Montana right away and try and figure out what was happening to the bear population in the park. Apparently, it had been increasing noticeably as of late and the usual head counts were coming up a lot bigger than expected. It made some people, with just enough money to fly a scientist back and forth, perk up in interest, and Tess was served the chance of a lifetime on a silver platter. Naturally, she jumped at the opportunity. It wasn’t every day that someone offered to pay for all her travel and accommodations to allow her to do what she loved most – learn about grizzly bears, the most magnificent creatures in the whole country!  Just the thought of it made her delirious with glee.

 

Tess grinned to herself, taking a deep sip from her almost drained cup. The bustle of the airport and the hum of the nearby city was falling to the background and giving way to the wide expanse of gorgeous Montana scenery. The mountains that littered the horizon filled her with a sense of freedom she had long wished for, cooped up between the gloomy walls of the libraries and laboratories. Although it was just the beginning, it felt inexplicably liberating to get this far on her impromptu journey.  The blue skies and full, gorgeous tufts of forest hinted at things to come, and despite her reservations about going into the field to work, she didn’t have a single hint of regret about her. She was prepared, excited and rearing to go, and nothing could dim her mood. Well, at least for now.

 

***

 

Tess squinted her eyes at a nearly incoherent wooden sign, pointing her up yet another barely driven road on a secluded mountain. She had been driving around in what seemed like circles for the better part of two hours now, deep within the expanse of the reserve. The thick forest enveloped her and her windows were rolled down to breathe in the crisp air. The directions she had got for the lodge of the head groundskeeper had supposed to be spot on, but whoever had sent them to her either had a wicked sense of humor or just plain didn’t want her to find the place. She’d been up and down rolling mountainsides and oohed and aahed at the majestic wilderness until she was out of breath, but the one thing she absolutely could not find was the place she was supposed to arrive at hours ago. With her lips pursed and her formerly positive mindset thoroughly trampled on, she turned her tiny rental car up the faded road, hoping and praying once more that this one actually lead to something other than a dead end.

I’m going to have some words with you, Jackson Arder, if I ever find you,
Tess thought sourly, glancing at the clock on the dash. It was pushing on 7 PM and the sun was going to set soon. If there was one thing she didn’t want to do, then it was to spend her night in a car in the middle of nowhere.

 

The red Ford rounded a corner and Tess breathed a sigh of relief. There, on a hilltop with a killer view, sat a small cottage with a big pick-up parked in front of it. A sign on the wall read “Groundskeeper Arder” and Tess almost felt like smiling, even though her stomach churned painfully, and her vision was blurred with annoyance that was waiting to burst forth and be directed at the first unsuspecting innocent. She parked the car and as she was climbing out of the driver’s seat, wrestling her heels back on, the door of the house flew open with a bang. Tess straightened up and her breath caught in her chest. The surly man that stood before her, legs slightly apart and his arms crossed on his chest, made a shiver run down her spine. She felt her voice die in her throat and her mouth go dry – the usually boisterous scientist reduced to a stammering girl with a pink blush on her cheeks. He quirked a brow at her, his jaw squared and his lips pressed into a thin line as he eyed her over. For a moment, she thought she noticed a spark of softness run through his features, but his posture quickly hardened and his expression became steely.

 

Oh my god, I hope this isn’t him…
she thought, trying to make sense whether her belly was tossing with irritation or if those were butterflies she was feeling. Something about the tall, handsome devil of a man made her weak in the knees, and that was the last thing she had expected to happen. Spending time alone in the forest with the likes of him was certain to lead her to think of a number of things other than whether or not the bear population was doing well in those parts. Like what his body looked like under that plaid shirt and if he liked his girls curvy and redheaded, and whether he growled when he was on top of her, and…

Tess, goddammit. Stop it!

 

“Hello,” she finally managed, her words muffled by indecision. The mute man nodded, tossing a glance at her less than terrain-ready car and then back to her. It looked like he was measuring her by the same standards as he was the car and found her lacking. Tess went redder in the face and indignation shot up like a thunderbolt, bringing her voice with it. “I’m looking for Jackson Arder. I am Tess Laurelton. I believe he is expecting me.” The man exhaled deeply and his shoulder slumped a little, the rigid stance softening around the edges.

“I am Jackson, Miss Laurelton. I
was
expecting you, but that was a few hours ago,” he said, the last words stabbing her right where it hurt. Her gray eyes narrowed and she had to bite down on the sarcasm that wanted to burst forth and smack him right across his smug, ruggedly attractive face.

Stop it, Tess. You’re here to work. Play nice.

 

“I’m sorry, I got lost. Must have not read the directions right. I hope it didn’t put too much of a damper on our plans, “ she said, forcing a smile. His eyes seemed to track the smallest of her movements, like the eyes of a predator on unsuspecting prey. It made her a bit uneasy, but his very presence seemed to dull her sourness and instill a sense of warmth and safety, even if his demeanor seemed to be quite the opposite. His chestnut brown eyes made her want to wriggle where she stood, her hands still clutching the door of the car. It was as if he saw right through her, and she stood naked before him, helpless in front of his piercing gaze. She’d never thought herself particularly easily affected by men, no matter how damn cute they were, but this one did quite a number on her rational faculties and made her want to giggle like a schoolgirl. Tess was half-relieved when his glance went up to the sky, regarding it with the same quiet contemplation as he had her.

