Lured by the Bear (The Alaska Shifters Book 1)

by Ashlee Sinn

  I nodded into his chest and spared a glance at Danika off to the side. She stood, with arms crossed and foot tapping, waiting for me to speak. “What?” I asked her.

  Strange eyes passing over the three of us, she kept shaking her head. “You do understand that we must remain in control at all times, right?”

  I stayed silent as Zane walked closer to her. “That guy attacked Julia. He’s a lunatic.”

  “Yes, he might be. But we are going to be under a ton of scrutiny and we can’t go around acting like thugs.”

  Zane laughed. “Thugs?”

  “Yes.”

  Turning toward me and Derrick, Zane held out his hands. “Is she serious?”

  “She’s right,” I said, untangling myself from Derrick’s arms. “I’m sorry I lost it. That’s not how I usually behave.”

  Danika studied me for longer than I liked. Her scrutiny and judgment were not something I needed right now, but I knew what the ISC intended and I agreed that we couldn’t go around acting like uncontrollable animals right now. “Well, don’t do it again,” she finally snapped.

  “I’m taking you home,” Derrick said as he pulled us away without waiting for a response. I guessed the interviews were over and by the time we climbed into his Jeep, the exhaustion from the day had caught up to me.

  “What time is it?” I asked.

  “Almost three,” Derrick answered as he backed out of the parking lot and got onto the road to take us away for a while.

  I pressed my head against the seat and stared out the window. “What a day,” I whispered.

  He rested his hand on my thigh. “No shit.”

  With a laugh, I rubbed his arm as I absently thought about everything I’d said today to the reporters. My friend, who’d made it just in time, told me that Twitter was going crazy with all of the discussion and that everyone around the world was reacting to this news. As anticipated, she loved the fact that shifters were real and was mad that I hadn’t told her sooner. A part of me wanted to check the website stats but more of me just wanted to hibernate in silence for a little while too.

  So when we reached Derrick’s house, I relished in his suggestion for an afternoon nap. “That sounds absolutely amazing,” I said while kissing his cheek. “But I want a shower first.”

  He grabbed my ass and pulled me against his bulge. “May I join you?”

  I didn’t know what it was about adrenaline, exhaustion, and excitement all mixed together, but seeing Derrick naked right now was exactly the solution I needed to refocus my mind. “Only if you can catch me,” I teased as I squeezed his erection through the robe and ran down the hall into the master bedroom.

  Naked before I could turn on the shower, Derrick rushed up behind me and pressed me against the glass doors. While the water warmed up, he smothered the back of my neck in kisses, as his fingers teased my sex. I pushed my hips against his, giving space for his hand but also rubbing the large erection that I loved so much. He squeezed my breasts and flicked my clit in perfect timing with each other. In just a few minutes, I was already on the verge of orgasm before we’d even stepped inside the large shower.

  “Derrick, stop,” I whispered, forcing myself to turn around and face him.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  I covered his mouth with mine and wrapped my legs around his hips. He easily lifted me off the ground and walked us into the shower. The hot water pounded against our skin as we kissed. I rubbed against his hard cock when his mouth found my nipple and bit down hard. Crying out, I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feel of my mate next to me.

  “Derrick, I love you,” I said, unable to stop myself.

  He froze, lips dancing against my neck. Then he found my eyes and stared into them as a thousand messages passed between us. I worried I may have spoken too soon when he finally uttered the words I’d been waiting to hear for the longest time.

  “I love you, Julia. I can’t imagine spending one minute away from you.”

  As his tongue darted into my mouth, I guided him inside. With one slow movement that sent shivers to my toes, Derrick filled me up. My back pressed against the cold tiles but the warm water and the heat between my legs kept me focused elsewhere.

  Derrick’s hips picked up speed, pounding into me over and over. All of the fears and worries of the day disappeared while I lost myself in him. The nibble on my ear, the pressure against my sex, the way he kept telling me he loved me…all of it took away the morning memories.

