Laid Bear 2: The Kodiak Clan (8 page)

“Holy shit, Max,” she panted. “That was…” She couldn’t catch her breath, which made him smile. He would never get tired of taking her breath away. His lips on hers stopped further conversation.

A sheen of perspiration glimmered on her magnificent curves. While she recovered, head nestled on his shoulder, his free hand skimmed her damp skin. Hills and valleys, curves and straightaways, he couldn’t get enough of touching her. His hand finally came to rest on the peak of her tummy. She reached up and their fingers entwined on the mound. A sharp bump from inside surprised them both, sending them into a fit of giggles.

Bethany turned on her side and draped a leg across his, snuggling deep into his side — her favorite sleeping position now that she was farther along in the pregnancy. Slowly, sleepily, she caressed his chest and dipped lower. Max could tell she was worn out, and truth be told, so was he. It had been a long day for both of them, and what they needed now was sleep. He pulled her hand to his lips and gave the palm a kiss before flicking off the lamp and pulling the covers over them.
 

“But what about you?” she whispered, already well on her way to dreamland.
 

“Shh, I have everything I need right here."

M
ax sat on the edge of the bed clicking the TV’s remote control, barely pausing to see what was on any given channel before clicking past it.
Weird genetic quirk or not, he’s still just a guy
, Bethany mused as she put the last of her clothes in the dresser drawer and tucked her empty bag in the closet. The mirrored sliding doors gave her a perfect view of Max zoning out in front of the tube, which is why she noticed his flinch when someone knocked at the door.

“Get in the bathroom,” he whispered to Bethany.
 

“Jumpy much, Max? It’s just room service.”

“Shh! I know. Now do as I say. Get in there and don’t make a sound.” He nearly leaped across the room to guide her into the bathroom, finger to his lips as he quietly shut the door.
 

“Ridiculous,” she mumbled as she settled herself on the toilet lid.
I hope they cleaned this recently
, she thought, remembering the horror stories she’d seen on any number of news programs.
 

She heard Max talking to someone, the someone replying, what sounded like a cart being wheeled in and then the door closing. Not wanting to set him on edge any more than he already was, she sat quietly until he opened the door.
 

“Coast is clear,” he said, opening the door — and he was serious!

His overprotectiveness reminded her of her brothers. Trying not to roll her eyes, Bethany moved to the cart and pulled the lids from the plates.
Mmm, bacon, eggs, French toast…they know how to eat up here.

She eyed the carafe of coffee, knowing she couldn’t have any but wanting it just the same. The previous day had been emotionally and physically exhausting, and it seemed to take longer for her to bounce back these days. Sighing, she dunked a peppermint tea bag — not even Earl Grey! — into a tiny pot of hot water. “Fucking herbal tea,” she muttered.

“Huh?” Max turned from the door’s peephole.

“Max, what are you doing? Get away from that door and come eat. Do you really think the room service guy is out there waiting to shiv me?”

He stalked over and pulled a chair up to the cart. “Can’t be too careful. We need to keep your presence here on a need-to-know basis.”

“I hate to break it to you, babe, but plenty of people already know I’m here.”

Max paused before taking a bite of his English muffin. “What are you talking about? Who knows?”

This time she couldn’t help rolling her eyes. “Well, Paul and Kimmy for starters. How do you think I got here?”

He nodded. “Yeah, yeah. And?”

“The entire flight crew, every passenger on the plane, anyone who couldn’t help noticing an enormous pregnant lady waddling through the airport…excuse me, air
ports
. Let’s see, who else?”

“Quit playing, Bethany. Let’s just focus on who in Kodiak knows you’re here.”

She bit into a slice of bacon, cringing at the soft, chewy texture. She liked her bacon fried to a crisp.
Maybe they don’t know how to eat after all.
She tossed it back on the plate.

“Fine. I took a cab from the airport to the hotel, but I paid cash, so no paper trail there. So really only the front desk clerk who was on duty last night has a clue. You’re not going to have him whacked or anything are you?”

