Bearly a Memory: Pacific Northwest Bears: (Shifter Romance) (18 page)

B
rooke wouldn’t have been
able to guess that Tanner could run up the stairs while holding her, but he did – and next she found herself on her back in the middle of his bed, watching him strip out of his uniform.

Drinking in the sight of him, she felt her pussy get damp, and it wasn’t lost on Tanner. Stalking towards her once he was naked, Tanner started at her feet, pulling off items of clothing and tossing them aside. As he revealed her flesh, he kissed each inch with reverence.

“Brooke, tell me you want me to make you mine. Tell me you want to be with me forever,” he growled as he sucked her nipple into his mouth.

“Yes, Tanner. I’m saying yes,” she moaned. Tanner had said all the right things, but it was Cassie who had sealed the deal. She was honest about what the decision would mean, not just in the short term with the bonding, but the long term – sharing a lifetime with someone. Brooke wanted that; she wanted it all regardless of the threat still looming.

“Baby, I’m gonna make you so fucking happy you made this choice,” Tanner growled.

Brooke knew she was making the right decision. Now she just wanted to start her life with him.

“I hope I make you happy too,” she whispered up to him.

“Since I’m already over the fucking moon, I’d say you are off to a great start.” His eyes glowed in the dark.

Brooke leaned up and took his mouth in a kiss. It was the first time she’d initiated it, and Tanner let her sip and nip at his mouth. He kissed her back, but let her control the pace.

Tanner let his hand slide down between them until he found the aching nub at her core. Teasing it while they kissed, he felt her hips start to rotate against his hand.

“You need something, baby?” he said into her mouth.

“I need you, Tanner. Please, fuck me,” she moaned.

“Just fuck you?” he teased.

“No, damn you! I want you to bite me, too. Make me yours,” she said, her voice pitching with the pleasure that was building.

His voice was full of awe. “Brooke Nishi, you are my One.”

“Of course I am, and you are mine,” she said and saw his eyes get hot.

Tanner slid a finger inside her wet heat and brought her to a blistering orgasm, the whole time alternating between whispering naughty things in her ear and making heartfelt promises.

As she slowly edged down from her screeching orgasm that she was sure the neighbors must have heard, she was flipped onto her stomach.

Tanner pulled up on her hips until she was resting on her forearms.

“Damn, this is the most beautiful ass I’ve ever seen,” he rumbled.

“It’s the last ass you’ll ever see, Sheriff,” she said, not teasing at all.

“Yes, ma’am,” he agreed, skimming his hands over her tawny brown skin. He was going to spend years on this ass, he thought.

Tanner ran his hand around the globes of her ass again, this time slipping between her cheeks to find her tight, hot center. He fisted his cock and rubbed its head up and down between her slick folds.

“Mine,” he growled, slipping inside her.

Brooke arched her back and let him sink even deeper inside her. She wanted to drop to the bed but knew how strong her man was. She needed to actively participate, or she’d get pounded into the mattress. Not a terrible thought, but not what she wanted tonight.

Reaching between her legs, she let her fingers skim over his sac. She could feel the point where their bodies were joined, and it was almost as good as being able to see it. The rumble from Tanner meant he liked that move, so she did it again.

“Baby, I can’t take the teasing,” he hissed. He was focused on trying to keep his pace even and steady. Feeling her fingers skim over the base of his cock and over his balls was a delicious distraction.

“Sorry, just wanted to play.” She let out a deep moan as he hit a sweet spot inside her.

“Later, promise,” he gritted out. Her hand disappeared, and Tanner refocused. He wanted her to come hard on his cock when he bonded with her, so that’s what he focused on. Reaching around the front of her, he found her clit and started rubbing over it. When she started to whimper, he reached up and pulled one of her hands down to replace his.

“Work yourself, baby. Come for me,” he ordered.

Brooke knew just how to turn her own crank and did as her man demanded. She flicked over her nub faster and faster until she was thrusting her hips back to meet each one of his. “Tanner,” she warned, her orgasm a breath away.

