Page 18 of Bearly Yours
Consort Mia fidgeted, and King Draven looked down at her fondly. “Mia, anything you want to add?”
She looked like she was about to burst, and finally blurted out, “Your work is so wonderful, and I really hope you accept.” She moved in close. “Can I give you a hug?” And before I could even grasp her words, she was already in my space-bubble, giving me a hug. I patted her back while she squeezed my shoulders. I must have looked dumfounded, because King Draven looked like he was trying not to laugh. This must happen regularly, I imagined. His wife seemed to make him laugh frequently. Theirs seemed like such a healthy relationship, andthat made me feel sentimental. Also, strangely...protective? Was this a Consort Mia thing? Did everyone that met her just decide that she was like this little innocent puppy and want to protect her? She finally released me and patted my shoulder again with a beaming smile on her face. “You’re so relaxing to be around. Your emotions are super-chill. I like that. It’s nice.”
King Draven chuckled while I blinked. “Umm, thank you,” I said.
She smiled again, still patting my shoulder.
“Let the nice woman go, now, sweetheart. You’re going to leave a bruise,” King Draven drawled as he gently tried to tug his wife toward him again.
“Oh!” she said, startled. “I’m so sorry!” And then she tried to rub the shoulder she’d been patting, while all the while the king was trying to tug her back to him. I couldn’t help it. I started laughing. This was the most bizarre conversation I’d had in such a long time, and Consort Mia was completely adorable.
Consort Mia joined in in the laughter, and her husband just looked at us fondly. I waved goodbye to them both and saw myself out.
After the door shut behind me, I stopped for a moment on the stairs, smiling and shaking my head before heading to my SUV. That had been fun. I couldn’t wait until Thursday to see Roarke, now, though. I needed his inputtonight.
I could call him, but I wanted to have this conversation in person so I could read his body language. Maybe I could track him down at one of his restaurants? I tried to remember which one he’d said he was going to be at today. I thought he was atFlame.I’d try him there.
FlamewasRoarke’s steakhouse restaurant. LikeMeum,it was more upscale than a traditional restaurant, with an excellent location along the river that ran through town.Flameonly served dinner, but there was always a ton of prep happening in the hours before the restaurant opened.
I knocked lightly on the smoky black glass door and waited. I knew one of the shifter or vampire employees would hear me. After a moment, Saint,Flame’savian shifter chef, unlocked the door for me and waved me in.
“Hey, Saint, is Roarke in?”
Saint locked the door back up and turned to me with a mischievous expression. “Why are you hanging around that grump when you could be hanging with me?” Saint was an ever-present chaos storm who thrived in high stress environments. A typical falcon shifter.
Before I could respond, probably awkwardly, Roarke laid a huge palm down on Saint’s shoulder and squeezed hard. “I believe my best friend is here to see me, Saint. Not you. Get back to work.”
Saint laughed, rubbing his shoulder as he went back to the kitchen. I shook my head at him. Crazy bird.
I hugged my best friend. Even though I’d just seen him that morning, I’d missed him. His hugs always made me feel safe and dainty. Which was something I didn’t feel very often, but Roarke managed it with his huge size.
He led me over toFlame’smasterpiece rock fireplace, which dominated a cozy sitting corner with comfy leather seating. “Can I get you some dinner?” Roarke asked. “You probably haven’t had a chance to eat yet.”
I sat back and relaxed into a squishy chair. “Steak salad with Ranch dressing?”
He nodded. “I’ll be right back.”
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the back rest, letting my thoughts drift lazily. I imagined the room that King Draven and Mia wanted me to transform into a library, and started picturing design ideas for it, even though I hadn’t decided to accept the project yet.
It was a lot of money, but, thankfully, I was already pretty set for money. I wasn’t rich like King Draven and Roarke and others of Moonhaven, but I lived in a house on Clan lands that was already paid for, my best friend fed me all the time (one of his love languages) and my business made enough to pay for incidentals. I really needed nothing more. I was a simple bear at heart, most days preferring the beauty of a stream to the beauty of a grand mansion.
That wasn’t to say I didn’t appreciate the finer things in life. If anything, being Roarke’s best friend had made that a necessary adjustment for me. But for the most part, I enjoyed simplicity.
Roarke came out with a tray of food and drinks. He extended the legs out and sat it in front of our chairs, brought out a lap tray for our meals. then served me, pouring the ranch over my salad, placing my napkin in my lap, and setting my ice water and utensils down on the tray.
I bemusedly followed his movements, knowing better than to say anything. I would just get that look again that made me question all of my life choices. I think, for dragons, it was a common expression that made mortal men and women quake in terror and have really vivid flashbacks of their lives before they were eaten.
Not to say I was afraid of my best friend. I just had a healthy respect for him. Both for that look he gave and also for his other,more scalier half. His big, fire-breathing, razor-sharp teeth, half. Yeah, not intimidated. Not. One. Bit.
I smiled softly at him as he sat down next to me. The fire was making me drowsy. I just wanted to shift into my bear form and curl up in front of the fire and sleep the rest of the evening. I could if I wanted to. I’m sure Roarke would let me. He could tell the customers who came to dine later that I was a beloved pet.
“You wouldn’t mind if I had a nap in front of your fire, would you?”
“In human or bear form, just out of curiosity?” Roarke said as he laid his own food on his lap tray.
“Bear.”
His lips twitched. “You make life fun, Emrie.”
