Claused: BBW Holiday Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance (Christmas Bears Book 2) Read online

  “Marra,” she said. “Everyone calls me Marra.”

  “Marra,” he said, coughing to clear his throat. “I’m struggling to see why you are still holding Marra.”

  Officer Partridge looked at Marra and then back to the lawyer. “There was an altercation. Lance DeVere accused Miss Le Fey of assaulting him.”

  “Lance DeVere. Billionaire Lance DeVere?” Kain asked incredulously

  “One and the same,” Officer Partridge nodded.

  “He’s over six feet tall, and more than a match for Miss Le Fey… Marra.”

  “I know. Or, that’s I what I thought. But he has a black eye and scratches down his left cheek. And he insists Miss Le Fey did it.”

  Marra opened her mouth to speak, but a slight shake of the head from Mr. Nolan made her press her lips together. She was beginning to understand if she wanted to get out of here, she was going to have to lie, something that did not come easy to her.

  “What, did she have a box to stand on?” Mr. Nolan asked, eyeing her body again. “How tall are you, Marra?”

  “I’m five four.” Of course she was tall enough to reach Lance DeVere. She’d launched herself off the step of her shop to try to tackle him and get her wand back.

  “And what motive does my client have to attack Lance DeVere?” Mr. Nolan asked, keeping his gaze firmly on Officer Partridge, as he shuffled uncomfortably on the spot. “Come on. What, did she try to pull his toupee off?”

  “No, she said he stole her magic wand.”

  Mr. Nolan burst out laughing. “They argued over a toy, and my client assaulted him?”

  “I know how it sounds, but it’s not Lance DeVere who insists it was a magic wand.” Officer Partridge looked at Marra with the same sympathy he’d cast over her, when he had brought her to this room an hour ago. “It’s Miss Le Fey who insists Lance DeVere stole her magic wand. That it wasn’t a toy, and that she would stop at nothing to get it back because she is a fairy godmother.”

  Her lawyer’s mouth opened and closed for a moment as he tried to think of what to say. “Is that correct?” Kain finally asked.

  “Yes.” She couldn’t lie, not about her wand. “He stole it from me. And yet here I am, under arrest while he runs off with it. Goodness knows what he plans to use it for. Not that it will work.”

  “Because it’s not real,” Mr. Nolan said. He emphasized the words, and she understood what he was trying to tell her, what he wanted her to say. But she couldn’t deny it.

  Or could she? If she said it was all a misunderstanding, there was a good chance she would walk out of here right now. Then she could track down this Lance DeVere. They’d said he was a billionaire. How hard could it be to find a man like that? He probably had a big mansion in an exclusive suburb of town.

  She fought with her conscience. Fairy godmothers always told the truth, that was what her mom had taught her. The same rule her mom had lived by until she passed the family wand to Marra. The family wand, which had been in their family for generations, kept safe, never lost. Never stolen, until now.

  “I’m sorry. I made a mistake.” The words came out of her mouth in a stilted, robotic tone, each syllable forced from her. But she’d said them, told the lie. The lie that would get her out of here. So she could hunt down Lance DeVere.

  “I’m sure Mr. DeVere mistook my client for someone else. She’s no match for such a man.”

  “He made a positive identification,” Officer Partridge said.

  “It was dark,” Marra said. “The real attacker came out of nowhere as Lance DeVere left my shop. He launched himself at Mr. DeVere and knocked into him. Then he was gone, and I came out of the shop, and Mr. DeVere was a little confused. He was hit in the eye,” Marra said, the lies tumbling from her mouth, as if now she had told one, a dam had burst and they couldn’t be contained.

  “There. Now, I think Miss Le Fey has been through enough. So if you could release her, Officer Partridge, I’ll see that she gets home.”

  “Mr. DeVere was very forceful in his desire to see Miss Le Fey charged.”

  “But he doesn’t own you, does he, Officer Partridge? He doesn’t get to say who gets charged,” Mr. Nolan said firmly.

