Bounty Hunter Bear: Crossroads 1 (Grizzly Cove Book 11) Read online

  “I’m impressed,” she told him, moving to stand near the table but angled so she couldn’t read his screen, giving him a bit of privacy for his work.

  “By what?” he said, looking up and then stretching, as if he’d been deep into work for a while. She’d been in the shower, and then in her bedroom, for a lot longer than she’d thought, so it was possible he’d been working all that time.

  “You can type,” she said quickly, trying hard not to notice the way his muscles moved as he stretched his arms above his head. Ezra was a handsome man, and in just a T-shirt and jeans, he was mouth-wateringly tempting.

  He glanced back at his laptop. “Yeah, I learned back when I was in school. Saved me a lot of hassle and headache knowing the right way to get the best use out of a keyboard all these years.”

  “I just can’t picture you sitting behind a desk all day,” she told him, scrunching up her nose as she tried to imagine it. Nope. Didn’t work.

  “Well, I don’t do it all day,” he allowed, shutting down his laptop and closing the screen. “But a lot of my work involves research. These days, that means logging time on the net.” He stood from the table then picked up his laptop in one beefy hand. “What do you want to do for dinner? Go out to a restaurant or order something in?”

  She tilted her head to one side, thinking. Going out in public might be safer. If she stayed here with him, the mood might get a little too intimate, and she was very much afraid she’d crawl into his arms and never want to leave.

  Where were these thoughts coming from? He was her savior, after all, but over the past few hours in his company, new desires had risen with more power than she had expected. She’d thought almost from the first moment she’d seen him, back in that hellish basement, that he was attractive, but now, there was a new awareness awakening. A new yearning that was growing.

  Dangerous stuff. Especially for a woman who wasn’t really sure who she was anymore. Did Ezra even want to feel anything for her other than the protectiveness he’d admitted to earlier? Best she didn’t stir up too much trouble for now.

  “Let’s go out. I didn’t really see too much of the town yet, and I’d like to get acclimated a little more,” she told him. It sounded reasonable. Sensible, even. She wouldn’t admit to the fact that he was just too darn sexy for her frame of mind right now.

  “All right. Give me a minute to get my jacket, and we can go. I understand there’s a really good restaurant a brisk walk from here, if you don’t mind going on foot. I figured you might want a chance to stretch your legs after all the riding we did today.”

  Thoughtful as well as kind. Damn. Ezra just kept becoming more attractive the more they were together. She’d have to be really cautious around him, not to lose her head…or her heart.

  Dinner was delicious, even if the setting was a bit more raucous than Thea had expected. The restaurant also had a large bar along one wall of the large room. A half-wall topped with metal poles and frosted glass panels separated the two areas, but the bar was so full, people were spilling over. The waitstaff didn’t seem to mind, allowing bar patrons to sit at the restaurant side tables as long as they allowed the waiters and waitresses to fetch their drinks and ordered some snacks.

  Thea and Ezra were seated closer to the bar than she probably would have liked, but the festive atmosphere felt friendly rather than threatening. And, she was with Ezra. Nothing would harm her while he was here. She knew that for a fact.

  So, when three big guys stopped in front of their table, she wasn’t too worried. Her nose told her right away that these three were shifters. Even with all the various scents in the room, she smelled the distinct tang of fur. Bear fur.

  “Will you look what the cat dragged in?” the man in the center of the trio said, grinning widely. “How you doing, Ez? And who is this lovely lady? Surely, she’s not with you?”

  Ezra stood to shake each of the men’s hands in turn. “Good to see you, Ace. Jack. King.”

  Thea’s eyebrows rose at the odd names.

  “Our parents worked the casinos in Reno,” the youngest-looking of the three told her with a wink.

  “This is Thea,” Ezra introduced her. “Thea, these three are old friends, and the best damned mechanics I’ve ever known.”

  Thea nodded to each man in turn. If Ezra was describing them as friends, then they were all right. Ezra would be giving off more dangerous vibes if they weren’t. As it was, he was calm and steady, making her feel the same. Her inner bear was very sensitive and had pretty much aligned her instincts to his moods over the past few hours. That, in itself, was a little freaky, if she’d given herself the chance to stop and think about it.

  “Would you like to join us?” Thea asked politely, looking at Ezra to see if he approved.

  Ace made a show of looking over the crowded bar area and then back at the big table they’d been given. “If you’re sure you don’t mind,” he said, glancing at her before turning his full attention to Ezra.

  Ezra held out an open hand in a welcoming gesture. “Pull up a chair,” he told the men. “I was going to look you up tomorrow, anyway, to take a look at my bike. I’m having an engine issue that I can’t pin down and was hoping you could help with.”

  That was news to Thea. She’d been riding with him all day, and his engine had sounded fine. Maybe there was more to this meeting than she’d thought? She knew Ezra was in town to do some troubleshooting. Maybe these guys had something to do with his job.

  They spent the next hour talking with the three brothers about motorcycles, the rally, the town and the shop they were working out of for rally week. Apparently, they were normally based out of Phoenix but had signed on for seasonal work during the rally at a well-known shop on the edge of town.