“Well, we won’t be going out tonight, that’s for sure. May as well get your things, Miss Laurelton. Seems we’re camping here for the night.”

 

Tess smiled, relief all too evident on her. Sharing a tent with him in her current state of near-unraveling would have likely just led to her making a fumbling fool of herself.

“Great, I’ll just…” Her words were cut off by the door slamming shut again, the man having disappeared into the cottage as suddenly as he had appeared. Tess stood in place for a moment, gob smacked.

“I thought cowboys were supposed to have good manners,” she murmured to herself, her frown taking a solid perch on her brows. Tess banged the car door shut with equal parts annoyance and humiliation and teetered towards the trunk to retrieve her heavy suitcase. Her heels were making her less than stable on the gravel and she was well-aware she was going to spend a good bit of time feeling indignant about having dressed up for that brute of a man.

Remember, grizzlies. Just think about the grizzlies.

 

CHAPTER TWO

 

The lodge was beyond nice. The carefully sanded hardwood floors and log walls made for a rustic, homey feel, and the granite countertops and thick leather couch tied it all together. It was haven in the middle of the wilderness and she felt immediately at ease in there. Jackson’s touch was evident wherever she looked. Despite only knowing him for a few minutes, his constrained, masculine style was unmistakable. The house was just like its owner – rugged, rough, but somehow put her at ease.

 

Tess had been set up in a small bedroom across from his, the man seemingly attempting to avoid her at any cost. She kept catching him staring at her, but he always averted his gaze. It made her core twist and turn around itself, the sight of the burly man doing a number on her. The fiery-haired scientist had changed out of her prim suit and killer heels into a pair of comfortable yoga pants and a loose sweater, her socks shuffling against the floors as she snuck around the living room. There weren’t a lot of personal mementos around – just a small hand-carved statue of a bear and three cubs, and a picture of Jackson and two men that looked a lot like him.

The hot rugged type seems to run in the family,
Tess thought to herself, scrutinizing the smirking faces of the trio. They had to be brothers; though Tess had a difficult time imagining the brooding man cracking a smile, despite the rather wide grin he was wearing on the picture, his hands around the shoulders of the men to either side of him.

 

The crackling of a warm fire in the fireplace filled the room, and the scent of a delicious meal being cooked in the kitchen corner wafted into her nostrils. Tess was rudely reminded that she hadn’t had a bite to eat since the less than stellar packed lunch she had been served on the airplane. Apparently scientist needed more than just coffee to keep going, even in the presence of eye-candy such as the tongue-tied groundskeeper. Tess wrapped her hands around herself and tore herself away from the picture. The man may have been smiley when he was with his kin, but she had the stark feeling that she was currently making him less than enthused. As little as she wanted to deal with it, she couldn’t tip-toe around him throughout her stay if she wanted to get any work done.

 

With a deep breath, Tess conjured a smile on her lips and walked over to the counter, leaning on it and peeking in on what the wide-shouldered man was doing. She couldn’t help but stare at the dark stubble on his face and the stark sharpness of his nose and the soft bow of his lips as he moved about in the kitchen with quiet precision, each action controlled and calmed. Watching him was like watching a mighty beast. He had effortless grace, despite his tall build and broad shoulders. Tess was amused by her analogy, suppressing a chuckle. Trust a bear researcher to see a hint of grizzly in just about everything.

 

“Can I help with anything?” she asked, only to be presented with a cutting board, bell peppers and a knife. She hoisted herself onto one of the bar stools in front of the counter, painfully aware of how her cardigan sagged around her wide hips as she straddled the stool. As soon as she had diced the green and red peppers with the sharp knife he had handed her, the vegetables were replaced by ripe red tomatoes that would meet the same fate. She was dying to ask more about him and the animals in the region, and it was taking herculean effort to keep from blabbering his ear off.

 

“How long were you planning on staying?” he asked suddenly, his deep voice rumbling through her. Tess looked up, pausing her cutting. He tossed a sideways glance at her as he returned to the frying pan with two perfect cuts of venison. The sight of the meat made her mouth water, but not nearly as much as the sight of his soulful eyes.

“I’ve got tickets for a trip back in two weeks, but the people from the foundation said I could stay as long as I needed. So I guess I’ll be going back when I’ve gathered enough information. I hope I won’t inconvenience you too much, though,” she said, rushing to add the last part. She felt a blush coming on again, and stifling it before it could light up her cheeks took more effort than it should have. He nodded quietly, flipping the sizzling slabs. Tess managed a few cuts before her curiosity got the best of her. It was his fault, really. Shouldn’t entice a woman with small talk, lest you intend to follow through!

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