Undercover Eagle

by Harmony Raines

  But before that happened, he had things he needed to share. Things his mate needed to know. Deserved to know, before she chose a life with him.

  Chapter Seven – Beverly

  The alarm on her nightstand woke her from a dream. Beverly didn’t want to admit who was the star of the dream. Even less did she want to acknowledge what she was doing with the star of her dream.

  She hit the snooze button to silence the alarm and got out of bed, her body filled with a passionate heat that was less easy to ignore. What if she went over to Liam’s place and he could tell she’d been dreaming about the two of them making love?

  Beverly scoffed at herself. No one could get inside her head. No one. Least of all a man she’d only just met. She frowned as she splashed water on her face. How could she have not met Liam before? Had he avoided the store? If so, why?

  After dragging on fresh clothes, she made her way downstairs as quietly as she could, once more telling herself she needed a place of her own. How would a man ever take her seriously if she lived with her parents? The convenience of living over the store had made her stay long after she should have moved out.

  Grabbing a bottle of chilled water and a croissant, she made her way to the back door and slipped out into the chilly morning air. Her breath erupted in a puff of vapor as she pulled on her hiking boots and shouldered her pack. A shimmer of excitement threaded through her veins as she set off along the main street, heading toward Liam’s house.

  At this early hour, and with few people around, there was something altogether clandestine about going to visit a man she barely knew.

  You knew him all too well in your dreams, her brain reminded her.

  Her response was to shut up that small but insistent voice and remind herself no one could read her thoughts. A few minutes later, she reached the mountain-wares store, and walked around back to find Liam waiting for her.

  “I knew you’d come.” He grinned. “I would have called you, but…” He held out her cell phone.

  Beverly reached out for it, not sure what to say. “You went back and got it?”

  He nodded. “I knew how much you needed it.”

  “But it must have taken you hours.” Beverly checked the lock screen; it hadn’t been tampered with. And anyway, why would Liam want access to her phone? The deliveries to the store were not exactly top secret.

  “I had nothing better to do.” He looked at his watch. “We’d better get going.”

  “Do you want us to go in my car?” Beverly asked. She hadn’t given much thought as to how they were going to get to the mountain.

  “No, I have something better.” He looked up and down the street. “Although it might wake the neighbors.”

  She frowned, unsure of what he meant until he took a key from his pocket, walked across to a shed, and unlocked it. “What the hell! You have a super-cool motorcycle.” His motorcycle was the kind that belonged to bad boys who rode in gangs and terrorized other people. Was Liam Mr. Wrong after all?

  “I do.” He picked up a helmet and passed it to her. “Here, put this on.”

  She did as he asked, and he put a helmet on too, before wheeling the bike outside. Beverly thought back to another man who had slipped through her fingers, reformed bad boy Zak Pellow, who played guitar for a rock band before moving back to Bear Creek and settling down with Louise.

  What was Liam, all her fantasies rolled into one?

  “I’ll push it up the street a ways and then start it up.” He shoved the bike and it moved forward, Liam’s muscles bunched as he steered it down the side of his shop and then out onto the street.

  “Any other surprises you want to share?” Beverly asked as she walked beside him.

  “I’m not a big sharer.” Liam cast her a sideways glance. “I think I’ll eke them out a little.”

  She sighed. “I’m like an open book. Boring small-town store clerk.”

  “I like open. And I like boring.” He looked horrified. “Not that you are boring.”

  “I am so boring. Who wants to hear about different types of cheese, or what’s the bestselling candy bar?” She huffed out a cloud of vapor.

  “Don’t knock it.” Liam slowed the bike. “Climb on.”

  He slung his leg over the bike giving Beverly the opportunity to admire his lean thighs as he supported the bike while she clambered on. Putting her feet where he showed her tipped her forward so she had to cling on to him. Liam didn’t complain; in fact, she swore he trembled as she laced her fingers around his waist.

