Bad Bear Santa (Bad Boy Bear Shifters Book 1) Read online

  Bad Bear Santa

  Liv Brywood

  Contents

  Description

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  About the Author

  Description

  Crystal never imagined she’d have to spend Christmas trapped in a tiny cabin with the most infuriating bear shifter in her clan. Tristan Hunter is every woman’s fantasy. Mesmerizing chiseled abs, piercing blue eyes, and a naughty smirk are enough to drive any woman wild. But not Crystal. Tristan’s cocky, unpredictable, and alpha to the core. She can’t stand him, but her bear’s been lusting after him for years. Snowed in together with only a log burning stove to keep them warm, she’ll do everything in her power to resist his seductive glances and sinfully tempting lips. He can alpha her all he wants, but she’s not going to give in... Not even a little.

  Bad Bear Santa

  Copyright© 2017 Liv Brywood

  All rights reserved

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Created with Vellum

  1

  Crystal squinted as the two-lane mountain road cut down to one lane in each direction. A sudden gust of wind whipped snow across the pavement, making it impossible to see the dividing lines. As she slid around the corner, her Honda Civic fishtailed. The car skidded toward the edge of a huge drop. If she fell over, she’d tumble into the icy Gallatin River below. Although she loved swimming, she wasn’t looking forward to a dip in the middle of December.

  Why hadn’t she left earlier in the day? She’d known about her bear clan’s annual Christmas party for months. But she hadn’t expected white-out conditions on the road. Maybe she should pull over to the side of the road for a while. There had to be a turnoff eventually.

  As she gripped the steering wheel, she hummed the notes to one of her favorite holiday songs—White Christmas. She loved singing. It helped reduce stress, so she frequently sang at the top of her lungs while driving. Even though she’d spend her entire life in Montana, she never got used to driving in the snow.

  The next sharp curve sent her into a skid. She turned into the skid and managed to get control long enough to pull over to the side of the road. Her heart thundered as she sucked in a huge breath. That was close. Too close. She was halfway up the mountain, but maybe she should turn around. Would going down be easier?

  She shook her head. Nope. It would be worse. Her father had drilled it into her head while teaching her to drive. If two cars met on a hill, the one driving up needed to give right of way to the one going down, since the one going up had better control. So turning around wasn’t an option.

  As she continued up the mountain at a snail’s pace, she tried to sing Jingle Bells. After the first verse, she stopped. It wasn’t helping. She unclenched her jaw and wriggled her mouth around. If she didn’t calm down, she’d end up with knots in her neck and shoulders. She’d driven terrible roads before, she could handle it.

  Snow fell faster. She flicked the windshield wipers to full speed, but they did little to help. She slowed to ten miles per hour.

  “Please stop snowing for five minutes,” she whispered.

  Any break in the weather would give her a chance to pull over. Continuing up the mountain wasn’t an option anymore. One wrong move and she’d be in serious trouble.

  The snow didn’t let up. Wind whipped whorls of snow across the road, reducing visibility to five feet. She slowed even more.

  Her bear woke from its slumber and stretched until its paws slammed into her ribcage. Awesome. Just what she needed right now.

  When her bear rolled over against her ribs, she winced. The creature took one look at the road and freaked, clawing at her chest in an attempt to escape.

  “Calm down, bear!”

  Her bear roared and fur sprouted on her hands. Shit. She was about to shift.

  “Nice bear,” she cooed. “Everything’s okay. Go back to sleep.”

  Her bear didn’t believe a word. It scratched at her ribcage and snarled.

  “If we shift now, we’re dead, and I don’t particularly feel like dying today. I was looking forward to Christmas cookies. Don’t you want cookies?”

  That got her bear’s attention. The beast stopped clawing at her and sat on its haunches. It pressed against her lungs, but not hard enough to suffocate her.

  “Can you move a little to the left,” she said through gritted teeth.

  Her bear lumbered toward her heart where she belonged.

  “Good girl. I promise we’re going to eat every damn cookie at the lodge as soon as we get there. But I need you to stay calm so we don’t—”

  Two bright eyes flashed in the darkness. She screamed and on instinct jerked the wheel to the left. She narrowly avoided the deer before pitching over the side.

  She screamed as the car plunged toward the frozen river. After dropping thirty feet, it slammed into the river, and cracked through the ice. Her head banged against the front windshield.

  Dazed and disoriented, she felt as if she were moving through mud. She tried to reach the door handle to escape. It didn’t budge.

  As freezing water rushed into the car, she moaned. Her head hurt. Liquid ran into her eyes to blind her. She touched it and brought her hand away. Blood. And lots of it.

  Half-submerged, she tried to kick the door open. It still wouldn’t budge. She tried to roll down the window, but the new car had power windows. They weren’t working. Trapped and terrified, she banged on the glass and screamed for help.

