Christmas Catastrophe: BBW Holiday Bear Shifter Romance (Christmas Bear Brothers Book 2) Read online

  “Or get bored of each other,” she said with a laugh, although she was only half joking. What would two strangers find to talk about for so long? As he reversed the truck, turning round to head back out of town, she hoped this wasn’t a mistake.

  How could it be? They were about to go and get her brother, and fulfil Robbie’s Christmas wish. Surely luck would be on their side.

  Chapter Eleven – Damon

  “How can you not like the ocean?” he asked, laughing at her screwed-up face.

  “It’s not so much me,” she said, putting her hand to one side of her mouth and whispering. “It’s the cat.”

  “So because your cougar doesn’t like the ocean, you don’t either?” he asked.

  “That’s right. Come on, don’t tell me you aren’t influenced by your bear. There must be some things he hates.”

  “I’m in charge of my bear,” he said confidently.

  “Really. There is nothing that he hates? And makes you avoid? Such as … I don’t know, eating mushrooms.”

  “Mushrooms, I love mushrooms,” Damon insisted, and then he paused.

  “Oh, so there is something. Tell me what it is. Spinach? Good old cabbage? Because I could just see a big brave bear being afraid of his greens.”

  “Oranges.”

  “Excuse me?” she laughed, and he liked the sound of that. He would like to make her laugh every day for the rest of his life.

  “Oranges. I had an incident with oranges when I was learning to control my bear. I dug my claws into one, and it squirted in my bear eyes. I blame my brothers. They threw it at me, and I thought it was a ball.” Damon looked at her as she giggled. “They liked to tease me and when you start changing, you look for all the advice you can get. Anyway, they switched this ball for an orange and it exploded in my face. Making my eyes sting.”

  “So now you are afraid of oranges.”

  “I didn’t say afraid. I just don’t like them.” He screwed his face up at the thought.

  “Even orange juice?” she asked.

  “Only with my breakfast,” he said, and then glanced at the clock. “Which makes me think we should find somewhere to stop. I need some sleep, and the roads are getting more treacherous. I’m struggling to see where the edge of the road is. It will be much easier if we stop for a few hours and then continue in the light.”

  He had slowed down for the last couple of hours, and the concentration was making his eyes tired. He decided it would be safer to get some rest and start fresh in the daylight.

  “Sure. Next place we see, we can stop,” she said, but she sounded unsure.

  “We’ll have plenty of time to get there,” he said reassuringly. “We’ve made good time, but my eyes are tired and the road is treacherous.”

  “I could drive,” she offered.

  “You look beat too, Zara. Better we get there a couple of hours later and in one piece than not at all.”

  “You’re right. I’m just so excited and nervous. What if something goes wrong?”

  “Trust me, I’m a firefighter,” he said with a grin. “No, honestly, I will get us there, I promise.”

  “And back. We need to get back before Robbie wakes up on Christmas morning,” she said.

  “We will. OK, there. We can stop and see if they have a room.” He pointed to a hotel. There were lights on, so he hoped there would be night staff in the reception area who would be willing to let two weary travellers in so they could get some rest.

  Pulling into the parking lot, he grabbed their bags, and went round to help a sleepy-looking Zara out of the truck. She looked so adorable, and he wanted to kiss her so very badly. But that could wait. They needed to get to bed so they could make an early start in the morning. They were up against the clock, a thing he was used to in his job. Fire didn’t wait for you to rescue someone before it consumed a building. He had to focus on what they were here for.

  They had a mission, a goal, and they needed to complete it by tomorrow morning. No problem. But his bear worried they were going to let their mate down, and she might never forgive them if that happened.

  Chapter Twelve – Zara

  “Yes, I have a room, we have a few actually. With flights cancelled, some of our guests haven’t arrived.” The receptionist began taping her keyboard, taking their names, then she asked, “Two singles or a double?”

  The young woman eyed them with interest as they looked at each other. She knew Damon would be happy for them to have two rooms; he wouldn’t push them sleeping together. But she didn’t want to be apart from him, she wanted to curl up in his arms and fall asleep listening to the sound of his heart.

  “Double,” she said, desperately trying to keep her voice even. But the colour was creeping across her skin, a heat that only he could ignite in her.

  “A double it is,” the receptionist said. “Here we are, room 12. Second floor and first room on the right.” She pointed to the elevator.

  “Thank you,” Damon said, accepting the key. “You OK?” he asked Zara as they moved away from the desk.

  “Just tired. I wasn’t too bad when we were in the truck, but now I think I could fall asleep on the spot.”

  “I know how you feel.” They waited for the elevator door to open. They got in and he pressed the button to take them to the first floor. “I’ll set and alarm for five hours’ time. We should have time for breakfast and be on the road before it gets busy. Two hours later we should be at the airport.”

  “I’ll update Logan when we leave in the morning,” she said, leaning against the elevator wall as it climbed to their floor. They could have walked, it was only one floor, but she doubted she would have got there. Her feet were so heavy it was an effort to pick each one off the ground. “He is so thankful, Damon.”

  “I only want to help,” Damon said smiling at her, although he looked worn out too. “Come on.”

