Chapter 2

Marcus POV

Taaffe’s Bar is hopping. Before I even open the door, the sounds of old school 80’s rock music and laughter spill out onto the street. When I step inside, the atmosphere is buzzing with the uplifting energy of shifters and humans all having a good time. The décor is rustic, wood and some exposed brick, nothing fancy, nothing that can’t be replaced or wiped down. The smell of hops and deep-fried bar food fills my nostrils as I survey the full booths and tables, and the small groups gathered around the high tables dotted around the place.

I edge my way past the Saturday evening crowd and head straight for the bar, sliding onto an empty stool in the corner and turning to observe the patrons. This place seems to attract a nice crowd. When I enquired at the local diner where would be the best place to go for a drink, I was told that this was really the only place, so that decided it. I’m relieved that it’s not a complete dive. I don’t doubt that there’s the odd bar fight, there always is in a shifter town where tempers are a bit shorter and emotions run a bit higher, but I don’t see any evidence of a rough element in town. A bonus point for Grey Ridge. It’ll be a welcome change to have a good pub to frequent that I won’t have to get called to every other night.

I should probably already know a little bit more about my new hometown, but I had just been so grateful to get the job and the excuse to move away from home that I didn’t care where I was going. Anywhere was better than there. A change has been badly needed for far too long.

A very large, very bald, very serious-looking barman stops in front of me with a clean dish towel tossed over his shoulder and eyes me carefully. Tattoos adorn his forearms and knuckles, but he’s clean-shaven and wears a blue shirt. The owner I’m guessing given the rest of the staff seems to be dressed casually in just black t-shirts and jeans. He probably knows everyone in this town, and a big grizzly bear shifter like me sticks out like a sore thumb. He’s serving me himself to mind his staff and suss me out, and truth be told he’s right to watch me. Any bear shifter has the potential to wreak havoc, and there are plenty of them that like to throw their weight around just for the hell of it. Make that two bonus points for Taaffe’s, it’s also a well-run bar. Maybe life in Grey Ridge won’t be too bad at all.

“Hey, how are you doing? Can I just get a bottle of beer please?” I ask, and he nods, reaching into the cooler behind him before flipping the lid off and handing the chilled bottle to me. He settles his large frame against the fridge and folds his arms in front of him like he has all the time in the world as if there aren’t five other people trying to catch his attention to get served.

“New in town or just passing through?” He asks, keeping his tone friendly but there’s no beating around the bush, and I like a man who’s straight to the point, just like me. He seems to be suggesting that passing through is the better answer. He’s a shifter too, but I can’t place exactly what kind. Not a bear like me, but not a wolf like the majority of customers in here.

“New in town. Marcus Lennox, Miranda’s replacement,” I half stand from my stool and lean across the bar, offering my hand to the man to put his mind at ease. He visibly relaxes and pushes forward off the fridge, moving in closer.

“Sean,” he says, a broad smile cracking his face. His intimidating demeanor is quickly replaced by a relaxed one as he shakes my hand enthusiastically. “No shit, a bear running a wolf town. They must think this place has gone to hell if they’re sending in the big guns.”

I have to laugh at that. Any bear working in law enforcement is well used to people thinking we’re only brought in to quell trouble, our animals large and dominant enough to put most shifters back in line.

“No, no, nothing like that, I was just looking for a change of scene when this came up,” I reassure him as I settle back onto my stool.

“Well, I hope you like things quiet,” he wipes down the counter as he talks, completely at ease now, “the pack here is a good one, well run, and we rarely have any trouble. You might be twiddling your thumbs, Sheriff Lennox.”

“Oh, believe me, I can live with that,” I give him a nod as I settle back into watching the crowd, and he moves on to serve his other customers. My eyes drift around the room, and I catch the eyes of a few she-wolves eyeing me with blatant interest. Wolves love power which makes my sheer size and the dominance of my bear attractive to most.

Technically, I don’t start my new job until Monday morning, which means that tonight, I can have a bit of fun and enjoy myself, blow off some steam if I see someone who takes my fancy. My bear is agitated even at the thought of that and has been tense since we got here. Our last home was isolated and I’m not a people person. Maybe after coming from somewhere where it’s all bears, the sheer number of other shifters around have him all antsy. Whatever it is, he’s driving me crazy. Even despite that, the hungry glances are doing nothing for me. When one particularly brazen bottle blonde she-wolf licks her painted red lips and winks at me, I snort and turn back to face the bar. No thanks, not my type.

I take a long swig and gesture at Sean to bring me another when I sense rather than see someone walking up behind me. The breeze blowing through the door as it shuts softly behind her carries the delicious scent of cherry blossoms, even with the overpowering scents mingling in the bar, and I take a deep swallow as my mouth literally waters.

My optimism escalates another notch when a slim, olive-skinned hand grips the bar right next to my own, and a curtain of glossy dark chestnut hair swishes past my shoulder as my new companion slips gracefully onto the stool next to mine. I can only see the back of her head as she chats easily with Sean, and he places a beer in front of her without her even asking. He waves away the cash she holds out as if offended that she is even attempting to pay him for it. She laughs as she tips her bottle to him, and it lifts my soul with how light and happy it sounds. She takes her black leather jacket off and stands to hang it on the back of the stool, exposing silky skin and toned arms. Her skin-tight black jeans show off a curvy firm backside and tiny waist, the perfect combination for a bear who likes a bit of something to grab onto.

