Rescued By Her Bear by Felicity Heaton

Chapter 11

Cameo hugged the cooling cup of coffee to her chest as she leaned against the kitchen counter, staring out of the picture window, watching Lowe. He had been standing outside the cabin in the centre of the clearing for more than an hour now, talking to Knox, and whatever they were discussing, he didn’t look happy.

A little over an hour ago, a woman had appeared from the direction that cabin faced, and Knox and Lowe had spoken with her, had looked as if they were going to run her off their land, but then she had pushed past the brothers and had gone into the cabin.

One of the neighbours that Lowe had talked about?

Cameo’s leg ached, a throb echoing along her bones, but she remained where she was, leaned her hip a little harder against the cupboard and kept staring out of the window. She wanted to know what was happening. She wanted to know what Knox was saying to Lowe to make him keep glancing in her direction.

They were talking about her. She knew it. Was Knox trying to convince him to make her leave? She set the coffee mug down and rubbed her right arm as she thought about having to leave this place. Would Lowe listen to his brother? She doubted it. Lowe wanted to keep her here, and she was beginning to feel it wasn’t just because he wanted to help her. This attraction she felt wasn’t one-sided. Lowe liked her too.

Cameo looked around her at the cabin.

This hadn’t been part of the plan.

While she could probably continue her job as a ranger if she lived in a place this remote, it would be difficult. She would have to spend her working days living somewhere closer to where she needed to be, which would only leave the days she wasn’t working for her to live here. Would that be enough to make a relationship with Lowe work?

She cursed.

She was getting way ahead of herself as always, planning things ten steps ahead, filling a mental binder with every little detail of how her life would work if she lived with Lowe.

She wasn’t even sure that he wanted more than a fling.

She wasn’t even sure she wanted more than that.

Her heart called her a liar. She did want something serious with Lowe. She was just scared of it happening. Her last serious relationship had been with Karl and that hadn’t exactly ended well for her. What if she fell in love with Lowe and he broke her heart? What if it turned out he was as controlling as Karl had been and tried to make her quit her job and do whatever he said she should do?

It was enough to have her taking a mental step back from Lowe, put fear in her veins and doubts in her head.

She was rushing things, and it wasn’t like her, but something about Lowe made her desperate. A little wild. A lot reckless. It was like he brought out a side of her that she had never realised existed. A side that was possessive and also protective, urged her to seize him in both hands and not let him go.

That possessive and protective streak roared to the fore as four men and a woman strode into view from the direction of the woods and Lowe and Knox turned to face them. Both brothers took a few steps towards them and held their hands up, a clear indication to the newcomers to stop where they were.

Who were they?

More neighbours from the south?

She didn’t like the way the men gestured at each other, their motions screaming of aggression. The woman she had seen speaking to Lowe and Knox appeared on the deck of the cabin.

A man with blond hair stepped up beside one who had hair a shade lighter, closer to the colour of Lowe’s, and stared Knox down.

They were going to fight.

Cameo couldn’t stop herself from hobbling to the door and opening it, her heart racing as she thought about the men coming to blows, thought about Knox and Lowe involved in a brawl against four men. She wasn’t sure what she intended to do, but she had to do something.

She stepped out onto the deck and limped forwards.

The second she clutched the post that supported the overhanging roof, Lowe looked across at her.

“Cameo, go back inside,” he hollered and then turned on the men and said something she didn’t hear.

Cameo looked to her right, at the ash-blond man who was staring in her direction too now. Lowe had been speaking to him. The man looked as if he was on the verge of throwing the first punch, which had Knox closing ranks with his brother and saying something to him.

Lowe flicked her another worried look.

Cameo forced herself to take the hint and go back inside, even when what she really wanted to do was storm over to the men and make them leave. She glanced back at Lowe as she reached the door and her heart shot into her throat as he peeled his black coat off and discarded it. The urge to make him stop flooded her, had her pivoting back to face him.

Things looked as if they were going to come to a head when the woman on the deck of Saint’s cabin hurried down the steps and pushed past Lowe and Knox, coming to stand in front of them. She argued with the four men, looked for all the world as if she was going to be the one to fight them.

If she did, she wouldn’t be alone.

Lowe stepped up beside her and said something to the men, but it didn’t defuse the situation. Were they arguing about the woman being on their land, with one of them?

One of the men, the tall one with dark hair, stepped forwards too and spoke to the woman with a gentle look on his face. Her slight shoulders shifted in a sigh and she said something back to him, and then tensed and spun on her heel to face the cabin.

Cameo looked there too.

Her eyes widened as a big man stepped out onto the deck, his presence seeming to defuse the situation, taking everything from a raging boil to barely a simmer as everyone looked at him.

Saint, she presumed.

