His smiled reached his eyes.
Her heart melted.
“Yes, this is real. We’re real. You running in the park two and a half days ago was real. Ryan is waiting to see you.”
Camilla frowned. “My cousin?” She looked around. “Where is he?”
“In Millen. After you eat and shower, we can head down there.” He pulled his fingers from hers and stood. “Tyra sent a pair of glasses for you in case… I placed them on the table right there.” He pointed to the side.
She glanced over her shoulder.
He leaned forward, picked up her spectacles and handed them to her. She slid them on and started at his feet encased in slippers and climbed him inch by inch until she reached his face. Her heart beat faster with every passing second.
Tag cleared his throat. “You’re looking better. That tea always works.” He tapped the tip of her nose and left the room.
“The tea?” she murmured, as she scooted to the edge of the bed to test her legs. “He’s crazy if he thinks the tea is what made me feel better.” Standing gradually, she waited until she steadied then moved slowly to the open bathroom door. The need to touch him, beat like a persistent drum in her mind, drowning out her troubled thoughts. Something major happened to her and she couldn’t remember or dredge up any emotions about it. As she reached the vanity, she glanced at her image in the mirror and stopped. Dark circles spun a wide circle around her eyes, her wavy hair hung in clumps around her shoulders and her drawn skin gave her a Goth, vampire look. And not a very appealing one either. This is why he doesn’t see me. As Tyra would say, time to bring her “A” game to grab his attention. She stepped into the shower hoping she’d get answers soon, in the meantime, she had a man to snare.
Tag ran his fingers through his hair, stopped and looked at his hand. She held his hand as if it were something they did all the time. He sensed no fear or deceit in her actions and that bothered him. Well, bother was the wrong word. He liked her touch, more than he should but knew he shouldn’t. That’s what had him confused.
When they arrived yesterday, she had drifted in and out of sleep, refusing all offers of food and drink. Instead she burrowed into the covers on the bed in his spare room similar to Goldilocks in a fairy tale. Despite her ragamuffin appearance, Tag had been drawn to her natural beauty and had stared longer than appropriate at her soft curves beneath the blanket. Something about her scent relieved and agitated Grizzle at the same time, which made no sense. With Amber, Grizzle had been adamant, there had been no confusion. Sex…yes, mate…no. Camilla made Grizzle uneasy.
Sleep eluded Tag. He had tossed and turned all night unable to find a comfortable spot in bed. Around 3am he stopped trying and went outside. Restless, he planned to roam the forest until he dropped from exhaustion. But with each step toward the woods, a weird sense of contentment wrapped around him. Rather than leave, he remained on his wraparound porch. This morning he woke basking in the beauty of the sunrise and listening to nature’s chorus from his chair on the porch where he fell asleep.
When he remembered Camilla, he made haste inside to check on her, hoping she hadn’t had any nightmares. Frozen in the same spot from last night, he wondered if she moved at all. Tag’s stomach growled. Determined to get some food in her today, he returned to the kitchen and pulled out a few things for breakfast.
He swallowed hard at the memory of her soft hand on his then wiped his hands down his pants leg to stop his thoughts. The shower turned on and his imagination took flight. Before he realized what happened, he stood in front of the guest room holding the doorknob. Tag looked down, stared at his hand and dropped it as if the shiny object burned.
Human, Camilla was off-limits he explained to his ornery beast who didn’t agree and demanded to go inside the room. Tag took one step back then another and another until he was far away enough to turn and walk into the kitchen.
Grizzle snapped and growled with every step. “Want her.”
“No. She’s Ryan’s… friend.” Tag hoped the mention of Ryan would avert an argument.
“Hunt for bear hurt Ryan?”
“Yes, soon.” With a sigh of relief, he placed the slab of cured pork on the cutting board then sliced and fried it. With an ear to hear any call for help, he cooked eggs, sausage and frozen waffles.
