by Ruby Shae
Bear Guardian
(The Enforcers, Book 5)
Ruby Shae
Bear Guardian
(The Enforcers, Book 5)
Copyright 2018 by Ruby Shae
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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
About This Book
Jacob Underwood, bear shifter, and the Enforcers Second of his clan, has watched his mate date another man for six long months…although the word date didn’t really apply. When he watches the loser finally walk out of her life, he puts a long-time plan in motion to win over her heart.
Avery Bennett has always been in awe of her extraordinary neighbor, but deep-down, she knew that’s all their relationship would ever be. Tall and curvy weren’t exactly points in her favor, and besides, she had a boyfriend…sort of…okay, not really. Still, perfect men like Jacob didn’t date imperfect women like her.
When Jacob starts acting more than interested, Avery guards her fragile heart until the persistent bear is impossible to ignore. Unfortunately, some things from the past can’t be ignored, and both Avery and Jacob will have to rely on their trust in each other if they want their newfound relationship to survive.
Bear Guardian
(The Enforcers, Book 5)
by Ruby Shae
Chapter One
Avery Bennett looked at the crumpled-up piece of wrapping paper in her hand, and started to smooth out the wrinkles. She didn’t care about the paper. In fact, in a few minutes it was going to hit the trash, but flattening the piece gave her something to do with her hands…and she desperately needed something to do.
Especially since her boyfriend—no, that wasn’t the right word. He’d never been her boyfriend. Once upon a time, he’d been her friend, but that was a long time ago. A very long time ago. Over the last year, he’d been nothing more than a booty call, and not a consistent one at that.
In fact, the amount of times he’d blown her off for someone else were too many to count, and here he was doing it again. And yet, that wasn’t what pissed her off. At least not now.
Sure, she hated the way he treated her, but she’d allowed it to happen. Over and over again. She’d never stood up for herself. Never put a halt to his pathetic treatment, never expected anything better, and that’s what fueled her rage.
She glanced from the paper in her hands to the red lace lingerie she wore, and mentally cursed. When she’d first put on the lacy red gartered corset, along with the matching panties and thigh-high stockings, she’d felt confident and sexy, but now she just felt ridiculous.
Every single one of her generous curves was exposed in the outfit, and the stark brightness of the room only enhanced her flaws. It didn’t help that they normally had sex in the dark, and she wasn’t sure he’d ever seen her body uncovered in the light.
It didn’t matter though, because he’d been unfazed by her choice of clothing. Honestly, she probably could have answered the door naked, and it wouldn’t have mattered either way.
That’s when the internal anger had started to build.
Avery glanced at the loser sitting beside her on the bed, and berated herself on all the years she’d wasted on him. She was twenty-five years old, and this man—if you could call him that—had been in her life since she was fifteen. He’d been her best friend’s cousin, and she’d been instantly attracted to him.
The feeling hadn’t been mutual, though. Back then, it had taken another two years before he would admit to liking her more than a friend, and the night had ended in a highly disappointing, completely unsatisfying, loss of her virginity.
The next day, he’d taken another girl out to lunch, and months had passed before she saw him again. Then one day they’d both ended up at his cousin’s house for one reason or another, and the cycle started all over again.
They’d have sex, she’d hope for more, and then he’d date other girls, and only show interest in her when everyone else was busy. Not when he didn’t have anyone, just when everyone else was busy.
The worst part? She’d allowed it.
Like a woman starving, she’d soaked up any attention she could get from him, good or bad, and convinced herself that one day he would finally see what was right in front of his face. He never did, and she’d left for college without saying goodbye because he’d blown her off, yet again, for someone else.
Clarity had come slowly, and over time, she’d sworn to herself that she’d never fall into his trap again. She’d dated other, equally mediocre boys, experienced other, equally mediocre sex, and kept that promise to herself for six years.
Unfortunately, in a lonely moment of weakness, he’d strolled back into her life, and, believing that this time would be different, she’d let him.
Stupid, stupid, stupid!
What the fuck was wrong with her? If she could kick her own ass, then she definitely would. David—the loser’s name was David—was rambling on about love and some other crap she didn’t even give a shit about, and the anger boiled on.
Today was his birthday, and because his favorite “addiction” was now engaged, she’d hoped to take the woman’s place. For the first time ever, she’d bought him a birthday present, along with the stupid outfit she now wore, and she’d waited—and waited—for him to arrive.
When he finally did, he was three hours late, and she didn’t have to guess where he’d been. Hell, he smelled like her perfume, and he looked like he’d just rolled out of bed, only, she would bet money they hadn’t been fucking in a bed.
