Bear-ly A Hero (Bear Claw Security 2)

by Terry Bolryder

  “You’ll need to tell me everything,” he said, “including why you’re afraid, so I can make sure not to be that.”

  “You couldn’t,” she said. “I know that on a mental level, just not a visceral level.” She looked at him again and gave a small shudder. “It’s nothing personal. You’re just so big.”

  Limes smirked and flexed his arms, and she jumped when the big muscles moved. “All the better to protect you with, my dear.”

  Her breath caught in her throat at the sheer size of him, and he mistook her reaction as fear and relaxed, leaning against the elevator wall in a way that was as unthreatening as possible.

  “I’m not going to hurt you. I’d never hurt a woman.” He thought about it for a moment. “Actually, maybe feelings. Yeah, I’m not great with feelings. I’m negative, too. But when it comes to physical stuff, I only hurt bullies. I don’t like hurting people. I don’t use my size for the wrong things.”

  “I wish I had size to use either way,” she said.

  He scanned her, making her feel warm as his eyes lingered a little too long on her curves. “Nah, you’re perfect.”

  “Not perfect enough to depend on myself,” she said.

  “That’s what you get a man for.” Then he looked surprised at himself for even suggesting it.

  “That’s why I hired one,” she retorted.

  Then they remained in silence.

  “So you didn’t want to work with me because of how I look?” he finally asked.

  She nodded. “And because we started off wrong, with me hitting your eye and all.” She shrugged. “I guess when I met your partners, I was so intimidated I just told them I wanted to work with the techy partner. I thought you’d be a skinny nerd. Someone I could handle.”

  “Someone you could walk all over you mean,” he said with a smirk. “You need a man, not a boy.”

  She glared at him. “You don’t know what I need, and you’re only here because I’m paying you. And when I’m safe, you’ll be gone again.”

  “We’ll see about that,” he muttered under his breath. It seemed to be a catchphrase of his, used for many situations, like challenging everyone on everything was his favorite hobby.

  “You don’t have to argue with everything,” she said. “Sometimes you can just agree.”

  He folded his arms. “That’s rich coming from you.” Then the elevator doors opened and he walked out.

  She followed behind.

  “All right, we just need to pick up some of my stuff.”

  “I’m not sure you need to stay over,” she said, feeling nervous at the prospect. “I could just call you if I’m in trouble.”

  “If they’re shifters, they’ll be in before I can get there. Come on. You can tell me more about you while we’re on the way.”

  She paused as he opened the car door, not wanting to get in because it meant agreeing that all of this was going to happen. Like she was okay with it.

  Then she thought of the threatening letter.

  “Fine,” she said, pulling herself into the cab, on her own this time. “You can stay. But you’re sleeping on the couch. And don’t get too comfortable.”

  He shut her door and walked around to his and got in. “And how many times do I have to tell you I’m not going to hurt you? So stop looking so nervous.”

  She looked over to see he was agitated. Agitated by her agitation.

  He was an interesting person. She was beginning to think she could deal with a few days with him after all.

  “All right, and after we pick up my stuff, we’ll go to the store to get some real food. Your stuff sucks.”

  And there he was again. She leaned on the window with a sigh. It was going to be a long day.

  5

  Limes carried all their stuff in as they walked up the front walk. Both the groceries he’d bought and the duffels filled with the items he needed. One duffle had clothing and supplies.

  The other had security equipment, weapons, and other things he might need against whoever showed up.

  Despite always being in the office, Limes was discovering some pretty powerful protective instincts where this case was concerned.

  Or was it where Jamie was concerned?

  Every time she jumped or looked at him with frightened eyes, it was like a needle under his skin.

  He’d never minded being intimidating to people. It had always been fun, always kept them away. That meant less people to nag him about his bad personality.

  But with her, he didn’t want her to be afraid. He wanted her to look at him like a port in the storm, a lifeline.

  Not a shark.

  She opened the door and gave him a hesitant glance as they walked inside. She led him down the hall and motioned for him to follow.

  She let out a sigh. “I said you’d have to sleep on the couch, but I do have a second bedroom. You can stay there.”

  “I’d rather be in the same room, but fine,” he said. “I can protect you from there.”

  “I don’t even know if they’ll be coming or the letters were empty threats.”

  “But you have at least some reason to be afraid of them, or you wouldn’t have hired us.”

  “That’s true,” she said, and he hated the resignation in her voice. He wanted her to have more strength in her voice by the time he left. She was a shifter. She should be proud, a fighter.

  When he left…

  He hated that idea. And that was odd because Limes hadn’t cared for a person like that in a long time. Sure, Bronson and Cage were his friends, but even they had never really broken through the wall around him.

  But at least they were on the outside, waiting should he ever decide to come out.

  He had a feeling this woman was behind a wall as well, and he wanted to draw her out. Even found himself willing for the first time in years to climb over his own wall if it meant bringing her out.

  Maybe they should get to know each other a little more. Maybe that would make her more comfortable.

  “Um, how about I make dinner?” he asked, setting his stuff on the bed in the spare room and then following her out to the hall. He reminded himself to stay a few steps back, noticing the way she seemed to fold in on herself when he crowded her.

