Bear Mechanic: BBW Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (3 page)

“I've been ready,” said her brother said sourly. “Are you?”

“Yep! We're ready. Totally ready. Definitely.”

“Like I told Elise,” said Noah, “you're welcome to stay at my place for tonight, while you figure out what you're doing.”

“There's nothing wrong with this place,” Cecil argued.

“Nothing wrong with it?” repeated Elise. “There's a bucket collecting water that's leaking from the roof! Not to mention, oh, I don't know, the lack of
electricity
!”

“I've been here for days!”

“And what were you going to do afterward? Were you just planning to hide out here and hope everything went away?”

Cecil sounded frustrated and cornered. “I don't know! I was going to figure something out!”

Noah addressed Elise. “You said something about the Wild Dogs? That's who's coming after you? And this house belongs to you?” At her nod, he continued. “Then they're going to find it. Probably sooner rather than later. You don't want to be here when they do. You've been lucky so far, but you'll be safer with me. They won't know where you are.”

Cecil still looked mutinous, but eventually he saw Noah's logic, and gave in with a short nod.

“Then grab your stuff and get in,” Noah said. “Let me take you to meet Sweetwater Automotive.”

Chapter Three

Elise

Every time she thought about Noah's kiss, Elise felt her skin warm and her heart pick up the pace.

And she was thinking about it a
lot
.

That thinking resulted in squirming in the passenger seat to get a little more friction, before she realized what she was doing and, mortified, stopped.

It wasn't like she was a blushing virgin. She'd considered moving in with her last boyfriend, whom she'd dated for almost two years. She'd been reluctant, though, which was justified when he dumped her for some sorority brat. But she always thought things out beforehand. She liked to consider her options, look at every angle before making a decision.

Never had she passionately made out with a near-stranger on a moment's impulse.

Turned out, she liked it.

At least she knew she hadn't been imagining things when he had picked her up. He had kissed her like he
meant
it, damn it, all passion and possession and gentleness mixed with fire. Even thinking about the way he had pulled her toward him made her shiver.

She was no stranger to sex, but he'd made her feel wild and sexy in a way no man never had before. And
protected
. Elise didn't think of herself as someone who needed to be protected. In fact, she would have said she disliked the idea.

But Noah had offered to help her, had reassured her, and told her just what she needed to hear—that everything was going to turn out okay, that this was just a temporary problem—and when he drew her into his arms, she'd felt truly safe for the first time since those goons had barged into her apartment.

It was like something came over her, drawing her toward him.

Being interrupted by her little brother had done a good job of dampening that down… for the moment. But when she glanced over at Noah and saw him looking back at her the same way he had been, sparks had passed between them, and she knew it wasn't just a one-time thing.

He took them back to his auto shop, grabbing a bite to eat on the way. He insisted on paying for it, even though Elise volunteered.

It was late in the evening, so no one was at the auto shop. Noah flipped on the lights in the waiting room, revealing a small, tidy area with a few chairs, a couch, and a front desk.

“You're welcome to take the couch,” Noah told Cecil. “I'll grab a pillow and blanket for you.”

He nodded at Elise with a significant look, and Elise knew he was going to give them a few minutes of privacy.

As soon as the door had closed behind him, Elise took a deep breath. “I'm glad you're okay. I don't know if I said that earlier, but I really, really am. I was only angry because I was scared.”

Cecil swallowed, looking guilty. “I know. I'm sorry for running off. Did they really come to your apartment?”

Elise grimaced and decided to spare him the most lurid details of the encounter. “Yeah, they wanted to know where you were. Where the money you owed them was.”

“Fuck. They shouldn't have. I didn't tell them about you or anything.”

“I know you didn't.” Elise bit into her jalapeño cheeseburger, relishing the spicy kick. She deserved it after the day she'd had.

“I knew it wasn't, you know, the greatest idea. I just knew you needed the money.” The dejected look on his face was that of someone surrounded by the remnants of a failed grand plan that was supposed to fix everything.

“I did. Now we just need to figure out how to get them off our backs.”

