Mine to Bear: Icy Cap Den #2 (Alaskan Den Men) (2 page)

I
t took
all of my willpower not to launch myself at Dane when he walked in the door. Too bad it wasn’t just the two of us at the inn. Even though he acts badass about denying his ice bear spirit, he is still a shifter. His strength, speed, reflexes, and stamina are paranorm. He would totally catch me if I tackled him and ran. Plus, what would follow would be great.

Unfortunately, we were not alone.

Dane had promised to interview the other bear-trap victims this morning. Never one to sit around waiting to be rescued, I was starting my own investigation and planned to interview Max and Gary. I’d known Gary my whole life, but Max’s arrival made me wonder what he knew. To be honest, they were the only other paranorms in Icy Cap proper. Everyone else was scattered deep in the tundra; paranorms love privacy.

I still walked with a slight limp from the trap. Meg’s healing vamp blood had saved my life, but a fox with a limp is no good. I hoped my foot would continue to improve, but in the meantime I was determined to find out who laid that trap for me and why—and deliver some justice.

“Need anything else?” Gary asked.

He was
so
quiet, I wished he wore a bell. Once his odor permeated a place, keeping track of his movements was impossible.

“Hey, thanks for your help. Looks like this part is all done.” I smiled at him. He couldn’t help it if he ate flesh. It’s who he was, the way a fox shifter is who I was. If Dane hadn’t spent all his energy suppressing his ice bear, he’d have been more at peace.

Ghouls are scavengers, but vamps are predators. Theoretically neither is a threat to me, because I’m a shifter. Vampires don’t like our blood. And Gary is my friend, so I’m pretty certain he won’t eat me when I die. Gary had tried going vegetarian, but that had just made him feel awful. Also, he’d smelled worse. He reminds me of a rodent, probably because his eyes are unfortunately close together. Too bad my fox spirit loves chasing rodents.

I climbed down from the ladder and turned right into Maxim’s wall of chest. What the fuck had he been doing standing so close to me? Smelling my hair?

“Oww!” I rubbed my sore nose. “What’re you doing?”

Max’s eyes narrowed. “Something is different about you.”

Gotta love how vamps don’t apologize. Ever.

“I don’t usually wear my hair down.” I tucked my curls back behind my ears, calming my nerves. If only vamps didn’t have to stare all the time. So unnerving. Still, I had wanted to talk to him. Visiting Dane in his office would have to wait. I should get a tattoo:
Sleuthing first, sex second.

“The place is hardly recognizable from last time you saw it, right?” My observation was true: the inn was looking much improved. And all the detectives in my mystery novels start with small talk when interviewing suspects.

The Barlow brothers were transforming a hundred-year-old falling-down shell into a hewn-timber inn. Much of the exterior lumber had been reclaimed from old barns in Canada. It was less distance to haul the wood, and it gave the place a nice aesthetic. Hopefully all the nature-loving tourists would appreciate it too.

“What do you think?” Max asked, pointing to an electrical-outlet box on the wall.

Dane was tall, dark, and sexy, but Max gave off a stalker vibe. Part of it was the vamp in him, but the rest was just him. Even though the two men were roughly the same size, everything about Dane radiated “secure.” That wasn’t the case with Max.

I peered into the space, shining my flashlight into the box. “Looks like there’ll be enough room here for four outlets. We can run the cable through here. Then we can have a grounded one over there.”

As I swung back around, he sniffed my hair again.

“Hey, Maxim, remember I’m not on your menu.” I stepped aside.

He angled his blond head down at me. “Something about you has changed.”

Geesh. Weird.
“I
did
get some new boots.”

“It has nothing to do with your feet.”

“Great boots,” Gary chimed in. “Where’d you get those? I need some new ones.”

Most of the time Gary wears socks and sandals since his feet are so big. Nothing is easy for that guy.

“Gary, have you seen anything weird about Icy Cap lately?” I asked.

He cocked his head to one side. “In Icy Cap, you have to define ‘weird.’”

Good point.

“Dark magic. Like the kind that sets glamoured bear traps.”

Gary stiffened. “Of course not. If I did, I’d let the sheriff know.”

That was what I’d thought. Gary lived here. It didn’t make sense that he’d be involved with dark magic. Someone from outside Icy Cap was trying to poison the residents. But why?

“How about you, Maxim?”

“I’m hired to wire this place, nothing more.”

“Your company has contractors all over Alaska. Have you heard of anything else like this?”

