Page 3 of Bearly Yours
I snorted and shook my head at my irreverent humor.
The truth was, his good looks aside, I admired Roarke for so many reasons.
Though he looked to be in his early forties, he was probably over seven hundred years old—I’d never gotten an exact age from him—and he was ridiculously strong. Yet, for all of his strength he only used it to protect, save and help others. I’d never seen him use it inappropriately in all the years I’d known him, and man, could he really whomp someone with it if he chose to!
He was a grump with everyone else, including his oldest friend, King Draven. But with me? He was tender, thoughtful, kind, and considerate. Ilovedthat he was intelligent and fierce in his defense of those he cared for. Also? He worked his butt off. Not because he had to pay the bills, but because he loved what he did. In fact,Meumwasn’t his only restaurant. He had three others:Guadium Meum, Mea Flamma, and Passio Animae Meae,which the locals calledDium, Flame, and Passion.Each of his restaurants were a masterpiece.
I could go on.
He was thoughtful, he had a great sense of humor, was patient with me and my anxieties, shyness, and insecurities. He had a soft spot for kids and animals. I mean, the list was endless. And there were very few tally marks in thedon’t likecolumn. Although hedidhave a few of those.
We all did. No one was perfect.
But for me, Roarke came pretty close.
I asked myself for the millionth time why the Maker couldn’t have given me Roarke as a mate. I mean, I loved him. I truly, from the depths of my soul, loved him. And it wasn’t a fly-by-night love. It was deep, and abiding, and definitely here to stay. I knew this because I’d tried to talk myself out of it one too many times, and my feelings hadn’t gone away. If anything, they’d just grown stronger.
I didn’t know if he felt the same way, but it wouldn’t have done any good even if he did. Shifters only ever bonded with their mates. Sometimes you found your mate early in life, and sometimes you never did. Because of my condition, I fully expected that I would be one of the ones that never did. The thought alone made my chest ache, but I breathed through it, and blinked away the tears.
There was a reason a romantic relationship between he and I was hopeless. A very good one.
Roarke was one of the last dragon shifters in the world.
In. The. World.
He would never take a partner without being assured that they could have children, as only mates could. Our biochemistry only worked with our mates. That wasn’t to say that we couldn’t be attracted to others whoweren’tour mates, but the building blocks and DNA of each shifter only saw their equal in their mate. And it wasn’t something up for debate, it was just how being a shifter worked. Many shifters had tried to circumvent the mate bond through science, pills, potions and spells, but in the end, this is how we were created. And for Roarke to marry someone andnotbe able to have children because she wasn’t his mate? It would be irresponsible of him as an almost extinct dragon shifter, and just plain unthinkable. For him to be the last of his line? For there to be no tiny, chubby children with his eyes and smile toddling around the world?
I shivered, and it had nothing to do with the blast of icy wind coming in off the coast.
Unthinkable. Unpalatable. And any other Un word I could think of.
I wasn’t as rare as he was, but it was a close thing. Female bear shifters were very few in number, with only one or two being born every other generation.
No. We both had to find our mates.
And when we did, it would change everything.
I swallowed, choking on the suffocating tightness of my throat.
Sometimes life just sucked.
My hand was still on his leg. He covered it with his much larger one, his skin only now cool enough for his touch to be comfortable for me. His eyes searched mine. “I’m sorry, Em.” His voice was hoarse. Whether from his flame-up or from emotion, I didn’t know. Maybe both.
I sighed and finally kissed his cheek. “It’s going to be okay,” I said. Then I straightened my shoulders and grabbed the bags from the bench beside me, peeking inside again. “Let’s eat before this delicious food goes to waste.” I handed him the one with his name on it, grabbed mine, and sniffed it appreciatively. Heaven. I was in Roarke-made heaven. “Thank you, this smells amazing!”
“Of course it does,” Roarke said gruffly, scooting closer to me so that his hips aligned with mine on the bench and our legs were touching.
I laughed and shook my head. Roarke was never short of confidence when it came to his skills in the kitchen or in a restaurant. And his confidence—dare I say arrogance—was well deserved. He was a master chef in a world full of amateurs. Although, those with chef magic probably came close.
Confidence was a natural thing for dragon shifters. They were the top dogs, and they knew it and owned it. I on the other hand... Well, let’s just say I felt like a square peg in a world full of round holes. Usually, I tried not to let what others said about me get me down, but it did sometimes. In the dark of my house at night, or in my bedroom as my mind was shuffling through the events of the day, I wondered if people like Lyonel were right. And in those times, I felt so very, very alone.
Roarke and I ate in companionable silence, enjoying the fountain, the garden, the lights, and the sound of the oceanbelow us. It was really peaceful and did me a lot of good. Roarke got up to throw away the containers and then sat back down, pulling me against his side again and wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
His touching and cuddling with me always walked the line between friendship and something more. He was very careful that way. Sometimes I wondered if he could sense my feelings for him, but I usually shut that thought down quickly, because that would be a whole lot ofnotgood.I was pretty sure it would make things awkward, for one. Roarke was probably mature enough to handle it, but I would want to crawl into the nearest hole and hope I suddenly developed the ability to hibernate for the winter.
After about thirty minutes of silence between us, Roarke spoke again. “I kicked him out and told him to stay away from my restaurants. He’s not welcome ever again. I hope he tries to sneak into one while I’m there.”
I shivered at the growly sound of promised—and much looked forward to—violence in his voice. I hated that this kept happening, and that it was affecting my best friend so much. Not only affecting him personally, but also affecting his restaurants! “You shouldn’t turn away paying customers, Roarke. With the way my dates have been going, you’d be turning away a lot of Moonhaven.”
