Boarlander Boss Bear (Boarlander Bears Book 1) (9 page)

Audrey ducked out of the way as Mason hustled out of 1010 with an armload of lumber. Beaston had settled the old trailer on a concrete pad at the end of the road, facing the entrance, and overlooking the rest of the park.

“Oh, sorry,” she murmured, dodging Bash as he filed out of 1010 balancing an impressive stack of what looked and smelled like fresh cut two-by-sixes.

Bash adjusted the stack and ruffled her hair as he walked by, his grin catching. At least one of the Boarlanders was happy she was here. Clinton was still nowhere to be seen.

“Ten-ten looks best with a deck,” Beaston said from right behind her.

Audrey jumped and clutched her chest. Thanks to her animal, she wasn’t often snuck up on, but Beaston was scary quiet.

He stood right behind her with his arms clasped behind his back. “I want to help build it for you, but I have to get back to Ana. She’s pregnant.” Pride tinged the last part.

“I know. I felt the baby move last night, remember?”

“Yeah, I just like saying it. She’s having my raven boy. I don’t like to be away from her.”

She ducked her smile. Beaston always sounded snarly unless he was talking about his Ana. Then his voice went all soft.

“We’ll build the deck,” she said. “You go on back to your mate and tell her ‘hi’ from me.”

Beaston jerked his head in a nod and turned for the now empty big rig, waiting in the middle of the gravel road.

“Beaston?” she asked.

He turned with a frown on his face. “What?”

With a sigh, she approached and put her arms around his shoulders carefully. “Thank you.”

Beaston froze under her hug. “For what?”

“For helping me get to Harrison at Sammy’s bar last week. For bringing ten-ten.” She squeezed harder. “For seeing more than other people do.”

Beaston softened and lifted his hands to her back, then pulled her close for a moment. Head cocked and green eyes blazing, he gave her a half smile and walked away. Over his shoulder, he asked, “Do you like knives?”

“Uuuh,” she stumbled. “I used to carry a pocket knife.”

He climbed up the eighteen-wheeler and hung from the door. “Good,” he murmured just before he climbed in behind the wheel. He stuck his head out the window. “I almost forgot. Nards lives in ten-ten. Don’t hurt him.” Engine roaring, the truck drove slowly away and back under the park sign. Beaston was a bit of a wild bear, and an odd one, too, but she liked him.

Harrison wrapped his arms around her from behind and rested his chin on top of her head as they watched the truck disappear through the trees. “You ready to see your trailer?”

The boys were going in and out like a line of worker ants, but she and Harrison ducked inside between them. Kirk grinned as he scooped the last bunch of wood. “There she is. Queen of the trailer park, queen of our hearts.”

Audrey snorted and crouched down when Kirk swung the wood wide to angle it toward the door. When he left, only she and Harrison remained. He shut the door gently and watched her face with an expression that said it mattered what she thought of this place.

The walls were painted white, and the dark laminate wood floors under her feet felt a little squishy. The couch, kitchen table, and chairs were all bound together for the journey in the middle of the living room, and to the left, a white-washed country kitchen with faux wood countertops bisected the living space and a bedroom. She giggled at a miniature refrigerator that took up roughly a third of the space for a full-sized one.

“We’ll get you a big one,” Harrison promised.

“This one is fine for now. It’s just me in here. This place is a lot bigger than I thought.”

“Yeah, you’ll have the biggest trailer in the park.”

“My castle,” she murmured, glowing from the inside out with pleasure.

The kitchen was full of boxes, all bound together, and when she opened one, there were dishes packed neatly. When she meandered through the kitchen, touching the smooth countertop as she went, and made her way into the bedroom, she was shocked into stillness, right there in the doorway. The bedroom was huge. It had a built-in dresser and a queen-size bed. The mattress was bare, but a stack of sheets and a thick cream and blue floral comforter was folded neatly in the middle and bound with thick twine. The linens smelled good, like fresh breeze laundry detergent, and as she made her way to the bathroom on the other side, she couldn’t contain her grin. There was a washer and a dryer inside, right across from the sink.