  Eventually, as the noise level from the bar rose and the night wore on, Ezra and Thea got up to leave. The brothers stayed, with promises to look at Ezra’s bike tomorrow.

  Ezra and Thea walked back to the hotel in silence, enjoying the crisp night air. The only thing that would have been better was if she’d been able to let her bear out for a walk around in the cold dark, but there were way too many humans around. Way too many guns and too much alcohol, which was always a bad combination. She would have to be content to walk on two feet tonight…and probably for the remainder of her stay in this town.

  When they reached his suite at the hotel, Ezra spent a few minutes prowling around, sniffing everything. Then, he brought out an electronic gizmo from his pocket and went over the room with it, finally putting it away with a satisfied grunt.

  “We can talk freely here. Nobody’s been in here since we left, and there’s no electronic surveillance, though that could change. I’ll alert you if it does, but I don’t expect it, honestly. It’s just always good to check,” he told her.

  Thea was curious about his preparedness for detecting listening devices but chose to ask about something else instead. “Those three men at the restaurant… Are they helping you with your job here?”

  He looked at her with surprise clear on his face. “How could you tell?”

  “I’m not really sure. It was just a feeling,” she admitted.

  He relaxed a bit. “Well, then, you have good instincts.” He went to the conversation area and waited for Thea to be seated before lowering himself onto the overstuffed couch next to her, but far enough away to give her a bit of space. “The brothers are here to do a little surveillance for me and to act as backup. They really are mechanics. We’d arranged to meet tomorrow, but running into them at the restaurant was actually better.”

  “You hadn’t planned that?” she asked, curious.

  “No. They had no way of knowing we’d be there. I just figured I’d bring my bike into their temporary place of employment tomorrow,” he told her. “The shop they’re working out of this week is owned by my employers, though it’s just one of many businesses in their portfolio.”

  “The one you suspect is being used to smuggle drugs, right?” she asked, remembering their
earlier conversation.

  Ezra nodded. “Yeah, they’re going to be my inside men since it wouldn’t be easy for me to get the proof I need otherwise. If and when there’s a confrontation with the current manager and employees, the brothers will act as my backup, if needed.”

  “Are they members of your Clan?” Thea asked. Bears didn’t have huge Clans, but it was possible the bonds between Ezra and the three brothers went deep.

  “No,” he answered quickly, but with no particular emphasis. “I’m kind of a loner. I’ve been skipping around from place to place since I got out of the military, so aside from my folks, I don’t really claim a Clan anywhere, though I do work for Trevor and Beth, and they’re part of the group out of Grizzly Cove. Trev’s been trying to convince me to put down roots there.”

  “I’ve heard a little bit about it,” Thea observed. “They put out a call for female bear shifters a while back, right?”

  “Yeah,” Ezra admitted with a chuckle. “Those guys have a really grand vision for the town they’re building. I thought it was crazy when I first heard about it, but they’re actually making it work. The town is pretty nice, and they’ve gathered a lot of allies.”

  “I had some vague thoughts about visiting there on my way home,” she revealed. Not that she was really looking for a mate… But the idea of a group of male bear shifters starting their own community was intriguing.

  “If you want to see the town, I’d be happy to show you around,” he offered, surprising her.

  “You’ll probably be sick of having me around long before then,” she joked, feeling a little melancholy even just saying the words. She liked being around him. Perhaps a bit too much.

  “I seriously doubt that could ever happen,” he replied, both his gaze and his voice more serious than she’d expected.

  He’d moved closer to her on the couch while they’d been talking, but she hadn’t really noticed until now that she’d moved nearer to him, too. There wasn’t a whole lot of room separating them right now, in fact. When he moved his arm from being draped over the back of the sofa to just lightly touching her shoulder, she felt the intimacy of their nearness and wanted to be closer still.

  “I like having you around, Thea,” he went on, his tone deep and a little bit growly. The sound went right through her, to stroke the core of her being like a warm, velvet touch. She liked the sensation and wanted more.

  But was this wise? The little voice in the back of her head wanted to stop and examine things, but the larger part of her heart didn’t give a damn. She liked being near Ezra, and that’s all that really mattered in that moment.

  She moved, of her own volition, into his arms, pressing herself against him. Oh, she remembered that feeling. Ezra’s strong embrace. She’d dreamed about the way he’d held her during those terrible times just after he and his friends had rescued her from that prison. She thought she’d been imagining the safety she’d felt, but no. Ezra was just as she remembered him. Strong, secure and protective.

  He also smelled…perfect. Like her inner bear’s idea of the perfect man. The bear was already half in love with him. Her bear had been so badly damaged by Bolivar and the terrible blood magic he’d been working on her soul. Ezra had put a stop to that, and his strength had given her the ability to come back even stronger. He’d almost coaxed her bear back into being, if that was even possible, when the poor thing had almost given up the ghost.

  As a result, her inner bear was loyal to him even now, but it felt like more than just that. It felt like he could be important to her. Very important.

  Ezra stroked his hands down Thea’s back, making sure his touch was as gentle as he could make it. He hadn’t expected her to want to be so close to him. At least not so quickly.

