Unbearable: Russet Falls Series (18 page)

Gabby cracked one eye open and
sighed. The sun was up, which meant another day in her new life. She yawned and
sat up, heaving her legs over the side of the bed.

The funny thing was that she was
the most upset about her job. Of course, she hadn’t wanted that job forever,
but it had been a good job, and Paul had been a decent boss, and she relished being
able to support herself.

She craved the privacy of her own
place and the responsibility and empowerment of taking care of herself. She
didn’t want anyone’s handouts; she could pay her own bills just fine, thank you
very much.

And as great and accommodating as
Alicia was, living in her house was getting old. So, what? She was just
supposed to hurry up and pick some shifter to marry and start a life with? The whole
thing made her blood boil until she remembered that she had an X on her back and
that a bunch of bears were just waiting to rip her into shreds.

She shrank back on the bed and
moaned.

Her life was out of control.

At least she was still able to see
Lucy. Otherwise, she might truly lose her mind. Things had happened so quickly
that she had whiplash. And yet, something about the Virtus clan gave her a
sense of community that she had never known. Thanks to her mother’s drinking
problem, she had been used to being ostracized and on the fringe of Russet
Falls. Now, she was starting to feel like a real member of a group.

Though she would never admit that.
She still was pissed beyond belief.

Her stomach growled and she made
her way to the kitchen to find some breakfast. She wasn’t sure what Alicia did
exactly, but she knew it involved some kind of finance management for the clan.
She usually worked out of a small office just off the kitchen, but some days
she went into the park office, which Gabby had learned was actually the main
hub for the Virtus clan. That alone probably pissed off the other bear clans.
They were all scraping by in little cabins and then the Virtus had this sprawling
mansion.

It seemed that Alicia was gone, so
Gabby took her time, enjoying having the house to herself even though she felt
lazy as hell not having a job. In a week’s time she had already spent countless
hours walking the clan lands. She had learned where lots of people lived, and
many went out of their way to introduce themselves to her. It was bizarre how much
respect they treated her with.

After breakfast she showered and
dressed and decided she would see if she could find a way to get to the park
office to talk to Michael. She was not just going to sit on her ass day after
day while idiots came over to introduce themselves. And that was the other
thing—what if she didn’t meet anyone? Then what happened?

She was just about to leave when
there was a knock at the door. She pulled it open to find herself face to face
with a man she had never seen before. He had the large, broad build that the
shifters had, but there was something slightly feral about him.

It made Gabby uneasy.

“Hi,” she said slowly, “Can I help
you?”

“You must be Gabby,” he said in a
deep drawl. “I’m Drake.”

Gabby stared at him, her hand still
on the doorknob. “Okay. Can I help you?”

He chuckled, yet it was off. “I’m a
suitor,” he explained.

Gabby shifted from one foot to the
other. According to Michael, the men weren’t supposed to drop by unless it was
the afternoon or evening. And didn’t they all work during the day?

“Oh, okay,” she said, trying to
keep her voice bright, though she wanted to slam the door in his face. His eyes
were an inky black and his slicked back hair was nearly as dark. Something
about him reminded Gabby of a slimy car salesman. “I believe you aren’t
supposed to drop by until the afternoon or evening.” She gave him a small smile
and tried to shrug. “Michael’s rules.”

“Yes, well, I do recall that now,
but I didn’t think it would be a big deal. I mean, we’re technically supposed
to just chat on the porch.”

Gabby glanced uneasily out at the
porch. Damn Alicia! Of all the stupid mornings she wasn’t home. What was Gabby
supposed to say?

“You know, I’m new to all of this
and really don’t know how it all works, so I think I’ll just stick to the
rules.” She started to close the door. “Thanks for coming back later.’’

But Drake reached out caught the
door before she closed it. “Really now,” he drawled, “You can’t give me five minutes
of your time on the porch?”

Gabby wanted to snap that he wouldn’t
get beyond the porch talk—no way in hell would she accept a date from him. But
instead she sighed exasperatedly. “Fine. Five minutes. And then I need to be
somewhere.”

Which wasn’t entirely true.

“Excellent.” He strode across the
porch and sat down in one of Alicia’s rocking chairs and Gabby sat next to him.

“I know this must seem very strange
to you,” Drake began.

“Oh, you have no idea.” She already
didn’t like the way Drake was looking at her, and she was angry with herself
for not sticking to her guns and closing the door on him.

“Alright,” he said slowly when he
saw that Gabby wasn’t going to offer any more information. “I’ll tell you a
little bit about myself. I come from a long line of shifters. I do some odds and
ends jobs for the clan. And I should probably add that Michael, Sam and Tommy
are my cousins.”

This, Gabby found interesting. She
couldn’t quite picture Drake being related to the others.

He leaned in close, a little too
close. “Tell me about yourself?”

“Well,” she began, leaning back and
away from him. “I think pretty much everyone knows my story. I was just your
regular, average girl until I found out my father had lied to my family and was
a shifter. And the other clans want to kill me for my blood, so I’m pretty much
stuck here for the rest of my life.”

“So, so sad,” Drake whispered,
reaching out to stroke her thigh.

Gabby jumped up. “And we’re
finished!” she exclaimed, turning bright red. “I’m not sure which part of this
you don’t understand—whether it’s showing up when you’re supposed to, or
keeping your damn hands to yourself, but we’re finished.”

