Bear's Heart: BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance (Bear Heat Book 5) by Natalie Kristen Page B

her hand hover in
the air between them for a moment. Slowly, she let her hand drop.
    Dylan went to the door.
    “I'll leave you to
unpack and settle in,” he said without glancing back.

CHAPTER TWENTY

    Dylan and Luke took the lift
up to the eighteenth floor, where the large conference rooms of the
Behavioral Analysis Department were situated. Lindy had called them
to let them know that she would be giving the police an updated
profile and that she had gotten approval for two Black Bears to
attend the briefing.
    Baxter had volunteered to
stand in as bodyguard while Dylan went with Luke to the B.A.D. If
Baxter wasn't happily mated, Dylan would never let him get within a
mile of Jade. But Baxter was fiercely devoted to his mate and cub,
and Dylan knew that Bax would protect Jade with his life. Despite
his smart mouth and bad jokes, Bax was one of their best lieutenants.
Fearless, lethal and fist-happy. Neutralize the threat first, ask
questions later.
    Dylan headed for the seat at
the back of the conference room. With his height and width, he
didn't want to block anyone's view. This was a very important
briefing, and he wanted the police officers present to get all the
information Lindy had to give them.
    Luke sat beside him and
surveyed the room. Then he leaned back and said conversationally,
“So. You like my sister, don't you?”
    Dylan disguised his
spluttering behind a hacking cough. He turned to give Luke his
sternest glare.
    Luke was unfazed, and
undeterred. “It's okay. You don't have to answer that,”
Luke said, lacing his fingers behind his head. “Baxter was the
only volunteer, you know,” he went on nonchalantly. “No
other male dared stand in as bodyguard for you. And the she-bears
were all busy placing bets that Bax will get his balls busted.
Everyone can see that she's yours.”
    Dylan jerked. “They
can?”
    “Gotcha!”
    Dylan choked out a curse and
managed by superhuman effort not to strangle Luke while he was busy
chortling and snorting.
    Shit, he was getting slow and
stupid. Having Jade in his apartment, being so near her every day,
knowing that she was sleeping just behind that bedroom door, was
driving his bear insane. He wanted to hold her, touch her, kiss her
so bad. But he couldn't risk causing her any hurt and pain. Her
injuries hadn't fully healed. He had to keep his bear in shackles,
which was proving near impossible. He couldn't allow his sex-crazed
beast to mount her and pound madly into her. God, he was her
bodyguard, but he had to protect her from himself.
    It was making him crazy.
Crazy and stupid, obviously.
    “Jade hadn't had much
luck in love,” Luke said, his face serious now. “Those
jerks she dated, I'd wanted to punch their arrogant, smarmy faces in.
They cheated on her and bragged about it. But Jade told me to lay
off. I was a cop then. She didn't want me to get in trouble.”
    Dylan nodded but his eyes
flashed. He was furious that Jade had been hurt by those scumbags.
    “You were my mentor,
Dylan,” Luke said with a lopsided smile. “I know you,
perhaps more than you realize. I know you'll be good to her. You'll
be good for Jade. You're not my mentor anymore. But maybe...”
Luke's smile widened. “...you'll be my brother-in-law.”
    Dylan mock-punched Luke.
“Quit fooling around. Lindy's here.”
    “Who's fooling around?”
Luke mumbled, rubbing his arm.
    Lindy stood at the head of
the long table and nodded at all the officers present. Detectives
Kai Wong and Gloria Cruz were seated near the front. Uniforms, other
detectives and agents from the counter-terrorism and bomb units
filled up the seats. The head of the B.A.D., Maximus Bomberg, was
leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
    Lindy turned to the screen
and a list of names appeared. She pushed her spectacles up her nose
and launched straight into the briefing.
    “These are the names of
the people who were killed in the bombing.”
    She clicked the remote and a
shorter list appeared. “And these