Blind Date With A Bear (A BBW Paranormal Romance) (6 page)

Paige nibbled at her lower lip, refusing to meet his gaze when he stopped kissing her neck. She’d never been a very good liar. Yeah, she wanted to see him again. She
just didn’t know if would be in her best interest. This man possessed the power to break her heart.

“Paige, baby.” His voice sounded so desperate she gave in.

“If you call me, I’ll go out with you.”

“Thank God,” he sighed dramatically, his face lighting up.

Paige smiled in delight. He’d pounced on that suggestion like a dog on a bone. Or a bear on honey. Would he want to taste her
honey
…

He pulled her with him as he crossed
the small distance back to her front door. He looked as if he wanted to say something more. Instead, he gave her another hard, demanding kiss and said goodnight, ordering her to lock the door behind him. She flipped the deadbolt and sank against the doorway. Still dazed from the passion he’d aroused so quickly, she stayed there until she regained her breath and her heartbeat slowed to a reasonable rate. Her logical self said he wouldn’t call again. Her romantic self still held on to that small spark of hope. She decided to take what she could get, if it meant being in Quinn Blackwood’s bed, if only for a little while. They weren’t mates, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t be lovers.

CHAPTER THREE

An hour later, she’d changed into a pair of knit pajamas and was sitting on her couch, staring at the television with no idea what was on. Her mind was still tormented with thoughts of Quinn. Her cell phone rang and she grabbed it, her heart quickening, thinking it might be him.

Stop it right this instance, Paige Marie Matthews.

No matter the chemistry that might exist between them, he would leave her. He had a mate somewhere in the world. He could meet her today, tomorrow or two years from now. And no matter where they were in
their
relationship, he would leave Paige when that happened. He’d have to.

“So, how was your date?”

Despite the warnings she’d just given herself, Paige’s heart fell when her best friend answered her hello. She could picture the
I told you so
smile Deb was no doubt wearing and muted the television. She curled her legs beneath her hips. “How do you know it still isn’t going on?”

“Well, I don’t hear any heavy breathing. And my husband just got a call from Ryland about the break-in.
He’s going to go help them.” Jason was a Kodiak bear shifter and Paige had met him on numerous occasions when he’d stopped by the office. He was a big old softy who allowed his wife to do what she wanted, most of the time. She remembered the time or two Deb and her husband had actually had a fight—and the sexual heat that had shrouded her friend for days afterwards when they’d finally made up. Jason might let his mate get away with shit most of the time, but Paige had no doubt when push-came-to-shove, he was one very dominating male.

Paige settled back against the oversized rust colored cushions she’d bought on sale. They gave her well-worn black leather couch a much
-needed splash of softness and color. Her apartment wasn’t bad. She thought it was warm and welcoming even if it had been furnished with items from the bargain bin and thrift store finds. She liked it and wondered if Quinn had. He probably hadn’t since it was so small. Sometimes she felt the walls closing in and knew he’d never be comfortable here. From what she knew of shifters, almost every kind longed for the great outdoors. She assumed a bear shifter, because of their size, would need wide open spaces even more.

“So. When are you going out again?”

Paige didn’t answer.

“My brother usually isn’t one to let the grass grow under his feet, Paige. What did the big lug do?” Deb’s voice was filled with annoyance.

Paige’s heart hurt even more. If he’d really wanted to see her again, he would have firmed up a date, not left with an
I’ll call you tomorrow.
Every woman knew that was guy code he really didn’t want to see you again. “We had a date, Deb. One date.”

“Didn’t he say anything? Explain about shifters?” Paige could almost hear the frown in the other woman’s voice.

“Well, yeah.” Paige blushed, thinking they hadn’t exactly talked about shifters, but she’d learned a hell of a whole lot about shifter anatomy. If tonight’s aborted encounter had been an example of what a one-night stand could be, she was kicking herself for not having one sooner.

“Did he tell you about mates? True Mates.”

“He said something about them. Don’t worry, he didn’t lead me on or anything like that.” No, he’d just given her one incredible orgasm with nothing more than the heat of his mouth and the abrasion of his evening stubble. Her orgasms before with men had been, well, they hadn’t exactly been at all. Once or twice she’d felt the beginning of one, but her lovers had finished before she could explore the sensation to its conclusion. Quinn had set her off so easily it was almost embarrassing.

