Grayslake: More than Mated: Waking the Bear (Kindle Worlds Novella) (5 page)

Chapter Five

Audrey cringed as another wrench hit the floor of the garage. It had been three hours since
the kiss
, and Tad hadn’t spoken one word to her.

After he disappeared into the bathroom, she’d left his room, returned to the shop, and continued working. He’d arrived twenty minutes later, just like he’d promised, but his anger was a tangible thing that surrounded him like a protective bubble.

He marched into the lobby, glanced at the schedule, and then proceeded to do the repairs in order by appointment time. After each job was finished, he placed the paperwork on the counter next to her, and moved onto the next car.

When she’d first started working there, it hadn’t taken her long to decipher his nearly unreadable code, but he usually made sure she didn’t have any questions before he took off. Apparently, things had changed, and it was all her fault.

God, why did she have to kiss him!

Another loud clank echoed through the building, and she sighed.

They needed to talk, but until that happened, she was taking the rest of the day off.

She closed the computer program she was working in, and then shut down her computer and cleaned off the desk. There were no more appointments scheduled for the day, but even if there were, she would still leave. Tad had been running the shop without a manger before she started working there, and he could do it again. Today, though, he would only have to deal with taking payments and giving people their keys.

She walked into the repair side of the shop, and stood in the open bay opposite the one he was working in.

“The last appointment for the day just dropped off, and I’m going to call it a day,” she said.

“Fine.” He kept working, and didn’t so much as glance in her direction.

“All of the paperwork for the other cars is in the filing system on the counter, and you already know how to take payments.”

“Yes,” he grunted. “I’m pretty sure I can handle it. Believe it or not, I
have
done this before.”

“Whatever,” she rolled her eyes. “I’ll be back in time to make dinner.”

“If you stay here, you’ll be eating alone,” he said. “I have plans.”

If you stay here…

“Tad…,” she sighed. “Don’t you think we should talk about what happened?”

He growled and stopped working, but he still didn’t look at her.

“No, I don’t,” he said, his voice firm. “Right now I’m trying to decide if I should even let you continue working here.”

Tears pricked her eyes, but she blinked them away.

“Don’t strain yourself,” she retorted. “I’ll move my stuff out tonight.”

He looked up and glared at her. 

“Fine!” he barked.

“Fine!”

Audrey stomped out of the bay, past the house, and into the tree line. She continued the hard and jerky pace until her anger dissolved into sorrow.

She didn’t want to leave her job, or find a new place to live, but none of that mattered compared to Tad’s opinion of her. He’d told her in the beginning that he didn’t want to be her boss because of her feelings, and she’d sworn she could control herself. Unfortunately, she’d lied.

That look though…

She hadn’t gone into his room for the purpose of kissing him. In fact, the thought had never crossed her mind. Okay…it had crossed her mind, but not in that moment. She’d only invaded his privacy because she’d been worried about him.

He was never late for work, and when he hadn’t woken up to her voice, her mind had wandered. His shallow breathing hadn’t helped matters, either, but it was the smile on his face when he did finally wake that had captivated her. She’d wanted him to look at her like that since she first saw him in Declan’s bar.

And she’d wanted to kiss him for just as long.

It was a stupid mistake, but she was wrong, and she needed to apologize.

After she made amends, she’d pack her bags and head back to the B&B, and then tomorrow she’d start looking for another job. Hopefully, Tad wouldn’t tell anyone about her indiscretion.

With a plan in place, she started to turn around, but stopped when she heard the sound of a snapping twig. Suddenly, she realized how quiet the forest was, and fear raced down her spine. She slowly turned back, and saw Clint leaning against a tree less than ten feet away.

“Well, well, well,” he said, pulling a toothpick out of his mouth, and throwing it on the forest floor. “Today must be my lucky day.”

“Not now, Clint,” she said, “I’m really not in the mood.”

His answering laugh was maniacal.

“Do you really think I care, babe?” he asked, flashing a feral smile. “Remember how I said you would regret blowing me off one day? Well, today is the day.”

“What are you going to do, force me to like you?”

She had a feeling he had worse things on his mind, but she refused to say the words and give him any ideas.

“No,” he laughed again. “Something much, much worse.”

One second Clint stood before her, and the next he was replaced by a giant, full-grown grizzly bear. His roar filled the forest, and though she knew not to run from bears, he was no ordinary bear.

Audrey turned on her heal and ran.

She knew she didn’t stand a chance against the bear, but she wasn’t about to stick around and be his next meal, or whatever other sick things Clint had planned. The thought that he should have caught up to her by now skittered through her mind, and she knew he was just toying with her.

When he was ready to catch her, he would.

Branches and twigs on the forest floor whipped at her legs, and she lost her balance on several slippery rocks, but she kept moving without looking back. When she heard the grunts of the bear running behind her, she let out a scream as she broke through the tree-line behind the house.

Tad raced toward her and grabbed her biceps.

“What happened?” he barked.

“Clint! Bear!” she said, trying to catch her breath. “He’s after me.”

“Don’t be afraid, but I need you to listen to me very carefully,” Tad said. “Go into the shop and call Declan. Tell him I need Enforcers on the North Ridge, and then stay inside and wait for me. Do you understand?”

When she didn’t answer right away, he placed both hands on her cheeks and forced her to look at him.

“Audrey, sweetheart, do you understand me?”

She nodded, and he released her.

“Good, now go!”

Tad shifted into an even larger bear than the one chasing her, and then he ran off in the direction she’d just come from.

Tad is a bear, too!

What the hell? Was everyone in this town a bear?

