Latent Desires (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Rebecca Airies

  The computer system had locked down. Nothing could be done electronically until Tony unlocked it. This little jaunt wasn’t supposed to take long. Since he kept part of the system offline, he had to go there. Suppliers had to be paid and orders needed to be put in. None of that could be done with the system down.

  She sat and drummed her fingers on the tabletop. She should have brought her tablet for something to play with while she waited. While Tony had said a few minutes, she’d known it would be more.

  Whenever he walked into the restaurant, a thousand little things required his immediate attention. She took out her phone and began checking her e-mail. At least she could get something done while she waited for him to finish. She busied herself reading and replying to her messages.

  A hand on her shoulder caused her to jump. She turned. Tony stood to the right of her. She tried to calm her racing heart. Damn, he’d startled her.

  “Are you ready to go?” Tony asked with a small smile.

  “Yes, I didn’t hear you come up.” She took a deep breath, but rose to her feet.

  “I noticed that when you almost came out of your seat. You need to be a little more vigilant, baby. While it’s most likely safe out here with the people in and out, we can’t be sure.” Tony put a hand on her lower back when they started walking out of the restaurant.

  “I know. Did you get everything fixed?” She glanced over at him as they neared the door.

  “Yes, someone entered the wrong password. It probably happened last night, because the manager found it locked when he tried to access it to pay our fish supplier earlier.” Tony shook his head. “No one has admitted responsibility. I’ll look into it more later, but right now, I want to enjoy my day with you.”

  “That sounds wonderful to me.” She nodded. She looked forward to the sex, but she also appreciated time spent with him. She liked making dinner with him. They talked while they worked together. She was coming to know all of them and liked what she’d learned.

  They strolled out of the restaurant. Her eyes locked on the car parked nearby. With the lack of patrons at this hour, they’d been able to park right at the curb. Tony stumbled, bumping into her. She frowned, expecting him to say something teasing. He was sure on his feet, normally. She turned her head and saw him fall face down on the pavement.

  The smell of blood rose up to her. She watched a red spot spread over the left side of his head. Surprise held her immobile for a moment. Horror welled up and dried her mouth. He lay unmoving at her feet.

  Movement to the left drew her eyes to a woman coming at her with a pipe. That pipe must be what had hurt Tony.

  Rage ripped at her control. Her vision clouded. She felt something expanding inside her. The woman stepped forward with the bar raised. Fear for Tony and herself slammed through her.

  The building feeling exploded, releasing. She heard a tearing sound but couldn’t figure out what ripped or how. She felt a surge of energy.

  Her perspective changed and lowered. She swung at the woman to stop her from hurting Tony again. Brown fur covered her arm. The claws at the end of the paw ripped open the woman’s skin.

  An angry scream erupted from Chloe as a loud guttural bellow. The woman stumbled to the side. She dropped the pipe. The clatter of metal against the concrete hurt Chloe’s ears.

  No one would hurt her mate again. She took a step forward and slapped at the woman. This time her blow slammed into the other female’s side. The woman flew and hit the wall of the restaurant.

  Chloe huffed. Her eyes locked on the red-haired woman. The sound of tires squealing on pavement reached her. She turned her head. Her eyes narrowed. She watched the vehicle, but the blue car zipped out of the parking lot. It didn’t come close to her mate.

  Chloe turned her full attention back to the woman moaning against the wall. A strong surge of anger pushed her to bite and claw the woman until she couldn’t pose a threat to anyone. Chloe shook as she resisted it.

  “Holy fucking hell,” a female voice said from somewhere behind her.

  Chloe swung around, making sure not to step on Tony. She stood with her feet braced near his legs. She felt her lips pull back, and she stared at the female wearing a waitress uniform. She wondered if the other female was a threat.

  The waitress backed away with her hands held high until she reached the edge of the building. She slipped out of sight, but Chloe heard her footsteps. The waitress ran around the building. The sound of movement drew her attention back to the woman who’d attacked Tony. The red-haired woman tried to get to her feet.

