Bear's Baby (Bear Heat Book 4) (4 page)

His chest felt tight and he
was having trouble breathing. It felt like there wasn't enough air.
His heart was beating too hard, too fast, too crazily. The rhythm
thrumming through his veins was ancient, urgent and unrelenting.
Instinctively, intuitively, he knew what it was.

He growled and shook his
head.

It couldn't be.

This couldn't be the mating
call. His bear was wrong this time.

Mate? With this sweet, human
woman? His bear must be out of its mind. Mating wasn't fucking.
His bear should know this. He would not fuck with this beautiful,
perfect human. She was special. He didn't want to fuck this up.

“Behave yourself,”
he snarled angrily to his bear.

“No, you fuck off!”
He gave himself the finger, and a mental slap.

Shit, he must really be
fucked up. He was going batshit crazy! Now he was even arguing with
his bear out loud. He must look like a rabid, raving madman,
growling and talking to himself in his car.

Lindy's car slowed to a crawl
and her brake lights flashed. Baxter pulled his car to the side of
the curb just opposite a neat, single-story house. As he watched her
park her car in the garage, he fought a losing battle with himself.

What was he doing? He should
just drive away now, while he still could.

“Ah, Lindy...”

She walked up to the porch
and unlocked her front door. She turned around and raised her hand
to wave at him.

Baxter moved his hand stiffly
to wave back.

His claws had pushed out and
his bear was pounding at him to get the hell out of his car and go
grab that female.

“Stop,” Baxter
growled to his bear. “Just stop, you horny bastard.”

Lindy stood and stared at him
from her porch. Then she took a step forward.

“Step through the damn
door, Lindy, and lock it,” he snarled under his breath. The
pounding in his head became a roar and he could hardly hear himself
think.

She started down her front
steps and stood at the edge of the curb. After a moment's
hesitation, she crossed the road.

“Stop,” he
repeated in a low snarl, but this time, the command was directed at
her.

She couldn't hear him of
course. She was walking towards his car, her steps measured,
deliberate and purposeful. He growled but forced himself to remain
still as she came nearer and nearer to him.

His eyes tracked her
movements, and he found himself memorizing every soft, generous curve
of her body. Her ample hips swayed seductively as she walked and
there was a flush creeping up her neck and face.

“Stop, Lindy,” he
begged. His bear cheered and urged,
Come on, Lindy!

His bear won.

Shut up
, Baxter
snarled at his bear who was whooping and gyrating maddeningly in his
head.

Lindy strode right up to the
driver's side and tapped the window. Fighting for control, Baxter
lowered the glass and wrestled his grimace into a smile. “Lindy.”

When she bent down, his eyes
widened and breathing became seriously impossible.

“I...I was wondering if
you'd like to come in, Baxter,” she said. She swallowed and
worried her lower lip. When he continued staring at her in silence,
she pushed a hand through her hair and tried to hide a wince. “Ah,
it's okay.” She shrugged and mumbled, “Maybe some other
time. It's late anyway...”

She took his silence as
rejection. Baxter saw the flicker of hurt and embarrassment on her
face and his heart lurched.

How could she think that he
would reject her?

“Yes!” he
shouted. “Yes!”

She gasped in shock as he
stumbled out of the car.

“I mean, yes, I'd love
to come in and have a cup of whatever,” he stuttered rapidly.

With a coy smile, she took
his hand and led him back to the house.

Baxter laced his fingers
through hers and gave up his futile attempts to resist her.

At the front door, he stopped
and said softly, “Lindy, are you...sure?”

He took both her hands and
gazed deeply, quietly into her eyes. They were both adults. They
knew what was going to happen once he stepped into her house. They
sure as hell weren't going to spend the night sitting around her
kitchen table drinking cups of whatever and eating cookies. Baxter
didn't want her to regret what they were about to do. It would
fucking kill him if he saw even the slightest trace of regret in her
eyes.

Lindy looked up at him and
said, “Yes, I'm sure. I want this, Baxter.”

When he pulled her closer, he
heard her mumble under her breath, “Ten years. Wow.”

“Ten years?”
Baxter frowned at her. What was she talking about?

But Lindy merely shook her
head and said, “Tell me I'm not dreaming.”

“You're not dreaming.”

She let out a soft laugh.
“I got lucky.”

“No, Lindy.
I
got lucky,” he said, capturing her face in both his hands.

Lindy's lips curved against
his as they stumbled past the threshold.

Kicking the door shut behind
him, Baxter took her sweet, plump mouth in a deep, lingering kiss.
He held her and kissed her long and slow. He didn't want to rush
anything with her. He wanted her, and from that very first kiss, he
knew he would want her always.

He didn't want the kiss to
end, and from the way she clung to him, neither did she.

CHAPTER
FIVE

Lindy finally broke the kiss
and stumbled back, giddy and breathless. Baxter took a step towards
her, then stopped. His big fists were tightly clenched at his sides
and his stormy gray eyes glowed with hunger and want. But he held
himself still as a statue, not moving a single muscle. His veins
pulsed on his temple and neck as he waged a ferocious, brutal battle
against his lust.

Lindy stood just inches from
him, looking up into his fierce, handsome face. She almost couldn't
believe that Baxter Sadowski was in her house, in her living room,
and if she had her way tonight, in her bed.

Ten years. She had developed
an instant crush on Baxter when she first saw him ten years ago. And
she never thought that a red-blooded, virile male like Baxter would
ever give a shy, nerdy girl like her a second look.

The Black Bears Group was a
reputable, high-profile security firm and the Black Bears were
frequently contracted to assist in dangerous sting operations and
rescue missions. She had kept up with their cases, and her
department had worked with the Black Bears Group to solve a couple of
violent, heinous crimes.

