Tempting The Bear: Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (Gray Bears Book 4) (5 page)

“
I...I'll just grab my
pillow. I'll sleep in the spare bedroom,” he said.

Harper put her hand on his arm
as he reached for his pillow. “This is your bedroom, Jackson.
There's no need for you to go anywhere. You're sleeping here. With
us.”

He stared at her in silence
for a moment.

“
That is, if you don't
mind being woken up by Jeremy in the middle of the night,” she
added hastily.

“
Mind? I
want
to
care for him, Harper.”

She blinked at him and
whispered, “Oh, Jackson, you have already done so much for
us...”

“
I care for you, Harper.
I care very much, for the both of you,” he answered quietly,
looking straight into her eyes.

She started to thank him
again, but he stopped her and turned away. “Get some sleep.
Goodnight, Harper,” he said gruffly.

CHAPTER
ELEVEN

Jackson lay with one arm
behind his head, staring at the ceiling in the dark. Harper had
tossed and turned, and checked on Jeremy a couple of times. Finally,
her eyes closed and he heard her snore softly.

He was sleeping near the very
edge of the bed, giving her as much space as she needed. He wanted
to touch her and hold her so bad, but he didn't want to scare her or
pressure her. She'd just had a baby. She was a very young mother,
and she was in a strange, new town all by herself. So many things
had happened in her life, and he was amazed that she had coped as
well as she did by herself. She did everything to protect her baby.
She was even willing to fight a big, bullying lion for her son. She
was every bit as fierce and protective as a mama bear.

Jackson turned to stare at
Harper's sleeping form. She looked even smaller and younger in her
sleep. He touched the ends of her wavy brown hair lightly and felt
his heart clench with love and longing for her. She was so brave and
beautiful, yet so vulnerable and fragile. She and Jeremy were so
precious to him. They were his, both of them.

Jackson let his hand hover
above her slender shoulder and balled his fist. His entire body was
hard and tense, aching with want. “Harper,” he
whispered, pulling his hand away.

She trusted him. She had
asked him to sleep in the same room as her and her baby. He would
not violate her trust. Ever.

A small sound came from the
cot. Jackson sat up and saw Jeremy squirming in his blanket. A tiny
fist punched the air and Jeremy opened his eyes and blinked in the
dark. His little mouth rounded and Jackson knew that the boy was
about to start wailing. The dark room was unfamiliar to him, and he
was about to let everyone know that he didn't like sleeping alone in
this strange new place. The little boy had powerful lungs, and he
certainly made good use of it.

Jackson got to his feet and
padded quickly over to the cot. He picked Jeremy up and murmured, “I
got you, little fella.”

Jeremy fussed a little but
Jackson put him on his broad shoulder and patted his back soothingly.
“Shhh, you don't want to wake your Mummy. She's exhausted.
We should let her sleep.”

The baby cooed and gurgled at
him, sticking his small fingers into Jackson's nose. Jackson kissed
the tiny hand and whispered, “Shall we take a little walk?
Just to the window, okay? I'll show you something.”

Carrying Jeremy higher,
Jackson pointed to the stars and murmured, “Look at the stars,
Jeremy. Aren't they beautiful? They're very, very far away, and
you'd never reach them in your lifetime. Yet you can see them. It
takes light years for the starlight to reach you, so what you're
seeing now, is actually a snapshot of the star as it was billions of
years ago. Isn't that amazing?”

Jackson kissed the baby's
sweet-smelling hair and said, “Your Mummy is a brave, wonderful
woman, and she did everything to protect you. You are a lion, son.
You have to protect her now.”

Jeremy stretched out his tiny
hand and appeared to be trying to grab a star. Jackson laughed and
muttered, “That's right. Reach for the stars. You do that,
son.”

As he gazed up at the
glittering stars with Jeremy, Jackson realized that he was holding
his son in his arms. Jeremy was a lion, but he was his son
nevertheless. There was already a strong, undeniable bond between
them. Jackson was there at his birth. He had been the first male to
hold him, and scent him.

