Read Wanted By The Soldier Bear (Heroes of Shifter Creek 1) Online

Authors: Clara Moore

Tags: #BBW, #Paranormal, #Suspense, #Romantic Suspense, #Romance, #Bear Shifter, #Soldier, #Military, #Western, #Shifter Creek, #SciFi, #Contemporary, #Fiction, #Short Story, #Bear Cubs, #Au Pair, #Human, #Woods Vacation, #Family Kidnapped, #Brother's Friend, #Fated Mate, #Protection

Wanted By The Soldier Bear (Heroes of Shifter Creek 1) (6 page)

BOOK: Wanted By The Soldier Bear (Heroes of Shifter Creek 1)
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Here is another complete SEAL story for free:

 

 

 

A SEALed Secret

 

 

 

By:
Claire Hewitt

 

I.

“Izzy, you can’t imagine just how much I love you,” Doran said, his slight Irish accent tinged with emotion. “How much I’d love to lay you down and kiss every inch of your body.”

His lips drew close to hers, so close she could taste him and feel his stubble on her chin. She wanted to answer with something sensual and sexy, but froze under the pressure. She longed for his kiss deep in her bones - every inch of her wanted him.

“Are you not awake yet?” he whispered.

“What?” she replied, finding her voice.

“Isadora, you should be awake by now.”

“Wha…”

BANG! A book slammed next to her head, making Isadora Rosellini jumped up from her bed. Her father, a tall man with wide shoulders, stood above her with a deep frown. She examined the room, wondering where Doran had gone.

He was never here at all, you idiot. And you wouldn’t want him here anyway.

“Don’t you remember that we have to pick your brother up from the airport?” her father asked.

“He’s not my brother,
Mario
” she answered, rubbing her eyes to wipe away the sleep.

“I’m your dad. Call me ‘Dad.’”

“Why do I even have to go? Can’t I just go back to sleep?” she asked.

“Your mother wants you to go.”

She fell back into her bed and held the pillow over her face, “Ugh, she’s not my mom.”

“Excuse me?”

She removed the pillow, “I’m feeling a bit under the weather. I don’t think I can go.”

“I want you downstairs in ten minutes,” he said as he stomped out of the room and slammed the door.

Isadora sighed and stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars still stuck to the ceiling as a reminder of her childhood. She once dreamt of fairy tales and SpongeBob, but now she dreamt naughty fantasies of her step-brother. She chuckled to herself, feeling overdramatic. Her orange cat, Tess, meowed at the end of the bed.

“Ten minutes isn’t enough time to do anything, Tessy,” she said softly to the cat. “It doesn’t matter anyway. It’s only Doran.”

She rose from her bed, still trying to wake up (and forget her dream.) She bent down so her hands could grab her favorite pair of jeans from the floor. She glided to her open dresser to pull out a black v-neck t-shirt and a blue sweater. She quickly put on some makeup and gave herself a long look as the cat swirled around her legs.

As a child, she used to travel with her mother, Gaea, to work. Gaea worked as a medical transcriptionist for a neurologist firm, and the employees would say, “There goes little Gaea following close behind.” As Isadora grew, she saw more of her mother in her looks. She shared the hazel eyes and the dark, long hair, but her mother had a certain grace, an elegance, Isadora never thought she’d see again.

“Isadora! We have to go!” Mario’s voice boomed through the house.

“I’m so excited,” she said under her breath. “This is going to be so fun.”

Gaea died from, ironically enough, brain cancer the day after Isadora turned eleven. She thought her father would never remarry, that they’d live together in shared grief for the rest of their lives. But after four years, things changed. Mario met a new woman, an Irish-American divorcee named Angela, and all bets were off. It would’ve been fine if she didn’t bring her bratty son, Doran with her. He made the worse mess of all.

Doran had been living with his father in Ireland until he got into some trouble - his father sent him home to Angela for “better raising.” Though Mario never had a son or a troublemaking child, he took the boy in with open arms. Isadora’s arms were not as abiding - the only family member she wanted was her mother, and that would never happen again. Truthfully, she thought she’d never stop mourning – she’d only better adapt to being alone.