She had worked with the Black
Bears alpha and beta, and some of their team leaders, but she just
never got the chance to work with Baxter. Somehow he was always away
from the office on some mission or other when she visited the Black
Bears office. She had only seen him once, but she heard of him
often. She read about him in the news, and his gruff, no holds
barred answers to interview questions were always refreshing and
amusing.

Ten years. It was funny how
she never really forgot this tough, brash, handsome Black Bear that
she had seen only once. She had never even spoken a word to him in
these ten years. Yet, she had remembered him, thought of him and
wondered about him.

She had built up a solid
career, bought her own little house, dated on and off, ditched her
dowdy glasses and ponytail for contacts and a chic hairdo. She had
done a lot in ten years. Still, she was a nerd at heart. Studious,
introverted, and single-minded when it came to her work. She had
never been one of the pretty, popular girls in school, and she knew
she would never been considered a bombshell. She was blond but she
wasn't leggy and svelte. She had learned to embrace her height and
her curves, but it was a fact that she spent most weekends alone.
She had a small circle of friends, but most of them were married and
had their own families and priorities. There was no long line of men
beating a path to her door to ask her out. Her well-meaning married
friends were usually the ones who took the trouble to set her up on
blind dates with their single friends and colleagues. But none of
the dates went anywhere. None of the men intrigued her, interested
her and made her mind and body come alive.

Baxter had a tough, badass,
bad boy image. But underneath that loud, rough exterior, she saw
that he was a total sweetheart. He was sharp as a tack, but he hid
his insight and intelligence with smart-assed comments and jokes. He
used humor to put people at ease. An astute judge of character, he
could size his opponents up and sweet-talk people into doing what he
wanted.

He had been a little smarmy
with her at first, but once he saw her discomfort, he had stopped
pretending to be a jerk and a smart-ass. His apologies had been
earnest and sincere, and he was open and honest with her.

His initial suave arrogance
was gone. Instead, he seemed tense and nervous around her now. He
held himself back, afraid to make a move or a single mistake.

It was cute, the way he
appeared almost shy in front of her.

Lindy approached him slowly.
There was no doubt that he wanted her. The chemistry, the
electrifying tension between them was so palpable, so powerful, she
could almost touch it and taste it. It was a heady, giddy feeling,
being wanted by a man like Baxter. A hunk, a bad boy, a powerful
Black Bear who could have any female he wanted. All the men that her
friends had set her up with had been mousy, nerdy men with deskbound
jobs. Men like her, she supposed. Her friends probably thought they
would be a good match for her.

She never dreamed that a big,
sexy hunk like Baxter would give her a second glance. Well, she did
dream of him a couple of times over the years, usually after she had
read about him in the papers or glimpsed his scowl when a camera was
shoved in his face right after the conclusion of a high-profile
mission.

In her dreams, he did more
than look at her. He did much more, but hey, that was only a dream.

This—this was no dream.
This was real.

Lindy put her hand on
Baxter's broad chest. He felt hard, solid and burning hot to her
touch.

She felt a tremor course
through his massive body as his nostrils flared. “Lindy,”
he said in a low, dangerous voice. His eyes darkened with raw,
primal desire. Yet he didn't reach for her. His growl told her how
much he wanted her, respected her, and ached for her. She could see
the consuming passion and tormenting hunger in his eyes, on his face,
on every stark line of his powerful body.

To undo a powerful, virile
male so utterly and completely was a heady new experience for her.
She had never ever had this impact on any man. She had never had
anyone look at her with such yearning and desire.

She wanted to pinch herself
and squeal. Baxter, the man of her girlish fantasies and naughty
dreams, was here, for her taking.

Maybe good, nerdy, curvy
girls do get their man after all. Good things do come to those who
wait.

Lindy moved closer to Baxter.
She saw his gray eyes glow and turn feral for a beat before he
lashed his bear down with a snarl.

“Lindy, I want you.
I'm going out of my mind for you,” he gritted out. “But
I have to know that you want me back.”

“I do, Baxter,”
she whispered. “I want you.”
I've wanted you since I
first saw you ten years ago.

She gasped when he reached
out and grabbed her hard. Crushing her to him, he pressed his lips
to hers in a bruising, demanding kiss. There was no hesitation, no
gentleness this time. He took what he wanted, and what he wanted was
her.

He walked her backwards to
her bedroom, his lips and hands never leaving her. Her blouse was
already unbuttoned by the time they pushed through the door of her
bedroom. When the back of her knees hit the mattress, he had removed
her bra and was tugging her skirt and panties down her hips.

She was naked when she landed
on the sheets. Shrugging off his clothes, he covered her body with
his and hissed when his cock pressed against the hot, wet folds of
her pussy.

Lindy began to pant as his
tongue laved a blazing trail down her body. Baxter's mouth and hands
found her sensitive spots expertly, and her core began to ache
maddeningly as she writhed beneath him. She knew that he must have
had many women, many lovers in his bed all these years, and the
thought was harsh and jarring. She felt jealous, and she hated that
she felt jealous. She had no business feeling jealous. Baxter
didn't even know her before tonight. He was a free, single man, and
he had the right to date and bed any female he wanted.

Lindy turned away. Jealousy
was an ugly, petty, unhealthy emotion. She didn't want her own
silly, unpleasant thoughts to mar this night.

Baxter held her chin and
turned her face back to him. He might be busy enjoying and
pleasuring her body, but he was highly tuned to her response and
feelings. He was no sex-driven fool. Smart, observant, sensitive
and sexy. Oh, why couldn't he be hers?