Bear Attraction

by Jennifer Ashley

  Dylan had brought in the young Tevis as well, plus a few other Shifters he’d captured, most of them relatively young and too inexperienced to evade competent trackers like Spike, Ellison, and most especially, Tiger. A lot of meetings happened at the Morrissey house about how to deal with the problem of the un-Collared Shifters.

  Dylan said nothing at all about Kendrick. The tacit understanding was that Kendrick had survived but was in the wind. Rebecca had caught Dylan’s scent when he’d explained this to her and Ronan—he wasn’t exactly lying, but not telling the whole truth either. Dylan was up to something, but unless he wanted Rebecca to know about it, she’d never find out what.

  Five days after their adventure, Rebecca banged out onto the porch, ill at ease. It was hot that afternoon, the temp about ninety—as could happen in Austin even in late October. Tomorrow, on the other hand, it could drop into the forties, so she decided to enjoy the sunshine by pulling on a pair of cutoff shorts and going barefoot. It had taken Rebecca a long time to adjust to living in a warm climate, but she embraced it now.

  The door to the Den opened, and Walker strode out.

  Rebecca paused a split second then slowed her quick stride and strolled down the porch steps to the cool grass, meeting Walker in the middle of the lawn.

  The words Where the hell have you been? died on her lips. She would not be a shrew, she told herself, and she would not give him the satisfaction of knowing she’d been pining for him.

  “Oh, hey, Walker.” Rebecca forced her voice to be light. “I didn’t know you were here.”

  “Just arrived.” Sunlight glistened on his buzzed hair, his hard, muscular arms, the cool blue of his eyes. He was in what she called his casual fatigues—black pants and boots, black T-shirt stretching across his chest.

  He didn’t ask if she was all right. Obviously Rebecca was whole and walking around, and he could easily have found out how she was doing from Ronan or anyone else in this house. They didn’t hold back.

  Rebecca put one hand on her hip, looking straight into his eyes, challenging him. He stared right back at her. When she’d first met him, Walker had been a little nervous around her, not always making eye contact.

  Not anymore. But then, they’d been on a harrowing mission together, had shared burning kisses, intimate moments in the dark, not to mention saving each other’s lives.

  Walker looked her over without shyness now. He took in the swell of her breasts under her V-necked white T-shirt, the jeans shorts just covering her butt, and her long legs with the remnants of scars from the fight in the compound.

  He took his time, then finally gave her a brief nod. “Come on into the Den.”

  Why? So they could discuss her arrest? The outcome of the mission? What to do with the un-Collared Shifters?

  Rebecca made a casual flip of her hand, indicating he should lead on. Walker turned and strode into the dim interior of the Den, not hurrying, but not waiting for her either. Rebecca hesitated a few heartbeats, then she scurried across the lawn and inside after him, banging the door shut behind her.

  Chapter Twenty

  Walker liked that Rebecca had made sure the door closed all the way, shutting them in together. She wanted to be alone with him, no matter that she probably wanted the privacy to yell at him. Never mind, she’d look hotter than hell when she did it.

  Had she dressed this way today to mess with his head? No, she hadn’t known he was coming. Walker had sworn Ronan to secrecy.

  He hadn’t had a real relationship for so long that he’d forgotten one rule. Women might claim that they liked being surprised, but they didn’t, not really.

  Too late now.

  Rebecca halted inside the door and stared around her. “What’s all this?”

  Open boxes, half unpacked, rested in various places in the room. The banner from the army company Walker had been assigned to hung on one wall. It was always the first thing he put up when he moved into a new place.

  “My stuff,” Walker said. “I cleared out of my apartment.”

  She didn’t move. “I thought you lived on the post at Shifter Bureau.”

  “They don’t have much housing there. I had an apartment instead—a crappy one. This will be more comfortable.” He looked around what had once been a three-car garage. “And bigger.”

  “Wait, wait, wait.” Rebecca waved her open hands. “You’re moving in?”

