Bad Boy Bear (Return to Bear Creek Book 9) Read online

  His mate looked at him and then looked at the road ahead. “Do you think you can fix it?”

  Zak nodded, gaining control of his swirling emotions. “I grew up putting my old man’s cars back on the road. Let me hear it running, and I’ll let you know.”

  She nodded and turned the key in the ignition, and the engine fired up. “It sounds OK, but before I stopped there was a rattling noise that got louder.”

  Zak opened the car door and jumped into the passenger seat. An intense wave of need for her swept over him. Maybe this was a mistake? But he couldn’t get out now, without it appearing as if something was wrong. And this was in no way wrong, it was oh-so-right. “Drive it for me, let me hear it.”

  She swallowed nervously, her face flushing red at the proximity of his leather-clad body. “OK.”

  Putting the car in drive, she released the brake and they drove forward; the rattle under the hood started immediately. “I hear it. Stop right here and I’ll take a look.”

  Zak got out of the car, and his mate let out a breath. He liked the effect he had on her. He liked it a lot. Going around to the front of the car, he heard the clunk as she pulled the hood release, then he lifted the hood up and took a good look at the engine.

  Someone had spent some time and a good deal of money on getting the car on the road. As he checked everything over, he heard the car door open and close, and then her footsteps as she came around to stand next to him.

  He glanced up, seeing her with her arms folded over her chest as if she could keep him at bay. Damn, she intrigued him. Everything about her assaulted his senses, and if he wasn’t mistaken, she wanted him too…but she also didn’t want him, all at the same time. What was she, some high school virgin?

  “Do you know what’s wrong?” she asked, looking at her watch.

  “Do you have somewhere you need to be?” Zak asked.

  “The animal sanctuary.” She pointed up the road. “I’m going to be late.”

  Zak straightened up and looked at her. “I could give you a ride.”

  “A ride?” she asked.

  “My bike.” He pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. “It’s fast.”

  “I don’t have a helmet.”

  “I have a spare.”

  “Of course you do.” She looked longingly at the road before her.

  “I’ll take it slow.” His voice came out as a purr that all the ladies liked.

  She shook her head, her arms tightening around her. “If you can’t fix it, I’ll wait for my dad.”

  “I’m sorry.” He held his hands up. “Let me introduce myself properly.” He held out his hand. “Zak Pellow.”

  She looked at his hand, but, once again, didn’t take it. “Louise.”

  “Good to meet you, Louise.” He cocked his head and smiled at her. “I will give you a lift, you will be safe with me, and then I’ll come back and fix your car.”

  She shook her head again. “I don’t want you to.”

  He frowned. “Why not?”

  “Because you’ll want something in return.”

  “I am not asking for anything in return. Can’t one person help another without wanting something?” Zak was lying to his mate. Not a good feeling. Of course, he wanted something in return, he wanted her unending love and devotion, but he sure as hell wasn’t expecting to earn that just by fixing her car.

  “No one does anything for nothing,” Louise replied and turned on her heel to walk away. Zak could not help it: he lowered his gaze and drank in her curvy bottom, and the sway of her hips.

  “Yes, they do.” He followed her around to the driver’s side. “Someone once taught me to pay it forward.”

  Her head jerked up. “Pay it forward?”

  “It’s where…”

  “I know what it means,” she answered quickly.

  “So that is what I’m trying to achieve here. I help you, and one day you help someone else.” He held out his hand again, desperate to feel her touch. “What do you say?”

  This time she slipped her hand into his, and he closed his fingers, holding her firmly, never wanting to let go. However, when she tugged her hand back toward herself, he didn’t hold onto it. Creeping her out was not on his agenda, and appearing like a leery biker boy might just do that.

  “OK. The sanctuary is five miles that way. I’ll grab my purse and then we can go.” She ducked inside the car, and Zak turned away to look across the fields by the side of the road. If he hadn’t look away, he would have simply stared at her. Creepy biker boy, his bear agreed.

