Bearly Healed: Pacific Northwest Bears: (Shifter Romance) (9 page)

C
ash tapped on the door
. “Don’t come in unless you have a cheese like products wrapped in weird tortillas that never mold,” came the response from inside the room.

Pushing open the door, Cash poked his head in. Cassie was sitting in much the same position as when he left her, arms crossed over her chest. She’d gotten herself under control after the screaming episode. She did use the pillow to beat her head with it a few times.

Cash closed the door behind him. He sat on the edge of the bed again and handed her the bag of food along with the soda.

“You gonna eat both of those? Or you gonna share?” Cash asked her, as she dug around in the bag.

“Not sure yet,” she said honestly. Cassie unwrapped a burrito and took a bite, bright orange cheese squirting out the side onto her lip.

Cash leaned over and swiped it off with his thumb. Cassie watched as he brought the digit to his mouth. Well damn, she thought. That was unexpected.

“Sprite, we need to talk,” Cash started.

Cassie raised an eyebrow. “Sprite? Really?”

“Yeah, you were right, Cash and Cassie is tough. Sprite works for you,” he explained.

Cass figured she had other things to worry about than nicknames. Like the big man in front of her that thought he had some claim on her.

“Okay, let’s talk. Can you eat a whole chicken in one bite?”

“Excuse me?” Cash looked at her perturbed.

“You wanted to talk. I’m asking a question,” Cassie said chewing her burrito.

“No, I do not eat whole chickens,” he answered. Though, that wasn’t exactly true. He could totally eat a whole chicken, but he figured she meant in one bite.

“What size are your shoes?” she continued.

Cash sighed. “Thirteen.”

“Nice, sexy,” Cassie said, slurping some soda.

“We need to talk about us,” Cash said, reaching for her hand. Cassie slipped it away to hold onto her food. She had a hard time thinking straight when he touched her. It was like all her brain cells traveled to her pussy. And her vagina had never been a real big thinker. Therefore, bad choices happened often.

“There is no
us
. There’s you, and there is me. You are a Rochon, which means you live in the woods and only talk about trees. I’m a part time receptionist at a tattoo salon and general slacker. Do you see where I’m going with this?” Cassie said, tossing her half-eaten burrito back in the bag.

“No, I don’t see. There is me, Cash Rochon, COO of Green Break Lumber Mill, which is owned by my father. I’m also on the board of PNW Trucking that is run jointly by two of my uncles. I have a home not too far from here. I have an enormous family and have been waiting the better part of my last forty-nine years waiting for my mate. That’s you,” he said leaning closer to her.

“You are Cassidy Hackett, former receptionist, best friend to one of my friends. Funny, sarcastic, definitely colorful, and picked for me by the fates. I haven’t even gotten to know you, but I am totally devoted to you and you alone. For the rest of our lives, there will be only you.”

Cassie watched him say the words. He looked sincere; he looked sure. Cassie envied him that.

“I’m broken,” she said to him. This big, strikingly handsome man was so outside of her league. She usually went for the artsy type or the biker type. Generally, if the guy didn’t have a consistent job and treated her like crap, she was all in.

“You aren’t broken, baby. Just a little bruised. I bet I can tell you just why too,” Cash said, softly to her. He leaned over and brushed a strand of hair over her ear.

“Please, enlighten me,” Cassie said, trying to slow her breathing with this man so close to her. She could feel her nipples tightening under her t-shirt. His breath was warm and smelled like sugar.

“You were left alone on Christmas because your friend didn’t have the right to tell you about us bears. It was our secret, not hers. Our cubs shift randomly, so there was no way to hide it if you’d been here. So instead you drowned your sorrows on Christmas Eve because you missed your friend and felt left out,” he started explaining.

“Well, that’s not…” Cassie was going to interrupt, but that finger that had tucked her hair now landed on her mouth. “Shh…” he said.

Cassie decided hushing was a good idea.

“Then, in an intoxicated state, you trusted someone to take you home. That man failed in his duty to you.”

Cassie was going to protest again, but he shook his head.

“Any man that knows you as friend or coworker shouldn’t have taken the responsibility of getting you home safely if he was incapable of doing so. Then you got in a violent accident that left you asleep for two weeks. You woke up in pain and confused. The only faces you saw were your best friend and her mate. No other family showed up to visit you. Am I right?”

