Her Reluctant Bear: A Hot Paranormal Fantasy Saga with Witches, Werewolves, and Werebears (Weres and Witches of Silver Lake Book 5) (9 page)

She looked up. “I’ll be with you in a moment.”

“I’m Jillian, and I’m here to help.”

“Oh, there is a God. If you’re ready to help, can you go into the backroom and bring me two long boxes? There should be a few on the table.”

There was nothing like jumping into the proverbial deep end without a life preserver to boost her spirits. Jillian stepped behind the counter and entered the back room.
Very nice
. Floor to ceiling shelves covering two of the opposite walls were filled with vases, stuffed animals, ribbon, and other assorted things one needed to make the perfect bouquet.

A large table in the middle took up most of the room. On top were several pre-made boxes. Some were long and thin, perfect for packing long-stemmed roses, and others were large cubes, just the right size for a stuffed animal. Jillian picked up two of the long boxes and carried them out.

“Are these the ones?”

Anna smiled. “Perfect.” She placed half a dozen roses in the box and then cut pink ribbon to length. Once Anna wrapped it lengthwise and then widthwise, she looked up. “Can you place your finger here?”

“Sure.” Images of wrapping Christmas presents with her mom flashed in her mind’s eye, and a brief high washed over her, filled with contentment and joy. Being here in Silver Lake and helping out at the store was so much less stressful than reading motions and depositions.

Once Anna finished, she smiled and handed the man the gorgeous box. As she rang him up, Jillian watched how she swiped the man’s card and what buttons she pressed on the register. “Thank you, Mr. Jenkins. I hope Mrs. Jenkins loves her gift.”

“I’m sure she will.” He smiled and then left.

When no one else came in, Anna sagged. “I am so happy you were willing to help. I’ve been swamped all day.”

“My pleasure. It gives me something to do.” While carrying in two boxes from the back and placing a finger on the ribbon wasn’t a great feat, Jillian understood that just having help around gave a person a sense of hope that she’d get through the day.

“I can’t believe I forgot to ask. How’s Elana? When she called to tell me you’d volunteered, I was so excited that I didn’t ask about the baby.”

“She’s doing great. While she’s happy, I think Elana’s a bit scared at the same time. First time mother jitters, I guess.”

Anna grinned. “I can’t wait to see the baby.”

“I only saw Aiden for a few seconds, but he’s a cute, chubby boy.” Jillian glanced around. “What do you need me to do besides making arrangements? I’m willing to sweep floors, tidy up, or work the credit card machine.”

“For starters, can you grab the red vase with the wild flowers from the second shelf and bring it over? I want show you how to use the helium machine to blow up balloons and how to attach them to the vases.”

For the next three hours, Anna ran around like crazy, helping customers and directing Jillian to grab this or that. When there was a lull, she explained how to use the credit card machine.

It wasn’t until close to five that things settled down. Just as Jillian allowed herself a pat on the back for surviving her first day, pounding feet sounded on the stairs causing Jillian’s pulse to rise. It was immediately followed by a wave of lust that nearly made her drop the two vases she was holding.

Mate, mate
, urged her tiger.

Damn. She had to shut up her animal. The only possible solution was to go for a run.

You promised that before and didn’t deliver
, her animal said.

I will just as soon as I ask Dalton where I can go and not be seen.

Jillian returned her attention to what had distracted her. “What is all that noise?”

Anna waved a hand. “That’s Brian, Elana’s brother. He lives in the apartment upstairs. If you think that’s noisy, the other day was even worse. When I went up to see what was going on and to ask him to keep it down, he acted as if he had no idea that saws and drills made noise. Thankfully, he agreed not to work until after the shop closed, though once Mr. Berta gets wind of it, I bet he’ll boot him out.” She smiled. “Don’t tell Elana, but Brian made a cradle for the baby.”

Jillian’s heart warmed at the idea of a man who was so uncomfortable in his skin, making something so personal for his sister’s baby. “He has to work somewhere. I guess workshops are hard to find.”

