Alpha Bear (13 page)

Now that was the kind of greeting she could
get behind.

She was just getting into his kiss when he
pulled back. He looked down at her, searching her gaze.

“You okay?” he asked. She got the feeling he
meant more by the simple question than just an inquiry about her
health.

She nodded. “Yeah,” she answered
breathlessly, looking deep into his golden brown eyes.

“Do you want to keep this between us for
now?”

Was he asking her—in that growly, intimate
tone that made her insides clench—if she wanted to go public with
their change in status from acquaintances to…whatever this was
between them now? She had no idea what to do. Mellie would tease
her, but if John was serious and this went somewhere, it would be
worth it. But…maybe not right away. Not until she knew a little
more about where they were going.

“Maybe?” Did he look disappointed, or was she
imagining that? “What do you want to do?” she asked quickly.

He growled. Actually growled. Why did she
find that so damn sexy? And why did something wild down deep in her
soul want to growl back in agreement?

“I don’t care who knows, but I figured you
might have some feelings on the matter.”

“Where are we going with this?” She tilted
her head, knowing her question had come out on a breathy note. She
couldn’t help it. John made her breathless, just by being near.

“Anywhere you want. All the way, I hope. I’m
not playing with you, I swear. I haven’t been involved with a woman
in a long time, but there’s just something about you, Ursula.
Something…almost magnetic. You pull both halves of me toward you.
If I’m honest, you did since the first time we met.”

“Why didn’t you say anything before now? Or
are you secretly turned on by my magic?” She turned a sly grin on
him, teasing a bit, but also really curious about his somewhat
sudden turnaround. This was happening fast, but she was very
attracted to him, so now that he seemed interested, her inner hussy
was all over it.

He sighed. “Your magic complicates things,
but after what I saw today, I know it’s a big part of you.
Honestly, you impressed the hell out of me, honey. I had no idea
you were so…amazing.”

A little corner of her heart warmed at his
praise.

“But it’s not why I’m no longer fighting the
pull. The more I’m around you, the less I’m able to stay away. I
hadn’t planned on this, but now that you’re here…I can’t help
myself.” He shrugged a little, then smiled that devastating grin
that had attracted her to him from the beginning. “Nor do I want to
stay away. It’s stupid to fight fate, or magic, or whatever this
is. All I know is you make me happy, and you make my bear stand up
and take notice, which it hasn’t done in a long, long time. And
never like this. This feels…serious.”

Had he gulped before that last word? Had she,
after hearing it?

Serious. Wow.

Yeah, that’s how it felt for her too. Good to
know they were both on the same page—and it was amazing to hear
such things from this man after such a short time. Could it be
real? Or was the stress of the situation getting the better of
her?

“I’m not normally an impulsive person…” she
began, unsure how to express her feelings. It was all so
complicated. “And I’m not sure if this is real, or something
brought about by the strange circumstances we’re facing.”

He let her go, making her wish she could call
her words back. Had she hurt his feelings? Damn. That’s not what
she’d intended.

John ran one hand through his golden brown
hair as he leaned back against the kitchen counter.

“So you think this is stress-induced?” he
finally asked, his eyes shadowed and unreadable.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Maybe?”

John let out a gusty sigh. “Honey, I know
pressure and stress. I’ve lived with both for many years as the
leader of my team. I know my reactions, and I know this one isn’t
the least bit determined by the stress of the situation. But the
same apparently doesn’t go for you, and I’m trying to be patient
with that. You’re not a shifter, and from what I understand, it
isn’t the same for humans. It’s probably not the same for
strega
either.” He sighed again, a little less
energetically, and a small smile played around his lips. “Whatever
happens, we’ll figure it out. I’ll just have to be patient. But
don’t ask me to leave your side. Not now. Not while you’re in
danger. For now, my place is with you when you’re working to
protect this cove. Whether or not I’m there outside of those times
is completely up to you. That’s all the room I can give you.”

