Page 31 of Hunny and the Bear

That thought alone had some of the anxiety easing from Hunny’s shoulders and she relaxed in her seat, taking a deep, calming breath.

It was kind of cute—okay,morethan a little cute—how protective Tank had become over the past week. He’d made her feel safe since the day he’d rescued her, but this felt different. More intense. And it had started the day she informed him she might carry more than one kit.

Henry’s probably just worried about complications during my pregnancy. Given they were now roommates, with no end to their living situation in sight, he likely wanted to make sure everything regarding her pregnancy went smoothly.

It was too bad that she wished it were somethingmorethan that. Ever since the truck incident, when she’d become so aroused by Tank she’d nearly lost her mind, she couldn’t help but look at her roommate in averydifferent light.

Everything Tank did now had her heart racing, her pulse beating wildly, and her pussy aching. The poor male couldn’t even slide a puzzle piece across the dining room table without her imagining his fingers slipping between her thighs and sliding somewhere far more erotic. She did her best to ignore the desire constantly swirling around inside her, and if he noticed any change in her scent while they were together, he didn’t say anything.

She’d be mortified if he did. It wasn’t like he’d made a move on her, or anything like that at all, to warrant all of her pent-up sexual emotions, and she wouldn’t throw herself at him. She’d already gotten herself into quite a mess by doing that to the last male to catch her interest. And now here she was, knocked up and rejected.

She refused to act on impulse like that again.

Besides all that, what if she took a leap, hit on Tank, and he turned her down? Why would he want to get with a femalewho was pregnant with another male’s baby anyway? Tank might hold her close whenever she wanted, cook her nice meals, and spend hours listening to heryap onwithout uttering one complaint, but that didn’t mean he had any kind of romantic interest in her. Or did he?

Could he?

Ugh, what am I even doing? I don’t need to think about this, anyway! I just got out of a shitty ‘relationship.’

“Are you ready?” Murphy asked, drawing her from her thoughts. He filed away the last paper on his desk before leaning back in his worn leather chair.

“As I’ll ever be,” Hunny answered, sending him a small, tremulous smile.

“There’s no reason to be nervous. My brother has ensured this is more of a formality than anything else.”

Relieved, Hunny sagged in her seat, her hand going to her still-flat belly. “He has?”

Murphy cast a hard glare over her shoulder before returning his gaze to her. His expression softened marginally. “You’ve gained quite the fan club since coming here, Hunny. My mother is fond of you, and Tank is—”

Tank mumbled something from the corner of the room.

“Be quiet,” Murphy snarled at Tank, “or I’ll toss you out on your ass. You’re lucky I allowed you to attend this meeting, anyway.” Murphy huffed before sending Hunny an apologetic look. “Tankis forgetting that he’s not the damned Alpha of this clan.”

So attuned to Tank, Hunny felt more than heard him stir from the back of the room. “I don’t want to cause any problems,” she interrupted quickly, looking over her shoulder and narrowing her eyes on the bear shifter.Behave, she mouthed.

Tank paused abruptly, like he’d just gotten caught stealing from the cookie jar. A delicate shade of red stained the top of hischeeks, just above his beard. After an awkward silence, he sighed loudly, moving back to his previous position in the corner.

“Now that we’ve settled that,” Murphy stated with a snort, “I’d like to talk to you about your plans to stay in our territory.”

“I’m not sure how long I’ll stay,” Hunny replied truthfully. Tank made a deep, irritated sound behind her that had her adding, “But I don’t have plans to move on, either.” Especially if things went well today.

Please let things go well.

“Well, you’ve made an outstanding impression on my mother, and she’s put in a good word for you.” He sent Tank a sharp look before returning his attention to Hunny. “But I do have questions for you, and based on your answers, you may not agree with my decision here today.”

Hunny slid her hands from the armrests to her knees, squeezing them gently. “I’m ready,” she reiterated.

Murphy nodded. “Good. How old are you?”

“Twenty-two.” Even as she said it, she felt like she was two decades older than that. The things she’d gone through in the last five years alone had aged her, at least spiritually. Mentally, also. Suddenly, she realized something. Glancing over her shoulder at Tank, she asked, “How old are you?”

He smirked. “Thirty-two.”

“Wow, you’re practically an antique,” she teased. Figures he was a decade older than her. She’d always loved an older male.

Stop it!

Murphy chuckled, and she whipped back around, raising a condescending brow. She liked to tease Tank, but she didn’t want someone else laughing at him foranyreason. “Aren’t you even older than Henry is?” she asked haughtily, pursing her lips in disapproval. “I wouldn’t be laughing, if I were you.”

---