Christmas Catastrophe: BBW Holiday Bear Shifter Romance (Christmas Bear Brothers Book 2) (6 page)

However, with an anguished groan he pulled himself away from her. “Damn, you make it hard for me to resist you.”

“Sorry,” she gasped, her head spinning as she came back down to earth.

“That kiss was nothing to be sorry for,” he said, his breathing ragged. “But if we want to get your brother, we need to leave now.”

“Are you sure? It’s such a long way.”

“I have it all planned. We will need to stop over somewhere for a few hours, we’re going to need to sleep or I’ll fall asleep at the wheel.” He raked his eyes over her body. “And as desirable as you look in those clothes, and you have no idea how much I want to strip you right now and take you to bed...” He took a breath to regain control, his eyes telling her of his passion, barely contained. “You need to dress warmly in pants, just in case we get stranded and have to walk.”

“Give me five minutes,” she said and turned away from him, disappearing into her bedroom and shutting the door. Not because she didn’t want him to see her half-naked, but because she knew he would have to fight to keep his hands of her body if he did, just as she was fighting to keep her hands off him.

Pulling out a backpack, she stuffed in her toothbrush, and anything else she thought she might need, adding a change of underwear and a fresh shirt before she dragged on several layers of clothing. Going to her closet, she found a thick waterproof coat that she would place in the truck just in case she had to get out and walk.

As she went to open the bedroom door, she had to stop and steady herself. This was madness: she was about to drive off into a snowy night with a man she had only just met. Driving in the snow was dangerous enough, but with someone she didn’t know? That was just ludicrous.

The voice telling her that sounded just like her father’s. Forceful. Wary. Scared of change. Embracing her love of adventure, she reached for the door handle and opened it. She wasn’t her father; she didn’t have to be like him, and she was old enough to make her own decisions.

“I’m ready,” she said, excited to be heading out of Cougar Ridge into the unknown with her mate.

“Then let’s go.” He took her hand and led her to the truck, opening the door for her, like a true gentleman. Once she was safely inside, seatbelt on, he closed the door, ran around to the other side, and got in. “This is going to be fun. I have you to myself for the next few hours. In that time we can get to know each other.”

“Or get bored of each other,” she said with a laugh, although she was only half joking. What would two strangers find to talk about for so long? As he reversed the truck, turning round to head back out of town, she hoped this wasn’t a mistake.

How could it be? They were about to go and get her brother, and fulfil Robbie’s Christmas wish. Surely luck would be on their side.

“How can you not like the ocean?” he asked, laughing at her screwed-up face.

“It’s not so much me,” she said, putting her hand to one side of her mouth and whispering. “It’s the cat.”

“So because your cougar doesn’t like the ocean, you don’t either?” he asked.

“That’s right. Come on, don’t tell me you aren’t influenced by your bear. There must be some things he hates.”

“I’m in charge of my bear,” he said confidently.

“Really. There is nothing that he hates? And makes you avoid? Such as … I don’t know, eating mushrooms.”

“Mushrooms, I love mushrooms,” Damon insisted, and then he paused.

“Oh, so there
is
something. Tell me what it is. Spinach? Good old cabbage? Because I could just see a big brave bear being afraid of his greens.”

“Oranges.”

“Excuse me?” she laughed, and he liked the sound of that. He would like to make her laugh every day for the rest of his life.

“Oranges. I had an incident with oranges when I was learning to control my bear. I dug my claws into one, and it squirted in my bear eyes. I blame my brothers. They threw it at me, and I thought it was a ball.” Damon looked at her as she giggled. “They liked to tease me and when you start changing, you look for all the advice you can get. Anyway, they switched this ball for an orange and it exploded in my face. Making my eyes sting.”

“So now you are afraid of oranges.”

“I didn’t say
afraid
. I just don’t like them.” He screwed his face up at the thought.

“Even orange juice?” she asked.

“Only with my breakfast,” he said, and then glanced at the clock. “Which makes me think we should find somewhere to stop. I need some sleep, and the roads are getting more treacherous. I’m struggling to see where the edge of the road is. It will be much easier if we stop for a few hours and then continue in the light.”

