Elizabeth pulled up at Rhys’ large two-story home nestled in the middle of the one-hundred-acre property. Three bear shifters needed room to run. She understood that. Hell, she could even understand the size of the house, if both of Rhys’ brothers were his size. Deep, rich red bricks covered the front of the house, white shutters framing each window. A large wooden porch wrapped around the front. Rocking chairs had been strategically placed for lounging. Rhys sat on the steps of the concrete porch with a coffee cup in his hand watching her with a predatory gaze, not making a move to approach the car.
She killed the ignition and popped her trunk. His brow rose, and he gave her a lopsided grin as she stepped out of the car. Dew sat on the blades of grass in the early morning hours. Unable to sleep last night, she hadn’t bothered waiting for the brothers to be awake. She’d planned to scope out the place, getting a feel for the lay of the land before they rolled out of bed. She inhaled a deep breath of fresh, crisp, clean air, heaving her bag out of the small trunk. She slammed it shut, coming face to face with Rhys. In the minute it took her to pull her bag out, Rhys had left the porch and stood by her side, and she’d never heard him coming.
“I thought bears were loud,” she said, breaking the awkward silence.
“Only when trampling through the forest or chasing their mates.” He grinned.
“Listen…”
Rhys took the bag from her hands and shook his head. “I’m sorry about last night. I wasn’t expecting you. I mean…I was expecting Elizabeth, but I wasn’t expecting to…oh never mind. Let’s start over. I just want to get to know you, Elizabeth.”
Elizabeth’s mouth parted. His electric-blue eyes staring back at her were sincere. He tenderly brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. His eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled. She would have swooned just from his touch if she wasn’t trying her best to keep her hormones in check.
“You talked to Trapp.”
Rhys placed his hand on the small of her back, leading her up the porch. Heat from his mere touch pooled in her belly. “I did.”
“Is that the reason for the nice-guy routine?”
Rhys opened the door and ushered her inside. “I’m always a nice guy. Don’t worry. He wouldn’t tell us your secrets.” He grinned.
The house was huge, even larger on the inside. A brick fireplace was nestled in one of the walls with throw rugs in front. The wide furniture in the living room was lush and inviting. Lord forbid, she lay down to take a nap. She’d never get up. The smell of honey drifted in the air, tugging her lips into a smile. Three bears reminded her of the fairytale, although the three large men in the room looked nothing like the cuddly little suckers in her book. The other bartender from last night stood patiently waiting with another man she’d never seen before.
“Elizabeth, I’d like you to meet Max and Dylan.” Rhys gestured to each. “Guys, this is Elizabeth.”
“Welcome. Make yourself at home.” Max’s green eyes sparkled with mischief. Right or wrong, she immediately labeled him the instigator of the bunch.
“Thanks.” She smiled back. “Hopefully, this case won’t take too long to solve, and then I’ll be out of your hair.”
Max’s and Dylan’s eyes widened, and their gazes shot to Rhys. His warm palm rested easily against her back. To his credit, he didn’t growl, he didn’t argue, he didn’t fight. Maybe he’d been sincere.
“Rhys, why don’t you show Elizabeth her room while we finish making breakfast?” Dylan nodded back toward the kitchen. And now she knew who the mother hen of the clan was; either that or the big bad bear was just starved.
Elizabeth followed behind Rhys up the stairs and onto the landing. The open space branched out in two different directions, and it wasn’t until this point that she realized she wasn’t just standing in a two-story house but something more like a freakin’ mansion.
“That’s Max’s wing.” He pointed off toward the right. “He pretty much stays to himself, so you don’t have to worry about him bothering you.” He gave her another lopsided grin before gesturing back to the bottom level below. “Dylan’s wing is on the main floor.” He gestured toward the hallway on the left. “This is ours.”
“You mean yours,” she corrected him.
“Ours.” His brows dipped as he continued to speak, ignoring what she’d said. “You’ll have your own room next door to where I’ll be staying.” He ushered her farther down the hall and glanced down sideways at her. “It’s a compromise. If you aren’t sleeping with me, at least I’ll be nearby.”
She stifled her grin. Rhys wasn’t being very subtle about what he wanted, but at least he was trying. “My own room will be perfect, thank you.”
He shoved open one of the doors and stood on the threshold waiting as she stepped into the extra-large room and turned slowly in place. The place was huge, just like everything in the house. The double doors to the bathroom stood open wide, and she could see a spa inside next to the large shower. “This room is bigger than my entire apartment. You guys don’t do small, do you?”
Rhys chuckled. The sound teased her ears, making her animals giddy with delight. “Darling, there’s nothing small within these walls.”
Her cheeks heated while she tried her best to ignore his sexual innuendo. Her curiosity peaked, she strolled over to the walk-in closet and noticed men’s garments hanging on one side and the other side holding empty hangers. She spun to face him.
“This is your room?”
He gave a slight nod. “And that’s my bed.” He set her suitcase on top of the mattress. “You might not be ready for me, but I’ve waited my whole life for you. I want you in my bed even if I’m not sharing it with you.”
Her animals’ ears perked at his proclamation. She chewed her lip, letting his words sink in. The woman might be leery, but it appeared her animals were ready and willing to extend an invite for him to stay. She gave one more glance toward the bed, her mind imagining his big, sexy body beneath the dark blue comforter and cotton sheets. What would it be like for him to sleep with her? Holding her and wanting her like she’d never been wanted before. She licked her lips at the thought before slowly pushing the images to the back of her mind. It would be easy to give in to him, to let him ravish her and sate her until she was begging for more. Maybe, one day, when she wasn’t worried about the damage one of her animals might cause. No, she couldn’t let that happen. She wouldn’t risk the possibility of losing the tight reins she held the beast with. Hurting him wasn’t an option if one tried to make an unexpected appearance.
