Polar Bears are Forever: Book One Supernatural Enforcers Agency (10 page)

“Umm, Vanessa, this is… ah, Gunner.  Gunner this is my sister, Vanessa.”

She almost introduced him as her boss, while an evil little voice suggested ‘lover’ just to see her sister’s reaction. 
What was she supposed to call him anyway?
  He
was
her boss, and up until last night she would have categorized their relationship as friendly with a good dollop of yearning on her side.  At least she’d thought it had only been on her side.  Now, she didn’t know what to call him.  It wasn’t exactly like they were dating.

“Nice to meet you,” rumbled Gunner as he shook her proffered hand firmly, it sent ripples throughout her whole body.

“You too,” she simpered in return. 
Clearly lust had won over trepidation.

After a few seconds of ogling, Vanessa snapped out of it.  “Come on in, we’re having a barbecue in the back.”

Gunner smiled; Vanessa cooed, and Erin just wanted to throw up.  They followed Vanessa through the house, and Gunner lightly placed a hand on Erin’s back.  Heaven help her, instinctively she arched her back into his touch, desperate to feel his hands on her in any way, shape or form. 
Heck, she’d settle for a bear hug with his polar bear at that moment.

Erin’s mouth went dry at seeing so many people there; she recognized a few people as her parents’ family and friends, but most were strangers to her.  She guessed the others were Vanessa’s fiancé, Roger’s guests.

Darn
.  All the women were wearing floaty, flowery summer dresses, and she was wearing a pair of jeans and a striped t-shirt.  She looked like she was playing Where’s Waldo! 
Like she needed another reason to feel inadequate or out of place.

Vanessa clapped her hands together.  “Everyone, this is my sister, Erin, and her boyfriend, Gunner.”

Boyfriend?!  Aww, crap.
 
Would Gunner make a bolt for it?  Should she?

People murmured uninterested hellos at her while trying not to stare openly at the beefy shifter stood behind her.  A number of the party guests lifted their chins and sniffed before recoiling slightly.  Erin guessed they’d figured out just what species he was.

And Gunner?  His hand slid up from her back to her shoulder; his fingers splayed over her skin, and he took a step closer to her, so he was standing directly behind her.  His warm body pressed against her, sending delighted shivers through her. 
And she really didn’t want to think about that bulge digging into her back. 

He also took an exaggerated sniff before booming out a hello.  Numerous guests, the sniffers and therefore shifters, cringed a little.  He shook a little in laughter at that. 
Shifters were weird.

Chapter Nine

Much to his chagrin, Gunner found himself gathered round the smoky barbecue with Roger, the sister’s fiancé, Erin’s dad, Erin’s brothers, and the fiancée’s dad. 

What is it with men and barbecues?
  He could never really see the appeal, preferring to eat his meat fresh. 
Fresh as in still squirming in his paws.
  It baffled him that any enjoyment could be derived from crowding round a smoking fire discussing the merits of coal over propane, and arguing with other men about why the food wouldn’t cook. 

Erin was nowhere to be seen.  She’d pressed a beer into his hand and had spirited away, sylph-like.  He sniffed, trying to seek out her delectable scent, but that only resulted in a nose full of smoke.

His bear was not happy.  He wondered if she was hiding in the house.

Roger – the fiancé and fox shifter – coughed to get his attention.  “So, uh, how do you know Erin?”

Gunner dragged his attention away from the house and fixed his gaze on the slender fox, who had the sense to tremble at him.  His bear chuffed in gratification.  “We work together.”

Erin’s father and brothers said very little to him; they just eyed him distastefully.  Gunner presumed they were unsure how to feel about him dating Erin.  That was fine with him; he wasn’t altogether pleased with their treatment of Erin.  If they were to say a cross word to him, he couldn’t be certain his bear wouldn’t lash out and, oh, accidentally kill them.  Nah, he probably wouldn’t. 
Probably
.

Roger’s father, the leader of their skulk, pursed his lips.  “Where do you work?’

The older fox was displeased at the bear for not showing more respect and inclining his neck in submission. 
Hah!  Him submitting to a fox? 
That’ll be the day.

“At the SEA,” muttered Gunner absently.

These men were boring him
.  He was somewhat aware of the fact that he should have been trying to make a good impression on them, but his focus was swayed by his absent little human.  Besides, he doubted Erin’s opinion would be affected by any of these buffoons. 

It occurred to him that if this had been a clan, and he was an outsider trying to mate with one of the females, by now the males would have interrogated him over his life, his intentions toward their female and whether or not he was a fertile male capable of producing offspring. 
Yeah, there was zero privacy in a clan
.  But these men didn’t seem to think they had any claim on Erin’s life at all, which, he supposed they didn’t.  If he thought of her family as a clan, she hadn’t been a part of it since she was a child. 

