Loaded for Bear (Bear Country Grizzlies Book 2) Read online

Ethan muttered, heaved, and the trunk flew open with a screech. Kira yelped as it smacked her chin in a bright flash of agony, and clapped her hands over her face as blood flooded her mouth and spilled through her fingers. She cursed around the searing pain and awful taste, eyes watering and head aching, and retreated as Ethan stared at her in abject panic.

  She mumbled and leaned forward so the blood dribbled to the ground and not down her chest, irritated that her favorite shirt was probably ruined, and held up a hand to wave Ethan off as his face drained of color and he said something about a first aid kit. Kira steeled herself and tried what must have been a gruesome smile. "No, it's okay. I'm fine."

  But it came out garbled and apparently pretty unclear, because he swore and caught her arm. "Jesus Christ, I'm sorry. Come on, we have an infirmary."

  "It's fine," she repeated, leaning to spit a mouthful of blood onto the gravel. So ladylike. Mama would have been proud. She poked at what might have been a broken tooth, hoping it healed quickly so she didn't need braces again. "I mean, it hurts, but I'll be fine."

  Ethan gave her a disbelieving look. "You might have broken teeth or something wrong with your jaw, at least let me clean it up and —"

  Kira drew breath to really protest, knowing it was just a matter of time until the cuts and split lip healed themselves up. If he got a good look at how bad things were right away, he'd know she wasn't human if she showed up to dinner with no more than a couple of bruises. "Really, I'm fine —"

  But Simon appeared on the porch as Ethan dragged her toward the Lodge, and the dark-haired man stared at them both. "What the hell happened?"

  Ethan shook his head, still hustling Kira faster than she thought possible into the Lodge and through a huge great-room complete with sheepskin rugs and Adirondack furniture, and jerked his head at the car. "I got a little overzealous with the trunk. I'll check her over in the infirmary, if you can grab her bag out of the back?"

  Simon grumbled and muttered as he lumbered towards the car, and Kira held her breath as she blinked dark splotches from her vision. Maybe the trunk hit her harder than she thought. She managed to look at Ethan, puzzled as she tried to understand what the hell he was saying, before everything went hot and cold and loud and the floor reached up and grabbed her.

  Ethan

  Ethan could have kicked himself. The girl looked nervous as hell, though he couldn't quite figure out why, and it just got worse as she couldn't get the trunk open. He tried to help and instead managed to split her lip and probably break off half her teeth. He didn't want to go on the hike, but he didn't want her injuries to be the reason the trip was called off. Ethan wanted to smack his own forehead as the girl wobbled and her knees went out in the hall. Adrenaline, no doubt, and the shock of sudden injury and blood. He’d seen it happen often enough, it shouldn’t have surprised him.

  He lifted her up and carried her into the infirmary as she blinked at him with wide green eyes. Green as jade — dark, more like emeralds. He paused in the infirmary, staring at her as his bear began to pay attention. Ethan cleared his throat, and his voice came out husky and soft. "I really am sorry."

  She blinked, pupils dilated until the black nearly overwhelmed the green, and her nose twitched. "I really am fine."

  Ethan snorted, liking the comfortable feeling of her in his arms. As he struggled to think of what to say next, as his brain short-circuited and nothing seemed to work, Simon filled the doorway. "What the hell, man?"

  Ethan just looked at him, stunned by the way she smelled — a little wild, a little familiar. Fresh and new, like spring, with the dizzying sweetness of honeysuckle in full bloom. His mouth watered, just from looking at her and inhaling her. Kira stared at him, still hiding her mouth with blood-covered hands. He could have watched her forever.

  But Simon growled under his breath and smacked his shoulder. "Put her down, you jackass."

  Ethan lurched forward, closer to the hospital bed, and forced his bear back as the beast started to growl. He had to control himself. The girl didn't know anything about shifters, didn't know they were bears. And she'd no doubt have serious reservations about going on a hiking trip with a man who turned into an animal. Most humans didn't even believe shifters were real.

  Ethan cleared his throat and set her carefully on the hospital bed, not wanting to let her go, and squeezed her shoulder. "Here, let me take a look."

