The Bear's Hired Mate: A Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance (11 page)

Vincent pulled Carrie in and gave her a kiss on her cheek. Carrie gave him a small smile of thanks in return and squeezed his hand before leaving the room. Vincent watched her go and opened another beer to ponder his situation. Two women he respected were mirroring his choices and he had to admit that he didn’t like what he saw. Vincent had built a context around his life in which he was the victim. He had it that he was bombarded with expectations and he was doing all he could to meet them. However, after his last two conversations with the people he loved, Vincent had to admit that he could see their point. Even his father had commented that he was fighting his role in the clan rather than accepting it. Vincent could see how he’d lived the last few years of his life trying to avoid taking authority in any position he had been asked to fulfill. Being Jane’s mate was simply the tipping point in the long list because she was the one he cared about most.

He sat up straight as he realized that, in that line of thought, he admitted that he loved her. It wasn’t just a biological thing or a twist of fate, Vincent loved that curvy, smart, caring woman. He loved her for her. So why was he sitting here wasting time?

“Carrie!” Vincent shouted running from the room. He came out to the entrance to Midnight Ink just as Carrie was pulling on her leather jacket. “Carrie, where is she? Please, I need to see her.”

Carrie raised an eyebrow in response.

“Carrie, I love her. I’m ready to love her,” Vincent answered in desperation.

Carrie pulled a key card from her pocket, handing it to Vincent. “She’s in the penthouse.”

Vincent moved in and gave Carrie a big smacking kiss on the lips. “Thank you,” he said before moving past her and out the entrance.

He headed straight to the bank of elevators and pressed the up button. Vincent cut off an older couple with fanny packs and a group of college students who already looked drunk on their feet. Stepping into the elevator he announced, “I’m sorry, there’s an emergency,” as he keyed in the admin code into the elevator. The doors swung shut and he pressed the P for penthouse and, thanks to the admin code, he was shot straight to his destination.

The door dinged and Vincent stepped out into a small annex that held a mirror, potted plant, and a few pieces of good art. Shaking out his hands, he stepped to the door that led to the penthouse and gave a knock. Jane must have opened the door without looking because she was holding a pint of ice cream and an opened bottle of wine. Her tear-streaked face fell when she saw that it was him instead of Carrie.

Jane stood in the doorway looking wary so Vincent asked, “Can I come in?”

Jane looked at him for a long moment before nudging the door wide and turning her back on him. Vincent followed her into the massive suite. He knew there was a pool and a hot tub somewhere, as well as a movie theatre room, but the space he moved into had a ceiling two stories high and the outside wall was made entirely of glass. It felt like they were standing on the top of the world. On the big screen TV the movie “When Harry Met Sally” was paused and there was a scattering of chocolate, chips, and alcohol waiting for the sleepover Jane had been expecting.

Jane turned toward him after setting down the wine, her arms were crossed over her chest and she looked pissed in her zebra print pjs and fuzzy bunny slippers. “What do you have to say, Vincent? Because I thought I had made it pretty clear that I was leaving. At least for the night,” she finished scuffing the floor with a pink bunny.

Vincent started to move forward, but Jane moved back a step in response so Vincent stopped moving. It wasn’t going to be that easy. “I came to apologize Jane. I came to explain,” he started. “You helped me see my life for what it is. I’ve been scared to live for years now. I’ve been scared to take the leap into my role within the clan. I’ve been scared to move beyond the world I had built for myself as a young cub. Finding you and being with you showed me what being a mate could mean.”

Vincent stepped forward again and this time, Jane stood her ground. He was heartened by the response and continued, “Jane, I was an idiot. I spent all this time with you thinking that what was between us was only a biological connection; a function of my hormones that forced me to be with you. Carrie helped me to see that what I was fighting was the best part of my life; the most miraculous thing about being a werebear. Being mated is not being forced to be with you, it’s the gift that shows me who you are so I can get on with loving you right from the start. I love you for who you are. You are the person who helps me live life, you are the person who brings me joy and gives me love. Forgive me, Jane, say you’ll stay with me.”

