Ready to Bear Read online

  “To making the impossible possible,” he said. She murmured her agreement and then watched as he downed the whiskey in one fluid shot. She took a sip of her wine and caught Sophie’s raised eyebrow.

  “Another one?” Sophie asked Billy.

  “I’d say yes, but I need to stay sharp,” Billy said. “Just needed a little something to take the edge off. You ready to get out of here?” He looked down at Thea.

  Was she ever, especially when he captured her with those bedroom eyes. “Yes,” was the only response she said, though. She waved to Sophie as she got up. “I guess I’ll see you later.”

  “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do in the meantime,” Sophie called out, giving Thea her lewd wink again.

  As they exited the club, they found Cal waiting with the car parked outside.

  “I take it you shared a little bit of news with Sophie,” Billy whispered in her ear as he helped her into the car.

  “Just a little girl chat,” Thea said with a smug grin.

  Billy grinned back at her. He let his arm fall around her, and she snuggled back into him.

  “I could stay like this all day,” he said.

  “How are you feeling?” she asked. She knew that she had been the one to suggest going back to her apartment with the innuendo of doing something more, but she did want Billy to be fully rested and ready for the night ahead. She felt herself tense at the thought of the upcoming fight.

  “I’m all right for now. Let’s not put too much thought into tonight yet,” Billy said as if he was reading her thoughts.

  “What did Eric want?” she asked.

  “Usual. Stay away from my sister. You’re a piece of shit who isn’t worthy to lick the bottom of her shoes. Blah blah, Lukas Kasper is a dick, blah,” Billy said.

  “That sounds exactly like Eric,” she said.

  “The other two didn’t say much, though. Is it always like that?”

  “You mean between Eric, Tony, and Kyle?” She looked up to see his short nod. “I guess so. I mean, those three have been thick as thieves for as long as I can remember. My mother married Eric’s father when I was ten, so he was already out in the world trying to make his way outside of what Robert had done. Tony was always around, and Kyle would show up when he was home on leave. I guess I found it strange at first, but it was more because my exposure to shifters up to that point had been woefully inadequate.”

  “It’s almost as if they communicate without saying anything. Which I could believe if they were all of the same species, but to see the way they are bonded when they didn’t even come from the same species or clan is practically unheard of.”

  Thea knew that Eric’s friendship with Tony and Kyle had caused more than a few remarks over the years, but she hadn’t thought much of it. “They roomed together in prep school. I don’t think it’s that strange to think that they grew close.”

  “But to have a friendship last like that over the course of almost twenty years? That is unusual.”

  Thea wasn’t comfortable with the direction the conversation had gone at all. “You mean you haven’t stayed close to anyone you knew when you were a kid?”

  “Nobody that knew me then would want anything to do with me,” Billy said. His tone had grown clipped and short. She had hit a nerve.

  “Everything I’ve read about you talks about how your family has been in some kind of law enforcement for years. It’s all extremely complimentary. I don’t understand why you would say that.”

  “The media perception of anything that has to do with shifters is highly regulated and controlled; you realize that, right?” Billy said. “Things that don’t concern the world, clan business, is kept inside the clan.”

  That was the second time that Billy had mentioned the idea of clan business. “You can’t live apart and still expect to be considered the same.”

  “I know,” Billy said. “But some rituals and traditions exist for a reason, and they are unlikely to change anytime soon. We are more alike than we are different, in my opinion. The aggressions that exist on both sides needs to be toned way down. There is plenty of room in the world for everyone.”

  Thea shivered again, and she felt Billy’s arm tighten around her. Was this the world she was stepping into and accepting if she pursued something with Billy? She wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

  “Look, there are things in my past that I will share with you if you want. But right now, I’d like to focus on the present,” Billy said. His voice had grown husky again, and Thea saw that hungry look in his eyes that had been present earlier.

  “I don’t want you to think I’m that kind of girl,” Thea said. “Plus, you do need to rest for tonight.”

