Bound To Her Bear (Bear Bluff Clan 1) (6 page)

“Eirik, you missed the turning,” she said.

“Sorry. Thoughts elsewhere.”

She slipped her hand across to lay it on his thigh, and then she began to inch up higher. He swallowed, trying to concentrate on getting them home. She wasn’t helping. Not one bit.

By the time he turned off and headed to Bear Bluff, her hand was stroking the hardness that his pants hid. Lazily moving up and down, while she looked out of the window into the night. Shifting his body, he thought about pulling over. He desperately needed some kind of release from the pent-up tension in his body.

Gripping the steering wheel harder, he watched the road, moving his hips in time with her hand. When she cupped it over the head of his cock and rubbed it very lightly, it was too much.

“Fuck. I’m going to come,” he said, the whites of his knuckles showing as he fought to keep control.

“Isn’t that the idea?” she asked, her voice so sexy he wanted to throw her in the back of the truck and fuck her right now. Instead, he came in his pants.

Swerving quickly, he pulled the truck over while he let his mind concentrate on exactly what her hand was doing. He thrust up to meet each stroke, and closed his eyes, gasping for air when he finally finished.

Looking across at her, she had a smug look on her face. He leaned across the seats and fisted her hair, groaning while he captured her mouth. His other hand went to her breast, and he caressed the soft flesh hidden from him beneath her clothes.

“I want you, Drew.”

“We have to go home.”

“I know. Meet me tomorrow.”

“Where?” she asked breathlessly.

“Same place as we met today. If nothing else, we can go up to the mountain.”

She didn’t ask him what they would be doing up the mountain; she simply nodded, searching his face for reassurance. But reassurance about what? She knew they weren’t fated to be together. Then he got it. She was worried he was taking advantage of her and was going to screw her and then run.

He leaned forward and tenderly kissed her. “No pressure. If you change your mind at any point, say the word and it will be over, and I will never bother you again if that is what you want.”

Damn, he hoped it wasn’t.

A new day. It felt like a new life. They had arrived home, trying to act normally around their parents. Not that they would have noticed. Their parents had spent the time Eirik and Drew were at dinner, going over old photos. It was amazing how much they had in common. And the great thing was that rather than dragging her dad back down into depression, the photos had made him happy. As though he felt it safe now to remember her mom without sadness.

“So what do you have planned?” her dad asked when she came into the kitchen.

“I have to work.”

“All day? Want to meet after work? I could walk down and meet you.”

“I can’t, not today.”
Why did she feel so guilty? Because you are planning to have sex with a man who is not your mate.

“You have to work late?”

He knew she always came straight home after work. But she didn’t want to tell him where she was going, or who with. Instead, she tried to be evasive. “No, I... I just have something else on.”

He came to her and looked her straight in the eye. “He’s a good boy, Drew. You could do worse than Eirik. But he’s not the one, is he?”

She should have known he would guess. It was too obvious. “No. He’s not. How can you tell?”

“There would be something more in your eyes. A light that burns for him. Only for him.” His voice drifted off. “Just be careful.”

“I will, Dad. Like you said, he’s a good person.” She couldn’t call him a boy. He was most definitely all man. “And how about you and his mom?”

“It was nice to talk to someone my own age. She said she would call around later and we might walk over to the library and then the bookstore.”

“Oh?”

“We thought we might start a book club.”

“A book club? That sounds like a great idea.” It meant he would get out and meet new people. Or old people that he no longer mixed with since his breakdown.

“Yes. Even if it’s only the two of us.”

“I could always print you out some flyers at work. I’m sure my boss wouldn’t mind. I can even give them out to clients.”

“I don’t know if I’m ready to socialise with too many people.” He suddenly sounded nervous.

“Look. I’ll print some out. I’ll put my number on them and that way you don’t have to deal with people. If you then change your mind about the whole thing, I’ll take their numbers and tell them it’s cancelled. How does that sound?”

“Scary.”

“You’ll do great. Really. I think it would be wonderful for you to have some kind of outside interest.”

“Well, I’m hoping to find a job.”

