Bear Naked

by Dana Marie Bell

  She struggled again to get out of his lap, but he held fast, refusing to let her go. “Let. Me. Go.”

  “No.” He began rocking again, humming under his breath.

  Damn it. Why did the sound of his voice, the way his chest vibrated against her cheek, soothe her so much? Not even her mother, who’d left soon after Hope disappeared and divorced her father in a bitter battle that left the family in ruins, had been able to calm her the way Ryan did.

  “I won’t leave you. I give you my word, Glory.” Ryan’s vow was made in a voice that could have chipped diamonds. “I’ll stay here and get someone else to take care of the problem.”

  She took a deep breath, aware that Ryan understood what had set her off. Damn it, she didn’t need to be even weaker in front of him. “I’m fine.”

  “Bullshit.” Cyn scowled down at her, but Glory could see the concern. “Glory, you have an anxiety disorder. It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

  Yeah, right. Glory didn’t see Cyn panicking every time Julian went somewhere.

  Cyn growled. “Ryan, Glory’s had episodes off and on for years. They’re always triggered by the fear that she’ll be abandoned.”

  “I’m fine.” Glory was going to kill Cyn.

  He tilted her face up again. “No. You’re not. But I’m okay with that.”

  “Ryan…” She sighed, cuddling up against him. The sound of his heartbeat, the knowledge that he was right there, solid and real, began to destroy the last of the fear. “I’ll be all right.” She had to be. She’d gone through this before, and she’d live through it again.

  Everyone left her eventually.

  Everyone.

  Her heart pounding, Glory shook her head. “I can’t.”

  “Can’t what, SG?”

  Part of her was humiliated that she’d had an episode. The other part was so relieved he wasn’t leaving she was almost giddy with it. “I can’t do this. I need… I need to go.”

  The low, feral growl was barely audible, but it rumbled through his chest and shook her to the core. “You aren’t going anywhere.”

  She risked looking up and found his normally blue eyes had gone dark brown. Fangs peeked over the edge of his bottom lip. Five-inch black claws scraped across her gauzy top, catching in the thin fibers. “Um. Down, boy.”

  He cocked an eyebrow at her. “I won’t leave you alone.”

  Now she was going to panic for a whole other reason. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

  “Watch me.” His voice was low, gravelly. Ryan must be close to losing to his Bear.

  “Calm down, Rye. She’s fine, she’s in your lap. It’s a panic attack, nothing more.” Alex helped Tabby to her feet. “Take her into the back room and get her some water.”

  Before she could protest Ryan was on his feet, Glory cradled in his arms as if she weighed nothing. He carted her into the back room, refusing to let her down when she struggled.

  “Don’t.” The low warning was barely human.

  She must have frightened him, more than she thought possible, because Ryan was right on the edge of changing. “Are you all right?”

  He stared at her, his expression surprised. “I should be asking you that.” A little bit of blue peeked out from the dark brown of his Bear’s gaze. Ryan was gaining some control back. He leaned forward, holding her steady. “Grab a bottle of water?”

  She did as asked, her hands shaking too badly to open it.

  He sat at the break table, keeping her in his lap, and took it from her. He opened it and held the bottle to her lips. “Drink.”

  Taking a sip of water, Glory studied him from under her lashes. The brown was slowly seeping away as the shakes that had racked her body subsided. She cleared her throat and handed him back the water. “I told you. I have…issues.”

  “I noticed.” He took a sip himself before recapping the bottle and placing it on the break table. “I want to know what happened, but not if it will set off another attack.”

  She bit her lip. Did she want to give him that much power over her?

  “Please.”

  The pain, the plea in his voice, gave her the power to speak. He was practically begging to shoulder her pain. “Everyone leaves.” The words came out in a rush, surprising her. She hadn’t meant to say it quite that way.

  Ryan’s eyes went wide before closing. “Oh, shit. Your family.”

  “Hope disappeared, my mother left, my father took the rest of my family out of state and left me behind.” The words wouldn’t stop tumbling out of her mouth. “Everyone leaves me. Brittany left when she found out what Tabby was.”

