Bared for Her Bear (10 page)

something, anything that could further tie Ary to him. His bear bristled at the thought of her, and he

raked his claws, trying to escape and go to its mate. The possessiveness he felt for her was unlike

anything he had ever encountered, and it only intensified since he now knew she carried his cub.

He needed to get his emotions under control and calm the fuck down. This was the biggest

news that had come into his life, and he needed to share it with his brothers, the two people who had

always been by his side, even when he was acting like a pompous asshole. Giving them a quick call

and finding out they were at Ford’s home, he made his way toward the cabin that was nestled deep in

the Sweet Water Mountains. Out of the three of them Ford preferred his privacy and solitude above all

else. Charlie always attributed it to Mina, but he had never questioned Ford on the reason for his

distance.

He took the winding road that ascended the mountain and turned off onto a narrower dirt path.

He should have taken his Harley instead of his truck because he was barely clearing the evergreens

that lined each side of him. When he came into the clearing that housed Ford’s two-story cabin he

pulled the truck beside Bram’s pickup and cut the engine. Climbing out of the vehicle and making his

into the cabin, Charlie couldn’t help but feel nervous. This was a new emotion for him, and one he

didn’t know if he liked. Despite the unsure feelings swirling around inside of him, he couldn’t deny

that he was excited to tell his brothers they would be uncles. Would they be more surprised that he

was going to be a father, and that he was going to mate with an ocelot shifter, or that he was going

against everything he’d ever said about how he wanted his life to go?

When he entered the cabin he saw Bram and Ford sitting around the dining room table with a

bottle of whiskey between them. Their laughter lowered when they noticed him. “Isn’t it a bit early for

the Crown, boys?”

Bram lifted his shot glass up in salute and downed it. “Hell no, not when we got some

incredible news to celebrate.”

“Yeah?” He made his way to the table and sat beside Ford. “It can’t be as incredible as mine.”

His brothers looked doubtful, but before he could tell them Bram started talking.

“We just got word that the CEO of Piefer Industries wants to contract Wylde Construction for

a large condominium job in Denver,” Bram said with a large grin on his face.

“Yeah, they want us to leave next week to meet with the CEO, Allister Piefer, and go over the

contract and blueprints for what they have in mind.” Ford threw back his shot and poured him and

Bram another, as well as filling an empty glass for Charlie. “Charlie, man, we are talking about a

multimillion dollar deal, and they want
us
, a small construction company from Sweet Water, to do it

for them.”

Charlie ran a hand over the back of his head. This was incredible news, and as he looked

between his brothers, he knew that his news still surpassed theirs. “That is great news.”

“Man, why aren’t you throwing the shots back and celebrating with us? This is a huge step.”

Bram pushed the glass closer to him. “This is a huge step for the business. Mom and Dad would be

drinking right along with us if they were here.” Silence descended around them, and they each looked

down at the table. It had been a long time since they actually brought up the memory of their parents,

but Bram was right that their parents would be excited and proud that the family business was

flourishing.

“Didn’t you have some news of your own?” Ford said.

“Yeah, I do, and it’s even bigger than yours.” This had his brothers looking at each other than

back at him expectantly.

“Well, spit it out.” Ford urged him to continue when he just looked at them.

“It must be huge if you think it’s bigger than Piefer,” Bram said right before he poured himself

another shot. His smile was wide, and the excitement poured out of him.

“Yeah.” Charlie picked up his shot and tossed it back. The burn of the alcohol traveled down

his throat and settled like a lead ball in the pit of his stomach. “You know the ocelot shifter I was

telling you about, the one that I wanted to mate?”

“Ary, right?” Bram asked slowly and looked over at Ford.

Charlie nodded. “Well.” He cleared his throat, feeling his own joy and happiness grow to a

monumental point inside of him. He was excited to see how his brothers would react. Ever since their

parents passed away in the car accident years ago he had always looked after Ford and Bram, even

though they were adults. The three of them stuck together, and always would, but he had Ary in his

life now, and she carried his child. Things would change most definitely, and although he knew his

brothers would be happy about this, he couldn’t help but wonder what the future held. He wanted to

start a life with February, and not just because she was pregnant, but that little fact had every

possessive instinct inside of him rushing to the surface and threatening to spill out. He needed to

control himself and keep his bear in check, or he would surely frighten her away. “Looks like I’m

going to be a father.” The heat in the room became stifling, and he shifted in his seat.

“Father? What do you mean?” Ford said the words slowly, but Charlie knew he had understood

him just fine.

“You’re having a baby with the ocelot female?” Bram leaned back in his seat and started

tapping his fingers along the table. It was a habit he had when nervous.

“Yeah, I am. I asked her to have lunch with me because I wanted to talk to her about taking the

next step in a relationship. Turns out she had her own reason for agreeing to come, and that was telling

me that the broken condom ended up with her being pregnant.”

“Shit, man.” Bram sounded stunned. “I mean I don’t know the girl or anything, but I have to

play the devil’s advocate here. She did go home with you willingly after you two just met. You don’t

think maybe there is a possibility that she got knocked up by a different guy she let take home?”

Charlie knew Bram meant well and was just looking out for him, but just hearing those words had his

inner animal on the verge of breaking free. He felt his muscles start to swell with the imminent release

of his bear. The fact he was having a hard time restraining his animal scared the shit out of him.

