Page 160 of Choose the Bears

“What did Nat used to like doing?” I whispered when Lars came over with a cup of tea. He left it on the coffee table, the steam rising in lazy curls. “What did we used to do for her to make her happy?”

The fact I didn’t know, couldn’t remember terrified me. My memory wasn’t the best most of the time, but it was like a whole chunk of my brain went offline the minute the twins were born. If I was experiencing that, what was she feeling? My mind raced until Lars met my gaze.

“Coffee in the morning.” She’d stopped drinking that, fearing the caffeine would taint her milk. “Breakfast in bed. Long sleep ins on the weekend. Lazing in bed reading those bloody books of hers.” Holly brought up box after box of vintage smut books each time she drove up to see us. “Massages, baths and?—”

“A bath.” My mind grabbed at that, remembering now. We used to go into the city and buy bath bombs from this place that sold heaps of them, the perfumes stinging the bear’s sensitive nose. She loved them though, grabbing each one and putting them to her nose, sucking in the scent before turning to the next one. “Do we still have some of those bath bombs?”

“Yes,” he grumbled, because he hated the damn things. “They’re under?—”

“The sink. Stay here.”

Lars wanted to protest, because of course he did. Something in him needed to contradict everything I said. Of course that’s when he looked down. I wasn’t important, but Nat…? Yeah, he’d stay real quiet as she slept. Knowing that no one and nothing would get close to my mate now, I ran upstairs, raking through the cupboards, pulling out shaving gear and soap, until I found this.

Sleepy time, that’s what it was called because apparently the bath bomb was infused with lavender oil. I didn’t know if thatwas legit or some hokey bullshit, but growing up with a hippy mum, I needed to give it a crack.

She wasn’t awake yet, so I shouldn’t have been running the bath already. I had no idea if she’d want one after already having a shower, or if this was a scent she still liked. I didn’t know if stripping some of the dried lavender from the stems Nat had set up in the bathroom was a good thing or not, but if some lavender was relaxing, more was better, right? I found her favourite face washer, her loofah that had dried up into something hard and wizened but I placed that beside the bath as well before pulling out a couple of the nice towels, the ones with a really thick pile and that would wrap around you twice and then rushed downstairs. Lars was just staring at her, but something had her stirring. Her eyelids flickered and then she looked up at me.

“Hey…”

That soft voice, that little smile, it filled me with hope. I felt like I had my old Natalie back, even if just for a second. I didn’t even necessarily need her. Becoming a parent had changed all of us, but… I wanted some of that serenity, that peace back.

“Hey baby.” I shot her my best smile. “Want to have a nice hot bath with me?”

“Is that a euphemism or…?”

She looked me up and down with a crooked smile.

“Thinking about my dick again?” I said, before moving in to scoop her up. “Can’t blame you, but no, that’s not what this is about.”

I carried her upstairs, then pushed the bathroom door open with my foot before setting her down near the bath.

“Lavender…”

That pleased little sigh was everything, though I stepped in when she went to undo her clothes. I peeled every layer off with some reverence. This wasn’t the same body that came to my bed before the kids were born. No, she’d been transformed likea soldier that had gone through battle. Each scar told a story of the fights she’d been in, but right now… I stripped down and stepped into the bath, bringing her with me.

“Oh yeah, this is nice.”

Nice was too small a word, inadequate to describe what I felt as her body pressed back against mine. Hot water lapped at our skin and I hoped her muscles were unwinding, just like mine did. Some part of me thought they did as she went limp against my chest.

“Thank you.” This was little other than a whisper, but I heard it anyway. Natalie knew I would.

“No need for that,” I said, wrapping my arms around her. “You’re taking care of my kids since the moment they were born and now…” I pressed a kiss to her neck. “I’m gonna make my entire focus taking care of you.”

Chapter 85

Natalie

There was a strange kind of timelessness about the bathroom. The frosted windows didn’t show the brightness of the sun or the lengthening shadows. Instead the soft grey light softened as the water grew colder. I didn’t want to move, didn’t want to think, breathe, do anything but just exist, like a lichen or moss or something, but then Thorn reached forward to turn the hot tap on again. Warm water washed over our legs and that had me sinking lower in the bath.

“Remember when we used to do this all the time?” My voice was croaky, rusty, as if I’d lost the art of speaking to one of the men that owned my heart. “Lars would grumble about the smell, especially when you put two bath bombs in at the same time.”

“Hey, if you liked one, I figured you’d love two.”

“Citrus and patchouli based scents do not go well together.” I chuckled, remembering the stink.

“I would like the record to show that I used no hippy stink bath bombs and made sure to mix scents that work together.”

“Matching lavender with lavender?” I raised a hand, seeing the little dried flowers run along my palm. “An inspired choice.”

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