  “Ready?” He kicked the bike into life, and the sound of the engine filled the early morning air. Then he throttled forward, and the bike shot like an arrow down the main street out of town. Beverly held on tight, her face pressed against his back as the wind tried to drag her from the bike.

  They banked right, and she followed the movement of his body, hoping she wouldn’t knock them off balance and send them skidding across the rough road. The bike flew along the road, and gradually, Beverly mastered the art of riding pillion as they threaded their way along empty back roads, and began to climb higher up the side of the mountain.

  When they hit the dirt trail, the bike skidded; stones flew out from under it as the tires bit into the rough ground. Liam handled the bike as if it were a precision tool, easing back on the throttle and nursing the motorbike up the trail. When they reached the place they had parked yesterday, he didn’t stop; instead, he rode a mile further up the trail. Here the trail was overgrown, and he had to thread his way through until the gravel trail petered out. There he stopped, and turned off the engine before removing his helmet.

  “We’ll walk from here. I don’t want to erode the mountain by riding over the dirt tracks.” He placed both the helmets on the handlebars of the bike.

  “That was incredible,” Beverly told him as she smoothed her ponytail out.

  “Glad you enjoyed it, this is my one weakness.” He patted the bike’s polished chrome tank fondly.

  “You only have one weakness?” Beverly asked, her heart racing from the ride.

  “Maybe two.” Liam looked at her, with those big, soft eyes that melted her to the core.

  “Liam, can I ask you to be honest?” Beverly’s heart raced a little faster.

  “I am being honest.”

  “I mean about us.” She had to ask him the question that had been in her mind since yesterday.

  “Us.” His eyes grew darker. There was something primal about the way he devoured her body with his eyes, and he lifted his hands to her waist and pulled her close.

  “Yes,” she squeaked.

  “What about us?”

  Beverly swallowed, had he invited her up here so he could…Wait. She was the one who had invited herself. “Is there an us?”

  “I want there to be an us, more than anything in this world.” Liam lowered his head and their lips met. Beverly wrapped her arms around his neck and hung on to him as their kiss deepened. After all the men she tried to date, she’d finally hit the jackpot; she only hoped his secrets were not going to ruin their relationship.

  Was she trying to sabotage her happiness before it had time to blossom?

  Beverly pushed her concerns aside and lost herself in the moment. Liam’s lips moved against hers, soft, tempting, his tongue questing for entrance as he nipped her bottom lip. Goodness, he was good, her insides turned to liquid fire, and when he slipped his hand lower to pull her tighter into his body, she was ready to act out her dream of them together right here on the forest floor.

  Liam broke the kiss, leaving her breathless. Resting her head on his chest, she took a moment to absorb what had happened between them. It was new and exciting. She’d been with other men, but nothing had felt this real.

  “We should get going.” Liam’s voice was rough with emotion as he took her hand and led her along the trail, deeper into the mountains. They walked for some time in silence before he apologized. “I’m sorry if I took you by surprise.”

  “Don’t be sorry,”
Beverly blurted out. “What I mean is… I liked it.” She could have gushed on and on about how much she liked it. About how he set her body on fire and how she wanted to tear his clothes off his body… She stuck with her short admission.

  He cast a look over his shoulder to where she walked a little behind him along the narrow trail. “I like it too. I liked it a lot.” The heat in her body grew until she thought she’d internally combust and start a wildfire here on the mountain.

  “Where are we going to?” Beverly asked, wrenching her eyes away from his lips.

  They had broken out from under the cover of the trees. “We need to follow this trail about another two hundred feet, and then cut across the plateau. I’m trying to bring us in downwind from the nesting site, so we don’t make the parents feel threatened.”

  “You know a lot about a lot of things, don’t you?” Beverly asked.

  “Only some things.” He helped her climb over a fallen tree trunk that was half rotted on the ground. “I read a lot. When I was growing up, I was a nerd.”

