Stranded With Her Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Bear Bluff Clan Book 3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Copyright

  Chapter One - Trent

  Chapter Two – Willow

  Chapter Three – Trent

  Chapter Four – Willow

  Chapter Five – Trent

  Chapter Six – Willow

  Chapter Seven – Trent

  Chapter Eight – Willow

  Chapter Nine – Trent

  Chapter Ten – Willow

  Chapter Eleven – Trent

  Chapter Twelve – Willow

  Chapter Thirteen – Trent

  Chapter Fourteen – Willow

  Chapter Fifteen – Trent

  Chapter Sixteen – Willow

  Chapter Seventeen – Trent

  Chapter Eighteen – Willow

  Chapter Nineteen – Trent

  Chapter Twenty – Willow

  Other Books By Harmony Raines

  Stranded With Her Bear

  Bear Bluff Clan

  (Book Three)

  *

  Note from the author: My books are written, produced and edited in the UK where spellings and word usage can vary from U.S. English. The use of quotes in dialogue and other punctuation can also differ.

  ***

  All rights reserved. This book, or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner without the express written consent of the author or publisher.

  This is a work of fiction and is intended for mature audiences only. All characters within are eighteen years of age or older. Names, places, businesses, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, actual events or places is purely coincidental.

  © 2015 Harmony Raines

  Silver Moon Erotica

  Kindle Edition

  Chapter One - Trent

  A good dusting of snow covered the ground as Trent Savage expertly steered his truck along the mountain roads. Visibility was getting worse, but he had every hope he would be able to deliver the goods he was carrying. If not, the people of Cougar Ridge, a small town high up in the mountains, were going to go hungry during this blizzard.

  He cursed his driver for not turning up for work. If things had gone to schedule, this delivery would have been made hours ago and the truck safely parked back in Bear Bluff to wait out the storm. However, the driver, a young man named Taylor, had chosen last night as the night to claim his mate. He was MIA, probably in the bed of his new woman.

  Trent tried not to let his anger bubble over. He knew his mood was all wrapped in the fact that a young cub like Taylor had found his mate, whilst Trent had been searching for his own elusive bonded mate for years. Not that Trent ever lacked female company; no, he never had a shortage of women vying to sleep with him. The big, handsome bear never had to worry about climbing into a cold, lonely bed, not unless he chose to.

  He smiled ironically, as that was becoming more and more frequent these days. Finally, the thrill of being one of the most sought-after bachelors in town was wearing thin. Maybe it was due to seeing his competition, Dr. Ben, finally walk up the aisle with his sweet mate, Nurse Beth.

  Now, she was a woman he would willingly have shacked up with. Trent tried to raise his spirits—he was getting too old for no-strings sex, he wanted to be married. He laughed at himself; he still needed to grow up a bit if he wanted a mate to settle down with him.

  Young at heart, that’s me, he thought. Trent was still inclined to play practical jokes on people, usually the younger bears. And he did like to flirt with women; he couldn’t help it if they found his boyish charm irresistible.

  A building appeared out of the gloomy light, half hidden in the falling snow. “Great,” he said aloud. “Fuel stop. Last thing I need is to run out of gas up here.”

  There was plenty in the tank, but if the weather made him take a detour, he wanted to be prepared. Trent always liked to be prepared; he was not a man who liked surprises of any kind, unless they were the female-in-his-bed kind. Or at least it was: he now figured he had slept with enough women to last him his long lifetime. He wanted to feel what it was like to be inside his mate, for her to be under him, in his bed. To know what it was, to feel that emotional connection with another person on a deep level.

  But those were not things he would ever admit to anyone. He never wanted people to think he was soft; it would ruin his reputation, and reputation was everything to Trent. Above all his laughing and flirting, he was a businessman in the world of trucks and haulage. Savage Haulage was a business he was proud of and Trent was, perhaps, one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Bear Bluff. Yet despite all this success, the need for a mate was the one thing that consumed his thoughts. It was getting seriously distracting and he wanted to change that.

  Back to business. He pulled up in front of the pump, and refuelled, the snow falling around him, dampening his senses. He would love to be free to run in this right now, up on top of Bear Bluff, over the mountains. He bet half of the town, the bear half, had headed up the mountain. Bear Bluff bears loved the first snow of winter.

  Chapter Two – Willow

  Willow waited inside the restroom. It was freezing outside and she didn’t know what to do. There was no way she could stay in here for much longer; she knew the cashier had watched her come in on his surveillance camera. Any minute now, she expected him to knock on the door and tell her to get out.

  Little traffic had driven by the gas station since she had been here. The weather was putting people off venturing this far into the mountains. She didn’t blame them; it was no place to be in the snow, the roads were already becoming dangerously slippy when her last ride dropped her here. As she pulled the door open to take a look, she was surprised to see how much it had built up already; she was also surprised to see a big truck parked in front of the pumps. Maybe this was her chance.