  Chloe faced the female, lowering her head. She locked eyes with the woman and stepped forward in threat. That female wouldn’t get another chance to hurt Tony. Chloe lunged forward with her mouth open. The woman froze, before sinking back down to the ground. One hand clutched at her wounded arm.

  Satisfied, Chloe moved back near Tony. She nudged at him with her snout. Tony didn’t make sound. Chloe shifted from paw to paw. She wanted to change back and help him, but she didn’t know how. Her first try, thinking about her human form and changing, resulted in nothing.

  She wished she could get him away from the woman, but could do no more than stand guard over him while she waited for someone else to notice something was wrong. The thought of leaving him to go to the door of the restaurant made her edgy. With any luck, the woman who’d run around the back of the restaurant would alert someone.

  The sound of a vehicle pulling into the lot diverted her attention. Chloe glanced over and saw a marked squad car pulling to a stop. It stopped in the second row of parking spots, well away from her and the building.

  Chloe heaved a big sigh, but couldn’t relax. With the new arrival, her nervousness grew. The split in attention added to her stress. She shifted from side to side. Her breath huffed from her with an audible sound.

  Two officers slipped out of the vehicle. Chloe glared at the woman next the wall. The female attacker fidgeted. The policemen approached her with slow and measured steps.

  When they drew near her, she realized that she couldn’t let them get to Tony. He needed help, but this new part of her being didn’t trust the men. Her mate lay unconscious at her feet, bleeding. The conflicting feelings ramped up the anxiety pounding through her. She couldn’t make herself back away from him.

  “Is that Tony on the ground?” one of the men asked.

  She didn’t recognize him, but she recognized the blond man next to him. The chief of police, John Dark, stood next to him. His hand rested on his hip, close to his weapon, while he studied the situation.

  “Yeah, looks like it. I do recognize his smell, although the strong scent of bear almost hides it. If that’s Tony, the bear has to be Chloe. Their mate. This is probably her first change,” John said.

  “Crap. What do you want me to do?” The officer glanced over at John.

  “Call Logan or Jase. I’ll see if she will let me at least get the woman by the wall. Considering the fact that Chloe is standing over Tony, I don’t think she’ll let me get to him.” John edged over to the wall.

  Chloe watched his every move. She didn’t care if he took that bitch into custody. Her focus centered on her man. The rational side said she should back away from him and let those who could get him help. The other side held a bit more control at the moment. She couldn’t leave him. Not with these people.

  Hope flared through her when the chief said Logan and Jase’s names. Her muscles relaxed a little. She’d be able to let them help Tony.

  “I’m taking her into custody, Chloe.” John grabbed the woman’s hand and pulled her away from Chloe and Tony. John’s voice was low and soothing.

  When the officer took the woman away from them, some of the tension eased from Chloe. He led the woman to the squad car and placed her in the backseat while he dressed the woman’s wounds. She didn’t take her eyes from John Dark. Until Logan or Jase arrived, she wouldn’t relax.

  “All right, Chloe, I know you’re confused and bombarded by a wave of ne
w feelings and instincts right now.” John handed the woman off to the other officer. “You know Tony’s hurt. You can smell the blood, can’t you?” Fuck, yes, she could smell his blood. It worried her, but she couldn’t do anything about it. Well, the damn bear wanted to lick it, but her stomach flipped at the thought. She did manage to stop herself from doing that. God, this would be easier if she could return to her human shape. Why the hell couldn’t she change back? Worry began to gnaw at her. They hadn’t told her anything about being stuck in this form.

  The bear had taken over because of the danger to herself and Tony. Why couldn’t the bear relax and let her check Tony in a form she could do something useful? A low moaning sound escaped from her.

  “Why don’t you back away from him and let me tend him?” John took a slow step forward.

