by Rayna Tyler
“That’s okay. I’m sure whatever you’re having will be fine,” she said, and smiled.
“Then I hope you like burgers and fries.”
“That sounds great.” I was pretty good at reading people, and seeing sincerity in her gaze over my food choice helped alleviate some of my stress. It was nice to know she wasn’t being agreeable for the sake of politeness.
I placed a call to Nina, who was working at the registration desk. She must have seen me with Leah—the young female didn’t miss much—because she didn’t sound shocked when I added additional food to my regular order. After taking a seat across the table from Leah, I asked, “How do you like living in Ashbury?”
It hadn’t occurred to me until I’d seen her without Mitch that there might be another male in her life, one she might be living with, one who was sharing her bed. The thought of another man caressing her lovely skin had my bear roaring with deadly intent since we’d left the lobby. It was the only question about her life that required an answer. The sooner the better.
Leah slipped the strap of her purse off her shoulder and hooked it on the back of the adjacent chair. “Oh, I don’t live in town. I’m staying with Mitch.”
Why was she living with her brother? Did that mean her stay here was temporary, that she would eventually be leaving? The loud, rapid beat of my heart drowned out my animal’s rumbling. Before I could think of the best way to extract the information without her thinking I was being nosy, Paul, an employee who worked in the kitchen, scurried into the room.
He was carrying a tray containing two large platters filled with food, his attention focused on the floor. “Damn, Bryson, you hungry today or what?” His gaze landed on Leah, and the lanky, freckle-faced teenager came to an abrupt stop. “Oh, didn’t know you had company. My bad.” He set the tray on the end of the table between us and smiled at her. “Hi, I’m Paul. Let me know if you need anything else.”
“I will, thanks.” Leah stared with widened eyes at the plates containing two quarter-pound burgers and heaped with fries.
“Well, enjoy. We’re having a crazy lunch hour, and I need to get back to the kitchen.” Paul rushed out of the room at the same pace he’d entered it.
“Sorry, I forgot to tell Nina to bring you a single order.” I pushed the tray aside after removing our lunch and the accompanying drinks, utensils, and condiments. “I’ll eat whatever you don’t want.”
“Good thing, because if I tried to eat all this, you’d have to carry me to my car.” Leah snatched a fry off her plate.
“I’d be more than happy to carry you wherever you want to go.” Though her car was not the destination I had in mind. I much preferred my house, my bed, anywhere I could get her alone.
“Thanks, I’ll keep it in mind.” Leah’s hand quivered as she took a bite.
At first, I was afraid my abrupt honesty might have scared her off. I was about to apologize until I noticed the sparkle in her gaze and the blush rising on her cheeks. Was it possible she might be considering the same thing? I could only hope.
We spent the next fifteen minutes devouring our lunch with a minimal amount of talking. I was pleased to see that Leah had a healthy appetite and didn’t pick at her food like some of the females I knew who were always worried about maintaining their figures. As far as I was concerned, she was perfect with her ample curves in all the right places, enough to satisfy a big guy like me. Now all I had to do was convince her I was the right male for her.
“That was excellent.” Leah pushed the plate in my direction. She’d eaten one of the burgers and half the fries. “Are you sure you still have room for this?”
I nodded. “Yep, high metabolism.” That and being part bear gave me a healthy appetite. I reached for the uneaten burger and had just taken a bite when I heard the stomp of boots in the outer corridor.
I caught the familiar scent of Seth, the newest member of our security team, seconds before he sauntered into the kitchen. “Hey, Bryson, are you having problems with your radio?”
“Turned it off. I’m on lunch.”
“Preston has been trying to reach you.”
“I’ll call him when I’m done.” Unless the place was on fire, and it wasn’t, because I would have already smelled the smoke, there wasn’t anything I could think of more important than spending time with Leah. Time that was quickly being ruined by Seth and his arrogantly charming grin. A grin I was seconds away from wiping off the damned wolf’s face.
“Who’s your friend?” He didn’t wait for an answer before moving to Leah’s side of the table. “I’m Seth. And you are?” he asked.
I was growling, my bear was growling, and Seth was going to suffer an insurmountable amount of pain if he got any closer to her.
“Leah,” she said, then offered him a polite yet wary smile, which ensured he’d get to live, at least for today.
“Don’t you need to get back to work?” I released a territorial rumble, a warning Seth couldn’t possibly miss.
“Sorry, man. Didn’t know.” Seth took a few cowering steps backward. “I’ll tell the boss you’ll call him once you’re done with lunch.”
“Good idea.” I grinned, watching Seth scramble to get out of the room.
“Is everything okay?” Leah asked. “You’re not going to get into trouble for having lunch with me, are you?”
It pissed me off that Seth’s interruption had caused Leah distress. “Not at all.” I placed our empty dishes on the tray, then reached across the table to take her hand. “And even if I was, which I’m not, spending time with you was worth it.”
Chapter Three
BRYSON
Mandy snatched the plate of cookies off the counter and held them out of my reach. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on? Why Nick and you have been acting so secretive for the last couple of days?”