“I mean outside of the house and work. Have some fun. Eirik said you knew his mom years ago. And she’s on her own, too...” She stopped short, hoping the reminder of his loss hadn’t upset him.

“That’s what I like about her. She feels the same pain. There are not many in this town who do. She’s a woman filled with questions that will never be answered.”

“You mean about Eirik’s dad?”

“Yes. I think it made me see that we were lucky. We knew exactly what your mom was. No secrets from beyond the grave.”

“Oh, damn. I have to go,” she said, grabbing her purse and then kissing him on the head. “Have fun and think about the flyers.”

“Bye, honey. Be careful.”

“I will. Love you, Dad.” She opened the front door, ready to leave and then came back to him. Kissing him on the cheek, she said, “I am incredibly proud of you.”

He smiled at her. “I want to make the most of what I have left, Drew. You are everything to me now.”

She squeezed his hand, feeling tears pricking her eyes. “Bye,” she said, dashing out and closing the door behind her, not wanting him to see her cry.

Once outside, she gave herself a minute to catch her breath and give some thought as to how the day was going to go. Not that she had thought of much else since Eirik had dropped her home last night. If it went the way she thought it would, she would be making love to Eirik on top of the mountain today.

Feeling a little nervous, OK, a lot nervous, she started to walk to work, hoping that might calm her down and take her mind off Eirik. But all the time images of him kept sneaking into her head. Images of him naked and diving into that deep pool of water. Images of his cock as it bulged in his pants when they were in the restaurant. How big was he?

Her mouth was dry and she stopped at the corner store to pick up some peppermints. While she stood waiting to pay, she felt someone behind her watching her. Turning, she couldn’t believe it when she saw Eirik.

“Are you following me?” she asked.

He grinned. “As a matter of fact, I am. I thought I would walk with you. I’m heading over to see Stuart.”

She paid for her peppermints. “So you are going to go and tell him you are the right man for the job.”

“Yes. How do I look?”

She ran her eyes down over his body, trying to look at his suit rather than imagining him naked. “Very businesslike.”

“Good.” They walked along the street before he asked, “Are you still free this afternoon?”

“No.”

He stopped. “You’ve changed your mind?”

She turned to face him, stepping very close to him and said, in what she hoped was a sexy voice. “No. I haven’t changed my mind, which is why I am not free. I am meeting a smart, sexy guy.”

“Funny.” He sniffed the air, breathing in her scent and then bent and whispered in her ear, “I can smell how much you want me.”

She hit him playfully with her purse. “Stop it.”

“Why?”

“Because I have to go to work.” They were standing outside the office, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see her boss, Arnold, watching. “Please don’t do anything that will give him the wrong idea.”

Eirik smiled mischievously. “If I do anything, such as kissing you or stroking your skin, wouldn’t it be giving him the right idea?”

“You know what I mean. I don’t want to spend the whole day trying to fend off his questions.”

“No. I want you to spending the whole day thinking about me and what I’m going to do to you later.”

He held out his hand as if offering to shake it. She looked up into his face, trying to read what he was thinking. She slipped her hand into his. Instantly, a kind of electricity passed between them. His thumb brushed her skin and then he simply said, “Goodbye, Drew.” He let her hand fall to her side and then walked off, raising his hand to her boss in greeting.

Drew tore herself away, although she wanted to stand there and watch him leave until she could see him no more. Opening the door to the office, she walked in, feeling Arnold’s eyes on her. He was itching to ask what she had been talking to Eirik about, but he was too discreet to ask.

Putting her purse away in her desk drawer, she went to make coffee, throwing out the grounds and making it all fresh. Her boss pretended to work. Or perhaps he was working, but he kept casting glances her way. She would have to tell him something or risk him making up a rumour. He would only have to mention it to his wife and it would be all over Bear Bluff. But what to say?

“There we are. Nice and hot.” She place the mug down onto his desk. “Is there anything special you needed me to do today?”

“No. Just the usual. I have a client to visit at eleven thirty. So you will need to hold the fort.”

“Sure. Oh, I nearly forgot. Can I run a few dozen leaflets off? I’ll pay for the ink and paper.”