  The heat built quickly, and in no time at all I was crying out his name and enjoying the waves of delight rippling through my body. Derrick didn’t last much longer, and as pulses of warm liquid shot into me, I couldn’t imagine this man not being in my life forever.

  With a final pulse, Derrick set me down and pulled out. He continued to caressing my body with his soft touches and kisses—as though he couldn’t get enough. And I loved every minute of it. Even when the water started to cool and we decided to move to the bed, I found that I couldn’t break free of his touch, nor did I ever want to.

  Julia and I had sex four more times before falling asleep for the night. Her appetite was just as insatiable as mine, surprising both of us. In fact, we joked about how exhausted we were always going to be if we kept this up. But I didn’t care. She was amazing and I never wanted to stop touching her.

  In the early morning hours, I felt Julia stir beside me. She said that she wanted to stay at my house again, and I certainly didn’t have a problem with that. I actually wanted her to move here permanently, but needed to get the nerve to ask.

  She mumbled in her sleep and wrapped her arm over my chest. Her fingers rubbed circles over my skin as they slowly made their way lower and lower. I laughed when she found my already aroused cock and grabbed ahold. Without saying a word, she rolled over on top of me and lay against my chest. Her moist folds glided back and forth over me, warm with lust and not yet satiated with all that we’d been doing this afternoon.

  Julia kissed my chest, trailing her soft lips ever so gently against my skin. And when she sat up and prepared to take me, she smiled. “I don’t think I’ll ever get enough,” she said.

  “I think I can live with that.”

  In the darkness of the room, I could see her perfectly. Every curve of her body, every inch of her skin…simply flawless and beautiful.

  Julia lifted herself for just a moment before pushing me inside. She rode me quietly as I sat back and enjoyed watching her enjoy herself. When I tried to reach around and grab her ass, she pushed my hands away and shook her head. Her show. Her pace.

  I was just fine with that.

  The feel of her moisture and the fact she was in control had me on the edge of release quicker than I would have liked. A few moments later, I was finished, and Julia was collapsing by my side in pleasurable exhaustion. We laughed together as she nestled in closer and quickly started to fall asleep again.

  But our moment was ruined when I felt something. I sat up in bed a second before Julia asked what was wrong. “I don’t know,” I whispered, opening my senses to the surroundings. Footsteps. Breathing.

  And not ours.

  I jumped from the bed and pulled on a pair of boxers. Julia sat up, covering herself with the blankets and scanning the room too. Another step. Coming down the hallway. “Stay here,” I said.

  “No way.” Julia slipped on her panties and one of my tee shirts lying on the dresser. Joining me by my side, my bear fought with me. I should protect her. She should stay back.

  But that wasn’t Julia’s style, and that’s what I loved about her.

  We opened up the bedroom door and looked out into the hall. Nothing. So, stepping carefully with one foot in front of the other, we both tip-toed down the hallway and toward the breathing. When something crashed to the ground in the living room, we bolted forward.

  “What the hell are you doing in here?” I shouted.

  The uninvited guest turned and threw her hands in the air. A woman. In lingerie and high
heels.

  “What the fuck?” Julia mumbled from behind me.

  “I’m not going to ask you again. What are you doing here?”

  The woman, probably in her thirties and smelling faintly of alcohol, smiled at me. “I wanted to see you,” she said.

  “What?”

  Lifting up the little sheer dress of her lingerie, she showed me the space between her legs. “I want you.”

  “Am I dreaming?” Julia asked herself. Then she marched forward and grabbed the woman by her arms. “You’re trespassing,” she growled, shoving her toward the front door.

  “Julia?” I asked, half impressed with her defense of me and half worried that she might do something bad.

  “I’ve got this,” she snapped. Reaching the front door, Julia, who had at least a foot on the intruder, slammed it open and shoved the woman outside. “Don’t ever come back here or I’ll—”

  Her words stopped when she looked out at the front yard. Not able to see it for myself, I rushed up to her side, fully aware that she still had the lingerie-clad intruder firmly in her grip. But it was what lay beyond us that had me truly concerned. “What the hell?”

