Bear Next Door (Shifter Protection Agency Book 1) Read online

  And then nothing will be able to stop us.

  9

  Laura

  Laura stirred as sunlight hit her closed eyelids. Stupid fucking curtainless window. She groaned loudly and turned over to bury her head in the pillow, trying to sink back down into the blissful darkness of sleep but it was no use, she was awake.

  With a huff, she opened one eye and was met with Sam’s sleeping face inches from her own. He looked different in his sleep – softer. There was a light dusting of freckles over his nose that she hadn’t noticed before, and she leaned in to trace a fingertip lightly over them, skimming over the bridge of his nose.

  She allowed herself a small blissful smile at the way Sam’s face scrunched up and he shuffled even closer, throwing a warm arm around Laura’s waist and pulling her to him. It was like nothing she could describe, she felt safe with him. Safe from what, Laura didn’t know, but she loved it. She wormed her way to press her lips against the soft skin of Sam’s throat, closed her eyes, and let her thoughts drift.

  She’d reluctantly left the bed to give the repairman her key, blushing like crazy to find out he’d been sat on her doorstep for twenty minutes. He’d waved off her apologies with a knowing smile and told her he’d leave her key under her doormat if she wanted to get back to having a good time. Sam, who had been leaning against his door frame, looking absolutely delicious in only a low-riding pair of sweatpants, had nearly doubled over with laughter and shouted his thanks as he dragged her back to bed for round two.

  Laura let herself bask in the golden glow of the early morning light, content to feel Sam’s arms around her and hear the adorable sleepy little noises he occasionally let out. She was just contemplating whether leaving the heavenly warmth to pee would really be worth it when Sam shifted in her arms. Laura shut her eyes, feigning sleep. If she wasn’t awake, she didn’t have to move.

  “I know you’re awake.” God, why does his voice have to be so low and sexy? She kept her eyes closed but couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped her mouth. “Oh, well,” Sam continued, running a hand through her hair softly, “Guess I only need to grab one cup of coffee in that case…” Laura felt him start to get up to go downstairs and she whined, tightening her hold on him, and Sam laughed. “I take it you’d like a cup?”

  Laura raised her head to gaze sweetly at him.

  “You, me, this bed, and coffee? Yes please.”

  Sam pressed a kiss to her temple, making her sigh contentedly and got up.

  She watched him go, settling back in the bed with nothing but the bedsheet covering her and the second the door closed, she shot to the bathroom to pee.

  By the time Laura had returned from the bathroom and slipped one of Sam’s shirts over her head, stopping to inhale his smell from the fabric, he was setting down two steaming mugs of coffee and a half-empty box of pizza down on the bedside table.

  “Breakfast?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

  Sam shrugged, sliding back under the covers and pressing his freezing cold feet into her thigh.

  “I wasn’t kidding when I said I can’t cook.” He took a slice from the box and held it out to her. “Bon appetit.”

  “Oh, this is really good,” she said after taking a tentative bite.

  “I know, right? Nothing better than cold pizza.”

  They ate slowly, neither of them in any hurry to leave the comfort of the bed. The sun continued to rise, shining through the window and illuminating the room with a golden glow. When the box was empty, Laura leaned back on the bed, licking the grease from her fingers.

  “So, what do you have to do today?” she asked.

  Sam collapsed back next to Laura, propping his head on his hand to watch her.

  “Nothing until seven and not for long…” he rolled over, scooping her into his arms, and Laura squealed with breathless laughter. “Stay in bed with me?” Laura looped her arms around his shoulders, wanting him closer and grinned up at him.

  “I was about to say have fun trying to move me.” She kissed him, licking into his mouth. He tasted like pizza and sleep and Laura loved it. She pulled back, looking up into his eyes.

  “Wanna watch X Files?” he asked.

  “Oh, fuck yeah!”

  Lunchtime found them in Sam’s kitchen, Sam leaning back on the countertop whilst Laura made French toast.

