Bear-ly A Hero (Bear Claw Security 2) Read Online Free

“I’ll go in the morning. I’ll be fine until then.” She gave him a weak smile. “I just overreacted, obviously.”
    Limes leaned back, hands behind his head. “You shouldn’t judge on appearances.”
    She looked like she wanted to argue but was too scared to. “Sorry,” she said insincerely.
    He liked that. “What?”
    “What do you mean?” she asked, feigning innocence.
    “What are you pissed about?” He gestured to her posture. “You said sorry, but your eyes said, ‘Fuck you,’ so what’s your problem, lady?”
    “You’re rude,” she said flatly, folding her arms.
    “I believe you were told that,” he retorted.
    “And you say I’m useless.”
    “You behaved uselessly,” he said.
    “And you look like a thug,” she said.
    His lips tightened at that. “I am a thug. I work in personal security.”
    “But you’re supposed to be a hacker. You’re supposed to be—”
    He stood abruptly, cutting her off as he crossed the room and stopped in front of her chair, intimidating her as he put a hand on each side of her, caging her in. “I’m not supposed to be anything but what I am.”
    He liked the way fire lit in her dark eyes as she looked up at him. Finally, she seemed more angry than afraid.
    That was good. He liked her angry. He didn’t like her cowering in fear.
    She pushed at his chest, and he stepped back easily. He could almost feel her heart pounding as she stared at him, hair more undone, face slightly flushed. “Fine,” she said. “Be what you want as long as you get out of my house.”
    Limes simply took a step back and glanced at the couch. Then he walked down the hall beyond the kitchen and flicked on a light there.
    He ignored her muttered protests as he looked for a linen closet. When he found one and opened it, he heard her squeak in response and stand up, coming to the end of the hall to watch him.
    “What are you doing?” she asked.
    “Making a bed,” he said, bringing sheets forward and spreading them over the couch so he could sleep there and watch the entrances. The window and the door were the most probable entry points.
    “But-but… I don’t want to hire you,” she said helplessly. As if she knew it were impossible to dissuade him.
    “Too bad,” he said, lying back on the too-small couch and resting his head on his hands, pretending he could somehow get relaxed in this position. “I’m staying whether you like it or not.”
    She took in a deep breath, and he glanced at her, enjoying the way she seemed like a teapot. All steamed up and ready to blow.
    He almost expected her to yell at him, but instead, she turned on her heel and stomped down the hallway.
    Then he heard her footsteps coming back. “Fine!” she said. “Stay if you want. But in the morning, you’re fired!” Then, with a little screech of disgust, she was gone.
    Limes gave a bitter grin. “We’ll see about that.”
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    T he next morning , Limes was up and ready when she was. Which was good, because after a sleepless night followed by awful dreams, she was cranky and fired up and ready to march back into Bear Claw Security to let them know there had been a mistake.
    Limes was in her kitchen, eating breakfast. Her eyes widened at the plates in front of him. One was covered in eggs, poorly cooked and just sort of splayed over it, and some badly burned toast, which he was devouring as he read something on his phone.
    He turned to her with a grin as she approached.
    Even as she thought she was starting to get used to him, she managed to still feel a chill down her spine when she took him in. He was ginormous. And those tattoos. And that height. And that face. Why did that face have to look so mean? Was it the super-short, almost buzzed hair? Was it the stubble? The way even his smile looked evil? Those green eyes?
    He raised a glass of orange juice to her as she glared at the mess he’d made.
    “Helped yourself, I guess,” she said, pulling a low-cal shake from the fridge and downing it