Brother Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Mountain Book 2) Read online

  Brother Bear

  (Bear Mountain, Book 2)

  Ruby Shae

  Brother Bear

  (Bear Mountain, Book 2)

  Copyright 2014 by Ruby Shae

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work, in whole or in part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the author.

  The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement (including infringement without monetary gain) is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $ 250,000.

  Please purchase only authorized electronic editions and do not participate in, or encourage, the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  About This Book

  Ana Smith has been on the run for nearly two months when she stops in Bear Mountain looking for work. The community stirs up long buried desires to belong, especially when she meets sexy, muscle bound Seth. Seth is the perfect man, but she knows better than to wish for something that can never happen. Gorgeous, tall, muscle bound guys don’t go for curvy women like her.

  Seth Adams returns to Bear Mountain when he finds out his sister-in-law is expecting. As soon as he arrives, the feelings of hope, family and forever stir within him once again. Ana is hiding something, but he knows better than to push her for answers. It doesn’t matter how long it takes to earn her trust, he’s chosen her and he’s not letting go.

  When Ana’s past catches up with her, she finds out nothing will stop a grizzly bear determined to protect his mate.

  Brother Bear

  (Bear Mountain, Book 2)

  By Ruby Shae

  Chapter One

  Seth Adams looked around the tiny apartment and rolled his shoulders. The cramped quarters had been fine when he first arrived in town, but now the walls felt as if they were closing in. He’d only been home from his camping trip for two days and he was ready to leave again. He had to get out.

  He bolted off the couch, grabbed his wallet and keys, and walked down to the tiny café in the center of town. He’d only been in town a month, and aside from his week-long camping trip, he’d been to the café nearly every day.

  He smiled when he walked in the door and saw his sister-in-law, Kate, filling coffee cups for a large table of hikers in the back of the room. Their loud voices held a hint of excitement as they prepared to make their journey into Montana’s largest National Park.

  Bear Mountain had been mentioned by the website as a “last stop in civilization” many years ago and the publicity, combined with the town’s location, kept their businesses thriving. Though the town had changed a lot in the last fifty years, the friendliness of the locals remained the same.

  Fifty years.

  Seth glanced out the window in the direction of the sheriff’s office and thought about his brother, Gage. It felt good to make amends for the past, even if he had needed a little nudge. His sister-in-law was pregnant and the energies she carried inside of her called to his bear side.

  Soon, more bears would be roaming through town. They couldn’t help it. Cubs were rare for their species and when shifters felt the energy, the deep buried desires for a clan and family resurfaced. Without the energy, bears were able to live many years in solitude.

  It’s the reason he’d stayed away so long. Fifty years didn’t feel like that long when he’d lived nearly three centuries, but he should have come home sooner. He’d missed his brother’s presence in his life.

  “Hi. How can I help you?”

  Seth looked up at the sound of the unfamiliar voice and lost his breath. The woman standing beside his table definitely wasn’t his sister-in-law, and the sound of her voice sent an electric current skating down his spine and straight to his cock.

  “What’s your name? I’ve never seen you before.”

  He couldn’t hide his urgency. He leaned forward as the comment steamrolled out of his mouth and he inwardly cursed when her brown eyes widened and she took a step back. He’d gotten used to people’s reactions toward him over the years, but her fear hurt him in a way he’d never experienced before.

  “My name is Ana,” she said. He silently studied her appearance. Either to fill the silence, or because he stared, she added, “I’m new in town and this is my first day working here. That’s probably why you’ve never seen me before.”

  The buttoned uniform shirt she wore fit like a second skin and puckered between her breasts, but it didn’t reveal anything underneath. He found himself hoping one of those buttons would get caught on something and fall to the floor, or fly across the room. He wanted to see her voluptuous flesh.

  Her snug jeans hugged her curves and he couldn’t wait for her to turn around so he could see how they embraced her ass. She was tall, curvy and built for a man like him. At six feet, seven inches tall, he didn’t meet many women who could handle a man his size, but Ana seemed like she could be his match.

  Her midnight black hair seemed at odds with her brown eyes and creamy white skin, but it slowly grew on him. Despite her hair color, she seemed perfect. He wanted to know everything about her as soon as possible.

  “Where are you from?”

  She threw a sideways glance out the window for about the hundredth time and he wondered if she were waiting for her boyfriend or lover. A boyfriend he could easily handle, but he wouldn’t be able to handle it if she were married. A quick peek at her left hand calmed his racing heart.

  “Here and there,” she replied, her demeanor suddenly cold. “Do you want to order something or not?”

  “Hi Seth,” Kate said. “I see you’ve met our new waitress, Ana. She’s going to help out Randy and take over the hours I had to drop because of Gage and the baby.”

  Kate put her arm around Ana’s shoulders as if the two women were best friends and Seth noted his sister’s pointed glare. She wanted him to leave Ana alone. He complied.

  For now.

