Wild Bear Read online

  Maverick scratched the back of his head. Maybe he could have taken it a little easier with that. But when the mating heat had taken over…

  “So,” she said, waving what was left of her shirt around as she gathered up her clothes. “You think you can just take me without protection and that means some kind of permanence?” She shook her head, still irate. “You owe me a new bra!” She threw hers on the ground, irritated.

  “I do think it means that,” he said. “Why else would you let me do it?”

  She stormed toward him, still holding the sheet around her. She looked tiny and angry, and he was trying not to find it adorable. He frowned down at her in response.

  “Because it was fun!” she said, waving her hands like a maniac. “Because I thought you were hot. Because I had to get this,” she gestured between them, “out of my system!”

  His frown deepened, and the chasm inside him started to feel bottomless and yawning. His mate was rejecting him. Had used him.

  “You want me out of your system?” he asked in a tight voice.

  She had the awareness to look sufficiently ashamed for having said it. “Yes. Any man who thinks he can use that to pin me down isn’t someone I need around.”

  “It’s not about the ranch,” he said. “If that’s what you’re thinking.”

  “What?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Wait, what about the ranch?

  Maverick had a feeling this was when he should shut his mouth. But his lack of inhibition won out, as usual. “We have to find mates in order to keep our land, according to our father’s will.”

  She looked like she was almost exploding with anger as she took a step forward, jabbing him in the chest with each word. “So let me get this straight. You tried to take me… for a ranch?”

  He shook his head.

  She whirled on him, letting out a frustrated noise. “I can’t freaking believe it.” She turned back to him. “Wait, do Bonnie and Ruby know? I have to tell them!”

  She rushed for the door, and Maverick growled and ran forward, catching her easily around the waist and dragging her back against him.

  “Stop it! I’m going!” she said.

  “Not like that you’re not,” he said, hauling her up in his arms and carrying her back to the bedroom. He tossed her back on the bed, and she looked up at him with a furious glare. “No one sees my mate naked.”

  She pushed hair out of her face. “For the last time, I’m not your mate,” she said. She sighed. “And as for what we did, I’m on birth control, so don’t worry about it. None of those ‘permanent’ consequences.”

  “What do you mean birth control?”

  She put a hand to her face and sighed. “Oh, come on. What do you think I mean? Birth control. As in the pills women take to prevent getting pregnant. Come on.”

  Maverick just stood there, stunned. He hadn’t thought about that. Did that even apply to shifters? How did that affect mating?

  For once, he was totally caught off guard.

  And it was clear she was seething, wanting to leave. Somehow, this had all gone very wrong, and keeping her here wasn’t going to fix it.

  Even if things had been so hot between them, so amazing, it was clear she was determined to be angry with him.

  But what was wrong? Maverick thought females liked it when men said they were theirs. When they wanted them forever. And besides, Maverick hadn’t chosen it. Fate had.

  He sighed as he moved to his dresser and pulled out some pants and a shirt and a heavy winter coat. Dressed in this, no one would see her delicious curves on the way back.

  Curves that were his, dammit, if only he could make her see that.

  He gave her the clothing and then leaned against the dresser, glowering as she changed.

  “So what do you want?” he asked. “The man you’ll take forever. What do you want?”

  “The opposite of you,” she spat, pulling the shirt over her head, the pants on, and then the coat over the top. “Someone respectful. Gentlemanly. Someone who knows how to use protection.”

  “I don’t have any diseases,” he said.

  “Good to know,” she deadpanned.

  He frowned. He liked that his mate was sassy, but at times like this, it was impossible to talk to her. “I can use condoms,” he said. “If you really want.”

  “You just want me for the ranch, though, right?” she asked.

  “If that was really my plan, why would I have mentioned it?” he asked, shaking his head. “No, I said it wasn’t because of the ranch. It’s because it’s fate.”

  She raised an unamused eyebrow. “You know, that isn’t much better.” When she was dressed, she stood to push past him, but he blocked her path.

