Emerald City Shifters (Bundle)

by Kit Tunstall

  ***

  Once the car pulled away, Jensen returned to the yacht, trying to ignore his bear’s grumbling. The animal side of him had wanted to claim his mate from the moment she’d stepped on board the yacht earlier. He could feel the animal practically pacing frantically in his mind, bemoaning what they could be doing right this moment if Jensen hadn’t been so stubborn.

  His bear was a whiny bitch tonight, and the best way to deal with it was to tire them both out. After boarding the yacht, he indicated to the captain that he wanted to return to the Sound, and Captain Janes nodded, clearly unruffled by Jensen’s request. It wasn’t the first time he’d had the captain take the boat out away from the city and into the relative privacy of the Puget Sound, or even into the Strait of Juan de Fuca upon occasion.

  As he waited for the yacht to reach its destination, he paced in the bedroom, judging from the view through the windows that they were nearing the spot where the captain would likely anchor the Meade & Ale for the night. He stripped off his dark suit and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his slender waist as he strode above-deck. He didn’t bother with the diving platform, knowing the captain or his daughter, who had served their dinner, would ensure it was extended for him before his swim ended. The water was icy cold, but also bracing, and his bear’s grumbling decreased slightly as he began to swim.

  Jensen took a moment to transform to his polar bear form, enjoying the sensation of removing all inhibitions for the time being. He’d had to hold himself carefully in check around his mate, not wanting to rush her or make her feel undervalued. He wanted Olivia to know she was more than a one-night stand, and even if it killed him and his bear, he was determined to woo her properly. She deserved that.

  His bear was mellower now that they were in the water, and the animal seemed content with that decision. Jensen was feeling far more relaxed in general, though he still ached for Olivia. It had been difficult to let her go tonight, and he chuckled, though it sounded like a growl in his bear form, when he remembered her parting words of making another donation to the foundation if he wanted to have dinner with her again.

  His mate was cool on the outside, but clearly a little spitfire on the inside. With her lush curves and sparkling wit, he had a feeling life would never be dull. He just had to win her first, but he was certain he could do that. He would do that, no matter how long it took, or what it cost him. He wasn’t referring to money, since the Meade family had far too much of it to know what to do with it all, but rather the cost of physically restraining himself from pouncing on his mate, and the emotional toll of not yet having a firm commitment from her.

  He was trying to do things the right way, to show her how special she was, and he was going to keep doing that—even if it killed him. And you, he said silently to the bear as it grumbled its protest at them not claiming their mate right away.

  Chapter Three

  Olivia spent a quiet weekend after that amazing date, surprised when her phone never rang. To be fair, she hadn’t given Jensen her number, but she was startled a little thing like that had stopped him. She was conflicted by the date, having been certain at the time that they were both feeling the pull of attraction, but utterly confused by his gentlemanly behavior. Surely he must have realized all he had to do was to make a slight move in her direction, and she would have capitulated easily?

  If he didn’t realize that, he wasn’t very good at reading women, which seemed unlikely from a man like Jensen. He’d no doubt had women flocking around him from the time he had been old enough to date, and his experience was probably far greater than hers. She tried not to be jealous of the women in his past. They didn’t concern her, especially since it seemed unlikely she would be anything more than a one-evening encounter with him.

  She couldn’t use the word one-night stand, because it didn’t fit. There had been nothing overtly sexual between them. There hadn’t even been a kiss, so she was slightly grumpy by Monday when she made it into the office, having expected some sort of contact with Jensen that hadn’t come.

  Bethany’s eyebrows shot up to her hairline when Olivia stepped into the office. “You’re late, and you look terrible.”

  “Thanks,” grumbled Olivia as she went to the coffeepot, popping in a Keurig pod of the strongest brew they had. She preferred iced, but she was desperate enough to drink the brew as soon as it came out of the machine. “I overslept after a restless night.”

  Bethany grinned at her. “Here I was hoping you had just overslept after spending the weekend in bed with the delicious Jensen Meade.”

  She snorted. “Not hardly. We had dinner, and that was it.” She didn’t expound on the amazing experience on the yacht, trying to make the evening sound as dull as possible—for Bethany’s benefit and her own. It was a sad commentary on her love life that despite the lack of even so much as a good night kiss, it was still the best date she’d ever had. Bethany didn’t need to know that and feel sorry for her. She felt plenty sorry for herself.

  “Since you’re so cheerful, maybe you don’t care that the weekend receptionist left a message.”

  Olivia shrugged as she removed her cup of coffee before applying a liberal amount of cream and sugar. “Why should I care?”

  “The message says a donor, who asked to remain anonymous, has pledged a million dollars if you’ll have dinner with him tonight at Palisades.”

  Her heart skipped a beat, and she struggled this to hide her sudden surge of excitement, both from Bethany and herself. “I guess I could do that, though I feel a bit like a bargain-basement date now that he’s dropped the price from six million to one million.”

  Bethany giggled. “I wouldn’t look at it that way. Consider the first payment as the down payment, and the rest are smaller payments.”

