“Now who’s staring,” she teased.
“I can’t help it,” he admitted. “I’m just… I wasn’t searching for a mate either.”
“Funny, since that is what you do.”
“What I do?” Sam asked, confused.
“You are a private investigator, right?” she asked, raising her eyebrows at him, as if encouraging him to answer.
He did. “Yes.”
“So you must find things. If you don’t, you would be the worst private investigator known to man or beast.”
“Funny,” he chuckled. “Yes, I find things. Either objects, people, or information.”
“Do you enjoy it?” Lia asked.
“I do.”
“It must give a real sense of job satisfaction.”
“Are you teasing me again?” he asked.
“Again? I wasn’t sure I’d been teasing you at all,” she said, hiding her smile behind her cup. He was so easygoing, she could talk to him all day. “You have a gift.”
“Do I want to know what that gift is?” Sam asked seductively.
Lia ignored him and said, “You set people at ease. At least, you have set me at ease.”
“Is that difficult?” he asked. “Setting you at ease?”
“A little. It takes me a while to open up to people.”
“Because of your job?” he asked, his eyes narrowing imperceptibly.
“Are you interrogating me?” Lia asked.
“Oh, if I wanted to interrogate you, I would tie you down and find more pleasurable ways of getting your secrets from you.” He leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands.
Lia cleared her throat. He was getting under her skin, just where he wanted to be. “I should get back to work.”
“We haven’t gotten to know each other very well,” Sam said.
“I thought we already established we have the rest of our lives to get to know each other.” Her cheeks flushed.
“Does that mean you will have dinner with me tonight? Unless you are washing your hair.” He dropped his voice. “If you are, I could come around and wash it for you. And your back. And your…”
“OK, cowboy, I think that is my cue to leave.” Lia got up and slid out from behind the table.
“Is that a yes for dinner?” he asked hopefully.
Lia pressed her lips together, staring at him with eyes that mesmerized him. “I’ll cook.”
His heart rate quickened; she was inviting him into her home. On a first date. “I’ll pick up some wine. You do drink wine?”
“I do. Or beer, if you prefer.” Lia checked her watch. “I really have to go.”
“I’ll walk you back.” He slipped out from his seat and stood up, towering above her.
“I can find my own way,” she replied lightly.
“I know, but my car is parked outside.” He grinned, and she shook her head and smiled back at him.
“And there I was thinking you simply didn’t want to let me out of your sight.”
“That might be a reason too. But truly, my car is parked outside Bear Creek News, and I have work to do.”
“What are you working on right now?” Lia asked. “Or aren’t you allowed to tell me?”
“I do have some client confidentiality agreements in place. Usually to do with cheating husbands. Or wives. You would be surprised how often that happens.” He looked sideways at her. “But not to us.”
“No.” She sighed. “Not to us.”
“Makes things a whole lot easier,” Sam said.
“It does. Although I am a firm believer in freedom of choice, so you have to weigh up the pros and cons.” She held her hands out in front of her, as if she was balancing a set of scales.
“Come on, don’t tell me you would rather be left to choose?” Sam asked, shocked.
“Why not? What if I don’t like you? What if you snore?” Lia shook her head. “Imagine having to live the rest of your life with a man who has bad habits, and if you dump him it feels as if your heart has been ripped out.”
“I take it you are not a romantic.”
“Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not.” Lia shrugged. He wasn’t sure how to read her, and that made her completely fascinating to him.
“If I come to your door this evening with flowers and chocolates, would you throw them in my face, or into a vase?”
They had reached the offices of Bear Creek News, and Lia turned to look at him, putting her hands on the lapels of his coat, and tugging on them as she stood on tiptoe, still not quite able to look him directly in the eye.
“I like flowers, I have some on my desk, and we already established I like chocolate,” she purred. “Come on, Detective, you can do better than that.”
“You mess with my senses,” he said as a lame excuse.
“If I am going to be bad for business, then maybe we should part ways now.” She was goading him, and he liked it.
He hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her close, their bodies crushed together. Could she feel how hard he was for her? “I am never letting you go, Lia. Never.”
“OK, then.” She licked her bottom lip, inviting him to kiss her.
Never let it be said that Sam Spencer ever turned down an invitation, especially one that promised so much pleasure. He lifted her up until her feet were off the ground, and she was at eye level with him. She stared into his eyes, asking a question he only had one answer for. Did he really want her?
“Yes,” he whispered, and his lips sought hers. She sighed against him and kissed him back. Lia tasted of coffee and chocolate muffins, he didn’t need to be a detective to know that. But there was something else, cinnamon. Their kiss deepened, and he slid his tongue along her lower lip. Lia opened her mouth and sucked on his tongue, making his knees feel weak, but he found the strength to stay upright. He was never going to drop his lady. Never.
“I think I should go.” Lia slid down his body, the sensation making him harden further.
“I think that might not be a bad idea.”
“You might want to adjust your pants,” Lia said, glancing down at the bulge in his crotch. He hardened further, if that were possible.
“I am going to let you walk on into your office,” he said, a grin on his face.
