Bear-ly A Hero (Bear Claw Security 2) (11 page)

She wanted to ask him about the future. About his feelings. But she couldn’t, so she copped out. “Like, do you want to have dinner, watch a movie?”

He propped himself up on one arm, and she couldn’t tell if he was disappointed or relieved at the direction of the conversation. He let out a breath and gave her a smile. “All of the above, I guess,” he said. “If you’re willing to cook, that is.” He shrugged. “You’ve seen my skills, or lack thereof.”

She laughed. “Or we could just microwave a couple of those meals you bought?”

His eyes widened, and then he grinned in approval. “Now you’re talking.” He stood up, stretched, and helped her get her robe on. Then he opened her wardrobe, looking through it.

He pulled out another one of her robes and held it against him. “What do you think?

Naked, body sheened from the shower and sex, powerful legs covered with defined muscles, he took her breath away. Even with a fuzzy pink robe in front of him.

“Not your size,” she said, moving to stand but stopping because her legs were shaking. “Damn, you have an effect on a woman.”

The look on his face could only be called proud, and he gave her a wide grin. Maybe the biggest she’d ever seen. One that reached his green eyes and lit up his whole face.

And stole her breath.

But he didn’t seem to notice its effect on her, turning to open the door. “I’m going to go change before I have to ravish you again,” he said.

“What if I want to be ravished?” she asked, ignoring the soreness between her legs.

He sent her a look. “Do you want to be able to walk tomorrow?”

She nodded.

“Then we’ll take a break. A day at least,” he said. Then he walked out the door to go change.

She tingled at the thought of doing it again, or even better, doing it as many times as she wanted through the rest of her life, and felt her wolf pacing anxiously inside her.

Mine
, her animal said.

Hell yeah!
Her human agreed. She pulled on her robe and went out to heat up their dinner, for once not caring at all about the calories.

L
imes found
himself really enjoying
Pride and Prejudice
as he watched it with Jamie. He had opened a package of cookies after dinner and was loving watching her eating them. She enjoyed food, and he enjoyed her curvy little body. Every last bit.

As long as she was happy, he was happy, too. She could be little and soft, and he could be the strong, scary one to protect her from the world.

It occurred to him that those were definitely forever thoughts. He was already thinking about growing old with her, getting married, spending a life together. Maybe having some cubs that would surely run away from their grumpy dad but love their adorable mom.

He sighed, liking that idea.

She looked up at him. “Enjoying the movie?”

“Uh, yeah,” he said, paying attention to the TV again. It was hard to want to watch a screen when he had a delectable woman right next to him. Her pretty dark hair was in tight, fuzzy curls, and he loved the way it gave her a soft halo around her head. She looked comfortable and warm, the opposite of how she’d looked earlier in the day, after the kidnapping.

“I never get tired of watching this. Good, old-fashioned true love,” she said.

“Is this the kind of thing you write in your novels?”

Her eyes flashed up at him, clearly embarrassed, though she had no reason to be. “No. Yes. Maybe. It’s none of your business.”

He grinned and tightened his arm, bringing her even closer. She had a cookie in her hand and had been bringing it to her mouth but had forgotten about it and was gaping up at him instead.

He leaned forward and grabbed the cookie with his teeth, and she scowled at him as he ate it, laughing.

He grabbed another and put it up to her lips, and she bit it, pouting.

“Come on. Tell me about your work,” he said. “It’s a big part of your life, right?”

She shook her head. “I mean, it’s not how I make a living. I haven’t published anything. I just like… escaping into other worlds when I get home. Worlds with heroes and good men and true love.”

The words bit at him. She should have had a world like that all the time.

“Well, you have a hero now,” he said.

“Do I?” she asked.

He let out a breath, his heart pounding inside him. “Yes. You do.”

She sighed and snuggled in, taking another cookie. “Okay then, I’ll tell you about my work.”

