The Steel Bear: A BBW Bear Shifter Romance (Highland Brothers) (7 page)

H
e watched her sleep
. The firelight was beautiful on her face. His hand flattened against her naval. He didn’t know how the shifter magic would work with her birth control, but he hoped his cubs were there. He couldn’t help it. His bear needed the next line of shifters as much as he needed air to breathe.

His bear was satisfied. For the first time in his life Crawford felt utter contentment and peace. Other than his insatiable need to claim Mila his heart was fulfilled in a way he didn’t know was possible.

This was what he had been looking for. His mate. The woman who would be his forever. He had loved her hard. Maybe given her more than he should have, but she was as desperate as him to seal their bond. He saw it in her eyes. Heard it in her voice. Felt it in her body when she tightened against his climax. She took him all. Stole his breath. Cut him to his soul. He had fallen and he fucking loved it.

He kissed her temple as he extracted himself from the bed. The cabin would be cold again if he didn’t put more wood on the fire. He tossed the last log on top. The bin was empty.

He slipped one leg and then the other into his jeans, leaving the buckle loose. He made sure Mila was sleeping before he cracked the door to go out into the night. Behind the cabin was a woodshed where he and Hudson had brought some timber from the main house. He stood on the porch, stretching his arms overhead.

His body felt good. Tired, but satisfied. The sky was bright with stars dotting his view overhead. He grinned at the moon. He felt like a cocky bastard, and he didn’t care. It was damn near perfect.

He stepped off the porch, the leaves crunching under his feet. Hudson had made two rows of chopped logs on his last trip to the property. Crawford loaded his arms until they couldn’t handle the weight. He would make a second trip to fill the bin. He was already aching for Mila again. They would be lucky to make it out of the cabin by tomorrow’s nightfall.

He didn’t know his body was made for one woman. He didn’t know hearing his name on his mate’s lips would send jolts of pleasure through his cock. He chuckled thinking of what he wanted to try next.

He rounded the side of the cabin, his arms bearing the weight of the logs, when he heard a twig snap behind him. He spun on his bare heels, but the firewood blocked his sight. He paused for a second, shaking the sound off to a squirrel or the wind knocking something from a tree. He took another step and felt the wallop against the back of his head.

“What the hell?” He tried to move but another smack to his lower back and he was on his knees, the logs spilled on the ground around him.

Crawford thought he heard a woman’s voice.

“Mila?” he whispered and then everything faded to black.

M
ila pulled
the quilt to her chin. It was cold. Her eyes opened. The fire was nothing but a pile of ash. The covers next to her were flat.

“Crawford?” she called his name.

The bathroom pocket door was open. He wasn’t in the cabin. She wrapped the sheet against her chest and crossed the floor. His backpack was still on the table. She smiled at the pack of condoms she saw peeking from the front pocket. She was glad she insisted she give herself to him without them. She loved how he claimed her.

Her hand instinctively moved to her stomach. She hadn’t meant for any of this to happen. She had gone from being in love with the man to agreeing to give him cubs in a matter of minutes. She patted her naval.

When Crawford claimed her, she finally knew what she was made to do. She was supposed to be his mate. She chewed on her bottom lip. He was fucking amazing. The things he could do to her body were things people didn’t talk about. She didn’t know it was possible to feel bliss surge through her body like magic. But that’s exactly what he did to her. He had loved her until she thought she would scream if he didn’t stop, yet the minute his touch vanished she was clawing for him again. She felt tender spots between her thighs, but smiled, knowing he would kiss them and extinguish the pain.

She saw his phone on the sofa where he left it yesterday. She looked around for a note or something. The cabin was sparse. She tried to picture it as the brothers’ man cave he described.

There were more of them. More Highland brothers. He wasn’t the only bear. She was joining a family of shifters.

She had a million questions. But with his lips on her skin, and his body rocking hers, questions seemed irrelevant. They spoke to each other through kisses and thrusts so deep she knew her soul was glowing.

Last night she didn’t hesitate. She loved everything about Crawford, and maybe it should have startled her when he admitted his identity, but it made her love him more. She saw his strength, his power, and his heart.

She cracked the front door to look outside, clutching the sheet in her fist. The porch was littered with firewood. She stepped over a log. They were scattered everywhere.

“Crawford?” she called his name, feeling her voice shake. “Crawford?” She rushed to the side of the house. In the dirt she saw two trails as if someone had been dragged through the leaves.

She bent to touch the scuffle marks. Her chest tightened. Where was he?

She heard the cabin door slam behind her. She jumped as dirty hands clamped over her mouth, drowning her screams.

H
e felt
water splash his face. He growled, shaking his head.

“Oh good. He’s awake.” A woman’s voice filled his ears.

He opened his eyes, adjusting to the dimness of his surroundings.

