Billionaire Bear’s Human Mate by Alicia Banks

Chapter 5

Shane

Shane still wasn’t sure what he was supposed to think of Vivica. It was morning and he had already checked on her a couple of times, but he had let her sleep far later than he would usually stay home. Usually by that time of day, Shane would have already taken care of most of his day and was about to have lunch.

Vivica’s sleepy form made something inside of him lurch awake and he was in the mood to following through. It wasn't every day that some strange human was sleeping in his house, and Shane believed it was destiny or fate. He believed that things happen for a reason, so his mind was searching for Vivica's reason for coming into his life.

Shane wasn’t usually attracted to humans, not to mention Vivica was so much younger than him. She was barely twenty if he had to guess, though it was hard to tell with the dirty smudges on her face and the tattered clothes. It was hard to get any real feel of Vivica the way she was. He sent her to take a shower, far more to satisfy his own curiosity than anything else.

While she was away, there was more curiosity to worry about.

The woman barely had anything with her, but she did take the clothes off of the dresser in with her, leaving only a jacket behind. Shane usually had more respect for people's privacy but rationalized that she was in his house, and he knew absolutely nothing about her. That was enough to let him go through her jacket, see if he found anything. He wanted a sense of who she really was, anything.

Curiously, there wasn't an ID in there that was going to help him. There were several already scammed men's wallets in there though. He flipped through them and saw that they were all different. Shane didn’t know what to think of that. There was a little bit of money in them, and it didn’t take long to realize what was going on. She was stealing them. That had to be what it was. Then he thought about the fact that she didn't have anywhere to go, and he wondered if that was a more permanent situation. She barely had enough there to get a hotel room, even a cheap one, so Shane didn't know how to feel about it.

Usually, he didn't feel anything, so the fact that he was thinking about it at all surprised him. What was it about this one that made him so different than his usual self? He wasn’t supposed to be messing with humans, especially not one that made him feel anything. He knew better. He tried to stay out of trouble and humans always brought trouble.

There were many reasons that his kind stayed away from humans, and most of those reasons were just as valid still. He was doing it all against his better judgment. He really did know better.

“Do you mind?

Shane smiled. He was about to say something smart about the guys minding that she robbed. He didn’t get a chance to do that though. Or rather, he didn’t care to say anything. The words lodged in his throat for all time. Vivica was out of the shower, fresh and clean, and the difference was vast.

The dirt had been covering an angelic face, blonde hair, and the brightest blue eyes that he’d ever seen. They were the only part of her that was unchanged from the night before. With the rest of her in sight, Shane forgot how to breathe for a moment, another reaction that he hadn’t expected to have. Her porcelain skin glowed and the woman herself was ethereal.

Damn.

Not only had Vivica washed up, but she also put on the clothes that were fitted to her size and a lot more form fitting than the ones she had been wearing before. Even though she was in a club, she had been wearing almost baggy clothes, completely different than most women in those kinds of situations. He’d wondered if she was trying to hide her body, and after getting a look at the gentle curves and narrow hips, he imagined she was. She was also younger than he had imagined. Vivica couldn’t have been more than eighteen or nineteen. Shane had to ask, just because the youthful innocence was hard not to question. She looked way too young for what he was thinking about.

“How old are you?”

“I catch you going through my pockets and that’s what you have to say for yourself, more questions?”

“Yeah, how old are you?”

“I’m nineteen, why?”

Shane shrugged and handed her the loot. In that instant, he made a snap decision, something that he didn’t usually do. Shane was more methodical with his decisions. With the current evidence, the methodical decision would have been to walk away. Vivica was obviously trouble in many ways. Instead of sending her on her way though, he offered Vivica a job, knowing the drama that would obviously come with her.

“A job? I think I told you last night that I wasn't interested in that sort of thing.”

“Do you think that I really have to pay people to have sex with me? Am I that grotesque to you?”

Vivica shrugged. “I guess that some women would be attracted to you.”

That made him chuckle, because unbeknownst to her, Shane had senses that were heightened, which meant that he knew that she shared an attraction for him. It was crystal clear to him and that was probably why he was being so generous. Shane had to imagine that was the reason, because he honestly didn't have a clue. Everything that was happening was so different than anything that had happened to him before. Shane couldn't remember ever feeling that way before.

“Yes, maybe someone. But that is not the sort of job that I am looking to fill. You seem to be the type of person that knows your way around a situation and people.”

“If you're talking about the situation last night, they caught me off guard. I should've known better though.”

“I'm not talking about that; I'm talking about the fact that you pick-pocketed five men last night. You probably did it just by bumping into them I would imagine, right?”

Vivica wasn't comfortable with the line of conversation; he could see it in the way that she squirmed, but he ignored the realization. Shane knew the truth, but he wanted to hear it out of her mouth.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

He chuckled again. “I don't think there's another way to see it. Point is, you know how to deal with people and maybe you could be helpful in getting the information that others can’t.”

“What kind of job is that?”

Shane was noncommittal, because he really didn't have any idea. There was no thought put into any of it seconds before he said it. He had just opened his mouth and that was what came out. He had to come up with something quick though because he could see that he was going to lose her if he didn't.

“We can call it a personal assistant job. I have a couple PAs, but you can be my special one.”

“You're telling me that a guy with your kind of money wants me to rob people?”

He shook his head in disagreement. “No, nothing like that. I am not saying that I want you to rob anybody. You actually have to stop doing that. What I'm asking you to do is do some errands, and when the time comes, maybe we can use your other skills as well.”

“Do I get some time to think about it?”

“Do you have a better offer?”

Vivica shrugged. “I'm not even sure about this one.”

“Why?”

“Well, the owner seems a bit shady.”

Shane grinned. “That he is, but I am sure that you can handle him.”

“Maybe.”

Shane suggested that she go to the office with him. Vivica didn’t answer, and it was quite clear that she was unsure about all of it. He didn't know how to make her feel better about it. He told her how much the salary would be and that seemed to be the deciding factor.

“Okay, but you have to answer something honestly, before I’ll agree.”

Shane was interested in knowing what it was she wanted. He had just offered her quite a bit of money and considering what she did for a living, if that's what it could be called, Shane had to believe that this was the opportunity of a lifetime. But still, she insisted on having some say in it. He liked that about her. He liked that she was sticking to her guns and not being bowled over, even if it was him trying to do it. It was just another personality trait that he admired.

He didn't even know the woman, but he was offering her a job, just to keep her close and in his life. Shane was all about solutions.

Vivica agreed to go with him, but she had reluctance etched on her face. She confessed she’d never had a job, let alone one in an office, and she wasn’t sure what to do or how to act.

“I won't be able to show you personally, but my assistant will be able to get you all set up and answer any questions that you have. You just tell him what you like to do and what you can do, and he’ll figure something out for you.”

“Why are you doing this?”

Shane didn’t know the answer to that. He had to stop asking himself that question because it just made his head hurt.

“What kind of question is that?”

“I just, I don't understand. You can have anybody working for you. Why me?”

Shane couldn’t give a real answer. The real answer was that he had no freaking idea why he was going out on a limb for her. Even though she was beautiful, it wasn't enough. There had to be another reason.