Page 22 of The Bear's Forever Mat
No other men.
You need to go away and let me handle this.
His bear huffed off.
Cooper tugged Amber over himself, arranging her on her back so she connected all along his front. It left her breasts available for him to palm and pet, his lips brushing her earlobe. “Okay, where were we?”
Amber laughed softly, but she arched into his palms like a kitten wanting to be petted. “Discussing why you weren’t jumping my bones every time we saw each other in the office.”
“Good place to start. You work for me. That’s not an ideal situation for starting a relationship.”
“I work for the CEO of Borealis Gems, who, I believe on paper, is still your father.”
Cooper paused. “That’s a tricky bit of double-talk. You do work for me. You just said it—our calendars are linked.”
“If you plan on firing me for coming on to you, you’d have a war on your hands. Between your brothers, your grandfather, and all the department heads like R&D and Alex’s security teams, youtrysaying I’m gone and…” She rolled over and dug her elbows into his chest. “Stop growling at me.”
“It’s not me,” Cooper protested. “It’s my damn bear.”
The cutest frown twisted her expression.
“You’re talking about other guys who like you. He’s jealous.”
“Good grief…” Amber hesitated. “He’s listening to us?”
“Why shouldn’t he? He’s me,” Cooper said before realizing that sounded a little off the wall. “It’s…complicated.”
“Of course it has to be complicated,” she muttered softly, resting her chin in her palms. “Cooper, interoffice relationships are not a good idea when somebody’s got all the power. I like working for Borealis Gems, and I like working for you, but we aren’t your typical interoffice romance. Even considering you’re a polar bear shifter with mating fever, I will straight up say it—I feel zero concern anyone will accuse you of pressuring me into a relationship.”
“That easy?” He stroked his fingers through her hair, letting it rest over her shoulder. “Okay, as long as you promise to never leave Borealis Gems to work for anyone else without letting us counteroffer to increase your benefits and salary package.”
Amber laughed softly. “Lara already tried to steal me away and I told her no. You’re safe.”
He’d been joking. “Seriously? Lara tried to poach you for Midnight Inc.?”
“Oops.” She slapped a hand over her mouth, then winked. “Okay, let’s move on to the next concern you had.”
“You’re trouble,” Cooper said, with something near delight dancing in his belly. “And you’re young.”
Her eye roll was big enough to be a statement all in itself, but she followed it up with an enormous sigh of exasperation. “I can’t believe you’re going to try that one.”
“I’m thirty-six,” he pointed out.
“Congratulations.”
“Amber.”
“Cooper,” she repeated back with the same tone. “I’m twenty-five, which is younger than you, yes. But it’s old enough to know my own mind. Besides, women mature faster than men, and humansdefinitelyget smarter far sooner than bear shifters.”
“Hey.” Both Cooper and his inner bear smarted at that one.
She patted his cheek saucily. “Just means you need to eat your veggies so you can keep up with me.” Her expression grew solemn, sadness rising rapidly. “I can’t do anything about the fact that I’m human. As far as I know, and I’ve done a ton of research, all those tales about finding a way to turn into a shifter are just that. Fairy tales.”
“Definitely not a problem,” Cooper assured her. “I have no objections to you being human, and my bear doesn’t mind one bit either.”
Her eyes widened for a moment, then she nodded firmly. “It means I can’t share activities with you the way Kaylee and James do, or Lara and Alex. If we want to go out into the wilderness—”
“Then we find a way to go that works for us.” Cooper sat up, bringing her beside him so he could look her in the eye more easily. He folded his hand around hers. “I’m not my brothers, and you’re not your friends, and what we will have will be unique to us. But I already know of a very successful polar bear and human combination. They’re people I look up to very much.”
