Bucking Bear (Pounding Hearts #3) Read online

  It’s a battle of wills between the wild raging animal inside of me and the man in my head who screams to take this slow and gentle.

  Grace, the name fits her so damn well. Like the way she danced last night and how she returns my kisses this morning—it’s graceful with barely restrained passion. I can feel how much she is controlling herself, how she holds herself on that razors edge.

  Her hips roll up and down as we kiss, our tongues following each other in a dance of sweet, hot passion. Fuck, I am all but falling this chick, falling into her kiss…

  Her kisses suddenly slow though and then stop all together.

  I have no clue what the hell I did wrong and I really want to fix it.

  I look down at her and see in her eyes a look of confusion. Shit, is she just now figuring out this isn’t a dream like I am?

  “What’s wrong?”

  She says the last thing I would expect, “My pillow is vibrating.”

  It’s my turn to be confused as I try to figure out what the fuck she just said. I mean I am good and all, but I have never caused such sexual arousal that a woman’s pillow vibrates. Then I hear a faint buzzing sound and figure out what she means.

  Reaching under the pillow I pull out a cellphone that isn’t mine.

  “Is this yours?” I ask.

  Her reaction sucks because she instantly goes from the sensual woman who the gods must have modeled all things desirous after to instant worry. She is still so beautiful but it’s in a way I haven’t seen before.

  Shit.

  She presses her phone to ear, her face a mask of worry, and I can only really hear her side of the conversation but I can make out enough to know that some asshat is causing her grief. When he speaks really loudly, my hackles start to rise. I can feel the bear in me raising back on its hind legs ready to protect her if she needs it.

  She is out of my bed so quickly, pulling her clothes back on, that I know instantly that what we had going just a moment go is over.

  Dead and done. No relief for either of us.

  Fuck.

  I wonder if she realizes I drove us back home last night as she starts patting herself down.

  “Crap,” she squeaks out as she must of just realized it. “Did you drive?”

  “Yeah, I brought you home last night. You were in no way safe to drive.”

  “Were you?”

  “Yeah, I’m in training. I have a fight coming up really soon.”

  “Um… would it be possible for you to help me go pick up my daughter?”

  Daughter. Well, shit. Daughter. There is a word I don’t hear often.

  My mouth is moving before my brain even has a chance to react. “Sure. I don’t have a car seat though. I mean we could probably go buy one really quick if we need…”

  Her eyes widen. “No, that’s okay, her father uses mine. He won’t buy one because he says it would look bad in his backseat.”

  What the fuck? I think to myself as I stand up quick from the bed. My cock leads the way as I walk towards her.

  She looks down and I swear I see her eyes almost cross as she stares really, really hard at it.

  Yeah, I’m not a small guy by any means.

  “Um…We… uh...” she stammers out as I pass her to get to my dresser.

  I pull out a pair of jeans and some socks. Grabbing a plain white t-shirt from the walk-in closet, I quickly pull on my clothes.

  Fuck underwear right now, the big guy needs to relax and not be confined.

  Grace looks at me for a moment then smiles. It’s not the biggest of smiles I have seen her with but it’s still a good one.

  I lead her through the house that she didn’t see last night. I was more carrying and kissing her through it.

  We head into the garage and I use my remote start on my big blue brand new Escalade. I love this fucking SUV; it gives me enough room to stretch out when I drive. Most vehicles are a bitch for a guy of my size.

  Opening the door for her, I help her up into it and then go around to my side.

  “Where to?” I ask.

  “We meet at his car lot. He runs the Subaru dealership on main.”

  Nodding my head, I say, “Got it.”

  When we pull out of the garage, her mouth drops open when she sees the house in its entirety.

  “Wow… your house is huge!”

  I so want to say that’s not all that is huge, but I am pretty sure she already knows that.

  We pull out onto the main road and my body seems to want to do things of its volition.

  Reaching out, I grab her hand and hold it in mine. Her hand is so small compared to mine, but it feels right somehow.

