Bear-ly Human (Bear Claw Security Book 4) (5 page)

He unzipped his duffel and began to unpack. It was going to be a long, lonely night, knowing Hera was just rooms away.

H
ercules woke
with the instinct of a soldier and looked around the darkened shadows of the room. He’d been given a room on the second story, and he’d left the window open to take advantage of the cool breeze. The curtains were swaying, and at first, he didn’t know what was going on. He pulled at the sheet, making sure it was up around his waist, and then tuned into the stillness of the room around him.

And then he heard it. The sound of breathing. He twisted quickly toward the side of the bed and jumped as he saw someone there.

“Shhh,” Hera said, lunging forward to put a finger to his lips as he looked up at her with shocked eyes.

He let out a pent-up breath as she stepped back, pulling a dressing gown tight around her. Her curvy legs peeked out at the bottom, showing rounded calves, and deep cleavage was revealed at the top. Her blond hair was mussed, and she bit her lip and stared at him.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she said.

He let out a sigh and looked around the room for a clock. Then he checked his phone on the bedside table. “It’s two a.m.,” he said. “Go back to bed.” He spoke to her as much to his cock, which was reacting to the sight of his half-dressed ex-girlfriend and love of his life standing next to his bed.

She scanned his body lazily. “You still sleep in the nude?” she asked curiously.

He pulled the sheets tighter around him. “What’s it to you?” he asked. “I told you, Hera. I’m your bodyguard. Nothing more.”

She took a step forward. He was a big, bad soldier and bodyguard, but at this moment, nothing scared him more than those dangerous curves approaching.

She put a knee on the bed and leaned forward, letting her robe gap open, showing more of the slope of her breast, creamy and smooth in the moonlight. “What if I want you to do more than just guard my body?”

He gulped. Of course he wanted to do more. She was a beautiful woman. She was the only one he’d ever been happy with. Ever wanted. But it didn’t change who he was. It didn’t change that she wouldn’t want him for a mate. And he didn’t think he could take it halfway again.

This time he’d want to play for keeps.

If he experienced Hera again, he’d die if he couldn’t keep her. And he was a creature, not even a normal shifter. Not someone who could afford to be someone’s mate.

He was nothing.

He ran a hand through his tangled hair, smoothing out the effects of tossing and turning in his sleep. She moved forward, taking another step onto the bed. She was on his bed.

On
. His. Bed.

Her bangs fell over one eye sultrily. She reached for his hair. “Let me do it.”

He jerked back, and her hand fell to his chest, scalding him. He tried to scramble back, but hit the headboard. She moved forward, and he caught both her hands in his. “Hera, stop it. I can’t…”

She leaned forward, placing her lips at his neck, ignoring his protests. Her lips sizzled against him, stirring his body further. The bear in him was awakened. Ready to take her. Wanting things it couldn’t have.

He tried to push her back, but it was only half-hearted because deep down, he wanted her. “This is stupid,” he said. “I know things are good between us, but we need to think long term. We need to not destroy each other again.”

She kissed her way down his neck and onto his chest, pulling him back into a pleasant world he never wanted to leave. All reason and rational thought was quickly abandoning him.
Traitors
.

“We won’t destroy each other as long as we’re together,” she said, running her hands over his shoulders as she continued to kiss.

Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore and flipped her beneath him. He pinned her hands over her head so she had to listen. He needed to explain things to her. Needed to convince her to stop this before he was no longer able.

As he straddled her, trying to stay carefully above her, he felt everything inside him straining to be one with her.

But he had to maintain control. He was a soldier, dammit. He could
maintain
control.

“Hera,” he choked out. “What do you want from me?”

“Not much,” she said huskily. “Just everything.” She struggled against his hands, wanting to touch him as much as he yearned to touch her.

But if they started this again, everything would begin again. Fireworks would fly. Everything would rush ahead. It would definitely be easier to pretend to the others, but it would also make everything painful and complicated.

“Hera, I can’t… tell you what I am.”

“I know what you are,” she said. “You’re a man I love.”

“You’ll be better with someone else,” he said.

She shook her head wildly. “No. I won’t. I don’t care about your past. I don’t care about your secrets. You’re my mate.”

He put a hand to her lips. What she said was too close to how he felt. But he couldn’t afford for either of them to talk like that.

She pushed out from under his hand and bit her lip. “Hercules, what’s happening between us, just let it. Stop fighting.”

“I have to fight, honey,” he said. “I have to fight for both of us.”

She shook her head. “But you’re seeing my family. You’re seeing we can do it.”

He sat back, looking at her in confusion. “Hera, you need to be honest with me. Right now. Do you really need protection? Your family seems amazing.” He moved off her and sat on the edge of the bed in defeat. “Why am I really here?”