Vincent moved further forward, opening his arms in a question. Jane stared at the outstretched muscles and hands and thought hard about going into them. The physical part of her wanted to run into them without thinking, but Vincent had gathered his thoughts and she owed him the same respect. If she went into his arms, she was accepting this life. She would be a part of the werebear clan. Someday, she would be its leader’s wife. But most of all, Jane would be saying yes to this man forever and just this man.

When she thought of it that way, the answer was obvious. She gave Vincent a brilliant smile and ran into his arms. Vincent gathered her in a possessive kiss as tears streamed down her face. “I love you Vincent, you big dumb man. I love you so much,” Jane said between kisses.

Vincent laughed. “You know this is like the end of the movie.”

Jane leaned back in his arms and quirked an eyebrow. Vincent rolled his eyes with a smile. “The end of 'When Harry Met Sally' where Harry tells Sally that when he realized he loved her, he wanted his life to start right away. That’s what I want, my love, I want my life to begin with you.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

Jane Arnold was currently sitting in a very comfortable chair, looking out over one of the wealthiest casino floors on the Las Vegas strip. She was trying to feel soothed by the sound of metal music and the soft hum of tattoo needles. As strange as it sounded, most of the time she was calmed by the combination. It meant that the tattoo parlor she managed, Midnight Ink, was running smoothly and her job was well done. Today, however, the white noise was not having its usual effect.

She stared down at the iPad in her lap and flicked her thousand-page document back about ten pages or so. It was the history of the Werebear Clan Nation. The document served as class material for the high school students of the Mezzanotte Werebear Clan. 

Jane was 90% positive no one had ever intended for someone to read the textbook in the space of a few months. It was obviously meant to be studied over the course of years and her abbreviated tutoring in the subject was not enjoyable. Jane totally agreed with the student staff that helped out around the shop - school sucked.

Jane was saved from the continued torture of the political history of the European Clans by a client walking through the parlor doors. The woman was Carrie’s first appointment of the day and needed a little help being walked through the process. Jane was called in to give her opinion on the tattoo’s size and placement. Jane liked this unexpected aspect of her work. It was fun to be a part of the living art people chose to place on their bodies and Jane had a knack for putting people at ease when they were a little nervous about getting their first tattoo.

Not that Jane spoke from real experience. She knew that Xavier and the other artists had a side bet going on regarding who would be the one to do her first tat: Vincent or Carrie. Jane wasn’t stuck because she couldn’t pick an artist - she’d totally go with Vincent when it was time - but it just seemed like too much commitment at this point in her life.

She had the luck to find herself as a werebear mate to the future leader of the clan and becoming a part of the clan itself was a huge commitment as well. While Jane had never been afraid of commitment, becoming a part of an ancient and magical clan of bear-people was enough to wrap her head around. It ranked way higher than deciding if she wanted a cherry blossom on her lower back or her wrist.

Shaking her head, she walked back out front and smoothed down the back of her pink pleated skirt before sitting down again. All of the artists were engaged with clients, which meant that she had a few hours of uninterrupted study time before the current clients would leave and be replaced with new ones.

Checking her watch, she decided to play a game with herself - if she spent the next forty-five minutes studying the progression of the Mezzanotte clan from Italy to America, she would reward herself with a Diet Coke.

When her timer went off, Jane knew more about the reasons why the Mezzanotte clan split from its Italian counterpart;  she could trace the creation of two laws involving family living situations; and Vincent’s father, Vincenzo, had officially been born and was written into the history books.

Tapping the home button, she decided that with the birth of her future father-in-law, she was now ready for the Coke she promised herself.

