Bear to the Rescue (Bear Claw Security Book 3) (5 page)

But whatever it was, it felt so good Regan could never describe it with words. Instead, she simply held on to to her huge, strong protector as they rode out their release together.

Then finally, her body relaxed, and his did, too. She could still feel him inside her at the place where their hips met, could see his handsome blue eyes looking tenderly down at her in satisfaction. But for a long moment, she didn’t want to move. Didn’t want him to leave.

As long as they were together, they didn’t have to face reality. Didn’t have face the world outside or the truth of the impossibility of there ever being anything everlasting between them. 

Just a minute longer couldn’t hurt, could it?

M
ate
.

The word echoed through Bronson as he looked down at Regan. Her dark curls shot through with blue were damp and wild from their lovemaking.

Well, he’d bet she wouldn’t call it that, but for him, he’d been swept up in the most powerful whirlwind he could remember.

He’d had to have her, every part of her, and had only just been able to remember to use protection, since as bear shifters, they’d be mated if they didn’t.

But the thought wasn’t a bad one, at least to him.

He didn’t like pulling out of her, but he knew he had to before the condom wasn’t any kind of protection.

She groaned slightly as she let him go. “It’s not supposed to feel that good,” she said, curling her legs up slightly and turning onto her side, displaying the curves of her waist and generous hips to him, making him want to start everything over again.

“I know,” he said.

“What?” she asked, looking over at him with flashing eyes. “With your vast experience, you’d know?”

He shook his head with a laugh, walking to the bathroom to clean up so he could come back to her. He finished and wrapped a towel around his waist, musing that he would need another shower again anyway.

Maybe they could take one together. First, they had to talk.

He sat on the edge of the bed as she pulled the sheet up in front of her, looking adorably vulnerable as she stared up at him with those hazy, jade eyes. He reached for a rogue blue curl and tucked it back, resisting the urge to tug on it.

“I’m glad we finally did that,” he said, sitting close, dwarfing her with his size.

Her eyes flashed, long lashes fluttering. “Excuse me? Just what do you mean by
finally
?”

“I mean you know we both wanted that for a good while.” He folded his arms and looked into her eyes. “What we need to talk about is why.”

“It’s easy,” she said, putting up her hands. “You’re a male bear, and I’m a female. It’s pheromones. We shouldn’t have trapped ourselves alone in a house together. It was bound to happen.”

He shook his head with a sigh. This wasn’t going to be an easy woman to win over. “That’s not it at all.”

“Yes, it is,” she said firmly. “That’s all it can be. After all, bears aren’t known for being very monogamous.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?” Now it was his turn to be offended. “And what are you basing that on?”

Her arms came around her knees, over the sheet, and he knew he’d hit a sensitive spot. He wasn’t sure if he should press further. He wanted to know everything about her, but she hadn’t wanted to tell him anything so far.

“Most bear shifters I know are looking for a mate,” he said. “I guess bears are like men; there are some good ones, some bad ones, some in between.”

“Not in my world,” she muttered.

He frowned. “Well, that’s not really fair to me, being judged on that. I mean, I can’t help what they did, whoever they were.” He crossed his legs and leaned back on the bed, giving her his best, most winning grin. “Maybe you could just judge me on my own attributes instead?”

She frowned at him, but her eyes couldn’t resist roaming over his body. “No. Because that’s not going to happen again. We’re done.”

He leaned closer, chucking her gently under the chin. “Don’t say that. I’d hate to see you have to take those words back. You know this is happening again. It just depends on what we let it be.”

She bit her lip, a small smile touching the corners of her lips. “You’re right. I don’t know, though. This is all new to me, too. I’m not looking for a commitment. Especially with someone I work with. In my opinion, what our bears do together and what we do as people are completely separate.”

“So you want to use me for sex?” he asked flatly. Not exactly what he wanted to hear, with his inner bear screaming for possession, for mate claiming.

She nodded. “It’d be a good release for both of us. We want each other. We’re compatible. We’re stuck together for now anyway.”

He shook his head. “What if I can’t do it without feelings?” He was half serious, but the corner of his mouth quirked, making her think he was teasing.

He regretted it but didn’t want to be too forward yet. Not when it could all turn into a joke that was on him.

