Page 55 of Hunny and the Bear

And it is amazing, she thought blissfully. Tank was an exceptional lover; the best she’d ever had, and it wasn’t like she’d been a virgin when they’d met. She had plenty of experience with males, and to put it simply; no one held a candle to him. Not just regarding sex, either.

“Oh my God, you slept with him.” Nessa leaned forward in her chair dramatically. “I thought you were just friends!” she whispered.

Tank’s head whipped toward them, and Hunny shot him a glare that clearly said ‘mind your business.’ With another huff, he disappeared into a backroom, leaving them alone. Luckily, Nessa had given him permission to roam about when he’d asked, so his leaving to explore more of her shop wasn’t weird or awkward. Well, not too much anyway.

Once he was gone, she eyed Nessa warily. “How do you know we slept together? Is it that obvious?”

“Aha!” Nessa slapped her palm onto the tabletop. “So Iamright. Damn, I should have bet money on it. And to answer your question: you’ve got this glow about you that wasn’t there the first time we met.” She grabbed her own cup of tea, taking a delicate sip as she watched Hunny over the rim. “So, did you have a good time? I’m assuming the answer is yes.”

Hunny blushed, answering the question without saying a word.

Nessa laughed. “Oh, so he’sgoodgood.”

“Maybe better than that.” Hunny’s lips twitched.

Nessa whistled. “Makes sense now why you keep giving him the googly eyes every few minutes. You’re in love with the grump.”

“I-I’m not in love,” Hunny sputtered quickly, though as soon as she said it, the truth smacked her in the face like a ton of bricks.

Holy shit. Shewasin love with Tank.

It was wild to think, to even comprehend. Could it happen so fast? She’d barely known him for any true length of time, but already it felt like they’d gone through so much together. She felt more for him now than she ever had with anyone else; including her true mate.

After Jason had rejected her, she’d felt sad, but she’d also known she would move on from him; that she didn’t reallyneedhim. With Tank, it was completely different. He’d wormedhis way into her heart so thoroughly, just the idea of being separated from him made her breath stall in her lungs, a swift denial emitting from her very soul. She didn’t know what she’d do without him—as if the very notion was so absurd her brain refused to think about it.

Nessa raised a skeptical brow. “Are you sure you’re not in love?”

Hunny cleared her throat, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. “I … I just hadn’t thought about it before,” she admitted faintly. “This whole situation with Henry, it’s all very new, and it seems a little fast, you know?”

But it also felt right. Everything about him felt right.

Nessa shrugged, leaning back in her chair. “Not necessarily. Sometimes the best kind of love blindsides you. It finds you when you least expect it and takes you for one hell of a rollercoaster ride.”

“You can say that again,” Hunny agreed adamantly. When Nessa sent her a questioning look, she sighed. “I just got out of a bad relationship a couple of weeks ago. I met Henry right after, and I didn’t expect to feel so much for him so soon.”

“Really? The way you two act together, I just assumed you’d known him for a few years.”

“Nope.” Hunny bit her lower lip, worry swirling through her mind before she continued, “I didn’t think I wanted to be in a relationship or anything like that, not for a while, but Henry’s kind of impossible to resist. And you’re right, by the way. A-about what you said.”

Nessa beamed at her. “I’m thrilled for you, Hunny. Real love’s hard to find.” Some of her smile dimmed, and she looked away. “A few years ago, I’d have given anything to find something like that; love, marriage,kids. But some things just aren’t meant to happen.”

At the mention of kids, Hunny absent-mindedly touched her stomach. Nessa followed the movement, brows raising in surprise.

“You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

Hunny blushed. “Yeah. Triplets, actually.”

Nessa’s eyes widened, shooting up to Hunny’s face and then back to her stomach. “Shut up. Seriously?” She lowered her voice. “You’ve got to be several weeks into a pregnancy to know you’ve got triplets, right? Does Tank know?”

Hunny tilted her head, completely forgetting for a moment that humans couldn’t smell the same way shifters could. What Tank had known upon first meeting her, Nessa wouldn’t know unless she was told or until Hunny began showing. “Oh, yeah, he knows everything about my ex, including that I’m carrying his children. Henry’s actually building onto his cabin to make room for us all. It’s a bit complicated but we’re figuring it out.”

Nessa gaped at her. “You’re telling me that grumpy bastard”—she pointed toward the backroom Tank had disappeared to—“is giving you great sex, building you a cabin—”

“Building onto anexistingcabin—”

“—and is completely cool with you having another man’s kids?” Nessa whistled again. “You are lucky, Hunny Russo.Lucky.”

“Yeah,” Hunny agreed with a warm, satisfied smile. “I really am.”

---