Bear's Heart: BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance (Bear Heat Book 5) (7 page)

“Ah...I...” He
stepped away from the door and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

“Y-you look mad...at
Lindy,” Jade stammered.

“I'm not mad at her.”
Dylan raked a hand through his hair. “It's just that...if she
tells Big-Mouth Bax, the whole clan will know. And...”

“Big-Mouth Bax?”
Jade had to laugh. “Is that what you call him?”

Dylan shrugged. “I
call him a lot of things.”

“But Lindy is Baxter's
mate. They won't keep anything from each other,” Jade said
simply.

Dylan growled and stared at
his watch.

Sure enough, his watch beeped
as if on cue.

It was a message from Ethan,
his alpha. Dylan's face was caught in both a smile and a scowl when
he read the message.

Ethan had given him the
assignment. He had been officially assigned by the Group as Jade's
bodyguard.

Dylan knew that the Black
Bears Group usually didn't send a senior lieutenant to be anyone's
bodyguard. A junior Black Bear would be able to do the job
competently.

Dylan took a long breath as
he recalled those wide-eyed looks the Black Bears had given him just
before the ambulance doors slammed in their faces. His attention had
been solely on Jade then and he had ignored his clan completely.
That had never happened before. He never ignored his team members.
He always looked out for them and did a headcount before and after
each mission. His team would realize that he was acting way out of
character. He thought he'd heard Baxter's low chuckle as he rushed
headlong into the ambulance to be with Jade. Disconcertingly,
Baxter's and Lindy's chuckle sounded exactly the same. Did mates
laugh the same way?

Dylan muttered an oath. Just
what had those two told their alpha and the rest of the clan?

“Eh...is everything
okay?” Jade asked, looking worried.

“Yeah.” Dylan
cleared his throat. “I, um, got the job. I am officially your
bodyguard.”

“You...don't look happy
about it,” she mumbled, squirming.

“What?” Dylan
spluttered. “No! You...I...I want to be your bodyguard!”
he blurted out at last. “And I'm not letting anyone else take
this job! No male is going to be hanging around you and watching you
and scenting you and being so damn near you all the time!”
Dylan found his hackles and bear rising at the very thought of
another male being so near Jade and watching her, observing her
movements and getting to know all her habits and quirks so
intimately.

He almost burst a blood
vessel just thinking about it.

Jade canted her head at him.
There was laughter in her eyes, but she managed to keep her face
straight. “The Black Bears Group could have sent me a female
bodyguard,” she pointed out.

“Yeah,” Dylan
snarled, more at himself than anything else. He realized that he
sounded possessive and territorial, but goddamn it! She was his, his
to protect!

But Jade wasn't fazed by all
his growling and prowling. She simply yawned and smiled drowsily at
him.

“You should rest,”
Dylan said immediately, coming to her side to tuck her in. “You
must be exhausted after that long, grueling interview with the
police.”

Jade shook her head sleepily.
“I feel better after talking to the police, and to Lindy.
She's right, you know.”

“About what?”

Her eyes were already closed,
but she murmured with a smile, “About you. You—are the
best.”

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

Jade clutched the strings of
the cheery, colorful balloons and leaned against her brother's arm.
The balloons were the only things that Dylan and Luke agreed to let
her hold. Her bags, the baskets of fresh fruits and flowers, even
her medication, were all loaded onto their muscular arms.

Dylan unlocked the door to
his apartment and held it open for them. Luke helped her carefully
across the threshold, and made her sit on the sofa. She had finally
been discharged from the hospital but Luke and Dylan had firmly told
her that she could not go back to her own apartment. It wasn't safe,
they said.

Dylan had a spare bedroom, so
it was agreed that she would stay with Dylan for the time being.

Jade watched Luke and Dylan
pile all the fresh fruits and flowers, stuffed toys and presents on
the dining table. In the past few weeks, the Black Bears had visited
her almost every single day at the hospital.

They all brought her
something. Bouquets, fruits, homemade pies and soups, clothes,
stuffed toys, and yes, balloons. They transformed her hospital room
into a riot of cheerful colors and floral scents. The Black Bears
were funny and entertaining, and they made her laugh every time they
came to visit her. She was really glad that her brother had such a
wonderful clan of bears behind him.

Jade looked around Dylan's
spacious apartment. The décor was tasteful, understated and
modern. Dylan lived well, but he wasn't showy and extravagant. His
home was comfortable and everything was of good quality. And he was
even neater than her. All the books and magazines were stowed in
their proper places on shelves and racks, and there wasn't a dirty
coffee cup in sight.

“I'll put the flowers
and presents in your room,” Dylan told her as he picked up the
bouquets and gifts and headed down a corridor.

Luke tugged her to her feet
and whispered with barely contained excitement, “Come on!
Let's go see your room, Jade.”

“Oh.” It wasn't
her room. It was just a guest room. But she gamely let her brother
lead her towards the brightly lit room.

She stopped at the door and
gasped.

“This...this is...”
She pressed her hand to her lips.

Dylan was arranging the
flowers on the table and he straightened up abruptly at her voice.
He shifted his weight and stared at her as she shook her head slowly.

“If you don't like
it...” Dylan began gruffly.

“I...I love it, I do!”
she gushed. “Oh my God! You...you did all this, for me? You
shouldn't have...gosh! This is amazing, Dylan.”

“It wasn't me,”
Dylan said, flushing. “Luke did it.”

