The BEAR Gene: A Gripping Paranormal Romance (WereGenes Book 2) Page 13

  Starving since I hadn’t had any breakfast, I ate my late lunch, feeling as if I hadn’t had food in days. Then, unbelievably, I felt tired again and fell asleep. It seemed that throwing knives at Bloodborn bears was quite an energy-depleting exercise, not to mention that I’d already been experiencing frequent bouts of exhaustion ever since I’d become pregnant.

  When I awoke from my second nap of the day around four, I spent the rest of the afternoon visiting with Marie and Polly, and then the three of us had dinner together around six. Afterward, Marie and Polly both went home, and I enjoyed a long phone call with my mom, thrilled to hear that her cancer treatment seemed to be working already.

  Nine o’ clock found me back in my room, wondering if Reed really was going to come home that evening, as Marie had said. He’d crossed my mind more than a few times that afternoon and evening, and I was eager to find out just exactly how upset he was about me leaving the house earlier that day. Not to mention that I wanted to see him just to see him, because I missed him. I missed his voice, and his scent, and his wholly masculine, commanding presence. I also missed the feeling of his strong arms around me, and the sound of his deep voice near my ear. At some point in the future, no matter when it was, I wondered if we could resume sleeping together. I knew I definitely wouldn’t be opposed to frequent nights of passion like we’d shared the night our baby had been conceived.

  To pass the time while I waited for him to return home from patrol, I’d just decided to run a warm bubble bath and bring a magazine in with me when a knock sounded on my bedroom door.

  *

  The moment I saw his handsome face, I could tell that Reed was more than just a bit angry at me. Much more. His dark brows were actually drawn so closely together they looked like thunderclouds colliding, making me think that if we were ever going to share a bed again, it wouldn’t be anytime soon.

  Frowning so hard he was nearly scowling, he unclenched his strong jaw just long enough to speak. “We need to talk.”

  We certainly did, and only about a thousand different things. However, I was pretty sure I had a clue what the first thing would be. I invited him into my room, and once we’d sat down on my bed, it wasn’t long before my suspicions were confirmed.

  “First off, I’m incredibly glad you’re okay, and that you weren’t hurt or killed this morning. My relief when Marie called me and reported that you felt just fine was profound, to say the least. But second...”

  I had a pretty good idea what “second” was going to be.

  “Second of all, as grateful and glad as I am that you’re all right, I’m also extremely angry that you left the house today, especially after agreeing not to.”

  “But I never agreed not to.”

  This was actually true. I hadn’t.

  “I just didn’t respond to you. I said nothing, and then soon after, you left.”

  Reed scoffed with his nostrils flaring just slightly. “Well, you’ll have to excuse me for taking your silence as unspoken agreement in regards to what I’d said.”

  As glad as I was that he was at least speaking to me despite his anger, something about his tone was really starting to rub me the wrong way.

  After folding my arms across my chest, I looked him dead in the eyes. “You’re excused.”

  He scoffed again, but said nothing further, then got up and began pacing at the foot of the bed, raking a hand through his thick, dark hair.

  “You know, Samantha…”

  “‘You know, Samantha’ what?”

  “You know, I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re really not the easiest woman to deal with sometimes. Most women would have just stayed in the damned house this morning.”

  “Well, most women don't have something to prove like I do… which is what I was trying to do, by the way. I was trying to prove to you that I care. Maybe I just wanted to show you that with some grand gesture. Maybe I wanted to try to fix things between us, or at least show you that I was willing to put my own life on the line to try to hurt a few Bloodborn in order to help you, and everyone else in this entire community.”

  “Well, you certainly did that...you certainly put your life on the line. You easily could have been killed.”

  “I’m well aware of that.”

  To my extreme irritation, I was starting to feel like I was in trouble with a parent for the second time that day.

  Reed raked a hand through his hair again, still pacing across the pine-planked floor. “In fact, when you really think about it, it’s a complete miracle that you weren’t killed.”

