Bearly In Love (The Carlton Brother Series Book 2) Read online

  It was only when he had her lain out on his bed that he saw how badly she was hurt, but also, how absolutely beautiful she was. Her lips were full and soft, her skin was pale as snow, and her hair long and wavy. Her body was curvaceous and smooth, her breasts large and her hips voluptuous. She looked like a woman from a Renaissance painting, and Ben couldn't stop staring at her.

  He felt strange, tending to her wounds, cleaning away the blood on her face and splinting her injuries, without ever knowing her name. Two days went by as she slept, and Ben watched over her without taking so much of a wink of sleep for himself. The moon had just risen on the third day, and Ben went into the kitchen to make himself another pot of coffee, when he heard a small groan come from the bed. He turned, and saw the woman trying to lift her head.

  Ben practically dropped the coffee pot in his rush to back to the bed and stop her.

  “Don't! Don't move your head, not until you've had a chance to tell me how your neck feels.”

  Her eyes fluttered open, revealing the biggest, roundest, sparkling eyes that Ben had ever seen. He wanted to say something to her, but his voice caught in his throat. She was truly the loveliest woman he had ever seen in his life.

  She gently coughed, and winced from the pain that coughing caused her. When she spoke, her voice was horse from not speaking in days.

  “Where... am I?”

  Ben looked around, suddenly nervous. “You're in my cabin. I was, taking a walk, and I saw you'd had an accident. I didn't have a phone or anything, and there was no one around, so I brought you back here. What's your name?”

  “Hospital...”

  Ben raised an eyebrow. “Your name is hospital?”

  The woman shook her head as best as she could. “Take me... to a hospital.”

  “I can't. I mean, I will. But not yet. I need you to be awake and alert before I can leave you alone. I don't have a phone and I left my cell phone at the... at my job. Can you tell me your name, please?”

  “River. Wales,” she whispered before she fell back asleep.

  Ben began to nervously pace the cabin. Wales? As in the Wales' who founded Honey Point Lodge and Resort? THOSE Wales? Her family was surely looking for her by now, but Ben didn't have a car and there was no way an ambulance was going to make it up to his cabin. He was going to have to go back to the ranch, explain to George what had happened, borrow the truck, and drive her into town himself. But she wasn't remotely in the condition to make a trip like that. Not yet.

  No; she was just going to have to stay here until she was a little more stable. In the meantime, Ben thought, I just hope no one finds one of Alaska's most wealthy heiresses, broken and bruised in my bed.

  Because then, being a shifter would be the least of his problems.

  Chapter Five

  -River-

  It was another day and night before River came to again, and when she did, Ben had just fallen asleep in the rocking chair by the fire. River's voice stirred him from an uneasy sleep.

  “Excuse me, um... you... over there?”

  Ben sat up in a shot and rushed to her side, where he knelt down next to the bed. She jumped, startled at how fast he moved. He was like an animal, a tall, bearded, blue-eyed animal. There was something about his presence, the heat radiating off his body, that made her uneasy. River tried to move away from him just a little bit, but her whole body ached, and from the way her shoulder and arm were throbbing, she guessed that one or both were broken.

  Ben held out a hand and gently patted her on the leg. “You're safe, I promise. I, splinted what I could, and put your left arm in a sling. I think your back and neck are okay. You're probably just sore. You didn't need stitches or anything like that.”

  “Are you a doctor? Because I'm a doctor. And I know damn well that I should be a hospital.”

  Ben didn't know what came over him, but he felt his tempter flare. “NO! I mean, that's not an option. Not yet. You need to heal a little bit first. There's no way for a ambulance to get to you up here, so I have to take you there. The ride is bumpy down the mountain. So, you just have to... wait. A little while.”

  River felt her own temper begin to boil away in her belly, and she wasn't sure how long she'd be able to control it.

  “Sir, can you tell me your name please?”

  “Ben Carlton. My father and brothers and I own a ranch closer to town.”

  River nodded softly, “Okay, Ben. It feels like my shoulder could be dislocated. My arm is definitely broken. I could have a concussion, which means I definitely should not have been sleeping this long without a CT scan. Speaking of... how long have a I been here?”

  Ben dropped his head. “Three days.”

  “Three days!? Oh my god, my cousin must be... My parents. Ben, I need to let people know where I am. I need to get to a hospital and have tests done to make sure nothing serious was broken. And you're the only one who can do that for me. So will you, do that for me, Ben?”

  River had taken classes in crisis management and hostage negotiation in medical school; they were part of her psychiatry training, and with all of the horrible things that happened in hospitals these days, it was better to know how to diffuse a dangerous situation. She knew she was talking to Ben as if she were negotiating her own release, but she didn't know what else to do. Especially because he didn't seem to be buying it.

  “River, you aren't my prisoner. I haven't kidnapped you, and I'm not holding you for ransom. You were hurt, in a really bad way when I happened upon you, and right now, all I'm trying to do is help you. So as soon as you are able, I will take you to a hospital. But for now, you need to a heal a little more. Got it?” There was a fire in his voice, a rage, that made River want to strangle him, or kiss him on his stupid, perfect mouth. She wasn't sure. All she knew was that she was in pain, and she was pissed.

