Bear Seeking Bride: Trent (Bear Canyon Brides #3) (4 page)

He’d talked to other women since the accident, he’d even had a few come on to him, but none of them made him want to open up, face his demons and push them behind him.

Only Olive had been able to do that, and he hoped he could help her, too.

Over the next two weeks, she would learn what it was like to be courted by a bear determined to claim his mate.

Olive took a sip of her water and watched Trent wind his way through the sea of tables back to their booth in the corner. He’d taken her to an Italian restaurant, and the smells coming from the kitchen heightened her hunger pangs. Suddenly she was starving.

She was also nervous.

It seemed she and Trent had made some progress in her hotel room. What would he say when he found out about her past? Would he agree with her choices, or chastise her for not following her father’s rules?

And what about Charles?

When the truth came out, would he think her weak, or throw her away because of the other man’s actions? She didn’t think so, but everything was happening so quickly, she felt as if she stood on the outside looking in as her life changed before her.

Please let him understand.

As much as she wanted to keep her past behind her, she knew she had to tell him. If they did marry, she didn’t want any secrets between them.

She reached for her water again, but her hand shook too much to grab it. Before she could hide it under the table, Trent reached across the table and covered it with his own. His warmth grounded her, and some of her anticipation fizzled.

“Talking helps. Trust me, I should know,” Trent laughed.

“I know,” she whispered, “but—”

“None of it will change the way I feel about you, Olive, I promise.”

She nodded and told him everything about her father, his businesses and how he’d kicked her out when she wouldn’t marry his golden boy.

“Your father is Dick Campbell?” he’d asked in the beginning. “No offense, but he really lives up to his name. He tried to hire us once, but Tyler refused to work with him. His lack of manners for people in general wasn’t worth the headache.”

Once he’d expressed his feelings toward the man, it was easier to detail what her life had been like before she’d left, including the verbal abuse she’d endured on a daily basis. She’d also told him about her mother, and how she’d felt losing her unexpectedly at the young age of ten.

Trent listened raptly, and he seemed to know instinctively when she needed soft words or a gentle squeeze of her hand. He’d even complimented her name, another sore spot from her past.

“At least your father’s love of food resulted in a great name for you. Do you have any brothers or sisters? Is there a Pepper Campbell or an Onion Campbell?”

She laughed so hard she snorted, but Trent ignored the embarrassing sound and laughed with her, not at her.

“No brothers or sisters,” she said, when she could speak again. “And my name is compliments of my mother. My father hates it.”

“Really? Well, he’s crazy. You like it don’t you?” he asked.

“I do now,” she said honestly.

Growing up, she’d endured years of teasing about her name. Besides the many jokes about food, and eating, several involved an unfavorable comparison to the tall, skinny cartoon character with the same name. Even as a child, she’d had more curves than the other girls. As she got older, more and more curves presented themselves, causing no end to the jokes. Eventually, they focused less on her name and more on her size.

The evening wore on, and she continued to talk as their dinner transitioned into dessert and coffee.

When her Tiramisu arrived, she felt strong enough to let go of his hand and enjoy the rich, decadent dessert. Trent had ordered cheesecake, but he watched her with rapt attention.

“You can stop staring,” she said, smiling at her plate. “I’m not sharing a single bite with you.”

“I don’t want a bite of your dessert, but watching you eat it makes me want to take a bite out of you. They way you’re savoring each and every bite, sucking that fork clean, has me rock hard and jealous as hell.”

“Trent!” she scolded in a loud whisper.

She took a glance around the room, and relaxed a bit when she was certain the few couples left in the eatery hadn’t heard his outburst.

“What?” he asked innocently, shoving a bite of cheesecake into his mouth.

“You can’t say things like that!” she scolded again, even as she desperately wanted to be his fork. Her cheeks heated and she felt as if someone had raised the thermostat one hundred degrees.

“Why not? I was just being honest.”

“Because…,” she trailed off.

Because I’m embarrassed. Because I don’t believe you. Because everyone will know you’re lying. Because…I want you to mean it, not joke around with me.

“Hmm…,” he said, when she didn’t finish her sentence. “Now seems like a great time for you to tell me about your ex, and what you meant in your letter when you said your experience with men had been unpleasant.”

She put her fork down and frowned at him.

“The place is almost empty, there’s no one around us, and you’ll have to tell me sooner or later. I’d rather you tell me know.”

God! Why couldn’t he have forgotten that one little detail?

Right now she felt like the grumpy, irrational one. Why did he have to press the issue? She’d already shared so much with him; couldn’t more of her past wait until another day?

It could, but she knew it shouldn’t. If he was going to walk, she’d rather he did it today instead of a week from now. Even though she didn’t want to, she knew she had to tell him.

“Charles started working for my father while I was away at college,” she started, “and by the time I returned, he’d been named his chosen successor. I knew it wouldn’t be me, so I wasn’t that surprised, but I was surprised when Charles asked me out. I didn’t say yes at first, in fact I didn’t give in until a few months later. I couldn’t reconcile the two working together, because they seemed so different, but I realized later, it had all been an act. My father made sure the three of us were never in the same room together unless it was a social gathering, and I didn’t realize Charles’ true nature until almost a year later.”

She glanced at Trent and understood the confused look on his face.

“He was a very good liar,” she said. “Anyway, after a party one night, he wanted to fool around, but I had a headache and wanted to go home. We’d had sex before, but I didn’t enjoy it, so I rarely gave him what he wanted. Usually, he just took me home, but this time he didn’t.”