Erin had been on her own for nearly her whole life and damn if that didn’t make his heart twitch, his bear furious and the need to give her a bear hug overwhelming.  He was on his own out of choice – not wanting to find out what he might do if he lived in such close quarters to his brother – but Erin had been forced out, just for being a little different.

Fuck, he needed to go to her.

He pushed his half-drunk beer into Roger’s hand and muttered something about using the bathroom.  He strode away, ignoring the murmured ‘asshole’ comments. 
Why would he give a shit what they thought of him?
There was only one person in this whole bunch who mattered to him, and he wanted to see her that very second.

*

Erin escaped her mother and her sister and decided to hide in the bathroom.  She cared for her sister – she really did – but she could only listen to so much talk about wedding centerpieces for so long before she wanted to start pulling out her hair just for something to do. 
She defied anyone to get excited about centerpieces!

Ugh, being home always stressed her out.  She was always so afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing that she worked herself up until she had a stomach ache. 

She wondered how Gunner was faring.  She felt guilty at abandoning him, but the ‘boyfriend’ comment had surprised her.  Was he her boyfriend now?  Did Gunner see himself that way?  She knew the smart thing would be to ask him, but a crushing fear of rejection sent cold shivers through her.  He could easily say no.  He could easily laugh at her. 
No, she didn’t like the sound of that at all.

Erin splashed cold water on her heated cheeks.  There was a gentle knock at the door.

“Just a minute.”

“It’s me.”

Oh, it wasn’t fair how her stomach started doing flips over those two words.  “Me who?” she teased – there really could be no doubt as to who that deep, husky voice belonged to.

“Me – I’m gonna knock this door down if you don’t open up.”

Erin pressed her lips together to stop from smiling and unlocked the door.  He slipped into the room and locked it again.

“Hey,” she murmured.

“Hey.”

“Having fun?”

“Well, now that I’ve caught up with you…”

He reached out and snagged one of her hands, gently pulling her toward him. 
Resistance is futile
.  He bent down and captured her lips in a surprisingly tender kiss.  She moaned into his mouth.

Gunner sighed as he drew back; he snaked his arms around her back, and in turn she rested her hands on his stomach. 
It was like leaning against a stone wall.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, babe, but how soon can we leave?”

She looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes.  “What?  You mean small talk with humans and foxes while digesting meat that’s charred on the outside and frozen on the inside isn’t your thing?  Well, color me surprised.”

Erin batted her eyelashes at him, and he chuckled, sending vibrations through her frame.  Ooh, she liked how petite he made her feel.  Not something a lot of men could boast.

“What can I say?  When I eat uncooked meat, I prefer it if it’s still moving.”

“Gross.” 
Sushi was her limit for uncooked food.

“Not gross, it’s natural,” he insisted as his hands rubbed up and down.  “You should come up to Alaska when I visit my parents; we could go fishing.  Or at least my bear could go fishing, and you could watch.”

Erin blinked at him in stark surprise.  “You want me to meet your parents?”

“I met yours; it’s only fair I return the favor.  The difference is my parents will actually like you.”

He leaned down and nipped her earlobe, before letting out an exaggerated ‘ahem.’

“What?”

Gunner rolled his eyes mockingly.  “That was your cue to tell me that your parents do like me.”

She let out a small snort.  “Oh, I missed that.”

“Well?  Aren’t you going to say it?”

Erin bit her lip.  She was under no allusions about her parents.  They weren’t happy at her for bringing a bear shifter with her.  They still weren’t altogether comfortable with supernatural beings, but they tolerated having fox shifters around because Vanessa was the apple of their eyes. 
A lumbering bear shifter who looked like he could bring the whole house down with one well-timed sneeze was another matter.
But then she’d learned long ago that she was never going to be fully accepted by her family.  She was happy enough to make the best of it, but she wasn’t going to forgo a chance at her own happiness for their sakes.

“I would but I don’t really like lying.”  She said it half in jest but half seriously.

Gunner huffed in mock annoyance, but he couldn’t hide his grin.  She seriously doubted that anyone’s opinion mattered to the huge bear shifter.  He really didn’t lack for confidence. 
Oh, what must that be like…

She curled her fingers into his t-shirt.  “If it makes you feel any better, I’m not sure my parents like me either.”

“Their loss,” he growled darkly.  “My parents would love you for a… ah…” 

“For a what?”

“A, uh, vacation.  They’d love to have you visit for a vacation.  They’ve always been curious about humans.”