  “What is it you want, Harmony?” he asked, his eyes going uncharacteristically serious. “Just tell me and I’ll give it to you.”

  Her eyes flashed at him as she pushed her curls back and sighed with impatience to get past him. “So many things, Mav,” she said, using the name everyone else did. For some reason, he didn’t like it.

  He wanted her to be different.

  “So many things that don’t involve you. My music, my life in New York.” She gestured to the cabin. “And I don’t want to live in a tiny cabin with a man who throws a tantrum over a haircut. No matter how good the sex is.”

  He moved out of the way slowly, letting her push past. He followed her out onto the dirty path in front of the cabin, watching her with narrowed eyes.

  She threw him an irritated glance over her shoulder but otherwise kept storming straight for the lodge.

  Maverick let out a deep sigh. She was his mate. That couldn’t be taken back. But he was going to have to rethink his plan for winning her.

  And he was maybe going to need some help.

  * * *

  Wyatt Reynolds couldn’t believe it.

  Maverick McAllister, shaved and with a haircut that actually looked decent, standing on his porch and asking for his help.

  With winning a chick.

  Wyatt looked the other man over. He supposed his old friend had grown to be handsome, in a rugged, dark sort of way. Nothing like Wyatt, who, with cat genes, had beautiful golden coloring and the highest quality genetics.

  But he wasn’t bad-looking for a bear shifter.

  “Come in,” Wyatt said, stepping aside so Maverick could enter his nicely appointed living room. Wyatt liked the nice things in life as much as he liked riding a stallion through the wild mountains, and he didn’t see why he should have to choose between one or the other.

  “Thanks,” Maverick muttered, stomping in and looking around. “Still fruity as ever.”

  Wyatt rolled his eyes. “And you came to ask my help why?”

  Maverick gestured, frustrated, at the luxurious surroundings, at Wyatt’s fitted, tailored shirt and clean jeans and designer shoes. “Because I think my female prefers things like this.” He looked down at himself. “And I need to do anything I can to win her.”

  Wyatt propped his chin on his hand while he circled his friend. Well, the man who had once been a childhood friend and whom he’d recently rekindled a friendship with during certain events.

  There was still an awkwardness between them, but that was slowly changing.

  “So you want me to dress you?” Wyatt asked. “Or what?”

  “I want to know who built this for you,” Maverick said. “I need to build one.”

  Wyatt raised one golden eyebrow. “Seriously? You want a house like this?”

  “Not this big,” Maverick said. “But this nice, yeah.”

  Wyatt slumped in a chair and studied the serious man in front of him. He was more used to talking to Mav with his fists than like this. It was odd to see Mav behaving this way. Almost like he was… vulnerable.

  Wyatt didn’t like seeing his friend like that. “Do you really want to be with a woman who doesn’t like you for who you are?”

  Mav nodded. “She’s my mate. I’ll be whatever she wants.”

  Wya
tt sighed. “She’s a human, then?”

  Maverick nodded. “Yeah.”

  Wyatt tented his hands in his lap. He always felt bad for his shifter friends when they picked human mates. It was always hard to explain the fated mates thing to them, not to mention the fact that they could shift into animals.

  As a mountain lion, Wyatt was lucky he wouldn’t have to deal with that. Cats, for the most part, mated cats in order to keep the bloodline clean.

  “I think you’re better off trying to win her as you are,” Wyatt said. “I don’t think you should try to change. Obviously, she likes something about you.”

  “She seems to. Sometimes. She liked my haircut.” Mav flashed a lewd grin. “A lot.”

  Wyatt waved a hand. “Please, I don’t want the details.” He stood. “Should I come meet her? Maybe I could talk to her for you. Get more info as to how to win her over.”

  Mav scratched his head. “I don’t know. I don’t really need more males around her.”

  Wyatt thought carefully over the situation. The woman Mav meant must be one of the women that had come out a while back, two of which had already mated the McAllister brothers. It wasn’t fair, the knack they had for finding awesome women when that should be nearly impossible out in this part of the country.

