Alpha Rancher Bear: BWWM Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Bears of Pinerock County Book 3) by Zoe Chant Page B

road; the shoulders were too heaped with snow to pull over. There were no vehicles coming, in any case. Charmian put on the parking brake and then leaned across the space between them to put her arms around him.
    She smelled so good. All woman, and all her. He had thought he would feel embarrassed and ashamed for opening up like that, but instead he felt oddly better, as if he'd purged some kind of poison he'd been holding inside for a long time.
    "I was afraid I might've run you off forever," he murmured into her hair.
    "No, you didn't run me off. I'm too stubborn for that. I guess the main thing is, I wasn't expecting that level of commitment so soon."
    "We don't go slow when it comes to relationships, us shifters. It's all or nothing with us."
    "So I'm gathering."
    "But," he added, "I will back off, if you want me to. We can go exactly as fast as you want."
    "Thank you. I ... I'll try to let you know how fast is too fast. I'm not that great at communicating that kind of thing either. At least not without yelling."
    He laughed a little. "We can try to keep the yelling to a minimum."
    "No yelling. Fair enough."
    "We're a pair, aren't we?"
    "We probably deserve each other. But thank you for telling me about your parents. Her breath whispered across his neck as she spoke. "I know it must have been hard. And thank you for trusting me, with your story and behind the wheel, too."
    "Like I said, I think I trust you to drive more than I trust me."
    She kissed his neck lightly, sending a shiver through him. "I know how much that means, coming from you."
    They stayed that way for another moment or two, until Charmian took a bracing breath and carefully unwound herself. "Mary Lambert's baby isn't going to wait much longer, I'm afraid."
    "Charmian." Alec placed his hand on her face, tipping her head back, and brought his lips to hers. It was a slow kiss at first, deepening and heating up as he plied her mouth with his tongue.
    When he pulled back, her lips were parted and wet, and her eyes were dazed.
    "Okay," he said with a grin, and right at that moment, he felt better than he had in years. "That's the reaction I was looking for."
    Charmian's answering smile was impish. "You might regret this if we're stuck, buddy, because you're the one who has to get out and push."
    But she got the Jeep moving again, rocking back and forth and then crawling along the unplowed road. The snow was piling up badly.
    "Chains?" she asked, braking again.
    "It'd probably be a good idea."
    They both got out and he helped her put the chains on. The two of them worked smoothly in tandem, as if they'd been doing it for years. No words were necessary.
    We really do make a good team, he thought.
    The chains made a noticeable difference. The Jeep was no longer swimming around on the snowy road, but pulled smoothly and steadily forward.
    Charmian slowed and stopped at a turn-off marked with a mailbox. It was clear that no one had been down the Lamberts' driveway in days. Alec could barely even tell there was a driveway there, as opposed to a open space between the trees.
    "This may be the moment of no return," Charmian said. "I don't think we can turn around; the road's too narrow. If we get stuck, we'll have to back all the way out to the main road." She took out her cell phone, and shook her head. "No service. I can't call and see how Mary's doing."
    "You really feel strongly about this, don't you?" Alec asked.
    "I do. She says she'll be fine on her own, and she may be right. This is her fourth baby, and she has her mother to help her. But I can't just leave her like that. If anything goes wrong, there's no way an ambulance is going to be able to get up this road."
    "You gotta do what you gotta do," Alec said. "I understand. And I'll be there, doing it with you. Let's go."
    She gave him a smile that lit him all the way down to his toes. Putting the Jeep in gear, she crept forward onto the unplowed driveway.
    It was all right at first. The Jeep had a high enough