Page 19 of Bear Haven
“How can it be?”
“Because I refuse to believe anything else. There’s strength in numbers and even though the Mayor has numbers on his side, we have them on ours, too. My family has friends, Blake’s family is large and has friends, as well. There are other shifters we can call on if we need them.”
“There are?”
“Of course. We don’t want to do that. We don’t want to involve others. This is a personal fight for now and we’d like to keep it that way. If we can get some information, we can control some of it ourselves. But if push comes to shove, we won’t be alone.”
“I never thought about it that way.”
“And I don’t want to think about it anymore. I’d rather think about other, more pleasant things.”
“Like what?”
He smiled down at her. She didn’t look convinced at all with anything he’d said and he couldn’t say he blamed her. For her sake, he couldn’t let her know how scared he really was about what may come their way, about what Beck’s believed his father planned. He couldn’t let her know how terrified he was that the Mayor would take aim at her.
“Hmm.” He looked around. “The house is looking good.”
“It’s coming along.”
“Is there somethingyou’renot tellingmenow?”
“No. It’s just…” She slipped out of his embrace, tried to put distance between them. No. He wasn’t having that. He caught her hand and tugged her down onto the nearest piece of furniture; a plastic covered couch. He pulled her back into his arms.
“It’s just what?”
“As much as I know this is the right thing to do with the house because it’ll help others like us, it’ll give them a place to come, to heal, to recover, it’s not going to bring money in. It’s not going to pay the bills.”
“That’s what I’m here for.”
And again, she pushed at him, putting distance between them. “You’re joking, right? You’re not here to pay my bills and support me financially. You’re here to love me and because you want to be here and because you —”
“And because I what?” Gus crawled closer. He’d been coming out if his skin since he walked in the door earlier, wanting to be alone with her, wanting to touch her. “I do love you, by the way.” Another inch. “And I will support you in any way I can. Even financially until we figure something else out.”
“Gus…” Her tone was all warning. He was all about ignoring it.
“I know this isn’t what you had planned for yourself. I know things have changed for you. But the reality is now that you’re not alone, this house isn’t going to be what you’d bought it for, and you have me and a family. Everything is different than what you thought it would be. That’s not a bad thing. Family helps family. Mates help mates.”
“I know,” she said softly, glancing down at her hands in her lap, the fingers twisted around each other.
“Your mom was independent, I get that. She raised you alone and she kept a business going. She lived through some horrible things. You, my lovely girl, are not alone. You have me. You have my family who is also your family. You have friends. You have Beck. And, you have yourself. There is nothing wrong with needing help.”
She offered up a small smile. “Thank you.”
“My pleasure. Now, is that all you’re worried about right this minute?”
Her gaze shifted to his. “Well, I’m a tiny bit concerned about that look in your eyes.”
He grabbed her by the thigh, slid his hand up and under her ass. “What look do you think you see?”
“That you want to eat me.”
Gus did his best to hide the smile that lurked. “Not too far off. You scared?”
She didn’t hide hers. “No.”
“Good.” He stood and snatched her off the couch, tossing her over his shoulder. “Cause I can’t wait. Not anymore.”
“Gus…” She laughed and lightly pounded his back with her fists. For all her trouble, he bit her on the hip.
