by Milly Taiden
“Doctor Who.”
“I don’t understand.” She pouted her lips prettily. “Who’s Doctor?”
He barked a laugh. She was a riot and didn’t even realize it. “It’s a TV show. The name of the show is Doctor Who. It is also the name of the main character. Sorry if I confused you.”
“Oh,” she said, still sounding puzzled. “Okay, I’ll admit that one threw me off.”
“I told you so.”
“Whatever.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s not like you have boxes of mint condition comic books in your room and some plastic gloves to read them with.”
He must’ve given himself away because she gasped.
Busted!
“You do have comic books.” Her voice was filled with awe. “Are they in little plastic baggies?”
“No.” He snorted as if that were some sort of crime. “I have them in a clear enclosure to display them without getting dusty. In my guest room.”
Yeah, that made him sound so much less the geek.
She stood up and strolled around the table to his side only to sit on his lap, curling her hands around his neck. “You know what? I think you’re sexy whether you read comic books, go to Comic-Con or watch reruns of the original Star Trek.”
He held her by the waist, pressing her closer. “You don’t think being a geek is stupid?”
She leaned forward and brushed her lips over his. “I think, Mr. Bear, you are the hottest geek I’ve ever met.”
He’d never been told that before. Usually when women found out his entertainment preferences, and the fact that he analyzed everything, they tended to pull away. If they found out about his net worth or that of his clan then things changed. They’d get real close to him. He didn’t need to dress in button-down shirts or wear a Rolex because he had money. He was a bear shifter. He’d happily spend his time fishing and cuddling with a woman. Not just any woman. Nita.
Nita didn’t understand the surprise on Ky’s face. How could he think that because he enjoyed different things than she did, it made him somehow undesirable? Hell, the way he looked in those glasses, like a hot college professor, made her thoughts go straight to the gutter every few minutes. She was having a difficult time reminding her body to stay in control.
“Anybody home?” someone called out. It sounded like Liam.
“We’re back here,” she replied and stood. The last thing she wanted was to make a bad impression on his clan member.
There was a brief struggle and some giggles when Ky tried to keep her sitting on his lap. She stuck her tongue out at him and ran around the table to sit across from him.
“You do know I have to go home today.” She watched him for a reaction.
“I’ll come with you,” he offered. “You don’t need to make the drive home all alone.”
She grinned. “No way Mr. Bear. It’s been awesome but I have some work to do.”
Her stomach twisted in fearful knots. Was she going too fast too soon with him? Maybe trusting her instinct that this was the right man wasn’t what she should be doing.
“I can make it worth your while to stay.” He waggled his brows.
“Hah!” She didn’t need to say that he definitely could make her stay. All he had to do was say the word.
“What’s so funny?” Liam asked walking out from the kitchen. He had a T-shirt that said Born to be Wild on it.
“I have to go home,” she answered, wrapping the towel around her torso in a more discreet cover up.
“Already? I thought for sure the chief would find a way to keep you here.” He winked.
Her cheeks heated with embarrassment. “Believe me, it wasn’t for lack of trying. But I do have a job to do. And I kinda ran out of clean clothes.”
Liam shrugged. He filled a glass with iced tea and took a gulp. “Clothes are overrated.”
“My thoughts exactly,” said Ky.
She choked on a giggle, trying to keep a straight face but failed miserably. “Figures you guys would think that.”
She eyed Ky’s naked torso, slowly lifting her vision up to meet his gaze. His smile told her he knew she was bullshitting. If she could figure out a way to keep him naked then she’d happily allow it.
“I’ll go change.” She stood to go to the small cabin but stopped a few feet away and turned back to Ky. “I might find myself taking some more time off. If I’m invited back, I’d happily return.”
“Are you leaving already?” Liam asked.
“No. I’ll be back in a few.”
Liam waved as she walked away. By the time she reached the cabin her phone was buzzing with text messages from Tally, Mrs. Wilder and one from Ky. His was the only one she wanted to see.
