Bear Guards: A Paranormal Romance

by J. S. Striker

  “Did you live a happy life here?”

  The question surprised her when what she expected was either an apology or open derision. She looked up and found blue eyes watching her with that quiet intensity of his as if he was opening her brain up and looking at all her secrets. She didn’t have many, but she still felt vulnerable around him.

  Willing her hand not to shake, she cut her steak and looked down, pretending not to feel anything. “How about you? How did you become a shifter?”

  “I was born a shifter,” he said. “In Texas with an abusive shifter father who liked raw meat and the kill. Got beaten up daily if I didn’t kill with him. Killed him when I was old enough. Ran away and came here. Stepfather vouched for me.”

  The way he calmly delivered that told her it was a horrible memory, so she didn’t ask more. Instead, she quietly ate, disturbed that she was starting to get to know him.

  Was starting to view him as…not an enemy.

  Stick to the plan.

  She smiled at her next sip of wine. “You know, our topics are boring. How about we discuss how this is such a great meal and we should do this more often? There are so many things I’m curious about when it comes to shifters.”

  “Such as?”

  Angel slowly leaned forward, letting her cleavage show and watching his gaze flicker there before he quickly looked away. “Sex. I’m very curious how many times shifters can have sex in a week.”

  Garrett tilted his head, not at all surprised. In fact, he seemed to think it over. “It depends. What did you hear?”

  “That you guys are…big. That you seek sex often and can go all night long, and not having sex in two to three days will drive you crazy, and you have to…self-service.”

  “Men self-service all the time. Not just shifters.”

  Her mind went to that place where she almost imagined it. She slammed the thought off. “And the rest?”

  “I can tell you, but then I’d have to kill you.”

  The comeback surprised her as she remembered her own line. He was looking at her with glittering eyes, as if he knew exactly what she was trying to do. She took another sip of wine.

  “Do vampires scream out in pleasure when you’re pounding inside them?”

  She almost choked on her drink. She certainly imagined that. She watched the smile playing on his mouth, indicating that he was enjoying making her uncomfortable.

  Oh, no, he didn’t.

  “I wouldn’t know about that. I’m a moaner myself. I’ll moan out your name and all the dirty things I would want you to do to me.”

  That had his smile disappearing instantly.

  The air suddenly turned hot, and she found her mouth too dry for dessert. She attempted to steer the game back towards him, but he turned it around at her every single time, clever comebacks that served to turn her on more than she cared to admit. She was hot. She was uncomfortable. She began looking at him in a new light, one that she fought until Garrett insisted he pay the bill then and they were back in his car, where silence reigned.

  Refusing to let it go and to let this affect her, she attempted one more time. Angel sighed, making sure it was soft and pleasant. She stretched her body like a cat who was full, then sighed some more. “You know what the best thing to do after a good dinner like that?” she murmured throatily.

  The silence continued before he finally asked. “What?”

  Sex.

  Moaning.

  Pleasure.

  She let those words silently hang in the air.

  “I like to have a good…sleep.”

  His jaw clenched, and he didn’t respond. Triumph and relief flooded her, mixing with that hot and heavy feeling that she waited to calm down as he drove them back to the bunkhouse.

  Only the hallway lights were on, and she knew Daria accompanied the three for a monitored night out. The fact that Garrett allowed it now spoke volumes of how he was faring with all of this, and she grudgingly admitted that maybe things were falling into place the way they should.

  Maybe. Maybe not. She still didn’t trust him completely.

  They entered the house, with Angel removing her shoes and putting a sway to her steps as she walked barefoot with him behind her. A smile slid to her lips as she prepared to turn around and give one more comeback, unable to resist. Maybe a lick of lips, so he could look at them and grow very uncomfortable.

  A hand clamped on her wrist and turned her around first, earning her a quiet gasp. Then she was backed against the nearest wall.

  His body was suddenly inches from hers, the heat radiating from him making her stomach jump. She tried to speak, but his mouth was inches away, and whatever words she’d been about to say were wiped off immediately.

  “You know what?” he murmured.

  “What?”

  He breathed, and the warmth of it seeped into her system. His lips brushed hers, a whisper of a touch, and a certain ache pulled at her and made her almost moan.

  Oh, my God.

  “You’re playing with fire, Angel,” he said. “And you’re gonna get burned.”

  Irritation slammed into her, but it was gone as soon as it came as something even deeper slid in. She didn’t think. Angel let her emotions guide her as she pushed her body forward, catching his lips and letting hers sink into them.

  Hunger came, followed by flashing heat that threatened to undo her. A roaring swirled in her head, traveling down and shooting sparks between her legs. She almost clung on to him—almost, before she realized exactly what she’d gotten herself into and broke the kiss off before he could so much as react.

  A hand reached out to hers, and a deep sound came from his throat. She pulled back using her strength and shook her head, feigning disinterest.

  Then she feigned a calm smile.

  “Maybe it’s you who’s gonna get burned, Garrett. Better be careful. Goodnight.”