So she did, and he listened eagerly. He learned that she only did it on the side because it was a fun hobby, but she needed the stability of her day job to support herself.

She talked about how it was fun to go be alone, to have no boss bothering her and no co-workers harassing her.

“So why don’t you just do it full time?” he’d asked.

“It’s too much of a jump,” she said. “Maybe someday.”

Hm.

When she was done telling him what kinds of books she liked to write, what she liked about romance, and what she was working on now, Limes was realizing just how much he loved the sound of her voice.

How he could just sit and listen to her as long as she could talk. How he wanted to do this every day and never wanted this job to end.

Not that it was a job anymore. No, it had stopped being a job a long time ago.

“I hope you’ll let me read it someday,” he said.

“Maybe someday,” she said. Then she put her hands up to her face and grinned in embarrassment. “No, I don’t think I could.”

“I understand,” he said, holding her close. “I’ll just have to hack in sometime and steal it.”

“No!” she yelled, pulling on his collar adorably. “You can’t.”

“It should be shared with the world,” Limes said. “You are a great person, and I’m sure your story is great.”

She harrumphed and sat back, watching the movie. “Fine. Maybe someday, like I said.”

He grinned and pulled her back against them so they could watch a movie. As they were sitting, he heard his phone beep from the kitchen counter and groaned.

“Did you get ahold of Bronson and Cage before we…” She bit her lip, a small grin on her face.

“Before we had hot, hot sex?” he asked in a low voice, his eyes playful.

“Yes,” she said.

“Yes,” he said. “That’s probably them texting back.” They were supposed to look into the Tribunal thing and get back to him on what could be done. “Should I go check it?”

“What do you think is the next step?” she asked.

“Not sure,” he said. “That’s why they’re texting me.”

He got up reluctantly, leaving her comfy on the couch without him. He picked up his phone and saw that Bronson said he was going to call in the morning with an update. Limes texted back that was fine with him.

He just wanted to enjoy the movie and a little more time with his mate.

T
he next morning
, Jamie took another day off to stay home and recover from everything that had happened. She was working on her computer, on her new story, when Limes poked his head in to say he was going to be on a Skype call with Bronson and Cage.

She nodded and went back to her writing.

It seemed unreal that this could be over pretty soon. That Limes and her would have to have a bigger conversation about the future than they’d had. How would that go?

She put her cheek in her hand and rested it there, unable to concentrate on her book.

She could hear Limes talking from the living room, just bits and pieces of conversation, though she wasn’t trying to eavesdrop. She definitely heard the words “alpha female,” and that started up a whole new wave of memories again.

They’d said that to her so many times, and she still didn’t understand quite what it had meant.

Those wolves might have adopted her into their pack, but they had never been family. She closed her eyes against the memories that threatened to overwhelm her, trying to forget she’d even thought of it.

Then her phone buzzed. She groaned when she saw it was a text from Milo.

She pressed the ignore button, and the text disappeared. She didn’t even care what he had to say.

But the phone buzzed again. She sighed and picked it up, this time looking at the messages there.

Calling out of work again? Be careful,
said the first one.

She scoffed. Milo might see her as property, but she had the same right to take her days off as anyone else. Even if she hadn’t allowed herself that privilege in a long time.

The second text gave her more pause.

He only wants you because you’re an alpha female
.

She frowned. How did Milo know? What was he talking about?

She didn’t want to text him, but she couldn’t just let it sit. She cast a furtive glance at the door, making sure it was closed and Limes was still in the living room. She had a feeling that even for the sake of more information, he might not approve.

But this was her boss and her life, and Limes didn’t have any say over her in that way, at least not yet.

What do you mean?
she texted back.

After a small pause, he replied.
Surely you know about alpha pheromones.
He followed up with a weird smiley emoticon.

Her stomach felt cold. She rubbed it, wondering if she’d eaten, and then remembered Limes had made pretty terrible omelets for them. They had tasted fine because she liked him too much to care about little things like burned eggs or sloppily cut peppers.

