Page 13 of Snowed in with the Bear Shifter
“Holy cow, that’s a lot of fancy tools,” she said.
He watched as she took a lap around his workspace. One of the first things he did after buying this place from his family was clear some land and put up a building large enough to run his new carpentry business out of. All in all, he was pretty happy with it. He’d fashioned bays to stack the raw lumber and random pieces of wood he collected, built sturdy tables and storage for his equipment, and got some friends to help with the electrical and plumbing. It had become his safe space.
“So, what are we looking for? Or did you just bring me here to show me your wood?” She gave him a saucy little wink.
He huffed out a laugh and gestured towards the loft. “I remember seeing a couple of boxes labeled ‘Christmas’ up there.”
“Nice. I’ll go look. I love a good treasure hunt.” She shucked off her borrowed coat and scrambled up the ladder.
And he adored her enthusiasm and the way she kind of just rolled with everything. Sure, she got pissed when someone pushed her boundaries and needed to vent about it, but once she was done, she moved on. Eloise was a whirlwind of exuberance and verve who swept people up into her shenanigans. She always had been, and he was glad to see she still had the bright spark that drew him to her in the first place. He loved that about her.
“Damn, Roar, even your junk is organized,” she called down to him. “Why is there a box labeled ‘miscellaneous hats’ up here? Why do you have an entire box of hats? Are you afraid of going bald? Pretty sure that’s not something you need to worry about, Mr. Bear.”
“They were my grandfather’s. He liked hats.” Roarke looked up to see her leaning over the rail, an old trucker hat from a now-defunct brewing company perched on her head.
“He had good taste.” She grinned down at him and flicked the brim. “I like this one.”
“It’s yours.”
She disappeared back into the loft, her exclamations over her findings growing distant as she worked her way down the narrow passageway between the organized stacks. Just as he was about to go up and help, she crowed, “Found them!”
There were some scuffling noises as she moved the boxes, pushing them across the wood floor of the loft. She appeared at the top of the ladder, box in hand.
He held up his hands. “Drop it.”
“You sure? This one’s kind of heavy.”
“You dare doubt my strength, human?” he growled.
She laughed at him. “Oh, no. How dare I doubt the Great and Powerful Roar?”
“Damn right.” He let out another growl for good measure, eliciting another giggle. “And don’t you forget it.”
“Sure, sure. Now, catch.” and tossed down the boxes as fast as he could grab them. “One more,” she called before flinging herself at him.
His heart stopped, and he caught her with a grunt, his hands sliding under her ass to support her. “Holy shit,” he roared. “What if I’d dropped you?”
She wrapped her legs around his waist and kissed him on the tip of his nose. “Absolutely no chance of that. After all, you’re the Great and Powerful Roar. Plucking a girl out of the air is nothing to you.”
“But you’re everything to me,” he said, his heart rattling in his chest, images of her cracking open her head on the cement floor tormenting him. “I don’t know what I’d do if anything happened to you.”
She twined her arms around his neck, her fingers gliding up his skull and tangling in his hair. “How can you say that? We barely know each other,” she said.
“I know you, Eloise. You’re my mate.”
Her fingers tightened as she processed the bombshell he’d just dropped. “Your mate? Really? How do you know? I mean, I can’t be.” She cocked her head, her brown eyes wide as she studied him. “Can I?”
He nodded. “I have no doubt you’re my mate.”
“Wow.” She untangled herself from him, her body sliding over his until she was standing on the floor. “Wow,” she said again, her hands curling against his chest. “I wasn’t expecting this.”
“You don’t have to say anything right now,” he said, stroking her back.At least she didn’t run screaming into the woods.
“I like you, Roar, but I think…” Her brow furrowed as she nibbled her bottom lip. “I need a bit of processing time.”
It wasn’t a flat-out no. He’d take it. For now. “Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.”
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