The Bear Essentials (Siren Publishing: The Stormy Glenn ManLove Collection) Read online

  He didn’t understand what had drawn Raymond to him but he had found himself the recipient of Raymond’s fury every time he saw the man. Casey tried to avoid Raymond as much as possible, but it often felt as though the man hunted him down just to beat the crap out of him.

  “I really don’t need my bike,” Casey tried again. He’d do just about anything to avoid another confrontation with Raymond. He was still healing from last week’s beatdown and now he had today’s injuries to add to that. He didn’t need to have any more.

  “We’re getting your bike back, Casey.” There was something disapproving in Rob’s gaze that unsettled Casey. It made his stomach knot.

  “I know who you are,” Casey said to get the conversation headed somewhere else. “I’ve seen you around campus.”

  He just couldn’t believe that Rob Colton was talking to him. Raymond Barker might be the big man on campus, but Rob Colton was bigger. He also didn’t need to beat the crap out of people to gain their respect. He earned it naturally.

  And yet there was something edgy about that man that was intimidating as hell, and it wasn’t just his massive size. Any man that was six and half feet tall would be intimidating to Casey. Rob seemed to have something more, almost like there was a wildness just below the surface, waiting to be released.

  Casey wrapped his fingers around his seatbelt when they pulled into the campus parking lot and he spotted Raymond and his cohorts hanging out near the guy’s sports car. A few of the cheerleaders from school were standing there, vying for the man’s attention. Word had it Raymond was working his way through the entire cheerleading squad.

  “We really don’t have to do this,” Casey insisted when he spotted his bike leaning against a trash can near the small crowd of people. He didn’t need his bicycle. He could walk.

  Hell, he could run.

  “We’re doing this,” Rob said as he parked his truck several spots away from Raymond and the others, and then shut it off. He turned and patted Casey’s thigh. “It’s going to be okay, Casey.”

  “But…” Casey swallowed when nervousness thickened in his throat. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  The corner of Rob’s mouth quirked up. “Have a little more confidence in me, cub.”

  “I don’t know you.” How could he have confidence in someone he didn’t know?

  Rob grinned. “You will.”

  Casey didn’t know what to say, or even if he should say anything at all. Instead, he just sat there and watched Rob get out of the truck and walk across the parking lot toward Casey’s worst nightmare. Fear grabbed a hold of him when Rob confronted Raymond. He couldn’t hear what was being said but he sure could see the angry gestures.

  Raymond’s face was turning red.

  Casey cried out and slid across the bench seat to the driver’s side window when Raymond swung at Rob, the man’s fist plowing into Rob’s face. Casey knew just how much that hurt. His jaw dropped when Rob merely wiped the blood off his lip and then laughed.

  The man laughed.

  He was insane.

  Casey flinched and jerked back when Rob drew back his arm and then punched Raymond so hard the man flew up over the hood of his car. The two men were pretty much evenly matched when it came to size, but it was clear to anyone watching that Rob was stronger. He picked Raymond up off the car and tossed him through the air as if he was as light as a feather.

  When the guys that hung with Raymond started toward Rob, the man turned and said something. Casey couldn’t tell exactly what he said, but whatever it was scared the guys enough that they backed off.

  Casey wished he had that ability.

  By the time Rob started across the parking lot, Raymond was just rolling to his hands and knees. Rob grabbed him by his hair and forced the man to his feet before yanking him back across the parking lot to where Casey’s bike was.

  When Rob started gesturing and Raymond nodded quickly, Casey slapped a hand over his mouth as a giggle escaped. He had never seen anyone manhandle Raymond Barker. He wasn’t even sure it had ever happened. No one was brave enough to go up against the man.

  Until now.

  When Rob pointed back toward the truck and Raymond turned, Casey quickly scooted back and then slid down onto the floorboard. Rob might be brave enough to stand up to Raymond, but Casey was a chicken through and through. He had learned the hard way the futility of opposing Raymond.