  She snorted. “Well, that sure did change.” Beverly covered her mouth. “Not that there’s anything wrong with being a nerd.” She studied him closer. “And as for growing up, that didn’t happen too long ago, did it?” He looked around the same age as her. Maybe a year or two older. But he spoke as if he were a lot older.

  “I’m twenty-nine,” Liam confessed.

  Beverly stopped dead. “You don’t look a day over twenty-one.” He was a full eight years older than her.

  “I have a baby face. Not exactly something to brag about.” He turned to face her, and she reached up and stroked his cheeks. “I hope you can live with that.”

  “No wonder your body is so much more developed than most men my age.” She cast an eye over his toned thighs and worked her way up, noting the bulge in his pants. Jerking her head higher, she settled for staring at his broad chest.

  “More developed?” He cocked his head to one side and surveyed her. “Damn it, Beverly, you are certainly developed in all the right places, too.”

  A warmth coiled in her stomach before erupting violently inside her. Normally flirty and willing to flaunt her body, Beverly instead experienced an overwhelming need to be everything to Liam and Liam alone. “Is that all this is, a sexual attraction?” Her disappointment would be bitter, but she needed to know before things went any further.

  He shook his head and pulled her close to him. “No, it’s much more than that. Can’t you feel it?” He put his hand over her heart. “I want you. Not just your body, but your mind and soul too. We’re meant to be together.”

  She shook her head. “That’s not fair.”

  He frowned. “What’s not fair?”

  “Have you been speaking to Hannah?” she accused.

  “No. I don’t think I know a Hannah.” He rubbed his hands soothingly along her arms. “I don’t understand how I’ve upset you.”

  “Because I told her…never mind, it’s stupid.” She stopped talking and focused on movement through the trees up ahead. “Get down.”

  Beverly pulled him to the ground and put her finger to her lips before pointing in the direction they were heading. Liam lifted his head and scanned the area before ducking back down.

  “They’re the guys Wyatt described.”

  Beverly nodded in answer. For now, she forgot about their conversation. They had come here for a reason, and they had to both act professionally.

  Or as professionally as two small-town store owners could be.

  Chapter Eight – Liam

  Liam had a particularly strong hatred of people who stole from nature, and birds in particular. It was the way he’d been raised. As a bird shifter, his mom had taught him to appreciate nature, that his ability to shift was a gift he should always use for good. Which was why Mike’s betrayal had cut so deep. So seeing these men acting suspiciously on the mountain, close to where the eagles were allegedly nesting, made his temper flare.

  “What do we do?” Beverly whispered, her warm breath on his cheek as she crouched down at his side.

  Liam pointed to the right. “Let’s go around that way and keep to the cover of the trees. Then we can climb up the cliff and look down on them.”

  Beverly looked up to where he pointed. “OK. Good plan.”

  He took her hand and guided her through the undergrowth, not because she needed his help, but because he wanted to hold onto her and keep her safe. It was an innate thought that he could not shake off. Bad men were nearby, and he had to protect his mate. Although the fierce look in her eyes told him she might just be able to look after herself. Beverly was quite a woman. How no man, no non-shifter man, had never snapped her up was beyond him. Liam was just thankful she’d been overlooked.

  Brambles caught at their clothes, and they had to squeeze through small gaps to keep hidden, but finally, their cover was thick enough that they could stand up straight. Beverly stretched and arched her back. Liam tried not to let his hunger for her, which their kisses had ignited, take over.

  “We either have to climb the rock face here, or circle around to see if there’s a trail.” Liam stood, looking up. The climb wasn’t high, but there were a couple of difficult sections. If only he could fly up there. But this was not the time to tell Beverly about his other side. If she cried out in shock, they would be heard, and their presence made known.

  “There’s a trail about two hundred feet that way.” Beverly pointed away from the men. “It leads up onto this plateau.

  “How do you know?” Liam asked.