  “Well, the fact remains that I wasn’t.”

  “Right. And part of that is because of your own talent and strength. However, I might also add that later, when Marie said your strength began to wane, you were only not killed because my men and I just happened to be chasing a Bloodborn by the house at precisely the right minute.”

  “Which I’m very grateful for, and I mean that, Reed. You saved my life. But as for me losing my strength with my knife-throwing, I think it was just because I’d never done it in a fight before. I’ll practice before the next time.”

  Reed had stopped pacing, and he now looked at me with brows raised, as if he were absolutely incredulous. “Next time? Are you kidding me? You actually think there's going to be a next time where you’re in such a dangerous situation that you need to use your knife-throwing talent to save your life?”

  “Well, Gerard and his bears aren’t going to stop, are they? The ones who got away will be back. I think you and I both know this. And when they do come back, I want to help take them all down. I’m not done proving myself to you, and this entire community.”

  “So, basically, you’re willing to get yourself killed, just to prove something.”

  Arms still folded tightly across my chest, I stood up from the bed, becoming thoroughly riled up. “No. I won't be killed, because like I said, I’m going to practice my knife-throwing before facing the Bloodborn bears again.”

  “Right. Because as long as you practice something, you’ll never lose strength while doing it ever again, leaving you to be kidnapped or mauled by bloodthirsty shadow bears.”

  “Well, practicing my skill will make that a lot less likely.”

  “Maybe less likely, but certainly not outside the realm of possibility at all. Which is why you won’t be facing down Gerard, or any of his bears, ever again.”

  “Oh, really? Just because you say so?”

  “Yes. Exactly. Because I’m the chief of Somerset, and what I say goes.”

  “So, you don’t care at all about what I want, then?”

  “What I care about now is keeping you safe.”

  “Even though I’ve proven that I have a skill that could really help you and your men in a future fight with Gerard?”

  “Yes. I know I haven’t always shown it, but I care about you, Samantha, and because of that, I feel like it’s my job now to protect you.”

  “And what about your job to protect everyone in Somerset? Don’t you think that having me help in a future fight with the Bloodborn will help you keep everyone safe?”

  Reed heaved a deep sigh, raking both hands through his hair at the same time, a sure sign to me that he realized that what I’d said made sense, but he was frustrated because he didn’t want it to make sense.

  “Look. You’re not invincible, Samantha.”

  “Who in the hell said I was invincible?”

  “You’ve said it yourself with your actions. You said it yourself with your actions this morning. Now, on some level, I appreciate the fact that you’re a bold, brave, and seemingly fearless woman, but if I didn’t know better, which honestly I don’t, I might think you had a death wish.”

  “I don’t at all.”

  “Then, what is it?”

  I thought for a few moments before responding. “Well, like I said, this morning I just wanted to try to fix things between us, and help, and possibly bring us closer together in the process.”

&n
bsp; “Is that all, though? Another explanation that’s crossed my mind is that maybe because of how I’ve held you at arm’s length, you’ve been so unhappy that it’s given you a subconscious desire to ‘escape’ the situation you’re in by dying.” With a soft sigh, Reed shifted his gaze from my face to the wide row of windows opposite. “And if that’s the case, I’m sure that’s my fault.”

  He was right about something being his fault, although me having a subconscious death wish wasn’t one of them, because I didn’t have one, and I told him that. “And if that's what you think about me, then you really know nothing about me. Yes, I haven’t been a hundred percent happy since coming here, because of how things have been between us, but I’d never dishonor my mom and myself by randomly throwing the gift of my life away by intentionally putting myself in a dangerous situation, hoping to die.”

  Still a little riled up, but feeling like Reed and I were getting somewhere, I paused for breath, and he raked his hands over his face, sighing.