“Come on. Men aren’t like that,” she said.

He stood, offended. “You know, just for that, I don’t think I can do it,” he said. “Maybe I’m the type that does want a commitment. Maybe I’m looking for a mate, and I’m going to save all this”—he gestured down his long body—“for someone who wants to lock it down.”

She ran her tongue over her bottom lip, and it was nearly his undoing. But then she shook her head. “No deal, mister.”

He snorted and walked to his dresser, pulling out clothes and putting them on.

“So does that mean no more hot sex?” she asked curiously. “No more face sitting? Nothing but business?” She let out a husky sigh, and he felt his knees go weak.

Think, Bronson, think.

He was always the one giving his friends relationship advice. He’d never thought he’d be in the position of asking for any. He’d thought when he found his mate, it’d be easy, with a woman who wanted what he wanted, just a simple life of their own.

He’d never thought his mate could turn out to be a tech savvy hellion who was hot as hell in bed but wanted nothing to do with commitment.

Though he’d always hoped for the hot-as-hell-in-bed part.

He turned to look at her, still stubbornly clutching the sheet as she waited for his answer.

There had to be a reason she was saying no to commitment. Women, people, didn’t just
not
want a relationship for no reason. He just needed time to get to know her, to figure out what was worrying her, and reassure her he wouldn’t be the type to do whatever it was she was afraid of.

He would be a loyal mate. A kind one. A protector. He didn’t see the problem. And he didn’t think he would if he walked away now and kept their relationship only business.

Whereas, if he kept sharing this thing with her, even though it was only a tiny piece of the intimacy he wanted, then he at least had a chance to get closer to her. A chance for her to see what he saw—that they were probably mates, improbable as that might have seemed at the beginning.

They were as opposite as they could possibly be, yet Bronson felt he wouldn’t change anything about her.

He walked back and sat on the bed in a slump. “Okay,” he said.

“Okay what?” she asked, snapping that sharp gaze to him.

“Okay,” he said. “You can use me.”

She raised an eyebrow. “And you won’t hold it against me? You won’t hate me for claiming your precious bod against your will?”

“It won’t be against my will, sweetheart. If I had my way, you’d be on my face again, right now.”

Her eyes widened, and he grinned.

“But I have some things to work on, and I’m guessing you do, too.”

She nodded. “I do.”

Plus, he needed some time away from her before he grabbed her again.

“The living room is yours. You can use the TV or the computer or whatever else. Anything in the fridge is yours as well. Your room is down the hall. I’ll move your stuff over there in a second. If you need anything, I’ll be here.”

She frowned, looking almost like she didn’t want to leave him. That had to be a good sign. Since they’d worked together, she’d always looked at him like she couldn’t wait for him to be gone.

“All right,” she said, standing and pulling on the clothes he’d torn off.

All he wanted to do was grab her in his arms and pull her against him, cuddle her all night and act like this was already something that could last forever.

That he could call her mate and let her hear it.

But as she hummed to herself and headed out of his room with a wave, he realized this really was how she wanted it. And he’d have to respect it for now.

He’d just have to be so good at what they did together that she’d never want to let go.

T
he next morning
, Bronson woke to the sound of Regan knocking on his door. It wasn’t like him not to be up first thing in the morning, even if he usually got into the office later than Cage or Limes.

He rubbed his eyes and pulled on a tee to go with the pajama bottoms he slept in.

He opened the door and looked down blearily at Regan, who looked fresh and showered and ready. He’d helped her move into the room she’d be staying in, even though the whole time, all he could think about was how much better she’d fit in his room. With him.

“I need to get something at my place before work,” she said, looking at her phone impatiently. “How long are you going to sleep in?”

He stretched. “I’m a big guy. I need my sleep.”

“Well, I need to get things done, so sleep at work if you’re still drowsy. Come on.” She grabbed him by the arm and pulled him toward the hall, and he liked the feel of it.

He laughed.

“Okay, just let me change,” he said. “Be out in a minute.” He threw on clothes, ran a hand through his hair, put on socks and shoes, and walked out into the living room. He sniffed around for breakfast but was disappointed when she simply handed him a protein shake.

“I want toast,” he said, looking at the kitchen.

“No time,” she said. “It’s almost eight.”

