Bear-ly A Hero (Bear Claw Security 2) (15 page)
Read Bear-ly A Hero (Bear Claw Security 2) Online
Authors: Terry Bolryder
Tags: #Paranormal, #Contemporary, #Fiction, #Romance, #Forever Love, #Adult, #Erotic, #Bear Shifter, #Mate, #Suspense, #Violence, #Supernatural, #Protection, #Bachelor, #Single Woman, #Fantasy, #Military, #Action, #Adventure, #Motorcycle Gang, #Series, #Bear Claw Security, #Computer Geek, #Hacker, #Private Security Co., #Office, #Bodyguard Job, #Attack, #BBW, #Tech Guy, #Quiet & Nerdy, #Tattoos, #Intimidating, #Scowl, #Run & Hide, #Keep Safe
“That was…” She trailed off, not knowing what to say.
“Mate,” he said, reaching out and stroking her hair.
“Yeah,” she said, wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. “Mate.”
H
ours later
, they were watching
Pride and Prejudice
together, finally on the last segment.
Limes loved the feel of Jamie under his arm, pressed up against his side.
He looked up at her door, remembering when Glen had come back.
“So you’re mine now,” he said, looking down at her, smoothing her hair with his hand.
“Yes,” she said, dark eyes sparkling up at him.
“So no more Glen? No more Milo?”
“No,” she said. “You have my permission to do what you wish with them if they come back again.”
He cracked his knuckles ominously. “Excellent. I think I’m going to like this mate thing more than I ever thought possible.”
“Me, too,” she said, pulling his arm back around her.
“Do I make you feel safe?” he asked, looking down at her, still in awe that this beautiful, curvy woman was completely his.
“Of course,” she said, putting a hand on his chest. He loved how small her hand was. He brought his other hand up to cup it in his. “I love that about you.”
“That’s all I wanted,” he said. “I hated when you looked afraid. I wanted you to look at me like a port in the storm. Like your rescuer.”
“Hero complex, hm?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No. Not in general. Just for you.”
He saw her tilt her head down, as she did when she was slightly embarrassed. It made him grin. He looked forward to figuring out all of her little ticks and quirks over the years they would have together.
“So you can stay home and work on your novels now I guess,” he said. “Or even better, come work at the office with me.” He grinned. “I like the idea of having my mate around whenever I want her.”
She laughed. “Are you sure you wouldn’t get sick of me?”
“Not possible,” he said. “One thing I’ve learned from working with you is I can never get tired of you. Just being around you brings me more peace.”
“Are you sure it’s not just so we can have sexy times whenever we want?” she teased.
He grinned. “Would you have a problem with that?”
“No,” she said. “I guess I can work on my novels at your place. It’ll be fun to stay together.”
“Darn right,” he said. “Hey, you should name a hero Limes.”
“No,” she said flatly.
“Why? Is it too weird?”
“No,” she said. “I don’t want to share you with anyone. Sorry, there will never be a hero named Limes.”
“Except in real life,” he corrected.
She rubbed her hand over his chest and brought her lips up close to his. “Yeah, just the one in real life.”
He kissed her then, drinking her in, loving the way her body gave in and pressed up against him, the way they seemed to meld any time they touched.
He was in no hurry to let it end. The longer he kept his lips on hers, the more connected he felt, the more intense everything was. His love for her, his awareness that he would die for her, the protectiveness he held deep inside that was so obvious to everyone around him.
She was utterly precious. He could never let her go. And she was his.
It was inconceivable. It was more than he’d ever deserved. It was so wonderful that it sort of made up for the terrible loss he’d had before, though he knew no one could ever replace his sister in his heart.
No, Jamie wasn’t replacing her. Jamie was just bringing him into the light again, where he could love openly and remember without wanting to hide in the darkness.
Jamie was making the world bright again, one ray of sunlight, one trusting smile at a time.
“I’m really glad you didn’t want to work with Bronson,” he said, pulling away, loving the look of her eyes, glazed over in pleasure from their kiss. “It must have been fate.”
“I thought you didn’t believe in fate,” she said.
“I believe now,” he said. “It’d be wrong not to, after fate’s done me so good.” He nuzzled the top of her head. “It brought me perfection.”
She grinned and rested against him, both arms hugging his chest, barely reaching around him. “Didn’t do so bad for me either.”
“Oh yeah?” he asked, tilting up her chin to face him. “Not too bad?”
“Not too bad,” she said, running her hands over his stubble. “Just bad enough.”
“So I’m not the monster you thought I was when you met me?”
“Oh no,” she said. “You can still be a monster. It’s just that you’re on my side now. That’s a good thing.”
“Always on your side,” he said. “I’ll always fight for you.” He kissed the top of her head. “Always protect you.” He ran his hand over her arm as he lowered his lips to kiss her neck, making her shudder. “Always make sure you feel loved. I love you, mate.”
“Gosh, you turned mushy,” she said, warming under his touch.
“You like it?” he asked.
“I love it,” she said. “I love everything about you, Limes.” She giggled. “Even that name.”
“Want to go to bed and say it a few more times?” he asked, pulling her in tight.
She shivered and squirmed in his arms. “Yes, please.”
And then Limes took his mate to bed, utterly grateful that, for at least one person, a sour, green fruit that others couldn’t stand could be the most delicious after all.
“
Y
ou’re not serious
,” Bronson said, turning in his office chair and eyeing Limes like he’d gone out of his mind.
“Completely serious,” Limes said. “Jamie hasn’t taken a vacation in years, and you know I haven’t either.”
