She reluctantly left the kitchen and passed through the living room, glancing at the window. Alex's car! Of course. Alex had said he would pick her up after work. Almost sobbing with relief, she made her way to the front door. She took a deep breath to compose herself. No one needed to see her in full panic mode, especially not her mate.
She opened the door and looked at her mate. Wow. Every time she saw him, he seemed more attractive. He watched her look at him, the corner of his mouth tugging up. Damn bear knew he was pretty.
“Tara?” he asked. “Can I come in?”
What? Oh. She scurried backwards, giving him space to get through the door. As he walked past, he brushed against her, setting all her nerve endings alight with anticipation. Giving a little shiver, she closed the door and turned to find Alex watching her.
“What?” she asked. His eyes were narrowed slightly as he looked at her face. A little frown creased his forehead. Slowly, he reached out and cupped the side of her face, his thumb gliding over the area under her eye.
“You're not sleeping,” he stated. “You look exhausted. What's wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said. She didn't want to explain. She felt silly enough about allowing herself to get into the situation. The part of her life that included Barry was humiliating. She knew she had done nothing wrong, except perhaps for being a little naïve. Still, it embarrassed her, particularly when Barry still had the power to make her jump at shadows. She didn't want to be that woman now, she wanted to be better than that, to be the kind of mate Alex deserved. Hell, she needed to be the kind of person she deserved.
Alex simply watched her, saying nothing. One eyebrow lifted a little.
“I'm fine,” she insisted.
Alex sighed. “You do remember that I'm a police detective, right? That I'm actually pretty good at knowing when people aren't being truthful. Like now. When I'm standing here and my own mate is pretending everything is okay when we both know it isn't. Let me help, Tara. What's wrong?”
Now it was her turn to sigh. When he put it like that... Yeah, she couldn't lie to him. Dammit.
“I didn't sleep well last night,” she said. She paused, unsure where to begin.
“Because...?” he prompted, his blue eyes watched her with concern. His thumb continued to stroke her cheek.
“Barry,” she sighed, looking down. All movement on her cheek stopped. Risking a peek, she noticed that the frown was back.
“What about him?” his tone was calm, even. Unnaturally so. Her big bear was pissed but keeping it under control. Impressive.
“I think...” she paused. “I can't be sure but I think he was outside the house last night. Something was out there and it sounded like a fox. Then a neighbour's dog chased it away. Maybe I'm overreacting.” She felt warmth flood her cheeks. It all sounded so flimsy.
“Maybe you're not,” Alex pointed out. “It's certainly possible, so I wouldn't discount it. Is your house secure?”
She nodded. “Plus, Sara is here. He won't do anything with her around. I know I'm safe, I just...” She shrugged. It was difficult to explain why Barry left her so unsettled, so nervous.
His hand dropped from her face and then she found herself enveloped in a bear hug. She pressed her face into his warm chest, his shirt feeling soft against her skin. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged back. His hands stroked down her hair and back, soothing her as nothing else had lately. Here, now, she felt safe.
“Has he been bothering you?” Alex asked, his voice rumbling from his chest. “Other than last night.”
“He was at the cafe today,” she answered. She stopped and sighed. “It’s not as though he did anything, and he didn't even speak to me. He's done nothing wrong, not that I can prove.” Barry had always been sneaky. Always known what he could or couldn’t get away with.
She felt Alex shrug. “He's bothering you, that's enough for me. We both know turning up to the cafe was to intimidate you.” He put a little space between them and tipped up her face to make eye contact. “I won't let him hurt you, sweetheart. I promise.”
She felt herself smile. It was weak, half-hearted even, but it was a smile.
“Besides,” Alex added. “There's always Plan B. We send my mother to deal with him.”
She snorted and he grinned at her. Tugging on her hand, he gently pulled her into the living room and set her on the couch.
“Have you eaten?” he asked. He held up a hand when she would have answered, adding, “Cheesecake doesn't count.” Sneaky bear.