  The sound of rushing water drowned out her screams. Her feet went numb from the cold. When the water reached her waist, she redoubled her effort to escape. She opened the glove box and tried to find anything she could use to break the window. She found a small tire gauge.

  As she slammed it against the window, the water reached her neck. She tilted her head back and hit the glass over and over. It refused to break.

  When the water reached her mouth, she screamed. She sucked it a huge mouthful of water. Coughing and sputtering, she tried to spit it out, but couldn’t. The water reached her nose and in seconds she was submerged.

  As she lost consciousness, her heart broke. She’d been looking forward to Christmas this year. Now she’d never seen another holiday.

  * * *

  Tristan was in his bear form when he heard the shrill crack of metal on metal. He trotted toward the sound, curious to see what had caused the sudden ruckus. When he reached the river, his eyes went wide. A partially submerged car sat in the center of the frozen water. It had cracked through the ice and was sinking fast. Anyone inside wouldn’t have much time left.

  He raced toward the wreck. When he reached the ice, he skidded across it. He tried to slow down but couldn’t. He reached the edge of the frozen ice and plunged into the water. Fortunately, his bear was an excellent swimmer. It paddled furiously until they reached the car.

  Completely submerged now, he had to dive to look inside. When he spotted the driver, his heart stopped. Crystal, another member of his bear clan was strapped into the driver’s sea
t, motionless.

  He extended his claws as far as possible and smashed through the window. After retracing his claws, he reached in to unbuckle her belt. He tried pulling open the door, but a huge underwater bolder blocked its path. Undeterred, he reached in through the front window and pulled Crystal out. He gently grabbed her by the back of her neck with his lips and paddled to the edge of the ice.

  His huge bear paws reached for purchase, but he couldn’t get back onto the ice. He swiped at the edges, breaking a path through the thin layer until he reached a shallow area. As he climbed onto the ice, he shivered. Even a thick coat of fur wouldn’t protect him from biting wind and sub-zero temperatures.

  He gently set her on the ground and used his paw to give chest compressions. He couldn’t breathe for her in bear form, but he also couldn’t risk shifting into his human form. He wouldn’t last more than a few minutes, but neither would she.

  Without any better options, he quickly shifted. Naked and shivering, he dropped down to give her CPR. It took several seconds before she coughed and sputtered and spit up water. He turned her onto her side and shifted back to his bear form.

  He nudged her with his nose. Although she was breathing, her lips were blue and she hadn’t regained consciousness. He needed to warm her up before hypothermia took over.

  After grabbing her with his lips, he carried her through the snowy forest to his remote cabin. The small cabin consisted of a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom, and a loft. He walked inside and kicked the door closed with his back paw.

  He set her down in front of the wood burning stove he used to heat the cabin. Several small coals still burned inside. He added two large pieces of oak to the coals. Flames sparked to life and within seconds, they ate away a thick layer of bark.

  Without wasting a second, he stripped the wet clothes off of her curvy body. He did his best not to stare at her luscious breasts, and he completely avoided ogling her thighs. He wasn’t a complete asshole, contrary to what she thought of him. He never understood why, but anytime he interacted with her at clan functions, she gave him the cold shoulder. Now he couldn’t stop looking at her cold shoulders. The blue tinge on her icy skin snapped him out of it.

  He ran into his bedroom and pulled all of the blankets off his bed. He wrapped her in several before returning to his closet to get more.

  After he’d wrapped every blanket he owned around her, he sat next to her. For a second, he’d forgotten how cold he was, but chattering teeth reminded him.

  He added two more logs to the fire. Unfortunately, the size of the stove prevented him from adding more. He shivered and considered taking one of the blankets away from her. Then he had a better idea.

  Moving quickly, he unwrapped her and pulled her into his arms. He re-wrapped them both in the blankets so they could share body heat. His bear perked up and sniffed her hair. Coconut. He could always tell when she walked into a room by her scent. Although he’d never met her bear, she probably smelled like coconut too. His bear wanted to find out—now!

  He laughed softly.

  Oh, bear. This is not the woman you want to run around sniffing. She’s got claws sharper than needles and a personality to match. She’ll probably going to claw us to pieces once she finds out I have her wrapped up naked. I’m only doing it because I’m trying to save her life, but I doubt she’ll see it that way.

  His bear chuffed in agreement. They’d run into their fair share of bristly women. A night of scorching hot sex wasn’t enough for them. They wanted pancakes and coffee and promises of love the next morning. Well that wasn’t him. The idea of settling down with one woman for the rest of his life made his stomach churn. Well, at least until recently.

  A month earlier, his brother and his wife had welcomed their first shifter baby to the world. After seeing his brother’s happiness, Tristan had briefly wondered what it would be like to have a mate. On the surface, it seemed like the thing to do, but he wasn’t sure he was ready to give up his wild side. Why settle down with one woman, if there were two or three waiting in the wings?

