Page 56 of Hunny and the Bear

“I know we haven’t known each other long either,” Nessa added, “but please take my advice; you need to lock that man down ASAP. Do you know how many women would snatch up the opportunity to get with a guy like that?”

Hunny stilled. “You think so?” She hadn’t met any of the females in his clan besides his mother, but she’d never considered them as competition before. Should she?

Nessa rolled her eyes. “Girl,yes. Men like that don’t grow on trees, and some women will do anything to take what someone else has.”

The thought made Hunny nauseous and territorial. Tank washers, dammit. She didn’t start a relationship with him just for someone else to come sniffing around. And Nessa was definitely right; Tank was a catch. She was lucky no other females had noticed it before. What if they did now and Tank was still unclaimed?

It didn’t make them a permanent thing just because they were sleeping together. Only a mating mark would make him off limits.

Suddenly, Hunny’s canines began to ache, the need to sink her fangs into him and claim him as hers so strong she nearly knocked back her chair to go hunt him down. Instead, she gripped her ceramic cup hard, surprised she didn’t crack it as she shook her head, trying to grasp onto reason before she lost her mind. “Henry’s not like that, though. He wouldn’t leave me for another woman.” She knew that with absolute certainty, but it didn’t dampen the urge she had to claim him.

“Even more reason to lock him down,” Nessa insisted. “The man can barely keep his eyes off you, and if he’s happy to raise another man’s kids with you, I can’t imagine he’d have a problem committing to you.” She shook her head a moment later. “I’m sorry. I don’t know if I overstepped, Hunny. I don’t want to sound like I’m pressuring you into anything, and I don’t want to worry you.”

“You didn’t and I’m not,” Hunny assured her, adding with a playful wink, “Besides, Henrydidsay he wanted everything I was willing to give him, so I don’t think he’d mind if we took things further.”

“Oh, my God!” Nessa fanned herself. “Did I call him a grump? What I meant was, he’s perfect.”

Hunny smiled widely. “That’s what I tell him, but I don’t think he believes me.”

“Perfect and oblivious to it? Yeah, he’s a keeper. And one of a kind, I’m sure,” Nessa uttered wistfully.

“He has brothers, you know.” Though she wasn’t sure if they’d be interested in dating a human.

Nessa grimaced. “Yeah, I spoke with one of them over the phone this morning. Murphy? He called to reserve my shop for some kind of event tomorrow. He seems like a dick, but he offered me a lot of money, so obviously I accepted.”

Hunny wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, he has that effect on people.” He’d been stern with her, too, during their first and only meeting, but she had the distinct impression that there was more to him than that. Behind his hard edges was someone who genuinely cared about his family, and by extension, her.

“Is it a family trait?” Nessa asked. “They act like jerks but have hearts of gold or something?”

She snorted. “Jasper, that’s Henry’s youngest brother, is very much a joker. And a dipshit, but mostly just to Henry. I’ve noticed that Murphy’s more serious. He has a lot of responsibilities with his job, though, and I think they weigh on him.” She frowned. “Henry’s got two more brothers, but I haven’t met them yet. Or their dad.”

Actually, now that she was thinking about it, she knew nothing about the other members of his family. Tabitha was alive and well, meaning her mate must still be in the picture. So where was he? She’d have to ask Tank about it.

“Sounds like a family reunion is in order.” Nessa waggled her eyebrows teasingly.

“I’ll invite you so you can have your pick of his brothers,” Hunny joked.

Nessa laughed, shaking her head. “I’ve had my fair share of dickhead boyfriends, so I’ll pass. But thank you.”

Hunny winced. “That bad, huh?”

Nessa bit her lower lip, a somber expression crossing her features. Running a hand through her turquoise-colored hair, she said, “I mean, there’s a reason I moved to the middle of nowhere, Montana. No offense if this was your dream destination,” she added hastily. “But this wasn’t my first choice. Just the safest.”

“Safest?” That didn’t sound good at all. “Are you alright, Nessa?”

Nessa’s eyes flickered, several emotions crossing over them at once. “I’m fine now. Honestly, I’ve put the past behind me, and it’s nothing I really want to talk about, if that’s okay?”

Hunny nodded slowly. “Yeah, of course.” Lowering her voice to a soothing tone, she added, “But if you ever decide you want to vent, I’m here for you. Alright?”

“I appreciate that. Seriously.” Nessa released a shuddering breath. “Moving away from everything I knew was hard, but opening my shop, having my own freedom … it’s worth everything I went through before, you know?”

“Yeah,” Hunny answered firmly. “I know how you feel. My parents died when I was seventeen and I left everything I knew behind to start over. Freedom is scary, but it’s empowering, too.”

“It really is.” Nessa stretched her arms over her head, suddenly letting out a small yawn.

Hunny looked over at the clock on the wall, her eyes widening in surprise. “Oh wow, we’ve been talking for almost three hours! I should probably head home.”

“We need to do this again soon,” Nessa said, standing when Hunny did. “I had a lot of fun. Oh, that reminds me.” She leaned down, grabbing her purse off the floor and pulling out a small black bag from inside it. She handed it over to Hunny. “I got those trimmers and stuff you asked for. Going to give the grizzly a shave, eh?”

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