Jessie slides her hands over her head and squeezes her skull as she cringes at me. “It’s true,” she says in a panicked voice. “I’m losing my mind. I saw Kneecap turn into a bear, and then I saw a bear turn into you. I’m hallucinating. Or I’m going crazy.” She tilts her head as she looks at me with wild eyes. “What was in that carrot?”

“It was just a carrot,” I say, unable to hold back a chuckle. The poor girl. I actually made her think that she broke her brain.

“Am I dreaming?” she says as she starts to pace up and down. “This must be like the movie Inception. I pretended that I understood the movie when I went to see it with my friend Angie, but let’s be honest, I don’t think anyone understood that movie.”

Oh no. She’s starting to ramble again. The nerves must be getting to her.

“I mean why would someone make a movie that doesn’t make any sense? So that people will feel stupid as they walk out of the theater?” she says with her voice racing. “But this was like that scene with the turning walls, but instead of Joseph Gordon Levitt it was a bear, and instead of a gun it was a carrot. No, actually, it wasn’t anything like that scene. It was more like the Matrix or, no, it was like The Revenant with that scary bear and Leo who looked so ugly in it.”

She suddenly stops and stares at me as she takes deep gulps of air. Her hair is a mess and her eyes look wild as they lock onto me.

“Did you turn into a bear?”

“Jessie,” I say softly. “Why don’t you sit down and I’ll explain?”

She stares at me for a long moment, looking half-crazed, and then casually walks to the blanket and sits down, waiting for an explanation.

“Can I put some clothes on first?” I ask, feeling very naked.

She glances down at my cock and then clears her throat. “I’d rather you didn’t.”

“How about just my jeans?” I say as I grab them off the ground. I dust the sand off and slip them on, wondering what to tell her.

I scared the shit out of her, but to be honest, it was even scarier for me. Kneecap’s psycho bear thought I was challenging him for the dead deer and attacked. I managed to fight him off, but then I lost control of my own bear after he left.

Normally, I can pull him in at will, but he wouldn’t listen to any commands or threats that I threw at him. I was hopeless as he approached her way too close for my comfort. My bear could have done anything he wanted to her, and I would have been powerless to stop him.

I felt like a helpless prisoner trapped inside as he walked over and sniffed her hair, wondering if he was going to maul her, wondering if she was going to survive.

This was what I was afraid of. It went fine this time, but who knows what my bear will do next time? This is why she can’t stay with me. This is why she has to leave after I take care of the men who are hunting her down.

I kneel down in front of her and take a deep breath, wondering how I can explain this all.

“So, like,” she says, too impatient to wait for me to start speaking. “You have a bear inside you? That bear is inside you?”

I nod. “I’m a grizzly bear shifter. We all are at the ranch.”

She looks at me funny as she tilts her head. “So, you can change into a grizzly bear and back?”

“Yeah.”

“At will?”

I get a quiver in my stomach as I watch her. “Normally, I can pull him back in,” I say slowly, “but I couldn’t this time. Not around you.”

“Why not around me?” she asks, looking at me curiously. “I don’t understand.”

“Neither do I,” I admit.

We both turn our heads as the ducks return, landing with a chorus of quacks as they slide across the lake.

“This is what I was worried about, Jessie,” I say, feeling sick to my stomach. “I can protect you from the men after you, but I can’t protect you from my bear. When he’s out, I can’t control him. And he can hurt people. He can hurt people I love.”

For the first time, I realize that I do love her. I love her with every beat of my pathetic heart.

Her head shakes as she looks at me. “He’s not going to hurt me.”

She says it with such a sureness and strong conviction that I jerk my head back in surprise.

“No,” she says again, shaking her head even harder. “He saved me. We’re friends now.”

“Jessie,” I say, trying to make her see. “He’s a wild animal. He’s dangero—”

“No,” she says, interrupting me with a curt reply. “It’s not going to happen.”

I let out a frustrated breath. “How can you be so sure?”

She shrugs. “I was with him for a long time. I can just tell. He was like a puppy dog next to me.”

“Even puppy dogs can bite their owners,” I say. “They can turn on their masters and do unexpected things.”

“Not him,” she says bluntly. “He saved my life. The whole time he was here, I could feel the love and affection radiating off him.”

“Really?” I ask as my confused mind races to search for answers. I rub my chin as I watch her. “But he wouldn’t let me pull him back in.”

“Because he wanted to hang out with me,” she says with a shrug. “I am pretty awesome.”

I’m trying to figure it out as I stare at her. I was freaking out while stuck inside, thinking that my bear was going to hurt her, that I wasn’t paying attention to his true intentions. Maybe he did want to hang out with her. He was pretty calm, and I’ve never seen him act so affectionate around a human before.

Is it possible that she’s right?

Could I trust my bear to help protect her against these mobsters?

I swallow hard as I grit my teeth. It’s possible that she’s right, but it’s also possible that she’s wrong.

And that’s a risk I cannot take.

She’s staring at my shoulder and when I look down, I see the wound from Kneecap’s claws. It’s only a faded pink line right now, and it’s continuing to fade.

“Your shoulder was injured,” she says. “I saw it.”

“I heal fast,” I say. “Kind of like Wolverine.”

Her beautiful eyes widen. “Do you have claws too?”

“Not that kind of claws. I’m not that much like Wolverine.”

She grins. “You’re grumpy and moody like Wolverine. Maybe you’re more like him than you think.”

I laugh. “Maybe.”

Her back straightens as she looks around the forest. “Is that other bear going to come back?”

“No.”

“I didn’t like that guy so much.”

“It’s best not to be around Kneecap’s bear when he’s eating,” I say. “He thought I was challenging him for his meal.”