“Damn, Charlie, I meant no disrespect. I was just making an observation.” Bram and Ford

stood at the same time and took a step back. Charlie’s whole body shook as he tried to control his

bear. All it had taken was for him to hear something negative about Ary, even if it had been from one

of his brothers, and his bear wanted to taste blood and feel flesh ripping beneath his claws.

“What the fuck is happening to me?” His voice was distorted, sounding like an animalistic

growl. He curled his fingers into the table, heard the sound of cracking wood, and knew he needed to

rein himself in or he’d end up hurting his brothers. Closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths, he

did the only thing he could think of that might make his bear refrain from coming out: he thought of

February. He pictured her lush body beneath his, the spearmint scent of her flesh as he ran his tongue

along every dip and swell. He pictured her crying out his name as he buried himself deep inside of her

and marked her with his seed. He wanted her smelling like him completely, and wanted his claw

marks on her succulent body so every male, shifter and human alike, would know she was his. Slowly,

the bear inside of him calmed and backed down enough that he could take control. He let go of the

table, felt pieces of wood fall from his hands, and lifted his eyes to Ford and Bram. They stood several

feet away, both having the same stunned look on their faces.

“Holy fuck, Charlie. That was the most intense fucking thing I have ever seen.” Ford picked up

the Crown off the table and drank right from the bottle. He started chuckling and handed the bottle to

Bram, who drank it in the same fashion. “I thought for sure you’d lose it and tear out our throats.”

“I’ve only ever seen something that intense at Slater’s, and only when other shifters wanted

blood on their hands as sport. I mean, damn Charlie, she really is your mate, yeah?” Bram took

another drink and handed the bottle to Ford again. They did this back and forth until there was nothing

left.

Charlie ran a hand over his face, felt the sweat that had accumulated along his brow from his

near shift, and breathed out. “I am so fucking sorry. Shit, I have no damn clue what in the hell is

happening. I feel like I’m losing myself to my bear. It wants out so damn bad, and every passing day it

is getting harder to control him. We should be one entity. I feel like my human is trying to control an

animal intent on taking over.” Was this how Bram felt? His youngest brother was more bear than

human, had been for as long as he could remember. Did Bram always feel this wild and untamed? If

so, Charlie could see why he did bare-knuckle fighting so often. A glass of water was placed in front

of him, and he thanked Bram. “And to make matters worse, ever since Ary told me about the

pregnancy I have been feeling so damn territorial and possessive.”

“Charlie, why are you even trying to fight it?” Ford asked. His brother sat in the spot across

from him and set a brand new bottle of whiskey on the table. “What do you think will happen if you

shift? You think you’ll hurt your girl? Not likely. Damn, dude, your bear wants to claim her. I say go

for it, let him mark her, and then you can go on being one person again instead of feeling pulled in two

different directions.”

“Well, damn, Ford. When the hell did you get all philosophical and shit?” Bram chuckled and

cracked open the alcohol. “I think we are all in need of some more liquor.” Charlie didn’t bother

agreeing with Bram on both accounts. Ford was right, which left the burning question of why was he

trying to hold himself back? If his bear wanted to mark her as theirs, then so be it.

One week later

The sound of Charlie’s Harley pulling into her driveway was a loud rumble that she seemed to

feel all the way to her bones. It had been seven long days since she had seen him, although they talked

on the phone several times a day. He ended up having to leave with his brothers to Denver concerning

some big contract. Everything was still so surreal, right down to the fact that Charlie wanted so much

more with her. Even their conversations over the phone had her feeling so much closer to him. The

connection was frighteningly strong, so much so that her ocelot wanted to rub up on him and purr in

approval. He couldn’t see her watching him through her living room blinds, and she took that moment

to appreciate the view. It had only been seven days since she had seen him, but it felt like far longer

than that.

He knocked on the door, and she grabbed her purse and gripped the handle to pull it open. She

only had a moment to appreciate the view of him in his trademark distressed jeans and white button-

up shirt before he was charging in the house using his upper body to press her against the wall. A gasp

left her at the feral intensity of the action, but he clamped his mouth down and swallowed the noise.

Their tongues tangled together, and the flavor of everything that was Charlie bathed her taste

buds in spicy maleness. Their plans had been to ride up to the mountains to take a non-stressful hike

along a path that followed a small creek. She had been there before, loved being out in the wilderness

as did all shifters, and wanted to show Charlie a hidden alcove that overlooked Sweet Water Lake.

Apparently this bear had different plans for them. The hiking shorts she wore were modest, and that

was clearly something Charlie didn’t appreciate since he muttered against her mouth something about

too many clothes before undoing the button and pulling the zipper down. In one frantic motion he had

her shorts and her panties down her thighs and thrown to the side. The low, rumbly growls that came

from him vibrated through his chest and went straight to her clit. There was something definitely

different about him, like he couldn’t control himself and needed this more than he needed to breathe.

She inhaled deeply, smelled the scent of his alpha bear surrounding him, and knew right now he

wasn’t Charlie the human, but a wild animal.

“Charlie, what’s gotten into you?” Her words stuttered out of her from the rhythmic way he

thrust his hips back and forth against her. His dick was hard and thick, and brought back the erotically

delicious memories of their night spent together. Not that she was complaining, and if she had thought

he was alpha personified before, she was starting to realize there was more of it hiding inside of him.