“The only thing I’m interested in is the updated codes for the wiring.”

Right. And sniffing my hair.

“Didn’t I already give you those?” I asked.

“If I have to hunt up code and wire, it’ll cost more.”

Costing more is never popular.

“I’ll have them by tomorrow,” I promised, feeling more than a little defeated. In my novels, the detective always learned something from every interview. Somehow all I’d accomplished was inheriting more work. Still, I couldn’t give up right away.

“I’ll be waiting.” Max smiled.

A wave of nausea rolled over me. Its unexpected force made me wince. Why did I feel like he wasn’t talking about wiring codes anymore?

T
rudy let
herself into my office without asking. She leaned back against the closed door, and her eyes met mine.

Had it only been a mere handful of hours since I’d been with her? It felt much longer. “What do you need?”

“I know what we both need, but business before pleasure. What did you find out?” Her auburn curls grazed her shoulders. She still sported a collection of superhero T-shirts and faded jeans. It wasn’t the usual work attire, but it was perfect for Icy Cap. And she rocked it, combining sexy and nerdy so successfully I didn’t dare get up from my desk. My cock always did have a Trudy sensor.

“There’s not much to report.” I shuffled some papers, not meeting her eyes. “No one wanted to talk. Everyone said they’d given statements to Ash already. I’ve been reading through his reports. There’s not much there.”

“That’s why you should make me your deputy.” The light in her green eyes both turned me on and scared the hell out of me.

“There’s no ‘we’ in this, Trudy. I’m the sheriff until Ash returns. This isn’t a game. You should know that better than most.”

Trudy flushed; it’s like a redhead barometer. I had to keep her safe. Her fox spirit made her too curious. She needed to stick with coding languages and her mystery novels.

I would take care of the culprit behind this. The less she knew about the dark magic’s cause, the better. Not only for her own safety but because if she ever found out I’d betrayed this community, she would never forgive me.

“Two heads are better than one.” She locked the door behind her.

Ahhh. Change of tactics. She was entirely too smart for her own good. I needed to get out of here.
Fuck.
She was blocking the door, but I didn’t want her coming any closer to me.

“Leave it unlocked.” I didn’t get up from my desk. My hard cock wanted only one kind of activity. “I’ve got to get this billing sorted out. Apparently my brother only thinks cash flows out. How about I make you dinner later?”

“That won’t work for me at all. I’m hungry now.” Trudy unlocked the door but kept it closed. She crossed her arms at her waist and pulled her T-shirt over her head. Underneath, she wore a sheer pink bra. Tossing the shirt onto my desk, she locked her eyes with mine while she kicked off her boots and unbuttoned her jeans. Underneath her jeans she wore matching panties with a strip of similar-colored lace across the crotch.

Thinking was impossible when I stared at her. Hell, even breathing was difficult. “Trudy, you’re not seducing me into deputizing you.”

A flush bloomed across her chest. “I’m sure I have no idea what you’re talking about, Dane Barlow.”

She paused slightly as Maxim and Gary passed by outside my door. She was one nervy little fox shifter.

Trudy padded lightly around my large wood desk. I swiveled in my chair, giving her an eyeful of my cock tenting my thrift-store jeans. This would be the last time I lent my brother my entire wardrobe. Sure, Ash was well dressed at the Fairbanks hospital, but that meant I was reduced to wearing what meager wardrobe he’d left me at his cabin.

She straddled me. “Better?” She breathed, pressing her body against mine.

Yes.

Hell. I couldn’t resist her. I never could.

“This doesn’t mean you won,” I grumbled.

“Of course not,” she soothed.

“Seeing your bra under your T-shirt only makes me want to fuck you more.” I nuzzled her.

“That’s a problem?” She pulled her hair back into a knot. “I can’t show up naked here with contractors. That’d be unprofessional. And probably breaking some codes I haven’t even learned about yet.” She reached down to fondle me. “Now, what we gonna do about freeing that bad boy?”

I stopped touching her long enough to slide my jeans and briefs down my hips.

Trudy kissed me lightly, her lips teasing mine. I ran my tongue along her lower lip. She moaned.

I moved my hands down the sides of her breasts before settling one hand on her hip and dropping my other hand lower.

Outside my door, more stomping feet. She tensed slightly but deepened our kiss. She sucked my tongue and wiggled against my fingers teasing her pussy. With Trudy there were no games, only passion. I knew what she liked.

Luckily for me, it was my cock. Placing her hands on my shoulders, she lowered herself down on my hand.

