The Bear's Mate (5 page)

“Did
you remember to water the plants and give them the plant food?”

She
nodded. “Oh and before I forget, Mrs. Newson wanted to know if it was okay to
come by and see you one afternoon.”

His
father pulled a face. His neighbor wasn’t all that subtle in her attempts to
pursue her father.

“Tell
her maybe next week. I know she’s just trying to woo me.”

Charlotte
laughed. “I’ll have to put her straight about that then, no wooing Dad.”

“Get
out of her and stop teasing me, sweetpea.”

She
blew him a kiss and left.

Charlotte
would love him to find a woman to grow old with, but he’d had the most perfect
woman in her mother, and she doubted even the most wonderful woman in the world
could find a place in his heart. She pressed the elevator button to go down to
the main floor. She guessed growing up with the most in love, and perfect
matched couple was the reason she refused to settle for anything less than the
perfect man. Damn, her parents had made her set the bar so high maybe she’d
stay single all her life.

She
headed out to the parking lot and pulled up the collar on her jacket. A cold
wind had picked up, and it looked like more rain.
 
She didn’t know why but she suddenly thought
of Aiden Renner. She could still see those gorgeous blue eyes of his looking at
her before he planted a kiss on her lips.

She
got into her car and touched her mouth. Pity he’d had an ulterior motive for
the act.

****

Aiden
checked on Christopher one more time before he left his condo. He’d made him a
sandwich and then helped him get into bed. He glanced at the clock on the table
beside it, just a few minutes past nine. The earliest he’d ever known his
brother be in bed and asleep. He pulled the door almost closed, hoping he
didn’t wake him. He’d learned his lesson about the consequences of trying to
have your cake and eat it too. However, while Aiden initially brushed off his
bad behavior as you’re an idiot, but I can put this right, so he didn’t feel
too bad, reality had now set in and he had a problem to solve.

Aiden
sat down and looked out of the window. It was dark, and it would soon be time
for him to go and retrieve the vial of blood before any tests were run on it.
He took a deep breath, and for the first time in years, felt the weight of his
responsibility wearing down his shoulders. Sometimes he wished he literally
could lift it off his body and hand it to someone else.
Even
if it was just for a month.
Hell, even a week would be nice. During that
time he’d be able to focus on himself, he’d maybe get a life. And yes, a love
life wouldn’t be bad either.

Easing
back in the chair, he suddenly thought of the pretty doctor. If only his life
wasn’t do damn complicated. He envied regular guys.
Ones that
weren’t in charge of the well-being of so many people.

Christopher’s
foolishness could start a chain reaction that might be hard to stop. He shook
his head. He’d always told everyone the smallest of slipups or not keeping your
guard up, could cost them everything. Humans could catch on to the fact that
aliens lived among them. He could only imagine the panic that would set in.
They’d probably be rounded up, examined, or dissected. He squeezed his eyes
shut, not wanting to think about that scenario.

He
glanced at his watch. He’d sat for too long. It was time to get to the clinic
and hopefully get the blood back.

Chapter Four

 
Charlotte pushed her shoulders down under the
bubble adorned water. This was heaven. Aiden’s kiss had been blissful too. She
set her head back on the inflated bath pillow at the base of her neck still
thinking about what had happened in her office, and not just the kiss. Why
would anyone want to steal a dirty tissue unless it was because of the blood on
it?
The blood that had
a strange texture and hue
.
Charlotte lifted her hand and let some
water dribble down from it onto the space between her breasts.
 
Not that big of a deal because she still had
the vial of the brother’s blood. Being the over thinker that she sometimes was,
and wanting to leave anything to chance, she’d even brought it home with her.

She
eased her shoulders down farther into the tub and welcomed the warmth of the
water. Retrieving the tissue had obviously been the one and only motive. Damn
shame because on a scale of one to ten, the kiss had rated a high 8. She hadn’t
experience one of those for a long time. She missed having sex too. Hell, she
missed having a man around.

Closing
her eyes, she did her best to relax because she had another long day ahead of
her tomorrow. First she needed to stop by the hospital and get tests done on
the blood. If there was something wrong with Christopher, it was best they
found out ASAP. Every doctor knew the chances of curing something or stopping
it in its tracks was to catch it sooner rather than later. After a stop at the
hospital, it would onto the clinic, where she’d probably work to around six, or
like tonight, seven-thirty.

Tonight,
working late had been worth it. The kiss, however brief or motive based, had
been the reward.

For
one stupid moment, Charlotte wondered what it would be like to make love with Aiden.
She bet he’d be a top notch lover giving her an orgasm in no time flat. Feeling
a pull in her pussy again, her hand slipped under the bubbles, and before she
realized it she was stroking her clit while images of Aiden flashed through her
mind. She could even feel his lips on hers again.
Like it was
happening all over again.
Her arms around his body.
The big muscular, sexy body that reminded her of a big bad
bear.
She wasn’t quite why she’d thought of that wild beast.

Her
legs quivered as she rubbed harder. He was inside her about to thrust her into
paradise. Charlotte whimpered and then accidently slipped underneath the water
as an orgasm took her by surprise.

She
coughed, trying to get all the soap water out of her mouth. She’d never
experienced a self-inflicted orgasm happen that quickly before. Usually it took
her five or ten minutes of playing with her clit for anything close to seeing
fireworks. Just what effect would Aiden have on her if he was the one doing the
rubbing?