Cecil hesitated. “I could pay them back with my trust fund.”

“No,” Elise said immediately. “That money is for your college.”

“I didn't lend you
that
much.”

“There's not that much there.”

She was the only one allowed to access the account until Cecil turned twenty-one, though she wouldn't take a dime from it for herself. Her inheritance had been the house, Cecil's the money. He had shown no interest in college, though. Yet, anyway. It frustrated Elise, although she knew it would be better if he decided to go on his own.

Apparently content, Cecil nodded toward the door Noah had exited through. “So who's the guy? I'm gone for three whole days, and you've got a boyfriend?” He made an attempt at a teasing smile.

Elise flushed again. Curse her pale skin. “It's not like that,” she mumbled around a French fry.

“It looked like pretty much exactly that.” Cecil’s teasing tone told her just how much he'd enjoyed walking in on them.

“I don't know, it's… something, I guess.” It would sound silly to say that her feelings ran deeper than an ordinary superficial crush, so she didn't. “He said he’d help us out. He's going to fix my car.”

Leaning forward, Cecil lowered his voice. “Can you trust him, though?”

It was a question worth asking, even if Elise wanted to shout
YES!
at the top of her lungs. “I think so,” she said cautiously.

“It's just—” Cecil faltered. “The Wild Dogs, they're really dangerous.”

“I know.”

“No, I mean
really
dangerous.” His voice had taken on a fearful, almost awed quality. She'd never heard him sound like that before.

“Yeah, I got that when they broke into my apartment and started turning over my mattress looking for money,” she said almost snappishly.

Cecil heaved a deep sigh and flopped back on the sofa, blowing his lanky bangs up. “It's just that—” He groaned. “Never mind. You wouldn't believe me if I told you.”

“Fine, then don't tell me.” Elise fished a pepper out of her burger and popped it into her mouth, biting down on it with a satisfying crunch. He was being so weird about the biker gang. Maybe they had roughed him up or scared him somehow. If they had, they'd done a good job. But they were nothing law enforcement couldn't take care of, she was sure.

Then Noah returned, bearing a pillow and a quilt.

Cecil never did explain what he meant.

* * *

She expected exhaustion to set in any minute, but the opposite happened. She felt jumped-up, like when she drank one too many cups of coffee.

“Is that normal?” she asked as Noah led her upstairs.

He flashed a grin over his shoulder that nearly sent her into a tizzy as he unlocked the door at the top of the stairs. “I try to keep my life as boring as possible. So I wouldn't know.”

“You? Boring?” He was anything but.

“I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. I came back from Afghanistan and just wanted to settle down.”

Ex-military. That explained his perfect posture and short hair.

When they stepped through the door, there was an immediate transformation of the space from “business” to “personal.” There was carpet on the floor she could sink her toes into if she were barefoot, and all the furniture was made with elegant dark wood, a far cry from the plastic and linoleum suffusing the waiting room downstairs. Inside were a tidy office space and an open door that looked like it led to a bedroom.

He shrugged off his jacket, revealing a well-muscled figure beneath. His white T-shirt hugged his skin, showing off the defined muscles not of a gym rat but of someone who worked with his hands and body for a living. Her eyes were glued to the way the muscles in his back rippled as he hung his jacket on a hook.

“You're welcome to the bed.” He nodded toward the bedroom.

Elise bit her lip at the first thought that came to mind;
that
probably wasn't what he meant. “You don't need to do that.”

“There's a couch in the office area. I'll be fine. The bathroom is right here if you want to change.”

Elise sighed with relief. She'd gotten soaked before Noah had shown up with his umbrella, and she’d been stuck in damp jeans for hours.

She left the door cracked open. As she peeled off layers of moist fabric, she asked, “Do you live up here?”

“Yeah, I do.” Was it her imagination, or did he sound embarrassed? “For a few years now.”

“Isn't it really loud?” She didn't know what kind of machinery was used in a garage, but every time she got her oil changed, there was plenty of noise.

“I had it soundproofed. But it's quiet at night, when no one’s here.”