Walking into the break room, she mused about how weird it must be for Vincenzo to already be in the history books and still be the leader of the Clan. The Clan’s children were debating his early choices as a leader while he was still in office. That was just weird. Even weirder, was to think that someday she would be in one of the history books. By mating Vincent, she would eventually become the first lady of the Mezzanotte Clan and the more she learned about its history, the more daunting that task became.

Jane cracked open the Diet Coke, plunked in a red and white striped straw, and tried to focus on listing all of the good things about being mated to Vincent and becoming a part of the werebear Clan.

First, she had a storybook romance. Seriously, it was one for the ages - at least from a human perspective. There were entire sub-genres of romantic fiction devoted to the all-consuming  instant passion she had with Vincent. Which is why the second reason was sex. Oh, the sex could easily rival love for first place; except that the sex was so good because of the love. Third, was the long life. So long as Vincent was alive she would be, too, and vice-versa.

Fourth was the community. As overwhelming as they could be at times, it was truly wonderful to be part of a large and caring family. Finally, fifth was the money. She was not ashamed to admit that going from broke to flush in the space of a mating was a perk of the relationship. Vincent owned a chain of tattoo parlors. Even if he only directly managed and tattooed at Midnight Ink, he still pulled in royalties from all of the others. Plus, his brother owned the Mezzanotte Hotel and Casino, in which Vincent owned two large suites to live in. Jane now had a walk-in closet full of designer duds and she sometimes just camped out in there to be alone and to enjoy the sight of such pretty things.

Speaking of pretty things, she could hear Vincent’s distinct footfalls as he headed down the hallway and into the break room. Shivers moved up Jane’s arms as she anticipated his entrance into the soothing grey and blue space. Moving so her back wasn’t to the door, she leaned a hip against the white granite countertop and brushed her long dark hair over her shoulders. Jane couldn’t help but primp for her man, it was just too much fun to see his reaction.

As Vincent walked through the break room doors, Jane felt her smile turn sultry. He filled the space standing at almost seven foot tall in a pair of black shit-kickers, his favorite pair of dark jeans and a black Henley with a few buttons unbuttoned.

But the real turn-on was to watch as his caramel colored eyes moved their way up and down Jane’s curves, their color going dark as they looked their fill. Jane knew as she ran her fingers through her hair that it would send her mating scent into the air and he wouldn’t be able to resist. Her smile turned down right satisfied as Vincent gave a low growl and he stalked his way over to give her a kiss by way of greeting.

Vincent’s hand fisted in her hair and pulled Jane’s mouth up to his. Slight pressure on her jawline caused her to open her mouth to him and his tongue swept in to claim its prize. Molding herself to Vincent’s hard length, Jane enjoyed the afternoon distraction. It was just what she needed to remind herself why this was all worth it. Because it would never be about the money, or the community, or the long life. It was always going to be about this. This man, this kiss, this passion.

Jane would live and die and study dusty old tomes until her eyes bled for this love. Pulling apart from Vincent, Jane laid a hand on his beating heart and raised one eyebrow.

“Shouldn’t you be laying ink into someone’s skin right now?”

Vincent dropped his hands so they were linked around the small of Jane’s back. “I finished my first client early. They modified the design, so it was smaller than I had originally drawn,” he answered raising one of his own eyebrows in return.

Jane rolled her eyes. “You knew it looked better smaller. That girl was about as big as a minute,” she said, putting two fingers together in an approximation of the measurement. “Covering her entire shoulder in that design would have dwarfed her, and you know it.”

Vincent sighed and dropped a kiss on Jane’s lips. “Fine, you were right. But you know that I hate to change a design once it’s been agreed upon. It messes with my chi.

Jane snorted. “And you’re suddenly an expert on chi?”

“I’ve been an expert for thirty years, I’ll have you know. I learned it by reading books...speaking of which how is the studying going? I know you have a test with the tutor later this week.