Naturally dark pink lips wrap themselves around the mouth of the bottle and my dick twitches in my pants as she pours some of the amber liquid down her neck. She lets out a contented sigh and I fight back a growl as desire floods my veins. Jesus, I haven’t even seen her face and I’m already imagining that mouth wrapped around me. What the hell is up with me and my bear tonight?

I clear my throat as I try to bring my brain back online, and she tenses, as though she’s only just noticing my presence now. Her long fingers grip the counter tightly as she turns around slowly to face me straight on, and I’m rewarded with my first glimpse of the most exquisite creature I have ever seen. Thick black eyelashes frame sparkling hazel eyes. High cheekbones and clear tan skin make her look bright and healthy, and those lips, full and pouty, just begging to be kissed. She’s a goddess.

One side of her mouth tips up in a shy smile and her cheeks flush slightly. She’s blushing, a goddamn, sex on legs she-wolf, is blushing at me and I’m done for. I just stare at her, mutely, for what I’m sure is far too long to be either cool or appropriate but she stares back, seemingly equally enthralled by the crackling energy filling the space between us.

“Eh, Marcus, this is Leila, local doc and all-round pack legend,” Sean introduces us, watching our interaction carefully. When neither of us responds, he shakes his head slightly and moves on up the bar.

“All-round legend? What do you have to do to earn that title around here?” I finally ask, and my voice comes out deep and gravelly like I’m having to force the words out. Which I am. My bear seems content to just ogle like some sort of weird creeper. She blinks rapidly, trying to snap herself out of whatever spell is wrapped around us, and smiles at me.

“Sean’s definition is a little different to most peoples. Stitching up a few brawling shifters on the QT is probably a bad thing in most people’s books,” she admits with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes, and I can’t help but laugh. She has no clue that I’m the new sheriff in town.

“That all sounds a bit dodgy,” I tease, and she grins back at me.

“Well, it’s a boring town Marcus, a girl has to get her kicks somehow,” She winks at me, and it’s all I can do to stop myself from hauling her to me and kissing the fuck out of her right here and now. I’ve lost my damn mind. Thirty seconds after meeting might be a bit too soon to be ravishing her in a crowded bar, so I distract myself by checking for a ring or a mark and am very grateful to see neither.

A little bit more flirting, a few touches here and there, and I’m on fire. My fingertips burn to touch her but despite the chemistry between us, I can tell that she’s a classy lady and I don’t want to crash and burn her by coming on too strong. She’s smart too, and witty. Too good for me but she seems to be just as attracted to me as I am to her if her dilated pupils and elevated heart rate are anything to go by. This isn’t any ordinary wolf. This is not the kind of woman you just want one night with.

I know I’m in big trouble because when she asks me to dance, I don’t refuse as I would anyone else. Instead, I stand and move out to the side of the dance floor with her and seize the chance to hold her body tight against me, one hand on her waist, the other holding her hand loosely to my chest as we sway side to side. I have a flash of us doing this in a kitchen, when we’re old, laughing and smiling as we stay pressed close together and the vision is like a kick in the gut. It knocks the wind out of me, and I’m stunned. I am normally the grumpy bear that just grunts at everyone until they leave me alone, but she has me hooked already and I’d do anything just to get more. More of her, more of her time, and definitely more of that body.

I glance down at the little dark-haired firecracker the gods have been kind enough to dump into my lap and grin when I see her looking up at me adoringly. What the hell is this? I’ve never felt an instant connection with someone like this before.

We’re back at the bar and I’m trying to find a way to tactfully broach the subject of getting out of here because I need to be alone with her more than I’ve ever needed anything else. Every time we touch, my bear is getting more and more worked up and pushing me to just haul her out of there in the most ungentlemanly manner imaginable. How to do it in a way though that lets her know that it’s not just tonight I want? Because for the first time in a long time, I can see something serious starting here.

But just like the story of my life, nothing good ever lasts. As she speaks the five words that will change the rest of my life forever, I curse the heavens, because nothing can ever be easy.

“My name is Leila Jones.”   

The Alpha’s daughter. Way too good for a bear like me and the one person I can’t mess around with without getting kicked out of the town. And where would I go then? Home? Fuck that. Either my father will kill me, or that town will destroy what little it hasn’t already of my soul.

No matter what, if I take this woman home with me tonight, that’ll be the end of us, we’ll have no chance. I’m dead in the water if I show up to my first meeting with him having already bedded his daughter and done all the seriously filthy things that I’m imagining to her. I already know that having her and losing her will break me. A woman like this is like a drug, one taste and I’ll be addicted. I’ll never fit into her world but maybe, just maybe, if I wait and prove to her, and the Alpha, that I can be a good provider, we’d have a shot.

I want to roar, I want to tear this place apart, but I’m the new sheriff so I can’t be the one causing a scene, and this isn’t Leila’s fault either. I pause and look at her, and I see it. She’s too quick, she’s copped my hesitation and I see a little bit of the sparkle in her eyes fade and it kills me. She already has my heart, but it’s not meant to be. Not yet anyway.