Thank god he wasn’t trying to fuck her now, too, but that thought gave her pause. How many times had he shown up for sex after fucking someone else? How many times had he told her about other women he was dating? Or trying to date? How many times had she hoped he would see her as more than a booty call?
They were all good questions, but the real question was, why?
Why did she put up with him? Why was she content to be in second, or third, or even last place? Why? Why did she keep trying to make their relationship into more than it was?
Especially when she didn’t love him.
Hell, half the time she didn’t even like him, and she definitely didn’t like him now. He was a blast from her past, and if their relationship had been something more, then it would have made a nice TV movie, but it had never even come close.
The wallet she’d given him had been expensive, and, as she watched him twirl it around in his hands, she realized this whole situation was her problem, not his.
Sure, he’d played a part, but the responsibility rested on her shoulders. She’d allowed it. She’d believed she didn’t deserve anything better than this loser—and he was a loser—and she’d tried to make something work that would ultimately bring her unhappiness.
Deep in her heart she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that if they were ever in a real relationship, or heaven forbid, to get married, it wouldn’t last more than six months. He w
ould never be who she’d hoped he would be, and he would never be who she needed.
In fact, he was the exact opposite of what she needed, and he always had been. He was immature, irresponsible, and he’d never been able to hold down a stable, long-term job. To top it off, he treated her like trash. He always had, and she knew he always would.
But, she wasn’t trash.
In fact, her standards were way too low—embarrassingly low—and she seriously needed to work on them. It would be hard, especially after accepting the lowest-of-the-low for nearly a decade, but she was tired of being okay with anything less.
Besides, what kind of role model did that make her? She didn’t allow her students to think so little of themselves, or to lay down and accept poor treatment from anyone, and she wouldn’t either.
Starting now.
But first, she had to get rid of the poor excuse for a human sitting next to her. She glanced at his profile, and almost laughed at the mock-sadness on his face. He’d wanted to bolt since his arrival. She’d seen the telltale signs when she’d opened the door, and she honestly had no idea why he’d shown up in the first place.
The truth dawned almost immediately. He’d wanted to see if she’d gotten him a present. It was the only thing that made sense, and from the way he was manhandling the leather, her gift was sorely lacking.
Good!
“…the way you feel about me, is the way I feel about her.”
She nodded, because words failed her. She almost wanted to laugh at the fact that he was essentially dumping her for an engaged woman. Almost. The other part of herself just wanted to punch him in the face.
Instead, she did neither.
She stood when he rose off the bed, and silently followed him to the door. The fact that he’d left the wallet behind didn’t escape her, but she didn’t care. He was walking out of her life, and for the first time since she’d met him, she was ecstatic.
It was way past time to move on.
He opened the door, crossed the threshold, and left without another word.
Unfortunately, her neighbor, Jacob, had opened his door at the same time, and got a full, unhindered view of her flawed, curvy body covered in next to nothing red lace.
And he didn’t turn away.
Apparently, the universe had decided that she hadn’t had enough humiliation for one lifetime, because as Jacob stared her down, she stood frozen in place like an idiot, and let him see everything.
His gaze caressed her skin from head to toe, and back again before any words left his mouth, and when he finally spoke, his deep, sexy baritone was nearly a whisper.
“Hey, beautiful.”
There was no laughter in his voice, but she knew she wasn’t beautiful, and his words broke the spell she seemed to be under.
“Goodnight, Jacob.”
She closed the door, bolted the lock, and retreated into her apartment.
***
Jacob Underwood stared at the closed door across the hall, and swore. The need to hunt down the asshole that had left Avery looking so defeated rode him hard, but at the same time, he wanted to throw a fucking party and make the loser his guest of honor.
Six months.
He’d been waiting six long months for that loser to dump his beautiful neighbor...His Avery...and half a year was a hell of a long time. More so because the tall, curvy beauty was his mate.
He and his bear had known it the moment he set eyes on her, but unfortunately, she’d been in a relationship. Normally he wouldn’t condone splitting up a happy couple, even at the expense of his own misery, but it didn’t take him long to figure out they weren’t a happy couple.
After that, the question hadn’t been if their relationship would end, but rather when. Still, it hurt like hell to watch her repeatedly welcome a man who obviously used her for nothing more than a booty call.
In fact, in a moment of weakness and frustration, Jacob had asked her out despite the fact that she was taken. Deep down, he’d hoped she would see something good in him, or acknowledge some sort of connection because they were mates and give him a chance, but she hadn’t. Instead, she’d thanked him and declined because she had a boyfriend.
Except that loser was no boyfriend.
Her declaration had raised his bear’s hackles, and both the man and the beast had wanted to hunt down the man and kill him. The loser didn’t deserve her, and Jacob wanted the man out of her life for good. More so after he’d used his resources to do some investigating.