  The elevator door opened and they walked to their room. He unlocked the door, revealing a double bed. Neither of them undressed; they simply took their shoes off and collapsed onto the bed. He pulled her close, his arm possessive as it held her in his embrace. Then she was asleep.

  ***

  She woke to the sound of beeping. Damon slid away from her, reaching for his phone and swiping the screen to switch off the alarm. “Sorry, bit of a rude awakening.”

  “I can’t believe we’ve slept for five hours. It seems I’ve only just closed my eyes.”

  “Stay here and relax, I’ll go see if I can rustle up some breakfast in bed for you.” He got out of bed and went to the bathroom, and then he headed out into the corridor, leaving her to go over everything that had happened.

  However, she drifted off to sleep instead.

  “Here we go.” His voice woke her again. “I’m sorry, honey, but you have to wake up.”

  “Sorry. Drifted off.”

  “I hope you were having sweet dreams. And if you were, I hope they were about me,” he said, looking wide-awake and gorgeous.

  Zara sat up. She was a fool. Instead of lying here in bed, she should have got up and spent the time in the bathroom trying to make herself look, and feel, human. Right now, she felt like a crumpled mess. Dragging her hand through her hair, she tried to make herself look presentable, but he just laughed.

  “Eat. I don’t much care what you look like in the morning. You will always be beautiful to me.”

  “I look that bad?” she asked, sitting up and reaching for some toast to nibble.

  “Not bad at all. Good, all good and all mine,” He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “And I look forward to waking up with you every morning for the rest of my life.”

  “You don’t know how grumpy I am in the mornings,” Zara joked, taking a bite of her toast, but her appetite disappeared when she saw the look in Damon’s eyes.

  “I know how to get you out of a grumpy mood,” he said, leaning forward and nuzzling her neck, sending shivers down her spine. “Do you want me to show you right now?”

  The piece
of toast dropped from her hand. She wanted to shout yes, yes, show me, but the words stuck in her throat. However, she didn’t want this moment to disappear, and so she stroked his cheek with her fingers, feeling the rough stubble on his face. Damon turned his head, and their lips met. He questioned her again, and she gave him a firmer answer this time, her fingers weaving into his hair as she deepened their kiss.

  Damon moved, covering her body with his. All she could think was how she should have visited the bathroom while he was out of the room. But she hadn’t expected this. If she had she would have cleaned her teeth, brushed her hair, and maybe put on clean underwear. She groaned inwardly. What would he think of her?

  He wanted her. That was what he was thinking; she could tell in the way he stroked her skin, the way he kissed her lips, and the hardness of his cock as it pressed against her thigh. This was it, they were about to consummate their relationship. Despite the need to get back on the road, a new urgency had taken hold of them and neither of them could fight it.

  Her shirt was soon dispatched to the floor, the buttons no match for his fingers. He groaned in appreciation at her breasts, still encased in her bra. His right hand cupped her soft flesh, his thumb rubbing her hard nipple, making it a taut peak of arousal. Grazing his teeth across the fabric, he made her stomach clench, and her sex ached to feel him inside.

  Coming to her senses, she wanted to strip him too, to feel his naked flesh pressing against hers. With trembling hands, she tugged at his T-shirt, lifting it up over his head, and then letting it fall to the floor so her hands could busy themselves stroking his tanned, toned chest. She kissed his hard nipples, and licked them. Round and round she tortured them until he gave a strangled cry of desire.

  Sitting up, he undid his belt, and then stood to let his pants drop to pool around his feet. Naked, his cock hard and erect in front of him, he let her admire his body for a split second and then he was undoing her pants. A wave of embarrassment swept over her as he pulled her panties down too, leaving her naked apart from her bra. But as his eyes swept the length of her body, he left her feeling nothing but desirable.

  Damon moved to lie next to her, helping her to sit so he could unclasp her bra. When her breasts spilled forward, he caught them, one hand on each, massaging the soft, warm flesh, kissing the tips of her nipples. The heat between her thighs grew in intensity, as did the ache deep inside her that wanted to be chased away by Damon. Did he feel the same; did his body yearn for hers?

  Reaching between their bodies, she wrapped her hand tentatively around his cock, feeling him stiffen as her palm chafed his skin. Up and down she ran her hand, his mouth more urgent on her breasts with each stroke. Zara marvelled at this new form of communication, his body reacting to her touch. With no words he taught her how to stimulate him, until he told her to stop.

  His hand covered hers. “If you keep that up, I will be making a mess all over the sheets. I would rather come inside you, Zara. I know we don’t have much time, so let’s make the most of it. If you want me.”

  “Yes. I have never wanted anything more in my whole life,” she said eagerly, and he moved to lie between her thighs.

  She thought he would take her right away, but instead, he stroked her thigh, tilting his body to make room for his hand to caress her skin. Working his way upwards with each stroke, he teased her, the throb of her clit stronger than her heartbeat as she waited in anticipation of his first touch.

  When it came, her breath stopped, all her concentration going to that small bundle of nerves and the touch of his fingers as they stroked her there. Closing her eyes, she let herself be swept away on the tide of emotion that was spilling from her, and then he pressed his finger inside her sex. The world spun. He pressed deeper, his hand encouraging her to open her thighs wider, to allow him to stroke her, caress her and please her.

