Ethan (Blackbeary Creek 1) by Ruby Shae Page A

and she left the bathroom, curled up on the couch, and instantly fell asleep.
    An hour and a half later, she woke to the sound of her stomach growling, and the bellboy’s previous reminder from Jasper floated across her mind. She picked up the room service menu, looked it over, and then called in her order.
    As she waited, she pulled her cell-phone out of her bag, and then cursed when the black screen wouldn’t turn on. She found the charger, plugged it into the nearest outlet, and then stared at the screen impatiently as she waited for it to come to life so she could input her password.  
    The loud knocking brought her out of her trance, and sent the phone flying.
    Tegan shook her head, and silently cursed as she raced toward the door. The fear that had plagued her for most of the day had been neutralized before she’d even made it to the hotel, and she had no reason to be so jumpy.
    You’re fine. You’re safe.
    She silently chanted the words in an effort to calm her nerves, unbolted the lock on the door, and swung open the wooden barrier as her stomach growled again.
    The room service attendant kept his head down, and nearly ran over her toes as he barreled into the room with the cart. Tegan jumped out of the way, accidentally letting the door go, and the attendant kicked it closed behind him.
    Shit!
    He definitely wasn’t a Locke employee.
    She made a break for the door, but the man caught her arm in his rough, calloused hand, and showed his face for the first time. She hadn’t needed to see it though; she’d recognized the scar across his knuckles as soon as he touched her.
    It was her horrible date from two nights ago.
    Tegan opened her mouth to scream, but before any sound could escape, his fist connected with her face. The whole left side of her face stung, but she brought her knee up and slammed it into something hard.
    Fuck!
    He was wearing a cup.
    Her knee throbbed, but that didn’t stop her from kicking at his knees and punching him in the gut. Unfortunately, he still held her arm firmly in his grasp, and though she made him lose his balance a few times, it wasn’t enough to bring him down.
    “I’m ready for you this time, you fat bitch,” he laughed, taunting her. “The sooner you stop fighting the inevitable, the sooner we can get this over with.”
    “I’ll never stop fighting you,” she said, punching him in the gut again.
    “Enough,” he yelled, grabbing her free arm.
    He expanded one hand around both of her wrists, and pulled her toward him.
    “I didn’t want to do this the hard way, but you leave me no choice,” he spat in her face. “You will learn your place, and give me exactly what I want, or you will hurt.”
    His free fist crashed down on her already bruised cheek, and then he let go of her wrists and pushed her further into the room. Her face felt like it was on fire, her vision blurred, and she reached out her hands, desperate to catch her balance.
    One minute she was falling fast, and the next she was motionless as another sharp pain seared through her skull. A loud, earth-shattering bear roar filled her ears, and then everything went black.
     
    ***
     
    Tegan opened her eyes and waited for them to adjust in the dark hotel room. The clock on the nightstand read five minutes after three, and she figured it must be three in the morning because not even a thread of light filtered through the narrow seam between the window and the room-darkening drapes.
    A blanket of warmth seemed to surround her, and she smiled, loving the comfortable, cozy feeling. She closed her eyes, nestled deeper into the blankets, and then froze when her ass came in contact with something solid.
    Suddenly, everything came flooding back, and she realized the warmth surrounding her wasn’t a blanket, it was a man. More specifically, the creepy date from two nights ago who had followed her to Maple Bear Falls, and forced his way into her hotel room.
    She needed to get out of here.
    Now!
    Tegan jumped up