Guardian Cougar (Finding Fatherhood Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

was thrashing on the bed as though fighting off an unseen adversary. His breath caught in his throat, but he pushed back his own reaction and strode forward, sitting carefully on the edge of the bed as he reached out a hand to wake her gently. “Hannah, you’re having a nightmare. Wake up.”
    For a moment, she seemed lost in the images in her brain, but then her eyes snapped open. They were wild for a brief second before recognition appeared, letting him know she finally realized who was sitting on the bed with her.
    With a small sob, she sat up and threw herself in his arms. He held her without thought and certainly without protest. Even under the circumstances, he enjoyed feeling her body curve against his, though he wished he could take away the tang of fear underlying her natural scent. He rubbed her back and whispered soothing words as she slowly calmed down, her breathing returning to normal. When she seemed completely calm, he pulled away slightly so he could look down and see her eyes. “Are you okay now?”
    She nodded, though she looked uncertain.
    “Did you remember anything?”
    After a brief pause, she shook her head. “I don’t know if any of it was real. It was all so disjointed. Mostly, I just felt trapped and fearful. I can’t remember any actual visual memories that felt any more or less real than the rest of the nightmares.”
    “Do you think you can sleep again?”
    She nibbled on her lower lip as she tightened her arms around him. “Maybe, if you stay with me.”
    The temptation of holding her in his arms all night without being able to act on it sounded like a special form of torture, but he pushed aside his own needs and nodded as he carefully eased her back onto the bed before lying on top of the covers, wanting to reassure her. “Of course I’ll stay if that’s what you need.”
    It hovered on the edge of his tongue to tell her he’d give her anything she needed and do anything for her, but he was concerned the words were too much too quickly, and they might send her spiraling into fear again.
    To be honest, the intensity of his feelings sent a spiral of fear through him. He briefly envied his friend Lucas who, as a bear-shifter, instinctively knew his mate’s identity. That seemed to be a trait unique mainly to bear-shifters, and he wished cougars benefited from it too. It would make life simpler to one day smell your mate’s pheromone signature and know she was perfectly compatible with you. There wouldn’t be the uncertainty and doubt that accompanied attraction otherwise.
    In this situation, it probably wouldn’t have helped if he had known with a hundred percent certainty she was his mate. She had too much fear and anxiety to work through to be receptive to such a declaration anyway, and the envy he felt for bear-shifters’ ability faded as he realized how frustrating it would be to know she was meant for him, but unable to help her heal or be whole enough to move forward in a relationship. Right now, she needed a friend far more than she needed a lover, and he kept that thought in mind as he held her, his thoughts still racing hours after she had calmed down, her breathing deep and even, and her body relaxed against his as she slept deeply.

Chapter Four
    After a long appointment with the obstetrician referred by the emergency room, where Dr. Shandi performed a thorough exam and ordered so much blood that Hannah was half-convinced the doctor was actually a vampire preparing for her evening meal, Jackson drove her to his office. She was far more nervous about this appointment than she had been with the obstetrician, who had assured her the baby seemed developmentally on target and confirmed the estimate of thirty weeks given by the emergency room doctor.
    This appointment seemed far more grueling, and she met it with dread as she walked into the gleaming cement and glass building housing Sentry Security. She wanted to refuse to meet with the therapist, even though she knew she