Cassie just nodded, his finger moving with her head.

“Then you spent months trying to recover. Your best friend and her mate doing everything that your family should have been doing. You started feeling guilty. Like you were a burden to them. That’s why you agreed to come out here. Tell me if I’m getting close,” he asked, watching her closely.

Cassie just gave a shrug. She threw in an eye roll for good measure.

“You were lost before the accident. You could have spent the rest of your years living with Dax and Effie. Enjoying their family, living on the outskirts, but never having your own. Did you ever want to be anything, do anything with your life? Or were you too afraid to even dream of something?”

Cassie felt the air in the room get thicker. It felt like he’d been watching her. Like he installed pin cameras over her whole life. Seeing her hits and misses, her failures and her routine of settling for okay instead of looking for something better.

“You don’t know me, Cash,” she said, her anger rising.

“Oh yes I do, Sprite. I know you better than anyone. And I plan on knowing everything about you.” Cash leaned forward getting incredibly close. “Cassidy, don’t make this hard on yourself. I’m going to win. I’m going to have you, keep you safe, protect you, and love you. You just have to yield.” Then he touched his mouth to hers. Cassie froze, his lips were hot and strong. She could still smell the sugar coming off of him. It was mixed with the scent of sawdust. A weird combination that worked on this man.

When her lips stayed closed under his, he pulled back and brought his hand under her chin. He looked into her eyes. “Yield, Sprite,” he ordered.

Cassie realized this man wasn’t going to back off her without a kiss. What could it hurt? She saw his mouth descending again and closed her eyes as their lips met. She opened her mouth and felt Cash’s tongue delve into her mouth. Her tongue swept back against his, the velvety texture making her womb clench.

Cash kissed her tasting the candy coated flavor of his mate. He’d never kissed anyone like he kissed her. He wanted to devour her. His dick was rock hard from the moment his eyes met hers. His bear wanted to mate and bond with her. Seal her to him for eternity. Cassie knew how it worked; her friend had mated to a shifter. At least he wouldn’t have to explain that part. But the rest…would be a challenge.

Not wanting to push his luck, he released her mouth and took in her flushed face, swollen lips and lazy eyes. “Now that’s pretty,” he murmured.

“Huh?” Cassie managed.

“You look pretty after I kiss you,” he explained. “And since I plan on kissing you often, you’re gonna spend your days fucking gorgeous.”

“That doesn’t even make sense.” Cassie frowned at him.

“Does to me. So we need to keep talking. You or me?” he asked.

“Well, I’ll talk. You have no idea who I am. I’m the poster child for white trash. Do you know what that means? It means I’m not the kind of girl you bring home to your parents. I never have been. I don’t know what I want to do with my life. I’ve never wanted to be a doctor or a lawyer. Even Effie had skills she could turn into a career. Unless there is something I could do that paid me to be sarcastic, I’m stuck in minimum wage hell for the rest of my life.”

Cassie watched as he didn’t react at all to what she said. So she continued, “I’m a tattooed little freak, and I like junk food and bad TV. In fact, in my spare time, that’s all I do. I sit around eating crap and watching crap. Sounds sexy doesn’t it?”

Cass knew she sounded rude, worse she was being self-deprecating, and it was pitiful. But this man, this man deserved more than her. He was handsome, fit as hell, and wasn’t a loser. He had a house and a job and responsibilities. He deserved a Sally homemaker type. Someone who would meet him after a long day with fresh baked bread and a foot rub. That was not Cassie. Not even close.

“Well, as long as you are sitting in my lap, eating junk food and watching TV, then I’ll be fine with that,” Cash remarked. He liked the idea of her sitting with him. He could keep her warm, pet her and cherish her. Nothing about that seemed bad.

“And what would I do out here in the boonies? Any local tattoo parlors need a militant receptionist?”

“You can work for one of the family businesses, or you can stay home. I have plenty of money; you don’t have to work if you don’t want to. If you want to go to school or take classes, you can do that. If you want to start a knitting club or volunteer, you can. You can do anything you want. From this moment on, I take care of you. I keep a roof over your head. I keep food in your belly, clothes on your back and ample funds for tattoos if you want to add to your collection.” This really was simple. He hoped if he kept laying it out, she’d see it too.