  “No, he doesn’t,” Officer Partridge agreed.

  “Now, isn’t it time Miss Le Fey was allowed home? I’ll accompany her, and I assure you, if you have any questions, I can escort her back here in a couple of days, after you have made the necessary enquiries and found any reliable witnesses. I will personally vouch for her.”

  He would? Marra watched Mr. Nolan at work, saw how he encouraged Officer Partridge with a smile and a nod. Marra could read his body language, and knew that Officer Partridge wanted to let her go, but was afraid of the repercussions Lance DeVere could bring down on him.

  “I promise I’ll come back in two days,” she said. “Mr. Nolan can come back to the station with me, and I’ll answer any questions, with my lawyer present. Right now, I’d like to get back to my shop. I have to make sure it is closed up and secure.”

  Officer Partridge was a good man. She could sense it in him.

  He sighed. “OK. I’ll let you go, on condition you come back in forty-eight hours.” He looked at his watch. “It’s late now, I think we all need a good night’s sleep.”

  “I certainly do.”

  “Just promise me…” Officer Partridge didn’t have time to finish his sentence. Marra stood up, moved quickly across the room, and kissed him on the cheek, stopping him mid-sentence. “Oh. There’s no need…”

  “I wanted to say thank you,” Marra said. By the side of Officer Partridge, Mr. Nolan had frozen, and she sensed the jealousy rolling off him. What was it with him? She was his client, nothing more, but his reaction made her think of long nights in front of a blazing fire, of being held in his arms, and being kissed until she could think of nothing but this man and the feelings he evoked in her body.

  Marra shot a glance at Mr. Nolan, telling him to back off. He fought her, his muscles tense, his body primed for a fight. But then he let out a long breath and the tension between them shattered. A tension that Officer Partridge hadn’t even been aware of.

  In that moment she understood one thing. Her lawyer was a creature of magic too. The question in her mind then became: was he sent here to help her, or was he sent here by Lance DeVere, to capture her and take her to the man who had stolen her wand?

  Chapter Three – Kain

  His bear was awake. Really awake. After months of near dormancy, he was sitting up, his attention fixed on their mate, questioning why she had her arms around another man.

  That was a question the human side of Kain wanted to know too.

  “Shall we go?” Marra shot at him.

  “Yes. Of course. Officer Partridge, shall we go to the front desk so you can sign us out?” Kain asked.

  “Sure,” Officer Partridge said, looking flustered.

  “Thank you again,” Marra said with sincerity.

  Kain stared at her, trying to work her out. She’d seemed so lost and innocent when he’d arrived. Was that some kind of act, which she’d cast off as soon as it suited her?

  His bear shook his big broad head, and sniffed the air. There was something about Marra that was different, a scent he had never encountered before. A sparkle filled his mind, and if he allowed himself, he would believe everything she said about magic wands and fairy godmothers. But that was the mate bond talking. It made him willing to believe anything and everything she said, because they were supposed to always tell each other the truth.

  But she didn’t know that. From their first glance, he could tell she wasn’t a shifter, that she didn’t feel the same magnetic force pulling them together. Love at first sight was something she hadn’t felt towards Kain. He was going to have to work at it, while trying to figure her out. Why would she make up something so unbelievable?

  Marra followed behind Kain, making sure he stayed between her and Officer Partridge at all times. A barrier. He let go of his impotent je
alousy, instead going over what the police officer was about to say to Marra before she interrupted him.

  Just promise me… Kain said the words over and over in his head. They had been talking about DeVere, and letting Marra out, so that she could come back, and answer any follow-up questions. It stood to reason that Officer Partridge was going to ask Marra to keep away from DeVere. A reasonable thing to ask. But she hadn’t wanted to promise. Why?

  Because as soon as they left here, she was going to track down DeVere and get back whatever it was the billionaire businessman had stolen from her. And Kain was in no doubt that something had been stolen. Was a wand a code name for something else? But what? Drugs? Jewelry?

  As soon as they were out of the police station and he had her all to himself he was going to—claim her as his mate, his bear filled in the last part of the sentence.

