Riding Bearback (BBW Shifter Cowboy Romance) (Bear Ranchers Book 1) Read online

  She jumped and dropped her wrench. “Shit!” Brett stood there, his arms crossed, looking none too pleased with her.

  “Why are you still here?” he asked sullenly.

  “I was just working.” She stood up so he wasn’t looking down at her.

  “It isn’t your job to work on that car.”

  “I know. But I’ve worked on the same model so I figured I’d help out a bit.”

  “Go home, April. I’ll check your work.”

  “It’s good work.”

  “I’m sure it is.” He walked past her, and recoiled when their shoulders brushed.

  She wanted to ask what the problem was but she couldn’t bring herself to deal with his response. She put her wrench down and walked out of the garage.

  Tyler was perhaps the biggest flirt she had ever met in her entire life.

  He was funny, and sweet but goodness did he know how to flirt. April constantly found herself blushing at his words. She thought that blushing had been crushed out of her after college. Apparently not. But every time Tyler put his hand on her back, or her thigh, or their fingers brushed as he handed off a drink, she could almost feel Brett’s gaze attempt to burn a hole through her.

  Brett was still ignoring her at work. Sometimes that made things easier because she wasn’t sure if she wanted to punch him or kiss him. If she was honest with herself, she wanted to kiss him. He was so sweet to the elderly customers who came into the shop. He never attempted to swindle anyone if they didn’t know what was going on with their car. He was honest, and kind and watching him take apart an engine turned her on so much.

  Tyler was sweet, sure, but he was a lawyer. He had never worked on a vehicle that wasn’t his motorcycle in his whole life. She couldn’t imagine Tyler covered in oil and sweat the way she saw Brett every day. She had a crush on her boss and it was killing her.

  As the night wore on, and people drank more, someone switched on a top-20s playlist and a few people started to dance. Tyler tugged at her hand. “Let’s dance!” She had had enough to drink to be amenable to the idea.

  She laughed. “I’m a horrible dancer.”

  “I bet you’re not,” he said. And he was right, she had been in dance classes and was a cheerleader as a young girl, but she just didn’t want to dance. Not with Tyler anyway. He gave her puppy dog eyes and she sighed. “Fine, I’ll dance with you.” She let herself be dragged out onto the dance floor and even let Tyler put his hands on her hips to guide her through the music. He had rhythm, she couldn’t deny that.

  They went through two songs together, and April tried to ignore the eyes she felt on her. She knew if she looked up that she would see Brett’s angry gaze. She rolled her eyes. Whatever. If he wasn’t going to make a move on her then she was allowed to do whatever the hell she wanted. Besides, the only thing that connected them was the night in the parking lot and the fact that he’d been acting like a sixth grade boy for the last two weeks.

  “Tyler, mind if I cut in?” Her head snapped up at the sound of Brett’s voice.

  “Go ahead, man.” Tyler stepped aside and Brett took his place.

  Brett’s warm, calloused hands replaced Tyler’s on her hips and she took a deep breath. She continued to dance, trying to ignore the heat from his hands. He slowly moved his hands up her waist, and then back down again. His fingers dug into her hips, and she gasped out loud.

  She backed into him slightly, closing the gap between their bodies. Her back was pressed against his solid, strong front. He held her in place by her hips, and slowly moved with her. He leaned in, his breath on her neck and ear. “Don’t ever dance like that with another man in front of me.”

  The possessiveness of his voice made her gasp. She wasn’t sure if she was completely turned on or if she wanted to argue that he didn’t own her and she could do whatever the hell she wanted. His lips brushed against her jawline and her legs almost buckled.

  He held her up, and managed to get her through two more songs until he stopped and guided her outside to the parking lot. He took her keys out of her pocket. “You’re not okay to drive,” he said.

  “I’m fine.”

  “I watched you take six shots. I’ll drive you home.”

  “You’re the designated driver!” He nodded. He helped her into the passenger’s seat and he got into the car.

  “Directions?” he asked, still not looking at her.

  She gave them to him. After a moment of silence she asked, “Why do you do that? You’re all like ‘April, no dance with other men besides me’ then you’re giving me the silent treatment. You did the same thing after the motorcycle ride.”

  “We shouldn’t be doing this.”

  “Says your weird code or whatever. What about if I want to?” He didn’t respond, but his knuckles tightened on the steering wheel.

  They were silent until they pulled into the house that once belonged to her parents but was now hers. He helped her out of the car. “How are you supposed to get home?” she asked.

  “I will, don’t worry.”

