Page 6 of Bear

Footsteps echoed in the apartment. Then Bear stepped around the corner, wiping his hands on an apron. His curls had been combed back and an attempt had been made to gel them into place but one rogue curl still escaped, drifting over his forehead. I fought back the instinct to reach up and brush it aside. His jeans were clean and snug, and the buttons at the collar of his white shirt were straining to contain the bulk of him, granting a glimpse of thick, dark chest hair.

A white-hot coil of need burned low in my belly. I tried not to stare. Just because I found myself attracted to Bear didn’t mean my common sense had to fly out the window. I was probably just having a physical reaction because of hormones gone wild. My sex life had been non-existent for over a year now so my body was reminding me of an itch that hadn’t been scratched in too long.

That’s all it was, I told myself. Needy, lusty hormones triggered by a masculine presence.

Averymasculine presence.

“It’s good to see you, Shelby,” Bear said. “And Maisie, of course. We’re very glad you agreed to join us.”

Holy mother of God, had his voice always been that raspy and deep?

Pull yourself together.

“Thank you for inviting me,” I replied. “Something smells absolutely amazing.”

Bear smiled, a devastating flash of white teeth against his dark stubble.

“I hope you brought your appetite along because we have enough food for a small army. Paella, taquitos, enchiladas, tamales, and fajitas. All of it from tried-and-true Calderon family recipes.”

My stomach growled. After months of living on cold cereal and TV dinners, that sounded like a feast fit for a king.

“Can I help with anything?” I asked.

Bear shook his head. “We’ve got it covered.”

“You don’t even need a taste-tester? I could be good at that, you know.”

He laughed, soft and low. When he rested his palm against my lower back, I was pretty sure my brain stopped working for a solid three seconds.

“Just have a seat,” he replied. “Make yourself comfortable. Dinner is almost ready anyway.”

Bear guided me to the dining table and pulled out a chair for me. Pedro emerged from the kitchen, carrying a tray loaded with hot food. Some of it gave off clouds of steam, some of it sizzled, and all of it was a riot of color - vibrant red peppers, golden yellow rice, crisp green lettuce, and rich brown meat. Another boy trailed after Pedro with a second tray, equally laden with food. Where Pedro was all smiles, friendliness, and youthful energy, this boy was lean, angular, unsmiling and silent as a snake. A faded bruise darkened his right eye, too, which worried me.

“You’ve already met Pedro,” Bear said. “And this is Carlos.”

“So you’re the one who’s been distracting my big brother lately,” Carlos said.

“Behave,” Bear growled.

Carlos shrugged. “Just an observation.”

Bear untied his apron as he shot Carlos a no-nonsense look that clearly said,we are not going to talk about this right now.

Was Bear really distracted because of me?

It was flattering to think of being desired by a man again, even if I knew nothing could come of it. Stretch marks and extra baby weight and messy hair certainly didn’t make me feel like I could drive a man to distraction.

When I got pregnant with Maisie, Justin suddenly didn’t seem interested in sex anymore. At least, not with me. He was away at the office more and more every day, until I barely saw him at all. He’d claimed it was due to working extra overtime to pay for doctor bills and baby clothes, but I wasn’t stupid. Even though I never found any proof that he might be cheating on me, when he’d packed his things and walked out, that was enough heartbreak to cope with.

Maisie began to whimper and squirm in my arms. I placed my hand on her chest in an attempt to calm her the way Bear had done earlier today but it didn’t have the same effect. I’d made sure to feed and change her before coming. I had a bad feeling this was just another wave of fussiness that would last for hours…

“I’m so sorry,” I said, rising from my chair. “It’s Maisie. I can tell she’s about to start full-blown crying in less than thirty seconds. Could you point me to the restroom so I can calm her down somewhere that won’t disrupt dinner?”

Bear folded his apron and draped it over the back of his chair before turning to me.

“I’ll take her and you can eat.”

I hesitated, glancing down at Maisie, her big blue eyes welling with tears. She’s all I had in the world and I didn’t know what I’d do with myself if something happened to her. I’d only met Bear two days ago and from outward appearances, I wouldn’t have judged him as a trustworthy man.

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