Bear Next Door (Shifter Protection Agency Book 1) Page 6

  “Fuck,” he sighed, hands reaching to grasp at her long dark hair, not daring to pull but wanting something to ground him whilst her hot wet mouth consumed him. Laura took his cock into her mouth and hummed, sending sparks of pleasure up his body and he whimpered, trying to keep his voice down and failing.

  “Such a sweet little mouth,” he ground out, hips starting to stutter in little aborted thrusts. Laura looked up at him through her lashes and Sam bit his lip. It was too much, the hot sticky heat of the aquarium around them combined with the thrill that at any moment, someone could walk past and see them like this… “Laura, I’m gonna- oh god - I’m gonna cum.” Her hands tightened around his hips and scraped her teeth ever so slightly down the underside of his cock. Sam saw stars, cumming with a low groan down Laura’s throat, feeling it bob as she swallowed around him.

  The moment she sat back, Sam pulled her up, licking hungrily into her mouth. It tasted bitter and salted but he ignored it, needing to have her close.

  “That was incredible,” he said breathlessly. “Fuck me.”

  “Glad I could oblige,” Laura replied naughtily. They were startled by a sudden announcement over the PA.

  Ladies and gentlemen, the aquarium is now closed. Please make your way to the front exit. We will reopen tomorrow at ten am.

  They looked at each other with wide eyes and then broke into laughter. Laura grabbed his hand and together they ran for the exit.

  I think I might be in love, Sam thought giddily, squeezing the hand held tightly in his.

  11

  Laura

  Laura knew, distantly, that this was a bad idea. She wasn’t a police officer after all, no matter how often she’d wished for it when she was a kid and this whole situation was bound to wind up either with her going to jail or, at the very least, would be a colossal waste of time.

  The forest was quiet around her and she stopped for a few moments to appreciate the sounds of rushing water in the distance and the smell of the dirt under her feet. She missed spending time in the woods. Back in Dallas, she’d spent so much time out in Trinity forest, climbing trees and reading amongst the branches. There was something so calming about them, like she was completely hidden from the rest of the world.

  Her phone buzzed in her hand, telling her she was almost there and she pushed on through the trees. When the foliage started to bend and sway in all directions, she knew she’d arrived. There was no police tape anywhere which she found strange but she supposed in the middle of the woods, preserving a crime scene was quite difficult. They’d probably taken everything they could already.

  Laura wasn’t even sure what specifically she was looking for… Tracks, maybe? A telling blood spatter somehow missed by the police? She scoffed to herself and then something caught her eye about a yard or so away from her. Laura moved forward and crouched down to check.

  It looked like fog; a fine mist trailing over the ground, but it only reached the edge of the treeline before disappearing. No fade, no streaks; it was like it hit a wall. It was also green which just made Laura more confused. What could it possibly be made from? She wracked her brain, mentally running through the list of chemical compounds in her mind. Nearly translucent, bright, almost neon green in color… She drew a blank. As far as she could remember, such a compound didn’t exist. She pulled her backpack off and brought out a small plastic bag, scooping at the air almost like she was trying to catch a fish.

  Once the bag was filled with the swirling smoke, she tucked it away and made to stand up before a flash of blue caught her eye. It was a cap, hidden under the leaves of a nearby shrub. It looked familiar. Laura turned it over in her hands. There was a little picture of a whale on the back and something clicked in Laura’s mind.

  She’d seen this hat in the aquarium gift shop the night before. She’d almost bought one for Sam, convinced he could pull it off even as he laughed her off and dragged her away from the display stand. She’d also seen it on a missing persons flyer… Why would the police have left it behind?

  A twig snapped somewhere behind her and Laura jerked, stuffing the cap into her bag and sprinting back the way she came, pulse racing.

  Her front door closed behind her with a slam and Laura sank back against it, trying to calm her racing heart. Well, that was fun, she thought sarcastically. Her backpack was heavy with promise and she pushed reluctantly from the wooden door and staggered up the stairs to her room.

