Bear My Baby (Shifter Squad Six 1) (7 page)

He scuffed a hand through his short hair and then propped it against the wall to one side of Cassie’s face. Her scent was stealing any modicum of sense he might have had, making the bear thrash wildly within him. Only one thought constantly ran through him. The need to prop
her
against a wall and fuck the daylights out of her.

“Good to hear. I’d hate you to miss all the great things San Fran has to offer,” he quipped dryly, trying to make some space in his head for anything that wasn’t the uncontrollable urge to taste her sweet pussy.

He was rock hard in his jeans and he could only thank the shitty lighting for the fact that she wasn’t intimately aware of that yet.

“You bet. Here for the scenery and the good wine, not because some faceless corporation planted me here and told me to be Ellie Burnbaugh.”

“The hell kind of a name is Burnbaugh, anyway?” Connor laughed, relieved that he still possessed the capability to do that. Not all was lost yet, it seemed.

“That’s what I said,” Cassie said, smirking.

There it was. That smirk. That face she’d made at him when he’d dived for her back in that little cabin in Chicago. The one thing that would really make him lose his mind. Mentally, he said his goodbyes to his sense of honor and duty, and chose the woman instead. At least for right then and there.

Connor slipped a hand around her waist and pulled Cassie to him. He let out a growl of approval as her soft body yielded against his and her hands rested on his chest, right where they were supposed to be. He gave her a moment to pull away, to protest, to scream her head off at him. If he’d given her a second longer, she would have probably done all three, but she didn’t.

He kissed her hard, his tongue immediately invading her mouth. Her taste made his head spin. Pushing his hips against hers, he bit her lower lip, growling as he did so. And thank the spirits above, she responded. With a yelp, she kissed him back, her tongue lapping against his, her hands fisting around the fabric of his shirt and tugging him lower so she could kiss him harder, deeper.

He complied, of course. How could he not, when his entire being had been consumed with thoughts of this impossible, gorgeous woman and now fate had rewarded him with a chance to taste her again? Even if it was for a moment in time that was sure to be ripped from him.

Heat danced off their bodies as he claimed her mouth, licking, biting, kissing. They were standing right next to a fire exit that led out of the club and without a second thought, he unlatched it and slammed it shut, effectively cutting anyone off from exiting from the bar. No one had come in from the other direction so Connor could hope that they had the good decency not to for a while longer. Not that he cared at this point.

“Fuck, you’re hot,” he hissed, moving from her lips to her neck and then down to her deep cleavage, gorgeously inviting in that low-cut dress of hers.

He remembered every curve, every valley and dip. Her hands coiled in his short hair and he felt her nails scrape across his scalp, whimpers on her lips. One hand cupping her sex, he could have drowned in the fire emanating from her. He couldn’t help himself. Instead of controlling his need, he pushed it forward, gave it free rein over him.

Connor slipped his hand under her dress without hesitation, moving up the silk length of her stockings, loving the way the lace ended at mid-thigh and he could feel her clear, soft skin under his touch from there on. And when he reached her panties, he rose up, kissing her again and grabbing her by the hip, making sure that she was looking him in the eye when he hooked a finger around the panties and tore them aside, exposing her wet slit.

Cassie gasped, the sweetest sound he’d heard in ages. She was about to tell him to stop, he could tell, so he wasted no time. He thrust two fingers into her pussy, filling her immediately, while his thumb covered her clit, rubbing it with just enough force to make her tremble all over. She mewled a little and Connor grinned, laying another kiss on her mouth as she shook in his arms.

He pumped in with his fingers time after time, not giving her any reprieve, not giving her time to think, to rationalize. She could only feel and he wanted her to explode around his fingers like she had in that cabin, twisting in lust and screaming her head off.

“Connor, we shouldn’t,” she gasped, wriggling away from his touch pitifully but managing to only get him to stroke into her faster.

“If you tell me to stop, I’ll stop,” he growled, lips mere inches from hers. “Whatever you want, honey. I’ll fuck you right here if you ask me to. I don’t fucking care who sees us.”

