A Pair of Bears: Bear Shifter Menage Paranormal Romance (4 page)

Paisley
still
didn’t reply. A long, uncomfortable silence fell.

While he was still searching for a change of subject, he saw a white light ahead. As he kept wriggling forward, the darkness brightened until he could see Paisley’s moccasin-shod feet and black jean-clad ass.

“Almost there,” Paisley whispered. A moment later, she added, “You’re staring at my ass, aren’t you?”

“You can stare at mine on the way out.”

Paisley snorted. He heard a series of clinking noises as she opened a trapdoor in the shaft, then jumped down. She landed so lightly, she barely made a sound.

Jackson dropped through after her, landing with a loud thud. They were in an empty, brightly lit, high-tech office. His kind of place. He took a deep breath. It was good to be able to breathe freely, and to have nothing touching him but air.

He wiped the sweat off his face and turned to Paisley. In her all-black outfit, she looked like a gorgeous, green-eyed ninja. 

“Thanks for distracting me,” he said. “I owe you. I owe you… a snozzberry pie.”

“There’s no such thing.”

“Okay, a cloudberry pie.”

She gave him a fleeting smile. “I might hold you to that.”

He wanted to say more and maybe be rewarded with her lovely smile again, but he was on the job. And also, he was afraid that if he kept talking about promises, he might blurt out something about mates or love or forever.

Jackson sat down at the main computer, and began hacking in.

Chapter Three

Paisley

Paisley kept one eye on the door and one on Jackson. She’d have thought watching a guy do computer stuff would be boring, but Jackson hacking was the most entertaining thing Paisley had seen all week. Maybe all month. For one thing, he was good to look at: his warm brown eyes, his expressive face, his playful smile, the muscles shifting in his broad shoulders, and his deft fingers flying over the keyboard like a virtuoso pianist.

For another thing, he talked, partly to the computer but mostly to her. She’d worried that he’d start pressuring her again about love and soulmates, but to her relief, he didn’t. Instead, he explained what he was doing. He told jokes. He told stories. He asked about her life. He quizzed her on her favorite books and movies and video games.

Paisley had never had any real friends— how could she, knowing that she was a freak, the only werecat in the world— so she wasn’t used to having conversations. She’d always thought she wasn’t good at talking to people. But Jackson made it easy. Fun, even.

“What’s
your
favorite pie?” Jackson asked, then muttered at the computer, “Oh, no you don’t! Not again!”

“Pecan,” Paisley replied, wondering if he was paying attention. He seemed engaged in a desperate battle against a computer program.

“Warm or cold?” Jackson inquired. “Plain, with ice cream, with chocolate sauce, with cheddar cheese…?”

So he
was
paying attention. “Gross. Who puts cheese on pie? Warm, with whipped cream. You’re good at multi-tasking.”

“Yeah, that’s my specialty.” To the computer, he exclaimed, “Ha! Got you there.” Then he pushed back his chair and turned to Paisley. “Okay, Eli. Conference call time.”

Eli’s deeper voice spoke in Paisley’s ear, through the earbud Jackson had given her. “What’s your status?”

Jackson leaned back in his chair, relaxed and cool. “Good news first: I’ve broken into their databanks, and I’m downloading everything. I’ve blanked out their security cameras. I’ve also got a program running that’ll take down the laser tripwires and unlock the service entrance. Then I can direct you to Research and Development.”

“What’s the bad news?” Eli asked.

“The program that’ll get you in won’t be complete for another hour. So sit tight in the alley. Enjoy the
eau de garbage
.”

Jackson took out his earbud and put it on the table. He gestured to Paisley for her to do the same. She pulled it from her ear, cutting off Eli’s chuckle, and laid it down.

Her eyes met Jackson’s. Eli had been a presence with them up until that point. He’d rarely spoken, but she’d always known he was there with them, listening in case something went wrong. Now she and Jackson were alone.

There had barely been a moment of quiet since she’d met him in the alley, so the silence now caught her attention. It wasn’t an empty silence, a silence that meant nothing was going on; it was a silence like cat paws moving across a floor, a silence that meant that something was about to happen.

I shouldn’t do this,
Paisley thought.

Her hand reached out of its own accord.

