Rogue Bear: Bluff Bears, #1

By Amelia Jade

Calan Winters wants a woman. A mate.

He's tired of skinny, platinum blonde girls with fake tits. He's looking for someone with shape, who is all curves and all woman. He intends to make her all his.

In search of his mate, he's returning to to Bear Bluffs after being gone for fifteen years. He's back to reclaim his old family land, find his mate, and to settle down and have some cubs with her. He swears up and down his wandering, rogue-like past is behind him. But can he convince himself that it's the truth?

Harley Hammond is new to town. She fled an untenable situation several years earlier, coming to find the only family she has left; her dad. She's just started to feel comfortable in town, when in walks a mysterious bear shifter, who has an instantaneous effect upon her. In fear of betrayal and more pain than her still-broken heart can handle, Harley does her best to keep him at a distance. 

As it turns out though, Calan may be the only one who can save her from trouble of her own making. Will his efforts be enough to convince her that he's for real?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amelia Jade
• Release date: Apr 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386171003

Book preview

Chapter One

Calan

Warm air thick with water billowed through the lowered windows of his truck as he meandered through the mountain road. A quick sniff of the air told him it was going to rain shortly, although he already knew that. The dark, ominous clouds in the distance told him the same story, even as he continued to head toward them.

His destination lay that way, and Calan Winters was not interested in a detour or setback. Like Pacific Ocean salmon, he was returning home, set on finding a mate. A smile tugged at his lips as he thought about what happened next to the fish. Although it wouldn't be the first time someone had attempted to end his life, Calan was hoping that the mate he sought wouldn't be so quick to shoot.

Cresting a small rise, the town of Bear Bluffs came into his view. With his goal in sight, his foot nudged the gas pedal slightly closer to the floor. He wondered if the Bear Bluff's Quencher was still in business. Until he had left town over a decade and a half earlier, the Quencher was the only bar in town.

The building was still standing, as was the old, hand painted sign across the top. There were only several cars outside at this time of day, which was unsurprising. Pushing his way through the swinging door, he took a deep whiff of the interior, memories washing over him.

The sweet, sickly smell of wood cleaner was mixed heavily with that of peanuts, beer and things best left labeled as 'other'. The few patrons that were in there looked over at him, assessing the intruder amongst their mix. Bear shifters were larger than normal humans, but even for them Calan was massive, reaching five inches over six feet  in height, his massive tattooed arms bulging as he picked his way between two tables, headed for the long, faded wood of the bar.

Gimme your finest house ale, he rumbled, the hardwood chair groaning under his weight as he sat down. The small, comely waitress gave him a big smile, her pupils dilating slightly as she took him in.

Calan was used to those looks, having had his share of women over the years because of it. The over-makeuped, low-cut shirt and short skirt look of the skinny brunette just wasn't his style anymore. He wanted something more, someone with some meat on her bones that he wasn't going to break when he had his way with her.

What Calan really wanted was a mate.

You're sitting in my chair. The strong female voice sounded from behind him just as the bartender delivered his beer. He glanced quickly at the bartender, looking for his reaction. There was no worry, anger, or any other emotion there, simply the face of a man doing his job. Taking that into consideration, Calan took his time reacting.

Taking a long, slow sip of the delicious draft, the taste of barley, malt and hops swimming around his tongue, Calan turned around, his eyes hooded. Although he had lived a rough life, one thing he had always prided himself on was manners. Whenever someone was rude to him, he didn't like it.

The sun was shining through several streaky stained-glass windows, forcing him to wait a moment as his eyes focused on the icy blue orbs staring back at him. His pants grew tight, blood surging involuntarily between his legs, almost to the point of pain as she came into focus, giving him the best glare she could muster. The heat of it washed over him, barely affecting the thoughts going through his head.

She was tall, likely falling just shy of six feet, he told himself as he took her in fully. The plain white t-shirt she wore accentuated her large, round breasts, and soft, pleasant belly. The long, beautiful blonde hair that fell down past her shoulders may have been the only thing about her that screamed feminine, but she was all woman, and all his.

What the fuck?!

The last thought startled him at first, but Calan Winters realized he had found his mate. The thought itself was crazy, because he knew fated mates were just a myth, not something that actually existed. Still, he could not deny the way his body reacted to this woman. She caused a reaction within him simply from standing there that most women couldn't get without using their full skillset.

His first instinct was to surge to his feet, bend her over the bar and have his way with her. He couldn't though, despite the throbbing reminder within his jeans. He tightened his fingers on the bottle of beer and gripped his chair with the other to keep himself inert.  The roaring of his bear was so loud that he could have sworn it was audible to the others in the room.

I said, you're sitting in my chair, she replied after a moment, though her voice had lost some of its gusto after their eyes met.

My apologies, he replied politely, gracefully swinging himself out of the seat and down into the one next to it, never once breaking eye contact with this mysterious woman. He was straining toward her, drawn like a powerful magnet.

With a sniff of derision at his lack of willingness to leave, she took the seat and gestured to the bartender. The look did not go unnoticed by Calan, who understood that she was a regular here, enough so that whoever was behind the bar knew what she wanted when she came in at this time of day.

Excuse me... he left it open, hoping to get her name and strike up a conversation.

Yes? she replied brusquely, not looking over at him.

Could you be so kind as to point out to me where on the chair I missed that it was yours? If she wanted to play games that was fine with Calan. He was a master at playing games. There was an attraction between them, he had felt it immediately, and there was no way she had not. Now all he had to do was get her to admit to it. The first step was eye contact.

Rolling her eyes in disdain, the mystery woman turned to look at him briefly, giving him an 'are you for real?' type of look, before turning back to her now ready drink. Still, he had caught another glimpse of those beautiful topaz eyes, enough to set his body on edge as he fought down his bear.

Taking his time, he tested the air discretely, trying to get a better feel for her. The faint scent of smoke, along with something beneath it that bespoke of her natural aroma wafted over to him. It was enough to let him know she was a shifter, too, a bear like him. It explained her size relative to most, as bear shifters were large.

The smoke threw him off, forcing Calan to take another sniff to identify it. It wasn't tobacco smoke he realized, but something closer to that of burnt wood, charred trees or something similar. It was faint, but not something he would ever forget smelling after being trapped in a burning building several years back.

I never did get your name, Miss, he started again, doing his best to get her to talk.

No, you didn't, she replied gruffly. To his well-travelled ear, it sounded forced, almost as if she was trying to make him think she was angry when she wasn't.

So, how're things going today, Harley? The bartender spoke up nonchalantly as he came back over, wiping the counter clean of whatever imaginary dust only he could see.

Not bad, Jet, not bad. Heading in to the station soon, see what's going on today. Hopefully those idiots at the campgrounds can keep things in check today.

I hope so, for their sake and yours, he replied before moving away to wipe down an already clean section of the bar again.

It might have been his imagination, but Calan got the feeling that the bartender had asked her that