She shrugged. When had she eaten last? She’d spent most of the day exhausted and slightly queasy.
“I'll take that as a no,” he said drily, heading towards the kitchen. “Stay there,” he added as she went to stand up.
Shrugging, she sank back into the cushions, listening to the sounds of her mate making something in the kitchen. Protective, hot, and domestic. She had totally won the mate lottery.
Before long, Alex brought her a plate of macaroni cheese and then returned with one for himself. “I see someone went shopping,” he commented. “For a moment there, I thought I was going to have to make cheesy cereal.”
“Actually, I finished off the cereal this morning, so it would have been cheesy beans,” she said with a shrug. “Sara picked some stuff up while I was at work.”
After they'd eaten, Alex left her on the couch with the TV on and went back to the kitchen. She could hear him washing dishes. Wow. A mate who cooked and cleaned up after himself? He might just be perfect. Well, apart from the scary mother. Stomach full and with Alex to protect her, she felt her eyelids getting heavy. Her brain was fuzzy and she had started to blink really slowly. Giving into it, she lay down with her head on a cushion and let herself drift away.
***
Dishes done, Alex went back to his mate, finding her curled up asleep. She was so cute lying there, but Alex felt cold fury wash through him as he remembered the reason for her exhaustion. No one should be harassing his mate. His bear growled an agreement. The bear was a simple creature with a simple solution. It wanted to hunt down the asshole ex and rip his head off. While Alex agreed wholeheartedly in theory, he knew he couldn't do that. The problem was that Tara was right. Barry had technically done nothing wrong. Not that they knew of or could prove.
Alex looked down at his mate. Carefully, he bent down and picked her up. She snuggled into him but didn't wake. He carried her upstairs slowly, determined not to jostle her. She needed her sleep. He put her into her bed and pulled the covers up so that she wouldn't get cold. Tiptoeing out of the room, he went downstairs, careful to tread quietly. Should he leave? His bear growled in protest. Yeah, his human half didn't want to go either, not with his mate vulnerable upstairs. He should stay. At least until her sister got home.
He turned on the TV, keeping the sound low, and sat down to wait. Time passed, and the room grew darker. Still there was no sign of Sara. He was debating whether or not to sleep on the couch when he heard it. A fox cry. He walked to the window and looked out. There. Standing just in front of the house, looking up at Tara's bedroom window. Definitely not an actual fox. Barry. He felt the growl build. This was ending. Now.
Moving from the window, he stripped quickly. Bears were much less imposing when wearing a suit, particularly one which was too small and shredded with the change to bear. He opened the door quietly and stepped outside. The fox still hadn't noticed him. Clearly Barry had gone soft, no longer in touch with his animal side. The bear snorted in disgust. Embracing the change, Alex let it wash over him, ignoring the discomfort and just allowing the bear to emerge. Unbelievable. Barry had still failed to notice a whopping great grizzly bear standing a short distance from him. He was clearly asking to be eaten.
Alex the bear reared onto his hind legs, opened his mouth and let out a roar. The fox startled, its eyes growing wide as it stared at him. Then it turned and bolted. Alex suppressed the urge to chase it. While people in Bearbank generally didn't ask t
oo many questions, a grizzly bear running down the street would be pushing it. Especially since this country didn't actually have any bears. Wrestling his temper under control, he quickly changed back to human and went back inside before anyone saw a naked man standing outside Tara's house. That was also the kind of thing people tended to notice.
Closing the door, he turned and came face to face with Tara. She stood there on the second step of the stairs, mouth open, staring at him.
“Was that... did you...?” she asked helplessly, gesturing vaguely at the door.
“Yeah,” he shrugged. “I went all bear on a certain irritating fox.”
“Oh.” She paused. “Thanks.” Her gaze strayed as she clearly noticed he was still naked. A blush warmed her cheeks, but she didn't stop looking him over.
He moved towards her. “You okay, baby? Did he wake you?”
“Who?” she asked, her eyes still on his chest.
He chuckled. “Fox boy.”
