Bare Knuckle Bear: Bear Shifter Romance (Broken Hill Bears Book 2) Read online

  Bare Knuckle Bear

  Broken Hill Bears Book 2

  Ariana Hawkes

  Contents

  Copyright

  Also by Ariana Hawkes

  Get your free book!

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Note by Ariana Hawkes

  Also by Ariana Hawkes

  Bonus story: Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love (Dina)

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Your free book is waiting!

  About the Author

  Copyright ©2016 by Ariana Hawkes

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events and businesses is purely coincidental.

  This is a standalone, full length novel of around 44,000 words.

  Created with Vellum

  Also by Ariana Hawkes

  Broken Hill Bears

  Bear In The Rough (Broken Hill Bears Book 1)

  Shiftr: Hope Valley Dating App Romances

  Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love – Book 1 (Dina)

  Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love – Book 2 (Kristin)

  Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love – Book 3 (Melissa)

  Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love – Book 4 (Andrea)

  Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love – Book 5 (Lori)

  Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love – Book 6 (Adaira)

  Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love – Book 7 (Timo)

  Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love – Book 8 (Jessica)

  Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love – Book 9 (Ryzard)

  Winter Bear Shifter Romances

  Bear Home for Christmas

  Bear Mine for Christmas

  Bear My Perfect Gift

  Ravished by the Ice Palace Pack

  Get your free book!

  A 4.5-star rated, comedy romance featuring one kickass roller derby chick, two scorching-hot Alphas, and the naughty nip that changed their lives forever.

  The only thing missing from Aspen Richardson’s life is a man who will love her just the way she is. In the small town she calls home, bullies from the past remain, making her wonder if it's ever going to happen. But, things are about to change in a major way, as the secret Aspen’s parents have been keeping from her comes out…

  “This book definitely needs to be added to your MUST read list – you will quickly fall in love with this steamy and fast paced story.”

  Get your free book now!

  (If your device doesn’t support links, go to www.arianahawkes.com/freebook)

  1

  Braxton Quentin sat on a small wooden stool at the side of the ring, resting his elbows on his knees and sucking in great lungfuls of air. Perspiration dripped down his forehead and stung his eyes. His knuckles ached from the many blows he’d inflicted on his opponent, and his head was ringing from a few that he’d received himself. While one of his clan mates poured ice-cold water on the back of his neck and another inspected his wounds, he glared at his opponent, who was sitting on the opposite side of the ring from him, glaring back, eyes burning with hatred. Mikal Havonson. They’d once been clan mates; brothers, almost, until Mikal made a terrible mistake that led to him being banished from the clan. He was now a member of the Black Paw Ridge Bears, sworn enemies of the Broken Hill Bears.

  They’d gone nine, hard, punishing rounds, and there were three remaining. At the start of the fight, Braxton hadn’t expected it to last that long. He thought it would be a relatively easy win. But Mikal had recently gotten a lot harder. His reactions were faster, his punches and holds more brutal, his hatred of his enemy boundless. Braxton was fast developing a grudging respect for the younger bear.

  The bell rang and Braxton leapt to his feet again. But as he stood up, something in the crowd caught his eye. “What the –?” he muttered. He paused and looked at it hard, shook his head, checking that his vision hadn’t gone blurry. But no, there it was again. Huge and unignorable. He clenched his fists as rage coursed through his body, and his bear let off a furious roar. The audience screamed, already whipped up into a frenzy of excitement and terror. He checked himself, forced his bear back under control. One thing at a time. First, he had to win the fight, and then he’d deal with this bullshit, whatever it is. Mikal charged towards him, jaw jutting out in grim determination, and Braxton landed a punch square in his face, that sent him reeling back against the ropes. Anger lent power to his muscles and after that, he made short work of Mikal, alternately pummeling and throwing him until he didn’t know which way was up. The referee called the match half way through the tenth round, Mikal flat on his back and unable to pull himself to his feet.

  Braxton raised his fists to the sky and bellowed his victory to the hundreds of screaming fans who clapped and whistled their appreciation of him. He played up to them, flexing his muscles, boasting that he’d sent another Black Paw Ridge Bear home crying to his mama, and they soaked it up, chanting his name and waving banners, the girls making proposals of marriage, and more. But his attention was elsewhere. As he yelled and preened, he scanned the crowd, looking for the thing that had made him so furious a few minutes earlier, but it was gone. He ran his hand through his perspiration-soaked black hair and frowned. He knew he hadn’t imagined it; his bear eyesight was unerring.

  For the final part of the show, he paused in the bullet-proof-glass tunnel that led to the changing room, flirting with the female audience members, then he and the rest of the clan shifted and raced back into the ring, roaring and snarling as they tussled with each other, tumbling around the ring, claws out and teeth bared. The audience loved this part. They screamed and howled and hid under their seats. Someone always fainted and had to be carried out by the paramedic crew.