“Ha ha, funny. Do you have any idea if he was
were
?”

She gave him a look. “Really? How on earth could I know that? I didn’t even know
you
were a werebear until you shifted in front of me!”

“Okay, did he give you a funny vibe or ask you any questions or…”

Bethany smirked. “No, he didn’t ask many questions. Just gave me the key.”

Max frowned at the lax security at the hotel. “He just gave it to you? No questions asked?”

“Cut him some slack,” she said through a mouthful of eggs. “There was an enormous pregnant lady slouched across his counter crying hysterically so…yeah. Not too many questions.”
 

She was quite proud of that performance, but she kind of felt sorry for the poor kid. He must have been traumatized.

“Shit, scenes like that get you noticed, Bethany.” His hands roughed across his stubble as he worried. “But giving you the key could get him fired so hopefully he didn’t tell anyone — especially the manager, who
is
a werebear. Do you remember his name?”

She sipped some tea as she tried to recall the kid’s name. “John? Jim? Something like that. He was a ginger.”

“A ginger?”
 

“A redhead. Freckly. Skinny.” She snorted. “Easily terrified by crying women.”

Max sighed. “Bethany, this isn’t some game. The fact that
anyone
knows you are connected with me could put us at risk from the Brotherhood.”

Bethany was conflicted by feelings of guilt for putting Max in an awkward position and irritation that he didn’t seem to appreciate the effort she made to mend their relationship. But instead of arguing, she decided to be as sensitive to his concerns as possible.
 

“Okay, Max, okay. I get it. I’ll be a good girl from here on out.” She emphasized her point by taking a bite of French toast.

His brow furrowed, his voice getting tight. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, I’ll be extra careful so that no one knows we’re together while we’re here,” she said, licking a stray drip of maple syrup from her thumb. “Okay?”

“No. No, I don’t think that’s okay at all.” He stood in a huff and walked to the window, peeking out of the blackout shades. Turning to her, he crossed his arms. His no-nonsense pose. “I changed my mind. You need to leave today.”

Bethany was stunned.
Leave?!
She’d just arrived, plus she had business to take care of. “What are you smoking, Max? We talked about this last night. I’m not going anywhere.”

She could see him struggling with what he called his ‘inner bear’ — the scruff on his chin seemed darker and his body was shaking from frustration. But she hadn’t flown all this way just to turn around after one night.
 

“I’m sorry,” she sighed. “I know you’re worried, and I don’t want to add to that. But, Max, we’re trying to start our own business, remember? And our first client lives here. Are you going to have time to deal with her
and
your job?”

Fisting his hair in both hands, he leaned back and growled at the ceiling. He dropped his gaze to Bethany and strode across the dingy carpet to kneel in front of her. “I know you’ve put a lot into this, B, but your safety is the priority. If there’s the slightest chance the Brotherhood could get wind of your presence…”
 

Bethany found his hand and moved it to her belly. “Max, I would never do anything to put us at risk, but I also need to do this. I…” Tears choked her words. Max waited.

“I can’t stand the thought of Veronica not being with the man she loves just because…because they’re different. I believe I can help her, help them. It’s not exactly what I’d envisioned when we started Ursa Love, but I want to at least try. I feel like I’d be abandoning her if I didn’t. Can you understand that?”

Max’s face had grown grim. He clearly was not in love with this situation — with
her
yes, the situation no. He searched her face for a moment before standing and moving to the food cart. He absentmindedly chewed on a piece of bacon as he walked circles in the room. She let him think, wondering how he could eat that nasty soft bacon.

“Okay,” he finally said. “But we need ground rules. Rules you will
not
break, are we clear?”

Inexplicably, Bethany’s nipples tightened at his command. Damn, she loved it when he took charge! Trying to hide the flush that was creeping up her face, she dipped her head and nodded.

“Good. First, if you leave this room, you are either with me or Veronica at all times. She knows what the Brotherhood are capable of and she has just as much at stake, so I have no doubt she’ll do whatever it takes to keep your identity quiet. Otherwise, you’re right here and nowhere else. Understand?”

