Bear with Me (Bear Mountain Patrol Series Book 1) (10 page)

Chapter 13

“Take her with you… please,” Ryan asked Tag when Tyra and Camilla left his hospital room. Camilla had been horrified over her cousin’s condition and burst into tears. Inconsolable, Tyra and Jewel took her home.

Remembering her phone conversations with her roommate Tag stared at Ryan for a few seconds. “She likes me. I don’t know why but if she returns to my place, chances are we’ll share a bed, you okay with that?” He met Ryan’s gaze. Hell, it had been hard keeping his hands off the sexy woman before they left his place this morning. He never thought he liked aggressive women, especially someone almost blind without glasses, but his cock had been hard all morning after overhearing she wanted to be with him. Returning her home safely ended the promise to his friend. From this point on, whatever he and Camilla did was private.

Grizzle hadn’t responded to the sexual heat between Camilla since that original outburst which surprised Tag. His beast loved when Tag had sex with a woman and pushed for total domination of his partner. Lately, Grizzle grunted as if bored and left Tag alone during his sexual exploits.

“I see.” Ryan continued staring at him. “Have you talked to her since you first met?”

“No. When I saw her on the bus was the second time I ever spoke to her. Why?” Ryan didn’t take offense at his plain speaking; they were alike in that regard which made things easier. But the man did say he thought of Camilla like a sister so Tag needed to make sure they understood each other.

“Tyra and Jewel knew who you were so you’re probably right about her liking you. All I ask is that you tell her what you told me, give her a choice. If she wants to go, we’ll all know what that means. And thanks for being honest about it, much appreciated.”

Tag nodded as he stared at his friend. A variety of equipment surrounded Ryan. One beeped intermittently in the dim room. The bitter smell of antiseptic and whatever cleaning agent used in hospitals burned his nose. Nevertheless he remained seated, determined to gather as much information as possible for his upcoming hunt. “Any idea who attacked you?”

“Not really. Everything’s still hazy.”

“Was it more than one person? A gang? Give me something to go on,” Tag said taking the one chair in the room.

Grizzle grunted, obviously pleased Tag finally said something of interested and then quieted.

Ryan looked at him. “You don’t have to do that.”

“Yeah I do. It happened on my watch.”

Ryan closed his eyes and released a long breath. “Strange thing is the way he smelled. I remember he smelled like dirt, natural, no cologne or anything. Weird huh?” He looked at Tag.

“You remember his smell?” That surprised Tag. “So it was one guy? Girl? What?”
Bear?

“Lord, I hope it was more than one guy but I can’t remember. Snatches of something dark invade my sleep but I can’t make that out either.” Ryan clenched and unclenched his fist as he spoke.

“Easy, you’ll remember in time.” Tag paused. “What do you want me to do about Jensen? We know he had something to do with Camilla’s disappearance but he’s not the one who ordered it.”

“Nothing right now. Thankfully they released her, the why doesn’t matter. I hope they move on but in case they have a change of heart, I’d like her protected.” He met Tag’s gaze. “If she wants you that is.”

Tag had smelled the sweet buffet of her arousal all morning - she wanted him. And he itched to have her beneath him. First he would explain he wasn’t interested in anything serious and if she still wanted to play, they could take it to the next level.

“Yeah, there’s that.” He paused, looked at Ryan and offered an alternative. “I can stay here, make sure you don’t have any unwanted visitors and watch out for her. When you’re released, you can recuperate at my place.”

Ryan chuckled. “I must be in really bad shape for you to invite me to your place.”

Tag laughed and stretched his legs. His sister wouldn’t arrive for two weeks by then Ryan should be well enough to go home. “You’ve looked better when your face wasn’t twice its size.”

“But I feel a whole lot better today than yesterday no matter how bad it looks on the outside. Whatever the doc’s doing, works. If you want to stick around that’s cool. Finally heard from Patch this morning, he’s been out of the country, said he’d come visit in a few weeks.”

The thought of Patch near Camilla didn’t sit well. “Yeah? That’s good.”

Ryan looked at him but didn’t say anything right away. “About whoever did this… can you wait until I’m able to hunt with you? I need to be a part of it.”

