Bearly Breathing (3 page)

“I’m so sorry,” a guy to his right said. “He was just in the shower.”

Rebecca looked at the guy who just spoke and her pulse sped up. She was not expecting to see three hot, muscular, sexy guys in the middle of the woods.

Their eyes met and Rebecca swallowed hard. He gazed at her, his green eyes dazzling and bright. He had short, cropped brown hair that was perfectly messy, like he just got out of bed. His shoulders were large and broad and his army green shirt clung to his tight, fit body. The tip of a tattoo peeked out under his sleeve on his right arm. Rebecca wondered what the rest of his tattoo looked like. She wondered what the rest of his body looked like.
You’re not here for that. I just want to go kayaking.
The last thing she needed was another guy in her life complicating the confused feelings and emotions that she already had.

This guy was way out of her league anyways. He wouldn’t go out with a girl like her. Grace could have him.

But Grace was staring at the naked guy wearing the curtain. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.

“I’m Connor,” green eyes finally said after a moment of tension. “I’m the owner and operator of Brooke Excursions. Are you Rebecca?”

Rebecca tried to answer but a cough came out instead. “Yes,” she said, clearing her throat, her eyes starting to water. “Yes. I am.”

He smiled wide, flashing flawless white teeth and dimples.
Why does he have to have dimples?
She was a sucker for dimples. He stepped forward and stuck out his hand. “We spoke on the phone.” Rebecca remembered. He had a deep, soothing voice that vibrated down to her core.

She took his hand in hers and a warm feeling crawled up her arm. A low, primal growl filled the room and he snapped his hand back.

“What was that?” Angie asked, looking around the room.

Connor shook his head and smiled nervously. “We get a lot of animals around here. Nothing to worry about.” He stepped towards the big guy in the room. “This is Sidney,” he said quickly, trying to change the subject. There was something weird about that noise though. It sounded like it was coming from him. Rebecca watched him curiously.

“Sidney is one of our instructors,” Connor explained. “He’ll be coming with us on our excursion.”

Sidney nodded his massive head. He had an enormous chest with thick, black hair creeping out the top of his shirt. His biceps were the size of watermelons. He had blond spiky hair and a soft smile that was shocking to see on a such a large, threatening giant.

He turned towards Angie with a grin. “Hi little lady,” he said. Angie glanced at Rebecca with red cheeks.

“Do you like football players?” Sidney asked. Connor groaned beside him.

“I think it’s a barbaric sport,” Angie said. “Do you know that brain trauma affects forty three percent of football players? And that is only the reported cases. Actual levels may be as high as ninety two percent!”

“Yeah but the average player’s brain damage will heal itself after a few days,” Sidney said with his chin in the air.

Angie looked at him with a look of disbelief. “That is…not even remotely correct.”

Sidney was about to retort when Connor stepped in and interrupted. “And this here is Edwin. He was just on his way to get some clothes.”

Edwin was staring at Grace like she was an art exhibit. He stepped towards her and smiled. “Hi,” he said, extending his hand. He let go of the curtain and it fell to the floor giving everyone a show. Grace’s cheeks turned as red as scarlet lingerie.

Connor snatched the curtain off the ground and wrapped it back around Edwin’s waist.

“You are so sexy,” Edwin said. Grace’s mouth dropped open. She was always surrounded by the most prestigious groups at the city’s highest social functions and was not used to men being so blunt with her. So rude.

“This is so improper,” she said, raising her hand to her mouth. She was blushing and clearly uncomfortable but she also couldn’t seem to take her eyes off of him. And Rebecca could have sworn that she saw a smile on her lips hidden under her hand.

“Sorry about that,” Connor said, motioning for the girls to go out the front door. Angie and Grace exited and he placed his hand on Rebecca’s lower back. Her body went tight as he touched her.

He followed her out onto the porch and swung the door closed behind him. Edwin and Sidney watched them from the window.

“I love that redhead,” Sidney said.

