Page 14 of Caught Bear Handed (Sawtooth Security #3)
Chapter Twelve
Beau
I’d fantasized about what it would be like to kiss Kayla Mitchell so many times, but the reality of doing it blew it out of the water. Heat rose from her body as her lips danced against mine, light and playful. She gripped my biceps, guiding me as she tightened her hold. Rewarding me with moans.
It took everything I had to break the kiss. My bear immediately craved more. Now that he had a taste of her, he’d never be satisfied.
Kayla blinked like she’d just woken up from a dream. Her lips were swollen, makeup smeared, and her hair was wild. I could barely keep myself from going back for more.
“I thought I might have to give you some acting lessons.” Her voice was husky, and she punctuated the statement with a throaty chuckle as she dragged her finger under her bottom lip. “But it looks like you’ve got plenty of experience.”
I raised a brow, trying to play it cool. “Maybe there’s a role for me on The Wolf’s Moon .”
My bear groaned with frustration. It had been the perfect opportunity to tell her that I hadn’t been acting, that the things I felt for her were anything but fake.
“Maybe. Or maybe I’ll need a full-time bodyguard.” She shrugged playfully and then turned toward the TV. “I have no idea what’s going on in this movie anymore.”
“We can go back.” I fumbled for the remote, which had gotten lost during the kiss.
“We can’t.” She sighed as I furrowed my brow. “I don’t want to pretend you didn’t kiss me.”
“No, I don’t either. I’m sorry?—”
“Don’t apologize.” She paused and pressed her lips together like she wasn’t sure what she wanted to say next. “Because I’m not sorry it happened.”
Every muscle in my body relaxed. “Good. That’s really good.” I sounded like a blithering idiot. That kiss made me stupid. “But you know, as you hired me, I?—”
“It’s okay, Beau. I won’t tell your boss that you kissed me.” She gave me a grin worthy of the big screen, and I had no idea where I stood with this woman. “We don’t have to make it weird, that’s all I’m saying. Let’s just watch the movie and figure out our plan for the cookout.”
I’d hardly slept a wink, replaying all the mistakes I made with that conversation. And of course, that amazing kiss. Yesterday hadn’t been my best work. I’d fallen under the spell of this woman, and I needed to get my shit together.
It was cool—she didn’t feel the same way about me. She didn’t come into this arrangement with an existing monster crush on me like I had on her.
But she wasn’t sorry that you kissed her , my bear reminded me. And she likes the idea of being your girlfriend at the cookout.
She’s treating it as another role—but I didn’t have time to argue with the beast because it was time to put this plan into action.
What are you gonna do when it’s time to kiss her in front of everyone in Sawtooth Forest?
Barrett came and picked me up in a black pickup I’d never seen before, and drove to a turnoff near the Salmon River.
There were so few cars that passed by that we could’ve conducted the meeting sitting on the yellow line in the middle of the road—but we weren’t only dealing with humans, and we needed to be on high alert.
“You can’t be serious.” No surprise that Barrett hated our proposal for the cookout on the Fourth.
“Let me play devil’s advocate. Say you are serious, and we bring Kayla, our highest profile client to date, to the biggest social event of the year in Sawtooth Forest. Not only would we be leaving her vulnerable, but we’d risk destroying our reputation.
Who the hell would hire us after we brought someone in witness protection to a hot dog eating contest? ”
“She says she can disguise herself. But to have a fair chance for her to execute that plan, we need to order the supplies now.” I’d prepared for the opposition.
There was no way Barrett would ever go for this plan, but I had to give it my best shot.
“And you have to admit, she’s got a valid point—Amelia was involved in the crypto scam, and they know she’s close with Kayla.
Granger Falls is just remote enough to make it the perfect place to strike—and chances are, they won’t even consider we know how deep and dark this case goes.
If they’ve got their eye on Amelia, they could get into her messages. And then they’ll be on to us.”
Barrett mashed his lips together. “What would she need? I’m not saying that this plan is a go—there are still some serious concerns we need to address—but we need to be prepared in the event we decide to do it.”
“She already gave me a list.” It took everything I had to suppress my grin. “Amelia hasn’t hired us, but she could have information that helps us close out this case.”
“That’s true.” Barrett stroked his beard thoughtfully. “But Kayla would have to be completely unrecognizable.”
Holy shit, was he actually considering this? “She says she can do it.”
I had no idea what her skills were, but there was a wig and a lot of makeup on the list she gave me.
He nodded. Hadn’t lost him yet. “What’s the cover story? If you show up to the cookout with a woman no one’s met before, everyone will have questions.”
“We thought of that. Our plan is to say we’re dating.”
Barrett groaned. “And you think that will satisfy them? You’ve gotta be kidding me.
Tegan and Clover will be ready to swoop in and take the new girl under their wings.
Not to mention the entire Sawtooth pack will be ready to welcome her with open arms—especially when they realize she knows Amelia.
They might guess she’s got a connection to the show from that alone. Then what?”
Fuck. Those were excellent points neither of us had considered because we’d gotten too lost in that kiss to think straight. I should speak for myself on that matter. Again…dropping the ball.
“Maybe we can stage a breakup?—”
Like hell you will , my bear didn’t want to let me finish the thought, and neither did my boss. He crossed his arms and shook his head.
“Sawtooth Forest isn’t a place anyone passes through. No one comes here without reason. She’ll have to craft an entire personality?—”
“It’s literally her job,” I reminded him.
“And no doubt the ladies will get attached to her. You think they’ll just accept that she’s gone? Especially since they’ll think she’s important to you.”
“She is,” I said before I could stop myself, which earned another groan from Barrett.
“I would be a hypocrite if I told you not to get involved with your client,” he said, fighting his grin.
“Maybe there was something bigger at play than seeing if you could handle a one-on-one protection case when I decided to assign this one. But here’s the thing—you’ve got to keep your head and your heart separate.
Believe me, I know that’s not an easy thing to do. ”
“We’re not a thing. I kissed her last night,” I confessed. It felt good to get it off my chest and talk to someone who understood. “She was into it, but she’s been a little standoffish since.”
Barrett nodded. “Understandable. She’s got a lot going on. Be patient with her. If it works out, this will be good. There’s a difference in you.”
“I feel different. And I’m glad I was able to tell you about it and not lose my job.”
“Speaking of which, this plan, if we go through with it, needs some serious work.” Barrett was back to all business.
“I can’t approve it until I see what she can do, and we have a full backstory.
The tricky thing is if this kiss leads somewhere, she’ll be sticking around.
Just something to keep in mind. And if she’s good at creating a new persona, which I suspect she will be, we might want to use her to go deeper in this case. ”
My blood ran cold. “You mean, you want her to do undercover work with the people who tried to abduct her?”
“Not sure what it looks like yet,” Barrett said matter-of-factly. “But we’d be foolish not to use every valuable asset available to us in this case.”
The cookout was dangerous—we could blow our cover, but we’d be among friends and allies. What Barrett was talking about would put Kayla in much more dangerous situations.
“What if Kayla doesn’t want to do that?” I asked, because what if I don’t want Kayla to do that wasn’t a valid question.
“We’ll talk to her, and see what her comfort level is.
” Barrett rose from the rock he’d been seated on, signaling the end of the meeting.
“But if she goes to the cookout, people will expect to see her again. The two of you won’t be able to disappear so easily.
So she’s got to be prepared to keep the act up long term. ”
“Makes sense.” I gave him a tight-lipped smile and followed him up the hill, back to the truck.
I always knew this plan could backfire, but I never thought it could get her hurt, or worse, killed.