Page 25 of Bear In Mind

His features turned down, his brows furrowing intensely.Balancing on one arm, he scrubbed his forehead.“Tell me I didn’t claim you without explaining this part.”

I didn’t know how to respond.Despite knowing each other for five years, everything happened so fast.One minute I was single, in a bar and being drugged, the next I had a new job, a new mate, and a newfound appreciation for orgasms.

My stomach chose that time to grumble, announcing that I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and it was dinnertime.

That broke through his stress.Slipping out of me, he gave me a chaste kiss.“Don’tmove.I’ll be right back.”

Watching his sexy rear asset disappear into the bathroom was a sight I would never grow tired of.Until I saw him return.He was six feet, four inches of pure, raging masculinity.His movements were lithe, prowl-like.He moved with purpose, with beauty.

Cocking a brow, he smirked, pressing a warm cloth to my center.“Like what you see?”

I was exactly where I started that morning: in his bed, looking at a disheveled version of the man I knew.But it was different now.Everything had truly changed in the past twenty four hours.I was different.He was different.Everything was different.

Biting back a grin, I played coy.“A little.”

He narrowed his gaze.“If we didn’t have things to discuss, I would make you pay for that one.”

That broke my hold.Laughter tumbled from me.“Do I want to know how?”

“No.”He passed the cloth over my sensitive folds once more before stepping away to discard it.When he returned, he stopped short of the bed, taking the time to look me up and down.

It was difficult not to fidget under his intense scrutiny.Despite comfort, despite confidence, I was hyperaware of my flaws.I’d accepted them, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have moments of doubt.

Closing the distance between us, he pulled me upwards, dragging my rear asset to the edge of the bed.He stepped between my thighs and claimed my lips, his hands molding to my hips and back.Breaking away, he met my gaze.“I love all of you, every damn inch of you, Bryn.If you ever doubt that, you promise you’ll tell me.Okay?”

Swallowing, I shook my head in agreement.

“Say it.”The demand was a deep rumble.

A chill chased down my spine.My breasts swelled with his command; the husky growl of his voice had liquid heat scorching my pussy.“I promise I’ll tell you.”

With a curt nod, he stole another kiss.“Good.Now let’s go order some take out and we can talk while we wait for it.”

Pursing my lips, I considered him.“Naked?”I tried not to cringe.I’d never been one to prance around naked.My boobs were overly sensitive at times, and I had the irrational fear that, in an emergency, I would be forced outside in nothing but my birthday suit.Not a pleasant thought when you knew all of your neighbors.

He stared at me for a long minute.“Wear anything you’d like, but don’t expect to keep it on all night.”

I kissed him again.“Deal.”

Before he let me go, he focused on my right shoulder.His irises lit up like a circuit board.A sense of calm washed over him, one I’d never detected before.He breathed a sigh of relief, his muscles relaxing for the first time.“I like seeing that mark and knowing that you’re mine.”His gaze flickered to me for one brief second before he stepped away, opening the closet door and turning on the light.

Standing, I grabbed my glasses off the nightstand and put them on only to take them off and clean them with the comforter.Shoving them back on, to sit on the bridge of my nose, I hunted for my bra.I found the garment across the room, not far from my shredded tank and favorite comfortable sweater.Tugging the hooked brasier over my head, I jumped around, trying to get it in place, contorting every which way to fix it, until pain shot through my left arm.I hissed, wincing as I halted.

Bear quickly closed the distance between us.Moving in behind me, he smoothed the fabric around my chest.Wordlessly, he pressed a kiss to my sore shoulder.

“Thanks.”I angled into his touch.

He didn’t linger, breaking away to go back to the closet.It wasn’t until he did that I realized he didn’t have a dresser.Three shelves that came halfway up the wall across from the bed occupied the only logical place for a dresser to be in the room.The shelves weren’t Ikea bookshelves, though; they appeared to be handmade, with a zigzag puzzle design to them.They were empty, but the wood looked freshly polished.

Spending more time than I wanted rifling through his closet, I darn near broke out in song when I came across a pair of grey cotton pajama pants that were forgiving enough to slide over my curves.They hugged every rounded edge tightly, but, thankfully, the material didn’t feel like it was going to split under the pressure.It took me longer to find a shirt.I ended up borrowing a white undershirt.The ribbed style tank stretched over my width while the length hit the bottom of my hips, thanks to my much fuller figure.

Straightening, I came face to face with Bear.He wore a pair of black athletic shorts and nothing else.All of his strength was on display.I squealed inside, in awe of the fact that this man, this shifter, was mine.Wrapping my arms around him, I pressed my lips to the center of his chest.

He leered down at me.“What was that for?”

I looked up at him.“Because.”

Capturing my lips, he slid his tongue along the seam of my mouth.Pulling back, he kissed my forehead, just beyond the frame of my glasses.“Come with me.”He led me to the bathroom.

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