She groaned. “God, you’re being annoying. You saved me and for five years I haven’t been able to get rid of you.”
Bruce stilled. “You wanted to get rid of me?” he asked. Her face changed, almost like she was going to cry. She finally shook her head and took a deep breath.
“Just go away, Bruce,” she said and she sounded resigned, her voice thick.
“I’m not leaving you,” he said.
“Why, dammit! Why won’t you just leave me alone and go live that wonderful life of yours with that damn woman?”
“Because I love you,” he said, and the words fell out before he could stop them.
Chapter 1
Bruce stood in the middle of the trail, staring at Jenna sitting on the ground in front of him, trying to figure out how his mouth had gotten away from him. He’d just confessed his love for her, admitted that he cared for her as more than a friend.
And he hadn’t meant to do that. He couldn’t afford to love her, not unless he was completely himself. But he couldn’t watch her giving herself to another man, someone that wasn’t worth it. Because Drew really just wasn’t in Jenna’s league. She deserved better.
It was just hard to keep believing that Bruce was the better choice. As a man, yes. But as a bear? As someone who shared a body with an animal?
He took a deep breath and blew it out in a shudder, feeling like he’d just been knocked by a train and it had been his own doing.
“What?” Jenna finally said, softly. He opened his mouth to say something, and closed it again. What was he going to say? That he didn’t mean it? Because he really did. That he didn’t mean to tell her? It was better that she knew than that she thought he was some psycho-stalker.
But there was so much danger involved.
She looked at him, her eyes the color of emeralds and boring into his soul, looking for the truth. And the truth was that he really did love her. Everything else aside, he wanted her all to himself.
“You heard me,” he finally said. That was the best that he could come up with.
“I don’t understand,” Jenna finally said. “Five years? And you choose to tell me now, when we’re both with other people?”
Bruce shrugged. “I couldn’t keep watching you with someone else.”
Jenna chuckled, a sound that sounded like something between laughter and shock. “I can’t believe this,” she said. Bruce wanted to ask her if it was a good thing, or bad. He wanted to know what she was thinking. He wanted her to tell him something, anything. If she loved him, too, that would be great. Painful in all sorts of ways because he would have to leave her. But great. If she didn’t love him he wanted her to tell him and tell him now. Just give it to him straight, rip it off like a Band-Aid. He waited for her, watching her, trying to place what she was feeling.
But all he got was confusion.
There were voices behind him, men coming up the trail. Jenna glanced in the direction of the voices a moment later. Bruce looked over his shoulder. They would round the bend soon, and then they’d both be in plain sight. He turned back to Jenna, tried to tell her what he was feeling with his eyes before he slipped into the trees.
“Bruce!” Jenna called after him, but then the others arrived and she turned her attention to them. Bruce hid behind the trees where he’d first been and looked down on Jenna. Drew crouched next to her and asked her if she was okay, holding her hand.
“I just want to get home,” she said.
Murray was with them, and Phil and Chaz, Murray’s two sons. Phil lifted Jenna up like she didn’t weigh anything. Chaz picked up the bag she’d been carrying, which Bruce hadn’t noticed before. Murray nodded his approval and scanned the area before he turned and they all walked back down. Drew kept asking Jenna questions, but she only gave him half answers.
Just before they disappeared around the bend and out of sight, she looked back and her eyes caught Bruce’s.
When they were gone he leaned against the tree with his back and closed his eyes. What had he done? By being selfish he’d put Jenna into more danger than he ever wanted her to be in. There weren’t a lot of ways that he could go now.
If it were any other circumstance, any normal, human, circumstance, there would have been no problem. But now? What about Tara? If Jenna felt the same about him that he felt about her, and made a point of telling him so, he was going to have to face Tara.
The rules were clear, if he told Jenna what he was he would never see her again. If he didn’t, he would be safe, but he could never really be with Jenna the way he wanted to. Completely, without secrets. At least he would still see her.
He took a deep breath and followed the same trail down the mountain the others had taken.
It took him forty-five minutes to get to his cabin. He didn’t check on Jenna. He was scared of what she would say. Instead he walked home and closed the door behind him, locking it. He crawled into bed, feeling like an idiot.
By nightfall Bruce still hadn’t left his cabin. He’d told himself it was because he had to build up his strength again. He had to make sure that he was where he needed to be as a shapeshifter, with power enough to control the change. He told himself that he would go out after dark so that he could feed properly. He told himself a lot of things that would hide the truth.
He was hiding.
The setting sun had turned the world golden before it had sunk behind the horizon, and finally the shades of the night had crept in, draining it of color. It was almost completely dark. Bruce stood by the window and watched the moon.
Four more days and it would be full. He was scared of the full moon this time round. So much had happened the last couple of days he didn’t know what would happen once the moon was full, once the animals in his Family were let loose.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He could hear the sad wail of the moon, the lonely whine as she crossed the sky. He understood why the werewolves howled to the moon. Bruce could almost not help joining in himself, and if he had it in him to howl he might have.
Instead he stood watching the silver orb that was almost full.
