Comrade Bear
by Mary Winter
Nanook Warriors Book 4
erotic gay bear shifter romance
Trent had always been the outsider on the team. When one-by-one Bjorn, Kjell, Hans, and Mark found mates, Trent knew he’d always stand alone. The European military structure might be more tolerant towards homosexuality; he wondered if his commanding officer and team members would be. Then Vik brings Aleksander back to the team. The Russian is the one man who can prove to be Trent’s undoing. But betrayal and uncertainty run deep, and when Aleksander is asked to go undercover with a band of Russian shifters, Trent wonders if he can truly consider Aleksander is comrade, or if the man he’s always loved might become his enemy.
Purchase Direct From Pink Petal Books
Excerpt:
Damn it, look at me. Out here, this close to the men, Aleksander knew he just couldn’t reach out and grab Trent, but that was exactly what he wanted to do. I’m going off on a mission and might never come back. If I’d told him how close I’d come to getting shot the last time… He silenced his thoughts.
Trent started walking, and he fell into step beside him. For several minutes neither one of them spoke, and Aleksander enjoyed the companionship between them.
Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. Reaching out, he grabbed Trent’s arm. “Wait.”
Trent stopped. He turned and the sadness in his eyes rocked Aleksander back on his heels. “You have to go back. We can’t do this right now.”
“Yes, we can. And we have to.” He puffed out a breath. It plumed in the chilly air, a little cloud that seemed to hover around them. “I don’t think you were truthful with Bjorn. I don’t think you are okay with this mission.”
Trent closed his eyes and appeared to count to three. “And if I’m not?” He unclenched his free hand then checked the GPS. “We’re soldiers, Aleks. We follow orders. It’s what we do.”
“Yeah, but—”
“No buts,” Trent barked at him. “Isn’t that what you told me? Of course, right after that you said that westerners didn’t know the depth of your feelings for the Motherland and what your people had gone through, but we’ll forget that right now. It’s ancient history. You were right about one thing. We’re soldiers. There’s no room for regrets in our lives. We do our mission to the best of our ability and try like hell to come home alive.”
“We do. But that doesn’t mean we have to like it.” Aleksander released Trent’s arm, then rested his hand on Trent’s shoulder. “I don’t know…”
“Don’t say it,” Trent ordered. “You’ll do what you have to do, and then you’ll get your hot ass back here. All right?”
“Yes, sir,” he replied with a cocky grin. Now that was the Trent he loved to play with. “If it makes any difference, I’m not okay with this mission either. But like you said, it’s orders. And it will take down the Corporation. I promise you.”
“I don’t care about the Corporation at the moment,” Trent admitted. “Go. We don’t want to do anything to make them suspicious.”
“I will.” He stepped forward. With a quick glance in either direction to check for the other men, he pressed a hard kiss against Trent’s lips. He pulled back, the slight tug of skin a sign that he’d hesitated a moment too long. He grinned. “I better go. Otherwise they might find two male polar bears fucking out here, and wouldn’t that make the scientists talk.”
“You’re worried about the scientists?” Trent glanced back at camp. “Stay safe.”
“For you.” Spinning on his heel, Aleksander took off at a jog and headed away from camp. The need to glance over his shoulder, to see if Trent was watching him, burned through him. Instead, he focused on the horizon, on the team of shifters he knew lay several kilometers away.