  Soon he would find out more.

  He wanted to get to know Ana a lot better, in and out of the bedroom. He’d been attracted to women before, but this was the first time he felt as if a woman had been put on this earth specifically for him, and not just for sex. Something about her called to him and his bear. His protective instincts went wild and he wanted to whisk her away and protect her from the world. It didn’t make sense, he didn’t know her, but he wanted to more than anything.

  “Great. I look forward to getting to know you better, Ana,” he said, and glanced at his menu. The moment served no purpose except to dissolve the imaginary hold she placed on him. Over the past month, he’d eaten there so many times he knew the menu by heart. When he looked at her again, his desire surged. He ordered by rote in an effort to appear casual.

  “I’ll have the mega-burger, fries, a chocolate milkshake and a cup of coffee.”

  “Great, I’ll be right back with your coffee.”

  Ana turned on her heel, walked behind the counter and hung her ticket on the wheel for Randy in the kitchen. He shouldn’t have looked, but the need to see her backside took over. He’d been right. The jeans looked like a second skin and prominently displayed her lush, round ass. His dick g
rew painfully hard and he turned away before he embarrassed himself.

  “Hey, Seth,” said Kate.

  Too late.

  Her voice penetrated the tunnel vision he had on Ana, and when he looked in her direction, she held a knowing smile. Thankfully, she didn’t comment on his strange behavior.

  “When you’re done here, go check in with Gage, okay? He’ll want to know how I’m doing and you can give him a full report.” Kate winked and left his table to greet a new group of tourists.

  He had a feeling Gage already knew the condition of his wife and the visit would be to discuss the new waitress.

  Good. He wanted details and from her short answer earlier, it seemed he wouldn’t be getting them from the source anytime soon.

  For the rest of his meal he watched her, filled with curiosity at his need to know more, but he kept quiet. She seemed to appreciate his silence and granted him a smile when she placed his bill on the table. The gesture was small and brief, and he would have missed it had he not been watching her raptly. His heart swelled at the tiny gift.

  Mate!

  She couldn’t be…could she? He’d proven in the past he didn’t know anything about mates. A long time ago he thought he did, but the woman he’d chosen had run far and fast when he’d revealed his bear. His feelings for his ex, though strong at the time, were nothing compared to what he felt for Ana.

  Could she be the one?

  He shook off the odd feeling and got up from his table to pay the bill. Ana met him at the counter and now that they were both standing, his lust resumed. She stood less than a foot shorter than him, and when she looked up at him with her brown orbs, he knew he was lost.

  She owned him, and he would do anything to make her happy.

  ***

  Ana Smith glanced down at the receipt and gasped. The man, Seth, had left her a ten dollar tip on a ten dollar meal. Did he know she’d spent nearly all of her money on rent and desperately needed cash to buy groceries? She looked down at her clothing, but other than being too tight, the pieces were clean. The shirt had been given to her by the café owner, but the jeans were her own. She didn’t think they looked worn-out and threadbare, at least not yet.

  “Is everything okay?” Kate asked.

  “I think he made a mistake. He left me a ten dollar tip.”

  “I doubt it’s a mistake. The Adams brothers always tip well,” Kate laughed.

  Irrational jealousy surged through her, aimed at the pregnant woman.

  Again.

  The jarring, possessive behavior didn’t make sense. She was new in town, didn’t know anyone, and she was on the run. Randy, the owner, and Kate, had been nothing but friendly and helpful. They’d shown her kindness unlike others who had turned their backs when she’d asked for help. She was in no position to make friends, or start a relationship, but when Seth walked in and sat in her section, it seemed all bets were off.

  She wanted him with a desire so fierce it momentarily froze her.

  At first, his intense stare and barked questions had frightened her. Did he know her secret? Had he followed her all this way? Would he kill her here or drag her back?

  She grew angry until Kate appeared at her side as if to remind her everything would be okay. From that moment on, she let the fear slip away and sexual hunger consumed her.

  When Kate had lingered at the table and talked to Seth, jealousy gripped her as she placed his order and poured his coffee. She had no right to feel anything for him, and yet, she wanted the right.

  She wanted to belong to him.

  He didn’t speak for the rest of the meal and she wondered if Kate had warned him off, or told him of her circumstance, until she noticed the bulge in his pants. He wanted her, and the knowledge gave her newfound confidence. She gave him a tiny smile, but though he’d been watching her, he didn’t return the sentiment.

  She told herself it didn’t matter. Men didn’t want her, except the one that wanted her dead, and she should have known better than to try and flirt with the hot man. He was way out of her league.

  Her height, combined with her weight and extra curves, had carved out her future a long time ago, and she had accepted it.

  She would never feel the touch of a man who truly loved her.

  Sex was different than love, and she’d had sex before. Many times. Every man wanted to try out a chubby girl at least once. Finding a sexual conquest for a night of fun was challenging, but not impossible. Finding a sexual partner to last longer than one night proved harder.