  They stood there on the step. Brett took her keys from her and opened the door before handing the keys back to her. “Thanks for driving me home,” she said, not quite sure what to do.

  “No problem.” Before he could turn away, she stood on her tip toes and planted a kiss right on his lips. He returned it for a moment before taking her by the shoulders and pushing her back. “No, April. We really can’t do this.”

  He gently pushed her into the house and shut the door.

  April woke up with a massive headache the next morning. She showered quickly, and got dressed. Then drove to the garage. She got to work immediately, ignoring the pounding in her head and the tingling on her lips that reminded her of Brett’s kiss.

  Every time she saw him he turned away quickly, refusing to make eye contact with her. As the day passed, she got angry. They kissed! He danced with her and drove her home! There was something between them and for some reason he wasn’t admitting it.

  By the time closing time rolled around, April was primed for a fight. She was angry on two levels: one, what the hell was with his hot and cold nonsense? And two, if she had to do another oil change she would put her head through a wall. Brett saw what she could do the other night. He watched her work on his precious 600-Grosser. Stupid car was a waste of time. She wasn’t even sure why he would want to deal with it. But he had been stuck for days and she fixed the problem. But here she was, doing oil changes even though he had promised that he’d let her work on actual jobs.

  Brett always closed up, so she waited. She watched as everyone slowly clocked out. Her body was wound. Finally, the last mechanic left and it was only her and Brett. She left her area and headed to the part of the garage where she knew he’d be. He always finished the day working on his Impala. A much better car, in her not so humble opinion, than the Grosser.

  He was rubbing a cloth along the hood when she found him. “Hey, Brett. Can we talk?”

  He didn’t look up at her. “What do you want, April?”

  She didn’t understand that attitude. He was making her insane. He was the most hot and cold man she had ever interacted with in her life. She had planned on being calm about the whole thing, civil even, but something in his tone made her snap. She would deal with the work problem first, and then everything else.

  “I need you to give me actual work! I’ve been doing oil changes for a month! That’s insane. You’ve seen my work on the restorations. You know I’m good. Hell, you respected my dad’s work. Why can’t you respect mine? And what the hell was with last night? You danced with me, not the other way around. This isn’t my fault.”

  “I do.”

  “What?”

  “I do respect your work.”

  “Then why am I stuck performing oil changes when I could be making you guys money with restorations?”

  He looked up at her. His deep brown eyes had fire in them. “You’re stuck doing oil changes because every time I see you I want to j
ump you and I can’t exactly do that with the rest of the guys around.” His voice was husky and sent desire shooting through her core.

  “You want…”

  “You.”

  And then he was on her. He picked her up easily. As tall as she was, she felt so dainty in his arms. He sat her on the hood of the Impala he had been working on and leaned over her. He was so large that he practically eclipsed her view of everything else around her. Her heart pounded in her chest. Was she attracted to Brett? Hell yes. But what about Tyler? He was Brett’s friend and he obviously had a crush on her.

  But all thoughts of Tyler were swept from her mind when Brett pressed his lips to hers. He somehow tasted both sweet and masculine, and he was completely overwhelming. Her legs went around his waist as he ravaged her mouth. His tongue explored mercilessly. Her fingers gripped at his shirt, needing him closer. He rocked against her, placing just enough friction against her core to make her want more but certainly not enough to satisfy her in any way. “I’ve wanted you since the night in the bar when I took you around the parking lot on the motorcycle.” Her breath hitched at his words. “Every time I see you,” he took a labored breath, as if confessing something big. “I want to push you up against something and have my way with you.”

  His hand went to her breast and he kneaded it through her shirt. She arched into him, demanding more. She had never wanted a man so badly. The heated looks that they had been exchanging for weeks, the dance at the bar, it all culminated in this and she felt like she was going to explode with need. “Here I am, have your way,” she hissed as his tongue circled her nipple. He moved back up her body, giving her a searing kiss that made her insides boil.

  “Brett,” she whispered against his lips. He broke away for a moment. “Fuck me.”

  At her words, his eyes changed. He seemed darker almost, scary instead of the normal jovial Brett. His lips crashed down onto hers and one arm wrapped around her back, pulling her into him. She was amazed by his strength. He moved her around like she didn’t weigh anything. His fingers made quick work of the buttons on her shirt. He pushed it off her shoulders and she pulled it the rest of the way off, tossing it to the floor of the garage. She was wearing a bright red bra, and she silently thanked the powers that be for making her pick a matching bra and panty set that morning.