“He said he’d call, but I’m not really expecting him to. You can tell him that. No hard feelings.”

There was silence on the other end. “I’m not going to tell him that, Paige. When he calls, you will go out with him.”

“Stop being so bossy. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Her tone was light and airy but she really didn’t want to talk anymore. She hung up before the other woman could answer. She didn’t want to be interrogated by Deb. Not just yet. While she’d gone on the date with her eyes wide open, she was very heart sore that she wasn’t his mate. From the moment she’d seen his picture she’d felt a stirring inside that she’d never felt before. She sighed, hugging her knees to her chest. Why couldn’t fate have shined down on her just this once and made her Quinn Blackwood’s true mate?

As Deb checked on her children, she debated the wisdom of calling Quinn. She knew she probably shouldn’t interfere and allow true love to run its course. But
, she also knew how stupid males could be—especially male bear shifters—and she didn’t want to leave her little brother’s happiness to chance. She’d heard a tone in Paige’s voice she’d never heard. The woman was usually the most upbeat and cheerful person in the office. Tonight Deb had heard a hint of sadness in her voice. Anger she could understand. Her younger brothers were constantly pissing her off. Or use to. She was the oldest of the Blackwood siblings and use to bossing them around. Keeping them out of trouble. No, she couldn’t leave her brother’s happiness to chance. She settled into the corner of her couch and dialed Quinn’s cell.

“I don’t have time for this,” Quinn muttered under his breath when he saw his sister’s number on his screen.

“What?” Ryland,
Ryker, and Jason stood beside him on the bottom floor of the building complex. They had just finished running a perimeter check trying to determine who had entered the site and assaulted the guard.

Jackals had definitely been inside the building. What concerned him more was the faint
scent of humans that lingered. Nothing had been taken or disturbed as far as they could tell. So far, they had no idea who was entering the site. This time an innocent human had been hurt and that was something he could not tolerate. He knew they had to find out what was going on. That didn’t make his time away from Paige easier. He didn’t want to be here, he wanted to be in Paige’s bed, or better yet in his own bed with Paige beneath him.

“It’s Deb,” Quinn answered Ryland’s question. Right now, Quinn wished his older sister was far, far away. Maybe even in another galaxy. The woman was bossy, damn bossy. No doubt she’d already called Paige and now wanted to know how he thought the date had gone.

“Better you than us,” Ryland grinned.

“Or me,” Jason joined in with a chuckle.

“What’d you do this time?” Ryker asked.

“Nothing.”

“Maybe your date called and complained about your technique,” Ryland razzed him.

“What technique? You didn’t give me a chance.”

“I’d say the girl had a lucky break.”

“Shut up, assholes,” Quinn grumbled and accepted his sister’s call. “This isn’t a good time, Deb.”

“Why, because you left your date hanging?”

“No, because I’m about to toss your brothers over the side of this building. And maybe your mate.”

“You can toss Ryland and Ryker, but I’d like to have Jason back in one piece. Remember he is the father of your niece and nephew, whom you adore.”

“Deb.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll make this short and sweet. Are you willing to take a little advice from your big sister?”

“About the break-in?” Quinn’s question bordered on sarcastic.

“No, dip wad, about Paige.”

Quinn’s big body went rigid. Had she told Deb something? Like she never wanted to see him again? “What about Paige?”

“You need to call her.”

“It’s late, Deb. She’s probably in bed by now.”

“I just talked to her about a half an hour ago. Come on, little brother. Would I steer you wrong?”

“Yes,” Quinn had to bite back a smile, his first since leaving Paige. “Every chance you get.”

Deb sighed. “Okay, if you won’t call her back tonight, you better call her first thing tomorrow. Ask her out and don’t let her say no. She doesn’t want to.”

“How do you know that?”

“Don’t question my powers, just do as I say.”

Quinn hung up and debated the wisdom of doing what his sister advised. He took a deep breath, imagining Paige in her bed, all warm and soft. All his bear wanted to do was shift and run back to her.