“
You are my son, my
cub,” Jackson whispered to the baby. “I love you. I
won't let anyone hurt you, son.”

His bear rose and growled
softly. His bear was just as protective of its cub, and Jackson
vowed that he would protect and defend the boy and his mother with
his life.

They were his family.

Pressing Jeremy to his cheek,
Jackson nuzzled the baby and rubbed his skin gently against the boy's
tender skin. They were bonding, lion and bear, and he was marking
the lion cub with the scent of his bear. Any shifter would be able
to recognize that Jeremy was now Jackson Gray's cub.

CHAPTER
TWELVE

Harper opened her eyes and saw
Jackson standing at the window with her son. Jackson was pointing
out the stars to Jeremy and murmuring softly to him, comforting and
soothing the boy.

Jeremy gurgled happily and
nestled contentedly in Jackson's arms. Like her, her baby felt happy
and safe with Jackson.

She lay on her side, gazing at
Jackson and Jeremy in silence. It was a beautiful image, and she
wanted to remember this scene for a long time.

Jackson had brought her home
to take care of her while she recovered after giving birth to her
son. But she couldn't stay here forever. She and Jeremy would have
to leave soon. Her stay here might be brief, but she would cherish
every moment of it.

She would never forget what
Jackson and his family had done for her and Jeremy. She would spend
the rest of her life repaying them.

Harper pushed herself up and
walked over to Jackson. He turned and gave her a sheepish smile.
“Hey, you're up. We didn't want to wake you. Jeremy and I
were just doing a spot of stargazing.”

Her breath caught as she
looked up into his kind, loving eyes. “Thank you, Jackson,”
she whispered.

He tut-tutted at her. “Don't
thank me. Just be happy. That's all the thanks I want and need.”

“
No one has ever been so
good to me,” she said. “You...are an angel, Jackson.
You came when I needed you...”

“
And I won't ever
leave,” he said firmly.

She smiled and cupped the side
of his handsome face with one hand. “It's almost like I wished
you into my life,” she mused. “I made a wish, and...”

“
Wait.” Jackson
frowned. “You made a wish?”

She looked away, blushing
furiously. “Yeah. It's...nothing. It's just a silly little
wish.”

“
What did you wish for,
Harper?” Jackson asked.

She fidgeted under his
intense, searing gaze. “I...I wished that I could meet my true
love, a man who truly loved me and my son, and we could live happily
ever after as a family.” She laughed nervously. “Now
you'll think I'm flighty and frivolous...”

“
I don't think that at
all,” Jackson said. “Harper...you...you made the
wish...” He took a deep breath and when he looked at her
again, his green eyes were shining with profound joy and amazement.

“
I found you,” he
whispered. “I finally found you.”

“
You did,” she
said. “You found me in that dark place, and you saved me.”

Jackson held Jeremy in one arm
and pulled her to his side with the other. Harper leaned against him
and slid her arm around his waist.

Together, they stood at the
window and watched the stars twinkle and wink above them.

Harper sighed and rested her
head on Jackson's powerful shoulder. This was a beautiful moment.
It felt so nice and so right to stand with Jackson and Jeremy and
face the world together.

If only it wasn't just a
moment.

But she would take strength
and courage from this moment and rebuild her life. She would build a
good, happy life for herself and her son.

Harper gazed up at Jackson's
strong, handsome profile. Before she could stop herself, she leaned
in and kissed him softly on the lips.

Jackson started, and his arm
tightened around her waist. He didn't release her. Instead he
pressed her closer and returned her kiss.

His kiss was deep and
passionate, and Harper felt herself melting against him. She moaned
and shuddered with pleasure as their tongues tangled and they tasted
each other hungrily.

The kiss seemed to go on
forever. And yet an eternity wasn't enough. Harper wanted more.
She wanted this moment, this kiss to never end.

