Bear-ly A Hero (Bear Claw Security 2) (9 page)

Where did he want to take her?

A
s they drove together
to Bear Claw Security, Limes kept looking over at the woman who was coming to mean everything to him.

He’d do anything to take away the desperate look on her face. The intense fear that seemed to go bone deep.

Anything.

And that scared him.

When they’d been together last night, in a way he’d never expected—and it had been so wonderful, so precious, so powerful—he’d felt his very foundation quake.

Like something was breaking inside him.

He’d been alone for so long. Sure, he’d had friends. But no one to watch out for. Not like this.

Not someone who threatened to get completely into his heart.

As a result, it destroyed him when he saw her look afraid.

She kept asking him what he saw for the future. Was he just a coward for not saying what he felt?

Every time she asked him, the words ran through his mind.

You’re my mate. You’re mine forever. I’m never letting you go.

But he held himself back. It was all happening so fast. Even if he felt it and didn’t think it would ever change, he wasn’t ready to tell her and hear her answer. Would she scoff at him getting attached so fast? How did mating work for wolves? Was it even possible between a bear and a wolf? Well, it was possible to have sex and even get married, obviously, but would he be able to stake a mate claim on her?

Would she want him to?

Or was he just sexual entertainment, a good distraction until they caught whoever was after her?

Although, even if it wasn’t the pack that had hurt her before, he was going to find them after this and have a “talk” with them.

No one would ever hurt her again.

But if she doesn’t let you stay with her, is that really your call?
a little voice inside him said. But he brushed it away.

He’d just have to win her over. No one in his life had really wanted him around. Bronson and Cage tolerated him better than most. Maybe even cared for him. But that still didn’t mean they could spend lots of time together.

If he continued to spend time with Jamie, would she come to hate him? He was abrasive; he knew this. But he liked to think she was teaching him how to be softer. Kinder.

His face heated at the memory of how “kind” they’d been to each other the night before.

It had been such a perfect metaphor for what was happening between them. Completely complicated, totally upside down, and more pleasurable than anything on Earth should be allowed to be.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Bear Claw,” he said. “But a part of the building you haven’t been to before?”

“What do you mean?” she asked, suspicious.

“You’ll see.”

He pulled into the side parking lot. Then he got out and walked around to get her door. As he helped her out, he felt small sparks just at the touch of her hand.

There was something magic about this woman.

He took her around to a side door, and when he opened it up, she looked inside and gasped.

“A gym?” she asked as he led the way inside.

“Yeah,” he said. “But also where we can teach clients self-defense.”

She walked inside as he closed the door and started turning lights on, and as it seemed to dawn on her why they were there, a grin spread over her face. “Awesome.”

“I’m glad you think so. I want to be around when you’re in trouble, but I want you to feel like you have at least some ways to defend yourself.”

She balled her hands into round little fists and bounced on her feet. He liked the way her body moved when she did that, and he hid a smile.

“I’m ready to beat ass,” she said, probably still thinking about the pictures.

He cracked his knuckles. The whole thing made him want to punch something. Hard. Luckily, he was in just the right place for it.

But first, he needed to show her how to do it as well.

J
amie stared
at the fully equipped gym surrounding her. On the back wall was an assortment of weight racks and machines, to her right was a lineup of punching bags of varying shapes and sizes, and in the center where Limes was standing was a black-padded floor.

“What do you think?” Limes asked.

“Impressive,” Jamie responded, though all she could see was a huge, muscled man walking around as he gathered things together. When he turned to look at her, she tried to suppress a blush and hurriedly walked toward him in the hopes of avoiding further commentary.

Thankfully, for at least this once, Limes spared her.

Once she joined him in the center of the padded arena, Limes picked up a pair of boxing gloves and handed them to her.

“Put these on,” he said methodically as he pulled off his barely fitting T-shirt, putting his perfect row of abs and sculpted upper body on display for her.

She stared at him, at the tattoo sleeves fully revealed and the row of never-ending abs. “Um, is that really necessary?”