Cool air passed over her still-damp skin, making her shiver. She pulled on the nightshirt she’d brought in her getaway bag. It fell past her hips to brush the tops of her thighs. She didn’t have any shorts with her, so she’d have to go out there and talk to him in her underwear. Elise felt a little thrill at the prospect.

She stuck her head out the door. “All my clothes are still wet. Where should I put them?”

He glanced down at the bundle in her hands; her non-lacy, non-sexy workaday bra was on top. Oops.

After a moment he cleared his throat. “Anywhere’s fine.”

Elise laid them over the backs of a few chairs scattered around, then went to explore the bedroom.

It was simple. Beyond simple, actually. She’d go so far as to call it
sparse
. The only major piece of furniture was the bed, which was large and looked handmade. The warm wood frame with wrought-iron detail was stylishly rustic, and it stood out against the plain cotton sheets and colorless walls.

In fact, the room looked like he had just moved in. There were still boxes in one corner, some open and some closed.

“Sorry, it’s not much. I don’t get a lot of visitors.”

Noah was standing in the doorway behind her. Elise felt his eyes flick over her bare-legged figure, and her cheeks warmed.

Elise ran her fingers over one of the bedposts, along the grain of the wood. “This is really beautiful. Where did you get it?”

“I made it.” A note of pride entered his voice.

“You’re a mechanic
and
a carpenter? Is there anything you can’t do?” she asked with an incredulous laugh.

She didn’t know any guys who could do something like that. Who could build something for themselves, with their own hands.

No.
Man
. She didn’t know any men like him. And he was, very much, a man. That fact impressed itself on her mind as she looked at him again. A primal maleness radiated from him. It wasn’t just his height or muscles, but something less obvious. His confidence and command. His protectiveness when she was in trouble. The line of his strong jaw was darkened by barely-there stubble. She wanted to run her fingertips over it, feel how rough it was, see if it would scratch her skin.

He smiled a charmingly crooked smile. “I guess you could say I was getting ready,” he said enigmatically.

Elise tilted her head. “Ready for what?”

“Ready for someone to share it with.” His dark gaze caught her breath and made her flush from head to toe with knowing.

She hadn’t forgotten the kiss. Almost unconsciously her fingers rose to touch her lips in remembrance. He was close, closer to her than she’d realized.

Close enough that she could feel the heat of his body radiating from him.

“When do you think she’ll be around?” she said flippantly, trying to ignore the jackrabbit pace of her beating heart.

He cradled her face with both hands; she felt small between them, something to be protected and cherished.

“I’m starting to think she’s already here,” he whispered, brushing a thumb over her cheek.

On impulse, she went up on her tiptoes to press her lips to his. His arms caught her, and he bent eagerly to meet her.

His mouth on hers washed away the memory of every other kiss she’d ever had. Nothing even came close. His hands tipped her head back gently as he explored her mouth, running his tongue across her lower lip and deepening the kiss.

She’d never felt anything so overwhelming before. She reached up and ran her hands over his hair, savoring the way the short bristles felt against her hands, clearly a leftover from his military background.

They were pressed together as close as any two people could be, but Elise wanted more. They both had clothes on, she decided hazily, and those definitely had to go.

She slipped her hands underneath the hem of his shirt, feeling his light gasp against her mouth as she pressed her palms to his abs. She could feel each little twitch of his muscles.

One arm unwound from her, and he reached behind himself to pull off his shirt. In another quick movement, she divested herself of her own top. Then they were pressed together skin-to-skin, with nothing between them but her bra.

His hands ran over her skin eagerly. For a moment Elise was afraid of what he might think of her body, but there was nothing but pure desire in his gaze as he looked at her. The last remaining fluttering nerves in her belly eased, to be replaced by a powerful wave of want.

His large, powerful hands cupped her breasts over her thin cotton bra, kneading and massaging with a gentle but firm touch that sent a shockwave of pure lust shooting between her legs.

He rolled her nipples between his long, dexterous fingers, caressing and squeezing. The callouses on his fingers gave his touch just the right rough edge, and Elise’s knees turned to jelly. She moaned and held on to him for dear life.