Not really. “No idea what you’re talking about.” I had a thing for Berkley’s chocolate chip cookies. They were freshly baked, and my mouth had been watering since I’d scented them and made a detour from Preston’s office to snag some. I made another grab for the plate... And missed. Damn it, for a human, Mandy could move fast.
“Bryson.” Uh-oh. I heard Berkley’s voice behind me and cringed. It was the same you-are-in-the-worst-trouble-of-your-life tone she used with her brothers.
“Mornin’, Berkley.” I slowly turned to find her standing in the doorway with her arms crossed, her lips pressed into a determined line. “I was only going to take one, I swear.” I’d seen Nick get his hand smacked a couple of times for snatching sweet stuff and hoped diverting the topic might work.
“Don’t use that innocent tone with me.” She strolled into the kitchen, making sure to keep the doorway blocked so that I couldn’t get around her. Not without picking her up and moving her aside, which she knew I’d never attempt. “I don’t care about the cookies.”
“Really?” I turned back to Mandy, held out my hand, and wiggled my fingers. She wrapped her arm protectively around the edge of the plate.
“I want to hear your answer to Mandy’s question. And...I want to know if it has anything to do with the woman you had lunch with yesterday,” Berkley said.
She was like the sister I never had, with the tenacity of an ornery terrier and a penchant for getting even by playing pranks on anyone who crossed her. Unlike her brothers, Reese and Nick, I’d been smart enough to stay off her radar. Until now.
When she wanted something, she didn’t always play fair. To make matters worse, she’d have Mandy provide reinforcement. Unless the resort experienced a natural disaster in the next few minutes, there was no way I’d be leaving the kitchen without answering all their questions.
I puffed out an exasperated sigh and slumped my shoulders. “What do you want to know?” Sometimes, a guy, even a dominant bear who didn’t take shit from anyone, knew when it was best to admit defeat, especially when it came to persistent females.
“For starters, we want to know about the woman Seth saw you with yesterd
ay. Who is she?”
Damn that mangy wolf. I was going to inflict some pain the next time I saw him, which was going to be the minute I escaped from Mandy and Berkley’s interrogation. Clawing might be too good for him. Maybe I’d have him moved to the night shift. A week patrolling the property when everyone was asleep might teach him to keep his observations to himself. I suppressed a grin, then said, “Her name is Leah.”
“And?” Berkley tapped her arm one finger at a time.
“And what?” I stubbornly crossed my arms to mirror her stance. “I answered your question.”
“Where did you meet her?” Mandy asked.
I should have known I wasn’t going to get off that easily. Mandy had been around Nick too long and had developed a keen method for dealing with a male’s elusive stall tactics.
“I met her when I took Bear to the vet.”
“Are you talking about Mitch’s sister, that Leah?” Berkley asked.
“He might have mentioned it when I was there.”
“Why were you having lunch together?” Mandy asked.
The steadily building pressure in my gut was getting worse. They knew something and weren’t sharing. The smug, satisfied look that passed between them confirmed it.
I wanted to tell them it was none of their business, but didn’t. Berkley had claws and knew how to use them, which meant certain parts of my male anatomy would be in jeopardy if I didn’t give her a reasonable answer. “I ran into Leah on her way to the restaurant. Since she doesn’t know anyone in the area yet, I offered to share my lunch with her.” I thought the explanation sounded reasonable, straight to the point, no reason for them to be suspicious.
“That was thoughtful of you.” Berkley smiled as if she thought I was a great guy. The darkening amber in her narrowed eyes, an influence from her wolf, meant she hadn’t believed a word I’d said.
“You still haven’t told me why you’ve been meeting secretly with Nick.” Mandy taunted me by wiggling a cookie in front of my face.
Heat rose in my cheeks, and I was tempted to snatch it out of her hand with my teeth. These two were devious, treacherous, and could compete with any good law enforcement team on the planet. “He’s helping me with some guy stuff.”
“What kind of guy stuff?” Berkley asked.
“You know, stuff.” I sucked at being vague and wondered how the hell the other males did it so well.
Berkley uncrossed her arms and slid her hands to her hips. “This stuff wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with the fact that Leah is your mate, would it?”
“What? How did you... Seth.” I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose. A week was too lenient for the male. I considered changing it to a month, along with some carefully placed paw swipes. Even though he’d heal fast, Seth might miss out on some of those sexual exploits he was always bragging about. It might not make him happy, but it would sure go a long way toward easing my frustration.
“It’s because she’s human, isn’t it? And you weren’t sure how to tell her.” Mandy gave me a sympathetic smile, then handed me a cookie, which I stuffed in my mouth before she could change her mind.
“Forget about getting advice from my brother. He’ll only screw it up,” Berkley said.
Nick convinced Mandy to let him claim her, and they were getting married. How could anything he told me be wrong?
Berkley walked over to the table and pulled out a chair. “Have a seat.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because you want to know how to win over Leah, and we can help you.” Berkley pointed at the chair. “Now sit.”
Mandy set the plate of cookies on the table. Reluctantly, I did as she’d instructed. “I suppose it couldn’t hurt to hear what you have to say.”
