Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Ryker

" Y ou gotta be fucking kidding me," I grunt as I walk into my hotel room and stare down at the tiny bed along the wall. After six hours in a plane, crammed into a seat designed for someone half my size, an hour in a taxi with a driver who wouldn't shut up—this is what I arrive to. A bed made for a child.

I groan as I drop my bag on the ground and try to turn up the air conditioning. All the labels are in Spanish and somehow the room gets even hotter.

I'm hot, annoyed, and hangry. My bear didn't make the flight easy on me at all. He was growling in my ear the entire time and when I squeezed into the small bathroom, the furry fucker tried to break out of my skin. That would have been a hell of a scene—a furious grizzly bear rampaging down the aisle of an airplane thirty thousand feet in the air.

It's hot as fuck in this country. The city is surrounded by rainforest, so the air is wet and sticky with more humidity than I've ever felt in my life.

I drop onto the bed with a groan and the whole fucking thing collapses.

"Of course," I say, laughing because what else is there to do at this point?

A few wooden planks have snapped and the thin mattress is on the floor. I'm staring up at the ceiling wondering when this nightmare is going to end. Not the job. The nightmare of not having my mate. Of not knowing where in the world she is.

I pick up the phone and hit the button for the front desk.

The guy answers, but it's all in Spanish. I spoke a little bit in high school, but that was a while ago and I lost most of it.

What's the word for bed?

"Casa," I say into the phone. "No. Cama!"

More rapid-fire Spanish.

"Slow down."

He talks faster.

"Oh, forget it."

I hang up the phone and take a deep breath. It's already late in the evening, so I'm giving up on the bed. I'll just put the mattress on the floor and do my best to fit on it.

I'm in the middle of texting my uncle—cursing him for getting me into this mess—when there's a knock on my door.

I get up and wince at the sudden burning sensation searing down my throat. It feels like I just drank a pint of gasoline and followed it up with a lit match.

"What the hell?" I whisper in a hoarse voice as I walk to the door. My lungs are smoldering, but it's a sweet burn. It almost feels good.

My bear perks up and is suddenly on full alert. He's not growling or snarling for a change. He's all perky like a bored dog who just got told he's going on a walk.

Another knock.

Hopefully, it's someone who can get me a new bed.

I yank the door open and the stunning angelic vision in front of me hits me like a punch to the heart. It seizes my soul as I step back, staring at her in awe.

"What…?" I whisper, not comprehending what's happening. My heart is pounding . My mouth is open. I can't take my eyes off this angel in front of me. She's… She's… Mine .

"Wow," she says as she looks me up and down. "You must be Ryker."

I just stare at her. My voice is gone.

It's the reporter I'm hired to protect. Gracie something.

"You're Ryker, right?" she says, looking at me funny.

I manage to nod my head.

"Oh good," she says as she walks past me into my room. "I'm going to feel much better with you by my—what happened to your bed?"

"I sat on it," I say in a deep hoarse voice as I stare at her.

She looks at my hulking size and grins. "Makes sense. I bet this isn't the first bed you've broken."

Her cheeks get red as she realizes what she just said. "I mean, because you're so… large."

She's adorable. I'm in love.

She has the most stunning black hair I've ever seen. It's pulled up into a messy ponytail, but it looks phenomenal on her. I squeeze my hand into a fist when I get an unstoppable urge to slide the elastic out and watch her silky black hair tumble down onto her bare shoulders.

She's wearing flip flops, shorts, and a tank top—showing off so much skin it's getting my pulse racing. I look her over from her head to her toes as she looks at the broken bed frame.

I have a feeling this is not going to be the last broken bed we'll be looking at. The strongest beds in the world won't survive what I want to do to her.

She's my mate.

It hits me hard.

Her sweet scent burning down my throat, my bear all calm and happy, the inexplicable feeling of awe I get whenever I look at her… This woman is my mate.

"How tall are you?" she asks, swallowing hard as those beautiful hazelnut eyes roam over my big arms. "Wait, is that rude to ask?"

"You can ask me anything," I tell her. "I'm 6'5."

She exhales and shakes her head a little as she looks at my broad shoulders.

"You look like you could single-handedly wrestle the whole Los Lobos de la Muerte into submission."

"I will if they lay a finger on you."

She smiles shyly and it nearly cuts my legs out from under me. I've never seen such a stunning sight. I hold onto the dresser as my thick legs get all weak and woozy.

"My boss Walter said your company is the best," she says as she sits on the desk by the window. "Have you been working there long?"

"Not really."

"But you've done a lot of security though, right?"

She's looking a little unsure. If she knew half of what I would do to keep her safe, she wouldn't be worried in the least.

I walk over and stand in front of her. Her hazelnut eyes rise to meet mine and my heart starts beating faster.

"No one will hurt you, Gracie," I promise her. "You have nothing to worry about."

"I'm just a little nervous," she says, shaking out her hands. "The more research I do on these guys, the more nervous I get. They're pretty evil men. Los Lobos de la Muerte. The Wolves of Death."

She shivers at the name.

I grit my teeth, hoping it's just a name and not a clue to something bigger. Cerberus didn't say anything about wolf shifters.

"They terrorize the local population," she says as she nervously looks out the window. "It's going to be okay, right?"

Men I can handle, but a whole crew of wolf shifters? I'm not so sure. I don't want my mate to be around an epic brawl like that if it starts to go down. I don't want my Gracie in any danger, especially for something like a voluntary interview.

"It would be safer to go home," I say, trying to urge her to do just that. I don't want her anywhere near this Hector Contreras guy.

