Page 29 of Bear

“Hey,” he said softly, tipping my chin up until I looked at him. “This won’t scare me off, I promise.”

I closed my eyes and leaned into his touch with a sigh.

“I almost wish it would. I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you.”

“Then don’t think about that, honey. We’ll figure out a way to deal with this.”

Bear pressed a kiss to my forehead. I slid my arms around him, burying my face in the crook of his neck and shoulder. The sharp scent of engine oil and dusty desert air cling to his clothes.

I don’t know what made me do it but I found myself brushing my lips against Bear’s skin with a sweet, lingering kiss. He was so solid and warm and I felt so safe with him.

Bear’s breath hitched. He splayed his hands across my back, one palm sliding a little lower to rest against the curve of my ass. Maybe it was the jolt of anxiety coursing through me that had my fingers sneaking under the hem of his shirt, craving the comfort of touch. Or maybe it was the fact that Bear had awakened something in me that Justin could never reach.

Whatever the reason, I nuzzled against him, sucking his earlobe between my teeth with a teasing pinch. Bear’s hands fell to my hips. He moved me back until I was pinned between the door and the firm bulk of his body.

Then his mouth was on mine with a searing kiss that made me go weak in the knees. I shoved at Bear’s shirt, desperate to push it over his head. A few more bruises peppered his torso and when I gingerly ran my fingertips over them, he sucked in a breath.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

For causing him pain, even a little bit. For putting him in Justin’s path. For everything going wrong.

“I told you not to think about it, honey,” Bear whispered back.

Skimming his hand down my body, he banished the endless spinning of worries through my brain, leaving nothing but the sweet bliss of his touch. His knuckles grazed the heavy curve of my breast, his thumb caressing circles over my nipple until it grew stiff and pebbled beneath my shirt.

Then his hand quested lower, slipped inside my sweatpants. I bit the inside of my cheek to stifle a groan at the feel of his thick fingers sliding between my thighs, then sinking slowly, perfectly into my needy, slick pussy.

With his other hand, Bear tilted my head to the side. He closed his mouth over my exposed neck, his tongue sliding so exquisitely over my skin.

“Tell me you won’t go back to him, Shelby,” Bear rasped. His voice was low, gritty, but there was no mistaking the predatory protectiveness mingled with dread in his tone.

“Bear,” I replied, tilting my head to look him in the eye. “There’s no chance of that. I promise.”

Bear shifted even closer until his chest was pressed to mine, his forearm braced against the door.

“He’s the father of your child. At one time, you had thoughts of marrying him.”

It sounded ludicrous now. Impossible.

Bear gave a merciless twist of his fingers inside me, curling upward until I gasped and rose onto my tiptoes.

“Tell me,” he growled into my neck.

Bear had been patient. And protective. But he had never been possessive before. It made my pussy clamp around his fingers, made me arch against him.

“I’m never going back to him, Bear. I swear.”

He dipped his head, his lips brushing mine as he spoke.

“Good.”

I leaned in to kiss him but Bear placed a hand against my sternum, flatting me against the door. He fixed me with a hard stare.

Did he doubt me? Was he trying to see if I was telling him the truth?

No, I realized. Bear was going to make me his.

He withdrew his fingers, holding my gaze as he knelt before me and pulled my sweatpants off. I steadied myself with a hand on his shoulder when he pulled my panties off next.

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