  He yanked her bra off too, and she cringed as she heard fabric rip. She had liked that bra, but somehow having Brett’s hands on her was more important. He leaned back slightly, observing her naked breasts. “Fuck,” he groaned. “You’re gorgeous.” She didn’t have a chance to thank him for the compliment or even wave it off. His tongue was back in her mouth in an instant and his hands gripped her breasts. He rolled her nipples between his thumb and forefinger, making her moan. Desire sped through her, pooling in the pit of her stomach.

  His lips left hers and he kissed her jaw, then her neck, and sucked on her pulse point. “Take your shirt off,” she muttered. He looked up at her from between her breasts, and pulled the shirt over his head. She clawed at his bare back as he captured one nipple in his mouth. As his tongue laved against the tender peak of her breast, his hand moved down her stomach and slowly unbuttoned her pants. She reached down and pushed them off her legs. One hand left her breast and moved between her legs.

  She gasped as his fingers spread her wet folds. The tips of his fingers explored her wetness before moving to the tiny nub of nerve at the top of her slit. She bucked wildly against him as he pressed down against her clit. It was almost too much. Pleasure mounted in her as he circled the tiny bundle.

  Her hands went to his wrist as if to slow him down, but he didn’t stop. “Brett, I’m going to—fuck!” The orgasm crashed over her. Her grip on his wrist tightened and he captured her lips with hers. Her eyes fluttered shut as he pulled her closer.

  As the orgasm died down, he slowly released her, lowering her back onto the hood of the car. She let go of his wrist and his hands went to her face. “Wow,” she whispered. Suddenly, he went stiff. The easy masculine pride that she saw in him after he made her orgasm was gone. “What’s wrong?”

  He looked away from her. “We shouldn’t be doing this. I’m your boss. If anyone else found out—“

  He took a step back from her. She reached out to grab hold of him. “It doesn’t matter. Let them talk. I don’t care.”

  He looked at her sadly. “It would hurt your career. No one would take you seriously.”

  He turned away from her and walked out of the garage before she could reply. She pulled up her pants and put her shirt back on. She wasn’t sure if she was more furious or flattered that he cared that much about the repercussions of their involvement. As she picked up her ripped bra she decided she was furious. Leave it to a guy like Brett to decide what was best for her career right after he had given her the most amazing orgasm of her life.

  She huffed and turned around. “Men.”

  The next morning was miserable. She almost called in sick to work, but she wouldn’t give Brett the satisfaction. She worked diligently but he never approached her. In fact it didn’t seem like he was at the garage.

  It was well past noon and she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of her boss. Finally, she went into the office to ask about his whereabouts.

  “Where’s Brett?” she demanded almost immediately upon entering the small room.

  “I’m not sure. He just called this morning and said he wasn’t coming in. Must be sick or something. I’ve known him for years and he’s never been sick before, so it had to happen sometime.” Greg shrugged. April scowled. She wanted to know what the hell happened last night. After thinking about it all night, part of her was embarrassed, and the other part of her was angry.

  “Could you let me know if he calls?”

  “Why?” Greg looked at her suspiciously, as if he knew her intentions weren’t simply to make sure he was okay.

  “I just want to check in about ordering some parts and Brett always wants me to run those orders by him.”

  “Oh, okay. Sure thing. If he calls, I’ll get you on the phone.”

  “Thanks, Greg.” She walked away, scowling.

  She needed to talk to him. She wasn’t sure what she was going to say exactly, but she needed to speak to him. She wondered if Greg would give her Brett’s number, or if he would be at the bar tonight. She doubted he would be, especially if he was trying to avoid her.

  There was one option left, and even thinking about it made her feel insane. But she wanted answers, and she wanted closure. Mostly she wanted to yell at Brett for being a high handed idiot. She was a strong independent woman, damn it, and she could make her own decisions about fucking her boss.

  She waited until right around closing time, and then prayed that Greg had to use the bathroom. Finally, he left the office and she walked right in and went to the file cabinet. She flipped through the personnel files until she found Brett’s. She pulled out the forms and looked at the address. She repeated it a few times, trying to memorize it.

  She slid the file back in its place and quickly left the office. Instead of staying late like she usually did, she left right on time, and drove to the address on Brett’s file.

  She took a deep breath, steeled her nerves and got out of her car. She knocked on the door tentatively. It opened a moment later, and Brett stood there in a pair of sweatpants and a worn grey shirt.

  “April?” he looked incredibly surprised to see her. She hoped she could use that to her advantage.

  “We need to talk,” she said firmly.

  He scrubbed his face with his hands. “I suppose we do, yes.” He paused for a moment before stepping aside. “Come in.”