Pheromones?

I’m a shifter,
Milo texted.
Not like you or that beast you have around. The one you’re home with. I’m sure he’s as drawn to you as I am. The difference is I’m not under any illusion that it’s anything more than a reaction to your chemicals. You were made to attract males. You do a good job. However, if I were you, I’d feel bad not telling that big bear you’re with why he’s so suddenly in love with you.

She gaped at the phone. Pheromones? Was that a thing?

Just think about it. How many men in the office pant after you. How
other wolves treat you. Just think about it, and if you want a man who can give you what you need while not pretending it’s anything more, give me a call
.

She swallowed, anger rising in her like bile as she tossed the phone to the side. It wasn’t true. It wasn’t
true
.

But didn’t it all make sense? The way her packmates had tried to attack her, the way men seemed to behave like animals… the way a tall, handsome, grumpy man had transformed into a kind, generous lover who only wanted to please her and couldn’t seem to resist her?

She put a hand up to her mouth. Holy shit. How was she going to tell him?

She stood and opened the office door, looking down the hall to where he was talking to his friends on the phone.

Would they tell him? Her heart pounded. She wanted to tell him first. But she had to know for sure.

Who could she ask about such a thing?

But as she sank back against the wall next to the door, she knew it was true. She could think of the effect she had on the men around her, the way their eyes seemed to light up.

Even the way Limes had come on to her that day after work. He’d pinned her to the wall, but he’d said it would be a mistake. Yet he’d kept going because the sex was so hot for both of them.

The difference was he was affected by chemicals, and she simply thought he was hot and was growing to think he was hotter every day.

No, if she were honest, she was falling in love with him.

She tried to think back to any indication he was in love with her. Anything at all. She thought about when she’d asked him if he thought she was meant for him, and he’d said maybe, that she made him feel like no one else ever had.

He’d said so many things about how surprised he was this was happening, how shocked he was that he’d come to care for her, was opening up to her, was ravenous for her.

She thought of the transformation he’d made over the past few days.

Oh no.

She put a hand into her hair as she heard Limes come pounding down the hallway. She looked up to see him in a good mood, his piercing winking in the light as he strode toward her, a pleasant look on his face.

How did she tell him?

Luckily, he was fine being the one doing the talking. “I talked to Bronson and Cage. They have something scheduled with the Tribunal, and hopefully this’ll be over soon…” He trailed off as he saw her. “Jamie? You okay? You look sick.”

She nodded, feeling herself shake as she looked up at him. That tenderness in his eyes, it couldn’t be only pheromones, could it?

She remembered him asking her, several times now, how it was she kept attracting creeps. Even he had realized something was wrong. She just thought all men were bad.

No, just bad to her because she emitted irresistible “take me” hormones.

“They also gave me the number of a contact who’s a wolf. An alpha in another pack, if we want help. Depending on what happens, I may call him.”

Her eyes flew open, and she pushed to a standing position. “Can I call him?”

Limes raised a dark eyebrow. “Why?”

“Please,” she said. “I need to ask something. About something I remember.”

Limes reluctantly pulled out his phone and gave her the number. “Can I at least be in on the call?”

“No!” she said a little too quickly. “I mean, it’s personal. I’m sorry.”

He nodded. “I guess I’ll trust you.” He put his hands behind his head. “Funny how easy that’s becoming.”

She nodded. “I’ll be back. I’m going to take it in my room. Please don’t listen.”

She left Limes in the hallway, looking after her, as she took her phone to her room and dialed the number.

A
half hour later
, she knew everything she needed to. Pheromones were real, and the ones alpha female wolves emitted were powerful. The man on the phone couldn’t say for sure, but he definitely thought them strong enough to affect other species.

