Christmas Catastrophe: BBW Holiday Bear Shifter Romance (Christmas Bear Brothers Book 2) (5 page)

“Here, let me warm you,” he said, and pulled her close. Instantly the heat of his body chased the chill from her skin, but her teeth still chattered, from a nervous excitement that filled every nerve ending, every fibre, of her body.

She was uniquely attuned to him. The rise and fall of his chest, the beat of his heart, and the scent of his skin were all welcoming her into his arms. Zara rested her head on his chest, and they sat in silence—no need for words, not yet. But soon there would be, and what was she supposed to say?

He looked up, studying the curtain of ice in front of them. “This is a beautiful place. Do you come here in the summer when the water is running?”

“Yes. When I was a child I use to come here with Logan and we would spend hours swimming in the pool. Jumping in, splashing each other.”

“You’re very close to Logan,” he said, his hand stroking her arm.

“Yes. We always have been. I know some brothers and sisters fight, but we were never like that. I think it’s because my dad was always so busy, so Logan looked out for me, and I looked out for him. We defended each other. Cougar Ridge often has fights between the younger cougars. One thing about us being open about our other side means there is less need to be in control.”

“Sounds like fun,” Damon said. “I used to fight with my brothers. Still do, but not in a bad way and we always know we can depend on each other.”

“Do they have mates?” she asked, knowing how tough she had found it the last few years watching her brother find his mate, and then have a child. Maybe it was her biological clock ticking by, but she wanted a family and a child now more than ever.

“Up until this afternoon, no. We had our usual drink before we all started our Christmas shifts and we were all still bachelors. But since then … it seems we have all struck lucky.” He smiled. “I think this is the last Christmas where we all volunteer to work.”

“So you are a firefighter. What do your brothers do?” Zara asked.

“My brother Declan is the sheriff of Bear Bluff.”

“The sheriff. Wow.”

“And my younger brother Dermot is a paramedic.”

“You all turned out good boys, then, didn’t you?” she teased.

“Eventually, although we caused more than our fair share of trouble when we were younger. Not in a bad way, but boys, especially three brothers, will be boys.” He chuckled at his memories.

“Why a firefighter?” she asked, relaxing now. Her teeth had stopped chattering and she was able to enjoy being here with him.

“I don’t know. Declan had left school and decided to go into law enforcement. I suppose when I saw how much he wanted to help the town, I thought that it was a good idea. I’m an active guy, so fighting fires seemed to be the thing to do.”

“Steady careers.” She liked the sound of that. But would it mean she had to leave Cougar Ridge?

“Yes. We all work well together, so when there are emergencies, we all pull together to get the job done. Fires, road accidents, you name it, we’re there.”

“You must see some awful things.”

“Yes. And some wonderful things. You know, when people all pull together, with one common aim, to help each other. And in Bear Bluff, I think those of us who have a shared secret look out for each other. There is nothing braver than a bear.”

“Except for a cougar,” she said, nudging him in the ribs. Maybe he was making her feel more playful. Could he ever help her let go of the responsibilities she felt to make everything in Cougar Ridge right?

“Oh, I don’t know enough about cougars to agree with you.” He shifted his weight, turning his body to hers. “You might have to teach me all about cougars.”

She looked up at him, her eyes drawn to his lips. “I’m not the best teacher,” she said.

“Then we can just fumble our way forward,” he said, his hand going to the nape of her neck and he lowered his head and pressed his lips to hers.

Her body responded in the most primal way. Her heart raced, her sex ached, and tendrils of desire unfurled to wrap around her stomach, making it lurch with desire. If she hadn’t known before that he was the one, in that one solitary kiss she did. Without doubt, no man had ever made her feel like this and no man ever would.

She gave herself to him, unconsciously sending a message to him, telling him she was his. Damon deepened the kiss, his tongue sliding along her lower lip, making her tremble with anticipation. She turned her body to his, pressing her breasts against his hard, toned chest. With her nipples already hardened with the cold, the friction was incredible and if he asked her, she would have laid down right now and allowed him to make love to her.

