To Bite A Bear (7 page)

understanding Rohan’s confusion.

“If only everything in life was so simple,”

Rohan said. At least this power between them, this

connection didn’t have to be overly complicated.

Rohan knew Harris had reservations about being

a permanent mate to a vampire, but Rohan didn’t

think it was anything they couldn’t overcome.

Rohan rolled them until he lay splayed across

Harris’ chest. The shifter’s heat poured across him

in a soothing warmth he could wallow in for days.

“I think I’m going to make you my new bed,”

Rohan said dreamily.

Harris laughed. “I thought I was your meal.”

“I like to eat in bed,” Rohan replied.

Harris stroked Rohan’s head. “Bite me,” he

demanded. “You need to eat.”

Rohan nodded. He did need to eat, but

strangely, the comfort he received from cuddling

with Harris took over his usually overpowering

impulse to feed. Maybe it was the mate bond, but

Rohan knew he didn’t need to hunt down this

prey. Harris wasn’t a feral human or a partier

looking for a cheap thrill. No, Harris was like a

bear in his den ready to snuggle for a long winter

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nap. Whatever Rohan needed, he was confident

his mate would provide.

“I’m enjoying the moment,” Rohan said. He

lifted his head to place kisses on Harris’ neck.

“You aren’t eating,” Harris pointed out.

“I’ve never met anyone so eager to be bitten,”

Rohan complained.

Harris gave up. “Fine, don’t bite me then.”

Rohan bit deep. Rich, lush and delicious, Harris

blood poured across Rohan’s tongue like paradise.

The small drop he’d had the previous evening

hadn’t done Harris justice. Tonight, curled up

with his mate, Rohan would swear he could taste

Harris’ affection for him in his blood.

It took him a moment to realize Harris was

starting to fade. He reluctantly pulled out his

fangs and lapped the hole closed.

“Harris, beloved, are you all right?”

Harris blinked his eyes open. “Yeah, why

wouldn’t I be?” He cleared his throat a few times

since his voice sounded rough and scratchy.

“Here’s some water,” Rohan snatched up the

glass someone had provided for them. He handed

it over to his mate.

“Thanks.” Harris took a few drinks, never

taking his eyes off his Rohan. He handed it back

empty.

Rohan took it without comment and put it back

on the table.

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“What’s up?” Harris asked.

“I almost drained you,” Rohan said. “I

understand if you might want to leave me after

that.” Remorse hit him with sharp fangs. He

could’ve seriously injured Harris. He knew better.

He should’ve shown more restraint.

Harris smiled. “I don’t know what you did or

didn’t do, but I feel fine.”

“Good.” Relief made him weak. Good thing he

was already lying down. He rested his head on

Harris’ shoulder. Once they rested, he’d pleasure

Harris until he never wanted to leave Rohan’s bed

again. Rohan stroked Harris’ head. “Go to sleep,

love. Thanks for feeding me.”

“You are always welcome,” Harris replied.

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Chapter Four

e found him wandering outside.” Two of

“W Rohan’s vampire guards led in an

unannounced visitor. Rohan found himself under

examination by a handsome human man in his

early forties who resembled Harris’ friend Carey

too much for it to be a coincidence.

He froze at the chill in the human’s expression.

Rohan had met ancient vampires who couldn’t

project the amount of coldness the human before

him did with his icy blue eyes.

Vampires surrounding him didn’t appear to

intimidate the human. Rohan didn’t sense even a

smidgen of unease. A pool of calm emitted from

the man similar to Harris’ zen-like peace, as if he

had no concerns about being able to handle the

situation. From what he’d heard, Rohan knew this

could only be one person.

“You must be Aden Gale, Carey’s father,”

Rohan said. He knew he had to proceed with

caution, even though the human was the

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To Bite a Bear

trespasser. Harris considered Aden a father figure,

and he respected the human’s opinion. Rohan’s

usual approach of tossing out anyone who

annoyed him wouldn’t work in this case.

“And you’re Rohan,” Aden replied. “Could we

talk privately for a moment?”

Rohan nodded. “Please, leave us,” he told the

guards.

“Your highness,” protested Madeleine. “How

do you know we can trust him?”

Rohan raised an eyebrow at her. “You think I

can’t handle one human?”

“No, sire, sorry. Let me know if you need

anything,” Madeleine said.

“I will. Go see if Harris needs a snack.” His

artist often became famished while working on his

mural.

“Yes, sire,” Madeleine bowed and vanished out

the door with the other guards.

“You should let Harris prepare stuff himself.

He enjoys cooking. It helps his creative process,”

Aden offered his advice.

“Thank you for the tip,” Rohan said, reluctantly

appreciative. He certainly needed all the help he

could get in making a positive environment for his

bear shifter. He’d never had to create a home for

someone before, and he doubted he was up to the

challenge. “What can I do for you?”

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“You can make sure I don’t have to kill you and

upset Harris,” Aden said as if he were answering a

question about the weather.

Rohan tensed. Apparently, the stories he’d

heard about Aden weren’t exaggerated. “You

walked in here to threaten me?” He let his voice

turn deep and reveal his annoyance.

“I did ask you to dismiss your people first so

you wouldn’t feel compelled to embarrass

yourself by trying to kill me,” Aden offered as if

he had genuinely done Rohan a favor.

Laughter bubbled up in Rohan’s chest. “What

would you know about killing a vampire?”

