Bared for Her Bear (8 page)

up it only made things worse.

“It’s nothing. She just got under my skin, but nothing I can’t handle.” That was true, and also a

lie. He wasn’t handling it well, because frankly he had never encountered feelings this strong before.

“Under your skin?” Bram was the one to ask, and Ford shouted out a string of curse words

when a foul was called in the game.

“What’s going on?” Ford said and brought his beer to his lips. He turned and looked at them,

and one of his brows cocked up in question. Charlie scrubbed a hand over his face and exhaled. Did he

really want to get into this with his brothers, tell them about this girl that he’d only spent a few hours

with one night in his bed? They would surely think he was an insane asshole, because how many times

had he told them he would never claim a female? He liked one thing from them, and that was the

momentary oblivion that being buried in their bodies caused. Yeah, it was a douche-bag thing to say,

but he never claimed to be a knight riding in on a white horse.

“Dude, why are you clamming up right now?” Bram sounded confused, and Charlie couldn’t

blame him. He looked at his youngest brother and noticed the day old cut above his right eye, and the

fading bruise that covered his cheek. Looked like Bram was at his bare-knuckle fighting again. Taking

a deep breath and deciding to just say it already, Charlie looked at his brothers. This was the first time

he’d kept things from them.

“That ocelot female has been all I’ve been thinking about for days.” He looked between Bram

and Ford. It seemed Ford now had his full attention on Charlie.

“What do you mean you’ve been thinking about her?” Ford turned the television off, and

silence descended in the living room. Bram was already looking at him with interest on his face.

Charlie supposed he should just spit it out. Damn, why in the hell was this so hard? He was a

grown-ass male, and this was his family.

“You got it bad for this girl?” Bram asked.

“It’s like my bear wants to take over and claim her.” He leaned forward and placed his

forearms on his thighs. “I have never wanted to take a mate. You both know that better than anyone,

but shit.” He exhaled and ran his hand through his hair. He gripped the short hair at the base of his

neck and tugged on the strands. “I knew there was something different about her as soon as I saw her

in the bar. The scent of her, the way she fucking looked. She drove me crazy, and I hadn’t even said

one word to her. Then I had her under me, and my bear clawed to take control.” He looked between his

brothers, and saw their intense, but shocked expressions. Yeah, he supposed this whole conversation

was shocking given the way he’d acted before. “Then the fucking condom broke. I freaked, which in

turn caused her to freak. So, I took her back to her car and haven’t seen her since, but dammit I’ve

thought about her every fucking day, and it scares the shit out of me.”

For several long seconds his brothers didn’t say anything. The silence was deafening, and for

the first time in his life he felt vulnerable for revealing how he felt. Charlie had always been the one to

hold how he felt inside. He didn’t share all that shit, and kept his hard, armor-like exterior firmly in

place. He liked his solitude, living alone, and didn’t want to have to worry about a female. But then

there was February Felina, and all his preconceived notions on how he planned on living his life

vanished.

“Well shit, man.” Ford chuckled, but there was no humor behind it. “The condom broke?” He

nodded. “She wasn’t fertile, right?” There was a bit of a strain in Ford’s voice.

“Nah, but I’ll be honest, I don’t know if I would have been able to stay away even if she was.”

That was the first time he had spoken those words out loud. It was hard not to when he knew he had

come inside of her, and if she had been fertile she could be carrying his child. Yeah, that was a slap of

reality right in his face.

“The human side of you wants to mate with this chick, and so does your bear. Charlie, dude,

you’ve found ‘the one’.” Although this was how he felt, and the conclusion he had come to, whether

he wanted to embrace it or not, it was crazy hearing Ford say it.

“Damn, Charlie. It must be pretty serious for you to open up like this, and for your bear to want

to mark her.”

He looked over at Bram and could only nod. He didn’t feel like the oldest brother right now,

not when Bram and Ford could so easily admit what the hell was going on when he had held it in for

so long.

“You need to call her.” Ford sounded so sure and confident that it had him and Bram looking

over at him.

“Just like that, huh?” Yeah, it sounded easy enough, but he got the impression that she was

done with him, especially when he had acted like an asshole during the whole condom breakage. He

had given her his full name, and she hadn’t reached out to him. He might have said she could run and

he would go after her, but with each passing day he felt himself going more inside of himself and

pushing her back. He could admit it: he was scared.

“What are you really afraid of? You’ve just admitted to us that it isn’t just you that wants her,

but your bear, too,” Ford said matter-of-factly. “How many years have we heard you talk about what

you don’t want in your life, and how you don’t need the messy feelings that come with a

relationship?”

“If this one female causes this type of reaction in you, why not just go for it?” Bram said.

“Bram, it isn’t that easy.”

“But it is, brother. And with that I need a fresh beer.” And just like that Ford was out of the

room. His words were strong and honest, and despite Ford almost leaving nonchalantly after what he

just said, it told Charlie that it really was that easy.

Bram stared at him, but didn’t speak. Ford returned with three more beers and handed each of

them a fresh one. For the rest of the night no one said any more about it, but that was the way the three

of them were. They said what needed to be said, and that was it. Now it was up to Charlie if he was

going to take his brothers’ advice and let his bear out to take what it really wanted, or keep his

distance and continue living his solitary life.

