Page 36 of Bear with Me
The televisit confirmed it.Sharon was the perfect therapist for me. She emailed me a list of questions to answer in my journal before our first paid session in two weeks. She wasn't in my healthcare network, so we agreed on a cash payment system. It was a lot of money out of pocket, but my mental health was worth it.
Ollie was also worth it. While it felt all kinds of wrong to dangle him like a carrot to encourage me to complete my tasks, it worked. On top of my therapy appointment, I also scheduled a meeting with the head of the carpentry union to discuss alternative training options, since I worked during the day.
Despite being the beginning of the year, a busy time when most of our policies renewed, work dragged like it never had before. Finally, the last boring minute of my Friday shift ended.
I packed for the weekend, including a bag containing Ollie's jacket and a paperback from the series he was reading. Once I had everything in my SUV, I loaded the turn-by-turn directions into my phone and began my journey to Ollie's house.
At one point, I swore I traveled in a complete circle before finding the highway that led out of downtown. As the streets became roads and the roads narrowed to two-lane county roads, my shoulders inched away from my ears, and I relaxed for the first time all week.
Even my coffee date with Vic had been stressful, since it was the first we'd seen of each other since he'd told me he was moving out. The meeting had gone better than I could have predicted, but my stomach had been in knots the entire time.
Seeing Ollie again felt different. Instead of anxiety-inducing, it was exciting. I couldn't wait to hug him and test whether he still remembered how to kiss.
I pulled onto a long gravel driveway at my phone's prompting. On a pole that seemed taller than most streetlights, a bluish LED illuminated the yard and three buildings surrounded by thick trees.
Ollie's cabin was just as peaceful as the one in Oregon, though at least twice as big. Down a small hill, a garage sat beside a little mother-in-law cottage nestled in the woods. On its own, it looked like a gingerbread house. If Vic were here, he'd be planning a Hansel-and-Gretel-themed party.
I couldn't care less about the fairy tale. My Prince Charming stood on the porch of the main house in jeans and a flannel rolled up to his elbows. He looked even more ruggedly handsome than I remembered, backlit by the porch light.
He stepped off the side of his porch, into the crunchy snow that broke beneath him with each step. It didn't even slow him down. He grabbed me around the waist and hoisted me into his arms. His mouth crashed against mine in a hungry kiss.
I kissed him back, pouring all my longing from the last week into desire. I wanted him.
My skin burned hot everywhere he touched me. Hot slick dribbled from my hole, and hot and cold waves washed over me at the same time.
"Oh no."
"What's wrong?" Ollie cupped my cheek and gazed at me with concern.
"I think I'm going into heat." It wasn't my first, but it was the first one to break through the heat suppressors I took each night.
"That's normal for fated mates," he said. "I have plenty of food for us, and I can take care of you."
I hated the thought of relying on him like that so soon after we met, but what choice did I have? Another burst of heat made me swoon, and I rested my head on his shoulder. He kissed my temple and adjusted me in his arms, holding me in a bridal carry. "Let's get you inside."
"That's my line." I wriggled in his arms until my lips reached his.
He moaned into my mouth and then broke the kiss. "Food first."
I tried to argue, but my stomach rumbled instead.
Ollie silenced me with a quick brush of his lips, tickling my nose with his mustache. "You're far too tempting when you pout like that. Please, just let me take care of you."
Following in his footstep craters, he carried me to the house. He stepped onto the low porch the same way he'd hopped off it, like the two-foot drop was nothing.
Inside, the cabin's warm air made me shiver. The start of my heat felt like a fever without the headache, and I hated it.
Ollie deposited me in a large leather recliner. It was almost the size of the vacation cabin's loveseat.
"I'll be right back with your bags."
Before I could tell him to leave them, he disappeared. I tried to squeeze my ass cheeks together to prevent more slick from escaping, but it was useless. If I sat here too long, it would soak through my pants and into the leather.
Ollie returned with his arms full. I hopped up to help him, but he shoved the door closed with his back and then disappeared into the shadowy hallway just off the living room. Ifollowed him to the doorway and stood there like a bump on the rounded log frame, indecision halting my progress.
A moment later, I heard pots rattling to my right. I followed the sound through a home office decorated with bobblehead bear dolls and into a bright and homey kitchen with a little breakfast nook beside a sliding glass door. A pile of snow covered the outside of the door, as though it hadn't been opened in a while.
"Spaghetti or rotini?" Ollie asked.