He stepped up behind her, pressing his chest to her back. His hands rested gently on her waist. “I can’t promise to keep my hands off of you while you’re here,” he whispered into her ear, “but I can promise that I won’t climb into that big bed without an invitation.”
“This is a bad idea. Maybe I should go back to the hotel.”
He lowered his head and inhaled a deep breath before he dropped his hold and stepped back, taking with him the warmth of his body. “That’s not necessary, especially when you have three men willing to help you solve your case.” She heard the disappointment in his voice and saw it in the shadows that flickered in his eyes. “Come on. Let’s eat.”
****
Rhys inhaled a deep breath, taking in Elizabeth’s familiar scent and letting it wrap around his body. His cock hardened against his zipper, and it took every bit of control he had to drop his hands and step away when all he really wanted to do was bend her over the nearest chair and bury himself deep inside of her hot channel until she screamed his name in ecstasy. How the hell was he supposed to do “slow” with her? Her unusual, intoxicating smell made him drunk with need. She smelled of sweet honey with an exotic spice that he couldn’t name. If she was a bear, he couldn’t tell what kind. Hell, he didn’t care. She was his, and he was hers, no matter if she was too stubborn to acknowledge it.
Unable to stop himself from touching her again, he slid his fingers through hers and guided her back down the hall, pointing out the room next door where he’d be sleeping. A single wall would be separating them tonight. He’d take what he could get until she decided to give in to the lust that was evidently tugging beneath their skin. It was like a live wire. He could feel it every time he touched her, and he’d lay money that she could feel it, too.
She didn’t pull free, even though her body stiffened, uncertainty on her face. A small victory for him as the underlying storm brewed within her. Get ready for me, doll. He grinned to himself, released her fingers, and jogged down the stairs ahead of her.
“Food and then work?” he asked while walking backward through the living room. He couldn’t take his eyes off her, not after she’d run last night and he didn’t know if he’d ever see her again. No, he wouldn’t be letting her out of his sight. Not now, not until he convinced her that they were meant to be together.
“I appreciate your hospitality.” She slowed, stopping a foot away from him. “But let’s deal with the elephant in the room. What’s it going to take for you to realize I’m not your mate and this can’t happen?”
Keep lying to yourself, sweetheart.
“How does this work? A quick roll in the sack, a bite of my neck?”
Hell yeah, now she’s talking.
She crossed her arms over her chest as if she’d read his mind. The body language meant to close him off did nothing more than lift her perky breasts for a better view.
Damn, she was feisty. His bear growled with desire and approval. “First of all, when I take you to bed, it will be anything but quick. I’ll spend hours tasting and worshiping your body.” His lips quirked in an attempt to hold in his grin. “The biting can happen at any time, but it generally happens when I have you in a lust-filled haze, when you can’t think of anyone or anything other than what it feels like to have me thrusting inside you.” He said it matter-of-factly. “You’ll accept me as your mate, the one man who can please you unlike any other, and I’ll accept you as the one woman that I’ll love for the rest of my life. Some shifters look at it as an age-old tradition that tells all of the other shifters to back the hell off. But with me…it’s so much more. You’ll be mine, and I’ll be yours.”
He closed the distance between them and cupped her face. “As for you being my mate, I don’t need a bite to tell me you are. I already know it. One taste from your lips,”—he felt the shimmer of his beast trying to surface—“the electricity from your touch, the way you look at me…” He swiped the pad of his thumb across her juicy red lips, dying to continue the kiss he’d started last night. “Your scent may have peaked my interest, but your kiss fueled my flame. Make no mistake, Elizabeth Hanson, you are mine, and I am yours.”
Her expression turned guarded at the mention of her name. She took a hesitant step back instead of leaning into the warmth he offered. He’d had her. For a brief second, he saw the resignation in her eyes and electricity stirring between them. The mention of her name worked like scissors cutting the cord.
“Thanks for the lesson, but I think I’ll pass.” She sidestepped around him disappearing into the kitchen. His bear roared in aggravation. The animal wanted her just as much as the man, equally wanting to haul her over his shoulder and take her back upstairs and kiss her until she admitted he was right. She was going to be the death of him. His self-control was being tested. “Damn.”
The house phone rang as he stepped into the kitchen. Elizabeth was already seated and involved in easy banter with his brothers. The lucky assholes. How could she be so at ease with them after just meeting them, instead of with him after their shared kiss?
“Speak,” Rhys barked into the phone while watching his mate interact with his brothers. She took a small bite of the bacon and grinned, and his heart melted more by the second.
“Put Elizabeth on the phone.” Trapp’s voice was anything but cordial.
“Lizzy.” Rhys held out the phone. “It’s the warden.”
Elizabeth brushed his fingers while taking the phone from his hand. The small contact made her frown, yet made him grin. “Hello.”
Her brows dipped lower with each second that passed. She was quiet, listening rather than talking. She nodded a few times. “Yeah, he’s standing right here.” She glanced up at Rhys. “Yeah, we’ll be right there.”
She shoved the phone into his chest and shrugged. “Time for work, fellas. It appears you guys are coming with me.”
She grabbed another piece of bacon before disappearing out of the kitchen.
“Trapp, she just got here. Can’t this wait?”
“Afraid it can’t. They found another dead body, and the marks on her body, indicate this one was killed by a shifter.” There was a slight pause. “She was found less than a mile away from the club, with one of your matchbooks sitting next to her hand. We need you guys to come with Lizzie to see if you can identify her.”
“Even if we don’t, we can check the surveillance at the club. If she was there, we’ll know who she left with. We’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”
Rhys hung up the phone, informing his brothers what he’d been told. They were on their feet and all of them out the door in mere minutes.