“Hey, bro, if you need to go back, we can handle it,” Ryker spoke this time. While it wasn’t difficult for shifters to tell the twins apart, they’d fooled many humans over the years. Which Quinn thought was really weird since the two had such different personalities. Ryland was outspoken and quick to make people laugh. Ryker was harder edged and closed mouth. Both were instinctive and empathic.

“No, we need to do another search. Tonight, before this damn storm breaks.” The twins had discovered both tracks and footprints going in and out of the site. He wanted to pull his hair out in frustration. Nothing made sense and he couldn’t think straight at the moment. He wanted to go back to Paige tonight. Love her. Claim her. Because he knew he’d claim her, sure as shit, if he saw her again tonight.
He also knew she wasn’t ready. No, he’d call her first thing in the morning and talk her into seeing him tomorrow night. Then he’d take her back to his house and love the hell out of her.

The twins nodded their agreement to continue the investigation tonight. Jason went home to his mate, promising to come back if they needed him. The brothers quickly stripped and shifted. Soon three large grizzlies were lumbering towards the woods at the back of the construction site. Quinn huffed as he turned toward the north side and Ryland and
Ryker headed east and west. It was going to be one long, frustrating night.

Ryker slowed as he neared the edge of the property line, trying to figure out what was bothering him so much about these tracks. He didn’t know if his brothers had noticed any anomalies or not. All had found jackal tracks and human footprints. Here, near the eastern edge, he’d found another set of shifter prints. There were faint markings of a cat of some sort. So faint, he really couldn’t tell if they were fresh or not. He didn’t think they were since the security guards had never reported a cat sighting. He sniffed along the trail of prints, trying to filter through all the different smells of the forest. There’d been jackals for sure. Marcum construction flunkies.

There was something else…

He shifted into human form and knelt beside the tracks. He quickly found the cat’s print and rubbed his hand along the faint impression. He lifted the soil to his nose and inhaled. There was something…something underneath that he couldn’t quite make out. All he knew, was it was driving him—and his bear—freaking crazy. The animal wanted to track the cat. No, the animal
needed
to track the cat.

“Fuck.” What the hell was wrong with him and his bear? He shifted again and continued the search. They needed something concrete to go on. Solid evidence that the jackals were treading on bear territory, so he, Ryland, and Quinn could kick some jackal ass.

Quinn was convinced he was in hell. The air was hot and humid and he couldn’t wait to get back home, to Paige. It was Thursday morning and he’d just
exited the jammed packed air shuttle that had taken him to North Carolina. He hadn’t been away from his mate twelve hours and already his bear was going batshit crazy. He stretched trying to work out the kinks to his back and shoulders. How the hell did you call five measly seats first class?

He was on his way to see the Council. Yeah, Council with a capital letter
. When shifters had decided to ‘come out’ the governments had insisted that controls be put in place. Shifters had insisted that they would take care of their own and they did so with an iron fist. If a shifter, or a group of shifters, got out of line, justice was swift and fierce.

He’d petitioned the Council to review his case against Marcum. The case was weak, but the Council members knew the true reason he was here. To remind the Council if they didn’t deal with the jackal pack in Atlanta, the Blackwood brothers would do it for them. Bears were usually not territorial and he could handle a business competitor. He wouldn’t, however, tolerate someone who deliberately sabotaged his site.

Last night, Ryland had found the concrete mix they’d had on site for another major pour had been contaminated. If they hadn’t discovered the problem, and had used the concrete, the top floors of the building would have collapsed soon after occupation and no telling how many individuals might have been injured, or worse, killed. No, he could take a lot of things. Putting innocent lives in danger to harm a business’s reputation was something he wouldn’t stand for. Plus, damn it, he needed to focus Paige and the mating heat consuming him.

“Mr. Blackwood?” A uniformed driver called ou
t to him as he made his way through the busy airport.

“Yes,” he turned to th
e man with a frown. Only the shifter who represented the bear clan on the Council had known his flight schedule.

“The Council sent me to escort you to the meeting.”

“And you are?” Yeah, he was a big, bad bear shifter and could take a man out with a swipe of his paw, but he wasn’t dumb. Humans had a way of evening the playing field. With guns, tranquilizers, poison. He wouldn’t put it past Marcum to try something stupid.