Guardian Bears: Marcus (2 page)

His eyes were the same, though. She couldn’t mistake those. No one else she’d ever seen had those piercing intense blue eyes that saw straight through to her core. And watching him, she could see something familiar in the way he moved. This was the young man she’d sent off to the military with a kiss, eight years ago.

She tried to tell herself that it was impossible, that he’d never come back to Coldwood and if he did, he’d have let her know he was coming. But the eyes were unmistakably Marcus’s.

He’d grown up some in the Army, clearly. When he left, he’d already been tall and broad-shouldered, but he’d filled that frame out with muscle, and he moved with a casual confident grace as he approached the bar. She found herself pinned by his attention, unable to move and unable to look away.

Marcus’s calm was ice-cold and she couldn’t read any emotion on him as he walked straight up to her. She couldn’t even be sure he’d recognized her. Eight years was a long time, and a man this handsome would have had plenty of opportunities to forget her in someone else’s arms. He must have, since the letters had stopped coming soon after he’d finished basic training, and she hadn’t heard from him since. Lisa still had every one of those letters carefully tucked away in a box under her bed, but she’d given up hope of ever seeing another.

Something in his sapphire gaze told her that he knew exactly who she was, though. He didn’t speak, just walked up to the bar and looked her in the eye for a long, long second before reaching out one of his big, strong hands and pulling her to him for a kiss.

There was no doubting that kiss. His lips were firm but tender, his hand on the back of her neck powerful but not forceful. She could have pulled away if she tried, she knew, and he wouldn’t have stopped her.

She didn’t try.

The rough stubble on his face grazed her, and his hand held her still as his tongue pressed against her lips, parting them. A fire lit within her as their tongues met, and she leaned into him. The kiss felt like a promise made, or perhaps one fulfilled - Marcus was back, with her again.

There was no telling how long the kiss lasted. Nothing seemed real except the two of them. The rest of the bar faded into the background, forgotten until he finally finished the kiss and pulled back.

His eyes met hers and the intensity of his gaze belied his cool, calm exterior. That look was the only window into the passion she’d felt in his kiss, the only sign that he felt anything at all.

Behind him, the gang cheered raucously, snapping her attention back to reality. Lisa felt a blush spread across her cheeks, eyes flicking from Marcus’s to the bikers he’d been sitting with. That was who he’d come to see when he returned, not her.

The gang controlled everything about the town, everything they wanted to at least. They were big men in leather who didn’t care who they hurt or broke to get their way. They’d destroyed any opposing voices long ago and the businesses they didn’t outright control in Coldwood were living on their sufferance.

The Serpents always made that clear to the folks in town. You paid them and maybe they’d leave you alone; or you didn’t, and they definitely wouldn’t. It had been getting worse all her life, and now it was almost intolerable.

They hadn’t hurt her, not directly, but after what they’d done to her family, she wouldn’t have anything to do with them. She was one of the lucky ones who’d stayed out of their way until recently, but now that Cal had taken an interest in her, she saw all too much of them. She knew it was only a matter of time before something bad happened.

What on Earth was Marcus doing with them?

For that matter, why was he back in Coldwood at all? He didn’t have anyone here anymore, not apart from her. No one who managed to leave the town came back, so why had he, and why would the Serpents greet him like a long-lost brother?

Frozen in place, she stared as Marcus spoke to the bartender, ordering a round for himself and his friends. Several of the gang were cheering him as he returned, clapping him on the shoulders and congratulating him, but she could see the way Cal glared daggers at him.

It was a little satisfying to see that look on his face, but it was scary as well. Cal was a big man, nearly as big as Marcus, and he seemed to always be around her these days. Always pressuring her, bothering her. It was horrible, and seeing him pissed off was a small pleasure. But she couldn’t help worrying that he might try to do something about it.

Marcus looked like he could take care of himself in a fair fight. The trouble was that the Serpents didn’t fight fair and Cal had a lot of friends to back him up. She didn’t want to see Marcus hurt, especially not over her.

Lisa wondered what it would mean to have him in town now. Would she see him strutting around with the Serpents? She wasn’t sure she could take that.

