Mated to the Wilde Bear

Chapter 9: Laurel

“So, you’re DOT. That means you’ll be on site for the rescues this season?” Nash asked.

“Gerald’s still around,” she assured them. “He’ll be back from vacation in a few days. I’m filling in until he’s back and then who knows. I wouldn’t mind it, though. Today was fun to watch.” Exclusive content © by Nô(v)el/Dr/ama.Org.

“I bet.” Jake gave her an exaggerated wink and Xavier growled.

She laughed. “I meant the crowd. Your alpha caused quite a stir when he refused the medic’s help and opted to carry the guy all the way down.”

“Show off,” Jake said, and Nash shook his head.

“No wonder you didn’t call us,” Nash said. He leaned in and whispered to Laurel. “He just loves the spotlight. Doesn’t want any of us to get the attention.”

She shot Xavier a wry smile, remembering the way he ducked away from the crowd of women who’d shouted for him as he’d walked away from her. “Definitely a diva,” she agreed.

Jake and Nash laughed, and even Lucas smiled at that. Here it was easy to see how their community was so accepting of a crew of bears living so openly as shifters. When they turned on the charm, it was hard to dislike a single one of them.

Throughout a dinner of fish and chips, Laurel smiled more than she had in ages, but she didn’t fully relax. She’d have to be extra careful now not to show her fox, she realized, looking around the table as the guys all laughed and joked. More than once, she had to remind herself all she stood to lose if anyone at work found out about her animal. She’d lost a job before. Friends, family even, over her being a shifter, and she’d promised herself she’d never let that happen again. No matter what. Sitting here around the table with these guys made it tempting, though. They were so easy to be around and clearly wouldn’t care if she was a fox.

But others might. Anti-shifter talk had been growing in this town. A shame, since she’d moved here to escape where it was happening in the bigger cities.

She frowned at that and caught Xavier watching her before she could cover it up.

“You finished eating?” he asked. She nodded. “Walk with me.”

She took his offered hand, following him back to the far end of the deck where they’d stood earlier. This time, he led her around the corner so that they were out of sight of the rest of the crew. She stared into the trees that lined this side of the restaurant and inhaled the scent of pine appreciatively.

“Having a good time?” he asked.

She nodded. “It’s been a long time since I got out like this,” she said. “Thank you.”

Xavier stepped toward her, closing the distance between them, and Laurel’s nerves rattled all over again—for a different reason. She’d been fine in front of the group. Even when Xavier’s hand had reached for hers under the table, she’d let him touch her and kept her thoughts mostly ordered. But standing here alone, without an audience, she couldn’t catch her breath. What was it about his touch that made her feel like a freshman in the backseat of a car all over again?

Her animal went crazy as desire rose. She inhaled again, and this time, it wasn’t pine or forest she smelled. She froze. Pheromones. God, he’d smell her and realize her animal for sure now.

“Well,” Xavier said, tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear. “In case you don’t remember how it goes, it’s tradition to let your date kiss you at the end of the night.”

Laurel looked up at him, wide-eyed in fear mixed with anticipation until it was all she could smell in the air between them. But God, she wanted this. And when he leaned in, she was already too far gone to even argue. In the end, she didn’t get a chance anyway. Xavier closed the distance and kissed her.

Laurel held still, too stunned to pull away, but then Xavier’s mouth moved over hers, and she could only sink into it. She pressed against him, both arms winding up and around his neck. Her fingers tangled eagerly into his hair just like she’d wanted to do all day. Xavier deepened the kiss, his tongue darting out to trace her top lip.

Laurel clung tighter, and a small, high-pitched yelp escaped her throat. He let her go in surprise, and the blood drained from Laurel’s face. She hadn’t meant to do that and now he would know. He would figure out her secret. The very thing she’d forgotten to hide from him was now undeniable; she was sure of it.

“Sorry, I…” Laurel didn’t even know how to fix it. She definitely didn’t want to stand there and take the accusation that would surely come next.

Panicked and near tears, she shoved the papers at him and fled.

How could she have been so stupid? So thoughtless? So forgetful of what she was protecting? Xavier Wilde, it seemed, was bad for her memory.