Polar Bears are Forever: Book One Supernatural Enforcers Agency (14 page)

He gave her a baffled look.  “Where we work?”

Isis definitely had an overinflated sense of how sexy she was.  Her attempts at flirting were irritating.

She cocked her head at the elevator.  “Going down?” she cooed.

Ugh
.  He jutted his jaw.  “I’m waiting for someone.”

Her lips twitched before curling upwards.  “Erin?”

Gunner stared at her coolly, and it was obvious she knew his answer.

“How’s Erin working out?  I know how opposed you were to having her here.”

His bear harrumphed at that, even thought it was true. 
But that was before he met her
.  “Good,” he rumbled.

Isis’ eyes widened in exaggerated disbelief.  She looked like she’d never heard anything more astonishing in her life.  It
was right up there with learning that a Smurf had been declared supreme ruler of the world.

“Really?  No more problems?”

Gunner folded his arms and clung to the remnants of his fraying temper.  He had given up his previous resolve to get Erin benched.  He didn’t want to hurt her in any way.  And he seriously didn’t want anyone else trying to do the same.

“Whatever you’re doing, stop,” he said in a low, menacing voice.

“Moi?”  She placed her hand on her chest and graced him with such fake wide-eyed innocence that he was tempted to howl with laughter.  His bear just wanted to howl.

“Erin’s a valuable member of my team.  She’s doing good – better than good – she’s doing great.”

Isis licked her lips.  “Are you so sure about that?”

“Cut the crap, Isis,” he barked and was pleased that she flinched at his harsh tone.  “If you have something to say – say it.”

He hated women who played games and was thankful Erin wasn’t like that.  She might be a little hard to read, but she usually said what she thought.  Usually she blurted it out, and then turned a bashful shade of beetroot red. 
Adorable
.

“Would you be surprised to learn that Erin left her gun in the coffee shop today?”

Gunner felt a chill run through him, and even his bear stopped snarling to pay attention.  “What?”

Isis pulled a gun out of her purse and handed it to him.  He looked at her searchingly, and she nodded. 

“Yep, clumsy, little Erin spilled her hot chocolate all over her purse, got all the contents out and then managed to leave her gun on the floor of the coffee shop.  Luckily, I was there to diffuse the situation when the manager found it.  But I think it would be a career ender, don’t you?”

Fuck.  This was bad
.  Losing your gun and leaving it in a public place was really, really bad.  She’d be suspended for that, and most likely fired or reassigned to the worst SEA outpost they had. 
Most likely northern Alaska where the only thing to do was concentrate on not losing your toes to frostbite.

His bear pushed forward, unsheathing his claws, and roared at Gunner to do something. 
Something vicious to the tigress seemed like a good option. 
“What do you plan on doing?” he bit out.

“That depends; if you can get her to ask for a transfer and then request that I join your team - nothing.”

Unbelievable
.  She pursed her lips in displeasure and growled lightly as he let out a hollow chuckle.

“You’re blackmailing me?”

“Just think of it as motivation,” she rationalized patronizingly.  “I can see you like her; I’ll bet she’s the little sister you never had.”

Gunner almost choked at that. 
The feelings he had for her, and the things he had done to her, could hardly be described as familial.

“So, if you like her, get her to do this.  This whole thing is not worth ending her career over.  I mean, it’s not a very promising one, but I’m pretty sure that she doesn’t want to get fired over this.”

He watched her through narrowed eyes as the elevator arrived, and she hopped in; his limbs quivered as his bear fought to be let free.

She pressed the button for the lobby.  “Let me know what you decide.”

Isis blew him a kiss and gave him a finger wave as the doors closed.

“Gunner?”

Crap
.  He pushed her gun into the waistband of his jeans, pulling his shirt down to cover it, and slapped on his most innocent smile.

“Ready to go, babe?”

Erin frowned.  “Was that Isis?”

“Yes, c’mon,” he said impatiently.

“What’s happening?  Are we going to the bar?”

“No, we need to do something that I’ve wanted to do since the moment I first saw your apartment.”

“Oh?” she breathed.  “That sounds exciting.”

*

“What?” barked Tom ‘the hammer’ Murphy into the receiver.

“Feeling better?” asked a familiarly arrogant voice.

Tom sneered.  “What do you want?  You got your money.”