She scampered off the bed and knelt before him, forcing him to look into her eyes. “You’re here because I love you. Because I never stopped loving you.”

The words hit him hard, shattering everything he’d tried to put together.

“Give us one more chance,” she said, looking into his eyes.

He wrapped a hand around her neck and brought her in for a kiss, his tongue sweeping through her mouth to take her deeply. When they pulled back, gasping, he pressed his forehead to hers.

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Then just give me this,” she said and took his mouth in another kiss. He sank into it this time, letting old emotions sweep through him. Letting his heart open up to her again.

He pulled back and rubbed his thumb gently over her cheek. “We shouldn’t, Hera. It’s just going to make things complicated. Things ended before for a reason. We both know that.”

“Then why did you even agree to come here?” she asked. “Why did you get my hopes up?”

“Because I’m doing my duty.”

Her lips turned down. “Your duty. Right. That’s all it is, obviously.”

“Am I missing something here?” he asked. “You said you wanted me to come out and pretend to be your fiancé. I said fine to that. I didn’t say I would come out here and
be
with you again. That was never part of the bargain.”

She blinked rapidly, tears lighting her eyes, and he pulled her against him. He didn’t want to hurt her; that was too much for him. He held her close, stroking a hand over her back. Then he pulled back and wiped tears off her cheeks.

“Where’s my strong Hera?” he asked.

“She’s been alone too long. Regretting losing you,” she answered.

“We always knew it might not work out,” he said. “When I rushed into things with you, my logical mind knew I was crazy. But I didn’t care. This time I care. I don’t want either of us to be hurt again.”

She held his arm. “Then don’t leave me.”

“Hera, you can do better. You belong here. With people like you. Men who can give you everything. Not just some bodyguard at a small agency with no family history to speak of.”

“I don’t care about that,” she affirmed.

“You did at one point,” he said.

“Only because I didn’t get what you were hiding from me. I still don’t.”

He took her hand in his, marveling at how small it was. He thought about someone like her, someone so perfect and so full of light, being with a person like him, all darkness.

He’d been in La-la Land all along if he’d ever thought that was going to be a match. “You deserve better. I promise.” He stroked her hair back. It was light and soft. “I can’t tell you why, but you do. And I’m here to keep you safe and make sure you find it. I promise I’ll help you find it.”

She shook her head. “That’s not part of your job.”

“Looking out for you will always be part of my job.”

“You let me go before,” she said.

“Because it was the right thing to do. Because you were better off without me, no matter what I wanted.”

She sighed. “There’s no getting through to you, is there?”

He shook his head slowly. There really wasn’t. The small part of him that had opened up and hoped for more when they were together had all but closed shut. Even if just sitting next to her was starting to crack his resolve, he couldn’t give in.

She would go on with someone else and learn to love properly.

“Fine,” she said. “So you’re rejecting being with me. But I came all the way here. You might as well kiss me.”

He bit back a groan. That was like touching fire.

“That’s the least you can do,” she goaded. “I scaled the wall for you, after all.”

“You what?” he asked, standing and pacing to the window to look out. “You’re crazy. You aren’t doing that again.”

“Okay.” She shrugged. “But you might as well make it worth my while.”

“You’ll agree we can’t make it?” he asked, as she came in front of him and they both stood in the window, surrounded by moonlight.

“I won’t,” she said. “I’m going to keep fighting for us.”

He sighed. “And I’m going to keep telling you it’s pointless.”
No matter how much I’ll always love you.

“Say that after kissing me,” she said, running a hand up and along his neck. He sighed and arched back, relishing in it.

“Hera…”

“You never could say no to me,” she said, rising up on tiptoes, bringing herself closer to his mouth.

And then it was all too much. He’d said his piece. He’d told her the truth about their chances. The rest wasn’t his fault. And he could no sooner say no to her than hold back the sun.

So he kissed her. Lowered his lips to hers and plundered them slowly, achingly, letting the feelings of the past sweep through them both.

Hera gasped and sagged in his arms, and he held her up, held her close, supported her as his tongue tangled with hers in a heated dance that made his knees want to go weak.

When he finally pulled back, they were both gasping, breathless.

The power of what they had between them was incredible.

It always had been. It was almost enough to make him forget he was half monster.

“Hera…” he said, lost as to what to do next.

“I get it.” She stepped back and touched her lips. She could see how lost he was. “You did what I asked. I’ll go.” She turned back to him as she sulked toward the door. “But I’m not letting this go.”

“You’ll have to,” he said. “Because I can’t stay.”