“What?” she asked, dragging her gaze back up to his face. “Oh. Yeah. I assume he ran away.”
“Yeah, he's gone,” he said. Closer now, he cupped the side of her face. “I won't let him bother you.”
When she smiled at him, his bear chuffed in pleasure. They'd protected their mate and made her feel safe. Alex was feeling pretty good too. He felt even better when she reached up and kissed him, pressing her hands on his chest. He kissed her back, allowing more passion to take over. She opened her mouth to him and he groaned as he took advantage, sliding his tongue against hers. She moved closer into him, her clothes brushing against his naked skin. One day it would be skin on skin and the pleasure might kill him. He was willing to risk it.
A fire building within him, he slid a hand around to her ribcage, sliding upwards towards her breast. He had to touch, had to feel her, had to elicit more of those delightful sounds that she made. Clearly she felt the same, arching towards him, moving her own arms up and around his neck, giving him better access.
Lost in the moment, he was startled when a voice intruded.
“My eyes! My eyes! Your mate's butt is staring at me!”
Breaking the kiss, he turned to find Sara standing at the door, hands clamped over her eyes. Her fingers scissored a little and she peeked through.
“Ahhh. Full frontal view!” she squealed. “Tara, make him put his naked bits away.”
Tara brushed past him and steered her sister into the living room. As she left, she looked shyly over her shoulder at him. He grinned back as he picked up his clothes and put them on before joining them in the living room.
“Is he wearing clothes?” Sara demanded, hands clamped over her face. “I've had enough emotional scarring for one night.”
“It's safe,” Tara told her, prying at her sister’s fingers. “Don't be a baby. We're shifters. Nudity goes along with that.”
Sara peeked through her fingers and then dropped her hands. “It's different. He's your mate which makes him family. Practically a brother. Which means I do not want to see his naked ass. Nor do I want a front row seat to the two of you groping each other.”
“We were not groping each other,” Tara said.
“We kind of were,” Alex pointed out with a shrug. He'd been enjoying it too.
“See!” Sara squealed.
“Okay, maybe a little,” Tara conceded. “But it's not how it looked. The nudity was incidental.”
Alex smirked at her. “You were the one doing all the staring. I didn't want to ruin your view by getting dressed.”
“Not. Helping.” Tara mock scowled at him. She turned back to her sister. “Alex went all bear on a certain fox's ass. Chased him away from the house.”
Her sister's expression sobered. “The wereslug was here?”
Tara nodded with a sigh. “He was here last night too. The neighbour's dog chased him off. Probably not as scary as a grizzly, but scary enough.”
“You should have told me,” Sara said. “I can help. Next time, come and get me.”
“I'm here now,” Alex said. “I'll sleep on the couch and make sure he doesn't come back.”
“It’s okay. I can chase him off,” Sara insisted. “Tara will be fine.”
Alex looked at her. Two little mice against a fox? Of course, in human form, the women would be fine. Certainly, Sara gave the impression that she was more than capable of protecting herself. He'd love to stay, but he'd promised to take things slowly with Tara and didn't want to stress her out any more than she already was.
He shrugged. “Okay. I'll get home then.” He looked at Tara. “Are you working tomorrow?”
“No,” she answered, smiling. “I have the day off, so I get to stay home and avoid trouble.”
He snorted. “Or alternatively we can go out. Maybe have a picnic. Do something fun.” He wasn’t going to let anyone scare his mate into hiding from the world.
She opened her mouth. He could tell from her expression that she was going to say no and come up with a reason to stay home. Then she stopped, took a breath and smiled. “Sounds good,” she said.
His bear was doing a little happy dance inside his head. “I'll pick you up at 11am,” he told her as he walked to the door. She caught up with him just next to the front door and stopped him with a hand to his arm.
“You forgot something,” she said softly. Standing on tiptoe, she pulled his head down and kissed him. Deeply. Thoroughly. When she broke away, they were both breathless.
“I can hear you!” came Sara's voice from the other room.