February stared at her cell for the hundredth time since she had decided it was time to call

Charlie. His number was written on a scrap piece when she scribbled it down after finding it on one of

the many Wylde Construction signs posted throughout the town. She had let herself have a little over a

week to get used to the idea that she was pregnant, had even made an appointment with one of the

town’s shifter clinics. Her pregnancy was in the very early stages, but a shifter’s pregnancy only lasted

two-thirds of a human’s gestation. In just six months she would have Charlie’s baby.

She set her phone on the table and placed the slip of paper with his number beside it. Reaching

into her purse she took out one of the ultrasound pictures the clinic had given her. The baby looked

like a piece of rice, but warmth settled inside of her every time she looked at it. It was real, but

looking at the picture of her baby seemed to cement everything inside of her. Setting the picture on the

other side of her phone, she looked among the three items. Why was this so hard for her?

Because what if he is the hard asshole everyone in town makes him out to be? What if he wants

nothing to do with you or this baby? And what if he denies that it is even his?

In all honesty she couldn’t blame him if his reaction was the latter. She had gone home with

him, a virtual stranger even if she knew of him by reputation. No doubt that made her look like some

kind of slut, regardless of the fact she had never done something like that in her life. There had just

been something about him that called to her. She always went with her instincts, and they had been

screaming for her to let the gorgeous bear take her home. But then again look at how well that worked

out.

“Quit being so weird about it. You’re a grown woman. He’s a grown man. This kind of thing

happens all the time.” Yeah, talking to herself wasn’t helping matters. She picked up her phone, but

before she could swipe her finger across the screen and dial his number she got an incoming call. The

number that flashed in front of her had her heart racing. It was the same number she saw on the

construction billboards in town, and the same one she had been staring at on that scrap piece of paper

for the past several days.

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. Just answer it already before it goes to voicemail.
Ary ran her

finger across the screen and brought it up to her ear. “Hello?” Why did she sound so out of breath and

shaky? Because she was nervous as hell.

“February?” God, there was something about his voice and the way he said her full name that

made everything inside of her tingle with awareness. She had heard it replay over and over again in

her head, but actually hearing the smooth baritone of it over the phone was so much more satisfying.

He said her name all smooth like, and all she could think about was being beneath him as he pounded

all that hard flesh into her.

“Yeah, this is Ary.” Oh lord, she sounded ridiculous. Closing her eyes and slapping her hand

over them, she breathed out and prayed he didn’t hear the nervousness through her voice. His chuckle

told her she failed miserably at trying to hide it.

“I’m glad to know I’m not the only one nervous about this phone call.”

What? Really?

“Listen, let’s just forget about how strange all of this is and relax, yeah?” He made it sound so

easy, but really, wasn’t it?

No, you stupid girl. Remember, you planned on calling him to tell him you’re pregnant with his

child?

“Ary, you there?” How long had she left him hanging on the line? Taking a deep, steadying

breath, she placed her hand on her rounded belly, which had nothing to do with the baby growing

inside of her, and forced her voice to stay steady.

“Yeah, I’d like that.” She heard him exhale and wondered if he had been holding it in. It was

strange that she could sense how nervous he was through the phone. It went against everything she had

ever heard about him, and what she experienced when she’d spent those few blissful hours being

consumed by him.

“Good, that’s real good. Maybe you’d want to meet up and get something to eat? I’d like to

talk with you, if that’s all right?” Well, if this wasn’t turning out easier than she thought. She hadn’t

been the one to call him and ask him to meet, but that led to the realization that when she agreed,

because there was no option against that, she would have to come clean. She looked at the ultrasound

picture again. It was too early for the tech to be able to tell from the bone structure and internal organs

whether the baby would be an ocelot or bear shifter, but she hoped he took what she said in stride. It

was going to be hard telling him, but it had to be done.

“Yeah, that sounds good. When and where would you like to meet?” He rattled off a small café

that specialized in soups and sandwiches, and after he told her what time to meet him, in just a few

short hours, they hung up. Well, this was really going to happen, so she might as well put on her big

girl panties, grow a pair of balls, and get it over with.

Two hours later and Ary was pulling into an empty parking spot at J&A’s. The little café was

relatively quiet, something she was thankful for. Turing off the car and just sitting there for a moment

to get her bearings, she listened to the sound of the engine cooling. The click, click, click filled the

interior in an almost rhythmic sounding noise. There was no sign of Charlie’s Harley, and aside from a

large truck and a few cars the place was pretty barren. Climbing out of the car she made her way

inside. The hostess that stood behind her little podium glanced up and gave her a thorough once-over.

The scent of the hostess being a leopard shifter permeated the air the closer she got, as well as the fact

she was displeased by Ary’s presence. Oh, there was no doubt the leopard knew Ary could sense her

emotions, but clearly she didn’t care.

“May I help you?” One perfectly shaped brown eyebrow lifted in question.

“Yes, well, I’m actually waiting to meet someone. I don’t think he’s here yet—”

“Ary.” The sound of her name coming from Charlie right behind her had a shiver working up

her spine. The hostess wrinkled her nose, but when she looked over her shoulder at Charlie a mega-

watt smile covered her face.

“Mr. Wylde. It is so pleasant to see you again. The same table?” Her presence completely

forgotten by the hostess, something she was accustomed to, February took a step to the side and turned

to look at Charlie. Good freaking lord did he look good. His distressed jeans hung low on his hips, and

the t-shirt he wore was form-fitting. She could make out every dip and hollow of his muscular chest,