When Doran went off to join the Navy, Isadora relished the day. Although he’d grown to be a handsome young man with a perfectly chiseled face and eyes so blue she could swim in them, his attitude made her skin crawl. He had this smirk that made her want to smack him (even if it also made butterflies burst in her stomach and scrape nervous circles on her insides), and he always knew the cruelest thing to say at any given time.

Isadora hated him.

She grabbed her headphones on the way out the door. She did not want to hear her father and her step-mother sing all of Doran’s praises on the way to the airport. Since he’d joined the Navy SEALS, he could do no wrong. She wanted to remind them about the time he tied a firecracker to their dog on July 4th (thankfully the dog lived, but the hair on his tail was burnt for the rest of his life), or when he stole a Harley Davidson only to drive it into the local lake. The parental figures never wanted to be reminded of these stories, however; they only wanted to praise his few good deeds.

Thankfully, the earphones made the drive to the airport not only quiet, but also peaceful. She fell into a pleasant sleep to make the hour and a half trip more palatable. She dreamt again of Doran being so close to her, she could feel the heat radiate off his body. This time, he leaned forward and kissed her, sending an electric current surging through her body. His hands, smoother than she expected, walked up her legs and under her skirt. Before he could finish his exploration, the car stopped and shook Isadora awake. She frowned, a blush still burning on her cheeks.

“I hope you don’t expect to listen to those earphones while Doran’s here,” her father hissed.

              “Well, I was going to go jogging with them, but usually just listening to earphones doesn’t do anything worthwhile,” she shrugged.

              Angela chuckled while Mario frowned. Isadora thought her joke was quite clever. She laughed at it in her mind. They walked out together like a picture-perfect family toward the airport. Isadora hated airports. They felt sterile and oppressive, like how she imagined the world of
1984
to look - travelers always looked expressionless, bored, and unhappy while waiting for their respective planes.

              One could argue, she thought, that the emotion came out when travelers returned home, but that wasn’t always true. Sometimes the travelers still looked like the walking dead. And that, really, she couldn’t ignore (fear of an impending zombie invasion, perhaps?)

              She sighed, deducing her irritability came from being woken up both rudely and too early. “Hey Dad, can I get a coffee?”

“We are waiting for your brother,” Mario snapped. “Can’t you wait?”

“One, he’s not my brother,” Isadora snapped back. “Two, if you want me to be nice, I need coffee now.”

“Let the girl get her coffee,” Angela swatted her husband’s shoulder and pulled out her wallet. “In fact, get us all one too. Doran likes plain black coffee. You know what your dad and I like.” Isadora looked at her blankly with the money in her hand. “I’d like a caramel macchiato, and your father will have a hazelnut latte.”

“Great, I’ll get right on that.”

Stopping at the first coffee shop she found,, it seemed like a swarm of people had the same idea, leaving her in an entirely too long line for her irritation level. She gave heavy sighs as she waited behind a professional looking middle-aged man.

“Do you have a problem?” the man asked after Isadora sighed for the third time.

“My brother is returning from the military overseas, so I’m just a little impatient,” she said. “Trying to get him and my family some coffee before he gets here.”

The man gave her a surprised and apologetic face, “Please, go ahead of me. And thank your brother for his service.”

She nodded, giving him a grateful smile. Using the same story, she somehow managed to reach the front of the line. Part of her felt bad about being so manipulative, but another part of her
needed the coffee
.

“Hi, I’d like mediums of a caramel macchiato, a hazelnut latte, and a dirty chai with two shots,” she gave a pleasant smile to the cashier.

“Anything else?” the cashier asked.

“Yeah, could I also get a small black coffee?” She leaned in, bringing the cashier in so she could whisper. “Could you also put some grounds in there? It’s really weird, but my brother loves it.”

“Um sure. We can do that.”

“Thanks. He’s been a little loopy after going overseas for the military.”

“This is for a service member? You know what, I’d love to give this to you for no charge.”

“Thanks so much.”