  Ben stood up and smiled down at River. “Relax. I'll put on a movie for you. And make you some soup. But just... relax.”

  River let out a long, frustrated sigh. She was stuck here, and there was absolutely nothing she could about it.

  - - -

  Several more days passed, with River stuck in Ben's bed as he tended to her every need. It made her horribly uncomfortable; never in her life, not as a child, not as woman, not even as Craig's fiancé, had she allowed herself to be cared for. River just wasn't that kind of girl. But every time she tried to do something for herself, Ben would become furious, he would growl with anger, and insist that she needed to rest. There were many nights that River considered making a run for it, but then she'd feel the ache in her legs, and the soreness in her back, and she knew she wouldn't make it very far.

  Those times were bad, but then there were the times when Ben would make her coffee and read to her from her favorite Hemingway novel, and something inside of River would soften. She would look at Ben, and see the sparkle in his eye, a sparkle that made him seem like the sweetest man in the world. But then that temper would rear its head again, and she'd want to throttle him with her good arm. She didn't know how she was going to survive much longer in his company.

  Then the night came when something changed between them; something became volatile, and sexual, and utterly undeniable. There was no ignoring the chemistry between them, and as much as River felt like she hated him, there was a spark between her and Ben that was totally overwhelming.

  She'd been trapped in Ben's cabin for almost a week, and was beginning to find that the sight of the four walls were making her insane. Ben would leave every so often for hours at a time, without telling her where he was going, and he'd always come back without a shirt, looking bright red and exhausted. When he'd leave, she'd try to find a way to escape, but she discovered quickly that she still couldn't move well enough to make it to the bathroom on her own, let alone navigate the woods.

  But it didn't stop her from trying. She was half way to the door when it opened wide, and she was face-to-face with Ben, sweaty and cold, his eyes blazing with a combination of fury and excitement. When
he saw River standing in front of him, wrapped in a blanket and wearing her boots, he face dropped into a frozen expression of anger.

  “What the hell are you doing, River? Your back! Your hips! What if something is... what if... Get back in bed!”

  River shimmied out of the blanket and moved slowly but angrily back toward the bed. She scowled at Ben with every ounce of energy she could muster.

  “Do you have any idea how crazy I am going here? I'm in pain, I'm worried about my family who have no idea where I am right now, I have a job I am supposed to be starting soon, and you are keeping me locked up here like damn Rapunzel! I am losing my mind!”

  River settled back into the bed, and Ben sat down next to her, trying to lower his heart rate, which was going a mile-a-minute. River could feel it; and that same feeling she'd had before was returning, the one where she didn't know if she wanted to kiss Ben, or slap him across the face just for looking at her. Ben didn't know what came over him, but he couldn't stay away from River for another second. He had to touch her, even though she'd been yelling at him only a moment before.

  “I'm sorry, River. I know I need to control my temper. I just... I'm worried about you.”

  Ben slid closer to where River lay, and she couldn't explain why, but this time, she didn't pull away. There was a heat to him, and it drew her closer. River felt the sheet dropping from her round, full breasts, but she didn't do anything retrieve it; she just gave herself permission to inch closer to Ben's muscular chest.

  “I can't stay away from you,” she stammered, “I can't stand you, but I just... can't stay away.”

  Ben reached toward her with his large, strong hand and ran his thumb down her jawline. River felt a shiver run through her whole body, overwhelmed by the cold of the cabin and the heat emanating from Ben's body.

  River was torn between dueling emotions: her desire to get away from this beast of man, and her need to feel more of him. She knew that she was Ben's captive in a way, and she should be terrified, yet she felt a connection to him that superseded all of her fear. But more importantly, River couldn't shut out the way Ben made her feel as he kissed his way across her collarbone, and lightly nibbled on her shoulders.

  With a sly smile, Ben lowered his head to suck gently on the erect bud of one nipple, while his fingers expertly pinched and played with the other, and River felt a moan overtake her, one that she didn't even realize escaped in her own voice.

  “Ben, we can't. I can't... More, please,” she begged.

  Ben smiled up at her, his eyes twinkling with mischief. He had hoped that River would realize that they were fated to be together. He had felt it since the first moment he saw her on the road. All he wanted for her to understand that he would never hurt her; he only wanted to help her.

  “I'm yours, River. Only yours,” he whispered as he delicately pulled the rest of the sheet off of her.

  While Ben continued to gently toy with her breasts, he buried his head between her thighs, letting his skilled tongue explore the inner sanctum of her pussy. River used her good arm to hold fast to the bed, at once aware of the pain she felt from the crash, as well as the pleasure she felt as Ben licked and bit at her aching clit. All pretense of anger disappeared as Ben let his tongue play inside her increasingly wet sex.

  “God, Ben... Don't stop, please don't stop,” she moaned.

  Now that he officially had permission, Ben took it a step further, and slid his long, nimble fingers inside of her tight pussy, one first, and then two, filling her as she pressed into him, overcome by the sensations. Ben continued to explore inside River, to tempt her, and River herself becoming lost in her own ecstasy.