  Not that he was jealous, because he needed to find a cat anyway. But the human Shane McAllister had mated had been tempting enough that in a fit of heat, Wyatt had been willing to fight for her.

  Then again, it didn’t take much to get a cat into a fight.

  Wyatt liked fighting. It was something he and Maverick had in common.

  “Do you have money to buy a cabin like that?” Wyatt asked. “If you do, I can get in touch with the builder and schedule a time for him to talk with you.”

  Maverick nodded. “I got it. I don’t have much use for money, but I got it.”

  Wyatt just sighed at that. Maverick was a mystery, to more than just Wyatt himself, and he didn’t think he was going to start figuring him out now. “All right. I’ll give him a call after you go.” He stood to show Mav out.

  “Wait,” Mav said. “I need fancy clothes too.”

  “Huh?” Wyatt asked. “What the hell do you need those for?”

  “I need to look nicer,” Mav said.

  Wyatt scratched the back of his head, really unable to believe the direction this conversation was taking. Maverick had a lot of talents and interests. Fancy things and dressing well weren’t on the list.

  Wyatt would definitely have to take a ride over to Bear Haven and meet this woman for himself.

  “Can I at least know her name?” Wyatt asked.

  Mav narrowed his dark eyes at him. “Harmony. But I only tell you that because you know I’ll stomp you into the dirt if you try anything.”

  “And you know I can go head to head with you anytime,” Wyatt drawled, enjoying the way it made Maverick go all prickly and defensive. He put up a hand. “Okay, I’ll help you order some stuff.” Wyatt shook his head. “This is some My Fair Lady shit or something.”

  Maverick looked confused, and Wyatt just laughed. “Come on. Let’s go upstairs.

  It was a sign of just how smitten Maverick was that the big bear shifter just obediently lumbered after him without protest.

  Damn, things are changing fast out here, Wyatt thought as he led his friend to his office.

  6

  Harmony wondered if it were possible to feel hung-over after sex. She was sitting on the porch outside the main lodge, enjoying the cool mountain breeze on her face as she rocked on the two-person swing.

  Maverick had headed out earlier on horseback, and no one knew when he’d be back.

  A small, sick feeling of guilt twisted through her when she thought about what she’d said.

  Sure, he’d been a brute. And it’d been worse than caveman-esque to assume having sex without protection meant a woman was “yours.” But she’d been the one so caught up with how hot Mav looked with a haircut that she’d forgotten under the good looks, he was still the rough, ridiculous man that was more animal than human.

  And it wasn’t good to expect more from him than that.

  But damn, he’d been awesome in bed. Well, they’d never actually made it to the bed. He’d wanted her too much for that. Life with Maverick would never get boring. And honestly, she didn’t find his rustic little cabin too bad. It was more the man in it, the one insisting that was it; sex decided things for them.

  He’d never talked about feelings or what she would do in the future. What was she supposed to do, sit in the cabin and rot while he led trail rides? She had a career and dreams.

  Even if the thought of going back to her job in New York made her supremely unhappy.

  She wished the McAllister brother who wanted her was half normal, like Shane or Jesse. The type she could imagine actually sitting down and talking to for long periods of time. The type who would make a companion and make it not feel lonely out here in this wide-open land.

  Not just the type who was amazingly good at sex. Even now, her body was crawling with the knowledge that she wanted him again. That the next time she saw him, it would take all of her control not to jump on him and beg him to take her.

  Harmony had met good-looking men before. But never any that made her feel like this. Magnetically drawn. That was new, and she had no idea why it had to be Maverick that had done so. She’d thought maybe after sex with the wild man, she’d have gotten it out of her system. Instead, all she wanted was to do it again.

  Dammit.

  Bonnie walked out into the sun and sat on the swing with her, setting a plate with a sandwich on it on Harmony’s lap. “Beautiful day, isn’t it?”

