Page 5 of Bound to Two Bears

“You drove all the way out here only to turn back now?” Jared asked, stepping closer.

“Yeah, well… it was a beautiful ride. I think that’s all I needed to see. No reason to stay any longer.”

“Reservations are non-refundable. You don’t want to lose what you paid already,” Jared stated, creeping ever closer.

“I’ll take the loss.” The man looked between them again, near panting.

“Are you alright?” Royce asked.

“Your eyes… they were…glowing.” He shook his head. “I saw them glow.”

Royce chuckled, knowing they’d let the human see too much. He hated to lie, but they had to tread lightly. “Glowing? I’m sure it was… just the setting sun coming in the window behind you.”

The man looked over his shoulder at the window. “It’s cloudy.”

“The sun’s been peeking in and out all day,” Jared said, inching up to take the man’s bags. “Here, let me help you with those.”

“The sun?” the human said more to himself than them. He looked to Royce, and then to Jared, before chuckling. “Yeah. It had to be the sun.” He handed his bag to Jared after a couple of heartbeats. “My head’s not on right at the moment. I’m sure it was the sun. It had to be, right?”

“Right,” Jared answered, along with a slow, steady smile.

Royce forced himself behind the desk. He didn’t want anything between him and the human, but they’d already spooked him. He needed to act as normal as possible and quell the raging beast inside—who was still ready to roar.

He had an idea what was happening. Looking at Jared, he caught his eye. Jared’s knowing look told Royce they might be on the same page.

Opening the computer registration system, Royce glanced over the screen. “We only have one cabin left unclaimed. Party of two.” A shot of jealousy spiked through him at the thought of the man being with someone else. His mind went back to Jared’s comment earlier about people only coming up to fuck. No one was touching this human.

No one but them.

Royce’s bear was ready to tear whoever it was to shreds.

“That’ll be party of one. I’m came alone,” the man said as he stepped closer to the desk. “Davies is the name the reservation is under. Carson Davies.”

Royce clicked a few keys on his computer, trying to keep a satisfied smile off his lips.Alone.That soundedmuchbetter.

“You’re also signed up for a couple of nature hikes. Will you still be interested in those?” he asked, looking up to take another glance at the handsome man.

Carson shook his head. “I’m not in any shape to be around people. Maybe you have a map of the trails? I could go hike on my own.”

“It’s not safe to go hiking alone,” Jared piped up. “We’ve got a lot of bears on the mountain. I could take you on a private hike, if you’d like. No other guests, so you wouldn’t have more than me to deal with.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Carson said offhandedly. He still appeared to be a little off-center.

“Eitherof us would be more than willing to give you a tour of the mountain,” Royce said, eyeing Jared for a moment. He turned back and smiled at Carson. “But I do agree about nothiking alone,” Royce said. “Jared’s right about the bears on this mountain. They’ve been known to attack humans, Mr. Davies.”

“You can call me Carson,” the man said, locking gazes with Royce.

Royce felt a wave of heat with that gaze, but then it was gone as quickly as it peeked out.

“Okay…Carson,” Royce answered, sensing the man finally relaxing a little. After he had Carson registered, he pulled out the key for the Larchmont Cabin. “I can show you to your cabin.”

“I’ll carry his bags,” Jared offered.

Royce met Jared’s gaze before eyeing Carson.

“Follow me.”

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