  She shook her head, still watching them both with wide eyes, and Ethan wanted to groan and hide in his room for the next week. Blood covered her hands, dripped down her wrists and forearms, and probably ruined her clothes as well. It no doubt splattered the hall and the entryway to the Lodge; Ethan thought he could hear Cooper cheerfully getting the mop and bucket out of the nearby utility room, and made a mental note to thank the kid for cleaning up.

  Simon frowned as he bent to peer at the girl's face. "If anything's broken, the nearest clinic is in town. If you need surgery, that's a couple of hours away. We can triage here — luckily, Ethan is the best doc we have."

  "Combat medic," Ethan offered, trying to sound competent and not like the dumbass who'd opened the trunk into her face. "Really, let me have a look."

  Kira took a shaky breath and slowly lowered her hands to her lap, though she made a face at the sticky mess on her fingers. She looked at them and opened her mouth, trying something like a smile. "How bad is it?"

  Ethan had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. It was damn gruesome, blood all over her chin and teeth and still dribbling out of her lip. Even Simon coughed politely to cover a chuckle and turned away, hiding a smile. She looked a little like an extra from a b-grade zombie movie. Ethan cleared his throat and tried to sound professional. "Not that bad, I promise. Let me just get some gloves."

  Kira half-groaned, half-moaned and covered her face again, flopping sideways and nearly falling off the bed. Simon traded looks with Ethan, then moved out of the way as his mate, Zoe, walked in, carrying a tablet and trying to ask Simon about credit card expenses. Ethan helped Kira sit up and she took a shaky breath, making a face as she lisped, "Thith feelth groth."

  Zoe looked up, caught sight of Kira, paled, and turned on her heel to retreat. Simon sighed, "She doesn't like blood. Call if you need any help," and went after her.

  Ethan pulled on latex gloves and retrieved a bag of saline and a couple of bowls, trying not to inhale too deeply from the girl's hair. He'd already knocked out some of her teeth; he didn't want to be too creepy. He cleared his throat as he tilted her chin up and started to rinse away the blood, having her hold the bowl under her chin to catch most of it. "I'm very sorry for this. Really."

  "That'th okay," she said with a sigh, though it came out a little wobbly with her rapidly-swelling lip. "I probably would have done it to myself."

  "You should get a better car." Ethan frowned and switched out the pans, leaning close to shine a flashlight into her mouth and check her teeth after having her rinse out her mouth. "I'm surprised that one made it up here at all."

  "Just a grad student," she said, blinking and wrinkling her nose as he fussed with her lip and jaw. "No money."

  He tried not to smile at the unevenly mumbled words. "There are a couple of farm trucks for sale down in Bear Creek. I'm sure we can trade yours in and at least get you something with a little more horsepower."

  Her dark eyebrow arched, then she flinched away from his touch as he poked her lip. "I won't be here long enough to need a truck. As long as the car can get down the mountain, I should be fine."

  Ethan's breath caught. Of course. She was just here for a couple of weeks. And even though he'd been looking forward to the grad student's departure, he and his bear started to fear losing Kira too soon. There was something about her...

  He cleared his throat. "Right. Of course. You probably don't need horsepower on campus, right?"

  She frowned, though it looked painful, and managed a shrug. "Right."

  Ethan willed away regret and the urge to ask her to stay, and focused on cleaning the res
t of the blood off her face and from around her teeth, trying to gauge whether any had been loosened. It looked as if she'd only split her lip and probably bit her cheek, though there had been so much blood... He'd been sure she'd lost a tooth or three. He forced a smile, hoping the bear would settle down, and switched out his gloves for a fresh pair. "I'll just put a little something on your lip, to keep it from bleeding, then you should be good to go. We have anti-inflammatories and some pain killers as well. How's your head?"

  "A little woozy," she said, and he glanced at her pupils once more. Back to normal, and sparkling like emeralds as well. Ethan wondered why he'd thought they were more like jade. Strange. Kira blinked and started to pat at her jaw. "Although I think the pain will kick in eventually, it wasn't as bad as it looked. I think."

  "Well, we might have to delay a day," Ethan said, applying a butterfly closure to where her lip split, trying to keep the wound together so she wouldn't end up with a gnarly scar, and might still be able to eat without agonizing pain in every bite. "Just to make sure you don't have a concussion or anything."

