Bearllionaire(9)
He regretted it the minute it came out. But the jealous part of him, the part that didn’t want to share any part of her with anyone else already, couldn’t help wanting to know everything he could about his potential future rival. It was the business shark in him, maybe. Scope out the competition. Find out their weaknesses. Attack.
“Oh. Um. An ex.”
His stomach twisted in an unpleasant way. He knew it was a little odd that he was falling this hard, this fast, but according to his father, this was how it had been between him and Ryder’s mother. Ryder hated his father for being a player, but he had to admit he admired him for knowing what he wanted and going after it. It was the selfishness that came after that Ryder couldn’t accept. Damn it, would he end up like that if he mated? No, it was monogamy for him all the way. Besides, with his work, he’d barely have time for anything else.
But he had a feeling after ignoring his bear for so long, he’d be taking some time off work when he found a mate. Or at least taking it a little easier.
Ryder focused on the road, which was still icy but better now that the snow was lessening. The wipers made a kind of unpleasant intrusion into the silence, reminding him he really should have something to say about now. But bears were solitary creatures, so even his animal couldn’t help him with this one.
Bear shifters were rare and didn’t reproduce as easily as wolves or other shifters did. That was probably part of why his father had pulled them all back here to find mates. Probably there were some women around with latent bear blood or women who were just hardy in general if they could live out here in the cold, isolated weather in the winter.
Women who could perhaps carry bear shifter cubs.
He stifled a growl as he tried to think of a way to ask about her ex that wasn’t intrusive. But he couldn’t, so he just stayed silent, unable to believe he could already feel so possessive of a woman he’d barely met.
“So what brings you to Bearstone Park?” she asked quietly. “Must be pretty different for a big tech mogul like yourself.”
He sighed and clenched one hand around the wheel. “Actually, I grew up here. At least for while. Anyway, Dad’s will brought us back.”
He snuck a look at her and caught her biting her lip and eyeing him sideways. He snapped his gaze back to the road. Just the one second look at her, those lush lips bitten in just the way he’d like to bite them, had made his pulse increase.
Easy, Ryder.
“But if you didn’t want to come back, I doubt there’s anything in his will that could tempt you. I mean, you’re one of the richest men in the world.”
Ryder nodded. It was true but only because his dad had given them all something to start out with. He’d gone into investing and done very well for himself after business school. But it was more than that. His father had given him life in a world where life wasn’t easy to give. He had a duty to reproduce, and his father would know more about it than most. And with so little family, bear shifters took family ties seriously. Especially without a mother around.
His heart throbbed at that and his chest tightened painfully, as if to shield the long-buried wound there.
“You’re kind of a still-waters-run-deep kind of person, aren’t you?” she asked.
He laughed at that, palming the wheel to take a careful turn and rubbing the ache from his chest, hoping she didn’t notice. “I don’t know. I can be quite loud and forceful when the time calls for it, or even when it doesn’t. You can ask my brothers about that. I guess being home just sort of feels nostalgic.”
“So your brothers will be there too?”
He opened his mouth to say yes, that they were also there looking for mates, but then jealousy ran through him. “They’ll be around, yes. But you’ll be working mainly with me.” Damn, that sounded controlling. But best she get used to it now. If she became his mate, he’d be that much more possessive. Much as he loved them, his brothers were the last people he’d want spending much time alone with his potential future mate.
That was his bear talking. His bear had sized up the woman with her curves and her beautiful ass and made up its mind on the spot. Ryder would just have to follow because the same bear had driven him to success in the business world with its strength and tenacity, and he had no doubt its taste in women were awesome as well.
It didn’t hurt that it made Ryder’s mouth water to think about those luscious curves under his hands. He was a big, tall man, and he could easily handle those bountiful, lush breasts, that wide, plush ass. He gripped the wheel a little tighter and hoped she didn’t notice the sudden tightness in his pants.