Chapter Four
BRYSON
I’d been gripping the truck’s steering wheel and staring at the door of Mitch’s office for the last five minutes, trying to work up the nerve to go inside. As convinced as my animal was that we could win Leah simply by offering to claim her, my human half knew better. I’d never sought help from females in the past, and although Mandy’s and Berkley’s advice had been given out of friendship and caring, I still had reservations about their plan.
“This had better work,” I told Bear, who was wedged between my thigh and a picnic basket on the front seat. He opened one curious eye and thumped my leg with his tail. There wasn’t anything wrong with the dog. His muzzle was healing, and so far, he’d avoided another confrontation with one of the local porcupines. He was merely my excuse, not part of “the plan,” so I could get in to speak with Mitch privately about Leah.
The vet was knowledgeable about shifters, did whatever he could to help our kind, and was aware that I was one. I’d witnessed how overprotective Reese and Nick could be when it came to their baby sister, so I figured the same could be said of most human males.
Although Mitch hadn’t said anything the last time I was here, he was an intelligent man and seemed concerned about my behavior with his sister. I planned to be honest, to tell him she was my mate and hope he didn’t run me out of his office with a shotgun. Or worse, make her leave town before I even got a chance to spend more time with her.
“I might as well get this over with.” I couldn’t believe I was talking to the dog again, a habit I’d gotten into a lot lately. I slid out of the vehicle and tucked him against my chest. I decided to leave the picnic basket in case I got turned down or needed to make a fast getaway.
Leah was sitting behind the reception desk and lifted her head as soon as I stepped inside. “Bryson,” she said, giving me one of her bright smiles, the kind that made me think it was only for me. “I didn’t know you had an appointment.” She glanced at her screen, then at the dog. “Is everything okay with Bear?”
Time to work on the first part of my plan. “I don’t have an appointment, but he’s been scratching and acting a little bothered, so I thought it might be a good idea if Mitch took a look at him.” The dog whimpered, adding to the guilt I already felt for bringing him to the one place that made him squirm.
“Do you have an opening? I can wait if he can’t see us right away.” I’d preferred dealing with Mitch first, but waiting meant spending more time with Leah, and neither my animal nor I had a problem with that.
“His next patient is running late. Let me see if he can get you in right now.” She rose from her chair and disappeared around the corner.
Bear’s whimpers escalated and included moaning. “It’s for a good cause,” I whispered, then scratched behind his ears. “I’ll make it up to you later, I promise.” If things went the way I hoped, I’d be more than happy to share some scraps from the picnic lunch Berkley had packed for me.
A few minutes later, Bear and I were in the exam room for the second time in a matter of days.
“I don’t see any irritation.” Mitch ran his gloved fingers over Bear’s muzzle. “It appears to be healing fine.” After removing the gloves and tossing them in the trash, he leaned against the counter opposite the exam table and braced his hands along the edge. “Bear’s not the real reason you wanted to see me, is he?”
My plan, the only one I could come up with, hadn’t seemed lame and transparent when I’d rehearsed it in my head. “I wanted to talk to you about...Leah.”
“Are you having a problem with my sister?” Mitch pressed his lips into a thin line and straightened his shoulders.
Great, now he was on the defensive and thought I didn’t like Leah. “No, no problem. It’s...” I swallowed hard, having trouble saying the one word that could change our friendship.
“It’s what?” He didn’t sound overly upset, rather mildly amused, if the grin he was clearly trying hard to hide meant anything.
My skeptical and suspicious nature sprang to life. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say he already knew why I was here. I couldn’t tell if he approved, but it was apparent he wasn’t going to make it easy for me.
“She’s my mate.” There, I’
d said it. Not that it made me breathe any easier or lessened the stress pressing against my chest. Always one to be prepared, I placed a hand on Bear’s flank, ready to snatch him off the table if Mitch told me to stay away from his sister and get the hell out of his office.
“That much is obvious.” Mitch crossed his arms and quirked a brow. “What I want to know is what you plan to do about it. What are your intentions?”
My intentions. My intentions were the same as those of any full-grown male bear who’d been lucky enough to find his mate. I wanted to lure her into my bed, sink my cock into her sweet depths, and claim her. None of which I could tell her brother, so I gave him the sugarcoated version. “With your permission, I would like to start dating Leah.”
“Leah’s a grown woman and can make her own choices. But if it makes you feel better, you have my approval. And if, at some point, you get around to claiming her, you have my blessing for that as well.” Mitch chuckled and lifted Bear off the exam table. “Why don’t we get you checked out so you can take my sister on the picnic Berkley prepared for you.”
“You know? She told you?” If my jaw was hanging any lower, I’d be stepping on it.
Mitch slapped a hand on the back of my shoulder. “Let’s just say you’ve got some good friends who care a great deal about you and leave it at that.”
LEAH
“This place is breathtaking.” I smiled at Bryson over my shoulder, then continued scanning the secluded clearing, everything from the lush greenery covering the ground to the water cascading over a wall of boulders. What drew my attention most was the crystal-blue pond at the base of the rocks frothing with bubbles.
The Seneca Falls, one of the area’s most visited tourist attractions, was more spectacular than I’d imagined. “How did you find this place?”