"I'm getting used to you carrying me," she murmured.
He wiped rain off her cheeks, his gaze serious. "We're not permanent, baby. It's fun to tease you, and I definitely wanna see you naked, but a bear shifter and a witch don't mix. I'm tired of messing around. That's the truth." He shut the door before she could respond.
Her mouth opened and then abruptly closed. What in the bloody world? The shifter, the bear shifter, was actually rejecting her? Did he not know where shifters stood in the hierarchy of species? Waaaaaaay below witches. Way below. He was an animal. Her chest heated, and the skin on her shoulders pricked. How dare he?
Several deep breaths later and she managed to subdue her temper while Bear continued talking to his men. She looked around. The truck was luxurious: new-smelling leather and heated seats. She flicked hers on high. A computer console took up most of the dash. If she had time, she'd make good use of it.
She focused back on the oh-so-very-honest shifter just as he strode through the rain, a powerful man wearing a firm frown.
He opened the door and slid into the driver's seat, bringing the scent of rain and male with him. When he shut the door, an intimacy settled throughout the cab. He backed out of the trail and turned onto the private road, heading for the main road.
"Where are we going?" Her voice was just a mite shrill.
He glanced her way. In the dim light of the cab, with the rain pelting the windshield, he looked like the predator he was known to be. "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."
Her eyebrows lifted almost to her hairline, and she forced them back down. "You did not. I'm fine."
He sighed, the sound weary. "We don't mix, and you know it. Oh, we can have some fun, and I like our agreement-without the mating-but I wanted to be clear with you."
There would have been something honorable in that statement if it didn't piss her off so much. Apparently the seriousness of the dead bodies had made Bear stop goofing around with her. "I understand holding out for happily-ever-after." Kind of.
He shook his head, and water sprayed. "I don't believe in love and all that."
She stiffened. "Oh?"
"Just don't like witches."
She jolted.
"Not you. I mean, I do like you." He scrubbed a hand through his hair, untangling it. "You're sweet and kind. Honest."
"Okay?" All Saints, did he have her wrong.
"But witches and bears don't work well together. You guys have too many secrets, treaties, and hidden wars, you know? I mean, your own Council split apart recently, ordering hits on pretty much everybody. It took blowing up a Seattle motorcycle club, a fight to the death, and the Enforcers working together against your Council to set things right."
Well, since he put it that way. "It was an unfortunate series of events," she said primly.
"Huh. Seems normal for witches." He kept his gaze on the road. "Bears are simple. This is us, everyone else is them, and that's the end of it."
"We're allies," she retorted.
"Now," he shot back. "We're allies today. Tomorrow, who knows? You might send a spy right into the Grizzly camp and decide to burn us all to a crisp."
There wasn't a good answer to that, considering it was true. "I'm not desperate to mate, but you have to know, I may not be able to heal you completely without that bond."
"Just do your best, and time will take care of the rest," he said easily, flicking the windshield wipers on stronger.
He was her best chance to gain fire, but there was another alternative. If he wouldn't help her, she'd go elsewhere after she'd healed him and concluded her investigation into Apollo and the Grizzlies. She needed the skill of throwing fire in order to survive, and she knew it. There were too many enemies coming for her. "I donna' suppose you'd introduce me to your half brother?" she asked, her mind quickly sorting facts into logical columns.
Bear glanced her way. "He's a full-bred dragon."
"Exactly." Though she'd have to finish the current case before she tried to fix her personal problems. "Fire, right?"
Bear's frown deepened. "You're not mating my brother."
"Why not?" She turned to face him.
"Because you and I are going to be intimate, and you know it." He calmly turned back to the raging storm outside. His tone was both tired and absolute; the determination in it couldn't be denied. He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. "Protest all you want, but you know it's gonna happen."