Page 14 of Bear with Me

“Stop thinking so hard,” he ordered, rubbing the space between her eyes with his thumb. “Shower, food, sleep, then we’ll talk.”

She appeared so young in that moment. Unsure of the world around her. It made him want to kick his own ass even more than he already did. Fate had gifted him with a fierce, beautiful mate, and because she’d proved more of a challenge than he’d been ready for, he’d let what he’d felt was rejection dictate how he’d behaved. His brothers were right. He was an idiot.

He helped her rinse her hair then worked conditioner through it, loving the way the curls sprang up as he pulled the treatment through to the ends and released. When he was finished, he dropped back to his knees and turned her so he could see the side where she’d been stabbed. A growl rumbled up from his chest. He should have been there for her, watching over her, protecting her.

“I’m fine,” she whispered then hissed when he trailed his fingers along one enflamed edge.

“I’m sorry.”

“The attack wasn’t your fault. None of us could have predicted they’d attack Holloway land again. It was probably some last hurrah attempt to get as many of us as they could. Or maybe, they thought Lawrence Walker was already here, and they came for him.”

Brock leaned in and placed a kiss on her flesh before standing once more. He dropped another kiss on her lips before urging her to lean back so he could rinse her hair for her.

“I don’t know what to make of this,” she admitted.

“Of what?”

“You. Being nice. It’s weird as hell.”

He laughed.

“I’m serious. Yell at me or something, so I know it’s really you. That you weren’t taken over by some pod people or I haven’t fallen into an alternate universe. Or… Oh, god! Am I in a coma, and this is all a dream?”

“If it was a dream, what would we be doing?”

Her gaze flicked down his body, taking in the erection he did nothing to hide. He wanted her comfortable with his body. He planned to keep her naked as much as possible.

“We wouldn’t be showering,” she muttered.

“No?”

His chest rumbled as his bear urged him to claim their mate. Brock walked her under the spray until her back pressed against the shower wall. He loomed over her, so much larger than his mate. She had such a big personality, a fiery temper, that he forgot how tiny she was.

He leaned into her, his cock grazing her stomach as he took her mouth softly with his. She was soft and tempting. Too tempting. Need had him brushing his fingers along her collarbone then along the slender column of her throat. He licked at her lips, but even when she opened her mouth on a sigh, he didn’t dive in. He refused to consume. Instead, he took his time. Tasted. Tempted. Until her tongue licked along his bottom lip and flicked inside his mouth. He let her have control, let her do her own exploring. Until her soft fingers wrapped around his shaft and squeezed.

“Fuck.”

Brock pulled back, breathing hard as he disengaged her grip and grappled for control. He fumbled against the wall but managed to shut off the shower. He slid the door open and jerked a towel off the rack, wrapping it around his hips before grabbing another and using it to dry Jemma.

“Did I do something wrong?” she asked, uncertainty in her gaze.

“If you’d been any more right, I’d have broken my promise.”

She gave him a questioning look.

“The one where I said I wouldn’t fuck you until you begged.”

She flushed but shook her head in denial.

“Maybe, I’ll make you beg instead.”

The woman had no idea how close she was to that. Hell, he’d been ready to fall to his knees and beg as soon as she’d gripped him. Even before then. When he touched between her thighs and the sweet fragrance of her lust had filled his nostrils, it had taken everything he had to keep from lifting her up then thrusting his tongue inside her and eating her like the decadent treat he already knew she’d be. He was ready to give in when her stomach growled. She was hungry and needed food to help fuel her body, so she could heal. And he was thinking about sex.

“Let’s get you dried off and in bed. Then I’ll grab us something to eat.”

“I’m afraid to go to sleep.”

“What? Why?” he asked, cupping her face and tilting it up toward his when she would have looked down instead.

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