Page 16 of Bear to be Wild
“For keeping this a secret.” She stepped closer and her scent filled my nostrils, sweeping through me. “For letting me try to undo the problem rather than filing a complaint—and finding someone more talented with magic than me to fix it.”
“I—” I stammered. “I think you’re very talented.” Forcing some levity to diffuse the rising tension, I added, “After all, you were able to muffle my noise.” I slanted a grin.
She let out a soft, musical laugh. “With an added complication.” Her blue eyes shone so bright, locked on mine, and I couldn’t look away. She raised her hand, which trembled slightly, and she moved it to my cheek. “I owe you a favor—a very big one.”
I curled into the heat of her palm as if enchanted. My bear rumbled,mate.
Somehow, I rasped, “No, we’re good,” through clipped breaths.
Her shiny lips parted, drawing my gaze to them, and she moved up toward me on her tiptoes. I leaned closer to her, completely enchanted by this beautiful witch as we inched closer together.
Maribelle stopped and took a step backward, leaving me desperate, aching, yearning for more.
She stared across the deck. “We should, um… You need to get up early.” She nodded. “Right. We should head downstairs.”
Thoughts bounced around in my brain, sensations zipped through my body. We were just about to… Weren’t we?
What the hell just happened?
We walked in silence down to her cabin, the heat simmering between the tight walls high enough to combust the entire deck.
When she slid her ID to unlock her door, she fumbled with it and dropped the card. We both bent down to get it at the same time, and our hands brushed. For a few seconds, we remained there, neither of us moving.
In seconds, we’d be in her room. Alone. Together.
For the entire night.
“I got it,” Maribelle said quickly and rose. She swiped her card and stepped into the room.
When she held the door for me, I crossed over the threshold, anticipation firing up like lightning bugs inside. As she closed the door, I wondered if sleep was even possible.
CHAPTER 9
MARIBELLE
Iglanced around my cabin and sighed—there was no way I could make Roan sleep on the floor. The narrow strip of carpet between the bed and desk barely permitted walking, let alone six-and-a-half feet of muscular, broad-shouldered bear.
“We’ll have to share the bed,” I admitted. “Just…stay on your side.”
“I will be a perfect gentleman,” he promised with a solemn nod.
I stepped into the tiny bathroom to change into pajamas—a super-soft set of shorts and a tank. As I climbed into bed, I avoided eye contact. It would be too—weird. I pulled the sheet and blanket over me and scooted close to the wall.
Roan turned out the light, and his weight dipped the mattress soon after. Although we didn’t touch, the heat of his body was almost palpable, impossible to ignore. In the quietspace, I thought about the near-kiss upstairs. How much I had yearned for it.
When his breath slowed and deepened, I was sure he’d fallen asleep. That’s what I should be doing—sleeping. Not fixating on his presence in my bed, listening to the soothing sound of his breathing, or inhaling his enticing scent.
Ugh, this was not rest. It was torment. Repercussions for skirting the rules of magic.
I schooled my breath to match his, hoping it would carry me to sleep with him.
“Good morning, sunshine.”
The smell of coffee dragged me the rest of the way to consciousness. I opened my eyes.
Roan sat on the bed. “Thought you could use some coffee.” He raised a mug. “I didn’t see cream or sugar. Do you drink it black?” He was already dressed for the gym, a Moonlight Siren T-shirt hugging his broad chest with his name tag pinned to it.
“Yes.” I sat up and took the mug from him. “Thanks. Now this is the right way to wake up.” I inhaled deeply and took a sip. “Mmm.”
