For Shift's Sake: Paranormal shapeshifter alpha werebear soldier BBW romance (6 page)

“No,” she admitted. There was a damp patch on the front of his jacket where she’d been silently crying. She laughed a bit, wiping at her eyes. “I’m being stupid, that’s all. He caught me off guard. I should have made sure the door was locked after Louise left, but she’s always forgetting stuff and I have to let her back in. I should have known better.”

He slid his hands over her shoulders, and her upper arms. Rubbing for comfort and to erase the other man’s scent, covering her in his own. He ached to claim her. Now. Yesterday. Fucking morals.

“Who was it?”

It wasn’t a question, and they both knew it. She sighed and closed her eyes.

“Conrad Jackson. He’s been trying to get me into bed for a few months. Doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of the word no. Came here to tell me I was his and not to try his patience.”

The growl escaped before Reese could stop it. “Fuck
that.
Bastard can’t just walk in and claim he owns you like that.”

She shook her head. “I keep telling him that. But he seems a little rattled, perhaps after someone busted up one of Riley’s bars and warned them all off me.” Her eyebrow winged up and she looked at him suspiciously. “Want to tell me anything about that, Reese?”

The sound of his name on her lips was heaven itself. Feigning an innocence he’d never possessed in all his born days, he shrugged. “Don’t know what you’re talking about. Is that it? He just talked?”

She seemed way too rattled for a mere talk, however threatening. And the asshole had touched her. Just for that Reese was going to break every bone in his hands. Maybe up to the shoulder.

She nodded, but tears sparkled in her eyes again. He reached out and brushed one fat tear away as it slid down her cheek. “Don’t lie to me, sweetheart.”

“He…tried to kiss me.”

Rage hit Reese. White-hot and feral, it exploded through him like a blast of C-4. His bear snarled, and fur covered his back in a wave before retracting beneath his skin.

“Fucking son of a bitch, I’ll kill the bastard!” he snarled. “Tear his spine out and dance in his fucking entrails.”

She didn’t back down in front of his anger, shooting out a hand to grab his arm when he turned, ready to track down and rip Conrad Jackson to shreds right that moment. He stopped and looked down. Her hand looked so small against his brawny forearm. Beauty and the beast. Without fear, she moved closer, fitting her softness against the hard planes of his body.

“Just leave it, please, Reese. It doesn’t matter.” Her soft plea broke through his anger. Gathering her into his arms, he buried his face against her neck and drew her scent down deep into his lungs. Used the closeness of his mate to calm the raging beast within. Its attention hijacked, the bear grumbled and stomped a little, then acquiesced and chuffed with happiness at the feel of Bobbi against him. His bear was a freaking softy at times, and it loved to snuggle.

After long minutes, he gently pulled her from him. “Go into the house and lock the door. I won’t be long.”

Fear darkened her eyes. “You’re going after Conrad, aren’t you?”

He looked down at her. No sense in lying. “Yes.”

“Shit, no!” She grabbed his lapels, fingers tight around the fabric. “You’ll get hurt.”

He chuckled, the sound filling the darkness around them. “Sweetheart, I’ve seen men way more dangerous than this Jackson.”

“Yeah…where?” she demanded, fire in her eyes.

Smiling, he leaned down to whisper a kiss over her lips before straightening.

“In the mirror.”

Chapter Five

Reese watched Bobbi close the door and waited for the bolt to shoot home.

The metallic sound rang through the air and he sighed with relief. Satisfied she was safe, he started the bike, the engine roaring to life, down into gear and pulled out of the parking lot in a spray of dirt. The back wheel fishtailed wildly but he rode the motion with ease and brought it under control. Opening the throttle, he aimed the bike into the night.

Rage burnt within. Hotter than the deepest volcano, or the core of the sun. It burnt through him so fiercely, he was surprised it didn’t melt through his veins. It fed the bear buried deep in his soul, only for the beast to roar and slam it back. A self-perpetuating loop of utter fury.

His gums ached, fangs desperate to be free. He let them go and the taste of blood, hot and coppery, blossomed as they sliced his gums. Fur poked through his skin, covering his hands like a pair of gloves. He didn’t bother to call it back. Not even when cars whizzed past. Let them look, he didn’t care. He might look like a monster, but the worst monsters he’d met were pure blood human.