Tag understood the need to be the one to pull the trigger or land the final blow. “Sure. No problem.” His cell rang. He looked at the caller ID then at Ryan. “Tyra?”

“Yeah?” Ryan’s brow rose. Tag got the distinct impression he was more interested than he let on.

“Hello.”

“Are you coming by here before you go home?” Tyra demanded.

Tag looked at Ryan. “I’m thinking of staying here at the hospital to give you a break.”

“Oh.” There was a wealth of misunderstanding in that one word. “He doesn’t want me to come back?”

“Huh? What? No. I mean he didn’t say that.”

“It’s okay. Anyway, Camilla wanted to know if you were stopping by before leaving, that’s why I called. Not to check on Ryan or anything. I know he’s tired of me hovering. So it’s okay if you stay.”

Tag rubbed his forehead. “Tyra, it’s not like that.”

“No? What’s it like then?”

He didn’t know what to say. “You going to law school, right?”

“Yes, why?”

“I can tell, that’s all. Sometimes there’s no explanation –”

“Riiiight,” she drug out the word. “What should I tell Camilla?”

Tag shook his head and glanced at Ryan. He would have his hands full with that one. “Let me talk to her.”

“He wants to talk to you,” Tyra said.

“Hello?” Camilla said, her voice unsure which bothered him.

He wanted the aggressive, full of fiery confidence, “I’m-going-to-get-you” woman back. That Camilla turned him on. “If you want to ask me something, ask.”

“Are you coming by here before you leave?”

“Why?”

“I want to see you,” she said after a brief pause.

Better. Her direct answer went straight to his cock. He widened his legs for relief. “Same question, why?”

“There are things I want to say, that I can’t say over the phone,” she rushed to add.

Pleased that she asked for what she wanted, he agreed. If she hadn’t, he would’ve asked to see her, they had unfinished business. “Okay, I’ll call when I’m on my way.”

“My phone’s not working so call me on Tyra’s phone.”

“Solid.” He disconnected and looked at Ryan.

“Tyra called for Camilla?”

Tag nodded, reluctant to discuss Camilla any further now that he made his intentions clear.

“Be gentle with her, she just went through a tough time,” Ryan said.

“You don’t need to worry about Camilla, I think she’ll handle things fine. Tyra on the other hand, she’ll lead you on a merry chase. Good luck, my friend.” Tag placed both hands behind his head and grinned.

Ryan stared at him for a few minutes then released a long breath. “She is a pistol, isn’t she?”

Tag shook his head. “Since you’re smiling I’m thinking you like pistols. And she likes you. Oh and she thinks you don’t want her to come back to the hospital. How she came to that idea, I don’t know. You may need to call her and smooth things over.”

Ryan frowned. “What? Who said that?”

“Not me, you heard everything I said. But she’s a lawyer in the making, you know how they twist everything around,” Tag said smiling at Ryan’s confused look and this was just the beginning.

Chapter 14

Camilla looked at the pile of clothes on her bed and frowned. Nothing looked right. Everything she tried on didn’t say what she wanted to say - sexy, classy and “you-need-me-so- don’t-discard-me” vibe.

“He’s going to be here soon,” Tyra said from her perch at the top of the bed. “You could’ve been dressed an hour ago, why are you going through all of this?”

For that guy
, was left unsaid.

Unsure she could explain the contradicting thoughts and emotions firing off and cascading over each other so that she had no peace, Camilla threw down the yellow dress. Removing her glasses she closed her eyes to focus.

“You’ve gone through your closet, my closet and even hit a few pieces from Jewel. Stop and tell me what’s going on with you and Tag, maybe I can help,” Tyra said grabbing her by the arm.

Camilla’s gaze slid from Tyra’s as she flopped onto the bed then moved the dress from beneath her to the side. “He’s the guy.” She replaced her glasses and bit her lip as the words slipped from her heart through her lips.

Tyra frowned as she sat next to her. “Huh?”

Camilla couldn’t understand the kernel of certainty that she’d had since she met the infuriating man. One look, maybe two then wham, a switch went off in her mind and Tag was locked into the back of her mind, lurking.

“Okay, in the movie
Grease
… no that won’t work,” she murmured thinking they met during the summer. “In
16 Candles
, Molly Ringwald … no, that’s not right.” She slumped on the bed and bit her fingernails.