As if to prove that to him, she reached out and stroked his chest, moving her hand down over his toned abs. Then she faltered. Was she ready to be so blatant in her desire when she had only just met him?

If her hand went lower, if she touched him, stroked his cock, which was already rock hard, he might not be able to control himself. And he didn’t want to take her here, not on a cold, wet cave floor. He wanted to make love to her in a warm bed, where they could relax and explore each other, not huddle together to stop from getting hypothermia. So he slid his hand over hers and stilled it.

“I should take you back to Cougar Ridge,” he said, and she pulled away from him, the loss of her touch worse than he could have imagined. “I should go back to the fire station, check everything is OK, and then I’ll come back to you.”
With flowers and candy and his heart, all gift-wrapped for her.
“If you want me to.”

Her eyes looked heavy with desire, and he knew he didn’t have to ask.

“That sounds like a good idea. I’ll check in on Cindy, and then go home. I’ll give you the address,” she said nervously.

“I don’t think I need it. I could follow your scent.” He bent his head, nuzzling her neck and inhaling her scent until he felt delirious.

“We should go.” She stood up abruptly. “It’s late and you should get back to your job.”

He smiled. “If you don’t want me to leave, then I won’t.”

“No. I think it’s a good idea.” She looked out into the night and shuddered. “I think I need some time to get used to the idea of having a mate. It’s so sudden. Our worlds have changed forever, haven’t they?”

He stood and went to her, holding her close. “I won’t force anything on you.”

“How do you know I won’t force things on you? Like living in Cougar Ridge. I don’t think I could live with you in Bear Bluff. I know your job is there, but I don’t know if I want to learn to watch what I say, or hide who I am.”

“I know. It’s OK. I work shifts and it’s not that far. I only hope Cougar Ridge is accepting of a big, bad bear.”

“I think they’ll cope. Although my dad won’t be the most welcoming person until he gets to know you.”

“Has he always been in charge here?”

“For as long as I can remember. He hated the idea of my brother working away. He doesn’t accept change too well. Just the fact that his little girl has a mate is going to hit him hard, let alone finding out he is a bear.”

“I hope he gets used to it. There is no way I am staying away from you, Zara.”

“He’ll understand.” She pulled away and headed for the path leading out of the waterfall.

However, Damon wasn’t ready to let her go just yet. In the light of the moon, he pulled her to him and kissed her until she was breathless. When he released her, he said, “I plan to see you safely home, and then I am going to run over to Bear Bluff.”

“Of course. I hadn’t thought about how you are going to get home.”

“It won’t take me long and it will do me good to run off some of this … tension.”

“If you’re sure.”

“Yes, then when I’ve settled everything in Bear Bluff, I’ll come back in my truck.” He looked up at the sky as they came out into the open air. “If I can make it up the road. If not, I’ll have to leave my truck at the bottom and lumber up bear-style.”

“I will be waiting,” she said, quickly kissing him on the lips and then changing into her cougar and leaping off into the night with Damon in hot pursuit.

Zara had dashed back to check on Cindy and Robbie. There was no news on Logan getting home, and her sister-in-law had insisted there was no use her waiting around with them, and that she should go and enjoy herself with her mate.

“I don’t mind hanging out here with you,” Zara had said.

“Listen, there is no reason for us all to be miserable over Christmas. I know how much your brother loves you. He would much rather you spent the evening with your mate than here with me.”

“But I don’t want to leave you alone,” Zara said.

Cindy looked at Zara, her eyes brimming with tears. “Just because he isn’t here with me, doesn’t mean I am alone. Once you have a mate, no matter where they are in the world, they are with you. Distance means nothing. But I just want to hold him. So you do me a favour, Zara. You go and hold your man.”

Zara felt tears welling up inside her, pricking her eyes. “I’m scared, Cindy. What if that’s not what it’s like? What if he doesn’t want me?”

“Then he is a fool. But Zara, that isn’t how these things work. He is your fated mate, which means you are perfectly matched. Just embrace it. Embrace him.” Cindy lifted Zara’s chin and nodded. “Let him in.”

