by C. D. Gorri
He had a certain air about him. Maybe it was the sexy arch of his black eyebrows that contrasted so dramatically with his snow-white hair. Or maybe it was the curve of his lip, more snarl than smile. Then again it could just be the sheer size of him.
Take your pick, Roxie. There was no doubt in her mind, Bowie was the consummate bad boy. And he was just what she needed.
CHAPTER 5
“You want me to what?”
Bowie couldn’t believe his ears or his eyes for that matter. The second he stomped into the mall, which by the way was about a zillion times worse than the airport, his Bear had been on edge.
The huge white furred animal inside of him snapped and scratched at his skin begging to be let out to teach a lesson to the normals around him who dared to stare and squawk at his presence.
Grrr.
Snarl.
Purrrrr. Wait. What?
Did his Polar Bear just fucking purr? Bowie had stopped in his tracks when he caught sight of the voluptuous redhead in her tight leggings and off the shoulder sweater. The forest green color made her eyes pop like emeralds.
Damn. She was fine as hell. If he could only get close to her. His Bear groaned and rolled his eyes as Bowie’s nose began to twitch.
Fuck! Not again. He winced as the sneeze built inside his nose.
Achoo!
Ugh.
How emasculating! He sighed as he accepted the napkin from her only to feel the twitch begin again.
No! Yes. Come on, hold it in, his Bear seemed to say.
Shit.
And it happened. He’d sneezed again. And two more times after that.
Fuck.
But even that fiasco wasn’t as bad as when she’d hit him with her plan to refuse the Alpha’s hospitality. He stuck his finger in his ear to make sure there was nothing in there before he asked her to repeat herself.
“You want to stay where?”
“With you. If you don’t mind.”
“Uh, I live alone.”
“Great.”
“No, uh, I meant I don’t have company stay over.”
“Perfect. Look Bowie, I am not sure you know about me,” she began.
“Look, Ms. Winters I am your guide for the week, but-”
“I appreciate that, and I am sure you know I could make your life very difficult with just one call, but instead I am imploring you to see my side of the story.”
“What story? You’re here to negotiate for your Skulk to run on Clan lands for your solstice celebration. I’m just supposed to drive you around. That’s it.”
“And that’s fine, but I understand Mr. Devlin has a small child at home and his mate is expecting their second. I would rather not disturb the Alpha family with my comings and goings.”
Okay. His dick did not just get hard at her use of the word comings.
Shit. Maybe it did. A little. Okay, a lot.
Fuck.
“With all due respect, what does that have to do with where-”
“Fine. I am going to be honest with you,” she took a deep breath as if to steady herself and he wanted to groan at the way her breasts pressed against the thin material of her sweater.
“That’s the first time anyone said that to me,” he mused.
“Really?”
“Yes, but don’t let that stop you,” he tilted his head curious to see where this strait-laced little woman was headed with all this talk. Stay with him? What the heck was she thinking?
“The winter solstice celebration is usually the start of a mating frenzy within the Skulk. It’s, that is I, uh, I have a reputation in my Skulk as being a bit frigid-”
“You mean to say they call you the Ice Queen,” he said and could have kicked himself at the flash of regret he saw in her eyes.
“Yes. That’s right,” she said through gritted teeth. He watched her shoulders square as she faced him once more.
Wow. She had character. He’d give her that. Even if she still stunk like she’d been dipped in a vat of chemicals.
“I’m sorry I said that. It was thoughtless,” he said and noted the surprise on her face.
Damn. He realized he’d just apologized to her. Those were not words he threw around very often. If she was surprised by the action, he was too. Even more so.
“I’ve never taken part.”
“What?” He’d lost her.
Wait. She couldn’t mean. Did she mean? Holy shit.
“I said I have never taken part in any of my Skulk’s solstice festivities.”
“So, you have never dated anyone in your Skulk? That’s not so unusual, outsiders might be easier at first-”
“More than that,” she said lowly, but his Shifter hearing meant he’d caught it.