  She gave him a chiding glance. “Really? I didn’t think you’d be able to cook, given all the crap you just bought.” Her eyes went to the grocery bags still on the counter.

  He walked over and started putting them away in the fridge and the freezer. “I can work a microwave.” He pulled out a frozen meal. “How about this?”

  She shook her head with a laugh. “I don’t eat that stuff. I’d be a house.”

  “That’s a yes,” he said. “You’re perfect. You should eat whatever you want.” He tore off the wrapper and stuck it in the microwave.

  She gave him a tired laugh and then went to sit on the couch, not saying anything, just staring forward as she waited.

  When he had their meals ready, he carried one to her and then sat next to her with his. He dug in, but she stared at hers.

  “They’re good,” he said. “Gotta keep your energy up in case you gotta use your umbrella on someone.”

  She grinned at that, but it didn’t reach her eyes. He could tell she was worried again. “I thought you said that was stupid.”

  “I was a jerk,” he said, taking in a mouthful of food. “No, scratch that. I’m a jerk in general. But yeah, you’ll need strength.”

  She pushed the food around, and he decided to talk to try and distract her. Hopefully, she would eat. He’d seen those diet drinks she used, and they weren’t enough for anyone, let alone a shifter female.

  She just needed to accept that shifter females were naturally curvy and that’s how they were meant to be.

  “So what made you so scared of men?” he asked.

  Rather than looking happy to open up, she set down her fork and glared at him in annoyance, dark eyes flashing. “Excuse me? You’re really going to go into that? While we’re eating?
”

  “Shouldn’t I know what we’re up against?” he asked, knowing it was really more that he wanted to know more about her. And who had hurt her, so he could hunt them down and make them pay.

  “You know as much as I do,” she said. “You’ve seen the notes.”

  “Yeah, but you think you might know who it is,” he said.

  She folded her arms, leaving her food ignored. “I don’t know if that’s them. And I don’t think I have to unfold my entire painful past for you to keep me safe.” She stood, and he caught her by the hand, noting the way she jumped.

  Dammit, when he found whoever hurt her and made her afraid like this, he was going to kill them.

  He released her hand and lowered his tone, trying to sound gentle. “Come on,” he said. “Eat with me, or I’ll feel bad.”

  She sighed at him as a smile finally threatened the corners of her full mouth. “Using my sympathy against me?”

  He pointed at his meal with his fork. “I mean, if it’s such bad junk, maybe I shouldn’t be eating it either.” He put a hand over his hard, rippled abs and gave her a pouting face, and she laughed and sat next to him again.

  This time a little closer. Not touching, but not hugging the opposite side of the couch either.

  She took a bite, and a feeling of contentment flashed through him as he watched her chew.

  He liked knowing she was eating, that she was safe.

  Mate.

  The word echoed through him, leaving his food flavorless in his mouth, as he was totally overwhelmed by the idea of it.

  Could his latest client really be his fated mate? He’d never been one to believe in the concept, but what else explained how quickly he’d grown attached to her?

  Bronson was right. He’d never acted like this about another woman they’d met.

  But how did this whole thing work? She didn’t seem at all interested in him. Why would she be? He was scary. To her, he was just a thug that was as likely to mess with her as a bad guy was.

  He eyed the full sleeves on his arms. Suddenly, he regretted the things he’d done to keep people distant or scare them off. Well, he didn’t regret his tats, but he regretted between that and his hair and his style, she seemed to completely abhor him.

  “Did that hurt?” she said, picking up another bite on her fork and gesturing to his arms before eating it.

  “No.” He lied.

  She laughed. “Sure.”

  He grinned. “I’m just that manly.”

  “What do they mean?”

  He sighed, turning over one arm and then the other. “Ugh, there are so many. It would take too long.” He pointed at one tattoo. “This was for our unit.” He pointed to another. “That’s a tiger. I just liked how it looked. That skull, I just liked how it looked with the roses and the gun.”

  “What about that one?” she asked, pointing at his other arm. A small bird with a little leaf in its beak.

  It didn’t match the tattoos around it. It was small and simple and colorless, not like the intricate rainbow of the other tattoos that had been done by expert artists.

  Limes pulled at the sleeve of his shirt, as if to cover it. It was at the top of his bicep, and he rubbed it self-consciously.

  He felt the wall going up and stood to take his dish to the kitchen.

  He didn’t answer her.

  She seemed to sense the tone had changed in the room. She didn’t ask him what had bothered him, just quietly ate as he threw the container in the trash and then started washing the plate he’d put it on.

  He liked the feel of the water streaming over his hands. It distracted him from more unpleasant things.

  “You okay?” she asked, walking in the kitchen and sliding her plate in beside him. He picked it up to wash it, barely hearing what she’d said, until he felt her hand on his back.

  He looked at her in surprise. She’d touched him. When he looked at her, she stepped back, almost as if she were shocked at herself for reaching out.

  “I, um… I need to work,” she said, stepping back again. “You can watch something if you want. I have cable.”

  “What do you need to work on?” he asked. “You work in IT. What could you possibly do at home?”