“You like it?” Harrison asked.

“This is going to sound silly, but I haven’t had my own washer and dryer before. When I moved out of my dad’s trailer, I was living in this tiny apartment that didn’t have hookups, so I’ve used a Laundromat for years.” With a happy sigh, she turned and leaned on the door frame. “I love it.” She looked up at the slightly sagging ceiling and shrugged. “I can’t explain it, but this place feels homey to me.”

“You’re an amazing woman, Audrey,” Harrison said from where he rested his hip against the built-in dresser. “I never imagined a lady would be okay living out here in my park. Not the way it is.”

Audrey made her way to the bed and untied the linens. “Yeah, well, I can see the potential. I feel like I’m coming in right on the cusp of huge changes. It’s exciting that I’ll be here to see what you do with this park. With your people.”

“You feel like my people, too,” Harrison said low, eyes on the sheets as he helped her to cover the mattress.

Dragons flapped around in her belly at his admission, and she had to bite back her grin because he looked so serious and lost in thought right now. She snuck glances at him as they made the bed. His powerful arms flexed against his thin white T-shirt, and she could make out the definition of his muscular chest. His thick neck led up to a two-day sexy scruff on his jaw, and his eyes were that dark evening blue that she’d fallen in love with. There was a cut on his forearm, but it was already healed and the thin line of blood dried, and his hair was all mussed, likely from the hardhat he wore on his shift. Bed made, she jumped up and landed starfish-style on the plush mattress. For an old trailer, the Ashe Crew and Gray Backs hadn’t skimped on furnishings. This bed would be like sleeping on a cloud.

“I make a nest every night,” she admitted.

“Like a bird?” Harrison asked, amusement in his tone as he lay down beside her.

“No, like a badass tiger. I pile pillows all around me. That’s what makes me feel safe enough to sleep. I’m a light sleeper because I hear everything. Did you know my hearing is even better than yours? I researched it.”

Harrison chuckled and pulled her in close. “That sucks.”

“What I’m saying is, maybe you don’t have to bear all the burden of making sure this place is safe at night.”

Harrison frowned at her and plucked absently at a wayward strand of hair that had fallen against her cheek. “What do you mean?”

Audrey rested her chin against his chest so she could see his face better. “I mean, I can help you patrol the territory if you want. Then you can sleep more.”

He smiled sadly down at her, stroking her hair. “I don’t think it works like that.”

“Harrison, I won’t let anyone hurt you,” she whispered. “You’re mine to protect, too.”

His heart thumped faster against her chin as he searched her eyes. Then slowly, he pulled her hand under the hem of his T-shirt and up, up until her fingertips brushed four raised claw-mark scars. “I was ten when I got this.”

“Oh, Harrison,” she murmured, heart aching. “Why did he do it?”

“Because he drank, and booze made him angry and bitter. It made him blame his problems on anything but himself, and I was an easy mark. I was asleep…fuck.” Harrison jerked his gaze to the window and shook his head over and over again. “I’ve never talked about this stuff.”

She would
not
cry. She wouldn’t. He was being strong, and so would she. Audrey pushed his shirt up and over his head, then kissed the long scars one by one.

Harrison swallowed hard and murmured, “I was asleep, and I woke up with my dad’s raging grizzly over me. I couldn’t Change fast enough, and even when I did, I was half his size. I fought, but I was hurt and scared, trying to just get out of the house. I wanted to get out into the woods where I had a chance at getting away.”

“And did you?”

“Yeah, but I was injured, and it was winter. I was so cold. I spent the night out there thinking I wouldn’t heal fast enough. That I was going to bleed out alone, and I remember staring at the sky and cursing my mom for leaving. For dying. I was so angry at everything. I made a rule that night to protect myself. If I lived, I would never let my dad in again. I would tolerate him, but harden myself until I was old enough to leave and find a crew. I would fight back. That night was the first time I’d ever defended myself, and in order to save my bear from being broken, I had to let him fight instead of just lying there, waiting for my dad to get tired of hurting me. And I did. Those were the last permanent scars he ever left on me.”

