Bear Apparent (BBW Shifter Romance) (Stone Claw Clan Book 1) (6 page)

“Hey,” Dahlia said, pulling his attention. “Your food is getting cold. I’d hate to see all that money go to waste, so why don’t you come back inside with me, and I’ll feed you.”

The idea that she had taken time to put thought into what might please him was the deciding factor. A slave to his instinct, he got to his feet, and held out a hand. She accepted, and he pulled her up effortlessly, their eyes locking for a moment. He stepped away, not wanting to make her uncomfortable, and made for the house.

He told himself she was just a good person with a heart as big as a bear, and her intentions were benign. Of course, convincing his instinct of that was a lot harder.

Chapter Seven

Garrett’s chest pumped with hard breath and his skin was clammy. He had sat up all last night waiting for his clan. When dawn broke, he forced himself to relax, less they felt his stress. By afternoon he tried calling Bruin’s number with no response. With the sun sinking toward the west, he was starting to panic.

His palm tightened around Dahlia’s phone. He was tempted to race to the brewery—what if Lazaran was holding them hostage?

“Still no answer?” Dahlia asked as she joined him on the porch.

“No.” He tried his second-in-command’s number again, but it went straight to voice mail.

She came closer, her freshly showered scent wafting around him, loosening him just a bit. “Did you try that mind meld thing?”

“I’m compromised right now. I can’t focus,” he said, feeling useless. He needed to do something, anything.

“There’s no one you can call for help?”

“Not really. It’s why we live in clans… for protection. A lone shifter wouldn’t survive very long.” He scratched at the beard on his jaw, debating whether to seek them out or wait. Her presence soothed him, so he closed his eyes and focused on that link, but he was still too riled up, his fingers slipping through the strands that connected them. “Fuck! I can’t take this. I can’t lose them, too.”

Her hand fell on his shoulder, and he sucked in a breath. Her skin was too soft and warm, the perfect combination to steady his volatile mood.

“At the risk of… Maybe I can help you to relax?” she said, her voice dimming with each word. When he looked at her and cocked a brow, she shrugged. “My mother is a massage therapist and taught me well. You will be surprised what a pair of magic hands can do.”

Oh, I don’t doubt that,
he thought. He knew he shouldn’t let her touch him as it invoked strange emotions in him, but he was desperate to make contact with his clan. Reluctantly, he nodded. Her expression let him know she hadn’t expected him to agree, but she rose to her full height and he followed.

When they’re in the kitchen, she pressed a hand to his chest. “Give me five minutes to get everything ready.”

He watched as she disappeared around the corner, his eyes dropping to her ass.
This is such a bad idea.
His body didn’t care about that though, a tingle spreading across his skin. He imagined what her hands would feel like all over him, squeezing and caressing...

Dahlia called to him from another room and he moved to seek her out, following the fresh scent trail she had left. He was sure he’d be able to find her anywhere, that intoxicating feminine perfume stamped into his brain. He found the door open, and took the stairs down to the basement where he was surprised to find a family room complete with a pool table. His attention quickly centered on Dahlia as she stood next to a massage table, her sleeves rolled up to her elbows.

Her eyes dropped down for a moment as if she were considering asking him to strip out of the too tight jogging shorts she had provided him. “Hop on.”

Garrett got his body moving, and laid down on the table, doing his best to relax. He closed his eyes, and used his heightened senses to focus on every little thing she did. Her heartbeat rose just a little, and the gentle flutter of her breath did wonders to calm him—it was her very presence that seemed to relax, and rev him up at the same time. The click of a bottle reached his years followed by the squish of thick liquid. Not a moment later, her warm and oiled hands were on his back. He nearly hissed at the contact. True to her word, she had a magic touch.

She spread the lubrication all over his back then began working each muscle with thorough attention. She wasn’t easy with him, explaining that it had to hurt a little. Her concern and care of him soaked deep into his body, and cradled his heart tenderly. He knew she would make the perfect mate for a lucky male.