  My yard was full of people. Humans. Of all shapes, sizes, colors, and purpose. A group of at least twenty women filled the front and waved to me as I’d stepped outside. They, too, were only wearing lingerie and were of all ages. Beyond them were more humans, but these ones were fully clothed carrying tiki torches and signs. It looked like they’d just arrived, as they were still organizing themselves into some kind of position to best see the house. But when they noticed me and Julia on the porch, they began their chanting.

  “Kill the bears! Kill the bears! Humans first! Demon Spawn!”

  They quickly unfolded their signs saying the same thing, and for a moment I laughed at how they weren’t able to even come up with a good slogan. But it wasn’t funny. And when Julia pushed the woman off the porch and she stumbled to her other groupies, the fully-clothed crowd rushed forward. And out in front, was the man that had attacked Julia earlier in the day.

  “Freaks!” he screamed. “You should all be burned!”

  “This is private property and I’m asking you to leave before I call the police,” I warned through gritted teeth.

  The porchlight across the street at Bo and Kenzie’s house flipped on, and Bo walked outside. I gave him a quick nod that I knew he could see. No reason for him to get involved. At least not yet.

  “I want your babies!” one of the crazy ladies yelled out.

  “Get the fuck back!” Julia shouted at her. “All of you!”

  “You will burn in hell!” the angry father screamed. “You will burn in hell and I will help you get there!”

  I didn’t see him move at first, perhaps because I was still trying to process the best way to handle this. But a second later, the man had reached into his pocket and threw something at us. Julia shouted in pain when the rock hit her in the collar bone. I took a moment to make sure she was all right before bolting from the porch in one leap and rushing toward him. This meant I had to run through the lingerie ladies, and I knocked a few of them over in the process. I knew I shouldn’t have done that, but I saw only red at that moment.

  As I got within two feet of the man, he whipped out a shotgun and pointed it at my chest. Julia screamed from the porch and everyone around us fell silent. I glared down at the tiny man, his hands shaking. “If you kill me, it will be murder and you will never see your family again.”

  “I doubt that,” he spat. “If I kill you, I will be a hero.”

  Julia pushed her way through the women and slid to a stop several feet behind me. The man switched his aim toward her and I took my chance. I jumped forward and grabbed the barrel of the gun, instantly pointing it to the ground. I’d moved so fast that he didn’t have time to pull the trigger and lost his grip. Yanking the gun from his hands, I twirled it around and pointed it right back at him.

  He cowered and stumbled backward with his hands in the air. “Don’t shoot me,” he begged.

  “All of you,” I yelled, “get out of here now and don’t ever come back.”

  No one moved, so I aimed the gun into the sky and shot in the air. People screamed. A few fell to the ground. But for some reason, the man who’d started this mess suddenly got his courage back. He walked right up to the gun and let it press against his chest. “Go ahead, demon. Shoot me. My God will save me.”

  “Derrick?” Julia asked with a trembling voice. She had to know I wouldn’t shoot him, right?

  “Leave or I will,” I threatened him. In the distance, sirens filled the air and not long after that, I saw the flashing lights. Someone had called the cops for me. The quick distraction was enough that the man made a grab for the gun, not realizing how fast my reflexes would be. I jerked the barrel away from him, flipped the gun around, and hit him in the head with the butt. He dropped, out cold, while everyone around him started running.

  In the chaos, Julia grabbed the woman who’d broken into the house and waited for the police to arrive. I stood by the man, setting the gun on the grass so I wouldn’t be a threat. But the cops weren’t so sure and screamed for Julia and me to get on the ground. After a quick glance between us, we complied, knowing we had witnesses and hoping everything would be okay.

  Five police officers rushed over to us, while one of them checked on the man. They shouted commands, cuffed us, and made us stand again.

  “Ow,” Julia said when they pulled her off to the side.