Tanner leaned over her and wrapped a strong arm around her stomach. He felt the first flutters of her orgasm ripple over his cock as a low keening wail poured out of her. Spotting the place for his bite, he whispered into her ear, “My Brooke,” and bit down.

The sweet rush of her blood caused his cock to explode, jetting his hot cum inside her. Her blood tasted like her, of sweet lemons. The minute his teeth sank into her flesh, her wail had turned into a guttural scream as she clawed at the sheets. Her pussy was locked down on his cock, and he could barely pull out to thrust back in.

She was still coming on him as he spurted jet after jet of cum into her. Tanner was sure he was never going to stop.

Finally, Brooke collapsed on the bed, panting and shaking from her orgasm. She felt Tanner licking over the spot on her shoulder near her neck. It didn’t hurt. Cassie had been right. The bite was the easy part. The orgasm to end all orgasms was the hard part.

“I’m sorry if I hurt you,” Tanner said, still soothing her wound.

“That…did not hurt. That was amazing,” she moaned into the bed.

Tanner smiled; his mate was a firecracker in the sack. He loved that.

Rolling her onto her back, Tanner kissed her long and hard. “You are mine forever now.”

“And you are mine, so no changing your mind,” she said with a weak laugh.

“Not gonna happen, my love.” He kissed along her cheeks. He couldn’t seem to stop touching her. He wanted to start over again, fuck her on her back, leaning over the bed, sitting up – hell, upside down. The possibilities were endless.

Seeing the look in his eyes, Brooke laughed. “Give me like five minutes, yeah?”

“Five?” Glancing at the clock, Tanner said, “Okay, five.” Then he stared at her.

“Why don’t you be useful for those five minutes and get something so we can clean up?” she suggested.

Tanner thought about that and judged the time it would take for him to hit the bathroom and come back. The time was acceptable, so he literally jumped out of bed, ran to the bathroom and was back before Brooke could even start laughing.

“That was some kind of record,” she said, giggling.

“As long as my quick times are out of the bed and not in them.” Tanner gently wiped away their shared orgasm.

Brooke was watching him; she knew he’d look up any second to see her. When he did, she said, “I love you, Tanner Rochon.” It was the easiest thing to say to him now. It was a truth in her life that she wasn’t going to deny.

“I love you too, Brooke Nishi,” he said, kissing her softly.

Then Tanner made love to his mate again.

T
anner woke at first light
. He was wrapped around his mate, who was gently snoring. Her sweet ass was resting against his cock, which was also already awake. Glancing at the clock, he saw it was almost seven, plenty of time for a morning quickie before he needed to leave for work. Brooke had said after their second or third session of lovemaking that she felt like she could stay home while he went to work.

Tanner knew he’d have someone come over to stay with her, but she felt confident that there was nothing to worry about.

He wanted to get to work, get his shit done, and hopefully be home early. He was about to slide his hand up to her breast when his cell phone buzzed on the nightstand. Reaching over to grab it before it woke her, he answered it with a whisper. “Sherriff Rochon.”

“Morning, Sheriff. Sorry to bother you so early, but we got a call out that there was a fire at the motel. The fire department got there in time, so the building didn’t catch,” his deputy Brian explained.

“Okay, well was anyone hurt? Do they know how it started?” Tanner was curious but wasn’t going to jump to any conclusions that it had to do with Brooke.

“Yeah, a white sedan parked out front exploded about an hour ago. Hard to tell, but we are pretty sure it was Ms. Nishi’s car,” Brian explained.

“Fuck!” Tanner growled.

“Yeah, sorry boss. I can’t believe this was accidental. Her car had been sitting there for days, and no one had bothered it.”

“Her room?” Tanner asked.

“No entry into her room. It’s still locked up tight,” Brain said.

“All right, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Tanner said then hung up and called Cage.

“This better be good,” a grumpy voice answered.

“Hey Cage, sorry but I need someone to come over and keep an eye on Brooke. Something happened at the motel, and I’m pretty sure it means her trouble has found her,” Tanner said quietly. He thought Brooke was still asleep but didn’t want to take any chances.

