Bear-ly Human (Bear Claw Security Book 4) (4 page)

Hercules looked taken aback, both by the fact that whoever was on the intercom had seen them on camera and by the gates opening in front of them them to a huge, sprawling green lawn and a long drive up to a giant, old-style mansion.

“Baby girl?” he asked, cocking his head at her.

She grinned nervously. “Yeah, um… I’m not a Greek queen at home, if you couldn’t already tell.”

He laughed at that and put his hands behind his head again. “I guess I’m in for an interesting meeting?”

She nodded. “Brace yourself.”

“Honey, I’m ex-Special Forces. I’m always ready.”

A thrill of heat went through her at that, but she ignored it as she pulled forward. “Hothead,” she muttered.

Hercules just threw back his head and laughed.

H
ercules recognized Hera’s mother
, May, the moment they walked in the door. She was a shorter, warmer, more enthusiastic version of her daughter, and she enveloped them in warm hugs the moment they stepped in the door.

She wore a teal sundress that floated around her as she stepped back to look at them.

Hera’s father stayed back, watching warily as Hera took Hercules’s arm and pulled him stiffly forward into the marble entryway that was one of the fanciest Hercules had ever seen.

Some of his other buddies were rich, but it was nothing like this.

Hera’s dad was a tall man with graying hair and a muscled physique. She must have gotten her height from him. And her occasional sternness.

Her father walked forward and put out a hand for Hercules to shake. When he took it, they engaged in a short test of strength that left both slightly sore afterward. Seeing this man appraising him, testing him to see if he was good enough for his daughter, made Hercules wanted to prove he was, even if it were a moot point.

“I’m Bob Niles, Valerie’s father,” he said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his Chinos as his wife, still glowing, wrapped her arm around his, much like Hera was doing with Hercules. “Nice to meet you, John.”

His voice was stern, but Hercules liked the way the other man stood tall and erect, with pride but without looking down on him. He might have been overprotective at first glance, but he was quickly trying to be open to the situation, which appeared to have been sprung on him.

It was okay. Herc felt protective of Hera, too. They had that in common at least, even if in any other way, they were world’s apart.

Bob turned and gestured for them to follow. “Come on. We’ve got dinner waiting. You two are late.”

Hera gave him an apologetic grin and walked forward to join up with her mom, leaving Hercules to wonder at the decor all around him. He felt slightly itchy at the whole situation.

“Where should I put our things?” he asked, trying to take care of the only thing currently in his control.

“The servants will take it,” Bob said, barely looking.

“I want to,” Hercules said.

Hera looked at him, pleading with her eyes for him to let it go, so he did.

“All right,” he said, letting go of his duffle bag. “Never mind.”

Bob studied him intently for a moment and then kept walking toward the kitchen.

When they got there, it was wide and open with bay windows looking out on an immense garden so bright sunlight streamed over them as they sat at a white table in a kitchen shimmering with pale granite and stainless steel appliances. Despite the ornate, old-fashioned appearance outside, they seemed to keep it modern inside.

Hercules was still staring around at it when May set a plate in front of him.

He waited until everyone was served, grace was said, and the others had started to eat before he dug in. It was prime rib and just exactly what he needed after the long day of travel. He exhaled as he tucked in and then felt Hera’s hand on his arm.

“Dad asked you something.”

His head snapped up. He must have been in his own little world not to hear.

“We haven’t seen or heard of you until recently, yet you’ve been dating my daughter for two full years. A little disrespectful, don’t you think?”

Hercules lowered his fork and faced the other man openly. “I think whatever Valerie wants to do in regards to her family is whatever I want to do. So maybe you should ask her, sir.”

Bob’s face went blank, and then he looked at his wife and laughed. “Well, that answers that.”

His wife hit him on the arm. “Serves you right, Bob, asking something like that their first night here. Speaking of which, we didn’t know if you’d want separate or shared rooms.”

“Separate,” Bob and Herc snapped at the same time. Everyone at the table looked a little confused.

“I just think it’s more appropriate while visiting family,” Herc said. But he couldn’t help but notice Hera looked a little disappointed.

That was interesting. Had she been expecting something between them? As far as he understood it, it was just a mission, something he had to do while remaining professional. But this was the first time he had a sneaking suspicion there was more to the story.