  But tonight, Braxton couldn’t get back to the changing room quick enough, every muscle in his body tense with agitation. He shifted, showered and charged into the conference room where the clan held their post-match debrief with the human promoters. Xander, his Alpha, was already in there, discussing sponsorship opportunities, while the humans nodded eagerly, faces pale, and perspiration dotting their faces and darkening the underarms of their jackets.

  “The Black Paws make me quake in my boots! – By Braxton Quentin,” Braxton thundered, smashing the door back against the wall. The humans jumped.

  “Wh-what?” a man in a gray suit stammered, clutching at his necktie.

  “Someone was wearing a t-shirt that supposedly quoted me. Saying the Black Paws make me quake in my boots!” he repeated. Xander’s head snapped in his direction.

  “What the hell?”

  “It was on a t-shirt. And it wasn’t home
made. It was a real printed t-shirt. Someone had it made at a print shop or something.” He was standing inches from the glass divider, glaring at the humans, while his bear snarled low in its throat.

  “This has to be the Black Paws’ work,” Xander growled, getting to his feet as well. “They can’t beat us in a fight, so they’re trying to smear our reputation.”

  Braxton noticed distractedly that the humans were cowering together, trying to get as far away from him as possible. He cleared his throat and sat down. “How has this happened?” he demanded.

  “Www-we’re so sorry. It won’t happen again. We-we’ll make sure we do thorough security checks of everyone coming into the venues and make sure they’re not carrying anything that might insult you,” another man in a suit mumbled, looking like he was moments away from having a coronary. Braxton slammed his hand down on the table, and the man let out a small scream and clapped his hand over his mouth.

  “That’s not good enough!” he bellowed. “They’ll only go handing out these t-shirts outside the venue. We need to stop this altogether.” The humans stared at each other, eyes wide, mouths opening and closing like goldfish in a tank. They were evidently all out of ideas. If it hadn’t been so serious, Braxton would’ve laughed. The humans’ abject terror of the shifters was a constant source of amusement for the bears. Instead, he fixed them with a glare. Sorting out issues like these was what the management team was paid to do.

  “You need to protect your identity,” a clear, silvery female voice piped up. Braxton lifted his head. It was coming from a girl sitting right at the back of the room. He’d been in such a rage that he’d failed to notice her until now. She was young, with pale skin and auburn hair tied back from her face. Her eyes were large and brown and turned up at the outer corners, like a cat, and she had a narrow nose with slightly flared nostrils, and full lips that reminded him of a maraschino cherry. All in all, she was very pretty, and her gray business suit hinted at generous curves beneath. His bear gave a soft rumble and Braxton checked himself, surprised that he was finding a human attractive.

  “Thanks, Neve, we’ll handle this,” one of the men snapped, turning in his seat and throwing the girl a furious glance. Her lips pursed into a tight O, and she fell silent.

  “What did you say?” Braxton said, speaking more gently than he had before.

  “I’m sorry. She’s just a temp. She’s only here to take notes,” the man blustered.

  “Let the woman speak!” Braxton thundered, and the glass partition vibrated with the force of his voice. The humans all dived off their seats and flattened themselves onto the ground. All except for the girl. She was trembling, more than they’d seen anyone tremble before, but she stood her ground, sitting on the cheap, plastic chair, her arms wrapped around her body.

  “I said that you need to protect your identity. And there are laws that can help you do that,” she said, her voice taut with nerves, but clear.

  “Human laws?” Braxton said.

  “Yes. They’d prevent people from using your words or images deceitfully.” The girl leaned forward in her chair and a light came into her eyes as she spoke. She really is an extraordinarily pretty human, Braxton thought, and his bear purred in approval. But he didn’t like what she was saying. Not one bit. He threw a glance at Xander, whose brow was furrowed as he turned over her words, and took his silence as a sign that he wanted him to take the initiative. The clan was well aware that Xander was looking for his Second, and being the intelligent, strategic Alpha he was, he was testing them, waiting for someone to prove themselves worthy. Braxton badly wanted to be the chosen one.

  He got to his feet.

  “I don’t like the idea of getting tangled up in human laws. They’re not for bears,” he said. “What we need to do is to flatten those Black Paws, not sit back and wait on legal wrangling. Thank you for your help, lady – and gentlemen. We’ll deal with this particular issue ourselves.” The humans nodded in relief, except for the girl, who looked like she wanted to say more. Braxton sensed the intelligence in her eyes. But this wasn’t something for humans to have an opinion on. They couldn’t begin to understand the feud that had been going on between the Broken Hill Bears and the Black Paw Ridge Bears for so many generations. As his anger toward the Black Paws rose up again, he scraped his chair back and stormed out of the room without a backward glance.

