“Nothing plain about you, Serena.”
She stepped a little further away from him. “Thank you, I think.” She sighed. “This can’t go anywhere,” she said sadly. “You’re leaving in a couple of hours.”
The hell he was. “You took my bear,” he pointed out.
She opened her right fist. “You better take it back.”
“I can’t do that. Love is for keeps.”
Anton closed her fingers around the bear. “That’s yours. I wish I had my woodcarving kit with me, I’d pretty him up some, but oiled and shiny, or rough and dull, he’s yours.” He paused. “Just like me.”
“Don’t say that. I don’t know anything about you. Except that you’re from French Town.”
“We have all the time there is to become better acquainted, Serena. Will you let me buy you breakfast at the inn?” He waved a hand at the big Victorian mansion behind him. The handyman was staring so hard at them, he was blowing debris onto the paths instead of away.
Her eyes were huge in her pale face. “It seems foolish to start a long-distance relationship on the strength of attraction,” she said sadly.
“I couldn’t agree more. But seeing as you’re my destiny, I don’t have any kind of choice. Don’t mer-people have fated mates?”
“Of course. But mine is surely a merman. There are no mixed marriages in my family.”
“No? We bears marry where our hearts lead. The kids mostly come out furry, although there are exceptions.”
“They’re born bear cubs?” Her eyes bulged in horror.
Anton laughed. “No, no. Bear shifting manifests at puberty. Our babies are human when they’re born. I only meant that they are usually bear shifters.”
“Oh.”
“Come on. Let’s have breakfast and talk.” He grabbed the broom leaning against the doorframe and cleared away the wood shavings. “You can ask me anything you like.”
She was examining the little bear, stroking its back and rubbing its missing paw. He felt the caresses on his own back and stump. A sexual charge made his entire body sizzle. He was sure that he stank like a bear in rut, but he tried to smile casually and act normal.
Serena followed him off the porch and down the path. The groundskeeper smiled knowingly at them. “George is probably going to imply I was inside Sunflower.”
Anton laid a hand on his heart. “I wish I had had that honor.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Sully~
Robin looked as elegant and composed as if they had not spent hours last night wrapped in each others’ arms. Not a hair of her elegant silvery chignon was out of place. Her lilac-colored dress was both sophisticated and simple. It had the effect of making her appear untouchable and remote. No matter. He knew better. Much better. When it suited her, his fairy was a wild woman.
She was observing the inn’s dining room through the one-way mirror in her private sitting room. She turned and smiled up at him. “There will be talk, Gordon, when you leave here,” she scolded. Unlike most people, she usually called him by his given name.
He chuckled. This was the first time he had spent the entire night with Robin Fairchild. And he did not regret his move. “Say the word, Robin, and I will make an honest man of myself.”
She shook her head gently. “Not yet, my dear. I am not going to ask you to give up being Deputy Mayor. And I am not ready to resign as Mayor of Mystic Bay. The town and the island need us both. Even if there is a little tattle about us. Come look at that bear and the mermaid. You were perfectly correct about them.”
Anton Benoit and Serena Merryman were sitting dead center of the dining room. As he had noted at the wedding reception, their auras meshed well, complementing one another. “That was quick work,” he said disapprovingly.
“Serena spent the night at her cottage. Anton in his,” Robin corrected calmly. “He lent her his truck after she was attacked last night. I expect she brought it back this morning. His aura is markedly frustrated.”
Sully contemplated the pair in silence. “So it is. While hers looks stunned.” He chuckled. “Roger Merryman is going to split his shorts.”
Robin leaned back against him. Peace radiated through his chest and heart. This fairy was his fate.
“So he will,” she agreed. “Roger was certain that Jerome Brooks was Serena’s fated mate.”
“As if,” Sully snorted. “I told him three times that Brooks was not what he appeared to be. But you know Roger. He always thinks he knows best.”
“At least Wally took your warning seriously, Gordon,” she said comfortingly.
“Wally is a good lawman.” The rabbit shifter had excellent intuition and supplemented it by paying heed to that of others.
