So Much To Bear (A Werebear Erotic Romance) Read Free

retorted, though a slight smile played at the
corners of her lips. The idea of wandering the woods until dawn was
not that bad, really; she could enjoy the adventure of it, if it
weren’t for Lucy’s aching feet.
     
    “Look,” Liam said, raising his hands to
forestall an argument. “It’s pretty clear what we should do; we
should split up into two groups—some of us go back and retrace our
steps, figure out where we are, and the rest of us stay here and
wait.” Lucy was all for the plan, clearly intending to be one of
the ones to stay behind.
     
    “So once we figure out where we are, do
we go on to the town or head back home?” Jennifer hated the thought
that they might end up just going home. At least if they wandered
around they might find something interesting, even if they didn’t
make it to the town. She didn’t like just giving up once she had
committed to an adventure.
     
    “We’ll see how we feel, and anyway I
think Lucy wants to get home.” Jennifer was all for finding their
way back—it would, at least, extend the fun they were having,
especially if she got to go with Robert, who was game for being
part of the group that retraced their steps. Liam agreed that
Robert, who knew the woods better than the rest of them, would be
the best choice to lead the group back but he insisted that
Jennifer should stay.
     
    “If Lucy wants to go home, it would
probably be better for her to head back with you and Alex anyway,”
Liam pointed out. “Once you get out of the woods, she can head for
home.”
     
    “I really want to rest a bit longer,”
Lucy said. Liam shrugged.
     
    “It’s going to get darker with only one
of the torches, and you’d be safer with Robert and Alex anyway—and
closer to home.” Jennifer bit her lip; she would really rather have
gone with Robert.
     
    “If Lucy wants to stay behind and rest,
she should—those shoes are probably killing her feet. I’m still
fresh, I can make the walk.” Liam’s brows knitted together and an
expression almost like a pout came over his features for just a
moment.
     
    “Robert or Alex can carry Lucy if she’s
really having trouble,” he suggested with a faint smile. “Unless of
course you’re scared to stay behind, Jen.” Jennifer started to
contest the accusation, but before she could, Robert and Alex had
pulled Lucy to her feet and were making their way away from them,
saying they’d be back soon.
     
    The light dimmed to a bare flicker as
she and Liam were left with the one torch, hanging back in the
gloomy woods. Jennifer hugged herself, pacing in a wandering circle
around the clearing they had come to, looking as deeply into the
trees as she could. “You’re not scared, are you Jen?” Liam asked,
his voice teasing. Jennifer rolled her eyes.
     
    “No, I just wish we could’ve kept
moving. I don’t like standing still just waiting.” She turned her
head to look at Liam; he was watching her with a look in his eyes
she didn’t quite like, something like a smile—unpleasant, almost a
leer—curving his lips.
     
    “Pretty cold out tonight, isn’t it?” he
asked her, and Jennifer could tell that he was trying to be
charming; the effect was less that than it was faintly nauseating.
She had never been the least bit interested in Liam. When they were
younger she’d considered him a spoiled brat, the kind of kid who’d
always had the best of everything, whose parents didn’t seem to
have the word “no” in their vocabulary when it came to their only
son. He had—at different parts of their childhood—even occasionally
been something of a bully, taking what he wanted from other kids
with few consequences to his actions. He’d tempered it somewhat in
recent years, and Jennifer had reluctantly had to agree with Robert
that Liam was not as annoying as he once had been, but he would
never be her idea of a good companion.
     
    “It’s not that bad,” Jennifer said,
even as a shiver worked through her spine. She wasn’t