  Laura pulled the plastic bag out of the backpack and dropped it onto the desk in the corner of the room. There had to be something to this weird fog, she just needed to have a closer look. She pulled her old microscope down from its shelf and set it up with practiced ease, months of biology classes having ingrained the method into her brain.

  Fog was made up of water vapor, obviously, and sometimes there were pollutants in it if the fog came from a very populated area but Laura didn’t see any of that through the microscope. What she could see was specks of what looked like dirt but moved and contorted like it was alive. It was like nothing she’d ever seen before.

  Beside her, Laura’s phone rang and she scrambled to answer it, leaning back in her chair.

  “Hello?”

  “Laura.” Sam’s voice made her smile and she stood up, strange mist momentarily forgotten. “Are you busy tonight?”

  He still sounded nervous, like he had to worry about Laura saying no.

  “Free as a bird,” she assured him, dropping down onto her bed and lying on her back.

  “Good, ‘cause I was wondering if you wanted to meet my family?” Laura froze, a stammered string of nonsense spilling from her lips before she could stop it. Sam quickly pressed on. “Not as, like, a thing, you know… It's just we’re all going out drinking tonight and I wondered if you wanted to come along?”

  Laura’s mind was still racing. Calm down, she scolded herself, it’s drinks with friends, you wanted more friends in town and he’s offering for you to meet his, so calm the fuck down. But they weren’t just friends. Axel, Even and William were like brothers to him…

  “I’d love to,” she said eventually, proud of herself for not sounding too nervous.

  Sam looked terrified – as if he was the one that needed to be worried. Laura felt like she was about to throw up. It was ridiculous, she shouldn’t be so nervous to meet three guys, especially given how fondly Sam had talked about them.

  The three men were sitting at the same table where Laura had first seen them that first night, a round of beers already in front of them. Sam took her hand and led her over, pulling over an extra chair so she could sit next to William who smiled kindly as they sat down.

  “Alright, guys? This is Laura.” Laura’s leg jogged under the table. “I’m gonna go grab us some drinks – what do you want, sweetheart?” I should probably stick to something non-alcoholic so I don’t make a huge fool of myself…but then again…

  “I’ll take a gin and tonic.” Fuck it.

  Sam got to his feet with a two-finger salute and left for the bar, leaving Laura alone with his three friends, all of whom were looking at her with varying degrees of interest.

  “So, Laura,” Axel leaned forward across the table, blond hair falling across his forehead and blue eyes shining. What are your intentions toward my brother? What makes you think you’re good enough for Sam? You got a sister? “Did he make the first move or did you?”

  Laura paused. She wasn’t expecting that.

  “It’s just,” Axel continued, side-eyeing the other two at the table, “we made a bet.”

  Laura let out a startled laugh. “You what?”

  “I think he had the balls to make the moves on you,” William offered from beside her.

  “And we think there’s no way in hell and you had to do it,” Even finished, taking a long swig of his beer.

  “So please put us out of our misery,” Axel said cheerfully.

  “Uh…I did,” she said uncertainly. Axel and Even cheered, clinking their glasses together while William dug aro
und for his wallet, shaking his head. Twenty bucks each, Laura noticed with a grin. I feel like I should be offended.

  Sam sat back down a few seconds later.

  “What did I miss?” he asked, sliding Laura’s gin and tonic over to her. She took a sip, savoring the sharp taste as she swallowed.

  “Apparently, you’re a coward and your girlfriend had to make all the moves,” William said breezily, not taking his eye off the drinks menu in front of him. Sam’s eyes narrowed.

  “You take that back. Laura, don’t listen to a single word they say.”

  “I mean, they are right,” she pointed out teasingly. “A whole week we were flirting and it took me climbing into your lap for you to make a move.” The three other men burst out laughing at the indignant look on Sam’s face.