There was a knock on his door and he jumped. He hadn’t heard anyone coming, and that scared him. If someone had managed to get to him before he heard them it was a shifter. And he could only think of one shifter that would look him up at home.
He turned and walked to the door. The hair at the back of his neck stood up and when he reached for the door handle he noticed the tremble in his fingers. He wasn’t ready to face her, not yet.
He pulled the door open, ready to be attacked.
Instead it was Jenna that stood at the door.
“Jenna,” he said, surprised. He looked around. The night was dark and completely empty. She stood alone in his doorway, her arms crossed over her chest like she was cold.
“Are you alone?” he asked.
“Who would I bring with me?” she asked and stepped in without being invited. Bruce noticed her limp. He looked outside one more time, but it might have been possible for him to just have been so deep in thought he hadn’t heard it. That wasn’t good – he had to be on his guard at all times. Especially now.
“You shouldn’t be on that foot,” he said, looking down at the foot she held slightly off the ground. “You’re just going to make it worse.”
“Are you going to hide from me all day?” she asked, ignoring his advice.
“I wasn’t hiding—“ he started but she cut him off.
“Sure you’re not. You just told me in the woods that you love me and now you’re sitting in your cabin like a sprained ankle is contagious.”
Bruce shook his head.
“It isn’t that,” he said.
“I know it isn’t that. I was being sarcastic.”
She hobbled past him and lowered herself onto the couch. She let out a sigh of relief, like it was good to finally be able to sit down.
“I’d like you to know that it was a hell of an effort to get to you, so you better make it worth my
while that I came all this way on a sprained ankle.”
Bruce didn’t know what to say. Jenna was in his house, pushy and forward more than she’d ever been, and he didn’t know how to handle her. Finally he sat down next to her, and nodded.
“You’re right,” he said.
“What?” she asked like it was strange that he said it.
“I was hiding. I was being a coward,” he said and the words were so soft it was like he’d just breathed them. But she’d heard and she leaned back.
“What are you hiding from?” she asked.
“You,” Bruce said. “Telling me that I’m just an idiot who can’t make up his mind about the women in his life.”
She laughed. “That does sound kind of like me, doesn’t it?” she said. “And it does seem like you can’t make up your mind. So, what will it be, Bruce?”
Bruce shook his head fast from side to side. “Don’t do this to me,” he said.
“Do what?”
“Don’t make me choose.”
Her face changed. She raised her eyebrows and she looked upset. It was the kind of face that told him he really was being ridiculous.
“You were the one that wanted to tell me that you loved me. I didn’t ask for it. You did it even though you have Tara.”
Her voice was hard, reprimanding. And Bruce nodded, because she had a right to be harsh with him right now.
“So, which is it, Bruce?” she asked and her voice softened. “Did you really mean it?” She sounded suddenly unsure, like she was scared he was going to take it back.
He looked down at his hands. He could say it wasn’t true. They would both know it was a lie, but she was asking for an answer. He could make it all go away, he could still go back to the place where he wasn’t risking her. It would be harder now, but he could still do it.
“Jenna,” he breathed, his voice just a gush of air. He didn’t dare look up at her. He hadn’t answered her question. He hadn’t given her anything. And the truth was, he wanted to give her everything. He took a deep breath and was just about to speak, when she leaned forward.
It was like she just let herself fall, until he was there to catch her. Jenna’s lips came down on his. It was the second time this happened, and electricity shot through his body.
They both froze for a moment, and he held very, very still, like she would disappear if he moved. He was the one that finally buckled and broke the spell. He pushed his hands into her hair on either side of her face, and kissed her, pulling her against him.
She made a small yelping sound, like it was something unexpected. But then she kissed him, too, properly. Their lips mashed against each other and her breath was hot on his skin. Her arms wrapped around his neck, her body pulled against his and he was aware of her outline against his body, how small she was, how big he was.
The kiss was urgent very quickly, and he let his hands slide over her body. She touched his cheek with her fingers tips and then slowly drew them down his neck. Everywhere she touched it felt like his skin was on fire. It felt like it was going to consume him.
He broke the kiss, grabbed her arms and held her at arm’s length.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m telling you how I feel about your little confession in the woods,” she said and her eyes glittered. She leaned in closer for a kiss, but Bruce shook his head. “You can’t do this to Drew, and I can’t do it to Tara.”
He swallowed after he said her name. He couldn’t do it to Tara, not because he didn’t want to hurt her, but because she would hunt him down and kill him for it.
“Come on,” Jenna said, whining like a child.
“Let’s just sort it out, okay. If you’re really serious, then let’s be really serious and make sure that this is done the right way. You need to talk to Drew and tell him you don’t want to be with him.”
Jenna narrowed her eyes at Bruce.
“You know that counts for you too,” she said. He nodded. He knew he would have to talk to Tara if he wanted to keep Jenna to himself. And after what had just happened he wanted to. He already loved her, but she was hot and he’d gotten all riled up after this next step.
“I know,” he finally said. It was going to be hard. It was going to be impossible, actually. But he had to do it, because she wanted it. And it was as good a reason as any to get away from Tara.