Robin smiled gently. “He is. But Roger is still going to blame you for Brooks turning out to be a rapist,” she warned him. “He’s a control freak.”
“Can’t really blame him for wanting to keep his family intact. He and Pearl have never really recovered from Carlyle running off. But it isn’t Wally’s fault that Bock is a bad’un.”
Robin shook her head sorrowfully. “You’d think Roger would have realized that clutching his remaining children closer was not the answer. But since Carlyle ran off, he’s been more rigid than ever.”
“He had big plans for Carlyle,” Sully said. “But Carlyle didn’t want to spend his life being the Crown Prince of the Crab Hut.”
“The eldest son of the mer-king is automatically the Crown Prince,” Robin pointed out.
“Well, sure. But there was no need for Roger to micromanage that boy. Carlyle might have been perfectly happy to stay on West Haven if Roger hadn’t wanted to plan his entire future.”
“It’s normal to want to pass along a business you’ve built from scratch as Roger has,” Robin argued.
“Carlyle had no taste for the restaurant business. Ever since he was a fingerling he only wanted to paint. Roger should have let him go to art college.”
“Naturally Roger and Pearl wanted Carlyle to take over the Crab Hut,” Robin said tolerantly. “Instead they lost their son. You know, I half hoped that when I started the Tidewater Art Fair that I would pull Carlyle out of hiding.”
“Maybe he didn’t get a chance to paint. Takes a certain amount of financial support.” Sully blew an exasperated blast of air. “Roger and Pearl had – have – other kids. Justine does a fine job at the Crab Hut. But I’ll bet Roger is still pestering Serena to quit her job here and go to work for him.”
Robin sighed as deeply as he had done. “You’re right. Serena fends him off, but it’s silly really. Roger and Pearl are not ready to retire, and they don’t really need another manager for their restaurant.”
“Roger just likes his family under his thumb. I half wonder if that’s not what went wrong between Justine and her husband.”
“No.” Robin was adamant. “You didn’t ever see them together – they didn’t last long enough. Chris and Justine should never have married at all. Trust me, that man is a bully and a creep.”
“Well, he’s out of the picture now,” Sully said. “But Roger is convinced the root of their problems was that Chris isn’t a merman.”
Robin gave another of her genteel snorts. “Nope. I don’t say that Justine’s true fate is a psychic, but the trouble between them was that Justine latched on to a fellow just as controlling as her father – and not nearly as well-intentioned. Know what I think?”
“What?”
“Chris thought that the Merrymans were rich. You know, possessed of fabulous treasures from the deep.”
Sully laughed. “They do okay. But if they have chests of treasure, I’ve never seen any sign of it.” Just like the rest of the sensitives who had settled the then uninhabited island, the Merrymans had shown up on West Haven as penniless pioneers.
“Anyway, Roger is going to explode when he hears about Anton Benoit and Serena,” Robin said gloomily.
“Yup.” Sully gave her a comforting squeeze. “That bear is going to have his hands full
if he wants to marry the mer-king’s daughter. But we can handle Roger.”
“I agree. Speaking of handling, Gordon, what did you do to Kevin Spicer last night?*”
During the reception, he and the groom’s grandfather, Charles Rutherford, had overheard Spicer and one of Charles’ other grandsons threatening the bride. Charles had dealt with his renegade cougar. Sully had handled Spicer who as a sorcerer was answerable to him. He tightened his hands around Robin’s delicate shoulders. “You sure you want to know, sweetheart?”
“Of course. I’m tougher than I look.”
This was true. Sully confessed. “I dialed Two-Watt Spicer down to zero.”
“You didn’t?” He had astonished his fairy. She spun around to stare up at him wide-eyed.
He knew what his lover was seeing. When he visited Robin he got rid of the big shaggy persona that he favored when running tours of the island on his old fishing boat. Robin disliked the smell of fish and the greasiness of his ancient oilskins. While the tourists experienced a thrill from rubbing shoulders with a colorful old salt.