“It's him all right,”
Luke said, ignoring Dylan's glare. “Dylan got me and a few of
our team members to do up the guest room. He's your bodyguard, and
he refused to leave your side, so he gave me the key to his place and
told me to do it up so it would look like your bedroom back home. I
remember you love the color purple, and you had everything in shades
of purple in your room. The bedsheets, the lights, the curtains,
even your dressing table.” Luke grinned.

Jade could only nod shakily.
The frilly curtains and bedsheets were the prettiest shade of lilac.
The pillows and lampshade were violet and the table tops were
wine-colored. There were framed photographs of Luke and her as kids
on her bedside table, and scores of get-well cards.

“My room...” she
breathed, touched beyond words.

“This is your room,
Jade,” Dylan said. “Everything...” He gestured
around. “...is yours.”

“Oh, Dylan, you didn't
have to do this. Thank you!” She turned to her beaming
brother. “Thank you, Luke, and thank your teammates for me. I
really don't know what to say!”

Luke made a show of looking
at his watch. “Oh gosh, look at the time! I've got to get
back to the office. There's a briefing and I don't want to be late.
See ya, Dylan.”

Luke gave her a big hug and a
kiss on the cheek. “Dylan's a really good guy,” Luke
whispered in her ear. He grinned at the expression on her face and
promptly scooted out the door, leaving her to gape at the empty
doorway.

Jade turned around to give
Dylan a sheepish smile. Had he heard what Luke said?

Her brother seemed to be
trying to get her alone with Dylan as much as possible. What the
hell was that rascal up to? Was he trying to play matchmaker? Luke,
a matchmaker? She almost laughed out loud at the idea.

But Dylan was indeed a really
good guy. And he was hot.

Jade had never dated a hot,
good guy. The good guys weren't hot, and the hot guys weren't good.
She just never seemed to have the luck to meet someone who was
just...perfect for her. The guys she dated had been bad for her, for
her heart and her wallet. They sponged off her, cheated on her,
broke her heart.

It had been so draining and
frustrating. She had been single for three years now, and frankly,
she was beginning to believe that she would remain single for the
rest of her life.

If she couldn't meet someone
who could treat her right and make her feel alive, she was better off
alone.

She never expected to meet
someone like Dylan.

Dylan was the whole package.
He was smart, kind, caring, incredibly handsome and he had a great
bod. When she leaned against him, she could feel his hard, defined
muscles and feel the coiled, masculine power within that long, rugged
body. He was hunky and macho, but he often surprised her with his
wry humor and sensitivity.

There were many sides to
Dylan Hart and she had the urge to explore and uncover every one of
them.

Jade felt her body heating up
as she stared at Dylan and the sudden hot rush between her legs made
her gasp and clench her thighs tightly together.

She was getting aroused, just
standing across the bed from him.

Dylan's nostrils flared as he
inhaled deeply. He seemed to have scented something and his eyes
darkened with raw desire.

Jade whimpered as he stalked
forward.

CHAPTER
NINETEEN

“Jade…

She didn't back away even as
Dylan towered over her, staring down at her with hungry, burning
eyes.

With a low growl, he grabbed
her and covered her mouth with his.

Jade's lips parted
immediately and his tongue swept across her lower lip and plunged
into her mouth. Jade felt her knees buckle but Dylan caught her
securely in his arms and held her, kissing her relentlessly.

His mouth was skilful and
demanding, and she surrendered to him willingly, letting him take
what he wanted. She kissed him back ardently, reveling in the warm,
masculine taste and scent of him.

“Dylan...” she
moaned against his lips.

He deepened the kiss as his
hand moved up to her breast and cupped it. He kneaded her breast
gently with his calloused hand and when he brushed his thumb across
her erect nipple, she shuddered and groaned in pleasure.

His fingers undid the top
buttons of her blouse and he slipped his hands under her bra. Jade's
breath hitched when he peeled the cups of her bra down and flicked
his tongue over her aching nipple. Pushing her hands into his hair,
she held him to her as he suckled her.

His large hands cupped her
buttocks and squeezed. Dylan took her mouth again, kissing her
passionately, hungrily, desperately.

His tongue slid in and out of
her mouth, mimicking other erotic, carnal acts. He slipped his hand
into the waistband of her panties and thumbed her sensitive clit.
Jade gasped at the jolt of electrifying pleasure racing through her
body.

Dylan's mouth never left
hers. He couldn't seem to get enough of her. His tongue tasted her,
tantalized her, drove her mindless with desire.

He grabbed her ample hips and
ground against her. Jade shuddered when she felt his huge erection
between her thighs. When he gripped her hips and pulled one leg up,
she let out a cry of pain.

Dylan staggered back,
breathing hard. He'd heard her pain in that cry. His tormented gaze
raked down her leg, and he swore viciously at himself.

The doctors had removed her
bandages but she still sported marks and bruises around her body.
Her limbs still ached when she moved them at a certain angle. The
physiotherapist at the hospital had told her that she had to keep
doing her exercises and she would make a full and complete recovery
very soon.

Dylan stared at her flushed
face and backed away.

“Shit.” He
closed his eyes and his throat moved repeatedly. “I hurt you.”

“No, you didn't...”

His chest was rising and
falling with his ragged breaths. His amber eyes were swirling with
primal lust and pain, self-loathing and regret. He thought he'd hurt
her.

Jade moved towards him.
“Dylan, I'm not...”

He shook away her hand,
grimacing as if she'd burned him.

“Don't.” The
word came out hard and sharp, like a slap.

Jade let her hand hover in
the air between them for a moment. Slowly, she let her hand drop.

Dylan went to the door.

“I'll leave you to
unpack and settle in,” he said without glancing back.

CHAPTER
TWENTY