Jane broke away from Vincent, using her hair to hide her face as she moved out of his grasp. She hated that she needed to take tests on the Clan’s history as if she were a teenager again. It made her feel disempowered, though, she knew the Clan wanted to see her commitment, along with her test scores, before they would even start to accept her as the future mate of their Clan leader.

Waving the can of Diet Coke in the air, she answered, “This is my reward for putting in some serious study time. I’ve made it to your father’s birth, which is just weird to read about, FYI. I still have a human perspective on time and it’s really throwing me for a loop to read about Vincenzo being born around the dawn of the American Revolution. Nobody should still be alive over 200 years later. I need to decompress before I can move on.”

Vincent frowned, “I guess I never thought of it that way. Are you OK, moving so quickly through it all? It’s helping politically, I’ll admit that. But I don’t want to force you through such a serious transition if you need a little more time to mentally accept it all.”

Jane gave Vincent a thankful smile. She knew that, if anything, Vincent was already fighting off worries that she was moving too slow and the commentary that she would never be good enough because she wasn’t a werebear herself.

“No babe, I’m staying strong. I just need a little more caffeine every now and then to cope. I have to head out, check your girl out of the system, and start prepping for the next round of clients. And, you need to go to your office and sort through email. You’ve got quite a few red flags awaiting your attention, and the other assistants are chirping at me to get you locked down for a special private meeting in two days.” Jane walked back to him and slapped his butt before heading back toward the door. “Love you, my mate, she called out over her shoulder before moving back to the front of the shop.

“Love you too,” Vincent rejoined as he watched her leave the room.

Reaching into the fridge, he pulled out his own Coke, full-calorie thank-you-very-much, and walked back out to the hallway heading toward his office. Passing by the front waiting room, he couldn’t help but take a deep breath of air, letting the lingering scent of gardenia fill his senses. God, he would never get enough of her. He understood now why werebears died without their mates. A connection like the one he had with Jane was all-consuming.

If she were to go away tomorrow, he would be bereft beyond consolation. How Carrie had survived when her mate passed, was something he understood even less now.

Walking into his office, Vincent flinched a bit when he saw the construction. Xavier and Jane had finally convinced him a few months ago to renovate his cramped space and give him the suite that a Clan leader required. With Valente’s approval, Vincent had broken into an unused storefront next to Midnight Ink and taken over the space entirely. This would give two points of entry to his office, one through the Tattoo Parlor and one through a separate Clan office. It also meant that he would finally get a few windows, and space for more than two people to meet.

Even amid all of the drop cloths and sawdust, he could breathe easier with more room. It didn’t mean it wasn’t the ugliest place on the planet at the moment, though.

Vincent walked to his oversized mahogany desk and turned on his sleek state of the art stereo system to a blues channel and pulled up his clan email.

Jane hadn’t lied, he had at least ten emails that were red flagged and at least twenty-five more that he needed to answer today. Sifting through a few of those that he could answer with half a brain, Vincent avoided the red flags for a few minutes and mulled over his situation with Jane.

It had been months since Jane had agreed to stay with him and start this mating process. When she had, it had seemed like their biggest hurdle had been jumped. A human had agreed to become mated to a werebear.

It was the basis of were fairy tales, a situation as fantastical as fairy godmothers who showed up and turned pumpkins into coaches and rags into ball gowns. The fact that Jane learned the truth about Vincent and his people and still wanted to stay with him had been a relief at the time. Now, however, he was seeing that the bigger issue was going to be acclimating to life together.

Well, thinking about Jane and her stress, and his stress about her stress, was not the way to go. Perhaps the red-flagged emails would be easier to troubleshoot. Opening the first on the list, Vincent felt himself go still. It was the details on the meeting Jane had said he needed to find time for.

In reality, the email was an insistence that he clear his schedule for the meeting. Just thinking about attending and shutting himself in a room with the people listed on the email made Vincent’s skin crawl. He had no idea how a group of werebears were going to keep it together through the discussion. The thought of it made him want to punch a hole through his non-existent office walls.