Page 22 of Bearnapped at the Altar

“Wait.” I could hardly collect my thoughts. Barrett and Bellamy were fully within their rights to kick me to the curb. But they weren’t. They were all in. And I had no way to repay them. “Won’t the locals know something’s up if Bellamy shows up and starts asking about the case?”

“I’m a local. I live here. And I have no plans of telling them what we’ve done. I’ll be discreet. You were on a reality show, they were involved in a reality show. All I plan to do is find out what they have to say about it.”

“And you’re headed to the Stepchild?” I couldn’t resist an opportunity to be a fangirl. The bar had been prominently featured on The Real Werewives, and it was notorious for being a place where shifters could go wild, especially in an exclusive back room known as Red Heaven. Sweet moon, the filthy dreams I had about that place after my binge watch. “Maybe we should go too. Incognito, of course. I know who Gideon has working for him. That way, we’ll know if they’re close.”

“Absolutely not,” Barrett growled. “Too dangerous.”

I raised a brow, as playfully as I could manage. But sweet moon, I was frustrated. I was responsible for creating this mess, and I wanted to help fix it. “So you just plan on keeping me here, in this tiny cabin, for the rest of time?”

Barrett nodded. “Until I know you’re safe.”

“And you’re gonna stay with me? Or will you assign other bears to watch over me?”

“Just me.”

“I just told you I can’t pay you.”

“Don’t need you to.”

Bellamy groaned. “The two of you can work this out. We’ll touch base in the morning.”

I waited for the engine of the car to start before turning back to Barrett. He looked huge in this tiny cabin, but somehow still vulnerable.

“Listen, I appreciate that you want to see this job through, and understand that you have an ax to grind with Gideon too. I want nothing more than to stop this bastard. But we have to be realistic. This is way more than both of us bargained for. And you can’t work for free forever.”

“It’s not work, Tegan.” He pulled away from me and raked a hand through his hair. For a moment, I thought he might shift. “My bear thinks…fuck! It’s complicated.”

I furrowed my brow. Barrett was full-on flustered. Fire in his eyes. Heat in his cheeks.

“What does your bear think?”

“He wants you.” He sighed. “You can’t be my mate, because I’d already found her. But he knows that you’re special.”

Chapter

Ten

Barrett

My bear was feeling so freaking smug right now, but I couldn’t believe that I’d made that confession. Even if she couldn’t pay me for what the job had become, she was still a client, and I should’ve remained professional.

She’s more than that and you know it.

I sat on the bed and tipped my head back. Silverclaw would have the last laugh because I would fall head over claws for this woman.

Tegan sat beside me. Her soft and curvy body was still fragrant from the citrus shower gel that had been left for us.

Us, my bear said. You’re already thinking like she belongs to you.

And it made me no better than Gideon fucking Silverclaw. I never thought I could have another mate. Fate had chosen Renee for me. But it had taken her away, too.

Our thighs were touching, and Tegan’s hand was on my arm. I could barely think straight with her so close.

“Why does your bear think that?” she said softly.

“I’ve never questioned my bear before.”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” She pushed playfully against my arm, and it took everything I had not to push her back on the mattress and ravage her. Show her the animal inside me so she had no questions about what he was thinking ever again.

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