Bear In The Rough: Book 1: Treasure Hunt (BBW Bear Shifter Romance) Read Online Free PDF Page A

hair out of place. They would fire the pistol, send the arrow flying and the creature would be defeated and they would make a quip and keep moving. But no quips were forthcoming and the adventure was just as likely to end in both of our deaths, out here in a faraway jungle with no one to mourn or bury us or even acknowledge that we had ever lived.
     
                  “Don’t think about it!” said the stranger in a strangled voice. “Just do it!”
     
                  In spite of his earlier warnings I kicked at the man’s torso, hoping to turn him over. But he and the boar together were too big and they barely budged. The boar gave a low snarl as it licked his face with its long tongue. Next I tried to grab the machete out from under him, but this failed as well, because he was lying on top of the sheath and the only possible way for me to pick it up was by the blade, which sliced at my hands and fingers.
     
                  I was now covered in blood, and, what was worse, my rustling around under the man’s body had drawn the attention of the boar, who suddenly shifted and left his chest, scurrying after me. I screamed and ran in the opposite direction, as fast as I could go, but the boar was faster still, and seizing me by the legs with its tusks, knocked me over. I stumbled and fell onto the hard ground with a loud thud. This was it, this was the end of me, nothing heroic, just the embarrassment of running in terror and the humiliation of being cut open by a creature that came no higher than my knees…
     
                  And then it gave a final loud squeal, and was dead. The stranger stood behind it clutching the machete with a savage look on his face. The machete now poked through its ribs.
     
                  Gallantly he came over and offered me his hand.
     
                  “There are certain things that make you friends for life,” he said. “I’d say this is one of them.”
     
                  “I’ll have to know your name first,” I said, gazing down at the boar’s lifeless body.
     
                  “Henry,” he said. “My name is Henry.”
     
                  “I’m Olivia.”
     
    *              *              *
     
                  We eventually recovered the stone, having followed Henry’s scientific projections of where it was likely to be given its trajectory. We did a sweep of the area, beginning from opposite ends and meeting in the middle, and I had recovered it within a few minutes. I handed it to him, though I suspect he could see the hungry look I gave it as I let it go.
     
                  “What is it, anyway?” I asked. “The stone, I mean.”
     
                  “It’s hugely important to me,” said Henry cryptically. “I wouldn’t have cared if it had been anything else.”
     
                  “Hypothetically, if I bought you dinner, would you tell me about it?”
     
                  Henry’s mouth widened into a smile.
     
     

             
     
    Chapter 4—Henry
     
     
     
     
                  That night at Carrie’s I ordered roast chicken and crab salad with mussels, while Olivia chose a more modest fish and chips platter. I tore into my meal with relish, having not eaten since the night before. Forgoing the use of cutlery, I used my teeth and hands to tear open the bird’s flesh. Olivia watched with an expression that was first surprised, then slightly horrified, before lapsing finally into a look of acceptance mingled with a kind of admiration.
     
                  She merely pecked at her fish, perhaps having lost her appetite after watching me eat, or perhaps wishing to compensate for the terrible manners of her partner by displaying better ones. After the first ecstasy of eating had faded I became conscious that we were