His body loosened wonderfully, and he zoned out where all he could feel were therapeutic touches. She whispered something, but he was delirious from sensation so he simply nodded—he just didn’t want her to stop.
This is what I’ve been missing.
All those brief encounters with women for physical pleasure couldn’t compare with this.

Her palm glided up his spine to rest on his shoulder. “Did you fall asleep on me?”

He shook his head, too comfortable to work his vocal chords. He wanted to demand more, wanted to lie, and tell her he was sore in other places, but something fluttered to his ears… something not in her house. He shot up, and blinked at her sleepily.

“What?” she asked.

As the sound of opening car doors and familiar heartbeats reached his ears, he offered her a goofy grin, and took her hand in his. She protested as he rushed her up the stairs and out the front door. His bare feet slid across the ground as he came to a stop, the sight of several big males exiting the car the second most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, right after Dahlia.

Releasing her wrist, he rushed toward the car, and Bruin crashed into him. They slapped each other on the back hard, and Garrett inhaled the thick pine scent of his beta. “I’ve been trying to reach you all day. Did you run into trouble?”

The male stepped back and sighed, his chocolate eyes half-mast from exhaustion and his shaggy brown hair was a tangled mess around his face. “Yeah. Lazaran’s clan was circling the area, so we had to wait. Turned off the phone so it didn’t betray our location. The twins boosted this SUV, and we high-tailed it out of there, and didn’t look back. We put as many miles as possible between us to try and confuse our trail—along with the chemicals, I’m certain it worked.”

A set of bodies slammed into Garrett, and he pulled Marcus and Jake close to him, their smaller frames fitting against his perfectly.

“I’d welcome you,” Vance said from the backseat of the explorer, his expression blank. “But I’d have to crawl, and seeing as I only have one pair of jeans to my name now, I’d rather not ruin them.”

Garrett chuckled at the silent demand from his omega and the polar twins, Jet and Leto, retrieved the wheel chair from the back, and set it up. They helped the disabled bear into it then came to greet Garrett, their snow white skin contrasting against his own.

“We left in a rush,” Jet said, his crystalline eyes absorbing the luminance of the sun. “Stopped at a department store for supplies, but they didn’t have anything that fit.”

“Nope,” Leto chimed in. “Too tight.”

“Speak for yourselves,” Marcus said, pulling Jake close to him, and gestured to their matching getup. “We make discount look good.”

“That’s because you have no ass,” Jet poked, his lips quirking up in an instigative smirk.

“Not now,” Garrett cut in, his voice booming. He knew his bears needed to blow off a little stress, but it wasn’t the time and place to take jabs at one another.

Everyone gathered around him, their eyes connecting with his in search of guidance, but Garrett didn’t have any reassuring words to offer. One of the polar twins frowned, and peeked around Garrett.

“Who’s that?” the bears asked in unison.

****

Dahlia swallowed hard as the gaze of several predators turned toward her, their eyes glowing with interest. She had a hard time believing all those mountain-sized men had fit into the explorer, their frames as large and broad as Garrett—except for the two smaller guys with their arms around each other’s waists. Swallowing hard, she took a step back as they shifted in her direction. It was strange, but Garrett didn’t frighten her, not like this. Despite being on her property, she felt as if she were invading their territory.

Garrett set into action, his steps brisk as he came to stand next to her. Relief flooded her system, his closeness wrapping around her like a thick shield. “This is Dahlia, our host. She has opened our home to us.”

In unison, their attention slid over to Garrett, and their nostrils flared. Dahlia was surprised when Garrett started to fidget uncomfortably. Were they communicating telepathically, or something? After a long, tense moment they looked back to her, their expressions brightening.

The biggest of the group, besides Garrett, stepped forward and held his hand out, his deep brown eyes pulling up in the corners. “I am called Bruin.”

