Tempting The Bear: Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (Gray Bears Book 4) (3 page)

She was pale and her hands
felt cold and clammy. She grimaced and bit down a cry as her body
shuddered in pain.

“
Hang on, M'am, you'll
be fine. You and your baby will be just fine.”

Jackson arranged her carefully
in the passenger seat and jumped behind the wheel.

He glanced at the trembling
woman and floored the gas pedal. What was a pregnant woman doing in
a dark, deserted lane all alone on a Saturday night? Where was her
mate? Didn't he know that she was about to give birth?

Jackson could see his knuckles
gleaming bone white on the steering wheel as he sped towards the
hospital. He was mad as hell. He was mad that this young woman was
alone and in agony, with no one to help her. If he hadn't found her,
she might have given birth in that dark lane. She might have bled to
death, or something. And her baby might not have survived. She
might have run into some bad people, and a hundred horrible things
could have happened. It was just unthinkable!

Jackson gulped and found his
breathing quickening to match hers. His hands felt cold and clammy
like hers, and he suddenly felt a clenching ache in his abdomen. He
could feel his pulse racing and he was staring to hyperventilate.

“
Calm down, just calm
down...” he muttered. He wasn't sure if he was talking to
himself or the woman.

Jackson glanced at the
wheezing, whimpering woman. Her eyes were squeezed shut in pain and
her fingers were furiously twisting the edge of her large, faded
shirt. She was sweating and shivering as she tried to choke back her
cries.

“
Not now, baby...”
she hissed through gritted teeth. “Mummy's not ready...”

Jackson made a strangled
sound. Ready or not, her baby was coming. The woman was about to
give birth!

What did he know about
childbirth? Nothing, that's what! He couldn't help her.

Jackson stomped on the
accelerator.

The only thing he could do
right now was drive like a demon and get the woman to the hospital in
time.

CHAPTER
FIVE

Harper gazed down at her tiny
son in her arms. Her son was a little premature, but he was
perfectly healthy. It seemed half-shifter babies had a shorter
gestation time in the womb.

“
He's gorgeous,”
the nurses cooed. “What's his name?”

Harper kissed her son's
perfect little nose and said, “Jeremy.”

“
That's a lovely name.
Shall I get Jeremy's dad to come in now? He's been pacing the
hospital corridor for hours!” one of the nurses quipped.

Harper started and almost
screamed her protest. “J-Jeremy's dad...” She made a
strangled sound and swallowed her terror.

“
Yes.” The nurse
smiled in understanding. “Big, blond, green eyes.” She
chuckled. “I've seen this before. New mothers sometimes
suffer from a temporary loss of memory. They remember nothing, and
they only have eyes for their precious little one. One woman even
stared at her husband and blurted, do I know you?”

Before Harper could stop her,
the nurse opened the door and beckoned. “Come on in, Mr Gray.
You must be so anxious to see your son!”

Harper stared at the tall,
blond man at the door and released a shaky breath of relief. It
wasn't Douglas. Douglas hadn't found her. He wasn't here to kill
Jeremy.

But who was this handsome
stranger?

Harper blinked as the man came
forward and smiled. “We made it, eh?”

“
We? Made it?”
she repeated stupidly.

“
Yeah. We made it to
the hospital just in time. The little guy couldn't wait.”

“
Oh. You...I remember.”
She stared at him. “You're the kind stranger who helped me.
I'm sorry. Hours of numbing, screaming labor has wiped out some of
my brain cells. I couldn't remember...” She smiled in
embarrassment. “But of course I remember you. You carried me
to your car and rushed me to the hospital. Thank you. Thank you so
much, Mr...”

“
Jackson. I'm Jackson
Gray. And I'm so glad to see that you and your baby are well.”

Harper smiled shyly at him.
Jackson had the kindest, gentlest eyes she had ever seen. He was
tall and strapping, with large, calloused hands and a tanned,
muscular build. He was frankly quite gigantic and he towered over
everyone in the hospital room. He pulled up a tiny chair and sat
beside her bed. Harper realized that the chair wasn't tiny at all.
It just seemed tiny compared to Jackson Gray.

“
I'm Harper Clair and
this is Jeremy.” She moved her son's little hand in a jaunty
wave.

Jackson leaned forward and she
thought she saw him sniff at Jeremy. Harper swallowed nervously and
clutched her son tighter.

There was an unreadable
emotion in Jackson's green eyes when he said, “He's a lion
shifter.”

“
He…?”

“
Your son. Your son is
half lion. You are human, so...”

Harper nodded. Jackson
deserved to know the truth. She owed her son's life to him. “Yes.
Jeremy's...biological father is a lion shifter.”

Her careful choice of words
was not lost on him. “He's not your mate,” he said
simply, almost smugly.

“
No.” She took a
sharp breath and said fiercely, “Neither is he Jeremy's dad!”

Jackson waited till the nurses
have all left the room before asking, “What do you mean?”

Harper looked at the precious
bundle in her arms. Her son yawned and stretched out a tiny hand to
touch her face. Harper released a slow sigh. For her son's sake,
she couldn't keep hiding and isolating herself from everyone. She
had to start building bridges and friendships, and give him a normal,
happy childhood. Children needed to have friends, neighbors, people
who loved them in their lives.

She had to start letting
people back into her life, into
their
lives. She was no
longer alone. She had Jeremy.

She would start now.

Jackson deserved the truth.
He had saved her, and there was no reason for him to hurt her and
Jeremy.

As she pressed her little son
to her heart, Harper told Jackson everything.

