Jade Crew: Alpha Bear (A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (Ridgeback Bears Book 1)

by Amelia Jade

  “Should I be thankful for the chivalry, or scared?” she asked sarcastically, pointedly looking at his hand and then back at him.

  “Sorry,” he said, trying to focus on what was happening, not what his brain wanted to happen.

  “For what?” she asked as they settled down with their lunches.

  Garrett swallowed hard, then looked over at her. She was gorgeous from every direction. Some people had a good side and a bad side, but Emma was perfect from every which way he looked at her. Not only that, she was smart. Intelligent to the point that he wouldn’t have been surprised if she was smarter than he was. Strong-willed too, which he hated and loved all at once.

  He wanted her. Badly. Muscles strained to keep him in place, to ensure that he didn’t do what he so desperately felt like he should do. His heart hammered against his ribcage so fast he knew she could hear it, although it seemed impossible that it made no noise. Blood rushed through his body in a torrent, heating the slowly shrinking space between them to a higher level.

  “For what I’m likely to do,” he whispered, his voice barely audible over the hum of the power generator in the far corner.

  “What’s that?” she breathed, her lunch forgotten on the coffee table in front of them.

  Garrett froze. Was that an invitation?

  Chapter Six

  Emma

  Had she just given him an opening?

  Shit. She had. Wait, why was that bad? Garrett was a mature individual, a leader, and fabulously gorgeous. Just because she felt his type wasn’t normally into a girl like her didn’t mean he wasn’t. Did it? Could he be interested? Was she interested? What if he kissed her? What if she liked it? What if he liked it?

  Ohmygoodness what if he didn’t like it? What if he thought she was a terrible kisser? How did her breath smell? How did his breath smell? Was there any food stuck in her teeth? How did her hair look? How did—

  Garrett’s lips met hers as his hand scooped at her chin, tilting her upward to meet him as he pressed himself to her.

  Oh.

  He was a very good kisser, a distant part of her mind noted as she automatically wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close. It was totally unprofessional and she might get fired over it, but god damn did he taste good. His arms flexed as he effortlessly picked her up from her seat on the bench, swinging her around until her knees settled on either side of his waist.

  Throwing caution to the wind, she unclasped his hands from behind her waist and pushed them up against the wall behind them as she leaned back into the kiss, letting his tongue slowly explore her mouth as she met it with her own. Heat engulfed her as she pressed up against him, absorbing every degree he generated. She knew that part of it was coming from between her legs as her body responded to a desire that had been buried for a number of months.

  “Garrett,” she moaned into his ear as his lips burned a path of fire down her neck. Her back arched in response, pushing her chest toward him. He took advantage of that to overpower her, pulling his arms away from the wall. Emma gasped as he deftly undid several of her shirt's buttons, exposing her collarbone and the slightest hint of cleavage to his hungry mouth.

  She didn’t fight him as his fingers slid around her waist, reaching for her bra.

  “Garrett!”

  The voice came from outside.

  “Oh come on,” Garrett muttered as she slid off of him, fumbling to get the buttons on her blouse done up in time.

  Corey came flying through the door before scrambling to a stop as he witnessed the scene before him. There was no evidence to suggest what had been going on, but it was immediately clear that he had just interrupted something.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled awkwardly, looking away before finding his voice. “Evan is leaving.”

  “What do you mean, leaving?” Garrett said slowly.

  “The Ridgebacks.”

  Garrett’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Emma was looking at him, concerned, wondering what he would do. This was not how he envisioned things going, she was sure, but something would have to be done.

  “He’s taking Cole with him and they’re trying to convince Russell.”

  This was definitely not how Garrett would want things to go. She reached out a hand for his shoulder, to offer her support, but stopped. What could she do? She was just a human; this was a shifter issue. Besides, Garrett was a newly minted Alpha. He needed to handle this, not only on his own, but absolutely without her involvement.

  He looked over at her, his eyes tight.

  “What are you looking at me for?” she said gently. “We both know exactly what you have to do, so go do it.”

  “Why do I even bother with that asshole?” he said rhetorically.

  Despite his complaints, muscles flexed and he lumbered to his feet, his massive frame making the movement look smooth and easy in a way that defied gravity.

  “Because you’re a good leader and a good person. Evan isn’t all bad, he’s just misguided,” she said, encouraging him as best she could. “You’ll bring him around. Eventually,” she added after just a small pause, a smile pulling at her cheeks.

  “Wow, so much confidence. I feel better already!” he said, giving her one last look before he disappeared outside to end whatever ridiculousness his crew was getting up to.

  The instant the door to the trailer closed, Emma let out a deep breath she hadn’t even realized she had been holding.

  What the hell was she thinking? Getting involved with the man she had been sent to supervise? She was fairly sure that if a list existed of "Things Not to Do" for her job, "Getting Romantically Involved with the Alpha" was number one on that list. If word got out, her respect would be shattered and the value of her word to her superiors would forever be tainted.

  Standing up, she began to pace, snatching at her previously discarded sandwich, thinking furiously about how she might turn this around without hurting Garrett. He was a hard-ass when he needed to be, but she could see how deep down he was a nice guy just looking for a mate.