“You go first,” she teased.
“I don’t think so. It’s not going to be pretty.”
She cocked her head and looked at him with a wry smile. “I thought you would do anything for your mate?”
He leaned down, his hands grabbing her arms, and he pressed his lips to her ear, caressing her skin with his breath. “You are a tease, Lia. I wonder what I will find when I strip away all the layers you have built up to hide your secret.”
She pulled back away from him. “Don’t!”
He frowned at her response. “I’m sorry.” He closed the space between them, his face serious. “I was teasing you.”
“Well, don’t.” She took a step back, and then another. “I really have to go.” Lia turned on her heel and walked away from him, hands smoothing down her already smooth hair, before dropping to smooth out her skirt. He certainly admired the sway of her curvy hips.
“What are you hiding, Lia?” he asked out loud. She’d completely overreacted to his words. Completely.
Sam watched her enter the building, and as the door swung shut behind her, she disappeared from view. He turned around and headed over to his truck, cursing himself as he pulled the door open. He truly was a terrible PI: not only had he not gotten her number, he didn’t have her address either.
He didn’t want to follow her inside; he was scared he might spook her. Maybe he was reading too much into it, but she had the look of a woman who might just run if given enough of a push.
She won’t run from us, his bear told him flatly. She can’t.
A lot of people do things they shouldn’t do. He shook his head at himself. He was too forward; he’d misread her. Unlocking his car, he got in and pulled the door closed behind
him. Digging in his pocket, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through for the number for Bear Creek News. Pressing call, he waited for an answer. He got lucky, it was Lia.
“Hi, I wanted to check if you were OK.”
“I’m fine.” She sounded on edge. “Today… Well, it all came as a shock. You know?”
“Oh, yeah.” He ran his hand through his hair. “Do we still have a dinner date?”
“I’m making dinner and you are still invited, if that is what you mean,” Lia said, a frosty layer to her voice.
“It is.” He let himself relax. “I don’t know your address.”
“Let me have your number and I’ll text you the address,” she replied, thawing a little.
He reeled off his number. “Got it?”
“I have.” She paused. “Ignore what I said…you know, about secrets.”
“I won’t pry into your business, if that is what you mean.” He was being honest. “I don’t want to cause you pain, Lia.”
“I… I came to Bear Creek for a fresh start. I don’t want to go trawling through my past. It is in the past.” She didn’t sound too sure, but he let it go.
“I promise not to go looking. If there is anything you want me to know, I am here. But for me, my life, our lives, they begin now, from today. My past might just as well never have happened. Because you weren’t in it.”
She chuckled down the phone, but not as if she was laughing at him. “I think that takes romance above the flowers and chocolates level. But I like it.”
“I like that you like it,” he said. “But I warn you.”
“About what?”
“That is about the most romantic thing I will ever say. I have no idea where it came from.”
“You are an honest man.” Her voice hitched in her throat.
“I’d hate to raise your expectations and let you put me on a pedestal.” Sam tried to lighten the mood between them. There was an intensity to Lia that made every word they spoke appear to have a hidden meaning.
“I’ll bear that in mind.” Voices in the background told him there were other people in the room with Lia. “I have to go. I really do need to do some work.”
“Text me. Or I will knock on every door in Bear Creek until I find you.”
“I would not expect anything less.”
Chapter Five – Lia
Was she flirting with him? Yes, she was. So much for keeping a low profile, and what was with the woman of mystery vibe she pushed on him? If anything was going to make him go digging into her past, that would.
But he’d given his word. And something about Sam Spencer told her he would not break that word. He was a good man, a loyal man.
He was hers.
Lia stared at the phone for a second as the call ended. Maybe there had been a reason she’d opened up to him. She wanted his help. Lia didn’t want to live the rest of her life looking over her shoulder, waiting for Mr. Delamere to catch up with her. That was no life.
But dare she open up and tell Sam the whole truth of why she was really here in Bear Creek, masquerading as a plain old secretary? Or would it put him in danger too?
Her heart ached at the thought of Sam being in any kind of danger. Perhaps she should marry him, take his name, change her appearance… She could cut and dye her hair. Her hand went to her soft silky hair. She’d always loved her hair, jet black like a moonless night.
Dark as death, her bear added helpfully.
There will be no death, she told her bear.
Unless Mr. Delamere’s men caught up with her. Damn, she needed to prove her innocence and get her old boss off her back. Only then would she be truly free to enjoy her new life with her mate.
“Lia,” Nevis called her and she turned her attention back to work. “Do you have the proofs I asked you for?”
“Sure, I have them printed off ready for you to look at.” Lia got up from her desk and gathered the proofs she had prepared last night before she went home. As she left her desk, Lia pushed all thoughts of Sam out of her head, along with all her worries about Mr. Delamere.
Since leaving her old life behind, Lia had become well-practiced at controlling stray thoughts that entered her mind. However, trying to forget about Sam was not as easy as trying to forget about her old boss. Throughout the day, thoughts of the towering hunk of a man would pop into her head and refuse to leave.