“And you got your brand-spanking new, illegally obtained heart, so you might want to check your attitude.  You got a fair deal.”

“Fair?!” spluttered Tom. 

“More than fair, unless you prefer breathing hooked up to a machine.  Because, if you like, that can be arranged.”

Tom gritted his teeth at the cold, callous tone being leveled at him.  “What do you want?” he hissed.

“The body of the shifter who generously donated his heart to you has been found.  The SEA is investigating.”

He felt a swell of contempt.  “So?  Why the fuck should I care?”

“So, I’ll go ahead and assume that you don’t want the SEA scratching at your door anyway, but do you really want them to confiscate that nice, new heart?  After all, it is evidence of a crime.  So, keep your mouth shut and lay low.  Most people already think you’re dead, so, for your health, keep it that way.  Got it?  Good.”

Tom stared in disbelief at the phone as the fucker hung up on him.  Again.  He hung up on him again?  Who the fuck did this guy think he was?  The asshole had no respect.  Jumped-up, little pipsqueak.  Tom was putting shits like him in their place before he was even born!

No, this was too much. 

Tom rubbed his chest thoughtfully.  He had his new heart, and he was healthier than ever.  He had what he wanted and now, this guy needed to be taught a lesson.

Chapter Thirteen

Erin sighed as the warm water cascaded down her aching limbs.  No way would she admit it out loud, but she was feeling just a teensy bit sore and tired after spending the last few nights with Gunner.  She couldn’t remember the last time she had gotten so much exercise! 
But if other exercise were half so enjoyable, she’d be trying out for the Olympics by now!

It wasn’t quite what she imagined Gunner had in mind, but last night he had changed all the locks on her door and windows.  She was tighter than Fort Knox now.

Her landlord objected and started making sounds about the security deposit, but the creepy skunk shifter –
yes, a skunk shifter, she’d never have guessed
- was soon quelled by a look from Gunner. 
He could scare bark off a tree.

It was actually kind of baffling.  She could see that, in theory, he was kind of scary, but, to her, he was just one big teddy bear.  Hmmm, she wondered what his actual polar bear was like.  She had yet to meet the creature. 
She wondered if he would let her pet him
.

After the locks were changed, they had fun on the couch while eating Chinese takeaway – she really must learn how to cook, all this fast food was not doing her waistband any favors.  And then, they soon moved to the bedroom.  He’d spent the whole night with her – again.

It was wonderful, but it kind of niggled at her that she didn’t know where it was going.  He’d made it clear that he didn’t want people to know at work, and okay, yeah, after the first worry of rejection, she whole-heartedly agreed with that. 
She didn’t want to be known as the office slut!
  Well, actually, the nympho in her was a little titillated by the idea, but no, she didn’t want that. 
Surely that role was already taken by Isis, she thought viciously.

Erin squawked, instinctively covering herself as the shower curtain was thrown back with gusto.

Gunner, in all his acres of nude glory, grinned at her in a predatory manner – all teeth and lusty eyes.  She almost swooned at his deliciously naked body.  It really wasn’t fair that he was so naturally gorgeous.

He raked his eyes up and down her form.  “No need to cover up, I’ve seen it all before.”

“But not in the harsh light of day,” she mumbled holding a sponge over her sex.

Gunner clucked his tongue.  “Oh, babe, you’ve no idea how beautiful you are, do you?”

Erin gave a half-embarrassed shake of her head.  That was not a question she got asked often, or ever, even.

“Good.”

She blinked at him as he stepped into her small shower, crowding her.  “What?”

“Good, I don’t want you to know how beautiful you are.  Once you realize, who knows how long it is before you’re skipping off into the sunset with some asshole wolf shifter or worse, a damn cat shifter.  Horny bastards.”

Erin thought of the surly Cutter and the slimy Diaz and shuddered.  “Not likely.”

“Hmmm, well just in case, I better not pay you too many compliments.” 

“I don’t think there’s any danger of that,” she murmured, ignoring the heat seeping from his solid body into hers.  Moisture was starting to pool between her legs and, yep, the nympho in her had officially woken up and decided she wanted a repeat of the previous night.  Erin scolded her for being greedy. 
Surely she’d had enough last night!

