Bellann Summer

In December I like to do something different on this blog. Of course, I'm a day late starting things. As you know this isn't unusual (the being late thing). I have decided that this year I will post snippets of the first interactions of my characters.
We will start where my writing career started. Bears Pup (Rescue for Hire 1) The idea came to me when I watched a news report of a house floating down a river during a nasty flooding. My thoughts went to wondering what would happen if someone was in that house. As they say, the rest was history.
This snippet takes place after Cade has taken Bret home after rescuing him from drowning in a flooded river. He has sat at Bret's bedside for hours and now realizes Bret is awake.
“My name is Cade, Cade Miller.” He kept talking, hoping to reassure the little guy. “I was part of the rescue team that was searching for victims of the flooding river. We managed to pull you out, and I brought you here to recover. You’re safe now. I promise, no one’s going to hurt you.” 
The pup flinched at the word “victim.” No matter now, Cade had decided during the ten hours of waiting for the pup to wake, that the man in his arms would never be a victim again, if he had anything to say about it.
Cade was a dominant alpha male. He was over six five with muscles gained from hard work and disaster rescue missions. When he had something to say about anything, it usually happened. With instincts that never let him down, he knew that this small blond headed man was going to be his for the long haul of life. He just had to wait for the little guy to figure it out.
“Describe safe.” Dirk would have backhanded him for questions, but Bret realized at this point he had nothing to lose. The caning and beating he had taken from Dirk right before the ass had left with his maniac boyfriend kind of broke something deep inside. It was like he was nothing but a body of pain, from head to toe.
“The river was washing everything in its path downstream. We found you clinging to a headboard. My team and I managed to fish you out, and our paramedic checked you over.” Cade could admit the thought of another person’s hands on the pup still bothered him, even if that person was his second-in-command. “Jack felt it was safe to take you home with me to heal up. You have one hell of a black eye, honey. Also, bruises all over, but no broken bones. He’ll be by to check on you over the next couple of days.”
 “Hurt?” Bret couldn’t keep the trembling out of his voice. The pain just racked through his body, tightening his muscles, making the pain even worse.
Cade grabbed the bottle of painkillers off the nightstand and popped open the cap before pouring one into Bret’s hand. Glad that he had had the foresight to keep a pitcher of water and a glass on the stand, he helped Bret take a small sip to wash the pill down.
“What’s your name, baby?” Cade asked. He needed to have Tony do a background check on the pup to see what he was up against.
“Bret, Bret James.”
The pup snuggled down onto his chest, slowly relaxing, then falling asleep. Cade knew he had been right about the connection between them and felt a peace inside that had never been there before.