Big Bear Mountain - The Complete Series by Bianca James Read Free Book Online Page A

memories of those times and how she’d missed him since he passed.
    Jarrad watched her brow furrow and she
stared into the flames. “What’s on your mind?”
    “My dad used to take me camping when I was
a kid. I always told him how much I hated it. Now he’s gone. I wish I hadn’t
said that.”
    Jarrad thought it best to change the
subject. “I’ll get some blankets then we can move the mattresses near the fire
so you can stay warm.”
    Still staring into the swirl of embers in
the fireplace, Elle nodded vaguely.
    Returning with a couple of small mattresses
under one arm and a bundle of blankets under the other, Jarrad created a
makeshift bed in front of the fire, which was starting to come to life, but not
enough to stop Elle shivering. Wrapping her in a blanket, Jarrad began to rub
her shoulders vigorously in an attempt to warm her up. She turned and looked up
at him.
    In the flickering light of the open fire he
looked even more rugged and handsome, if that was at all possible. A day’s
worth of manly stubble covered his strong jawline and his stunning blue eyes …
well, they were the kind a girl could get lost in, as Elle was about to find
out  as she gazed into them, trying to read his intentions.
    “We need to start thinking about a plan,”
he said breaking eye contact at the same time.
    “Seriously? That’s what you want to
do now?”
    A sheepish look spread across his face.
Jarrad was being pulled in different directions. Jarrad the bear smelled her
arousal and wanted to mate with her. Jarrad the man also wanted to take her
then and there, but they hadn’t even shared the bonding ritual. Jarrad the
soldier felt the need to protect her and that meant not getting involved or
becoming distracted. The last time he did that, it didn’t go so well. But that
was before the cartel hit squad thought they’d killed their target.
    So many complex emotions wrestling for
dominance, but in the end …
    … his bear won.

Chapter 21
     
    T aking her by the
shoulders, Jarrad gently pushed her down flat on the improvised bed before
reaching down and pulling his tee over his head. The heat from the fire had him
glistening with sweat, highlighting the extraordinary definition of his already
ripped physique. Elle couldn’t take her eyes off him as his shoulder muscles
rippled and bulged as he shrugged out of the fitted tee.
    She no longer grimaced
at the scar he’d shown her in the rescue helicopter earlier that day. All she
could see was what she’d always imagined the perfect Adonis to look like in the
flesh. He was, every inch of him, perfect. From his chiseled pecs and his rock
like abs to his narrow, sexy waistline. There was not an ounce of fat on the
man. His war wound in no way detracted from his sculpted perfection. Instead,
it highlighted how strong and fearless he truly was, accentuating his
ruggedness.
    Elle tried not to
be self-conscious of her soft bits and curves as he reached down to pull her
hoodie and sweat up from her knees … to her hips … all the way to her breasts.
Then he stopped.
    The look on his
face said it all. He liked what he saw. He wanted to see more, but he was
asking permission. Seeking approval to continue.
    The old Elle would
never have found herself in this situation. She’d date for months before she’d
even think about becoming intimate, and even then, nothing as brazen as this.
But that was the old Elle. Before she was forced to flee for her life. Before
she watched a missile try to vaporize her. Before she met a man who made her
feel safe and who saw her as she saw herself. Beautiful.
    She gave only the
slightest nod. She was still mesmerized by his powerful body and the way his
muscle striations took on a life of their own as he undressed her. But that
tiny nod was all that he needed. As she raised her arms above her head for him
to finish the job, he did so, leaving her almost naked and feeling wanton and
voluptuous. She looked beautiful and sexy if the way his eyes lit up