Bear's Claim (Bear Heat Book 3) Read Free Page B

and
self-conscious. They would dress hurriedly and fumble their way to
the front door, mumbling something about a meeting or an appointment.
After the sex, there was just nothing to talk about. She hadn't
felt any connection with them. They had just been two lonely
strangers who had found the other attractive in the dim, deceptive
light of the bar.
    But Thor. Thor wasn't just a
good lay. She wanted to wake up in his arms, touch him and hold him
for more than one night. She wanted to talk to him. Not that
awkward, empty small talk that was inevitable the morning after. She
wanted to really talk to him, get him to open up to her, listen to
him, understand his inner thoughts and turmoil.
    Aubrey tossed heavily on her
side. Why was she so...obsessed with Thor? She had never felt this
way about anyone before.
    What was it about him? What
did she want? Did she want to...save him? Was this like an
occupational hazard?
    As a nurse, she instinctively
reached out to the sick and wounded and empathized with their
suffering. Her job involved easing the pain and suffering of others,
comforting the sick and injured and helping them heal.
    Was Thor wounded and broken
in her eyes?
    Aubrey thought hard, then
shook her head.
    No. That wasn't it.
    She didn't want to save Thor.
He had a lot on his mind, and he carried many demons and burdens in
his heart, but he didn't need to be saved. He wasn't damaged or
damned.
    He was just…a Black
Bear.
    From what she knew of them,
the Black Bears took their work and responsibilities very seriously.
They gave their all in their missions, and they never left a job or a
client hanging.
    They were good at what they
did, and Thor was one of their best undercover agents. He went deep
and he always achieved results for the Black Bears Group.
    Thor had helped put away a
ruthless crime lord. He had done his best. But still he felt that
his best wasn't enough. There were still other gangs, other crime
bosses. The fight wasn't over.
    “Oh Thor,” she
sighed, clutching the pillow to her chest. His scent still lingered
on the pillow, on her skin.
    She should forget him. Thor
had given her the most intense, toe-curling, soul-shattering pleasure
last night. That should be enough. She wasn't looking for love.
    But—it seemed love had
laid an ambush for her.
    Aubrey pressed the pillow
over her face. “Shit.”
    Falling for the wrong guy.
She was doing it again.
    “Shit!” she
snarled vehemently into the pillow.
    She squeezed her eyes shut
and tried to ignore the unrelenting ache in her heart. She tried to
convince herself that she had just dreamed the whole thing up, that
she hadn't felt Thor deep inside her.
    Aubrey flopped onto her belly
and pummeled her pillow. She wanted to scream.
    What have you done to me,
Thor?
    He had taken her, touched her
and loved her in the night. And even if she refused to admit it, she
knew that deep down, she would never be the same again.

CHAPTER
FIVE

    Thor nodded curtly in
response to a joke by Baxter. There was laughter around the meeting
room and Baxter took it as encouragement to launch into another joke.
    Six Black Bears lieutenants
were seated around the conference room table. Ethan, their Alpha had
called for an urgent meeting of his team leaders early this morning.
    Thor had just gotten back
from his undercover assignment, and he hadn't yet been assigned a
team but Ethan had requested his presence at the meeting. Perhaps it
was another case concerning the Mob and they wanted his opinion and
knowledge on the Mob's methods of operation. Ethan had told him to
take his time to familiarize himself with the Black Bears' ongoing
projects and assignments but Thor wanted to get back into the swing
of things as quickly as possible. He had been away from his clan for
too long. His undercover work was important and valuable, but he
missed working with the Black Bears as a team.
    Thor stared at the opposite
wall and saw, not a blank white wall, but a torrid, burning image of
Aubrey,