  “Hey! Be careful!” I shouted, only to be yanked back again.

  “Shut up!” the man yelled beside me. “What happened here?”

  Julia explained, and I was surprised by how calm she sounded. I actually think it helped, as she was released a few moments later. Pointing out the woman who’d broken into the house, two of the cops left our sides and walked over to detain her. Julia then looked at the two male cops still holding on to me and sighed. “Are you going to let him go?”

  One of them shook his head. “Sorry ma’am. Can’t. He fired a weapon in a public space and assaulted that man on the ground. We have to take him to the station.”

  “What? No!” she shouted, but I shook my head.

  “Just call Bo and follow me down there,” I said.

  “No, Derrick, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “And I’m sure it will be figured out soon. Please, Julia. It’s okay.”

  Her panicked face broke my heart. But she put on a strong façade and stayed still while I was loaded into the back of the car. “And bring me some clothes,” I shouted just before they closed the door.

  The two cops got in the front, safely divided by the cage between the seats. “On our way,” one of them said into the radio.

  The crowd had thinned, but now my neighbors all watched from their front porch like moths to a flame. This would be the beginning of the end. I had no idea how they would all feel about grizzlies living a few doors down from them. And maybe tomorrow I would care about that, but I had bigger issues now.

  As we pulled out of the driveway, I spotted Bo and Kenzie. They stood silently watching the debacle unfold. But Bo gave me a quick wave which I knew meant that he and his brothers would help sort this out.

  I just hoped this would be the only thing we’d have to deal with for a while.

  It took three hours before I was able to get down to the station. The asshole cops kept me at the house asking questions until the sun came up. I’d managed to get a quick call into Bo, but the conversation had consisted of him telling me not to worry and that he was dealing with it.

  Yet I was the one supposed to be dealing with it. Derrick was my mate, and he was in trouble.

  I tried to control my emotions while the cops endlessly asked the same questions over and over. When I could finally leave, I had Kenzie drop me off at my house so I could change and then drove to the small police station in Homer. The place was filled, which totally threw me off. I had no idea why there were so m
any people standing outside until I pushed past them and made my way in. Dozens of women crowded the entryway, each one of them wearing a shirt with Derrick’s face on it. Underneath it said FREE THE BEARS with a heart conveniently placed around his superimposed headshot.

  I couldn’t even contemplate how they’d prepped those within the last twenty-four hours.

  Temporarily distracted with those racing thoughts, I didn’t see Bo when he walked up next to me. He had his hand around my arm before I acknowledged his presence with a grateful smile.

  “Oh thank god,” I said, giving him a quick hug. “What the hell is going on?”

  Giving me one of his trademark smirks, Bo winked and tilted his head toward the hoard of women. “It would appear that Derrick has a fan club.”

  With a sigh, I tried to rein in my jealously and frustration. “Where is he? Did they set bail? Is he still in holding?”

  Bo rested his hands on my shoulders and waited for me to take a breath. “He was bailed out within an hour, and Brandt is talking to the Sherriff and the lawyers right now.”

  “Bailed out? How?”

  This time, Bo bit his lip and held back his reaction. “By the ladies.”

  “Ladies?”

  He looked at the FREE THE BEARS women and stifled a laugh.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I groaned.

  He shook his head, still trying not to chuckle.

  “And Derrick let them?”

  “I doubt he knew.”

  “What’s going on in here?”

  “Well,” Bo said, wrapping his arm around me and turning me to face the groupies, “Derrick has groupies.”

  “But it’s only been a day since the reveal!” I pushed through gritted teeth. Some of these women were beautiful, and that jealousy I hated came rushing back. What if Derrick liked that kind of attention?

  “Apparently that’s long enough,” he said. “Look, Brandt will get everything worked out. It doesn’t look like that religious freak is going to press charges so Derrick will probably just get a warning about the gun.”

  “This is so ridiculous,” I groaned. “They trespassed onto our property!”