Alpha Bear (14 page)

“Do you think bullets will distract the
creature?” she asked, wondering out loud.

“Zak tried to shoot one of the smaller ones
once before. Regular bullets didn’t stop it, but it did notice. It
did
bleed
. I’ll ask Zak to try hollow points or explosive
rounds. Tracer rounds, maybe. I’m not sure what would work best,
but Zak will know, and he can try a few different things, all from
a safe distance. It might be enough to distract the creature at a
crucial moment. What we need to do is work out a system to
communicate with Zak outside the circle. You are going to cast
another circle, right?”

She nodded. “Yeah. It’s safest to be inside
wards when battling something so magical. The first thing I’ll do
is cast the circle, but it’ll be a little smaller this time so I
can cast it fast. The leviathan will probably be watching me the
entire time. I’ll need to put up the ward quick, before it can
interfere.”

“Once that circle is up, it’s hard to
communicate with anyone outside, right? Does that hold for radio
communications?” he asked.

“Probably. I wouldn’t want to chance it.”

“So we’re going to need some sort of visual
cue that Zak can see. And we should probably do a test after the
excitement is over to see if radio comms work.”

She could tell he was making a mental
checklist. She liked the way his mind worked. He seemed to see
everything in orderly little segments. That had to be at least part
of the reason why he’d been so successful in his career, and now in
building this amazing town. He attacked a project from many sides
at once. She liked that about him…and so much more.

In fact, since she’d been spending more time
with him, there was very little she didn’t like about the sexy
mayor. She’d noticed right away that he was attractive, but now,
she knew so much more about him. He drew her, like a moth to a
flame—and probably just as dangerous too. But she was powerless to
resist his allure.

He also confused the hell out of her. Things
had been moving way too fast for the past two days. She felt like
she was on a roller-coaster—both exhilarated and scared to death at
different points along the way. With any luck, the ride would end
well.

Tomorrow, they would do the noon ceremony,
and then, the next day, the sunset ceremony. Then all they’d have
to do was the all-important full moon ritual, and things might just
start to get back to normal for her—or as close as possible with
Mellie preparing to do her part after that.

Maybe then, she could take stock rationally
of where this thing with John was heading. If it lasted that long.
Frankly, she was afraid that, after her part in protecting the cove
was over, he would no longer be interested. Stress had a way of
making people react differently than they otherwise would.

She hoped that wasn’t the case with John, but
how well did she really know him? She knew she could trust him to
protect her. In essence, she could trust him with her life, but
what about her heart?

Urse was very much afraid that if she gave
her heart to the Alpha bear, she would never be the same.

Dinner was amazing, and John realized the
Ricoletti sisters, in addition to being powerful witches, were also
great cooks. He hadn’t had a roast that good since his mother’s,
and that was saying something.

As they lingered over coffee, the phone rang,
and Amelia confirmed that she’d be staying overnight at the bakery
tonight. When Ursula hung up the phone, her entire demeanor had
changed.

John felt it too. There was something in the
air between them. Just knowing they would be alone for the rest of
the night—if they chose to spend it together—was creating
invisible, but palpable, sparks in the air.

John joined her by the couch in the living
room part of the open-concept main area of the apartment. He’d
placed his jacket on the arm of the couch and he sat next to it
now, knowing he would need to consult some of the papers he’d
brought with him but had left in his coat pocket while they enjoyed
dinner.

“So where do you want to work from tomorrow?”
John asked as she joined him on the couch.

“Well, we’d already settled on the north side
of town. I’m just not sure exactly where to set the circle.” She
seemed to ponder the problem, her gaze turning slightly inward in
thought.

John reached into the deep inner pocket of
his coat and pulled out the rolled map he’d been working on all day
in his office. It was a depiction of the cove and the estimated
boundaries of the ward Ursula had put in place earlier that
morning, along with other geographic features and the coverage
points he’d been toying with most of the afternoon.