Drake stood up slowly, his eyes
darkening. “I take it you aren’t inviting me back a second time?”

“You are correct,’’ she snapped.
“Now if you’ll excuse me.” She hurried back towards the door, but she felt an
arm on her shoulder, and Drake spun her around.

“Don’t touch me!” she cried,
whirling around. If this was what the tribe had to offer her, then she was
going to be screwed!

Suddenly she heard pounding
footsteps and she looked up to see Zane rushing up the porch.

Oh, holy Hell.

“What is going on here?” Zane
demanded, jumping between Gabby and Drake, and starting to push Drake back.

“Whoa,
second,”
Drake
snarled, saying “second” as if it was a piece of dirt stuck to the bottom of
his shoe. “I don’t think your services are needed here.”

Gabby took a step back, despising
Zane, but also secretly grateful that he had shown up.

“Do you want him here?” Zane asked,
turning back to Gabby. Oh, his eyes! They were filled with so much yearning,
regret and lust.

Gabby couldn’t speak; she simply
shook her head.

“Alright, Drake, I think she’s made
it pretty clear. Time for you to leave.”

“You are nothing but Michael’s lap
dog!” he spat. “A pathetic puppy, following Michael around and jumping whenever
he calls your name!”

“Fuck you. You’re just pissed off
that you aren’t involved.”

“I could care less,” Drake hissed.

“Whatever you say. You’re a damn
parasite. Now get lost,” Zane growled. Drake stepped menacingly towards him, but
then turned around and left. Gabby watched him head down the front lawn and
then start down the street.

“He’s nothing but power hungry,”
Zane said. “We always have to watch him. I knew he’d be here sooner or later
wanting a piece of you.”

“Well, I appreciate your help,”
Gabby said tightly, though she felt shaken, “but I’m fine now.”

“Wait. I need to speak to Alicia,”
he said, those his eyes implied that he wanted to speak to her, too.

“She’s not home. I’ll tell her you
stopped by.” She moved inside, going to shut the door. If she didn’t close the
door soon, she might get sucked back into the vortex that was Zane.

“Gabby, wait,” he said, stopping
the door.

What the hell was going on? He was
the second man this morning to block her from shutting the door.

“What?” she demanded, “I thought I
made it perfectly clear how I felt about you.” And though her voice was strong,
her pulse quickened, and her heart beat erratically. Damn her hormones! She did
not
want to feel this way about him!

“Yes, you made it perfectly clear!
But tell me—have you found a
suitable
mate?”

“That’s none of your business.” She
was not giving him the satisfaction of knowing that every idiot imaginable had
come calling.

She went to close the door again,
but Zane was too strong. He pushed it open, swooping in and pulling her into
his arms before kissing her hard.

“No, Zane!” She tried to push back,
but he was too powerful for her. His tantalizing scent washed over her as his
strong muscles wrapped around her, and she knew she was fighting a losing
battle. While her heart and mind screamed
no,
her body was panting YES,
YES, YES.

She pushed feebly against his chest
one more time and then gave up, telling herself that she could make out with
him and it would mean nothing. She would think of nothing else but his warm
tongue sliding into her desperate mouth.

And her mind went blissfully blank.

She kissed Zane back.

This time was different. There was
a power, a need, a craving that wasn’t there before.

Zane pushed her inside, kicked the
door shut and pushed her up against the doorframe. He kissed her harder,
sliding his tongue down her neck and along her collarbone. His fingers hitched
in her shorts, and she pushed him away, but then, moments later, he was doing
it again.

She pushed his hands away again,
though her sex clenched and she felt molten hot desire pool deep in her belly.

Oh, this was bad.

Very, very bad.

“Gabby please,” he begged, his
voice husky. “Let me make you feel good. Treat you like the princess you are.”

“No, I can’t,” she argued, though
she knew she wanted him so badly.

His strong hands traveled up and
down her sides, moving along the outsides of her clothing. His hands were so
much bigger than she remembered, and when he squeezed her ass, she let out a
small cry of pleasure.

He lifted up her shirt, kissing
just below her bra, and then trailing his mouth down towards her belly button
until he reached the band of her shorts. Again, he slipped his fingers into her
shorts and this time she didn’t resist.

She wanted to, but she just didn’t
have the willpower.

In one fell swoop, he yanked her
shorts down and they fell in a heap at her feet. He pressed his mouth into her
underwear, the thin material being the only barrier between him and her sex.

He blew against her, his hot breath
against her most sensitive parts sending her out-of-her-mind crazy and she
gasped loudly, clutching at him. He reached toward her, rubbing her softly
through her underwear, and Gabby knew that her wetness would give herself away.

Zane would know how turned on she
really was.

This was so unlike her! And yet,
she couldn’t stop herself. And what did it matter? Her old life was over. She
was the new Gabby now, and maybe Gabby, daughter-of-a-bear-king, let all her
inhibitions go and got half-naked with other werebears.

She was nuts.

Zane gently pulled her underwear to
the side, pressing his mouth against her and Gabby couldn’t help the low,
throaty moan that escaped her dry lips. She leaned her head back against the
wall, greedily pushing her hips further towards Zane, pushing herself deep into
his mouth.