This morning, he was still wearing his wedding clothes of blue blazer and gray slacks. His unruly hair and bushy beard were neatly barbered. He probably looked too sleek and cosmopolitan to have destroyed the talent of another wizard. But he had. And he would do the same again.
“I am the head mage of Mystic Bay,” he pointed out. “Judge, jury and executioner. I caught that little wizardling red-handed.”
“He deserved it,” Robin agreed serenely. “I hope the Spicers sell up and move on. I want them off my island.” Robin’s family had been protecting the residents for as long as they had lived here. Being mayor was simply an extension of that role.
“They well may,” he said after a pause to consider. “They won’t like what happened to their fair-haired boy. Mind you, their collective behavior won’t stand much inquiry either. Kevin comes by his sneakiness fair and square.”
“Hmm.” She went back to scanning the dining room.
“Do you want me to bespell Roger until those two find their way?” he asked.
“Certainly not,” Robin responded promptly. “A little adversity will do their relationship good. No one appreciates happiness that falls into their laps.”
*Cherished by the Cougar
CHAPTER NINE
Serena~
Anton was ignoring the sideways glances from the inn staff. He was concentrating on eating his way through the buffet. Of course he was a big guy and he had been swimming in the freezing ocean in December. As she had. Yet it was all she could do to choke down some plain yogurt. He might be oblivious to the curiosity of the servers and cooks, but he noticed her lack of appetite.
“You should have some of these eggs,” he said. “Keep your strength up.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Aren’t you?” He looked almost disapproving, but he didn’t comment. When you had spent your whole life on the hefty side of plump, a girl noticed these things.
“How long have you been in the Marines?” she blurted.
“I was in thirteen years. I’ve been out on disability for six.” He raised his unibrow at her. “Why?”
“Oh. I just wondered. So what do you do now?”
He hesitated. “I’m in security.”
He was a security guard? “In French Town?”
Anton shook his head as if he were amused. “No, I haven’t lived in French Town since high school. I joined up the day after graduation. Now I live in Denver.”
Denver. Not just not at sea level. A mile high. No habitat for a mermaid. She would literally be a fish out of water. “Is your work dangerous?”
“Dangerous? Nah.” But he looked uncomfortable.
“You’re fibbing,” she accused.
He looked pleased. “See, I told you we were fated. I do some moderately dangerous stuff.” He held his thumb and forefinger apart half an inch. “But I can’t talk about that in public. Let’s just say that the work I’m paid for is generally not perilous. And leave it at that for now.”
“Denver is a long way from West Haven.” She tried and failed to keep wistfulness out of her voice.
“Sure is. And not remotely close to either ocean.”
“This can’t go anywhere,” she told him sadly. Her heart clenched, but she had to be sensible. They had no future, little bear talisman or not.
He grinned at her. “Never say never, sweetheart. I have some vacation time coming. I’m going to explain to my boss that I need time off to court my bride. Holden’s a good guy. He’ll give me some time to fasten a clove hitch on my mate.”
She rolled her eyes. A clove hitch indeed. And yet the iceberg in her breast melted. “Just like that?”
“Holden and I go way back.” Anton leaned forward. “It’s no secret that both of us were in Special Forces. On the same team for three years. We were injured on the same mission. Got our discharges in the same month. Besides, Holden understands how important finding your fated mate is*. He’ll hold my job.”
Her whole body shuddered as if her oxygen had been cut off. “I can’t live in Denver.”
He covered her hand with his. And she did mean covered. Her fingers vanished under the broad expanse of his hand. “Don’t buy trouble, sweetheart. I’ll take a leave of absence and stick around Mystic Bay for a bit. I won’t try to change you or take you away from the ocean. You worry about how you’re going to explain being courted by a stranger to your mom and dad.”
“That’s nothing to joke about, Anton Benoit!” she snapped.
“I wasn’t poking fun at your parents,” he assured her. “But I’m used to how small towns operate. If a stranger came courting one of my cousins, we’d all take turns asking him his intentions. Be worse if he wasn’t a bear.”