  “I'm sorry, Samantha. I never should have said what I just did. I don’t think you'd ever dishonor your mom and yourself by simply throwing your life away, and I’m really very sorry that I implied that you ever would. Please believe that my intent wasn’t to hurt you. I was just trying to understand why, after how things ended today, you would ever again want to put yourself in the path of possible harm, as you seem so insistent on-”

  “Well, maybe it’s just because I’m not the ‘easier’ type of woman that you seem to want to ‘deal’ with.”

  Reed groaned, lifting his gaze to the ceiling. “That comment was not meant to imply that I don’t want to ‘deal’ with you. And maybe ‘deal’ was a bad choice of words. By saying that, I just meant-”

  “You meant that you think I’m headstrong, and reckless. I think I get it. And maybe you should just leave me alone right now, because I’m not so sure anymore that I want to ‘deal’ with you.”

  Once again, he heaved a sigh, frowning. “Please just listen to me, Samantha. I-”

  “No, thank you. I think I’m done listening to you for right now. I think I just want you to leave my room.”

  With soft lamplight from my writing desk making his pale blue eyes glint gold, Reed just looked into my own eyes for a long moment. “Okay, fine. If you really want me to go, I’ll go. But before I do, I’m going to kiss your mouth, because your sweet, soft, cupid’s bow lips have been tempting me to do so the entire time we’ve been talking. If you don’t want me to kiss you, you have about three seconds to say so before I go right ahead and pull you into my arms.”

  I stood absolutely speechless, reeling from the sudden tonal shift of our conversation. I was also reeling from the fact that Reed had said he was going to kiss me, despite the fact that we hadn’t exactly been getting along.

  For some reason, my pride wanted me to tell him that I didn’t want him to kiss me, and that instead, he could leave my room and go straight to hell. However, during our heated conversation, I’d been distracted a few times by the sight of his lips, and the memory of how good they'd felt on my own the night we’d had sex. In fact, even right then his lips were distracting me.

  Holding Reed’s gaze while light rain began pattering against my bedroom windows, I didn’t say anything for a moment, then two, then three. Heat rose to my cheeks, and I didn’t even know why. I thought about turning my face away. I thought about angrily stomping out of the room. But I didn’t. Something about a warm glint in Reed’s eyes not caused by the lamp wouldn't let me. Another moment or two ticked by, and I still didn’t say a word.

  Reed pulled me into his strong arms, lowered his mouth to mine, and began kissing me with an intensity that made me think that the five or so seconds he’d waited had felt to him like an excruciatingly long length of time. With my folded arms beginning to relax, I began kissing him back, tasting the sweetness of his lips, and I then lifted my arms to wrap them around his neck.

  Just like that, I was in my own personal heaven, just like I’d been in the night we’d had sex, with all thoughts of our argument completely pushed from my mind. It wasn’t just Reed’s kisses that had sent me hurtling into the clouds, though. It was the feel of his strong arms around me, and his woodsy, masculine scent filling my nostrils, too. I was right where I wanted to be, and loving every single second of it.

  When Reed dialed back his intensity to gently take my lower lip between both of his, then proceeded to slowly slide his tongue across the width of my lip, as if savoring the feel of its softness, I moaned softly, curling my toes into the pine floor. After repeating the action in the opposite direction, he gradually ramped up the intensity of his kisses again, soon plundering my mouth with his tongue. I pressed the lower front of my body into his, reveling in the feel of his already-stiffened manhood against the soft curve of my stomach, where I was beginning to develop a frustrating, dull ache somewhere very deep inside. This ache was making me feel like I might soon want to begin helping Reed out of his clothes, then lead him into my bed, where we could continue our kissing while I ran my hands over the hardened contours of his bare chest. Lord only knew I’d waited far too long to share a bed with him once again.

  CHAPTER 15

  To my extreme disappointment, my borderline horror, really, Reed broke our kiss and swiftly pulled away from me before I could act on my thoughts to escalate our intimacy.

  “Goodnight, Samantha, and sweet dreams. We’ll talk again soon.”

