Big Sexy Bear (Soldier Bears Book 2) Read online

  “You never did tell me who she got involved with,” he said, hooking an elbow playfully through hers. He loved the feel of her skin, warm and soft against his.

  Katrina didn’t answer, didn’t want to apparently. “So where are we going for lunch?”

  Ares raised an eyebrow at her lack of response but then shook his head. “Just a little cafe down the way. They have great meatloaf.”

  She wrinkled her nose, and he drew back in mock offense.

  “You don’t like meatloaf?” he asked, aghast, with a hand over his chest dramatically.

  “No,” she said. “I don’t really get what there is to like about it.”

  “It’s a loaf of meat,” he said insistently, stopping her on the sidewalk to face her with folded arms. “A loaf. Of meat.”

  “I’m aware of that,” she said lightly, trying to walk around him and giggling when he blocked her path with his huge body. “Maybe I don’t like my meat in loaves.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her playfully. “You are a mystery, Katrina whatever-your-last-name-is. Wait, what is your last name?”

  She pressed her lips together and shook her head.

  “Okay,” he said, moving out of her way so they could walk again. He was hungry. Hungry for her, but meatloaf in the meantime would suffice. “But you still have to answer for not liking meatloaf.”

  She shrugged. He liked how small she was compared to him, how rounded and soft. She’d look even more beautiful once he wiped that look of constant stress off her face.

  “You know, Ares, you don’t make it easy to stay upset,” she said as they kept walking. “I mean, from the moment you stopped at my car, you’ve been making me break all my rules. I’m not supposed to smile like this.”

  That made him frown. “Everyone’s supposed to smile sometimes. Why not you?”

  “Because I have to be serious,” she said. “Because if I get distracted, if I turn my back—”

  “Mac is safe with Maude, you know. I lived with her for a few years, growing up.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  He waved a hand. “Just… never mind.”

  “No, what?”

  “I’m not going to be a downer just when I’ve put a smile back on your face. Let’s just say my childhood wasn’t typical. But it was great, and a lot of nice people helped me out. I’m still close to them today.”

  She eyed him like she intended to ask more, brushed an errant lock of hair behind her ear, and kept walking.

  “You’re going to try this meatloaf,” he said, pointing ahead to the shop at the end of the lane. “Best in the country I’d wager.”

  “No,” she said. “I have no problem with meat, but I’ll have something else.”

  “You’ll taste mine and you’ll wish you ordered it,” he said as he reached the cafe and opened the door for her.

  She walked in and he entered behind her. The clean, spacious white interior was air-conditioned and cool. There was a counter up front with stools upholstered in red and booths to the side with black tables and red cushions on the benches. He led Katrina to one and then headed up front to ring a bell.

  A matronly woman with red hair came out of the back and her freckled face lit up when she saw Ares. “Justin!” she said, then frowned. “I mean Ares. What can I get you today?”

  He flinched, hoping Katrina hadn’t heard that. “Hi, Belle. We’re getting takeout today, for us and Maude, and a little kid as well.”

  The woman leaned over the counter to see Katrina in the booth. “Ooh, Ares. You found a girl. It’s about time!”

  He felt his ears grow red. “She broke down on the side of the road. She’s staying with Maude until she gets the car fixed.”

  Belle slapped his arm, giving him a wry wink. “You opportunist. Not that I blame you. She’s gorgeous.” She waved at Katrina. “You’re gorgeous!”

  “Um, thank you,” Katrina said, looking like she didn’t know how to respond and tucking her dark hair behind her ear once again.

  When she did that, Ares wanted to see it all splayed out on the bed behind her, her face flushed, her body naked.

  “You look at a girl like that, you better have a wedding ring picked out,” Belle muttered.

  Ares grinned and opened the menu to pick out something. His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out to see a text from Maude.

  Mac is asleep. I already ate. Why don’t you do something fun with Katrina? That poor girl deserves a break.

