Bearly Breathing (Alpha Werebear Shifter Paranormal Romance) (29 page)

But it was over. The pain, the uncertainty, the confusion... it was over.

I breathed. Orion drew a circle on my shoulder.

When I realized Orion hadn’t been talking for a good chunk of time, I craned my neck to look. His eyes were closed, and with the snores, his thick, golden fur came too. I cuddled down against him, letting my eyes fall shut.

I sniffed again, and Orion stirred. He mumbled something incoherent and tightened his grip.

I breathed him in, letting myself relax.

Sometimes, I guess, things really
do
have happy endings after all.

––––––––

F
rom USA TODAY and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Lynn Red comes a steamy, seductive, sensuously heart-felt alpha werebear romance!

Curvy, sharp-witted and slightly self-conscious, Lilah Jorgenson is a raccoon-shifting painter with a white streak in her hair and a longing to find the family – but mostly the MATE – she never thought she’d have.

All she wants is someone to hold her, to kiss her, to... claim her as HIS. But who has the time to hunt down a perfect man? Does such a creature even exist?

Clocking in for what she assumes is going to be a normal night at her job at the Jamesburg jail Lilah’s got no clue that she’s about to meet the bear of her dreams.

Thickly-muscled, widowed, inked-up former soldier Rex Lee spent five years away, but clan trouble called him home. Love is distant memory for Rex – the only thing on the huge alpha’s mind is keeping his cub and his bear clan safe, even if it means the occasional scrape that ends with him in the slammer.

Trekking down the cell block, Lilah stops, dead in her tracks. A bear with wicked tattoos, a massive chest and a pair of arms perfect for holding her tight? Who was tossed in jail for fighting to keep his daughter safe? Maybe that perfect man DOES exist!

When Rex catches a glimpse of Lilah’s two-toned eyes, her luscious curves, and her wicked little grin? The bad boy alpha decides right then he’s found something he never would – a mate to claim, to possess, to make his forever – no matter what it takes.

THE JAMESBURG SHIFTERS is a USA TODAY best-selling series of standalone novels featuring a unique hero, heroine and satisfying HEA ending. No cliffhangers here!

D
own the way, by the entrance to the jail, the door creaked and a sliver of moonlight crept through. He’d never expected things to go so fast. The way that officer, Ash, was talking, he’d be sitting in the can most of the night for the judge.

“All right,” Rex said to himself, under his breath. “Let’s get this over with. I’m ready for a ticket or some community service or—”

As he watched the person who walked in, he couldn’t believe, couldn’t imagine she was here to take him to the judge.

Suddenly, as he watched her adjust the blue bandana she used to hold her tan and black hair back, Rex for some reason forgot about all that stuff with him swearing loneliness and chastity to keep from getting hurt. Something about the way she moved, the way she walked... he couldn’t get enough.

She was wearing these thick, horn-rimmed black glasses that didn’t exactly fit her face, and as she started down the hallway, he thought maybe he saw each of her eyes glint a slightly different color.

Falling down the side of her head, cascading about three inches down the woman’s cheek past the bandana was a shock of white. Rex had to look twice to make sure it wasn’t something attached to the bandana, but no – it was part of her hair, a part that was either dyed white, or had turned that way on its own. He’d never seen anything like that before.

Then again, he’d never seen any
one
like that before.

“You need anything?” she asked, coming up to the bars and putting her small hands on them. “Water? Food? Cooper told me you’re the good guy in this one.”

You
, he thought.
I want you
, he wanted to say.

“I’m kinda hungry,” is what actually came out. “Jail food is... not really the best for bears.”

Three cells down, Davis Edgewood started whistling. She shot a nasty glare in his direction and shook her head. “Glad to see he’s back. It’s hardly a weekend without an Edgewood in here. But you, I’ve never seen before.”

The woman laughed. She had a guarded kind of air about her, but there was a certain care-free breathiness to her smile that made Rex’s chest tighten. He was standing straighter than he usually did, sticking his chest out some. He never did that.

“You’re staring at me,” she said.