  Shouldering her pack, she made her way over to the truck. It was unattended; the driver must be inside. Willow knew there was a chance she could be seen, but the snow was coming down so thick now, and they might miss her. Taking a chance, not wanting to risk making herself known to the driver in case he said no to a hitchhiker, she tried the back door.

  It wasn’t locked, but it was hard to open, and she had no idea how she was going to close it again once she was inside. Still, she had to do something, or else she would freeze, she was not built for sub-zero temperatures. Jumping up to reach the latch, she managed to grab hold of it on the second try, her feet slipping on the snow. Willow was not wholly a graceful woman, being a little on the short and curvy side, but she was determined to get into the back of the truck.

  With the door half open, she took her pack off and threw it in. Now she had no choice but to get the rest of her in too, or else she would lose all of her worldly belongings. Placing her hands on the floor of the container, she hopped three times and then jumped. Not high enough. Reassessing her options, she backed off a little and this time took a running jump.

  With a lot of huffing and pulling, she managed to get most of her upper body inside, and then she tried to gasp hold of the first thing her fingers touched, in the hope of pulling herself in further. It wasn’t sturdy enough, and in the gloom of the truck’s interior, she could just make out a large shape slipping through her fingers, as it slid way from her across the floor. Half in and half out; if he drove off now, she would end up splattered all over the road.

  With a great effort, she swung her legs, twice, three times and then she
went for it. Wriggling for all she was worth, until she reached a tipping point and dragged the rest of her body into the truck container. For a moment she just lay there, catching her breath, which came out in thick clouds from her mouth. Finally pulling herself to a sitting position, she tried to make out what she was about to travel with. All she could see were boxes, safe enough. Maybe there was even some food in one. She was starving, and with no money to her name, she doubted that was going to change anytime soon. If she wanted to eat, she would have to steal some food.

  That bit into her conscience. Stealing was not something she had ever believed she would be forced to do. However, things had changed in her life so rapidly; she was on the verge of being desperate enough to do anything—well, nearly anything.

  “OK, let’s get these doors shut,” she said, pulling herself up to a kneeling position, feeling the intense cold coming in from outside. She was still going to freeze in here unless she found something warm to wrap herself in. “Doors first.”

  Somehow, she managed to pull them to without falling back out herself. The latch was a problem, but she found if she pulled the doors quite hard, they clicked on something and stayed put, that would have to do. They would only be travelling slowly in this weather, so there shouldn’t be a problem.

  But what if there was? Oh, she hated this. It was all so deceitful. What if she caused the container to open up and spill its contents out on the road? She had no choice, that was what she told herself over and over. Willow needed to get far away, and when the engine rumbled into life, she knew that her decision had been made for her. For good or bad, she was now stuck in here. She only hoped that she was still alive at the end of it. Because for all she knew, this truck could be going on a very long-distance journey. By the time the doors were opened again, and she had realised they could only now be opened from the outside; she might be dead of starvation, or dehydration. She had one bottle of water, which she had refilled in the restroom, but it wouldn’t last her for days.

  Willow began looking at the boxes. Using the light from her flashlight, she carefully checked the sides of boxes for labels. All she wanted was some food, and she would try to do as little damage as possible. As she carefully tried to keep her balance, the truck made its slow progress away from the danger that pursued her.

  Chapter Three – Trent

  Trent wasn’t sure, if it was the degree of concentration he needed to watch the road or if he had eaten something bad from the gas station, but he felt odd. Not your usual odd, no stomach ache, or nausea; this was different from anything he had ever experienced before. The sensations in his body were probably similar to if he had eaten an aphrodisiac; it resulted in an uncomfortable hardness in his pants.

  Adjusting his position, he tried to think of something other than sex. But it was hard; his whole body seemed to be in a heightened state of arousal. Turning the radio up, he stared at the road, or what he could see of it, and blocked everything out. It worked for two minutes, and then he was back to thinking about sex.

  Damn, if this wasn’t the weirdest trip he had been on.

  Almost missing his turn-off, he had to slow right down to swing his truck onto the steep road, which would take him up to the cougars. He knew he had to keep moving. If he didn’t, then he would be stranded on the road, not something he had any desire to be. Not when his cock refused to calm down. Maybe if he made it to Cougar Ridge he might have to find a little female company to make him feel better.

  That thought seemed so wrong somehow, as if he cheating on his mate. I haven’t found her yet, he thought. Damn it; don’t say he was going to have to abstain from sex because he was in love with his mate. A woman he didn’t know yet! This mated bond thing was going to drive him to an early grave.

  Still distracted, he missed the bank of snow that had collapsed onto the road. His front wheel hit it, making the truck judder, and behind him he heard some of the boxes fall. Managing to maintain control, he guided the truck to a stop, luckily on the brow of a small dip in the road. It gave him a chance of gaining forward momentum when he tried to drive off again. His experience told him a hill start would be impossible with the amount of snow covering the roads.

