CHAPTER FIVE

An hour after retrieving his rental car and checking into his motel room, Soren lifted his fist and knocked on Marcella’s door.

He heard her shuffling to the door, the creak of the floor in front of it—likely her pausing to peer through the peephole—and then her frustrated sigh.

“Open the door,” he said.

“How’d you find me?”

“You’re my mate.”

“That’s not an answer, and it’s not the truth, either.”

“It’s both.”

He was an Ursu. He had all sorts of weird tricks up his sleeves. Normally, a born-Bear finding his mate required some degree of psychic connection between the two shifters, but Marcella wasn’t a Bear. He’d been surprised when they’d met that she’d hit his radar so hard. Her magic was delicious, indeed. Following her was like picking up breadcrumbs she’d purposefully left behind to find her way on a trail.

“Open,” he said in a singsong voice. “We should have dinner.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“I am. I’m always hungry.” For a number of things, at that, with her topping the list.

“So go eat.”

“We’ll eat together. One less receipt for Drea to log.”

“That’s not the way this is supposed to work. You’re supposed to be giving me space, Bear.”

“You gonna tell on me?”

“I could. Hell, I should.”

“And, what? You think some Shrew is going to come down here to rescue you? I thought you were supposed to be demonstrating that you can take care of yourself.”

Marcella opened the door a tiny crack and scowled at him. “You’re harassing me. Do you understand what no means?”

“You haven’t told me no. You’ve told me to go away. Not the same thing.”

“Most people don’t stick around where they’re not wanted.”

“Who said I wasn’t wanted?”

“I believe that was pretty strongly implied.”

“Tell me you don’t want me, witch.” He leaned against the spindly pergola column and crossed his arms over his chest. “Refuse your mate.”

Lie to me.

He knew witches who were very proficient liars, but Marcella had already confessed that she fell in the white-to-gray realm of behavior. He’d never met a practitioner of light who was any good at lying. Besides, he’d be able to smell the lie on her if she tried. Bear noses were good that way, and few people were able to school their hormones to not tell on them when they were prevaricating.

She disappeared from the crack in the door, returned a moment later with her wallet and keys, stepped outside, and quickly shut the door before he could really get a good look inside.

“Okay. Where should I meet you for dinner?”

“I’ll drive. No need to waste gas.”

“Whatever. One less receipt for Drea to log, right?”

“Sure. That, too.” He gestured toward the SUV parked at the end of the row and made an after you bow.

“How do you stack up high enough to get a truck while I have a sedan?” she asked.

“I got a free upgrade.”

“How?”

“Because I’m handsome and endearing.”

She scoffed and walked toward his vehicle.

He smirked. “You disagree?”

“Are the doors open?” she asked.

“Are you going to make a habit of not answering my questions?”

“Ask me one worth answering.” She tugged on the door handle. Of course, the door didn’t give. It was locked.

He grinned even broader and then chuckled when she gave a few ropes of her hair a frustrated tug. “If I didn’t lock it, I would never get to open the door for you.”

“I don’t need that kind of chivalry. I’m capable of opening doors and doing any number of other unfeminine things on my own, and waiting around for people to do things for me takes time. We don’t have time. We’re on the job.”

“You can afford to make people wait. I do all the time.”

Growling, she leaned against the passenger door and drummed her fingertips against the sides of her biceps. “Yeah? And how’s your success rate with cases?”

“About a hundred and ten percent.”

“Bullshit, Soren.”

“It’s true. I don’t need to make shit up. Ask Dana if you don’t believe me. I have a pesky habit of interfering in other people’s cases when I get done with mine.” He clicked the unlock button on the key fob and waited for her to get out of the way of the door.

She didn’t.

He picked her up by the waist and moved her out of the door’s swing zone. “Why must you make my good intentions so difficult to deploy?”

“From what I hear about Bears, your good intentions would have me face down with my ass up.”

“Mmm.” He smiled at the thought. Any angle would have been a treat, but that firm round ass of hers…

“Would that really be such a bad thing?” he asked.

“Casual sex with a Were-bear? I could think of a number of reasons why that might be a horrible ideal. I don’t want to be imprinted on you.” She climbed into the SUV, grabbed the door handle, and slammed the door shut.

He walked around to the driver’s side, shaking his head as he went. She was already imprinted on him, and he knew she knew. Her sister was with a Bear. Maria had to have told her the basics, including the fact that Bears only got one true mate, if they were going to get one at all. He didn’t like to think of the situation in terms of him being stuck with Marcella. The more accurate statement was that she was stuck with him.

He climbed into his seat and pulled the seatbelt buckle down from the track. “Why do you assume sex with me would be casual?”

“Because I’m not going to let you pin me down and bite me.”

“I wouldn’t bite you. I’m not much for biting. I guess I don’t have that particular fixation when I’m in my human form. I don’t mind being bitten, though.” He pressed the fancy SUV’s ignition button and put the vehicle into reverse. “Tie me up and put your teeth wherever you’d like. Pain makes me hard.”