“Hey, babe,” he crooned as he pushed his body closer to her, crushing her against the cool tiled wall; she shivered but soon warmed under his hot skin.  “All joking aside, I never met a woman I found more attractive.”

“Puh-lease,” she muttered.

He hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her head to look at him.  “You think I’m kidding?” he asked in a surprisingly harsh tone.

His eyes were dark, brown pools.  Oh, his animal must have been close to the surface. 
Yikes, that sent electric arousal coursing right through her.

Erin sighed, she didn’t want to tell him how she really felt, but she wasn’t one for lying.  Evading the truth, however, was another matter.  “I think men would say anything to get what they want,” she admitted.

Gunner let out an impatient grunt.  “Fuck, Erin, don’t throw me into the same category as any of the assholes you dated before me.  They weren’t even fit to kiss your feet.”

“You don’t even know them.”  Although she was secretly pleased, and not above agreeing with that sentiment.

He ran his hands down her sides, teasing her skin with his deceptively soft touch.  “I know no one is good enough for my psychic princess.”

“Princess, hmmm?”

“Yep.”  He nodded seriously before his mouth twisted into a smirk.  “Besides, I don’t have to flatter you to get into your tight little panties; I’m pretty sure I'd just have to wink, and you’d jump right into my arms.”

“Ugh!  You are unbelievable!”

He puffed out his chest.  “Yeah, I’m pretty sure you screamed that last night.  By now I’m guessing everyone else in the building knows.”

Double ugh!

Erin playfully slapped at him, and he pulled her up his body, pinning her against the wall with his hips, his manhood throbbing between them.  She wrapped her legs around him, and he laced his fingers with hers, pushing her hands back against the wall.

“I don’t think this shower was built for two,” she said wiggling her hips.

“I’m sure we can manage,” he groaned.

“Not when one of the two is enormous,” she added as his tongue swept up her neck, eliciting a tremor from her sensitive body.

“You flatter me, princess.”

“That’s not exactly what I meant… although it’s true.”

She dug her heels into his taut buttocks, trying to pull him even closer to her.  He obliged by grinding himself against her.  Damn, her arousal was blossoming at an alarming rate; she might just come from this.

“Didn’t I tire you out last night?” he asked amusedly.

“Not likely,” she breathed, pushing herself against him, rubbing the tight buds of her nipples against his chest.

His manhood swelled even harder against her.  A deep growl vibrated through his chest.  He let go of one of her hands, and just as quickly caught it with his other.  His free hand reached between them, brushing against her clit before he aligned their sexes.

“Well then, I must try harder,” he whispered as he drove inside her. 

He took her to the hilt in one, and she let out a strangled moan verging on a gasp.  Yes, this is what she needed.  To be filled impossibly full by this man, this bear. 

Gunner stilled for a few moments, a happy expression on his face.  “Oh, Erin, you are amazing.”

He stooped to kiss her quickly before he started his pleasurable assault on her body.  He snaked his hips up and down, thrusting and crashing into her body, mercilessly rubbing against her tender nub.  It was almost too much for her; the pleasure he effortlessly wrung from her body was almost overwhelming.

Erin twisted and turned, trying to free her hands from his steely grip, but he held her tightly.  One hand captured her wrists; the other grasped the soft flesh of her thigh, and his hips trapped her against the wall.

As her orgasm neared, pleasure hurtling through her body, she needed to touch him, to caress him, to show him how she felt, to try and give him back some of the wonderful feelings he incited in her.

Instinct took over, and she smoothed her tongue over his neck, sucking and tasting him.  He let out a soft snarl and sped up his movements. 
Oh, he likes that
.  Emboldened, she started nipping and biting at his flesh and soon he was calling her name with every plunge inside her body. 

Feeling herself near, Erin bit his neck with as much force as she could.  Gunner threw back his head and roared as he exploded inside her.  She latched onto his neck, feeling the throb of his pulse, as she reached her own climax.  Her body rippled around him as ecstasy soared through her.

Gunner freed her hands, and she gratefully wrapped her arms around his body, clinging to him for all she was worth.  He did the same, almost crushing her to him.

“Holy hell…” he breathed.

She seconded that.

*

“Jessie texted; she found a club that she thinks fits the description you gave of your vision."

