The Bear Essentials (Siren Publishing: The Stormy Glenn ManLove Collection) (7 page)

Could Casey have been that scared?

Panic clawed its way up Rob’s throat. If something happened to his mate, he wasn’t sure how he’d survive it. Within seconds of meeting Casey, Rob knew he needed the man in his life. It wasn’t instant love but it was damn close. Casey was everything he had ever wanted in a mate.

“We have to find him.” Rob swung back around and raced out of the kitchen. He started searching, going from room to room, looking for Casey. He could hear the others calling out for Casey as they searched as well.

By the time the upstairs and downstairs had been searched and they all met up again at the base of the stairs, the panic Rob felt had turned into an all-out anxiety attack. His heart beat so hard and fast, he wondered why it wasn’t beating right out of his chest. He fought to keep his tears at bay.

“He can’t have just disappeared,” Rob whispered as despair started to drag him down.

“Could someone have gotten into the house and taken him?” Harvey asked.

“We would have smelled an intruder, son,” their father replied.

“We should have been able to smell—” Rob choked up as an idea struck him. It seemed almost impossible and yet at the same time, it seemed like the perfect answer. “I think I know where Casey is.”

Rob took off running toward the back of the house. His feet skidded across the tiled floor as he raced into the laundry room. Ignoring the large washer and dryer, Rob raced to the dirty clothes hamper. The thing reeked of stinky socks and dirty linen. It was the perfect place to hide if one wanted to mask their scent.

God, his mate was smart…and scared.

“Casey, cub?” Rob called out as he started flinging dirty clothes out of the way, searching the large square hamper for his mate. Rob froze when he felt something hard with his fingers, his heart pounding so hard his chest hurt. “Cub?”

Lifting a couple of towels out of the way, Rob found himself staring down into the tearstained face of his mate. “Oh, cub.”

He reached down and lifted Casey out of the hamper before cradling the smaller man in his arms. “What happened, cub? Why did you run?”

“Some…some man…” Casey sniffled. “He started yelling and I couldn’t find you and…”

“That man was my brother Harvey.” Rob sent his brother a glare. Harvey flushed and looked away. They would discuss Harvey’s aggression issues later after Rob had calmed his mate down.

“Your…your brother?” Casey started shaking so hard, Rob needed to hold on to him tighter just to keep the man from falling out of his arms.

“Remember rule number two, cub. The scent of your mate is calming and comforting.” Rob smiled when Casey instantly turned and buried his face in Rob’s neck. “Good, cub.”

Rob kept one arm wrapped around Casey, pressing the man’s face into his neck with the other as he walked past his brother and parents. He walked to the living room and sat down in one of the overly plush chairs his mother loved so much. They could easily fit more than one human. They were just big enough to be comfortable for a bear shifter. They were perfect for one human and one bear shifter.

Once settled back in the chair, Rob held Casey on his lap. He rubbed his hand up and down Casey’s back in a soothing gesture all the while gritting his teeth to keep from yelling out his anger at how the man’s backbone protruded. His mate was far too skinny.

“Mom, could you make Casey a cup of honey tea?” It always calmed him when he was stressed.

“Of course, son.” Maggie smiled. “And maybe some honey cookies? I just made a fresh batch.”

Rob whimpered as his mouth watered. He loved honey cookies. Warm honey cookies were even better. He stilled when he heard a small sound from Casey. He waited a moment before rubbing his cheek against the top of Casey’s head. “You gonna share those honey cookies with your mate, cub?”

Rob smiled when he heard the sound again as Casey nodded into his neck. The man was giggling. He was still mesmerized by the sweet sound. Glancing up to find his brother and father staring at Casey with their mouths hanging open, Rob realized he wasn’t the only one stunned by Casey joyful giggle.

“Are you ready to come out and meet my brother, cub?” Rob asked. “I promise you that he will not hurt you.”

