Bear-ly Human (Bear Claw Security Book 4) (8 page)

She looked at him in shock for a moment, but then her eyes glazed over as his hands entwined with hers and he dove into her again, enjoying that tight fit they had, pushing her to the limit as he felt his own body go over.

She screamed and tilted her head back, and he held on tight as he felt himself jerk and convulse. He trembled at the pleasure of it, at the totally overwhelmed feeling only she could give him, at the way his body was suddenly home joined with hers. He only wished there were nothing between them. He couldn’t think of his past, couldn’t think of reason, could only think of her beautiful face twisted in pleasure and the rocking sensation in his body, like powerful waves were pulling him under and he didn’t even want to fight.

He rested against her, and her hands let go of his and wound around his back, her nails digging into him in a way that was pleasurable and painful all at once. Kind of like things had always been for them.

But it was worth it. He knew that for sure as he held her again. Why had he even tried to fight this? Why had he tried to hold himself back?

He pulled away and looked into her eyes, soft with pleasure, her lips parted and full, her face flushed with exertion.

This woman was
his
.

He curled around her and held her against his chest wordlessly. He didn’t know how he could ever let her go.

T
he next morning
, Hera woke before Hercules and eased carefully out of his bed, letting him sleep.

He’d always been a heavy sleeper when they’d spent the night together.

Well, that was only half true. It was mostly that he was tired in the mornings because he hadn’t gotten proper rest at night due to tossing and turning from nightmares.

She always wondered what those nightmares were, but she usually just brushed his sweat-soaked hair back from his face and tucked herself against his side, hoping it would make him rest better.

Hera pulled on her negligee and then went to the closet, opening it to find something to wear to get breakfast.

Behind her, Hercules stirred on the bed, looking gorgeous in the bright morning sun just starting to peek over the treetops. He ran a hand through his long hair, looking like a barbarian who had somehow found his way into her bed.

He gave her a tired grin, and, remembering everything they’d done last night, she felt tingles down to her toes.

“How are you feeling?” he asked.

“Good,” she said, picking up a robe from a nearby chair and pulling it around her. “You?”

“Good,” he said, his voice relaxed and deep, sounding how it used to.

“Breakfast?” she asked.

“Hera… we need to talk.” He tented his hands in front of him on the sheets. His powerful arms and chest were bare, reminding her that under the sheets, he had nothing on…

“I don’t see why,” she said, nervous about how that conversation would go. “I told you there were no expectations. I know we talked a little differently during sex, but then feelings were bound to come out. But I meant what I said. I’m going to try not to push you. I’m not going to pry. I’m just going to show you how good we can be together and let you draw your own conclusions.”

He put his hand in his hair again and let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry it has to be so complicated. I’m complicated.”

She walked forward and got on the bed, between his legs, leaning forward to kiss his forehead. He looked up at her curiously. “I like you just as you are. Complicated or not.” She got up and walked to the closet again. “But yes, you are complicated. I guess I’m fine with that.” She rifled through her shirts, hung carefully by color.

She heard him come to stand behind her, looking over her shoulder. She could feel his incredible height, the warmth of his presence, his breath.

“Nice organization,” he said.

“Goodness, you’re huge,” she said, turning around to look at him. “I forgot how massive a male could be when I was away from you.”

His arms curled around her, making her feel tiny and warm and safe when she really was much bigger than the average female. But not with Hercules.

“I suppose I should sneak up to my room and get dressed before anyone sees us.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Want to do breakfast in my room?”

“Heck yes,” she said. “I’m not ready to let anyone intrude on us yet.”

“Right,” he said. “I want to focus on getting you fed, not punching Bentley in the face.”

She nodded. “All right. You get dressed and head up first. I’ll follow.”

Hercules nodded, picking up his clothing off the ground and roughly pulling it on.

When he was dressed, if a little disheveled, he walked over and gave her a kiss on the cheek, then squeezed her hand and disappeared through the door.

Hopefully, it was early enough her guests, who had travelled the previous day, would be sleeping. She put on a soft-green sweater that fell to mid thigh over white leggings that made her legs look long and graceful and then fluffed her hair, washed her face, patted on light foundation and lip-gloss, and walked out to meet the morning.

Everything looked different after a night with Hercules. The sun seemed brighter, the air seemed clearer, and there was a pleasant ache between her legs telling her with every step that he’d been there.