  Ares rolled his eyes. Of course all of his surrogate moms would be trying to hook him up.

  But at least this time he had no reason to avoid their suggestions. This was his mate. He’d take any help he could get winning her over. If only he could get her in bed. Bear shifters were great at capturing their mates there.

  “That was Maude,” he told Belle, who was looking at him curiously. “Looks like it’s just me and Katrina. I’ll take these menus over.”

  Belle’s grin widened and she rested her elbows on the counter, watching as he walked back to Kat.

  He sighed in Belle’s direction. “Don’t you have something to cook?”

  She laughed and went into the back with a swish of her hips. “I’ll be back when you’re ready to order, darlings!”

  Kat looked at him with raised eyebrows, like she was waiting for him to explain.

  “We’ve got some characters around here,” he said. “But they’re good people, some of the best you’ll ever meet.”

  “They’ve already been nicer to me than anyone else in my life,” she said quietly.

  Again, something inside him got really angry for her. But he stifled it. Right now he just needed to focus on making her as happy as possible.

  He handed her a menu. “So it’s just us for now. Mac is down for a nap and Maude already ate.” He set aside his menu. “I already know what I’m getting.”

  “Of course,” she said, reading through it. “I’ll get the chicken pot pie.”

  He wrinkled his nose. “Pies shouldn’t be made of chicken.”

  “You eat your meat and I’ll eat mine,” she said, closing the menu so he could take both back to Belle. He placed the order and then came back down to sit beside her.

  She seemed nervous still.

  “What’s bothering you?” he asked. “Is the man chasing you really that dangerous? You should be assured he can’t find you. Even if he found your car, no one in town knows where you’re staying.”

  “You didn’t give the mechanic my address?” she asked.

  “No, of course not,” he said. “I trust Bill, but he isn’t paranoid like I am. Even before Mac said something, I knew you were on the run. Who else looks so panicked about a ride into town and a free place to sleep.”

  She nodded, looking embarrassed.

  He reached out a calloused hand to tilt her chin to meet his stare. “Look at me. You have nothing to be ashamed about. The only one who should be ashamed is the man who made a wonderful woman and an adorable child feel fear. And I’m going to make him more than ashamed if he ever comes for you.”

  “He’s coming,” she said. “But you’re right. It’ll take time. It’s just that I’d hoped to get where we’re settling quickly. Hoped to be safe.”

  “Would anywhere really be safe?” he asked. “Or is it maybe a good thing that you broke down with people who can help you?”

  “You can’t help me,” she said. “He’s too powerful. But I’d rather not talk about it now. You’re right. I’m safe for now. So let’s talk about you.” Her full lips curved up at the corners. “I want to know more about you.”

  “Like what I do for a living?” he asked.

  “You already told me,” she said. “You work in construction.”

  “Ah, so I did,” he said.

  Just then Belle came with their food. She delivered it, clucked at both of them to clean their plates, put a hand on Katrina’s shoulder to give her a squeeze, and then went back to the back of her bakery.

  Katrina bowed
her head before eating, and Ares did the same. Then he picked up his fork and jabbed it into his meatloaf, taking a huge bite. He smiled as he chewed, watching Katrina cut a dainty corner out of her steaming hot pie.

  His world seemed to move in slow motion as she brought the bite up to her mouth and slowly savored it. Her eyes closing, long lashes fanning out. Her mouth moving in exaggerated rapture.

  Damn, once she was his woman, he’d never stop feeding her.

  It didn’t hurt that he liked his women curvy, and Katrina was built to stop traffic and would be even more so with a little home cooking.

  He forced himself to eat his meatloaf, trying to ignore the little moans of pleasure she made as she cut more and more into her dish.

  She caught him watching her and waved her hand in embarrassment. “I’m sorry. It’s just been so long since we had something like this.” She looked around. “I need to take some home to Mac.”