She sat on her bed, spinning the phone in her hand. She had to tell Limes. Had to ask him what she thought. She took a deep breath to call him but didn’t get a chance before he poked his head in the door.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

She shook her head. “It’s fine.” But it wasn’t. Her heart felt like it was going to explode. Even if Limes said what was between them was real, how would she ever know? “No, it’s not fine,” she said. “How do you feel about me?”

He was wearing a tight white tee that hugged his muscles and had intricate black artwork scrawled over the front. He had a leather cuff on his wrist, which only accentuated his forearms. His jeans were low slung and hugged taut thighs.

He took a seat next to her on the bed,

putting an arm around her. “What’s wrong?”

She pulled out from under him and pointed at the chair next to the bed. “Sit there. I can’t think with you touching me.”

His brows lowered, his face tightened slightly, but then he sighed and did as she said. “This good enough?” he asked, looking slightly hurt. “What’s going on? We had an amazing night last night, and this morning was great, and now you look like you’re going to kill someone.”

She swallowed. “I just need you to describe how you feel about me, in your own words.”

He took a deep breath and leaned back in the chair, looking unbearably handsome. “I guess… it’s hard to explain.”

“Try,” she said, trying to keep the desperation out of her voice.

“It’s like… I’m drawn to you,” he said. “Like… I don’t know. From the start? I just couldn’t stay away.”

“Why?” she asked.

He threw his hands up. “I don’t know!” He glared at her. “I don’t get why you’re suddenly quizzing me like this. I don’t like getting the third degree. I thought you were happy with how things were going.”

Ah, there was the prickly Limes. The one she hadn’t seen in a while. Apparently, this kind of conversation brought that out in him. But still, she had to know. She tried to calm herself, slowing and lowering her voice.

“I just need to know,” she said. “It’s important.”

“I care about you,” he said. “A lot. I don’t think I could leave you.”

“Why?” she asked again. What was she hoping he’d say? That he loved her? Somehow, she doubted that was forthcoming. Though the wolf on the phone hadn’t said anything about love, he’d made it clear that basically every other emotion could be felt from pheromone influence.

But yes, she was hoping he loved her. Because as she watched his handsome, long body sprawled out in front of her, she knew she loved him and that she’d do anything to keep him from harm.

Even if it meant telling him he wasn’t really as into her as he thought, to save him from making the mistake of being with her just because of some chemicals.

He was agitated, but he sat up slightly, as if seriously trying to think. “I don’t know. I care about you. I’d do anything for you. I find you… irresistible.”

“Is that it?” she asked.

He looked at her blankly. “What else do you want? Commitment? I can do that.”

“No,” she said, feeling hollow. “Not commitment.”

He looked slightly angry at that. “You don’t want commitment? Well, I do.”

“No, it’s not that I don’t want commitment. I want…” She shook her head, putting her hand over her face. There was no way to really explain this.

“Are you just upset that our time together is coming to a close?” he asked, scooting the chair forward so he could come closer. “Because I’m not leaving here. Even after talking to Cage and Bronson, I was going to come and ask you if you were cool still exploring things. You know, after the job is done.”

He looked away. “You know, I didn’t want to scare you away, because men have been so pushy.” He reached out to touch her chin, lifting her downcast gaze to his. “But I totally can see why they all want to lock you down. After all, I never want to lock pretty much anyone down, and you got me.”

She gulped back a sob that was forming in her throat and prayed her eyes would stay dry. “No, you don’t get why they want me,” she said. “Or why you want me. But you will.” She pulled out the phone and handed it to him. Would he still keep the offer to stay after he saw what was on it?

He looked down at the phone and smirked. “Ugh, that Milo douche. I forgot I need to take care of him, too.”

“Scroll down,” she said in a commanding voice.

Limes glanced at her, but did as she said. Then he froze, his body going perfectly still as he read what was on the screen.

He sat back for a moment. When he looked up at her, his face was perplexed, his green eyes lit with irritation. “You can’t possibly believe this, can you? That I’m only into you because of your smell?”