It was all too much for her. Lisa turned abruptly, heading for the door. It was all she could do to keep from breaking into a run. Janet could make her own way out; she needed to get home, to process what had happened tonight, and she couldn’t wait.

* * *

M
arcus glanced back
to see Lisa leaving, and frowned. It was probably for the best that she got out of there, but he didn’t like leaving everything unsaid. On the other hand, he could hardly speak to her now, not with the Serpents waiting.

He’d done what he could. He’d claimed her, for everyone to see, and he had to hope that was enough to make it clear that she was under his protection. If Cal didn’t listen to that message, it could wreck everything. Marcus wasn’t going to let him harm one hair on Lisa’s head.

Thinking of her hair made him smile. Her unruly blond hair was the same as he remembered it, long and soft and messy. Her lips had been pliant, yielding, and the feel of her warm breath had awoken memories of their last kiss. He remembered those lips parting into a smile so cute that just the thought of it took his breath away.

Of course Cal was interested; anyone with a brain would be. Everything about her was perfect. Her pretty face had matured into true beauty while he was away, a sweet and innocent flower looking out at the world with bright curious eyes. Her heart was pure, full of love and light for everyone. There wasn’t a single thing about her that he’d change, given the chance.

Lifting his drink to cover the smile he couldn’t suppress, he tried to pretend he was interested in what the other men had to say.

Lewis was still talking about him and how close they’d been in the days before he left. The tales grew taller as he told them, mostly stories about the fights they’d gotten into together when they were boys.

By now, Lewis had built them all up into grand struggles where the two of them had taken on half a dozen or more men and won. Marcus shook his head, finding it difficult to imagine how his old friend had ended up in the MC life. It didn’t seem to suit him much, but then, there wasn’t much to do in the small town.

Getting out had been the best thing he’d ever done. The Army had given him direction, and a new start. The tour in special forces had given him skills and strength. And meeting other bear shifters had taught him who he was and how to use the talents he’d been born with. Luckily, that included teaching him how to control his bear’s rage when he saw how Cal was watching Lisa.

“Gotta admire a fine figure,” Cal said with a nasty laugh.

Anger burned through Marcus, and despite his focus he almost responded. He might have, if it hadn’t been for the restraining hand Lewis quietly put on his forearm under the table. That was enough to let him remember the importance of keeping things subtle, no matter how much fury flowed through him.

He’d met enough men like Cal, men who saw women as objects to be taken, used, and discarded. It pissed him off every time, but nothing had prepared him for how he’d feel when one looked that way at Lisa. Shifting into a bear and ripping these assholes limb from limb was so tempting.

That would make a mess of everything, though. Both the plan and Lisa needed him to be a lot more careful than that if everything was going to work out. He doubted that she’d be interested in him if she saw him tearing people apart like that, and it would end any chance he had of getting close to the Serpents’ leadership.

He was grateful to Lewis for holding him back, even if his old friend thought he was keeping
Marcus
safe from harm.

“Always was something to look at, hey, Marcus?” Lewis asked with the slightly edgy tone of someone trying to stop a fight before it started. Marcus nodded, shaking his hand free.

“You know her then?” Cal’s eyes were cold and hard. Shark’s eyes. “Got a history?”

“Yeah,” Marcus admitted. “I knew her growing up. Looks like she’s turned out pretty good while I’ve been away, figured I’d pick up again where we left off.”

“Not a chance, she’s mine now.”

Big Jack rumbled a laugh and took a deep drink of his beer. “Don’t be unfriendly, Cal. She ain’t your old lady, so if Marcus wants to try his luck, that’s no business of yours.”

Cal shot the big man a look of pure rage, and Marcus knew that Jack wasn’t being friendly. There was something else going on here. Whatever game Big Jack was playing, though, it didn’t matter. If it gave Marcus a chance to keep the Serpents away from Lisa, he’d take it.

“When do we get down to business, then?” It seemed like a good time to change the subject, at any rate.