For reasons Jacob still couldn’t fathom, the man was well-liked by women, and when he wasn’t seeing his regulars, Avery included, he was almost always with someone new.
The man was penniless, jobless, and had no discernible direction or goals, but those he dated, or fucked, didn’t seem to care. The fact that Avery wasted her time with someone so far beneath her made Jacob see red, but after she’d denied his date request, waiting had been the only thing left for him to do.
And he’d been waiting a damn long time.
He quietly closed his door, adjusted his suddenly tight jeans, and willed his cock to go down. Seeing Avery in that sexy, red lace lingerie had made his dick swell to the point of pain, and he hadn’t been able to look away. He’d fought his bear’s instinct to cross the short hallway between them, force her back into her apartment, and finally claim what he knew was his.
He had no idea how her ex had left with Avery looking so delectable, but he wasn’t about to question the stupid man’s life decisions. The stale stench of sex briefly wafted past his nose, but it followed the man’s retreat, and neither the smell of sex or arousal lingered anywhere around Avery.
Jacob mentally pumped his arm in arm in victory.
He hated smelling any man on his mate, but if he’d smelled the loser while she’d been dressed for sin, he might have lost his fleeting, threadbare control.
He grabbed his cellphone, and pressed the button for Logan.
Logan Price owned the security firm where Jacob worked, but the man was so much more than his boss. He’d known Logan and his sister, Layla, for over twenty-five years, and the three of them had been best friends since they were kids.
Logan was also the Lead Enforcer for their bear clan, and Jacob was the Second. That meant when Logan wasn’t available, Jacob was in charge. It also meant he handled a lot of the day-to-day stuff Logan didn’t have time for.
While they made a great team, they each brought something different to the table, and Jacob was definitely the peace-keeper of the two. His skills at finding peace, and non-violent solutions to many clan problems—and threats—made the pair a great force against all of their adversaries.
That didn’t mean Jacob didn’t do violence, though. In fact, though his skills had probably helped him stay patient—at least for the most part—while waiting for Avery, there had been many days where he’d wanted to make the loser disappear out of her life. For good.
Luckily, his human side had won that battle, and he’d never done anything he’d regret later. That was important. Mostly because if Avery ever gave him a chance, he would be nothing but honest with her, and if he had to admit he’d engaged in violence for personal gain, then the only thing he would get in return was her fear.
He didn’t want her fear.
He might get it anyway when he told her about his bear, but that was fine. Fear of his ability to change into a bear he could deal with, and hopefully overcome, but fear because he’d killed her boyfriend to get him out of the way would be something else entirely.
Logan answered on the third ring.
“Hey, Jacob. What’s up?”
“I need the week off,” Jacob said. “He dumped her.”
“About fucking time,” Logan growled.
More than anyone, Logan understood what it was like to find your mate and not be able to touch her for months on end. The only difference was that Logan hadn’t had to watch some loser come and go in and out of her life as he pleased, and touch what belonged to him.
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No one but Jacob understood that pain, and while he might wish the agony on his enemies—like the rogue panthers that refused to adhere to the new peace treaty, and still insisted on hunting bears—he didn’t wish it on any members of his clan.
“Yeah,” Jacob agreed. “She’s off next week because of Spring Break, so I’m going to use that to my advantage.”
Avery taught English at the middle school, and he’d memorized the school’s holiday and break calendar, so he’d always know her schedule.
Thank god she wasn’t a taking a trip with that loser. His bear wanted to roar at the thought of the pair vacationing together, especially because Avery would most likely be the one paying for the trip, but luckily that wasn’t happening.
Probably because the loser didn’t want to admit to the others about Avery, even though Jacob was pretty sure she knew about her ex’s other women.
God damn!
Why the fuck did she put up with that asshole’s shitty behavior?
“Why are you growling at me?” Logan laughed. “Dude, you know you can have the week off. I hope she comes around sooner than later.”
That time Jacob did growl at his friend. He didn’t want anyone using Avery and the word come in the same sentence, even if they weren’t talking about sex. His reaction only made Logan laugh harder, though, proving his friend had been purposely messing with him.
Jacob silently rolled his shoulders, and forced himself to calm down.
“Check in,” Logan said, seriously, “but go get your mate.”
“I will,” Jacob said, “and I won’t completely ghost on you. I want her to meet you guys, and I plan on taking her to Layla’s soon.”
Layla owned Java Corner, a quaint, but not so little coffee shop near the center of town. He wanted to take Avery there so he could introduce her to his close friends, but also because Layla’s coffee was amazing, and he knew he would need all of the help he could get when the time came to tell her about his bear.