A small shudder racked Casey’s body as he drew in a breath and then raised his head. Rob grew concerned when Casey leaned into him, his fingers curling into Rob’s shirt. He was holding on for dear life, almost as if he thought if he let go Rob would drop him.

Rob pressed his lips to Casey’s head and hugged the man even tighter. “I’m not going anywhere, Casey,” he whispered against Casey’s temple so the man would hear him. “You’re stuck with me for life, remember? Bears mate for life.”

“But I’m not a bear,” Casey insisted.

“That’s okay, cub,” Rob replied as he started to smile. God, he adored his mate. “I’m a big enough bear for both of us.”

“Here you go, dear.”

Rob looked up when his mother spoke. He nudged Casey, encouraging him to take the cup of tea and small saucer of honey cookies she held out to him. When Casey went to stand, Rob pulled him back onto his lap. He had no intention of letting Casey go anytime soon. The fear of not knowing where Casey was still buzzed inside of him.

He might even consider gluing the man to his side.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” Harvey said out of the blue. “I didn’t know who you were and I didn’t see any of my family and…well…” Harvey’s face was a little paler than usual as he started down at his hands, twisting them together in a nervous gesture Rob couldn’t ever remember seeing. “I’m just sorry I scared you.”

No one said anything. It was almost as if everyone was holding their breath to see what Casey’s reaction would be. Rob knew he was the luckiest bear on the planet when Casey leaned forward and held the plate of honey cookies out to Harvey.

Surprise raised Harvey’s eyebrows and colored his face. “Thank you,” he said softly as he reached for a cookie.

Rob smiled at his brother when Casey leaned back into his arms and began nibbling on one of the cookies. “We’re going to head down to the river and hang out with the guys. Would you like to join us?”

“Me?” Harvey asked. “You don’t think I’ll cramp your style?”

“You’re not that much older than me, Harvey.” Like three years.

Harvey sighed. “Sometimes I feel ancient.”

“Then you really should come.” Rob chuckled. “It might remind you of what it was like to be young again.”

Harvey rolled his eyes. “I’ll think about it.”

“You could use the fresh air, son,” Maggie said. “You’ve been stuck inside the house since you got home. Go have fun.”

“Mom,” Harvey groaned.

“I’ll make you all a basket to take to the river,” Maggie said as she stood and started for the kitchen. “You really do need some home cooking. You’re nothing but skin and bones, Harvey. Don’t they feed you in the service? I swear I’m going to have to call that general of yours and give him a piece of my mind. Imagine, starving a growing boy like this.”

Rob chuckled at the pinched panic on his brother’s face. He leaned over and whispered, “If you go to the river with us, you can escape her nagging.”

Harvey shot him a wide-eyed look. “Done.”

* * * *

Rob glanced at Casey as he pulled his truck into a spot in the dirt lot near the edge of the river. He hadn’t said much since they left the house, not even how he felt about Harvey coming along for the gathering. Rob was starting to grow worried.

“How are you hanging in there, cub?”

Casey just smiled up at him. It didn’t quite reach his beautiful caramel eyes.

Rob turned the truck off and pulled the keys out before putting them into his pocket of his jeans and turning to Casey. “What’s wrong, cub?”

“Nothing.”

Rob wanted to call bullshit, but he didn’t want to upset Casey.

Still…

One yank on his seat lever and a push with his foot and there was plenty of room between him and the steering wheel for his little cub. Rob reached over and picked Casey up, setting the man down on his lap with one of Casey’s legs on each side of him.

“Now, want to try again?”

Casey ducked his head. The strong sour scent of fear and uncertainty filled the cab of the truck. Rob couldn’t have that. He used his index finger under Casey’s chin to lift his face up until he could see his eyes.

“What’s wrong, cub?” he asked in what he hoped was a soothing tone. “I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me.”

“What…what if they don’t like me?”

“Oh, cub, is that what has you so worried?” Rob pulled Casey forward, pressing the man’s face into his neck. He smiled when he heard Casey’s soft inhale. The human had the beginnings of strong bear instincts. That boded well for their future together. “My friends will adore you simply because of how happy you make me.”

