Page 8 of Choose the Bears

The other two men who’d stepped between me and Phil jogged over, eyes shining. One wore glasses and had the same honey-coloured eyes that Kyle did, making me wonder if they were brothers. He had a t-shirt with a superhero logo on it, but his slightly nerdy facade was at odds with his build. The t-shirt was stretched tight across a broad chest, his bicep muscles popping as he pushed his glasses up his nose, but it was the other man who’s appearance caught my focus.

Pale blue eyes, they were the same colour as Phil’s, but entirely different in his face. Now they were like lasers, cutting through the darkness and into my eyes.

“Are you?” he demanded in a growl of a voice.

His face was lean without an inch of softness in it, not even his lips, which were pursed right now, drawing attention to something else. A deep, angry, red gnarl of a scar came snaking down his cheekbone, dragging the eyelid on that side down slightly. Staring at the scar was wrong, I remembered that as I saw his cheeks flush.

He was embarrassed. That I could make such a massive, strong, good-looking man feel like that filled me with an odd sense of power, right before shame slammed in.

“I’m fine.” My voice was all fluttery, making a mockery of my words. I cleared my throat and tried again. “Really, I’m fine. I just need to get home.”

“Home with him?” Blue eyes demanded.

“No, he’s not my boyfriend.” The three men’s frowns deepened. “Actually none of them are.” My breath was coming in faster and faster. “I’m moving out tonight, so thank you, but I’m going to go now because its a long drive home.”

“We’ll help.”

Glasses guy sounded so sweet, and then he blinked, as if shocked by what he’d just said.

“Sorry, I’m Lucas, that’s Kyle.” My first rescuer nodded. “He’s Asher. We’ll… Let us help.” He glanced back at the party going on before returning his focus to me. “That’s why you were sneaking away, right? To get moved out before your… not-boyfriend realises.”

God, if they’d worked it out, so would Mike.

“Um, yeah?—”

“So we’ll help you.” Asher was the extremely intimidating one, something that only intensified as he grabbed a card from his wallet and held it out for me to look at. “That’s what we do. We provide security for women and children getting out of domestic violence situations.”

“Oh, well…” I went to press it back into his hand, but he refused to take it. “That’s not me.” I smiled but it came out as an ugly grimace. “No domestic violence here. I just need to move out?—”

“Without him knowing.” Kyle nodded slowly, looking a little sad. “Well, rather than argue semantics, how about you let us help you? You’ll be out of your old place and into the new onebefore it gets too late and then…” I watched his Adam’s apple bob. “You’ll be safe.”

That word was all it took to convince me. These men might be strangers, but right now I didn’t care. Safe, I wanted that so much, so I looked up and nodded.

“Thanks, that would be amazing.”

Chapter 4

Asher

She was in my car. Her scent, this combination of wild roses and the smell of the air on a summer night, filled the interior, forcing my hands to lock tightly around the steering wheel lest I reach for her. I had to keep that urge at bay by staring into the rear vision mirror, watching her find her seat in the back. Kyle would follow us in her car. I’d reasoned she was too shaky to drive, and Imogen had to agree when she looked down at her hands.

Imogen, my mate’s name was Imogen.

It rolled around on my tongue, ready to be spoken, along with a whole lot more. That she was mine, ours, and we’d always…

Not yet. Not now. Not while adrenaline was still pumping through her veins, and she was glancing around wildly with the look of a hunted animal. Maybe not ever, if I didn’t think it was best for Imogen. Protect, that’s what I, what the bear thought, the impulse pulsing through every vein. I saw fur prickle across my arms, the bear too close, and Lucas shot me a warning look as I turned the key in the ignition.

Get her home. Get her moved into her new place. Make her feel safe. Those were promises I made to the bear and I was forced to visualise each one for him, to stop him from pushing forward. But right when the bear was starting to settle down,hestumbled into our path.

Imogen’s rapidly inhaled breath told me everything.

I’d put the other bloke hassling her on his arse, making sure it was clear he needed to stay down. The bear wanted to rip his fucking head off and I wanted to let him. But this guy… My focus was my mate, not him, and I saw the way she pressed her back against her seat, trying to put as much space between him and her as possible. He was the real threat.

“That’s…” she said, not able to finish the sentence.

“Don’t worry, we’ve got this.”

I swerved around the prick, something made slightly more difficult by his inebriated state, and took some satisfaction when a shower of dirt and pebbles hit him as we passed. It was enough to have him staggering back at least. I took off down the road then at greater speed than needed. Lucas shot me another long look, but he understood. It was go or jump out of the car and obliterate anything in my path.

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