Page 19 of Bear to be Wild
True, I remembered that thrill of the first time here, before we returned to the same locations week after week until the cruise ship repositioned for a different itinerary, like Alaska.
“It’ll be fun,” he insisted with a bright smile, and his enthusiasm wore me down.
“Okay, you big, annoyingly persuasive bear.” I groaned. “As long as you don’t force me to climb any mountains. I’m still recovering from what you put me through this morning!”
He chuckled. “No mountains. How about the beach?”
An hour later,I kicked off my sandals and held them instead, relishing the warmth of the sand on my toes as we walked along a beach. “Okay. I’ll admit it. This was not one of your terrible ideas.”
Roan smiled and it made his eyes crinkle. “High praise from a discerning witch.”
I shot him a look. “Don’t get used to it, bear. I haven’t forgotten this morning’s awful idea of making me work out. Never again!”
He cocked his head. “Oh, come on. You mean you don’t want to work out next to Sir Flex-a-Lot?” he teased.
A smile slipped across my face. “At least you don’t parade around like that.”
“What? Like this?” When Roan flexed in a perfect imitation of the tiger shifter, down to the pec dance, I burst out with the laugh that I’d bitten back earlier.
As we walked, our hands brushed a couple of times. Neither of us snatched them away, yet we didn’t take hold either. My awareness of him beside me grew, as did the urge to take his hand.
I’d been here countless times before, but never noticed how it could be quite so—romantic. The island was lush, with palm trees that offered shade from the afternoon sun. Heat wrapped around us. We’d taken a cab to a quieter stretch of beach, away from the mass of cruise passengers. Waves lapped lazily at the shore, carrying the salty scent, and seabirds buzzed across the blue sky.
Roan bent to pick up a piece of driftwood and turned it in his hand before tossing it into the sea. “You hated me at first sight. I hope you realize I’m not entirely awful.”
“Not entirely,” I echoed, my voice a notch lower. “And I didn’t hate you,” I admitted. “I just thought you were a loud, grunting gym bro.”
“Like Sir Flex-a-Lot?”
“Exactly.” I grinned.
Roan quirked a brow. “And now?”
I slanted a brow up. “A not-so-loud, but still grunting gym bro.”
His lips quirked into a smile and then broke into a full guffaw as he dropped his head back. “Am I that insufferable, Maribelle?” He stared into my eyes, and his crinkled with amusement. Then he lifted his hand and brushed a curl off my cheek, keeping his fingers there and stroking lightly.
My breath caught. “Dreadfully,” I rasped, though we both knew I didn’t mean it.
He stepped closer. The air between charged with more heat, raising the already simmering tension that clung to us like a shadow. My pulse quickened and every nerve screamed with awareness.
Bad idea, an inner voice scolded.
But a bad idea had never seemed so tempting.
He leaned down, slowly, and I ceased to breathe. When his lips brushed mine, kindling scorched. Our mouths met, slowly at first. A rumble that vibrated deep in his chest was the sexiest sound I’d ever heard.
Deeper, more insistent, he captured my mouth. Electric heat and lightning sizzled inside me as the world fell away to just the two of us. He stole the breath from my lungs and all my rules about not dating shifters from my mind.
CHAPTER 10
ROAN
Maribelle’s lips were as soft and delicious as I’d imagined. I was finally kissing her. My bear cheered in jubilation.
She pulled away slightly, but the warmth of her lips lingered.
Her eyes blinked rapidly as they appeared to come back into focus. She stepped backward. “Cursed cauldrons, what am I doing?”