“We aren’t going to talk about that here,” Big Jack said with a grin. “This is a get-to-know-you. Lewis here speaks highly of you, but you have to understand we’ve got to be careful who we work with.”

Yes, you do,
Marcus thought, making an effort to keep his smile from being predatory. However careful they were being, it wouldn’t be enough to keep him out. As long as he didn’t mess things up himself, that was.

“We ought to get going anyway,” Lewis said. “Got a long ride tomorrow, after all.”

Good
. That would give Marcus time to see Lisa while the club was out of the way, and see how much he could tell her. The more she knew the more danger she was in, but he knew he’d feel unbearably guilty keeping her in the dark. Even if it was for her own good.

If she let him speak, of course. He’d seen the shock in her eyes when she saw him, and she didn’t look happy with the company he was keeping. Not that he could blame her for that, after seeing how the Serpents were treating the town. He didn’t like that she might think he could be part of that.

Maybe I should take it as a good sign,
he thought.
It means I look the part.

It still hurt.

The conversation went on around him, his new ‘friends’ talking away as he ignored them. He nodded enough to be polite, but his attention was elsewhere. His mind was fixed on that kiss, the sound of Lisa’s breathing, the feel of her lips on his. It was something he wanted to experience again as soon as possible.

T
he rest
of the night was a blur for Lisa. Janet caught up with her after the short walk home, but she could hardly focus on her friend’s happy stories now. Not while her mind was full of that kiss.

It was too familiar and too strange at the same time. She couldn’t even start to work out how she felt about it. At least Janet hadn’t seen it. That was a small mercy; it saved Lisa from having to talk about it when she didn’t even know where to start.

Before she knew it, the bottle of wine was empty and Janet was leaving. Lisa hugged her goodbye and wished her a happy trip. As soon as her friend was out of the door, Lisa threw herself onto her bed and let the room spin around her as she tried to work out how she felt.

The next thing she knew, morning light streamed through the window, the night long gone. She vaguely remembered dreams - Marcus with the Serpents, a deep hissing noise from the darkness of the woods, something coming for her. A terrible feeling of being trapped and crushed.

Shuddering, she sat up, rubbing her eyes.

I hate nightmares,
she thought.

A glance at the clock told her she’d overslept, and she rushed to shower and grabbed some breakfast before stumbling downstairs.

Of course, the first day that Janet’s away, I’m running late.

At least it was a quiet morning in the store, with no customers to interrupt her as she tried to wake herself with a strong cup of coffee. Usually that would have worried her - it wasn’t as though the shop was doing that well on its best days - but today she welcomed the slow start. It gave her time to think, and to do the books which she’d been neglecting for too long.

The bell on the door finally rang sometime around eleven, and she looked up with a start. A flash of remembered dream filled her mind’s eye: Cal, looming over her, a slimy smile plastered across his face and hunger in his eyes.

Stop it, Lisa,
she told herself.
You’re letting them get to you.

He’d been visiting her in the shop all too often. It was the one place that she couldn’t get away from him. That was another reason she wasn’t looking forward to being on her own here for two weeks: she wouldn’t be able to avoid him at all.

To Lisa’s relief, this time it wasn’t Cal standing silhouetted in the morning light.

Marcus still wore his leather jacket, which looked bare without club patches. She swallowed, looking him up and down instinctively. She couldn’t help noticing how his dark jeans fit him so perfectly.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded, her voice dry and croaking.

“I thought I’d visit an old friend, that’s all,” he said, stepping inside and looking around. “And I need to pick up a few things.”

“I wasn’t expecting a visitor,” she said, glaring at him. “You didn’t tell me you were going to be back in town.”

“Now you know,” he said, sounding unconcerned. He paced around the store, looking it over with a careful, critical eye that made Lisa feel nervous, though she couldn’t say what she was afraid he’d find.

Lisa looked up at him as he approached the counter, unable to decide what to do, what to say. Part of her wanted to kiss him again. Part of her wanted to shout at him. And part of her wanted to run away from her confused feelings.

She settled for glaring.

“Are going to tell me what’s going on,” she said. “It’s been nearly eight years, and this is the first I see of you? I assumed you were making something of yourself, doing something real. What are you doing getting mixed up with the Serpents of all people?”

