by Selena Scott
“Of course she’s not assuming we’re bear shifters,” Danil said, frustrated. “But I don’t like it. I met her for the first time down at the precinct today. She’d been arrested for trespassing for the second time in two days. And now she comes here, happening to ask about Anton? That’s suspicious to me.”
Anton was quiet in the underbrush. He was as still as a statue, absorbing the refreshing, wild calm of being in bear form. He hated when his brothers worried about him.
Emin looked up at the sky, noting the arc of the moon through the clouds. “We should get back. We’re gone too long, and Mama will worry.”
The brothers agreed with him, though none of them wanted to shift back to their human forms on such a beautiful night. Danil knew that Emin and Anton shifted any chance they could, and were often alone in the woods. But Danil and Maxim typically only shifted once a week at Sunday dinners, when they were all together. He cherished that time.
But they didn’t want their mother to worry, so they lumbered back down the mountain. Sometimes chasing and racing. Sometimes pausing to scent something in the wind. For animals of their tremendous size, they moved as quietly as cats through the pines.
They shifted back at the edge of the tree line, under the cover of the shadows. There weren’t any other houses for a few miles in any direction, but just in case, they wanted a little privacy. Although none of them had any problem walking naked back across the lawn, laughing and shoving and snickering.
They pulled on their clothes on the back porch. Anton froze, sniffing the air.
“AJ is here?” he asked in Belarusian.
“Yeah,” Danil replied, remembering her entrance in vivid detail. How Dora had looked in the tense, pulsing seconds before AJ had interrupted them.
Anton whipped his shirt on. “She walked here alone in the middle of the night?”
“It’s 9:30 on Sunday night,” Emin said, raising an eyebrow at his brother. They were all protective of AJ but none more than Anton.
Ten years ago, Anton, in his bear form, had been the one who’d found AJ in the woods, about to be attacked by a mountain lion. Unsure of what to do after he’d scared off the cat, Anton had brought her home to his mother. And AJ had been like a sister to them ever since. She was the only human in their lives who knew they were bear shifters. But her dramatic entrance into his life had always made Anton sensitive about choices she made.
“Yes, but she’d have had to cut through Shear Woods.” Foregoing his shoes, Anton stalked in through the back door of his house, obviously off to give AJ a piece of his mind about walking in the dark though the woods.
Maxim tugged on his own shirt and shook his hair out of his eyes. “He’s too hard on her.” He hurried after Anton to soften whatever harsh words were sure to be thrown AJ’s way.
Emin watched his brothers disappear into the house before he turned back to Danil. “I don’t know what to think about this woman asking questions.”
Danil shrugged. “I’ll figure out what she’s about and I’ll handle it.”
“Just like always.”
“Just like always,” Danil affirmed, a little smile on his face.
“That wasn’t a compliment,” Emin said, before he turned to go into the house himself.
He left Danil scowling out at the dark night, the ghost of a kiss on his lips.
CHAPTER TWO
Dora grinned at the night as she tossed one leg over the fence and then the other. “Damn,” she muttered as her pant leg snagged and tore a small hole. “These were good pants.”
But she didn’t let it slow her down. Despite a few setbacks, namely two arrests, she was finally making some headway.
For the first time in the four years since her father had passed away, she felt like she was in the right place at the right time. She had some leads, some momentum, some ideas. For the most part, her old panache was back. And that felt good. Like going for a stroll after getting a cast removed.
She jumped down, quiet as a bird, and landed in a three-pointed stance on the ground. She knew there were motion sensor security lights about fifty feet down; she’d cased the place out earlier. So she treaded softly in the opposite direction, knowing there was an outbuilding back in the woods on the edge of the property. Based on what she’d seen before, that’s where the real magic was done.
Dora froze for just a second as an owl hooted in the trees overhead. The noise skittered down her spine like ice, but she grinned with the thrill of it. She didn’t scare easily. And when she did, she liked it.
As she crept along the edge of the fence, keeping in the shadows, Dora realized that it was the second time in one night that she was feeling that zipping thrill. The first had been standing in the Malashovik’s driveway, with 6 plus feet of 200-pound man leaning into her. Good-smelling man, she recalled. Like pine trees and morning, before the sun burns the mist off the world.
But ornery. Jeez. He had not wanted her around. Except for when he’d leaned down like he was going to lap her up like ice cream. But Dora knew that had started out as a way to distract her. And boy had it worked. She was only glad they had been interrupted or else the two of them might still be distracted, tangled up in the sheets somewhere.
And as nice as a little playtime might have been, Dora had a job to do. Some puzzle pieces to put together. She was about 90% sure that Danil and his family were one of those puzzle pieces. So, it was probably better that they didn’t get involved. Objectivity and all.
Not that Dora ever really had a problem staying objective about the men she slept with. They were a means to an end for her. Hopefully a really fun or interesting or talented means to an end. But a means to an end no matter what. There had only ever been one person in her life that Dora had loved: her father. And after he’d passed, she’d made herself a little deal that she wasn’t going down the whole love road again. Not without some real nice insurance. Like a signed and certified contract from God himself saying she wouldn’t be putting that person in the ground any time soon.
