And then he hit the brakes, staring in disbelief.
Lissa was sitting on the front steps, wearing her pink jacket and bunny boots. She was holding a cup of takeout coffee in both hands, sipping on it.
Tank pulled the truck up next to the house and got out. Lissa smiled uncertainly at him as he approached the steps.
“Hi,” she said. “Want a chocolate croissant?”
She held up a brown paper bag.
Tank stared at her, completely stupefied. “What are you doing here?” he asked finally.
“Waiting for you,” she said simply. “I knew when Flynn told me you left hat you were coming back here, and I knew how much it would hurt you. I didn’t want you to have to do it alone.”
Tank was stunned. She’d come all this way, still healing from her wounds, because she didn’t want him to be alone and hurting?
She was standing two steps up, so she was nearly as tall as he was. Tank stepped forward and leaned in, touching his forehead to hers. “I’m sorry. I should have talked to you first. It was just something I needed to do alone.”
She shook her head. “It’s something you think you should do alone. Guys always think they need to do emotional stuff alone. What they really need is someone to hug them.”
That got a huff of laughter out of him. “Is that all we need?”
“That, and frequent boinking.”
That got a bigger laugh, and he pulled her in for a hug. They stood there for a few minutes, just holding each other. Finally he said, “I think you may have something there. With the hug theory.”
“Just call me Little Dr. Phil Bear.”
“Should I even ask how you got here?” he asked, reveling in the feel of her, how she could make him feel better just by being hear him.
“Well, I was going to take the Greyhound overnight, and then walk like a bear the rest of the way. I was even going to make a bearpack so I could take my clothes.” She tapped her forehead. “Always thinking.”
He grinned.
“But then I remembered we have a real crew now, and crews help each other. So I talked to the others and Sloane and Xander offered to drive me.”
They’d driven all the way to Georgia overnight for him and Lissa?
“And those asshats just left you here alone?”
“No, of course not. They’re in town having breakfast and hitting on the diner waitress. They said I should call them if you were stupid enough to still think you wanted to be alone.”
She dropped her eyes. “It’s not stupid, though. They don’t get how it was with you and Angie—that she was your one true mate. I know no one will ever replace her, but I claimed you even though you didn’t want me to, and I feel like you deserve for me to be there for you.”
She thought he didn’t want to be her mate.
Tank reached down and cupped her face in his hands, very gently, and looked down into those mesmerizing eyes that could be so soft, and yet so fierce.
“You listen to me, Lissa Ramsey,” he said. “A part of me will always love Angie. But I didn’t come here to try to find that again. I came to finally say goodbye to her, because you’re the woman I want to be with for the rest of my life. I love you with all my heart, Little Bear. I didn’t want to bring you here because I thought it would hurt you, seeing Angie’s and my place and what we had together.”
Lissa’s eyes filled with tears, and she threw her arms around his waist, hugging him tight. “You don’t mind that I claimed you?” she whispered.
He shook his head. “I’m honored that you claimed me, and I’m proud to be your mate. You feel that? That feeling like the sun came out inside you?” He put his hand on her chest.
She nodded. “I thought that was love.”
He smiled. “It’s more than love. It’s our bond. Do you have any idea how lucky I am, to get two true bonds in one lifetime?”
“Not as lucky as I am, Hulk Bear,” she said. “I love you too.”
Tank thought his heart would burst.
He pulled the house keys out of his pocket. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
She kissed him softly, then nodded. “Show me,” she said. “Tell me all about Angie, so I can hold her in my heart and honor her memory with you.”
Tank held her close so she wouldn’t see the tears.
Epilogue
Lissa sat with her eyes tightly closed as Tank pulled his truck to a stop.
“Can I look yet?” she asked.
“No.”
He turned off the engine and walked around the truck. “No peeking!”
“I’m not peeking.” She shut the eye she’d just tried to crack open.
“You’re totally peeking,” he said, opening her door. “Am I going to have to get strict with you?”
“You start talking dirty like that to me, Big Bear, and there’s no telling what might happen. I could drop my panties right here, and what if the cops should drive by?”