“You’ve never dated anyone from a Bear Clan?”
“No, Mr. Atiqtalaaq, I have never dated anyone.”
Bowie swallowed. Okay, scent aside, Roxanne Winters was one beautiful Vixen. Her mane of red hair and bright green eyes almost made him swallow his tongue. And her body, as his New Jersey Clanmates said, fuhgeddaboudit.
She was a Fox. Literally and figuratively. There was no way she could mean what he thought she meant, was there?
“So when you say date, you mean like long-term relationship? I mean that’s not a big deal. I’ve never had a girlfriend for more than a few weeks.”
He shrugged off the pain that accompanied the fact. Bowie had always been the outcast in his old Clan. Sure he’d had sex. Lost his virginity at the ripe old age of thirteen to an older woman. She had been twenty-two and the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen at the time. Though looking back she had nothing on the little Vixen next to him.
Not that it mattered. Roxanne Winters was not for the likes of him.
Want, his Bear pushed the thought at him, and Bowie shook his head. No.
He couldn’t afford to give in to such thoughts. Roxanne might be looking for some action in Barvale, but it wouldn’t be with him. No way.
“Mr. Atiqtalaaq, I haven’t had any kind of boyfriend. Ever. Do you understand what I am saying?”
“No, I, wait are you saying?”
“Yes,” she practically yelled, “I am a virgin and I would very much like you to help me remedy that problem.”
Heat suffused Bowie’s skin as her words sunk in. What exactly was she asking?
He wished he could scent her emotions, but the perfume or whatever was just too strong. It was severely messing with his sense of smell.
“Oh, uh, I don’t mean you would have to, I mean I wasn’t asking for you to personally help me. I understand the idea of initiating me might not appeal to someone like you-”
“Someone like me?” Here it was. The obvious prejudice a little Shifter princess like her was bound to have against a no one like him.
He fought the enraged beast inside of him and demanded obedience from his other half. But it wasn’t rage consuming his Bear, it was agony.
A soul wrenching shudder racked his body as he fought to gain back control. Oblivious to his plight, Roxanne stared out the window and spoke through tight lips.
“You must have experienced women throwing themselves at you since you hit puberty. It probably happens all the time so this will be difficult for you to understand. I know I can’t compare to most Shifter females. I just need to fix this problem of my virginity so that the Skulk males will finally get close enough to see if I belong to one of them. Foxes don’t always mate for life, but my Vixen wants a mate and she wants kits of her own.”
Bowie couldn’t breathe. She wasn’t saying no to him as a possible bedmate because she thought he wasn’t good enough for her. She was saying no because she thought she didn’t appeal to him.
Joy washed over him in waves and he realized his Bear was pleased with the realization. Still, who was he to even think of bedding a Shifter Alpha’s daughter?
You’re nothing, Atiqtalaaq. You’re scum.
“Look, we will figure something out. Right now let’s get you to my cabin
. We can eat and you can take a shower and destress from your flight, okay? Then we will talk.”
CHAPTER 6
Talk? What the hell was there to talk about? She’s in there naked, what are you waiting for?
The sound of the shower on the floor above his living room had Bowie’s Polar Bear in a frenzy. He still didn’t know when he’d decided to take her to his cabin and not to the Den, but it was too late now.
Not too late. Water’s running.
Fucking pervert.
“Hello,” he spoke into the cell phone without even looking to see who was calling him.
“Bowie, what the heck are you doing with the daughter of the Alpha of the Winter Falls Skulk in your cabin?!”
The sound of the head Enforcer raking him over the coals made his human half wince, but his Bear half was too preoccupied with what his new houseguest was doing upstairs to really care. He did turn and growl at one of the harsher notes from his boss, but his human side remained in control.
His Polar Bear was strong. Too strong at times. Had he been born with a family who supported him and trained him, he might have been a contender for Alpha. As it was, Shifters like him tended to go rogue and were put down by the Council before they could hurt anyone.