“Quite a bit actually,” Aden replied with

frightening calm. “I’ve had to take a few out in my

time. I admit I’m getting a little slower with age

and it might take me more than the ten minutes it

used to, but I still know how to shoot an iron

arrow true.”

Rohan froze. It was a well-guarded secret that

iron killed vampires faster than any other metals.

The knowledge in the hands of a hard-core fighter

didn’t ease Rohan’s anxiety at all. “How did you

learn that?”

Aden’s feral grin didn’t reassure Rohan. “Let’s

just say I’ve had to deal with a few in my time.

Harris really likes you. Don’t break his heart, or

you won’t be alive to regret it.”

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To Bite a Bear

Before he could respond to the threat, Aden

turned around and headed for the door. As he

approached it, the door swung open and Harris

wandered through.

“Rohan, do you mind if I paint around the

mantel, too?” Harris asked, his attention on the

paper he was sketching on.

“Harris, you can do whatever you’d like,”

Rohan said, a smile curving his mouth. Whenever

he saw his blood bonded, the bear shifter lifted his

spirits.

Harris glanced up and caught sight of the

maniac. “Aden!”

The joy in Harris’ voice had Rohan grinding his

teeth. Harris shouldn’t be that happy to see

anyone but him. He barely resisted the urge to

snatch Harris out of Aden’s arms as the two men

embraced.

“What are you doing here?” Harris asked after

pounding Aden’s back enthusiastically. Rohan

reluctantly gave the human points for not falling

over from Harris’ exuberance.

“I’ve come to threaten your lover,” Aden said

casually.

“Oh!” Harris looked from one man to the other

with interest. “How did that go?”

Aden nodded. “Pretty well, I think. I didn’t

completely scare him away.”

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“Well, that’s good.” Harris glanced at Rohan

through his lashes as if checking his status. “No

injuries?”

Aden patted Harris on the back. “Not yet. Call

me if you need anything.”

“Always,” Harris said.

With one last manly hug, Aden left.

Harris let out a long sigh. “Well, you wanted to

meet Aden,” he offered cheerfully.

“That is true.” Rohan tried to remember why he

thought that was important. He’d definitely have

the human investigated. Find out if Aden truly

had killed a vampire before. Somehow, he

doubted Aden ever lied about his conquests. The

man had an air of frightening efficiency. He

refocused his attention on Harris. “Did you come

to find me for some reason?”

Harris shuffled his feet for a bit and looked

down at his shoes. “I was hoping you might be

available to go to the theater with me tomorrow

night.”

“I didn’t know you enjoyed plays,” Rohan said,

pleased at Harris’ initiative. So far, he’d been the

one to make all the moves. To have Harris ask him

out gave him hope for their future. Not that he

planned on letting the shifter leave him in this

lifetime, but it was nice to think they’d at least get

along.

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“There’s a new play opening tomorrow. I did

some volunteer work on the set design for the

theater, and they sent me a nice set of tickets as a

thank you,” Harris rushed his words together as

he spoke, conveying his nerves over the invitation.

“I’d love to go with you,” Rohan replied.

The bear shifter’s smile couldn’t get any

brighter if he tried.

* * * *

Harris smiled as he examined the theater. The

Chinese theme spread from the foo lions in the

lobby to the dragons and phoenixes decorating the

ceiling and walls. An enormous imperial five-toed

dragon emerged from the ceiling above, carrying a

light in its mouth that represented the pearl of

wisdom. Harris loved both this theater and

musicals.

“You didn’t tell me it was a musical,” Rohan

growled.

Harris patted Rohan on the leg. “Hush, you’ll

enjoy it.”

The groan he received made him smile more. It

was sexier that Rohan might not enjoy the play

but was willing to sit through it anyway to make

Harris happy.

As soon as the lights went down, Rohan set his

hand on Harris’ thigh and left it there throughout

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the first act. Harris didn’t argue since Rohan’s

fingers didn’t wander. Harris enjoyed the simple

evening of going out to dinner and a play with his

man.

Could he call a vampire his boyfriend? Or did

he need to use the more formal blood bonded

designation? Maybe partner would work for

human friends who didn’t know about vampires.

He waited until the intermission when they

were standing back in the upper-story lobby to

broach the subject. “So, how do I introduce you to

people? Are you my boyfriend? My partner?”

Rohan narrowed his eyes at Harris. “I don’t

care what you call me as long as you call me yours

and everyone understands we’re together.”

He held out his arm for Harris to take and

escorted him into the foyer to get a drink. “How

about a soda?”

“No. But I’ll take a cookie.”

Harris happily waited beside Rohan as he

ordered Harris’ dessert.

“Vampire, you must die!” a man screamed

from the crowd. Before Harris could react, a thin,

dark-haired man lunged at Rohan with a knife.

Rohan ducked, but the edge of the knife caught his

arm. Furious at the sight of his mate injured,

Harris swiped at the attacker, throwing him off

the balcony with the force of his hit.

Rohan laughed. “My hero!”

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To Bite a Bear

Harris caught sight of blood dripping down

Rohan’s arm. He quickly grabbed some napkins

and pressed them to the wound. “Are you all

right?”

“Just a little nick, I’m going to go rinse off. I’ll

be right back. Wait here and behave.” Rohan

kissed Harris’ cheek.

“I don’t make any promises,” Harris grumbled.

He didn’t know what was wrong with that kid

who attacked Rohan, but he’d put an end to him if