Page 54 of Bear In A Bookstore
“Nothing.”
James swirled his bottle, groaned when he realized it was empty. Desi flagged the bartender for another round.
“Maybe you can help me. My apartment was ransacked tonight.”
Angelo snorted. “So?”
“I think it was the same guy who stole pages from your copy of Dirty Riches.”
That got their attention.
“Is there anything you can tell me about the guy? Anything specific?”
They looked at each other and James returned his attention to his empty beer.
“He was short but strong. Fast for someone who walked like an old man. I don’t know. Maybe he was a shifter like you, but smaller?”
“Did he say anything to you?”
Angelo shook his head. “He grabbed the book, ripped out the pages and tossed it back at me. It happened in the blink of an eye. I don’t know. It was dark and he was dressed in all black.”
Desi leaned in. “Is there anyone causing trouble from the other treasure hunting teams?”
James snorted. “This is a dog-eat-dog game, man. Everyone is causing trouble.”
“Even you two?”
“Nah, we just keep hitting dead ends. We’re going home in a couple days. Out of money and out of time. I got bills to pay, you know?”
They looked at each other again. “It sucks to go home empty-handed, especially after we told everyone we had the clues cracked and we knew where the treasure was.”
The bartender delivered their round. Desi flipped her some cash and stood.
“Sorry it didn’t work out, boys. Thanks for the info.”
He didn’t learn anything new, but Angelo confirmed that the man who’d stolen from them sounded the same as Desi’s intruder. He had work to do to figure out who the hell this was, but first, he needed to be with Kora.
Driving to her house, he relaxed as he pulled into the driveway. His bear stirred when it realized where they were, fully expecting to finish what they’d started earlier.
Nope, sorry, big guy.
He was here to keep her safe, not fuck her senseless, lose control, and make her his mate. No matter how badly he wanted to.
His heart flipped when he spied her peeking around the curtain. The outside light flipped on, and she opened the door, holding out her hand as he walked up the steps. Desi pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.
She was shaking.
“Hey, hey. It’s all right, Kora.”
“Is it?”
He exhaled deeply because he didn’t have a good answer for that. Removing his boots at the door, he double checked the security system and led her to bed. He crawled in behind her, pulling her tight as he wrapped his arm around her.
There’d be no sleep tonight. Between the intrusion and the feel of her body keeping his lust alive, he’d have plenty of time to think while she slept. Her body shook a long time until she finally slept, her breathing evening out, her muscles going soft.
She felt perfect against him. This is everything he wanted. The woman his bear recognized as its mate, sleeping in his arms. It would be perfect . . . if he didn’t feel like something was coming.
Chapter Nineteen