  He chuckled.

  Crystal stirred in his arms. He gently cradled her against his chest and sniffed her hair again. Might as well inhale her sweetness while he could.

  “Where am I?” she whispered.

  “You’re at my house.”

  She froze. “Tristan?”

  “That’s me.”

  “Why am I naked?”

  “I had to fish you out of the river. You had an accident.”

  “That doesn’t explain why I’m naked.” As she failed to try to get out of the blankets, he tried to help pull the layers free. In doing so, he pressed himself up against her lower back. “Holy shit are you naked?”

  “I was wet and cold after I saved you. I had to get warm.”

  “Oh my God.”

  She frantically yanked at the blankets until she found an opening. She tumbled out onto the ground so fast that she fell face forward, exposing her curvy butt.

  His bear roared with approval.

  She turned around and glared while pulling a blanket up to cover her body.

  “I can’t believe you.”

  “What?” He took his time separating out the blankets so she could have the majority of them. “You were covered in river water and freezing. If I’d left your clothes on, you’d be dead right now. A little gratitude would be nice. I did save your life.”

  She narrowed her eyes and huffed.

  “You didn’t need to get naked too.”

  “Actually, I did. I was soaked too.”

  When she shook her head, droplets of melting snow flew from her hair.

  “How long was I unconscious?” she asked.

  “A few minutes. We’re going to have to check for a concussion. I didn’t want to waste time cleaning you up, so you still have blood all over your face too.”

  “I do?” She swiped a hand across her forehead. Coagulated blood smeared across the back of her hand.

  “I took a quick look and I think it’s superficial. It stopped bleeding by the time we got back to the cabin.”

  “This is your place?”

  “My winter retreat. I come up here when I want to clear my head.”

  “Which one,” she mumbled.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” She scooted toward the fire.

  Even banged up and drenched, she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Sure, she cut him down with her violet eyes, and her heart-shaped face contorted with a scowl more often than not, but she was still stunning. Bright red kissable lips and a creamy complexion made up for her generally sour mood.

  He never understood why she didn’t like him. Almost all of the other women in his clan fought tooth and claw to get into his bed. But not Crystal. He’d spotted her with other men from time to time, but she never seemed that interested in them. Maybe she had the same aversion to long-term relationships that he did. That would be a refreshing change.

  “I need to leave,” she said.

  As she tried to stand, she swayed. He caught her as she pitched forward.

  “I can’t let you leave yet.”

  “You can’t keep me trapped here.”

  “I’m not trying to,” he said. “I’m trying to help you. Why are you so angry?”

  “I’m not angry!”

  He raised a brow and cocked his head to one side. Her eyes went wide for a second before she narrowed her gaze and looked away.

  Feisty. He liked that in his women. Why hadn’t they ever gotten together? She was probably a beast in bed. He sure as hell was, and not every woman could handle it. But Crystal, she could probably take every last inch of him and beg for more.

  His cock twitched. He tried to discreetly shift the blankets to cover his raging erection, but it was too late. Her jaw dropped as she started at the bulge. He couldn’t hide the length or girth, but then again, he didn’t really want to. Maybe if she got a good look at what she’d been missing, she’d decide to take him for a
ride before she left.

  He almost didn’t duck in time to avoid the log she tossed at his head.

  2

  Crystal scrambled to her feet, bringing the blankets with her. How dare he strip her naked and sit her in his lap. He probably mashed his cock against her too. She swallowed and fought the urge to look at back the huge bulge in the blanket. Apparently all the rumors were true. She’d heard whispers that he had the biggest cock in the clan, but she never believed it. She didn’t even need to see the whole thing to know it was enormous.

  She swallowed against the sudden dryness in her throat. She needed some water, but wasn’t about to ask him for anything.

  Her clothes hung over a metal chair near the fire. She walked over and grabbed her black velvet party dress. It dripped water across the floor. She carried it to a sink in the kitchen and proceeded to wring it out. If he’d rung it out, it might have been dry already. But he probably wasn’t used to doing women’s laundry. She had no doubt he knew how to take off a dress one-handed, but washing and drying one? Nope. Not in a million years.

  “You can’t leave.”

  His voice came from directly behind her. She jumped, but didn’t turn around. Did he still have the blankets wrapped around him? And if he didn’t, wouldn’t it be fun just to take a quick look? Just a little peek?

  She glanced at his reflection in the window. His eyes met hers. The edges crinkled as he smiled. She tore her gaze away and continued to wring out her dress.

  “I can’t go anywhere until my clothes are dry. Where are my boots?”

  “On the other side of the stove. I figured they would dry out faster. I don’t think the leather will be ruined, but you might need to stretch them out again. Wet leather tends to contract unless you stretch it. If you want something else to wear while you wait, I’ve got some extra winter clothes in the closet in my bedroom.”