Marcus’s eyes shone in the morning light, and she found she couldn’t look away. He leaned forward, looking her in the eyes. “What do you mean, making something of myself?”

“I don’t know!” Lisa felt her cheeks heating and shook her head. “That you’d gotten a proper job, gotten married, settled down to raise a family?”

“You ought to know better than that,” Marcus replied, voice light and eyes sparkling as though it was all a joke. “Like I’d settle for anyone but you.”

Lisa turned her back, gritting her teeth. That wasn’t fair. She’d given up on seeing him again years ago, but at least she’d been able to believe that he’d gotten out of this town and found something good to do with his life. Now here he was, coming back and making friends with the people who were dragging the town into the dirt! And he treated it like some kind of joke, like she should be glad to see him.

Maybe he didn’t know how bad things were around here. How the police were useless now and how the good businesses were being bought out and ruined by the Serpents one by one. It hadn’t been as obvious before he left, after all. But no, he was doing business with them - Lisa wasn’t going to extend the benefit of the doubt to anyone like that. Not even Marcus.

“I can’t have this conversation,” she said. “I won’t have a friend of the Serpents in my store.”

She heard the floorboards creak as his weight shifted.

“Things don’t always work out how you’d like,” he said, his voice more serious. “I’ve got some stuff to do with them, and that’s just how it is.”

Lisa gritted her teeth, taking a deep breath and trying to calm herself. “You don’t know what it’s been like around here since you left! You haven’t been around, you don’t know. Your friends are poison, Marcus, like the snakes on their damned patches. And now you just want to walk in and have everything your way, get to do whatever shady business you’ve got with them and have me, too? Just walk over and kiss me in front of everyone, like, like I’m some kind of property?”

She spun back to face him, jabbing a finger towards his face. “I’m not your property, damn it, or anyone else’s!”

His eyes narrowed, and his whole body tensed. She could see his emotions bubbling up, but she didn’t care how far she pushed him.

Marcus straightened slowly, and she realized that she’d still been thinking of him as the tall teenager who she’d last seen on a bus, leaving to join the Army. The man who came back was a lot more intimidating than that boy had been.

“What’s your problem,” he growled, throwing up his hands. “I told you I’d be back, and here I am. Now you don’t want to see me, just because of who I’m in business with?”

“It’s not just that!” She leaned forwards across the counter that separated them, refusing to be intimidated by his bulk. It was still Marcus, and she knew he would never hurt her. “I thought you’d turn out different!”

He leaned forwards too, and now he was practically on top of her, their faces just inches apart. She had to crane her neck to look at him as he snarled. “I had my dreams too. But dreams change, and this is where I ended up.”

His closeness was almost overpowering her. She could feel his heat, his strength, his sheer presence, and could feel her body melting in response. All her old feelings reawakened, the love she’d felt for Marcus since their long walks in the woods as teenagers. The friendship they’d shared until he’d left for the Army. The hope that he’d return to her, hope which had slowly faded.

Until now.

This was all she’d dreamed of for years. Marcus back in town, back with her, in her home. But now that her dream was coming true, she found it was dragging too many other things in with it.

Putting her hands on his shoulders, she pushed against him, but he didn’t move. For all the effect she had she might as well have been shoving a tree. It was like pushing oak, hard and smooth and heavy.

“You know that we belong together,” he said, eyes smoldering. “You know it as well as I do.”

“Really?” she heard the anger in her voice, the confusion. “You walk out of my life for years, you let my hopes for you wither. You don’t even write anymore, you haven’t for years! I had to deal with things here while you were off in the world doing whatever it is you got up to. And now you think you can just come back and walk into my life, like nothing’s changed while you were away?”

She looked away, an empty stabbing pain in her chest where her feelings poured out. “If you wanted to be a criminal like them, you could just have stayed here and been with me!”

That finally made an impact on him. Lisa heard his sharp intake of breath and felt something shift inside him. A barrier breaking. For a moment they stood in silence, unmoving, the only sound their breathing.

