Billionaire Bear Shifters A Paranormal Romance Complete Series Boxset - Brittany White Page 0,98

“Okay. I gotta see Lydia. Thanks for looking after me, guys.” He got to his feet, steadying himself, and only then did the notion of his job even occur to him. “Oh shit. What about the front desk-”

“We’ve got it covered,” Connor said quickly. “I’ve been covering the front desk and I changed some schedules around to help out. Everyone’s pullin’ for you. Although I can’t say concierge duties are up to their usual standard without you around.”

Eric rubbed his eyes, shuffling toward the door, eager to see Lydia. “What happened after that throw down anyway? Didn’t the guests get freaked out-”

“We did make some noise,” Connor said, sighing. “But we managed to smooth it over. Put it down to a brawl between troublemaking guests. Told everyone we kicked the offenders out.”

“And Michelle…”

“You killed her,” Connor said quietly.

Eric nodded, his jaw clenching. He didn’t know how he felt about it. He wondered if he ever would. “I didn’t want to have to do that. But, she gave me no choice. And James-”

“He tried to come after us while you were up there,” Connor said. “We ah...took care of him. He talked a lot before he went though. Apparently, he and Michelle have been scamming any shifter with some money they could find and piling up a lot of bodies along the way. But I get the impression you were the biggest fish she’d ever gone after.”

“She could’ve pulled it off,” Eric said. “Maybe. If I didn’t have Lydia.” He headed toward the door. He could almost sense her in his mind already. He wondered if that would be happening more often now. “We saved each other,” he said, just as Connor patted him on the back.

Connor and Nathan had been busy making Lydia comfortable from what he could see as he crossed the hall into the spare bedroom that he didn’t often use. Any personal guests he just put in their own suite, though he had often fantasized about turning the room into a nursery someday when he had a mate of his own and a cub on the way.

“You’re awake!” Lydia said from the bed.

The room was softly lit. Lydia was sitting up in bed, reading, and she moved to get up as he walked in.

“Don’t get up,” he said. “I just…”

It was such an overwhelming relief to see Lydia, alive and safe. He was weak kneed with relief and he smiled to himself, sitting on the edge of the bed happy just to look at her, almost embarrassed by how little he could control his expression. His eyes brimmed with tears and he swallowed.

“Um, it’s nice in here,” he mumbled, glancing around. “Actually, it’s really nice in here. How?”

Connor and Nathan had redecorated a little, softening the room up for Lydia. Which seemed unlike them. There was a new baby blue bedding, and a new lamp on the nightstand, and fluffy throw blankets and decorative pillows. Neither of them had been any use in decorating the lodge and only rolled their eyes when anyone said words like “sconce” or “ crown molding.”

“Alanna,” Lydia said, chuckling. She took his hands in hers and he swallowed, letting his eyes slip shut for a moment just to listen to her heart beat for a minute. “Nathan’s mate. She’s so sweet. She’s been visiting me everyday. We’re friends already.”

“Yeah?” He opened his eyes again and smiled. “That’s good. I’m glad you guys are buddies.”

“It made me think…” Lydia took a deep breath. “It made me think maybe there really is a place for me here. In a way I didn’t dare to dream before. Like I could have a home here. And I’ve never really felt that about any place.”

“That’s what I’ve always wanted for you,” Eric whispered, his voice cracking just a little. But he held himself together as he leaned forward and kissed Lydia softly, just enough to taste that familiar sweetness he had loved for so long.

My Liddy’s finally home.

“You’re tired,” Lydia said, raking her hands through his hair. “We both are. Still got a little recovering to do.”

“Hey, I’m a Strauss,” Eric said. “Tough as nails.”

“Okay, well for my sake,” Lydia said, rolling her eyes. “Will you stay here with me for a bit?”

“I’ll do anything you want,” Eric said, and kissed the tip of her nose.

“Shift,” she said, scooting over on the bed. Her cheeks were pink when she said it, as if she might be a little embarrassed. “It’ll be like it was when we were