  Ryan pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “I won’t leave you, I swear.”

  “You already did.”

  Ryan froze. “What do you mean?”

  She shrugged, clamping her lips shut before her diarrhea of the mouth took over again.

  “The hospital?”

  She huffed out a breath. Damn perceptive Bear. Wasn’t she allowed to have any secrets?

  “I didn’t leave you voluntarily. You know that, right?”

  She refused to look at him, and he didn’t force the issue. Instead, he pressed her head against his chest again.

  “The hospital staff wouldn’t let me in.”

  She knew that, but it didn’t matter. He should have waited for Julian or Dr. Howard instead of taking off. When she found out Ryan had gone missing she’d damn near lost it. To find out he’d disappeared voluntarily?

  She’d been furious and terrified at the same time. The word rogue had been whispered when they thought she couldn’t hear. From the sound of it, that wasn’t a good thing to be labeled in the shifter world.

  He rubbed his chin against the top of her head. “I will never leave you again.”

  “Ryan—”

  “Never.” His tone was firm. “From now on, I’m stuck on you like glue.”

  Wonderful. Half of her was doing the Snoopy dance of happiness, while the other half was terrified out of its wits. “I told you not to make promises you can’t keep.”

  “Sweetheart, I hate to tell you this, but now that my Bear knows about your abandonment problems I can’t leave you alone, even if I want to.” He sighed deeply. “We can’t stand the thought of you hurting, let alone being the cause of it. So, please. Trust me when I say, you’ll never truly be alone again.”

  Hell. She almost believed him. “Okay.”

  “I mean it.”

  “I know you do.” Strangely enough, she did. The last of the panic began to recede, Glory relaxing in his embrace. “But you can’t follow me into the ladies’ room.”

  He chuckled. “Try and stop me.”

  She bit back a grin, refusing to acknowledge how right it felt to be cuddled up in his lap. “You’re such an ass, Ryan.”

  Her sappy tone belied her words. He was getting to her, the big oaf, and if she wasn’t careful she was going to fall in love with him.

  Admit it. You’re already in love with him.

  “Your ass.” When she glared up at him he kissed the tip of her nose. “Give me a chance to prove to you that not everyone leaves, all right?”

  She bit her lip. “I keep telling myself that Cyn and Tabby are still here, but part of me believes even they’ll go away eventually.” God, she’d been terrified when her family up and left. The fight had been huge, the bruises her father had left behind a reminder of why it had been a good thing in the end.

  But she missed her brother and sisters with a ferocity that would have shocked anyone who didn’t know her well. Temp, Hope and Faith had been the only things that made living in the Walsh household bearable. When Hope disappeared, Glory had been devastated.

  It was the first of many losses she’d suffered over the years. Her twin had never been found.

  “Glory?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Tell me about Hope.”

  Glory winced. “Another time?”

  He studied her for a long, uncomfortable minute before nodding. �
�I want to know. Maybe we can ask some of the shifters to help find out what happened to her.”

  For the first time in a long while Glory felt some hope. Why hadn’t she thought of that? “You think they’d be willing to?”

  Ryan smiled. “You’re technically a member of the Halle Pride. I think Max and Emma would be willing to help you out.”

  Glory smiled. “Maybe it’s not such a bad thing, having you stick around.”

  “Yup. I’m like Super Glue. You’ll never get me off your skin.”

  He sounded far too happy about that. “You’re crazy.”

  He hummed under his breath. “Leave everything to me. You worry about our date, and I’ll worry about setting up a meeting with the Alpha and Curana. Deal?”

  Jeez. She was going to regret this, she just knew it. But what else could she do? She kissed his chin, knowing that sooner or later she was going to give in to him. “Fine. Deal.”

  The soft, sweet kiss she received in return made her think that belonging to Ryan might not be such a bad thing after all.

  Chapter Three

  “Changing your shirt again?”

