Dare to Bear (Book 1 Trail Guardians Series) by Christine Julian

of satisfaction and adoration.
    She admired his perfectly muscled torso as her gaze drifted downward. Sure enough, a wet circle stained the front of his pants, where his enormous erection still stood at attention. It bolstered the truth of his claim: your pleasure is mine .
    Unheard of, she thought, practically stupefied. How had her climax had triggered his, when all she’d done was lie back and revel in the expert caress of his tongue?
    Even though he’d given her a spectacular orgasm as well as a much-needed boost to her confidence, it wasn’t enough to keep her from instinctively covering up her plump nakedness from the waist down. She snatched her panties and shorts and ducked into the shadows to dress.
    He frowned. “Why would you deprive me of your beauty?”
    “Stop,” she murmured, the heat of embarrassment crawling across her skin. She couldn’t believe she’d let him go down on her, as if she did that kind of thing every time a gorgeous guy got her alone. That damned scent had hypnotized her, or something. She was mad at herself for succumbing so easily, and mad at him for no good reason. Well, maybe one good reason. “We both know I’m not the type of girl that guys like you find attractive.”
    “Excuse me?” His voice rumbled through the cavern. When he stood, his posture appeared nearly menacing. “Did I not just prove you are everything I crave?”
    The sound of his resentment stoked the fire of her resistance, and the need to demonstrate she wasn’t some tramp who let guys seduce her so easily. Why the hell did I just let that happen? “You proved you could put my pleasure before your own. But it’s not like this is going anywhere. In another two days you’ll be at the next post and I’ll be leaving the trail. Don’t get me wrong, what just happened was nice, but—”
    “Nice?” he bellowed.
    “Sorry, I wasn’t saying it was a bad thing. It was amazing, actually, but it doesn’t matter. You don’t need to prove anything to me.”
    “It doesn’t matter ?” He pointed a finger at the juncture of her thighs where he’d buried his face and made her come. “What we shared meant nothing to you?”
    Of course it meant something, though she couldn’t explain why she’d let down her guard. It might have been a mistake. One she didn’t regret, exactly, but his unexpected fascination with her would pass. All too soon, she thought, slightly depressed by the notion, but she couldn’t set herself up for another heartbreak on the heels of the one she’d just endured.
    “What do you want me to say, Mason? That I’m madly in lust with you, and because you gave me the best oral sex of my life without asking for anything in return, we’ll go off and live happily ever after?” When she put it that way, it almost sounded tempting.
    “That’s a decent start,” he snapped.
    She blinked at him. Had their sexual encounter meant that much to him? It just didn’t make sense. Most guys would be thrilled to have a quick fling and move on. Right?
    He paced and dragged his fingers through his hair. “Forget it. I’m going out.”
    “Outside, in the pitch dark? For what?”
    “I need to cool off.” He seemed so offended by all her responses she had no idea what to say. “I’ll be back before morning.”
    “I hope so,” she said, worried.
    “Do you?” He shook his head. “Don’t answer that. Get some sleep. We have a major hike ahead of us tomorrow.”
    Then he stormed off into the night.
     
     

5
     
    A few feet from the cave, Mason shifted into bear form. He bolted at a full run.
    His claws dug into the earth, kicking up reams of dirt behind him. Branches scraped him, catching patches of fur as he barreled through the trees.
    He felt punished by the heartbreak in her past. Unfairly judged by standards he hadn’t created or deserved, but fell victim to anyway.
    The sinister urge boiled up inside him to track down her ex-fiancé and tear the flesh from his bones.
    In the middle of