Husband Fur Hire (Bears Fur Hire #1)(40)

He lay there, connected deeply to her as she gripped him in slow, hard pulses. And when she was finished, he moved slowly within her, intertwining their fingers, and the next time she came, he watched her face. This one was softer. It was drawn slower. It was controlled and given because Ian adored her. She could see it in his eyes.

She’d been right when she’d had that moment of fear right before they’d slept together.

Elyse pulled one of his hands to her lips and kissed his knuckles. “Everything feels different now. Bigger. More important.”

Ian rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes as he let off a long, relieved sigh. “For me, too.”





Chapter Fifteen


“Miki!” Elyse yelled. The pup bounded around the puddle of spilled goat’s milk, curled tail wagging. “Little monster.”

A loud whistle sounded from the yard and, immediately, the furry little cretin bunny bounced toward the door of the barn and out into the dim, early morning light.

“Yeah, you better run,” Elyse huffed as she righted the pail Miki had knocked over. For whatever reason, Ian had complete control over Miki’s behavior while the pup saved all of his naughtiness for her. At least he liked to snuggle her best, though, so she had that going for her. Ian was giving her lessons on being the boss of Miki but, so far, the little beasty pranced around here causing chaos wherever he pleased. He completely had her heart—when he wasn’t spilling the goat juice.

Momma Goat stuck her tongue out and bleated a horrific scream, and Elyse hunched her shoulders against the grating noise. She was pretty sure Shayna Haskins had sold Momma Goat cheap because she was a screamer. Lucky Elyse. But, she kept them in the milk and cheese and wasn’t a kicker, so Elyse had learned to take the good with the bad.

Next year though, she was going to keep one of the momma cows here to be a milker. And hopefully by then, Miki will have gotten over his obnoxious fascination with the silver milk pail.

“Elyse, you ready?” Ian called.

Muttering a curse, she released the goat from the high pen and ushered her back into the big stall that housed the two nannies, the ram, and two half-grown kids. No milk today, but at least Momma Goat’s teats wouldn’t be swollen and sore. Elyse would be gone the rest of the day, cutting and storing hay with the help of Ian, Josiah, and the neighbors, Joanna and Ricky Fairway. Ian said it was just right to cut now for peek nutrition, and after the last two weeks of working the homestead with him, she trusted him completely. The man had a knack for guessing the weather, for animal husbandry, and a million other little talents that made her wonder just how she’d made it this far without his help.

Her heart sank as she sauntered out into the dawn and felt the chill creeping into her bones. It was mid-September now, only a month until Ian went down for the winter. And as much as she hated the cold and what it meant to her now, Ian seemed to feel the same urgency to get everything done around here. He’d even taken a couple days to help her store the vegetables in the root cellar, and he’d canned salmon one of the townies had traded him for some rabbits he’d snared. Next year, they couldn’t miss the salmon run. Ian said his bear did best if he had a lot of fish in his diet.

Elyse snuggled deeper into her jacket and strode toward the hayfields behind the cabin. This was the second crop of the season, and a late one, but necessary since the first hadn’t produced enough. They needed another fifty square bales for the cattle if they wanted to make it until the grass turned green again. For the millionth time since she’d taken over the care of this homestead, she was amazed at what Uncle Jim and Marta had been able to manage.

Ian would’ve scared her by jumping out from behind the cabin if Miki hadn’t given him away. Elyse tried to run, but Ian was too fast and had her thrown over his shoulder before she could even inhale once. She laughed and swatted his backside as he strode toward the hayfields.

“What took you so long, woman?”

“Ask that little hellion,” she said affectionately as she wiggled her fingers down at Miki. He was much too little to reach her, but he tried anyway. If he wasn’t so darned cute, he would be much easier to reprimand.

“The milk again?”

“Always.”

Ian let off a little growl and set her down, facing him. “Good morning,” he murmured, cupping her cheeks and kissing her lips. He’d been up before her, and this was the first she’d gotten to see him today. He was all mint toothpaste, three-day scruff, mussed hair, bright eyes and grins, and the stress of getting the animals taken care of before going out to the fields faded away.

Melting against him, she nipped his bottom lip and hugged his waist. “Morning.”

“You ready?”

“Yes. No. There’s something I should tell you before you meet my brother.”

“Okay,” he said, rubbing his hands up and down her arms to warm her. “Lay it on me.”

“I didn’t actually tell him about you yet.”

“Ha!” Ian shook his head and jacked his eyebrows up. “Why not?”

“Well, because he knew about the advertisement, and he gave me so much shit over it, and I was afraid he wouldn’t understand if he didn’t meet you in person. I wanted to keep his pre-conceived judgments to a minimum.”

“Trouble,” Ian accused lightly as he draped his arm across her shoulders. He kissed the top of her head and led her down the dirt road that wound through dense, lush vegetation to the hayfields.