Anna chuckled. “I guess.”

Anna flipped over the Closed sign on the front door and then finished with the last arrangement that needed to be ready early tomorrow morning for pickup. Jillian swept up the scraps and straightened some of the mess in the back room.

“Let’s go home,” Anna said as she grabbed her coat from the hook near the door. “In case something happens, and you ever need to come into the store to open up, the code is 93412.”

Not wanting Anna to think she had a steel trap for a brain—which she did—Jillian pulled out her phone and put the code in her notes. “Got it.”

Heads down against the chilling wind, they both returned to their cars. Even though Jillian slid into the driver’s side and pretended she was making a call, she was waiting for Anna to leave.

As soon as she did, Jillian shut off her engine. Why she felt this urge to march up the back steps and demand answers from Brian, she didn’t know.

The idea of your mate shutting you out scares you
, her tiger claimed with an all too smug attitude.

Not true. Brian seems sweet but very lost, and I just want to help.
Brian would be better off embracing his shifter side, and maybe even moving into the compound for more support. Sure, she’d told Dalton she might have made a mistake about Brian being a
Were
, but in her heart—and especially in her body—she knew she was right.

Inhaling deeply, Jillian slid out of her car and hurried to the back entrance. With one hand holding her jacket tight around her body, she punched in the code with the other. After pulling the door open, she stepped inside the dark hallway, happy for the warmth. The air was a bit stale, and the area closed in, but those were minor inconveniences. She was on a mission.

At her first step, her muscles froze. What exactly was she going to ask him? Or rather, how could she find out for sure that he was a
Were
? If he wasn’t, and she discussed shifters in front of him, there could be bad consequences. His relationship with his sister might become more strained.

He’s your mate
.

Doesn’t mean he’s a Were,
she countered.

He is.

She’d have to trust her instincts this time. The fact her pulse was fluttering and a dampness was pooling between her thighs gave some credence to the whole idea that Brian Stanley might be her mate, but she wasn’t going to let her tiger know she might be a believer. All the more reason to find out who he was—or rather what he was.

Treading lightly on the steps so Brian wouldn’t hear her coming, she made it to the top landing. Suddenly, the door opened and Brian filled the frame. Guess she wasn’t as light on her feet as she thought, or else he had shifter hearing.

The man, or rather the
Were
, didn’t look pleased. “Jillian? What are you doing here?” The harshness in his voice was then replaced with a softening around his mouth. “Is Elana okay?”

Brian clearly loved his sister. “She’s fine. May I come in?”

He studied her as his body transformed from tense to almost rigid. Was he really considering not asking her in? If his body were vibrating half as much as hers, he would be freaking out right now, kind of like she was, and need to have her near. He lowered his gaze. “Sure.”

She stepped inside. The apartment was tiny and smelled like wood shavings—sweet and rich. Then again, maybe it was Brian’s scent doing some damage to her ability to distinguish smells. “This is cute.”

The dark leather sofa and chairs suited him.

“Thanks.” He cleared his throat. “You want a drink?”

She’d rather have answers, but a drink was better than him kicking her out. “Sure.”

Brian walked over to the kitchen and grabbed two beers from the fridge. She slipped off her long coat and placed it across the back of the sofa to let him know she planned to stay for a while.

He handed her the bottle. “What do you want?” His tone came out rather harshly again. Damn. He wasn’t making this easy, but she’d dealt with plenty of reluctant witnesses before. She could do this.

Most men wouldn’t have been so abrupt, but Brian had been raised without parents so she’d give him a pass—this time. She sipped her beer, and it went down smoothly. Perhaps because he was upset, his shifter signature was pulsing so strongly there was no mistaking he was a
Were
. “Why have you never told Elana that she’s your half sister?”

That came out way too angry, but Elana deserved to know.

“Excuse me?”

Her heart skipped a beat at the shock in his voice and the hardness around his eyes. Had her stupid tiger been trying to get the upper hand by somehow making her believe she smelled his shifter aura?