Finally, she gasped and came
up for air. Her whole body was tingling and trembling, and she saw
her own burning lust mirrored in Jackson's glowing eyes.

“
I...”

“
You should rest,”
he said, his voice low and ragged. “I'll tuck Jeremy in.”

Jackson put the sleeping baby
gently back in his cot and helped Harper into bed. He pulled the
covers up over her shoulders and said, “Sleep well, Harper.”

Then he went to his side of
the bed and lay there without moving.

CHAPTER
THIRTEEN

Harper cleared the tables and
stacked the plates and cups onto the tray. There were just a couple
of guests still having their breakfast at Broomstick Hall, the
in-house restaurant on the ground floor of Broomstick Inn. Harper
poured coffee and tea for them, before heading to the kitchen with
her towering tray.

“
Sit down and eat,
Harper,” Ne-ma said, putting a plate of pancakes on the
counter.

“
I'll wash all these up
first...”

“
No, no, the dirty
dishes can wait. Your stomach can't. I heard it growl just now.”

“
That wasn't me.”

“
Hmph! There's just the
two of us here. And it definitely wasn't me.” Ne-ma planted
her hands on her hips. “Eat.”

“
Yes, Ne-ma.”

Harper took the plate and
began to shovel the pancakes into her mouth. “Slow down. The
breakfast crowd is gone. There's not much to do now.”

“
I'll help prepare
lunch,” Harper said, chewing and swallowing in a hurry. “Alisa
can come in later. She needs to rest.”

Ne-ma canted her head, then
nodded. “That's a good idea. I'll call Alisa and let her know
she can come in for the dinner shift.”

Harper finished up her
breakfast as Ne-ma spoke to Alisa over the phone. She could hear
Alisa protesting that she felt well enough to work the lunch shift
but Ne-ma was adamant. “Morning sickness can last throughout
the day. I want you to have sufficient rest so you and Tristan can
have a cute, chubby little cub.”

With that, Ne-ma won the
argument. Alisa wouldn't jeopardize her pregnancy. She was about
four weeks pregnant now, and the whole family was thrilled to bits at
the news. “Another great-grandcub!” Gramma and Ne-ma had
hollered proudly.

Alisa felt dizzy and threw up
a lot in the mornings, so Gramma and Ne-ma insisted that she stay
home till the afternoon. They checked on her frequently and would
drive to her house to bring her soup and warm, nourishing meals.

Harper helped out in
Broomstick Inn in the morning and afternoon until Alisa came in.
Gramma and Ne-ma would take turns to babysit Jeremy while she worked
at the inn. They loved spending time with the little boy and they
sometimes quibbled over whose turn it was to babysit Jeremy.

Jeremy wasn't at home this
morning though. Gramma had called to tell Harper that Winston had
dropped by and they were taking Jeremy to the park. Winston Knight
was the Sheriff of Shadow Point, and a lion shifter. Aidan had
introduced Harper to his boss, and Harper found Winston to be a very
responsible, respectable gentleman. She had asked him if he would be
willing to be Jeremy's godfather, and Winston had said yes
immediately.

Harper went out and wiped down
all the tables. She arranged the cutlery and made sure the place
looked neat and welcoming. The guests at the inn were friendly, and
the restaurant usually had quite a sizable crowd of walk-in customers
as well. The construction crew of Gray's Domain usually came for
lunch, and Harper found herself smiling at the thought that she would
see Jackson during lunchtime.

“
Hello! We're here!”
Gramma called out as she barreled through the door.

“
Gramma, let me take
your coat.” Harper hurried to her. She turned and grinned at
Winston as he came through the door. “Hello Winston!”

“
Hi Harper. Say hi to
your Mom, Jeremy,” Winston said to the lion cub perched on his
shoulder.

Harper laughed when her son
gave a little growl. “You had fun with your Godpa, didn't
you?” The little cub leaped into her arms and licked her
cheek.