Page 11 of A Beary Merry Christmas

Stone

Reaching across the console, I grabbed her hand, lacing our fingers. I didn’t know why, but I felt the need to touch her. Her presence wasn’t enough.

Leaning back, I drove through town. From time to time, I snuck a glance at her, and every time, she was sitting contentedly, merely taking it all in. And, as cheesy as it sounded, I was content to merely take her in. I could stare at her for hours.

Fuck. I’d never been a sap, but damn if she wasn’t changing me. With other women, it was forced. With her, it was effortless.

My bear chose that moment to head butt me, making his presence known. Fuck. After four days of silence, now he decided to demand his freedom.

Letting go of her hand, I rolled my shoulders, doing my best to calm the ornery beast. He’d been in a fowl mood for years; it’d been years since he’d played with a female. Nate and I wrestled on occasion in our bear forms, but it wasn’t the same.

You couldn’t make a true mate magically appear, no matter how hard you wished for one. And, Lord knew I’d wished for one, more times than I cared to admit. Weres are social creatures. We like company, most of us anyways.

Pinching the back of my neck, I barely suppressed my bear’s roar. Shit. The last thing I needed was my bear breaking free and scaring her off.

“Are you okay?” Her voice cut through my tension.

Glimpsing at her, my heart skipped a beat. The furrow of her brows, combined with the way she bit the inside of her lip, showed that she cared, or was, at the least, genuinely worried about me. The last thing I wanted to do, though, was worry her.

Dropping my hand, I gave her a reassuring smile, clearing my throat. “I’m good, now that I’m with you.” I took her hand in mine again, hoping I was convincing enough.

She analyzed me for a few, long seconds before giving me a small nod of approval. It wasn’t apparent whether she believed me or simply wasn’t pressing the matter.

Suddenly, her lips curled into a knowing smirk. “Whatever you say, handsome.” She laughed. The sound was music to my ears.

Fuck, she’s pretty when she smiles.

“So you think I’m handsome, huh?” I watched her reaction closely.

She took her time replying, her expression revealing less than I hoped. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think you were.”

My heart took off, beating wildly for her. All I wanted to do was reach over and kiss her, but that was the surest way to get her sick. Dammit. “The moment I can breathe through one nostril, I’m kissing you for as long as you allow me to.”

Her eyes became glossy.

For one second, I thought she was going to cry, and panic shot through me. It shook me enough to regain full control over my bear and myself. Every protective instinct within me fired up, my bear on the verge of a ferocious rumble, almost as if he supported my desire to love and protect this woman.

“This is a little surreal for me.” She swallowed hard, staring openly at me. “I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this.”

Pursing my lips, I tried not to jump to conclusions. “Is this good?”

Again she made me wait for her answer.

Pulling into my driveway, I threw my Rover into ‘Park’ as quickly as possible so I could angle my body to look at her head on. Twisting in my seat, I took her in. My nerves were suspended in mid air, my stomach in knots. For some reason, it was important that she said what I wanted to hear, what I wanted it to be.

I wanted it to be good. I wanted to be good for her, good enough for her. I wanted more than I ever have. I wanted her.

She shook her head. “So far today, yes.”

When the fuck did I forget to breathe? I gasped like a damn overzealous fool. She truly had turned me into someone I didn’t recognize. Typically I was smooth and cool, the opposite of the fumbling mess I felt like right now. “Let’s keep it that way, then.” I winked.

Hopping out of the vehicle, I rounded to her side and opened the door. I saw her eyes glitter as she studied me, unbuckling. I was mesmerized. There was just something about her. I kept repeating that, like an idiot, in my head, but it was the truth.

Reaching out, I caught her around the waist as she slid out of the SUV. The weight of her in my arms was heavenly. Irrationally, I wanted to hold her tighter and never let her go.

But I had to. For now.

Lowering her, I didn’t release her until I was certain she was steady on her feet. The way she looked at me had my heart doing backflips. I’d surprised her; I’d impressed her, and damn did it feel good.

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