That was marked with a breathy moan that made his cock almost pop out of his jeans. There was nothing he wanted more than to fill her with his length immediately, but he was willing to be patient. This one time, at least.

Her juices coated his hand as she writhed and bucked against him, all her logic gone and displaced by a good, hard finger-fucking. Cassie clung to his shoulder, her face lit with the most inviting blush. Her eyes were half-lidded and when he felt her start to contract around his fingers, he let loose. Every thrust brought his fingers almost completely out before plunging in again, making her stretch around them. He scissored his fingers inside of her, growling into her ear and when she crested, he didn’t want to stop.

The blue light played off her skin, making her look almost ghostly. Connor wasn’t entirely sure that he wasn’t imagining the whole thing.

Cassie screamed into his shoulder and shook like an earthquake was ravaging her body. So slowly, he thrummed down his rhythm until his fingers were only there to keep her full, his thumb still gently teasing her clit. Every little touch brought another spasm from her. Connor chuckled as Cassie heaved for a breath, finally pushing herself off his shoulder.

Her beautiful hazel eyes were foggy with lust and her lips were red from the kisses and the lipstick she wore, slightly parted now in her post-orgasmic bliss. Connor pulled out of her and neatly straightened her panties over her mound, before bringing his hand to his lips. He licked her juices off of his fingers and Cassie watched him, shocked and aroused at the same time. It looked like she wasn’t entirely sure whether she should be angry with him or just drop to her knees and return the favor.

Connor was okay with either. As long as it meant having more time around her.

“You
bastard
,” she hissed, but there was no punch to it.

Cassie slumped against the wall as heavy fists pounded against the exit, muffled voices screaming something about it having to be open. Connor didn’t care. All he cared about was that Cassie was there with him, and through some odd twist of fate, she’d been brought back to him.

“At your service,” he said with a grin. “Now, how about we get out of here before something
really
bad happens?”

“Like what? You’ll try to choke someone to death again in the name of my honor?”

“If that’s what gets you going, sure.”

Connor winked and though Cassie tried to stare him down, she burst into laughter halfway through her glare. Like a weight being lifted from his chest, Connor felt like he could breathe again after eighteen months of time. He put his hand in hers and pulled her forward, peeling her out of the corner he was going to have only fond memories about.

“But my friend,” Cassie said.

While her lips were saying one thing, she was still keeping pace with him as Connor led her out of the back exit of the club and into the warm but crisp San Francisco air.

“She’s a big girl, she’ll manage.”

The light from the neighboring bars made it barely any dimmer than at daytime and Connor’s eyes adjusted quickly. At random, he picked a direction and started walking, Cassie trailing along by his side with some hesitance about her.

“And where do you think we’re going now?” she asked, after they’d been walking for a few minutes.

“Home.”

“You live here?”

“No, your home.”

Connor could feel her stiffening, her step stuttering as she digested that particular piece of information. He couldn’t help but smirk a little.

“You know where I live?”

“No, but I bet you’re going to show me.”

Underneath all that bravado, his heart was pounding along like a speeding train barging down the rails, ready to skip off and explode at any moment. He didn’t know what he was going to do or how he was going to go about anything. Rationally, they’d only spent a night together, one that she might as well have not cared about at all. But the way she kissed him back and the way she melted around his fingers made him guess that wasn’t entirely the case. So fuck tomorrow. Tonight, he was going to enjoy the fact that
something
had brought him back together with the woman he’d been dreaming about.

In fact, he was so damn happy about it that he didn’t even notice the cold chill that went over him when a pair of malicious eyes tracked his and Cassie’s movements down the street.

No matter where he went, trouble always followed.

CHAPTER TEN

Cassie

“
Go get yours, girl! Amanda’s got the baby tonight!
” the message read, complete with a dozen smiley and winky faces.

