JAMESON

Jameson couldn’t get his mind to settle. Usually a mid-night run and some booze cleared his thoughts and tired him out enough that he could sleep. Soaking in the hot tub in the backyard, which had somehow been joined to a five star pool with a slide and sprayers and water guns mounted on stands, did the rest and sent him off to dreamland. The last time he’d been through the city a year or more before, the hot tub was little more than a glorified metal barrel with water and a hose with air bubbling into it. Somehow Kaiser and his guys bought up the property next door and expanded the yard to accommodate the pool, a play structure with climbing wall, and a sandbox -- while keeping the massive pile of logs they tore up for stress relief.

He shook his head and hauled himself out of the water, splashing everywhere as the snow continued to fall. The cold barely touched him, not with the polar bear still close to the surface after that impossible girl refused to do what he said. His annoyance grew as he wrung water out of his hair and tossed it back, not wanting to retreat to Sasha’s apartment just yet. He’d heard a baby crying earlier, and thought it could have come from any other apartment, Jameson wasn’t going to risk being a baby mattress if he showed up while the little ones fussed.

The spare room downstairs near the back of the building primarily served as a panic room for when a shifter went berserk and needed to be isolated, but lately it had been filled with presents from “Santa” and decorations so the kids would be surprised on the big day. Sasha had been banished there right in front Jameson’s eyes after he referred to Sunny as his “plump little turnip.” Jameson figured the poor bastard got off light, since he still had his balls.

Jameson retrieved a bottle of rum -- the good shit, not the rubbing alcohol that Sasha drank -- from his secret stash in a hole in the ground, and slid the rolling steel door open to step inside. He stopped in his tracks, scowling, when he came face-to-face with the same woman. Escorted by Owen and Kara, but definitely the same annoying female. What the hell was she doing in the bears’ den?

At least the kids didn’t smell as bad as they had in the car.

Owen jerked his chin up to acknowledge he’d seen Jameson, though the other bear’s shoulders tensed. The male had his very pregnant mate, two cubs, and an unmated female around him, so it was perfectly reasonable for him to get protective when another male entered the same territory. They could only get so far from the animal side.

Jameson waited for the woman to acknowledge him, but she looked dazed and overwhelmed and... sad. Red rimmed her eyes and she wearily followed Kara, who whispered a mile to minute to avoid waking the kids, toward the elevator. He didn’t like that. Sure, she didn’t strike him as a pleasant person to be around, but that didn’t mean he wanted to see her miserable. Especially when she had two cubs to look after.

He stood silently as Kara chirped a few happy thoughts at him, and wondered where the other woman’s mate was. No shifter would let his mate and cubs go out in a storm like this alone. She wore no ring, not that it meant much for a mate-bond. She didn’t smell like a shifter, though, and neither did the cubs. Which was a problem. The bears had gotten comfortable with everyone in the building knowing about shifters. Having a normal human there... It significantly increased the odds that she would see or hear something she shouldn’t, and then they’d have a much bigger problem than her sour face.

It wasn’t until she looked over and her face reddened that he remembered he wore only a towel. The woman directed her warm brown eyes to the ceiling as the blush climbed higher, and Jameson felt an intriguing warmth in his chest. Well. Was she embarrassed at seeing him half naked and dripping wet? How could he even affect her like that, if she hated him as much as her scowling and snapping implied?

The theory deserved to be tested. As Kara and Owen carried the cubs and bags to the elevator, Jameson padded barefoot behind them, eyeing the woman as she scurried to follow. Interesting. Perhaps she flushed from fever instead of noticing his physique. It had been some time since he’d bothered to tease a female or express more than passing interest. He just had to walk into a bar and wait until last call to see who remained unpaired. Even that lost its appeal after just a few encounters. His polar bear side didn’t want just a hookup. He wanted a mate.