“Does the yellow haired one want to mate with me?” Edwin asked.

Connor grimaced and turned towards the window. “It’s open you idiots.”

Rebecca looked Connor over while his head was turned away. He had stubble on his cheeks at just the perfect length where it wasn’t quite a beard but still tickled when he snuggled up beside you. His muscular back formed a V that protruded out through his t-shirt. Rebecca casually stepped to the side and checked out his ass. It wasn’t lost on Angie who was smirking at her.

Connor turned back with a forced, nervous smile. “Sorry again about that. Let’s just start over.” He shifted on his feet. Rebecca noticed that he was looking at her way more than her hot friends. “Welcome to Brooke Excursions. That is your cabin,” he said, pointing to the largest one on the end. “We’ll cook up a nice dinner for you ladies and then tomorrow we’ll get up nice and early, kayak down the Saco River for the day. We’ll stop at a campsite where we’ll spend the night and then kayak for another day. Someone will pick us up and drive us back here. How does that sound?”

Grace raised her hand. “I have a question. What do you think my father, Senator Briggs, will do if he finds out that you murdered his daughter in the woods?”

Connor’s face dropped. He crossed then uncrossed his arms and then slid his hands into his pockets. “Um.”

Rebecca felt bad for him. He looked so uncomfortable. “She’s just kidding,” she said. “It’s sounds like it will be a blast.” She took a step towards the cabin and turned back to Connor. “As long as your staff keep their clothes on of course.”

“See this is so cute,” Rebecca said, when the three girls were settled in the cabin with their bags. There were three single beds with some antique wooden furniture and a tiny fridge. It wasn’t much but it was rustic and just what she had been hoping for. She laid down on the bed and looked up at the high ceiling with the large logs interconnecting into a peak and smiled. The image of Connor bouncing around nervously popped into her head and she smiled.

“Only one bathroom,” Grace whined as she inspected the place.

“If you think that’s bad wait until tomorrow,” Angie said. “There’s no bathroom in the woods.”

Grace’s face dropped. “I didn’t even think of that. Becca what did you get us into?”

“You didn’t seem so upset when Edwin gave you a full frontal welcome,” Angie said, with a giggle.

Grace’s face turned red. “Did you see how hot he was? I would like to wash my clothes on those abs.”

“You mean have Alfred wash your clothes on his abs?” Rebecca said with a laugh. “What do you think your Dad would do if you brought him home?”

Grace shook her head. “I’d be more worried about what my step mom would do. Did you see how…equipped he was?”

Rebecca shook her head. “Connor was blocking my view.”

Grace turned towards her. “That guy is totally hot for you.”

Now it was Rebecca’s turn to blush. “Who? Connor? No.”
Was he?

“I guess that leaves me with the football player,” Angie said, shaking her head. She hugged her textbook and kissed the cover. “I’ll always have you.”

Grace ripped the textbook out of her hands and tossed it across the room. It hit the dresser with a thud. “I’ve seen your wall of shame,” Grace said. “I bet you that guy would fuck you harder than you’ve ever been fucked before.”

Angie shook her head. “I like my guys nerdy.”

“That’s because you’ve never been fucked by a jock before.”

“Ladies,” Rebecca said. “We’re here for kayaking. Not for picking up men.”

Grace crawled onto Rebecca’s bed. “No. You’re here for kayaking. We’re here to help you get over Mark.”

“I don’t want to get over Mark,” Rebecca said.

Grace frowned. “He cheated on you Becca.”

Angie shook her head. “With your wedding coordinator. You have to get over him.”

Rebecca looked at her hands. She knew they were right.

“And there’s nothing that will help you get over him like a nice rebound,” Angie said, crossing her legs on her bed. “A nice hunky, sexy, mountain man rebound.”

Rebecca looked at her fingernail. “I don’t think so.”

“Why not?” Angie asked.

“Yeah why not?” Grace echoed.

Rebecca bit her fingernail.