  “I um… I do something on the side.”

  “Like what, a hobby?”

  “Sort of,” she said. But he saw a blush moving up into her face and grinned.

  Fully distracted now from what he’d been thinking about, he stepped forward.

  “Now I gotta know what it is.”

  “No,” she squeaked, pushing her fluffy hair back. “It’s fine. I’ll just stay out here and watch something with you. I don’t need to work.” She walked back to the couch and sat down, and he set down the plate he’d been washing and followed her.

  She was twisting her hands in her lap, and he didn’t want to push it further for now. But he’d find out what she was so cutely embarrassed about at some point. That was for sure.

  He sat next to her, not too close, but not on the other side either.

  “All right,” he said. “I’ll leave it alone for now. You’ve had a long day.”

  “Thank you,” she said.

  He sat up. “You know, I’m gonna have to go to work with you, too. That gonna be okay with your boss?”

  She nodded. “I have my own office. It should be fine.” She grinned. “You being a hacker, I guess you could help me with IT stuff, too.”

  He grimaced. “Ugh, not if it involves people. What I love about my job is it generally doesn’t involve talking to people.”

  She bit her lip and studied her cuticles. He’d made her nervous again. “Then why did you want to work with me?” she asked.

  “I don’t know,” he said, leaning back on the couch and stretching his legs out in front of him. “I guess there’s something different about you. Maybe I was impressed by your umbrella strikes.” His mouth tightened. “Maybe I didn’t like how little you fought after that.” He shrugged. “Either way, my bear wants to stay, and I’m going to listen.”

  “So you’re a bear,” she said. “Interesting.”

  She scanned him, and he told his body not to react. Funny, he’d never had any trouble keeping control before.

  “Yeah, and you?”

  “Are all bears as big as you?” she asked, dodging the question.

  Fine, he’d let her keep her secrets for now.

  “No,” he said. “I think we’re generally bigger than other shifters, though. Can’t say for sure. I was in a shifter unit in the army, but most of us were bears. Maybe one lion, one cougar.”

  “Interesting,” she said, squirming slightly to get comfortable. She hugged a pillow on her lap, cuddling it, and Limes had a sudden urge to be that pillow.

  He forced his gaze ahead, trying to rid himself of that ridiculous thought. “What should we watch?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “What do you like to watch?”

  “Action and horror. You?”

  “Romance and comedy,” she said. She shivered. “I haven’t watched much horror.”

  Limes frowned. Maybe this wouldn’t work after all. He needed his movies.

  “But I can try a horror movie,” she said. “I mean, and you can give romance a shot.”

  Limes let out a shudder, making her laugh. He turned to her with a smile, liking that sound, wanting to make it happen again. “All right,” he said. “We’ll start with one of my movies.”

  She sighed. “All right, but not a bad one, okay?”

  “Sure,” he said, logging onto his movies through her smart TV and scrolling through his library. He picked a movie that was a fairly mild horror by his standards and then pressed play, noticing she pulled the pillow close even though it was still on the credits.

  He got up to turn out the lights to enhance the experience, the way he always did, and she squeaked in protest.

  “No!” she said. “Come on. It’s my first time.”

  Looking at her there on the couch, cut
e and helpless, stirred something inside him, and suddenly, he wanted to turn off the lights just so he could hide in the darkness with the feelings that were coming so quickly and unexpectedly.

  But he left it on and came back to the couch, swiping a pillow off a nearby chair so he had something to cuddle himself.

  He needed it about now.

  They stayed like that for the first part of the movie, on opposite sides of the couch, not touching, watching the movie.

  Then Limes noticed her slowly coming closer as the movie got more intense. The pillow was still clutched in her lap, and one of her hands was at her mouth as she bit at her nails and let out little gasps.

  It was super entertaining. And he didn’t mind she was sort of scooting closer.

  It meant she wasn’t scared of him.

  And then she bumped into his side, and he looked down to see she was completely terrified.

  Damn, that hadn’t been what he wanted. He grabbed the remote and turned off the movie, then turned to look at her as she let out a sigh of relief. She was completely blank from fear, and she also seemed surprised by how close she’d gotten to him.

  He resisted the urge to put his arm around her. It wouldn’t be appropriate. Not that clients couldn’t be comforted in the right situation, but she hadn’t invited him to touch her, so he’d stay back.

  She fidgeted and moved back to her place in the corner of the couch, sinking into it as her breath returned to normal, her hand over her throat. “Goodness, that was intense.”

  “We aren’t even to the scary part,” he said, flashing her a grin. Her eyes widened in alarm, and he got up and went to her DVDs and looked over them.

  He grabbed a set he recognized and opened them, taking the first DVD out and putting it in her player.

  “What is it?” she asked as he got the TV to the right input and started the movie.

  He held up the case. “This okay?”

  She nodded with a smile. Girls never said no to Pride and Prejudice. It wasn’t his favorite movie, but he’d put up with it if Darcy could make her smile.

  As long as Darcy stayed in the damn TV where he belonged. Because out here in the real world, Limes wanted to be the only one who made her happy.

  Ugh, what was happening to him?