She was a strong person, both emotionally and physically. In fact, creeping up on the edge of the outbuilding, Dora scaled the brick wall and crouched on the roof as effortlessly as a monkey. But even she had limits. She wasn’t going to get tangled up in somebody right now. She had her job to do, a mystery to solve, and that was as good as rose petals down the aisle for her.
She put every other thought out of her mind as she crawled along the edge of the roof. She knew that the lights were off inside the building, with the exception of some security lights burning low over the doors. If there was anyone inside, she didn’t think that they were working right now. So, gripping hard on the downspout of the roof, Dora leaned over the edge and slid her head down to peer through the window.
There were test tubes and beakers. Syringes tossed haphazardly over the gleaming metal counters. A layman might have thought it was some kind of meth lab, but Dora knew better. She saw the leather restraints on the walls. The scratch marks. The clumps of thick fur on the ground. With a sick twist of her stomach, she saw the cattle prods on the wall. It matched all the other sites she’d found over the past year. An animal testing facility. But they weren’t testing makeup or a new kind of lotion on the poor creatures. They were testing something else, something that Dora hadn’t been able to figure out yet. But it looked damn close to torture to her.
And with an even further plummet of her stomach, she realized there was a coating of dust over everything. Smashed beakers on the counters and animal droppings on the floor. All signs that this particular operation had been out of business for months.
“Shit,” she murmured, swinging down from the roof and landing quietly on the floor. At least she didn’t have to be in complete stealth mode anymore. But she was deeply frustrated. Every time she got a new lead on where to find these assholes, catch them in action, they’d already moved on, months before her. It was the opposite of a high speed chase.
Dora leaned in the window, peering to see if
there were any clues she’d missed when a stick cracked in the woods behind her.
Dora froze, knowing full well that she was currently backlit by the dull glow of the security lights inside the building. It suddenly occurred to her that she was standing in the dead of the night in the middle of the Washington State wilderness. Though the reasons she’d gone to ask the Malashoviks about bears had been subterfuge, they now suddenly stood up. She supposed she would rather not meet a bear in the flesh right now.
Turning slowly, her back against the brick wall behind her, Dora peered into the woods, knowing with a crawling of skin, that whatever was in there could see her a hell of a lot better than she could see it. Well, worst came to worst, she could swing back up onto the roof. Hopefully whatever it was couldn’t climb.
A light night breeze ruffled the pines, throwing deep shadows through the already dark trees and Dora saw a glinting green for just a moment. A primal terror raced through her, lacing her blood with zinging adrenaline as she realized there was a large animal not fifteen feet from her. The breeze came again, tossing shadows, and Dora saw them again. Twin points of reflection. Two big, green eyes staring at her. And the flick of a tail. She blinked hard. Saw a flash of orange. It was ridiculous. Not possible. But Dora could have sworn she was looking right into the eyes of a-
No. Couldn’t be. Dora blinked and the night shadows swirled around, swallowing up whatever it was that she thought she’d seen. Her eyes couldn’t see it anymore. But her body could feel it. Something raced up her spine and for the first time since she’d hopped the fence, she felt real fear. She hadn’t been scared when she’d thought she might run into whoever was running that lab. But she was worried now about whatever had just slunk back into the forest.
Another night, she decided. The testing site was abandoned. Hadn’t been touched in at least a year. It would hold for another night.
***
Danil pulled a hairbrush through Dora's hair as she leaned back in between his legs and purred like a kitten. It felt so good. The sun on their faces, the scratchy hairs on his legs rubbing her soft skin. She knew they'd have to get up soon. But for now they spread out in the living room, the afternoon sun streaming in over them. Dora's eyes closed for just a second before they popped back open as he took her earlobe between his teeth.
"No sleeping," he growled, his accent thick.
One of his hands trailed down the side of her neck, tightening slightly in a delicious possession of her body. A body that he'd fully claimed. He touched her with the familiarity of a man who knew exactly what she needed and exactly how to give it to her.
His hand continued traveling south, down the center of her chest, between her breasts, intentionally ignoring the sensitive points of her nipples. She mewled in protest, wiggling slightly in his lap but he hushed her, his lips at her ear.
"Don't be greedy," he growled. "You'll take what I give you."
And she did. His searching hand found the wetness between her legs and it was all Dora could do to keep still, to let him work his magic. And magic it was. Her body bucked and arched as a powerful release took over her.
"Danil," she whispered his name like a prayer. Like an ancient, powerful word.
"Shit." Dora sat straight up in bed, rolling her eyes at the heavens and cursing herself. Her blood raced with her release and every centimeter of her skin was tingling and over-sensitized. This was getting ridiculous.
It was the millionth time in two weeks that Dora had woken up, panting and thinking of Danil. Damn sexy Belarusian lawyer. She rolled out of her bed and toward the shower. It was barely light outside but she knew she wasn't getting any more sleep.
He was doing dirty things to her almost every time she got a chance to get some shut eye and it was driving her crazy. In more ways than one.
