Page 3 of Beauty's Bossy Bear

Taking several deep breaths, hoping to gain control of my wayward lady bits, I manage a small laugh, still caught in the sudden intensity of his gaze. "Beauty?" I nervously tuck my hair behind my ear, feeling oddly transparent under his look.

"How was your flight?” he asks, avoiding my question with one of his own.

"It wasn’t horrible," I lie. I freaking hate flying. In fact, I’d rather have toothpicks jabbed under my fingernails than board a plane.

"I’m glad." He reaches down and takes my hand in his before nodding at my lone bag. “Is this your only suitcase?” Having his large hand engulfing mine causes the sizzle to ramp up.

I nod my head and he leans close to whisper, “You didn’t bring much with you.”

As his potent, woodsy scent reaches my nose, my mind goes blank, and it takes me several seconds to remember what we were talking about. “I pack light,” I sputter as he leads me out of the crowded airport.

The warm summer air hits me in the face when we step out into the bright afternoon sunlight, and I realize I’m going to be a puddle of goo by the time we get wherever we’re going. We walk through the rows of parked cars until he stops at a huge black SUV. “This is us.” He smiles and opens the passenger door to help me in.

“Thank you.”

He winks at me and closes the door before grabbing my suitcase and hefting it into the back of the vehicle.

As I watch the hot bear shifter in the rearview mirror, I take several deep breaths, trying to calm my racing pulse and the crazy sensations coursing through my overheated body.

Chapter 3

Kodi

I slam the hatch of the SUV closed and take several deep breaths in an attempt to calm my fucking bear. The first time I saw Briella’s photo, I knew she packed a huge punch. Little did I know meeting her in person would be like taking a sledgehammer to the head.

I still feel the little invisible birdies floating around my head as I walk around the side of the vehicle.

Before I open the door, I give my inner bear a strongly worded warning not to interfere as I try to win over our mate. I open the door and get a whiff of her delicate floral scent combined with the overwhelming desire emanating off her in waves and all bets are off.

My fangs lengthen and almost burst from my gums as my heart beats out of control. My fucking cock joins the party and turns to stone in my pants as I attempt to sit down and not do permanent damage to my favorite body part.

My bear completely ignores my earlier warning. He stretches under my skin and roars, Mate now.

Son-of-a-bitch. “Do you need something to eat, Beauty?” My gritty voice fills the SUV around us as I fight to maintain control.

“No, I ate on the plane.” She turns slightly in the seat, and my eyes automatically fall on her luscious tits pressed against her tight-ass t-shirt. Motherfucker, I’ve been avoiding letting my eyes roam, hoping to hold my shit together until I have her safely tucked into my home, but having Briella so close is making my efforts impossible.

As my inner bear sits back and pants, I realize my gorgeous mate already has me wrapped tightly around her little pinky. I rub the back of my neck, trying to clear my murky thoughts. Since there’s no fighting this mate bond, I need to make sure my little human feels the same way.

Driving through the busy city streets, an uncomfortable silence fills the vehicle. My inner bear frets, urging me to forget the niceties and seal our mate bond, but I ignore the fucker. This is too important to fuck up.

“Thank you for helping me.” My mate’s soft words cut through the silence.

“It’s my job.” Fucking hell. That isn’t what I meant to say. Even my inner bear smacks his forehead at my screw-up. “I mean…” I backtrack but it’s too late. Hurt flashes through her gorgeous blue eyes as she gives me a weak smile, and I want to kick my own ass at my stupidity. “Taking care of you is everything to me.” It’s too little too late because she barely registers what I’m trying to say.

I pull off into the first parking lot we drive past and park. There’s no way I can drive the rest of the way to Fable Forest with this hanging between us.

“Why are we stopping?” Briella twists in her seat.

“Because I need to explain something to you.” I can’t stomach the thought of her thinking I’m taking care of her only because of my job. “I take my job seriously, but the second I talked to you, I knew you were more than just a job to me. My inner bear woke up and growled ‘mine,’ and I knew I’d never be able to fight this. From that moment on, I knew I had to keep you safe. Actually, I’m planning to keep you… period since you’re my mate.” Great. Now, I sound like her fucking stalker.

She sits back and blinks up at me with her mouth hanging open. “Now, wait a minute…” she stammers and clears her throat. “Maybe you can’t fight it,” she makes quote signs with her fingers as fire flashes through her eyes, “but I definitely can fight this. If you think I’m ready to settle for a relationship with someone who wants to fight it,” there’s those air quotes again, “you’re crazy.”

Maybe I am crazy because her sassy words turn my cock to stone.

My bear growls in my ear, You’re fucking it up, dumbass, but his warning is too late.

From the look of devastation on her face, I can see I have already done a magnificent job of fucking this up. “Wait.” I need to fix this shit right now. “I’m doing a shitty job of explaining.” Her stare softens slightly, giving me the nudge I need to continue. “I want you for my mate more than anything in the world, and I can’t wait to pursue what’s happening between us.”

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