“Who are you?” He tried to move, but realized his wrists were cuffed to the wall. He pulled on the restraints.

“Don’t even try.” She pointed to the metal braces. “They’re strong enough. Even for a bear.” Her eyes gleamed.

Crawford studied her. She had long black hair and red pouty lips. If she didn’t have him chained to the wall, he might go as far to say she was beautiful.

“Why did you bring me here?” he questioned. He couldn’t help but test the restraints again.

She stood over him, her heels planted on either side of his legs. She bent over him.

“I need a mate.”

“What the fuck?” He looked in her eyes. She was a bear. A damn she-bear.

“That’s what I’m hoping for.” She ran her fingers over his chest, the backs of her nails grazing his skin. “And I bet you’d be a good one.”

“Haven’t you heard of drinks and a movie? Or how about dinner first?” He glared at her.

Her lips pinched together. “This seemed like a way to cut to the chase. Although, I kind of like being chased. And I know you like to do the chasing.” She settled in his lap, her hips grinding against him. “I’m Jackie.”

“Get off me,” he growled. “Jackie.”

“You sure? You feel like you need more warming up.” She patted between his legs before she reached over his head, flicking the release on his wrists. Before she unlocked the second one, she swept her lips over his, breathing into his mouth. Crawford shook his head.

“I’m taken. I’ve already found my mate.”

He gripped his wrist, wringing out the sting before depositing his captor on the floor.

“Hmph!” She glared up at him. “If you’re talking about that human girl, she’s no match for you. You need a real she-bear. Someone who can give you lots of cubs. Someone who can teach them about their shifter heritage. Someone who can help them control their magic.” She rose from the floor. “You need someone who can handle your bear.”

“She can handle it.” He had to laugh. “I’m pretty damn happy. I’m not interested in another bear. Or woman.” His eyes pierced hers. “Nice to know we were being watched.” He glared at her. “How did you even know there was a bear in this area?”

She laughed. “Three brothers. A family dynasty. The Highland property is famous. I took my chances you would be here.”

Crawford didn’t like the idea that Jackie had been spying on them, especially last night. He wondered if she had spotted Hudson or Striker on either of their visits.

“There are a lot of ways a she-bear could find a mate. I don’t recommend this one again.” He was ready to get out of here.

“Maybe so, but you need to realize what you’re doing to her. I can be the kind of mate she can never be.”

“Leave Mila out of this,” he roared.

Jackie’s nose twitched. “And what happens when you fill her with so many cubs it kills her?” Her eyes shot to his. “Or they change on her and she has no defense against them? She doesn’t know how to be a mama bear. Teenage boys are a handful. I bet you were.” She winked at him.

Crawford shook his head. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. She’s not the first to be with a bear shifter.”

“And she won’t be the first to die from it either.”

Crawford stepped away from her. “No. I love her. I’m not going to let anything happen to her.”

“This is why bears should be with bear mates. Look at you.” She ran a hand along his back. He shuddered at her touch. It wasn’t right feeling someone else navigate his body. “You’re a strong, alpha bear. You need cubs. Lots of them.” She circled him. “And imagine the magic between two shifters. Imagine what we could do together. Imagine the power in our two bodies.” She growled low and seductively.

Crawford stepped away from her. “No. I’ve claimed my mate. Find someone else.”

“But it’s tempting isn’t it?” Her eyes were mesmerizing. Little swirls of cobalt blue swimming through faded lavender. “Have you ever thought about being with a she-bear?”

He nodded. “Of course. I’m a shifter, not a damn priest.”

She smiled. “Then why settle for a human when you could have what you always wanted?”

“Because I’m in love with her.” He tried to press his words into the thick air surrounding them.

“Love? How do you know you’re in love when you haven’t even tried a shifter?”

“Stop it!” he roared, his voice echoing off the cave walls.

Instead of scaring her, he had done the opposite. Her breath hitched. “I knew you were powerful.” She licked her lips, inching closer toward him.

Crawford looked around the cave. There were tunnels on either side of him. He didn’t know how he got here, or how in the hell he would get out, but he had to try. He had to get back to Mila.

He listened, hoping he might recognize a sound that would point him to the exit he needed, but instead he heard screaming. His chest seized with panic.

His eyes flashed to Jackie. “What have you done?”

“I thought we could put an end to this if your mate released you. I brought her to you.” She smiled.

Crawford stared in horror as another bear dragged Mila over his shoulder, wrapped in the sheet from the cabin. She kicked, beating her fists against the brute’s back.

“Let me go!” she screamed.

Jackie watched Crawford. “See, lover? She’s weak.”

Mila squealed as the bear deposited her on the floor, she gripped the sheet to her chest and spun in his direction.

“Crawford?”

