Chapter 2
Please Explain
Oops!
“I can explain,” Suzie blurted.
Crap, she hadn’t thought this escapade through properly because, of course, the real temp would show up. She’d been intrigued, and curiosity was always her downfall.
Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
A quiver ran through Suzie and settled in the pit of her stomach. She’d liked this grumpy man, and discussing business was way better than dealing with amorous shifters. He hadn’t studied her like a juicy plum or made her uncomfortable with predatory glances. She gulped.
But he was eyeing her now, and his expression wasn’t pretty.
“Who the hell are you?” He rounded his desk and padded toward her, his expression thunderous.
“Ah, my name is Suzie Paisley. I…ah…” She bobbed to her feet and backed away from the advancing bear shifter. “I’ll just be on my way.”
“Stop right there.”
Suzie attempted a dart to freedom, but the grumpy bear was fast. His fingers wrapped around her upper arm, dragging her to a premature halt. She stumbled against him, the air smacking from her lungs. “Oomph!”
“Oh,” the woman said from behind them. “Did the agency send someone else? I called to let them know I’d had an accident. They told me this job was urgent, and you were expecting someone immediately.”
The bear ignored the woman’s prattle and didn’t take his attention off Suzie. “Who are you? Who sent you?”
Suzie puffed out a breath. Standing this close to the bear was doing weird things to her libido. He smelled…delicious, like exotic honey with floral and green notes. She shook herself mentally and tried to focus.
Time to spill the truth, even if it sounded farfetched. “My name,” she said in a loud and hopefully confident voice, “is Suzie Paisley. I am staying at Castle Glenkirk to take part in the gathering.”
The bear kept his gaze on her. Suzie tried to maintain a connection with his thundercloud expression, but the shifter was scary.
Her gaze slid down to his feet, shod in shiny black shoes.
Big feet to go with the rest of him. Her mind turned a furtive corner, wondering about size in other areas, and heat slid across her face and down her neck. Bloody hell. What was wrong with her?
“Angus, is this woman registered as a gathering participant?” the bear asked, thankfully breaking through her hazy mind.
Suzie paid closer attention.
The tall, spare, gray-haired man wearing a red and black tartan kilt cast his disapproval on her, his piercing blue eyes narrowing as he dissected her appearance. “I’ll have to check, but she looks familiar. I recall the Antipodean accent. That group is doing verra well in matches.”
Suzie bit her lip, hurt filtering through as her thoughts flicked to Edwina. Since her friend hadn’t magically reappeared, every instinct told Suzie their joint plans were no longer viable.
Suck it up, buttercup. She wasn’t reliant on her best friend. She could still attend university and study music. Hopefully, Edwina’s mate wasn’t a tyrant and would let Edwina continue to write music and collaborate.
“Please check,” the bear ordered, not taking his gaze off her.
“What about the secretary?” Angus asked.
“Sign her work order so she gets paid and send her home.”
Angus ushered the woman away.
The tension ramped up in the office, and Suzie attempted to swallow the nerves threatening her knee stability.
“If what you say is true and you’re attending the gathering, why were you wandering around my castle? My private sanctuary.” Steel throbbed in the words. Determination to get the truth.
No matter how she answered, her explanation would sound bad. Suzie straightened her black blouse and said, “I don’t want a mate, and I’m tired of the gathering activities. I decided to explore.”
“By trespassing?”
She couldn’t prevent a wince. “I know this looks bad, but I was exploring when you found me. You assumed I was the secretary. Didn’t you think it was strange I hadn’t reported in with Angus? He escorted the other woman here.”
“I assumed Angus had given you directions to my office and you were dawdling.” The bear glowered at her, his jaw set like the granite on a Scottish mountain. His lips peeled back, revealing teeth as sharp as hers, and she retreated half a step, every instinct screaming danger.
“Non-disclosure document, remember? No way will I blab about your honey. Not to anyone.”
“How can I trust you?”
Indignation rose in Suzie. She was many things, but not a liar. “I’m not a tattle, nor do I gossip.”
“You say that, but I have millions at stake.” He closed his eyes, a pained expression crossing his face. The flash of emotion had vanished when he focused on her again. “You will stay here, where you can’t blab to anyone.”
Suzie took another step back. “No.”
“Yes.”
Suzie gulped and glanced over her shoulder to spot an impassive Angus blocking the sole exit.
Her gaze turned back to the bear. His size was intimidating, and his hands looked strong enough to snap her in half without breaking a sweat, even though she wasn’t exactly petite.
So sue her, but she enjoyed food. A fact her grandmother chided her about at every opportunity.
“Um, don’t you think you’re overreacting?
I spent the morning working without expecting a wage in return.
” She didn’t mention she’d prefer to work the entire day rather than place herself in contact with the mate-seeking shifters.
Some had become positively desperate, and witnessing their extreme behavior was sad and off-putting.
Not entirely their fault since they faced intense pressure from home.
“Angus will transfer your possessions to this level. You will remain confined.”
“What? No!”