  “I’ve never had someone cook for me before,” he said, pushing off the counter to wrap his arms around her.

  “Well, now you have me,” she responded firmly, pressing the spatula down onto the frying bread. Maybe I could start looking into more recipes? It would be better than ordering takeout every day... “Though this is the only thing I can make, so I hope you’re ready to get creative with the toppings.” His hand slid up her leg, skimming under the fabric of the shirt to brush at the sensitive skin at the top of her thigh, and she had to take a minute to close her eyes and just breathe. “I will burn down your kitchen if you don’t stop that,” she warned, leaning her head back on his shoulder. He hummed into the back of her head and reluctantly pulled back. Laura tried not to chase the sensation.

  Once she’d finished the food, Sam grabbed two sets of cutlery. They looked at each other for a long moment.

  “Back to bed? It’s only...” She glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. “Three-thirty?” Sam looked from the clock back to her and nodded solemnly.

  “I’ll make some more coffee.”

  “You’re a doctor, right?”

  They were tucked up against the headboard, Sam’s laptop open in front of them. Sam raised an eyebrow at her.

  “So good of you to remember,” he monotoned. She shoved him in the side, waving her phone around with the other hand. She knew she was running the risk of ruining the bubble of bliss they were in but she couldn’t help herself. There had been another attack during the night and Laura was curious. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell Sam about her research papers, she’d lost count of the number of people she’d told who had called her crazy and she couldn’t take that from Sam. Not when she already liked him this much.

  “I mean, what area are you in? Do you know anything about the attacks recently?” She showed him the phone, watching his face as he scanned the screen. Why does he look so tense? she wondered. It’s like he freaks out every time I mention his work.

  “I never worked in the morgue or anything,” he said, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. “I heard about a few of the bodies; apparently they were all classified as animal attacks.” He handed the phone back to her. “It’s awful isn’t it?”

  Laura nodded, though she was somewhat distracted. It just didn’t add up. Bears never attacked this viciously and definitely not this constantly in the same area. There had to be something else going on.

  “You okay, Laura?” Sam’s voice had a note of worry and Laura snapped herself out of her thoughts, pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

  “I’m fine, just thinking.”

  Sam sighed, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “I have to get ready for work,” he whispered sadly. Laura pouted, setting aside thoughts of her papers to climb into Sam’s lap and wind her hands around his neck.

  “Does that mean I have to get out of bed?”

  “I’m afraid so.” He smiled at her, looking a little apprehensive. “I know we’re doing this a bit backward but…” he slipped his hands around her waist, playing with the t-shirt nervously. “Would you want to go out with me tonight? I’ll only be a few hours and there’s an aquarium nearby if you like the sound of that, or we could go for dinner – I know a few places that do some really good-”

  “You babble,” she interrupted, loving the blush that crept up his face. “You know that?” Her heart was racing and she surged forward to kiss him. How can a man be so perfect?

  “I’ll take that as a yes?” he breathed when they parted, leaning his forehead against hers. Laura withdrew a hand to poke him in the chest.

  “You got yourself a date, mister. And be warned; I
am gonna romance the fuck out of you with my sexy underwear.”

  10

  Sam

  Sam was directed down one of the long hallways in the agency and into one of the main archive rooms where Axel, Even and William were waiting for him. The room was lined with bookshelves and plinths holding all manner of weird-looking witch and warlock artifacts. He clocked an odd-looking sphere in the corner of the room, levitating off of the stand it was resting on and reminded himself to go nowhere near it.

  “You’re looking pleased with yourself,” Axel said, raising an eyebrow from his place at the conference table in the center of the room. Sam tried to school his face into something less smug but physically couldn’t keep the smile off of his face.

  “Do I?” He dropped down beside Axel and rested his feet up on the table.

  “Yeah,” Even chimed in. “It’s freaking me out.”

  The teasing did nothing to deter Sam’s grin but he did send them all a half-hearted glare.