But Harrison was wrong. His dad had done something worse than scar his skin. He’d scarred his insides so that Harrison couldn’t sleep like he should. So that Harrison couldn’t feel safe. He’d battered his naturally protective instincts until they were barely manageable. His dad had made it to where even after all these years, he was still a hindrance in Harrison’s ability to function normally.

A low growl reverberated through her as she rested her cheek against the claw mark. She hated his father for what he’d done. She ran the flat of her tongue down the length of the mark, then froze as her gaze locked onto his. “I’m sorry,” she rushed out, lurching away from him. “I don’t know why I did that.”

His face cracked into a slow grin. “You smell like fur.”

Mortified, she sat up and clamped her arms around her stomach. “My animal thinks if she licks stuff, it fixes the problem, but my human side knows that’s stupid because your scar is already healed,” she rambled. “You taste good. I’m sorry for doing that. I should go.”

“Stop, stop, stop,” he murmured, his eyes glinting with a sexy wickedness. He pulled her head gently toward his chest. “Do it again. I like feeling your tongue on me.”

She hesitated an instant, then stuck out the tip of her tongue and licked his scar again.

“Like you mean it, kitty.”

Ooooh, he was sexy, demanding in his deep voice that she expose her animal instincts like this.

She slid her hand between his legs just to feel him, and sure enough, his erection was already hard as a rock and ready. Feeling much braver, she licked his scar again, then kissed down his ribcage. At his hipbone, she bit him hard enough that he jerked his pelvis and rolled his eyes closed.

Harrison was so reactive, her confidence grew, and now she had that same numb, happy feeling she’d gotten the first time they were intimate. She didn’t stifle the purr in her throat as she kissed his tense abs and pulled his jeans down his hips, unsheathing him completely.

God, he was stunning. His long dick throbbed once between his powerful legs, and now his fingers were in her hair, pushing her farther down until her lips brushed the swollen head of his cock. His muscles tensed as she licked the salty drop of moisture at the tip. So good. She loved this, loved how pliable he became with every touch of her lips, loved the taste of him, loved that he was barely in control.
Mine, mine, mine.

Audrey rolled her hips against his leg as she slid her mouth over his cock. More. She needed so much more. Releasing him, she shimmied out of her cut-off shorts and pulled her tank top over her head.

Harrison’s eyes were bright now, like fresh snow. “Come here,” he rumbled.

She crawled over him and straddled his hips, then kissed him. How insane that a big, dominant alpha grizzly shifter would allow her to be on top, controlling their pace. The purr in her throat grew louder, then softer, then louder again.

With a devilish grin, Harrison gripped her hips and slid down the bed under her until his face was between her straddled legs.

“What are you—oooh,” she groaned as he lifted up and sucked gently on her clit.

When Harrison slipped his tongue up her wet slit, her hips jerked. He licked her again, and she swayed forward and closed her eyes. He teased her again and again, tongue hesitating at her entrance before he sucked her clit.

“Harrison, please,” she begged, voice growly and unrecognizable. Maybe she would be embarrassed by her animal side later when Harrison’s clever mouth wasn’t on her.

Sliding her legs farther apart, she lowered down for him and rocked her hips with the pace he set. So much pressure growing with every lick. When Harrison’s tongue dipped shallowly into her, she gasped his name.

His hand brushed down her back as she arched for him, and now his needy growl was rattling against her sex. His tongue slid deep inside her, and she groaned, tossing her head back at how good he felt right there. She was going to come soon, but she didn’t want to finish like this.

“I want you inside of me,” she whispered. The tingling sensation was growing so intensely now. So close.

Harrison sat up on the edge of the bed, taking her with him. His teeth were on her neck as she settled over his thick shaft, sliding over him slowly. Her chest heaved as she bowed against him and offered him better access to her neck. Harrison moved within her, powerful body flexing with every graceful stroke. His arms were strong around her back, dragging her closer every time their hips met.