  The scrape of metal on metal was accompanied by the truck swaying as Rob put the bike in the back of the truck. Casey closed his eyes and prayed Raymond hadn’t hurt Rob in some manner and was even now coming after him. The thought of Rob being injured made his stomach queasy. The man was trying to help him and Casey was cowering in the truck like a weenie. He deserved to have his head handed to him.

  Rob was probably regretting ever picking him up.

  Casey squeaked and cowered down when the door opened. When nothing happened, he peeked up through his arms. “Rob?”

  “Hey, cub.”

  Casey winced when he spotted the bloody cut on the corner of Rob’s mouth. It was already healing, but it still looked painful. “Does it hurt?”

  “This?” Rob wiped away a drop of blood, staring down at it for a moment before shrugging his shoulders. “I’ve had worse.”

  Casey had, too, and that was one of the reasons he was so in awe of the powerful man. “You fought Raymond for me.”

  An easy grin spread across Rob’s lips, his gray eyes beginning to sparkle. “I’d do anything for you, cub.”

  Casey’s heart thundered in his chest at the adoring glint he could see shining in Rob’s eyes. No one had ever looked at him like that. No one had ever looked at him as if he mattered.

  Gathering up little courage he had, Casey climbed up onto the seat and then scooted toward Rob. He opened his mouth to offer…something…when a flash of movement behind the man caught his attention.

  “Rob!” he screamed out in warning.

  The man swung around so fast, it belied his large stature. Rob raised his arm to stop the downward momentum of the steel pipe in Raymond’s hands. Casey cringed when he heard a distinctive snap. Having broken a few bones in his life, he knew what that sound meant, and he knew how much pain Rob must be in.

  Casey began to shake as fear knotted in his stomach. His eyes darted back and forth as he watched the two men grapple with each other. Raymond had the upper hand since he had broken Rob’s arm, but that didn’t seem to be swaying Rob one bit. The man was going after Raymond as if he intended to kill him.

  Casey had to do something. He spotted the steel pipe on the ground. He cast a quick glance at the two men fighting before sliding out of the truck and reaching for the weapon.

  “No, Casey!”

  Casey jumped back so fast he stumbled and fell on the ground, landing hard on his butt. He stared up at Rob with wide frightened eyes.

  Rob pointed to the truck.

  Casey scrambled to his feet and raced back to the truck, jumping inside and slamming the door behind him. His heart pounded painfully in his chest as he hit the lock and then turned to stare out the window.

  Rob was once again fighting with Raymond. The two of them fought as if they had all day to exchange punches. The scene was getting bloodier and bloodier by the second. Casey was just amazed that Rob continued to fight Raymond with one hand. He held the other one close to his side as if trying to protect it. The other one was pounding into Raymond’s face every time the man got close.

  Raymond was losing the fight.

  Casey slid down in the seat when the local sheriff came tearing into the parking lot, lights flashing. He peered over the edge of the window to watch what was going on just in time to see the sheriff jump out of his patrol car and run over to break up the fight. Rob was still cradling his injured hand to his stomach but he wasn’t pummeling Raymond anymore.

  Too bad.

  Raymond, on the other hand, seemed to be doing an awful lot of talking, or rather screaming and yelling. Casey swallo
wed hard when the sheriff’s eyes cut in his direction. It took every ounce of what little courage he had not to slide back down to the floorboards.

  The law in town wasn’t exactly bad, but they tended to look the other way a lot of the time, especially when it came to people born on the wrong side of the tracks. Not only had Casey been born on the wrong side of the tracks, but his drug-addicted mother had overdosed when he was a baby, leaving him an orphan.

  He had no idea who is father was. No one did. That was another strike against him. Bouncing from foster home to foster home after he ran away time and again hadn’t gained him any friends. Instead, it gave him a reputation as a punk kid that didn’t appreciate what was given to him by the good folks of King City.

  If they only knew what some of his foster parents tried to give him behind closed doors. Casey ran because he had reason to, not because he wanted to. He had spent more than one night hiding in his closet, staying awake so he could hear if someone came into his room.