“Yeah, but we’re already backed up on tech stuff since you’ve been out of the office. What are we supposed to do for two whole weeks?” Bronson ruffled his blond hair, looking genuinely perplexed.
But Limes had an idea of how to fix the situation. He owed his friend for coming to help during the fight against Jamie’s kidnappers.
“I already have someone in mind for the job,” he said, pushing a resume across the table. “Now keep in mind, you can’t really hire a hacker by resume, but I know this girl from the community. She’s good.”
“Have you met her in person?” Bronson asked.
“No,” Limes said. “That’s not the point. She’s damn good though, and I think you’ll like her. At least in our online interactions, she’s a lot like me.” Limes gave Bronson an evil smile and the other man groaned and leaned back on his chair, looking out the window.
“A female Limes? Heaven help us all,” he said. He waved to the city below. “Goodbye freedom.”
“Stop being dramatic,” Limes said. “You can’t do both jobs. Hire her, let her do mine. It’s only two weeks, you big goof.”
Bronson frowned. “I don’t see why you can’t have a honeymoon around here.”
Limes folded his arms. “You were gleeful at first at the prospect of me finding a mate, now you’re pouting. What’s up with you?”
Bronson grew quiet at that, turning out to look at the city. “I guess it’s just gonna be a little lonely around here. I’m going to be the only one on my own.”
“That’s stupid,” Limes said flatly. “Just find a female then.” He raised an eyebrow. “Hey, hook up with the hacker chick.”
Bronson gave him a dark, unamused look. “A female Limes? No way in hell.” He tapped his fingers on the desk. “No, the female for me will be friendly, quiet, kind, sweet. All those things. I can just picture her now.”
Limes scoffed. “You do that.” He pushed the resume closer. “But you call this girl in. You’ll regret it if you don’t. Heck, she could work here when I’m back too. Now that I have a reason to not live at the office twenty-four seven it would be nice to have the help.”
Bronson nodded. “I’ve been thinking of expanding. Bringing in a couple of new guys from the unit to help out with bodyguard details as well.”
“Hercules would be great,” Limes said.
“Yeah,” Bronson said. “If we could get him.”
“Anyway, you’ve got the help you need,” Limes said. “I have a date with Hawaii.”
Bronson groaned. “Fine, fine. Go enjoy a couple of weeks of sunshine with your girl. You two deserve it, after what you’ve been through.”
“Thanks,” Limes said, reaching out a hand for the other man to shake. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
Bronson just waved him away, but Limes could tell from the faint smile on his face that Bronson was happy for him in finding Jamie. And happy for the two of them that they finally had more than just work in their lives.
He walked out into the waiting room and saw her leaning over the counter, talking to Carrie. The two girls were already becoming fast friends.
“You ready to go?” he asked.
“Hawaii,” Carrie said, turning to Cage, who was sitting behind the desk, watching his mate. “Why don’t you take me there?”
“I will,” he said, standing and wrapping his arms around her. “Or anywhere else you want to go. You just name it.”
“Gross,” Limes said, eyeing them narrowly. Jamie laughed and walked over to him and he slung an arm around her waist. “You ready to go?”
“Yes,” she said. “Did you get Bronson to agree to hire a replacement?”
“I think so,” Limes said. “He didn’t seem very keen on the idea of a female Limes.”
“Oh, I would pay to see that,” Carrie said, folding her arms. She tilted her head, a thoughtful look on her face. “Actually, that might be kind of a good match.” She looked at Cage. “Let’s not go on vacation yet after all. I want to watch that.”
“Me too,” Cage said, leaning down to kiss the top of her head. “Plus, every day with you is like a vacation to me.”
She grinned and cuddled closer. “That’s nice, but we’re still going,” she said.
“Sounds good to me,” Cage said in a low voice.
Limes wrinkled his nose. “And we’re going now, before things get more disgusting in here.”
Cage just laughed at his grumpiness and cuddled his mate closer. Limes figured it wouldn’t be too long before the two of them had a bear cub, considering how all over each other they were.
He took a look at Jamie, her curvy ass swaying as she walked ahead of him to the elevator. The thought of her, round with his cub, lit his heart with a kind of warm hope.
Another person to care about. The start of their family.
“What are you thinking about?” she asked, as she leaned against his chest as the elevator went down.
“Oh, just our vacation,” Limes said, his hand finding her waist and giving it a gentle squeeze. “It’ll be nice to just be carefree for a couple weeks. Though I do wish I could see the fireworks here.”
“I’m sure you can check in with Cage. Or I can with Carrie. They’ll keep us updated.”
“Nah, as fun as that would be, I think spending time with you is infinitely more interesting,” he said, kissing the top of her head.
“Hey, you said that was mushy when Cage did it,” Jamie teased.
“It’s not mushy when we do it,” he said. “Double standard.”
Jamie giggled and Limes held the elevator doors so she could walk out. As they walked out into the bright sunlight, Limes handed Jamie his sunglasses and shielded his eyes from the sun.
With her at his side, everything looked different now. All he thought about was how to make her happy, how to keep her safe, how to make sure she was doing well.
He knew that when she was pregnant, he’d be even worse about it. More overprotective, more worried.
And yet, looking at his cute, curvy mate, he still looked forward to it. He looked forward to everything with her.
He took her hand in his as they walked down the street. He couldn’t wait to expand their family. And Hawaii would be just the place to start working on it.
T
hank
you so much for reading Limes and Jamie’s story! I had a blast writing about this grumpy bear and his mate. If you enjoyed it, please help me out by leaving a review. And if you want to read Bronson next, let me know in your review!
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