Lights of the town’s one and only strip joint came into view ahead. Neon blazed, turning the night sky into an elimination show. His bear grumbled, not liking the bright lights. It took strange dislikes at times. Like when it decided to shred everything blue in his closet. It was Reese’s favorite damn color, so the fucker had cost him a new wardrobe.

He pulled off the road and onto a dirt track before he reached the bar. He’d already identified the place as part of Riley’s network during his scout earlier. It was a no-brainer really; there was only one strip joint in town so of course it was run by the local crime lord.

And in turn, it stood to reason that his best buddy would be here. A man like that would think nothing of ogling women after he’d just assaulted another. The thought had his bear snapping and snarling, fighting his control again. It wanted to charge in and destroy the place. Break furniture and bones. Slice curtains and skin.

Killing the lights on the bike, he rode slowly along the dirt path until he was directly behind the parking lot. A thin line of trees separated him from the asphalt area, and with the place lit like the Fourth of July, no one would see him back here. The bike’s engine off, stand down, he left the machine in the darkness as he edged forward.

The lot was full of cars, big and small, expensive and cheap, old and new. It looked like the entire male population of Banford was here for the evening. His gaze fell on two expensive SUVs parked next to the side doors in a cordoned off area. Executive parking. Riley and Jackson, had to be.

He only had to wait a couple of minutes before the side door opened and a couple stumbled out. A man and a woman, they didn’t make it more than a few steps. Wrapped in each other, the guy pushed his companion against the side of his SUV, hoisting her leg up over his hip as he fumbled with his zipper.

He thrust, she moaned. “Oh god, Conrad. That’s it baby.”

Bingo. He had his man.

Reese crept forward as they fucked. A quick screw in the parking lot could be hot with the right woman, but even while she was moaning and writhing, the blonde’s face was smooth and unemotional when Conrad couldn’t see her. Reese recognized the look. A hooker on what was probably her fifth job of the evening, she was no doubt working out what chores she needed to do when she got home.

“Baby, that feels so good. Oh…oh…”

He had to give it to her, she was a good actress. Moving through the darkness, he made sure he was hidden behind the return of the building before he stepped out from the treeline. Steps silent, he hugged the wall as he moved, turning the corner and padding toward the couple.

Conrad’s ass pumped like a pneumatic drill, his grunts almost feral as he screwed the woman with a force that had to be hurting her. Reaching up, he grabbed her hair and yanked her head back, driving a cry of real pain from her lips. Reese’s lips curled back, his opinion of the guy dropping even lower. He’d met criminals who were almost honorable, with their own set of morals and ethics, but this guy…he was just piss on shit.

Three steps separated him from his prey. He had no problems sneaking up on a guy who was on the job. It was surprising how compliant a man could be when a knife was pressed between his dick and balls.

His bear snarled and the claws hidden beneath his fingernails ached sharply, warning him of a crack in his control. Abruptly, he changed his plan of attack. He didn’t want to be anywhere near Conrad’s dick. The mood the bear was in, it would rip the thing off and gut the asshole through the hole that was left. Plus, touching another guy’s dick…not happening. Ever.

Something, perhaps a survival instinct usually long buried in humans, warned Conrad of Reese’s presence.

“What th—” He started to turn but Reese had him. With a snarl, he tore Conrad from his “date,” throwing him to the ground.

“Run!” he snarled at the stripper. Without a word, she shoved her dress down and ran. The sound of her heels rang out as Reese turned back to his prey.

Conrad jumped to his feet, junk dangling. “You fucking asshole!” His fist arched through the air, which surprised Reese. He’d expected the guy to hide behind a gun like most bullies, not want to throw down old school with fists. Without conscious thought, he ducked to the side and slammed a balled fist into Conrad’s gut. He grunted, a surprising amount of muscle under the top layer of flab and staggered back a couple of paces.

“I guess you’re the new guy in town,” he said, clutching his stomach and zipping himself up as he eyed Reese with amusement. Surging forward, he aimed another couple of sharp jabs at Reese’s face. He grunted as he blocked. Someone, somewhere, had taught the man to box. The hits were well-aimed, and solid. If he’d been anything other than what he was, he wouldn’t have been able to block both and would have taken some damage.