  He put a hand over hers and gently guided it and the fork back to her pie. “No, you need to eat. We can order more to go… or walk down here three times a day if you want.”

  Her dark eyebrows went up. “Three times a day? No, that’s too much. I’m not trying to get fat.”

  “I think you’re perfect,” he said. “And you’d be perfect even if there were more of you.”

  “You’re odd, you know that?” she said, gesturing to his body. “It’s like you’ve been interested since you first saw me. But guys like you, they don’t pay attention to girls like me.”

  “What do you mean?” he asked, pushing his meatloaf aside.

  “I mean chubby, book-loving girls. Gym rats like you are supposed to go for Barbies, you know?”

  He frowned. “That’s not fair. What if I like curves? A little cushion for the pushin’. Someone to snuggle—”

  She cut him off with a hand over his mouth, a bright grin on her face. “All right, you’ve made your point. You’re a chubby chaser.”

  “I’m a you chaser,” he said.

  She went quiet and sat back in the booth. “I’m not looking to settle down, Ares. And as for ‘pushing,’ that hasn’t happened for me in a long time.”

  “That’s too bad,” he said, forking more meatloaf into his mouth, wishing there was a sexier way to eat a loaf of meat. “Every girl needs a little pushin’ now and then.”

  Even on her dark skin, he could sense her blush. Her embarrassment but something more. Her arousal. His bear was pinpoint focused on just how she was feeling at all times. And right now, she was feeling happy. Well rested. Well fed.

  Ready to be loved.

  But what was he thinking? She was on the run. Scared for her life. He needed to drop her back at home, get in touch with Hades, and start getting info on the man chasing them.

  He didn’t have enough info yet though. When she pushed her pie away, sighing as if she wished there were more of it, he laughed and waved down Belle to order another. Who knew how long she’d been living on a fast food diet?

  “Man, you must not have gotten much on the road,” he said.

  She looked down, and he instantly regretted mentioning it. “No,” she said. “I admit I wanted to save what we had for Mac.”

  “You mean there wasn’t enough for both of you?” he asked.

  She nodded.

  “Dammit,” he said. “Katrina, you’re breaking my heart.”

  “What do you mean?” she asked, sitting back in the booth, blinking her big brown eyes at him. “How can my life break your heart? It doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

  “You really think so?” he asked, reaching out and capturing her hand with his, cradling it inside his big palm, covering and keeping it safe like he wanted to do with her. “You really think your life doesn’t have anything to do with me?”

  She gulped as she stared back at him, and he could feel the temperature rising in the room around them.

  He squeezed her hand gently, running his thumb along the top of hers. “Can’t you feel it, Katrina?” he asked in a low voice as her eyes dipped to his lips. Bingo. “You can, can’t you?”

  She pulled her hand back, flushing deeply. “I can feel that you’re an attractive man, and you’re being nice to me. And the sleep and the food are all going to my head… And the kiss and the compliments.”

  He nodded, happy about that.

  “But in a few days, I’m going to drive out of town, and you’ll be left with the pieces. If I give you much more of me, I’ll be broken when I leave.”

  He caught both of her hands this time, leaning over the table. It was sunny outside, and the little trees lining the street leaned in the summer breeze. “What if I don’t want you to leave? What if I could tell you right now that you’re it for me and I knew it from the moment I met you?”

  She frowned. “Then I’d say fairytales don’t come true and you were trying to get in my pants.”

  He sat back with a huff, running this hand through his hair and thoroughly ruffling it. Apparently, humans weren’t so big on the love at first sight thing. But that’s all it was for bears. They knew their mate quickly and never wanted another woman after.

  “Why can’t you stay?” he asked.

  “I don’t want to look over my shoulder,” she said.

  “It sounds like you would be no matter where you went.”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “Where we’re going, I hope not.”

  “What if I made it safe for you to stay though?” he said. “Would you consider me then, Katrina?”

  “I don’t know anything about you,” she said, blinking up at him. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to, in so little time.”