Citrus, vanilla and Camilla’s unique scent pierced the aroma of food as she stepped into the kitchen. Tag bit back the rumble in his chest as he looked over his shoulder, prepared to offer her breakfast and promptly lost every thought in his mind. Too thin? The woman standing in front of him, wearing his tee-shirt looked perfect. High cheekbones in an angular face, with a perky nose and long, toned legs. Even though the tee hung mid-thigh on her, she had rolled up the sleeves making the shirt look better than it ever had on him. The vee showcased her full breasts.
“I hope you don’t mind me putting this on, those other clothes stank and need to be washed or burned,” she said walking into the room, stealing his air. He blinked to clear his lust-filled thoughts so he could respond.
She took another step closer.
His chest tightened at the predatory look in her eyes. Although he stood a foot taller and had snapped necks with his bare hands, he couldn’t stop her from touching him. His nipples hardened in anticipation. Both sides of his nature were tempted by her bold approach.
“Want her, mate with her,” Grizzle roared.
Whoa! Back away from that line of thinking.
Female bears always waited for males to show interest first. If interested in the male, he was given permission to pursue her. As much as he liked her bold approach, Camilla was not for him. Granted, she was a sexy package who smelled divine and he would definitely take her to bed if she wanted. But that’s all he could offer.
Her palm touched his chest and he’d swear his skin sizzled beneath his shirt, imprinting the feel of her touch in his mind forever. To escape her allure, he turned and removed the griddle from the stove. “I hope you can help me eat some of this food,” he said to fill the silence.
“Who’s coming over? Ryan?” she asked.
Tag looked at the table. “Nobody. That’s just breakfast.”
“Breakfast? You eat all of this?” Her voice rose as she looked down at the table.
“Yeah. I have to eat.”
She looked over her shoulder, her warm gaze touched him as surely as if it were her fingertips. What was going on with him? He never cooked meals for women or allowed them to stay overnight in his place either. It was too easy for them to get the wrong idea that he wanted permanent company. Maybe her recent experience softened his armor, or her aggressive approach, he wasn’t sure why he acted so out of character.
Pushing those thoughts aside he pulled out a chair. “Have a seat, eat what you can so you can rebuild your strength.”
“Thank you.” She sat and grabbed a slice of bacon. Tag filled his plate with meat and pancakes and started eating.
Tag had taken two more helpings while she ate very little but drank his mama’s tea which was loaded with natural herbs to help speed healing. At least it worked on bears, he wasn’t sure what it would do for her.
“How did I get here?” she asked watching him.
He liked the smoothness of her voice. It rang at the perfect pitch like a well-tuned instrument. Tag took a sip of water then told her everything that happened from the time Ryan called for his help. He glossed over Ryan’s condition and spent more time on her roommate’s tears. When he finished, her mouth hung open then she snapped it shut. “Who? What?”
Understanding her confusion, Tag drank more water and hoped she remembered something. He still needed to find whoever hurt Ryan, deal with Jensen and take out Green before BMP stopped him.
“I don’t know. The important thing is you’re safe now. You can use my phone to call your mom then Tyra. I talked to Ryan this morning, so everyone knows you’re okay but they need to hear your voice.”
Numerous expressions crossed her face before she cl
eared her throat. “Yeah, wow, didn’t see that coming. But yeah I need to talk to my mom and Ryan. Oh my god, someone hurt him? Why? None of this makes any sense!” She took his phone and tapped on the keys as she left the room.
Tag stretched his legs and prepared to listen.
Chapter 13
“Take her with you… please,” Ryan asked Tag when Tyra and Camilla left his hospital room. Camilla had been horrified over her cousin’s condition and burst into tears. Inconsolable, Tyra and Jewel took her home.
Remembering her phone conversations with her roommate Tag stared at Ryan for a few seconds. “She likes me. I don’t know why but if she returns to my place, chances are we’ll share a bed, you okay with that?” He met Ryan’s gaze. Hell, it had been hard keeping his hands off the sexy woman before they left his place this morning. He never thought he liked aggressive women, especially someone almost blind without glasses, but his cock had been hard all morning after overhearing she wanted to be with him. Returning her home safely ended the promise to his friend. From this point on, whatever he and Camilla did was private.