Spokane wasn't a small town, but she'd seen him from afar or bumped into him almost every day since their almost-kiss. It didn't help that she'd gotten hauled into the precinct twice more. Luckily they weren't charging her with anything. At this point, most of the cops found it sort of funny. But not Danil.
Every time their eyes connected across the precinct, he stared daggers at her. She knew it was because his family was hiding something. She just didn't know how to tell him that she wasn't a threat to him. Not her problem, she thought as she turned the shower on full spray. If he wanted to be a suspicious ass, that was his prerogative. A hot, five o’clock-shadowed, suit-wearing, deep-voiced, good-smelling, suspicious ass.
She stepped into the punishing cold of a shower yet to turn warm.
She had better things to think about. Tonight she was going back to the animal testing site she'd found. She'd gotten scared away by whatever animal had been in the woods. And tonight was finally the night she was able to go back. She'd been staking out a package sorting facility almost every night for two weeks. But at this point, she knew their schedule. They wouldn't be receiving anything. So she had the all-clear to go back and explore to her heart's content.
She was glad for it. She'd gathered a lot of information on her stake-outs. But there was too much time with her thoughts for her liking. Which ultimately meant too much time with Danil. She was sick of thinking of him.
As long as he gave her a little breathing room to do her job, she didn't care.
Couldn't care. About anything but what she'd come to Spokane to find out.
CHAPTER THREE
"Chrystos," Danil cursed in Belarusian as he watched Dora Katsaros stroll out of his favorite coffee shop with a to-go cup in her hand. She scrolled through something on her phone and he sucked in a breath as she stepped off the curb without looking. A biker swerved around her, shouting.
Danil bounded forward, but before his very eyes, her smile and a few quick words had the biker blushing and smiling right back. And, Jesus, apologizing to HER. Even though she’d been the careless one.
Danil gave in and pinched the bridge of his nose against the headache that was quickly forming there. This woman had the world wrapped around her finger. He refused to be a part of it.
Unfortunately, she very clearly was a part of his world. As she was everywhere around town. He'd seen her almost once a day for two weeks. Mostly at the precinct. He'd been there taking care of his clients, and she'd been there for God knows what. Either because she'd been dragged in on more charges, or more likely, because she was using all that charm to make nice with a few cops she'd like to have in her pocket.
Either way, Danil had steered clear of her as best as he could. She was a complication that his family did not need. Hell, she was a complication he didn't need either. He scowled at her as she flirted with the biker.
He'd seen her in the supermarket the other day. She'd been buying apples. Turning them over in her hands to check for bruises. He hadn't liked how it had made him feel. Seeing her doing something like that. He preferred to think of her as Dora Katsaros, professional snoop. Not Dora Katsaros, human being. Very pretty human being. Very pretty human being with an ass that made a man want to beg for mercy.
Dora looked up from the biker, her eyes drawn by Danil's intense stare. Her body tensed when she recognized him. Good. So she wasn't immune. He considered turning and heading to the meeting he was already late for. But there she was, staring him down as if she owned the sidewalk she was currently standing on, one hip out and a little smirk on her face. Without considering any further, Danil tucked his hands in the pockets of his well-cut suit and strolled over to her.
He completely ignored the douche in the bike shorts whose eyes were glued to her chest.
"Ms. Katsaros."
"Mr. Malashovik."
"Goodbye," Danil said to the biker. The man's face recoiled at the tone, but he took the hint, pushing away on his bike with one last wistful look at Dora.
"That was rude," Dora said, hiding her smile behind her to-go coffee cup.
"You've been rude," Danil responded. "You've made me late for my meeting."
"And exactly how did I do th
at?"
"You almost got yourself run over in the street and made me come over to see if you were alright. And now I'm late for my meeting and don't have time for coffee."
"I wasn't in any danger from Henry," Dora nodded at the biker's departing back. "He had my best interests at heart."
"Henry?" Danil scoffed. "Did you get his telephone number as well?"
Dora hid her smile again. "We didn't have the chance to exchange information as we were interrupted by a very rude man."
Danil opened his mouth to quip back but she beat him to it.
"How do you take your coffee?" she asked, swallowing some of her own.
"Black."
She took one more swig of her coffee before she shoved the half empty cup into his hand. “It’s the least I can do, Mr. Malashovik," she said, striding away from him down the street, a slight smile on her face like she knew she'd won that round.
Twice in less than ten minutes, Danil found himself standing on the street and scowling at her back. He took a swig of her coffee and scowled even further. It was black, the way he liked it. But he'd be damned if it didn't taste like her.
***
Dora parked her car in the same place she had last time, about a mile or so through the woods from the testing site. Far from the motion sensor lights or the cameras. She tracked soundlessly through the woods.
She wasn’t scared of what was in the woods with her this time. Not like the last time she was there. There were no tripping skitters up her spine this time. And besides, she was better armed. She held her bear mace in one hand and a small Taser in the other. In the pocket of her bomber jacket was her good camera and some rubber gloves.
She was leaving that site with evidence if it was the last thing she did on this earth.
She found the same place where she’d scaled the fence before and went easily over. Cursing as she tore her jeans at the exact same spot as before. “Come on, Katsaros!”