Page 2 of Grizzly's Bear

“I’m not going anywhere,” Slade snapped.

“Then dial it back, bro. Your hackles are up. You’ve got claws sprouting out of your fingertips, and that rumble in your chest is echoing around the room. Trust me, this isn’t how you want her to see you when she opens those pretty doe eyes of hers. I swear you remind me of Koby.”

“How is she?” Slade ignored everything else Jensen had said. He needed to know she was okay.

“She’s resting,” Jensen stated softly. He ran his fingers across her brow then down over her cheek to her neck and across her clavicle. The fact it was with a physician’s impersonal touch kept Slade from shoving to his feet and breaking his brother’s arm. “The breaks are all healing. She’s healing. Give her time. A few more days at most, and her body will be completely recovered. Then it will be just a matter of time before she opens her eyes. She’ll come back to us, Slade. I swear.”

“Me.” The single word was almost lost in the growl that left Slade’s lips.

“What?” Jensen questioned.

“She’ll come back to me.”

“Then mate her already,” Jensen ordered. “Stop holding back. Stop letting her run.”

Next time, it could get her killed.

Slade wondered if he was the only one who heard those words in his mind. Instead, he shook his head. It wasn’t that easy with Rissa. She’d walked into his life and turned his world upside down. She’d given him the best night of his life only to disappear come morning. And she’d been running from him ever since. A few stolen kisses. Some heavy petting. But he hadn’t managed to get back inside her since she’d shown him what heaven was. He didn’t understand it, and she wasn’t forthcoming with her reasons. So he kept pursuing, and she kept running.

Until she’d been taken.

“Christ, Slade. Get control. Now.”

“I won’t lose her. And if you tell me to mate her again, you’re going to see more than my claws,” Slade warned when Jensen opened his mouth. “Don’t you think I plan to do just that when she opens her eyes? I’ve known she was my mate from the first moment I saw her. I let her have time, let her play whatever game she was playing. But that’s done. As soon as she’s healed, she’ll be in my bed until we’re thoroughly mated.”

“Good. Glad to hear it. I hate watching the women in this den lead their men on a merry chase,” Jensen admitted. “As for you and Rissa, I know you two were together the night Laramie and Em mated. What happened?”

Slade closed his eyes. He let the memory wash over him. The way her gaze had met his across the clearing where Laramie and Em had given their mating vows. The sexual pull between the two alphas had spilled over to the pack surrounding them. Several couples had left together. When Rissa had grabbed his hand and asked where they could go, he’d immediately taken her to one of the outer cabins. He hadn’t wanted to give his family or her brother a chance to interrupt them.

She’d turned and had his jeans opened as soon as he’d closed the door behind him. She’d touched him, tasted him with her lips and tongue, and nearly drove him wild to have her. Then she’d stepped back, stripped, and held his gaze while she ran her hands down her body to tease herself between her legs. She’d walked across the room, bent over the side of the bed, and ordered him to fuck her.

“Are you purring?” Jensen demanded, but Slade’s gaze was glued to the lone figure in the bed, who blinked open her beautiful, brown eyes. He was on his feet and at her bedside before Jensen realized she was awake.

“Rissa?” Slade took her hand in his and brought it to his lips, kissing the back of her fingers. He saw Jensen text something on his phone before slipping it into his pocket and figured he was letting the others know Rissa was awake.

“Slade?” She glanced around, taking in the room and Jensen. “What? Where am I? Why is your brother here?”

Jensen moved toward her with a penlight. “Hey, there, lazy bones. Nice to see you up and around. How’s your head feeling?”

Rissa looked confused, but she let him check her eyes. She didn’t balk until he went to skim his hands along her clavicle, most likely checking the break.

“What are you doing?” Rissa jerked toward Slade. “Why is he here?”

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Slade asked her.

“Standing out by the swings with you.” Her glance skimmed over to Jensen then back to Slade. “Do you really want me to remind you of the things we were doing last night while your brother’s in the room with us?”

Slade met Jensen’s gaze, catching the abrupt shake of his brother’s head.

“How do you feel, Rissa? Your arms? Legs? Any aches or pains?” Jensen kept his hands to himself, but Slade could tell it was a close thing. His brother wanted to assess her more fully than by visual scan.

“You’re scaring me, Jensen. Slade?” She stared hard at him, and the insecurity in her gaze killed him. “What’s going on?”

“If you don’t answer my brother’s question, he’s going to hurt himself trying to keep his hands to himself. He wants to make sure you feel okay. Any aches or pains? Soreness? Anything at all?”

She paused, and the way she gingerly moved showed she was finally taking Jensen’s inquiry seriously. “A little sore, maybe. My leg’s tender. My ribs, too, and I have a hell of a headache. Now, what’s going on?”

“It’s a long story,” Slade admitted, unsure where to start. Hell, the last thing she remembered was the two of them fooling around by a tree.

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