“I want your cock inside me.” Her fingers laced my hair. She gave a little tug. “Now.”

“So impatient,” I chided, sliding one finger inside her wet pussy. I began slowly stroking her, feeling her press against me. I added another finger and increased the pace.

Trudy moaned low. She reached down for my cock and rubbed the head with her fingertips. Dizziness washed over me. I loved her touch, the right amount of gentleness and teasing. Looking down, she licked her lips. I followed her gaze. Pre-cum glistened on my cock.

“Let me suck you,” she whispered.

“At home.”

Though now that she’d introduced the idea, I closed my eyes, imagining Trudy on her knees in this office, taking my cock. Sweat beaded at my hairline.

“You’re killing me.” I teased her nipples. “I need to be inside you.”

Trudy widened her legs on my lap. Taking my cock in my hand, I rubbed around her pussy.

She growled into the side of my neck. “Come inside me now.”

I ignored her, instead sucking on her nipples, wetting the sheer bra fabric.

“Fuck me,” she begged softly, kissing the side of my neck.

Positioning her hips over my cock, I thrust up. She gloved me like no other lover. Trudy tried to bear down to take more of me.
This crazy little fox loves a good hard fuck
. It made me want to take her even harder.

I slowly withdrew the head of my cock from inside her. She protested, her nails biting into my shoulders. Then I thrust deeply, driving myself fully inside her. “That what you want?”

“Fuck, yes.”

I was stroking too slowly for her. Trudy kneaded my back in frustration. She cursed me, asking me to pump into her faster. I knew the greater her frustration, the greater her release would be. This wasn’t my first rodeo with this shifter.

“Shh, baby. Nice and slow.” I sucked her other breast while my hand fondled her peaked nipple.

Trudy bounced lightly on my cock before settling into for some serious milking. Where did that sexy little fox come up with these moves? Between her tightness and her enthusiasm, I worked hard to maintain control. I rolled her bra straps off her shoulders, pulling the wet fabric off her breasts. The straps held her arms down at her sides. I loved her throaty moans. She closed her eyes, adding a little hip swivel during my deep penetration.

Watching this little fox ride me—knowing that at any moment that vamp contractor could walk in and get an eyeful—turned me on. Apparently it worked for Trudy, because she applied herself diligently to her pleasure.

I adjusted my angle and drove my cock deeper. Her eyelids snapped open, her pink mouth forming a perfect O. “That’s good.” With my hands on her hips, I stilled her motion. She frowned.

“I’m gonna fuck you so hard that you’ll feel me inside you for the rest of the day. Those fuckers out there are gonna smell me on you, know that you are mine. God, I love how tight your pussy is. That’s it, baby, grab me.”

Trudy’s head dropped back, and she offered her breasts to me. I thrusted and sucked. I could feel her inner thighs quiver. Her short breathy moans deepened. She was so close. I fingered her clit and she climaxed. Her pussy grabbed me.

Mate. Mate. Mate.

Deep within me, the chant arose. Just because this woman made me horny as hell didn’t mean I was letting my bear spirit control me. It was just sex. Damned good, sweaty, heart-pounding, leave-me-breathless sex, but that was all.

It didn’t take me long to follow her. I stroked into her twice more, then I came.

I never used a condom with Trudy. Shifters of different animal spirits don’t reproduce. In California, I’d never trusted anyone, and I always wore a condom. But coming inside her bare was like nothing else I’d experienced.

Trudy slumped against me, her head dropping to my shoulder. Our panting breaths filled the room. I loved having her draped across me.

When she roused, she kissed my neck. “That was nice.”

“Nice?” I pulled her closer. “I wasn’t aiming for nice.”

“I know what you were aiming for. You found it.” She smiled against my neck. “Dane—” she began.

“The topic of deputizing you is not open for discussion.”

She kissed my shoulder where her nails had marked my skin. It didn’t hurt me. I liked her unconscious attempts to mark me more than I should have. “Not that. Why do you still fight your bear spirit?” her voice whispered. “After all the time we’ve known each other, I still haven’t seen you shift.”

Hell, I hadn’t seen me shift. Every time my ice bear spirit rose, I suppressed it. To say I resented my bear didn’t even begin to cover it. My father was an ice bear shifter, but he died before Ash and I were born. Our human mother had struggled to raise twins working as a schoolteacher in Icy Cap. A sudden illness had killed her before we discovered as teenagers that we were shifters.

