Betray the Bear (Bear Valley Shifters #4)(31)

Chase sped up and his upper thighs slapped against her backside three times before he growled out and spilled into her. She was busy wondering how he could go again so quickly, but then her second orgasm built in seconds and tumbled through her so unexpectedly, she backed into him and froze, unable to do much more as pleasure quivered through her.

Chase watched her in the mirror with such adoration and pride, and she smiled as she realized what he’d done.

He wasn’t trying to push the boundaries of her fears in the bedroom. He was healing the emotional scars Nathan had given her, stitching them up until they were as unimportant as any of the old and forgotten scars on Chase’s chest.

He was going to put all of her broken pieces back together, one by one.





Chapter Ten



Chase had exaggerated when he claimed he slept lightly. Thank goodness.

Twice, she had tested her theory by trying to wake him in the night for small things, but he hadn’t stirred much either time. In fact, one of those times, she’d shut his bedroom door to hear a thud on the other side, and when she opened it again, a pillow sat on the ground near her feet. He’d thrown a pillow at her, the little sleep gremlin.

As she lay nestled beside him, staring into the darkness, his arm heavy and warm over her hip, she debated not meeting Nathan at all. Surely he would get the hint she wasn’t coming back if she just left him waiting in the woods all night long. And she was so comfortable and safe right here beside Chase. She wished she could just ignore an order from someone she had no connection with anymore.

It was the coward’s way out though, and that term didn’t apply to her. Not anymore. And what if her snubbing his meeting damaged Nathan’s pride and psyche enough that he came to retrieve her and endangered Chase? She’d never feel safe with her wild imagination convincing her he’d be at every turn. Her nightmares would run rampant and Chase would wonder why she suddenly took to sleeping with all the windows and doors locked. She couldn’t live like that when one short meeting, five minutes of her time, could set her free. Was she scared? Hell yeah. Terrified. But more than that, she was just ready to move on.

But this was Nathan and he would be furious when he figured out he had lost control of her. Inner bear was hiding and whimpering inside at the thought of seeing him again. Fear blurred her decision and she lay paralyzed in the dark room beside Chase. Maybe Nathan would give up and leave her alone forever if she stood him up.

But…

If she didn’t go and tell him face-to-face, she would never again get the chance to stick up for herself. And she wasn’t the cowardly bear he’d thrown into this storm. She’d come out of it stronger than she could ever have imagined possible, and he should see how much better off she was without his poisonous affection.

Slipping out from under Chase’s arm, she tested him. “I’m going to get a drink of water,” she whispered, kissing his cheek. “You want one?”

Nothing but a moan before he turned his head and his breathing deepened once again. Pulling on jeans and a dark T-shirt, she snatched her shoes and padded past the creaky floor plank by the front door. With one last glance at the empty hallway behind her, she slipped out the front and made her way toward a trail to her left.

The moon was full and the night bugs quiet, like they knew of her dark deed and were perched on their trees, judging her. The breeze was soft and filled the night with the soft whooshing of tree limbs. When the trail ended, she cut her own path through the woods, due west, toward the main road that led to Sheridan. She was supposed to meet Nathan on the edge of Bear Valley property and spill Riker’s secrets, but unless he wanted to know about the wheat harvest she’d just participated in two days ago, she had nothing for him.

Inner bear shrank deeper inside of her, trembling. Each step she took now was harder, not only because of the reaching brambles and ferns hiding holes to twist her ankles up, but because she drifted closer to Nathan. And she was losing her nerve.

This was stupid coming out here alone, but who could she tell? She was betraying Bear Valley, and the only way to keep her home was to end it here, right now, tonight. The only way to save the relationship she was building with Chase was to stand up for herself and tell Nathan she wasn’t anyone’s pawn anymore. She could do this. She would be short with him, professional and concise, and wouldn’t let him manipulate her no matter what.

The hike seemed to take forever and she fretted over Chase waking to find her gone. He would worry, so she picked up the pace and jogged carefully through the moonlit woods. Her breath caught as she spied the fence that separated Bear Valley property from the rest of the world. The guards she’d seen both times at the entrance were probably patrolling the woods right now, so she needed to be fast. She hopped the fence and loped toward the road.

The moonlight made the empty highway shine down the middle, illuminating the center stripe, and she pulled up short as she reached the edge. She was supposed to cross the road and meet him in the woods on the other side, but her feet were suddenly too heavy to move, as if she were dragging cement shoes. Leaving Bear Valley suddenly seemed really dangerous.

Nathan appeared like an apparition on the side of the highway, and as she stood frozen, he sauntered across the pavement. Dark wash jeans hung low on his tapered waist and his muscles bulged and flexed under the thermal shirt he wore as he moved gracefully toward her.