  The swing swung lightly, and Harmony nodded, picking up the sandwich and taking a bite. It was nice to not have to worry about takeout or what to eat, to have food available all times of day. And not have to worry about shows or warm-ups. “Thanks.”

  “No problem,” Bonnie said. “You wanna talk?”

  Harmony shook her head. She didn’t even know what she’d say if she did talk. Bonnie had seen her earlier that morning, stomping by her and her mate as they stood outside the lodge, making plans for the day. No one had come after her, and that’s just how she’d preferred it. She didn’t want to talk about her feelings being hurt by a midday quickie.

  She didn’t want to admit how caught up she’d been in the moment.

  She’d just wanted to shower, put on new clothes, and get some fresh air. By the time she’d gotten ready and come down, Maverick had ridden out.

  Which was good. They needed some space.

  “I’m here if you do want to talk,” Bonnie said. “I promise not to be judgmental.” When Harmony raised an eyebrow, Bonnie laughed. “I promise to do my best. You know, I had a pretty wild go of it while I was out here before you came.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Oh yeah,” Bonnie said. “Cat fights, bar fights. Late-night hotness in a cabin with a man I had no intention of settling down with.”

  Harmony turned to her friend, baffled. “Seriously?”

  “Yup,” Bonnie said, taking a bite of her sandwich. “Totally lost control. I guess the right man can make you do that.”

  Harmony tightened her lips. She had the feeling Bonnie (and probably everyone else) knew exactly what happened between her and Maverick, but at least she wasn’t saying it out loud.

  Or judging her for it.

  “You seem a lot more laidback, Bon. A lot happier,” Harmony said.

  “That’s all Jesse,” Bonnie said warmly, looking out at the beautiful land in front of them. “He helped me bring everything out to the surface, and after that, I could calm down for real. Not that he doesn’t still get me riled up sometimes.” She grinned.

  Harmony laughed, deep and throaty, and put the rest of her sandwich in her mouth. “Damn, the food out here is great. I’m going to miss it when I go back to New York.”

  Bonnie went quiet at that for a moment. “So how’s the
singing going?”

  “Good,” Harmony said, oblivious to her friend’s discomfort. “I mean, you know, the usual. Gonna break out any day!” She laughed to herself. “Not.”

  “You know, you can have a beautiful gift even if you never make an album,” Bonnie said.

  “I know.” Harmony agreed. “But that’s what I’ve wanted. It doesn’t even have to do well. But my mom always wanted to see one. Even a demo would be fine. If someone would just give me a chance.”

  “You could make one yourself,” Bonnie suggested.

  “Right, because I have the money for studio time.” Harmony looked out in the distance wearily. “Honestly, Bon, for the first time, I’m just not feeling into it all. I lost my agent, and the restaurant stuff isn’t going anywhere. I just feel… lost.”

  Bonnie threw an arm around her friend. “Well, this is a great place to be when you’re lost. And Ruby and I are here for you. We miss you. If Maverick wasn’t such a renegade, we’d want you to just be with him and stay out here with us. It’s beautiful.”

  “And what would I do out here?” Harmony asked. “Sit in the cabin all day?”

  “You could try doing trail rides with Mav. Or you could work at the lodge. Or do booking. Or help with financials. Lots of things to do around here.”

  “But not singing,” Harmony said.

  “Yeah,” Bonnie said. “But you could sing for us. We always like hearing it.”

  Harmony grinned. “Anytime, girl.”

  Bonnie sighed as she finished her sandwich. “I think Ruby went into town with Shane this morning to pick up some stuff for the ranch. You want to go on a hike or a ride or something?”

  “Girl, you know I don’t know anything about horses,” Harmony said with a snort. “Yeah, right.”

  “Maverick could show you,” Bonnie suggested. “He’s the horse guy around here.”

  “Makes sense, since he could be one of them,” Harmony grumbled.

  “What was that?” Bonnie asked innocently.

  “Nothing,” Harmony muttered, standing and stretching, happy and clean and full of food. And well sexed. Things could be worse.