  “Spent the last couple days packing up and paying my way out of my lease. Plus writing up the mission and turning in paperwork.” Walker had taken his time writing his report, choosing what got made official and what was left out. He’d left a lot of things out.

  Walker moved a pile of his shirts from the bed and dropped them into the drawer of a big dresser.

  “Why are you moving in?” Rebecca didn’t come any closer or give him a warm, happy look—nothing like that.

  Walker shut the drawer. “I figured I might as well.”

  “So you can liaise with Shifters?”

  “Something like that.” Walker turned and moved slowly toward her. Rebecca watched him come, remaining in place, saying nothing.

  Walker reached her. In her bare feet, she was the same height as he was, and they looked into each other’s eyes.

  Instead of the cockiness and irritation he expected to find, Walker read uncertainty, even fear in her expression, along with determination not to show it.

  Walker had never been an eloquent man. He couldn’t seduce a woman with sexy phrases, because he didn’t know any. He only knew how to shut up and get on with his life, or how to tell the stark truth. So, he opted for stark truth.

  “I’m here because I want to be with you,” he said.

  Rebecca’s chest rose with a sharp intake of breath. Walker stepped closer, sliding his hands to her waist. Under the soft fabric of her shirt, she was warm, supple.

  “Remember when I said I wanted to make love to you?” Walker asked.

  Rebecca gave him the tiniest nod.

  “I said that we’d finish the mission,” he continued, “then find a mattress and some privacy.”

  “I remember.” Her voice was the barest whisper.

  “There’s a mattress over there. And we have privacy. Relatively.” The Den was ten yards from a large house full of Shifters, all of them nosy.

  A swallow moved down her throat. “That’s true.”

  Walker caressed her waist. He felt her shiver—Rebecca, the confident, sexy woman who dropped Shifters with one flash of her eyes, was nervous, shy with him.

  That was a good thing.

  He slowly slid his hands beneath the shirt, carefully peeling it from her sides and upward. Rebecca stood still and let him push her shirt off over her head, her dark hair tumbling around her shoulders.

  She was bare underneath, nothing to fetter her soft breasts, which nestled into his hands.

  She was sublimely beautiful. No thin, underfed woman Walker feared he’d break, but a large, gorgeous, strong lady with lush breasts and eyes he could drown in.

  He leaned forward as she drew another breath, and caught her lips, easing her mouth open to taste her.

  She made a sound in her throat, and her hands came up, gripping his shoulders. As Walker deepened the kiss, Rebecca dragged his shirt up, baring his chest and back to the warm air.

  He eased away from her to yank the shirt all the way off and toss it aside. Then he stepped to her again, cupping her face, the next kiss hotter and fuller.

  Every hesitation, every inhibition they’d had with each other fell away, layer by layer, warmth and need taking over. In another moment, they were pressed together, Rebecca’s breasts to his chest, her hands on his back.

  Walker slid his fingers from her face to the back of her neck, scooping her to him. She tasted of fire, of the heat of the day, the spice of her wildness.

  He didn’t want a woman who said, Yes, dear, and laid out his clothes for him—Walker wanted exotic Rebecca to lie with in the dark of the night, to laugh with when they figu
red out breakfast in the morning. He wanted her sly smile, her teasing, her strength, and her love.

  When the kiss ended, they were both breathless, each holding the other as hard as Aleck and Nancy had held hands. Both hungry.

  The bed contained a pile of folded sheets and blankets. Walker shoved them off in one sweep, and popped the button of Rebecca’s waistband, loosening the tiny shorts.

  The cutoffs fell easily, and Walker’s hands sank into her sweet, bare buttocks. She’d gone commando underneath.

  His grin stretched his face. “You’re a bad, bad woman.”

  Rebecca gave him an innocent look. “What? It’s hot. And besides . . .” Walker’s blood started to boil as she slanted him that sexy smile. “You might have come over.”

  “I’m glad I did.”

  “Me too,” she said in a soft voice, and bit his lower lip.

