by Gina Kincade
He raised his eyebrows. “You love me?”
“I suppose I do.”
He kissed her sweetly. “I love you too, you know. I just wish I’d said it before now.”
They continued to stand there for a while. The sun shone, making sure Star’s birthday was a bright one. He liked the sunshine.
“Do you think he’s okay with us being together?” she asked.
It was something that had worried her for a long time. She hadn’t told Everett that Cable was in love with him, though she had a suspicion that he’d always known. Did her brother resent her relationship from beyond the grave or was he happy for them? It killed her not knowing.
“Your brother was a good man,” said Everett eventually. “He’d be happy for us, even if it was breaking his heart inside.”
So he did know.
“What is it that makes this family fall for you?” she asked jokingly.
He kissed her again. “It’s the bear. It’s always the bear.”
Chapter 8
4th March 2010
Gavin took receipt of the tightly wrapped parcel. The woman in the car glared at him like he was shit on the bottom of her shoes.
“Is it all here?” he asked.
“Just get on with it,” she snapped. “I have other customers.”
She drove away, almost running over his foot in the process. He pulled away into the woods beside the road, making sure he couldn’t be seen. He couldn’t wait to open it. He felt like he’d been waiting forever.
Something rattled in the trees behind him. He ignored it, ripping into the parcel with such haste the contents went all over the snowy ground.
Gun. Money. Cocaine.
He grabbed the drugs first, ripping open the plastic baggie they were in. He didn’t care about the other things. As long as...
There was a roar. Gavin looked up to see a huge claw aimed at his face. He screamed as it whacked him onto the ground.
The gun...
He reached for the gun but the polar bear pounced. It was so heavy his ribs caved in from the weight. His internal organs felt like they were going to explode inside his body as they pressure on them increased tenfold.
“Stop...stop,” he mumbled.
The polar bear opened its mouth and bit down.
EVERETT RAN PANTING into the clearing. He changed back into his human form, still unable to believe what he’d just done.
“Did you kill him?” Star asked.
He shook his head. “Of course not. That would be too easy.” He pulled her into an embrace, kissing her. “I told you that he wouldn’t get away with it, and he won’t, not ever again. He won’t hurt you ever again.”
Star nodded her head. She wouldn’t take pleasure from this, and neither would he. It had been a necessary evil.
“So what did you do?” she asked.
“I chewed his hands off,” he told her.
Epilogue
5th November 2010
Star laughed.
“What’s so funny?” Everett asked.
“You think very highly of yourself,” she said.
“I’m doing something I believe in.”
She stood up as he put his arms around her. She was showing now, even at four months. Everett imagined it was going to be a big baby.
And will he or she be a polar bear shifter, too?
He kind of hoped so. He wanted to share his experiences with someone, share his wisdom. He might not feel so alone then, the only one of his kind.
“I’m proud of you,” she said, stroking his cheek. “The law can’t always convict people because of bribes or lost evidence or simply bad luck. You make sure murderers and rapists and scum get what they deserve. You’re not a vigilante, you’re a hero.”
She kissed him on the cheek and straightened his uniform collar. Star loved his deputy’s kit. It turned her on in the bedroom.
“You have work to go to,” she said. “And remember your Mom’s phoning tonight to talk. Be nice.”
Everett groaned. He was talking to his mother on civil terms again, even though sometimes her selfishness grated on him. He’d just had to come to terms with the person she was.
I want my mom in my life. She may be a pain, but she is my mom.
As he was about to leave he noticed something was wrong. She seemed a little melancholy.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Just thinking about Cable again.” She stared at the window, obviously thinking about her brother. He missed him too, so much it hurt. “He would’ve loved to see me happy. That’s all he wanted.”
“I’m sure he knows.”
She smiled gently and walked over to the cabinet beneath the sink. She opened it and took out a red leather mask and a knuckle duster studded with diamonds. It had dried bits of blood on it.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m bored,” she stated, slipping the mask on. Her eyes gleamed mischievously from under the leather. “There’s a wife beater in town who needs a good kicking.”
He shook his head. “I thought I told you this was a one off? I can handle myself. I can turn into a polar bear. You’re just human.”
Star grinned and surprised him, grabbing his arm. She threw him over her shoulder onto the floor and straddled him.
“We do this as a team, at least until the baby’s born,” she stated. “And after that, I’ll tell you whether I want to continue.”
“I like it when you’re forceful,” he said.
“I get the pride it gives you meeting out justice. I want to feel that, too.”
He leaned upwards, kissing her on the lips.
“We’re a team,” he said proudly.
About the Author
Cate Farren is from Sheffield, England. She writes paranormal romance, urban fantasy and steamy contemporary. She loves Dr. Pepper, spaghetti Bolognese, and dreams of retiring to the Italian Dolomites. She has one cat, a Russian Blue called Gracie, who runs her ragged with her excessive feline demands.