  With that parting shot, she slid into her bedroom and shut the door tight, listening quietly and making sure he moved away and into his bedroom. When he was gone, she took a deep breath and tried to calm her palpitating heart, then tried to straighten her suddenly weak knees. Her body throbbed, and he hadn’t even touched her.

  His taste stayed on her lips—male, dark. Hot.

  He was right. She’d been playing with fire and had almost been burned.

  But she’d be damned if she let him see it.

  Chapter 7

  “Did you need help with the three vampires, Mr. Limewell? I think Angel has a lot of paperwork, and I have night classes this week and won’t be able to go with you. I can ask another vampire to accompany you instead.”

  Garrett eyed Daria, who was stumbling all over her words and looking like she was ready to bolt any second now. It had been two weeks since they first met, and he thought she’d have been used to his presence by now.

  “It’s alright. I can handle them. They still have two more weeks to go before they can be given the chance to rent, right?”

  Daria nodded her head. “Yes. But there will be more paperwork, so it’s technically longer.”

  Garrett graced her with a smile and assured the girl it would be fine, watching as she left. Then he went to knock on the three vampires’ bedroom doors, waiting as they all came out dressed up and looking like outstanding citizens.

  Amusement slid inside him, which had him grinning. They all eyed him warily, obviously unsure of that grin because he’d never given them one before.

  “Are you all ready?”

  “We are if you tell us where we’re going,” Zeke shot back.

  “It’s a surprise.”

  “A nasty surprise?” Orbit asked.

  This time, it was Garrett who shot them a look, one that challenged them to say that one more time. They all clamped their mouths shut and followed him to the car. He drove them to the local diner owned by a vampire and ordered them all kinds of food to test out, which they were amenable to. As it turned out, Orbit really seemed to like crunchy stuff, latching on to
the fried pig skin and ordering a second one, which he devoured thoroughly. Das was surprised to discover he liked fatty food, gobbling up the rest of the fried chicken until only bones were left. Zeke was shocked when he found out that sweets were right up his alley, and he ended up getting five cups of sundae until he was up on a sugar high.

  By the time dinner was done, everyone was giddy and willing to tell Garrett all about their life secrets and how they’d been bitten, which pretty much took the whole drive home. When they got to the bunkhouse, it was almost midnight, and the vampires were ready to turn in, having already adjusted to sleeping at night and doing activities in the morning.

  They all turned to Garrett, faces serious.

  “You have our trust that you won’t poison us,” Zeke declared, body vibrating with energy. But his eyes repeatedly kept blinking, indicating the sugar rush was about to die out soon.

  “But we still have a long way to go,” Orbit reminded.

  Garrett nodded. “We have all the time.”

  Daria arrived a few minutes later, giving Garrett the leeway to go out if he wanted to. But he hung around the bunkhouse instead, lounging in the living room before going to the mess hall, where no food was left behind. In fact, he couldn’t sense Angel’s presence at all and had to wonder where she was and why she’d been avoiding him like the plague since their last dinner.

  Except he knew why.

  A flash of their brief kiss seared through his mind, white-hot and potent. He could still remember the taste of the wine she drank on her lips, could still picture how her pupils dilated before she fought it and escaped to her bedroom.

  She ran away from that moment, and the next few days pretended it didn’t exist, her approach so professional that it was starting to drive him crazy. He missed the old Angel: the one who didn’t stop testing him, challenging him and teasing him, which kept him on his toes and made being here so much more tolerable.

  Even fun.

  When Daria went to the mess hall to get a glass of water, Garrett zoned in on her. “Any idea where Angel could be?”

  She shrugged. “She usually stays out when she needs to think. She loves the forest.”

  He nodded and stood up. “Goodnight.”

  “Mr. Limewell? Where are you…?”

  “It’s Garrett. I’ll be out to get some air.”

  And to find her.

  *****

  He expected to find Angel in the forest right away, perhaps sitting on one of the rocks to meditate or just walking around and hunting small animals, as they were wont to do. But she wasn’t in any of the spots nearby that he would have pegged her to be in, which led him to delve deeper into the forest where the trees were too thick for the moonlight to filter through. There was something in his chest that needed to get out, and he knew he wouldn’t be able to get it out until he spotted her, and until they had that long-awaited talk they needed: aka, him confronting her about this little game, because he was sick and tired of it.

  Aka, him confronting her about that kiss because he was a hypocrite if he denied how much it ruined his sleep and crept into his dreams.

  He heard a noise when he was right in the middle of the forest, and his ears snapped in that direction. Curiosity turned to alarm when he realized that there were more than one set of footsteps, and there were muffled sounds.

  He could also smell the panic ripe in the air.

  He ran for it. He came across a clearing where he saw Angel with blood on her arm, caused by a narrow slash of a claw. Her fangs were out, and her eyes were red as she hissed threateningly, her body so tense and braced to attack.

  In front of her were Dan and another bear shifter, who Garrett recognized as one of the rich teenage kids here. Not really a kid, actually. There were no injuries to them, which painted the picture quite clearly.