  Not all of his foster homes had been bad. Most people had been civil, but there had been no doubt that Casey was there to bring in a check. He wasn’t going to find a forever home and be loved and accepted. He was actually starting to wonder if such a thing existed.

  Casey was in no way surprised when the sheriff waved Raymond away and the asshole headed across the parking lot to get in his sports car and speed off. He had seen it before. It was as though no matter what Raymond did, those in charge looked the other way.

  The man was an ass.

  After watching Raymond’s car disappear around a corner, Casey turned his attention back to Rob and the sheriff. The two men were talking, Rob’s stance one of rigid anger and indignation. The sheriff just stood there with a cold fury on his face as if what he was hearing pissed him off. Casey just couldn’t figure out exactly who the sheriff was angry at.

  He prayed it wasn’t him. He had to stay in King City a couple more months if he wanted to have enough money to move somewhere far away from here, and it would help if he wasn’t being harassed by the local law enforcement.

  He swallowed hard when Rob walked over and grabbed the metal pipe off the ground and turned to hand it to the sheriff. The older man’s jaw clenched. Casey couldn’t hear what the man said, but he could tell from the way his face darkened that his words were clipped and angry.

  Rob reached out and shook the sheriff’s hand and then turned toward him. When he reached the truck, Casey unlocked the door before scooting back across the seat. He held his breath as he watched Rob open the door and climb inside.

  The silence was thickening.

  “Are you mad at me?” Casey whispered in a weak and tremulous voice.

  “No, cub. I’m not mad at you.”

  Casey tried to relax, to not be frightened, but Rob was still clenching his jaw. “You yelled at me before.”

  “You were trying to pick up that pipe.”

  Casey’s eyes dropped to his lap. “You were hurt,” he replied in a small voice. “I wanted to help.” He inhaled a shaky breath when he felt Rob’s fingers on his chin, lifting his head. “I’m sorry.”

  Rob’s expression softened, his gray eyes turning tender. “Come here, cub.”

  Casey eyed Rob for a moment before reaching over and taking the hand Rob held out to him. He gasped in surprise when he was dragged across the seat and onto Rob’s lap. He was turned and twisted, pushed and pulled. By the time he was situated just the way Rob wanted, he was straddling the man’s lap. The big man was rubbing his stubble over the side of Casey’s face and neck.

  “Are you scenting me?”

  Casey tucked his lips in when Rob stilled.

  “What do you know of scenting, Casey?” Rob’s tone was stilted, measured. His eyes were sharp and assessing when they met Casey’s.

  Casey gulped, puzzled by the abrupt change in Rob’s mood. He had seemed so easy going a mere moment ago. He wasn’t angry right now, but he didn’t seem happy either. “U–um…wh–when a be–bear shi–shifter wants to sce–scent some–someone, they…they—”

  Rob’s large fingers gripped Casey’s jaw, tilting his head up. “You know about bear shifters, cub?”

  Casey’s eyes rounded. “We live in a town full of shifters.”

  Hell, even his foster parents were shifters.

  Rob suddenly checked, his features easing. “Well, that makes this a whole lot easier then.”

  Casey blinked in confusion. “Makes what easier?”

  “Claiming you as my true mate.”

  Chapter Three

  Rob was floating on cloud nine as they drove down the street a little while later. Casey seemed a little flustered at his announcement, but the man hadn’t moved from his side since Rob had placed him there. In fact, he had scooted as close as his seat belt would allow, which was just fine with Rob.

  Casey was tight lipped, which worried Rob a little, but he let it go for now, hoping the man was merely processing the sudden changes in his life. Rob had no intention of give Casey up so the guy better get used to being the mate of a bear shifter.

  Despite his resolve to claim Casey, he knew he still needed to talk to his parents. He had thought to talk to them about joining his father’s construction company. Now, he needed their help to find a place for him and his cub to live.

  “Where do you live, cub?” Maybe finding that out would be a good start.