  No, we’re going to interrogate her, and then make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.

  “Here, sign this,” Officer Partridge said, and handed Marra a pen.

  Kain glanced over the document. Nothing in there to bind her, other than to appear here in the station at noon, in two days’ time. “Thank you.” He held his hand out to the officer, keeping him occupied as Marra signed it. Then he put his hand on the small of Marra’s back and guided her out of the police station.

  She took a huge breath of air and then let it go, before turning to speak to Kain. “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure,” he said.

  “I’ll meet you back here at noon, the day after tomorrow,” she said, taking a step away from him.

  “Not so fast,” he said, tucking his hand under her arm. “We need to talk.”

  “About what? Your fee?” she asked, raising an eyebrow, but she wasn’t going to brush him off. Not when she was his mate.

  “No. That was on me. But we need to talk about you.” And me.

  “You mean prepare for my next police interview? When I have to come back,” she said, pointing at the police station. “It’s OK. I can handle it.”

  “How? By tracking down Lance DeVere and getting your magic wand back? What then? Are you going to wave it and all this will have gone away?” Kain asked.

  “No. Of course not.” She sighed. “I can’t use it for personal gain.”

  He laughed. “Of course you can’t.”

  “Listen, I know you don’t believe me, and that’s OK. But I have to do what I have to do, and there is a Cinderella out there who needs me. Which means I need my wand.”

  “A Cinderella. What does that even mean?” he asked, his hands spread out in front of him.

  “It means that I don’t have a lot of time.”

  “I can’t let you do this,” he said.

  “You don’t have to.” She jabbed her finger at him. “You just have to get in your car, and drive away. I’ll take the repercussions and make sure they don’t blame you. You’re my lawyer, we’ve only just met, so this won’t come back on you.”

  “Yeah, I still can’t let you walk away and risk you getting in more trouble.” He took hold of her arm once more and turned her around. “My car is this way. We’re going to go back to your antique shop and you can explain exactly what happened.”

  “And then what?” she asked.

  “Then I’m going to try to talk you out of heading over to Lance DeVere’s house, because it won’t do you any good. If he really did steal from you, his security will make sure you don’t get anywhere near him.”

  “He’ll let me in,” she said.

  “Will he? Why, because you know each other?” Kain asked, now working on the presumption that Lance and Marra had a history. Sifting through information hidden in what people did, or didn’t say, was what made him good at his job.

  “No. Because by now, he’s probably figured out the wand only works for me.”

  “So he’s going to let you in? And then what, make you help him?” Kain wasn’t sure he liked the idea of how this might turn out. His bear agreed, a deep rumble in his chest telling Kain they would do whatever it took to keep Marra safe.

  If there was a wand. Damn, he kept letting himself slip inside this fairy tale, which could not possibly be true.

  “He’ll try. But I won’t help him,” she said. “I’ll find a way to get it back.”

  “OK. You know how crazy this sounds?” Kain asked, his fear fate had hooked him up with a loony becoming stronger.

  “You are a creature of magic.” She rounded on him, knocking him off balance. “Surely you should understand?” Marra asked.

  “I’m a what-now?” Kain asked, shock in his voice. She was right. However, they had only just met. How could she know he was a shifter? Did that even count as a creature of magic?

  “I can feel it.” She waved her hand all around him, as if touching his aura. Then she leaned in closer and sniffed him. “You’re a shape-changer.”

  “OK. Let’s talk about this somewhere private,” Kain said, opening the passenger door of his car and helping her in. This had all gotten a lot weirder.

  But there was no way anything she had said would make him believe in fairy godmothers. No way. No how.

  Chapter Four – Marra

  Marra sat in Kain’s car, as he went around to the driver’s side. She had momentarily forgotten about her magic wand. That need had been replaced by another, more urgent, one. She was consumed with the need to find out what he was.

  It didn’t matter, she told herself. But it did. There was something about this lawyer that intrigued her.