  Fury spurted in Garrett, making him step forward. Dan noticed him, eyes widening and face paling, freezing him on the spot. But the other shifter didn’t as he went to attack Angel, only half-shifted with claws and sharp teeth out, ready to strike. Before the boy could hit the vampire, Garrett stepped in and half-shifted, too, his hand moving too fast for the other to comprehend. He took hold of the boy’s neck, the chokehold firm. He growled, and he knew his own eyes were flashing.

  The boy attempted to fight at first until he realized who was holding him. He paled, too, then struggled to move back. Garrett refused to let him, instead pulling him forward in a blur until their faces were inches from each other.

  Garrett snarled.

  “You’re on vampire territory. Is this part of your patrol area?” His head swiveled in Dan’s direction, the rookie shook his head frantically. He wasn’t even wearing his uniform, which already told Garrett a lot. “Good. You have ten seconds to leave before I rip both of your throats open for trespassing.”

  He dropped the boy, hard. The boy scrambled off. Then he and Dan were running away, and Garrett fought the beast in him who wanted to shift fully and run to take care of those boys for good.

  It was a very bad thought, and guilt mixed with the fury inside him. But worry also slid in, and it finally got through enough for him to turn back and see the person affected by this the most.

  Except Angel was no longer there.

  Chapter 8

  She felt like a coward running away, but Angel felt trapped there—first from the sudden attack that took her by surprise in her favorite spot, then the interference of the shifter she’d been trying to avoid for days now. She expected him to side with his fellow shifters and gang up on her, and the shock of what he’d done instead had the guilt settling in as she realized she was the one who was being judgmental.

  That moment made her feel awful: first, because she couldn’t defend herself, and second, because she doubted him after that speech she had made about the shifters being the judgmental ones in the first place. The reality of her feelings drowned her, and before she knew it, she was walking away and trying to find a spot where she could let some steam off and let her emotions calm down.

  The guilt intensified as the image of what he’d done flashed in her mind. It was followed by something hot sparking in her body, which in turn made her so angry that she found her vision blackening as she kept walking as far away as possible.

  Footsteps followed her—quiet footsteps, which made alarm slide in as she turned around to bare her fangs again and confront it. The sight of Garrett running after her with intense focus had her pausing, the fangs sinking back in until they were gone. Part of her mind took note that instinct dictated he wasn’t a physical threat to her.

  But the anger was still there, which made her lash out at him without thought.

  “I could have defended myself without you interfering.”

  In response, his eyes zoned in on the wound on her arm, which was already starting to close. “Does it still hurt?”

  The question was so surprising that she could only stare for the first few seconds before shaking her head. She opened her mouth to lash out again, frustrated that he wasn’t fighting back.

  “You really should not have interfered!”

  “I know. You could have handled it. But I wanted to.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I saw red. Because what they did was wrong, and I get what you meant now when you presented your case.”

  That left her speechless, and she could only stare at him again. But she looked away when the intensity of his gaze became too much, heating her cheeks up before she could stop it.

  The anger drained out of her in seconds, leaving her tired. Something ripped, and she looked down in time to see him offer a part of his shirt and indicate the blood on her arm. She took it and gingerly wiped the blood off.

  “How did they come?”

  “They just came. They always do, especially the teenagers. I wasn’t prepared. I’ll be more prepared next time. And I’ll replace your shirt,” she clipped out, then turned and walked back to the bunkhouse. She felt him follow her and didn�
�t turn around, unprepared for this moment.

  The house was quiet when she got there, with a note from Daria that she and the three male vampires went out to get some blood bags from the hospital since they forgot to stock up. Angel went straight to the bathroom and took a hot shower, letting it heat her body up until a portion of the forest confrontation vanished from her mind. When she stepped out in fresh clothes, Garrett had changed into sweatpants and a plain white shirt, standing in front of her with his arms crossed.

  “You said they always attack,” he continued.

  She lifted her chin. “So?”

  “Same people?”

  “No. This is the third time. But when I say they always come for me, I mean they always come…not just physical. Verbal. Mental. You name it.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Right.”

  “I’ll protect you from now on.”

  Shock came, and irritation followed. “I don’t need your protection.”

  “I’m giving it, anyway.”

  “Just leave me alone.”

  He stepped forward, his face a stubborn mask. She tried to move past him, but his hand clamped on her elbow and steered her to the side. Furiously, she snatched her arm back and glared at him.

  He glared back.

  “Why are you being so stubborn?” he asked.

  “Because I don’t need your niceness,” she shot back. “You’re driving me crazy with it, and I just want some space.”

  His eyes darkened. Instead of stepping back, he stepped even closer, invading her personal space until she had to back away. But she refused to cower, and she was stepping forward in the split of a second, too.

  “Space from what?”

  “Just…space.”

  “From what happened last week?”

  “I forgot all about that,” she blurted out—too fast.

  His eyes narrowed. “You’re driving me crazy, too.”