Grizzle hadn’t responded to the sexual heat between Camilla since that original outburst which surprised Tag. His beast loved when Tag had sex with a woman and pushed for total domination of his partner. Lately, Grizzle grunted as if bored and left Tag alone during his sexual exploits.
“I see.” Ryan continued staring at him. “Have you talked to her since you first met?”
“No. When I saw her on the bus was the second time I ever spoke to her. Why?” Ryan didn’t take offense at his plain speaking; they were alike in that regard which made things easier. But the man did say he thought of Camilla like a sister so Tag needed to make sure they understood each other.
“Tyra and Jewel knew who you were so you’re probably right about her liking you. All I ask is that you tell her what you told me, give her a choice. If she wants to go, we’ll all know what that means. And thanks for being honest about it, much appreciated.”
Tag nodded as he stared at his friend. A variety of equipment surrounded Ryan. One beeped intermittently in the dim room. The bitter smell of antiseptic and whatever cleaning agent used in hospitals burned his nose. Nevertheless he remained seated, determined to gather as much information as possible for his upcoming hunt. “Any idea who attacked you?”
“Not really. Everything’s still hazy.”
“Was it more than one person? A gang? Give me something to go on,” Tag said taking the one chair in the room.
Grizzle grunted, obviously pleased Tag finally said something of interested and then quieted.
Ryan looked at him. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Yeah I do. It happened on my watch.”
Ryan closed his eyes and released a long breath. “Strange thing is the way he smelled. I remember he smelled like dirt, natural, no cologne or anything. Weird huh?” He looked at Tag.
“You remember his smell?” That surprised Tag. “So it was one guy? Girl? What?” Bear?
“Lord, I hope it was more than one guy but I can’t remember. Snatches of something dark invade my sleep but I can’t make that out either.” Ryan clenched and unclenched his fist as he spoke.
“Easy, you’ll remember in time.” Tag paused. “What do you want me to do about Jensen? We know he had something to do with Camilla’s disappearance but he’s not the one who ordered it.”
“Nothing right now. Thankfully they released her, the why doesn’t matter. I hope they move on but in case they have a change of heart, I’d like her protected.” He met Tag’s gaze. “If she wants you that is.”
Tag had smelled the sweet buffet of her arousal all morning - she wanted him. And he itched to have her beneath him. First he would explain he wasn’t interested in anything serious and if she still wanted to play, they could take it to the next level.
“Yeah, there’s that.” He paused, looked at Ryan and offered an alternative. “I can stay here, make sure you don’t have any unwanted visitors and watch out for her. When you’re released, you can recuperate at my place.”
Ryan chuckled. “I must be in really bad shape for you to invite me to your place.”
Tag laughed and stretched his legs. His sister wouldn’t arrive for two weeks by then Ryan should be well enough to go home. “You’ve looked better when your face wasn’t twice its size.”
“But I feel a whole lot better today than yesterday no matter how bad it looks on the outside. Whatever the doc’s doing, works. If you want to stick around that’s cool. Finally heard from Patch this morning, he’s been out of the country, said he’d come visit in a few weeks.”
The thought of Patch near Camilla didn’t sit well. “Yeah? That’s good.”
Ryan looked at him but didn’t say anything right away. “About whoever did this… can you wait until I’m able to hunt with you? I need to be a part of it.”
Tag understood the need to be the one to pull the trigger or land the final blow. “Sure. No problem.” His cell rang. He looked at the caller ID then at Ryan. “Tyra?”
“Yeah?” Ryan’s brow rose. Tag got the distinct impression he was more interested than he let on.
“Hello.”
“Are you coming by here before you go home?” Tyra demanded.
Tag looked at Ryan. “I’m thinking of staying here at the hospital to give you a break.”
“Oh.” There was a wealth of misunderstanding in that one word. “He doesn’t want me to come back?”
“Huh? What? No. I mean he didn’t say that.”
“It’s okay. Anyway, Camilla wanted to know if you were stopping by before leaving, that’s why I called. Not to check on Ryan or anything. I know he’s tired of me hovering. So it’s okay if you stay.”
