Page 22 of Deception

His bear chuffed inside.Mine. Mate.

Thank goodness for whatever instinct made him whip off his jacket and wrap it around her shoulders. Maybe she wouldn’t take him for a total caveman.

The thing was, he didn’t just place the jacket over her shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her, too, and she squeezed in immediately. So tightly, he could feel the push of her nipples against his shirt. So close, he could feel the warmth of her belly and chest. So intimately, his bear got all kinds of bad ideas.

“Hi,” she murmured.

When he’d spoken, his voice seemed to invade the peaceful space, but Summer’s seemed part of it, like the whisper of one branch over another or the soft flutter of a bird’s wings. But there was a sad note to it, too, and that gutted him. There was so much he wanted to say, but none of it came out.

Summer, put the past behind you. Step into the future with me.

Summer, you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met. Don’t you know that?

Summer, I dream about us sharing a life together. Do you dream it, too?

“Hi,” was all he could get out. “You found me.”

A shy smile spread across her face, warming him. “I found you.”

He wanted to ask how, hoping it was her heart and not her nose that had led her here. But they didn’t have all night, and he really ought to get down to business, right?

We have a couple of hours, at least,his bear growled.Plenty of time.

“You found me,” he echoed like a complete dunce, and her smile grew.

Every instinct told him to step even closer and share his body heat with her. But damn it — habit made him take half a step back. Somehow, that always happened. That back-and-forth. It was as if his inner bear couldn’t get close enough to Summer and wanted to erase the distance between them, while his human side knew he had to give her space. She was her own person, not his, and he couldn’t presume she wanted him as badly as he wanted her.

But damn, did he hope she did.

“You always do that,” she murmured, pulling him closer.

“Do what?”

“Step close, then step away.” She pulled again, inviting him into her space. So close, she had to tip back her head to look at him. Or more precisely, to look at his lips.

“You’re cold,” he murmured.

She shook her head and gave him a naughty grin. “I’m hot.”

He groaned inside. How the hell was a bear supposed to control himself in a situation like this?

“No need for control,” she whispered, tickling his ear with her lips. “Not tonight.”

He did a double take. Could she read his mind now? Or had the look on his face given him away?

No need for control,his bear echoed as she unbuttoned his shirt.

“I need this so bad,” she whispered. Her breath hung before her, a tiny cloud of condensation in the crisp night air.

See?his bear chuffed.She wants us. Needs us.

He pulled her closer, wrapping her in his warmth. He didn’t dare ask whatthiswas, though he could see it in her eyes. He could feel it in the pull of her body on his.

She slid a hand up his chest, and it caught in the fabric of his shirt. A shirt he was ready to tear the rest of the way off — anything to be skin to skin with her.

“Drew,” she whispered. “I need you so much.”

Her eyes were aflame, and her breath hitched just like his did. His cock hardened in his jeans, pushing against the denim.

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