“Yeah, uh, Eddie should be getting off shift. Do you want me to call him?” Cage asked with a yawn. Cage and Sophie had a young son who was running them ragged. Sleep was at a premium.

“No, I’ll call him. Thanks.” Tanner hung up.

Calling Eddie’s number, he heard, “Eddison Rochon speaking.”

“Asshole, you can see it’s me calling. Don’t be a douche,” Tanner hissed.

“Wow, wake up on the wrong side of the cave this morning, Mr. Grumpy Bear?” Eddie laughed.

“You still at work?” Tanner asked, not acknowledging the grumpy bear comment.

“Just walking to my car. What’s up?”

“I need to go into work; there has been a development in the case. I need someone to stay with Brooke. She knows you best and would be more comfortable with you here,” Tanner explained.

“Of course man, I’ll be right over,” Eddie said, his tone going serious.

Tanner knew that Eddie took life rather lightheartedly, but he was also a Rochon through and through.

“Thanks,” Tanner said, hanging up. He slowly slid out of the bed, replacing his body with a pillow and tucking the blankets around his mate. He took a quick shower, sadly washing off the delicious scent of his mate.

He was dressed and leaning over the bed kissing her when he heard the knock at his front door.

“Brooke, baby, you need to wake up,” he said, kissing her eyelids. He watched them flutter a few times then open with a blurry gaze.

“Hmm?’ she mumbled.

“Brooke, I need to go into work. Eddie is going to stay with you. He’ll be downstairs, so sleep as long as you want. I’ll call you when I know I’m coming home, okay?”

He watched as her brain slowly caught up to what he was saying. “You’re leaving?”

“Yeah, baby, work called. I’ll be back as soon as I can. Eddie is downstairs, so don’t go wandering around the house naked, forgetting he’s here,” Tanner reminded her.

She yawned loudly. “Okay, no nakedness,” she murmured, trying to keep her eyes open. “Be careful.”

“I will. Sleep, sweets,” he said, kissing her again.

Tanner headed downstairs and found Eddie looking obnoxiously refreshed for so early in the morning. Then he realized Eddie was coming off shift, so it was dinner time for him.

“Thanks for coming over. Looks like someone torched Brooke’s car at the motel. It could be a random act or maybe someone found her. Either way, I’m pissed I have to leave my mate alone,” Tanner said, running his hand through his hair.

“I’ve got this, go do cop stuff. I’ll make French toast and spend the morning convincing your mate that she chose horribly and should run away with me to Bora Bora,” Eddie said with a grin.

“Good luck with that,” Tanner said. He no longer had any concern about his mate’s affections. She loved him and had bonded with him. Eddie could try all he wanted; he wouldn’t get anywhere.

“I’ll be in touch,” Tanner said, grabbing his coat and keys before heading out to his vehicle.

Eddie locked the back door, went back to the front and locked that one too. Then he laid down on the couch and promptly passed out.

T
anner looked
over the burned out wreckage of the car. Either they had used a small bomb or enough accelerant to keep the fire burning hot but not wild enough to consume the building. It was almost like they were trying to flush her out.

Pulling out his cell, Tanner called Buchannan. “We have a problem,” he said when the detective answered.

“Oh yeah?”

“Brooke’s rental car is sitting in front of me, and it’s nothing but a pile of burnt metal,” Tanner ground out.

“Shit, these assholes are savvy,” he said.

“How did they find her?” Tanner asked. He wanted to yell, but there were too many people around drawn to the flashing lights and potential catastrophe.

“Did the car have GPS tracking? Some rental agencies use those to keep track of their stock. Maybe they figured out how to find her car. It would only take some casual asking around of the right people to find out there was a new woman in town.”

Tanner knew he was right, and it fucking sucked.

“So are we dealing with the mob or the MC?” he asked.

“That sounds like Valentino’s work to me,” Buchannan said.

“Shit, you’re probably right. I’ve got to lock this shit down fast,” Tanner told him.

“Well, just my two cents, but these are not guys you want to have to manage all the way to a trial, if you know what I mean.”