  Her orgasm built, her climax hovering close. When he stopped.

  She was about to ask what was wrong, but when she opened her eyes she realised nothing was wrong. He was simply moving his body, positioning himself so that he could enter her.

  The world froze. Would it hurt? Would he fit? He looked so big and she felt so small, so insignificant as she lay with her mate between her thighs.

  He pressed the head of his cock against her sex, moving his hips forward in a strong thrust to enter her. Breathe. Breathe. She repeated the words, tears pricking her eyes as she prayed it wouldn’t hurt. Then his lips pressed against hers, comforting her. His hands stroked her skin, relaxing her, and she knew everything would be OK; he would make it right. He would make it good.

  Gently, each stroke of his cock along her inner walls like a caress, he thrust deeper inside her. In and out, deeper with each stroke, he filled her with his cock. It didn’t hurt anything like she had imagined, and as she let herself go, she began to enjoy this new experience. She was making love to her mate.

  She was making love to her mate.

  The words rattled around in her head, and she smiled, kissing him back more fiercely than ever, her cougar wanting to dig its claws into his flesh and hold him in place for eternity.

  But they couldn’t stay here forever; they had to go to the airport to fetch Logan. And so the urgency between them developed into something neither of them could control.

  Heat grew between their bodies, an incredible friction where their skin moved against the other. Her nipples, stimulated by his chest as he moved in and out of her, sent messages of pleasure to her sex, the nerve endings connecting until her sex contracted, griping him as wave after wave of pleasure coursed through her body.

  Her orgasm hit her hard, she cried out his name and set up a chain reaction, his cock spilling its seed inside her. On this Christmas Eve, they might be making a baby. A baby that would be with them next Christmas, making their lives complete.

  Thoughts of babies were soon swept away. Damon lunged into her hard, fast, jerking out his own orgasm and making her climax last for eternity. Until they were both exhausted, their emotions spent, and they lay in each other’s arms while they fought for control of their breath, and their emotions.

  Chapter Thirteen – Damon

  “This is better than any Christmas I’ve ever had, and it’s only Christmas Eve,” Damon said, hugging Zara tightly. They were standing outside his truck, his arms were wrapped around her and neither of them wanted to part.

  “I agree.” She laid her head on his chest. “But we have to go. Logan will be wondering where we are.”

  Damon pulled back, kissing her lips one more time and then said, “OK. Once we’re on the road, you can call him and tell him we’ll be there in two hours, three at the most.” He looked at the road. The snow had begun to melt in places. This part of the journey might not take too long after all.

  “I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Zara said, getting into the truck, where he couldn’t resist leaning in and giving her one more kiss. “It seemed to make sense last night. Now it just seems crazy.”

  “Well. We’re too far into crazy to go back now. Although I’ll be glad to get there and pick Logan up, then all we have to do is drive home.”

  “Yeah, that is going to be a long drive. But maybe if we take it in turns, it won’t be so bad.”

  He closed her door and ran around to the other side, careful not to slip on the slushy snow. “True. You could try to sleep some more now. Then you will feel better when we get there and maybe you could drive the first part home.”

  “Sure. I could do with some more sleep.”

  “And hopefully you’ll be fully rested so when we do get back to Cougar Ridge later, we can practice making cubs again.”

  “I can’t believe that we might have a family of our own by next Christmas. I love Robbie, loved watching him grow from a tiny baby into a young boy. Sometimes, when I held him, I wished he was mine, that I could feel what it was like to have a child. Now it’s going to come true.”

  Reaching over, he placed his hand on hers, squeezing it, trying to pour a
ll his love into that touch. He wanted to lean over and kiss her, but he was scared if he did, he might well end up going back to reception and asking for the key to their room, so he could make love to her again.

  “In a few months that dream will come true for both of us, Zara. I am going to be the best husband and best father I can be.” He meant it, every word.

  This was a new start for him. After years of looking after and rescuing strangers, he was longing to look after his woman, and protect their child from whatever might come their way.

  He would protect Zara too, but he was sure his little cougar could do that all by herself. He would never have to worry about being away from his family, not when he had such a fierce feline as his mate.

  He shook his head and laughed. “A cat. I never thought I would be with a cat.”

  “I hope I’ve been a good surprise,” she said hotly.

  “Oh, yes. A very sexy cat. Who could ask for more?” And he couldn’t ask for more; as they pulled out onto the road, he was happy and content here with her. The rest of their lives lay in front of them, just like the snowy road, stretching out for miles and miles, magical in its wintery glory.

  Chapter Fourteen – Zara

  He thought she was sexy. She sat smiling to herself as the miles disappeared, taking her closer to her brother. Yes, she was supposed to try to sleep, but who could do that when she was sat next to a hunk of pure male perfection? Instead, she studied him, the length of his hair, brown, with russet tones that curled at his shoulder. She imagined lying in bed, running her fingers through it while he slept next to her.

  Occasionally he caught her staring and turned his dark amber eyes to her, and in those moments she could see the bear lurking underneath his skin. All primal, all hers, and all beast.