Her eyes shuttered at that, but she squared her shoulders and pulled her robe tighter around her, looking haughty and proud. “We’ll see about that, Hercules. We’ll see if you can really give me up to someone else and walk away. Because I think you can’t.”

“Don’t scale my wall again,” he said, even though seeing her again was everything his bear wanted.

She nodded tightly. “Next time, I won’t have to. You’ll be knocking on
my
door.” And then she disappeared through the door, leaving him alone with his heart pounding.

He looked at the window and the moonlight streaming through.

Dammit, the minx was probably right.

T
he next day
, Hera walked down to breakfast, feeling remarkably well-rested, considering what had happened the night before. She almost felt bad for pressuring Hercules into kissing her, but then again, it was the only way to remind him just how strong, just how right things had been between them.

She only had to hope that delicious taste would make him ache for more. If not, it was the backfire of the century, because she was definitely aching badly.

She sat in the chair next to Hercules and tried not to let everyone see her blush as his hand brushed hers while handing her a plate of food.

“Late morning?” her dad asked, stabbing his eggs as he looked between them.

“Not really,” Hera said, checking her watch. “Eight a.m. isn’t exactly noon, is it?”

Her father’s lips pursed into a frown. Lately, they just hadn’t been getting along. Sometimes she wished she wasn’t an only child. Then there wouldn’t have been so much attention on her. So much riding on her existence.

“So what do you two have planned for this morning?” he asked. “The other guys should be here around noon. I’m hoping we can all spend a civil couple days together, even considering the awkward circumstances.” He turned his stern gaze onto Hercules. “As a male, I know how difficult this will be, but the men coming here are sons of friends and business acquaintances, and if at all possible, I would like things to remain peaceful.”

Hercules shot her a look, and there was so much in those deep-brown eyes she had to clamp her legs together in response to how handsome he looked this morning. “I would prefer that as well. However, should someone bother Valerie, I’m not going to simply stand by.”

Her father folded his arms. “Me as well.”

“So we’re settled,” Hera said, wolfing down her breakfast so she could take Hercules’s hand and stand. “We’re headed outside to spend some more time together. After all, we’ve been long distance for so long.”

Her mom smiled at them and took Hera’s dad’s hand, his expression finally softening.

“All right, we’ll call for you when your guests are here.”

She turned sharply on him. “Your guests. Not mine. That needs to be clear, Dad.”

“Yes, sorry.” He relented.

Hercules looked uncomfortable, so she took his hand and led him onto the balcony outside the kitchen. As they viewed over it, she could hear her mother cleaning up breakfast. Her dad would be reading the paper. They were as good as alone.

Gazing out over the sprawling grounds and the forest around them, she felt clean and free in the air. But previous to this, there had always been loneliness around her. With Hercules there, that was gone.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, putting a hand over his as they both rested on the balustrade.

“Fine,” he said. “You gave me a lot to think about last night. But I’m ready to get to work this morning.”

She nodded. Her heart was racing just standing this close to him. What was he hiding? Why did he feel so unworthy? “So I guess you’re going to meet the candidates for my heart?”

His face tightened and his fingers curled over the marble as he looked out over the lawn. “I guess so.”

The morning wind caught a lock of his hair and lifted it, letting the light catch it and shoot gold through the strands. He tucked it back, looking like a pirate captain on the bow of his ship.

“I enjoyed last night,” she said. “Kissing you is just as amazing as I remembered.”

He sent her a sideways glance, and she could swear she saw a blush moving up into his neck. “I’m glad.”

“So are you really going to pick one of them for me?”

He grimaced. “Obviously, the actual picking is up to you. I’m just here to help and bat away the douchebags.”

She sighed. “I’m not sure I even want to be mated.”

He looked over at her, long lashes shading his brown eyes. “That would be a shame. Anyone would be lucky to mate you. The world would be better with more like you in it as well.”

She frowned. The thought of that with anyone but him stung her deeply. That’s why she’d remained alone since she’d left the armed forces. “I don’t know.”

“You should keep an open mind.” He reached over to squeeze her hand. Just that motion made her weak in the knees.

“I wish you’d just tell me more about you and let me decide if you’re worthy,” she said.

He opened his mouth and then closed it, then leaned on the railing. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

She shrugged. “You couldn’t before, so I don’t know why it would be different now. And I guess it wouldn’t matter since you’re determined we can’t be together.”

He shrugged in return. But there was something in his eyes as he stared at her. A heat that couldn’t be hidden.

They were connected somehow. Like a thread of fate stretched between them.

She wasn’t going to give up easily.

The moment was broken as the doorbell rang, loud and melodic and disruptive. He raised his head and looked over his shoulder irritably. “I guess that’s the first of them.”

She nodded.