He groaned. “Breakfast is a basic human right.”

“For people who wake up before noon,” she said.

“We’re going to have to work out this breakfast difference,” he grumbled, “if we’re going to live together.”

“As I told you, this is temporary, so that won’t be a problem,” she snapped back. But at least there was a smile in her tone.

“We’ll see,” he said. “I don’t know how you’ll live without me.”

“I’m sure I’ll manage,” she said dryly. “Anyway, I’d really like to be at the office on time. If we aren’t…” She folded her arms. “They’ll talk about us.”

Comprehension dawned. “Ah. You’re worried if we’re late, they’ll think we…”

She bit her lip, and it made him want to sweep her up and carry her back into the bedroom again. But he didn’t think that would go over very well.

“Well, they won’t, because they’re used to me coming in a bit late. But yeah, we’ll go.” He jingled his keys. “Wouldn’t want you to get uncomfortable. What do we need from your place?”

She told him as they walked down his front drive to his Charger. As they drove to her place, she told him she’d slept just fine in his guest room and kept the conversation to mostly small talk until they pulled up in front of the apartment complex.

He felt a prickle of unease as she got out of the car and told him to wait there.

Like hell he would.

He got out and followed her up the front steps, his senses on high alert. He reached out and caught her by the arm just as she was about to put her key in the door lock.

“Wait,” he said.

“Hey,” she said. “I didn’t invite you up…”

“You didn’t need to. I’m your bodyguard.”

“Uninvited bodyguard,” she muttered.

“Nonetheless, I’m rather attached to your body, so I’m determined to guard it. And something feels off about this.”

“Now that you mention it,” she said, “maybe so.” She stepped behind him as he reached for the door handle. As he’d thought, it wasn’t locked like it should have been.

He pushed it open slightly, looked inside, and then blanched and turned to block it from her sight. “Don’t look in there. Let me call some people.”

“No,” she said sharply, pushing past him. He let her go because he had no right to keep her from her own place, but he stayed right next to her, keeping a hand on her arm as she let out an anguished cry at the state of her apartment.

“Regan, it’s okay,” he said.

“No, it’s not!” she said. “Look what they’ve done!”

It was disgusting. He could survey the full damage of it as he stepped in and turned on the lights.

Her clothing was strewn about. Her underwear and other lacy things cut and ripped and tossed about. Lipstick had been used to draw epithets on the walls.

Her beloved computer equipment she’d told him about was trashed, thrown all around.

They hadn’t been here to steal anything. They’d been here to send a message. To terrify.

Well, they’d sent a message loud and clear all right. A message that Bronson needed to hunt down and hurt whoever did this.

Regan walked to the center of the living room and fell to one knee, surveying the damage. It was the first time he’d seen her be anything but strong, and it destroyed him. He walked over to her and picked her up by the shoulders, helping her stand.

As he pulled her in against his chest and held her there, tucking her head in against him, he wished he could make it all go away.

He could replace everything she’d lost with his money. It wouldn’t even put a dent in everything he had. But it wouldn’t take away the violation she was feeling, the complete loss of her own space, and things she’d worked hard for. Things that were supposed to be hers alone.

“I’m sorry, Regan. I didn’t think they’d come after your stuff.”

Her hands sank into his back, holding tight like he were a lifeline. It pleased him that she was so easily depending on him. Maybe they weren’t in a relationship, but something had changed after their night together.

There was a trust there, a friendship blooming if nothing else.

The bear in him understood what she needed at that moment and simply wanted to comfort.

“What if I’d been here last night?” she asked. “Do you think they would have been too cowardly to come in? Do you think they only had the guts to do this because I was gone?”

He didn’t say anything because he didn’t know what to say. He thought maybe she was over-guessing how cowardly they really were. In his opinion, men who picked on women were already about as cowardly as it could get, so he had no idea how to gauge how much worse they were on top of that.

But as someone who worked in personal security, he was tempted not to give anyone the benefit of the doubt.

He wouldn’t put anything past these men. Not with Regan’s safety on the line.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m sorry if leaving made them do this. But I’m not sorry I brought you to my place, because it’s not worth the risk if anything happened to you had you stayed. Even if your stuff had been safe. You’re what matters, Regan. The rest can be fixed.”