He stretched, swinging his huge arms across his chest, and gave her a grin. “I just thought I’d give you something to distract you. Plus, I don’t like getting sweaty in shirts. They stick.”

Now that was a mental image. Limes just grinned. As usual, he wasn’t in the mood to make anything easy on her.

Jamie suppressed the urge to drool as she started to put on the thick, heavy gloves.

The first one was easy, but the second was a little more difficult, so Limes helped get it on, coming closer to her with his heat as he guided her hand in. Then he ushered her over to one of the punching bags located to the side of the mats. Once she was right in front of it, Limes stood to the side, arms folded.

“Okay, show me what you got, tiger,” he said, waiting.

For a moment, Jamie stared at the black bag in front of her. She’d never done anything like this before. And now with Limes standing there, watching her seriously, she suddenly felt very self-conscious.

But awkwardness or not, Limes was right about her needing to learn how to fight.

Focusing all her energy into her fists, Jamie threw her arm forward, connecting with the bag, which made a disappointingly muted
thwack
sound.

Limes just raised an eyebrow at her.

“That all you got?” he asked, sounding a little amused.

“What do you mean is that all I’ve got? This is my first time,” she retorted, frustrated.

Limes smirked and opened his mouth as if to reply but stopped himself. Instead, he turned to a large bag on his left that stood probably seven or eight feet high.

“Here, watch this,” he said, directing her attention to him.

In what seemed like less than a blink of an eye, Limes’s fist flashed forward and connected with the bag, making it buckle slightly and sending it rocking backward on its chain. As it swung forward, he stopped it with another punch, this time with the other hand that hooked into it and redirected its path entirely.

Just the sheer force of it floored her, seeing all his muscles work in tandem as he pounded into something that looked like it weighed an incredible amount, based on the way the hinges and chain groaned in protest as the bag swayed and dangled.

Limes finally stopped the bag from moving and came toward her a step, standing at his full, intimidating height. 

“Put your whole body into it. Punch through the bag, not onto the bag,” Limes instructed. “And lastly, perhaps most important of all, get angry. I want to see a fierce wolf on the hunt. Someone who doesn’t take crap from anyone, okay?”

This time, Jamie did as he said. She cocked her arm back and thought about the disabling fear she’d felt all her life, thought about how wronged she’d been and how much she’d had to run and how screwed up things were because of it. Then, feeling the wolf inside her growl in anger and her body tighten, she punched the bag with all her might. 

This time, the bag pushed back a great deal farther than last time, and Jamie felt a tiny bit of pride for the improvement.

“How was that?”

“Better,” he said with a contented grin. 

For five or ten minutes, they worked together, him watching as she did alternating punch combos and worked on simply getting used to the feel of hitting something, and him interjecting every so often to give advice or show her something new while she caught her breath.

“Okay, that’s good for now,” Limes said, stopping her. “We don’t need you to be the next world champion boxer. I just wanted you to get the general feel for striking. I can show you more later,” he said, helping Jamie get the bulky gloves off and walking toward the center of the room. “Right now, I want you to lie down.” He pointed to the floor.

“What are we doing now?” Jamie asked while she lay down, still catching her breath from before. She cursed the fact that she hadn’t been able to find time to work out more often and be in better shape, but between work during the day and escaping into her writing at night, she hadn’t had time for anything else.

That was until Limes came along. Having him around, her perspective on everything shifted. Perhaps until now, she’d been running away mentally from her problems at work and with her pack, hiding away and simply hoping they wouldn’t find her. But with Limes making her feel safer than she ever had in her entire life, she felt for the first time the ability to even consider fighting back against the men that tried to control her and use her.

Limes seemed content to fight against everything in her life and encouraged her to fight, too.

Before Jamie could finish her thought, he came on top of her, his knees straddling her midsection, his arms planted on the ground on both sides of her head, surrounding her in every direction.

“We’re doing ground work,” Limes said plainly, as if commenting on the weather.

The suggestiveness of the position was not at all lost on Jamie, though, and she tried to suppress her raging hormones as her body reveled in the feel of his thick, muscled thighs brushing her hips and his wide shoulders as her handsome, rugged protector looked down at her expectantly.