  “I used it last year, I explored the mountains extensively, these lower slopes at least.” She shifted the pack on her shoulders as they prepared to move. “I am also fascinated by the eagles. I used to climb up there, and then crawl along the plateau with my binoculars to watch them.”

  They walked quietly along the trail, keeping their voices low. “I didn’t know you liked birds so much.”

  “It’s not the kind of thing you tell everyone. I never wanted to be a nerd.” Her eyes traveled down his body and she added, “Although I’m thinking that nerds might just rule.”

  “I’d release my inner nerd with you anytime.”

  She giggled, and then covered her mouth. “Unfortunately, this is not the time.”

  “Pity,” he whispered loud enough for her to hear, even if she pretended not to.

  A brisk walk led to a fork in the trail. Beverly was correct: if they took the left fork, they could follow the trail upwards, and end up on top of the plateau. They moved quickly, aware that they had lost sight of the men, and had no idea what was happening at the eagle nest site.

  Moving quickly and moving quietly were not entirely compatible on a gravel trail. Loose rock and shingle rolled down the path; the angle of the cliff should muffle the sound, but they slowed their pace, placing each foot down carefully. At last, they reached the top and ducked down, keeping themselves out of sight of anyone below.

  With hand signals from Beverly, they crawled forward, until they were just above the eagle’s nest, which was empty. A sense of defeat swept over him. Had the men stolen the eggs already? He used his elbows to crawl further forward. Hushed voices drifted up to him. They were still there. Inching forward, he suddenly flattened. They were looking up at the plateau.

  “We should go up there, and look at the nest.” One of the men spoke with an accent, possibly Eastern European, if he had to guess.

  “Why not climb the tree and take a look?” the other one suggested.

  “Because we’ll frighten them away.” The tone was one of arrogance. “You paid me to guide you. We do this my way.”

  A disgruntled agreement followed, and then the two men walked off, heading in the direction where Liam and Beverly had been hiding. Liam moved quickly, tapped Beverly on the arm, and pointed away from the trail they had used to climb up to the plateau. “We need to hide.”

  Once he was sure they were out of view of the men below, he placed his hand under Beverly
’s arm and hauled her to her feet. The plateau was wide, with no obvious hiding places. If they wanted to keep hidden, they had to move fast.

  Liam kept looking over his shoulder to see if the men were in view. If they didn’t know the trail around the cliff face was there, they would climb the rock face instead, which would slow them down. Above their heads, the sound of an eagle calling to its mate filled the skies.

  “Here.” Beverly pulled him toward an indent in the cliff face.

  “They’ll see us,” Liam told her.

  “Maybe not.” She took her pack off her shoulders and deposited it on the ground. With nimble fingers she undid the flap and dug down deep, pulling out a camouflage sheet. “I used to cover myself with it when I watched the birds. If we angle it right, we should stay hidden, unless they walk this way.”

  He kissed her cheek and grinned. “You are a resourceful woman, Beverly.”

  “I also plan to take photos of them with my phone.” She pulled it out of her jacket pocket. “I want to make sure these suckers are easy to identify. Good thing I have an amazing zoom.”

  “I’m impressed.” Liam wedged himself into the indent, and Beverly joined him.

  She turned to face him, her lips only inches away and incredibly kissable as the corners curved up into a smile. “Not as impressed as I am that you went back for my phone last night.”

  “You are welcome.” He draped the thin camouflage sheet over them and tucked it in. “I hear them.”

  “Are you sure?” She leaned forward, straining to see or hear them. Without his enhanced shifter senses, she couldn’t hear as well as Liam.

  “They aren’t being as careful as us. I heard them dislodge a rock.” He tried to cover himself: there was no way he could tell her he could hear their footsteps approaching, not without her thinking he was a complete freak.

  Beverly bought it, and leaned back, adjusting the angle of her phone. “I’d better make sure it’s set to silent.”

  “Here they are.” The two men came into view; unfortunately, they were too far away to be heard.