“Oh.” She swallowed hard. “My parents will never accept a hunter. Bad enough you’re not a merman. But a hunter!”
He wiped his mouth. “In my clan we don’t hunt humans. Or mermaids.” It sounded like a vow.
“In mine we don’t marry hunters.”
“You’re going to marry me.” His voice was quiet but implacable.
“What if I don’t want to?”
“That isn’t even possible. You figure out how to tell King Daddy that you’re playing footsie with a hunter.”
She closed her mouth with an audible snap. “You admit it?”
“Admit what?”
“That you are a hunter?”
His brown eyes were frankly puzzled. “Well, sure. I’m a bear. Black bears are natural hunters. Mind you, I also hunt in human. Not on West Haven. I can and do obey the law. But in Colorado I take my rifle out when it’s deer or turkey season, and I was proud when I put meat on my mama’s table. Nowadays, hunting villains is sure as heck part of my job.”
“I thought you meant you worked as a security guard. You know, in a mall or something.”
Anton’s shoulders shook. “We mostly do corporate work. We install surveillance systems and figure out who’s running a fiddle in accounts receivable. These days, I do most of my hunting on a computer. My boss married a rancher and he provides a security force for her, but he usually uses guys with two feet.” For the first time he sounded a little bitter.
It sounded to her as if he would prefer to be engaged in catching rustlers. She was glad he had only one foot if it kept him safe. Not that it was any of her business. She reminded herself that they had no future and yet she leaned closer and lowered her voice. “Does it pay well?”
He grinned. “Pretty good. I can afford a wife and family – if that’s what you mean?”
“I have a good job, myself,” she said. “But my family is old-fashioned.” That was an understatement. Roger Merryman was an unreconstructed old school patriarch. And Mom was nearly as bad.
“I saw. Line cook. Is it steady work?”
“I’m the catering manager,” she corrected him. “I run the catering department. It’s year round. Most of the guests in the dining roo
m this morning are from the wedding party. Business will drop off after today until the spring. But the catering service is booked steadily all year.”
He looked impressed. “So what were you doing behind the counter making sandwiches yesterday, Ms. Catering Manager?”
“Two of my people had the flu.”
“Fate,” he said with satisfaction. “But that’s enough about me for the time being. Tell me about you. Do you have brothers or sisters?”
Somehow she found herself telling him not just that she had a brother and two sisters, but about how her brother Carlyle had run off when he was twenty and never been heard from again.
CHAPTER TEN
Anton~
The Wheelhouse was an old-fashioned diner. Anton felt right at home among its red vinyl stools and shabby booths. He plunked himself down at the counter beside a tall woman wearing jeans and a plaid shirt much like his own. She was digging into a large platter with a hearty appetite, but she gave him an engaging smile.
“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in,” she drawled.
“Hey, Gabby, how’s it going?” Anton replied.
Gabriela Zhadanov raised both eyebrows. “Figured you’d be on the ferry heading back to Seattle this afternoon.”
“You should know better than that.” Anton smiled at the server who waggled a coffee pot at him. “Yes, please. And a loaded cheeseburger.”
“You want the lumberjack special?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“You want fries or salad with that?”
“Both, please.” He took a slug of coffee. “I’m looking for work,” he remarked to Gabriela.
“What about your fancy job in Denver, Benoit?”
Anton shook his head. “The boss will hold it for me. Right now I need to stay on West Haven. I hear one of your crew is in the pokey. You got a job for a fella who knows which end of his hammer is up?”
Gabby chewed and swallowed. “Could do. You got any references, Benoit?”
Anton took another pull of his coffee. “My cousin Jack will put in a good word for me. Or you could ask that husband of yours.”
Jack was Jack Enright who was not only Gabby’s boss and her brother-in-law*, but Anton’s own kinsman. Bear Claw Construction was putting up the Drake Maritime Museum**.
Beloved by the Bear: A Shifters in Love Fun & Flirty Romance (Mystic Bay Book 3) Page 4