The Write Bear (Highland Brothers 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

mud and then he waded toward the middle of where the stream flowed through the lake. Eventually, she would get tired of this and want to leave. He would silently convince her she didn’t need to stay. She would drive away and this would be over. In the meantime, his bear was aching to take her. It didn’t help she was poured into those jeans. He would keep his bear at bay. He had to.
    The cabin had been his salvation for so long. The place he could let his bear be free. He realized his bear had dominated the man in him lately. The book had been pushed back. Not because he couldn’t write, but because he was preoccupied. How was he supposed to explain that to his editor or publisher? He was working through a shifter cycle. One of the most primal and basic cycles of the male bears journey—taking a mate.
    It was his time to find his fated mate. His bear wanted companionship—a woman he could share his bed with and fill with his cubs. But Hudson had hoped locking himself in the cabin would keep it from happening. He would leave the family legacy to his brothers. They could have mates and cubs. It wasn’t going to happen for him. He’d fight his bear every step of the way.
    “Am I doing this right?” Riley’s voice pulled him back to the lake.
    “Let me see.” He walked over to her, daring his bear to surface.
    Her line was wrapped around the handle, tangled in knots. “I don’t know how I did that,” she said.
    “Me either,” he grumbled. He sat on a rock next to the bank and began to work the filament free. “Want me to re-cast it for you?” he offered.
    She shook her head. “No, I’ll watch you why I take notes.”
    “Notes?”
    “Yes, about the book. You said we could talk about the book. I read the first two chapters and wanted to ask about the scene with the Russian.”
    “Right. The damn book.” He carefully placed the extra pole along the ground, making sure the hook was safely secured.
    Riley pulled her knees closer to her chest, pushing her breasts forward. Damn. He licked his lips before he realized it. His bear wanted them. Wanted them here and now. He could draw lazy circles with his tongue all over her body. Dipping and licking against her luscious flesh. Damn it. His bear was primed and ready to fill her with his cubs.
    Hudson took a step backward. “I’m going to cast down here. I’ll be right back.” He took giant paces toward the end of the lake. He needed distance from her.
    “But—” Riley’s voice trailed behind him.
    This was never going to work. He shook his head as he cast in the center of the lake. His bear was getting stronger.

5
    Riley
    A few hours later Hudson pulled in bait and packed up the gear. “Time to go.”
    Riley felt the shards of disappointment slice into her. She didn’t want to go and leave the peace they had found at the secret lake. It was calm here. The sounds of the bubbling stream, lulling her thoughts into waves of tranquility.
    Somehow the hike and the lake had softened Hudson. She tried to reconcile the gruff man she had met last night with the one who had fixed her car, lead her through the woods, and taught her how to fish. It was as if he was finally warming to her invasion of his private space.
    “Ok. I guess we need to get back and get to work on the book.” She realized that the entire time they had fished Hudson had managed to strategically dodge all her questions about his manuscript. He never answered a single question.
    He smiled a broad grin, showing his straight white teeth. “No, we get back and have lunch. Then we can talk about the book.”
    Riley pinched her lips together. “Lunch?”
    “You’re hungry aren’t you?”
    She nodded, trying to ignore the rumbling sounds coming from her stomach. “Starving, actually.”
    “Nothing beats fresh salmon. Come on.”
    She followed Hudson, as he led her through the trails that had taken them to the lake. She was glad he was such an expert guide. She would never be able to navigate