He took a deep breath. Jenna looked at him and smiled, and there was so much light and love in her smile that it melted him.
“We’ll fix it,” he said. He’d decided. He knew what he wanted. He wanted Jenna.
Now he just had to get around Tara without getting him or Jenna killed.
By the time Bruce finally got away to head up the Mountain, it was almost midnight. Spending time with Jenna was great. It was like their friendship had shot right back to where it was, and even though nothing more had happened despite his confession, just talking had been amazing.
But he hadn’t known how to get her to leave without hurting her feelings. And she’d stayed most of the night.
He climbed the rocky slopes up the mountain, watching the moon that was creeping ever closer to full, trying to figure out what he was going to say to Tara. He wanted to talk to her without the others around, not because he thought he would be safer – on the contrary – but because this wasn’t the kind of showdown he wanted anyone else to see.
Because he was almost a hundred percent sure that it was going to be a showdown. She wasn’t going to let him go without a fight. And she wasn’t going to let him stay in her territory after he’d told her off. He had to figure out what he was going to say to lessen the blow at least.
To not die on the spot.
He reached the plateau and most of the Family was there. Only Lori was missing, but it was late already. The members present all looked up at Bruce when he walked out of the trees, and they fell quiet like he was interrupting something.
“Sorry I’m late,” he said, pretending like he hadn’t noticed. “I couldn’t get away without being suspicious.” That much was true. They all looked at him, watching him, and it made him feel uncomfortable. With the moon so full they were more animal than human, and the looks Bruce got were predatory, not friendly.
“Nice of you to join us,” Tara said in the sweetest voice, and he knew that there was venom behind it. He stood in the circle, and she concluded a conversation she’d apparently been in the middle of.
“As long as we keep away from the humans the Assassins should move on from Rhodestown within the next two weeks. Dwayne heard rumors of shifters somewhere else that have been tracked down.”
They all nodded and Bruce could guess what they’d been talking about.
“Now, off with you. You’ve wasted enough of my time.”
The others glanced at Bruce like he was an object of interest. Or discussion. But they disappeared one by one until he was the only one left.
“Tara, I want to talk to you,” Bruce said. She turned to him and her white eyes shone in the night. It was unnerving, but Bruce swallowed hard and opened his mouth to keep going.
Tara walked to him, hips swaying, until she was right in front of him.
“Is that a way to greet your lover?” she asked and Bruce felt the clutches of her power curl around him. He wanted to run away, but had to stand up to her and make his point if he ever wanted to get his own life back.
She pulled him closer with her magic and no matter how much Bruce fought it, he still took a step toward her. They stood so close now they stood chest-on-chest. He could feel his own heart thundering, the nervousness running along his skin and he was sure she could feel it.
If she felt it, she didn’t show it. Instead she moved closer to Bruce, moving like her leopard instead of a person, and came so close that he could smell the sweat on her skin. Her eyes were on his lips, but she looked at him like she was hungry, not with lust. He tried to step back but he couldn’t move.
“Tara,” he said, still able to talk. She didn’t
look like she heard him.
“Tara, I don’t want this anymore,” he said, throwing it out there, and that got her attention. She froze and her eyes snapped up to his.
“What?” she said and her voice was very low, and very threatening. Bruce took a deep breath, forced himself to be strong.
“I don’t want to keep doing a relationship with you. It’s not working.”
The moment he said it, her power snapped like a rubber band. It stung on its way out, but suddenly he was free. Whatever hold she’d had on him, she didn’t have anymore.
“It’s not working for you?” she asked and her voice was dangerous. Fear crept up on Bruce, but he ignored it and shook his head.
“We both know this isn’t what you told me. And I don’t want to keep doing this.”
Her pupils thinned to small slits instead of the human-looking pinpricks they were before. She narrowed her eyes at Bruce and the combination of the pupils with the narrow eyes reminded him of a snake. She reminded him of a snake more often than not.
This was it, he thought. This was where she was going to attack him. This was where it was going to be a fight to the death, and if he was lucky he would get away with leaving her territory altogether. Her power before had been spectacular, and there was no way he could go up against that kind of power.
But it didn’t come. The atmosphere didn’t charge. Despite her creepy eyes she didn’t change. In fact, it all looked a lot the way it used to, before they’d gone to a relationship. Bruce took a deep breath and he was too nervous to hope for the best.
“I don’t suppose there’s anything I can do to change your mind,” Tara said, and she sounded strangely calm, business-like. Like she was willing to negotiate. That got Bruce’s back up. Something was wrong. Tara was only this calm when she was sure she was going to win, and considering that they weren’t fighting, something else was up.
Tara started circling Bruce, and he turned with her, keeping her in front of him all the time.
“You know, you’re awfully close to those villagers down there,” she said. Bruce nodded, trying to figure out where she was going with this. “It would be a pity if something happened to one of them, and you didn’t have the power because of our union to save them.”
BAD BOY ROMANCE: DIESEL: Contemporary Bad Boy Biker MC Romance (Box Set) (New Adult Sports Romance Short Stories Boxset) Page 81