No invitation needed. I want you here with me all the time.
She grinned like a fool and went to take a shower. She’d probably lose her job taking all that time off, but she hadn’t taken vacation time in a few years. All those hours of unused time off were going to come in handy now. She knew what she’d do. Go home and get more time off, then visit Tally and Mrs. Wilder before heading back. So what if she looked sort of desperate? She liked being with Ky. It wasn’t all about sex either. He was a genuinely nice guy. That meant more to her than anything.
SEVEN
Nita took longer than she anticipated showering, dressing and packing her bag. By the time she returned to Ky’s cabin, Jess was there but there was no sign of Ky.
“Hi,” she said to Jess. “I’m heading out, don’t want to wait until it’s too dark before I go. Do you know where Ky went?”
Jess winced, her hands gripping some oven mitts before she finally threw them on a counter. “There’s a problem he went to handle. I don’t know when he’ll be back.”
That didn’t sound good. Especially not the way Jess said it.
“I guess I’ll go home then.” Shit. She’d really wanted to see him. Maybe kiss him goodbye. Give him a hug. Ah, damn. She was much too attached to the big guy. Distance was probably a good thing. “He has my number and we’ll talk when he isn’t so busy.” She strolled forward to give Jess a hug. “Thanks so much for feeding me while I’ve been here.”
“Oh, you’re very welcome.” Jess sighed. She patted her on the back and marched to the front of the house where Nita’s energy saver was parked. “I’m just happy you’re back.”
Nita stopped by the car door and turned to Jess. “Back?”
Jess’s sparkling hazel eyes filled with happiness. “Yes! I’m so happy that Ky finally got you back.”
Say what? “Got me back from where?”
“Oh,” she gushed. “You know. You were his first love back in high school.”
Oh. My. God.
It couldn’t be real. She had to be kidding. Ky wouldn’t have withheld that kind of information. Would he? “His first love?”
“Let me think.” Jess’s brow puckered. “You guys were like fourteen or fifteen I think. Anyway, he’d gone to live with one of our uncles at Silver Falls. He and my dad didn’t get along. But that’s another story. You went to the same school.” Jess grinned. “I’m sure you’ve talked about it already, but I just think it’s so awesome that you’re here. And he’s got the woman he always wanted.”
Silver Falls. The word resounded in her head like a painful drum. Jess’s words were drowned out by the painfully loud beat of her heart. He’d been her high school best friend?
Jess gave her another hug. “Drive safe and come back soon! I know Ky will be counting the minutes until you do.”
“Right,” she mumbled and slid behind the wheel of her car.
She got lost in her thoughts. Hours flew, one after another, and her mind turned to a complete mess of questions. Why hadn’t he told her who he was? She felt like a fucking idiot for not putting two and two together. He didn’t look so much like he had back in school that she’d assume he was the same person. The vile taste of acid rolled up the back of her throat. Bastard!
“How?” she asked herself.
Her
phone rang repeatedly but she refused to look at it.
She was hurt. Angry. Frustrated. An emptiness took hold of her chest. He’d lied to her. It didn’t matter that it was by omission. For every mile she drove, the sense of desolation and sadness grew.
She got home late that night, having spent hours stuck in traffic with nothing to do but think. Hectic sounds of the city surrounded her once she hit the main roads. None of that mattered.
After a quick shower, she lay on her sofa, trying to decide what to do. The days with him had been so nice. So...perfect. Why would he choose to not tell her about their past if he’d had feelings as Jess said.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
She jerked up on the sofa, her heart beating double time. Had the building fallen around her and she hadn’t noticed?
“If you’re in there open up, Nita!” Tally yelled, her knocks bouncing off the door. “I’m ten seconds from calling the police and filing a missing person’s report.”
Scurrying to open the door, she almost fell over her slippers. She cursed her tendency to trip over her own two feet and jerked the door open.
Tally shoved her way in without waiting for an invitation.