  Ryan snarled at Julian DuCharme, the Spirit Bear who’d mated Cyn. The man was smirking, his dark eyes sparkling with mischief. His long hair was tied back in a braid that Cyn would undoubtedly undo the moment she got her hands on it.

  “It’s like watching a sixteen-year-old girl get ready for a first date.” Alex, bald and big and sweet as honey unless you pissed him off, grabbed a dark blue button-down shirt. “Here. It goes with your eyes.” The asshole batted his lashes at Ryan and sighed. “You want me to do your hair?”

  Julian began to laugh. “I get to do his nails.”

  “Fuck you both very much.” Ryan slipped the shirt on, checking himself out in the mirror. He wanted to look perfect for Glory. She deserved to have a mate she could be proud to be seen with, and he was going to do whatever it took to give her that. Even…

  He shuddered.

  Go clothing shopping.

  Ugh.

  “Okay, pretty boy. Let’s make you gorgeous.” Julian grabbed a brush, laughing harder when Ryan swatted him. “Oh, come on. We can put barrettes in and everything.”

  Ryan thought about gutting them both, but at least his hands had stopped shaking. The two of them had stopped by, taken one look at his pale face and wide eyes and shoved him back into his apartment. They’d proceeded to try and get him to relax, but until he had Glory mated and marked, not much was going to accomplish that.

  She’d scared the shit out of him earlier that day. Her panic attack, and the reason behind it, had left him with very little choice. He had to make sure she understood exactly what she was to him, and fast. Seeing her in pain, unable to breathe, unable to even think, had shaken him to the core.

  He’d already called Eric, Bunny’s brother and Ryan’s cousin, and sent him back to deal with the work in Oregon. Ryan couldn’t leave Glory, and Glory couldn’t leave Cynful, so Ryan was staying in Halle. Eric was just as qualified as he was to handle the money aspect of the business, and since he would wind up inheriting Bunsun Exteriors along with Bunny, Ryan had no issue with Eric taking over the books.

  But somehow, Ryan didn’t think Eric would remain in Oregon for long. All the Bunsun-Williamses had fallen in love with the small Pennsylvania town. Ryan was positive they’d all wind up here in the end, taking Bunsun Exteriors’ corporate offices from the West Coast and moving it to the East.

  Ryan had no issue with that. The closer he was to Glory, the better.

  “Seriously, though. You look good, you’ve got a great plan and Glory panics at the thought of you leaving. I think you’re doing better than you thought you were.” Bunny grabbed the picnic basket Ryan was planning to use for today’s date and placed the wine he’d picked out and two plastic glasses inside. “If she cares enough about you to have a panic attack, then she might be closer to allowing you to mark her than we thought.”

  Dear God, Ryan hoped so. The mate dreams were exhausting him.

  Julian handed Ryan his jacket. “Remember. Glory’s a lot more delicate than she seems.”

  This time it was Ryan who laughed. “She’s survived losing her family, her twin’s disappearance, being shot at and almost killed. She’s stronger than you think, Julian.” Ryan slipped the jacket on and grabbed the basket. “Just because she’s prone to panic attacks doesn’t mean she’s weak. My mate is a survivor.” And no one could be prouder of their mate than Ryan was. Glory was amazing.

  “I’m just saying, be careful with her. I don’t want to have to explain to Cyn how my friend broke hers.”

  Ryan snorted as the three men left the apartment. Ryan still had to pick up the food and Glory. Checking his watch, he saw he still had plenty of time. “I’m not going to break her.” He grinned evilly. “Well, not in a bad way.”

  Bunny shook his head. “Just do us a favor and make sure your mate is happy.”

  “Because if your mate is happy, our mates are happy.” Julian climbed into his car. “And one more bit of advice. Clean your apartment before you bring her back here.”

  Ryan frowned. “What’s wrong with my apartment?”

  Bunny and Julian glanced at each other and shuddered. “Just do it.”

  “It’s not that bad.”

  Both men stared at him.

  “Really. My place in Oregon was way worse.”

  Julian cocked an eyebrow at him. “Did any of the intriguing new life forms you were breeding start to speak to you? And how did they feel about your leaving them alone?”