“He forced you,” Trent said, his voice lethal.

His scorn brought tears to her eyes, but she blinked them away. As soon as dessert was over, she could hide in her hotel room until her time in it expired, and then she’d leave this town and never share her story with anyone again.

“Yes,” she said, studying her empty plate.

She wished she could disappear and never see him again.

“And your father?” he asked.

“Laughed when I told him, and said if I didn’t suck it up and marry Charles, then I was on my own. I left that night.”

“Olive, look at me.”

She hated men and their stupid egos. They always wanted you to watch when they tried to destroy you.

She forced herself to look at him, and absently hoped he didn’t try and stick her with the bill.

“I’m sorry that happened to you, but I’m glad you dumped him and stood up to your father. Even though you couldn’t stop what happened that night, you held your ground and decided to make your own path, and that path brought you here. For that, I will always be grateful. What happened to you doesn’t define you; it’s only a small part of you.”

He’d used her words from earlier to make his point and her heart fluttered in her chest. Did he really not care about her past?

“This changes nothing for me, except if he ever crosses my path, he’ll wish to hell he hadn’t.”

She let the tears she’d been holding fall.

***

Trent got up and slid into Olive’s side of the booth. He wrapped his arms around her and held her to his chest. Her quiet sobs tore down the last of the wall he’d built around his heart and he knew he wasn’t the same man he was yesterday.

From this moment on, he’d never be a single man again. He held his future in his arms.

The waiter quietly set the bill on the table and questioned him with his hand in the thumbs up position. Trent nodded once and the waiter scurried away. Most of the patrons had left, and he knew the owner so they had time. He wouldn’t leave until she was all cried out.

A few minutes later, Olive reached for a napkin and dried her eyes. Then she pushed away from him and studied his shirt.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, Trent. Your shirt is soaked.”

“That’s okay,” he laughed. “Feel better?”

“Much better, thank you. It’s the first time I’ve really cried about it and it felt good to let it go. I’m sorry it happened in public though. Thank you for shielding me from the stares.”

“Anytime, but there weren’t any stares. Almost all the couples are gone, and I know the owner so he left us alone after checking on you. We can walk down the street with our heads held high.”

She recognized his teasing and laughed with him.

He settled the bill and they walked out of the restaurant hand in hand.

“Do you want to?” she asked.

“What?”

All he could think about was holding her in his arms all night long.

“Walk a little?”

“I can’t go far,” he said.

It seemed they were like a ping pong table tonight. As soon as one of them got over an issue, the other popped up with one. Would this be the one to send her away?

“How far can you go without pain?” she asked.

“About four blocks.”

“Good. Let’s go out two and come back two. Next time, we can park a few blocks over and do the same thing, deal?”

“Deal.”

He smiled at her giddiness, and marveled at her easy solution. So many people wanted to offer their advice, which usually meant walking for miles and trudging through the pain the next day. Most people didn’t understand his role on the job site, and because he still worked actively with his brothers, they assumed there was nothing wrong with his leg.

In bear form, he could walk longer distances, and even run, though not very fast, but his human form was limited.

He briefly wondered if he would be able to pleasure Olive properly, but then pushed the silly thought aside. There were plenty of ways to please his woman and he planned on practicing a lot during their lifetime. Hopefully, by the end of the week, she’d understand her ex-losers were the ones with the problems, not her.

Olive held his free hand and matched her pace with his. It was late Sunday night, so most of the shops were closed, but that didn’t stop her from looking in the windows. She asked questions about the town, and he pointed out his favorite sandwich place and coffee shop.

Every now and then a bear would pass them on the sidewalk, or run past them down the street, but she didn’t recoil or try to hide behind him. Instead, she questioned him.

“When do I get to see your bear?”

“Whenever you want, sweetheart.”

He’d wanted to show her as soon as possible, but he hadn’t wanted to force the issue.

“Tonight?”

Yes, please.

“Yes, if you want. I don’t have to undress, so I can do it here or back at the hotel.”

“Let’s go back to the hotel,” she said.

She let go of his hand and walked to his other side while he turned around.

On the way back to his truck, he explained what she would see during the thirty-second shift, and how even though he would have the form of his animal, he would still fully think as his human. The only thing different would be his form.

“Will you stay with me, Trent? Will you hold me tonight?”

Could he? He wasn’t sure he could lay with her all night and not beg her to fuck him, but he would try. For her, he would do anything.

“If you’re not afraid, and you still want me to after you see my bear, then yes, I will.”

She smiled at him and suddenly his comfort didn’t matter. If she let him, he would hold her as long as she wanted.

***

“Are you ready?” Trent asked.

“Yes,” Olive answered from behind the island that separated the kitchen and the small living space.

He’d made her stay behind the bar in case she freaked out. It was rare, but sometimes humans had a difficult time watching a shifter change forms. If he noticed her distress from the other side of the room, he could shift back before she could do any real damage.

Even though the air conditioner ran in the background, sweat broke out on his forehead when he remembered the last time he’d shifted in front of a woman he was supposed to marry. His ex had looked at him with disgust and told him to never change forms in front of her again. She’d burned down the house a few months after that.

Somehow he’d forgotten that tiny detail until tonight. Not once in four years had he thought about the fact that she hadn’t accepted his other form. It should have been a deal breaker, but he hadn’t called off the wedding. He didn’t know why, but he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

How would Olive react when she saw his bear?

“Trent? You okay?” she asked.