Bear's Claim (Bear Heat Book 3) (2 page)

But he was fighting his
desire for her. Just like he was fighting her now.

Aubrey didn't like to play
games. She was straightforward and open with her feelings and
opinions. God knows she had gotten into trouble more than once for
calling someone out and telling it as it was.

Life was too short for games.

People only played games to
gain power over another. Head games, political games, power plays
and lies.

Aubrey had been lied to
before. She had wasted years on a relationship that wasn't even
real. She had sworn that there would be no more games, no more
pretense in her life. She was thirty-one years old. And if thirty
was the new twenty, then she was only twenty-one. Young, but not
naive. Youthful, but not immature.

If she liked someone, she'd
just go ahead and let them know. That was how she had become best
friends with Cora. They had been browsing side by side at a rack in
a department store and they had both picked the same dress. She and
Cora were the same big-girl size, and it so happened that there was
only one dress left in that size. Cora had insisted that she take
it, and Aubrey had expressed her appreciation by dragging Cora down
to a nearby cafe and treating her to coffee and cupcakes. She had
taken an instant liking to Cora and she just knew that they would
become great friends. So she had just gone ahead and asked for
Cora's phone number so they could stay in touch. And stay in touch
they did. Cora became her shopping buddy and since they had the same
taste in clothes and food, they often went on food expeditions as
well, checking out the newest restaurants and eateries in town.
Their friendship had grown from strength to strength, and there was
absolutely nothing she wouldn't do for Cora.

Aubrey felt the same
instinctive pull towards Thor. She just knew that they would be good
together. She had felt the electrifying attraction the moment their
eyes met across the table at Curry Corner. But Thor had looked away
and refused to make a move. He was trying to resist her, but...why?
Why play games with each other?

They were both adults, fully
capable of knowing what they wanted.

Aubrey placed her hand
tentatively against Thor's broad chest. She could feel his heart
beating powerfully against her palm. She pressed closer to him.

He didn't push her away.

Aubrey looked up and searched
his grim, handsome face.

She liked him. She had liked
him the instant she heard his laugh in the restaurant. Thor had been
joking with Baxter and Caleb, and his deep, resonant laugh was the
first thing she heard when she poked her head through the door of
Curry Corner. She'd had to work late and the party had started
without her. But Cora had asked her to be there, so there she was.

Thor had a bright, open
laugh, a laugh that came from the heart. When he laughed, his
brilliant eyes crinkled and he looked so much younger, more carefree
and relaxed.

But once his smile faded, she
saw the tension settle on his huge body again. The man had a lot on
his shoulders. Undercover work was stressful, dirty and bloody. It
was a lonely and dangerous job. You couldn't walk in the light, and
you had to straddle the murky gray area between white and black. You
saw things you would never forget. You had to do certain things that
would forever taint your hands and soul. You had to immerse yourself
in a violent, criminal world and not blow your cover. Your sanity,
your life, so many lives, hung in the balance.

Aubrey understood all of
this. She was no stranger to stress, pain and trauma. As a nurse in
Hope Hospital, one of the largest and oldest hospitals in the city,
Aubrey dealt with pain and trauma, blood and death on a daily basis.
She saw what shock, pain and anger could do to sane, gentle people.
But she also saw how much a touch could heal and comfort.

Thor needed that touch.

He'd had to work alone, cut
off from most of his clan so as not to arouse the suspicion of the
Mob bosses. Thor had sacrificed much to ensure that a ruthless,
dangerous crime boss was brought to justice. He protected his clan,
his city, his people but he never claimed credit or recognition.

He was a hero. In her eyes,
in her heart.

Aubrey tilted up her face to
him, searching his dark, burning eyes. He was barely breathing, but
she could feel his blood pounding under her hand.

She saw the attraction, the
desire, the want in his eyes. His eyes flashed with fierce, feral
heat for an instant before he wrestled his lust down and jerked away
from her.

Thor might deny the powerful
attraction between them, but Aubrey didn't want to pretend that
nothing existed between them.

She would not deny her heart
and her body.

And she would not deny them
both.

“Why,” she
whispered.

He scowled at her. “Why
what.”

“Why...won't you take
what you want, Thor?”

Thor swung his gaze back to
her. His eyes flared with raw, primal hunger and lust. She could
feel his heart thundering against her hand, his muscles pulsing and
tensing under her fingers.

“You don't know what
you're doing, Aubrey.” His voice was low, almost a growl.

“I do know. I'm not
drunk, not that drunk anyway. I know exactly what I'm doing, and I
know what I want,” she whispered. “But I won't force
you.” The corner of her lips quirked up. “Just say no,
and I'll let you go, big guy.”

In the silence, only the
sound of their mingled breaths and pounding heartbeats could be
heard.

Thor grabbed her suddenly and
pulled her into the house. Kicking the door shut, he spun her round
and pressed his hands on either side of her head against the door.

Aubrey blinked up at him, her
bosom heaving as she flattened her back against the door.

The sound of their breathing
was loud and harsh in the darkness of her living room.

“Aubrey.” Her
name escaped on a tortured, ragged breath.

Then he leaned in and kissed
her.

CHAPTER
THREE

Thor kissed her like a
starving man, or rather, like a drowning man. He couldn't breathe,
couldn't get enough air but he didn't want to surface. He wanted to
plunge into her and have his fill of her. Slake his lust, relieve
his hunger, find release and redemption.

But one taste of her and he
knew he was done for. There was no going back. He had been in dire,
deadly situations before, but he had always been in control. This
time, everything was spinning, spiraling, soaring out of control.
His heart, his mind, his body.