“Ground work?” Jamie asked, her throat suddenly dry, the water in her body going places it had no business going.

For a moment, Limes just watched her, his gaze starting at her eyes, then trailing slowly down along her body beneath him. Whatever she was feeling, it was plain he felt it, too.

“Self-defense,” Limes said, as if snapping himself out of a trance and refocusing back on the topic at hand. “If someone attacks you, it’s highly possible you’ll end up in this position. So you’ll want to know how to escape.”

“Escape, ah,” Jamie replied, a little harrowed by the premise, her arousal still not entirely extinguished.

“First off, you’ll want to give your attacker hell. This will keep them off balance, help give you an opening.”

“How do I do that? Punching?”

“No, you don’t want to do that. You’ve got zero leverage on the ground like this. Instead, you want to go for anything that’s soft, fragile, or easily grab-able. So we’re talking ears, eyes, hair, cheeks, or fingers,” he said, taking one of her hands in his and placing it on or around each thing as he pointed it out.

It gave her the longing to feel the contours of his face, feel the scratchiness of his unshaven jaw, but Jamie put it out of her mind, attempting once again to keep her head in the right place. 

“And then it will come down to getting out from under them in one of several ways. For example, if I move my weight a little forward like this,” Limes said, bringing his legs a few inches higher on her body and sitting up on his knees, looking down at her, “try bucking your hips.”

Jamie did so, feeling his incredible mass above her as she pushed her body up off the ground with all her strength. Limes yielded slightly, and his weight came forward, just a little off balance, enough to create a window of opportunity for her to slide out from beneath him, wriggling between his legs and coming free. Once Jamie was out, she stood triumphantly as Limes turned over and looked up at her, appearing very pleased at her escape.

“Good. But I was going easy on you. Let’s do it again, but let me show you a different way out this time.”

“When do I get to be on top of you?” Jamie asked, enjoying the sight of Limes sitting back, one arm propped over his knee.

“What would be the point in that?” Limes asked, smirking at her with a dominant look that sent a shiver of excitement racing up her spine.

Trying to act displeased but feeling the air getting warmer around her by the second, Jamie folded her arms and turned away from him with a huff in feigned offense.

A second after, she heard Limes get off the ground behind her, then felt huge arms wrapped around her, as if shielding her from the world.

“Jamie, I’ll protect you no matter what when we’re together. But regardless of what happens between us, I’ll be a lot more comfortable knowing you’re okay with or without me,” he said, his voice surprisingly soothing and inviting. For a moment, Jamie just enjoyed the safety of it, the way his body curled around hers and made her feel warm and secure.

Then Jamie felt Limes lean his head down lower, right to the side of her head.

“Besides, you like it when I’m on top anyway,” he whispered into her ear, the feel of his warm breath on her skin teasing her.

“Yeah,” she said. “Maybe I do.”

A
couple hours later
, when Limes was pretty certain he’d covered at least the basics and Jamie looked ready to head home, he called it a day and put the things they’d been using away in their respective cubbies and bins.

He’d been more impressed by the way Jamie had handled herself and the speed at which she’d picked up the different concepts he taught. It really helped having a smart student who was willing to learn.

But more importantly, Limes could sense Jamie becoming more confident and comfortable with herself, too.

As she followed him out of the building and he locked it behind him, he couldn’t help but feel a little proud at seeing that spark in her eyes becoming a little brighter each time she got something right or successfully escaped him.

Jamie was a fighter; that much was for sure. She just hadn’t known it until she met someone who wanted her to fight back.

Now all Limes had to do was make the bastards that had given her reason to fear in the first place pay for what they had done.

But first he needed to know how to find them.

Once he was sure the door was securely locked, Limes headed toward his truck parked a few paces away. He noted the lot was mostly empty, except for a couple of cars near his and a handful on the other side, probably from people who were headed into the other buildings that neighbored the Bear Claw Security headquarters.

But despite the relative emptiness around them, something felt slightly off.

He followed close behind Jamie as she walked quickly toward the passenger side of the truck, waving him off as they got closer.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got the hang of this now. I can get in by myself,” she said proudly. 

