CHAPTER TWO
She may have been a high school drop-out, but she had definitely graduated from the school of hard knocks. Because of this, Grace wasn’t all that trusting as a general rule. Her foster sister Michelle had been the only human being on the planet who’d ever had her back. When you added up her natural skepticism with all the drugs in her system, well let’s just say it ratcheted up her paranoia to a whole new level.
Her breathing began to escalate and she lurched violently towards the door as though she might suddenly become stronger, or he might somehow lose ninety percent of his muscle mass and become a weakling.
“Relax, I’m the good guy,” he said.
“Yeah, right. Do you say that to all the girls before you eat them, Hannibal?”
“Ha! You’re funny. I like that. My name is Henry.”
Grace sat there silently, refusing to look at him let alone tell him her name.
“Hi, my name’s Grace. Thanks for saving my life. You’re my hero!” Henry said in a ridiculous falsetto voice. Maybe it would have been funny if she hadn’t been so scared. How the hell did this asshole know her name?
She turned to glare at him, and okay, so maybe she checked him out a little too. It was pretty much impossible not to, what with all of his gloriously naked hotness on display. It wasn’t a big car, and it wasn’t like there was anything else to do. Plus the sun was just starting to rise, so there might as well have been a spotlight pointed at him.
Henry had beautifully sculpted arms, and she knew the muscles weren’t just for show because his grip was like iron. His gorgeous chest tapered down to a perfect six pack. He had thick dark brown hair, which wasn’t something that a lot of men in their thirties could boast about, not without plug surgery anyway.
He had a square jaw that gave him a sort of sexy super-hero appeal, and a scruffy five o’clock shadow that made her want to rub up against him like he was her own personal scratching post. She tried to assure herself that it was just the drugs talking, but it didn’t quite stick. Honestly she didn’t know what the hell was wrong with her, because she was not looking for a boyfriend right now.
She didn’t date much, and tried to keep as wide a girth from men as possible because they only wanted one thing and they were all trouble with a capital T. So what was wrong with her? Was she actually attracted to a shapeshifting bear? That was messed up on a multitude of levels.
Could she blame the pills she’d popped for the fact that she was starting to get a little turned on? Whatever the cause, she didn’t like the feelings that he was evoking inside of her nether regions, not one bit. The last thing she needed was another shitty boyfriend who’d want to slap her around when he was drunk and steal her hard-earned wages every time she slipped up and left her purse on the counter where he could see it. Yeah, that had actually happened. How she wished she could say it had only been one of her loser boyfriends.
Being single just made life easier, and she planned to keep it that way. She shook her head and tried to focus on anything but his sexy body. When his phone began to ring she welcomed the intrusion into their stiflingly awkward silence. Any distraction was a good distraction, right? Maybe he’d get so caught up in his conversation that he would let go of her arm and then she could make a break for it; she hadn’t figured out how she was going to outrun a car on foot yet, but she was reasonably certain that inspiration would strike in the moment.
“I cleaned up the mess at the motel and I have Grace here with me,” Henry paused as though searching for the right words. “She knows what we are.”
“And water is wet, asshole,” she muttered under her breath. She’d had her whole shifters-are-real-screaming-panic-attack last week when the monsters had first kidnapped her. It was still creepy, but the initial shock had long since worn off. Some people really were animals. Life goes on. La di freaking da.
Henry crooked an eyebrow sardonically at her, but otherwise made no acknowledgement of her sarcastic comment. Grace strained to hear the other half of the phone conversation and it made no sense, but it sounded like the other guy was saying that Michelle was somehow okay.
Was it actually possible? Good things never happened, but hope began to stir at her heartstrings all the same. Had the fates decided to take a little pity on her for once? Please let it be true, she willed silently.
“Is it true? Is Michelle alive?” Grace asked out loud, leaning over to try to grab the phone from Henry’s grasp.
Henry nodded affirmatively, but he wouldn’t let her take the phone out of his hands. He was talking to Parker, his Itan, AKA the bear-in-charge of their whole territory. Henry was Parker’s second-in-command, and he took his role as enforcer very seriously. He was a confirmed bachelor, so there was no one in his life to distract him from his duties to his clan.
“How do you want me to proceed with the woman?” Henry asked.
“Just take her back to your place for now and keep her safe,” Parker ordered before terminating the phone call.
“What if Grace doesn’t want to be taken back to your place?” she bit out angrily.
“Heard that, did you?” he shifted uncomfortably in his seat and it had nothing to do with the leather sticking to his bared booty.
“Just let me go.”
“Sorry, but I can’t do that. You know our secret.”
“What if I pinky promise to keep my mouth shut?”
“Humans can’t know about shifters,” Henry said stubbornly. “It puts our entire clan at risk.”
“So what? Are you going to kill me now?”
“I could never hurt you,” he said softly, and as soon as the words left his mouth he knew they were true. Something about her was calling his bear to the surface. She was stirring him up in ways that he didn’t even begin to understand. She made his bear feel fiercely possessive, like he would do anything to keep her safe.
He reached over and buckled her seatbelt before putting the car back in gear. Henry didn’t know anything about her, other than the fact that she was Michelle’s friend. But his bear didn’t care about details. All his bear knew was that she was beautiful, and smelled absolutely divine. Her scent was sweeter than honey and tangy like the most exotically succulent fruit. MINE his bear roared in his ear.
Oh boy. Henry knew exactly what that meant. Things were about to get even more complicated. He tried to focus on driving, but all he could think about was the woman in the seat next to him. Never before had he felt such an overwhelming urge to mate. Was it possible? Was she the one? MINE the beast rumbled again inside his head.
After so many years of being single he’d given up on ever finding that special person to complete him. But his bear hadn’t forgotten. The animal had never stopped looking with its primal, singular focus. He kept his eyes trained on the road, because if he didn’t he wouldn’t be able to keep himself from kissing her and he highly doubted she’d welcome him with open arms. Nope. He was pretty sure that she hated his guts, which guaranteed a bitterly cold reception to romantic overtures of any nature.
Dumb ass bear, he silently chastised himself. She just about died and there’s no way in hell she’s interested in rolling around in the sheets with you, let alone mating your hairy ass.
The last thing he needed right now was an erection, which was a shame because bruises aside, he’d never seen a more beautiful woman in his life. In his sans pants state there was no way he’d be able to hide his inappropriate lust if he didn’t get his libido under control and fast. Cut it out bear or we will never get a chance to win over our mate, he warned his bear.
He had to think of something that was the polar opposite of sexy, and fast. His mind pulled up an image of the time he’d walked in on his eighty-year-old grandmother changing, and the way her boobs had sagged so low that they’d practically touched the ground. EWWWW. It was working. His burgeoning arousal deflated like a leaky balloon.
In addition to writing his grandmother a thank you note, he was going to make sure to talk to her for an extra half hour when he called her for his weekly chat on Sunday. She was officially his new hero. Sure, he would never ever be able to tell her exactly why he was so grateful, but Grams had just saved his shifter hiny, big time.