For me, avoiding shifting became about self-discipline. It was my will versus the bear spirit inside me. I didn’t want to be a slave to anything, and I made myself hold out against my bear spirit as it clawed to be free. I fought it, and I still do.

I’m so unlike Trudy. Once she told me sometimes she has to check and see if she has paws or hands; she can’t remember what form she is in.

I didn’t like my ice bear spirit. I liked talking about it even less.

“Stay away from the vamp.”

“Nobody likes vamps. Even Meg gets treated warily.”

“I wasn’t talking about my brother’s mate.”

She slipped her bra back on. “Max is a darn good electrician. You know how hard it is to find someone to come up to Icy Cap? Plus, he knows something.”

My blood pounded in my ears.

“Why do you say that?” My throat felt strangled, getting the words out.

Does Max know?

She pulled her T-shirt over her head, muffling her voice. When her face reemerged, she said, “He’s acting weird. He smelled my hair.” She pulled her curls loose of their knot. “May I have my panties, please? I know you palmed them.”

“Stay away from the vamp,” I repeated.

“With you and Gary here, I’m fine. You know how temperature-sensitive vamps are. He’s either here working or sleeping at Gary’s.”

“Are they gay?”

Trudy rolled her eyes. “They’re friends. Gary made a coffin for Max to sleep in while he’s here.”

Now that all her passion was neatly tucked away, I wanted to strip Trudy down and fuck her again.

Apparently she read my mind easily.

“Hold onto my panties until later, if that’ll make you glower less. I’ve got work to do. I can’t spend my time seducing the boss.” She slipped out my door, holding her clipboard.

Pulling my briefs and jeans back on, I tucked Trudy’s panties into my pocket. I pulled them back out. Their pink flower print made me smile. Folding them neatly, I placed them in my upper right desk drawer. I liked them there. Starting a collection was the best idea I’d had yet today.

H
ours later
, I left my office. The steady snowfall would make driving back to Ash’s cabin difficult. I should’ve driven the snowmachine to work.

Trudy was poring over thick paperbacks, alone. Max and Gary had headed back home earlier.

“How’s it going?”

“I’ve learned something very important. I love writing computer code. I hate deciphering building code.”

“Good to know. Would you like a ride home, or are you going on four feet?”

“A ride would be great. I’m a little tired today. You should probably stay away from me; I might be getting sick.”

She kissed me lightly on the lips. So much for germ theory.

I deepened the kiss. “I’m very hearty. I drove Ash’s truck here. Once we get back to his cabin, we can take the snowmachine to your place.”

We packed up and headed out to the truck. In these cold temperatures, the truck’s battery needed continuous charging when it wasn’t running. Without the charge, the frigid temps would drain the battery.

More snow fell, lending the landscape a pristine quality. I glanced up at the sky, but all I saw was more snow.

We made slow progress. As was typical for Icy Cap, the roads were empty. It was romantic to think of cozying up with Trudy in the cabin, away from vamps, ghouls, and black magic.

“Stop!” Trudy’s palm slammed the dashboard. Her other hand pointed toward the right side of the truck.

The truck fishtailed when I slammed on the brakes. The headlights illuminated a figure in fur.
Fuck.
It’s a bad sign when you hope the creature in front of you is an ice bear. This one wasn’t.

“What is that?” Trudy breathed.

I closed my eyes for a second, willing the figure to disappear. When I opened my eyes again, the road was still blocked.

Fuck.

I debated hitting it with the truck. Only the truck and its passengers would be damaged.

“Stay here.” I left the engine running but cracked my door.

“Like hell I will.” She reached for her door.

I pulled her toward me, snarling. “I’m not asking. You will stay in this truck.”

Her eyes widened. She feared me. I wanted to tell her that she had nothing to be afraid of. I would never hurt her. But that would be a lie. All I could do now was cap the damages and keep her safe.

“Wait here.” I kissed her lips before exiting the truck.

Outside the truck, an arctic cold blasted me—but the problem wasn’t the weather. The cold flowing off the creature before me crashed into my body. Only a succubus has the power to make someone feel smothered while fully conscious.

“Dane.” Rika held her hands out to me. Thick gloves covered the many jeweled rings I knew she wore on her fingers. “I heard you were back. I had to see for myself.”

The succubus wore a fur hat and a full-length fur coat. As I stepped closer, the face under the furry brim surprised me: the same Nordic appearance from years back greeted me. The glamour of a succubus only worked on men. Most likely Trudy, sitting inside the truck, saw a very different creature than I did.