Her flush turned into a flood. She wasn’t normally a gal who liked to be ordered around, but knowing that this was coming from a place of love turned her on like crazy. She nodded her assent again, unable to meet his gaze.

“Second, you and I will not be seen together outside this hotel.”

For the first time since he started going down his list of rules, she looked up at him, confused. That one was totally contradictory to the first rule. She was about to say so when he held up his hand.

“I know. But I just am pointing out that we will not be going out on date nights or sightseeing tours while we’re here. If any
weres
see us together, they’re instantly going to know who you are.”
 

It was true. Word had spread through the
were
world like wildfire. The harassing emails and phone calls were proof of that.

“Everyone knows I’m mated to a human, and they also know my mate is heavy with my cub. It wouldn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the pregnant human I’m out to dinner with is my mate, and word would get back to the Brotherhood before we finished dessert.”

She hadn’t thought of that. Suddenly, his terms were becoming more restrictive than she’d expected. Glancing around the drab room whisked away her desire, and remembering how few channels the TV received put her in a downright funk. She’d have to sit around in here doing nothing when she wasn’t actively helping Veronica.
 

Well, I’ll just have to help her a
lot
,
she thought.

“Lastly, as soon as Veronica’s situation has been resolved, you will leave Kodiak, whether I’m with you or not. Agreed?”

Since the thought of sitting in this hotel room held no appeal, she saw no reason to argue. Besides, it wasn’t like she could dawdle — she had to fly home soon or risk having the baby here.
 

The airline had required a letter from her doctor confirming she was fit to fly. Of course Dr. Graves had shaken his head in dismay that her world was so backward they didn’t know she was perfectly fine, but he’d signed the letter.
 

But letter or not, the airline wouldn’t let her fly if she was within a week of her due date. That would give her a few weeks to take care of Veronica, which should be plenty of time. She hoped.

Still, a tiny part of her wanted to stand up to Max and say, ‘Hey, you can’t tell me what to do,’ but she was a newcomer to the
were
world so she had to respect his rules. He wasn’t trying to control her, just protect her.
 

“Agreed,” she said.

Her heart surged at the relief that swept across Max’s face. She’d never felt so loved, so protected and cherished. It had never occurred to her that this kind of love even existed, regardless of what movies and romance novels said. The love she felt was so powerful that she had to look away to hide the tears that were threatening. She didn’t want him to think she was upset when she was really just overcome with emotion.

“Can we finish breakfast already?” she asked, trying to deflect his intense scrutiny.

He stared at her a moment longer, then moved to the chair he’d pulled up to the food cart. Grinning, he snatched up the piece of bacon she’d discarded earlier. “Mmm, just the way I like it.”

Bethany’s stomach flipped in revulsion. “Ugh, I might need to rethink this relationship if you like soft bacon,” she teased.

Throwing her a wink as he chomped away, he said, “It bodes well for me that you like your meat hard…”
 

“I
’m so relieved you called, Bethany.” Veronica had picked up Bethany outside the Kodiak Lodge and they were heading back to her house to prep for her date with Jess. Since sending that email the night before, she’d been second-guessing herself and an outside opinion was just what she needed.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call last night but it was late. I didn’t want to wake up you or your boys.” Bethany shifted her bulk in the cramped front seat of the 4Runner. Climbing in had been a challenge, but Veronica was downright worried about how her passenger was going to get out gracefully.

Over the ten minutes it took to get to Veronica’s house, Bethany ran down Max’s list of rules. Veronica was impressed by his concern for his mate, and he clearly had a handle on the Brotherhood situation in town.
 

“Very smart man,” she said, catching the irritated look that flashed across Bethany’s features.

“So you don’t mind chauffeuring me around?”
 

Veronica laughed. “Not at all. I’m so grateful you actually made the effort to come up here to help me. I mean, what other matchmaking service would do
that?
”

“You mean besides the werebear International Council?”

Veronica glanced over at her, confused. “What do you mean?”

“That’s what Max does for a living. He works for the Council matching werebears.”