“You could say that,” he replied, going on the attack.

Like Conrad, he’d been taught to box once upon a time, but it didn’t end there. His military bosses had taken the superior strength and speed of their shapeshifting soldiers and insisted they master as many different fighting styles as possible.

Throwing a feint at Conrad’s face, he stepped past him, his arms a flurry of movement as he used hands and elbows to drive past his opponents guard and slap him silly. Not serious blows, although he could have landed them if he wanted, but insults. Slaps to make the guy lose his temper.

Conrad snarled as he stumbled into the SUV he’d been screwing the stripper against. “You don’t know who you’re messing with, motherfucker. You are
so
dead.”

Reese’s amusement with the situation faded, and he stopped playing. Exploding into movement, within seconds, he destroyed Conrad’s defense and pinned him against the wall, his fingers around the useless human’s throat, all but cutting off his air supply.

“I know exactly who you are. You’re the guy who’s going to leave Bobbi Bradbury alone. If I catch you or any of your goons bothering her again, I’ll—”

“You’ll what, English?” Conrad snarled, his face going slowly purple. “I
own
this town. You’re fucke—”

His words cut off as Reese increased the pressure on his throat.

“You have no idea what I am,” he growled, his voice more animal than man.

“I kill men like you for a living, and you know what?” He shoved his face closer and let his bear leech into his eyes. Then he grinned.

“I enjoy it.”

***

She was an awful person. An awful,
awful
person.

Guilt surging through her veins, Bobbi paced her lounge, arms wrapped around herself as she watched the parking lot from the window. There weren’t many guests at the motel at the moment; trade had been dying off for a while, so it was mostly empty. Her gaze flitted to the parking spot outside room three where Reese usually parked his bike. The empty space accused her.

She worried at her lower lip, a bad habit her mom had often chastised her for. Reese was out there, facing Conrad Jackson. Guilt welled again, almost choking her. She should never have let him go.

Conrad was…not a nice person. She knew that, the whole freaking
town
knew that. Sure, he presented himself as the clean-cut, nice guy type, but these days people who argued with him tended to disappear, or bad things happened to them.

He hadn’t always been that way. She remembered her father having an out and out shouting match with him a few years ago. He’d never say what it was about, and she hadn’t been able to wheedle it out of him, and less than a month later she’d lost both her parents to a tragic car accident. They’d been coming back from church when a semi’s brakes had failed on a bad bend and hit them head on. A senseless tragedy.

She locked the memory away. It still hurt, but was in the past. Right now, she needed to focus on the present…

She should have stopped him from going. He would get hurt because of her. This was her problem with Conrad, not anyone else’s. She needed to woman up and deal with the asshole herself.

Her feet took her on another circuit of the room before she paused in front of the window once more. Hoping beyond hope to see Reese pull into the parking lot.

Shit shit shit
shit.
She had to do something. Anything. But what? Calling the sheriff was out of the question; he was utterly useless at the best of times and trying to get him out on a night call? Yeah, that wasn’t happening. She’d have to call… There was no one to call.

No one but her.

She looked again at the parking lot. It remained stubbornly empty.

It was no good, she had to find him. Help. Galvanized into action, and completely forgetting the fact she was in nightwear, she stormed towards the door. Catching sight of her reflection in the mirror by the entrance, she froze. Her hand lifted to her lips as she bit back a sob of frustration and worry.

Who was she kidding? She wasn’t a trained soldier like her hard as nails brother. What could one curvy, very curvy, chick do against that kind of malevolence? She was thunder thighs, not the God(dess) of thunder… although she’d never pass up the opportunity to dress in a cape.

The cell rang and she grabbed it, relief flooding through her when she saw her brother’s number. He would know what to do. Her thumb hit the screen to answer when the sound of an engine made her head whipped up.

Reese. He was back. Alive.

With a squeal, she dropped the phone, unanswered, and bolted out the door. Not caring that her feet were bare, she sped across the asphalt and threw herself into his arms almost before he’d set the motorcycle on its stand. He caught her easily, supporting her as she wrapped her arms and legs around him, burying her face in his neck.