  Chloe let her mouth gape, showing him all her teeth. Her weight shifted forward, ready to lunge at him if he came close. She shook her head, hoping he understood she couldn’t do that. The animal side didn’t know him or trust him. He wasn’t a bear. He smelled like a cat, but she didn’t know if he was the same as Leslie.

  “All right, I won’t come any closer. Could you step back? I need to see him.” John held up his hands where she could see them and remained at a distance.

  Behind him, she saw a police car pull up close to the other one. The officer handed off the woman who’d attacked her to his colleague. With the woman gone, she could focus completely on Tony and the two officers.

  She took a few deep breaths and forced herself to back away a few steps. Tony’s head could be seen now, but her bulk covered his lower body. She would protect him. Inside, she knew that this distrust might be hurting him. Her frustration built. She fought against the urges of the bear.

  How anyone survived an injury with another bear close by was a mystery to her. The animal seemed overly suspicious and paranoid. She didn’t know how bears existed for this long if this was an example of normal behavior. She didn’t know if it was.

  “He was hit. With the metal pole on the ground?” John’s head tilted to the side. He studied the scene and wound.

  Chloe didn’t know. That bothered her. She felt guilty that he’d been hurt, because she suspected that the woman had been trying to get to her. Tony happened to be in the way. That had been part of the reason behind her fury. If they wished to hurt her, they should do it, not involve anyone else.

  “Jase’s on his way here. He answered first.” The other officer stopped about two paces behind John.

  Chloe relaxed a little more at that news. Maybe then someone would tell her how to fucking change back to her human form. Her heart beat in her chest, pounding faster.

  Fear and anxiety combined at her continued inability to communicate or push past the bear’s hold. She’d be able to return to the Chloe she knew at some point, but she couldn’t do it now. Being stuck in bear form and not having any idea how to return to her human form almost sent her into a panic.

  Another police car pulled in, but stayed at the far end of the lot. The officer got of the car. He walked over to the entrance to the restaurant’s lot. He began turning away cars when they tried to enter the lot.

  “Okay, Chloe, soon we’ll be able to see how Tony is doing there. I can see he’s breathing. The wound looks minor, which is why I haven’t darted you.” John folded his arms across his chest.

  Chloe chuffed, not at all impressed by the assertion. If the wound was minor, why wasn’t Tony awake or at least moving and groaning? She wanted more than empty words. She needed to see Tony’s eyes open and hear his voice.

  “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’ve talked to a few people who changed for the first time in similar situations. I’ll tell you the answers to a few questions or concerns they had.” John gave her a broad smile that she guessed was supposed to be encouraging.

  She narrowed her eyes at him, interested. The animal part of her suspected that the man would try something. If he planned to tell her something that would help, he’d better get on with it. The long pause increased the anxiety.

  “You’re feeling a little anxious and worried. You know he should get help, but you can’t back away from him to let us tend to him. While it’s annoying, it’s normal behavior for the first change.” John shrugged.

  Chloe looked at him. Was that type of behavior limited to the first change? Why did it happen?

  “You can ask Jase, Tony, or Logan when you change back if you don’t believe me. Although the ability to change is there, until it happens, all the connections aren’t there. The first time is always intense and a little frightening. When you add in someone you love being hurt, the situation becomes more so,” John explained.

  All right, if that was true, she could understand why she seemed to be having a communication problem with an animal she’d been told would be part of her. She should have asked more questions about the actual changing part during one of their brief discussions on it.

  On the other hand, she doubted that she would have thought to ask when she’d be able to change back. Her friends had talked about going for a short run on their lunch breaks. She thought she’d be able to do it right after she changed that first time. Bear then straight back to human.

  The sound of another vehicle entering the lot drew her attention. Another police vehicle rolled to a stop. She hoped Jason had finally arrived. They’d said he’d been the first to answer.

  “Good, Jase’s here. We can get Tony some help. You can be taken somewhere you’ll be safe until you return to your normal form.” John straightened.

