Bearing It All (Grizzly Affairs Book 1) (10 page)

“What do you think you are doing?” The bus driver asked outraged as Doyle just shoved him out of his way.

“Just taking what's mine.” He muttered through his tightly clenched teeth. He purposely stomped down the stairs of the bus so that Aria bounced on his shoulder, leaving her gasping for air as his muscled shoulder shoved into her stomach. Not stopping once he was off the bus, Doyle continued down the sidewalk, carrying her like a barbarian with a battle prize.

Far from giving up, Aria continued to demand for him to put her down. She could only hope he would soon, as the awful pressure began to fill her brain again with a vengeance. Her head suddenly spun as Doyle roughly jerked her off his shoulder and back onto her feet. For a moment, he didn't say anything to her. Not interested in talking to him either, she quickly handed his wallet back to him with a scowl.

“There. You have wanted you want, now let me go.” Squaring her shoulders, she attempted to appear unaffected as she could in face of Doyle’s obvious fury.

Attempting to walk around him, she found her way back to the bus blocked. Not taking his angry eyes off of her startled face, Aria was forced to move a step back as Doyle crowded close to her. Her feet kept moving as he advanced on her until all her movement was stopped as her back met a brick wall.

Planting one arm above her head, his free hand firmly gripped her chin just before his lips crashed down on hers. At first she just stood there as a wild fire burned through her body without remorse. Her breasts grew heavy as her entire being filled with desire. Leaning into him, her hands reached out and gripped his waist as an anchor as she returned his scorching kiss.

As her mouth opened under his dominating lips, he lunged forward claiming her mouth for his own. Releasing his hands from their present position, gave them free reign to move where he wished. His hands smoothed down the line of her back before gripping her firm ass with strong hands. Jerking her as close as he could manage with the unfair barrier of their clothes, he grounded his aching cock against her soft stomach. Moaning into the kiss, she wrapped a leg around his hip as her arms coiled around his neck in desperation.

She was burning alive and she never wanted it to stop. Her moan of desire turned to a gasp as Doyle’s lips left hers to trail heated open kisses down the column of her neck. Her nails dug into the skin on the back of his neck as his teeth bit down over her pounding pulse. Though it should bother her that people were gawking at them as they passed by, Somehow she just couldn’t manage enough brain cells to care.

Just as she felt she was about to rip Doyle’s clothes off and have him right there in the snow between two building, something caught her attention from the corner of her eye. Frozen with trepidation she watched as the stranger that had been watching her slowly was making his way to them. His eyes were locked on her as he drew closer, his stride was slow and with purpose. Like a cat advancing on a mouse that knew it had no place to run. Her eyes zoomed in on his hand as it slowly reached behind his back with a look of cold determination.

At the scent of his mate’s fear, Doyle’s bear pushed further to the surface, causing his glowing eyes to lock on her startled ones. “What wrong?” His voice came out in a deep rumble that sounded more animal than man.

Shoving at his chest, Aria desperately tried to push Doyle away from her, but he held her securely against his hard frame. Her eyes glazed with panic as she began pounding on his chest to get loose. “Let me go. Let me go now!” She hissed under her breath as the sound of her racing heart beat in his ear.

Looking down at his panicking mate, his hand gently cupped her face, forcing her to look at him when she was franticly looking everywhere but. “What is it, Aria?”

Looking over his shoulder she hissed out a rushed breath, “It’s him. The man I saw before. He’s coming this way and I think he has a gun.” Her words were like someone had hit him across the face with a steel pipe.

Acting on primal instinct, lifting his mate off the ground he set her down behind him as he braced his body against the wall. He could smell the male that was approaching the alley they were presently hiding in. his scent wasn’t the same overly sweet scent overlapping the smell of decade. This scent was shifter, but at this distance he couldn’t discern what type. Flexing his lengthened claws, he prepared to strike as he waited for the man to round the corner.