Tag rubbed his forehead. “Tyra, it’s not like that.”
“No? What’s it like then?”
He didn’t know what to say. “You going to law school, right?”
“Yes, why?”
“I can tell, that’s all. Sometimes there’s no explanation –”
“Riiiight,” she drug out the word. “What should I tell Camilla?”
Tag shook his head and glanced at Ryan. He would have his hands full with that one. “Let me talk to her.”
“He wants to talk to you,” Tyra said.
“Hello?” Camilla said, her voice unsure which bothered him.
He wanted the aggressive, full of fiery confidence, “I’m-going-to-get-you” woman back. That Camilla turned him on. “If you want to ask me something, ask.”
“Are you coming by here before you leave?”
“Why?”
“I want to see you,” she said after a brief pause.
Better. Her direct answer went straight to his cock. He widened his legs for relief. “Same question, why?”
“There are things I want to say, that I can’t say over the phone,” she rushed to add.
Pleased that she asked for what she wanted, he agreed. If she hadn’t, he would’ve asked to see her, they had unfinished business. “Okay, I’ll call when I’m on my way.”
“My phone’s not working so call me on Tyra’s phone.”
“Solid.” He disconnected and looked at Ryan.
“Tyra called for Camilla?”
Tag nodded, reluctant to discuss Camilla any further now that he made his intentions clear.
“Be gentle with her, she just went through a tough time,” Ryan said.
“You don’t need to worry about Camilla, I think she’ll handle things fine. Tyra on the other hand, she’ll lead you on a merry chase. Good luck, my friend.” Tag placed both hands behind his head and grinned.
Ryan stared at him for a few minutes then released a long breath. “She is a pistol, isn’t she?”
Tag shook his head. “Since you’re smiling I’m thinking you like pistols. And she likes you. Oh and she thinks you don’t want her to come back to the hospital. How she came to that idea, I don’t know. You may need to call her and smooth things over.
”
Ryan frowned. “What? Who said that?”
“Not me, you heard everything I said. But she’s a lawyer in the making, you know how they twist everything around,” Tag said smiling at Ryan’s confused look and this was just the beginning.
Chapter 14
Camilla looked at the pile of clothes on her bed and frowned. Nothing looked right. Everything she tried on didn’t say what she wanted to say - sexy, classy and “you-need-me-so- don’t-discard-me” vibe.
“He’s going to be here soon,” Tyra said from her perch at the top of the bed. “You could’ve been dressed an hour ago, why are you going through all of this?”
For that guy, was left unsaid.
Unsure she could explain the contradicting thoughts and emotions firing off and cascading over each other so that she had no peace, Camilla threw down the yellow dress. Removing her glasses she closed her eyes to focus.
“You’ve gone through your closet, my closet and even hit a few pieces from Jewel. Stop and tell me what’s going on with you and Tag, maybe I can help,” Tyra said grabbing her by the arm.
Camilla’s gaze slid from Tyra’s as she flopped onto the bed then moved the dress from beneath her to the side. “He’s the guy.” She replaced her glasses and bit her lip as the words slipped from her heart through her lips.
Tyra frowned as she sat next to her. “Huh?”
Camilla couldn’t understand the kernel of certainty that she’d had since she met the infuriating man. One look, maybe two then wham, a switch went off in her mind and Tag was locked into the back of her mind, lurking.
“Okay, in the movie Grease… no that won’t work,” she murmured thinking they met during the summer. “In 16 Candles, Molly Ringwald … no, that’s not right.” She slumped on the bed and bit her fingernails.
Rolling to her side, she looked at Tyra. “Sometimes a woman knows the man is the right man for her but he’s slow to see what she does. Know what I mean?” She glanced at Tyra’s frown and inwardly cursed her inability to explain. “Kinda like you meet somebody and there’s a connection, not sexual or anything like that. Just a click in your mind and you know this person will be special in your life.” She glanced at the deep frown on her best friend’s face and sat up as she tried again. “Let’s say you see a person and inside your heart does a happy dance just because they’re around.”
Bear with Me (Bear Mountain Patrol Series Book 1) Page 9