  She tilted her head at her friend, giving her a repressive look. “I’m not sure I like thinking about it that way. It makes me sound like I’m an expensive purchase he’s having to finance. I don’t intend to make him donate to the foundation every time we have a date.” As she uttered the words, she realized what she was giving away and realized she had every intention of seeing Jensen again.

  That was why she had been so morose this weekend. She had thought he’d had a miserable time, and the date had ended early because she hadn’t lived up to his expectations or something. She was suddenly cheerful again at the idea of seeing him that evening, and the day went much smoother than she had anticipated on the small amount of sleep she’d had.

  ***

  She arrived promptly at seven-thirty, and the maître d’ took her straight to a table in the middle of the room. It was currently unoccupied, and she was surprised Jensen was late. She sat stiffly, occasionally brushing back her long hair, which she had left flowing down her back in a curly mass. Her own natural wave had been enhanced by a curling iron, but that was all she had done with her hair, remembering how his gaze had seemed to eat her up when she’d let her hair down Friday night.

  She had just ordered a drink when the chair across from her moved, and she looked up. Her smile of welcome froze as she eyed the dark-haired man taking a seat across or her. “I’m sorry, but I think you have the wrong table.”

  His expression was serious, but he shook his head. “No, I don’t, Olivia.”

  She frowned at him. “How do you know my name?”

  “I saw you at the auction, of course. I was intrigued, and apparently the way to get you to dinner is to donate to your foundation.”

  A plethora of emotions flooded her, and she identified them as fear, confusion, and anger. Why she was afraid, she couldn’t exactly say, but her instincts warned her the man was up to no good. The anger was because he wasn’t Jensen, and she felt tricked. The confusion sprang from having no idea why he would bother to trick her, or why he wanted to have dinner with her. “Who are you, and why am I here?”

  “I’m Blake Michaels, and you’re here for answers.”

  She frowned at the cryptic response. “What answers? I don’t even
know you.”

  He shrugged. “It’s true that you don’t have the answers I need, but you’re a way to get them.”

  She glared at the man. “I’m here under false pretenses, and I bet you don’t even have the million dollars you pledged to the foundation, do you?”

  He looked vaguely guilty for a moment before shaking his head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t. I don’t come from Meade money, but I had to get you here.”

  She barely held on to her temper. “You’re making no sense. This evening is officially over.” Before she could push back her chair, his hand clamped over her wrist, holding her in a grasp that wouldn’t allow her to move without hurting herself. “Let go of me,” she insisted, trying to tug away from his hold.

  “Just calm down. I don’t want to hurt you, but I need you to get answers from Jensen.”

  She stilled at his name, frowning. “What does Jensen have to do with this?”

  He grimaced. “Your boyfriend is hiding the information I need about my fiancée, and you’re going to help me get a straight answer.”

  She tugged more forcefully, trying to escape his hold. “I’m not going to help you do anything—and Jensen isn’t my boyfriend. We’ve had one date together because of his donation.”

  Blake scoffed at her. “You don’t really believe that? He’s clearly infatuated with you, if nothing else, and you’re the only hope I have of getting him to tell me the truth.”

  At that moment, the sommelier arrived with the wine list, and Blake was forced to marginally relax his hold or risk causing a scene. She had no such compunction about a scene, and as soon as his hand loosened on her, she pulled away and pushed back from the table, getting to her feet and rushing from the restaurant as he called out her name. She ignored him, running on the heels that she wished were her walking shoes, as she darted around customers waiting for a table before emerging into the crisp night air.

  Acting on instinct, she turned down the dock, heading in the direction of Jensen’s boat. She wondered if Blake had chosen this location deliberately, planning to take her to Jensen’s yacht for the answers he wanted, or if he had simply chosen it because Jensen had chosen it for their first date, and he’d wanted her to think it was Jensen she was meeting again.

  She heard his footfalls behind her as she tried to increase her pace, though she was already slightly wobbly in the high heels. She wished she had taken a moment to kick them off, but was afraid to do so now that he was gaining on her so rapidly.

  The next instant Jensen stood in front of her, radiating anger as he ran in her direction. She let out a small cry of surprise when he picked her up as he reached her, whirling around to place her behind him before turning to face Blake Michaels. Anger radiated from Jensen, and he seemed on the verge of attacking the other man. He sounded almost animalistic when he spoke. “Stay away from her.”

  Blake had stopped running, and he stared impassively at Jensen. “I just want answers.”

  “I can’t give you answers. Vanessa is gone, and you need to accept that.”

  Blake shook his head, his expression one of stubborn resolve. “I don’t believe it. I wasn’t given a body or any of the details. Her parents weren’t told anything either. She isn’t dead.”

  Olivia clung to Jensen’s T-shirt, wrapping her fingers around the cotton as she peered over his side to see Blake. A surge of pity filled her when she saw the raw anguish in his expression, but she didn’t express any sympathy. She was still frightened of him, no matter how desperate he appeared at the moment.

  “I’ve already told you too many times, Michaels. I don’t have the answers you seek. It’s time to let go and move on, and if you ever come near Olivia again, I’ll help you move on in a body bag.”

  Blake stiffened, straightening his shoulders. “I’m not afraid of you, Meade.”