  "I'll be fine." She tried to smile and winced, then made a face. "But an icepack for my chin would be nice."

  Ethan finished up with her lip and retrieved an ice pack, wrapping it up in a towel before he handed it to her and started to clean everything up. He felt her eyes on him, her gaze silent and watchful. After a while, she said, "Do you have to do this stuff a lot? Medical stuff, I mean."

  "Every now and then." Ethan concentrated on lining up the pill packs in the cupboard, almost afraid to face those dark green eyes. He'd never been a coward, but something about that girl made him uncertain. The bear liked her. A lot. He handed her some wet towels so she could start cleaning up her hands. "Since it's a long drive down the mountain to the clinic, and tourists around here manage to twist their ankles and get stung by bees or surprise bears left and right, we figured it made sense. I already had the training, so might as well use it."

  "Huh," she said, and blinked long and slow at him. Almost sleepy.

  His heart sank. Just great. He'd probably given her a concussion as well. "Are you tired?"

  Kira closed one eye to squint at him, then tried focusing with the other eye. "I don't think so. It's hard to tell."

  "Hard to tell?" Ethan snorted, then picked up the ice pack to apply against her jaw and the growing lump under her chin. "Ringing in your ears? Nausea? Feel sweaty or clammy?"

  "Yes," she said, soft and a little hesitant.

  He stood there, trapped in her gaze, and could only stare into her bottomless eyes. Beautiful. Complex. Unique. Perfect. His heart jumped to his throat. She couldn't be his mate. The bear liked her because Ethan hadn't been on a date in forever. That was it. And he felt bad for almost breaking her jaw.

  But he could have stood there forever, just looking at her eyes and breathing in her scent, if not for Cooper leaning through the door. "Boss asked how things are going."

  Ethan jumped, putting himself between Cooper and the girl, and he had to clear his throat several times to get the growl out of it. The younger man's eyebrows rose as Ethan folded his arms. "I'm evaluating Kira for a concussion. We'll be done in a bit."

  "Roger," Cooper said, though he gave Ethan a skeptical look. "Is she going to want dinner?"

  "Yes, please," Kira said, leaning around Ethan's side to look at Cooper. "But you might have to puree it."

  The kid snorted, not bothering to hide his grin. "Soup for you? Got it." He retreated before Ethan could say anything else.

  Kira sighed, then started to wiggle to the edge of the bed, as if she would get up and walk away. "Grad students, you know? Any chance to eat..."

  Her feet hit the floor and her legs immediately buckled. She would have fallen in a heap if Ethan hadn't caught her, wrapped his arms around her, and held her to his chest. He took a deep breath, trying to memorize the way she smelled so he could find her anywhere in the world. He could track her to the ends of the earth, unless she got lost in a tropical paradise.

  He held her up and didn't want to let her go, particularly as her head rested on his shoulder and she sighed, content. But Ethan knew it wouldn't work. She didn't belong at the Lodge, and she had no plans to stay. She was there to do a job, that was it. So he took a deep breath to steel himself for letting her go, and carefully maneuvered her so she could lean against the hospital bed. Ethan held her face, pretending to evaluate her pupils, though his own racing heart wouldn't let him concentrate.

  "You okay?" he asked, wishing he could have talked about anything else.

  "Just a little shaky," she said. She touched her forehead and shook herself, as if fighting off disorientation, and she sat back on the bed. She maneuvered until she lay flat on the bed, instead of just sitting on the side, and looked around the room with a hint of uncertainty. "Can I rest here a bit? Until dinner?"

  "I'll bring dinner to you," Ethan said. He loved the idea of feeding her. But her dazed expression worried him. "But you shouldn't sleep, particularly if you've got a concussion. Just stay awake for a bit longer."

  "Right," she said, blinking long and slow again, and in a sudden rush that had him leaning forward, he knew he wanted to kiss her. Kira took a shaky breath, as if she were about to speak, then bent over and threw up all over his favorite hiking boots.

