The Bear's Reluctant Wolf (6 page)

After taking a long sip of her tea and
setting it back on the table, she stared at her computer screen. She had to
complete three analytic reports, look at two merger contacts, and send them
back before five. Apparently the company she worked for thought she had more
than twenty-four hours in a day. For the next three hours she worked, but she
couldn’t help but think about Trace, and that was frustrating as hell. Over the
last three days she had tried to make sense of what was happening. Yes, he was
her mate, and that was not something that could be helped, or taken lightly.
Candace also knew that when a male found his other half he was persistent,
lacking logical and common sense, and went all caveman on everything and
everyone.

She didn’t need to be tied to a mate
because “fate” had deemed it so, and sure as hell didn’t need the fact that a
male would have this uncontrollable instinct to be with her at all
times
. Trace had known her for a total of ten minutes and
had gone all possessive and territorial on her ass, had uncontrollable anger
around other males, and growled that no one else was to touch her. Well, to
hell with all that shit. She had seen it happen with Ary and Charlie. It
certainly wasn’t something Candace wanted in her well rounded life, and not
with a man that looked like the rough bikers in his bar, and spoke so crudely
it was like a second nature. The male had absolutely no freaking filter. But
she also couldn’t help but think about what it would be like to have a male
that looked at her like he had never looked at another female in his life. That
was how she felt when Trace stared at her, like he hadn’t been able to take his
eyes off of her.

A shiver worked through her, and she
became wet. God, was this how it was going to be now that he had made his
presence known? She had thought about all that rawness he exuded, and she felt
like a writhing mess. Shifting on her chair she lifted her eyes and stared out her
living room window. It was
noon,
and time for a break
since she had a kink in her neck, a sore ass, and was now aroused. Standing and
lifting her arms above her head, she stretched, and then picked at her
oversized shirt. That was one of the perks of being able to work from home, and
also one of the downsides. One, she could lounge in her pajamas all day, but
the downside was … she could lounge in her pajamas all day. She had also gained
weight since she accepted this position. Not a ton of weight, but enough that
she noticed the way her ass shook when she walked, or the fact her belly was
more rounded than it used to be, and even the fact that her breasts had gotten
larger.

A sigh escaped her when she smoothed her
hand down her shirt, felt the squishy flesh, and realized she should probably
start working out to tone that shit up. She headed in the kitchen, really
wanting something fattening, but grabbed an apple instead. The sound of a
motorcycle coming closer to her house had her moving to the kitchen window and
glancing out of it. The light caught the gleam of metal, and the closer the
bike came, and the louder the engine roared, the more her heart pounded in her
chest. She already knew who it was even before he pulled the huge Harley into
her driveway and cut the engine.

For several seconds all Candace could do
was stare at Trace. She couldn’t help but really check him out. His boots
couldn’t be called anything but shit kickers, and slowly she moved her eyes
over him. He had black leather pants molding around his huge, muscular thighs. His
shirt was black and formed perfectly to his huge chest, which didn’t hide his
ripped abdomen or his bulging biceps. Dark sunglasses and a skull cap helmet topped
everything off. Overall he looked like some kind of avenging angel coming to do
some serious freaking damage. He climbed off the bike, his huge body unfurling
and actually causing a sigh of female appreciation to leave her.

God,
he looks so damn good.
For several
seconds all she could do was watch as he looked at her house, one that seemed
so tiny compared to him. He took his helmet and then sunglasses off, and she
didn’t think he realized how much swagger he actually had. As if Trace sensed
her staring at him he cut his icy green glare toward the kitchen window. A little
squeak of surprise left her when he smirked, and showed that, yup, he still had
that all male arrogance that made her wet and pissed at the same time.

Trace started walking up to her front
door, and Candace stumbled back. She looked around her kitchen, feeling like
she was a chicken with her head cut off. He was here, at her house, and he was
intent, that much was clear by his expression. Her pulse was fast and strong,
and a rush of adrenalin moved through her veins like a freight train. He was at
her front door and knocking before she even had time to think on how she was
going to handle this. Candace wasn’t surprised he had found out where she
lived. With just her name and them living in a small town, it wouldn’t have
been that difficult, especially for a determined mate, but this male was not
one to be denied, and isn’t that what she ultimately had done? He had made it
perfectly clear he couldn’t stop until she was his. Had she really been dumb
enough to think he might just … forget about her?

He knocked on the door again, this time
with a bit more force. Candace swore she could feel his impatience to see her
through that knock. A glance down at herself showed her in a ratty t-shirt that
went mid-thigh, no bra, and her granny panties that were less than flattering.
Her hair was in a messy bun atop her head, and her black framed reading glasses
always made her appear geeky. Did she really want him to see her like this?
Maybe he’d think twice about wanting to have anything to do with her when she
didn’t have Melissa doll her up for a night out?

Fat
chance.
But as she rushed to her room,
grabbed a pair of stretch shorts and pulled them on, she knew that there was
nothing she could do but face this head on and be honest about how she felt.
But the thought of telling this alpha polar bear that she didn’t want a mate,
especially an overbearing one that was too keen on controlling everything,
didn’t really settle well with her. He would fight her tooth and nail, but she
had a backbone, and had no intentions of being anyone’s doormat. Before he
started pounding on the door and causing a scene in her neighborhood, she moved
closer to it, pushed her glasses up her nose, and opened the door.