I’m never deceitful!
her animal declared.

You better not be.

“Then how do you explain that Elana was fully human before she met Kalan, and since you’re—”

“What?” He moved so close, his presence cut off her words. It wasn’t until a few seconds had passed before he averted his intense glare. “What do you mean by
fully human
? As opposed to what?”

So he wanted to play the game of denial? That wouldn’t fly with her. “As opposed to being a shifter.” There. She’d said it.

“What’s a shifter?”

Jillian had to hand it to him. He was a good actor, but she’d go along. He had to know what a shifter was. Hell, he was one. “A shifter is a person who is part animal.”

Brian loomed over her, and she found it difficult to breathe. “Lady, I don’t know who you are, but I do know you’re crazier than I’ve ever been.” He slipped the beer from her fingers. “Please leave.”

For the first time in years, Jillian was at a loss for words. “Half the town of Silver Lake is made up of shifters. Why are you in denial?”

“Me? In denial? Denial is when you won’t admit that something is true. I’ve spent the last thirty years in therapy revealing my deepest darkest secrets. I’m not in denial about anything. I’m willing to admit I was a shit to my sister when I walked away from her after we first met. I’m not ashamed to say that I was afraid to get close to her for fear she’d leave me—just like everyone else in my life.”

“Elana would never—”

He poked her shoulder with her bottle. “You don’t know anything about Elana. After I reread her texts and letters about a hundred times, I finally realized that she wanted to connect with me. Me.” He tapped his chest with the same bottle. “Her
brother
. She’s honest and good, so don’t say she’s not even human. As for myself, trust me, I’m fully human and all male.” She half expected him to grab his crotch, but thankfully, he didn’t. “While my mom said I acted like a wild animal as a child, I’m not one now.”

Shit. She’d royally messed this up.
What to do? What to do?

Prove it to him
, her tiger screamed.

No. Maybe I’m wrong. The scar-faced man in LA might have messed with my head.

You’re not wrong
.
What’s his scent doing to you right now? You want Brian, right?

Wanting had nothing to do with him being a
Were
. “I’m sorry. May we sit?” she asked.

His breath came out way too fast and his lips thinned as his gaze bounced around the room. “I guess, but don’t mention Elana again.”

He set her bottle on the coffee table then dropped onto the chair. Jillian sat on the sofa across from him. She wasn’t sure how to begin finding out if perhaps he was unaware of his animal heritage. His scent was indeed messing with her head, and there were way too many urges heating up her insides to deny he might be her mate, but it was still possible he wasn’t a shifter.

He has the scent of a shifter,
her tiger insisted.

“Can I ask whether when you were growing up, you felt this intense urge to be outside—especially at night? That sometimes the walls in your house felt like they were closing in on you?”

A quick flash of concern crossed his face, but then his stoic façade returned. “Every kid wants to be outside. If you had parents like mine, you’d consider running away on a daily basis. Why do you think I down so many pills? As far as running away, I was smart enough to know I wouldn’t get far, so instead, I acted out.”

That wasn’t quite what she’d asked. Damn. This wasn’t getting her anywhere. While she didn’t know everything he’d gone through as a child, she suspected it might be worse than how he was portraying it. During his youth, with his animal hormones coursing through his system, he would want to claw at the earth, climb a tree, and run wild. Since he wouldn’t understand why he had those urges, frustrations would continue to build. “It must have been pretty bad.”

“You have no idea what it was like having parents who wanted nothing to do with me.”

“Why do you suppose that was?”

He leaned back, his mouth slightly agape. “Lady, who the hell are you? Did my shrink send you to make sure I’m doing okay?”

“No one sent me.”

He stood. “I think you should go.”

Not liking that he was looking down at her, she stood too, but there was no way she was going to walk out of his apartment without proving to him that his parents might have decided he needed help because he was different. Being a shifter might explain some of their actions.

An overwhelming urge to give him comfort startled her. “I’ll go, but not before I show you something.”

“What’s that?”

“This.”

‡