Hera shrugged with a sigh. “Outvoted. All right, then. Separate. Will he be in the upstairs guest room?”

“Of course,” Bob said.

“Only the best for your fiancé,” May said.

Hercules nearly choked on his beef but then swallowed. Hera’s fiancé. Just the thought of it was enough to stop his heart. He didn’t know if it was in a good way or a bad way. Everything had been confusing since she’d walked into his life again.

“Well,” Bob said, “regardless, we’re glad to have you.” When his wife nudged him, he looked up guiltily. “And we’re sorry about the guests we’ve invited. We did it not knowing what Val’s situation was.” He scratched his head. “We just want the best for her, want her to have opportunities.”

“And I told you I didn’t want opportunities,” Hera muttered, and Herc could sense the tension in the room. So had Hera never even considered another suitor? And why? With her looks and background and personality, she could be with anyone she wanted.

But then she looked at him, and as his heart skipped a beat, he wondered if he already knew the reason.

“And now we know it’s because she had you,” May said, looking between her husband and daughter in a manner desperate to reestablish peace. “So it’s all good and now we can get to know you.” She leaned forward. “How about we hear your proposal story?”

Bob cleared his throat, clearly embarrassed by the route things had taken. He seemed to know he had stepped out of line. “Let’s let them get settled in, dear. They’ll have a lot to deal with tomorrow.”

“Exactly who did you invite?” Hercules asked, wanting to know more from a security perspective rather than from a jealous boyfriend perspective.

Well, maybe just a
little
from a jealous boyfriend perspective.

Bob looked genuinely embarrassed for what he’d done. “Just a few friends from our inner circles.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll all be respectful. It just might be a little awkward.”

“A little?” May asked, raising her voice. Her angry tone contrasted with her perfectly coiffed blond hair and appearance. “A little awkward that you invited three single bear shifters to come see our daughter, who now turns out to be engaged? Honey, that’s more than a little awkward.”

Hercules put up a hand. “It’s okay. I’m more than equipped to protect Valerie.”

Bob lowered his brows, and May tilted her head curiously. “What would you need to protect her from, hon? These are our friends. They wouldn’t do anything.”

“Well, I wouldn’t trust Bentley,” Hera muttered.

Bob was still appraising Hercules, as if trying to decide whether to be suspicious or impressed. He decided on impressed. “Well done, son. You’ll take care of my daughter.”

Hera stood, face flaming red. “I can take care of myself. As long as you aren’t interfering.”

Hercules could see over the years, her and her father’s strong personalities had probably clashed in a lot of battles. He could see Hera’s blood pressure starting to rise, so he stood from the table and gently took her elbow.

“You want to take a quick walk with me, honey?” he asked quietly.

She looked up at him, and then her face relaxed. “Yes.”

He gave a quick smile to her parents and excused them from the table, hearing them banter as he walked with Hera back into the entryway.

She pulled away from him and strode out the front door ahead of him. He could tell something was building inside her, and he had questions of his own, once they were out where no one could see or bother them.

Unless this whole house was covered in cameras, like the front gate.

Hera walked toward a large hedge with a gate in it and waved for him to follow. When he did, she opened the gate and went through it, and then led the way over the lawn toward a large private pond with benches around it. She took a seat on one and stared out at the water blankly with slumped shoulders.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, sitting down. “Things tense with your dad?”

“I shouldn’t have needed a fiancé for him to respect my wishes,” she said. “I guess I feel like he never took me seriously as a soldier. All he has seen me as is a woman with breeding potential.”

“I don’t think that’s it,” Hercules said. “Speaking as another dumb male who just wants to protect you, I think he just wanted to see you safe. And happy, like he is with your mom.”

She let out a steadying breath and gazed at him. A smile slowly claimed her face as a small breeze lifted the hair on her forehead. She squeezed his knee. “You’re right. I know. It’s just been a tense couple of years. Avoiding the hookups. Never sure what to tell them. You know, after us.”

He nodded. “But why no one? Has there really been no one you’re interested in since I left?”

She gave him a rueful smile. “How can you even ask that? After what we had, why would I be interested in anyone else?”