The man had no sooner passed the corner of the building Doyle was pressed against when a clawed hand whipped out. Gripping the man by the back of the neck, Doyle threw him into the adjacent building. The man’s head kissed the brick exterior so hard that if he’d been a simple human it would have crushed his skull, spinning around to return the attack. The man no sooner lifted an equally clawed hand when Doyle gripped him by the throat, holding him off the ground as his long black claws cut into the pale flesh.

Aria watched with a mix of surprise and awe as Doyle’s solid frame seemed to swell and grow. The fabric of his shirt strained against his skin as his muscles grew larger. At the same time his facial bone seemed to reshape until Doyle’s became neither human nor bear, but a perfect blend of the two. Opening his powerful jaws, Doyle snarled in the face of his intended victim. The man struggled, but didn't seem to be afraid of him. Taking a breath, Aria discovered that in the excitement, she’d backed up nearly to the opposite end of the alley. She mentally shook her head; she knew Doyle wouldn’t harm her, but what about when his bear was close to breaking free? The thought made her approaching footsteps pause with fear.

Struggling to free himself the man choked out, “Release me, bear, if you don’t want the wrath of the black claw pack descending upon you.” He threatened.

* ~ * ~ *

Slowly, Doyle’s face; along with the rest of him shrunk back to its original size. Reluctant to release the man that had unsettled his mate so much and whom his bear perceived as a threat, Doyle forced his now normal hand to open. The man collapsed onto the snow covered concrete with a painful thud. Without warning, the man scrambled after a gun that lay discarded amongst the snow. Striking at him in the chest, Doyle shoved him against the wall before bending down and picking up the discarded weapon.

His hands clenched around the firearm with rage. Had he planned on killing Aria? He wasn’t the man from this morning but he wasn’t about to trust anyone when it came to the safety of his mate.

“Is this how you do things in your town? Attacking people on the street without cause?” His voice snared in outrage. His hands dusted off the remaining chunks of snow that clung to his clothes.

Growling, Doyle handed the gun off to Aria as she slowly approached.  It was safer in her hands than his at this moment. He was less likely to shoot him, if he didn't have the gun at all. “Why were you following my mate?”

“Let go of me unless you want the Black Claw pack starting another war with you bears and your ilk.”

“Black Claw Pack” Aria scoffed, “That sounds like a bad name for an eighties rock band.”

Moving back, Doyle continued to glare at the man before him. “Who are you?” He asked, crossing his arms over his chest while he sized up his adversary.

“Mark Wilder. I was sent by Eric Daniels, Alpha of the Black Claw pack to deliver a treaty. Your elders were expecting me, Alpha. And I was under the impression you were too.”

“That still doesn’t explain why were you following me.” Aria asked from behind them.

Glancing over at Aria, Mark’s brown eyes softened. “I was asked by a third party to keep an eye on you. Give me my gun back.” His tone never changed from the calm way he spoke, but it was a command none the less. When neither of them moved to return his weapon, Mark growled in frustration. “Look. I’m a sheriff, not a killer. I was told that when you came to town I was to watch both of you closely.”

“Did the elders put you up to this?” Doyle bit out under his breath. If the elders were sticking their wrinkly noses where they didn't belong and nearly got Aria murdered he was going to have some new bear pelts covering his walls.

“They were concerned about who your mate was.” Mark explained.

Clenching his fists, Doyle could feel his bear pacing back and forth with anger. Taking the gun from Aria’s loose hands, he tossed it back at Mark with a stiff expression. Intertwining his fingers with that of his mate’s, Doyle towed Aria along as he stepped out on the side walk. Pausing, he stopped to look back at disgruntled Mark once more.

“Come near my mate again and the next time you will not walk away intact.” Tugging Aria along, despite her struggles, Doyle didn't stop until they reached the truck. “Get in.” He ordered as he got in on the driver’s side.