****

Even if he hadn’t gotten Candace’s
address and therefore knew this was her house, the scent of peaches that filled
his nose as soon as he pulled into her driveway would have told him as much.
And then he had felt her fucking watching him, and it had been so strong that
he had forced himself to hold in his growl and not pop a boner right then and
there. For three fucking days he had stayed away, forcing himself to give her a
brief amount of time to fully realize what he was to her, what he intended to
do with her, and that he wouldn’t let her go. So for the last seventy-two hours
he had held her address in his hand, read it over and over again as it was
scribbled on the small slip of paper, and memorized the fuck out of it. Trace
had never been known to give anyone space, and he sure as hell wasn’t known for
his reputation in waiting for something or someone to come to him. Not when he
wanted them as badly as he wanted Candace.

But this was different, so very
different that he knew if he pushed Candace too hard she would never be able to
trust him or give herself over to him. The need to care for her, protect her,
and please her above all else rode him hard the moment he had first seen her,
but he was an asshole by nature, a very dominant male, and taking a step back
to look at it from her point of view was a lot harder than he ever thought.

So here he was, standing in front of her
door, and wanting nothing more than to bust the damn thing down and scent her
out. But after the third round of knocking she finally opened it, and the
fucker between his legs shot up, hard and aching in a matter of seconds.
Neither spoke, but there didn’t need to be any words said, because the
electricity and pull that had been between them three days ago was right back,
stronger than ever. It was like that very short time apart made him want her more,
crave
her more.

Starting at her feet, because if he were
being honest he had a thing for delicate little toes, he took note that hers
were fucking perfect. Her toenails were painted a light pink, and her feet
femininely arched. He continued to let his gaze travel up her calves, and
stopped at her nice thick thighs.
Fuck.
She sure as hell wasn’t skinny, but all curves, and all he could think about
was those plump thighs wrapped around his waist. He could see the dark outline
of her shorts beneath her ratty, but deliciously adorable white tee, and the
fuckers were damn short, making it appear as if she wore nothing at all. He
growled, scented her arousal peak from the sound, and smirked.

Yeah, his little wolf wanted him, but was
fighting him every step of the way. Continuing to let himself enjoy the view,
he was surprised she hadn’t either kneed him in the dick or slammed the door on
his face for his blatant observation of her body. He stopped when he got to her
breasts, and his cock grew harder at the sight of her nipples protruding
through the material. The little minx wasn’t even wearing a bra. He needed to
tear his gaze away from all that plump goodness because he was two seconds away
from tackling her to the floor, ripping that too big and fucking hideous shirt
from her body, pulling her shorts down, and screwing the shit out of her.

Her hair was a mop of messy reddish
blonde waves atop her head, and she was wearing the cutest pair of black framed
glasses. All in all she was a knock-out, and all his.

“What are you doing here?” He didn’t
miss the hitch in her voice, or the way she gripped the edge of the door and
curled her fingers into the wood. She was nervous and horny, and it caused a
tingling sensation in his nose and a tightening in his balls.

“You know what I’m doing here.” Trace
leaned against the frame and crossed his arms across his chest. “I see I’ve
caught you at a good time.” He trailed his eyes up and down her body once more.
The urge to adjust his shaft was strong, but he figured he was getting under
her skin enough. The polar bear in him wanted to set her on edge, wanted her to
feel completely off balance and
bared
for him. Trace
didn’t want her thinking too hard, because when people thought too hard they
didn’t go with their instincts, and that was what she needed to rely on. He
sure as hell went with his gut on everything, and that was how he had found out
his bitch of an ex-wife was fucking around on him. Yeah, he had a nasty temper
when people screwed him over, beat the shit out of people that fucked with him,
but he was extremely protective and loyal of what was his, and as he looked at
Candace, he knew there wouldn’t be anything else that he would protect more
fiercely than he did her.

“How did you get my address?” Despite
her question, he could tell by the tone of her voice that she wasn’t surprised
to see him standing at her door. Clearly she was looking for
a
filler
, something to distract from the situation and make her seem more
upset than he knew she really was. He didn’t bother answering, just grinned,
pushed off the frame, and took a step inside. She stiffened as he went to move
past her, but the need to touch her was too strong for him to ignore. Trace
stopped right beside her, turned so he was facing her, and lowered his face to
her neck. Christ, she was all curves and soft, rounded flesh. He gripped her
waist and inhaled deeply. He closed his eyes and let a low, harsh sound leave him,
one of satisfaction and of ownership. She may not know it, but she was his
completely. He moved away when he sensed her unease grow, and as much as he
wanted to stand right beside her, feel her heat, take her scent into his lungs,
and press himself against her fully, he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. He
would push her, but only as much as she was willing to give.

Once fully in her house he turned around
and saw the barely restrained desire and anger on her face. That amused the
shit out of him.

“What in the hell do you think you’re
doing?” She shut the door, crossed her arms under her chest, and dammit, all
that did was pop her breasts out in all their glory. Scrubbing a hand over his
mouth, he couldn’t tear his eyes away from her hard nipples, or the way the
mounds jiggled from the action. Shit, he could see the fucking outline of her
areolas.

Letting his arm fall back to his side,
Trace took a step closer to her, which had her moving back until the door
stopped her from retreating from him anymore. “Go to lunch with me.” He came
right out and said it, not seeing any point in beating around the bush. “I gave
you three days, Candace, and that was three days too many.” She breathed in and
out heavily. For several long seconds neither said anything else, but then she
inhaled deeply and licked her lips.

“I can’t be the mate you need, Trace. I can’t
be the mate anyone needs.” He couldn’t keep his eyes from closing at the sound
of her saying his name. He didn’t know what she meant by that statement, but it
was a load of shit. Fate had put them together as mates, and even if for
whatever fucked up reason she thought she couldn’t be what he needed, he would
just have to show her how much
he
needed
her
.