He looked out at the lake, feeling unwelcome nostalgia wash over him now that they were here and safe. Alone. Together. Pretending to be a couple, like they had once been for real. Not that they’d been engaged then.

But it had seemed like a natural extension of things, if they’d stayed together.

In fact…

But Hercules shook off that thought.

Valerie. He needed to start calling her Valerie or he’d get stuck in the past and never be able to do his job. “Tell me about this Bentley guy who’s worrying you.”

She shrugged. “He’s not that bad. I can handle him.”

Hercules’s frowned. “Then why do you need me here?”

She looked slightly guilty at that, and suspicion once against lanced through him. “Well, okay, he’s a bit of a perv. Pushy.”

Protectiveness overrode any other feeling he might have had, and he pressed one fist into the other, cracking knuckles. “I can deal with pushy.”

“I know,” she said. “That’s why you’re the right man for the job.”

He nudged her, hoping to make her laugh. “Plus, I’m devastatingly handsome, at least according to you, so I should be able to convince people I would really be with such a beautiful woman.”

“I wish you
were
with me,” she said in a low voice, looking down at her hands.

She was such a strong, tall, confident woman that it was unnerving seeing her so vulnerable, even for a moment. It struck him to the core.

“Are you all right?” he asked after a moment’s pause.

“Did you hear what I said?” she asked, brushing hair off her forehead and behind her ears, where it just barely reached, as she looked up at him.

He was silent for a second. “I did.”

“I wish you were mine for real,” she said.

He didn’t know what to say to that. He didn’t want to start trouble between them. He didn’t want bad things to go down. Not while he needed to be here to help her. Not while he was paying back Bear Claw’s debt to her.

“Hera, that’s not why I’m here,” he said quietly, not wanting to hurt her. That was the last thing he wanted in the world. To cause more pain to either of them.

He’d easily die for her, but they couldn’t really be together again. It would just destroy both of them when it ended. Because nothing had changed.

“Don’t look like that,” Hera said. “We’re not the same. We’ve grown, right? I’m not going to dig into your past. I’m not going to pressure you.”

He sighed. “But you’re not going to leave everything and run away with me either.”

She pressed her lips together. “I don’t see why we need to.”

He looked out at the water. “I don’t belong here. I can never give you normal.”

She opened her mouth like she was going to ask something, then closed her full lips, trying to hide her frustration.

Her top button was undone, and her full cleavage heaved up and down with her breath, and Hercules suddenly found it a little hard to breathe himself.

“I just… I thought maybe we could give it another chance. We were good together.”

Hercules stood with folded arms, looking out at the sun rippling over the water. “Don’t get me wrong, Hera. I care about you. I always will. But I’m here to do my job and protect you. Nothing more.”

“You’re too stubborn,” she said.

“You’ve always known that about me.”

“I don’t care if I get hurt,” she said, standing and putting her hand on his chest.

He looked down at her, heart pounding painfully. What would it be like to just bend down and take her lips, just once more? Just one more time?

He raised a hand, grazed it along her cheek and jaw, toying with the idea of tilting up her face and taking her lips with his.

But then he dropped his hand and took a step back. “Come on. Let’s go back. We need to unpack.”

The disappointment on her face tore at his soul. “Okay,” she said. “But I’m not giving up.”

A slight smile forced its way onto his face at that. “I didn’t think you would.”

She turned and started back toward the mansion. She paused, waiting for him to catch up, and then took his arm in hers. The feel of her warm body pressed against him nearly made him lose it right there. It brought back images of holding her in the night, of her soft body against his.

It made him hope for impossible things and want to go against his best rational judgment.

He tried to steel himself to pull away, but she drew him back. He looked down at her, slightly shocked.

“Hey, for appearances,” she reminded him, wagging a finger.

He groaned and let her stay. He’d forgotten just how hard it was to keep Hera from getting her way. But as they walked back, her talking about her family with a smile on her pretty face, he felt contentment wash over him.

Something he hadn’t felt since they’d been apart.

When they got back to the house, her parents were waiting there to show them to their rooms. When Hera dismissed herself to allow him time to unpack, he felt a small ache at her absence.

Just as before, nothing with her was easy. Yet, once again, when she was by his side, it felt like home.