Commander Bear (Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance) (Bear Patrol Book 1) by Scarlett Grove Page A

she had to get away from here and away from him.
    Dimitri Ivanov was waiting for the jewels. He would find her and Rollo. Dimitri would end them both. Human or not, Dimitri Ivanov was a badass motherfucker who had killed his fair share of shifters and humans alike. Zoe did not underestimate his reach or his potential for destruction.
    “I’ve got the feeling that’s exactly the kind of mate you want,” he growled into her ear as he stood above her.
    “You couldn’t be more wrong, Rollo,” she said.
    “Then why can I smell the sweet scent of your cunt, calling out to me?” he said, his massive erection only a foot away from her face.
    She bit her lip, he was right. She wanted him now more than anything she had ever wanted in her life. Resisting the urge to spread her legs and invite him on top of her, was killing her. Her jaguar was practically manic with lust. She could almost hear the sound of Rollo’s grizzly growling as well. It all collided in a cacophony of sound that would only drive her madder the longer she resisted it.
    “Is this how you get off, Rollo? Arresting women and then holding them hostage until you get what you want? If that’s the case, then why don’t you just take it,” she dared him.
    He leaned down to speak in her ear, his voice low and gravelly. “Because I want you to beg for it,” he said.
    “We’ll both die waiting for the day I beg for you, Rollo Morris,” she spat back.
    “We shall see, little kitty, we shall see.”

10
    Z oe Bright was a tough nut to crack. After only twenty minutes of holding her in the cabin, Rollo already felt exhausted. He had to pace himself, she obviously wasn’t going to give up any information that easily. She was protecting something. Perhaps she was still under the misguided impression that the only way to ensure her safety and freedom was to deliver the jewels to Ivanov.
    If he gave her the jewels, he would be an accomplice in the crime. If she somehow managed to take the jewels and slip away, he would never see her again. He couldn’t allow either to happen. Rollo loved his job and he loved the law. But he loved Zoe even more. The revelation that he was already in love with her hit him in the chest. He had to turn away from her and stand beside the flickering fire in the hearth.
    “What’s the matter?” Zoe asked from behind him. “Guilty conscience getting to you?”
    Rollo let out a long breath and grabbed one of the rustic chairs from the dining set and pulled it across the floor to sit in front of Zoe on the couch. They sat only a foot and a half from each other, the energy and heat of their bodies mingling in the space between them.
    “Why don’t you tell me about your connection to Dimitri Ivanov?” Rollo asked.
    “What gives you the idea that I have any connection to whoever the fuck that is?” she spat.
    Rollo pulled out his cell phone and brought up the photographs that Damien had sent him. He brought up one of Zoe and Dimitri kissing under the cypress trees of southern France. It sickened his bear, but he pressed his eyes together and brought his inner beast under control.
    “Does this look at all familiar to you?” he asked her, showing her the image.
    “Are you jealous?”
    “The man in this picture is Dimitri Ivanov. How do you explain that?”
    “Maybe I met him at a party once,” she mused.
    “Well, how about this one from a year later?” he said showing her a second picture that showed the couple climbing into a limousine together in Paris.
    “What is your point?”
    “My point is that you seem to be awfully cozy with the head of a Russian mafia group,” Rollo said.
    “I had no idea that Dima was involved in criminal activity. He was just fun to hang out with. He’s actually a really good dancer. You would be surprised.”
    “Spare me,” Rollo growled.
    “Am I sensing some envy? What’s wrong? Can’t you dance?” she asked.
    “My dancing skill is irrelevant, Ms. Bright. I have all the physical