Rolling to her side, she looked at Tyra. “Sometimes a woman knows the man is the right man for her but he’s slow to see what she does. Know what I mean?” She glanced at Tyra’s frown and inwardly cursed her inability to explain. “Kinda like you meet somebody and there’s a connection, not sexual or anything like that. Just a click in your mind and you know this person will be special in your life.” She glanced at the deep frown on her best friend’s face and sat up as she tried again. “Let’s say you see a person and inside your heart does a happy dance just because they’re around.”

Tyra nodded slowly grabbing her hands as they flew too close to Tyra’s face during the explanation. “Okaaay. So when you met him the first time your heart danced and you got feelings?”

Relieved Tyra hadn’t called her crazy, Camilla laughed. “Yeah, weird huh?”

Tyra pursed her lips. “Ryan said you only met the man once and doesn’t know much personal stuff about him. How do you know anything about him?”

Camilla’s cheeks warmed as she lowered her eyelids. Memories of conversations with her mother’s brother in Miami surfaced.
God she’d been pathetic
. “My uncle had access to a lot of stuff and I asked him to search for information on Tag a couple of times.” She peeked a look at Tyra.

“Stalker!”

Relieved by the smile her friend wore, Camilla laughed and swatted Tyra with her pillow. “I never stalked him. I just needed to know what was going on his life and mostly that he was safe.” She added that last bit in a whisper, realizing in a weird way, maybe she
had
stalked Tag.

“Wow, I knew you had a crush on the guy but I didn’t know it was like that. Does he know you want more than sex?” Tyra asked.

Camilla’s face warmed. This morning when she and Tag brushed against each other in passing, her skin burned and her heart skipped a beat. Blistering heat flared in her belly and shot between her legs when she looked at him. Even now, her body throbbed in anticipation of seeing him again. Sex was definitely on her agenda but Tyra knew her well enough to know she needed more. How much more to settle the butterflies in her stomach?  She wasn’t sure.

She cleared her throat. “No. But I let him know I was interested.”

Tyra shot up from the bed and stared at her. “You? Ms. Shy to the world? You made the first move?”

Camilla’s face flamed as she removed her glasses, cleaned and replaced them. “I know, right? But I can’t explain why I feel so comfortable with him. It’s natural to touch him, to want to kiss and hold him.”
More like I have to touch him.

“Have the two of you been together before? I mean since the first time?” Tyra’s brow furrowed.

Camilla shook her head, understanding Tyra’s confusion. Hell, she had been confused for the past few years over her baseless attraction to a stranger. Attraction was too tame a word, more like a fire that needed quenching.

“No. I swear, when I saw him on the bus was the second time I ever laid eyes on the man. In the flesh, that is. Dreams don’t count.”

“Wow… I don’t know what to say.” Tyra looked down at all the clothes on the bed. “Wear a pair of jeans and a tank top. He’s not the fussy, dressy type.”

Thankful Tyra didn’t think less of her, Camilla pulled on a pair of snug-fitting blue jeans and a rust-colored short sleeve spandex top. When she finished, Tyra stood behind her and curled her hair.

“He’s a big guy,” Tyra said in an even tone.

Camilla bit her lip. “Yeah, I like how much taller than me he is. I can wear heels and still not tower over him.”

“Has he ever been married?”

“No. And no kids either. He has a farm and as far as I know that’s what he does for a living.”

Tyra’s brow rose.

“The farm’s really nice,” Camilla rushed to add.

“Um hmm,” Tyra said. “Just how far do you plan to go with all of this?”

Camilla’s chest hurt, really hurt like she’d stop breathing at the idea of not seeing Tag. “I don’t know, we’ll just take it one second at a time, I guess.”

“Sex? Sleepover? Shopping for rings?”

I wish.
Camilla forced a laugh. Tag wasn’t the ring type. After she got whatever bug out of her system, the only thing she wanted was some type of life. Maybe she’d meet someone in grad school, fall in love, marry, and have kids... a normal life. First she needed to exorcise this man from her life.

“No, not that I’m planning on anyway.”

“So why do you want to talk with him so bad?” Tyra paused from curling Camilla’s hair and bent forward to look her in the face. “You’re not going to tell him how you feel are you? Without knowing how he feels first?”

