Mated to the Wilde Bear

Chapter 21: Xavier

“What’s all your fault?” Laurel rounded the bottom of the stairs, and every one of them clammed up and stared back her as if they’d been caught with their hand in the cookie jar. Xavier wanted to laugh, but damn if he didn’t feel the same.

“Nothing. We’re discussing a new hire for the crew,” he said.

Laurel reached for the resume and Harley snarled. Xavier silenced him with a look.

“Kyra Gold,” Laurel read aloud. “She sounds like a bad chick. She’s the new hire?”

Xavier shot a look at the guys and then answered, “Not yet. But she’s the best choice so far.”

“Or would be if she didn’t have a vagina,” Harley muttered.

“Dude,” Nash scolded him.

Laurel’s eyes widened, and she looked at Xavier. “You’re thinking of skipping over her because she’s a woman?” she demanded.

Her tone pricked at his temper, and he straightened, making sure to let the room know he was the boss here. “I’m talking to my crew about it,” he said pointedly.

Laurel glared right back at him. “Right. Because they’re much more important than anything I have to say.”

“Uh-oh. Alpha against alpha,” Jake said under his breath.

Laurel growled at him, spun on her heel, and headed for the stairs.

Xavier ran to catch up with her. “Wait,” he said, slipping in to block her path just before she could get away.

“Why? So you can list all the reasons women aren’t equals in the workplace? I can go to my own job to hear that,” she said. Underneath the flat tone, Xavier could hear the sting he’d caused.

“I don’t think that,” he said. “The guys are worried that—”

“She’s a girl. Got it, message received,” Laurel said.

“No.” He grabbed her by the shoulders and leaned in until she was forced to meet his gaze. “The guys are worried about fighting because their animals are all ready to mate. Because my polar bear is ready to mate. Because you came along and, I can’t get you out of my head. And I think my animal already claimed you because I can’t even stand to be more than three feet from you without being in utter misery. But then, I’m in misery when I’m with you because you argue so damn much that I don’t know what the hell to do.”

He wanted to yank his hair out when her surprise turned to a slow smile. She leaned in and kissed him on the mouth, completely confusing him. “I’m in misery for you too,” she said.

Around the corner in the dining hall, there was a collective mixture of groans and whistles. Laurel laughed. Confounded fucking woman. God, he loved her laugh, though. He considered carrying her upstairs right now and christening her new room.

“Boss, we’re hungry,” Jake called.

“Yeah,” Harley put in. “Can you and Mrs. Alpha finish up so we can go get some grub at Mack’s?”

“Dude, give him a break,” Nash said. “You know this is a big deal.”

“Getting laid is always a big deal,” Jake said. Harley snickered.

Xavier looked at Laurel. “You want to get some dinner with us?”

A shadow of worry passed over her, dimming her smile, but she brightened, and Xavier let it pass for now. “Sounds good. I’m starved,” she said.

The boys all whooped and made a stampede for the door. Xavier waited for them and then led Laurel out by the hand. He’d never met a more infuriating woman, of that he was sure. But despite her penchant for arguing and calling him out, he couldn’t escape her. Even when they were apart, she was all he saw. He’d close his eyes, and there she was. Waiting for him to put the past in the past. To stop being afraid to choose someone, even if it meant sometimes putting them first.

It was getting easier, though. The more time he spent with her, the more clearly he could see his future. His crew, his job saving people, and Laurel. His life could be a balance. He could do all of those things and still love Laurel the way she deserved. One day very soon, he’d find a way to tell her that. To make her believe it and let her give him a chance at it. She wouldn’t make it easy on him, though.

He already knew what he wanted. He wanted her. But if these past few days were any indication, it was going to be an all-out fight to get her.