Page 26

Harper

“Whoa…”

Bear Kieran was so damn big. No, red kangaroos were big, great white sharks were big, but a grizzly bear?

He was like a mountain on legs, massive, and right now, he was looking directly at me.

The neon lights picked out the brown highlights in his fur and I just stared, watching his sides heave, then those familiar golden eyes, locked with mine.

Right before he took a step forward.

My feet moved before my brain engaged, taking a couple of steps backwards. Some primal part of me that had survived tough winters in Europe knew what to do. I needed to get the hell away from the big apex predator, that’s what the adrenaline in my blood told me.

Only for Kieran to freeze on the spot.

Those massive shoulders slumped, and the cute little ears drooped. His head dropped down between his paws and as the silence dragged on, they shifted, ready to turn away from me.

“Wait…!”

My heart didn’t know what the hell I was doing. Walking away from the big bear unscathed was a win, but it wasn’t one I wanted to claim.

I wanted him.

It was that feeling, that this was right, that Kieran would never eat me, that had me moving forward, hands outstretched, though I stopped short of touching him.

For a moment, his heaving breaths and mine were perfectly in sync.

Then his little nose worked as he leaned forward and snuffled at my palms.

That was enough to have me moving. I ducked under his head, struggling to wrap my arms around that thick neck and failing utterly.

“Hey…” My goofy smile appeared unbidden.

“Hey, it’s OK. It’s just a shock, y’know.

Like seeing is different to knowing you turn into a bear.

I knew grizzlies were massive but…” I shook my head.

My eyes fought to take him all in, only able to focus on his plate-sized paws, his muzzle, those golden brown eyes and equally pretty fur, but not all at once. “You are so… big. Fluffy.”

His muzzle pushed into my hair, sniffing at my neck, and I couldn’t help but laugh at the ticklish feeling.

“Soft…” I finished finally, sinking my fingers into his fur. “So soft…” My hands moved of their own accord, mapping the shape of his huge skull. “And these ears.” So much smaller proportionally to the rest of him, I couldn’t help but trace the shape of them. “Oh my god, they are so freaking cute!”

I’m not sure if bear Kieran liked being called cute, because he let out a low huff at that, but then his muzzle pressed into my chest, doing his best to snuggle into me.

That had me giggling from the sheer cuteness of it all.

Apparently, that was enough to embolden him because he pulled back and licked the side of my face.

“Eurgh!” I spluttered. “How about we leave the kisses for the human side of you?”

He plopped back on his hindquarters, and if a bear could look quizzical, Kieran did right now.

“Or maybe I give you the kisses?” I moved in slowly, all too aware of those massive jaws, before pressing a tentative kiss to the top of his muzzle.

That was enough for him. As a voice came over the PA system, his jaws snapped down on the back of my shirt, then used it to fling me up on his back.

“OK, whoa, whoa!” That’s what people said when they had a feisty horse under them, didn’t they? “Nice… bear.”

“And we have this year’s contestants in the soon-to-be inaugural bear race,” the voice said.

“We’ve got the lovely Principal Ellie riding her mate, Cole, there.

” A gorgeous woman threw up an arm and waved from where she was perched on the back of a polar bear.

Lots of the young people in the crowd cheered. “Miss Freya riding River.”

Another girl looked up, blinking, seeming a little overwhelmed by the crowd’s responses.

The guy rattled off a few more names that everyone seemed to know.

It was then I began to question my life decisions.

I saw the way the women were perched on their mate’s backs, like they knew exactly what they were doing.

My arms and legs loosened, trying to imitate their partially crouched positions.

But I was learning a brand new skill in front of what looked like the entire bear community.

“Make them eat your dust, Kieran!” I turned to see Kim standing there, waving furiously, a wall of men at her back. Bear shifters, I corrected, seeing those familiar honey coloured eyes.

“And we do have young Kieran participating today,” the guy with the mic said. He shot me a rakish wink. “With his fated mate in tow. Will he win the day? Will she accept the bond? It’s all happening at today’s race, ladies and gentlemen.”

“Kieran! Harper!”

Kim had gotten all the ladies around her to start chanting our names, so absolutely no freaking pressure.

“Looks like they really want us to win this,” I murmured to Kieran.

The bear rumbled some kind of reply. “Ready to show these mutts what we’re made of?

” I felt his roar all the way down into my bones, especially when I was forced to grab at his neck to stop from falling back when he reared up on his back legs.

“OK, steady there, Bear Boy! If you’re gonna put me on my back, I prefer that happen in bed.

We can wallow in the afterglow after winning this race. ”

His paws hit the ground and the bear went perfectly still.

“Got your attention, have I? Well, I can think of a whole lot of other fun things we can do with your human side when in bed. Keep that in mind during the race.”

Apparently, he did.

When we were all called to the starting line, he whirled around, roaring at the other bears.

The far smaller, though still impressive, black bears shrank back instinctively, but the polar bear muscled forward.

It looked like he was a whole head bigger than Kieran, but my bear didn’t seem to care.

He met the polar bear’s ice-blue stare with growing hostility.