  “Oh, I like this one!” William said. Laura kissed Sam’s temple, all her worry fading.

  Three rounds of drinks later, they walked along the road back to their houses hand in hand. Laura was still buzzing from the alcohol and she felt warm, a permanent smile on her face. She’d had a blast, laughing and joking like she’d known them for years.

  “I can see why you like them so much,” she said into the night air, watching her breath steam out in front of her like smoke. Sam let out an exasperated sigh but his smile was fond.

  “They’re idiots,” he replied. Laura laughed. “They liked you.”

  “I’m glad, I was worried they’d tell you to never see me again.” Sam swung their hands between them as they walked and smiled at her.

  “Nah, they’d never do that. They know I love you-” He stopped, his face turning an adorable shade of pink. “Wait- I-”

  Laura felt her heart swell, tears gathering in the corner of her eyes. God, I’m drunk. She wiped at her eyes and went up on her tiptoes, losing her balance and nearly pulling them both over. Sam wrapped his arms around her waist to steady her and Laura pulled him down for a kiss.

  “I love you too,” she whispered when she pulled away. “So fucking much.”

  12

  Sam

  When Sam awoke the next morning, he was practically vibrating with excitement. It was still early, the sun hadn’t risen and the room was still veiled in darkness but he couldn’t get back to sleep no matter how hard he tried, replaying the events of the night before over and over in his head like a favorite film. He’d been nervous; Laura was quickly growing into one of the most important people in his life but his friends, his brothers, they were his life. They were the people he could rely on, the people who kept him sane and helped him through every problem he’d encountered in his life. They were also giant assholes but there was little Sam could do to change that this long into their friendship. And he didn’t want to.

  Laura fit in well with them, kept up with their jokes, and Sam could tell the boys liked her judging by the way they sent him thumbs up and waggling eyebrows whenever her back was turned. All his life, Sam had had a weird outlook on family. His parents were gone; hunted by humans when he was a teenager, and the agency was the closest thing he’d had to a home after that, full of brooding shifters and training regimes designed to turn him and his friends into the best, most powerful shifters in the state. Sam appreciated David and everything he’d done for him – he could certainly call it love – but it still felt odd sometimes…having a family again. And for Laura to slip into that dynamic so seamlessly? Something warm fluttered in Sam’s chest and he beamed up at his ceiling, waiting for the sun to rear its head so he had an excuse to see Laura again.

  Laura loved him. Sam was giddy with it – she loved him. He hadn’t meant to say it, he knew it was probably too soon into their relationship for such a huge step but he couldn’t help it. Whenever he was around her, his bear sang in contentment, feeling more at peace than he ever had. She was his mate, she had to be and Sam didn’t know how he knew but he did. The word fit the endless calm and warmth in his chest when Laura smiled at him from behind her glasses or laid a gentle hand on his arm.

  He was up by the end of the first ring of his alarm, pulling on clothes and bounding down the stairs and out into the garden like an excitable dog.

  Laura’s balcony door was open and Sam could hear her humming as she moved around the room. Whilst he didn’t recognize the song, the melody made him smile and he listened for a few moments longer before calling out to her. When she poked her head out of the door and spotted him, she grinned.

  “You better not start quoting Shakespeare.” She was wearing nothing but a thin tank top and small sleep shorts. Sam knew the telltale tug of arousal as he felt his pants tightening. He rested against the brick of his house and gazed up at her, arms crossed casually.

  “Oh you mean like ‘But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east and Juliet is the sun’?”

  “I’m surprised you actually know that.”

  “I’ll have you know the boys and I put on Shakespeare plays all the time when we were younger.”

  “Who was Juliet?”

  “Me, obviously,”

  Laura laughed, eyes crinkling up cutely and she shook her head in mirth. Sam’s pride swelled, he loved making her laugh.