Jackson took it and held it between both of his, enveloping her small hand in his long, graceful fingers. The warmth of his fingers didn’t stop at her hand, but flowed through her entire body. She could feel her skin flushing, as if she stood in front of a fire. Pleasant little tingles of excitement shivered through her, making her heart speed up and her breath catch.

She knew he wanted to kiss her, even before he began to lean in. She tipped her head back, her lips parted, inviting him. Paisley heard Jackson’s own breath catch as he bent down. His lips touched hers, and then it wasn’t like standing in front of a fire, it was like standing
in
a fire. She wanted to become the flame, and burn forever.

Paisley didn’t know how long they stood kissing, until they broke apart to take a breath. Then she abruptly remembered her resolve not to get involved, not to trust in happy endings, not to get close—

“Eli won’t mind,” Jackson said, startling her.

“I know,” Paisley replied. “I heard him tell you so.”

“You did?”

Paisley nodded. “You had your earbud out, but he was wearing his. And I was wearing mine. Anyway, that’s not what I was thinking about.”

“Then what? What’s bothering you?”

Paisley sighed. “Mates. Destiny. Happily ever after. I don’t believe in any of it.”

Jackson’s warm hands cupped her face, rubbing at her temples to ease a tension that she hadn’t even noticed herself. “How about if we forget about all that? How about if we imagine that it’s just you and me, right now, deciding whether we want to go ahead and have some fun with the amazing sexual chemistry we obviously have together? Or if you’d rather, we could sit around fully clothed and talk about our favorite pies.”

“How about sexual chemistry first, and pie discussion afterward?”

“You’re a woman after my own heart.” He paused, frowning as if he’d remembered something. “Oh… I don’t have a condom. Too bad.”

“What, you don’t always break into the headquarters of evil corporations prepared to have sex on the floor?” Paisley teased. “Don’t worry about it, Jackson. I’m on the pill.”

“Great!” He caught her in his arms again.

Paisley burned with desire, as hot and overwhelming as when she’d first touched his hand. She didn’t know what it all meant or where it would lead, but she knew that she couldn’t resist him. Now that they were touching at last, she couldn’t believe she’d managed to keep her hands off him for as long as she had.

If he wanted her even half as much as she wanted him, he must be halfway out of his mind. She expected him to rip her clothes off. But instead, he slowly pulled off her shirt, kissing and caressing each part of her body as he exposed it. Then her bra. The room was air-conditioned and chilly, which made the heat of Jackson’s mouth even more intense. Her nipples hardened under his tongue. Each lick, each nibble, each kiss sent tingles of pleasure through her.

“You’re so beautiful,” Jackson murmured. “So hot.”

Paisley had heard that before. But it was the first time that it mattered to her what a man thought about her. She wanted Jackson to think she was gorgeous and sexy, and she loved hearing him say it.

“And so funny,” he went on. “So brave. So sweet.”

Paisley blinked at “sweet.” She hadn’t heard
that
before. But he sounded completely sincere. And that, too, made her happy. Somehow, caring had snuck up on her.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” she said, trying not to sound
too
caring.

She must not have done a very good job at sounding unconcerned. Jackson grinned as if she’d paid him the best compliment ever. 

Paisley shied away from more talking. Who knew what she might blurt out? Besides, she wanted to touch him. She unbuttoned his shirt and ran her hands over his smooth skin and lean muscle.

Then, as he had, she bent to kiss and nibble at him. His skin tasted slightly of salt. This close, she could smell his woodsy cologne, like the forests of his hometown, and a masculine musk. His scent went to her head like a shot of whiskey, making her dizzy.

Jackson pushed her back, so she was leaning against the desk, then knelt down in front of her. He pulled off her moccasins, then her pants, and finally stripped off her underwear. Paisley stood naked before him. She could still feel the heat of his mouth everywhere that he’d touched, burning in her memory.

His breath stirred her skin as he leaned in. Paisley was trembling with desire, barely able to wait for his touch. When he finally laid his mouth down on her, she was so keyed up that she jumped.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Don’t stop,” she gasped.

Jackson tasted her again. This time she managed to hold herself still, though the sensation was just as intense as before. His tongue explored her every fold, leaving her breathless. She grabbed his shoulders, feeling their muscles flex under her hands. Then Paisley felt nothing else, not the desk behind her or the floor under her feet. There was only Jackson’s smooth skin and hot tongue and her own ecstasy.

