Catching the Bear: BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance (The Callaghan Clan Book 3) (4 page)

“Are we almost there?” I asked again. It was bad enough that I’d drifted off on the drive, but now I could see the daylight getting a little thinner and I still had no idea where we were. Plus, I needed to go to the bathroom. I shouldn’t have chugged that iced tea.

“Almost,” Bo said with a smile.

Good god how I was starting to tingle every time he flashed it my way.
Don’t fall for it
, I warned myself.
He’s charming and he knows it. Just focus on your job so that you can get back to the city and lead your anonymous life.

Focus. Okay. Looking out the passenger window, I tried to focus. But all I saw was an endless stream of trees. We were so deep into the forest now that Bo had switched the Jeep into four-wheel-drive. Bouncing along the old logging road, I had a mini panic attack thinking about just how far away from everyone we were right now. And as soon as we stopped, I would be out here with a grizzly and a mountain lion. Just me and them.

My breath hitched in my throat and Bo made a small noise. “Why do you smell like fear again?” he asked.

“Again?” I hated how my voice squeaked.

“You have nothing to worry about.” He reached across the seat and grabbed my hand. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”

After swallowing down my attraction for his declaration and for those damn dimples, I nodded. Okay, I could do this. The ISC hired me to negotiate and convince these rouge shifters to comply with their plans. Using whatever means I needed to get the job done. I had my own bag of tricks up my sleeve to protect me, but the least amount of attention I attracted to my “special circumstances” the better.

Bo suddenly veered off the log road and onto what I could only describe as an animal path. “I’m not sure how much further we’ll be able to drive.”

He was certainly capable of maneuvering the Jeep through the narrow path much easier than I would have been able to. I felt another rush of attraction to this man roll through my lower abdomen. Shit. He could probably sense it. Thankfully, he didn’t make any indication that he could tell his charm was starting to grow on me. His focus was only on the rough road ahead of us.

“Calvin lives out here by himself?” I asked, amazed by just how remote we were.

“The large cats tend to live solitary lives most of the time.”

I knew that. Just from my relationship with Major, he’d always mention how he preferred to be alone when I’d give him a hard time about not having a mate.

“But isn’t this a little extreme?”

Bo chuckled and shook his head. “Calvin prides himself in being a true mountain man.” He then looked at me with a raised brow. “Have you ever met a mountain lion shifter before?”

“No.”

“Well, have you read up on Calvin? Did Major give you some background?”

Pushing through the information stored in my brain, I tried to remember. “No, Major didn’t. But I found a small file on him at the ISC office in New York.”

“They have files on us?” Bo sounded surprised.

“Of course they do,” I said. “It’s the International
Shifter
Coalition.”

“Okay, smart ass,” Bo teased. “I guess that makes sense, I just never thought about it before.” He jerked the Jeep sideways to avoid a fallen log. There were a few more up ahead. “Looks like Calvin fortified this place.”

“Well, that would make sense. He is a veteran.”

Once again, Bo looked surprised. “No shit? Huh, I didn’t know that.”

“Yeah, Vietnam.” His file mentioned that he’d been honorably discharged but he seemed to drop off the face of the earth after that. It still surprised me how much longer shifters lived compared to regular humans. I would bet Calvin barely looked thirty years old despite pushing eighty. Unless living out here in the middle of nowhere had taken a toll on him.

“Geez. That’s rough,” Bo said, eyes taking in the obstacles on the trail. Now we had to maneuver around a large boulder that certainly didn’t belong in this part of the woods. After successfully doing that, Bo pointed up to the top of the hill we’d been climbing the past ten minutes. “I think that’s him up there.”

Squinting my eyes to see in the fading light underneath this thick canopy, I could just make out the glow of the fire. We got another hundred feet closer before Bo hit the brakes.

“This is our stop,” he said with the playful tone in his voice again. But when I made a move to get out of the Jeep, he leaned to the side and grabbed my arm. “Stay near me, okay?”

I gave him a look, questioning his intentions without saying it out loud. He shook his head as though understanding my silent communication.

“It’s not like that,” he said. “Calvin isn’t used to having people visit him up here. Especially not beautiful redheads.”

You think I’m beautiful?
The words flitted on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn’t ask. That would give him too much power over me and I was already concerned with the amount of attraction I felt. So instead, I simply nodded and gave his hand a quick squeeze. He jumped out of his side and opened my door before I even reached for the handle. How the hell had he moved so fast? Apparently, I couldn’t hide the surprise on my face and when Bo helped me out of the Jeep he smiled that wicked smile again.

“Shifters are fast.”

“Yes, I can see that,” I said.
Steady. Don’t let him in.
“But I
am
capable of getting out of a vehicle by myself.” I tried to sound annoyed but failed miserably.

He laughed again and then stepped back with hands raised. “Gotcha. No acts of chivalry around Kenzie.”

Ah, the nickname again. I was really starting to like that.

“You two dip shits just scared away every elk within a hundred miles,” Calvin yelled at us from the darkness.

I couldn’t see him at all. Craving a night vision spell, I had to remind myself that I needed to keep my secret hidden as long as possible. At least Bo had no problem spotting the man.

“Good to see you too, Calvin. Thanks for not returning any of my calls.”

“I’m off the grid,” Calvin yelled back, grumbling something under his breath that I couldn’t understand.