  Without even realizing she was doing it, River ran her fingers through Ben's beautiful brown hair, amazed at how soft and full it was. Ben took in all of River's curvaceous, elegant form, and when River locked eyes with Ben, all at once, she was brought back crashing into the present.

  I can't be doing this, she thought in a panic, I have to stop.

  She pulled away from Ben as quickly as she could, and with her arm that wasn't splinted, yanked the sheet back up over herself. Ben looked shocked and confused, but River couldn't go on.

  “Take me to the hospital, Ben. NOW.”

  Ben dropped his head, hurt more over the fact that she wanted to leave than anything else. But he wasn't going to force her to stay if she really wanted to leave that badly.

  “Of course, River. Of course. Whatever you want.”

  Ben handed River a quilt as he walked out to the door of the cabin to go get the truck, his eyes welling over with tears.

  Chapter Six

  -River-

  “I know this isn't what you want to hear, River, but Ben Carlton made the right decision by keeping you still as long as he did.”

  River was laying prostrate in a hospital bed, her legs practically above her head to prevent swelling, as small fractures had been located in her ankle and knee. Her shoulder wasn't dislocated, but she had multiple fractures in her sternum, left arm, forearm, and wrist, along with serious strains of her back and neck. After a CT scan, the doctors also determined she had a concussion. Dr. Dreyfus, a man who had taught River in med school, had been called in when she arrived at the hospital, and he had been keeping an eye on her ever since.

  “You probably shouldn't have been moved from the crash site, but with the rock slide a few miles back, it would have been days before a medical team would have made it to you, and with the weather what it is, you would have frozen to death before they did. It was best you stayed put while your body recovered, even if it was just for a few days.”

  River rolled her eyes, annoyed to hear that Ben had been right. There was no way she could have known about the rock slide, and after she left, her father had found her cell phone in the kitchen counter, so she would have died for sure if Ben hadn't rescued her.

  “What about the whole 'an ambulance couldn't make the drive' story? Is that true? It was bouncy in his truck, but it didn't seem that bad.”

  Dr. Dreyfus laughed and put a hand on River's arm.

  “Well, I can't say I've ever been to Ben Carlton's cabin, but I know it's pretty far out there. And I also know that he has plenty of training in life-saving techniques because of the work he does on the ranch. If anyone was qualified to take care of you out there in the woods, it was him. River, he saved your life. The Carlton men aren't the easiest to get along with, but they're good people. Give Ben a break, huh?”

  River took a deep breath and nodded, letting the comfort of the hospital bed, as well as the pain medication, wash over her. It wasn't going to be easy to forgive Ben for holding her captive, but knowing that she would have died without him? That went a long way toward changing her mind.

  “Dr. Dreyfus, can you find me the number for Carlton Ranch? I'd like to call Ben and thank him.”

  Dr. Dreyfus picked up the phone and handed it to River.

  “No need, missy. I still have breakfast with old George Carlton once a week. I'll dial the phone for you...”

  - - -

  Ben stood outside the hospital awkwardly, unsure of whether or not to go inside. The tulips he had brought for River were already beginning to droop in his hand. She had left a message at the ranch with Joe, so Ben hadn't heard the tone of her voice when she'd asked to see him. She could still be furious with him for all Ben knew; he was just hoping she wasn't.

  After stepping in and out of the revolving door a few times, he finally walked up to the reception desk and asked where River's room was. The girl working there looked like she was trying to stifle a laugh.

  Ben shook his head. “What's so funny?”

  “If you're talking about River Wales, she doesn't have a room. She has her own wing of the hospital right now. Her father paid to clear the floor so she wouldn't have to... Well, I shouldn't be telling tales, as they say.”

  Ben raised an eyebrow and gave the girl his most charming smile.

  “Oh, you can tell me. It will stay just betw
een us, I swear!”

  The girl tilted her head flirtatiously, and flipped her hair behind her ear.

  “Okay, since you asked nicely. I heard that her father paid to have the whole trauma wing closed down because River has some sort of immune disease. She gets sick really easily. Even a cold can be bad news. So while she's recovering from her car accident, she needs to be protected from any of the germs that are sometimes floating around a hospital, you know? Some of the girls have said she shouldn't even be working in a hospital, but she's stubborn. You know how rich girls are...”

  The girl covered her mouth; she knew she'd said too much, and if anyone had heard her, she could lose her job. The Wales family made huge donations to the hospital, most of which kept the institution up and running. Ben smiled at the girl and gestured that his mouth was zipped tight.

  “So what floor is River on, darling?”

  The girl ran her hand down a list on her desktop, tapping her fingernails on the hard wood surface as she did.

  “It looks like they've shut down the eighth floor, so it's a safe bet that is where they've stashed her. But don't you dare tell anyone I was the one that told you, promise?”

  Ben smiled again, slipped a tulip from the bunch, and handed it to the girl with a gallant bow. He could still hear her giggle as he walked toward the elevators. Why was it so easy with other girls but so hard with River? Was it because he felt this strange, animalistic attraction to her? Or was it because he felt like he had to protect her from everything horrible in the world? Whatever it was, when the elevator doors opened, he knew he had to make her see...

  He really did care about her.