W
hat in the
hell was happening? She had been ripped from the cabin’s porch, lugged through the forest, and dropped on the floor of a cave.

She looked up, her heart warming at the sight of Crawford. Thank God he was ok.

“You’re ok?” she asked.

He nodded, but she could see the look in his eyes. It was the same one he had before a board members’ meeting. It was the one that said he didn’t know what he was going to say, and he was completely unprepared.

Standing next to him, too comfortably close, was a vixen of a woman. She was stunning. And her hands were all over Crawford.

Mila’s eyes narrowed. “What is going on?”

Crawford knelt next to her. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I’m ok. Just freaked out. Where are we?”

The supermodel cleared her throat. “We are in my den.” She glared at Mila. “You are here to release him of his bond to you.”

“Excuse me?”

“He’s a bear shifter. I’m a bear shifter. You are not,” she hissed. “Unless you are prepared to die trying to raise his cubs, I think it’s in your best interest to release him from the bond.”

Mila’s eyes locked on Crawford’s expression. She needed to read his emotions. “What is she talking about?”

He shook his head. “Don’t listen to her. I won’t let anything happen to you. I swear, Mila.” He gripped her hand.

“He can’t make those kinds of promises. Haven’t you heard guys promise things to get into your bed before?” She raised her voice. “Guys will say anything for an amazing night in the sheets.”

Mila tried to block out the words, but they kept coming.

“The problem with a bear shifter is sometimes he’s more bear than man. And what happens if you have four cubs? Or five?” She pressed her hand to her lips in a mock look of astonishment. “I’ll give you the hips, girls. And the ass. No wonder he chose you. But you can’t handle the magic. You’ve got to know that.”

Mila felt the need to pull the sheet tighter and wrap it under her arms. She didn’t like how Jackie sized her up.

“Don’t listen to her.” Crawford took her face in his palms. “Jackie is trying to scare you. She wants her own cubs. She wants me.”

“Of course I do,” Jackie hissed. “There are hardly any true clans anymore. Bears and other shifters. Bears with humans. What happened to pure bear bonds? What happened to an alpha claiming his she-bear?”

Crawford turned toward her. “What you’re doing is anything but conventional. You fucking kidnapped us. What’s alpha about that?”

“I needed to get your attention, but don’t worry. I’ll let your bear take control.” She smiled, her red pouty lips forming a perfect bow. “He wants to doesn’t he?”

Crawford growled in her direction. “I have a mate.”

“But look at her. She’s weak. She can’t possibly understand your bear. What he needs. How you want things. She won’t survive. The cubs are more than any human can imagine.”

Mila tried to focus on Crawford’s hands on her shoulders. The calm in his voice, but it didn’t matter. The panic was there anyway. The doubts and questions she should have had last night surfaced. They surfaced on the floor of the cave while the beautiful she-bear stood over her, watching her heart break.

“Jackie?” She didn’t know what name would fit the beautiful woman, but it sounded strange. “I could die?” The question was barely a whisper.

“She’s a damn lunatic, Mila.” He pressed her head to his chest and rocked her against his body. “You are mine. Don’t listen to her. I’ll keep you safe. I’ll protect you and the cubs. I swear.”

“The cubs?” She almost choked on the words.

His hands tangled in her hair, stroking her against the warmth of her chest. She felt the magic stir between them. There was fire in his touch. There was safety wrapped in his arms. There was love in his words.

The sheet slid from her shoulder. She remembered last night. How she had given herself to Crawford. How she had vowed she wanted all of him. She promised she loved his bear. And now that promise was being tested.

She didn’t know shifter history, but it was clear Jackie was a purist. Crawford’s commitment to his life with her was being challenged.

Mila’s eyes narrowed. She shoved off Crawford’s chest and stood to face the vixen.

“No.”

“What?” Her bluish eyes looked surprised.

“I said no. I won’t release him from our bond. He’s mine. I’m his. Our cubs belong to us.” Her finger landed on the woman’s chest. “Find your own mate.”

A low growl erupted from the woman’s chest, as her eyes slanted to dark slivers.

“Mila, move!” Crawford yelled, trying to shove her out of the way before a claw extended, swiping her shoulder.

She felt the rush of blood ooze down her arm. She staggered to the wall, gripping the sheet against the gash.

She looked up to see what was once Crawford’s body now in the form of a brown bear. An angry, protective bear.

He circled Jackie. Their roars bouncing off the den walls, almost deafening as Mila tried to focus on the battle. Their fur blended into a blur. Mila could no longer tell who was who.

She huddled next to the wall, scared that if she moved it would distract Crawford or bring herself back into Jackie’s focus. So she crouched to the floor, while the white sheet seeped with her blood. While the man she loved fought for her. While the bears fought to defend their shifter choices.