He had slowed down for the last couple of hours, and the concentration was making his eyes tired. He decided it would be safer to get some rest and start fresh in the daylight.

“Sure. Next place we see, we can stop,” she said, but she sounded unsure.

“We’ll have plenty of time to get there,” he said reassuringly. “We’ve made good time, but my eyes are tired and the road is treacherous.”

“I could drive,” she offered.

“You look beat too, Zara. Better we get there a couple of hours later and in one piece than not at all.”

“You’re right. I’m just so excited and nervous. What if something goes wrong?”

“Trust me, I’m a firefighter,” he said with a grin. “No, honestly, I will get us there, I promise.”

“And back. We need to get back before Robbie wakes up on Christmas morning,” she said.

“We will. OK, there. We can stop and see if they have a room.” He pointed to a hotel. There were lights on, so he hoped there would be night staff in the reception area who would be willing to let two weary travellers in so they could get some rest.

Pulling into the parking lot, he grabbed their bags, and went round to help a sleepy-looking Zara out of the truck. She looked so adorable, and he wanted to kiss her so very badly. But that could wait. They needed to get to bed so they could make an early start in the morning. They were up against the clock, a thing he was used to in his job. Fire didn’t wait for you to rescue someone before it consumed a building. He had to focus on what they were here for.

They had a mission, a goal, and they needed to complete it by tomorrow morning.
No problem
. But his bear worried they were going to let their mate down, and she might never forgive them if that happened.

“Yes, I have a room, we have a few actually. With flights cancelled, some of our guests haven’t arrived.” The receptionist began taping her keyboard, taking their names, then she asked, “Two singles or a double?”

The young woman eyed them with interest as they looked at each other. She knew Damon would be happy for them to have two rooms; he wouldn’t push them sleeping together. But she didn’t want to be apart from him, she wanted to curl up in his arms and fall asleep listening to the sound of his heart.

“Double,” she said, desperately trying to keep her voice even. But the colour was creeping across her skin, a heat that only he could ignite in her.

“A double it is,” the receptionist said. “Here we are, room 12. Second floor and first room on the right.” She pointed to the elevator.

“Thank you,” Damon said, accepting the key. “You OK?” he asked Zara as they moved away from the desk.

“Just tired. I wasn’t too bad when we were in the truck, but now I think I could fall asleep on the spot.”

“I know how you feel.” They waited for the elevator door to open. They got in and he pressed the button to take them to the first floor. “I’ll set and alarm for five hours’ time. We should have time for breakfast and be on the road before it gets busy. Two hours later we should be at the airport.”

“I’ll update Logan when we leave in the morning,” she said, leaning against the elevator wall as it climbed to their floor. They could have walked, it was only one floor, but she doubted she would have got there. Her feet were so heavy it was an effort to pick each one off the ground. “He is so thankful, Damon.”

“I only want to help,” Damon said smiling at her, although he looked worn out too. “Come on.”

The elevator door opened and they walked to their room. He unlocked the door, revealing a double bed. Neither of them undressed; they simply took their shoes off and collapsed onto the bed. He pulled her close, his arm possessive as it held her in his embrace. Then she was asleep.

***

She woke to the sound of beeping. Damon slid away from her, reaching for his phone and swiping the screen to switch off the alarm. “Sorry, bit of a rude awakening.”

“I can’t believe we’ve slept for five hours. It seems I’ve only just closed my eyes.”

“Stay here and relax, I’ll go see if I can rustle up some breakfast in bed for you.” He got out of bed and went to the bathroom, and then he headed out into the corridor, leaving her to go over everything that had happened.

However, she drifted off to sleep instead.

“Here we go.” His voice woke her again. “I’m sorry, honey, but you have to wake up.”

“Sorry. Drifted off.”

“I hope you were having sweet dreams. And if you were, I hope they were about me,” he said, looking wide-awake and gorgeous.

Zara sat up. She was a fool. Instead of lying here in bed, she should have got up and spent the time in the bathroom trying to make herself look, and feel, human. Right now, she felt like a crumpled mess. Dragging her hand through her hair, she tried to make herself look presentable, but he just laughed.

