Series: Lee Savino
Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 66414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66414 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 221(@300wpm)
F*&% me.
Maisy is human. Too young. Too sweet. Too breakable.
I’m a Bad Bear. Ten years older. And I play rough. I’m an animal–in bed and out.
She walks into my clinic, and my bear growls mine.
But I can’t claim her.
So I take Moon Cure to keep my beast caged. Tell myself I’ll wait.
Then her scheming father tries to sell her future,
F*&% that.
I marry her on the spot—a fake wedding to save her from a real nightmare.
To protect her, I can handle sleeping in the same bed without touching her.
But she’s looking at me like she wants to learn every filthy thing I can teach her.
My control is cracking. The Moon Cure isn’t working anymore.
And this Bad Bear is done pretending he doesn’t want to devour his wife.
She might be innocent. But she’s mine.
And I won’t share
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter One
Matthias
There are worse ways to torture a man than making him a doctor in a small town where his fated mate is off-limits.
I just haven't found one yet.
It’s five thirty-two on a Monday night, and the mayor of Bad Bear Mountain’s blowing up my phone. Daisy’s called six times in the past two hours, probably to pick my brain about the Bad Bear Winterfest.
Fates, I need to avoid her. Not because I don’t want to get pulled into planning a small town festival–although I don’t. But because of Daisy’s delectable granddaughter.
Maisy. My sweet mate.
No, don’t think about her.
On long days like these, it’s hard to keep my thoughts from straying to her. I just did a double shift at the hospital in Santa Fe, and drove home only to swing by here to cover the rest of the nurse practitioner’s shift here at the clinic. I’m not tired; my shifter side has too much stamina for that. I mean, I could sleep. But I really need to go outside. My bear wants some forest time, and keeping him from going feral is a constant pressure.
Sometimes, I think I work all the time just so that when I finally go to sleep, I’m too tired to dream of her.
I run my hand over my face.
The scent of mulled cider and caramel apples wafts through the door, and my bear instantly surges to the surface.
At first, I think I’m imagining it because when I let my mind wander, all I think of is her. Her hair, her scent, her smile, the delicious curves she hides under slightly too-baggy clothes.
But then, I realize…
She’s here.
Fuck.
I can’t stop myself from sucking the scent in through my nostrils, savoring the notes of caramel and cinnamon and delectable young female.
I groan. The smell makes my mouth water. My dick gets hard. My fangs try to punch through my gums, lengthening and ready to sink into something sweet.
Nope.
Not happening.
That can never happen.
I yank open the drawer of my desk where I keep the vials of Moon Cure. It’s a special formulation I came up with to deal with my…unique situation. I rip open a fresh syringe and fill it. I don’t even bother to sanitize the top of the bottle or my skin. I jab it into my biceps and press the plunger down.
The cooling sensation spreads through my arm. Sweet relief, just in time. In a few seconds, it’ll bring a dullness to my senses. Like bringing a curtain up between my rational brain and my desires. My logical self and my feral one.
My bear doesn’t like it, but he understands.
There’s a knock on my office door.
I withdraw the needle as I shove my desk drawer closed, then drop the needle in the trash can. I’ll put it in the biohazard box later. “Yes, Sara?”
Sara opens the door. “Dr. Matthias? We have a walk-in.”
Yes. I’m well aware. And I know exactly who it is.
“The patient hoped to see Nancy, but she just left.”
I stand. “It’s okay. Nancy left early to see her son in the school play. I’m covering her patients ‘til closing.” I straighten my glasses and give her a smile. “Show the patient to room two and let her know I’ll be there in a moment.”
Them. I should’ve said them, not her. I shouldn’t know her gender when all Sara said was patient. I need to get my bear under control because I’m making mistakes.
“Right away, Doctor.” Before Sara leaves, she whips out a cloth and polishes away an invisible speck of something from the doorknob. There’s no dust in the entire clinic–everything is spic and span after the renovation, but it doesn’t stop Sara from buffing doorknobs with a smile. She’s proud of this place.
Residents of Bad Bear Mountain used to have to drive to Santa Fe for all healthcare needs until Bad Bear’s formidable old mayor, Daisy, and I helped found this place. She badgered someone to donate this drafty old house, and I volunteered my hours along with a part-time nurse.
Now the newly renovated clinic is staffed with a full-time manager and nurse practitioner, all made possible by generous donations from Lana Langmeyer and Paloma Castillo, our resident billionaires.
I lean against my desk and draw in a steadying breath as I wait for the Moon Cure to flood my system. My bear sends me a flood of fast-motion images–me rushing into the exam room, throwing my beautiful young patient on the table, and feasting between her legs. Me holding her down and marking her savagely with my teeth. Me shifting to bear form, picking her up, and carrying her off to my den for an undisturbed ravishment.
Not. Happening. I tell him firmly, as I do every time I catch Maisy’s sweet scent.
She’s my greatest torture. My longest trial. Lately I’ve been allowing myself to stop into the cafe to get coffee before the drive to Santa Fe for a morning shift. That’s when my willpower is at peak strength.