Yeah. Why not?

four

Connor opened the door of the stove and checked the three honey-mustard, glazed ducks. They were browning nicely and almost ready.

“You have to roast it at five hundred degrees for an hour,” Sidney said, leaning over his shoulder. “Give it a nice blackened taste.”

Connor closed the door of the stove and turned the asparagus on the frying pan. “How many times did you get hit in the head in those two NFL games?”

“I don’t remember.”

“Figures,” Connor mumbled. He sprinkled some salt into the sizzling pan.

“Put triple that amount. Let me do it,” Sidney said, pushing Connor to the side. “You’re not messing up my girl’s dinner.”

“Those are clients,” Connor said pushing him back. “You are not going to be hitting on them.” Rebecca’s smile was still haunting him. Was he going to be able to follow his own orders?

Sidney stepped back from the oven with his hands up. “Fine. But it won’t be my fault when they all hit on me.”

“I’m going to ask the skinny, yellow haired girl to mate with me,” Edwin said, from behind Connor. He was sitting at the table sticking his finger in the bowl of chocolate mousse that Connor made for dessert and licking it.

Connor snatched the bowl from his hands. “No you’re not. You’re going to act professional.”

Female voices traveled in from the dining room and the three boys froze up with tense bodies. Edwin’s shoulders hunched over and his face started to twist in pain.

Connor leapt over next to him and grabbed his ear. He squeezed it and yanked his head down. “Stop it!”

Edwin’s shoulders straightened back out. “Stop phasing every two seconds,” Connor said, punching him in the arm. “What is wrong with you?”

Edwin shrugged. “I got nervous.”

“Do what I do when you get nervous,” Sidney said. “Just say out loud whatever comes to your mind.”

Edwin nodded as he listened.

“No,” Connor said shaking his head. “That is terrible advice.” He peeked into the other room. The three women were walking around the dining room looking at the pictures on the shelves. “Just relax. They’re only girls.”

“I think I bonded with all three of them,” Sidney said.

“No you didn’t,” Connor snapped. “That’s not even possible.”

“Yes it is,” Sidney said. “One of my uncles bonded to over two hundred women.”

Connor was about to retort, a werebear could bond to one and only one mate in their whole life, and then thought twice about it. “Just watch the ducks.” He headed towards the exit and looked back. “And don’t touch anything.”

Rebecca and Grace were looking at an old picture that they had picked up off of the table beside the fireplace.

“That was me as a kid,” Connor said proudly. It was a picture of him with his cousin Beckett on vacation.
She must be interested in me if she’s checking out pictures of me as a kid.
“I’m the one on the right.”

“Actually we were just looking at the frame,” Grace said.

Ouch.

Rebecca flashed her a dirty look. “I could tell by your dimples,” she said.

Connor tried to hide his grin. “Is everything satisfactory with your cabin?” he asked.

Rebecca smiled and some of the tension melted away from Connor’s shoulders. “It’s great.”

“Great?” Grace said, butting in. The tension crept back in. “We only have one bathroom. What kind of place only has one bathroom for three girls?”

Connor’s throat tightened.

“A cabin in the woods Grace,” Rebecca said, rolling her eyes. “Excuse my friend. She is a little bit of a snob.”

“A little bit?” Grace said, raising her chin in the air. “Show me some respect. I am full snob.”

Sidney burst into the room followed closely by Edwin. “Hello beautifuls,” Sidney said with his deep, loud voice. He walked right up to Angie and leaned over her. She looked like an oompa loompa next to a Sasquatch. “You smell wonderful,” he said. He leaned over, his nose a centimeter from her neck, and inhaled long and hard.

Connor flew over and grabbed his arm. He tried to pull him away but the giant wasn’t moving.

“Mmmmm,” Sidney moaned. “What is your perfume?”

“Bug spray,” Angie said, shrinking away from him.

“Well it smells wonderful on you.”

Connor jumped between them. “What did I tell you about smelling the guests?” he asked.

Edwin was moving in on Grace. “Shit,” Connor cursed under his breath.