Page 27 of Her Painter Bear Mate

She smiled, her head cocked curiously to the side. "Good shower?"

"Yes, really good," Dee said, her ears still burning. "I tried to be quick. Do you have anything I can borrow because... well, I couldn't put my wet clothes back on."

Clarissa's eyes widened at the implication and her gaze dipped down for a split second, almost too quick to notice, but Dee noticed. The heat in her lower belly grew more fierce with the realisation that this attraction might not be one-sided. She wasn't sure why she was surprised by that, Clarissa had been the one who initiated the kiss in the first place.

Dee just hadn't given it much thought. Or rather, she hadn't allowed herself to think about it.

She deliberately looked away when Clarissa walked away and patted Bork's scruffy head. He let out a content rumble and closed his eyes, clearly enjoying the attention.

"You're a good boy. Mostly because you didn't jump in the lake," she said softly, mindful not to wake Clarissa's dad. If he found her standing in the living room in just a towel, surely he would get the wrong idea.

It wouldn't be hard to explain what had happened but that would involve admitting she'd been in the lake of fate. Dee's gaze went to the window. It wasn't even midnight yet, dawn was a lot of hours away. But once the sun rose, she would be able to check her body for shifter marks.

Clarissa returned with a large shirt that felt soft and worn and some pyjamas shorts. "Here, you can wear this for now. I'm going to hop in the shower too. I won't be long."

Dee could only nod, totally enraptured by the slight huskiness of Clarissa's lowered voice and the sweep of her body. This time, she didn't manage to look away and stared at her rival's bum when she walked away. She wasn't proud of herself for it, but that didn't stop her.

Once the bathroom door was closed, Dee let her head fall back against the couch. "What the hell am I doing?"

Millie gave her an equally confused look before curling back into a tight donut, clearly happy about being near the radiator. She had no idea what kind of trouble she was causing.

Dee rolled her eyes while she quickly changed into the spare clothes, trying not to think too much about how she smelled like Clarissa's shampoo and now she was wearing her clothes too. It was a good thing Clarissa's father was sleeping in the room next door or it might've felt even more intimate than it already did.

It didn't take long for Clarissa to re-appear and to Dee's relief, she didn't come out in just a little towel. She was wearing a similar long shirt with little boxer shorts. Her red hair was darker than usual since it was wet and it clung to her face. Her make-up was gone which made her look younger and more vulnerable. It was somewhat nostalgic and really drove home to Dee that the person she was staring at was her teenage rival.

"I put your clothes in the dryer. Do you want to drink something?" Clarissa asked softly.

"Some water, please. I'm kind of thirsty," Dee said, glad the other woman wouldn't know just how thirsty she was right now.

"Water coming up."

Dee couldn't stop herself from staring, her gaze dropping down to Clarissa's bare legs when she walked to the adjoining kitchenette. She didn't even notice she was being so blatant about it until Clarissa returned with two glasses.

She paused in front of the couch, a knowing smile hanging around her lips. "You're going to have to stop looking at me like that."

"Like what?" she denied.

"Like you're trying to look through my clothes."

Dee's cheeks started to burn. She was totally busted.

She cleared her throat but the lump didn't go. "Sorry, I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

"It's not that. You're the one who said the kiss shouldn't change anything. This, that look, suggests something has changed," Clarissa said, proving again that she was always frustratingly observant.

Dee accepted the glass of water but Clarissa didn't let go that easily. She was only a step away, looking so cute and attractive in her long shirt, it was irresistible.

"Have things changed?" Clarissa asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Maybe." Dee let go of the glass and let her hand slide up Clarissa's arm, enjoying the smoothness of it. "Would that be an issue?"

Clarissa chuckled hoarsely and put the glasses out of the way on a side table. She reached out to Dee's face, cupping it gently but with purpose. The heat in Dee's stomach flared from the simple touch because it was loaded with promise.

She didn't want to give Clarissa the satisfaction of initiating again and pulled the bear shifter on her lap in one smooth motion. The little bubbly shriek caused Bork to shoot them an annoyed look as he vacated the couch.

"Sorry," Dee whispered to the dog.

"Shhh," Clarissa giggled, not wasting a moment to straddle her. "You're going to wake my dad."

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