  “Okay, okay, enough about Sam’s uncharacteristic chipperness-”

  “I’m not that much of a miserable bastard!” Sam said indignantly but William simply waved him off.

  “Back to business – anyone found out anything?”

  Everyone shook their heads and William’s shoulders slumped.

  “Fucking great.”

  “Stella and I spoke to every witch and warlock she could think of. Most of them laughed us off and the few that would talk to us didn’t know a goddamn thing.” Even rubbed at his temples, like he was suffering from the world's worst headache. “Witches are the craziest group of people I’ve ever met,” he muttered.

  “Thought you liked your women weird?” Sam interjected, hands behind his head. He grinned at the glare Even sent his way and raised an eyebrow. “What? Can’t take what you dish out?”

  “It’s pretty much the same story with us,” William said, cutting the two of them off before the conversation got any more derailed. “Everyone seems to conveniently have an alibi. For a town full of relaxed holiday-makers, everyone sure has been busy recently.”

  “So the only thing we know for sure is that it wasn’t humans and it wasn’t bears?” Even asked, unimpressed.

  “No human could do that much damage this many times and not get caught,” Sam said firmly. He knew what human beings could do – it was humans that killed his parents after all – but the carnage he’d seen in the woods couldn’t have been done by a human, not unless the Hulk had taken up residence in Mystic in the past few weeks… “And non-shifted bears aren’t aggressive enough to repeatedly attack people this close to town.”

  “The weird smell was there too,” William pointed out. “Like a bear but not… We were thinking maybe there’s some kind of shifter we haven’t come across before?”

  “Is that even possible?” Axel asked. “I don’t think any of us paid enough attention during training to know anything about subspecies of shifters, but surely David would know something about it?”

  “Not if they’re not an official species...” Even sat up straighter in his chair, eyes wide. “You said they found magic around a few of the sites, right?”

  William nodded.

  “Jonas and Daisy did, yeah.”

  Even licked his lips, deep in thought.

  “Well, what if this witch or warlock has somehow created a new sort of hybrid?”

  Sam stared, considering. If there was a new kind of shifter running around attacking humans then the whole species could be at risk. The number one rule for shifters was to never reveal their existence to humans.

  “So now we’re left with the big question,” Even said seriously, drawing Sam out of his thoughts. There was a huge smile on his face and Sam immediately knew what he was about to say. “What is happening with Sam and Laura?”

  There it is.

  Sam rolled his eyes, he’d known this was coming and honestly, he’d been expecting it before the meeting. He removed his hands from behind his head. He didn’t know what he wanted to say – he hadn’t been in a whole lot of relationships, the agency kept him pretty busy and apart from a drunken one-night stand or two after Lizzie, he’d barely thought about dating, let alone a human, but he couldn’t deny how much he liked Laura, how much he liked being with her.

  It was against every rule he’d ever been taught but looking around at the faces of his closest friends, practically brothers, he found himself wanting to tell them everything.

  “I’m…taking her out for dinner tonight?” he said, more like a question than a statement. All three of his friends looked at him with wide eyes. Sam fidgeted in his chair. “Come on, guys, it's not that bad…” Nothing. “Seriously now, you’re freaking me out.”

  “I mean,” Axel broke the silence so suddenly Sam jumped in his seat. “I didn’t think you had it in you.” He was smiling, the beginning of a tease creeping into his voice and Sam sighed internally with relief.

  “There are rules about humans knowing about shifters,” William was smiling at him but Sam could see the worry etched around his eyes.

  “I know,” Sam reassured him. “I’m being careful, we’re taking it slow.”

  “Taking it slow, my ass. You two have definitely had sex.”

  Axel laughed loudly, leaning forward in his chair.

  “What makes you say that?”

  William spread his hands wide, gesturing to Sam who was by now moving restlessly in his seat trying to hide a blush.

  “Just look at him! You remember how smug he looked – he totally got some.” They went quiet and Sam looked up to see them all studying him. Even had even gotten up from where he was sitting on the other side of the table to get a better look.