“So how do you want me to play fake fiancé? Super possessive? Polite and distant? Reserved and entitled?”

“Just be who you are?” she suggested helpfully.

He laughed. “A super-jealous merc who wants to launch rockets at anyone who looks at you? Bad idea.”

She shivered at the hotness of that idea and then pushed it aside. “I guess reserved and polite, then,” she said. “As the situation calls for it.”

He nodded. He was wearing a light-gray sweater over a blue button-up shirt and dark-blue designer jeans with leather loafers. He looked every bit the Ivy Leaguer she’d be expected to be paired up with.

“So you’re really just going to put on a show and then walk away at the end, after giving your opinion?”

“If I feel you’re safe, and if any of them are good enough, yes,” he said firmly, rising to his full height and squaring himself as he reached for the door.

“I see,” she said stiffly, folding her arms and stepping in front of him as he opened it. “I guess we should go greet them, then.”

“I guess so,” he said tersely.

She sighed because it was clear both of them hated this, but he was never going to admit it. She’d just have to go along until she could call his bluff. The man who had kissed her last night like her life depended on it would never be able to let her walk away with someone else.

She walked into the main foyer and saw her mother and father were already at the door, talking to a blond man and his dark-haired friend.

Bentley and Adam were here. Just great.

* * *

H
ercules eyed
the two piles of trash here to win over his mate.

No, not his mate. His mate if he’d been allowed one. His mate if he were that type of being.

For now, just his fake fiancé. The closest he’d ever get to the real thing.

He tried to remember what he’d just said to Hera—that he could encourage her to pick a better man if possible. But his bear had roared so loudly at that his ears were still ringing.

Metaphorically speaking.

After kissing her last night, how could he even think about giving her up?

But after being an animal who spent most of his life in a cage, how could he think of letting her make him her future?

The sensation of a needle pressing into his skin jerked at him, and he bit down on his cheek and forced himself back to the present.

There were no more needles. Not anymore. And he needed to guard against zoning out, or the nightmares would come back. And he wouldn’t be able to watch out properly for Hera.

He strode to the door after Hera, wanting to make sure the men saw her as his.

The first man looked up at him from shaking Rob’s hand. As their eyes locked, the smile on the other man’s face turned mean; his blue eyes went cold. He pushed past the others and stood in front of Herc.

He was a tall man. Well dressed with a navy blazer over a polo and jeans and designer shoes. He had short blond hair, perfectly gelled back. Built like a bear shifter.

But not, to Hercules’s relief, built like a demigod. Even just a few inches shorter than him, Hercules dwarfed the other man. Still, as the man stepped to the side and took one of Hera’s hands in both of his, he made the woman Herc loved look small.

She was wearing a dress today, knee length with little blue flowers on a white background, and she gave the man before her a polite smile.

“Bentley,” she said. “This is John, my fiancé.”

So the douchey douche had a douchey name to match. Hercules stepped forward and grasped Bentley’s hand. Their gazes locked again as they engaged in a hard handshake meant to intimidate rather than introduce.

Hercules got the unsettling feeling this man didn’t respect Hercules’s size or his relationship with Hera, at all.

It was a weird feeling, having someone he didn’t like not look afraid of him.

Clearly, Bentley was a man who felt his power exceeded all. Perhaps money and breeding did that to a person.

Hercules gave him a fake smile and pulled his hand back to put it around Hera and hold her close.

If the man touched his mate, he’d show him how little breeding or money could protect him.

“Calm down,” Hera said quietly, touching his hand. She always could read his mood. “He’s harmless.”

Hercules didn’t think so.

“Adam,” Hera said, waving to the other man, who was still standing at the door, talking with her parents. Clearly, they all went back a long way.

Adam, a dark-haired man with dark eyes and an unremarkable face, waved. He didn’t look particularly interested. Just one of Bentley’s cronies, then.

Bentley, on the other hand, was sneaking his eyes all over Hera like she was a juicy steak whenever he could get away with it. Hercules stepped slightly in front of his mate, blocking her off.

Bentley’s eyes narrowed, and he looked like he was going to make something of it, but then Hera called for attention.

“Why don’t we go outside and set up croquet?” she asked, and everyone looked over.

“We also have the perfect lawn for bowling as well, as you probably remember,” May said to Adam and Bentley.

Bentley took a step back, but Hercules still felt aware the man didn’t respect him.

He needed to be put in his place.

But Hera gave him another warning glance, and he realized now wasn’t the time. Plus, Rob had asked for peace if possible.

Well, he’d try to give them peace. But if anyone touched his woman, if anyone caused her distress, there’d be war.

He followed the others out to play lawn sports, whatever that meant.