Stone Bear: Sentinel (A BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance) (Stone Bears Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

return, I said I’d feed it a constant diet of steak and other delicious meat.” He leaned over and whispered conspiratorially. “Secretly I’m a glutton. Please don’t tell anyone.”
    Caia’s hands flew to her face to try and stop herself, but she couldn’t help it. She giggled.
    “Aren’t you supposed to be Mr. Uber-professional?” she asked rather bluntly.
    “I am when I have to be. Which,” his tone changed instantly as he glanced around the area they were driving through, “is going to have to start now. We’re near their territory.”
    Caia didn’t say anything as a stab of nervous anxiety shot through her. This was it, this would be her first real test. Could she handle the job of riding herd on a bunch of shifters? Part of her wasn’t sure. The other was determined she would succeed, both for herself and so she didn’t let Gabriel down.
    “Now listen, when we get in there, I’m in charge. There will be no arguing, no overruling, nothing. You do as I say, when I say. Understood?”
    “We’re supposed to be partners,” she told him.
    “We are. You plan out everything you want to happen before we go in, and I will do my best, as the situation allows, to execute it. But once we’re actually inside, I make the calls. They likely won’t hurt you if something goes wrong, because you’re a human, and they know what that would entail. They likely won’t try anything with me, because they know how badly I’d hurt them.” He fixed her with a firm, serious stare as the truck rolled to a halt in front of an apartment building. “But that doesn’t mean things couldn’t go horribly wrong. So just come along, and let me do most of the talking. Don’t be a mute, but only chat with them. Don’t say anything about why we’re there. Got it?”
    His professional side was just as scary as she had heard. If Caia was in trouble, she knew Gabriel would be the one to have at her side. But walking into trouble while she knew he would protect her? His attitude and instinct for it overwhelmed her. She felt very vulnerable just then.
    Gabriel’s hand reached out from the wheel and grasped hers, giving it a squeeze. “You can do this,” he told her.
    She looked up at him, meeting those eyes with blue steel of her own.
    “Yes. I can.” She unbuckled her seatbelt and turned to face him. “Okay, so the plan is to explore and inspect. Let them lead us around. You then me. You come to a door, if they’re going to go by it, you accidentally turn into it. They go left, you try to go right. Make it look like you’re guessing wrong, but don’t overdo it so that they catch on to you.”
    He nodded. “What are you going to be doing?”
    “Analyzing. I went to school for psychology and got an advanced degree in human reaction and body language. I’ll be looking for any signs that they become scared or overly agitated when you make your moves.”
    She took a brief second to bathe in the look of newfound respect that Gabriel gave her, then she pushed the door open. “Got it?” she said, mocking him lightly.
    He touched his fingers to his brow in a lazy salute.
    “Let’s go then.”
    Together they exited the truck.
     

Chapter Three
    Gabriel
    “Don’t tell anybody, okay?”
    “What?” Caia whirled around to look at him, caught off guard by his slightly relaxed tone and his comment.
    He looked guilty for a second, then slowly pointed his finger up at the No Parking sign on a pole right next to where he had parked.
    “This is serious,” she hissed, then headed back toward the building with the big white lettering. It read Windglade Luxury Apartments in chipped and faded paint plastered over the beige bricks that formed the exterior of the building.
    “Hold up,” he said, his professional voice back in place. He didn’t want to be like that. He wished they were somewhere more carefree, and not on the job. Caia was fun and witty. He wanted to get to know her better, to spend more time around her.
    Which,