“I think our best bet is to work in this
area.” He pointed to a roughly circular area on the north side of
town. “If we manage the same radius as this morning, there should
be a little overlap and the apex of the cove will be covered.”

“That’ll protect the town and all of Main
Street where it’s closest to the water,” she observed, looking
closely at the map. “I like it.” She turned the map for a better
look. “I can work with this.” Her voice was low, contemplative, as
she studied the map. Suddenly, she looked up to meet his gaze. “Did
you do all this?”

“I collated the data. My guys did the actual
measurements.” He felt his bear preening under her scrutiny.

“This is really great,” she said, still
holding his gaze. “I’ve always had to just guess before, or go on
my own observations. This is really helpful. Thanks for putting it
together.”

The moment spun out between them until John
edged forward, capturing her lips with his. It started out
tentatively. He wasn’t sure if she’d welcome his kiss or if she
would turn him away. He’d willingly follow her lead, whichever way
she chose to go.

Much to his joy, she not only accepted his
kiss, she deepened it, moving closer to him on the couch and into
his arms. John held her tenderly, his bear tempering its strength
so as not to frighten or hurt her in any way.

When he leaned back, she followed him,
unwilling to let him end their kiss. Well, he was okay with that.
John just tucked her closer in his arms, supporting her as she
kissed him like her life depended on it. That’s when he realized
there was a sort of desperation in her kiss that made him wary.

This time, he held her at arms’ length, not
letting her luscious lips seduce him into allowing the kiss to
continue. Not until he knew what was motivating her.

He wanted her kiss almost as much as he
wanted his next breath, but only if it came freely, from her heart.
He didn’t want her to be with him from a place of fear or
desperation.

“Wait a sec,” he crooned, trying not to break
the mood too much.

“Why?” The single word came out on almost a
whine.

“Because I want to make sure you’re really
with me. That you really want this,” he all but growled, his inner
bear liking the way she felt against his human form.

“I’m with you, John, and I do want this.” Her
hand rested over his heart, stroking lightly. “I want you.”

His heart skipped a beat. Did she really mean
that the way it sounded? Sweet Goddess, he hoped so.

“Are you sure?” he made himself ask. “I’m not
an easy man.”

“I don’t want easy. I want you.”

Holy moly. She’d said it again.
John
counted himself a lucky bastard and pulled her closer into his
arms.

“I’m not leaving you tonight. Whether or not
we sleep together, I’m going to stay in this apartment. I have to
keep you safe, and I don’t like the idea of you being all alone up
here with your sister staying at the bakery. But I’ll stay to
protect you, even if we don’t end up in bed together.”

“But what if I want you in my bed?” Her voice
dropped low, into places that made him want to lick her like a
honeycomb.

He stood from the couch, with her still in
his arms and turned toward the hall that led to her bedroom. “Then
you’re going to get what you want.”

Urse’s head spun as John lifted her up off
the couch in one fell swoop. The man was just so darn strong. That
bear thing was super attractive, if she was being honest with
herself.

And that’s what it was, really. She was
finally being honest about what she wanted. She wanted him.

Everything could all go to hell tomorrow.
Nothing about what she planned to do was guaranteed. The leviathan
knew about her now and wouldn’t be taken by surprise again. It
would be waiting for her. Ready.

She could easily die tomorrow, or be gravely
injured. She could burn out magically. She could burn out her
brain. There were so many dire possibilities that John didn’t know
about. Being a
strega
wasn’t like being a shifter. At least
not as far as she had been able to tell. He was merged with his
beast. It was part of him and had been since birth.

Her magic was something apart that she called
and did her best to control and shape. She could lose control of it
all too easily. She could push too far and go beyond her abilities.
She could go beyond what was possible for her and into realms where
she was in mortal danger of her soul all too easily. John didn’t
know that—at least, she didn’t think he realized it—and she wasn’t
about to tell him.