  He would need to quickly check everything was OK in the back and then push on. It was only about five more miles; if he was lucky, he would still be able to make the delivery before night fell completely. He grabbed his flashlight and jacket before he got out into the cold, wet snow. Walking around the front of the truck, he saw the problem, so first he went about clearing the snow from around his wheels, making sure he would be able to pull off again. Then he went around to the back of the truck.

  The odd feelings persisted, getting worse as he made it further back along the length of his truck. In fact, there was a point about five feet from the back when the sensation got so intense, he struggled to breathe. Forcing himself to walk on, he found it got a little easier. Strange.

  Rubbing his hands together for warmth, he prepared to open up the back, knowing the cold metal would burn his hands. But as he reached up, he paused. The lock was open. Now, if one of his men had been responsible for securing it, he might have blamed them, but he had locked this himself. He knew someone had tampered with it.

  Deep inside his mind, his bear awoke. If he had to, if he was confronted by trouble, he would have no choice but to free his bear. But Trent was a hard man; chances were, it was just kids and he would be able to handle himself. Still, his bear made himself known, making Trent feel off-kilter again. His bear was normally easy to keep under control, but right now, he was on the prowl. Something was definitely up, and it wasn’t just the snow that was making his bear roar.

  Opening the door, Trent took a step back, knowing that if anyone took a swing at him, he didn’t want to be close enough to be hit. Yet, as the doors swung open, there was nothing to see but fallen boxes. He listened for a moment, and then used his other senses, scenting the air.

  Something tickled his nostrils. It connected with his cock, which had gone impossibly hard, not much help in a fight, he thought ironically. But the scent awoke more than his cock; it made his bear pace up and down in his mind. A strong suspicion was starting to fill Trent, one that he didn’t want to contemplate. His mate was close.

  Allowing the doors to open right up, he went up close to the container, peering into the gloom. Under a pile of boxes, he could see what looked like hair spilling out across the floor. Black hair, dark as a moonless night. He swallowed down his panic. What if this was his mate and she was dead?

  How could he live knowing his mate had passed from this world without him ever meeting her?

  Trent pulled himself together, hoisting himself up into the container and going straight to her side. He pushed the boxes off her: they weren’t heavy, they shouldn’t have hurt her. However, she was out cold and there was fresh blood on her forehead; she must have hit her head on the floor when the boxes fell.

  Lifting her, he felt her cold hands brush his, sparking electricity across his skin. Trent knew he had to get her out of here, had to get her somewhere warm. That meant moving her to the cab of his truck. There was a place behind the seats that could be used as a bed. In there, he could lay her down and use his body heat to take the chill from her. It was dangerous; any delay in him continuing his journey meant the snow piling up against the wheels. They would be stranded out here on the mountain, but he had to take the risk, or else lose her to the cold and shock of her fall.

  Chapter Four – Willow

  Her head hurt. However, the rest of her felt, well, kind of wonderful. She nestled back against the warm comforter, which was tightly wrapped around her. This was the first time she had felt this safe since … well, it seemed forever.

  Behind her, the comforter moved, something hard pressing into her back.

  Her eyes flew open. Comforters do not move. The last few minutes before she went unconscious came back to her. The dark, the truck stopping suddenly, and the boxes falling on her, making her
lose her balance and end up on the floor. She remembered the pain, and touched her head, which had a bandage on it. A small one, like the kind you find in a first-aid kit. She had been found.

  “How do you feel?” a deep, extremely male voice asked her. Her comforter was a man!

  “What? What are you doing?” she asked, trying to slide away from him, but there was no room in the tight space. “Where are we?”

  “You are in my truck.” He kept his voice low and soothing, but she wasn’t fooled.

  “I want to get out.”

  “You can’t.”

  “Why? Am I your hostage?”

  He chuckled, a low sound that sent shivers down her spine and ignited a heat within her that threatened to chase the last remnants of chill from her body. “I think you may be overreacting a little. You are not my hostage, and if you really want to leave, be my guest.”

  He looked at her, amused. Damn he was disturbing to her, like a spider trying to lure her into his web of comfort and warmth. But despite her body’s need to be held by him and … well, other things, she couldn’t stay. She got up, noticing she was no longer wearing her coat. And where was her pack?

  “My things?” she asked. “What have you done with my belongings?”

  “They are on the seat, down there.” He pointed, and then he rested his head on his hand, watching her lazily.

  For a moment she hesitated, wondering how she was supposed to get down from here. They were behind the seats of the truck, tucked up nice and cosy in his cab. It all came flooding back to her. The strange sensations she had felt when the truck had begun to move. The closer she got to the front of the truck, the stronger it had become.

  Willow had put it down to motion sickness, but she had never experienced that in her whole life. She thought it was because she had never travelled in the back of a truck before, or maybe because she was so hungry. Yet even when she had found a box filled with popcorn, and eaten two packs, she had not felt better. And now? Well now, she felt much worse.