Page 19 of Bearly Taken

How I’d stepped out of the bathroom with a bounce in my step and assumed the note I saw on the countertop was about him leaving to buy breakfast or something.

My happiness slowly draining away when I read the note.

Leaving his house alone, knowing that he cared enough to claim me… but not enough to stay.

I couldn’t let myself forget.

I couldn’t let him sweep me off my feet like that again.

For Parker’s sake, I had to be strong.

There was a knock on the bathroom door just before I stepped into the shower. “Is Parker okay?” I called out.

“Hasn’t made a peep. I just have a question,” he said.

I grabbed a towel off the hook next to me and wrapped it around myself before crossing the bathroom and pulling the door open.

Reed was leaning against the doorway, his hands braced on the frame above our heads. I tried not to suck in a breath at the sudden large, masculine presence, but failed.

His eyes moved slowly down my figure, his fingers digging into the wood above us as he took me in.

My body warmed under his attention, but I tried not to acknowledge it.

“What’s the question?” I asked, forcing the conversation back to the topic.

“Hmm?”

“You said you had a question.”

He cleared his throat, lifting his eyes back to mine. I tried not to let my gaze lower to the erection tenting his sweats. “Right. Sorry. It’s been a long fucking time since we were together, and you’re stunning.”

And he hadn’t been with anyone else, because he couldn’t.

I bit my lip, not sure what to say.

He cleared his throat again. “Sorry. Fuck. Sorry.” His lips curved in an apologetic grin. It made my body warm more, but after a moment, it faded. “I don’t actually have a question. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay in here. I’ve hated the way I left while you were showering since the moment I walked away, and I don’t want you worrying that I’ll do it again. I can sit with my back to the shower or something, if you’re okay with it.”

I stared at him for a moment.

A long, long moment.

I wanted to believe he cared. I wanted to believe he would stay.

Some part of me wanted to throw my arms around him and kiss him.

But the logical part of me was strong enough that I didn’t. I just nodded.

“Iwasthinking about that, actually.”

He slid his hand over my cheek, brushing his thumb over my cheekbone. My eyes fluttered closed.

“I’m sorry. Do you believethat, at least?”

“I don’t know. I want to.”

“That’s better than I hoped for.” He brushed a kiss to the tip of my nose. My lips quirked upward just a little.

“You can sit in the bathroom doorway, with your back to me,” I said.

---