Camilla had planned on sharing something along those lines, even now, getting dressed she wasn’t exactly sure what she would say to Tag. But she wouldn’t lie to him. That seemed dirty, wrong. If he asked a straight question and
if
she answered, it would be the truth.

“Like I said, we’ll talk and let things play out. I have a lot of questions about his family, his work, I want to know everything about him.”

Tyra shook her head. “That’s scary. I’m your friend, so I’ll be honest with you. If a guy wanted all of that information on the first date, I’d make the sign of the cross and run. Slow down. What’s the rush? Get to know him over time. He lives close enough that you can see each other whenever you want. Don’t veg out on information overload this first time.”

Since Tyra dated more than Camilla, she had a point. “Okay. What do we talk about, then?”

Tyra smiled brightly. “The first date is all about chemistry. Is he feeling you the same as you feel him? Is there enough positive energy to take it to another level or do you remain pen-less pals forever?”

Camilla snorted. “Funny.” Tyra always lightened the mood and Camilla appreciated her dry wit. “There’s plenty of chemistry.”

Tyra smiled. “Yeah, you want to jump his bones, I get that but what about him? Both of you guys need to be on the same page.”

Camilla recalled the way he looked at her this morning when she walked into the kitchen for breakfast. His eyes had widened and she’d swear there had been a sparkle in the depths of his brown eyes.

“That’ll be something we can discuss… over dinner… when he can’t get any relief for the boner he’ll have.” She winked at Tyra.

“Oooo, you’re evil and that’s why I love you! Make him work hard for your yes,” Tyra said.

“That’s the plan.” She stopped laughing and met Tyra’s gaze in the mirror. “I’ve been drugged, kidnapped, my mom was out of her mind with worry, my cousin is in the hospital and my best friends were sad with guilt… and all I can think of is him. What’s wrong with me?”

Tyra wrapped her arms around Camilla and held her close for a few seconds. “Nothing, the doctor said you’re good, whatever they gave you passed through your system. So it’s not the incident that’s got you feeling all gooey inside.” She kissed Camilla’s cheek and continued curling her hair. “So you must be in love. Or horny. Or a combination of both.” Tyra shrugged.

Camilla stood, exchanged her glasses for her contacts. Blinking fast she spoke from her heart. “Hell, if this is love, I don’t like it. Do you know it was hard for me to leave him at the hospital?” she whispered then looked at the closed bedroom door.

“You were upset over Ryan.”

Camilla shook her head slowly and returned to sit in front of Tyra. “That was a part of it, a really small part. Leaving Tag, walking out the room was so hard my chest hurt. I’ve never experienced anything like it. That’s why I pestered you to call him. I needed to hear his voice, needed some connection.” She met Tyra’s gaze and lowered her eyes, embarrassed.
I’m not crazy
.

“I didn’t know that. Honey, you sure you want to go through this date? It might be harder after spending time with him.”

Thankful her friend didn’t make light of her feelings or think she’d come unhinged, she nodded. “I can’t NOT see him. Does that make sense?”

“Not really but whatever you need or decide, I’ve got your back. Just be careful. I don’t get any vibes that he’d hurt your physically, it’s your heart and mind I’m concerned about. You don’t hold back when you give and I hope he appreciates the woman you are, how lucky he is that you chose him,” Tyra said as she continued styling Camilla’s hair.

“Thanks, that means a lot to me,” Camilla said, her throat choked with tears.

“Hey. No crying, you’ll mess up that makeup and he’ll be here soon. Do you want him to see you with raccoon eyes?” Tyra said wiping away her own tears with the back of her hand.

“Love you,” Camilla said, lifting her fist in the air.

“Backatcha,” Tyra said as she fist-bumped with Camilla.

Tyra’s phone alerted her about a text message. She read it and smiled. “Your date is downstairs waiting for you.” She backed up as Camilla stood. “I’m not going to lie and say I understand what you’re going through, because I don’t. What I do know is you’re an incredible woman and if Tag is the man you want, go after him with everything you have so that you have no regrets later.”

Amazed, Camilla looked at Tyra then quickly hugged her. “That’s it. No regrets wondering “What if?” Thanks, love you.” Determined to see this through, she grabbed her purse on her way out the room.