“Sorry,” Rex replied, but didn’t stop staring. He couldn’t, not even if he wanted. Something about her was magnetic, even when she raised her left eyebrow.

“The judge,” she said, “he’s not going to be here for another couple of hours. The long days keep him in later. But, since there’re only two of you, I can probably make a run for something if you want. And... just so you know, I don’t usually do this.”

“Why are you offering now?” Rex asked. He dropped the dog tags he realized he was still clenching, and let them fall against his thickly muscled, lightly hair-covered chest.

“I dunno,” she said with a shrug.

The way she smiled and how it made a dimple on one of her lightly freckled cheeks made Rex grin too. It had been a long, long time since he bothered doing that around anyone except Leena.

“Well... thank you,” he said. “I’m not picky. Just some burgers.”

“Some?” she asked, showing him that smile again. “I’m guessing you don’t stop at one.”

“I am what I am,” Rex answered. “When I get out of here, I’ll pay you back. Get me... let’s call it ten. I don’t need much in the way of lettuce. Tomatoes are good though.”

Her hands curled tighter around the bars, and without realizing he was doing it, Rex put his on top of them.

“Onions?” she asked. “Cheese?”

You
, he wanted to say.
I’d forget all about the hamburgers if I could touch your face, if I could...

“No onions,” is what actually came. “Yes to the cheese. And mayo. If that’s on offer.”

For a long moment, she just stared back at him. He thought that he felt the same flicker behind her eyes that he had, but he also wasn’t sure he hadn’t just gone crazy in the last thirty-four seconds.

“Do I get to make an order, Lilah?” Davis Edgewood screamed from down the hall. “I want something too!”

“Lilah?” Rex asked.

“Yeah?”

“Just checking,” he said. His voice was a low growl. “I... thank you,” he said. “But why are you being so nice to me?”

She shrugged. “I made a promise that I was going to be nice to someone today,” Lilah said. “Kind of a karma thing, you know? Anyway, you’re just the lucky recipient. Cooper said you were here for a good reason. I always feel bad about good people who get caught up in shitty situations. Reminds me of... well, me, I guess.”

At that, Lilah shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she said with a laugh. “I’m never this open and out there.”

But her hands were still on the bars. She hadn’t made a single move to pull back or move them. A million things were going through Rex’s mind, not the least of which was that he had to pull back and do it
right then
. This wasn’t why he came back.

Looking for love is the last thing in the world Rex Lee needed to be doing. He’d had trouble before, and he knew it. When his mate died, he went on a tear he wasn’t exactly proud of going on, and that ended with him in a bigger mess than he ever imagined.

Finally she moved her hands.

It was a relief to have the heat from her hands gone. At least, it let Rex think about something else for a second except those entrancing eyes.
Those eyes
, he thought. When he looked again, he realized he was right. One of them was almost lavender and the other was brown.

“Ten burgers, no onions, cheese, no lettuce, but you want tomatoes. Right?”

Rex nodded. “I owe you,” he said, as his stomach growled. “Big.”

“I can tell,” Lilah said. “Give me fifteen or twenty. Might be thirty if Mac’s gotta cook all these patties.” She stuck her tongue out a little and it was so cute that Rex almost grabbed her again.

Luckily, he managed to restrain himself. He’d hate to be tried for “grabbing a person through jail bars” along with beating the ass out of Davis Edgewood.

“I... Lilah?” Rex asked. “There must be some reason you’re doing this for me. As far as you know I’m just a rowdy drunk.”

She shook her head. “Nah, the rowdy drunk is three cells down from you. Like I said, I promised someone I was going to be nice today. Kind of a self-help thing, you know? Anyway, I’ll be back way before the judge is in court. And I’m bringing a receipt, because I’m serious about you paying me for these burgers.”

Before he could answer, Lilah turned around, adjusted her bandana, and walked away.

That walk,
he thought, almost ashamed at how he was watching her as she went.
Why can’t I keep my head straight? What’s she doing to me?

Lilah and the desk guy – Cooper, apparently – exchanged a few words, and he buzzed her out the front door. Cooper scratched himself on the neck, and then, she was gone.