Tanner did. The detective was telling him that there were some instances where a criminal meeting a tragic end was better than having victims suffer through a trial. It went against every moral code Tanner had, but he also hadn’t had a mate to protect before. He wasn’t a killer, but he’d be damned if they were going to lay a finger on his Brooke.

“Thanks, Detective. I’ll let you know if they surface,” Tanner said then hung up. He let Brian finish clearing the scene with fire and rescue and getting statements from witnesses. Tanner’s next call was to home. His bear was scratching inside his mind in frustration. Everything was too unsettled for his liking.

“Eddie Rochon,” the voice answered.

“Where is Brooke?” Tanner asked. His bear was pissed and pacing inside him, and he wasn’t up for being nice.

“She’s in the shower, oh captain my captain. I’m making breakfast, as I said I would. Do you want to talk to her? I’m sure I can interrupt her in there and hand her the phone,” Eddie offered, just to torment him.

“Don’t you dare go in my bedroom. I was just calling to make sure she was okay. I need to stick around and figure out how they found her. Keep an eye on her,” Tanner ordered.

“Will do,” Eddie said and hung up.

Tanner went back to the station and looked over the notes Brian had taken at the scene. Betty called in the fire. She’d been just coming on shift when she saw the flames. Something twisted in Tanner’s gut. He picked up his phone and dialed the motel.

Betty answered. “Apex Motel, gateway to the Olympic National Forest, don’t blame us if you get lost, this is Betty.”

“Betty, Sheriff Rochon. Was Lowell working last night?”

“Why yes, he had the overnight shift, why?”

“Can you put him on the phone, please. I have some questions for him,” Tanner said, trying to remain calm.

There was some rustling in the background, and Tanner heard Betty barking at her son to wake up.

“Sheriff?” the sleepy voice answered.

“Lowell, did anyone come into the motel last night asking about Brooklyn Nishi?” Tanner’s bear was telling him he already knew the answer to that question.

“Uh, yeah, some cop dudes were looking for her. I told them she wasn’t there, that she was in the hospital,” Lowell said with a yawn.

“Cops? Did they show you any badges?”

“Uh, no. They just were wearing suits and said they were, like, detectives or something,” Lowell mumbled.

“Lowell, when someone says they are a cop, you really should ask for ID before giving out information on anyone renting a room from you. Those were not cops. These were the men that set that car on fire, you dumbass!” Tanner didn’t bother to hold back his bear.

The sound must have shocked poor Lowell. “I’m sorry, Sherriff. It was late, and I was tired, and they seemed nice,” he said dejectedly.

“I’m going to strongly suggest to your parents that military school would benefit you greatly,” Tanner said, then hung up the phone. He didn’t want Lowell in the military any more than Lowell wanted to join, but maybe the idea would wake the little fucker up some, all the better.

Tanner dialed the hospital and got his cousin Jayne. She said two men came in asking about Brooke but since Jayne wasn’t a dumbass, she didn’t tell them anything, didn’t offer any information that she was still there and told them if they didn’t have ID or could prove they were family, they would have to leave. So the men left.

“Thanks, Jayne,” Tanner said hanging up.

So he knew two men were in town. They were in a firebombing mood, and Brooke wasn’t even close to being safe.

Getting into his truck he headed back to the station. He’d only made it halfway there when a call came over his radio.

“Sheriff, 911 call just came through from your address. No one was on the line. We tried a call back and got a busy tone,” the voice said.

“Shit! Shit, shit!” Tanner slammed his hand down on the steering wheel. Grabbing his microphone, he called back, “I’m on my way. Send Brian that direction and keep trying to call back.”

Dialing Cage, he filled his cousin in quickly. “The men after Brooke are in town. I think they might have hit my house. Can you call in the family and set up road blocks? I’m deputizing everyone. They can’t take her out of town,” Tanner growled.

“I’m on it. No one is leaving with her,” Cage said, his voice full of anger.

Tanner knew that he was breaking all the rules, but he also knew that these men weren’t going to risk killing her in a small town. They would want to get her out somewhere there was no chance of finding her body.

He would give up his career and his life to keep her safe.