Bearview Bride (BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance) (16 page)

“Now?”

“Maybe you’d rather stay inside, but Ethan told me he saw a bear about half a mile from the lodge. If you think it’s too dark, we can just stay here.”

Tess grabbed her camera, pushing past him out the door. “There’s still some light. Come on!”

***

Cade had to jog to keep up with her as they entered the woods. “You do know what bears are, right?”

She gave him a scornful look. “Of course I know.”

“Well then you know that it’s not the best idea to run right into them.”

Tess scowled, but she slowed her pace. “I’m not afraid of them.”

“You’re not afraid. Of grizzly bears. Which are basically 400 to 800 pounds of solid muscle.” He loved this woman. But how would she react once she was actually face to face with a grizzly?

“Why would I be afraid? You won’t let anything happen to me.”

She said it so nonchalantly that it made him melt inside. And he didn’t need to do any more of that. He had mooned over her enough at the photoshoot that his brothers would undoubtedly make fun of him for weeks once they saw the pictures, mimicking his expressions and making kissing noises. But he couldn’t help it. He had never seen anyone as gorgeous as Tess had been in that dress.

Cade was glad she had agreed to star in the photoshoot. She was fierce behind the lens, unerringly confident. In front of it, he could see her softer, more vulnerable side. She wasn’t as fearless as she seemed, but then again, neither was he. Cade would do whatever he could to make sure she was safe and happy.

We will always protect our mate,
his bear rumbled.

Though Cade agreed, he told the beast to hush. The last thing he needed was to slip and say that Tess was his mate. A shifter would understand. A human woman, however, would most likely find the idea to be more presumptuous than anything else. He didn’t want to scare Tess away.

“Are you positive there are bears around here?” Tess asked, starting to slow.

Cade matched her pace. “I’m sure of it. We just have to find him.”

“Where do you think it is? Could it have run off by now?”

“This way,” Cade said, striking deeper into the woods. “Ethan said it was across the stream over here…”

She strode forth so eagerly that he had to hide a grin. Tess badly wanted to photograph a grizzly. And after all she’d done to help Bearview, Cade was going to make sure that happened. Even if he had to cheat a little.

The trees began to clear as they approached the stream. The water burbled by, rushing past the rocks. Cade wondered how the fish were running this evening.

Tess stopped short. She pointed, her finger trembling. Cade followed her gaze, pretending he didn’t know what he was about to see.

An enormous grizzly stood on the far bank, front paws in the water. Intent on the fish beneath the surface, it had almost submerged its snout. Its dark brown fur glistened with water droplets, and the hump of pure muscle between its shoulder blades spoke of its raw power. Most people would probably run screaming at the sight of it.

Not Tess. She positioned her camera, making adjustments with shaking fingers.

“That’s a huge bear!” she whispered. Cade could practically smell the keen edge of her excitement.

He smiled. Her joy almost took his mind off the permit fiasco. The failure still stung, like a thorn in his side.

“He’s about to catch something,” Tess whispered. She crouched low, steadying her camera.

Sure enough, the bear swatted at the water, flipping a huge trout onto the bank. The fish flopped, its rainbow scales gleaming in the last light of the day.

The shutter clicked as Tess snapped a photo. The bear looked up, swinging its head her way. Its dark brown eyes held her for a long moment. Cade could tell she didn’t dare to breathe.

At last, the bear looked back at its fish. Clubbing it with a giant paw, it began to eat.

“I can’t believe this,” Tess whispered. “I didn’t know they could get that big.” She took another photo.

As if annoyed, the bear looked over at them again. Pushing itself onto its hind legs, it reared to its full height. Baring its fangs, it let out a growl that made the ground tremble.

“Oh, this is too perfect,” Tess said.

Cade held back a laugh. He would have bet money that she would have run by now. Clearly, he had misjudged her.

Clickclickclick.
Her shutter was working so hard that Cade worried it might start smoking.

Across the stream, the bear seemed to be growing more irritated. It opened its mouth to roar, then charged forward. Fangs still warning them off, it splashed into the stream. The only part of Tess that moved was her finger on the shutter.

Cade watched her, utterly impressed. Had she known that was a bluff charge, or was she just that fearless?