  “You gonna let me in?” he asked teasingly. “I was thinking I could give you the official tour of Mystic!” Laura rubbed at her chin, pretending to think about it before sticking out her tongue and disappearing into her room. Sam strained his bear hearing, listening to the sound of her footsteps on the stairs and made his way around to the front door just as it opened and Laura looked out at him.

  “Morning,” she said sweetly, getting on tiptoes to press a kiss to his lips. She tasted like coffee and sleep and Sam suddenly wished he could have spent the night with her.

  “Morning,” he returned, slipping an arm around her waist to keep her against his chest for a few extra moments before letting her go and gesturing over her shoulder. “Ready to let me see the bombsite?”

  “I’ll have you know it’s more like a mall storeroom now,” she said indignantly, but she motioned for him to follow her inside anyway.

  She hadn’t been exaggerating about the mess – a lot of the boxes had been opened, a fair effort had obviously been made to unpack, but it was like she’d gotten halfway through a box and gotten distracted.

  “It’s terrible, I know,” Laura said, picking her way across the floor and up to her room which was, thankfully, a lot more tidy.

  “It’s really not that bad.” She cast him a dubious look and Sam laughed. “Okay, it’s kind of bad but it’s sweet, you’re like a toddler with a bunch of new toys.” He dropped down onto the edge of her unmade bed and pulled her down into his lap with a yelp, her hands gripping his shoulders so as not to lose her balance.

  She giggled and Sam reached up to swallow the sound with his lips. He didn’t think he could ever get tired of this. His hand rested below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled. Laura’s hands skimmed down his back, dipping under the hem and tracing little circles on the hollow.

  They kissed for what felt like hours and Sam only pulled back when he ran out of breath. He looked at Laura spread out over his lap, squirming in those little sleep shorts and let out a groan. His eyes traveled over slowly, noting the way she leaned back, thighs tightening around his hips to keep herself upright, inviting him to look. Her skin was flushed, making him want to trail kisses over every inch of her, pull those high gasping whines from her throat. He watched the way her chest rose and fell rapidly, and could hear her pulse like a hummingbird. He looked up to meet her eyes and let out a chuckle.

  “Your glasses are fogged up,” he said, infinitely fond. Laura let out a breathless laugh and made a big show of pushing the frames up her nose with one finger. Sam reeled her back in, content with the thought that they probably wouldn’t make it out of bed for the rest of the day, when there was a knock at the front door.

  Laura sighed above him and started to get up. Sam growled half-heartedly, nuzzling her stomach.


  “Don’t get it,” he whined, well aware of how childish he sounded and Laura ran a hand through his hair but continued pulling back.

  “Whoever it is, I’ll get rid of them,” she promised, pressing a bruising kiss to his lips and sauntering out of the room.

  Sam lay back on her bed, an arm behind his head and listened as Laura descended the stairs. She was humming again, the same song and Sam found himself humming along with every second note. A pleasant sort of calm washing over him.

  And then Laura screamed.

  Sam was up in an instant, halfway down the stairs before he even realized he had moved. He skidded to a stop at the bottom of the steps, momentarily thrown by what exactly it was he was looking at.

  Laura was pressed up against the wall by the front door, feet dangling nearly three inches off the ground by what Sam could only describe as an honest-to-god werewolf. He’d been taught about werewolves, the closest humans had gotten to describing their kind with any sort of accuracy. This one was exactly as they’d been described: hunkered down on two legs, fur patchy and worn, barely covering the stretched pink skin and bones underneath. Saliva speckled with blood dripped down their faces. Its arms were long and gnarled, claws the size of carving knives. And they were inches from the pale skin of Laura’s neck.

  Sam’s bear hollered and he sprang forward, barreling into the thing and sending it and Laura tumbling across the floor. Sam took one of Laura’s hands in his, pulling her as gently as he could to stand behind him. Her face was a mask of shock, tears silently pouring down her face as she stared wide-eyed at the monster before them. A sound from the open front door and another creature stepped over the threshold – smaller but somehow, more hideous-looking than its packmate.