River Bear (BBW Paranormal Shapeshifter Romance) (Blue Bear Rescue) by Terra Wolf, Holly Eastman Page A

home last night,” Xavier began. “Just checking on ya.”
    “Yeah, wanted to make sure you weren’t getting chopped up on the side of a road somewhere,” Nash called out, clearly fishing, and Jake rolled his eyes. He didn’t wake up just to be hassled.
    “Nah, he’s not roadside. He’s bedside,” Harley put in.
    “You sleep okay out there at the love motel?” Lucas asked, and Jake shook his head.
    “Funny, guys. I actually didn’t sleep much at all on account of someone trying to kill our new PI last night. So if that’s all, I’m going to get back to sleep.” He emphasized the last word, not willing to admit anything even if they already knew.
    “All right, all right,” Xavier said over the sounds of laughter and good God, kissing noises. He suspected Nash. “Listen,” Xavier said. The phone line clicked and then cleared, and he knew Xavier had taken him off speaker phone. “I looked into that address you found on the Wanted flier. It’s up north, top of the peak. Google shows a cabin there. Probably abandoned for the season, but who knows. Anyway, we’re all stuck here answering questions all day for the sheriff’s office. Since you’ve already given your statement, can you drive over and check it out?”
    “I’m on it,” he said, already calculating how long it would take to get up there. “What about Lyle? Anyone check him out yet? He left Mack’s with Tim,” Jake pointed out.
    “No sign of him at his place. Looks like he didn’t come home last night. We’ll keep an eye out for him and the other two.”
    “Let me know if you spot him,” Jake said.
    “And Delilah?” Xavier asked. “How is she after last night?”
    “Sleeping right next to me,” he admitted. “She was shaken, but I think she’ll be fine. Long as we get the bastards who put those fliers out.”
    “We’ll get them, Jake,” Xavier promised. “Call me when you get there,” he added, and the call ended.
    Jake found Delilah already up and dressed when he walked out. She stared at him, open-mouthed for a full ten seconds before he remembered he was still naked. He grinned as he turned away to slide his pants on. She liked what she saw. Good. So did he.
    “I need to take a ride,” he told her, already spinning ideas about where he could drop her for an hour.
    She pulled on a shirt the color of summer grass, and he caught the green in her eye, glinting back at him. “Sure, where are we going?”
    “Not we.” He shook his head, bending low to yank his boots on. “Not after last night. Besides, you can sleep a while longer. I’ll come get you for breakfast when I’m done.”
    She glared at him, and the green in her eyes brought out by the shirt turned deadly, like acid. “Don’t even try it. This is my job. You’re not doing it for me. I’m coming with you.”
    He sighed. She was right. He couldn’t argue with letting her do her job. In fact, Xavier probably fully expected him to let her tag along. He’d hired her to look into this very problem, after all. And hadn’t Jake protected her last night? She’d be safe with him. He wouldn’t hurt her. And he damn sure wouldn’t let anyone else hurt her either. She had her job; he had his.
    “I wondered if things would be different today,” she muttered, turning away to rifle through her bag.
    That did it. He strode over to her, took the hairbrush out of her hand, and kissed her full on the mouth. She stood stiffly at first but then she sank against him, panting by the time he pulled away. He gave her hair a self-satisfied tug.
    “What was that for?” she asked.
    He handed her back the brush. “Just in case you thought I’d want something different today than I did last night. Come on, woman,” he said and led the way to the truck.
    They’d slept longer than he thought, he realized when he glanced at the clock on the dash. Mid-morning traffic clogged the main street leading out of town. He tapped his fingers impatiently on the wheel as he waited for a