He stole a glance at her as he backed out of the space, and barely suppressed a laugh. She stared straight ahead, wide-eyed, and lips pressed tightly together.

He suspected no one had ever made her such an offer, and that suited him fine.

“Where are we going for dinner?” she asked. “I suggest someplace quick.”

“What’s the hurry?”

“I left something needing attention in my room.”

“Such as?”

“That’s really none of your concern.”

He disagreed, but he didn’t say so aloud. He didn’t want Marcella’s mood to go so far south that shoring it back up would be an all-day pursuit.

“I was in the mood for steak,” he said.

“I’m sure you’re always in the mood for steak, and all sorts of undercooked fatty meats.”

“I’m a Bear. Can you really fault me craving the occasional rump roast?”

“How often do you eat meat?”

“Every meal. I thought you said you weren’t vegetarian.”

“I’m not. Still, I don’t eat a lot of meat, and certainly not red meat.”

“How do you feel about white meat?”

“I like it fine when it’s firm and tastes the way it’s supposed to. Not a big fan of meat that’s been handled too roughly and too often.” She turned slowly toward him. “As I suspect yours has been.”

Damn.

He should have known that one would blow up in his face. Marcella wasn’t a slow woman, and she wasn’t going to miss a beat.

He cleared his throat and followed the GPS’s instruction to take a bypass road. He’d actually had dual motivations in getting her out of her room. Yes, he wanted dinner, but he also wanted to do an informal tour of the area before he and Marcella started work in earnest. He wanted to demonstrate that they could actually work together in close quarters to no ill effect. In his opinion, the sooner they broke through some barriers, the better off their relationships would be—work and personal.

“Sorry about my mother,” he said.

“Ugh.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “Does she do that to everyone?”

“No. My mother doesn’t have the patience for long conversations, but when she’s curious, she talks plenty. I imagine you make her very curious.”

“Why, simply because I answered your phone?”

“That would be a good start. I don’t make a habit of letting other people answer my phone. People usually can’t get close enough to take it from me.”

“You talk a big game.” Marcella closed the air vent near her window. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to her new associates’ aversion to milder temperatures.

“My ego is merited,” he said. I’ve earned the right to brag. I know I’m good.”

“We’ll see.”

“Is that so?”

“Why do you act like everything I say is a challenge?”

“You’re the one who made the challenge. I’m simply informing you that you should take my words for fact. There’s nothing to read into them.”

“I understand now why you usually work alone,” she said in an undertone.

“Humor me. Why?”

“Because you’ve got this know-it-all attitude, and you think people are going to get out of your way so you can get what you want. Maybe you’re used to that. Maybe the alpha Bear part of you warns people away from crossing you, but you can’t affect me.”

Soren performed a slow nod and clucked his tongue. “And why do you think that is?”

“Don’t know. Maybe for the same reason you claim to be unaffected by my magic.”

“You’re immune to my abilities.”

“Sure.”

“What do you think that means?”

She shrugged. “Probably nothing.”

Nothing, my left nut.

His mother wasn’t affected by his father’s energy, either. He may as well have been a squirrel for all the impact his alpha nature had on her.

“You’re driving a bit far out of the way for steak, aren’t you?” she asked. “The city wasn’t much of one, but there’s likely to be even less to choose from way out here in the boondocks.”

“I figured we’d look around and get the lay of the land. See if we run into any shifters or other weird locals.”

“You could have warned me. I left—”

“Yeah, yeah, you left something in your room that you needed to tend to. What were you doing?”

She cleared her throat, pulled her bag onto her lap, and rooted through inside. “Nothing to concern you.”

“Witchy stuff?”

“Do I ask you how you do your job?”

“I’d answer if you did.”

“Anyway.” She put her phone to her ear. “Drea? Hi. We’re moving into an area with extremely spotty cellular coverage. Who has towers here?”

“You have more than one phone?” Soren asked.

Marcella lifted an eyebrow up in response.

“Nice.”

“I don’t have anything under that carrier,” she said into the phone, “but I think my secondary phone can pick them up better than this one. Do you have that number? Okay. Try both if I don’t answer on the first one. Tell Maria I must speak with her tonight, please? Thanks. Bye.”

“What’s your secondary phone number?” Soren asked.

“You don’t need to know.”

“We may get separated.”

“I somehow doubt you’ll let such a small deterrent halt your mission.”

“And what is my mission?”

“Wheedling me into submission, apparently.”

He chuckled and slowed as he approached a little shack with a big sign: BBQ. “Submissive wouldn’t be the word I’d use to describe you, though I’ve been surprised before.”

“I don’t want to hear about your past surprises.”

“You sure? Most of the Shrews think they’re pretty good stories.”

“Are you always so talkative about your sexual exploits?”

He parked the SUV far enough away from a rust-covered pickup truck that he probably wouldn’t get the doors of his rental dinged. “I actually don’t volunteer the information. People make assumptions. I simply correct them.”

“What sorts of assumptions?”

“Would you really like to know?” He pressed the brake and pushed the button to kill the ignition.

“I’m not sure that I do. Forget that I asked.”