That was it. She was just gone. All those things he felt when he touched her hands, the confusion, the excitement, it was gone. Rex shook his head, and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Not now,” he said to himself. “Not now, not ever. I gotta keep my head straight. I can’t do this.”

A couple of minutes passed with him standing at the bars and looking toward the front door until he realized what he was doing. Rex sat back down on the bench, letting out a groan as he did.

In a way, he kind of hoped he’d get called to court before she came back. The burgers he could pay for. His heart? He wasn’t so sure he was ready to face
that
music.

S
teamy, seductive, bad boy werewolf romance from USA Today and New York Times best-selling author, Lynn Red.

New faces were hard to come by in Fort Branch, Arizona. From the moment she saw Damon, Lily Kyle’s heart was stolen. He and Lily were inseparable, until he finally pushed her too far away.

Despite the distance Damon put between them, Lily never stopped loving him.

Motorcycle riding, rough-around-the-edges Damon King has a complicated life. He’s trying to juggle existence after high school, while attempting to get back the only girl he ever really loved. On top of all that?  Damon has to figure out his new role as Alpha of a scattered pack of werewolves.

When Damon learns that Lily is more than just his high school sweetheart – she’s his fated soul mate – he also realizes he’s not the only Alpha in town. Will he be able to protect her, and drive his dangerous rival out of town before it’s too late? Or will his savage, feral werewolf rival tear Fort Branch apart and claim Lily first?

“Y
ou don’t want me here, do you?” I said from out of nowhere.

With a loud grunt, Damon took another step, pulling his left foot up immediately after it touched the ground. Two days before, that foot had been swollen up like a rotten cantaloupe, but now it had started working, though apparently still hurt like hell.

He settled down a little, resting his weight on the ball of his injured foot, to stretch it out a little. Then it struck him that I’d talked. “What? Did you say something?”

“Yeah,” I said. “I – no, you know what, it’s just me being dumb and insecure. Don’t worry about it. You have more important things on your mind.”

The tenderness on his face when he looked at me took me by surprise.

Damon shook his head, eyes wide open. “No I don’t. Whatever’s bothering you, tell me. That’s how this works. That’s how it worked when we were,” he paused to swallow. “You know, back then.”

“You barely ever talked to me,” I said. “But I always knew you were there for me. Always willing to listen to whatever silly thing came across my mind.”

He grabbed my hands, steadying himself on his good leg. “I wanted to open up, Lily. I wanted to tell you everything, but, I couldn’t. Trying to believe what was happening to me was one thing, but involving you? That’s... it wouldn’t have been right.”

“You’re too nice to me,” I whispered. “After all the stuff you’ve been through in the last week, you’re telling me to unload on you. What is this man I’ve fallen in love with?”

Oops.

Well there it was, hanging right out in the open. To Damon’s credit, he didn’t laugh at me or give me that squinting look that said ‘are you sure you meant to say that?’ or make some obnoxious Freudian slip joke. He watched my eyes for a second, and then grabbed my hand, holding it tight in his.

“If it weren’t for you, Lily, do you think I’d even be here?” His face was very serious, his voice very soft. He stroked the back of my hand with his thumb. The twitching fingers on my shoulder told me he wanted to touch my cheek, tilt my head back and ravish me with a kiss, but he was afraid of losing his balance.

“I guess not,” I said quietly, looking down and averting my eyes. Truth is, I’m ashamed of my almost constant self-doubt, but I don’t know what to do about it. “I’m sorry. I’m so selfish. I just don’t know how to turn it off.”

“Turn what off?” he squeezed my hand and grunted in pain, but got his hand to the side of my neck anyway. His fingers curling against my neck and right below my ear sent a little chill through me. “Whatever you’re feeling is okay, Lily. We’re all scared – I know I am for damn sure. Tell me what’s on your,” he grunted again, wincing in pain. “Actually can you, uh, help me down first, and then tell me?”

I eased Damon to the ground, and he used his hands to get into a halfway comfortable position. At first I stood over him, then I crouched, and then he grabbed my hand and pulled me onto his lap.