Casey stayed close to Rob as the man carried the cooler and a black duffel bag down to a spot close to the river’s edge. Logs had been set up in a semicircle around a fire pit made of rocks. Rob walked over and set his cooler down next to another one that was already there. He dropped the duffel bag down close to one of the logs.

“Why don’t you spread that blanket out right here?” Rob indicated the area next to the duffel bag.

Casey stepped forward and shook out the blanket Rob had handed him back at the truck, spreading it on the grass as Rob had indicated. As soon as he was done, Rob plopped down and started sliding his shoes off. When he reached for the hem of his shirt and started to pull it over his head, Casey felt drool pool in his mouth. Had a more perfect specimen of manhood ever been created?

“Are you going to join me, cub?”

Casey tore his eyes away from the delectable body in front of him and glanced toward the gently flowing river. The spot Rob had brought him to along the river was in a place where the water seemed to be flowing almost tranquilly. Farther down, Casey could see the churning white water of rapids.

Rob’s friends were already in the water, splashing and swimming and diving off the short wooden dock that went out into the river from the edge of the grassy area. One man was swinging on a rope out over the water, hollering loudly as he let go and dropped into the river.

There seemed to be more people here than Rob had mentioned. “Are those all your friends?” Casey really didn’t like strangers.

“Most of them are people I know from school, cub. Some I play with on the football team. And others are in fact people I hang with.” Rob’s eyebrows leveled over his eyes. “None of them are a danger to you.”

That made Casey feel better, and it didn’t. There were a lot of people here. Casey only counted ten heads bobbing in the water, but it felt like thousands. Casey rubbed his hands up and down his arm, feeling a cold chill despite the heat of the day.

“I think I’ll stay here,” Casey said, looking back at Rob. “The water looks pretty cold.”

Casey winced when he heard Rob’s sigh. He watched the man rest his arms on the tops of his bent knees. There was a definite frustrated tension in his shoulders. Casey chewed on the edge of his fingernail as he waited for Rob to say something…anything.

Instead, the man stood and stalked toward him. Casey took a hasty step back. It wasn’t fear he felt when he saw the determination on Rob’s face but more like apprehension. He knew deep down inside the bear wouldn’t hurt him, but Rob also wasn’t going to let him hide away either.

Casey knew he was right when Rob grabbed the edge of the hoodie he was wearing and pulled it up over his head. The next thing Casey knew, a shoulder was placed in his stomach and he was lifted up into the air. His shoes were pulled from his feet and landed on the grass before Casey could get his bearings.

And then the ground started passing below Casey at an alarming rate.

Casey grew concerned when the grass turned into the wooden planks of the dock. He screamed when the planks disappeared and all he saw was water. Cold enveloped him as they hit the surface and sank down beneath it.

Casey thought for sure he was going to die.

When he was lifted up far enough for his head to break through the water’s surface, Casey inhaled a deep lungful of air. He wiped at his eyes and pushed back the wet hair clinging to his face.

He shot Rob an angry glare before he realized what he was doing.

Rob just chuckled.

Casey smacked his fist into Rob’s shoulder, wincing when pain flashed through his hand. Geez, the man’s shoulders felt as if they were made of solid rock.

“I’m sorry, cub,” Rob said, but he didn’t sound sorry. He sounded amused. Still, some of Casey’s anger drained from him when Rob grabbed his hand and brought it to his mouth, pressing a kiss to the top and then the side, and lastly, he pressed a kiss to the palm. He rubbed his thumb over the skin on the top of Casey’s hand as he looked at him. “There is nothing to be afraid of, Casey.”

“What if I couldn’t swim?”

Rob’s eyebrows perked up. “Can you?”

Casey blinked. “Yes.”

“Then we need not worry about that.”

“But you didn’t know that before you tossed me in the water.”