  Billy’s fingers wound themselves into her hair, and he tugged her head back. His lips probed the sensitive skin behind her ear and then left a trail of burning kisses down the side of her throat. She felt her heart speed up, and it was as if all sound ceased, as all of her senses lasered in on the effect of Billy’s mouth as he gently nipped the side of her neck.

  She gasped when his other hand roamed up her side and then cupped her breast to flick at her pointed nipple that was evident under the fabric of her blouse.

  “Are you saying you aren’t looking as forward to getting back to your apartment as I am?” Billy asked. His voice was a low growl, and Thea wondered if she was, in fact, hearing the heat of his bear.

  “I didn’t say that,” she sputtered as he continued to tease and taste the skin of her shoulder blade. Then his lips found hers, and all sense of logic and thought spun away. She clung to him as if he was the only hope for her salvation.

  In her mind, she heard Sophie’s words that if you felt the spark, you let go of all control and doubt and just went for it.

  She pulled herself up so that she straddled Billy’s lap. He began to yank the back of her shirt out of her pants, but she pushed his hands away. She took her hands and interlaced his fingers in hers.

  “Down, boy,” she said. She could feel Billy’s excitement pressing against her sensitive core between her legs, and it thrilled her that she was the one who had brought that part of him to life. She put her forehead against his and closed her eyes. “I’m serious, Billy. I don’t do stuff like this.”

  He undid their clasped hands and then cupped her face. His eyes felt as if they were burning a path through to her soul. “I am intensely glad to hear that, Thea. You have no idea.”

  Then he pulled her into a tight embrace, and Thea knew that she wasn’t going to stop him again. She wanted this, and, for the first time in her life, she was going to throw caution to the wind and find out where it would take her.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Billy had to work at controlling his arousal, and it was almost more difficult than keeping his bear in check. He was on edge, flying high on some kind of unknown medication, and totally out of his element. He was also more than a little pissed off. The meeting with Eric, Tony, and Kyle had gone about as well as he anticipated once Thea left the room.

  “Whatever it is you think you’re doing with Thea, just stop,” Eric had said, starting the conversation. “She’s not like us, and she’s definitely not some easy human lay that will jump in the sack with you because you’re a shifter.”

  “While I appreciate the lecture, whatever happens between me and Thea is between me and Thea,” Billy said. “Last time I checked, she was a grown woman.”

  “She’s on the periphery of a lot of things that she doesn’t understand. Things she shouldn’t have to understand,” Eric said.

  “I understand why you’re saying this, but you need to back off,” Billy said. He wasn’t going to be pushed around when it came to the topic of Thea. If she was truly the one he was meant to be with, Eric Carmichael could go fuck himself. As long as Thea wanted him, he wanted her too.

  “What I think Eric is trying to say, and failing miserably, is that we are all concerned about Thea’s well-being,” Kyle said. “She’s like a sister to all of us, and we�
�ve done our best to protect her from the darker side of the shifter world.”

  “Of course, you would,” Billy said. “But protecting her and sheltering her are two different things. How well do you honestly expect to do that when the three of you basically draw every rogue shifter from across the country into this club? And that doesn’t even begin to address the issue if Alex is indeed a shifter.”

  “Leave my brother out of this,” Eric hissed.

  “Your brother is in it, and Thea is too,” Billy said. He felt his anger rise, and his fingers curled into fists. He was agitated, and he needed to calm down. The thing was, he felt as if he could take any of them or every one of them if it came to it. He knew that it was a false sense of confidence likely brought on by the drugs the doctor had given to him, but there was also a part of him that didn’t care.

  “My family is my concern. Not yours. You have a fight tonight, and you need to focus,” Eric said.

  “You’re welcome to stay here and train,” Kyle said.

  “I’m going to go back with Thea and rest.” Billy had a feeling that was the last thing they were going to do, and he found he was looking forward to it. It was time to take his mind off all of his problems.