  Kira

  It was not Kira's finest moment. The room felt too small and the walls were too close, and with the taste of blood still coating her teeth, nausea bubbled up and overwhelmed her just as she debated kissing Ethan and blaming it on a concussion. Her ears rang and everything tilted and spun as Ethan reacted remarkably calmly. He retreated a little, though he continued to hold her shoulders so she didn't pitch forward on her face, and he called for the dude with the mop. The kid darkened the doorway, taking up even more of the small room, and Kira's heart started to race. The walls collapsed slowly toward her, the air grew as thick as tapioca. She couldn't breathe.

  Couldn't. Breathe.

  The air was too stale, recycled. Closed off. The lights buzzed and hummed, flashing and irritating, and she took a shaky breath, trying to reason her way back to calm. Everything would be fine. Just fine. She could get outside any time she wanted.

  Ethan tensed, kicking off his shoes, and bent down so he could peer at her face. "What's wrong?"

  "Can't — breathe," Kira managed to say, squeezing her eyes shut as the room started spinning and she felt suddenly cold, clammy and sweaty. She didn't want to barf on him again, but pressure built in her chest. Oh Lord. "It's too — hot."

  "Got it," he said, and she braced for some kind of oxygen mask, something that would feel even more claustrophobic. But instead, he picked her up like a baby and carried her down a short hallway, muttering to the mop kid before Ethan kicked open a screen door.

  And then — glorious air. Kira took a deep breath of the crisp air, carrying a hint of pine and wood smoke, and everything tense and tight in her guts relaxed. The jaguar part of her eased back from panic and took a waiting stance, still measuring and weighing the man who carried her. The jaguar liked him, but Kira couldn't figure out how much.

  As Ethan paused near a fire-pit, Kira realized her arms looped around his neck like a damsel in distress. She started to untangle herself from the near-embrace, feeling off-balance. "Thanks. I just need to sit for a second."

  "I know how you feel," he said, glancing around before carefully lowering her into a battered Adirondack chair next to the cold fire-pit. He retreated a few steps to sit on his heels, watching her. "Sometimes it's hard to breathe inside. Too many walls."

  Kira didn't want to like him. She didn't. Liking him would make leaving much harder, and she definitely had to leave. But there was something about his quiet watchfulness that appealed to the jaguar, that felt comfortable and familiar. Kindred. He moved like he knew how to walk through the wild parts of the world without leaving a trace behind, without disturbing the other wild inhabitants who shared that space. And he was definitely more
handsome than his initial scowl implied, with the beard shading red more than blonde when the fading light caught it.

  She blinked as he started to smile, and flushed more as she realized she was openly staring at the poor guy. She cleared her throat, wincing as she touched the knot on her chin and jaw where the swelling still worsened. It hadn't started healing yet, and the headache only got worse. "Sorry about your boots."

  "Waterproof and been through a lot worse," he said, waving her concern away. He studied her, though, and Kira started to get nervous.

  So she closed her eyes and tilted her head back against the chair, reveling in the fresh air and remarkably cooler temperature. She'd never spent any time in the mountains, but she definitely could. Maybe once she'd proven to Dr. Reston that she could manage the camera traps in remote locations, she'd get more assignments in the wilder national parks. Retreating to a mountain hideaway far from everything seemed like a perfect plan. Jaguars were usually solitary hunters. Loners.

  Except during mating season. Her cheeks warmed at just the thought. She wouldn't have minded a little company in her mountain hideaway, particularly someone who could chop a remarkable amount of wood and had medical skills to boot... She tried to bite her lip to keep a nervous laugh from escaping, but yelped as she bit down on a loose tooth and the ragged cut.

  Ethan's husky voice reached her through the blaze of pain. "Everything okay?"

  Kira managed to squint at him through teary eyes. "Just forgot about... thith," and she gestured at her face.

  It looked like Ethan smiled but tried to hide it, wiping at his mouth as he looked down at the ground. He traced shapes in the dirt near his bare feet, then glanced up at her. "Well, I have to keep you awake for a little while yet, so why don't we go over the plan for the trip?"

  "Sure." Kira started to push to her feet, trying to ignore the warning grumble in her stomach — it could have been hunger or more nausea. Either way, she didn't want to go back inside.