So by the time five o’clock came around, she was grateful to leave the office and head home. An unusual feeling for Lia, who often volunteered to work late, since all she did in the evening was hide away in her small rented house, all on her lonesome.
But not tonight, her bear reminded her, practically skipping around in her mind. Not a good look for a self-respecting bear.
Shaking her head and rolling her eyes, while hiding a small smile, Lia mentally went through all the items in her kitchen cupboards. Did she have everything she needed to cook a decent meal for two? Lately, she had been making do. However, tonight was not a making-do night. It was a night in which she wanted to impress her mate. Her mom would be so proud of her little girl attempting to impress a man.
A wave of homesickness swept over her. Tomorrow she would risk calling home and letting them in on the news. Or maybe she should wait. After all, her parents might be so excited over their daughter finding a mate that they would get straight in the car and drive over to Bear Creek to meet Sam. Which, under normal circumstances, Lia would love. But if they were being watched…they might lead Mr. Delamere right to her door.
Crossing the street, she took her keys out of her purse and chanced a look around. There was no one watching her, no suspicious car parked on the street waiting to kidnap her. She was safe. She’d made it through one more day. And what a day it had been.
Inserting the key in the lock, she turned it, and pushed the door open, slipping inside. Turning quickly, her heart rate rising, she closed the door and locked it, putting the chain on for good measure. Then she stood still, catching her breath and listening. All was quiet.
Following her usual routine, refusing to let the arrival of her mate into her life make her sloppy, Lia went from room to room, checking that the windows were still firmly closed, and the back door was locked. After clearing the ground floor, she headed upstairs. When she was certain no one had been in the house while she was at work, she sat down on the bed and took off her shoes.
A shower seemed like the perfect plan, and then she would start on dinner. While she washed her body, and then her hair, Lia let her mental barriers down, allowing dreams of her evening with Sam sneak in. Once they had eaten, they could retire to the sitting room and talk. Lia made a mental note to check that she had a romantic track loaded ready to play softly in the background.
Or would that look as if she were trying too hard?
Getting out of the shower, she piled her raven black hair on top of her head, and wrapped a towel around it, while she surveyed her reflection in the mirror. Her normally pale skin was red and blotchy after her shower. Not the best look for a first date with her mate.
Sighing, she smoothed on a light moisturizer and then dressed in comfy jog pants and a T-shirt. Once she had dinner prepared, she would come back upstairs and dress properly and do her makeup. By then her skin should have calmed down, and she wouldn’t need to plaster on a lot of makeup in order to look good.
Small bubbles of excitement erupted inside her. She wanted to impress Sam. Lia wanted to look perfect, and for her cooking to taste perfect. It was important for Lia to get dinner right. After all, it would be a reflection on her mom, who had patiently taught her daughter everything she would ever need to know about cooking, and more.
Lia’s mom, Lorna, was a homemaker. She liked nothing better than to make sure her husband and their brood of children were happy. Maybe it was because she was a bird shifter. Lia’s father had always joked about his mate wanting to feather her nest.
The thing was, Lia wasn’t a bird. Instead, she had inherited her father’s ability t
o shift into a black bear, which meant she didn’t always see eye to eye with her mom. When she left high school, Lia made a decision to go to college and carve out a career for herself. She’d worked hard, both at college and at the part-time job she had taken to fund her education.
Pulling on the knowledge her mom had bestowed on her daughter, Lia rattled around the kitchen, getting out pots and pans, and cursing herself for only stocking her kitchen with the basics. But then she had not expected to stay long in Bear Creek. When she arrived in town, it was only supposed to be for a couple of days, a short stopover. From here she was either going to drive to the coast and lay low, or else she was going to leave everything behind and go live in the mountains.
She’d seen some photographs in a magazine that Nevis had taken of a cabin in the mountains. That’s what had given her the idea to disappear into the wilderness for a few months until Mr. Delamere forgot all about her. All hope of proving her innocence to her old boss was long gone.
Filling a medium-sized pan with water, she set it on the top of the stove, ready for later. Then she went to her poorly stocked pantry cupboard, dug around for the spaghetti, and placed it on the counter. Lia planned to cook it when Sam arrived, while they chatted over a glass of chilled wine. Or kissed. Kissing was always good for working up an appetite.
Fanning her face, which had grown hot once more, she moved to the fridge, letting the cool air cover her, before she took out fresh tomatoes. Soon, she had all the ingredients for a rich tomato sauce assembled, and ground beef frying in the pan. The fresh herbs growing on her window sill would add just the right amount of flavor to the ingredients.
As the meal came together, she began to hum to herself. It was a tune Lia had learned from her mother, who was never happier than when she was preparing a meal for her family. As Lia’s thoughts drifted back toward Sam, and her feelings for him, she began to understand her mom a little bit more.
There was something to be said for the old-fashioned values her mom clung to, despite the badgering her daughters had inflicted on her to become a more modern woman. Lia’s mom would laugh off any suggestions that her mate should take on and share the household responsibilities. Lia and her sisters had thought their mom weak, but in truth, she was the strongest member of the family, the heart of the family.
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