  There was no way that Emma could be his mate. Could she? The way he acted around her certainly seemed to indicate that Garrett felt that way about her, or at least was beginning to. What he saw in her she didn't know, though even through her anger at herself her cheeks burned at the memory of him calling her beautiful. She liked hearing that, especially from him. The way he said it with the note of truth that rang in his voice made her feel special in a way she doubted she could describe with words.

  There was a slight shaking of the ground, accompanied by loud noises. Peering out through the window, she saw Garrett in his human form backing away from two bears. She didn’t recognize either one of them. The larger one was a very dark brown, with a tuft of light blond hair at the back of its skull, very visible in its contrast. The smaller but more agile bear, which also happened to be the bear losing the fight, looked for all the world like a normal wild brown bear apart from the grossly overly large size of it, of course.

  Taking into account the members of the crew that she could see, Emma noted that both Evan and Corey were missing. She had a sinking suspicion in her stomach, as the smaller bear took a direct hit to the head and went tumbling into a tree with a dull thud that she could hear even inside, that Corey was the smaller bear.

  She waited for Garrett to shift, but he didn’t. The other two bears shifted back, revealing her suspicions of who belonged to whom. As Garrett closed on Evan, his body language revealing how angry he was, she closed the blinds and settled back into the lone desk in the room, where her laptop was currently situated.

  Damn.

  She didn’t want to report on the goings-on today, but it was part of her job, even if it meant that Garrett might catch some flak for it. Should she do the right thing and tell her bosses about Garrett's inability to assert control? Part of her wanted to do just that, knowing full well that Garrett could handle whatever might come his way, while she would look suspicious if she reported that all was well within the
crew. Especially when she had been sent out here expressly because things were not okay.

  “Shit,” she said, knowing what had to be done.

  She needed to tell the truth. If she lied, and Evan continued to spiral out of control, he could endanger others, or humans who could not fight back. That was something Emma did not need on her conscience, no matter how angry Garrett might get. Her fingers flew across the keyboard, typing up the words that needed to be said. Those words, however, also included everything she had seen about Garrett pulling the crew together.

  She mentioned the team efforts in renovating the Ridgeback Lodge, building the deck around it, the firepit, and patio out the back, among other things. The way most of the crew seemed to respect him. She made sure to note that most of the problems all originated with Evan, and not with Garrett. It wasn’t much, but she hoped it would help.

  Hitting send, she closed the laptop screen and went to go outside. Garrett hadn’t returned yet, which meant that the crew was likely back in the mines. It had taken her the better part of an hour to type up her report, and the day was rapidly wearing on. Another few hours and she suspected that they would be done for the day. The fighting was really putting a crimp in their productivity, she realized.

  Before she could make it outside, her phone rang.

  “Hello?” she said, not recognizing the number.

  “Emma?”

  “Gwen?!” she practically shouted into the phone. “I haven’t heard from you in forever!”

  “So sorry, life has been crazy, I feel like I haven’t talked to anyone in months! I want to come out there and visit. Can we do that? Do you have time? I want to hear all about your job, your life, your man, the works girl!”

  “That would be amazing! Where are you living these days?” she asked excitedly. Gwen Revere was her best friend since childhood, but they hadn’t seen each other in over a year, ever since Gwen got hired on by a fashion company in Milan.

  “I’m back in King City my dear! Nice and close once again. I’m busy for a few weeks, you know how family is,” Gwen said with a false sigh, “but as soon as I can, I’m driving up there to see you! You’re still in Bear Bluffs, right?”

  “No, I actually moved a little farther north of them, into Genesis Valley. I work for LMC now.”

  “The mining company? With all those brutish bears? How awful!” Gwen ranted.

  Gwen had never been overly fascinated with shifters of any sort, especially bear shifters. She found them over-the-top and far too stone age for her delicate sensibilities. Still, despite their disagreement on that topic—Emma found them extremely attractive and very, very cuddly—the two of them couldn’t be any closer.

  “Well, it’s not all bad,” Emma said slowly into the phone, hoping her voice didn’t give anything away.

  “Emma Labelle! I recognize that tone. What have you gone and done while I’ve been away? You aren’t married to one of them, are you?”

  “No no,” she chuckled into the phone, “I haven’t married anyone, don’t you worry. You would be invited to something like that!”

  “You aren’t telling me the whole truth. Out with it already,” her friend said.

  Emma sighed. She should have known better than to try and hide something from Gwen. The two of them had been friends for so long that it was almost impossible at this point. Still, given that nothing was established between her and Garrett, and that she wasn’t even sure if she was going to continue with whatever it was, she had to try.

  "Well, there is a guy,” she began.

  “What’s his name?”

  “His name is Garrett you nosy fucker,” she laughed, glad to once again have Gwen in her life.

  “How long has this been going on?”

  “Maybe three days. Like I said, if it was anything more serious, I would have called you to tell you. Not that I could, because it looks like you got a new number without telling me!” She grinned, leaning up against the outside of the trailer as she turned the tables on Gwen for the moment.