Cassie sighed, tucking the phone back into her purse while digging around for her keys. Despite knowing better, she’d taken Connor back to her little townhouse, nestled between much bigger and lavish ones. She listened as the key slid into place and the tumblers on the locks slowly undid themselves, and for a second a familiar feeling took hold of her.

It wasn’t made any better by the fact that right then, Connor chose to put a hand around her waist and lean in, kissing her earlobe gently. She jumped a bit, startled. It only served to make him chuckle darkly, filling her ears with that deep baritone that she so adored.

“Knock it off,” Cassie said, giggling.

She stepped into the house and threw her purse on the chair sitting next to the door. Next, she stepped out of the shoes and let out an audible groan of relief. Not looking back, she trekked deeper into the house, fully aware that Connor’s eyes were probably glued to her ass with every step she took. And she fucking loved it.

“You want a drink?” she called into the corridor while she fixed a glass of whiskey for herself in the kitchen.

“Whiskey, if you have it,” Connor said, appearing in the doorway.

He’d left his combat boots in the hall and he was leaning casually against the doorframe, hands shoved in the pockets of his well-worn jeans. The black T-shirt he wore was tight over his broad chest and wrapped around his biceps perfectly. Even though she was trying to look anywhere but at him, she still noticed the way his dog tags bulged against the front of his shirt and how the fabric flattened over his abs.

Dammit, why couldn’t he have put on twenty pounds and lose his hair or something?!
she thought, exasperated at the fact that she was falling into the same trap with that demon of a man as she had last time.

She slid the glass over the counter at him and rested against the counter herself, her side turned to Connor as she stared out of the window into her backyard. Monroe’s red ball was still there, but she doubted Connor would notice that.

“Thank you, honey.”

“You should really stop calling me that. It’s Ellie, now,” Cassie said, giving him a sideways glance.

“I like Cassie better.”

“Me too,” she chuckled.

His clear blue eyes were set intently on her and she felt like a fly in a honey trap whenever she met his gaze. It was impossible to wiggle out of it with any kind of proficiency. She bit her lip, bringing the glass to her lips and taking a hurried sip, trying to distract herself from all the things she would have rather been doing with the time allotted to them instead of forcing small talk.

She looked around the kitchen quickly, trying to make sure none of the baby’s stuff was around. That was a conversation she did not want to have with him. Whatever happened, she wasn’t going to drag him into this. It was a cruel twist of fate that they’d run into each other in a seedy bar in San Francisco of all places, but she was determined not to take it as some kind of great sign from above.

He had a right to know his child, certainly, but Cassie knew it would only complicate things. She didn’t even know his last name for God’s sake, let alone anything about him other than the fact that he killed people for a living and he had the most delectable quads she had ever seen on a man. That wasn’t exactly enough to build a future off of.

No, it was much easier for everyone involved if she simply… forgot about him. It was stupid of her to have even kissed him back at the damn bar, but she couldn’t help it. He had a way with her that she couldn’t deny, and whenever he spoke, she listened. Whenever he kissed, she reacted. And as much as she knew she shouldn’t have been doing it, she
wanted
that one night with him. Another memory to add to the bank and sate her through a lifetime of less exciting men. Or no men at all, if they weren’t good enough to be around Monroe.

Is he good enough to be around him, though?
a treacherous voice asked, spewing doubt in its path.

The way he looked at her certainly made her think that maybe…

“Everything okay, Cassie?” he asked, setting the drink down and coming to her.

He trapped her between his arms, standing right in front of her and hovering so close that their bodies were almost touching. She wanted to reach out so badly. Instead, she took another sip of her drink and looked up at him, doing her best to avoid the love-lost puppy look she knew she was carrying that evening.

“Well, no,” she said, smirking.

“Yeah? Why not?”

That wry grin he wore told her that he was playing along with her. Maybe he was as confused about everything as she was, but for that night, maybe it didn’t have to matter? He’d be shipped off to another mission and forget all about that girl he fucked twice and she could get him out of her system like a bad virus. That sounded about right to her.