  It didn’t matter. After she’d discovered battery operated toys, she’d found out she didn’t need a man to send her over the precipice into a toe-curling orgasm. She could come on her own, something she rarely did with a man desperate for release anywhere he could get it. For those men, she was nothing more than a hole. If it weren’t her, it would be someone else.

  The part she missed, the part she never got to experience, was the part where someone stronger than her held her in his arms and told her that everything would be okay…and meant it. She didn’t need a man to rescue her, but it would be nice to feel the protective strength of a man like Seth.

  Next to him she felt small, sexy and womanly. She wanted to ditch her jeans and tees for the silky material of satin dresses and lacy lingerie. Next to most men, even those a few inches taller, she’d always felt big and awkward. It was as if she had a huge spotlight on her that followed her everywhere. She could never blend in, and she knew her physique had played a role in her discovery.

  If she’d been smaller, she would have stayed hidden and undetected.

  She shook her head to clear it of the ugly images and continued filling the salt and pepper shakers. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened in nearly two weeks. Deep down she knew the men tracking her would never stop until she lay in a dead heap somewhere, but this town had brought hope.

  One month of running had left her nearly broke. All of her savings disappeared as she fought to stay alive. Often she questioned her choice to run, especially when she had so few friends and a mediocre job, but she didn’t want to die alone in an alley somewhere. She deserved more than that. At least she thought she did. Hopefully she hadn’t been wrong.

  Kate left at three and seemed to unleash a hoard of hungry tourists with her departure. Over the next few hours, Ana busied herself with the ongoing stream of customers until Randy put the Closed sign on the door.

  He let her keep all of her tips and paid her daily salary in cash as per her request. She knew he risked a lot to meet her needs and she thanked him again before he shoved her out into the dark night so he could lock up.

  The street lights did little to ease her nerves, and she walked briskly toward the apartment she’d rented above one of the town’s unique shops. Kate had known of the empty apartment, a guest house for visiting relatives, and convinced the owners to rent it to her and earn a bit of extra cash. They obliged and she now had a little, lightly furnished, place to call her own.

  Her thin jacket did little to block the whirling wind and she wondered what she would do when the snow returned. The town had already experienced at least a foot of the white powder, and she knew she would freeze when Mother Nature decided to send more.

  The amount of clothes she owned wouldn’t keep her warm even if she layered everything in the tiny closet. She could search for a thrift store, but because of her size, the trip might be a waste of time, and expose her to the enemy. The final option would be to ask Kate if she could borrow one of her jackets.

  As much as she didn’t want to ask for anymore help, it seemed like the best plan. When the temperatures dropped and more snow layered the ground, she’d ask Kate if she could borrow something warmer than her faded sweatshirt.

  Her decision made, she ran up the stairs to her apartment, thankful the path to her door was well lit and visible from the street. Once safely inside, she curled up on the couch with a crochet afghan and closed her eyes.

  Dreams were dangerous, but for one nigh
t, she allowed herself to imagine what it would be like to sleep wrapped in Seth’s warm embrace.

  In her mind, his arms replaced the blanket and kept her warm until the morning light.

  Chapter Two

  “Hey,” Seth said absently when he walked into the sheriff’s office. He went straight to the window and tried to spot the café, but the building was too far away. He rubbed his chest and looked around the room, not seeing anything.

  “Hey, what’s up?” Gage, his brother, the sheriff, asked. Seth had moved away from the window and paced the floor. He barely noticed the other men in the room as he tried to make sense of what happened in the café. He wanted to go back and see Ana, watch over her, do everything in his power to ensure her safety. The strong feelings made him edgy.

  “I feel…,” he glanced at Dave, the deputy, and searched for the right word. “Weird.”

  That pretty much summed it up.

  “Weird,” Gage deadpanned. “Dave, could you go over and check on Mr. Thompson? He seemed a bit wobbly yesterday and I’d like to make sure he’s okay.”

  “Sure thing. I’ll be back later, guys.”

  Gage used his foot and pushed out the chair next to him.

  “Sit down. What’s going on?”

  Seth sat in the chair, but he felt like he would crawl out of skin any minute. His bear wanted to run back to the café and claim Ana. He wanted to make her immortal, so he could ensure her safety when he couldn’t be by her side.

  “I met the new waitress over at Randy’s.”

  “Yeah, and?”

  “I want her.”

  Gage nodded, but he didn’t say a word.

  “I mean want her, want her. Like now. But it’s more than that. I want to protect her, care for her, hang out. Hell, I don’t care what we do, as long as she’s by my side.”

  Gage continued nodding, but he didn’t speak.

  “I don’t think you understand,” Seth added. “I want her more than anything. I can’t stand the fact that she’s there and I’m here and she’s not even a block away. My bear is clawing to get out and get her. Mark her. I don’t know what the hell’s going on. How do I make this feeling go away?”