Page 14 of The Bear's Forever Mat
How could he walk away?
Amber cursed a few times, but there was a cold wind whipping around her, so she slipped into her car and slammed the door shut. Getting frostbite wasn’t going to help her whoop Cooper’s ass.
His ass totally needed whooping.
She closed her eyes as she pressed back against the headrest, hoping the solid connection would stop the spinning. Fever-pitch desire burned, and she wasn’t sure what was going on.
She hadn’t meant to kiss him. Asking him to come over had been a bold move on her part, egged on slightly by how well she thought things had gone during dinner and a few chance comments during her talk with Laureen Borealis.
The woman had said something about living without regrets and seizing the moment, and there’d been a fire in the words that had fanned the coals inside Amber and pushed her to act.
And he’d kissed her back,dammit.
So why…?
She drove the short distance home so she wasn’t sitting outside the Borealis homestead. The last thing she needed was for Giles or Laureen to spot her sitting there in a daze and come out to see what was wrong.
As she made her way up the stairs to her apartment, Amber’s phone buzzed. She checked it without thinking, mindlessly staring at the calendar update that had arrived.
Booking confirmation: Cabin In The Woods motel. 1 occupant, 7 nights. Special instructions followed and in place. Please let us know if you need anything else during your stay.
Amber blinked, read it again, then opened it to see if there was any more information because she truly was confused. When she realized the alert was from the work calendar linked between her and Cooper, and he had booked himself into a remote retreat house for a week starting the next day, everything became clear in a rush.
He hadn’t walked away from her because he didn’t want her. Cooper was trying to protect her.
She didn’t need protecting. She neededhim.
Amber took a deep breath. Also, he neededher.
She checked the reservation again, but it was for one person. He wasn’t taking off to some love nest without anyone being the wiser, but the week away clearly indicated a major event.
Something big, like the arrival of mating fever.
It made sense. Right now, with the holidays approaching and more than a few to-do items still on his list? Cooper wasn’t the type to up and leave his responsibilities without planning ahead.
She thought she’d been brave to ask him over, but it seemed that was only the tip of the iceberg of exactly how daring she needed to be. Amber headed into her apartment and pulled out a suitcase even as she made plans of her own.
Out of consideration for her friends, she waited until the following morning to start a text conversation.
Amber: Question for one or both of you
Lara: I’m up. What’s happening?
Amber paused in the middle of typing her question because …what do you suggest as the best way to seduce Cooper…came off as far creepier than intended.
She must have paused for too long because she got back an exasperated comment.
Lara: I will kick your behind into tomorrow if you woke me up early to rewrite messages at me
Amber: Fine. Bluntly speaking, Cooper is going into the mating fever, and I intend to join him. Do you have any suggestions since I’m human and not sure what to expect?
Lara: …
Lara: …
Lara: …
Amber rolled her eyes. Okay, now she understood how totally annoying it was to have someone write and erase messages. She wanted information, stat. She had places to drive to and a bear to get naked with.