  There was a cold, dangerous note in Jensen’s voice when he said, “You should be. Now get out of here, and don’t come back.”

  Blake hesitated for a long moment before he finally started to turn away. “This isn’t over.”

  “It had better be, or I’ll end it for good. I don’t want to see your face again, Michaels.” Jensen stood tall, like an immovable force, as she remained behind him, watching Blake turn and stride down the dock, clearly headed toward his car in the restaurant’s parking lot. After he disappeared from sight, she tugged lightly on Jensen’s T-shirt to get his attention. “What was all that about?”

  The tension slowly drained from his body, and he turned to face her, surprising her when his arms went around her, and his face disappeared into her hair. She was mildly amused when he sniffed deeply, as though inhaling her scent. The last of the tension faded from him, so he must have found it soothing.

  “That’s a bad memory from the past, and it’s not worth discussing.”

  She pulled away to frown at him. “I disagree. He just dragged me into the whole mess, so you owe me an explanation.”

  With a sigh, Jensen nodded and stepped back, his hand gently around her bicep guiding her to walk with him to his yacht slip. He assisted her up the ramp, his movements careful and cautious, as though she was breakable. On those high heels, she supposed it wasn’t out of the bounds of belief that she might fall and break her neck, so she appreciated his assistance and clung to him. If she happened to enjoy his touch in the process, that was just a bonus.

  Once they stepped onto the deck of his yacht, his hand moved to take hers, and he pulled her lightly toward the ladder that led them below-deck. They were back in the same room they had been in Friday night. Jensen went to the bar, lifting a bottle. “Would you like a cognac?”

  She nodded, feeling the need for something to soothe her nerves. She took the drink he offered a moment later before sitting down on the white sectional sofa. He sat beside her, not even leaving a cushion between them, and though she should have felt crowded, instead she reveled in his presence. “I believe you owe me an explanation?”

  His mouth tightened, and he sipped his cognac before speaking. “I was Vanessa’s commanding officer. We were part of a special…forces team. During our last mission, it went to hell, and we lost most of the squad. Blake is having a hard time accepting the truth of that, and he’s been hounding me ever since I returned to Seattle. He wants answers I can’t give him, and he can’t accept Vanessa’s gone.”

  Her anger at being tricked into the dinner faded, and she sighed. “That poor man.”

  Jensen cocked her brow. “I have considerable less sympathy for him after being harassed for months.”

  She nodded. “I understand your point-of-view, but I can completely see his as well. For whatever reason, he’s fixated on you in his grief, and he’s probably still in the denial stage. It must be difficult to lose someone you love, and I can understand why he’s having a hard time letting go.”

  “I understand it, but it doesn’t excuse dragging you into the matter.”

  She frowned at him. “Why did he? We had one date. It makes no sense.”

  He snorted. “It makes perfect sense. You’re the first woman I’ve dated since I left the Marines and came back to Seattle, and if he’s been following me like I suspect, he probably knows that. He probably saw how desperate I was to have some of your time, and when I made an outrageous bid for it, he clearly understood you’re important to me.”

  Her insides liquefied at his words, and warmth surged through her. “Really?”

  He nodded. “Absolutely. From the moment I smell—saw you, I knew you were mine. I would have paid triple the amount just to have a few hours with you.”

  She sipped her cognac again before setting it on the table, wanting her hands free. “If that was how you felt, I don’t understand why you didn’t even try to kiss me Friday night.”

  He gave her a knowing look. “I didn’t want to rush you. I didn’t want you to think I expected you to share my bed because of the money I put out for the bid. I want you to know you’re important to me, and this is about more than just s
ex.”

  His words are flattering, though intense. “I don’t understand how you can feel this way. We barely know each other. In fact, we hadn’t even talked to one another before you made the bid.”

  He shrugged, though he seemed to be holding back something. “I see what I want, and I go after it. I wanted you, and I’d do anything to have you.”

  She bit her lip, considering. “That really sounds like a line you’re spinning, except you seem so sincere. I don’t know what to think.”

  “You can start by not thinking I’m lying to you. I wouldn’t do that. I’m just being upfront with you. I hadn’t planned to rush you, but since you want the truth, there it is. I’m determined to have you, whatever it takes.”

  Nerves assailed her, and she licked her lips. “In that case, maybe I should just make it easy on you. If you want me that badly, perhaps you’d better just have me.” As she uttered the words, she was shocked at herself. She had just thrown away her plans to remain celibate for the foreseeable future, seduced as she was by his words.

  If they had just been words, she was certain they wouldn’t have affected her. There was more substance to his claims though, and she could see it just by looking at him. If he wasn’t sincere, he deserved an Oscar for best actor, because he had her completely convinced she was the most important thing to him, and he wanted her desperately.

  His need, coupled with her own, was enough to blunt the memory of her last relationship and allow her to abandon her vow to avoid future entanglements. He was worth the risk.

  Barely a second had passed between her saying the words and him reaching for her. His hands were hard, and his grasp was firm, as he lifted her from her cushion onto his lap in one smooth motion. He was all heat and strength, and her lush curves melted into him as she clung to Jensen.