Marcus reached out to brush a strand of hair from her face. “I guess you did miss me then?”

Forcing herself to look up into his eyes, Lisa sighed, “Of course I did. I missed you so much.”

His hand cupped her chin, drew her closer, and this time she didn’t push him away. Part of her still wanted to, but this was Marcus. This was the man she’d wanted, needed, for so long. She knew she had good reasons to say no, to tell him to stop - and she knew that he would, if she asked.

But she didn’t want him to stop.

Afterward, she told herself, she could shout at him. Kick him out, tell him off, whatever. But just now, for just one kiss, she could have what she’d been yearning for during their long years apart. It was just one kiss.

Their lips met, and she gasped at the feel of him.

Like a wildfire burning through her, through them both. She felt consumed by the heat of his body, and as his rough strong hands held her, she felt completely safe, protected, and whole. Nothing outside of the moment mattered - it was just him, and her. Marcus and Lisa. No matter what he was doing, no matter what had happened in the years they’d been apart. She was in the arms of the man she trusted, and loved, and needed.

She’d let go of those feelings years ago, or thought she had. He’d gone on to other things, better things than this town could offer, while she was stuck there, and she’d made her peace with that. But now, finally he’d come home.

And in his arms, she finally felt at home, too. He stepped around the counter, and she embraced him, holding him tight, not wanting the moment and the safety it offered to go away. This couldn’t last, she knew, but she wanted to get as much out of this moment while she could.

* * *

M
arcus wanted
to tell her everything. Keeping secrets from Lisa was painful, and difficult - he felt awful doing it. But the habits of security he’d learned in the field were there for a good reason, and he couldn’t take the chance of breaking them for her. Not yet.

Her kiss was soft and gentle, and he lost himself in the moment of it, never wanting it to end. While he felt her lips on his, all his doubts and worries faded away. There wasn’t anything else.

It was almost as though no time had passed since their first kiss, back before he left. Before he’d gone to join the Army. The years vanished into the ocean of love he felt for her.

But was it too late? He was back, but she didn’t seem to be glad of it. She was angry, hurt, and confused. Was it because of how long he’d been away? Because of how he’d come back? He didn’t know, and he couldn’t tell if he could trust her.

What if I tell her why I’m here and she lets it slip?
He couldn’t take that chance.

Breaking the kiss, he pulled back, running a hand through her blond hair. It was just as he remembered it, just as he’d dreamed so many nights in the field. He’d held the memory of her close, like a piece of home, a promise that he had someone and something to go back to.

Looking at her, he was surprised at how little she’d changed in the years they’d been apart. Her face was just as he’d imagined it, her eyes as expressive as ever, her skin as beautiful and perfect. Every one of her little freckles was exactly where he remembered, too.

He felt himself smiling with a purer joy than he’d felt in years, just looking at her.

Those sweet eyes held a mix of emotions to mirror his, sorrow and joy and exasperation and pain. He wished he could tell her the whole truth, and erase that confusion for them both.
Soon,
he promised himself.
Soon.

“Why did you come back?” she asked, her voice a soft whisper. “Why now?”

It took an effort of will to keep his secret, but the danger was real, and he couldn’t trust a place as public as the store. He knew he was being paranoid; the Serpents weren’t exactly sophisticated. Still, despite checking when he came in, he couldn’t rule out a listening device. He had to keep her in the dark, at least a little longer.

“I had business here,” he said. That much was true, at least, even if it was misleading. “Seemed like as good a time as any.”

He saw the hurt on her face as she turned away, a flash of pain she tried to hide behind an empty mask. Reaching out to take her by the shoulder, he turned her back gently, trying to disguise his own frustration. Hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do, but everything he said made things worse. “Lisa, please, can you trust me?”

She bit her lip, looking up at him with blinking eyes. “I don’t know, Marcus. Can I?”

“Always!” He stepped back, letting her go. “Lisa, you know how much you mean to me.”

“Really?” She laughed, and it wasn’t a happy sound. “I know that you didn’t come back until you had
business
here.”

He winced. “That’s not what I meant.”