I tried to keep the growl of accusation out of my voice, but I failed. My bear was nothing if not a tiny bit possessive.

He shrugged. “Not much. She’s resting and I’m making breakfast. Did you just get back in?”

I nodded.

“Fantastic. I got a call from Marcus about an hour ago. He’ll be here in two days. Would you mind meeting him at the normal spot when he arrives?”

“Not at all,” I said. “Let me know when he is officially on his way, and I’ll make sure I’m there by the time he arrives.”

Chase nodded. He fell unusually silent, and I could tell something was bothering him. It wasn’t just how weirdly quiet he was. It was the way he stood. He was stiff. He also kept looking back at me like he was worried I was going to attack at any moment. He must have known I could smell Cassie on him.

I figured it was time to address that elephant.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“We had sex,” he said, stepping closer and keeping his voice low. “I couldn’t help but give in to her. She’s magnetic in a way, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she is,” I said. “And that is your business.”

Though I appreciated that he shared this with me. He cared enough to not let a night of sex get between us. Brothers to the end. My bear, however, tried to come out again. I grunted as I fought to keep him inside me.

“I know, but you like her a lot. And I wasn’t trying to steal her from under your nose. She made the first move,” Chase said. “Anyway, I figured you should know.”

“I understand,” I said, pushing the rush of jealousy as far down as it could go.

“You do?” he asked, settling his gaze on me with his doe-like brown eyes.

I nodded, though my bear continued to disagree with me. “She’s allowed to sleep with whoever she wishes. It’s her choice.”

Chase nodded. “Yeah… It is.”

I cleared my throat and approached the doorway of his room, poking my head in on her. She laid in Chase’s bed with her hair sprawled out all over her pillow. She opened her eyes, instantly meeting mine. She softly smiled. Relief flooded through me.

I had no idea what Chase had done to make her comfortable with us again, but I owed him big time. My bear seemed to settle as well, which I found comforting.

Still… Though things appeared smoothed over, I didn’t want to overstay my welcome. If Chase was Cassie’s choice, I was going to do the respectable thing and not hang around like some third wheel.

“Did you get my things?” she asked before I turned around.

Crap. I forgot about that. I shook my head. “I’ll take care of that today.”

She frowned. “Okay.”

I turned and faced Chase. “Raincheck on breakfast.”

“Okay…” He dragged out the word.

“I have to find Cassie’s things. I dropped them in the woods when I heard her screaming last night.”

“Ah,” he said. “I’ll keep a plate for you in the microwave.”

“Thanks,” I said and clapped him on the shoulder as I headed for the door.

I found her baggage rather easily and brought them back to the cabin before disappearing again. That was the other reason why I kept my distance for the past couple of days. To give them time to let their relationship grow. I also wanted to give Cassie some distance. To allow her to continue processing things.

Each morning, I would wait until Chase started cooking breakfast. And progressively, each morning, the cabin felt less and less stiff. On the third morning, Cassie’s laughter bubbled through the air as I walked through the door.

She made a change in this place. One for the better. I would like to think even Kai would approve.