Jeez, does that squirrel never sleep?
  She was a small ball of efficiency and made Erin feel increasingly lazy.  Jessie was probably diligently working while she allowed herself to be ravished by a bear.

Gunner shut off his phone.  "Cutter’s on his way there; we should join him.”

Erin pulled on a light blue shirt and almost mewled in pleasure when he stared at her with frank appreciation. 

“Hmmm.”

Gunner raised an eyebrow.  “Not a fan of the wolf shifter?”

“More like he’s not a fan of me,” she muttered.

The wolf had a major chip on his shoulder about her, and she had no idea why.  It wasn’t her fault she was born human and, therefore, was physically weaker than the rest of the team.  Just like it wasn’t his fault that he was born a wolf and, therefore, more of a dickhead than the rest of the team. 
Oh, she liked this emerging inner bitch.

“He’s a grouchy asshole.  Give him time, he’ll soon warm up.”

Erin pursed her lips doubtfully. 
Although she definitely agreed about the asshole part
.

Gunner pulled a shirt over his head, and she almost sighed; it was such a shame to cover up all those exquisite pectorals.  He’d had the foresight to keep a change of clothes in his car.  The prude in her had wanted to be outraged that he just assumed he would get lucky and would be invited for a sleepover.  However, the nympho had practically jumped up and down in excitement, and these days, her voice was much louder.

“He’s actually quite a fun guy when he lets loose,” continued the man mountain, running his big hands through his hair.

Ugh, thinking about the snarky wolf shifter – way to douse a good mood.

“Whenever that happens,” she muttered petulantly. 

Cutter still looked at her like he wanted to eat her, and not in the good way that Gunner did.  Not that she would want that from Cutter.  No, she couldn’t imagine being with anyone other than her polar bear.

“I don’t know, he almost wet himself laughing after Avery and Isis got into a cat fight over the last bag of salted nuts at the bar a couple of months ago.  They turned into their cats and everything.”

Erin looked away from him quickly, biting her lip and remembering what Isis had told her.  Lord, just the mention of the cat tied her up in knots. 
Would she really be able to hold onto him when Isis was vying for his affection?
  A puny human with an excess of curves compared to a lithe, beautiful tiger shifter who had just the right amount of curves? 
There was no contest! 

On the plus side, Erin had managed to refrain from doing something completely off-kilter in front of Gunner yet.  Yep, she’d managed to avoid waking up screaming bloody murder after a nightmare and completely avoided having to interact with some pissed off ghosts in front of him.  It was the ghosts that sent her last boyfriend running for the hills.  Nobody wanted their girlfriend having an argument with an imaginary person in the middle of a Stop ‘N’ Go while shopping for toilet paper.  It wasn’t Erin’s fault that the woman had been crushed by some falling tins of kidney beans, but because Erin was the only person who could see her, she got the brunt of the woman’s anger.

Gunner placed a finger under her chin, and directed her face back to his.  “What’s with the big, sad eyes?”

“Nothing,” she replied unenthusiastically.

“Erin,” he growled impatiently.  “Don’t lie to me.”

She let out a sigh. 
How could she say this without sounding needy?

“I know about you and Isis and I’m worried that you’re going to leave me to be with her.”

She buried her face in her hands. 
Yep, she may have missed subtle and calm by just a smidge.

To make matters worse, Gunner chuckled.  No, not just chuckled, she would go so far as to say laughed uproariously.

“You think this is funny?” she griped.

Why did he find her uncontrollable mouth so hilarious?  It was humiliating.

“Yeah, babe, you’re too cute.”

Cute?!
  Her nympho fumed. 

“There’s nothing between me and Isis.  We slept together a few times, but there’s nothing there.”

“So you admit you slept with her?” she asked quietly. 

Gunner hunched his shoulders in a ‘so what’ motion.  “Of course, why wouldn’t I?”

Oh, no here it comes, that question her big, fat mouth was desperate to ask.  “Was it good?” 
Ugh, why did she want to know that?

He looked torn between mirth and frustration.  “You really want to know whether I enjoyed having sex with another woman?”

“Seeing as you’re so blasé about it, why not?” 

In her old Gunner-free world, sex was just something done in the dark, and you never talked about it afterwards.  But then, she was loosening up quite a lot.  She’d just had sex with her bear lover during the day!  And in a shower! 
She was feeling mighty loose at that moment!