  Chloe glanced at the chief. She narrowed her eyes on the man. How long would she be stuck in this damn form? Where did they plan to take her? She wouldn’t leave without Tony.

  She grunted. Her head lowered. She glared at the officer. Her stance widened. She prepared to defend her right to stay with her man.

  “Well, damn, this wasn’t where we hoped you’d go through your first change.” Jason strolled toward her. He remained in front of her while he approached. “You’re a gorgeous bear though, Chloe.”

  Yeah, she didn’t need the compliments. Someone had to tend to Tony. She huffed out a breath and backed away from Tony to give Jason room.

  “Now I’ll check on Tony. Relax. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Jase moved forward and knelt near Tony’s head.

  Jason examined the injury on the back of Tony’s head. Tony groaned. Jason turned Tony onto his back. Chloe peered down at Tony. He blinked, and a grimace pulled at his lips.

  “How many fingers, Tony?” Jason held up his hand in front of Tony’s face.

  “Three. Chloe! Where’s Chloe?” Tony batted Jason’s hand away.

  “Look toward your feet.” Jason sat back on his heels and waited.

  Chloe stayed where she was, although anxiety caused her to rock on her feet. The three men had wanted her to change. They’d be happy about that. A little uncertainty about this new form gave her a few doubts. Would he like her bear?

  Tony lifted his head. His mouth dropped open when he saw her. His hand raised and reached for her. He tried to sit up, but subsided back onto the pavement with a groan. His hand went to the back of his head.

  “Damn, that hurts,” Tony groaned. “What the hell happened? The last thing I remember is walking out of the restaurant with Chloe. My head feels as if someone stomped on it, and she’s in bear form.”

  “Well, she went through her first change, and you were hit.” Jason grinned.

  “Funny, asshole. Has no one checked the parking lot cams to see what they caught?” Tony shot a narrow-eyed glare at Jason.

  “We’re on that. She needs to be taken to your home since you can’t go into the forest with her. With someone after her, it wouldn’t be safe for her to run around there even with you three with her in bear form.” John straightened. “In the meantime, treatment’s on the way for both Tony and the woman Chloe swiped. We’ll at least question her, but should know from video what happened before she’s rel
eased.”

  “Question. How am I supposed to get her home when I’m driving a car? She won’t fit in the back seat. Since she can’t change back yet, we’ll require a bigger vehicle.” Jason turned to John.

  John sighed and looked skyward. “Logan brought his SUV in to work, didn’t he?”

  Jason nodded. “I’ll call him. We’d need him here anyway. I doubt she’d let me take her away if there’s no one here with Tony.”

  Jason suited action to words and called Logan. The conversation was brief and over in moments. Jason hung up with a smile. Chloe heard Logan’s terse “I’m on my way.”

  “No one here. You bears.” John rolled his eyes.

  “No offense, but her bear doesn’t know you. She won’t trust you. She might have a problem with a few of our relatives because we haven’t been to any family functions lately. The bear hasn’t scented them as she grew within Chloe.” Jase reached out and stroked his hand over Chloe’s fur.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know about the adjustment period during which animal and person gets to know and trust each other during and after the first change.” John waved that away. “And that a new animal can be wary of strangers.”

  Chloe could have used a crash course about that particular subject before she’d changed. Maybe she wouldn’t feel lost right at this moment. They’d said she wouldn’t be able to change back yet. But when the fuck would she change back?

  “And protective of those they care for or consider theirs. We’re hers. She knows it and so does her animal.” Jason stood and came to stand beside Chloe. His fingers brushed through her thick fur.

  “That protectiveness is currently a pain in my ass.” John scowled.

  The officer at the entrance allowed another vehicle into the parking lot. The SUV drove up and stopped near John. The door opened, and Logan stepped down onto the pavement. He straightened his jacket and walked over to her.

  “Hey, baby, I see you finally transformed.” Logan dropped down and put an arm around her neck. “Are you ready to go home?”