Jeez, he made it sound like she was some kind of newly discovered mammal.  Now presenting, the previously undiscovered wonder that is Erin. 
Yeah, right
.  “Surely they’ve met humans before?”

Gunner shrugged unconcernedly.  “Sure, but they’ve never lived with a human, I think they’d be fascinated by how little you actually eat.”  That darn frown returned to his face, and she just wanted to wipe it off, or kiss it off, or send his mouth further south for a repeat of last night…

“Oh?  Would they try and fatten me up too?  I’m not convinced you’re not doing it so you can eat me.”

His eyes sparkled.  “Oh, I’d like to…”

“No!  Stop right there, I know where this is going.” 
Was he a freaking mindreader?!

“You do?  Because you seemed mighty surprised by it last night.”  His lust filled leer was positively panty wetting.

Erin buried her head in his chest, trying to hide her blush.  “Don’t pick on me.”

He tangled his fingers in her hair and gently pulled her head back, so she was looking at him.  “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

“No?”

He leaned down.  “No, my dreams are much filthier,” he whispered suggestively.

There was a loud banging on the door, and Erin jumped.  She didn’t know what surprised her more, the interruption or that her hands had actually been trying to work Gunner’s belt open. 
They had a mind of their own.

“Is everything alright in there?” called her mother.

“F… fine,” replied Erin.  “I’m just, err, on the toilet.” 
That’s it think of the worst thing to say
.

“Okay, you’ve been in there a while…”

“I’m fine, Mom,” snapped Erin, ignoring the silent laughter emanating from the huge bear shifter.

She waited until she heard her mother’s retreating footsteps before slapping his arm.  “It’s not funny,” she told him primly.

“Of course not,” he sniggered.

“As much as I’m enjoying hiding out in here, we should really go back out there.”

“I don’t know; the bathroom kind of has a charm to it.  I bet we could spend hours in here if we tried.  There’re plenty of fun looking surfaces in here to try out.” 

His hand slipped down to her ass, and she smothered her moan by making light of the situation.  If she did moan, one thing would lead to another, and before he could say abracadabra she’d be out of her clothes.

“Oh, why stop at hours?  I’m pretty sure we could build a life in here if we really tried.  It could be our little pied-á-terre.”

“Don’t tempt me, babe.” 

Erin was taken aback at the forcefulness behind those words, but before she could ponder them further, he was already leading her back out to the party.  This time, though, he kept his hand firmly laced with hers.  Apparently he wasn’t going to let her abandon him again.  He needn’t have worried, as she surveyed the sea of unfriendly faces, there was nowhere else she’d rather be.

*

Erin was surprised at how nice Gunner’s apartment actually was.  She’d seriously been expecting some kind of man cave deal, with the floors covered in unwashed clothes and pizza boxes.  But, no, this was nice, clean and modern.  Actually, it was a heck of lot nicer than her own apartment.  Out of the two of them, she was the more slovenly one. 
Oh, that bummed her out.

Yep, somehow she’d found herself in Gunner’s apartment.  She just wasn’t sure how.  She knew the logistics, of course.  After escaping the family barbecue, he was driving and lamenting how little she’d eaten, and then he’d suggested she come over to his apartment to watch a movie and get some takeaway… 
That’s where she got stuck
.  She was sure that her scaredy-cat nature had reared her fluffy head and made some protestation, but somehow it hadn’t got any further than that.  He’d carelessly waved away her concerns and whisked her back here.  Yep, he was a force of nature. 
Hurricane Gunner.

She sat on the edge of his plush couch and yelped as she sank into its depths.  He smirked as he looked through his collection of DVDs.

“You have a lot of films,” she offered conversationally.

“Yeah, what can I say?  I like to relax by watching a film and drinking a beer.  I can’t stand TV, all the commercial breaks drive me insane, there’re only so many times I can watch an infomercial about Viagra before I’m clawing at the walls.”

Erin smiled.  “What else do you like doing?”

Gunner laughed slightly.  “Not much,” he admitted.  “Pretty much, I work, I train, I go to the bar and then I come home and watch a movie.  I’m not a lot of fun.”

“Swap the films for books and get rid of the training, and it sounds like my life,” she said ruefully.  “I guess I’m only half as fun as you.”

“Maybe we should make our own fun,” he leeringly suggested.

Erin shook her head.  He really could turn everything sexual. 
Not that she was complaining…

“You like movies?” he asked.

“Sure.”  She just didn’t seem movies often.  There was something infinitely depressing about going to see a movie on her own.  The last movie she watched, or rather re-watched, was Look Who’s Talking on TV. 
Talking babies, gotta love ‘em.