  She looks very tense for the first minute but then, looking over at me, I smile at her. Not my crazy - I am going to fuck you up during this fight - smile I do in the ring, but hopefully the one that says you are so mine now.

  Chapter Two

  Grace

  Max is holding my hand as he drives, and honest to God I don’t know what to make of it.

  After asking him for a ride to pick up Hope, I pretty much figured that was it, our little fling was over. Just like every other guy I’ve ever dated he’d tuck tail and run for the hills, especially now that he’s not getting in my pants.

  But he didn’t bat an eye.

  Hell, he was even quick to think of a car seat which makes me wonder if he has experience with kids. Most single people I know wouldn’t think of it. Something like that would have never crossed their mind.

  He has a brand new blue Escalade and his house is huge, just like him, it’s very nearly a mansion. It’s tucked back on a secluded patch of land, surrounded by trees, and I can smell water in the air like there’s a lake nearby. I know I was gaping stupidly as he pulled out, but I couldn’t help it. It’s obvious he’s loaded.

  We couldn’t be more different. He’s rich, and I’m a broke single mother. How did I end up here?

  I work as a waitress and still live with my parents. I could probably move into my own place if I wanted to, especially now that Carson is finally paying child support, but it would be so much harder. My parents adore Hope, and have been very supportive since the moment I told them I was pregnant, encouraging me to keep her. Without them I would be lost, doing everything by myself.

  Carson taking Hope every other weekend is something that has only started recently.

  In the beginning, when I was pregnant, Carson had all the intentions of stepping up and taking on the responsibility of being a father. After the shock of finding out I was pregnant wore off, and his parents calmed down, he had all these grand plans and dreams for us and her. Plans that went up in smoke as soon as she was born and he changed his first diaper.

  I suppose reality was just too much for him to handle. And I can relate, I honestly can, the amount of work a newborn baby takes was a hell of a shock to me too. But unlike me, I guess he felt like he had the choice to walk away from the responsibility, putting it all on me. After high school he went on to play football in a college out of state.

  Me? After high school I couldn’t afford to go to college so I took a waitressing job at the local restaurant chain, Thursdays. I tried to get some financial help from Carson, but being a college student who chose to party instead of work, he always claimed he didn’t have any money to give me.

  I sigh, staring out the window as the car slows and we pull into Carson’s Subaru lot. Max squeezes my hand like he’s trying to comfort or reassure me. Lost in my thoughts, I totally forgot he was holding my hand, squeezing it like he doesn’t want to let go of me.

  It just feels so natural, so right. The feel of his skin against my skin. The strength of his grip, the kind of strength that makes me feel like he can protect me. And I shouldn’t like it, I shouldn’t read too much into it, but what am I to think? Especially when I pull on my arm a little and he squeezes harder, smirking. Not willing to let go of me.

  Is he still interested in me?

  He can’t be, especially because he’s
already being dragged into my baby daddy drama, and we’ve only known each other less than twenty-four hours.

  Not to mention after what just happened in his bed, he must be suffering from a serious case of blue balls.

  “Here good?” he asks, parking in one of the spots next to the customer entrance.

  I nod my head and he finally releases my hand to shift the gear into park. Now that he’s no longer touching me, the nerves settle in. How is this going to go?

  Ever since Carson moved back home and took over this car lot, I feel like he’s been a wild card. I never know what he’s going to do.

  Pulling out my phone, I shoot Carson a quick text to let him know I’m here. He’s probably watching for my beat-up Camry and not an Escalade that costs more than my parents’ house.

  Unbuckling my seatbelt, I tell Max, “I’ll be just a moment.”

  Max nods and eases back in his seat, turning his music up like it’s no big deal. Hopping out my side, I feel his eyes following me as I walk around the front of the car. He seems to be a man of few words which is really making it hard for me to get a good feel on him.

