Bear's Claim (Bear Heat Book 3) (3 page)

It didn't bother her.

Some people were lucky. Some
weren't.

That was just the way things
were.

So she wasn't going to kid
herself. Being unlucky in love didn't mean that she couldn't have
fun. No moping around for her. She would just go out and have a
good time. And a good lay.

She was a grown woman. She
could go out and get her itch scratched sometimes by a real, live
male. Her vibrator kept her company most nights, but sometimes she
just wanted to hold a live, warm body in her arms and feel, well,
less alone in her bed.

She wasn't looking for love.
She wasn't a sucker for pain.

Love had a way of morphing
into heartbreak in her hands.

So.

She would just go out, live
life, have her fun, take her pleasure. Some nights, she got lucky
and the pleasure she got was way off the charts.

Aubrey released another
quiet, shuddering sigh.

So this was just one of those
nights. One of those lucky nights.

And Thor had just been one of
those warm bodies that vanished when morning came around.

Aubrey turned towards the
window and stared out at the pitch black sky. There wasn't even the
faintest light in the sky. Dawn was still hours away, yet Thor was
already gone from her bed. He had simply left without a sound,
without a kiss, probably without even a backward glance in the middle
of the night. Leaving her feeling oddly angry...and hurt.

Aubrey scowled at the
ceiling.

It was a one night stand.
Nothing more. So why did she want more? She should be glad and
relieved, shouldn't she?

She had always hated the
awkward small talk in the morning. Sometimes she couldn't even
remember their names. The men would be equally awkward 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, naked, writhing and moaning beneath him.

Her beautiful, dark skin was
gleaming with sweat and there was a look of sheer ecstasy and bliss
on her face. She was so hot and sweet, and utterly, fuckingly
amazing.

He had taken her again and
again, pushing them both over the edge as they clung to each other.

He had wanted to be inside
her forever, sheathed in her tight, slick heat. He could still feel
her, taste her, smell her. Every inch of her lush, curvy body felt
and tasted like heaven under his hands and mouth.

It had taken every ounce of
his will and resolve to force his bear back, and stop himself from
claiming and marking her. He gave her what she wanted, what they
both wanted, but he couldn't make her his. Walking away from her was
the hardest thing he had ever done.

He had pulled the covers
tenderly over her shoulders and tucked her in after he slipped out of
her bed. She looked so beautiful, with her black curls framing her
face as she slept. Her full lips were slightly parted, and she let
out a cute little snore as he bent to kiss her.

Forget me, Aubrey.

Letting her go was the right
thing to do. He could leave, but he would never forget her.

It was impossible.

She was already inside him,
in his heart, a part of his soul.

There was some laughter and
chatter around the table, and Thor forcibly pushed away his thoughts
and memories of Aubrey. His claws stabbed into his palms as he
swallowed the lingering taste of her on his lips and tongue.

Taking a few painful breaths,
he forced his head back in the game. He had to quit thinking of her.
He had to stop wanting her and aching for her.

He would throw himself into
his work, into danger, and work tirelessly to take down the rest of
the underground crime gangs in the city.

No peace for the wicked. No
rest for the good.

Thor turned to scan his
fellow Black Bears in the meeting room. They were just shooting the
crap, telling jokes and issuing dares to one another. The Black
Bears Group was a cohesive, well-oiled, frighteningly efficient
security machine. They worked so well together because of their
camaraderie and unity. They trusted one another with their lives.

Thor listened to Baxter's
corny joke and found himself chuckling as a collective groan rose.
He missed his bears, his buddies more than he realized. He missed
their boisterous ribbing and wisecracks. He was seriously glad to be
back with his clan and colleagues. He just wished he could have
her
in his life as well.

Thor frowned as he watched
Baxter tilt his chair back at a precarious angle and balance it only
on two legs. How the hell did he do that? The sturdy little chair
creaked and groaned under Baxter's massive frame, but didn't crumble
into splinters. The chair didn't fall over despite the constant
rocking and swaying. Thor raised a brow, impressed with Baxter's
uncanny sense of balance.

“...and when another
cowboy walks into the bar, the lumberjack turns to the soldier and
says...”

Baxter threw out his hands to
gesture excitedly as he delivered the punchline. His chair wobbled
back a few inches as Baxter slapped his thigh and guffawed at his own
joke. “Ha ha ha, good one, eh?”

The other team leaders rolled
their eyes and offered up their own punchlines. Across the table,
Paige balled up a piece of paper and lobbed it at Baxter.

“Hey, hey, watch it...”
Baxter flailed to regain his balance.

Thor's hand shot out and he
caught the back of Baxter's chair to stop the big guy from crashing
to the floor.

“Thanks,” Baxter
huffed, glaring at Paige.

The door opened and Baxter
righted his chair immediately. Ethan strode in and took his seat at
the head of the long table.

The Black Bears Alpha nodded
at his team leaders and said without preamble, “I've just got a
call from the Deputy Police Commissioner. He wants our help in an
investigation.”

“What will we be
investigating, Alpha?” Baxter leaned forward.

Ethan paused before replying,
“A murder.”

“Who's the victim?”
Thor asked.

“A senior cop. Walter
Nguyen's body, or rather what's left of it, was found in his bed.”

Thor started at the name of
the victim.

The name was familiar. Thor
pressed his fist to his chin, trying to place the name.

His eyes widened suddenly.
He knew who Walter was.

CHAPTER
SIX

There were murmurs round the
table. Baxter turned to say something to him, but Thor wasn't
listening.

Thor looked up abruptly and
said, “Walter Nguyen. He's the new chief of C-18.”

Ethan nodded grimly. “C-18
is the task force that's been newly set up to deal with organized
crime in the city. Walter Nguyen has just been transferred from the
violent crimes unit to head C-18.”

“And now he's dead,”
Baxter said, blowing out a breath. “I think I know who did
it.”

“Ray Shapez has been
caught and most of his lieutenants have been rounded up. This has to
be the work of one of the smaller gangs,” Paige spoke up. “But
which gang? Who could have ordered the hit?”

“That's what we have to
find out. At this stage, we don't know if the murder is gang-related
or not. Walter wasn't shot execution-style. The Mob would have shot
him through the head to send a message.” Ethan shook his head
and opened the file in front of him. “The police wants us to
help investigate Walter's murder.”

“Us?” Baxter
frowned. “Why us? Don't the police want to catch the sick
perverts themselves and avenge their comrade? Walter was one of
them, a police officer...”

“Yes. The murdered
person was a police officer. But...trust is a rare commodity these
days. There is fear and suspicion up and down the ranks. As you
know, as everyone knows, there are crooked cops, cops on the take,
moles, spies, informants. There are moles in the force. Moles for
the mob and who knows which other clandestine organization. No one
knows who to trust,” Ethan said.

“But they trust us,”
Dylan said with a smirk.

“The Black Bears have
never given our clients and our city a reason not to trust us,”
Ethan stated matter-of-factly.

“How was Walter Nguyen
killed?” Thor said, staring straight at his Alpha. “Was
he shot in the heart, in the stomach…?”

“He wasn't shot at all.
There's not a single bullet in his body.”

“Stabbed? Strangled?”
Dylan supplied.

“No.”

“Beheaded?”
Baxter suggested. “One of the mob bosses once sent the head of
his enemy's wife to him in a gift-wrapped box.”

The Black Bears fell silent
as their Alpha looked each of them in the eye. “Walter's body
was torn open, and his internal organs were...eaten.”