She sighed. “It’s not smell. It’s pheromones, powerful molecules that attract those of the opposite sex.”

Limes frowned, looking at the texts again. “My feelings for you aren’t because of a molecule.”

She shook her head. “I called your wolf contact. He confirmed it. Think about what you just said to me while I list off how alpha female pheromones make males feel.” She put her fingers up to check off symptoms. “Racing heartbeat. Increased sexual desire. A sense of having to have her. A sense of being fated.”

“What do you mean fated?” he asked hoarsely.

“He didn’t go into detail, just that they would feel like it was meant to be. Maybe wishful thinking,” she said, ticking off another finger. “Possessive urges. Need I go on?”

Limes looked like his head was spinning. He leaned back in the chair, phone in hand, which was limp against his leg. He didn’t seem to know what to say.

There was no way for him to prove that what had happened between them hadn’t happened because of pheromones. No matter how desperately she wanted him to.

“Think about it,” she said. “You keep saying you’re different. That I do something to you that you don’t understand. Couldn’t this be it?”

He stared at her blankly. “I have to… think,” he said, standing with the phone in his hand. When he realized he was holding it, he shook his head and handed it back. “Sorry. I have to think.” His voice was robotic.

“I know,” she said. “Take your time.” He walked to the door, and she hated the sight of him leaving.

If she hadn’t known, she would have been so happy when he came to tell her he wanted to stay with her after the job was over. Wanted to see if they could make something work.

But now? She was devastated.

“I don’t think it could be pheromones,” he said. “But I… I would be stupid not to take it seriously.”

“I agree,” she said. “For what it’s worth, I had no idea.”

“I believe you,” he said. “Man, I was even the one saying it was weird, right? That so many men creeped on you? I mean, you’re beautiful. It makes sense for men to want you. It’s just the aggressive behaviors were too much.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry, Jamie. For my part in this.”

Tears bit at her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall. “Me, too.”

“I’ll be back in a bit,” he said. “And just shout if you need me.”

“I understand,” she said.

But the minute the door was closed, she flopped on the bed, crying.

It was all too much. The pack was still after her, her creeper boss knew more about her than she did, and now the one thing that had made her feel strong enough to go on, her relationship with Limes, could all be based on nothing but air.

Air and a few molecules.

Life was totally unfair.

L
imes looked
down at his phone in his hand, wondering if he should call the wolf consultant Jamie had spoken to.

Maybe there was no point. She already had told him what she needed to. He trusted her implicitly. She could have lied, could have kept him panting after her like a stray dog, but she told him the truth.

He put his hands on his head, rubbing his nails over his scalp lightly as he tried to ease the tension headache threatening to take over.

He needed to think right now. Could the feelings he was having for Jamie really be coming from some kind of chemical she was emitting?

Unable to resist any longer, he picked up the phone and dialed.

“Lindon,” the voice said.

“This is Josh from Bear Claw,” Limes said. “I was told you were an expert on wolf packs.”

There was a slight crackle on the other side, and then an elegant voice spoke. “I know more than most. How can I help you?”

Josh sighed. “I’m… in a situation. I’m protecting an alpha female of your kind.”

“Ah,” the voice said, silky and calm, in an almost unnerving way. “And you’re wondering how much you can attribute to her being an alpha female and how much you can attribute to her being
her
.”

“Yes,” Limes said.

“Interesting. I think I spoke to her on the phone earlier,” Lindon said.

“You did.”

Lindon sighed. “The short answer is there’s no way to tell. Does that help?”

“No,” Limes snapped. “Not at all.”

“Do you love her?” the voice asked.

Limes’s eyes snapped open. “I… don’t know.”

“You should probably try to know that. I don’t believe the alpha hormone can activate love. It’s just a very strong form of attraction.”

“What do you know about it?” Limes asked, scowling.