“There’s nothing wrong with curiosity. What’s the worst that could happen if you ask a burning question?”

“Besides you actually answering, you mean?”

He laughed. “Besides that?”

“Well.” She leaned across the center console, pressing her hand atop the cup holder for balance and staring straight into his eyes. “Maybe I’ll actually like the answer.”

“What’s so wrong with that?” he whispered.

“When I like things, I tend to feel compelled to do something about it.”

“Ask me a question, then, Marcella.”

“Fine.” She canted her head slightly, and her gaze fell to his lips.

He pursed them for her, unsubtly inviting her in for a kiss, but of course, she didn’t move.

“What’s going through that head of yours when you look at me in that way you do?” she asked.

“That’s a loaded question.”

“Do you need time to make up a lie?”

“No. Context matters. Which time that I looked at you?”

“Any.”

“Ah. You’re not giving me a lot to work with, but if you insist on drilling down to a particular occurrence, I’ll tell you about the first time.” Closing his eyes, he drew in a deep breath and let the scent of her hit the back of his nose and tease his palate. She was a treat for the senses—eyes, nose, ears, and if he had to guess, he’d say, too, that she tasted like a dream and felt like heaven.

“When I first saw you at the lodge, the Bear part of me took over my reflexes, and so my immediate drive was to have you on your back or your belly, or just bent over something—position didn’t matter.” He opened his eyes, fully expecting to see her scowl, but she didn’t. Her expression was neutral, and her gaze still on his lips.

At the angle she was leaning, her shirt collar hung open, and he could see her breasts pushed up into a simple cotton bra that did nothing to douse her sex appeal. Her breasts were heavy and full, and so was his cock.

Not that he needed much stimulus when he was around her.

“When I look at you, the Bear in me sees someone who should give me those things,” he said. “The man part of me tries to be reasonable, though my siblings would probably argue that I rarely am.”

“So, you look at me and you automatically see sex.”

“Well, yes.”

Brow furrowed, she leaned back. “That’s supposed to be flattering?”

“Flattering or not, I can’t say. I can only say it’s honest. My brain, and…” Slowly, he rubbed his hand up his thigh to the bulge near his jeans pocket. “My body, they both say you’re the only person I can get sex from.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“You say as you stare at my cock.” He gave the head a squeeze, showing her precisely where he ended. She was entitled to know. Entitled to know every inch of him and how he was made for her.

Her lips parted, and she pulled in the tiniest of gasps.

“You want it?” he whispered, smiling. “It’s yours.”

“I…” She closed her eyes and turned her head toward her window.

Silly prudish girl.

He laughed. “You need to understand Bears. You’re with a Bear.”

“I think I know more than I care to about them right now.”

“Do you like what you know and how my body responds to you, or do you insist I would respond this way to anyone?”

“You said there’d been others.”

“Before you? Yes. Don’t behave as though mine’ll be the first cock you’ll ever climb on. You don’t want to ride? Fine.” He hit the catch of her seatbelt and grabbed her hand when she jerked upright. “You don’t have to ride. If you want to lie very still and tell me where you’d like me to put the hard parts of me, I will honor that. I’ll give you whatever you wish.”

She swallowed, blinked a few times rapidly, and then whispered hoarsely, “You’re a pervert.”

He grunted, not seeing the point of making a denial. He could be quite deviant when he really put his mind to it. “There’s a broad range of perversion. Everyone has kinks, even you, I’m certain.”

“I doubt they’re anywhere near as interesting as yours.”

“You wish to find out?”

“Have you forgotten that we’re working?”

“There you go, not answering my question again.” He set her hand on his thigh an inch beneath his pocket and let her make the decision to touch or not touch.

She looked up at him, hand still pressed at that critical juncture, but didn’t move.

He needed her to feel him. Needed her to understand that he wouldn’t ever refuse her.

“Touch your Bear,” he whispered.

“You’re…a very odd man, Soren.”

“And yet I don’t see you running. There’s no challenge here. I’m not daring you. Touch my cock because you’re curious and because you want to see me come. You want that power, don’t you?”

“Have you no filter at all?”

He snorted. “None at all, draga mea.”

“We’re in a parking lot.”

That wasn’t a no, so he grinned. “Touch me,” he said. “Get the first time out of your system so you can see there’s no trap here and that there won’t be any told you so. I want to feel you.”

“But what about me?” She inched her hand up and gave his shaft a confident squeeze, muttering, “Damn.”

He hissed with pleasure. “Ah, my body is yours to command.”

“That’s easy to say now when you’re behind a steering wheel.” She stroked up and down, swirling her palm over his tender head, and leaning in so close that her lips nearly grazed his ear. She grabbed his nuts in her fist and his earlobe between her teeth.

Fuck.

“One-way doesn’t work for me,” she said quietly. “I don’t come? You don’t come.”

“Yes.”

“Can you live with that, Bear?”

“Of course.”

“Good.” Her tongue made tantalizing swirls around his lobe, and his body tightened with anticipation. His skin was on fire for her touch. “I hope so, because it will be a long, long time before you get to make me come.”