  With that baffling statement, he strode out of my room and shut the door behind him, ignoring a soft, involuntary whimper of protest that had escaped my mouth, if he’d even heard it at all above the sound of the rain, which was now pouring down, beating against the windows.

  Based on the hardness of his male member, the intensity of his kisses, and the huskiness of his voice when he’d spoken, I knew for a fact that he’d wanted to escalate our intimacy, too, so I couldn't understand why he’d left the room so abruptly. I couldn’t understand why he had left at all, for that matter. Other than the fact that I’d specifically told him to leave, I supposed. But that had been before he’d kissed me, sending me hurtling into paradise.

  I also supposed that maybe he wasn’t yet sure if we should sleep together again, which, I had to admit, was a fair enough point. And now that I’d recalled our argument, and specifically, some of the things he’d said to me, my pride wouldn’t let me run out to the hall and into his room to ask him if he could quickly think things over and decide if we should or shouldn’t share a bed again.

  An hour or two later, I fell asleep holding a pillow, wishing it was Reed’s body. I felt kind of irritated that I was doing this, considering our argument and the fact that I was still more than a bit salty about it. However, at the same time, I felt powerless to resist doing what I was doing. My desire to drift off at least pretending that he was beside me, wishing the pillow I was curled up with was actually him, was just too strong.

  I woke up several times during the night after dreaming about him. I was dreaming about us, actually, and specifically, the two of us naked, with our bodies entwined in that most intimate of embraces. Each time I awoke, I debated going next door to his room to see if he might be awake by any chance, too, but each time, I ultimately decided against it. Unlike me, Reed hadn't taken about seventeen naps that day, and I knew he had to be beyond exhausted from battling the Bloodborn bears that morning, and then working all day and into the evening to organize the night’s patrols. I was sure he needed some deep, uninterrupted rest. I just wished that I could get some myself so that through oblivion of sleep, I could stop thinking about his face, his body, and his touch.

  The next day, with Reed out patrolling the outskirts of town with his men, I took a stroll into town, leaving my car at home because I felt the need for a little exercise. However, once I reached town, I almost wished that I wasn’t on foot, because I soon became almost embarrassed by different people wanting to talk to me about me fighting against the Bloodborn. A few people sitting o
utside a restaurant even thanked me for my “service to the community,” as one of them said.

  A little further down the road, a young woman stood out on the sidewalk in the sun, watering a tall planter of bright pink petunias in front of a clothing boutique. When she saw me heading her way, she emptied the last of the water in her tiny silver watering can, then looked up at me with a bright, open expression that looked like it at least wanted to become a smile.“You’re Samantha, right?”

  When I answered in the affirmative, she offered me her hand to shake, grinning. “I just wanted to say well done about what you did yesterday. It’s always irritated me that it’s always only the men who defend our town… but now nobody can say that it’s only the men.”

  I was beginning to feel like some kind of local celebrity.

  When I entered the coffee shop and saw Polly, who was wiping down tables up front, I greeted her with a smile. “Well, I just had a kind of strange, yet not-entirely-unpleasant walk through town.”

  She smiled in return, raising her honey blonde eyebrows. “Ah, so you’ve decided to embrace your new status as the town’s feminist icon?”

  “My status as the… what?”

  Polly laughed. “Better get used to it, because more than a few women are thinking of you as Somerset’s Joan of Arc.”

  Although I found the idea absolutely absurd, and I told Polly this, I felt a bit secretly pleased.

  With my heart unusually buoyant, I helped her finish cleaning up the tables, then we settled in at a little cafe table at the back of the shop for a late lunch of sandwiches, fruit, and blueberry muffins that Polly had made just a few hours earlier for the morning rush.

  The night before, I’d texted her briefly but I hadn’t been able to give her all the details about everything that had happened with Reed, so I now did, telling her exactly how everything had played out, from start to finish with Reed leaving my room and leaving me wanting more.

  Once she’d asked me a few questions, and I’d answered, Polly sat back in her chair, frowning, holding a steaming mug of tea between both hands.