Page 17 of Hot For Her Bear

She backed away from Dasha, gave her wink, and rushed behind the counter. Today was a special day, and she wasn’t going to let Bishop ruin it. Today was a day for them.

Dasha breathed in her mate’s scent. She nuzzled her neck and wrapped her arms around Saffron’s waist. She couldn’t get enough of her. Back at the ice cream shop, she had been ready to defend her mate against Bishop. Someone needed to put that asshat in his place. He was a menace to the bear community. Just because he had money didn’t mean he could treat people anyway he wanted, or be rude.

“How can I cook if you have me wrapped up in your arms?” Saffron glanced over her shoulder. She stood in front of the grill cooking their steaks.

Dasha chuckled and tightened her grip slightly before releasing her. Saffron had changed clothes when they had arrived at her home. She was dressed in a light-pink tank top and a pair of gray cotton shorts. The outfit was driving Dasha crazy. Both would be easy to remove.

“I guess I can let you go for now.” She pressed a kiss to Saffron’s bare shoulder and moved away to take a seat on one of the lounge chairs on her back porch. Dasha looked forward to her time with Saffron. Her bear was growing more possessive of her and wanted to be around her all the time. Having Bishop make moves on her woman didn’t sit well with her. She wanted to put her mark on Saffron so all bears and any other shifter would know that her woman was taken.

“This will be a simple meal,” Saffron announced. She walked over to the table and took out the bottle of wine she had sitting on ice.

“Those are always the best,” Dasha replied. She didn’t care if their meal was cereal, she just wanted to be near Saffron. She was quite sure she could survive on what was between her mate’s legs anyway. She licked her lips, the memory of Saffron’s honey coming to mind.

“Get your mind out of the gutter, ma’am.” Saffron swatted her shoulder. She grinned and poured Dasha a glass.

“I didn’t even say anything!” Dasha scoffed.

“I can’t read your thoughts, but your facial expressions are very open,” Saffron murmured. She poured herself some wine and took a sip. “For instance, when I know you are thinking of sexy time, your eyes glow bright. Matter of fact, any time you are passionate about something it happens.”

Dasha sat back, never having realized she was so easily readable. Or maybe it was just that her mate was very in tune with her. Again, fate was a show-off. This little bit of information Saffron had shared just proved how compatible they were with each other.

“I’ve learned certain things about you, too.” Dasha gripped the back of Saffron’s thigh and brought her close to her. Again, she found herself needing to touch Saffron. She skated her fingers along the back of her naked leg. Thanks to the tiny shorts Saffron had changed into when they’d got to her home, Dasha had a hard time concentrating with Saffron’s soft supple legs on display.

“Oh yeah? Like what?” Saffron groaned. She reached over and tucked thick strands of Dasha’s hair behind her ear.

“For one, I know you love when I nibble on your inner thigh. The noise that comes from between your lips let me know that.” Dasha’s fangs threatened to descend. She slid her hand up to stop at the meat of Saffron’s ass. Her shorts revealed her ample cheeks, and Dasha wanted to rip them off. Saffron’s breaths were increasing as she listened to Dasha.

“What else?” Saffron whispered.

“When you get nervous, you bite your bottom lip. That just drives me crazy.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to nibble on your lips.” Dasha paused and sniffed the air. Something smelled as if it was burning.

Saffron stiffened and glanced over her shoulder.

“Shit!” She darted back over to the grill. She set her glass down and opened the lid with smoke escaping to the sky. A sigh escaped her. “Thank goodness. We’re good. Nothing is burned. I must not have cleaned the grill off good.”

Saffron finished cooking, and it didn’t get past Dasha that she was keeping her distance. Dasha was pleased to see that she affected her mate as much as she did. Saffron had their food plated and on the table. It was as she had promised. A simple dinner of steak, baked potatoes, salad, and wine. It was a perfect meal to celebrate.

Everything was just perfect.

The series she had sold was one she had painted a few years ago. She had promised Saffron she could see it before it was packaged and shipped off. Dasha was a little nervous. The series was personal, and she had never known how much until now. Dasha had named it A Midnight’s Dream.

There were three paintings of the same scene with a bear standing on the edge of the lake staring at a reflection in the water. In the water wasn’t the sight of the bear but of a woman. In the first image, the woman’s face was blurry with ripples of water distorting her face. The second picture, the woman’s face was more defined, the ripples not as strong.

The third picture revealed the face of the woman to be Saffron.

Fate was telling Dasha something.

At the time she’d created the paintings, she at first hadn’t recognized the woman to be Saffron, but as time had gone on and she’d continued to perfect them, she’d realized who the female was. She had been confused but just thought that it was a coincidence, but now she understood what her subconscious was telling her.

Saffron was her mate.

They ate in a comfortable silence. Dasha loved the quiet of the atmosphere. She loved Saffron’s property. She had the best of both worlds surrounding her home. The woods and the lake.

“You did a good job. My steak is cooked just how I like it.” Dasha motioned to her plate. She preferred her steak to be medium to rare.

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