  Thanks for the vote of confidence, Zak replied.

  His bear sniffed the air. Are you going to tell her?

  About her being our mate? Zak asked.

  No, about the sky being blue, his bear said sarcastically.

  Funny, Zak answered. Nope, not yet. She isn’t a shifter.

  I got that, the absence of needing to hang on to the car to stop her knees giving way was kind of a clue.

  Funny, always the funny one.

  One of us has to have a sense of humor, his bear replied dryly.

  “I’m ready.” Louise held up her keys, and Zak held out his hand, palm facing upwards. “Here.”

  She let them drop. She trusted him. For some reason, that made him feel good. Real good.

  “I’ll get the spare helmet.” Zak closed his hand around the keys, treasuring the warmth transmitted from his mate’s skin. “Have you been on a bike before?”

  “Yes,” she replied.

  “Good, so I don’t need to tell you the emergency exits.” He straddled his bike and then held up his hands as if he was a stewardess on a plane.

  “No, I already know.” She accepted the helmet he held out to her, fitted it on her head, tightening the strap, and then stood by the side of the bike.

  “Need a hand?” Zak asked.

  “No, I can manage.” Trying not to touch him, she slipped her leg across the back of his bike, and then slid to a sitting position.

  “You will need to hold on to me,” Zak instructed.

  Without replying, Louise slipped her hands around his waist. He was certain she had stopped breathing. Smiling to himself, he turned the key in the ignition, and the engine burst into life, the bike vibrating beneath them.

  “Hold on tight,” Zak said, kicking off.

  Louise’s arms tightened around his waist. “I thought you said you were going to go slow.”

  “This is slow,” he yelled as they drove forward, taking the corner a little too fast.

  She didn’t speak, but at least she was breathing again. He slowed the bike, wanting the journey to last as long as possible. Behind him, he could feel her every movement, the way her thighs tightened around his when they took a corner, the way her heart thumped in her chest as they raced along the road, the wind whipping at her clothes.

  Zak didn’t want to ever stop. Or at least not until they were away from anyone else. A bear and his mate, riding off into the sunset, chasing their happy ever after.

  But all too soon, Louise tapped him on the left shoulder, and he reluctantly had to turn off along a driveway that was signposted Bear Bluff Animal Shelter.

  She can shelter me anytime, his bear said.

  It’s a good thing I am the one who does the talking, Zak replied.

  All he had to do was figure out how he was going to sweet-talk Louise into his life. All thoughts of doing the right thing and leaving her alone were gone. She was his, and he was going to prove it to her.

  Chapter Three – Louise

  Once-familiar thrills swept through her body as she clung on to Zak. The bike thrummed beneath her, and her heart raced. Memories of riding on the back of Ajax’s bike flooded back. This was what life was about, the thrill and excitement of racing along roads, where nothing else mattered other than staying in the saddle.

  All too soon the sign for Bear Bluff Animal Sanctuary appeared to their left, and she tapped Zak on the left shoulder and pointed. He slowed, the two of them balance
d perfectly together on the bike as he crawled up to the gates.

  And that was where the thrill stopped. Because that was where it had to stop. She was a mother, and she would never leave Storm again. Not ever.

  Sliding off the bike, she had to reach out and rest her hand on Zak’s arm to keep her balance; her legs were still vibrating in time with the engine.

  “That was great!” Zak said, giving voice to her words.

  “Not really my thing,” Louise lied.

  “I don’t know, the way you were hanging on to me, I thought you were having the time of your life.” Zak took his helmet off and shook out his hair. Louise longed to run her fingers through it, but resisted, just as she planned to resist everything else about this biker. He might have saved her from being late, but she could not let one good deed influence her judgment.

  OK, two good deeds, since he was going to fix her car.

  “Sorry to disappoint you,” Louise said, taking her helmet off and handing it back to him.

  “I don’t think you could ever disappoint me,” Zak said.

  “It’s a little early in the morning for flattery,” Louise remarked, hoping to dampen the hungry look in his eyes.