She sighed as she made her way to the kitchen to see what she could pick up as far as breakfast. She saw Bentley, Adam, and Dean already up and eating with her parents, and she cursed quietly to herself.

She snuck away from the scene before anyone could see her and then tiptoed swiftly down the hall. On the way, she saw their assistant chef, a thin man named Sorensen. She quickly told him to bring breakfast up to Hercules’s room, and he nodded knowingly. She’d grown up with most of the staff in this house, and they all were loyal to her.

Then she snuck up to Hercules’s room, once again hoping no one would notice. She heard footsteps coming from the direction of the kitchen and hurried up, fairly running until she got to his door. She knocked, and when he opened the door, she rushed in and shut it behind her.

She looked up at him with a grin and saw he’d somehow managed a quick shower and had a towel wrapped around his waist, his damp hair streaming over his shoulders.

“Breakfast?” he asked playfully, pulling her up against him.

“Ordered it,” she said. “I couldn’t grab any because the douches were up.”

“Ouch, nice way to refer to your suitors.”

“I’m engaged,” she teased, ignoring the bitterness of it being a joke. “I don’t need suitors.”

He grinned and walked over to a closet where he’d hung up things from his suitcase. He pulled out a new polo, ripped the tags off it, and pulled it over his head. It was a dark red that looked amazing against his tan. It was extra long and covered his torso, but she wasn’t sure any polos were made for men with Hercules’s gigantic chest and arms.

She giggled and felt herself flush just looking at him.

“Some important intel I’m missing, Hera?”

She shook her head, stifling more laughter, as he pulled on black slacks and zipped them up, sliding a belt through the loops. He narrowed his eyes on her playfully and walked forward, pretending to be threatening.

“You sure?” he asked, flexing his arms as he walked forward, looking impossibly huge. Impossibly hot.

“I’m sure,” she said, as she backed into the wall softly, already hot and wet, though he wasn’t even touching her.

His intense brown gaze moved over her and his hands rested on the wall above her, his body caging her in.

“Can’t take the heat, goddess?”

She shook her head. “I can’t.” She put a hand out and lightly grazed one bulging pec, giggling again. “Goodness, I don’t think preppy clothing was made for you. But you look damn good in it.”

He grinned and pushed off the wall, leaving her a quivering mass of lust just from being close to him that long. His grin deepened. “I would have worn clothing like this before if I knew it turned you on like this.”

“Anything tight does,” she said. “I’d almost forgotten how a real man could look.”

“Don’t forget I’m not just a man,” he said, pulling his hair back. “I’m half god, right?” His tone was sardonic. He walked to his nightstand and put on his watch, then slid his phone in his pocket.

“Did you check in with Bear Claw?” she asked.

He nodded. “Yeah. They trust me, though. Funny, this isn’t what I pictured for my first big assignment.”

“Oh yeah?” she asked, folding her arms.

He sat on the edge of the bed and pulled her against him. “Yeah. It’s so much better.”

She laughed and let him hold her. Someone knocked on the door.

“Breakfast!”

“I’ll get that,” he said, blocking her from view and going to the door. He was polite with whoever had shown up and then turned toward her, carrying two large trays. He set them on the desk by the TV and then dragged the whole thing over to her.

“Hungry?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said, feeling her stomach growl. He pushed a plate toward her and grabbed a glass of milk for himself, chugging it before he walked to the bathroom to work on his hair.

“Must be a lot of work,” she said, watching. “I love mine short.”

“I love yours short, too,” he said, winking. “Easy access.”

She flushed at that. She also loved how easy it was for him to kiss her neck, her ears, that little place below her jaw…

“Anyway, it’s not much work,” he said, running his fingers through it and pulling it into a ponytail.

“Do you ever do a man bun?” she asked, thinking of men she’d seen on the internet.

His eyebrows screwed up in confusion. “What?”

She finished the piece of toast she was eating and then walked over to him, grabbing the ponytail he’d done and twisting it into a bun and securing it with another loop of the band he was using.

“There,” she said, turning him toward the mirror.

He looked like an angry lion. He grabbed the band and let the hair fall free. “No. Hell no.”

She laughed. “All right, then, leave it down.” She ran her hands through the length, marveling at how silky and smooth it was. And thick and amazing. “You have enough hair for both of us.”

“I love your hair,” he said, pushing back the thin, soft strands that liked to fall over her forehead.

“Thanks,” she said.