She grimaced as her leg hurt and bent to rub just above where the ache was worst. Maybe standing on a deck in the cold wasn’t the best medicine for her injury, but she hadn’t been able to go back inside when Lowe had looked ready to fight. She glanced at him and frowned. Everyone was dispersing now, and the woman was going with the group towards the forest.

Lowe strode towards her, concern etched on his handsome face as he pulled his coat on and his pace picked up the closer he got to her. He swiftly took the steps up onto the deck and cupped her cheek, a tender gesture that flooded her with warmth and made her realise he really did have feelings for her and they were running along the same lines as hers were for him.

His hand was cold as he smoothed it across her cheek, as he angled her head back and looked down into her eyes, his blue ones warm with concern. “You okay?”

She nodded. “Just a little sore.”

He cast a worried look at her leg. “You’re sure you don’t want to—”

“No. I’m fine here.” She almost cursed when that came out sounding desperate, scared.

He smiled softly. “Almost sound like you don’t want to leave this place.”

It wasn’t the place she didn’t want to leave—it was him. He stared down into her eyes, a sharp edge entering his as they stood in silence, and she had the feeling he was trying to glimpse things she wasn’t ready for him to see yet.

She searched for a change in topic, glanced beyond him when the intensity of his gaze began to fluster her, and found it as the big brunet man she believed to be Saint finished buttoning a checked fleece shirt and stepped off his deck.

Heading in her direction.

“What was all that about anyway?” She looked back at Lowe.

He huffed. “Holly lives with our neighbours, but she’s taken a shine to Saint, and she came to see him without telling her friends. They were worried about her.”

“Is that Saint?” She jerked her chin towards the man marching towards them.

Lowe turned and didn’t look happy to see the man closing in on them. He pressed his hand to her waist and eased her back towards the open door.

“You go on inside. Get warmed up.” He frowned when she stood her ground.

She wanted to meet the man who owned this place and she had the feeling he wanted to meet her too. Going inside wasn’t going to stop this man. She could see it in his dark eyes as he turned a frown on her.

“Knox said we had company.” Saint’s deep voice rolled over her like thunder, a hard edge to it as he slid Lowe a look that told Cameo he wasn’t happy about it.

The second he placed a booted foot on the stairs that led up to the raised deck, Lowe turned on him and pressed a hand to his chest, stopping him. Something passed silently between them as they glared at each other, their faces stern and eyes dark.

Cameo had the feeling she wasn’t the only one with a deep protective streak.

Saint gave Lowe a hard look and tried to pass him, but Lowe didn’t let him. The man’s dark eyes shifted to her and he frowned, narrowing them on her. It didn’t go down well with Lowe.

He shoved against the man’s broad chest, pushing him backwards so both of his feet were in the snow again.

“We going to have a problem here, Lowe?” Saint slid him a curious look, one that had a sharp edge to it that screamed he didn’t like how Lowe was behaving and was close to putting him in his place.

“She’s hurt, all right? That’s why she’s here.” Lowe positively growled those words.

It wasn’t the truth. Well, it was, but he was omitting something important.

“I’m Cameo. I’m a ranger and… I’m in a little trouble. A lot of trouble. Lowe found me in the woods and helped me.” She limped forwards a step so she could see Saint better. “I don’t want to be a burden or cause trouble though. If—”

“You’re staying,” Lowe snarled and flicked her a hard look. “I said I would help you deal with this and I will. We will. Knox will help too.”

His blue eyes shifted to Saint.

“I’m keeping my word. Cameo stays here. I’m helping her with her problem and I suggest you don’t try to stop me.”

Saint looked as surprised as she was as Lowe issued that threat, as he squared up to Saint and glared at him, looking close to punching him.

“Lowe,” she said gently and he looked over his shoulder at her, the hard edges of his expression instantly softening. “I don’t want you to fight with your friends because of me.”

Saint looked from Lowe to Cameo and back again. “Getting awfully territorial for someone who doesn’t own this property. I have to remind you who does?”

This was exactly what she had feared. Lowe loved this place. It clearly meant a lot to him. She didn’t want him to end up kicked out because of her.

She hopped towards him and placed her hand against his back, on his left shoulder. It was tense beneath her palm, but as he looked at her again, his muscles began to relax.

He huffed.

“Cameo stays.” His blue eyes slid to Saint and his voice lost its hard edge. “I need her to stay.”

Saint stared at him for a few seconds and then nodded. “We’ll talk more about this tomorrow. I was going to suggest you come with me and Knox to the wedding celebration, but maybe it’s not such a wise idea. You stay here. Keep an eye on your guest. Make sure she stays inside.”

That sounded ominous to Cameo.

She didn’t get a chance to ask him what he meant by it though. He walked away from them, heading back towards his cabin, and Lowe was quick to help her inside. His grip on her arm was firm, but she swore his hand was shaking as he helped her to the couch.