Zara wiped her eyes. “I should go. I need to shower and change. He’s coming back as soon as he has checked everything is all right at work.” She headed to the door. “If you need anything, let me know. I won’t be far away.”

“But you will be busy,” Cindy said, laughing when she saw the look of horror cross Zara’s face. “You will do just fine. Let yourself enjoy him, Zara. There is no pressure; this is not you trying to keep your dad happy. This is you allowing yourself to be happy and make your mate happy.”

With Cindy’s words still circling around her head, she had gone home, walking through the snow, deep in thought about her future with Damon. If she were honest, she knew she was lucky to have such a man: not only was he very handsome, but he was a firefighter. It wasn’t just the steady income that appealed to her about his job, it was knowing that he had to be brave to have such a career. And committed to helping people.

Gradually, a longing to be with him built inside her. She showered and then dressed, but couldn’t face eating a thing. Her stomach was doing back flips of anticipation while she sat and waited for him. Her nervous energy grew until she could only sit on the sofa for a few minutes before she became consumed with an urge to look out of the window to see if he was approaching. Looking out on the empty street, she experienced disappointment and went to sit down again. Only to get up a few minutes later and repeat the search for him, with her eyes straining to listen for either a truck or a big bear coming towards her.

Nothing.

What if he had changed his mind? No, he wanted this as much as she did, and he certainly wasn’t going to play hard to get; they were fated mates, this was no ordinary first date. OK. So what if he had been called out with his crew to some fire or an emergency? Cars were likely to go off the road in this icy weather.

Her thoughts returned to the road accident that had happened in the autumn, the one that had changed her brother’s life. Oh no. What if he was involved in an accident while trying to reach Cougar Ridge? She could never live with the guilt if something had happened to him because of her.

Why hadn’t she gone with him to Bear Bluff? She should have stayed with him.

Her head shot up and her cougar stretched in anticipation as the sound of an engine reached her. Standing up, she slid her hands down over the skirt she had put on, and made sure the top three buttons of her shirt were open, revealing the top of her cleavage. Then she did one back up again, not wanting to look like a wanton woman.

Who was she kidding? She was wanton; she wanted him! Laughing at herself, feeling lighter than she had for a long time, she rushed to the door and pulled it open. Peering down the street, she saw the lights of his truck, and felt the biting cold on her inflamed skin. Maybe it would act like a cold shower, because if something didn’t temper her arousal she was probably going to jump in him as soon as his feet touched the ground and drag him to bed.

The truck stopped. His door opened and he got out, coming around the front and then standing, staring at her. Zara looked down at herself, wondering if she had a stain on her shirt or something. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

“No. Nothing at all. It’s only the longer I was away from you, the more I began to worry that I had dreamed you. And now I’m here, and you’re there, and I know it’s real.”

“Why don’t you come in?” she said, her voice husky with desire.

“I would. But I don’t think it’s such a good idea,” he said, coming towards her, but stopping just out of reach.

“Why?” she asked, puzzled.

“Because I went back to work. And when I told them about your brother, Stan told me I was an idiot.”

“For what?”
Being my mate?

“For not thinking about this before. Why don’t we
drive
and get your brother?”

“Why don’t we what?” Her body held a contradicting mess of emotions. Part of her wanted to go off into the night with him and drive hundreds miles or more to fetch her brother. The other part of her wanted to drag him off to bed.

“If we leave now, the roads will be quiet. Once we hit the highways, they will be gritted enough for us to make good time. Let’s go and make Robbie’s Christmas wish come true. We should be there and back before Christmas morning.”

“You would do that? For me?” she asked, incredulously.

“That and more,” he said and pulled her into his arms, his lips finding hers.

She clung to him, her hands going to clutch at his jacket, trying to keep herself upright when her knees wanted to give way beneath her. His tongue slid between her teeth and he tasted her mouth, and she met him, returning his kiss with a passion she never knew existed inside her. She whimpered against his assault, willing to give herself to him. Right here, right now.