“Come in,” she said sarcastically.
“What the hell, Nita?” Tally asked with shock. Then she gave her a once over and frowned. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“Nothing happened. I’m tired.”
“Bullshit!”
Argh! She hated that Tally knew her so well she could tell when Nita was upset.
“Really, Tally. It’s not a big deal. I’m unsure where this is going with Ky.”
Tally marched for the kitchen, ignoring Nita’s words as if she’d said come in instead.
“What are you doing?” Nita asked. She followed after Tally into her small but open kitchen.
“Tea. It’s too late for coffee.”
“I’m surprised Theron and Connor aren’t here with you,” Nita said of Tally’s mates. Wherever Tally went, the men followed.
Tally sat down on the breakfast nook and motioned her to take a seat. “They don’t need to be here with me. This is girl talk.”
Nita raised a brow. “What did you do, leave them in the car?”
Tally sighed. “No. I’m an independent woman. I can get around without them. I did it for most of my life.” She shrugged. “Plus, I warned them that if they even suggested coming along I’d probably stab them in their sleep with a fork.”
“That sounds more like you.”
“Forget about me,” Tally stated. “What happened to you? Why do you look so...sad?”
Tally stood and got teacups and sugar, and then proceeded to unwrap something from a bag she’d carried in.
“Is that—?”
“Yes. Cake. I knew that if you weren’t answering me you’d need this.”
Okay, maybe she wasn’t too upset that Tally had shown up. Besides, Tally was probably the only person she trusted enough to tell how she felt and discuss what happened.
“Tally, you didn’t have to.” She forked a piece of cake and shoved it in her mouth. “But I am glad you did.”
Tally sat down again, her arms resting on the kitchen table. “Okay, so what happened that things went from you having a great time with Mr. Beautiful Eyes, to you being home moping?”
“I’m not moping,” she grumbled. Disgusted with herself, she slammed the fork down on the plate. “He lied to me!”
Tally’s scared wide-eyed stare almost made her laugh. “Lied how?”
She inhaled sharply, trying to rein in the anger over the bear’s sly omissions. “He is the Ky I knew back in high school.”
Tally’s eyes got even wider. “Wait. The one you said was your best friend?”
“That one,” she growled.
“You didn’t notice this when you first saw him?” Tally sounded as confused as she felt. Welcome to the club, sister.
“I need some liquor. This tea shit ain’t gonna cut it.”
“Nita!” Tally burst into laughter.
“What? It’s true!” She remembered her first view of Ky. Half-naked and passed out on his kitchen floor. “As for noticing, no. He’s changed. A lot. He’s all big and buff and...”
“And what?” Tally asked, leaning forward.
“And sexy as hell. He was a cute guy back in school, but he had braces and his hair was kind of long. He was shy so he was always hunched over a little. God!” she hissed. “I must have been really stupid to him. Not knowing he was the one guy I trusted back then.”
“Oh, Nita. I’m sure he had a reason not to tell you.”
“Yeah?” she snapped. “What? Because as far as I’m concerned he was my best friend. You’d think that after the friendship we had he would be acknowledging that right away. Besides,” she huffed. “His sister said he’d been in love with me back then. More of a reason for him to tell me who he was.”
“But honey, men are stupid.”
“Yes, we know that. But he’s smart. This is Ky Stone. He was in advanced classes. About to head off to an early college program. He’s really fucking smart. So he can’t use stupidity as an excuse when he’s a genius. And,” she groaned, shoulders dropping. “Tally he’s so sexy. He did things...”
Tally blinked. “What things?”
A hot shiver ran down her spine. “Things no man had ever done with his tongue. I swear my legs melted to the floor the first time we had sex.”
“Damn, girl!”
“Why would he do this?” she asked herself more than Tally. Ky had changed. Not just physically. He was hiding things from her. That’s not something the younger version of him had ever done. They’d been honest with each other. There had been more than just friendship between them. A special bond had formed and now she wondered if what she felt was all an illusion. An illusion created by the new Ky Stone. A lie.
