Page 36 of The Bear's Fated Mate
The music changed.Let Me Be Your Teddy Bearrang out, and a howl of laughter went up from all the wolves present. Some of them shifted to fur and crowded onto the floor to join the party.
The dance went on.
16
Lara was curled up in the oversized rocking chair at the edge of the common room. She had a book in her lap, fingers tucked between the pages because she’d reread the same paragraph over and over for the last half hour.
Fall had officially arrived, and it was cool enough to have a fire burning in the fireplace. A couple dozen pack members were gathered around the room enjoying the quiet evening.
Alex was somewhere wandering, which in itself was decidedly fascinating to think about. Even though he could’ve left a week ago, he’d stayed until the final visitor Crystal had invited gave up, good-naturedly offering Alex a pat on the back and not even attempting to get close enough to Lara to shake her hand in farewell.
Since that time, Alex remained, and while every morning she braced herself for his announcement that he had to get on with his life and go do the next thing, she was more optimistic that sometime in the future she’d be able to approach him about broadening their relationship.
Her wolf had given up speaking to her, disgusted that they weren’t simply coming out and laying their cards on the table.
But she wouldn’t do that to him. The incredibly intimate contact they’d had over the past two weeks meant she’d grown to appreciate Alex’s sincerity. When he gave his word, he gave it one hundred percent. She could trust him, and that was good, but that meant he had to be able to trust her as well.
They’d gone into this saying there would be no expectations and no fallout, and no matter how much it hurt, she was going to stick to that agreement.
Maybe she’d give him a month or two to explore the friendship thing, but then she was going to revisit the idea of a real relationship, and she was going to be tenacious about what she wanted—but not now. It wouldn’t be right.
Her senses tingled five seconds before Alex walked through the door, as if she was still sensitized to his approach. He motioned farewell to the couple of guys he’d been talking to then turned unerringly toward her and stalked his way across the room.
Lara smiled up at him. “Did you get lost?”
She gasped as he lifted her, twisting smoothly and settling in the chair with her delicately balanced in his lap. “Nope. I knew exactly where I was at every moment.”
A chuckle rumbled from Alex. How had she thought he was stiff and unyielding?
Although, she’d always known he was sexy beyond belief, and as he tipped her chin and pressed his lips to hers, she ignored everything except savouring the moment.
A thump sounded—her book hitting the floor, but her fingers were in his hair and he was easing her against him as he leaned back in the rocker and his tongue danced with hers, sending her senses reeling.
“Get a room,” someone shouted, but beyond snickers of amusement, there was nothing but acceptance from the gathered crowd.
Lara pulled back to meet his amused gaze. “You’re ruining my reputation.”
“I don’t see how. Kissing in the common room doesn’t affect your status as the most kick-ass warrior in the room.” His gaze fell to her lips. “But maybe we should try again, just to be certain.”
Resistance was futile. She leaned into him harder and kissed him back enthusiastically, mentally debating how soon she could haul him out of the chair and actually follow that directive to go to their room for more than kissing.
Alex was the one to pull back the next time, speaking soft enough that with the music playing overhead it would take concentrated effort for even the wolves in the room to hear him. “I found something.”
For a moment, his words didn’t register. Then as she began to stiffen, he ran a hand down her back and raised a brow in warning.
Oh my God, he’d been snooping somewhere in the pack house and had actually found some information. “Proof?”
He wrinkled his nose. “Something that needs your signature. No data, just those pages, so it says something is going on but notwhat.”
The relaxation she’d felt moments earlier was gone as a sense of destiny struck. It was good that he’d found something because this needed to be solved before anything else could happen, but damn if she didn’t want to go back to the days of lying in bed with him with no agenda except making each other happy.
Except, this also made her happy. Solving the puzzle and getting to find a solution meant an end to being in limbo.
She straightened carefully. “Then this is happening. I need to take action.”
“Now don’t go off half-cocked,” he warned. “Talk to your sister. Ask her what’s going on and give her a chance to make it right.”
Lara felt something inside her twist with amusement and a deep sense of rightness at hearing his suggestion. “Awesome. You’re feeding me back my own words.”