Tank dropped a kiss on her lips, finishing with a tiny bite to her lower lip. Lissa moaned.
He took her by the shoulders and turned her around.
“Okay, now you can open.”
She opened her eyes to see the boarded-up service station. “My old squat!” she said. “How romantic.”
Tank leaned down and kissed the top of her head, grinning.
“Incorrect,” he said. “You’re looking at the new premises of Bearcat Construction, specializing in renovations and tiny house construction.”
Lissa turned and stared at him, eyes wide. “You bought it? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Flynn and I signed the papers a couple of days ago. I wanted it to be a surprise. Flynn is going to renovate and flip regular houses, and I’m going to build tiny ones.”
Lissa turned in a big circle, looking at the yard with new eyes. “This will be perfect,” she said. “Look how huge the parking lot is! You can build the tiny houses right here, and keep model homes here too.”
“That’s what we thought,” Tank said. “The old car repair bays we can turn into a workshop, out of the weather. And let me show you what we’re going to do to the rest of it.”
He led her inside. The front door had been un-boarded, and had a new lock on it. Tank unlocked it and ushered her inside.
Most of the shelves had been cleared from the convenience store area, and some of the drink cases had already been removed. It looked much bigger than it had before.
“Over here we’re going to have a mini-showroom, with samples of finishes and hardware.” He pointed. “Staff desks in the back, and over here, where the kitchen area is, we’re going to have a break room for coffee and stuff.”
Lissa couldn’t suppress a thrill as she looked around the room, envisioning it all. She’d been encouraging Tank to set up his business, but he and Flynn had kept this close to the vest, the sneaky bastards.
He led her down the hallway to the offices. “We’re going to enclose part of the storage room as an office for Flynn. He’ll be out on site most of the time, but he needs someplace to hang his hard hat. And this is my office.”
He pushed open the door of Lissa’s old squat, and she gasped. The old desk and couch were still in there, but the junk had been cleaned up, and the room was full of flickering LED candles. There was an ice bucket with champagne in it next to the couch.
“Not as romantic as real candles,” Tank said, “but I wanted them to be lit when we got here.”
Lissa threw her arms around him. “It’s beautiful,” she said. “Who would have thought, the day I knifed you in the hallway, that someday we’d be mated and you’d be building your dream in this very place.”
“Not me,” Tank said, kissing her slowly and thoroughly. “Come on. Let’s make a toast.”
Tank popped the cork on the champagne bottle and poured two glasses. “What?” he said, noticing Lissa’s expression.
“I saw the label,” she admitted. “I’m trying not to think about how much it cost.” Tank was trying to break
her of the habit, but it wasn’t easy.
Tank laughed. “I swiped it from the wine cellar at the cabin,” he said. “Courtesy of Alexander Fucking Grant.”
Lissa raised her glass. “To Alexander Fucking Grant’s incarceration,” she said. “And to Bearcat Construction.” They clinked glasses.
She looked him in the eyes. “I’m so proud of you,” she said softly. He’d come so far in the last couple of months—starting a business, putting down roots, backing up Flynn and being a rock for the rest of the crew to lean on.
“Ooh,” she said, as a thought struck her. “Can I build you a website? Pretty please? I learned some cool new things in the online course I’m taking. I’ll make you a million bucks.”
“Speaking of that…” he looked nervous, and Lissa tried to hide her disappointment. Did he not want her to work on the business?
Tank picked up an envelope and handed it to her.
Lissa frowned at him. “What’s this?”
“Open it and see.”
Lissa opened the envelope. It had “Bearcat Construction” at the top, and began, “Dear Ms. Ramsey.”
Bearcat Construction would like to offer you the position of Marketing Manager, beginning immediately. Salary and benefits are as follows…
Excitement spread through her. “You’re offering me a job? With a salary and everything? Do I get my own desk?”
“Yes, yes, and yes.”
Lissa squealed and bounced on the couch. “I never had a real job, with vacation days and payroll deductions.”
“You know you’re the only person in the entire United States that’s excited about payroll deductions, don’t you?”