“I think you need to talk to him.”
“If I see him, I won’t be responsible for my actions.” Already she visualized smacking him upside the head with her frying pan. That would teach the bear to mess with her. She didn’t care that he was bigger and buffer than her. She had Latin genes on her side.
“Stop and think for second. He treated you so well while you were up there with him. You had a great time. You got to know each other,” Tally said suggestively. “In every sense of the word.”
“I also opened up to him. I told him things only you know.”
“I’m sorry, prima.” Tally placed a hand over Nita’s on the table, squeezing her in an attempt at comfort. “We’ll figure it out. If you need me to go up there and castrate him, say the word.”
Tally had grown a lot more aggressive since her mating to the two wolf shifters. It helped Nita feel better to know her cousin had her back. Not that she wanted to truly hurt Ky. The more she thought about it, the more she worried she’d developed more than just feelings of attraction for him. She’d never felt so hurt or distraught over a man. It didn’t matter that she’d only spent a handful of days with him. Ky was an anomaly. He’d slipped in through the cracks and gave her emotions a run for their money.
She hated to admit it, but she feared she fell in love with him. This was so not the way things were supposed to go.
* * *
Ky tried again to reach Nita. Nothing. They’d had an amazing time together. He couldn’t figure out what happened. His cell phone rang just as he was getting ready to leave his house.
“Liam?”
“I’m down by the river. There’s a group of outsiders here.”
“I’m coming,” he growled.
He’d decide on Nita later. As it was, the fishing problem needed resolution.
He stripped out of his clothes and dashed out of the cabin. No more asking nicely. The bear grunted, ready to take control. As he ran, the shift took over. His bear roared the moment he was out. Anger over his missing woman and now the trespassers meant the bear wanted to knock some heads off.
He arrived at the river be
nd in time to catch David and Liam fighting with some brown bears. They didn’t seem to be from the neighboring clan. He roared loud for all to hear.
The fight didn’t stop but two of the bears left, scared. Then Ky noticed a large brown bear off to the side, watching him. The brown made a dash for Ky.
Ky waited for the other bear to reach him, he knew that scent. It was a neighbor from two clans down the mountain. He’d been in talks with them for use of the river once in a while, but nothing definite had been decided. It seemed they’d taken it upon themselves to go fishing at his river anyway.
The bear swung, digging his claws into Ky’s fur. Ky’s bear roared with rage. He bit and shoved at the other animal, doing some serious damage with his own claws. Black bears were the most dangerous out there. They shoved back and forth, Ky biting on the side of the brown bear’s muzzle.
Roars and growls sounded all around. His attention was focused on the brown trying to best him. The brown huffed, tackling Ky and trying to take him down. Unfortunately for him, Ky wasn’t Chief of his clan just for show. He tackled with his guards all the time for fighting practice. Ky slammed a giant claw on the brown’s neck. The brown pulled back, almost falling on his back but he regained his balance. A loud pain-filled roar sounded from the brown. Ky bit down on his neck. The brown pushed away at the same moment Ky knocked him on the side with his claw.
The brown bled from the neck wound. The bastard didn’t give in though.
“Get off of my land.” Ky growled through their animal link. He slammed into the side of the brown and took him down.
The brown shoved back, finally knocking Ky on his ass.
They were both on their feet in seconds, Ky shoving and biting at the other bear’s muzzle once again.
The brown tried using his claws to inflict pain in Ky’s side, but the anger over the trespass and even worse, his frustration over his missing mate, kept him from dwelling on the pain.
Ky hit the bear on the shoulder where he’d bitten, to add to the pain he knew the intruder felt. The brown bit into Ky’s arm. Fiery throbbing took hold of his limb. Ky didn’t stop, he used the moment to his advantage and once again burrowed his canines into the brown. The metallic taste of the enemy’s blood hit his tongue. It pushed the bear even more into a feral state of mind.