  He didn’t want to do anything that might scare her off, but just having her in his arms again was making him feel things that might get him into trouble. His instincts were roaring to life inside him, wanting him to claim her in some way. To put his mark on her—not in a hurtful way, but in a way that would let her know of his interest in no uncertain terms.

  But would that drive her away? If he kissed her now, would she run screaming into the night? Would it be a betrayal of the trust she was giving him at this very moment?

  Ezra didn’t know what to do. That was unusual for a bear of his age and experience. He wasn’t used to being so unsure of his next move.

  Good thing Thea appeared not to have the same problem. When she raised her head and looked deep into his eyes, he thought he was going to die if he didn’t kiss her within the next five seconds.

  And then, she kissed him. Glory be to the Mother of All.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Thea didn’t know where she’d gotten the nerve, but she didn’t regret whatever impulse had driven her to kiss him. After just the slightest hesitation, he had taken control of the kiss and proven to her that the attraction wasn’t all one-sided. He kissed her like he’d been dreaming about it as long as she had.

  She didn’t know what gave her that idea, but her inner bear approved of his enthusiasm and the delicious sensations he was causing in her body. It had been so long since she’d felt like a desirable woman. Since her kidnapping, she hadn’t dared go out on a date. Not even with a human man.

  Her bear was a lot stronger than she’d ever been now, which gave Thea more confidence about being able to defend herself, but she hadn’t wanted to meet any new men. She hadn’t wanted to make the effort to find a companion, even though her inner bear had been driving her pretty hard to look for a mate before her ordeal.

  It was as if the bear had learned patience. Or, maybe… Maybe she’d decided that Ezra was someone she’d like to meet again someday. He’d made a very strong impression on both sides of her nature, and though she hadn’t been sure they would ever meet again, she had been sort of subconsciously comparing all the men she knew to him ever since she’d gone back home.

  Taking off on her adventure had been at least partially about cleansing her mind of the one man who seemed to have taken over her thoughts. And then, she’d run into him on the road. A random thing that had all the markings of the hand of the Goddess, or Fate, the Universe, or whatever, playing with her life in what she hoped would turn out to be a positive way.

  Judging by the sensations Ezra’s kiss evoked in her body, and the sexy way he was growling, the interaction was very positive already. He reclined, taking her with him so that she was draped over him like a blanket. Mmm. That felt really good. He was warm and hard in all the right places.

  Very hard in one particular place that made her blush just thinking about it. Not that she objected. Nope. Not at all.

  She took over control of the kiss at that point, wanting to get closer to him, but then, she became aware of a distant ringing. Ezra’s hands stopped where they were, midway down her back, and she stilled. What was that noise, and how dare it interrupt them? She lifted her lips from his, confused.

  “Sorry, honey.” He seemed embarrassed and annoyed in equal measure. “I’ve got to get that.”

  She sat up, and he did the same. “What is it?”

  The tinkling noise came again, and she realized it was his phone. As he dug it out of his pocket, the melody became clearer. It was the tune to “I Shot the Sheriff”. Somebody had a custom ringtone, and she wondered who it was.

  “It’s a friend from Grizzly Cove. The sheriff, to be precise,” he told her with a hint of a smile. “He doesn’t often call me, so it’s got to be important. Sorry.” He apologized again as he stood, heading for his bedroom to take the call.

  Thea tried to calm her breathing and gather her wits. What had just happened here? Had she totally lost her mind?

  She ought to feel a little embarrassed at how easily she went from seeking comfort to demanding pleasure, but she couldn’t find it within herself to regret what had just happened. That was significant. Her inner bear wasn’t protesting her actions, but rather the loss of Ezra’s warmth and the pleasure he had brought he
r. Interesting.

  She could hear the low rumble of his voice in the other room. She wasn’t trying to eavesdrop, but her hearing was good. He knew just how good, so if he wasn’t taking further precautions against being overheard—like going into the bathroom and running the shower or something—then he probably didn’t mind if she heard his side of the conversation. Even she couldn’t hear the other end of the line from the other room, so perhaps he’d gone into the bedroom because he didn’t know what the man on the other end would have to say and whether or not she should hear it.

  Made sense, even if she was feeling unreasonable about the loss of his warmth. His kiss. She’d really been enjoying their embrace. She’d loved the feel of him against her and the way he made her senses come alive. He tasted like warm honey on a hot summer day—something her bear side thought of as the highest possible compliment.

  He just took her breath away on every level.

  Getting up from the couch, she headed for her bedroom. The kiss had been monumental, but it would be awkward to pick up from where they’d left off. Better to save the awkward moment for the morning, when she wasn’t feeling quite so vulnerable.

  If she was being logical about this, she’d gone about as far as she was prepared to go for the first day of their reunion. If they’d continued down the path to ultimate pleasure, she wasn’t totally sure that either of them wouldn’t be facing regrets the next morning. Better to slow things down a bit. They’d made good progress today and ended on a good note.

  Tomorrow was another day…and another opportunity to get into his pants. If that’s what they both wanted in the harsh light of day. She chuckled as she closed her bedroom door. He was still on the phone, but he’d figure out she was done for the day. It was just better this way. At least, for now.