More info about Cate Farren
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Website https://www.authorcatefarren.com/
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More books by Cate Farren
The Vampire Inheritance Saga
Summer’s Deadly Kiss
Goddess of Fire
Call of the Alpha
Memory of the Fey
Year of Hell
Kidnapping the Billionaire
Kidnapping the Billionaire: Rogue Brother
White Lies
by Author Quinn
Copyright © Quinn 2017
Cover by Rebecca Norrine
"No-strings-attached" turns into a tangled web of lies and deceit.
Looking for a single night of freedom and spontaneity, Blanche "Bee" Lee celebrates a night on the town in New York City, thankful for an escape from her overbearing and manipulative mother. When she garners the attention of a mysterious and troublesome stranger, Bee can't resist the attraction she feels for him. After all, she's looking for a night of fun and excitement. Yet, she's about to get so much more.
Rugged and brooding Hunter Peters is never alone—ever. However, he's eternally lonely—refusing to connect with anyone since the woman he loved for years hightailed it out of town with another man. Bereft and heart-broken, Hunter dulls the ache with countless women. His tactics work, if only temporary.
When Bee and Hunter connect, ignoring the shadows of their pasts, they share a passionate and intimate night together. But that one night has consequences far beyond either of their expectations. Their one night of escape and desire comes with a string tightly attached as Bee discovers she's pregnant from their rendezvous. The couple agrees to share a life, moving in together and attempting to create a semblance of a family. However, Bee and Hunter quickly learn that their compatibility doesn't go beyond the
bedroom. They're more like night and day—with one commonality—both long to be loved.
When their pasts come crashing back, they're forced to face the truth head on. Bee must confront the man—and fists—that once controlled her. While Hunter takes on the ache from his past love that resurfaces, he must decide if his heart still lives in the past or if he's ready to move on to the future with Bee. But that decision might not be his to make. Bee has finally accepted that a man cannot and will not control her happiness. Now, it's up to Hunter to prove what he finally understands—their love story, their family, began the night they met and is far from over.
Chapter One
The bar is at full capacity, filled with regulars and several stiffs in suits who most likely have gotten lost and wandered to the hole in a wall bar that smells of piss, sweat and stale beer. Hunter doesn't care. He knows it's the only place where people won't ever bother him. His reputation precedes him, as usual. This crowd knows better.
He finishes his drink in one long pull. How many has he had? He's lost count after the seventh shot and the sixth beer. That's the point of tonight. To forget. To forget everything and everyone. To forget her. Or at least numb the pain in his chest, and expel thoughts of the beautiful woman out of his mind.
A shot of something amber-colored appears before him. He glares up at the bartender who places it. The man lifts both hands in surrender.
"They're from the two chicks across the bar," the bartender says, hitching a thumb over his shoulder.
He knows two women to whom the bartender refers. They’re older than Hunter’s usual conquests. Not quite cougars, but close enough, at least under the dim lighting. He's seen them the night before, prowling. Why of all nights would they choose to bother him? If he takes it, it will encourage them to approach. He sneers at the drink as a thought flitters into his head—he's never had two women before at the same time. Maybe that's what he needs. Distraction.
Without another second of hesitation, Hunter takes the shot, slams the glass back on the bar and stands up. Only to have a drink spill on him.
"Oh my goodness! So sorry! I was..." She doesn't complete her explanation as she takes him all in, takes a small step back, and widens her eyes before cowering. The hand carrying the fruity drink shakes. Her free hand reaches out to touch him but from his glare, she knows better and retracts her hand.
Hunter admits he can appear menacing. Down right dangerous. While the drink-spiller is like a doe lost in the woods, coming face to face with her hunter. Oh, the cleverness of the universe. His expression remains dark. While wiping the wetness off his shirt with one hand, he doesn’t take his eyes off her.
Her lips press together as she swallows whatever words she wants to say, continues to step back, turns and heads to the opposite side of the bar. Smart girl. He glances back at the two women who have made their offering. They're looking very interested, lascivious glances thrown his way. The crowd parts automatically for him—it happens a lot when you have a certain reputation, even if it’s unsubstantiated. As he nears, Hunter nods at the women and they clear a seat between the two of them.
A FEW MORE CHATTER from either one, and Hunter will be willing to cut his own ears off. How clearly he has misinterpreted what he’s thought would have been a great idea.
"We just wanted to talk to you. See why you're so glum," the two of them say simultaneously as soon as he has settled in between.
He doesn't want to talk. He wants them to shut their traps, get even more ass drunk and get down and dirty. What has he gotten himself into? It should be easy for him to leave them. He may seem scary on the outside, but deep inside hides an ingrained sense of respect for women. Thanks to his mother. Trying to drown out the mind-draining chatter on both his sides, he lets his eyes travel across to the girl who earlier spilled her drink on him. It’s too easy to spot her. The innocent doe in a pack of hungry wolves. When a couple of guys approach her and she immediately shakes her head and smiles politely, Hunter disguises his snigger as a cough.
