Page 2 of His Protective Bear

When I grabbed the pot, I yelped when the handle burned my palm. Fuck on a biscuit, that hurt!

Before I could register it, a large warm hand gently circled my wrist and led me over to the sink. The sensation of the cold water against my skin snapped me out of whatever trance held me when the alpha had touched me.

“Thank you,” I said, pulling my hand out of his grasp. The skin around my wrist immediately cooled from the loss of his touch when he let go of me. But I knew that was just my overactive imagination. Still when he let me go, I felt the loss immediately.

When Hunter cleared his throat, I looked up at him, albeit reluctantly.

“Are you okay?” I saw the genuine concern in his eyes, but I had to look away. Why did I have to be such a fuckup in front of the one person I really didn’t want to see me that way? I sighed. It didn’t matter. I would never be what he wanted.

“I’m good, thank you,” I said, managing to slip a smile on my face. At least I hoped the muscles in my face got the message to smile. “It’ll be fine. It’s not the first time I’ve gotten burned in the kitchen.”

He nodded, and I could swear I saw relief in his eyes. Still, again maybe it was just my overactive imagination.

“Didn’t you notice?” he asked, “the fire… you didn’t seem to notice it.”

I should have known this was coming. You knew it was coming, but you just prayed he wouldn’t ask.

“I was a little distracted,” I tried for light, “with your pie, remember? Only the best service for the sheriff.”

Hunter looked at me like I was a puzzle he couldn’t figure out. Like he kept putting the pieces together but the picture didn’t seem to make sense.

“You know that could have been a disaster. It’s dangerous to leave a cloth so close to an open flame. You have to be more careful,” he lectured. Hunter’s voice was stern, his face scrunched up like he took it personally.

My spine stiffened, and I pressed my lips together to stop myself from saying something rude. Did he think I was stupid? I would never do something like that intentionally. It was a mistake made by a tired man, could he just leave well enough alone.

I drew in a breath and straightened my spine. I refused to respond to his lecture. “I’ll just pack up the pie for you to go.”

I didn’t wait for him to reply to my statement. I simply walked past him back to where I’d left the pie. I got one of our to-go packs, placed two pieces in there for him, and then put them in a bag.

I did all of this without glancing his way, even though I could feel his presence the whole time. When I was finished, I drew in a deep breath and walked over to him at the opening on the counter that led out to the restaurant. I held out the bag to him and waited.

I could feel Hunter’s eyes on me, but I kept mine firmly on his chin. I tried not to shiver when his fingers brushed mine. My body reacted like it had been touched with a live wire at the smallest brush of his fingers on mine.

I couldn’t help the gasp that escaped from me. My head snapped up, and our eyes collided. There was a look in his eye I couldn’t seem to read, but it was gone before I could pin it down.

“Goodnight, Sage,” Hunter murmured.

I watched him until he left the diner. When my brain got back in gear, I hurried over to the door and locked it. “He’s not coming back,” I muttered. But I kind of wanted him to.

“Better focus more on your surroundings than wishing for things that have no chances of happening.” I sighed because as much as I hated that voice in my head, it wasn’t wrong. There was no way an alpha like Hunter Hallbjorn would want anything to do with me. All I could ever have was this diner. Not if you burn it down.

As I walked back to the kitchen to finish up the dough and make sure the sauce was back on the burner, I couldn’t help feeling sorry for myself. Why couldn’t I just be normal? How much would I have to give up?

Chapter 2

Hunter

I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about my mate’s odd behavior all night. And maybe he didn’t want to acknowledge me as his mate, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t worry about him.

The thought of him hurt had my bear agitated and wanting out. Sage was ours to protect.

I was perplexed when he acted like he hadn’t even smelled the burning cloth. But that was impossible. We were shifters. I’d scented it immediately and waited for a second to see if he would react. And when he hadn’t, that was when I’d jumped over the counter.

He’d looked genuinely surprised when he walked into the kitchen and saw I’d put out the fire. My first instinct had been to pull him into my arms and check every inch of him to make sure he wasn’t hurt.

Of course, I knew he wasn’t since he hadn’t been in the kitchen. But it didn’t stop me from needing to hold him in my arms so that my bear and I knew he was still there. Unhurt.

For a split second, I’d moved toward him, and he’d backed away from me like he was terrified of me. My stomach roiled at the thought, and the coffee and muffin I’d consumed for breakfast suddenly felt like it was about to make a return trip.

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