The less he knew about the danger to her
right now, the better. He was too involved in protecting her, and
she had the feeling he’d forbid her from doing what she must if he
knew the true depth of the dangers she faced.

Yet she had to do what she could for this
town and its people. The shifters who lived here were good people
just looking for a peaceful existence. They wanted to be happy. The
core group of men had been soldiers and had chosen this little
patch of earth to settle down and try to create a life for
themselves and whatever females they could find to complete their
community.

Urse wanted badly to give them that chance.
It was a good goal, they had. A pure one. Peace and love were two
objectives she could get behind and endorse.

Maybe that made her a bit of a hippie, she
thought with some amusement. She had grown up in San Francisco,
after all.

She smiled to herself as John carried her
into her bedroom, and then, the amusement changed to a feeling of
joy that she was here, in her private sanctum, with this incredible
man. She was going to reach for this moment out of time—this night
of nights—where they were alone in the apartment and grab it with
both hands.

She was going to grab
him
with both
hands and hold tight ‘til morning.

John let go of her legs, letting her lower
body slide down against his until she was standing in front of him,
just in front of her bed. She was glad now that she’d opted for a
full-size bed when setting up this room, though it would still be a
bit too small for a guy of John’s height. At least it was better
than the twin she’d left behind in her tiny apartment in San
Francisco.

He looked downward, meeting her gaze. His
eyes were molten with unspoken desires, but there was a tiny bit of
reserve that told her he would leave if she gave him the least bit
of indication that she didn’t want this.

But she wanted it. Oh, how she wanted it.

“You’re very tall,” she said softly, looking
up at him. It was a nonsensical thing to say, but it brought a
smile to his lips.

“Is that a complaint?” The gentle amusement
in his growly voice told her he wasn’t at all serious.

“No. Just an observation,” she quipped. “It
makes it hard to kiss you unless I do something like this.”

She stepped back and up, to stand on the edge
of the bed, looking down at him from a few inches. It wasn’t much,
but it gave her a taste of what it must feel like for him, so far
above everyone else’s heads all the time.

She looked around, surveying her room with a
comical air. “It’s kinda nice up here.”

“Even nicer down here.” He growled in a sexy
way, drawing her attention. She realized what he meant as his gaze
zeroed in on her breasts, now much closer to his eye level.

“Come here, you,” she whispered, cupping the
nape of his neck and encouraging his head to tilt upward as hers
tilted slightly down.

Yes. There it was.
She captured his
lips with her own and led him into a kiss that spoke of want and
need and…things she didn’t dare name this early into their
relationship.

After a few minutes of enjoyable friction as
their tongues dueled and danced together, she stepped backward on
the bed, drawing him onto it. He knelt, putting one arm around her
waist and one behind her knees. He helped her come down onto the
bed, his strong hands guiding her into just the position he
wanted.

She ended up lying on her back while he
leaned over her from the side. Looking up at him, she was
fascinated by the swirling magic in his eyes. She could actually
see it. She could see the bear magic that lurked within his soul.
It was beautiful. Like him.

Though she was pretty sure he wouldn’t
appreciate being called beautiful. Most men were touchy about a
word like that. She smiled, thinking of his reaction, tracing the
laugh lines around his magical eyes.

“What?” he asked, pausing in their passion as
he met her gaze.

She liked that about him. He wasn’t an
impatient man. In fact, he seemed to have patience like the
mountains around them. Timeless. Ageless. Meaningful.

“I can see the magic swirling in your eyes,”
she admitted, smiling softly. Let him make of that what he
would.

“They say bears have more magic than most
shifters,” he said, surprising her.

“That’s what Nonna taught us. She was proud
of the bear in the family tree, even if it didn’t pass down to
us.”

“As she should be,” he agreed with a mock
modest face. Then he kissed her. Just light, little nibbly kisses
on her face and throat. “You taste like honey, Urse.”