Betray the Bear (Bear Valley Shifters #4)

Betray the Bear (Bear Valley Shifters #4)

T.S. Joyce



Prologue



“You don’t have to do this,” Brody murmured against Joanna’s throat.

His hands gathered her hair at the base of her neck, and his lips brushed the sensitive skin just below her earlobe. His eyes, more green than brown today, were serious and troubled. He was stalling and distracting her, and he was doing a damn fine job of it. She didn’t want to see Nathan any more than Brody wanted her to, but Riker had asked, and he was her alpha now. He hadn’t demanded she obey, like Nathan would’ve done. He gave her a choice.

A meeting with the alpha of the Long Claw Clan was a last ditch effort to avoid war, and anyone with eyes in their head could see Riker didn’t want another bloody battle. He’d led too many fights—lost too many soldiers to old bear shifter traditions. It wasn’t just Riker who had convinced her to go. Hannah, without saying a word, had helped. She was a dear friend now, and if Joanna could stop the war that was brewing like dark storm clouds over their kind, well, she would do just about anything to keep her new clan safe. To keep her friends safe.

Brody trailed his warm lips down her throat and brushed the collar of her loose shirt wide enough that it slid down her shoulders. Soon she wouldn’t remember what they were arguing about.

"Brody,” she panted as his teeth grazed the curvature of her ear. “I have to go.”

A deep rumble rattled his chest and the crack of power and anger wafted from his skin. This behavior used to scare her, but now she knew better. It was just the way his bear was made—all bark and only pleasurable bites.

“If you’re really going through with this,” he whispered, unzipping his pants, “you’ll go with my scent on you, Jo.” The mahogany dresser of their small bedroom creaked as she arched her neck back and opened her legs for him.

Brody was dominant and insatiable, and even though her heat had ended last month, she was still just as hungry for his skin as he seemed to be for hers.

Riker was just going to have to wait.

Brushing her sundress slowly up her thighs, Brody’s eyes seemed to darken as he pulled her panties down her legs and tossed them to the carpet beneath his feet. His dark hair was silken beneath her fingertips as she urged him closer. His fingers dug into her waist, and a helpless sound wrenched from her throat as he yanked her forward against his stony erection. Her blood flamed, burning through her veins until it landed in a pool in her stomach. “Now, Brody,” she pleaded.

With a muttered oath, he slid into her. Her breath hitched as he filled her and her eyes rolled back in her head as he murmured her name. She’d never tire of that word on his lips. She’d never tire of her life here with the man she had fallen hopelessly in love with, and a vision of Nathan watching her, teasing her, slashed across her mind. Desperate to cast the ghosts from such an intimate moment, she clutched harder to Brody’s back, digging her nails in.

Another growl, deeper and throatier than the last, rippled through her mate and his hips crashed against hers until she cried out his name and shattered right along with him. He tensed and stilled as his warmth filled her in throbbing bursts. Two more thrusts and he held her against the mirror like he couldn’t let her go.

She understood. She was scared of losing him too.

Minutes ticked by and still he held her, filled her, his breath steadying, and she wished she knew what he was thinking. He was a quiet man, and if she pushed too soon, she wouldn’t have the satisfaction of him telling her on his own. He’d been trying more since their mating ceremony.

“I don’t want Nathan anywhere near you. Not after what he did. Not after how he treated you.” His voice was hoarse like he hadn’t used it in a while.

“Riker will be there and we’re meeting in a public place. He won’t try anything or he’ll risk exposure, punishable by death. I’ll be back in an hour.”

“I should be going with you. This isn’t right, Jo. I’m supposed to protect you, and I can’t do that from here.”

“Mmm. You’ll kill him this time, Brody. We can’t risk that in front of humans, and you could be banished for fighting on neutral ground. You won’t be able to control your bear.”

Another snarl ripped from him and she eased back. “Hey.” She pulled his gaze back to hers with cupped hands on his cheeks. “That’s not a flaw with your bear, Brody. You’re my mate. You should protect me, and I you. But if we want to stop what’s happening, I have to do this alone. He’s asked for me. I have to try and fix this.”

Running his hands through his hair in an agitated gesture, he pulled out of her and stood back. “I trust you.”

“I don’t care about him like that and you know it.”

“No, I know you don’t. I mean I trust you to take care of yourself. You’re strong, Jo. Even stronger now than when you came back to Bear Valley with me.”

“Brody Bannister, are you complimenting me for the second time today?”

His lips twisted into a wry smile. “Figure you’re due after everything we went through.”

She hopped off the dresser and kissed him soundly. The man probably didn’t even know how much he affected her.

“One hour,” he murmured against her lips.

“And what if I’m late?” she asked, teasing.