Guardian Bears: Lucas by Leslie Chase Page B

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    She couldn't. She knew that.
    Rolling onto her back, she stared up at the ceiling above her. His presence made her feel safe, but was that just an illusion? Nothing had really changed about her situation. But maybe it could?
    She had been too busy running before, too scared to try to do anything else. But with Lucas beside her, she had the confidence to try to find her way to safety.
    Sitting up slowly, she slipped out of Lucas' grip. He muttered something she didn't catch, but didn't wake, just grumbled quietly in his sleep. He looked so peaceful, so calm. Very different from the imposing man who'd towered over her by day.
    Still just as hot, though , she thought, looking down at him admiringly. She couldn't help herself – something about his body was almost magnetic to her, drawing her to him. Running a hand over his chest, she felt the contours of his muscles through the t-shirt he was sleeping in and smiled.
    Lucas murmured something, a small smile on his sleeping face, and rolled into the space she'd left in the bed.
    Time to get to work, then, she thought, her fingers still tingling from the feel of him. It was an effort to turn away and pick up the laptop from the nightstand, but she made herself do it.
    The screen lit instantly, bright in the darkness of the room, and she stared at the TannerTech login screen for a moment, her fears reasserting themselves. Then she started to type.

    * * *
    L ucas was in the dark woods, surrounded by the scent of his mate. A dream , he realized quickly. But a pleasant one. The smell of Emily's hair was strong and lovely, and he followed it through the trees, moonlight streaming through gaps in the leaves above him. He couldn't see her, but he was close to her, and that was what mattered.
    But as he walked, he began to feel that something was wrong. Around him there was movement amongst the trees, the rustling of leaves and branches as something circled him. Something that he knew, with the strange logic of dreams, was searching for his mate.
    And along with the scent of Emily, he smelled another, darker scent. Something more threatening, more dangerous. That scent was getting stronger.
    He pushed his way through the undergrowth, looking for the source of the scent. He'd never been one to run from trouble, and if there was something after his Emily, he would find it before it reached her. The branches tore at his skin as he ran faster and faster, the shadows in the darkness around him keeping pace with his rush.
    The two scents mingled and became hard to separate as he charged onward, until Emily and the darkness chasing her were indistinguishable to him. He growled at that, his bear taking over, his body stretching and growing as he took his animal form and smashed his way past the plants in his path. Nothing will keep me from her when she needs me .
    He tore his way through the thickening undergrowth, not letting it slow him. Around him, blood-chilling howls sounded in the night air. Lucas ignored them. Nothing mattered other than getting to the woman he loved.
    Bursting from the trees, he found himself in a large clearing, a stream running through the middle of it. On the far side, he saw Emily sitting on a rock, the pale moonlight illuminating her face as she stared in shock at his sudden appearance.
    Around her, a darkness swirled. Lucas couldn't make out the details of it, but it coiled around her like smoke. She hadn't noticed it, but she had seen him – and her terror at the sight of a charging bear made her draw a deep breath to scream.
    The dark cloud was drawn into her lungs, and before he could reach her, Lucas woke up.

    * * *
    H e sat bolt upright , immediately aware that Emily wasn't in the bed with him. Anger filled him, anger at himself for getting careless, and for anyone who might have taken her or harmed her. It was only then that he looked around.
    She was sitting, frozen and staring, beside the bed. Her face was lit eerily from below by the laptop