Page 36 of Hunny and the Bear

The creature was almost unrecognizable, its fur completely soaked in fresh blood. Tank nudged the lifeless animal with his nose, a mournful whine leaving his throat.

“Tank.”

The sound of Hunny’s voice had him jerking to the left, where he spotted his very human, very naked female crouched down beside a bush. She looked frightened, her cheeks pale and her eyes wild, leaves and twigs sticking out of her hair.

Tank shifted into his human form before he even realized what he was doing, prowling over to her. He just needed to hold her,to make sure she was alright. He picked her up from the ground, wrapping his shaking arms around her.

“You’re alright,” he assured her, but he knew the words were for him, too, anxiety coursing through him as Jasper kept watch.

Tank’s gaze returned to the dead bunny on the ground, and his jaw clenched, a tremor skating down his spine. The stench of wolf was strong here, too, meaning they’d only missed the culprit by a few minutes at most.

What the fuck had it even been doing here, so far from pack territory? Hunting? But then why hadn’t it eaten the rabbit? Or had it been leaving a message? The wolf’s scent wasn’t familiar, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t part of the Moon Rose pack.

Unnerved, Tank held on more firmly to his woman, breathing in her scent to overpower the smell of blood and death.

“I’m alright. I think you scared it off,” Hunny murmured, wrapping her legs around his waist as she buried her head into the crook of his neck. She was shaking almost as hard as he was, and it infuriated him that someone had come into their territory and scared her like this. Scared them both. “I want to go home, Henry.”

“Alright, baby,” he crooned, turning back toward his cabin with her still secured in his arms. “Let’s go home.”

He’d take her home, get her settled, and make sure she was safe. And then he’d come back out here, hunt down that wolf, and rip it to pieces.

Fourteen

Hunny’s trembling eased as Tank carried her into his cabin, his hot, naked body warming her despite how chilled she felt. His grip on her didn’t let up, even after he shut the door behind him, or carried her upstairs to his bedroom. He only let her go when he placed her on the edge of his bed, his fingers trailing over her cheek before he walked over to his dresser, giving her a perfect view of his ass.

And damn … Tank had aniceass.

She’d seen him shirtless plenty of times since they’d met, but she’d never seen himnaked. Not until he’d shifted right in front of her out in the woods, his expression gutted until he realized she was alright. And then the relief in his eyes had mirrored her own, and she hadn’t been able to see past that. Hadn’t been able to think about anything other than Tank holding her protectively in his arms.

But now that she was safely tucked away in Tank’s home, with his scent permeating the air and relaxing her, she kind of hated that she hadn’t thought to sneak a peek at his bare body beforehe’d walked away. She might be shaken up, but she was still a woman withinterests, specifically where her big, burly bear was concerned.

And if the back of him looked this nice, she could only imagine what the rest of him looked like.

“Did the wolf see you?” Tank asked gruffly, sifting quickly through a drawer and pulling out some clothes. She watched him like a hawk, the teeniest bit grateful that he was facing away from her, too preoccupied to notice that she was blatantly checking him out. If he caught her lusting over him like a cat in heat, he’d probably be mortified.

Rightfully so.

Seriously, what had gotten into her? One sighting of his sculpted cheeks and she’d morphed into a horny bitch? Okay, she’d been horny for days, but she’d just been terrified. She didn’t need to be thinking about how well-defined Tank’s legs were, or that his ass was honestly a work of art.

And yet here she was, multitasking like a champion.

“No,” Hunny answered, swallowing thickly as he slid a pair of sweats up his legs, covering his backside. “As soon as I knew another shifter was nearby, I hid.” Now that some of Tank’s tantalizing skin was covered, she felt less distracted and more confused by what she’d seen outside. “What was a wolf even doing here? Is there one in your clan?” She assumed the answer was no, but it didn’t hurt to check.

A deep growl rumbled in his chest as he said, “No, and I don’t care why it was here, darlin’. It’ll be dead if I find it anywhere near you again.” His grip tightened on the drawer handle, his back tensing in agitation. “I thought that—” His gravelly voice broke slightly, and he took a deep, shuddering breath. “I thought I’d found you dead in the woods.”

Hunny’s face softened as she stared at his sinewy back, her fingers itching to touch him. To soothe him. “I’m okay, Henry.”

Tank turned around then, a sinister expression on his face. Despite how furious he looked, he calmly made his way over to her, gently lifting her arms into the air and sliding a giant T-shirt over her head that smelled deliciously like him. Pulling it down until she was adequately covered, he lifted her back into his arms, turned, and then sat down on the bed, cradling her against his chest.

He took another ragged breath, and her hands slid up the expanse of his chest, her lips pressing against the quickly beating pulse in his neck as she laid her head on his shoulder. “I know you wouldn’t let anything happen to me,” she murmured against his skin.

His hands wandered to her bare thighs, holding her more firmly against him. “I almost did.” His fingers dug into her skin. “It took me too long to find you.”

“I was only gone for a few minutes, Henry. And as soon as I felt threatened, I shifted. I knew I’d stand a better chance in my human form until you got to me. I promise I’m okay,” she reiterated, placing a light kiss on his frantic pulse, needing to reassure him she was alright. She heard his heart skip a beat, and he seemed to hold his breath. And then he wrapped his arms around her waist, dropping his head into the crook of her shoulder.

She wanted to sink into him, to comfort him and never let him go. She’d gotten used to this level of closeness between them, and she loved it when he held her, just like this. It was so natural. But unlike the other times, this felt so much moreintimate. The energy in the room was charged, filled with a tension she couldn’t ignore.

Was it because he thought, however briefly, that she’d gotten killed? Or because they were in his room together, a place she’d avoided like the plague unless it was to use the connecting bathroom?

---