Page 28 of The Bear's Fated Mate
Her name tag said Chantelle, and her mass of tight curls bounced as she strode forward pushing a cart layered with food. There was something about her that made Lara lean forward, curiosity growing as—
“I hope you find everything to your satisfaction.” Chantelle glanced around the room before pulling an envelope from her pocket and handing it to Lara. The other woman spoke softly. “This is for you. Read it in private.”
She left the room without another word as Lara stared at the envelope in her hand in horror.
Damn it, she’d thought she’d covered all the bases, and that this spa experience was on the up and up. Yet now she had an envelope in her hands that came from the pack office, and the woman who had just left had her sister’s scent all over her—Chantelle had to have been at the pack house recently.
Something was wrong, and Lara had no idea how she was going to deal with it. Not without Alex discovering some secrets.
13
While Alex had experienced the mating fever for years, as he’d shared with Lara, this was the first time he’d fully participated. His memory of avoiding the fever in the past had involved him shifting, and his bear was never great at remembering details.
This year was different on so many levels. Not only because he had a willing and, dare he say it, eager partner to play with, but his human side seemed to be doing a lot better at staying in charge.
Which sounded off the wall, but that was the problem with being both a man and an animal. They were the same person, and yet there were times his bear had a totally different sense of humour, among other things.
Thirty-six hours into the spa experience, and they hadn’t left the suite even a single time. It hadn’t been necessary, and for the first twenty-four, Alex been hard-pressed to move more than a few inches away from Lara. If he hadn’t been inside her, he’d been touching her with as much of his body as possible.
Even when they’d had food delivered, he’d found it hard to keep his hands off her. Lara had finally made the executive decision that they’d both stay locked in the bedroom while the waitstaff rolled masses of food into the living room.
Lara sat immediately beside him, legs tangled with his while she reached toward the coffee table to grab another serving of popcorn. The oversized robe she’d insisted on pulling on—in spite of his suggestion the suite stay a no-clothing zone—gaped open as she leaned back on the luxurious couch.
“You’re out of control,” she teased, motioning to the table with one hand. “I mean, I appreciate the calories, but five types of potato chips?”
She said she liked them, his bear insisted.
I believe you,he assured the animal, snorting with amusement because he didn’t remember adding that portion to the last order they’d phoned in.
Yeah, bear-in-charge equaled weird shit on the menu.
Alex rearranged Lara on the couch beside him, pulling her feet onto the seat so her knees rose into the air. “Extra building supplies means it’s playtime. Don’t move.”
He proceeded to grab a handful of chips from each bowl and arrange them on her body. Teeny towers of crunchy goodness bloomed on each of her knees and her shoulders.
When he leaned in to build a small Inuksuk statue on each of her breasts, Lara laughed softly. “You goof.”
“No earthquakes allowed, sugar. Stay very, very still.”
She waited motionless as he finished his task, the smile on her lips sincere and bright. “I didn’t know you had a sense of humour like this.”
Alex stared down at her as she good-naturedly put up with his inexplicable weirdness. A sudden jolt struck at the accuracy of her comment. “Bears like to play, but I haven’t had a lot of chances lately.”
Her expression softened. “It’s tough when you’re in security. It feels as if everybody expects you to be tough and ready at all times. And that’s not a bad thing, but it’s not theonlything. So I know what you mean. My wolf likes to play as well.”
Alex ran a finger along her shin, the robe falling farther away to leave her legs bare to his teasing hands and drifting gaze. He touched as he spoke, wondering why his tongue was loosening. Why he was sharing this with her, but it felt right. It felt as if them being mostly naked meant their words needed to be naked as well.
Truthful and rawer than he’d admitted to anyone before. “My brothers are better at it than I am. At letting their animal sides be playful. Well, James is for sure. Cooper can get himself tied up in knots about doing things the right way, but even he has moments when he decides to shove the rules.”
She could’ve been sitting in a Zen garden instead of covered with barbecue-chip dust and stacks of potato wedges. She seemed so serene and at peace.
Lara spoke carefully. “From what I know of your family, you’ve got a lot to be thankful for. If not getting playtime is something that needs to change, I bet they’d listen to you. They’d help you find a way for you to still be the security mastermind that you are but also get time off for the parts of you that need the break.”
Alex eyed her closely. Despite how suspicious he’d been of her only days ago, his gut insisted this sharing time was completely aboveboard. As if she really was trying to make his world better.
“This is weird, isn’t it? This whole you-and-me-sharing thing.”
She met his gaze, and one brow rose high. “Are you kidding me? If potato chip body ornaments are a thing, then you and me chitchatting about feelings is situation normal.”