  Maybe I should have just asked Max to drop me off at my car. But the club is all the way on the other side of town, thirty minutes from here, and Carson threatening to keep Hope if I didn’t make it here soon kind of freaked me out.

  Whenever it comes to Hope I tend to freak out.

  Besides my parents she’s all I got, the most important person to me in the world. I don’t think he could get away with it, legally, but I wouldn’t put it past him to try.

  I intercept Carson as he walks out the sliding front doors, carrying my booster seat with Hope following on his heels.

  “Mommy!” Hope squeals and runs for me.

  Dropping down to a squat, I hold my arms out for her. Hope collides with my body, rocking me back, and I wrap her up in my arms. She hugs me back, and for a moment I worry that it’s too tight, too relieved.

  “I missed you, Mommy,” she sniffles into my shirt.

  I kiss the top of her head and tell her, “I missed you too, sweetheart.” And just hold her.

  There’s nothing better in the world than hugging my little girl, especially when I know it comforts her.

  Carson clears his throat and I give her a little pat on the back. “Hope, I need to get up now.”

  It’s a struggle but I manage to wiggle out of her death grip enough to straighten almost to full height.

  “Grace,” Carson says, his face tight and his eyes full of judgement as they glide over me.

  I shift from foot to foot with Hope clinging to my side. Yeah, I’m a hot mess and I know it, and of course he’s all dressed up for work. Blonde hair slicked back, he’s dressed in a dark charcoal suit that his athletic body fills out really well, and it kills me that he’s looking every inch the super model. He’s always been so handsome, so effortlessly put together.

  “Carson,” I nod back.

  Carson’s baby blues flick past me, gliding over the parking lot before he arches a brow at me. “How did you get here?”

  “A friend gave me a ride,” I say and reach out my hand for the car seat.

  Carson frowns and gives the parking lot a second look. “A friend?”

  “Yeah, a friend,” I say.

  “What kind of car do they drive?”

  “The Escalade.”

  Carson turns towards the Escalade and I turn with him. There’s no way he can miss Max sitting in the driver’s seat.

  “Looks like you had a fun night,” Carson says with a sneer, turning back to me.

  Shame washes over me though I know I shouldn’t feel it. I’m young and responsible, I deserve to let my hair down every once in a while. What right does he of all people have to judge me?

  So I shrug my shoulders.

  Carson’s face reddens with anger and he steps closer, his voice dropping to a hiss. “I expected better of you, Grace.”

  My spine stiffens with indignation, and I’m not entirely sure what he’s implying. “What exactly are you accusing me of?”

  He looks me up and down pointedly, his eyes damning.

  Oh, hell no. I thrust out my hand and tell him to, “Give me the car seat.”

  Carson shakes his head and yanks it back, out of my reach. “I’ll give you a ride home.”

  My jaw drops so far down it nearly hits the concrete. “Are you serious? I thought you had to work.”

  “I do have to work,” Carson snaps. “But you and my daughter come first.”

  The words are out of my mouth before I can stop them, “Since when?”

  I really don’t want to call him out in front of Hope, it’s not fair to her. He is her father, even if I really don’t like him right now.

  Carson’s jaw clenches and a vein throbs in his neck. “Say goodbye to your friend and meet me by the back door.” He holds his hand out, “Come along, Hope.”

  “Mommy?” Hope looks up at me with uncertainty, clinging to my hip.

  I shake my head and say firmly, “No.”

  “No?” Carson repeats as if he can’t believe it.

  I set my chin and hold his gaze, I’m not going to let him bully me around.

  Carson takes a steps up to me until I have to tip my head back to look up at him. “Are you trying to make a scene?” he hisses, grabbing me roughly by the arm. “Showing up dressed like that to pick up my daughter?”

  Hope trembles against my side and it takes all the will power I have to say calmly, “Let go of my arm.”

  “No,” Carson refuses and even tries to pull me against my will.

  Behind me, I hear a car door slamming loudly and a deep voice asking, “What’s going on here?”