“So, what, I’d be a mooch?” She looked at him like he was clearly out of touch with reality.

“No, Cassie, you’d be mine. I take care of what is mine,” he said with a low growl.

“
D
on’t
you growl at me, Cash Rochon. You don’t get to be frustrated. I’m the one that gets to be pissy and confused. I get to panic and be overwhelmed. You have to take it. Because you understand this, and I don’t!” Cassie shouted at him. Her frustration and anger at the situation was making her start to cry. She always cried when she got mad. It was one of those horrible girl things she couldn’t control.

Shit, she didn’t want to cry. She wanted to be tough and tell him off. Make him go away and let her stew. She needed to call Effie and have a serious fucking girl talk.

A tear escaped and slid down her cheek. Cash let out a growl and placed a kiss over the tear on her face.

“Baby, don’t cry. You aren’t allowed to cry,” he said near her ear.

“Don’t call me baby. You don’t know me. You’d be better off calling me bitch,” she said, trying not to hiccup.

“That will never happen,” he said quietly, placing a kiss just below her ear.

Cass gave a shiver. She liked her neck being kissed, always had. Most guys didn’t take the time, wasn’t one of the two areas they were focused on to get what they want.

“Like that do you?” he purred into her neck, giving her an open mouth kiss on her throat. He sucked hard in the hope of marking her as his. At least temporarily.

Cassie couldn’t help the low moan that came out of her. The first strong suck on her neck had her womb clenching, and her pussy was drenched. She could feel her breasts swelling. Her neck was totally her ON switch.

“That’s my sprite. Do you know how sexy you are? Do you want to know all the things I want to do to you?” Cash asked, licking a line up her throat.

“Fucking hell, no I do not. You have to stop. We can’t do this,” she whimpered.

“Why not? I’m your mate. You’re mine. This is the least we should be doing,” Cash said, kissing up along her jaw and placing a hot kiss on her mouth. Cash loved that her mouth opened immediately under his. She wanted his kiss, his touch. Cash just had to convince her brain what her body already knew.

Cassie wasn’t thinking clearly. She really couldn’t with his mouth on her. But pushing him away? That didn’t seem possible either. How in the world was she ever going to get the upper hand with this behemoth?

“Cash, I thought we were supposed to be talking,” Cassie mumbled against his lips.

She heard him sigh and pull back. He tried to tuck her short hair over her ear again. It wasn’t going to stay, so he’d better get used to that move she thought.

No! Damn it, she had to stop thinking like that. There wasn’t going to be a later or a future.

“What do you want to talk about?” he asked, brushing his lips over her forehead, down over her scar, placing soft kisses on it.

Cassie sucked in a breath when she realized where his kisses were heading.

“Please don’t,” she gasped.

“Sorry, Sprite, this scar is part of you. That means it’s mine to kiss better,” Cash told her. Now that he knew who she was, her scar wasn’t even noticeable to him or his bear. It was microscopic compared to the rest of her beauty.

Cass’s heart stopped at the thought. He was kissing her scar, was that sick? Was it sweet?

“It’s not going to get better,” she whispered.

“Of course, it will. All your scars will fade. I hope to make your life so happy and comfy that you won’t ever worry about some little scars again.”

Cassie’s anger shot up. “Little scars?” she said giving him a push away. When Cash moved out of her space, she reached for the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up, exposing the six-inch scar running down the middle of her stomach. This scar was wider than the one on her face, not having been treated by the plastic surgeon.

Cash looked down at the angry mark. It was horrible to think of his mate split open, her organs exposed, her life hanging in the balance.

“Baby girl,” he said softly. He leaned down and even though a pair of hands hit his shoulders and tried to push him away, he wasn’t deterred. He kissed every inch of that red puckered line. His bear was furious in his head, hating the pain that came with that mark.

Cash let his head fall to her stomach after he’d traced the length of her scar. “Sprite, I will do everything in my power to ensure you are never hurt again. I know that sounds impossible, but I will wrap you in bubble wrap if I have to.”