Barvale was Bowie’s last chance to keep that from happening. His Bear liked the Devlin brothers. They were good and treated him fairly. Not to mention they made all their money from the family business and gave back to the community. And Bear Claw Bakery had the best fucking treats Bowie had ever tasted.
“Well?” Daniel’s yelling came to an end, replaced by his question.
“Ms. Winters requested to come here. She has some, uh, strange sleeping habits and did not wish to disturb the Alpha family.”
It was as close to the truth as he could get without straight up telling his boss that the Ice Queen was looking for a metaphorical flamethrower to help her with her little problem.
“Oh. Uh, well, if she insists. But Bowie, you better take good care of this woman. She is a guest here,” Daniel ended the call.
Take good care of her? Yes. We will.
Grrr.
Almost a half hour later the sun had already set, and Bowie was just taking a huge, succulent pizza pie out of the oven. Fuck delivery. Once a week he had Carly, the Devlin’s amazing housekeeper, whip him up a dozen raw pizzas that he then froze to cook at a later date or whenever he was hungry. Woman was a fucking genius with sauce and dough.
“Oh, that smells good,” Roxanne’s voice sounded from the top of the staircase.
Bowie turned around barely remembering to hold his hands even, so the pizza didn’t slide. He had to bite his tongue to stop his jaw from hitting the ground. Roxanne Winters the Ice Queen, this was not. At least not the one from the file he had on her.
This Roxie was about five shades lighter than she’d been when he’d picked her up from the airport earlier that day. Her skin glowed like polished ivory with just the cutest little smattering of freckles over her pert nose.
Her long, flaming locks had been brushed and dried until they glowed in a gorgeous fiery wave over her shoulder. She wore a tight miniskirt the color of blood and a slinky little tank that left the tops of her round breasts bare to his gaze. Looking down he couldn’t have stopped his cock from reacting if he tried.
Her creamy thighs were bare to her knees and that is where things got really interesting. The little Ice Queen wore a pair of spike-heeled boots that came to her knees. The tight black leather molded her calves in a way that made Bowie want to drop to his knees.
“I asked if there is enough for me?” She nodded towards the steaming pizza he’d actually managed to forget about for a few seconds.
The pungent scent of spices and marinara sauce along with the numerous toppings on the pie permeated the air blocking out everything else. His stomach rumbled in hunger. Though, truth be told, he wasn’t sure if it was for the tasty Italian treat or the gorgeous redhead just a few feet away.
“Uh, of course, please sit,” he said cursing himself for his clumsiness.
When had he ever served a woman food? Never. Not to his immediate recollection anyway. He’d certainly never had one in this house.
Hell, the girls he infrequently spent time with were not the kind you took home. Not that he was judging. There were all sorts of reasons why people sought physical comfort from others. With him, he took his mostly from strangers or Shifters who knew the drill.
He’d taken and given comfort when offered. But it wasn’t enough anymore. Despite his earlier plans to seek out one of his former women, Bowie knew now that he was not interested in getting reacquainted with Sheila or any of his past conquests.
His Bear was definitely not on board with it. Not anymore. Nope. He was far too interested in the complex woman in front of them. Roxanne Winters was a conundrum. Nothing like anyone he’d ever met before.
Where did a little thing like her work up the raw gumption it took to proposition a guy like him? He couldn’t even imagine what kind of weak-minded men made up her Skulk that would let someone like her go unattached for so long.
The fact that she was a virgin both terrified and intrigued him. She was virtually untouched. Pure as the driven snow. When she’d told him her problem, he’d almost popped a hole through his jeans at the thought of being the first to claim such a delectable morsel.
“I am a virgin and I would very much like you to help me remedy that problem.”
Of course, she no sooner said it than he’d stuck his foot in his mouth. He had no idea where they’d left off. Did she want him to be the one to solve her dilemma? Did she want him to find her someone willing?