* * * *

He
had to be an idiot because breaking into a medical facility was one the
craziest things he’d ever done. If he got caught his career would be over. If
he lost his job or worse yet, got arrested and did any jail time, the group would
probably have to move on to another safe haven without him. Were they ready for
that? Without being conceited, he couldn’t think of anyone who could take over
the role.

Darting
behind a tree when a car passed by, Aiden looked toward the back of the building
that housed the free clinic. It was a stand-alone structure and probably the
safest way in was round back where there was less chance of him being spotted
from the main road that was still busy even at this time of night.

He
waited until a car had passed and its headlight no longer outlined his
silhouette, before sprinting around to the side. The clinic stocked drugs so
without a doubt an alarm system was in place, and Dr. Delaney had most likely armed
it before she’d left the building. If he disabled it and picked the lock,
probably no one would even know that someone had been inside. That was if he
could do it. Sure he’d picked locks before, but he wasn’t an expert. One slip
or mistake could actually trigger the alarm and have the police here in no time.
For all he knew it could even be a silent alarm. And outside cameras, no, he
hadn’t seen a sign of a single one.

 
On the other hand, a safer way would be to
make look like a break in. He’d take a few drugs with him and Dr. Delaney would
assume a junkie had been looking for a quick fix or a non-addict looking to
make a fast score for some extra cash. Yes, just about everyone needed more
income these days, so that made the most sense.

If
he set off the alarm it wouldn’t take long for someone from law enforcement to
arrive. He didn’t know where to look for the vial of blood, so there was a good
chance he’d get caught red-handed. The headlights of a passing car grazed over
him, and he knelt behind a bush until it was gone.

It
was getting cold out here so he’d better decide what he was going to do before
he froze. Most likely it was an alarm that went straight to the police
department. He’d have to be quick, not waste a second locating that vial of
blood, take a few drugs, and then get the hell of there.

He
turned his face away from the pane of glass behind him, bent his arm and shoved
his elbow through the window. It shattered and now all he needed to do was tap
away the rest of the shards, and he could climb safely inside.

Having
better vision at night than day was a big asset as Aiden made his way through the
clinic searching for the
lab.
 
No flashlight needed. On his way, he stopped
by the medicine cupboard, pulled out some bottles, scattered them on the floor
and then slipped a few into his jacket pocket. That would make it look more
like a real break in.

He
hurried across the hallway, realizing this was the exact spot he’d first seen
Charlotte standing there in her thong. He raised his head up; the smell of her
scent still hung in the air. Her light perfume invaded his nostrils. He also
remembered the kiss in her office. Sure he had a motive for doing it, but it
hadn’t been much of a hardship on his part. It had been fantastic. He wouldn’t
mind doing it again and again. A jolt of electricity passed through him right
down to his toes.
 
He tried not to think
about her has he headed farther down the hallway, but she was too damn sexy not
to.

He
opened a door at the end of the hallway and sighed of relief when he saw some
test tubes sitting on the countertop. He’d found the clinic’s lab. For a minute
there he’d thought he’d have to leave empty handed.

The
sound of police sirens wailed in the background.
Yeah, just
as he’d thought, silent alarm system.
He needed to hurry.

Aiden
walked over to the countertop and searched through the contents. There were
vials, but every single one of them was empty. He searched around like a mad
man. It had to be here. He’d seen her take Christopher’s blood and put it into
a vial with a bright blue cap.

Sweat
broke out on his forehead. Of course, why hadn’t he thought of the obvious? Some
clinics sent their specimens to an outside laboratory.

Shit,
now what was he going to do? He tapped his fingers on the desk nearby as the
sound of sirens got closer. He had to find what lab Charlotte used. That meant
seeing her again or at least speaking to her, and all without raising any
suspicions.

Judging
by the sound, the police car was only a few blocks away now. He sprinted down
the hallway and then out the back door.
 
Aiden
managed to get into his car and was half a block away before he passed the
first police car.

Fuck,
he thought that would take care of everything, but if he couldn’t get that
blood back they might all be finished.

Chapter Five

Charlotte
pounded at the alarm clock button with her fist, but the damn thing wouldn’t
die. The shrill sound continued to fill her bedroom. She finally admitted
defeat and flopped over on her back. The room was pitch-black. Peeking at the
gap in the drapes, she noticed it was still dark outside.
 
That was strange because her alarm was always
set for 7:00 a.m. and at this time of the year it was usually lighter than this
in the morning. She flopped on her side again looking at the object in
question. It was just past midnight, and the sound wasn’t coming from her alarm
clock, but the phone next to it.

Whoever
was calling wasn’t giving up or in the mood for leaving a message on her voice
mail. The clinic didn’t offer after-hours emergency service, so it wasn’t
connected to that. Anyone needing medical assistance past 6:00 p.m. was told to
go to the nearest ER. Charlotte sat up, flipped on the light and squinted while
reaching for the phone, saying a silent prayer that everything was okay with
her dad.

“Hello.”

“Dr.
Delaney?”

“Yes,
speaking.”

“I’m
the deputy sheriff Brenner of Outlook Valley, and there’s been a break in at
the clinic.”

Shit.
She ran her hands through her hair. Had she said that out loud or just thought
it?
Hard to tell at this time of the morning.

“If
it’s not too much trouble, we’d like you to come to the clinic and tell us
what’s missing. We assume this is drug related, but we want to be sure.”

“You
mean right now?”

“It
could wait, but the alarm’s been set off and probably you need to reset and arm
it.”

So much for crawling into bed for a nice
long sleep.