Urse nodded slowly, realizing how much of a
concession the dominant Alpha grizzly shifter had just made. He was
toning down his protective instincts for her—at least a little.
That had to mean something special. He was trying to accommodate
the fact that she wasn’t a shifter.

“Okay. We can work with that,” she said. “For
right now, let’s just play it cool in front of Mellie. Otherwise,
she’ll tease me all night, and I’ll never get to sleep.”

“Looks like you two are on your own,” Mellie
called as she breezed down the hallway, already shrugging into her
jacket. “That was Tina on the phone. I called her earlier about
some herbs I need, and she invited me to dinner over at the bakery
so I can look at their roof garden and see if any of their plants
are something I can use. They put in a little greenhouse section so
they’ve even got some stuff that’s out of season, which could be an
enormous help. If it works out, I’ll need to harvest at midnight,
so I might just stay over there in their guest room. Tina said it
was okay. Zak’s going to meet me at the front door and walk me
over.” Mellie rolled her eyes as she headed for the door, her bag
slung over her shoulder. “It’s all overkill, if you ask me, but he
made me promise to wait for
an escort
, as he put it.” She
shook her head, barely drawing a breath in her excited chatter.
“Never thought I’d need a police escort to walk down Main
Street.”

“It’s for your own protection,” John put in.
Apparently, he was a miracle worker because Urse had never really
been able to get a word in edgewise when Mel was all hyped up like
this.

“Yeah, I get it. But Urse made this stretch
of the beach safe this morning. It’ll be okay. You’ll see.”
Mellie’s unwavering confidence in Urse’s abilities made her
smile.

“Call and let me know if you’re going to stay
overnight,” she managed to sneak in before Mel got going again.

“Okay. But I’ll probably end up staying.
Their garden is to die for, and the new greenhouse sounds just
about perfect. We should consider doing something similar up top.”
Mellie finally slowed down, no doubt recalling the trouble they
were in with John and the town. “If we stay, that is.”

“You’re staying,” John said in a firm voice,
surprising Urse and Mellie alike. “If I have anything to say about
it, you’re staying. And if the others decide you need to go, you
won’t be going alone.”

“You mean…?” Urse looked at him, hardly
daring to believe his words.

“I mean, if the rest of the guys can’t
appreciate what you’re doing for this town, then they’re not the
bears I thought they were. If that happens, I’m leaving too, and
I’ll be certain to tell them exactly why before I go.”

“But John—” Urse protested just as a knock
sounded from downstairs, followed by the chime of the doorbell from
the shop’s front door. Zak, no doubt, had arrived.

“That’s my police escort,” Mellie said softly
into the raging silence. She looked uncomfortable, but also still
keyed up to see the Baker sisters’ greenhouse.

“Go, Mel,” Urse said softly. “We’ll talk
about all of this later. And say hi to Zak and Tina for me.”

“Do me a favor and don’t mention what I’ve
just said. I want to see how the guys react without the pressure of
an ultimatum, okay?” John asked Mellie.

Mel nodded slowly. “That makes sense. Nobody
will hear it from me. I promise.”

“Fair enough.” John nodded with seeming
satisfaction. “Safe travels and good hunting, Amelia.”

Mellie said goodbye and rushed down the
stairs.

“Alone at last.” John turned to Urse,
waggling his eyebrows as he grinned. “This is an unexpected
treat.”

“Is it?” Urse went to stir the pots on the
stove, making sure everything was simmering and that nothing would
burn while they talked about the bomb he’d just dropped. “Did you
mean it? That you’d leave the town you created if the rest of the
townsfolk forced us to leave?”

John stepped closer to her, his hands going
to her waist. “I meant every word. I had a long time to think this
afternoon, and that was one of the things I decided. If the guys
can’t see how good you are and how much you’re giving of yourself
to help protect them, then they’re not people I want to be around
anymore. This entire social experiment will just have to go on
without me.”

“But you’re the heart of this town, John.
Even I can see that. You’re the star around which all the others
revolve. You’re their sun. Their leader. Their…Alpha. What you’ve
built here is special. Almost sacred. I wouldn’t want you to give
all this up because of me and my sister.”