Except Jameson the man wasn’t in any position to care for a mate, not in any sense of the word. Too much lingered in the past for him to share a space with a female, not and still rest well, and most females seemed to want cubs. His bear side sure as hell did. But cubs made noises and messes and chaos, and Jameson couldn’t function with that kind of uncertainty. He needed an orderly life: a schedule, processes, things exactly where he left them. It was the only way to get through the day when the urge to flee or fight surged and he needed to know where his go-bag was in case someone burst through the door to kill him.

He shook off the memories as he stepped into the elevator last, and faced the door to pull the grate and shit shut on the ancient box. He still didn’t know why Kaiser hadn’t upgraded the damn thing with as many young and females as there were running around the building. Sure, when it was just five or six males occupying the building, it didn’t matter: they all took the stairs. But small cubs could lose fingers in the grate or get their shoelaces stuck and amputate their damn legs and...

He shoved the disasters out of his mind and flexed his shoulders. He usually hated having his back to anyone, but knowing the woman lingered just a few inches away, breathing softly, made him want to preen. She could stare at his naked back and think about him later. At least he got the last word after their argument in the street.

The elevator finally ground to a halt just one floor up -- hardly worth the trouble -- where Owen and Kara kept their apartments. Suites. Whatever the fuck they called it. Each bear had his own floor in the building with multiple rooms, playrooms, kitchen, bathrooms, and more space to just do shit than Jameson had seen in a long time.

He stepped out to hold the doors so everyone else could leave, and pretended not to notice when the stranger stalked out with a bright red face and a touch of perspiration on her forehead. Even more interesting. Jameson took a deep breath, his lips parted to taste the air, as she moved away. Owen gave him a sharp look, eyes narrowed, so Jameson stepped back. At least Kara hadn’t noticed him sniffing after her friend.

The other bear waited until the females went into the apartment, Kara still talking a mile a minute, to say, “Look, man...”

“Just trying to figure something out.” Jameson shrugged. “She was the one staring at me.”

“Bullshit.” Owen’s expression darkened. “You’re standing there half naked. There was nowhere else for her to look. Keep it in your pants. She’s one of Kara’s best friends and she’s had a shitty year already. No reason for you to be the icing on the cake.”

Kara called to her mate to bring in the other cub and the bags, but Owen waited with a hard glare. Jameson’s hackles rose. The female didn’t belong to him. The other male had no reason to guard her so closely. If Jameson wanted to proposition her or flirt, it was up to the woman to reject him. “I don’t know what you’re implying, but...”

“She’s a single mother,” Owen said, more growl roughening his voice. “Of twins. The father was a dick but it doesn’t matter because he died a month after they were born. She just lost her job and has nowhere to go, and she’s going to try to leave in a couple of days unless we can convince her to stay and get her feet under her. That shitty car breaking down only buys us a little time to make her feel welcome and safe and relaxed. The last fucking thing I need is you creeping the fuck out of her and driving her away. If Noelle leaves, Kara is going to lose her shit worrying about her and the babies. So back. The fuck. Off.”

Jameson scowled and tried to loom over the kid, but his heart wasn’t in the posturing. It made sense.

And... “Noelle?”

Another shout from the apartment and Kara appeared in the doorway, hands on her hips. “Well?”

Owen grumbled and made reassuring noises at her, then muttered to Jameson, “She was born on Christmas and her parents were assholes. Don’t bring it up if you want to keep your testicles.”

“Noted.” Jameson stepped back on the landing to give the other bear plenty of room to carry the cub and luggage into the den. He lingered there for a moment after the door closed, processing what Owen said. Elle -- Noelle -- whoever she wanted to be... Life had not been kind to her. It hadn’t been kind to him, either, and he’d spent all of his life running from it: to the Army, to private military companies, to private security firms, to shitty places around the globe. She acted like a champion runner, too, even if the cubs slowed her down a bit.

He shook his head and continued up the stairs to Sasha’s floor so he could sneak into his room without waking any of the kids or his Russian pal. Just what the den needed: two more broken people, two more kids, and a whole slew of new problems. Merry Christmas to all.