Looking unsure, Aria looked around briefly before climbing up into her seat. No sooner as she’d shut the door, Doyle spun the truck around and down the road like a professional NASCAR driver. Thrown back against her seat, she struggled to put her seat belt on as he sped up the unpaved road to his cabin.

“What was that all about? Do you know him?” She asked as her heart pounded while he drove like a lunatic over the unlevel, rocky path.

He nodded his head sharply. “He wasn’t after you. The council of elders must have gotten wind of you and asked him to find out who you were.”

“That’s it?” she asked, outraged that she’d nearly had the crap scared out of her all because someone was curious? “Then why did he have his gun out?”

Rubbing at his face, Doyle glanced over at her. “He must have thought that in my present state that I was trying to turn you.” He admitted. “I am certain he intended to use the gun on me, not you.”

While she still felt shaken from the avalanche of events from this morning, Aria struggled to push through the adrenaline that had flooded her system moments ago.  Wrapping her arms around her knees as she drew them to her chest, she rested her head against the cool window as she attempted to sort through everything.

“Why did you try to run again?” His deep voice startled her from her thoughts as she turned to look at him.

What could she say? That she was afraid that Malca had found her? That Mark was one of her solders come to take her back? She hadn’t told him the whole truth for a reason. She had no doubt that Malca would kill Doyle if she felt him in the way. While he proclaimed she was his mate and he would protect her, she still felt a fierce desire to protect him instead. While he may be a big and overbearing were-grizzly, that would mean nothing if Malca found a way to put a bullet in his head.

Why had she run? The answer was deep down, she knew that she was falling for him and that couldn’t happen if she was to get out of this alive. As much as she didn't want to, she needed to keep Doyle at bay until she could find a way to get as far from here and out of Malca’s reach forever.

Against her will, her mind went back to that kiss in the alley like an addict with a drug. Her skin still burned with the memory of his hands gripping her ass with desperate hunger. A hunger that was getting harder and harder for her to deny existed. She still could remember the feel of his hard length between them as it caused her quivering body to clench with unfulfilled delight. Desperately she wanted to feel him; she wanted to be consumed by the dark hunger that he had awoken within her.

“We’re not done taking about this, not by a long shot.” He declared as she realized they were back at the cabin.

As she moved to open the door, Doyle reached out and stopped her. Pulling her across the bench seat, he clenched her golden braid within his commanding hands. As his lips lowered to greet hers for the second time today, calling upon all her strength, she turned her face away from his tempting kiss.

“Don’t,” she murmured. Gripping his thick wrists, she pushed his hands away. “Whatever happened between us was a mistake and I don’t want to repeat it.” she stated, not meeting his eyes. Not waiting for him to rebut her words, she quickly climbed from the truck and slammed the door behind her retreating form.

* ~ * ~ *

For once in his life both him and his bear felt completely confused. Had he read the situation wrong? Both he and his bear had smelled her scent ripening with desire moments ago. The whole cab of his truck was saturated in the smell! No, her body was crying out for her mate--him! And she called it a mistake!

There was no such thing! Growling low in his throat, he was just about to charge after her when a scent conquered his attention. It was the same scent from this morning, overpowering sweetness with the smell of rotting flesh. Only this time a second scent was mixed with it… death.

Just as she stepped onto the wooden planks of the porch, he called out to her, staying her from moving. “Stop,” Rushing through the snow, his fingers circled around her elbow. “Don’t move. Something isn’t right.” Slowly walking to the front door, he pulled his bear to the surface. Inside there was neither a sound of movement nor a heartbeat. Whoever left their scent behind in his home weren’t there now. However he didn't feel comfortable allowing his mate to enter before him when someone had broken inside.

“What is it?” She asked, as she watched Doyle tilt his head back sniffing at the air surrounding the front door.

The prickly feeling at the back of her neck was back, the heavy weight of unknown eyes watching her made her skin crawl. Looking around she knew she wouldn’t see anyone, unless they wanted her to. Feeling too exposed at that moment, she couldn’t fight off the panic of being out in the open. She needed to get inside.