Snickering, he opened the door and left, pausing at his car to wave to his mate. He could put it off no longer. He'd have to go home and talk to his mother.
Chapter 7
The morning arrived bright and sunny. With a groan, Tara pulled the covers over her head. Too bright. It had no business being so bright. With the day off work, she had no reason to get up right now. She was free to doze for as long as she wished. Her stomach rumbled, disagreeing with her. Then her bladder started to grumble too. Dammit.
Dragging herself out of bed, she attended to business in the bathroom, had a shower, and then wandered into the kitchen.
“Sleep okay?” Sara asked. She was sitting at the table with a cup of herbal tea. Since when did Sara drink herbal tea? She'd always been a coffee addict.
“No coffee?” Tara asked, nodding towards the cup.
Her sister shrugged. “Felt like a change.”
Tara looked at her but her sister wasn't making eye contact. Something was definitely going on.
“Sara,” she began. She paused, and then decided to just ask. “What's going on?”
“Nothing,” Sara said, taking another sip of her tea. “No wereslug sightings.” She paused. “So, when is hot bear dude picking you up?”
“Eleven.” Tara narrowed her eyes. Her sister was avoiding the question.
“He'll be fully dressed this time, right?” Sara asked with a fake shudder.
“Of course,” Tara answered. “Look, Sara...”
Sara stood up. “Well, gotta go. Things to see, people to do.” Clearly her sister wasn't in a sharing mood. Never mind. She'd corner her later. Tara wasn't one to let things go.
Tara hummed to herself as she made herself some toast. She'd almost said no to Alex's idea of a picnic. There was a part of her, a small mousey part of her, that just wanted to hide and wait for Barry to go away. Another part of her was yelling that she should woman up and refuse to let him destroy her. Several years ago she had left Barry, fleeing to Bearbank to start over. Now she was settled here, she'd built a life, and she loved it. She loved her job, minus the uniform obviously. Also, she had good friends, and now she had Alex. Life was good and she was not going to let her ex take that from her. She was going on a picnic with her mate and nothing was going to spoil that.
By eleven o'clock, she was ready and waiting for Alex to pick her up. Dressed in a pretty summer dress, a light cardigan, and strappy sandals, she looked
cute, even if she did say so herself. She could do this. Alex would never let Barry get anywhere near her. She didn't have to deal with her ex alone, and that gave her the confidence to continue living her life.
Alex turned up on time and handed her a bunch of white and yellow gerberas. Like large daisies, they were fresh and beautiful. She could add sweet and thoughtful to her reasons to like Alex. The sneaky bear was making himself awfully hard to resist.
“Thank you,” she said, smiling up at him. She took the flowers and quickly put them in a vase with water. Alex followed her, watching her.
“You're welcome,” he said. “I wanted to give my mate something pretty. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes,” she said taking his hand and leading him to the door. “Do you have food?”
“It wouldn't be much of a picnic without any,” he laughed. “I have a basket in the car. Before you ask, yes, I made sure there was cheesecake.” Yeah, Alex was officially perfect.
A short car trip later and they were sitting in a small clearing in the woods. It was a beautiful day. Warm and sunny without being too hot. Perfect picnic weather. Alex opened the basket and pulled out a plate of sandwiches, handing it to her. She put the plate down and picked up a sandwich, carefully peeling back to the bread to peek suspiciously at the contents. She grinned when she saw cheese.
“I thought that cheese sandwiches were a pretty safe bet,” Alex said drily. “There are some other things too though, so help yourself.” He poked around and came up with two bottles of cola. A small box appeared next. He caught her watching and grinned at her. “Would I dare take you on a picnic and not bring cheesecake?”
Ooh, the magic word. Cheesecake. Why hadn't she mated him yet? When she reached for the box, he gently batted her hands away. A small growl escaped her. She wasn't sure which of them was more surprised. Alex threw his head back and laughed. For a moment, the cheesecake was forgotten as she stared at him. The man was delicious, truly stunning... and hers for the taking. After she'd had some cheesecake. A girl needed priorities.
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