  Walker growled a growl worthy of any Shifter, and made quick work of getting rid of his own pants and underwear. She was bare now, nothing between her and him. Their press of bodies as he kissed her again was hotter than the day outside.

  Rebecca broke away and stepped back, but only to look him up and down. “My, my,” she said, her gaze blatantly taking him in. “That was worth the wait.”

  “I’m tired of waiting,” Walker said. “Come here.”

  He didn’t like not having his arms around her. Walker entwined her again and guided her down to the bed.

  Rebecca was worth looking at in return. He’d already seen her naked several times—including on the first day he’d met her—but her stripping to shift and stripping to go to bed with him were entirely different things.

  Her skin was flushed, her breasts tight, the dark points of her areolas betraying that she was as needy as he was. Walker had nothing to hide. She knew he wanted her, and her gaze moved to the stiff cock that rose higher as she studied it.

  Walker moved above Rebecca on hands and knees, her body open and welcoming. He kissed her as he lay down on her, her arms enfolding him.

  The next kiss seared him to the bone. Rebecca pulled him close, her softness like a drug. Walker inhaled her warm scent, licked across her lips, bent the leg she hadn’t hurt, and slid himself inside her.

  Perfect.

  Rebecca dragged in a breath, her head going back, her hair moving on the mattress. Walker smothered a groan as her heat enclosed him.

  Then he was moving, unable to hold back, unable to go slowly. He’d wanted this woman from the moment he’d met her. She pulled him to her now, her kisses fierce, her body rising to his.

  Walker thrust, and Rebecca met him. They gave up on being quiet at the same time, Rebecca’s cries blending with Walker’s deeper ones as they moved faster and faster.

  The overhead fan that wafted air to Walker’s back couldn’t cut the heat. Their bodies were slick, sliding against each other’s, Rebecca’s fingers hard points in his back.

  She wasn’t gentle with him, nor he with her. They both needed someone with strength, someone who could understand the other’s restless energy, and both take it and give back.

  Well matched, ran through Walker’s head, but it really wasn’t a coherent thought.

  His body had taken over, his brain shutting off, and all Walker knew was the soft delight of Rebecca and the incandescent feeling of thrusting inside her. He could stay here forever, with her hands pulling him to her, her mouth seeking his kisses.

  Walker had done enough for the world. Time for the world to go the hell away.

  Rebecca’s cries grew louder, until she rose hard against him, coming apart, her joy breaking something open inside him.

  Too soon, all too soon, he was coming with her, their shouts ringing through the room.

  Rebecca smiled, breathless, as Walker collapsed on top of her, and they gathered each other in for slow, afterglow, very fine kisses.

  The simple lines of the Den, with the scattered, open boxes, piles of clothes to put away, and the bare mattress had become the most beautiful place in the world.

  ***

  Rebecca drowsed in the sunshine pouring through the window a long time later, snuggling up to Walker on the unmade bed. Sunlight caught the rough gold on his jaw and brushed his strong hand resting on her hip. Walker’s body was nothing but muscle, a man who kept himself in fighting shape.

  Rebecca smoothed her fingers over his cheek, and he opened his eyes. He blinked a moment, coming out of sleep, then he smiled.

  The smile pierced Rebecca to the heart. “What do we do now?” she whispered.

  “I don’t know,” he said, grin broadening. “I liked what we did when I was lying behind you. I’m willing to try that again.”

  Rebecca had to laugh, and agree it had been fun. “You know what I mean. Mating for Shifters is different. It’s not only the ceremony, it’s—”

  “The mate bond. I know.” Walker ran his hand up her side then down her arm to twine her fingers with his. “Are you afraid you won’t feel it with me?”

  “I’m afraid I will.” Afraid she already did. “What happens to me then?”

  “Humans can feel it too,” Walker said. He tugged Rebecca’s hand to his chest and pressed it there. “It’s been hot and tingling inside for a while now. You think that’s what it is?”

  Rebecca sat up abruptly, her heart beating faster. “And you didn’t say anything?”

  “We’ve been busy.” Walker gave her another warm flash of the smile that always got to her. “I figured when it was time to talk, we would.”

