Page 92 of Have a Bear-y Little Christmas
“And whose fault is that?” I murmured. Remy huffed a laugh and disappeared around the partition.
I appreciated the break, however, because it gave my brain time to come online and remember everything that had happened. Because, holy hell, a whole lot had happened.
First of all, shifters were real. Or at least bear shifters were. And it wasn’t just like Remy could transform into a massive grizzly. No, the massive creature Remy had turned into was something akin to a prehistoric creature. Still abear, obviously, but way bigger, with longer teeth and a wider head. Which made sense, in a weirdly practical way, since the bears that were roaming around today had thousands of years to evolve, whereas shifters just… hadn’t. Whether they were magic or somehow biological, they were relics of a time before humans dominated the planet.
I must have been batshit crazy because that registered as slightly less perplexing than the fact that Remy and I had had sex. And not like…justsex, but intense, kinda kinky, really fulfilling sex that made me feel like my hips would sway a lot when I walked.
Oh boy.
What did this mean for us? Was it a one-off? Were we friends with benefits? Were we… something more? More importantly, which one did I want it to be?
Some people would feel I was moving at a glacial pace or that I was stupid for having any doubts, but I’d learned long ago that trusting people was a dangerous thing. And yet, I really wanted to trust Remy in every way. I already did with so much, so surely it wouldn’t be too reckless to fully open myself up to him, right?
I thought back to my conversation with Ana. She’d made everything seem so simple. But now that Remy and I had taken a leap of faith, I found myself feeling a bit… overwhelmed? Worried that I’d fucked up?
“How about a little breakfast in bed to start your day?” Remy asked as he walked over, with a bottle of water in one hand and a steaming container in the other. For a second, I wondered how he’d heated the food, then I remembered the fire and the cast-iron pan I’d seen on the wall. I’d dismissed it as decoration,but…duh,of course it was for cooking. The thing was, had Ana put them there, or had Remy woken up early enough to go thoroughly clean them in the snow?
Either way, the food smelled fucking delicious.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said, stifling a groan as I scooted up, my body protesting every move. Wow, it had been ages since I’d done any sort of calisthenics.
Remy shrugged. “Seemed the right thing to do. Do you want this literally in bed, or do you want me to set it up at the table?”
As much as I would have loved to stay under the covers and be a toasty little burrito, it would probably work out better for me to eat while sitting up.
“The table is fine, thank you.”
“Whatever you need.”
I blushed a bit, my stomach flipping. It was strange to feel both nervous and relaxed around Remy, but eh, what fun would it be to be a woman if it didn’t come with a lot of complex contradictions?
I didn’t regret that we’d been incredibly intimate and shown each other our vulnerable sides. In fact, I would do it againright nowif my body was up for it, but my abs, calves, and vagina were all waving the white flag at me.
No, it was the blank slate of our future that was making me jumpy. Last night, however fantastic it had been, but tomorrow? That was much less certain.
“Aren’t you gonna eat?” I asked as I sat down, wincing slightly as my sore bottom touched the seat.
“I ate earlier, but I do have some more heating up right now. Small pan, so I wanted to make sure you’d have enough when you woke up.”
There I went, blushing again. Remy needed to be careful, because a girl could get used to being taken care of like this. It was going to be a blast of cold air when I got back to reality.
Unless… unless I didn’t have to.
“Thank you,” I murmured after a few bites, because I felt like I should saysomething.
“It’s no problem. What kind of gentleman lets his lady go hungry?”
“Hislady?” I parroted, but I made sure to put just enough of a teasing tone in my voice so he’d know I wasn’t serious. Because sure, we’d need to have a conversation, but that would have to happen when we were both completely clothed and I couldn’t get distracted by his broad shoulders and muscled arms.
“Heh, surely you can’t blame a man for being a tad possessive the morning after when you still ain’t even in your drawers.”
Ooh, interesting. His accent got thicker with afterglow. Good to know.
But is it, though?
I ignored that thought and returned to my food.
Remy’s food was heated sufficiently, and we ate in silence, enjoying the ambiance. Truly, I wished that I could stay in that moment forever; chewing, swallowing, resting, but reality waited, and we went about getting ready to make one helluva walk of shame back to the main cabin.
