Read One in a Bear-llion (Polar Heat Book 3) Online
Authors: Terry Bolryder
One in a Bear-llion (Polar Heat Book 3) (10 page)
S
ome Bear
to Love (Sebastien’s story)
K
im Starling was
glad the beautiful man she was watching had no idea she was there.
Even standing on a dock, muscles bulging as he loaded boxes onto a large live-aboard yacht, the man looked like something out of a magazine. He had long, gorgeous blond hair, sun-streaked from life on the island. It was tied low and whipped in the wind as he worked.
He was most likely a pureblooded bear shifter, judging from his tremendous height and the breadth of his shoulders. Plus the pure scent of alpha male brought to her on the ocean breeze.
They’d be going on an overnight tour of the island. And it was apparently mandatory, according to the orientation pamphlet she’d been given for winning a giveaway she couldn’t even remember entering.
In fact, she was sure she
hadn’t
entered, but she was used to shifter families doing weird things to match-make, and that’s exactly what she figured this was. A father’s attempt to bring female bear shifters in to meet his alpha male sons.
When the man in front of her finally sensed her presence, or at least acknowledged it, he whipped around to look at her and his hair flew in the wind, catching the sunlight in shades of gold.
He rose to his full, intimidating height and looked down at her with folded arms. A muscle twitched in his straight jaw.
She stuck out a hand, hoping to be friendly. “My name is Kim Starling. I’ll be on the boat with you today.”
“I know who you are,” he said, looking down at her reluctantly before taking her hand in a brisk shake. “I’m Sebastien Weston.” His eyes were a beautiful, intense aqua. The exact color of the sparkling ocean behind him. “But I want to be straight with you from the start. I’m not looking for a mate.”
She frowned. She hadn’t expected him to be so blunt. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. Who said I was either?”
He pursed full lips and that aqua gaze studied her. “I have a ship to run. I’m sorry for my father’s machinations, but I don’t have time to watch an alpha female while I have a crew to manage and a ship to pilot.”
Footsteps jogged up behind them on the dock, and they both whipped around to see the newcomer.
It was a younger-looking skipper, and he tipped his hat to the captain. “My first time navigating! Amazing, right? When Sam told me…”
Sebastien didn’t seem to like that at all. “What do you mean?” he asked, pinning the other with a glare.
“Well, I—I—he wants you to stay on as first mate, but he wants me to take the bulk of the duties.”
“Of course he does,” the taller man said with a sigh. He gave her a sidelong glance like he blamed her for this. She shrugged, it wasn’t her fault his dad was a little too eager with his matchmaking.
She turned to the younger man in front of her. “Well, I’m Kim Starling,” she said, shaking his hand vigorously. “And you are?”
He looked up at her and a blush traveled up his pale skin. “Bart, miss. Born and raised here.”
She bent slightly to be at his level, because he was quite short, despite probably being in his mid-twenties. “Well, then I guess you’ll be an excellent pilot and guide on this trip.”
“Captain,” the taller man muttered. “He’ll be an excellent captain.” He turned his back on them and strode toward the hotel.
“Then why do you look so pissed about it?” she called out.
He just gave her a mild glare over his shoulder and stormed off in the direction of the hotel.
She shrugged at the nervous-looking Bart who’d taken his position. “I’m sorry about that.”
“That’s just Sebastien’s way, ma’am,” he said. “He’s not a bad person, he’s just a little…odd is all.”
Kim watched him walk away until he disappeared through the door leading into the resort. Odd was right. But she couldn’t help wanting to find out just what else there was to the intriguing, handsome man who was no longer captain.
S
ebastien Weston thumped heavily
on the door to his father’s suite. His father’s matchmaking shenanigans had gone far enough.
“I know you’re in there,” he called grumpily.
The door finally swung open, and his father stood behind it, looking slightly rumpled. Now that he had Sebastien’s brother Scott running most aspects of the resort, his father was free to spend his time sleeping late and micromanaging his sons’ lives.
His father ran his hand through his short blond hair shot through with gray and white and yawned. “Bart is fully capable, as you well know. He’s been around the ships since he was little, and he’s had an excellent teacher.” He gestured to his son, but Sebastien wasn’t mollified by the compliment. He pushed past his father and strode into the room to pace in front of the sliding glass door that overlooked the ocean below.
He wanted to be out on it, focused on running things, not relegated to interacting with the crew. Especially one beautiful, vivacious she-bear that made him want to forget everything he had promised himself.
Sebastien had noticed her from the start, but tried hard not to pay attention. She seemed strong in a way that attracted his gaze, and there was a light in her eyes that told him life with her would always be an adventure.
But at the same time, he’d decided long ago that he’d never take a mate. He’d seen the damage it could cause and he couldn’t bring himself to be open to it.
He paced and grumbled, and his father simply laughed aggravatingly and sat in a chair to watch him. Then checked his watch.
“You know, you better get down there if you don’t want them to leave without you.”
Sebastien glanced at his father. “They won’t leave without me.” He put a hand over his face. “You can’t seriously be wanting to put Bart in charge.”
“You need to relax,” his father said, reclining in the chair and propping his feet on a cushioned ottoman. “All the time it’s work, work, work. It’s time you found a mate.”
Sebastien narrowed his eyes at his dad. “I knew that’s why you brought them here.” He continued to pace. What to do? Already the ship was calling him back. He longed to be on the ocean, where he felt completely in control, his hand on the wheel and the throttle, radio crackling beside him.
But he wanted to be captain, not the one interacting with passengers. Otherwise he’d have to spend a lot of time with the tempting Kim Starling. Which was bad, because he knew she was the type that would want more than he could give.
Something in him reacted as those gray eyes flashed in his mind, but he tried to ignore it. That was ridiculous. He shook his head and continued to pace but looked down at the boat when he heard a loud bell ringing, announcing that they would take off soon.
“Looks like they might call your bluff after all,” his dad said, looking highly amused.
Rage burned in Sebastien, but he didn’t make any move to leave. They wouldn’t leave without him. They couldn’t.
“You know, it won’t be so bad. Perhaps you could just get to know the lady. Be friends.”
Ha! She wasn’t the type you made friends with. She was the type you had hot sex with on a beach. The type you laughed with under the stars after a passionate kiss. The type you did water sports with and swam with and fell in love with and stayed forever with.
She was not for him.
“I can see how conflicted you are,” his dad said sardonically. “Why don’t you just go down there and give it a chance? Heck, maybe she’s looking for whatever you are. Maybe she doesn’t want a commitment.”
A shifter female who didn’t want a pureblooded polar bear for a mate? That didn’t exist. He knew that from the many women his father had thrown at him over the years. All those attempts had seemed half-serious, though, compared to this latest one. He’d actually brought three women out, one for each of his sons.
“Ah,” his father said, looking out the window to the ocean below. “Looks like your lady friend is going to be first mate, because if I’m not mistaken, your ship just took off without you.”
His eyes went wide and he grabbed a pair of binoculars that rested on a nearby table and ran out onto the deck. Sure enough, the boat was leaving, and out on the top deck was Kim, standing there with Bart.
Irritation flooded through him. He’d go out, get back aboard his boat, and then try to have a strongly worded conversation with the woman about just who would be running things.
Heaven help him.
A
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T
hanks so much for reading
!
Terry