Billion Dollar Bear: BBW Paranormal Billionaire Romance (Bad Boy Alphas) by Catherine Vale Page B

desires,
and I want you with a burning need that defies all logic. Please, come and
spend the weekend with me in Chicago. Come and grace me with the sound of your
voice, with the sweetness of your kisses, with all there is about you that I am
unable to find anywhere else.
    Yours,
    Jericho
     
    P.S. If you do decide to come, please
call me and let me know. I’d hate for you to get lost in Chicago trying to find
me.
     
    * * *
         
    Jericho glanced away from his computer
screen to the phone vibrating on his desk, hope leaping in his heart that it
was Becca contacting him, telling him that she was packing now and would be in
his arms in just a few short days. But it was only Ravena calling, her house
number flashing across the screen for the third time today.
          Grimacing,
he hit ignore, then turned his attention back to the spreadsheet displayed on
his monitor so he could finish reviewing the analysis one of his assistants had
done for him. But rather than assimilating the information, the numbers blurred
on his screen, then converged into a smiling, heart-shaped face with
whiskey-colored eyes and a sassy smile that beckoned and promised all kinds of
wicked things.
          A knock on
the door jolted him out of the vision, and he looked up to see Emerson on the
other side of the glass.  
          “Come in,”
he called, pushing aside the irritation chafing at the edges of his mind.
          Emerson
entered, carrying a manila file under his muscular arm. “Hey Chief. Brought you
the file you asked for.”
          “Thanks,” Jericho
said distractedly, pushing a hand through his hair. “Just set it right there.”
He pointed to the folder on his desk.
          “Sure thing.”
Emerson put the file down, and then waited for Jericho to say something else.
When his chieftain continued to stare at the screen, he ventured, “Rough day?”
          Jericho
shook his head. “More like a rough night. Didn’t sleep too much.”
          Emerson
nodded. When Jericho didn’t elaborate, he knew he should leave, and yet he
hesitated. “It’s that hybrid you met, isn’t it,” he said quietly.
          Jericho
growled low in his throat, his eyes flashing orange. “She has a name.”
          “Becca.
Right.” Emerson cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, it’s just that I’ve never met
her before.” He eyed his chieftain carefully, not sure what to say to him. He’d
never seen Jericho in a state of lethargy in his life, and it made him feel
oddly helpless. An angry or upset Jericho, he could deal with. But a drained
one… that was completely beyond his scope of experience.
          Part of
him wanted to hunt down the female that had reduced his cousin to such a state,
and rip her throat out. But he had the idea Jericho wouldn’t appreciate that
very much, and that it would likely result in Emerson’s own death. And besides,
it wasn’t really the she-bear’s fault that Jericho was pining away for her.
          He
wondered if his cousin had a clue that he was head-over-heels in love with her.
          “You did
mail that letter to her, didn’t you?” Jericho asked, his eyes cooling to their
customary blue as he met Emerson’s gaze.
          Emerson
nodded. “Made sure it got delivered with that flower arrangement, just as you
asked.” He tilted his head to the side. “You know, you could always go back for
her. Sweep her off her feet, then put her on a private jet and whisk her back
to Chicago. She wouldn’t know what hit her.”
          Jericho’s
eyes darkened. “No,” he said. “She’s not that kind of woman.” A smile played on
his lips at the thought of her, and just how feisty she could be. “I doubt she
would appreciate a kidnapping attempt from me. She must come to me of her own
free will.”
          Emerson
sighed, looking at his watch. “Yeah, well, her flight’s supposed to be leaving
tomorrow and she hasn’t bothered to call or