Page 47 of The Bear's Mail Order Mate

As she picked up her notes on the restaurant and the menus, she tried to figure out exactly what she was going to say to the man who was responsible for her being there.

For surely there was nothing she could ever say or do that would ever be enough to thank Finn for bringing her here, to this place, to this moment, to Kris.

Chapter Seventeen – Kris

Kris loved his brothers. He truly did. But right now, he wished they were elsewhere.

As Finn and Philip appeared around the side of the barn and headed toward the doorway, he longed for them to vanish, to be anywhere but here, so he could take Cassia by the hand and lead her someplace secluded, show her just how fiercely he wanted her. His mind conjured the memory of her breath catching as he’d brought her to a shuddering climax mere moments ago, and he swallowed hard, battling the heat that threatened to flare back to life.

The thought of claiming his mate completely consumed him. Instead, he would have to muster all his self-control, keeping his demeanor pleasant and polite while every primal part of him screamed to warn his brothers off, to show them that Cassia was his, and only his.

They know,his bear reminded him.

I know they do,Kris replied in frustration.But it doesn’t stop me from wanting them gone from here right now.

His hands tightened into fists as Finn and Philip stepped inside, their gazes flicking from him to Cassia and back again. He forced his shoulders to relax, releasing a controlled breath.

“Hey there,” Philip said, an amused tilt to his brows.

“Morning,” Kris managed, hoping he sounded normal even though nothing about this situation felt normal anymore.

Finn caught Kris’s eye and cleared his throat. “We were just—uh—checking on the barn progress,” he offered.

“Which is coming along,” Philip added, though his gaze lingered on Cassia’s flushed cheeks and Kris’s ruffled appearance. A knowing grin tugged at his mouth, but he tactfully didn’t comment.

Cassia drew a breath, pushing the hair from her face. “I hear you’re the one responsible for the advert that brought me here,” she said, giving Finn a small but friendly smile. The tremor in her voice might not have been obvious to anyone else, but Kris sensed it keenly, remembering the intimate moment they’d just shared.

Finn chuckled sheepishly, glancing at Kris in an unspoken apology. “I still have no idea how that happened. I swear it was only drafted as a joke. We were trying to show my brother here that there was more to life than work. It was never meant to be published. But apparently, fate had other ideas.”

Kris snorted softly. “Yeah, you might say that.”

Fate, indeed.His bear chuckled happily.

Cassia’s cheeks colored again. “I have to admit, I was never a believer in fate. But now…” Her voice drifted off as she glanced at Kris, a small smile on her lips. “Kris has convinced me.”

Finn’s eyes darted back and forth between them. “So does this mean…”

Kris nodded, inhaling slowly. “Cassia knows we’re mates. I showed her my bear just now.”

Philip’s eyes sparked with interest. “Just now?” He crossed his arms, looking amused. “I take it things got a little…personal?”

Kris’s bear rumbled with annoyance. He did not want his brothers to dissect his private moments with Cassia. “Philip,” Kris warned, his voice dropping to a low growl.

Philip raised his hands in surrender, though his eyes still danced with mischief. “Just making an observation.”

Cassia shifted beside Kris, her fingers brushing against his. The simple touch grounded him and eased the territorial surge that had his bear pacing restlessly beneath his skin.

“Listen,” Finn interjected, clearly sensing the tension, “if you want us to give you some time…”

Yes,Kris blurted to his bear.

But Cassia lifted her chin, shaking her head. “No, that’s all right. We were about to dive into work, anyway.” She glanced at Kris, reading the reluctance in his posture. “Weren’t we? After all, this restaurant will not open itself, will it?”

Kris hesitated, torn between his impulses and the reality that any moment of stolen privacy was now lost. “We were,” he agreed at last, though that wasn’t exactly how he wanted to spend this special morning.

And it was a special morning. A one of a kind, never to be repeated.

True. You only meet your mate once,his bear agreed.

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