  “Fine.” Ryan sighed. “I’ll run the vacuum before I bring her back.”

  Bunny shivered. “You might want to consider a flamethrower. I hear you can get one on eBay.”

  “Or Craigslist.”

  “Even better.”

  “Ha. Ha.” Ryan climbed into the car, placing the empty picnic basket on the passenger side floor. He was going to do this up right, damn it. “I have to go pick up the food before I get Glory.”

  “Good luck.” Bunny patted the hood of his car. “And remember what we said.”

  “Be good to Glory and fumigate my apartment.”

  Bunny and Julian both laughed as they said good-bye. Ryan made his way to the restaurant and picked up the food before heading over to the apartment Glory had once shared with Cyn and Tabby. Now that the girls were living with their mates in their homes, Glory was all alone. That was something Ryan hoped to fix, and soon. He was more than willing to do what Bunny had done and buy a home in the area, but first he had to mark his mate.

  He pulled up in front of Glory’s home on time and wiped his sweaty palms against his jeans. The guys were right. He was acting like a sixteen-year-old on his first date, but damn it. He’d waited so long for her to say yes to going out with him that he felt nervous as hell. What if the date was a flop? What if she decided he wasn’t worth it?

  He took a deep breath and got out of the car. There was only one way to find out, and that wasn’t sitting in the car and hyperventilating.

  Ryan knocked on Glory’s door and waited. He knew the area around her apartment intimately, having stood guard over her both when Tabby was in danger and when the girls were being targeted by a madman. He scanned the area now, automatically looking for threats to his mate. Finding none, he turned back to her door just in time to see her open it.

  His mouth watered at the sight of his mate. God, she looked edible. Jeans that were painted on, a wispy nothing of a top, and high-heeled boots combined with that cascade of blue hair, and he was ready to say fuck the picnic and, well, just fuck her. “You look incredible.”

  She grinned. “So do you.” She waved him in. “Let me grab my coat and we can get out of here.”

  He was all for that. “I think you’re going to like what I’ve got planned.” And if things worked out the way he hoped, he’d love the aftermath.

  “We’ll see.”

  He didn’t let her skepticism get to him. He u
nderstood now why she constantly pushed him away. He’d have to prove over and over that he wasn’t going anywhere, but his mate was worth it. He’d show her however many times she needed that she’d never be alone again. “You ready?”

  “Ready.” She slid her arm through his and grabbed her purse. “Ryan?”

  “Yeah?”

  For just a moment, she looked terribly sad. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  She locked her door before answering. “Do you know why none of my relationships have ever worked in the past?”

  “Because you always leave before they do.” She glanced at him, obviously startled, as he led her to his car. “It’s not rocket science, SG.”

  She blew her curls out of her eyes as she settled in the passenger seat. “You’re such a smart ass.”

  He laughed as he settled into the driver’s seat. “Better a smart ass than a dumb ass.”

  She glanced at him sideways. “But first you have to be smart, or you’re just an ass.”

  “Oh, ouch.” He put his hand to his chest. “You wound me.”

  Laughing reluctantly, Glory put on her seat belt. “Do I smell Chinese food?”

  “Yup.”

  “But I thought…” She trailed off, biting her lip.

  “What?” Oh, God. Don’t tell me I screwed up on the first date.

  “Nothing.” But she turned to look out the passenger side window rather than at him.

  “I wanted us to be alone, so I arranged a surprise. Was I wrong?”

  She looked back at him, her gaze speculative. “No, maybe not.”

  Thank fuck. Because he’d have to ditch the food in the nearest trash can if she’d said yes, and he really liked Kung Pao chicken. “Then let’s get this party started.”

  The mysterious smile that crossed her face scared the shit out of him, but it was too late now. He just hoped things went the way he’d planned, because he didn’t think he could survive it if his idea set him back to square one with her.

  There was only one real place in town worthy of a first date: Noah’s, the best restaurant in town. So that was what she dressed for, expecting spaghetti carbonara and good wine, despite the fact that he’d said the date would be casual.