Blackblood Bear (A Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (The Agency Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

Three
    Shay
    “Did you want to get a coffee?”
    Her stomach did a backflip. Shay wasn’t sure how to react. This was what she had expected him to say. Hell, if she were honest, it was what she had hoped he might say. So why was she so nervous all of a sudden, and unable to form her words?
    Get yourself together woman, or he’ll just move on to the next one.
    That wasn’t fair to her mystery biker, and she knew it even as the thought entered her mind. He might have the gorgeous good looks of a playboy, but the clear case of the nerves he was getting around her told her that he was, in fact, anything but that.
    “Okay,” she said, following his outstretched finger to see the coffee shop two units down from where they stood. Shay had managed to get the words out when her mind was distracted, but now she was committed to spending more time with him.
    As she watched, he hefted his bike again, using his tree trunk-like legs to do most of the lifting. She could see the way his arms bulged, muscles swelling in size as he kept it tight against his chest, walking down the road ahead of her. She could see his back through the rips in his leather jacket, and true to his word, fresh pink skin had covered up the cuts already.
    Glancing down, she noticed he had forgotten his helmet. Snagging it with her fingers, she set off after him, easily catching up. His steps weren’t overly quick. No matter how easy he made lifting the bike, it was obviously a lot of weight for him to carry, and likely unwieldy as well.
    “You forgot this,” she said, flipping him the helmet as he set the bike down and heading for the door.
    “Thank you,” he said before darting ahead to pull the door open for her, using the helmet to wave her through first.
    Shay covered a smile as she inclined her head royally in his direction, making sure he knew she was just joking with her feigned attitude.
    “What would you like today, your majesty? Anything you want is yours.” He paused. “As long as it’s on this menu.” He pointed at the rather limited menu, frowning. “For a big-chain place, they don’t exactly give you a lot of options, do they?”
    “Perhaps, but what they do offer is very good,” she said. “How have you never been here before?” She wasn’t positive about that, but his surprise at the menu seemed to indicate it.
    “Uh, this is rather embarrassing,” he admitted, “but I don’t drink coffee.”
    Shay tried not to snicker, but she was only partially successful.
    “What?” he asked, spreading his hands out to the sides.
    “So why ask to get a coffee then, if you don’t drink it?”
    He arched an eyebrow. “I got you to agree to spend more time with me, didn’t I?”
    Shay paused, her next words dying in her throat. He had a point. “And I fell for it, hook, line, and sinker,” she said softly, shaking her head.
    “Don’t be too harsh on yourself,” he joked as they moved up to the counter. “It often surprises me when I manage something this impressive as well.”
    Her laugh echoed through the small room, the sharp sound surprising both of them.
    “Your order,” he said, gesturing to the counter.
    Feeling embarrassed, she placed her order. Neither of them said much as they collected their steaming mugs and found a seat away from several other patrons. At this time of day, most of the customers simply walked in, grabbed their drinks, and left, so the seating area was relatively empty.
    “So you know bikes,” he said, making it more of a statement than a question.
    Shay’s guard came up, walls slamming into place immediately without her meaning to as memories bubbled to the surface. Of her racing days, of flying around the track, unencumbered by anything more than her protective suit, a roll cage, and a carbon fiber body designed to cut the air in the most aerodynamic way possible.
    Memories of freedom.
    Although she had settled on open-cockpit race cars, there had been a time when motorcycles and other forms of