The bear stood at its full height again. Cade shook his head. What a performance. Ethan was totally milking it.

“Do you think we should go soon?” he asked Tess.

“Just one more photo.”

Click. Click. Click.

They obviously had different definitions of “one.”

Feigning disdain, Ethan retreated. On the other side of the stream, he dug into his fish.

Tess continued taking photos like her life depended on it.

“It’s getting dark,” Cade said as the sun sank below the mountain.

“I guess.” Tess clutched her camera. Reluctantly, she stood.

Cade practically had to drag her away. Even as they were walking, she kept trying to take one more photo.

“Come on,” Cade said, “there’s no more light. There will be more bears this summer, I promise you.”

“You can’t promise anything in wildlife photography,” Tess grumbled. Still, she let him lead her back toward the lodge.

“There will be more bears. How do you think our lodge got its name?”

Tess went upstairs to put her camera away while Cade headed to the dining room. Ethan was already there, fastening his belt.

“You beat us back?” Cade asked.

Ethan winked. “Can’t let Tess get suspicious.”

“Thanks, Ethan. For everything. She was really happy to get those pictures.”

“I could tell.” Ethan grinned. “But I know you’d do the same for me. That’s quite the woman you have there, Cade. I don’t think there are many who would face down a charging grizzly. You’d better do everything you can to keep her.”

“I will,” Cade said fervently.

Ethan looked toward the door. “She doesn’t have any sisters, does she?”

Cade shook his head.

“Damn. Friends, then?”

“You’ll have to ask her yourself.”

Ethan began setting out the plates. “Maybe I will,” he said, voice low. “Maybe I will.”

Cade put out the silverware. As thankful as he was, he didn’t have time to help Ethan find a girl right now. In that challenge, his brother was on his own.

Chapter Fourteen

“
T
ELL US AGAIN,”
Sawyer said. “Just how large was this bear?”

“I don’t know.” Tess stirred her chili, still too excited to eat. “What do you think, Cade? It must have been at least ten feet tall on its hind legs.”

“Ten?” Ethan asked. “That’s all? I saw that bear earlier today, and I’d guess at least twelve feet.”

“Oh, Ethan exaggerates,” Dean said. “I bet it wasn’t over four. Some of the bears in these parts can be really shrimpy. Ow!”

“What is it?” Ethan asked.

“Nothing.” Dean winced, bending to massage his shin. “No one’s kicking me under the table.”

Tess laughed. Cade’s brothers were strange, but she liked them.

“Come on,” Cade said, “you know what they say. The bears are bigger in Yonder.”

“Why do they say that?” Tess asked.

“Probably because we have some big, ugly bears up in these mountains,” Dean said.

Julie sipped her coffee. “I’m sure it was a handsome bear.”

“He was,” Tess said fervently. “Very majestic.”

Down the table, Adam broke into a coughing fit. He quieted when Cade glared at him.

“We’ll have to see the pictures you took, Tess,” Sawyer said. “Then we can judge for ourselves whether or not this was a good-looking bear.”

Ethan examined his fingernails. “I’m sure the bear would love to hear what you think of him. But I’d be careful—if he overheard you, he might decide to drag you through the mud.”

“All right, all right.” Sawyer held up his hands. “You can put me down in the ‘majestic’ column.”

“Good.” Ethan smoothed out his napkin. “Tess, in all seriousness, I’d love to see some of the photos you got.”

“Sure!” Tess took a bite of chili. “I just have to look through them first.”

The conversation turned toward people Tess didn’t know, so she tried to eat the rest of her dinner without fidgeting. She was aching to go upstairs and load her grizzly pictures onto her laptop. Would they compare to her dad’s wildlife photographs? Though she doubted it, a small part of her keenly hoped that they would. She just wanted to make him proud.

Tess was startled by the clatter of silverware. It seemed dinner was over. The Boone brothers ferried their dishes to the kitchen.

Politeness warred with her desire to run straight to her room. Tess sighed. She couldn’t be rude. Not when the Boones had been so welcoming.

She walked into the kitchen, where Julie and Coop were already up to their elbows in dishwater. “Do you need any help?” she asked.

“Coop and I will take care of these.” Julie smiled. “Besides, don’t you have some photos to edit?”

