Page 62 of Grin and Bear It

“You won’t even see their bears that often, if you decide to pursue things with them,” she assured me. “Australia isn’t exactly bear friendly, especially in the city. From what I’ve seen of Dale’s family, they go out bush every now and then and go to fur for a while, ramble around somewhere far away from tourists and then it's back to skin. The man is the one running the show, not the bear. But there are some anatomical differences.”

I looked up sharply. “Like what?”

“That’s something you’ve gotta ask them about. It’s only relevant if you decide to bump uglies and from what I can tell, that’s not on the table right now.”

“Coll.”

“El.” She grinned at me then, baring all of her teeth.

“Coll.”

“Ellie.”

“You held out on me. You knew what the guys were all along and you didn’t tell me.”

“Them’s the rules,” she said, completely unrepentant. “It’s to protect shifters from persecution, just in case you decide to run for the hills.”

“Well, I haven’t, so fess up. What’s the difference between a man and a bear shifter?”

She grinned then, like the complete smug bitch she was and then winked.

“Everything, babes, everything.”

She keptthis shit up right until she drove us home, Coll having switched to water way before me, but as I jumped out of the car and started barrelling up the drive, she called out, “Where are you off to?”

“I’m gonna ask Cole,” I said, squinting owlishly at the scaffolding.

“OK then, but make sure to ask about his dick.”

“His what?”

Chapter31

Cole

“His what?”

Ellie’s voice tore through my focus, the roller going wide along the wall, though thankfully not anywhere that would be a problem. As I looked down, I caught Colleen smirking, but she wasn’t my main focus. My mate paused for a second, looking at her friend for a second as I set the roller down, and then leaned on the scaffolding railing.

This way, I mentally ordered my mate.Look this way.

When she did, it felt like someone had thrown a match on me, my whole body heating up under her gaze. Especially when her eyes narrowed. Whatever she and Colleen had been talking about? It seemed to get the wind up her, so Ellie came stomping over to the ladder. I watched her climb up, wanting to step in and scoop her up, carry her up or down or wherever she wanted to go, but not yet. Not now. I held my ground, feigning a casual look when she finally clambered up on the platform, hands going to her hips.

“No more secrets!” she declared.

“Alright,” I replied mildly, smelling beer and Tex-Mex food on her.

“What are these anatomical differences Coll was talking about?”

Her fingers flexed and she seemed to fight a war inside her before she stormed over, and that’s when I felt it. Her hands on my fucking body, right where they belonged. I was still half hard after the little spat from before, but Mr Happy went into overdrive, jerking in my jeans at the feel of her. I ground my teeth together as I held myself back. She patted me down awkwardly and then looked up.

“Are you like part bear or something? Like with fangs?”

I smiled then, flashing my fangs at her. There was no point holding shit back. We’d tried that and failed miserably and, honestly, if this got her closer, I was down for it. Her brows creased as she inspected them, but then her frown deepened.

“Is that it? Coll said I needed to ask you about your…”

Her voice trailed away as I grabbed one of her hands and slid it lower over my jeans, letting her get a nice handful of everything I so fucking desperately wanted to give her.

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