“What sort of leaflets?” he asked, his face taking the look of a bloodhound on a scent.

“My dad and Mrs McCormac are planning to start a book club.”

“A book club?” he asked, knowing an imagined titbit of juicy gossip had slipped away.

“Yes. They are both recently bereaved. You heard about Wayne McCormac?”

“Yes. Sad business.”

“Well, they figured they needed something to keep them busy, so they are going to start a book club.”

“How exciting,” he said returning to his work. “Of course you can use the printer. Don’t worry about the ink.”

She smiled to herself. That had put him off the scent. Drew sat down at her desk, sipping her coffee and trying to get her head back into the office. A hard task, when all it wanted to do was run wild on the mountain with Eirik. But instead she found herself thinking about him and his meeting with Stuart McCormac, chief of the Bear Bluff Clan.

Eirik decided that today was either going to be the best day, or the worst day, of his life. If everything went right, he was going to spend the evening with Drew beneath him, making love under the shadow of the mountain. It was that thought that kept him going when he wanted to turn around and go home. But the need for her propelled him to take a chance and approach Stuart McCormac.

“Eirik,” Stuart said, extending his hand. “How are things going? I didn’t expect to see you for a few days after the council meeting yesterday.”

“I went home and started sifting through the papers we discussed. There are a couple of points that worried me.”

“I see,” Stuart said. He sat down and offered the seat opposite him to Eirik. “Let me see if I can help you. I realise some of the Clan’s affairs can be complicated.”

“It’s more than that, Stuart.” Eirik always felt awkward calling him by his Christian name. He felt as though he should call him “uncle” out of respect, or even Mr. McCormac.

“Tell me.”

Eirik took the papers he had been working on out of his briefcase. “It’s these rents. They haven’t been increased for years. And I know that the price of grain has gone up by 30 percent in the last five years. I don’t think it would cause the tenants any hardship if the rent rose.”

Stuart picked up the papers and looked at them. “I know this farm well. Very productive. Quite an oversight for the rent not to have risen in line with prices, don’t you think?”

“Well, to some extent, yes. Although some years the yield isn’t so good. I would take the rent along these lines if it was me.” He handed Stuart another piece of paper with his calculations on.

“If it was you.” Stuart leaned back and studied Eirik, who really wished he had decided to give this a miss. “Eirik. How do you think you are getting on in your role on the council?”

Eirik now knew he had overstepped the mark. “I hope I’m doing a good job. It’s my intention to serve the council as my forebears have.”

“Really.” He paused before going on. “Eirik, I watched you grow up, I followed your progress at school. Not just through your father, but directly.”

“I’m honoured you showed an interest in me, sir.”

“Stuart,” he said firmly. “We are as equals now, Eirik.”

Eirik sure didn’t feel like an equal; he felt more like a schoolboy again, the one his uncle had watched from afar. “Stuart. I’m sorry. Old habit.”

“Look. I understand how tough these last few months have been for you. But you are a capable young man. If I didn’t think you were up to the task, I would have appointed someone else. I know we have a tradition, but sooner or later, we have to move away from that. So I want you to know, it is only through your own capabilities that you are sitting here now.”

“Thank you.”

“But sometimes I feel as though I am the only one to believe in you.”

Here it comes, Eirik thought. “The other council members have their reservations?”

“One in particular.”

“I see. Would it be easier if I resigned?” This was not going as he had hoped.

“No, Eirik, it wouldn’t. You see,
you
are that council member.”

Eirik sat in silence, letting Stuart’s words sink in. He was right. Out of everyone, he was the person who didn’t think he was up to the job, and yet he had started to realise he was wrong. The rents proved that he could do the job. “I see that. But I came here to ask for greater authority. I want to be able to deal with some of these things as they arise.”

“And that is what I want, Eirik. I need to delegate. I cannot watch over every aspect of the Clan. This is your job, as it was your fathers before him and his before that. I want you to take control. But only if you believe in yourself. Can you do that? Because if you don’t, no one else will and you will have a battle on your hands trying to deal with these people. They will think you’re weak and I know you are not.”