He checked his shiny gold watch and frowned. “I have work. You will continue your secretarial duties since the damage is done.”
She folded her arms. “You can’t make me.”
“I can and I will. You pose a danger to my product’s future. The business is rife with espionage and other subterfuge. Outright thievery is not uncommon.”
“No.”
“Angus,” the bear said without taking his gaze off her.
“Yes, sir. I’ll arrange matters straightaway.”
“I’ll take her to her room before my scheduled video call.”
“Verra, well,” Angus said, his head inclining. He retreated and closed the door, clicking it shut.
Suzie blinked, feeling slightly dizzy. Her fertile imagination took over, sailing to cold, drafty dungeons. “You can’t be serious.”
The man ignored her protests and towed her from the office like a package, dragging her halfway along the passage before she could dig in her heels or object more strongly.
“Wait. Stop! You can’t do this.”
The bear was a cone of angry silence. Implacable. Determined.
Temper flared in her then, and she fought, using every bit of her strength.
It did no good. The shifter was much stronger than her, scooping her up and draping her over his shoulder with ease.
Long, ground-eating strides took him along the passage, although she continued to struggle and curse him.
He rounded a corner and bounded to the end of yet another passage without breathing hard.
Suzie’s head swam from hanging upside down. She groaned and spat another curse about his parentage as he opened a door and shouldered his way inside. Her head collided with the door jamb, and she saw stars, her cussing turning weak.
He strode into the room and dumped her on the bed.
Suzie gingerly fingered her aching skull. “You can’t keep me prisoner. My friends will look for me. They’ll worry,” she said, glaring at his stony visage.
But none of what she spluttered was the truth. Scott and Liam would think she’d found a mate. They’d scarcely blink because disappearing was what the rest of their friends had done. Anita, Ramsay, Edwina, and now her. Instead of worrying, they’d grumble that they were the last shifters standing.
The bear’s dark glower stopped her frenzied thoughts dead. He didn’t intend to change his stance. Long strides took him to the door, his black suit trousers hugging his butt and muscular thighs, his white shirt clinging to his strong back.
Suzie cursed under her breath for noticing these stupid details as he exited the room.
The solid wooden door shut, trapping her, and she muttered a rude word.
That bear had no right to hold her prisoner.
She was an innocent bystander who’d helped him out for free.
She quashed her guilt at snooping in his private apartments.
Yeah, she’d been nosy, so sue her, but she was no industrial spy.
She tried the door. The bastard. It was locked.
She wrenched the handle again, then kicked the door for good measure.
Sharp pain rippled through the soft leather of her slip-on shoe. “Ouch!”
Suzie limped to the double bed and sank down, her head throbbing in sympathy with her abused toe. Her gaze roamed the bedroom, taking in the contents and the avenues of escape. No window exit because she was on an upper floor.
She rose and hobbled to the window. Thick walls transformed the area into a cozy window seat, ideal for reading or mountain gazing. Given the incredible view, this must be one of the castle’s towers. Great. Just great. She was a modern Rapunzel, and her hair wasn’t adequate if she wanted to escape.
Despondent, she realized she was truly trapped unless… She hustled to investigate the rest of the room. One door opened to a lavish en suite and dressing room.
She caught a glimpse of her face and groaned on seeing a mad woman with hair sticking in all directions. Suzie smoothed it as best she could and wandered back to the main room to continue exploring.
“You idiot,” she muttered, feeling her pocket for her phone.
It wasn’t there. When had she last seen it?
“Oh,” she muttered, sending another silent curse to the heavens. She’d searched for info on honey thefts and must’ve left it on the desk.
“No phone,” she mumbled.
A few frantic moments of searching confirmed there was no phone.
However, she discovered a coffee machine and made herself a caramel-flavored coffee.
Although she’d been trying to control her sweet cravings and had dropped a few pounds because of her willpower, she opened a container full of shortbread and practically inhaled the first one.
The second piece, she savored, enjoying the buttery goodness, despite her dilemma.
The bear couldn’t keep her here for long.
If she were him, she’d investigate her background.
He’d see she wasn’t a threat. Her accent had told him she wasn’t local, and Angus would confirm her enrolment at the gathering.
It would be simple enough for the bear to contact either Saber or London, and they’d tell him she was no honey thief.
While she enjoyed the stuff on toast, she was an equal-opportunity girl and liked Vegemite some mornings.
“Huh!” Suzie jumped to her feet and paced the confines of the tower. It was a beautiful room with a thick carpet in a dove gray underfoot. The curtains and bed covers were in stunning teal and blue-green shades that brought a peacock’s feathers to mind and brightened the room.
Under any other circumstances, she’d call herself lucky and wallow in the luxury.
“He’ll come to his senses,” she muttered, circling the tower again. “Soon.”
But he didn’t.
Hours passed. Day became night. She made another coffee and ate the rest of the shortbread, even as she hurled curses upon his head.
The next time she saw the bear, she’d attack first and not bother with questions later. She was innocent, dammit, and he had no authority to detain her.