“I do,” Tess said. “I’ll start on them right away!”

Julie probably meant the shoot with Cade, not the grizzly photos, but Tess would still take the opportunity.

She ran up the stairs, barreling into her room. Jamming her memory card into her laptop, she tapped her touchpad impatiently as the photos transferred.

There was a soft knock at the door. “How’s it going?” Cade asked.

Tess waved him in, intent on the screen. “I’m still waiting for them to load… Here they are!” She let out a whoop that made Cade jump. “Look at these!” Tess scrolled through the photos, hardly believing what she saw.

“Did they turn out well?” Cade sat on the bed, his weight cratering the mattress and making Tess slide toward him.

She grinned as she came to rest beside him. “See for yourself.” Tilting the screen so he could see, she went through the photos.

There was the bear, fangs in sharp focus, water flying off its fur as it roared. Even on a screen, it sent chills down her back.

“These are amazing,” Cade said.

“I know, right?” Tess shook her head. “I can’t believe that grizzly. I couldn’t have asked for better shots if I’d posed him myself.”

“Are you going to post some of these on the website?”

Tess shrugged. “I’m not sure if that’s what people want to see—they might think the bear looks too scary. Here, this one’s better. He’s just focused on the fish in this shot.”

“Yeah, use that one.” Cade gazed at the screen. “I wouldn’t want your time to have gone to waste.”

“Oh no, it wasn’t a waste. It was great practice.”

“For what?” Cade watched as she set the laptop on the dresser. “For when the next bride turns on you?”

“No, silly. For when I go to Africa.”

He kept his eyes on the laptop screen. “So you’re still planning on going?”

“Of course. I’ve only wanted to go my entire life.”

Cade nodded. “Won’t that be expensive, though?”

“Very. The flight alone will cost a couple thousand. Luckily, I have the money from this gig. And if I really,
really
needed to, I could sell one of my dad’s lenses.”

“For what, a few hundred?”

Tess laughed. “You have no idea.” From the case at the foot of her bed, she pulled out a lens. “This is a 300mm f/2.8L IS USM II telephoto lens.”

“Okay.” Cade blinked. “It sounds… nice?”

“It’s very nice. I could get five grand for it easy, even used. With the wedding gig money, that’s more than enough for an unforgettable trip.”

“That’s a great plan,” he said quietly. “It sounds like you have things all figured out.”

“I guess.” She set the lens back in its case. “It would be really difficult to part with my dad’s gear, but to have ten thousand dollars…” She lay back on the bed. “Not to mention the trip of a lifetime, of course.”

“Of course.” Cade gave her a tight smile.

Tess grabbed his arm, squeezing the hard muscle. “You just don’t want me to leave.”

His expression softened. “You’re right. I don’t.”

Casually rising, Tess walked to the door and leaned against it, pushing it closed. “I’ll be here all summer, you know.” She stood in front of him, inviting him to put his hands on her waist.

To her pleasure, he did. “Oh?” he asked. “And what do you want to do this summer?”

It seemed she had his complete attention. “Well, tonight I wanted to thank you for helping me get those grizzly pictures.”

“Don’t mention it. I was happy to help.” Cade flashed her a warm smile.

He was such a good man. “No, I wanted to
thank
you.” Slowly, she peeled off her shirt.

Cade gaped. She loved the way he looked at her, like she was the only thing in the world.

One by one, she undid the buttons on his flannel shirt. Cade shrugged it off, followed by his undershirt.

The rest of his clothes came off much faster. Soon enough, she had him sitting naked before her. By the way his cock had swollen, he didn’t seem to mind.

Licking her lips, Tess slid off her pants and underwear. She saw his cock twitch. Between her legs, she felt herself getting wet. She wanted him—his broad chest, his sculpted abs, all of him. But first, she wanted to taste him. Savor him.

Tess unfastened her bra, letting it fall to the carpet. Straddling Cade, she pushed him back on the bed.

“What are you going to do to me?” Cade asked, his voice taut.

Tess looked up at him. “Whatever I want.”

He let out an involuntary moan.

Tess’s heart beat faster. She ached for him, wanted nothing more than to pull him into her until she was sated.

Not yet
, she told herself.
Tonight is for him.