"Probably," she says as she hops off the desk, "but I'm not in the business of being safe. You're okay holding the camera? Hector only let me bring one other person, so you're going to have to videotape the interview."

"So, I was told."

"Come to my room," she says as she heads for the door. "I'll show you how to use it."

I want to use that video camera for something else…

I swallow hard as I follow her into the hallway. Her ass looks scrumptious in those shorts. My mouth is watering as I watch her cheeks swaying with each step.

"I brought one that isn't too complicated," she says as she opens her door. "Just point and shoot."

Her hotel room is across from mine and down just a little, which I'm happy about. I'd prefer her staying in the same room as me, but at least I'll be able to hear her if something goes wrong. She just has to call my name and I'll kick the damn door down.

I step into her hotel room and look around. It's larger than mine and the intact bed is a full king. I suck in a breath when I spot her open suitcase on the bed with her bright red panties laying on top.

God, this girl is killing me. I've never had a lustful thought about any girl I've come across and now it's like thirty-four years of backed-up sexual thoughts being dumped into my head all at once. I'm not sure how to handle it.

Keep your eyes off her panties , I tell myself. That's a start.

"So, here it is," she says as she grabs the camera out of the bag and turns it on. "Pretty easy. The settings are here."

She walks up to me and turns, so I can look over her shoulder as she cycles through the settings. The tantalizing smell of her apricot shampoo is making me dizzy. And being so close to my mate is making me rock hard. The sexy sight of her bare shoulder is making my cock ache as I fantasize about running my tongue along it.

"You can zoom in and out like this," she says, showing me the controls. She shouldn't show me that. I'll zoom in on her gorgeous face and never once look at the man she's interviewing.

"I'll give it to you to practice with," she says as she hands it to me. My hand brushes hers and I see her body reacting. She flinches and her cheeks turn an adorable shade of pink.

She's my mate, so these feelings should be hitting her too. Is she being drawn to me like I'm being drawn to her? Her feelings won't be as strong since she's not a shifter, but it should still be affecting her.

Maybe she's too nervous and preoccupied with the dangerous interview to be paying any attention.

She stills a little after we touch and her eyes rise to my mouth. They linger there before she looks up. "Have we met before?"

I shake my head. "No. I would definitely remember meeting you."

"Yeah, I think I would remember meeting you too. It's just… I kind of feel like I've met you before."

I can let this play out and drag it on, or I can tell her right now and get it over with. I've gone thirty-four years without her as my mate and I don't want to go another second.

She has a right to know we belong together. She has a right to know she's mine .

"I know why you're feeling this way," I say as she puts her hands on her hips and looks up at me.

"So, we have met."

I shake my head. "Not exactly. I'm a bear shifter."

Her eyes widen as she looks at my chest. "You have a bear in there?"

"A grizzly, yeah."

"Wow. I've never met a bear shifter before. Oh! Can I do a story on you? Are you up for an interview?"

"Gracie," I say as I take her hand and stare into her eyes, trying to get her to focus. "I'm a bear shifter and you're my mate."

"Wait… What?"

I just want to take her in my arms. I want to kiss her luscious lips and feel her soft skin. I want to slide inside her and make her mine in every possible way. I want to break another bed.

"Every shifter has a fated mate," I tell her in a soft smooth voice. "One person who completes their soul. Who is perfect for them in every way. Gracie, you are that person for me."

She looks at me for a long time and then shakes her head, looking away. "No."

"No?"

"I'm sorry," she says, throwing her hands up. "I'm sure you're a nice guy and everything, but I just can't deal with that right now."

My mouth drops. I wasn't expecting that reaction.

"I have the opportunity of a lifetime here," she says, not even looking at me as she paces around the room. "And it's really not the time to be dating."

"Dating?" I say as my blood pressure skyrockets. "It's more than dating . We're mates!"

"I don't have time for this," she says as she pushes me to the door. I'm so confused as I walk backward toward it. "I have to prepare for my interview tomorrow and I can't think about this right now."

She opens the door and pushes me into the hallway.

"I hope you understand, Ryker."

She closes the door, but I stop it with my foot.

"Would you mind?" she asks, trying to push my foot away with hers. "I have work to do."

"Gracie," I say, desperately trying to make her understand. "I've been waiting my entire life for this moment."

"And I've been waiting my entire life to be a real reporter," she says. "So, I'd appreciate it if you drop all of this mate nonsense and let me do my job."

I feel heat in my face. My chest is all tight. I'm so flustered, I don't know what to say. This is not how I expected this moment to go. I've thought about it a lot over the years and my mate is always jumping in my arms, crying from joy, or showering me with kisses. Never did she kick me out of her room!

"Gracie," I say in a forceful tone. "I'm not going to have my mate around those killers ."

She raises her eyebrows as she stares at me in a challenging way.

"You're not doing the interview," I tell her.

She laughs.

"I'm doing the interview. With or without you."

Why can't she understand? She's too precious. She's too valuable. I'd die if something happened to her.

"It's too dangerous," I say, hearing the desperation in my voice.

"An hour ago, you had no problem going."

"That was before, when…"

"When what?" she asks with her hands on her hips.

"When you weren't in my life and I didn't care if I made it out alive."

"And now all of a sudden you care?"

"Yes!"

She rolls her eyes and kicks my foot. "You're the worst security guard in the world! I'll go by myself."

She slams the door in my stunned face.

"You can't!" I shout.

"Don't worry about it," she shouts back through the door. "You're fired!"