  “Time like now?”

  Walker shrugged, the ripple running the length of his naked body. “Good a time as any. A little bit from now, I’m not going to want to talk anymore.”

  “Yeah?” Rebecca let herself relax, insane happiness threatening to take over. “What are you going to want to do?”

  “Something we’ll both have fun figuring out.”

  Other parts of Rebecca besides her heart began to burn. “Talking’s overrated,” she said. “You can talk things to death.”

  “That’s true. But there’s some things I think we should say.” Walker took her hand again, wrapping his fingers firmly around hers. “I like immersion. Whenever I’m sent to a new country, a new culture, and have to figure out how to work in it, I plunge myself deep into that culture. I eat the food, speak the language, read what they read, listen to what they talk about, figure out what’s important to them. You know what I’ve learned?”

  “New recipes?” Rebecca asked.

  Walker’s chuckle jostled her. “That people are pretty much the same the world over. We all have different traditions, sometimes different sets of values, but deep down, it’s more the same than different. They worry about their kids and how to provide for their families; they value the people they care about—friends, family. I meet bad people who do terrible things, but I also meet good people who genuinely care. But for the most part, we’re all just struggling to get through the day.”

  “Makes sense,” Rebecca answered, distracted by the heat of his palm against hers. “And?”

  “If I’m going to find out what it’s like to be a Shifter mate, I need total immersion. With you, your family, the cubs, other Shifters. No long-distance relationships. They don’t work well for me until they stop being long-distance.”

  “You only lived halfway across town,” Rebecca pointed out.

  “Halfway across town but in a different world. I’m going to stay in this one awhile.” Walker’s eyes twinkled, like a sudden beam of sunshine on silver blue waters. “Get used to it.”

  Rebecca’s heart beat faster. “What happens once you’re all the way immersed?”

  Another shrug, another hot shift of muscles. “We ask Liam to do the mating ceremonies. Or you kick my ass. I’m willing to see which one happens first.”

  Rebecca sent him a wide smile. “You think I can kick your ass?”

  “Sure. You’re pretty good at sparring. Plus, you have that whole Kodiak Shifter thing going for you. I know what i
t’s like now to be shaken awake by a giant bear. Won’t forget that in a hurry. I was glad you were on my side.”

  Rebecca’s smile deepened, the warmth of it reaching down her body. “When you were throwing around that arsenal, I was glad you were on mine.”

  “I learned to be surprising.”

  “That’s good,” Rebecca said.

  “Yeah?” Walker looked thoughtful. “When I brought you in here this afternoon, I had the feeling you didn’t like surprises.”

  “That was different.” She cupped his cheek. “If I learn to expect your surprises, I’ll never be bored.”

  He frowned. “If you expect them, they won’t be surprises.”

  Rebecca leaned to him, unable to stay away any longer. “Then I’ll have to come up with some surprises of my own.”

  “Yeah? Well, I’ve been trained to pretty much not be surprised.”

  “Hmm.” Rebecca lay quietly against him for a moment, then she slammed her legs around his and flipped him in a sudden, practiced move.

  And found herself being flipped again, Walker landing on top of her, pinning her wrists to the mattress.

  “Surprise,” he said.

  “Want to bet?” Rebecca squirmed, breaking his hold, and rolled out from under him, but he came after her.

  Walker did know neat, precise, and unexpected moves that turned the wrestling match into a victory for him.

  But she’d learn, Rebecca thought as she lay panting beneath him. He’d won . . . but had he really? She had a hot, hard-bodied man on top of her, and no doubt about what was on his mind.

  Walker looked down at her, his grin fading as warmth entered his eyes. “Hey, Becks,” he said softly.

  “Yeah?” Her hands were trapped under his, and she had no intention of struggling free.

  Walker leaned down, breath hot on her skin, and whispered into her ear. “I love you.”

  Rebecca turned her head so they were nose-to-nose, she never more willing to lose a fight in her life. The magic in her heart burned and sang. “I love you too.”