She doesn't belong here, he thinks. Although she tries to dress the part with her short, black hair, dark, heavy makeup, and clothes that she obviously doesn't feel comfortable in. Her hand keeps pulling on the hem of her cropped shirt, which shows of a smooth, flat stomach. And every time she does it, her black lace bra peeks out, making her pull her neckline up. She has repeated the process over and over. It should have driven him mad to witness it, but he thinks it's endearing, cute even.
A woman who looks almost exactly like the girl, but with more tone in her body, wraps an arm around the doe-eyed girl. Her friend shouts in her ear, but the loud noise in the bar and their distance prevent Hunter from hearing anything. The doe nods, and smiles, and finishes her reply with a thumbs-up. Her friend, and a man who is probably the friend's boyfriend, return to the floor, leaving doe eyes sipping on her cocktail.
That’s another tell that she doesn't belong in this bar. No one else around here is drinking anything but beer or hard liquor. He's even surprised that the bartender knows how to make a fruity, colorful concoction, complete with a miniature umbrella. He watches her sip the last of her drink through a straw, and hunches her shoulders while glancing around. The girl taps her fingers on her glass to the beat of the loud music, while watching people dance on the floor. After she has finished her drink, she hops off her stool, and makes her way to the bathrooms.
It surprises him to feel a small smile quirk on one corner of his lips when an idea pops in his mind. Hunter moves to stand.
"Excuse me, ladies, nature calls,” he makes an excuse.
"Aw, return soon!" the twins of annoying chatter request.
Hell no, not if you were the last women on earth!
Hunter offers them nothing in return, and walks to the back of the bar.
AS SOON AS THE GIRL comes out of the bathroom and sees him, he just cannot help himself. With his hard body, he urges her toward the wall beside the bathroom door, and towers over her. Though he doesn't think it's possible, her eyes widen more. Under the dim lighting of the hallway, she takes stock of what she sees in front of her: blunt short hair, tattoos everywhere, piercings on both eyebrows and ears, and big, hard, muscular body.
Pinned under him, he regrets thinking of her earlier as just a girl. She’s all woman. He moves his large hands over her hips, up her ribs and under her tiny top. "I like your shirt." His thumb grazes the underside of her bra. He could feel the quick thrumming of her heartbeat.
She gulps before she responds, "Thanks. It’s new."
"I know. Wanna get outta here?"
"I don't even know you," she blurts out, chocolate brown eyes peering through thick lashes. Her crimson lips tremble. He expects her to be cautious.
"I'm Pe—My name is Hunter," he tells her, surprised that he’s given her his first name. His voice is gruff, and it sends shivers onto her skin, goose bumps spread under his palm.
She licks her lips, leaving a thin film of saliva on them. He has the sudden, strong urge to want to lick those lips. He wants to taste her. Hunter lowers his head but he stops when her breath tickles his chin and waits for her to protest or her hands to push him off. When she doesn’t, his mouth muffles her gasp as it covers hers. As soon as her body relaxes, he deepens the kiss, tasting the sweetness of her, mixed with the flavor of her fruity cocktail. Her tongue darts into his mouth unexpectedly, producing a moan from both of them.
The hand under her shirt moves up and cups her lace bra, and the other snakes to rest behind her head. He tugs at the ends of her short, ebony hair. Every second of their kiss causes him to grow harder. He pushes his hips to meet her soft belly. There isn’t a doubt that she can feel him through his jeans. And if the relentless punishing of her tongue on his doesn’t serve as a clue that she's enjoying the moment too, the hungry moan in her throat surely does.
When he finally releases her, they're both panting. Surprisingly, her hands have remained pressed on the wall.
"Peaches," he murmurs, referring
to the flavor of her fruity drink.
She nods. "I had three." Her voice shakes a little. She raises three fingers then brings them down to her chest level and intertwines them with her other hand.
"What's your name?"
"Bee." A shy smile appears on her face. Hunter narrows his eyes to examine her closer. Even under the sparse lighting, he sees the blush creep up her neck and fill her cheeks.
"Wanna get outta here, Bee?" Hunter repeats his question, pressing his straining zipper against her.
She bites her lip and she looks down to her hands while she contemplates. For a moment, Hunter thinks she’ll say no and dash off. Then she lifts her chin, looking back up at him, almost adoringly, and her smile reaches her eyes. "Yes." This time, there’s no tremble in her voice.
Chapter Two
Blanche's heartbeat quickens as they walk through the bar, uncertain about the intriguing looks shooting her way. Their way. She doesn’t have to be a mind reader to know what they’re thinking. He’s the exact opposite of her. He’s bigger, rugged, tattooed, pierced, and serious as heck. Not to mention, insanely hot. He’s also the contrast of what her mother would accept her to be with.
It's okay. This is fine. It's my life. My bod, she reminds herself, trying to ignore the murmurs she hears as she frantically searches for Trisha. Why does everyone seem to be talking about her...or is it about the man with her? It has to be.
"Exit is this way." The quick tug of her hand halts her steps. Blanche glances at him as he nods his head toward the front of the bar.
She's hoping he doesn't feel the clamminess of her hand. "I have to tell my friends I'm leaving."