Not wanting to steal her thunder and feeling the urge to get home quickly, Limes went on to the driver’s side of the truck and opened the door to the cab.

Just as he was about to toss the small duffel he’d brought with them inside, though, he heard a swift shuffling of feet, immediately followed by a shriek.

“Limes, help!” Jamie called out from the other side of the truck.

With split-second reaction time, Limes dropped the bag and rushed around the back of the truck. As he rounded the back corner, he saw a man grabbing her and hoisting her over his shoulder, running in the direction of a brown, beat-up van at the end of the parking lot. The man was probably six feet tall, had pale-brown hair, and looked to be in his late twenties or so.

Judging by his strength and speed, he was probably wolf. 

The bear in Limes roared in fury, and he charged after her attacker. 

With surprising speed, the man made for the vehicle, all the while Jamie kicking and screaming and doing anything she could to get off. At the same time, a door on the side of the van opened, revealing another person waiting inside.

But even though this wolf was strong and fast, Limes was stronger and faster.

And there wasn’t a chance in hell he was going to let something happen to Jamie.

The man looked over his shoulder, and Limes could see the fear in his eyes as he got a good look at the enraged person giving chase.

“You’re going to fucking die. I hope you realize that,” Limes bellowed at the man, quickly closing the distance between them.

The man’s look shifted from fear to panic as he looked ahead, gauging the remaining thirty or forty feet he had left to the van. Inside, his accomplice was motioning him forward and telling him to hurry. But in that moment, he had one of two choices.

Run for it or get mauled by an angry ex-Special Forces bodyguard bear.

Immediately, the man hauled Jamie down and pushed her at Limes, sending her tumbling back toward him as a way to slow him down. With lightning reflexes, Limes ducked down and caught her in his arms before she hit the ground.

“You okay?” he asked quickly, his eyes following her attacker even as he stayed there, heart pounding, holding her close.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she replied, clearly shaken, but not harmed.

Finally reaching the van and looking back at them as the vehicle burned rubber and pulled out of the parking lot, the man rolled down a window.

“You’ll pay for taking one of our alpha females!” he shouted spitefully as the vehicle fled.

Limes looked up at the escaping car, setting Jamie down while he calculated the route they were likely taking and how long it would take him to get back to the truck so he could chase these bastards down, beat them to a pulp, and take them in for questioning.

But just as he stood up to continue the chase, Jamie’s hand caught his wrist, and he turned to see fear in her eyes. Fear at being outside for a moment longer.

Limes knew this had been a setup, an ambush. This guy had been waiting for her here, just hoping for an opportunity.

What if there were more here in the parking lot, watching them? Or what if they expected him to pursue them?

Limes considered calling Bronson for backup, but seeing as Jamie was relatively unharmed and seeing the wolf or wolves that had perpetrated this were all but gone now, he instead picked Jamie up in his arms, walked her back to the truck, and set her quickly in the passenger seat.

“Buckle up,” he said, shutting her door and rushing to the driver’s seat.

Right now, the most important thing was getting Jamie somewhere safe. And for the time being, her home was just the place.

He could review the security footage from the parking lot later to see if they could dig anything up on the guy who tried to nab her.

The bear inside him still roared for vengeance and blood, but Limes just tamped down the feeling as he pulled out of the lot, heading for Jamie’s place.

But as they drove, the last words from her attacker came back to his head.

Limes looked over at Jamie. She didn’t look ready to talk about it, but he had to know soon. What did that mean, being an “alpha female?”

W
hen they got home
, Limes helped Jamie out of the car, but she was a little standoffish, rubbing her arms as she walked ahead of him up her front walk. He put out a hand, stopping her so he could go in first and make sure nothing was tampered with.

When he was sure it was safe, he let her proceed, not saying anything as she went straight to the couch and curled up in a ball.

It killed him seeing her fire out like that, seeing the woman he cared about and respected hiding inside herself. She dealt with shitheads all day as part of her job and had escaped a bunch of shitheads to do just that.