We started to walk the last twenty feet or so up to his den. Yeah, according to me, it was a den way out here in the woods. My foot slipped in the downed leaves but Bo wrapped his hands under my arms faster than he should have been able to. Again. I gave him another look.

“Okay fine, next time I’ll let you fall on your face.” His eyes traveled to my dress and then to my platforms. “Please tell me you have other clothes with you,” he groaned.

“Of course I do, but none of you gave me a chance to change.” I did have a pair of jeans and some hiking boots, newly purchased just for this trip. City girls knew how to shop for appropriate clothing. Yes, we did.

“Oh, sorry about that,” Bo said sincerely. “Let’s see what Calvin has up here and then get you changed.”

He pulled me up the last little incline and into the space where a fire was burning. Calvin’s home looked exactly like what I imagined a burly mountain man to have. He’d fashioned a hut of sorts, closely resembling a beaver’s dam with its dome shape and twisted branches. It would easily fit one or two people plus supplies. Surrounding his camp was a small fence built from reeds that would keep out the smaller pests. His fire pit had been constructed from stones he no doubt dragged up here from the closest river bed. Large pines and firs popped up every few feet around the perimeter making this an ideal location for seclusion.

And while I marveled at that, I noticed how Calvin himself looked nothing like a man who thrived in the wilderness. His large frame resembled that of a football player, and his dark skin had him blending in with the shadowed areas. His hair had been twisted into dreadlocks that sat wrapped in a loose bun on top of his head. But it was his eyes, reflecting in the firelight, that sent my fight or flight instincts into overdrive.

Bo held out his hand to Calvin. It took a minute before the cougar reciprocated. “Good to see you again, Calvin,” Bo said.

Calvin simply grunted before turning his attention to me. He shuddered when he sucked in a breath, causing me to shake as well. Bo moved a step closer but then Calvin did something unexpected. He smiled wider than I would have thought possible, and his warmth filled the air.

“Well hello there,
ma petite sorcière
.” Stepping forward, he grabbed my hands and kissed them gently. “
Accueillir ma belle soeur
.”

With panicked eyes, I tossed a glance at Bo, hoping he wouldn’t understand. And from the blank look on his face, I was safe for now. “You speak French?” I questioned Calvin.

“Raised by a Haitian mother and grandmother,” he said proudly. “It’s all we spoke in our house.”

“Well then,
je vous remercie pour votre hospitalité
,” I said with the best accent I could. It had been a while since I’d taken a French class. And it wasn’t my favorite.

“Of course,” Calvin said with another remarkable smile. “Your kind is always welcomed here.”

“Her kind?” Bo asked.

I knew he’d been wondering the whole day. Major often told me I smelled different. “So, Calvin. Is there a place I could put on some more appropriate clothing?” A change of subject was needed before Bo asked any more questions.

“Use my den.” His voice had that gravelly tone to it that any radio announcer would envy. “When you’re done, we’re going hunting.”

“Hunting?” I asked with a squeak.

“I assume you two would like to eat tonight?”

I nodded as Bo chuckled. “Umm…eat what?” I whispered to Bo, but of course Calvin heard.

“Well, hopefully we’ll see a moose.” He rubbed his stomach like he was hungry.

Looking around the camp, I quickly noticed the lack of weapons. “And how are we going to take down a moose exactly?”

This was apparently a dumb question given how loud both men laughed at me. “
Ma soeur
,” Calvin managed to irk out between laughs, “you are surrounded by apex predators tonight.” He flashed a grin at Bo. “Assuming I can have the help of the grizzly?”

Bo’s eyes widened and for a moment I thought he was going to decline. But eventually he nodded and grabbed my hand. “I’ll help you down to the Jeep,” he said, his tone leading toward serious.

I didn’t argue and let him guide the way. Once I opened the door and grabbed my clothes, I turned, only to see Bo standing very close behind me. “Will you be okay with this?”

Looking down at my selected attire, I rolled my eyes. “I know I’m not dressed well now, but I promise I do have the right clothes for a trek through the woods.”

His eyes drifted to my lips and then back up again. “No, I mean with us both showing you our animals. I know you’re human and sometimes—”

Resting my hand on his arm, I tried to reassure him despite only being able to feel his taught and very well defined muscles underneath. “Bo, I’ve been around shifters before.”

“But—”

Without thinking, I stepped up onto the running board and gave Bo a quick kiss on the cheek. “Stop worrying,” I said. “Besides, I’m kind of excited to see a mountain lion.”

His jaw had dropped when I gave him the kiss but he quickly snapped his lips shut with that last comment. “Not a grizzly?”

I smiled. “Okay, I want to see your grizzly too.”

“Oh, you bet you do,” he growled and I had to swallow hard so I didn’t jump into his arms. “Come on, let’s get you ready for Kenzie’s big adventure in the woods.”

A few minutes later, I emerged from the darkness of the den feeling much more prepared. Although a thousand thoughts crossed my brain when I saw both of the men standing there in nothing more than pants. Holy hell. Had I died and gone to heaven? What would my mother think about me now?

“Kenzie?” Bo asked, walking toward me with his hands out. “Are you okay?”

“Huh?” I couldn’t stop staring at the way each pack of his abs moved separately. Was it possible to have an eight-pack? “Oh, I was just…” What was I doing? “I was just wondering how I’m going to keep up with you?”

Calvin gave me a look that hinted he may know my secret. But that spell wasn’t ready yet and there was no way I would out myself right now in front of Bo. “What do you think, grizzly?”