Page 17 of Fated to the Grizzly

I haven’t really seen my reflection in years.

Before dad dragged me off like a sacrificial cow to be rejected by my suitor, I peered at myself in the only mirror that my family owns—a filthy, cracked hand mirror. But I couldn’t see a whole lot in the speckled surface.

I’ve grown up. The puppy fat has gone from my cheeks, and my eyes seem less rounded, while my lips have gotten fuller. An adult woman stares back at me.

A woman who looks like she’s been sleeping in a bush. My hair is all matted, and there are smears of dirt on my face.

Oh man, I probably smell bad, too. Not something I’ve had to worry about in a long time, since no one showers a ton in the prepper world. But here, in this beautiful house, with this man who smells incredible…

Yes… he smells like fresh pine forests and spring air just after a rainfall, mingled with something spicy and primal. I only just realized, but I’ve been smelling him subconsciously all this time.

Whereas I probably smell like sweat and dirt and animal pelts.

God, this is embarrassing.

I wash up as best I can, then I slip out of the bathroom. I’ll just go do the dishes, then I’ll ask if it’s okay if I take a shower.

But when I get back to the kitchen, Orion’s not there.

The dirty dishes have disappeared though. Maybe he went to relax in the living room?

I try to remember the way as I pass through the corridors of his vast house. My brain is really not working well right now. Talk about system overload.

After a couple of wrong turns, the low blue lighting glows from the living room, like it’s beckoning to me. My heart lifts as I step into the lovely room. There’s no sign of Orion, but a splashing, tinkling sound draws me across the cream-colored area rug to the edge of the mezzanine. I peer over the rail.

And I gasp at the sight that greets my eyes.

7

Scout

There’s a large indoor pool on the lower level with a beautiful rock formation at one end. But that’s not what’s catching my eye.

No, the thing that’s possessing my vision—heck, my entire body right now—is the gorgeous man standing in the middle of it. Orion is facing away from me, peering through the picture window at the dark forest beyond.

I hold still and drink him in. Every ridiculously gorgeous bit of him. The water comes up to his waist, but he looks like he’s already been under, because his hair is dripping wet, and rivulets of water are meandering down the muscular splendor of his back. His hands are wide apart, resting on the infinity-style edge of the pool, and he looks focused. I wonder what he’s thinking about. Probably wondering why he let this grubby little prepper loose in his house.

Damn, I could stare at him all night. But what if he knows I’m here? It’s going to be pretty freaking weird of me to keep gawking at him and not saying anything.

I clear my throat.

He turns to face me.

The water swirls, and one of the underwater lights hits him at just the right angle, and… holy crap, he’s naked again. I can just make out the long, thick shape of his cock beneath the surface.

“Hey,” he says, like everything’s totally normal and he didn’t just catch me with my mouth hanging open.

“H-hi, I was wondering if I could take a shower,” I blurt out, my cheeks warming.

He flashes that sexy smile of his. “Plenty of water right here.”

I blink. “Oh… I mean, I’d better have a regular shower, to get clean and all.”

“Nothing better than salt water. It’s all natural.” He wades over to the side of the pool and presses a button. Immediately, a waterfall starts gushing from the rockery at the far corner. “Regular shower here,” he says. And in case I needed a demo, he stands right under it, tipping his head back and letting it cascade all over him.

Oh, god.

It’s a sight to make a girl’s clit throb out of control. The most inviting thing I’ve seen in my entire life.

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