She didn’t have time to think about what that meant right now. Even if he was a bear, Tad was protecting her against Clint, and he’d asked for her help. She ran inside the shop, and pressed the button on the office phone that would speed-dial Declan.

“So soon?” Declan said when he answered. “I really didn’t think I would hear from you for a couple more days.”

“Declan?” she said. “It’s Audrey.”

“Audrey?” he asked, his teasing gone. “Sorry about that. Is everything okay?”

“Clint turned into a bear. He was chasing me, and then Tad turned into a bear and went after him. He told me to tell you he needs Enforcers on the North Ridge.”

“Hold on, but don’t hang up, okay?”

Tears welled up in her eyes, and she nodded because she didn’t trust herself to speak.

“Audrey, honey, I need you to say something. Don’t hang up, okay?” 

“Okay,” she said, her voice wobbly.

She could hear Declan talking, but his voice sounded far away, and she couldn’t make out the words.

“Okay, I’m back. Audrey, are you there?”

“Yes, I’m here,” she said as tears slipped down her face.

“Are you injured? Do you need medical attention?”

“N…no,” she forced out. “I just have some scrapes. Nothing serious.”

“Good. I’m on my way. I’ll be there in five minutes, so just sit tight and wait for me, okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed, wiping her eyes.

Just sit tight! Duh! Where the hell would she go?

Bears were popping up everywhere, and she didn’t know the good ones from the bad, although it stood to reason that good men were also good bears, and vice versa. At least she hoped that was the case because she’d already worked out that Declan was a bear, too, and she hadn’t been the least bit afraid of Tad.

She hadn’t cried because she was afraid.

She’d cried because she’d fallen in love with a bear, and he didn’t love her back.

***

Tad tightened another bolt too tight, and ruined yet another part.

Damn bolt! Damn Plastic! Damn stupid kiss! Fuck!

Why did he have to kiss her? Why did she have to kiss him back?

It had been three hours since
the kiss
, and so far, he’d broken something on every car he’d touched. At this rate, he wouldn’t have any parts left in his storeroom for the rest of the week, and he and Declan would have to make another run to his supplier a few towns over.

Damn Declan!

If he hadn’t taken his brother’s advice and let Audrey see his scars, then he wouldn’t have gone to bed hard and aching for her, and he wouldn’t have mistakenly kissed her when he woke to find her nearly in his arms.

A band tightened around his heart as he remembered waking up to her beautiful face. She was gorgeous, but there was more to her than beauty, and she made him feel things that he hadn’t felt in a long time. He’d had something like it with Cindy, but with Audrey, it was…more.

She was the one woman in the world made especially for him, and upon finding her in his room, he’d desperately wanted to claim her. When she’d pulled away, her rejection reminded him of why he didn’t want—or need—a mate, and anger and resentment took root.

He’d let it fester for twenty minutes while he’d gotten ready for work, and when he saw her in the shop, it intensified.

So much that he’d said things he didn’t mean.

He didn’t want to eat dinner alone, and he definitely didn’t want her to move out. Instead, he wanted to pick her up the way he’d done in Declan’s bar, carry her up to his room, and finish what they’d started earlier.

Except she didn’t want him.

Fuck!

Tad grabbed a clean rag, and walked out of the bay. He hated flaking out on work, especially when people were depending on him, but he couldn’t do any more today. Audrey was a constant distraction in his mind, and he needed time to mourn over her rejection.

Somehow, when he hadn’t been paying attention, he’d fallen hard for his mate. The funny thing was, he could have sworn she’d fallen for him, too. Not because of the night they’d met, but because of the little things they’d shared over the past two weeks, and the way she’d been so responsive toward his scars.

Based on all that, her reaction to his kiss didn’t add up.

He took a deep breath and replayed the morning in his mind.

She’d allowed him to pull her close, and followed his lead stroke for stroke. In fact, she’d encouraged him to go deeper, and didn’t pull away until he’d tried to pull her on top of him. Then he’d acted like an ass by pretending not to be fully awake.

Fucking idiot!

He’d gone to bed wanting her, ready to accept her into his heart, but he’d never voiced his feelings, so how the hell would she know he’d changed his mind? The look on her face after their kiss hadn’t been rejection, it was heartache. She’d willingly kissed him, and he’d pushed her away when she’d reminded him of her name.

Oh, hell no!

He needed to man up and be the man—and bear—she deserved.

Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream filled the air, and Audrey burst out of the tree-line behind the house. As she came barreling down the hill, a familiar something inside him shattered, and any lingering doubts or reluctance to claim his mate vanished.

The past was gone, dead and buried, and he was looking toward the future.

Their future.

He raced toward Audrey, and grabbed her biceps. 

“What happened?” he barked.

“Clint! Bear!” she said, trying to catch her breath. “He’s after me.”

“Don’t be afraid, but I need you to listen to me very carefully,” Tad said. “Go into the shop and call Declan. Tell him I need Enforcers on the North Ridge, and then stay inside and wait for me. Do you understand?”

When she didn’t answer right away, he placed both hands on her cheeks and forced her to look at him.

“Audrey, sweetheart, do you understand me?”

She nodded, and he released her.

“Good, now go!”

He shifted into his bear, and raced toward the tree-line.

Tad picked up Clint’s foul scent easily, and he ran in the direction of the felon. Humans weren’t supposed to know about the existence of shifters unless they were mated to one of them, but Clint didn’t know Audrey was his mate. That meant he’d shown himself for the purpose of forcing a mating, or forcing her demise. Both were illegal and punishable by death.