Page 12 of Marked By the Possessive Polar Bear
I swallow hard as I die a slow cringing death inside. Even my inner grizzly bear is shaking her head in embarrassment.
“I’d let you tattoo her on my skin,” he says as he tilts the paper to get a better look. “Anywhereyou want.”
I swallow hard as I imagine where I’d put it if I had the choice. It would mean touching him in that spot for hours. Maybe his chest, or his bicep, or… no, that would never fit. And I’d be so distracted with it in my hand that we’d never get the tattoo completed.
“I wouldn’t put that on you,” I say with a nervous laugh. “She looks like she got her tail caught in a boat propeller.”
“What would you put on me?”
He leans one elbow on the counter beside me, not quite touching, but close enough that I can feel the heat of him.
My lips. My hands. My pussy.
My bear grumbles in agreement.
I look up at him and our eyes meet. He’s so sexy, it’s unfair. It’s all-consuming. It’s intense. Looking at him takes all the breath out of my lungs. It makes my body throb.
“You want me to tattoo you?”
“I want your hands on me, Vic,” he says. “Any way I can get them.”
I suck in a breath. My bear’s practically howling inside me now, restless and needy, pacing behind my ribs like a caged animal. I can feel the pull toward this man in my bones. In my blood.
A strong urge to put my hands on him right now begins to take over, so I quickly change the subject before I do something I might regret.
“Where have you been for eight years?”
He straightens back up and crosses his arms over his chest as he watches me. “What did Magnus tell you?”
“That you left for a girl.”
It’s a lie. Magnus never told me anything, no matter how many times I asked him, but I just want to see how he’s going to react.
“Well, it appears your brother is a bit of a liar then,” he says as he stares me down with a heated gaze. “There’s no one else. Never has been.”
I swallow hard, wondering how I should interpretthat.
“Life got… heavy,” he says after a long moment. “The fire and… I had to leave town. Fast. I’m sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye.”
That’s what hurt the most. Adrian was such a big part of my life, whether he knew it or not. Every second thought in my head was about him, so having him disappear without an explanation or a simple goodbye was like a knife to the heart. So, I’m thankful for the apology.
“That’s okay,” I say with a shy shrug. “I’m just glad you’re back.”
He’s all grown up, but there’s still something boyish buried in there behind all that muscle. Something familiar. That something I fell in love with all those years ago.
“You look so different,” I say, “but you look the same at the same time. I hope that makes sense.”
He nods and smiles. “I know what you mean. I can still see that cute mischievous girl who was always up to no good, but you’re not exactly the kid sister anymore.”
I casually push my breasts together with my arms as I look up at him, batting my eyelashes.
“I’m all grown up,” I say with a grin.
“You certainly are,” he says as those piercing blue eyes roam all over me.
“So, are you here for good this time, or are you going to run back to wherever you were hiding the past eight years?”
“That depends.”