“I almost was his meal,” she says with a shiver. “Thanks for protecting me.”

“Now you know how I can protect you,” I say, cupping her cheek with my hand. “I’m stronger than humans, I’m faster than humans, I heal fast, and I have a vicious bear who seems to have a crush on you that I can call out at any time.”

I just hope I can call him back in.

“Stay with me,” I beg. “Let me protect you.”

Her beautiful blue eyes are filled with anguish. I know she desperately wants to.

She closes her eyes as I lean forward and kiss her, gently running my tongue along her bottom lip.

“Say yes,” I beg. “Stay with me and I’ll keep you safe. You saw what I can do against a charging grizzly bear. I won’t even break a sweat over a couple of greasy wannabe mobsters.”

She opens her sweet eyes and watches me closely. “Okay,” she whispers. “I’ll stay.”

“Oh, thank you,” I say in a gasp as I’m suddenly filled with relief. “Thank you so much.”

She smiles. I give her another kiss and then stand up. “I’m full of sweat,” I say, feeling gross and sticky after a stressful hour. “I’m going to go rinse off with a swim.”

She watches as I take my jeans off and walk to the lake. The water feels amazing as I dive in—cool and refreshing on my hot skin. I don’t know what feels better, the fresh water or knowing that Jessie is going to stay with me. My face breaks out into a smile under water. Definitely knowing that Jessie is here to stay is better.

I pop out of the water and take a sharp breath when I see her. She’s knee-deep in the water wearing nothing but a smile.

Fuck, this girl is incredible. I’m still not entirely sure that I deserve her.

My hungry eyes roam over body, taking in every perfect curve from her thick hips up to her full beautiful breasts. The sun is shining down on her, lighting her silver-blonde hair around her like a halo, and the sight is so perfect that all I can do is stare at her as she walks forward.

Her cheeks redden as she smiles shyly at me, blinking at me with her long dark lashes. I’m always so stunned at how good Jessie’s smile makes me feel. It makes me feel for an instant that I am worth loving. That I can be forgiven.

When the water gets above her knees, she dives in and disappears below the surface, giving me a quick view of her sexy ass before the water takes it away.

She pops up in front of me with droplets of water rippling down her face. “Hello, Mr. Bear,” she says with a sexy grin.

“Hello, sweet girl.”

My hands glide through the water and find her thick hips as her tits float to the surface, her nipples as hard as the rocks under our feet.

“I like it when you call me that,” she says, grinning as she kisses my lips. She tastes like lake water and heaven mixed together.

She slides her arms around my neck and wraps her legs around me, gasping when my hard cock brushes against her pussy.

“Oooh,” she says with a grin. “Is there a monster in this lake? I think I just felt the cock-ness monster.”

“Be careful,” I answer with a smirk. “He’s known to make girls scream.”

“That’s my kind of monster.” She bites her bottom lip as she grinds against me. “I like him already.”

I reach down and grab my thick shaft, holding my breath as I slide it through her silky folds. “Well, you’re about to love him any second now.”

She drops her head back and lets out a long moan as I slide deep inside her.

Fuck, she feels good.

Even if the lake water takes away some of the sensation, just having her here, having her in my arms, is enough to get me off.

She digs her nails into my shoulder as I start rocking my hips back and forth, driving into her with hard pumps.

“Oh, Lachlan,” she moans as she rocks her hips, meeting every one of my thrusts.

I drop my head onto her beautiful breasts and start kissing every inch of them as she wraps her arms around my head, pulling me closer. I take a hard nipple into my hungry mouth and suck on it, then I do the same to the other.

She feels so good it hurts. I don’t know why she’s always had this effect on me, but she does. And I wouldn’t change it for the world.

I start giving her harder, faster strokes, and her face twists up like she’s in pain, but the little whimpers coming out of her mouth are telling me that she loves it.

She’s so tight that my own face is twisting up as well. Waves of water are rolling away from our heated bodies, rippling in concentric circles around us.

I’m not going to last much longer. I can feel it coming on strong. She’s so fucking hot. How could I possibly hold it back?

She moans my name and it sets me off. My balls clench. My breath catches in my throat.

I thrust in deep and let go with a roar.

She’s coming too. Writhing on my cock as her body trembles with an orgasm.

We both hold each other tight and give into the pleasure, letting it consume us completely.

When it’s over, she drops back, floating in the water with her hair splayed out around her, eyes closed, humming contently.

Is there anything as perfect as her?

I hold onto her waist, afraid that she’s going to float away. I’m not ready to let her leave my side just yet.

“What are you smiling at?” I ask when I see her luscious lips curl up.

“I’m just thinking that I have to keep the secret of the cock-ness monster safe,” she says, her eyes still closed against the sun. “If women knew about it, they’d come flocking to this lake in droves.”

“Then you better keep it safe,” I say, pulling her closer. “Because he’s a one-girl kind of monster.”

“Lucky me,” she whispers.

My eyes roam up and down her naked body, and I let out a low groan. “That’s funny… I was thinking the same thing.”

A minute later and she’s back in my arms, giggling as she looks over my shoulder.

I turn to see what she’s looking at and spot about seven or eight ducks staring at us curiously from the middle of the lake.

“Perverts,” she says with a chuckle as she splashes water, shooing them away.

They actually look annoyed as they turn and glide away on the glassy lake.

“Awww. Now I feel bad,” she says with a laugh.

“Don’t,” I say, gripping her hips and pulling her closer. “We’re going to need some privacy.”

She grins as she looks up at me with her sexy blue eyes, making my cock harden once again. “Then you might want to tell the horses to take a hike, because they’re watching us too.”

I laugh when I glance over and see our two horses staring at us.

“Fuck it,” I say as I wrap her legs around me and slide inside. “Let them watch.”