  “You need to stay here.” Eric stepped in front of him as Billy started to move toward the door.

  Billy stood toe to toe with the man. He didn’t flinch as Eric puffed up his chest. “You are going to move out of my way,” Billy said.

  “You think you can take all three of us?” Eric challenged. Billy felt the presence of Tony and Kyle hovering close by.

  Billy decided the best wisest course of action was to pull out his best council member voice. He needed to advise this angry man on the right way to get out of this situation and help him save face. “The last thing that will make the situation better right now is for the two of us to get into a fight. Especially since that will definitely draw out the bear. If the drugs the doctor gave me run their course before tonight, I’m up shit creek without a paddle. If that’s what you want, that’s fine. But I’ll let you explain that to Lukas when you have to return my body to him.”

  He could see that Eric was registering his words, but he still didn’t move. Billy knew that he was going to have to give him something else. He didn’t want to admit anything about his feelings for Thea, especially when he hadn’t even discussed them with her yet. But he needed to get Eric to let him leave without any violence.

  “Look, I realize that you and I aren’t friends, and we’re not going to be. I’m fine with that. But I like your sister, and I’m pretty sure she likes me back. Let’s leave it at that. I have no intention of doing anything to hurt her or pull her into the dark underbelly of the shifter world. Hell, I might not even make it through the night, and then that particular part of the problem is solved for you, isn’t it? Plus, Lukas can’t hold it against you if I couldn’t manage to win the fight.”

  “That’s true, Eric,” Kyle said from his shoulder. “We can’t be the ones who start a feud with Kasper. Let the chips fall where they might tonight. We’ve done what we can to assist him. The rest is on the sheriff, and we can’t be held responsible for that.”

  Eric huffed, and, for a moment, Billy thought that he was going to charge him anyway. Then he stepped aside. But as Billy passed, Eric shoved a finger up into Billy’s face.

  “If you hurt her in any way, I will track you down and kick your ass myself.”

  “Got it, loud and clear,” Billy said. He batted Eric’s hand away and moved toward the door. With his emotions running high, he hadn’t been able to keep himself from slamming the door behind him.

  Now, with Thea in his lap and his arms around her, he knew that he would happily kick Eric Carmichael’s ass any day of the week to be able to hold Thea for the rest of his life.

  It was such a strange sensation, but the only way he could have described it to anyone else would have been that he had come home. For thirty-two years, he had been searching for a place where he truly felt like he belonged. What a surprise that it wasn’t a location that he was looking for, but a person. Thea was his mate. He would stake his life on it. But he had to take things slow. Things didn’t work the same for humans as it did for shifters. He knew that she was attracted to him, and he thought that she liked him, but he wasn’t sure if it went any deeper than that.

  He was painfully aware of the short amount of time they might have been granted together. He intended to take full advantage of it. He slid Thea off his lap as they pulled up to her building. He opened the door and had moved them both outside before the driver – he’d heard Thea call him Cal – even got to their door. He put his hand against the small of her back as the doorman opened the door for them. He caught the questioning glance the man gave him, but he didn’t care.

  As they got into the elevator, Billy realized there might be one flaw in his plan. “What time does Alex get home?”

  “School gets out at 2pm,” Thea said. “But since it’s Thursday, he has a tutoring session after school. He won’t be home until four.”

  Billy looked at his watch. It was just a hair before 1pm. They had three hours. It didn’t seem like nearly long enough. He slipped his arms around Thea, and then his lips captured hers. As the doors slid open, he walked her backward into the hallway. This time, as he started to yank at the back of her shirt, she helped him instead of stopping him.

  Her fingers had found the buttons of his shirt and were already make short work of them. Their lips never separated as they proceeded to pull, tug, twist and drop every bit of clothing that kept their fingers from their destinations.