  “It can’t hurt to try,” he said. “For the next couple days, let me woo you. Take you out. See if you can get to know me a little better.”

  “What about Mac?” she asked.

  “Don’t you think he’ll be happy with Maude? It’s been a while since she’s had kids in the house, and she’s happy. I can tell.”

  “Plus, she’s been trying to match-make us ever since she met me,” Katrina grumbled.

  Ares grinned. “She has?”

  Katrina nodded.

  “Good woman,” he said, standing to help Katrina out of the booth. “All right, let’s get that extra pie we ordered and head back. I have a job I have to go out to for a few hours today, and you can get some rest or spend time with Mac.”

  “Do I need to talk with the guy at the shop? It’s my car after all,” she said.

  “Nope,” he said, tucking her arm into his as they left the restaurant with a wave at Belle and stepped into the warm sunlight and cool summer breeze that blew down from the mountains surrounding them. “You can just let me take care of it.”

  “Okay,” she said, walking along with him in the breeze, looking relaxed and calmer than he would have expected.

  “You know, based on the spitfire I saw outside the car last night in the rain, I’d never guess you could be this amiable.”

  “I didn’t used to be so prickly,” she said. “Life kind of forced me to. But when you’re around, it all kind of melts away. I don’t know why.”

  “I do,” Ares said, turning toward her on the street and dipping to taste her lips.

  She opened for him easily this time, and electricity shot through him as he kissed her lightly, entwining their tongues in a soft embrace as their lips danced against each other, setting off little sparks inside him.

  Every touch with her was magical.

  She sighed against his mouth just as a breeze blew by, reminding him they were out where anyone could see them.

  He curled an arm around her waist and pulled back, looking into her eyes, which were glazed with pleasure. Damn, leaving her to go check things out with Zeus and Hades would be the hardest thing he’d ever done, but they both needed a few hours apart.

  He needed to cool his head.

  He tucked her arm in again and started walking, pausing only when he heard a little giggle coming from beside him. “What is
it?” he asked curiously.

  “Oh, nothing,” she said.

  “What is it?”

  “You taste good,” she said, grinning.

  He put his arms behind his head and walked tall. “Well, I did say it’s the best meatloaf in the country.”

  She laughed out loud and pulled his arm down so she could take it again.

  Maybe the hard part was yet to come, but he was already really enjoying his mate.

  5

  The rest of the day was uneventful for Katrina. When Ares dropped her off, saying he had work to take care of, he was a perfect gentleman. She tried not to be disappointed when he gave her a gentle hug and left her at the door, or at the loss of his presence.

  She was already getting used to having him around, warm and reassuring, like sunshine.

  Maude had welcomed her in and they’d spent the day together, talking about Maude’s childhood growing up in this small town that was supported by the tourist industry of a nearby ski resort in the winter.

  Mac had been overjoyed by the small swing set in the backyard and by having a yard in general. Watching him laugh and play out there in the sun made her ache over how much he’d been missing. He should have been able to be a regular kid.

  At this age, she still wasn’t sure exactly how much he understood or didn’t understand about their situation.

  Maude got a phone call from a friend, and Kat excused herself to go outside and join Mac. He was trying to pump his skinny legs in an effort to go higher, and she laughed as she got behind him.

  “Want me to push you?” she asked.

  “Yes, please,” he said politely, wrapping his small hands around the chains.

  She laughed and ran forward, pushing him up, up until she was all the way under him, and then running out in front as he squealed in laughter and swung back. When he swung forward, she caught his swing and snuggled him with her nose.

  “Who loves you?” she asked.

  He giggled. “You do.”

  “That’s right,” she said, pushing him back and stepping out of the way so he could enjoy the swing.

  He pushed his legs out with a look of concentration on his face as he swayed forward and pulled them in as he went back. Then he tipped his head back toward the sunlight, his light-blond hair waving in the wind, his little face lost in pure joy.