“Eat. I don’t much care what you look like in the morning. You will always be beautiful to me.”

“I look that bad?” she asked, sitting up and reaching for some toast to nibble.

“Not bad at all. Good, all good and all mine,” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “And I look forward to waking up with you every morning for the rest of my life.”

“You don’t know how grumpy I am in the mornings,” Zara joked, taking a bite of her toast, but her appetite disappeared when she saw the look in Damon’s eyes.

“I know how to get you out of a grumpy mood,” he said, leaning forward and nuzzling her neck, sending shivers down her spine. “Do you want me to show you right now?”

The piece of toast dropped from her hand. She wanted to shout
yes
,
yes, show me
, but the words stuck in her throat. However, she didn’t want this moment to disappear, and so she stroked his cheek with her fingers, feeling the rough stubble on his face. Damon turned his head, and their lips met. He questioned her again, and she gave him a firmer answer this time, her fingers weaving into his hair as she deepened their kiss.

Damon moved, covering her body with his. All she could think was how she should have visited the bathroom while he was out of the room. But she hadn’t expected this. If she had she would have cleaned her teeth, brushed her hair, and maybe put on clean underwear. She groaned inwardly. What would he think of her?

He wanted her
. That was what he was thinking; she could tell in the way he stroked her skin, the way he kissed her lips, and the hardness of his cock as it pressed against her thigh. This was it, they were about to consummate their relationship. Despite the need to get back on the road, a new urgency had taken hold of them and neither of them could fight it.

Her shirt was soon dispatched to the floor, the buttons no match for his fingers. He groaned in appreciation at her breasts, still encased in her bra. His right hand cupped her soft flesh, his thumb rubbing her hard nipple, making it a taut peak of arousal. Grazing his teeth across the fabric, he made her stomach clench, and her sex ached to feel him inside.

Coming to her senses, she wanted to strip him too, to feel his naked flesh pressing against hers. With trembling hands, she tugged at his T-shirt, lifting it up over his head, and then letting it fall to the floor so her hands could busy themselves stroking his tanned, toned chest. She kissed his hard nipples, and licked them. Round and round she tortured them until he gave a strangled cry of desire.

Sitting up, he undid his belt, and then stood to let his pants drop to pool around his feet. Naked, his cock hard and erect in front of him, he let her admire his body for a split second and then he was undoing her pants. A wave of embarrassment swept over her as he pulled her panties down too, leaving her naked apart from her bra. But as his eyes swept the length of her body, he left her feeling nothing but desirable.

Damon moved to lie next to her, helping her to sit so he could unclasp her bra. When her breasts spilled forward, he caught them, one hand on each, massaging the soft, warm flesh, kissing the tips of her nipples. The heat between her thighs grew in intensity, as did the ache deep inside her that wanted to be chased away by Damon. Did he feel the same; did his body yearn for hers?

Reaching between their bodies, she wrapped her hand tentatively around his cock, feeling him stiffen as her palm chafed his skin. Up and down she ran her hand, his mouth more urgent on her breasts with each stroke. Zara marvelled at this new form of communication, his body reacting to her touch. With no words he taught her how to stimulate him, until he told her to stop.

His hand covered hers. “If you keep that up, I will be making a mess all over the sheets. I would rather come inside you, Zara. I know we don’t have much time, so let’s make the most of it. If you want me.”

“Yes. I have never wanted anything more in my whole life,” she said eagerly, and he moved to lie between her thighs.

She thought he would take her right away, but instead, he stroked her thigh, tilting his body to make room for his hand to caress her skin. Working his way upwards with each stroke, he teased her, the throb of her clit stronger than her heartbeat as she waited in anticipation of his first touch.

When it came, her breath stopped, all her concentration going to that small bundle of nerves and the touch of his fingers as they stroked her there. Closing her eyes, she let herself be swept away on the tide of emotion that was spilling from her, and then he pressed his finger inside her sex. The world spun. He pressed deeper, his hand encouraging her to open her thighs wider, to allow him to stroke her, caress her and please her.