  Billy loved the feel of her skin. Everywhere he touched was soft and supple, and he let his hands roam over her hips and her breasts. Her breath was coming in short gasps, and Billy knew exactly how she felt. It was as if he couldn’t find enough air to breathe, and the only things keeping him alive were her lips and her touch.

  He felt her fingers exploring the planes of his chest and heard her mumbled sighs of appreciation. He grasped her hips and lifted her upward. Her legs wrapped around his hips as her arms tightened around his neck. There was a part of him that wanted to brace her against the wall and take her right there in the hallway, but he needed to slow down. He wanted to take his time, especially this first time. It wasn’t about him. It was about her.

  Maneuvering their bodies into her bedroom, he found the edge of the bed and slid down so that she was in a sitting position with him on his knees between her legs. Her arms tightened around his neck, and he ravished her lips with kisses.

  “Lie back for me, gorgeous,” he said softly against her lips.

  As their lips finally separated, he felt a small measure of satisfaction as he observed the slight swollenness of her lips. He had done that. Her eyes watched him as she slowly moved backward so that she was spread out in front of him on the bed. Her long black hair streamed in heavy waves framing her face. He thought that he had never seen such a beautiful sight. He wanted to take a picture so that he could remember her like this forever.

  He stretched out on top of her and let his mouth drift down her collarbone to her breasts. She gasped and then let out a low moan as he claimed her taut nipple. He sucked it gently into his mouth and let his tongue trace around it and then nipped lightly on the tip. She squirmed underneath him, but he used his other arm to keep her in place as he moved to do the same to her other nipple.

  “Billy, please,” she said in a soft, pleading whisper. The way she said it guaranteed those were two words that he would happily listen to forever.

  He stopped long enough to smile up at her. “This is for you, baby.” He stretched to stroke her cheek even as he continued the onslaught on her nipples. Her back arched delightfully at his ministrations, and he followed with his mouth and his hands. Slowly, he lavished kisses across her flat belly while his hands continued to lightly tug and cup her breasts. They were full and ripe, and he relished every bit of them.

  He thought again how
he wished they had more time. A mere couple of hours was all he was being granted with her, and then it might be the end. The thought made him anxious and pressed him forward despite his desire to take things slowly.

  As he arrived at the juncture between her legs, he gently pushed her thighs open to allow himself better access. He could smell the heat of her arousal, and that brought his bear closer to the surface than it had been since before the incident in the doctor’s office. Billy was familiar with this side of his bear, though. They wanted the same thing, so this wasn’t a war like earlier. This was the two of them in perfect sync stretching toward the same goal.

  Thea was wet, and her fingers intertwined in his hair as his mouth found that perfect center between her folds. Her body arched again, and he used his hands to bring her back to the bed and keep her positioned in just the right way so that his tongue could keep the sensations flowing.

  “Billy!” Her voice held a note of even greater urgency than before. This was what he wanted. He wanted her open and welcoming to him. He wanted her to want him as badly as he wanted her, which was indicated by the throbbing hardness that he pressed against the bed frame.

  It was almost time, but not quite yet. There was just one thing he wanted to make sure he did first. He used his teeth gently to graze that bud of nerves that he knew would send Thea into a frenzy, and then her hips began to buck. Keeping her as still as he could, he alternated between his tongue and his teeth to tease her taut, sensitive flesh. Suddenly her body went completely still, and she let out a loud burst of breath followed closely by a heavy, satisfied sigh.

  He loved how she reacted to his touch, and now, before she even had a chance to come down from that high, he was going to take her there again. Billy slid up her body, and his tongue entered her mouth at the same time as his manhood thrust into her core.

  She gasped as he pushed into her fully. She was tight, and he felt her muscles squeeze around him, taking in every hard inch. She fit him perfectly just as he knew that she would. He didn’t move for a moment to let them both enjoy the sensations. It was a first experience that he hoped would lead to many more like it, if he was lucky enough to live through the night.