Cassie saw this giant man trying to take her pain away with kisses. Promising her something that was impossible. Nobody could keep you from getting hurt. Shit happened.

“You can’t promise that. Nobody can. Everyone gets hurt,” Cassie said. She looked into his eyes, trying to show him that she wasn’t playing him. He was wearing every emotion in his eyes, and Cassie felt like it was her responsibility to protect him from the disaster that was her.

“No, Cass, not everyone. I’ve never been hurt. I’m one lucky bastard. I have a great life, a job I love and now have found my mate. My bear is beyond the moon right now. I can’t wait for you to meet him.”

Shit, Cassie forgot about the whole giant bear thing. “What kind of bear are you? I’m guessing there are kinds? I mean not everyone can be the same. Or maybe they are. What was that little one?” Cassie remembered it was brown and fuzzy.

“Maizy is a brown bear. Oddly Mallory, her twin, is a black bear. Odd since they are twins, but the fates match us with the animal soul that matches us the best. Sometimes it’s obvious why two souls were linked. I’m a big guy. Maybe that’s why they matched me with a grizzly.”

Cassie’s widened. She’d seen a nature show with grizzly bears. They were catching fish in a stream. They were tall and had huge claws.

“Holy shit, those things are huge. Like fucking car huge!” she screeched.

“Hey, I’m not as big as a car. More like a big boulder or… well, there isn’t really anything to compare to since most people use a bear as the thing they are comparing something to,” Cash explained.

“Hmm, makes sense,” Cassie said thoughtfully. She couldn’t let him get to her. He was sneaky with all the kissing and talking.

Cassie chewed her lip while looking at him, and then looked out the window. Edward had moved her bedroom around while she was getting her hair dyed this morning. The bed was pushed against the wall now, and an overstuffed chair sat by the window. She could see the light was getting low in the sky, the twinkle of twilight on the horizon.

She needed an out, some way to get him to take some time. Realize maybe he jumped the gun on this. Maybe his bear made a mistake?

“Can you give me a few? I, uh, need to use the restroom.” She figured that would give her some privacy. She was sort of wrong.

Cash stood up and scooped her into his arms gently, making sure her knee brace and leg were supported. “Tell me if this isn’t comfortable.”

“It’s totally not comfortable! You can’t just pick people up, Cash! Put me down. I have my crutches. I can get around just fine, thank you,” she said, slapping at his firm, muscled chest. Shit, that was sexy.

“You don’t need crutches if I’m here. Me carrying you, there is less chance of a fall. Besides you weigh as much as a kitten,” he said with a laugh. He loved having her in his arms. He could feel even as small as she was, her body was still curvy, or would be once she’d gained some weight.

His bear immediately conjured up an image of her round with his child. Him sitting with her in his lap and feeding her until she was round and glowing.

“I need to walk for my exercise. The PT said so. You don’t want to derail my recovery do you?” Cassie knew it was kinda of a low blow, but she was desperate.

“I’ll be attending all of your PT from now on so I can learn how to help you with your exercises when he isn’t here. We’ll be doing them every day to get you better,” he said like it was a done deal. Cash turned and started walking to the door.

“Do you have to duck through doors?” she asked, sidetracked as they got close to the door.

“Often,” he answered with a chuckle.

Cash pulled open the door, and Cassie caught a glimpse outside to the great room. She saw Connie, Edward, Wyatt, and Jinger all with their heads turned their direction. Cassie ducked her head into Cash’s chest. This was so not what she needed.

“Shit,” she whispered.

“I got you. This is all going to be okay,” Cash assured her.

Cassie sooo did not believe him. This was a disaster of epic proportions. And she didn’t think she was being the least bit dramatic.

Cash set her down onto the floor next to the toilet.

Cassie didn’t even give him a chance. “Cash Rochon, you go outside and away from the door. There are some things in this world that are private. And this is one of them. Go,” she said pointing to the door.

Cash kissed her on the tip of the nose and said, “I’ll go. But I can hear everything anyway. I’ll only stand on the other side of the hallway because I’ll be in here in half a second if you fall or need help.”

“Good, super, now go. Scram, shoo, adios,” she continued as he walked to the door and closed it behind him.