Guardian Bears: Marcus Read Online Free Page A
Author: Leslie Chase
cup of coffee. Usually that would have worried her - it wasn’t as though the shop was doing that well on its best days - but today she welcomed the slow start. It gave her time to think, and to do the books which she’d been neglecting for too long.
The bell on the door finally rang sometime around eleven, and she looked up with a start. A flash of remembered dream filled her mind’s eye: Cal, looming over her, a slimy smile plastered across his face and hunger in his eyes.
Stop it, Lisa, she told herself. You’re letting them get to you.
He’d been visiting her in the shop all too often. It was the one place that she couldn’t get away from him. That was another reason she wasn’t looking forward to being on her own here for two weeks: she wouldn’t be able to avoid him at all.
To Lisa’s relief, this time it wasn’t Cal standing silhouetted in the morning light.
Marcus still wore his leather jacket, which looked bare without club patches. She swallowed, looking him up and down instinctively. She couldn’t help noticing how his dark jeans fit him so perfectly.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded, her voice dry and croaking.
“I thought I’d visit an old friend, that’s all,” he said, stepping inside and looking around. “And I need to pick up a few things.”
“I wasn’t expecting a visitor,” she said, glaring at him. “You didn’t tell me you were going to be back in town.”
“Now you know,” he said, sounding unconcerned. He paced around the store, looking it over with a careful, critical eye that made Lisa feel nervous, though she couldn’t say what she was afraid he’d find.
Lisa looked up at him as he approached the counter, unable to decide what to do, what to say. Part of her wanted to kiss him again. Part of her wanted to shout at him. And part of her wanted to run away from her confused feelings.
She settled for glaring.
“Are going to tell me what’s going on,” she said. “It’s been nearly eight years, and this is the first I see of you? I assumed you were making something of yourself, doing something real. What are you doing getting mixed up with the Serpents of all people?”
Marcus’s eyes shone in the morning light, and she found she couldn’t look away. He leaned forward, looking her in the eyes. “What do you mean, making something of myself?”
“I don’t know!” Lisa felt her cheeks heating and shook her head. “That you’d gotten a proper job, gotten married, settled down to raise a family?”
“You ought to know better than that,” Marcus replied, voice light and eyes sparkling as though it was all a joke. “Like I’d settle for anyone but you.”
Lisa turned her back, gritting her teeth. That wasn’t fair. She’d given up on seeing him again years ago, but at least she’d been able to believe that he’d gotten out of this town and found something good to do with his life. Now here he was, coming back and making friends with the people who were dragging the town into the dirt! And he treated it like some kind of joke, like she should be glad to see him.
Maybe he didn’t know how bad things were around here. How the police were useless now and how the good businesses were being bought out and ruined by the Serpents one by one. It hadn’t been as obvious before he left, after all. But no, he was doing business with them - Lisa wasn’t going to extend the benefit of the doubt to anyone like that. Not even Marcus.
“I can’t have this conversation,” she said. “I won’t have a friend of the Serpents in my store.”
She heard the floorboards creak as his weight shifted.
“Things don’t always work out how you’d like,” he said, his voice more serious. “I’ve got some stuff to do with them, and that’s just how it is.”
Lisa gritted her teeth, taking a deep breath and trying to calm herself. “You don’t know what it’s been like around here since you left! You haven’t been around, you don’t know. Your
The bell on the door finally rang sometime around eleven, and she looked up with a start. A flash of remembered dream filled her mind’s eye: Cal, looming over her, a slimy smile plastered across his face and hunger in his eyes.
Stop it, Lisa, she told herself. You’re letting them get to you.
He’d been visiting her in the shop all too often. It was the one place that she couldn’t get away from him. That was another reason she wasn’t looking forward to being on her own here for two weeks: she wouldn’t be able to avoid him at all.
To Lisa’s relief, this time it wasn’t Cal standing silhouetted in the morning light.
Marcus still wore his leather jacket, which looked bare without club patches. She swallowed, looking him up and down instinctively. She couldn’t help noticing how his dark jeans fit him so perfectly.
“What are you doing here?” she demanded, her voice dry and croaking.
“I thought I’d visit an old friend, that’s all,” he said, stepping inside and looking around. “And I need to pick up a few things.”
“I wasn’t expecting a visitor,” she said, glaring at him. “You didn’t tell me you were going to be back in town.”
“Now you know,” he said, sounding unconcerned. He paced around the store, looking it over with a careful, critical eye that made Lisa feel nervous, though she couldn’t say what she was afraid he’d find.
Lisa looked up at him as he approached the counter, unable to decide what to do, what to say. Part of her wanted to kiss him again. Part of her wanted to shout at him. And part of her wanted to run away from her confused feelings.
She settled for glaring.
“Are going to tell me what’s going on,” she said. “It’s been nearly eight years, and this is the first I see of you? I assumed you were making something of yourself, doing something real. What are you doing getting mixed up with the Serpents of all people?”
Marcus’s eyes shone in the morning light, and she found she couldn’t look away. He leaned forward, looking her in the eyes. “What do you mean, making something of myself?”
“I don’t know!” Lisa felt her cheeks heating and shook her head. “That you’d gotten a proper job, gotten married, settled down to raise a family?”
“You ought to know better than that,” Marcus replied, voice light and eyes sparkling as though it was all a joke. “Like I’d settle for anyone but you.”
Lisa turned her back, gritting her teeth. That wasn’t fair. She’d given up on seeing him again years ago, but at least she’d been able to believe that he’d gotten out of this town and found something good to do with his life. Now here he was, coming back and making friends with the people who were dragging the town into the dirt! And he treated it like some kind of joke, like she should be glad to see him.
Maybe he didn’t know how bad things were around here. How the police were useless now and how the good businesses were being bought out and ruined by the Serpents one by one. It hadn’t been as obvious before he left, after all. But no, he was doing business with them - Lisa wasn’t going to extend the benefit of the doubt to anyone like that. Not even Marcus.
“I can’t have this conversation,” she said. “I won’t have a friend of the Serpents in my store.”
She heard the floorboards creak as his weight shifted.
“Things don’t always work out how you’d like,” he said, his voice more serious. “I’ve got some stuff to do with them, and that’s just how it is.”
Lisa gritted her teeth, taking a deep breath and trying to calm herself. “You don’t know what it’s been like around here since you left! You haven’t been around, you don’t know. Your