CHAPTER
SIX

Jackson felt both his anger
and his bear rise as he listened to Harper's story. The girl was
young, barely twenty-one when she met Douglas, and he had seduced her
and knocked her up. Instead of doing the right thing by her, the
scum threatened her and tried to force her to terminate her
pregnancy. And when she refused, he swore that he would kill her
baby if she gave birth to the child.

Harper was right. Douglas
wasn't Jeremy's dad. No dad would murder his own kid. Douglas was
just a toadying, conniving scumbag. He wanted wealth and power, and
he felt that Harper and Jeremy would be stumbling blocks to his
ascension to the coveted Alpha position. And he didn't even earn the
Alpha position himself. He was going to marry the Alpha's daughter
and inherit the position. He had no spine at all! Jackson had to
wonder if he was even truly a lion. A lion with no heart, no
conscience, no spine and no balls.

Jackson could feel his claws
digging into his palms when Harper told him how Douglas had tried to
kill her with his bare hands one night when they were fighting. He
had tried to persuade her to get rid of the baby again, and when it
became clear to him that he couldn't manipulate and fool her anymore,
he had lost it and grabbed her neck.

“
He was going to kill me
and my baby,” Harper whispered, closing her eyes at the
horrific memory. “But I managed to run out and pound on my
neighbor's door. My neighbor let me in and I stayed in her house the
whole night. The next day, I packed all my things and left town. My
neighbor gave me a lift to the bus stop but I didn't tell her where I
was going. I couldn't risk it. Douglas might threaten her and she
may just reveal my whereabouts inadvertently. I hid in another town
for a month, before coming to Shadow Point. I thought…this
town would be a good place to raise Jeremy. He'd fit in...”

“
Yes. He will,”
Jackson answered tightly. “You belong here, both of you.”

Harper's eyes widened a little
and Jackson forced himself to gentle his tone. He didn't want to
frighten her. She had already experienced too much fear and violence
in her young life. No more. No more fear and tears.

From now on, Harper and her
son would only know love, laughter and hopefully, happiness.

“
Shadow Point is the
perfect town for you and your son,” Jackson said, leaning
forward. “You'll fit right in, and you can even get a job
easily...”

“
I...I had a job,”
Harper stuttered. “I just lost it.”

Jackson's brows rose. “What
happened?”

“
I was fired from the
restaurant. A customer spilled wine on her dress and blamed me. The
manager fired me on the spot.”

“
What's the name of the
restaurant?”

“
Grand Grill.”

“
The manager there is a
weasel. And I mean, literally and figuratively. Howard is a weasel
shifter. And he likes to flatter and pander to his well-heeled
customers. The Caldwell wolves patronize his restaurant, and Howard
is really afraid of upsetting them.” Jackson snorted in
derision. “And the Caldwell wolves are a pack of arrogant
pricks.”

“
Howard addressed the
customer as Mr Caldwell,” Harper muttered, half to herself.

“
You're better off not
working at Grand Grill,” Jackson said firmly. “There are
lots of nice restaurants and eateries in town. I'm sure you'll be
able to get a job when you're ready. In the meantime, you have to
rest and build up your health. The nurses told me to take good care
of you.”

“
They did?”

“
Yeah.”

“
Oh.” Harper
began to blush and she stammered, “They thought...that you're
my...um, husband or boyfriend...”

“
Doesn't matter what
they think,” Jackson interjected. “The important thing
now is to keep you and Jeremy safe. You need people around you. You
can't be all alone with a newborn. Where do you live, Harper?”

“
I have a small rented
place near Batcove Lane...”

“
That area's not really
safe,” Jackson snapped. “You shouldn't live there with
your little baby...”

“
Then where will I
live?” she cried.

“
With me.”

She opened her mouth but no
sound came out.

“
You'll come home with
me. My Gramma, Ne-ma and sisters-in-law can help take care of you
and Jeremy. And my brothers and I will protect you and keep you
safe. You can count on us,” he promised.

CHAPTER
SEVEN

Harper hugged her baby and
thanked the nurses for taking care of her. She'd had a smooth,
normal delivery and she could go home today.

Harper thought of her cramped,
dingy apartment and wondered how she could make it cozy and
comfortable for her baby. Jackson had offered to let her live in his
house, but surely the guy was just joking. He had only just met her.
And he had done enough for her. She shouldn't trouble him any more.

“
Um...about the hospital
bill.” Harper turned to a matronly, smiling nurse. “Can
I pay...by installments? I'm afraid...”

“
Your bill's been fully
settled,” the nurse answered. “You don't have to worry
about it.”

Harper was about to ask
another question when the door opened and Jackson strode into the
room.

“
All ready to go home?”
he beamed.

“
Jackson...”

“
Jeremy's room is all
ready! Gramma, Ne-ma and Elle repainted the entire room. They used
a Quick-Paint spell, but...” Jackson began to laugh. “You
should see it for yourself.”

“
Jeremy's room? I...”

“
Yeah. It's my room
actually, but now...it's a nursery!”

Harper swallowed hard.
Jackson and his family had gone to such lengths for her. They were
welcoming her into their home without even having met her.

Overwhelmed, Harper wiped her
eyes quickly and whispered, “Thank you, Jackson. Thank you...”

He smiled and touched her
son's soft, downy hair very gently. “I'm sure Jeremy will love
his room.”

“
Would you like to hold
him?” she asked quietly.

Jackson sucked in a breath.
“Can I? You'd let me?”

“
Of course.”

Carefully, she placed her son
in Jackson's huge hands and watched the smile spread across his face.
Jackson's eyes shone with wonder and joy as he cradled the sleeping
infant. “You're safe, Jeremy,” Jackson muttered softly.
“I'll keep you safe. I promise.”

He handed the baby back to
Harper and said, “Thank you.”

“
Thank
you
,”
she replied. “You made my son feel safe and loved.”