  “If the Black Paws want war, they’ve got it,” he snarled as he and Xander headed to the tour bus that was waiting to take them back to Broken Hill. And he put the gutsy, auburn-haired human out of his mind, not beginning to imagine the effect she was about to have on his life.

  2

  Neve Vincent pulled into her parking spot outside her trailer and turned off the engine. But she didn’t get out of the car. Instead she stared blankly through the windscreen, gripping the steering wheel so tight that her fingers began to ache.

  The moment she’d been dreaming of for so long had finally happened: she’d come face to face with her hero – the drop-dead gorgeous, black-haired, blue-eyed shifter god, Braxton Quentin of the Broken Hill Bears. And then her boss had totally humiliated her in front of him.

  “Just a temp,” she muttered. And she gave into the yell of fury that had been bubbling below the surface ever since her A-hole employer had so carelessly disrespected her and made her look like an idiot. She didn’t care if anyone heard her. Around her neighborhood, people yelled and screamed all night long. Everyone was so used to it that no-one would react if you were hollering that you were being murdered.

  When she was done, she felt a little better. She might be working the stupidest job in the universe right now, taking notes for a sexist, arrogant pig, but she wasn’t ‘just a temp’. She happened to have a law degree. Okay, it was a degree from the lowest-ranked law school in the entire United States. But she was still a qualified lawyer, licensed to practice. Unfortunately, she hadn’t been taken on by a law firm yet, which was why she was working a temp job at Help U Win Event Management to make ends meet.

  The bears hadn’t liked her idea, but at least Braxton had stood up for her. She gave a short, sardonic laugh. Everyone was terrified of shifters, but they’d acted far more dignified than anyone else in the room. And Braxton had even spoken to her! When she thought about the way his sparkling blue eyes with the little crinkles at the corners had locked onto hers with such a hypnotic intensity, her tummy flipped. She was a big fan of all the bears. She’d been obsessed with them ever since she was small, and she’d been to as many matches as she could afford. Most people had a clan that they rooted for, and she was no different. There was just something about the Broken Hill Bears. They were very tough fighters – very strong and ruthless – but they didn’t go in for dirty tricks. They just fought hard, and she sensed that they were good and decent. She was so excited when she found out that Help U Win Event Management worked for the bears, and she’d begged the boss to let her attend the meeting. At first, he’d said no, but then he’d looked her up and down with a nasty gleam in his eye and said that maybe having her there would “help everyone relax”. As long as she kept her mouth shut. When Xander and Braxton had walked into the room, she thought she was going to pass out. She was completely star struck. Up close, with only a sheet of bullet-proof glass separating them from her, they were even more stunning than when she watched them on the big screens above the wrestling ring. They were both very tall, with muscles bulging all over their powerful bodies. Braxton was wearing a black v-neck t-shirt, his hair and chest seductively damp from a post-match shower.

  He had always been her favorite. She loved the way he moved in the ring, his huge bulk so light and agile, always keeping him a step ahead of his opponents. He was such a calm fighter, taking his time, letting his opponent get all his aggression out before he made his killer move. And those eyes! They were incredible – so deep blue and wide set, with thick black lashes. When he was yelling to the cameras, they looked fierce, but there was always a moment when he relaxed, as the ca
mera was pulled away, and the little crinkles showed at the outer corners, and she knew that he had a kind personality. His skin was deeply tanned and brought out the whiteness of his straight teeth. He had black hair, which was short at the sides and tousled on top, short sideburns and a sexy covering of stubble along his broad jaw. And when he smiled, right at the cameras, it was as if he was smiling only for her. Xander was hot too, with his intense brown eyes and serious expression, but for her, he couldn’t compare to Braxton.

  She’d been so nervous to speak to him after idolizing him for so long that she was surprised she managed to get her words out. And then she was amazed that he’d listened to her so attentively, his cornflower-blue gaze full of intelligence. What would it be like to be his girlfriend, to wake up to him next to you every day? she wondered.

  She shook herself out of her reverie. What was the point of dreaming? Least of all since she wasn’t available anyway. She let out a long sigh.

  Part of the reason why she was continuing to sit out there in her car was that she needed a few minutes before she dealt with whatever her boyfriend had been up to in her absence. There was always something. He might have trashed the place in a drug-fueled search for cash. He might have invited his deadbeat friends over, and they’d be lounging all over her stuff, in a mountain of beer and pizza. Or he might just be in a foul mood, and waiting to make her life hell. She couldn’t take any of it right now. Even the sight of him lying around playing video games might just flip her out.

  At last, she climbed out of her rustbucket of a car, slamming the door, and trudged up the steps of her trailer. Holding her breath as she always did, she turned her key in the lock and prepared herself for all eventualities.