“Well, looks like everyone’s ready to go…”

The guy with the mic hadn’t meant to start the race, but it appeared the bears were simple creatures.

They heard the word go and took him at his word.

My hands grabbed hard at Kieran’s ruff, no doubt hurting him, but it was either that or slip off his back and onto my arse.

He declared his challenge to the entire oval as he strode across the grass, moving like the wind.

Another deep bellow made clear we had other contenders hot on our tail, but for now, we were in the lead.

Then I turned around to see the polar bear loping along, getting closer and closer.

“Ahh, Kieran…” That same instinctual fear was back. The polar bear was not my mate and therefore had no compunction in mistaking me for a particularly tasty looking seal. He’d gobble me up, then stride on to victory. “Kieran, ice bear on your six!”

Apparently, that was exactly the wrong thing to say. I was forced to cling like a monkey as he whirled around, ready to meet the enemy.

“Shit…! Shit!”

Kieran reared up, bringing me with him as my arms dug tightly into his neck, but while he was towering tall, the polar bear was taller.

The crowd roared along with the massive white bear, cheering them on.

No, stop doing that! I wanted to bark. Or at least wait until I got down.

I would never, ever take the ground for granted again.

Then the polar bear had to take a swipe at Kieran.

This is the way I’m going to die, I thought furiously, watching that shield sized paw come crashing down…

Only for Kieran to spin on a dime, presenting his rear end and then sending great gouts of mud and grass in the polar bear’s face with a scratch of his paws.

“OK, go!”

My grin was wild, just like it was every other time I did something utterly ridiculous, and this was one of the top three, because as I looked over my shoulder, I watched the polar bear scratch at his face, trying to dislodge the mess.

Black bears came streaming from behind the polar bear, starting to catch up, but that’s when I patted Kieran’s shoulder.

“Bring it home, Bear Boy! Get us over the finish line first and I’ll… see if I can get that baculum to come out and play.”

Apparently, that was the incentive he needed. Long, galloping strides took us closer, closer, something the black bears sensed. They put on speed in earnest now, closing the gap, but they didn’t know. Me and Kieran, we were a pretty good team, and right now, that made us the winners.

“Yesss…!” I shouted, throwing my arms up in the air as we strode over the finishing line. “Holy crap, Bear Boy.” I slid from his back, glad to have my feet on the ground now. “That was…”

Somehow it was easier to share the victory with the bear, not the man, because as he shook his head, Kieran reappeared.

Naked, skin flushed, chest heaving and grinning wildly.

Oh and naked, very, very naked. There were children here, so I shouldn’t have rushed forward, but I did.

Throwing my hands around his neck now? A whole lot easier than before.

His hands drew me closer, ready to press me against his body, when a familiar voice interjected.

“Congratulations!” Kim appeared at our side with a grin and then thrust some clothes at him. “Now pull some clothes on. There are children here.”

“So you won the race, did ya, son?” A man with the same dark hair and amber eyes as Kieran said. “A chip off the old block, you are.”

“A chip off this not-so-old block,” another man said, then held out his hand for me to shake. “I’m Jim, one of Kieran’s dads.”

Introductions were made, but I couldn’t have remembered anyone’s names if you asked me at gunpoint. My heart was beating too fast, racing to catch up with my head. That I was safe. No, better than that. That I was perfectly secure in the shelter of Kieran’s arms.

“Now, how about some victory drinks over by the bar?” one of the dads asked.

“I could just about murder a beer right now,” I said with a sigh.

“Atta girl!”

But before we could walk over to the tent, a man with long, dark hair jogged over with a gold painted plastic trophy.

“Congratulations.” He handed it over. “Seems like someone wanted to impress his mate.” He winked at me. “I’m Thorn.”

“And Harper is mine.” Kieran had pulled on a pair of sweatpants and now stood between me and the other man. “Your mate is over there, if I’m not mistaken.”

“Something I’m exquisitely aware of,” Thorn replied, his smile fading as he looked back at the bleachers to where a beautiful woman with red hair sat nursing a child. “As is Cole right now. I think he really wanted to win for Ellie.”

A tall, dark-haired man was cursing to himself as the pretty woman I’d seen riding the polar bear tried to get him to smile.

A kiss seemed to break him out of whatever bad mood he was in.

The whole world was forgotten as he tugged her closer, chasing more kisses.

Kieran’s arm snaked around my waist, pulling me into his side.

“Shouldn’t have gone against a grizzly then.

” Kieran’s cocky tone had me staring up at him.

“His polar bear could’ve knocked my block off, but grizzlies beat polar bears for speed.

” He glanced down at me, that smile warming me down to my toes.

“There was never any doubt that I’d win for you, Harper. ”

“Well, seems like a victory drink is in order,” I said, wandering off in the direction of the tent.

“Harper…” Kieran hustled over to my side. “I believe the prize for winning was discussed before this.”

“Beers first.” I poked him in his side. “Then blow jobs.”

I let out a yelp as he collected me up in his arms and carried me towards the tent.

“World’s fastest beer, coming right up.”