“You taste like honey,” Jackson murmured.

Paisley couldn’t reply. She was shuddering and gasping, lost in pleasure. Dizzy with it. Then it all crashed over her, like a burst of light. She had to hang on to his broad shoulders to keep herself upright.

Limp and relaxed, she sank down into his arms. He lowered her to the floor and held her tight, kissing her and stroking her hair.

“That was amazing,” Paisley said.

“Glad I could do better than ‘not so bad,’” he teased.

Paisley laughed. “Let’s see if you can do better than amazing. Take off your pants.”

Jackson scrambled out of them like he was being timed with a stop watch. His eagerness made her laugh again, and he laughed with her.

“Sex is usually so serious,” she remarked.

“Doesn’t have to be,” Jackson replied. “I lo— uh, I like a woman I can laugh with.”

“I like men who laugh,” Paisley said, realizing that it was true as she spoke.

She had always felt a little detached, a little distant from other people. Even in the middle of sex, she hadn’t felt truly close. It was just a very enjoyable physical experience. But for the first time in her life, when she moved in to press her body against Jackson’s, skin to skin, she felt no barrier between them.

She couldn’t resist saying, “I like
you
.”

“Feeling’s mutual,” Jackson said easily.

They lay together, kissing and caressing each other, side by side. Then Jackson moved over her.  His cock pressed against her mound, iron-hard. She squirmed, rubbing herself against him. If she’d been a cat, she’d have purred.

“Ready?” Jackson asked softly, cupping her cheek in one warm hand.

Paisley smiled, her breath coming fast. “Never been readier. Bring it on.”

He raised himself over her, resting his weight on his elbows. Then he cupped his hands under her head, so she had a pillow to protect her from the bare hard floor. She turned her head, nibbling and kissing his fingers. He stroked her lips with a feather-light touch.

Jackson slid inside her like a key clicking into a lock. Like they’d been made for each other.

She drew in a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of having him inside her. Enjoying the
closeness
. A distant part of her shouted a warning, urging her to back off. But before she could listen to it, Jackson bent down and kissed her. All caution left Paisley, and she abandoned herself to the delicious feeling of his warm lips, his steady thrusting, his bare skin against hers, the inexorable ripples of pleasure flowing outward from where they were joined.

He slid against her with every thrust, tipping her farther and farther away from thought, into pure sensation. She was distantly aware of his quickened breathing and movement, and knew that he was approaching his climax. Then she was falling into her own ecstasy, warm and joyous and filled with love.

They lay close together in the sweet aftermath, their arms wrapped tight around each other. Jackson pulled Paisley on top of him, so she wouldn’t have to lie on the floor. It was surprisingly comfortable.

“You make a good mattress,” she said.

“I live to serve,” he replied.

She contentedly traced the curve of his strong chin with one finger. His skin was smooth, fresh-shaved. “This is definitely the most fun I’ve ever had on a break-in.”

Jackson bent his head to kiss her fingers. “Same here— Well, it’s also my only break-in. But I can’t imagine having
more
fun on one.”

“Maybe if we had sex twice,” Paisley suggested.

“That would do it.” More seriously, he added, “I hadn’t expected this to happen. I thought you’d never respect a man who’s scared of
ventilation ducts.
”

“Everyone’s scared of something. It’s not like you panicked and refused to come with me. You went in. You just didn’t like it.” She kissed him. “It was brave of you. It doesn’t take courage to do something you’re
not
scared of.”

Jackson regarded her quizzically, his dark eyes as intent as if he was reading her mind. “I know you’re not scared of enclosed places, or heights, or breaking the law. So what would it take courage for
you
to do?”

Fall in love,
Paisley thought.

She couldn’t bring herself to admit it to him. She was already getting uncomfortable with the intimacy they’d shared. It felt dangerous, as if she’d stripped off a suit of armor she’d been wearing for years.

“Kiss a tarantula,” she said flippantly, then scrambled into her clothes. But even dressed, she felt as naked and exposed as when she’d been nude.

Jackson got dressed too, then checked the computer. “Perfect timing.”

He typed swiftly, then put his earbud back in. “Eli? We’re almost ready for you.”