  “I can see I am going to have to work harder on my compliments,” Zak said.

  “No, you don’t. They are wasted on me,” Louise said firmly.

  “Are you giving me the brush-off?” he asked.

  “I most certainly am,” Louise agreed. “I don’t want to string you along, but I am not looking for a boyfriend.”

  “I wasn’t offering to be your boyfriend,” Zak said, humor dancing in his eyes.

  “Then what were you offering, a one-night stand?” Louise shook her head. “I am not that kind of girl.”

  “I wasn’t after a one-night stand either,” Zak said.

  “Then what are you after?” Louise asked, her hands on her hips.

  “Come to dinner with me, and I’ll tell you.”

  “Smooth.” Louise shook her head.

  “Your mouth keeps saying no, but your eyes say yes,” Zak told her.

  He was not wrong. Zak was just about everything she liked in a man and more. He was like an upgraded version of Ajax, with the humor and kindness of Ollie. A perfect package, but one she had to leave on the shelf.

  Louise held out her hand. “You should give me my keys back.”

  “Why?” Zak asked, with surprise.

  “Because I really am not interested. So maybe it’s best if I put you out of your misery.”

  “A bullet through the brain?” Zak asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “I was thinking out of sight, out of mind.”

  Zak reached out for her hand and took it in his, raising it to his lips. Before she could pull away he planted a soft kiss on the back of her hand. A warm glow spread through her body. “I am never going to forget you.”

  Louise snatched her hand back from him. “Keys.”

  “I’ll return them when I have fixed your car.” With that he put his helmet on his head, started his engine, and turned the bike around, speeding away from her and taking her heart with him.

  “And your keys,” she reminded herself harshly.

  Stomping her foot, sure she had been played and would never see either her keys or her car again, she turned on her heel and walked down the path to the sanctuary. Checking her watch, she was relieved to see she was on time. She was going to pretend this was a normal day, and later on this afternoon, she would call Dean and ask him for a ride home.

  Once inside Dean’s car, she would explain her stupidity. Until then there was no reason to worry him.

  Walking to the office, she admitted the other reason why she wasn’t willing to call Dean yet. Secretly, she hoped Zak would keep his word and return her keys. She was wise enough to know dreams did not come true, but she had to hold on to something, and since she wasn’t going to allow herself to hang onto a real man, she would have to make do with an imaginary knight in shining armor, riding a bike made of metal and chrome, who smelled of leather and the open road.

  “Well, what has happened to you?” Ronni asked as Louise walked into the office to get her list of duties for the day.

  “My car broke down.” Louise turned her face away so that Ronni didn’t see the flush of color across her cheeks.

  “I have never looked that good when my car has broken down,” Ophelia said, who also volunteered at the sanctuary.

  “No, when your car breaks down and you end up at a veterinarian clinic with a broken arm. Or paw, whichever way you want to look at it,” Ronni said.

  “I am not complaining. It might not be the best way to meet your mate, but it’s one way,” Ophelia said with a grin. Then she lifted her left hand and stared at the engagement ring that adorned her finger. “I cannot wait to be Mrs. Gillings. And raise lots of baby Gillings.”

  She looked at Louise under her lashes. “Sorry.”

  “Why?” Louise asked.

  “I don’t know, I don’t want to feel as if I am bragging,” Ophelia said.

  “Why would you feel like that when you are flashing your ring and your happy ever after to two single women?” Ronni teased.

  “I’m pleased for you. Honestly. If I could meet a man who is as dedicated to my happiness as Tom is to yours, then I would be flaunting a ring too.” Louise hid her own sorrow. I’ve found my mate.

  Ophelia sighed. “I am lucky, I do know it. He’s so good with Lenny too.”

  Lenny was Ophelia’s younger brother who had learning difficulties. Tom Gillings was the kind of dreamy guy who had taken it all in his stride and was happy for his marriage to Ophelia to mean he was taking on her brother too. Of course, it helped he was a shifter, just like Ophelia. She could have asked him for the moon, and he would have tried to get it for her.