Because he had gone from one confrontation to another?

He released her and closed the door, removed his jacket and hung it on the peg. He lingered with his hand on it for a few seconds before turning back to face her. His blue eyes held a worried edge as he ran his fingers through his blond hair, mussing it.

“You shouldn’t get into fights with your friends over me.” She couldn’t hold those words back, needed them out there, needed him to know that she hadn’t liked the fact he had almost come to blows with Saint.

He looked over his shoulder in the direction of Saint’s cabin and sighed. “I know. It’s not like me, Cameo. I swear, I’m not normally like this.”

When he looked back at her, his blue eyes were earnest. He closed the gap between them in only two long strides, dropped to his knees beside her and slid his hand along her jaw, turning her face towards him.

“Something about you… Cameo… you make me wild.”

A thrill bolted through her, set her blood aflame as his gaze fell to her lips.

Cameo leaned forwards and kissed him, because he made her wild too, made her bold and a little reckless. He groaned and slipped his hand into her hair, twisted it around his fingers and clutched it tightly as he stole control of the kiss, as his mouth mastered hers and he pulled her closer. She pressed her hands to his chest, trembled at the feel of the hard slabs of his pectorals beneath her palms and how fiercely his heart was beating, matching the frantic pace of hers.

She lost track of time as she kissed him, relishing every sweep of his lips over hers, every tantalising brush of their tongues that stirred heat in her veins, rousing a fierce need for more. She tried to twist towards him to get closer still, aching as fire swept through her, as her mind raced to imagine his hands on her bare skin.

Loosed a muffled grunt as that fire blazed up her leg.

Lowe set her back and looked down at it, and she cursed when she caught the look in his eyes, one that said a kiss was as far as it was going to go. She appreciated that he didn’t want to hurt her, but he had to know it was killing her to stop now, when she was just getting fired up.

“I should probably let you rest.” He didn’t look as if he wanted to do that, not at all.

The heat in his eyes said he wanted to kiss her again, that the God knew how many minutes they had spent kissing each other hadn’t been enough for him. It hadn’t been enough for her. She toyed with the buttons of his shirt, tempted to hook her fingers in the gap between the two sides of it and tug him to her to coax him into kissing her again. He must have read her mind, because he lifted his hand and curled his fingers around hers, his touch electric, sending a shiver bolting up her arm.

“How about I make us some lunch? I can get some steaks from the larder.” He drew her hand away from his shirt and swept his thumb over her fingers. “If you want, I can carry you out there. You could pick what you want from the shelves and the freezer. There’s an… ah… outhouse too.”

Just the mention of that made her think about how much coffee she’d had this morning and that instantly made her want to use the bathroom, something she had noticed his cabin lacked. It hadn’t been a problem before, when she had been slightly dehydrated, but it was a big problem now she had been guzzling coffee and he had put it in her head.

“That does sound good.” She glanced at the window above the kitchen sink. “But Saint said I had to stay indoors.”

Lowe huffed. “What Saint doesn’t know won’t kill him. He’ll be gone until late. We’re the only two here.”

It suddenly hit her that they were. She had been kissing Lowe for long enough that they were bound to be alone now thanks to the wedding on the property next door. No Saint. No Knox. Just her and Lowe in a cabin. The wicked glint in Lowe’s eyes said he had just thought the same thing.

She held her hand out to Lowe.

When he took it, she pulled him down to her and kissed him again, feeling a little giddy as he claimed her lips, kissed her hard and groaned in a way that sounded a lot like a growl. He swept her up into his arms, pulling a surprised gasp from her lips, and kept kissing her as he turned with her.

Disappointingly towards the door of the cabin and not the stairs to his bedroom.

“Let’s go raid the larder.” He grinned at her, dimples forming in his cheeks. “I have a recipe I know you’ll love.”

He was determined to make her eat, but she was determined to keep on kissing him, even if it was the only thing he would do.

“I know what I want for dessert.” She stroked the short hair at the nape of his neck and his gaze grew heated as he looked down at her and stepped out onto the deck.

“You do?” Lowe rumbled. “What’s that?”

“More of this.” She lifted her head and kissed him again.

His grip on her tightened, drawing her closer to him, and he groaned as his tongue tangled with hers.

He broke away from her and breathed against her tingling lips, “Sounds good to me. I want to spend all afternoon and evening kissing you.”

She shivered at that, the thought of lazing on the couch just kissing him warming every inch of her. She wanted more, but he was right. She was in no condition to take things further and the sensible part of her was finally making its voice heard, told her that taking things slow was the right way to go.

So kissing him would have to be enough for her.

For now.

But as soon as her leg was feeling better, she would let the wild side he had awakened in her out to play.

She would have all of him.