Bear Valley Valentine: Valentine's Day Paranormal Romance Read Online Free PDF Page A
Author: T. S. Joyce
go.”
“You stood me up, Bearman.”
He drew up short and frowned. “You know?”
Tilting her chin up primly, she said, “I have people. Why didn’t you show up today?”
His look darkened, and he dropped his gaze to a pile of stones near the corner of the house. “Because you deserve better.”
“Damn straight, I do. I’ve never been stood up in my life.”
“No, not that. I mean, you deserve better than me.”
“Oh.” She straightened her spine and wrung water from her sweater. That sounded serious. His eyes were so beautiful when he allowed her to see him like this. “Your eyes are an unusual color.”
“Oh, shit,” he looked around frantically, but she reached out and grasped his hand.
“No sunglasses unless you need them. I don’t mind.”
His gaze dipped to their clasped hands, and he squeezed her fingers. “Okay. No sunglasses.” When he lifted his eyes back to hers, some emotion she couldn’t understand swam in the depths there.
“Swear you won’t hurt me,” she rushed out.
His jaw clenched, and his eyes blazed. “I’d never hurt you. Not on purpose. I swear I’m no serial killer, or whatever you’re scared of.”
“Then why do you live way up here by yourself?”
“Who says I live by myself?”
Oh. Perhaps she’d been mistaken. “I asked around town about you.”
He had every right to be mad, but a flattered smile crooked the corner of his lips. “You did?”
“Of course, I did. You paid for my lunch, and I’d never seen you before, and I wondered why you did that. But you ignored me every time you came into town afterward, which makes no sense because you found my dating profile. And how did you find it, anyway?”
“We should dry off. You’ll catch a cold. Here,” he said, standing and offering his hand that was calloused and streaked with ashes and water.
She hesitated just as her fingertips were about to touch his palm. Not because his hand was dirty from the toil of his labors, but because touching him felt dangerous in some way she couldn’t understand. Shaking her head to ward off her silliness, she pressed her palm against his and allowed him to pull her upward.
He was strong, stronger than she’d anticipated, and she fell forward against him with the force. He gripped her upper arms as her hands landed against the hard planes of his chest. His torso rose and fell under his ragged breath as seconds ticked by, and still she stood frozen against him. She shouldn’t feel safe around this sort-of stranger…but she did.
His heartbeat was strong and steady under her hands, and he looked down at her with eyes gone round, as if she’d startled him as much as she’d startled herself. His nose was straight and masculine. He lowered his dark eyebrows in an unspoken question, making his snow-colored eyes look even brighter.
“Do you wear the beard to hide from people?” she whispered, but regretted the words as soon as they’d left her lips. That was none of her business. Whatever had possessed her tongue to go speaking without permission needed to stop, and now.
With a gentle grip on her arms, he pushed her back from him, and she could see him closing down. His gaze hardened, then drifted over her head toward his cabin. “You wouldn’t like the way I look without it.”
The words cut something ugly into her middle. How could he say that? It was obvious she couldn’t stop staring at him. “You don’t know that.”
He dragged his attention to her and took another step away, then placed his hands behind his back. His formality stung. “I don’t like the way it looks.”
“Okay. That’s different then.” She frowned, trying to understand why a man with a physique that would draw any red-blooded, man-banging woman’s attention would want to hide behind a thick beard. From what she saw of his face, he was the handsomest man in all of Buffalo, maybe Wyoming. Hell, maybe the whole damned world, and he was up here in the mountains, avoiding
“You stood me up, Bearman.”
He drew up short and frowned. “You know?”
Tilting her chin up primly, she said, “I have people. Why didn’t you show up today?”
His look darkened, and he dropped his gaze to a pile of stones near the corner of the house. “Because you deserve better.”
“Damn straight, I do. I’ve never been stood up in my life.”
“No, not that. I mean, you deserve better than me.”
“Oh.” She straightened her spine and wrung water from her sweater. That sounded serious. His eyes were so beautiful when he allowed her to see him like this. “Your eyes are an unusual color.”
“Oh, shit,” he looked around frantically, but she reached out and grasped his hand.
“No sunglasses unless you need them. I don’t mind.”
His gaze dipped to their clasped hands, and he squeezed her fingers. “Okay. No sunglasses.” When he lifted his eyes back to hers, some emotion she couldn’t understand swam in the depths there.
“Swear you won’t hurt me,” she rushed out.
His jaw clenched, and his eyes blazed. “I’d never hurt you. Not on purpose. I swear I’m no serial killer, or whatever you’re scared of.”
“Then why do you live way up here by yourself?”
“Who says I live by myself?”
Oh. Perhaps she’d been mistaken. “I asked around town about you.”
He had every right to be mad, but a flattered smile crooked the corner of his lips. “You did?”
“Of course, I did. You paid for my lunch, and I’d never seen you before, and I wondered why you did that. But you ignored me every time you came into town afterward, which makes no sense because you found my dating profile. And how did you find it, anyway?”
“We should dry off. You’ll catch a cold. Here,” he said, standing and offering his hand that was calloused and streaked with ashes and water.
She hesitated just as her fingertips were about to touch his palm. Not because his hand was dirty from the toil of his labors, but because touching him felt dangerous in some way she couldn’t understand. Shaking her head to ward off her silliness, she pressed her palm against his and allowed him to pull her upward.
He was strong, stronger than she’d anticipated, and she fell forward against him with the force. He gripped her upper arms as her hands landed against the hard planes of his chest. His torso rose and fell under his ragged breath as seconds ticked by, and still she stood frozen against him. She shouldn’t feel safe around this sort-of stranger…but she did.
His heartbeat was strong and steady under her hands, and he looked down at her with eyes gone round, as if she’d startled him as much as she’d startled herself. His nose was straight and masculine. He lowered his dark eyebrows in an unspoken question, making his snow-colored eyes look even brighter.
“Do you wear the beard to hide from people?” she whispered, but regretted the words as soon as they’d left her lips. That was none of her business. Whatever had possessed her tongue to go speaking without permission needed to stop, and now.
With a gentle grip on her arms, he pushed her back from him, and she could see him closing down. His gaze hardened, then drifted over her head toward his cabin. “You wouldn’t like the way I look without it.”
The words cut something ugly into her middle. How could he say that? It was obvious she couldn’t stop staring at him. “You don’t know that.”
He dragged his attention to her and took another step away, then placed his hands behind his back. His formality stung. “I don’t like the way it looks.”
“Okay. That’s different then.” She frowned, trying to understand why a man with a physique that would draw any red-blooded, man-banging woman’s attention would want to hide behind a thick beard. From what she saw of his face, he was the handsomest man in all of Buffalo, maybe Wyoming. Hell, maybe the whole damned world, and he was up here in the mountains, avoiding