  “Fuck all of you,” he said deadpan.

  “Oh my god, he did.”

  “Congrats, little bro’!”

  “We’ll have to meet her as soon as possible, you know.”

  “Not even over my dead body.” But he was smiling, glad to have the conversation back to their usual teasing. Heart-to-heart conversations didn’t happen very often with his friends – he was starting to get uncomfortable, not knowing how to handle their sincerity.

  The aquarium reception area was painted with hundreds of brightly-colored fish and the blue water effect light shone down on Sam and Laura as they walked through the door. Laura looked breathtaking. Since when did I get so soppy? Sam thought to himself, but she really did look gorgeous and Sam found himself unable to look away from her as they queued to buy their tickets.

  The little bouquet of golden flowers he’d bought her was clasped tightly in her hands like she was scared she’d lose them and his heart ached at the thought. He paid for both of their tickets, waving away Laura’s protests and took her hand in his to lead her into the first room.

  “You can pay next time,” he promised her, feeling a rush of glee as he realized that there was going to be a next time. It was quickly followed by a rush of nervousness. He wanted to make sure he did this right but he was so out of practice...

  “I’m paying for dinner,” Laura’s smooth voice jogged him out of his thoughts and she nudged him playfully in the shoulder. Sam smiled at her. It seemed like she knew exactly what to say to calm him down.

  “Deal,” he said, linking their fingers together. “Now, wanna wow me with your fish knowledge?”

  “You know it. Prepare yourself, loverboy. I’m gonna blow your mind.”

  The air smelled salty and chlorinated and was warm against his skin and Sam had to pause to roll up the sleeves of his shirt. They fit in with the shoal of people moving along the glass walkways, stopping at every tank so Sam could quiz Laura on the different sea creatures within. Laura knew an inordinate amount about fish.

  For as long as he’d been in Mystic, Sam couldn’t remember ever going to the aquarium before. He wasn’t particularly fond of fish, which was ironic since it was his bear’s favorite food, but apart from hunting them in the local rivers, he couldn’t say he’d ever given them a second
thought. He was content to watch Laura’s eyes light up with excitement as they walked around, her adorable habit of babbling returned anew and she spouted off every thought that entered her mind and he suddenly thought about what it would be like to silence her rambling with a kiss.

  They passed a darkened corner at the back of the rainforest room and Sam did just that, dragging Laura by her wrist and pushing her up against the wall to kiss her soundly. The babbling stopped and Laura let out a little squeal in between kisses.

  “Is this your way of telling me to shut up?” she murmured hoarsely, fingers already moving to the back of his head, pulling at the strands lightly. Sam shivered at the feeling.

  “Never,” he promised. God, I never want her to stop talking. “You were just too cute not to kiss. I’m only human after all.” He almost facepalmed at that answer but Laura only chuckled into his mouth, pulling him back in for another kiss. Sam’s cock started to harden in his jeans and he gasped when Laura’s hand crept down to his waistband.

  “What are you doing?” he whispered, darting nervous glances around the room but the group of people they had ended up walking around with had long moved on and the room was now empty.

  “I’m sucking you off.” Laura’s smile was playful and she darted her tongue out to lick at her lips. “That okay with you?” Her eyes were hungry but she didn’t move, waiting for Sam to make the next move.

  “God, yes,” he groaned, eager to feel those sweet soft lips wrapped around him. She pressed one last chaste kiss to his lips and slipped out from between his arms. Sam turned with stilted movements to rest against the wall and Laura sank to her knees in front of him.

  Fuck, she’s so gorgeous. Sam’s head hit the wall with a soft thump. Dexterous fingers pulled at his pants and underwear until His cock was exposed to the room. She did nothing but stare at it for a long moment and Sam opened his mouth to beg her to do something, anything but she cut him off, leaning forward and licked a stripe from his balls to the head of his dick. Sam could do nothing but writhe, chest rising and falling rapidly.