  “You are very lucky.” Ronni handed her a list of duties. “Which is why I have given you the job of cleaning out the pens.”

  “Yuck,” Ophelia said, wrinkling her nose playfully.

  “I’d hate for you to live under the false impression life was all rainbows and unicorns,” Ronni said lightly.

  “Oh, I have enough experience of life to know that is not true.” Ophelia headed for the office door.

  “You know I didn’t do it on purpose, it just happens to be your turn on the roster,” Ronni said as Ophelia opened the door.

  “Yep.” Ophelia waved to Ronni and Louise, making sure she flashed her ring at them. “See you two ladies at eleven, for coffee and gossip.”

  Ronni smiled and shook her head. “If I could have one day on her happy cloud…”

  “You will,” Louise said honestly. She liked Ronni a lot; she was patient and kind, both with the animals and with Louise, who had needed a lot of training when she first started. Her parents had never let her have as much as a goldfish as a pet. The nearest thing she had to a pet growing up was spending time with Ollie when he was a bear shifter. Somehow, that did not count.

  Chapter Four – Zak

  Zak drove back to Louise’s car, parked his bike by the side of it, and got off, placing his helmet on the handlebars. He was going to give the car a quick check-over, see if he could pinpoint the issue, and then head into town. He needed tools if he wanted to get her car back on the road.

  “Let’s take a look at you,” Zak said to the car, running his hand over the old paintwork, which had been meticulously polished. He grinned. “Someone sure poured some love into you.”

  As he started the engine and went around to lift the hood, he was caught up in the conundrum of the car. As he guessed, the engine had received equally as much love, the new parts that had been fitted were worth more than the whole car put together.

  Checking the engine systematically, he had to admit it was running well, until he pulled the throttle and the rattle sounded. With the flat of his hand, he moved it over the engine, searching for an air leak, until he found the culprit. A hose had come loose; all he needed was the correct-size wrench, and he woul
d have the engine fixed.

  And what happens then? his bear asked.

  Louise gets to drive her car home, Zak replied.

  That’s it?

  I told her she didn’t owe me anything, Zak reminded his bear. I meant it. We’re going to have to try some other way of getting her to like us.

  Maybe you could sing to her, his bear suggested.

  Funny, real funny, Zak replied, and slammed the hood shut. Then he switched off the engine, pocketed the keys, and mounted his bike. His beloved bike.

  Zak ran his hand over the chrome tank, and then glanced back to Louise’s car. Polished and cherished. They had something in common. But how would she feel about all the stuff they did not have in common? She looked like the kind of girl who was straight and true. Would she even consider going out with a bad boy?

  Zak got on his bike and turned it toward Bear Creek. Yes, Bear Bluff was closer, but if he rode to Bear Creek, he knew exactly where he could find the tools he needed.

  With the engine vibrating between his thighs, he took the back roads he knew so well. It was good to be back in the place he had spent the latter part of his teen years. He owed a lot to the man who had taken him in, and taught him that he didn’t have to follow in his father’s footsteps.

  As he meandered through Bear Creek, he was reminded of the fun he’d had, of the trouble he’d caused, but most of all, of the man he’d grown to love.

  “Sunnyside, you have not changed a bit.” Zak rode his bike up the driveway to the house he’d come to know as home.

  As he came to a stop, the door was pulled open, and Dean stood in the doorway, mouth open and a baby in his arms.

  “You never said you were coming,” Dean accused. “I would have made your favorite brownies.”

  “I thought I’d surprise you.” Zak got off his bike, hooked his helmet over the handlebars and strode up to the house. He hesitated, standing a few feet away from Dean, and looking at the small child in his arms. “You take in babies now?”

  “Sort of. This one belongs to a young lady who needed a home. They came as a package.” Dean jiggled the baby, who gave him a toothless giggle. “Best thing I ever did.”