John tucked her against his chest, holding
her loosely, but letting her feel his reassuring warmth.

“It’s early days yet. I have no idea how this
is all going to work out—with the town, with the leviathan, with
you and me…” He kissed the crown of her head, offering comfort, and
perhaps taking a little for himself at the same time. “Let’s just
see where it goes. If the guys are half the men I think they are,
then there won’t be any question about forcing you to leave town,
and the issue will never come up. I just wanted it to be clear that
if you go, I go.”

“Does that mean we go…like…
together
?”
she dared to ask in a small voice.

“I don’t know the answer to that one either,
just yet, but it’s sure starting to feel that way, isn’t it?” He
leaned back, seeking her gaze with his.

She was caught by his gaze. Captured.
Willingly. Happily.

“Yeah,” she said slowly, as time spun out.
“It’s beginning to feel that way.”

John smiled, his expression holding more than
a hint of relief. “I’m glad to hear you say that. This is all
uncharted territory for me. I don’t know how it is for humans or
magic users, but shifters tend to know pretty quickly…and
permanently.”

“Permanently?” she squeaked on that last
syllable, but who could blame her? They hadn’t even gone on a real
date yet and he was talking
permanent
. Like forever.
Whoa.

Just at that moment, the timer dinged. Dinner
was ready. Saved by the bell.

John backed off, and she hated the
disappointment on his face, but she was powerless to do anything
about it. Not yet. He’d blindsided her a bit with his talk of
forever. Her brain had to catch up with her heart.

Was that bad?

She wasn’t sure. Actually, she wasn’t sure
about anything right now. She needed time—and a little space—to
think.

“I have to check the roast,” she said softly.
“The timer…”

John stepped away, giving her the room she
needed to move toward the oven, from which delicious aromas were
wafting. Urse checked, and luckily, everything was ready. She began
pulling pans from the oven and getting things ready to serve. John
moved silently at her side, helping, which surprised her at first,
but he turned out to be very useful in the kitchen.

It didn’t take long to get everything on the
table. They sat down together and began eating, making only small
talk about the food by some unspoken agreement. Things had gotten a
little too heavy, too fast for Urse’s groggy brain to keep up with.
She had to chew on John’s revelations and figure out what she
thought besides a breathless,
really
?

Something purely emotional inside her was
jumping up and down like a two year old on a sugar high. Her adult
brain was flabbergasted and unable to keep up with the emo
chattering.

About halfway through the meal, John brought
up the spell she was going to perform tomorrow at noon. Glad for
the change of topic, Urse told him about her plans as best she
could.

“The noon ceremony is a little different,”
she said. “For one thing, the sun will already be overhead, at its
highest point, so I won’t have to turn my back on the cove for any
length of time.” She paused, thinking about it for a moment.
“Actually, it could be a little more confrontational than what we
did this morning because I’ll be out in the open the whole
time.”

“We’ll be there too,” John promised. “I’ll be
right at your side, and the rest of the guys will be backing you
up. They can run interference, if needed.”

She thought about that for a moment. “A
distraction might be helpful if the creature gets too rambunctious.
I don’t know what it has in store for me tomorrow. It probably
didn’t expect what we were able to do against it this morning.
Tomorrow, it will be better prepared.” She frowned. “But I don’t
want anyone getting too close and putting themselves in too much
danger. Is there anything your guys can do from afar that might
serve as a distraction?”

John grinned, and it held a tinge of sinister
satisfaction. “Zak’s an artist with almost any sort of gun. He can
take a shot from a mile out and hit what he aims at.”

“A sniper?” she asked, surprised.

She knew now that the core group that made up
the town council had all been in the military with John, but she
hadn’t quite realized that some of them had such specialties. She
probably should have, she realized. Any shifter soldier would
pretty much automatically be one of the best among the best. They
couldn’t help but stand out with all their shifter advantages when
it came to the five senses.