He was falling harder, faster
and deeper than he ever thought possible.

But he shouldn't. He
shouldn't want her so much. This—this was just for one night.

He wouldn't allow himself to
have this beautiful, exquisite woman for more than one night. He
would not drag her down into his sordid, bloody, broken world.

His cover had been blown.
There was a bright red target painted on his back. He had made
dangerous, deadly enemies, enemies who wouldn't hesitate to hurt the
ones closest to him. He would not put Aubrey in danger.

He had played an important
but dangerous role in the capture of the most powerful and
influential Mob boss, Ray Shapez. He had infiltrated Ray's gang and
rose through the ranks to become Ray's trusted bodyguard. Ray's gang
was in disarray at the moment, but Thor knew that there were still
smaller gangs operating in the city. Now that Ray Shapez was gone,
another crime boss would rise to fill the leadership vacuum. It was
a constant battle for power, territory, wealth. The war wasn't over.
Perhaps it would never be over.

Or perhaps the war was within
himself.

He had been cut off from his
clan, his friends and colleagues for so long. He had to submerge
himself completely in the shadowy, underground world of crime and
violence. He had witnessed unspeakable horrors and atrocities. He
had quietly tried to help some innocents escape and save some lives,
but he couldn't save them all.

And now, the Mob would see
him as a traitor. And traitors were tortured and executed in the
most gruesome, bloody way possible. There wouldn't be anything left
of him to bury after they were done.

No, Aubrey didn't belong in
his world. She was so pure, sweet and true. She was an angel. He
couldn't drag her into his hell.

The first time he saw her, he
had literally frozen in his seat. He had blinked hard and gasped as
Aubrey pushed through the door of Curry Corner and walked in, smiling
that beautiful, brilliant smile, her brown eyes sparkling with joy
and laughter. For a moment, he thought he had died and gone to
heaven, and this was an angel coming towards him.

But of course, he didn't
belong in heaven.

Aubrey had rushed to Curry
Corner straight from work, and she was still wearing her white
nurse's uniform. But her straight, stiff uniform couldn't hide all
her bountiful curves. Her black curly hair was pulled back into a
bun which had gradually come loose as she partied with his clan
members.

Aubrey Williams had the face
of an angel, beautiful, kind and loving. But she had a body made for
sin. She was all woman, all sweet, sexy, irresistible curves. She
was lush, full and so incredibly hot.

Thor didn't want to stop
kissing her. She was trapped between his body and the door, and he
had no intention of letting her go. He grabbed her ample hips as he
deepened the kiss. She felt so amazing, every luscious inch of her.

Thor plucked the pins from
her loosened bun as he kissed her, and pushed his fingers into her
curly, luxuriant hair. He growled as he plunged his tongue into her
mouth. His tongue thrust in and out of her hot, little mouth as his
hips moved of their own accord to grind his painful erection against
her.

She moaned into his mouth and
writhed deliciously against him. When he thumbed her stiff nipples
through her bra, she gasped and panted, “More.”

It was a demand and a plea.

She wanted more, needed more.
Aubrey curled her fingers around his collar and tugged him towards
the bedroom.

“Stay,” she
whispered. “Be with me, tonight.”

Thor stilled for a moment,
bowing his head to press his forehead against hers. He wanted her so
much, even though he had no right to want anything.

They could pleasure each
other for one night. Then he would have to let her go.

Aubrey wound her arms around
his neck and lifted her lips to his. The kiss was sweet and tender,
filled with love and understanding. She wasn't teasing him or
playing with him. She wanted him, accepted him, and cared for him.
She let him know exactly how she felt. She wasn't like all the other
women that Thor had been with. Aubrey didn't play games. She didn't
hide her feelings, her desire, her heart. She wanted him and she let
him know it.

And she wanted him just for
him. Not for his wealth, his bad boy image, his bear. She wasn't a
shifter groupie or a gold-digger. She was just...his Aubrey.

No. Not his.

He couldn't do that to her.

His bear was going mad,
clawing viciously at his skin, roaring to be let out. The beast
wanted to claim this female, take her and mark her as its mate.

But Thor knew that he must
not give in to his animal.

He would satisfy her, love
her, pleasure her out of her mind. But he would not claim and mark
her.

This would be just sex.
There would be no mating.

One night.

One night with an angel.

It was not enough, but it was
more than he deserved.

CHAPTER
FOUR

Aubrey opened her eyes and
stared round her dark bedroom. She flung her arm out and it landed
on the cold, empty pillow beside her.

She pulled the rumpled sheets
up to her chin and let out a long, slow sigh. She didn't have to
turn her head to know that she was alone in her bed.

Thor was gone.

Aubrey closed her eyes, and
images of their slick, entwined bodies played through her mind in
tantalizing detail. The soreness between her legs told her that she
had not dreamed it all up. It had happened. It was real.

She traced her fingers over
the sheets, remembering Thor's scarred, muscular body sliding against
hers. He had filled her, pleasured her endlessly, and given her the
best sex of her life. Thor was a skilful and generous lover, and she
had screamed her pleasure multiple times into the night.

Sated and exhausted, she had
finally fallen asleep curled up snugly beside his huge, powerful
body. She hadn't had such great sex in a long time. Heck, she
hadn't had sex in a long time, period.

Aubrey wasn't exactly looking
for Mr. Right. She was happy that Cora had found her perfect mate in
Ethan Flint. Cora and Ethan was lucky to have found each other. But
Aubrey harbored no illusions about the fate of her own heart. So
far, she'd had absolutely no luck in love. She didn't think her luck
was about to change.