Free Her Bah Humbug Bear (A BBW Paranormal Holiday Romance) by Marie Mason Page B

on opening next year.
    Next year.
    If he was even here next year. What would he do if Mercy found someone else? Married him? Had cubs? His bear went wild at the thought and Dirk had to use all his restraint to wrangle the bear into submission.
    He picked up the piece of wood he’d been working on. A rough outline of a tree branch with three Christmas cardinals perched on top was clearly visible. It didn’t take Dirk long to create these types of sculptures.
    As he worked, he blanked out his mind. Or tried to. Tried to forget the feel of Mercy’s soft lips beneath his. Tried to forget her sweet taste.
    “Fuck.” He cursed as he sliced through the meat of his thumb, having pressed too hard. He wiped the blood on his jeans, watching as the cut virtually healed up before his eyes.
    And there was the reason why he was reluctant— fucking stubborn, his bear insisted— reluctant to take, hell, even acknowledge the possibility of Mercy being his mate.
    If he couldn’t protect his family—a family of bear shifters, for fuck’s sake—how could he possibly expect to keep Mercy from harm.
    Especially when he was the one more apt to harm her than anyone else in the world.
    Cold air rushed toward him as the outside door opened. He didn’t need to look up to see who had entered his domain. Marcus. The damn bear didn’t know personal boundaries. No doubt he had seen Mercy’s car leave the mountain—after staying the night. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
    “Okay.” The heavy threads of the man’s winter boots sounded across the concrete floor.  Dirk had put a lot of effort into building the cabin and the workshop, thinking Marcus could use it as a rental cabin when he left. The land still belonged to the other bear and most of the materials he’d used had come from the forest surrounding the cabin.
    Building it had given him something to do. Something to live for.
    His thoughts immediately flew to Mercy. She was something he needed to live for.
    “This is good work, Dirk. It should make you a tidy sum in the gift shop next year.” Marcus picked up the cardinal carving then put it down. He went on to touch other ornaments Dirk had completed in the last month. Squirrels, deer, wolves. He had yet to do a bear, thinking that might just be a little too personal. Dirk didn’t want some stranger having a likeness of him in his bear form hanging on their Christmas tree year after year.
    “I’ll drop them off before I leave.” There was no way he could stay here now, he’d realized. Marcus had been correct the other day. He couldn’t bear to be in the same town as Mercy if she found another man to love. Became the mother of children who weren’t his.
    “Leave? You going somewhere?” Marcus sat down on the empty stool beside him.
    “Yeah. I’m leaving Riverton.”
    “What brought this decision about? Mercy wanting to spread her wings a little? I can’t blame her; her aunt wasn’t a very impulsive person.”
    A grunt from Dirk was the only response he got and it made the bigger bear chuff. “Listen to me, asshole. I’m trying to tell you something here.”
    Dirk finally looked up, his eyes blazing. “What? That Mercy’s too good for me? That she deserves more than a damaged bear? Believe me, I know that already.” And it’s tearing me apart inside, he thought in anguish.
    “No, you idiot. I’m trying to tell you that Mercy coming here wasn’t an impulsive decision on her part. She knew exactly what she was doing when she let you fuck her.”
    Dirk roared as he tackled the other male, knocking him off the stool and throwing a punch before Marcus knew what was happening. In seconds, the two men were grunting and groaning as punches were thrown fast and furious. Even though Marcus outweighed Dirk, Dirk’s bear was closer to the surface, making him a much less civilized fighter.
    After a few moments, Dirk backed off. He stood in silence, his breathing heavy, blood streaming from cuts on his face and