  Max

  During the drive over here I’ve been flipping back and forth on the whole single mother issue. It’s a different step than what I thought I was taking. Is it a bad step? Nah, definitely not at all. How could it be? She has a kid with someone else, it happens. Not a big deal.

  But I don’t want to be competing for her affections with her past asshole. That’s not the kind of drama I will be willing to deal with.

  She has a kid by someone else, no biggie. As long as I can put another one in that sexy flat tummy of hers I don’t give a shit.

  Yeah, I should not be thinking those kind of thoughts right now. Her with a big belly because I…

  Yeah, I don’t need to be sitting here with a throbbing erection.

  Her hand was so small in mine it would look so damn good wrapped tightly around my cock as she works to shove the big fucking head into her tight little...

  Shit! I am way too fucking horny. I gotta shut this shit down.

  I shake my head just a bit, just needing to get away from those thoughts.

  Thankfully, we are at the dealership so I can focus on anything besides fucking the life out of her.

  I watch a blonde little girl fly out the sliding glass doors of the building and into Grace’s arms. And I’ll be damned if she isn’t a carbon copy of her mother. Cute little sprite, but she doesn’t look happy.

  Seeing the slick primped up asshole coming out of the door behind her I can see why. Dude looks like he has a perpetual sneering smile on his face, he probably thinks it makes him look tough or something.

  Looks like a fucking runt to me.

  I don’t even like how the conversation is going as he looks over at my car and eyeball fucks me through the windshield.

  My hand is on the door handle… don’t know why, this shit isn’t my business anyway. Least he isn’t, not yet.

  I watch the little scene unfold and a ball of anger slowly builds in my stomach. I don’t like how Grace or her daughter look when the man speaks to them.

  I really don’t like when people touch my property. Grabbing my girl’s arm like that, yeah that ain’t going to work.

  Opening the door and then shutting it hard, I make sure to speak in a clear voice, “What’s going on here?”

  The man’s hand instant
ly drops from Grace’s arm as I walk over to them.

  Like I thought, guy is a fucking runt.

  He probably goes to the gym a couple times a month to stay all sleek and thin. But he isn’t anywhere near my shape and size. There’s no way in hell the guy can match my strength. I hit the gym five times a week and the dojo five times a week. He can’t fucking compete.

  Looking down at the guy I stick out my hand. “My name’s Maximilian.”

  Yeah, I’ve got more than a few inches on him standing at 6’4 to his what? 5’10?

  He looks down at my huge hand but doesn’t shake it. He tries to pull that sneering look he gave Grace but it looks more like a little frown.

  “I’m talking to Grace, I…” he clears his throat, “I will be taking them home.”

  “Is that right?” I ask and look over to Grace and her daughter.

  Grace gives me just the tiniest shake of her head. I give up on trying to get him to shake my hand and drop it to my side.

  Grinning down at him, I make sure he can see my teeth under my beard. “Nah, I got that. You go on back to work. You sounded pretty put out this morning. We don’t want you to go to any trouble.”

  Reaching out, I take hold of the car seat, pulling it from his hands with barely any resistance. Carefully handing it over to Grace, I say, “Why don’t you go ahead and get it in our car, babe. I’m pretty sure he doesn’t need to bother helping us do that.”

  Grace smiles at me, and then her and the little girl scamper over to my vehicle.

  Looking back into the guys eyes, I stand there for a long time. It may seem childish but I don’t give a fuck, this guy is going to be my bitch.

  He is the first to look away and I can see how angry it makes him.

  “Don’t ever touch Grace again. I don’t give a fuck about why you think it is acceptable to do such a little fucking bitch thing in the first place, but don’t do it again.”

  He looks up at me with a very pissed off look. “Who the fuck do you think you are?”

  “Like I said, I’m Maximilian Harper. Have a good day.”

  I turn my back to him and I swear I can feel him wanting to hit me from behind, wanting to show me is isn’t some little pussy.