Page 34 of Bear with Me

“I decided I don’t like being mated.”

“Jemma,” Brock warned again.

“Good for you,” Xandra told her. “Gotta keep these Hollo-dickheads on their toes.”

Declan laughed while the rest of the Holloways growled. Taking a deep breath, Brock walked to Jemma, wrapped a hand around her waist and pulled her flush against him. She put on a good show of acting as if she didn’t want him touching her, but he saw the flush of her skin, the thrum of her pulse, and heard that little catch in her voice when her skin met his.

“You can’t say you don’t want to be mated anytime we have an argument,” he whispered, tilting up her head and dropping a kiss on her lips.

“Yeah, that’ll get old real quick,” Xandra agreed. “Pick something more creative when he pisses you off.”

“Don’t give her any ideas,” Declan warned, but he was still grinning. The man was a goner for his mate.

“Why don’t we take this conversation back somewhere private,” Brock suggested. “The house is small, but it doesn’t have to be this small.”

“Come see me in the morning, if you still want to dump his ass to the curb,” Laramie told Jemma as he walked by. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Fuck you,” Brock grumbled.

Laramie laughed. One by one, the rest of them left until it was just Brock, Jemma, and Jensen left. Jensen looked torn between going to his bedroom downstairs and heading out to the cabin he used as his office. He had a bedroom at the office, too, but Brock knew his brother wouldn’t get any sleep if he went there.

“Go to bed, Jensen,” Jemma told him before Brock could. “Downstairs. You’re no good to anyone if you don’t take care of yourself.”

“Whatever my little brother did, cut him some slack,” Jensen said. “He never left your side while you were recovering. Not once. I’ve never seen him that scared, but the thought of losing you hit him hard.”

Jemma sighed then leaned up and kissed Jensen on the cheek. “Go to bed. I’ll deal with my mate.”

“Don’t kill him,” Jensen warned. “We need him.”

Jemma shrugged, but a grin tugged her lips. “He’s useful for a few things.”

Brock waited until Jensen was gone before questioning her.

“A few things?”

“Eating. Fucking.” She held up a finger for each point. He pressed her hand flat against his chest.

“Loving you.”

“Loving means trusting.”

“I do trust you. If you’d given me time to respond before you bounded out of bed, I would have told you that.”

“I won’t stop hanging out with people, Brock. If I’m your mate, and I belong here, then I won’t hide away. Never again.”

“Of course not. I didn’t mean to imply…” He stopped and took a deep breath. “I was jealous. Our bond is fresh and new, and seeing you laughing and having a good time with another man made me jealous.”

She stared up at him for a long moment before slowly nodding. “Okay.”

“Okay? What does that mean?”

“It means I can understand that. I might have reacted similarly if I’d seen you laughing with another woman right after we had sex for the first time. We’re new. Our bond is still being built. And, I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry? You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I overreacted and didn’t give you a chance to explain. I was hurt. It wasn’t fair to tell your brothers I changed my mind.”

He snorted. “You realize I’ll never live that down.”

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