Dahlia glanced at Garrett, who nodded, and she accepted the man’s hand, his grip incredibly strong. His smile grew wider as he greeted her, his touch lingering. Garrett was suddenly in the way, his big body pushing Bruin away. The other man chuckled darkly.

“It’s about time,” he said.

Glancing at her, Garrett said to Bruin, “It’s not like that.” Then he held a palm against her back, and urged her to the front. “This is my clan, Dahlia. My family. The male in the chair is Vance. The two Kmart models are Marcus and Jake. And the twins are Jet and Leto.”

“Hello,” she said pensively. Their singular attention on her made her uncomfortable, and she wasn’t sure why. It was as if they’d never seen a woman before… or maybe a woman with Garrett?

“It’s hot,” one of the white-haired twins complained.

“You’re always hot,” the man in the wheelchair bit back, his arms bulging as he pushed the chair forward. She wanted to ask what had happened that he couldn’t walk, but figured it was inappropriate.

“My house has central cooling,” she spoke up, instantly regretting it.

The men’s attention shot to her, their eyes speculative. A long, tense moment passed, and Garrett put himself in front of her again. Luckily, he was so big, she could easily hide behind him, which was laughable considering she wasn’t tiny to begin with.

“So, are we going to stand around here all day?” one of the models said as he left the side of the other, his red hair flashing in the sun. “Wait, we aren’t expected to sleep outside, are we? Because you know, my skin doesn’t do well in the sun.”

“You are worried about baking?” one of the twins sputtered. “My brother and I will literally melt.”

“Are you a polar bear?” Dahlia spoke up, then covered her mouth, her cheeks heating.

Clearing his throat, Garrett took the lead. “They are. Bruin is grizzly like me. Vance is Kodiak… Gavin and Marcus are sun bears.”

“Sun bears?” she frowned. “Shouldn’t you like the sun then?”

She realized she had offended them as they rolled their eyes at each other. “It’s your fault. Rather, human’s.”

A low growl rumbled in Garrett’s throat, and they looked away sheepishly. Garrett turned to her and explained, “We don’t really have specifications other than general species such as bears, wolves, cats and so forth. But humans have given names to everything, so we refer to them. In this case, it’s an oxymoron.”

“Oh.” It was all she could say.

“Come,” Garrett said, guiding her back to her house. “I know you have a lot more questions, and I will answer them, but for now, everyone needs to settle in.”

“What about us?” Jet whimpered.

Garrett cocked a brow at her. “This is your territory, and you make the rules.”

She glanced at the mish-mash of men, their expression hopeful like lost puppy dogs wanting to come in from the rain. How could she make them live outside? Besides, they were obviously dear to Garrett. “As long as you promise not to leave claw marks in my walls, and track mud across the carpet, you can come in.”

Their expressions went supernova, and she couldn’t help smiling as one of the polar bears gripped Vance’s wheelchair, and raced it toward the house, Vance’s joy filling the air. Garrett tossed an arm around her shoulders, and she glanced at him, his face reflecting happiness as he watched his family.

He leaned in, and she caught the scent of pine and clean water, and male musk—it made for a heady combination, one she was starting to notice a lot. “Thank you.”

“You welcome. I’m just glad they made it here okay. I know how important family is,” she said.

He stopped, and pegged her with an intense look, his eyes flaring to life. She swallowed a lump as they shifted lower, and his tongue ran across his bottom lip—if she didn’t know any better, he was thinking about the kiss they had shared.

A shout of glee went up, and he stepped back. A pang of disappointment went through her and she sighed—maybe Garrett was the type of guy that was attracted to bigger girls, but was embarrassed about it?
He needs to get over it,
she grumbled to herself, because this dance of I-want-to-but-I-don’t-know was giving her a headache.

Throwing him an aggravated look, she turned her attention to her guests, and clapped her hands, grabbing their attention. “Who is hungry?”