Fuck. Just the thought made his Bear snarl and growl. This was all unchartered territory for Bowie. If only he could use his sense of smell to figure out what she was feeling.
Hmm. That brought back up the question of her perfume and her sudden lack of color.
“So, uh, your tan?” He asked as he sat down across from her with his own plate of food.
He noted her frown as she picked up a piece of sausage and popped it into her cherry blossom shaped mouth. Damn. That shouldn’t have looked so appealing. Her tiny pink tongue darted out of her mouth to lick a spot of sauce from her lips and he found himself swallowing just so he wouldn’t drool on the table.
“Oh, that,” she sighed, and he watched as her cheeks redden, “well, as you can probably tell by now, I don’t tan naturally. I mean never. My skin is always pasty and lifeless-”
“Ivory,” he said abruptly and could have cursed himself again for his tactlessness.
“What?” She tilted her head and waited for him to answer.
“Well, when I was a cub, I trekked all the way to this trading post on the edge of our village. There I met this man. He was Inuit and a Shifter. He had the most beautiful polar bear carvings I had ever seen. He made them himself from walrus tusks, ivory. The same creamy shade as your skin. I’d never seen anything so lovely.” Until now.
“Oh,” she said. Her gorgeous emerald green eyes went wide as she listened to him and he found himself lost in them.
“So, the tan?” He said, breaking eye contact.
He needed to keep some space between them. Remember their differences. He was the original bad boy of the White Bear Clan. The rowdiest and most unruly cub in all Alaska. He’d come to Barvale for a chance to belong.
There was no way in hell he was going to risk his new position by hitting on his assignment. No matter how fucking cute she was with sauce on her chin. Damn.
“Okay, you really want to know?”
“Yes, I really want to know,” he couldn’t help himself.
“Spray tan,” she confessed.
Her cheeks were bright pink as she spoke. He perused her with laser like precision, noting the skin across her chest had blossomed to the same delightful shade.
The predator in him smirked. Bowie had to swallow down a growl. Just how far down did her blush go? And wouldn’t he lo
ve to know.
“So you mean to tell me you got a spray tan before you went on vacation?” Now he was really confused.
“Well, yes. I mean, I never get tan. Ever. Plus, I only had two days to make the most of my little trip away, and I wanted to have a head start on the tanning aspect,” she shrugged, clearly not as embarrassed as she’d been a moment ago.
Bowie smiled widely. Not many people he knew would own up to something like that. She was definitely surprising. He found himself positively brimming with curiosity about her.
“I don’t know much about what’s stylish or not, but I do know that stuff you used must not have been too comfortable for you considering how it singed my nostrils. I mean, why would you do that?”
Fuck. He cursed himself for just blurting that out. The look on her face made him regret every word he’d just said.
“Um,” she began and reached for her napkin.
“Shit. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. I mean, I just, can I just say, you clearly do not need it. Your skin is beautiful,” he said in a rush.
“Wow, that is the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me about my looks,” she replied.
Now it was his turn to be shocked. What kind of men were in her Skulk? How could they not appreciate this voluptuous redheaded beauty?
He watched as she reached for the beer he’d grabbed her, and again he regretted his lack of preparedness where she was concerned. He’d very rarely entertained a woman in his home. Truthfully, he’d never really had a home until he came to Barvale.
Yes, he’d had women, but no one like her. Roxanne Winters deserved to be wined and dined. A woman like her warranted champagne and a meal at some fancy five-star restaurant where you paid a hundred bucks per bite. What the hell did a Polar Bear outcast like him know about anything like that?
His Bear roared and pushed against his skin. His inner beast rejecting the idea that he was not good enough for her, but the human side of him knew the truth. She was a Shifter princess and he was a nobody. A bad boy orphan from the wrong side of the tracks.
Outcast, the word echoed in his brain. Roxanne Winters was not for him.