  “OK. Who are you and what are you up to?” he asked, after he’d slipped into his seat and slammed the car door closed.

  “You know who I am. I am Marraine Le Fey, and I’m a fairy godmother.”

  “Enough with that,” he said, his eyes narrowing. “Did Lance DeVere send you? Is this connected to a case I’ve worked? Is he trying to get me disbarred for incompetence?”

  His words hit her in the chest. “Did he send you?” She turned his question around, throwing it back at him. “Is that what this is? Help me, then play the poor accused shape-changer, so that I let my guard down?” She put her hand on the door, ready to open it and jump out. If he didn’t convince her he had nothing to do with the man who had stolen her wand, she was going to disappear into the night. Not in a puff of smoke, but on her own two feet. Marra wouldn’t need a wand to lose him in the crowds of people doing their holiday shopping only a couple of streets away.

  “No,” he said firmly. “I don’t know DeVere personally.”

  “He’s a bad man,” Marra said, willing, or at least wanting, to trust Kain. “He took my wand to use for himself. My guess is it’s not the first magical artifact he’s stolen.”

  “OK. That is where you lose me. I don’t believe in magic, I don’t believe in wands. And I don’t believe in fairy godmothers. Now, if you want, we can go and find a doctor, and he can help you.” Kain was beginning to sound exasperated. She was losing him to the reality he wanted to cling to.

  Why couldn’t he let himself believe? What was wrong with him?

  She frowned, feeling her temper rising, not a good thing for a fairy godmother. Her mom had taught her to always be sweet, and good-natured, but this guy was calling her a liar. Worse, he was calling her crazy.

  “I don’t need a doctor. I need my wand.” She opened the car door, ready to get out.

  “Wait,” he said, and placed his hand on her arm, to stop her. “I’m sorry.”

  “Is this where you try to talk down the madwoman?” Marra asked.

  “No… Yes. Let’s got to your shop, go over the crime scene and from there we can decide what to do.” He took his hand off her arm and put the keys in the ignition. “I promise not to take you to a doctor or a hospital, unless you want me to.”

  She closed the door. “OK.” She was weary, and the thought of walking, or getting the bus, was too much. “Thank you.”

  She put on her seatbelt and sat quietly while he pulled out into the traffic. Marra could s
ense his eyes on her, but didn’t turn to meet his gaze. Instead, she watched the road, making sure he wasn’t going to break his word and take her to the hospital. The last thing her Cinderella needed was to have her fairy godmother locked up in some institution.

  Marra looked at her watch. If she didn’t get moving, her Cinderella would miss her ball anyway. A fairy godmother without a wand was no fairy godmother at all.

  “Where am I headed?” her lawyer asked.

  “East side of town,” she said. “Olivier Street.”

  “OK.” He steered the car in the right direction, the silence between them growing, thickening, until he finally said, “I’m not usually like this, by the way.”

  She slipped him a sidelong look. “I’m sorry you had to meet me under such conditions. Believe it or not, that is the first time I’ve been inside a police station. Except when my aunt’s cat went missing.”

  “You reported a missing cat to the police?” Kain asked, humor tingeing his voice.

  “Ahh, so now you are thinking all my family is crazy,” she said, keeping her voice light. Marra wasn’t big on confrontation, so she wasn’t going to outright accuse him of jumping to that conclusion.

  “No. I guess you must be real animal lovers,” he said, with a smile.

  Marra nodded. “I tried to stop her, told her they wouldn’t be interested. But she loved that old black cat almost as much as she loved my Uncle Dan.”

  He laughed, which was a good sign, right? Marra wasn’t the best at interacting with normal people. It was why she ran the antique shop. She was expected to be a little odd, a little eccentric… That’s what she told herself, anyway.

  “What did the police say?” Kain asked.

  “You can imagine. Especially when she insisted on a search party being organized.” She nodded. “The police officer on reception duty told her that she was wasting police time.”

  “And your aunt just walked away?” Kain asked.

  “You know she didn’t,” Marra said, laughing at the memory.