Taking the three cups Isadora realized that her plan had only one downfall, her dad was going to be pissed if he found out about the coffee grounds.

She frowned. Maybe the plan wasn’t so great after all.

She approached her father and step-mother, noticing that Doran stood with them. He looked older and even handsomer than he had before. His hair looked darker and redder than she remembered. There was also something close to a smile on his face. That was new. He actually looked happy to be speaking to his mother.

              Taking a deep breath, she walked over to them. Doran looked up just as she walked up. His smile wavered for a split second as he unconsciously looked her up and down. She couldn’t quite pinpoint the look he was trying not to give her.

              “Ah, there you are, Isadora,” Mario grinned and wrapped his arm around her. “I thought maybe you’d run off.”

              “I thought about it,” she gave a fake smile herself, then handed each of them their coffees. “Welcome back, Doran.”

              “Thank you, Izzy,” he responded, taking the cup from her. “I appreciate you getting me coffee.”

              “You’re very welcome, brother.” She knew she laid the pleasantries on thick. He took a sip of his coffee and swallowed hard. “How is it?”

              “Fine,” he responded. “Well, should we get out of here, huh? I’m starving for some of Mom’s cooking.”

              The parents talked enthusiastically with the returned son, seemingly more than ecstatic to see him. She strayed behind as they all walked together while chatting and laughing. She drank her chai curmudgeonly, taking pleasure every time Doran took a labored drink.

 

“I love this coffee,” Doran whispered to his stepsister.

“So happy, brother,” she responded.

“I really like the extra kick of grounds in it too.”

“Whatever do you mean?”

“There were quite a lot of coffee grounds in my coffee. As if someone requested it.”

“That’s messed up. Maybe you should go back.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Angela asked, looking back at them with a twinkle in her eye.

“I was just thanking Izzy for the delicious coffee ,” Doran grinned at his mother. “She wanted to try it,, but I don’t think I can give any of it up.”

“Oh, Doran. I didn’t teach you to be selfish,” his mother said.

“That was Dad’s job mom,” Doran replied as coffee almost shot out of Issy’s nose.

“Share with your sister, ” she instructed.

“I’m not his…” Isadora started as Doran held the coffee in her face.

“If the coffee’s really that good,I might want to try it,” Mario said.

“No, no,” Isadora and Doran said together.

“I mean, it might not be your style, Dad,” she waved her hand. “You like the sweet hazelnut stuff.”

“I have been thinking I should try black coffee though because it’s better for you,” her father continued. “Can I try it, Doran?”

Isadora took the coffee and chugged it, getting a mouthful of grounds and a burnt tongue in the process. She tried to hold back her gags as Doran explained “Izzy
selfishly
drank it all.” Angela lectured them for being too much like real siblings and bickering like “cats and dogs.” Isadora wanted to say that cats and dogs don’t really fight - cats mostly ignore dogs, who sometimes chase them. But she held her tongue. Mostly, she had to hold in the vomit bubbling up from her stomach.

She regretted her decision to play a practical joke on her not-brother.

 

 

II.

“I don’t understand why you hate him,” Fiona, Isadora’s oldest friend, said. “I mean, he was kind of a jerk in high school, but he’s not now. Right?”

“I don’t know, he’s only been home for a few days,” Isadora responded, spinning around in her chair to show her complete lack of motivation for her work. “He did make me drink a whole lot of coffee grinds, which is pretty evil.”

“Yeah, except you gave him that coffee with the grounds in it after he came back from serving our country.
That’s
evil.”

“Like the time he put a dead frog in my bed? Do you remember that one? Now that’s evil. ”

“Blah blah. By the way, can I write an article about your brother?”

“I don’t know why you’d want to.”

“Cause he just came back from being a Navy SEAL overseas and it’s interesting?”

“I don’t think it’s that interesting.”

“He’s also hot. Do you think he’ll let you take pictures of him?”

“He probably will, but I don’t want to.”

“Stop being a jerk, Izzy. Come on.”

BOOK: Wanted By The Soldier Bear (Heroes of Shifter Creek 1)
12.84Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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