  “Now that I’ve graduated, state law says my foster parents have to give me until the end of the summer to find my own place, so I still live with them.” He didn’t sound happy about that.

  “You live with foster parents?”

  “Yeah.” Casey shrugged like that meant nothing. “My mom died when I was little.”

  “And your father?”

  “I don’t know. He was gone before I was born. I don’t even know who he was.” The words were stilted with shame.

  Rob couldn’t reach over and hug Casey due to his broken hand. He had to keep his good one on the steering wheel. Instead, he leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to the top of Casey’s head when they stopped at a red light.

  “Not knowing where you come from is nothing to be ashamed of, cub. It is your father’s responsibility to insure you know the path to our ancestors, not yours.”

  “That’s for bear shifters.”

  “That is for anyone, Casey. Cubs are precious and every bear knows that. We have a responsibility to teach them and guide them so that they become better bears.”

  Casey stared, wide eyed. “You call me cub. Does that include me?”

  “It does.” Rob sent Casey a wink. He could hear the desire to belong in Casey’s voice and wanted to assure the man that he did. “I will teach you everything you need to know about being the mate of a bear.”

  Pulling up in front of the house he shared with his parents, Rob shut off the engine and pocketed the keys before turning to look at his mate. “Does my being a bear scare you, Casey?”

  “No.” But there was a bit of hesitation in Casey’s eyes, belying his response.

  “You know I will never hurt you.”

  “You won’t but…”

  Rob wrapped his good arm around Casey, pulling the man tighter to his side even as he leaned down and rested his chin on the top of Casey’s head. “That’s lesson one, cub. A bear devotes his entire life to making sure his mate is healthy and happy, and that includes protecting you from dirt bags like Raymond Barker.”

  Casey tilted his head back, his caramel-colored eyes wide and uncertain. “Me?” he whispered in a voice clouded with doubt.

  “Yes, cub, you.” Rob smiled at the stunned disbelief shining so brightly in Casey’s face. The poor man had no idea how much his life had just changed. With one look, he had become the most important person in Rob’s life.

  “Come on, let’s go on inside so I can shift and heal this.” Rob held up his swollen and bruised hand. He wanted to get it over and done with so that he could hold Casey with both arms.

  Casey’s e
yes darted toward the two story New England Colonial style house. “In there?”

  “This is where my family lives, Casey.” It was also where he hoped Casey would agree to live until they could afford a place of their own.

  “But…your parents…”

  “My parents will welcome you with open arms.” At least, Rob prayed that was true. Casey being a man wasn’t that big of a thing, even if his mother was going to bemoan the loss of grandchildren. Male or female, a true mate was a true mate, and accepted by everyone.

  It was the whole human thing that was going to be the problem.

  Rob reached across his body and opened the door with his good hand. He slid out of the truck and then turned back and held his hand out to Casey, waiting patiently as the man decided whether to take it or not. He didn’t want to force Casey to do anything. He wanted his true mate to walk by his side because that was where the man wanted to be.

  That didn’t mean he was going to let Casey go—ever.

  Rob’s eyes swept over Casey’s face approvingly when the man took his hand. “Good, cub.”

  He didn’t blame Casey when he walked slowly toward the house. He was a little hesitant himself. He had always known he was loved. His parents had always made sure of that, even if they had been strict. Bringing home a human mate was something altogether different.

  Rob pushed open the front door and pulled Casey in after him before shutting the door. “Mom, Dad, I’m home.”

  “We’re in the kitchen, dear.”

  Rob smiled at the sound of his mother’s voice. No voice on earth was as sweet. Rob frowned as he thought about that and then thought about the man standing next to him trying to burrow into his side. There might be one voice that sounded sweeter.

  “Well, who do we have here?” Maggie Colton wiped her hands on a hand towel and then draped it over her shoulder. Rob couldn’t remember ever seeing his mother cooking without a hand towel on her shoulder. It was like a cooking essential in his mother’s kitchen.