  “I know, I know, I’m terrible, I’m sorry! Okay, so what do you say, middle of next month I’m coming up for a weekend to visit. No excuses! We’ll touch base in a few weeks to choose which one works best, okay love?”

  “Absolutely Gwen, I can’t wait to see you,” she said.

  Although she was sure that the both of them had meant to hang up after that, they continued to talk for some time. It wasn’t until she saw movement at the opening to the mine that she realized how long they had been talking.

  “Shit, I’m sorry Gwen, I have to go. Need to go do my job. I’ll talk to you soon though, okay?”

  She said a quick goodbye and hung up the phone as Garrett and his crew came walking out of the mine. His entire crew she noticed, all seven of them. None of them looked happy, but she was glad to see that they were all present and accounted for at least. That meant Garrett had kept them together for the time being, which was a major plus.

  They grabbed their belongings from the trailer, which mostly consisted of Garrett’s lunch, which she had repacked and put back into the fridge for him, and they doffed their hardhats inside. Garrett locked up the trailer behind them and they headed for the trucks.

  Emma was waiting on the passenger side to Garrett’s truck, examining the way the dust coated the orange paint, dulling the shine of the metal while still retaining much of the color. Most of the other trucks were all black or white, but Garrett’s stood out, and not in an obnoxious way either. She really liked it. He took great pride in keeping his truck clean and in proper working order. On the inside, at least. There always seemed to be mud clinging to the exterior, but that was only to be expected when he worked up in the mountains.

  “Hello?” Garrett said from the other side of the truck, pausing as he reached in his pocket for the keys.

  Emma frowned, wondering who could be calling him at this time.

  “Yes sir, this is Garrett,” he said rather more formally than normal.

  Who was he talking to that he would call sir, she wondered?

  “No, everyone is here sir, all seven Ridgebacks present and accounted for.”

  There was a pause while he listened. Then to her surprise, his eyes snapped up from the ground and focused on her. She was shocked at what she saw there, a mixture of anger and something else. Disappointment? Emma felt hurt. Why was he giving her such a mean look?

  “No sir, we did not find any stones today.” Pause. “We have only found the one Jade stone so far, sir.”

  Emma’s stomach knotted as she realized who he must be talking to. It was one of the Kedyn brothers. They must have received her report, and were now grilling Garrett about it to see if they should take action. She was horrified, because she had tried to word the report to reflect as well upon Garrett as she could, but it would appear that her efforts had been in vain.

  Pause.

  “I understand sir. You can trust us, we’ll get it done.”

  Pause.

  “Yes, sir.”

  Pause.

  “Very well sir. Take care.”

  By this point, Garrett had retrieved his keys and opened his side of the truck. She waited as he got seated, sitting very still at the wheel. The others had already left, not needing to wait for him since they all knew the way home. It was only her up here now, alone with him.

  Finally, after a very long pause, she heard the distinctive clack as the electronic door on her side unlocked. There was more than a little trepidation as she pulled the door open and slid in. Garrett was staring straight ahead, pointedly ignoring her, though she could see the whites of his knuckles as he gripped the steering wheel.

  "What was that about?" she asked quietly after gathering her courage while he started the car.

  Garrett's jaw bunched, the muscles around it clenching, and she suddenly feared for her safety. He was huge, and she had no idea what he was really like. Holy hell, he had no idea what he was really like, she remembered. For all she knew, Garrett could
have a history of hurting women. Swallowing, she slowly reached her hand for the seatbelt, preparing to undo it in case Garrett lost his cool and she had to toss herself from the moving vehicle.

  His eyes snapped from the road to her hand, noticing the movement even though she had tried to move it stealthily. Recognition flickered in his eyes as they swung back to the road, keeping the truck centered in the lane.

  "I'm not going to hurt you," he rumbled, the deep timbre of his voice still full of anger and frustration.

  "How do I know that?" she asked, doing her best to keep the fear from her voice. She succeeded. Mostly.

  "You don't. You'll just have to take my word for it," he replied, making no attempt to assuage her any further.

  Emma thought about it for awhile, debating on what to do. Until that moment, Garrett had given her no cause to fear him. In fact, she had been doing just the opposite a few hours earlier. The change in his mood had just been so sudden and directed solely at her that she had woken up to the reality of who the man sitting next to her really was.

  Garrett Hoffman was not a human. He was a bear shifter, and they played by different rules and had different personalities than human men. That was something she was going to have to both accept and get used to if she kept hanging around them in such close company.

  "I've never spent so much time around bear shifters before," she said into the silence. "I've only ever talked to them in official settings. I've never been near you, out in the wild, such as it is."

  Garrett didn't respond, but then again, she hadn't expected him to.

  "I keep forgetting how different you are from me."

  "That's because I'm not like you," he replied. "I don't inform on those who I care for."

  "Fuck you!" she yelled, her fear evaporating in a cloud of flame as his jab at the fact she had done her job and filed a report hit home. "I am on the job here, in case you had forgotten that," she continued, not lowering her voice at all. "I'll get fired if I don't report in. It's not my fault you haven't beaten Evan up yet to put him in his place like any other Alpha would."