“Don’t care. They’re awesome.”
Tank shook his head. “I love you so much,” he said, smiling.
“I love you too. And I love your office.” She gazed around thoughtfully. “You remember what the best thing about this office was?”
He shook his head.
“It has a door that locks.”
“And that’s important because…”
“It’s important because I’m getting the overwhelming urge to seduce my boss on this very desktop. It’s a fantasy of mine, but I’ve never had a boss before, so…”
She moved some candles and hiked herself up on the desk. She was wearing a skirt, and she made sure it exposed most of her thighs.
Tank’s eyes got that smoky look she loved, and the front of his pants started to bulge. He walked over and locked the door, and then he walked back to the desk, slow and predatory. Lissa felt her panties getting wet.
He stopped in front of her and unzipped his pants, shoving his underwear down to expose his cock. He was hard already.
“Is this what you came in for, Ms. Ramsey?” he asked, reaching down and giving it a long, slow stroke.
“Yes,” she said, deliberately licking her lips. “Please.”
He gazed down at her. “I believe your attire is inappropriate for the office.” He reached between her legs and tore her panties off, dropping them on the floor. Holy hell, he could make her desperate for him in two seconds. He gazed down at her, a smile hovering at the corner of his mouth.
“There, that’s better. Now. How do you want it, Ms. Ramsey?” he asked, his voice gravelly and low.
She slid off the desk and turned her back to him, lifting up her skirt to expose her bottom. She heard Tank growl, the sexy growl that made her quiver.
He reached between her legs and slipped his fingers into her slick folds. He stroked, her finding her clit and rubbing her juices all around it, making it more sensitive. She moaned.
Then suddenly he was inside her, hot and hard, one hand holding her hip, the other reaching around to stroke her clit. She was so ready for him, ready for him to fill her up, make her feel loved and wanted and whole.
He was hard and fast, bringing her to the brink as she leaned over the desk, loving every second of it. Within a few minutes her release was crashing over her, her legs shaking.
Tank drew back and turned to sit on the desk, pulling her to straddle his lap. He thrust into her once more, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight.
She was still limp from her climax, and he held her still, kissing her half-closed eyes, her mouth, raining kisses down her neck.
“You make me crazy, Ms. Ramsey,” he said. “I want you all the time.”
“We’re going to have a hard time getting any work done, then,” she said.
He smiled at her, smoothing back her hair with gentle fingers. “Don’t care,” he said. “I love you so much. I never thought I could be happy again, but you make me happy every day.”
Lissa slid her hands around his shoulders, pressing her cheek against his rough, scruffy one, leaning into his strength as he moved inside her.
Her bear. Hot and sexy, sweet and gentle, fierce and protective. They’d helped each other start over, fight the demons of the past, and put down roots in a new place, with a crew they could count on.
“I love you back,” she whispered to him. “You’re my heart, the best thing in my life.”
He captured her lips, and held her as he took them both to the edge and beyond, in each other’s arms.
Watch for the next book in the Bad Blood Shifter Series, coming in late May!
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Want more of these characters?
Silverlake Shifters:
Fugitive Mate
White Wolf Mate
Tiger Mate (introducing Flynn, Tank, Tristan and Jasmin, and the escape from Alexander Grant’s prison)
Silverlake Enforcers:
The Enforcers: KANE
The Enforcers: ISRAEL
The Enforcers: NOAH (the reappearance of Flynn, Tank, Tristan and Jasmin and the attack by the Nashville pack)
About the Author
Anastasia Wilde lives in the deep forests of the Pacific Northwest, where sexy shifters may or may not be found hiding among the tall, ancient trees. She writes hot paranormal romances about wild, passionate shifter men and the strong women who are destined to win their hearts. Broken, complicated, devoted, protective—love heals their wounds and smooths their rough edges (but not too much!). When not writing, Anastasia is traveling, nomming on any food involving bacon or melty cheese (ideally both), adding to her magical crystal collection, or relaxing with a glass of wine, watching the sun set behind the mountains.
Bad Blood Bear (Bad Blood Shifters Book 1) Page 19