“But no, I’m not leaving mine down. I need to tie it back so I’m ready to do battle with Bentley.”

“Speaking of which, I think my dad is planning a boat trip,” she said. “So probably not much battle.”

“A battle on the seas, then,” he said. “Good thing I have a better six-pack.”

“I think we’re just going out on the sailboat,” she said with a giggle. “So behave yourself.”

“What are you wearing?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

She laughed. “What’s it to you?”

“I don’t want other people seeing your body,” he pouted.

She laughed. “But you want to see it, right?”

He nodded eagerly. She laughed at how transparent the big man was when it came to her. Maybe he hid everything else, but his feelings for her were very apparent.

“I promise you’ll like it,” she said. “All right. Should we go down and say hi to the others?”

“Sure,” he said. “You go ahead. I’ll be right down.”

She frowned. “What is it?”

“Just gotta grab a few more things.”

She nodded. “I need to stop by my room anyway.” She picked up the last Danish remaining on her plate and nibbled it as she headed down the stairs.

She took a deep breath as she prepared herself to meet anyone that was up and about. She saw Bentley walking down the hallway toward the other guest rooms on the bottom floor and purposely turned toward her room to avoid him.

She wanted to grab her phone, which she’d left in her room in her hurry to find breakfast this morning.

She was caught up in thoughts of how the day would be with Hercules and didn’t notice until she got to her room that something felt amiss.

She could swear she’d shut the door, but it was now ajar.

She put her hand on the handle and pushed it open, peeking around to see if someone was inside.

A little chill went through her as she saw no one was there.

But someone
had
been there. Someone who had disguised their scent with something else. She went into mission mode, analyzing everything around her. She walked to her dresser, seeing someone had rifled through it, and then tried to make it look like no one had touched anything.

But someone had definitely touched her underwear. They were folded half-heartedly, but not how she folded them. And no longer in their color-coordinated arrangement.

She put a hand in her hair, suddenly wanting to run from the room. Why would someone have done this? She didn’t think even Bentley, who’d been a little jerk even when they were kids, would invade her privacy like this.

She took a step backward and looked around the room. She didn’t see anything else disturbed. So they’d just come in and creeped on her underwear? Maybe she needed a bodyguard after all.

Hercules. Should she even tell him? He was likely to fly off the handle, being the jealous lover he was. But then, as a professional, he would want to be kept in the loop. Curse their relationship for being so complicated right now.

Still, she backed out of the room and looked up the stairs to see he was already coming down. She whistled quietly and waved to get his attention, and he jogged down the stairs and came over to her.

She saw her mom and dad looking curiously at her from the entrance to the kitchen, but she ignored them and pulled Hercules into her room.

His expression was confused, but he withheld judgment until they were inside and alone again. When he saw the disquiet in her eyes, he put his hands on her arms to steady her.

“Hera, what’s wrong?”

“Someone’s been in my room,” she said, trying to not look wide-eyed. She’d been in tense situations. This was nothing compared to that. Yet it was so very personal. And she wasn’t a soldier anymore. She was just a regular woman and couldn’t believe someone had violated her space.

“Calm down,” he said, looking over her face and rubbing his hands over her arms to calm her. She loved the feel of his big, warm palms on her sweater-covered arms. With him here, she felt fully insulated.

“They were… in my underwear drawer.”

He dropped his hands and his eyebrows came down. Lethal anger radiated off of him. “What?”

She nodded to the drawer and led him over to it. He looked down, flushing slightly as his finger moved toward the silky items inside the drawer.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. “When I came down here, the door was ajar, and I’m sure I didn’t leave it that way. And the underwear was like that, and it’s not how I left it.” She gestured to the closet. “As you saw, I put my clothes in a specific arrangement.”

He grabbed her in and held her close to him, then put her at arm’s length. “I’m going to put cameras down here, okay? When we get back from sailing. I don’t want the family to know about this now. I don’t want whoever did it to know we’re on to them. I want them to just keep acting as they are.”

“But—”

“Obviously, I’ll protect you, Hera,” he said.

She hugged him. “I know. I just… It’s so gross and uncomfortable.”

“Yeah, someone here is a huge perv. And they’re gonna get it. I promise. But for now, we need to keep it on the down low.”

She nodded.

“From now on, lock your door whenever you leave. Not that it will keep them out, but then we’ll know what lengths they’re willing to go to to break in.”