“I happen to have a very strong level of alpha pheromones myself, as well as experience with alpha females. I’m mated to one, you see.”

Damn, he sounded smug. Then Limes chided himself. The man was only trying to be helpful.

“Well, does she love you?” Lindon asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Perhaps you two should talk about it,” Lindon said.

Limes scratched his head. It was all becoming too complicated. And he needed to focus on guarding her and figuring out the pack issues. And what to do about the men around her. “This pheromone, will she always have it?” The last thing he wanted was people coming after her, even after they were together.

“Not exactly,” Lindon said. “Once she’s mated, it will go away, at least for those she isn’t mated to. I found my wife just as attractive once we were mated. More so every day, in fact.”

“Gross,” Limes said, hating how jealous he was of the other man.

“Anyway, you should ask yourself, does it matter why you feel how you feel?” Lindon asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, pheromones or no, if you want to protect her, there’s only one real answer. Mating her. Otherwise, you can keep fighting different men off, but others will keep coming. And the wolves won’t take kindly to you trying to keep them away from one of their alpha females. They are exceedingly rare and valuable. I myself had to compete with ten other males for mine.”

“You talk about them like property,” Limes said.

“Not property,” Lindon said. “But definitely something rare and sought after that needs to be protected.”

“And mating with a… a bear? Would that do it?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Lindon said. “If there’s a precedent, they wouldn’t exactly tell me about it.”

Limes nodded to himself, knowing Lindon couldn’t see it. “What would you do?”

“This is a little outside of my purview,” Lindon said. “But if it were me and I felt as desperate as you sound about a woman, pheromones or not, I’d claim her.”

Limes nodded. “Okay. Thanks for the help.”

“Good luck,” Lindon said. “Call if you need something else.” And then there was a beep on the other end and the elegant-sounding man was gone.

Shit. Now he was alone with his problem.

He played with the phone as he thought hard over their time together. The smiles, the way he’d felt, the fun in the bedroom, the way he felt like he’d never get sick of being around her.

He didn’t know what to call it exactly. Love? He didn’t know if he had the ability to love anymore. He’d loved one person, and when they’d died, he’d locked that away inside so he couldn’t be hurt anymore.

Maybe someday, when he was stronger, he could open those forbidden walls and see if feelings for Jamie were deep down in there.

But for now, he just wanted to keep getting to know her. Just wanted her to be safe. And who cared what the reason was?

As he was standing to go talk to her, he got a call from Bronson and Cage.

He shut the door to his room and paced as he answered the phone. “Hello.”

“You okay?” Cage asked.

“Sure,” Limes said tersely, knowing his heart was going a mile a minute and everyone could probably hear it.

“You might want to sit down,” Bronson said. “It’s not good news.”

“What is it?”

“We got in touch with the Tribunal,” Bronson said. “They don’t want anything to do with it. In their minds, any alpha male wolf mating an alpha female is better than any other shifter doing it. Things are not looking good in the wolf world.”

“Damn,” Limes said.

“Pretty much the only way to stop them would be to take her yourself,” Cage said with a scoff. “And like that’s ever happening.”

Limes frowned. “It’s happening.”

There was dead silence on the other end of the line.

“Say what?” Bronson asked, voice higher than usual, in shock. “You aren’t serious, Limes. This is you we’re talking about.”

“Think about this,” Cage said. “You can’t go back on it.”

“I have,” Limes said. “I’ve bonded with her. I can’t let anything happen to her.” He listened deep down in his chest. “I think she’s my mate.”

Cage let out a bark of laughter. “Ha! You said you didn’t believe in that stuff, and look where you are now.”

Limes felt his face go flaming red.

“How did that happen?” Bronson asked. “Well, you were really set on working with her. I guess I knew there was something between you, but I didn’t guess…” He trailed off, letting out a sigh. “And the wolf thing complicated it. Well, if we have to go up against the wolves for you, we will. We got your back,” he said, and Limes was grateful for good friends.