But even after he’d taught her to fight, some asshole had to prove she couldn’t do anything if he just lifted her off the ground and took her agency away completely.

Rage still pounded through Limes at the thought of it. The image of another man running away with Jamie over his shoulder would forever be burned into his memory. The terror in her eyes, the furious way her fists had beat against her captor’s back.

That brought a slight grin to his face, the fact that she’d fought, and he went to the couch to sit next to her.

He started to put an arm around her, but she pulled away.

“I don’t feel like it,” she said, and he sat back, not touching her. She put a hand through her hair and sighed. “I just… It’s been a long day.”

It had been. The pictures. The almost kidnapping. He needed to go call Bronson and Cage, give them an update on things.

But first, he had some questions.

“I know you probably don’t want to talk right now,” Limes said.

“He touched me,” she said, letting out a shudder. “I can’t get over everywhere he touched me.”

Limes let out a breath, trying to keep the raging beast in him calm so it didn’t force him to shift and go chasing down all her attackers.

She needed him here now.

“I know,” Limes said. “I shouldn’t have let him. I didn’t think anyone would be stupid enough to try that in broad daylight. It was so stupid it almost worked.” He rubbed his forehead, feeling a tension headache start there. “It just makes no sense. Why is everyone after you? Co-workers, neighbors.” He sighed. “And what did he mean about you being an alpha female? What is that?”

She shrugged. “It’s a bloodline thing. With wolves, there’s a female and male alpha of each pack, but a while back, there was a genetic issue that affected a lot of the alpha females, so there are many more alpha males than females. And wolves feel both are needed for better blood in a pack.”

“I see,” Limes said. “So they just want your genetics.”

She shrugged.

“I don’t just want your genetics,” he said. “So that’s something.”

She shrugged again. He hated how dead she appeared over the whole thing. She looked over at him. “It’s never going to stop, is it? My life is just going to be one long string of fighting off men, dealing with men, pushing away men, isn’t it?”

Limes didn’t know what to say to that. He had to find out more about what was happening first. He wasn’t the type to give empty consolation. He did know he’d be here with her either way. It was beginning to feel like his body would tear itself apart if he left her.

But he still didn’t know how to say that. Not with how pushy every other man in her life was.

Not until she seemed to want a commitment as much as he did. Wait, was that what he wanted? A commitment?

Mate,
his bear growled again, making him itchy under the collar. Damn, it was impossible to ignore his inner animal sometimes. He now understood why Cage had gone to such great lengths with Carrie. He’d gone back to the town he hated, infiltrated a motorcycle club in the middle of nowhere, risking his life, all because of a mate.

Now Limes knew why. He could die for Jamie and not even consider it a sacrifice.

He looked over at her, messing with her cuticles and giving him a tentative glance.

“I need to go call my partners,” he said. “Update them on what happened. I need the name of your pack so I can get them in touch with the Tribunal.”

She nodded and gave him the names she had, and Limes took them down on his phone.

“I’ll only be a minute,” he said, nervous about leaving her. How different the day had become. One moment they were having fun at the gym, the next they were grappling with just how ruthless the men after her could be.

Not that he intended to let any of them place a hand on her. But he could see why she was shaken. She’d just started feeling secure again, and that jerk had ruined it.

“I’m going to take a shower,” she said, wrapping her arms around herself as she stood.

He wanted to shelter her at the moment, take her against him and block out the world. But he couldn’t.

She gave him a half smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m gonna go get clean.”

“Sure,” he said. “Yell if you need anything.”

“And Limes?” she asked before going.

“Yes?”

“Thanks for saving me.”

“Of course, princess,” he replied in a tone so gentle he didn’t know he had it. “Of course.” The fight had gone out of her and all he wanted was to be soft. To ease her pain.

No one had ever affected him like this.

She gave him a wave and walked off to her room.

He sighed and picked up the phone. He knew she’d be safe in there, with the stuff he’d set up, and he knew she probably needed time alone.

But as he dialed Bronson, he couldn’t help thinking maybe he was the one who should put up a fight right now. To be near her. To help her.

As soon as he was done with this phone call.