It’s like decades of sexual need all coming out at once. I need to have her. To claim her. To make her mine. My dick is begging for it. My bear is too.
He’s pacing around inside as she talks about missing her flight in Madrid. I don’t like hearing these stories about her being so far away. So vulnerable.
Someone could have taken her. I don’t even want anyone to look at her, touch her, or even smell her. I can already tell that I’m going to be a possessive mate.
I can feel the need to protect her squeezing my core. Maybe once I claim her, some of this fierce edginess will cool down. Probably not. I think I’m stuck with this feeling forever, but I don’t mind as long as it comes with her.
“Listen to me rambling,” she says as she flicks her hair back.
I swallow hard as I watch her hair bounce. I’m going to love sinking my fingers into that…
“Tell me about yourself,” she says.
Oh shit. I don’t want to tell her the truth. She’ll flee out of here.
But I can’t lie to my girl.
“I was in the military with my cousins,” I tell her, which is true. “A special unit that moved around a lot.” Also true. “But that part of my life is over now.” Mmm, that’s debatable.
Her eyes widen a little, but she plays off whatever uneasiness she’s feeling.
“What do you do now?”
“My three cousins are like brothers to me,” I tell her. “We’re renting a ranch outside of town and trying to make a go of it. Once we make some money, we’ll buy it off the owner if he wants to sell.”
“Who’s the owner?”
“Logan Crawford. He grew up here but he’s living in Blackcloud Point. Do you know him?”
She shakes her head. “Maybe my brother does.”
“You have a brother? In town?”
“Yeah, I’m staying with him now. He’s my older brother. I don’t know what I would do without him.”
“He sounds like a great guy. I hope I get to meet him.”
She smiles as she takes a sip. “You will.” She looks so flirty and so damn irresistible as she looks at me over the steaming cup.
“He’s a bit overprotective,” she says. “I got picked on a lot as a kid because I had a stutter, but he always protected me. There was no one he wouldn’t fight for me.”
I squeeze my hand into a fist under the table as I imagine a young adorable version of Bailey getting picked on because of a speech impediment. I wish I could go back in time to help her brother out and make those fuckers pay.
“So, tell me about you brothers,” she says as she takes another sip.
I lean forward and tell her all about Easton, Cameron, and Jacob. How we’ve been together my whole life. How we fought together and almost died together on more than one occasion. It’s so easy to talk to her. The words flow out like I’ve been holding them in for years and the dam just burst.
I tell her about my parents and the animals on the ranch. The only things I leave out are the violent parts of my past. She’ll find out about that eventually, but it doesn’t have to be on the first date.
We talk for about two hours and then she has to go to the bathroom.
“Bailey,” I say as she gets up. “Our coffees are finished. This place is going to close up before we know it. Tell me you’ll come home with me. Tell me I won’t be sleeping alone tonight. We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, but I can’t be apart from you for that long. It’s going to kill me to wait for you to come back from the bathroom. How am I going to last all night?”
She must see the pain and anguish in my eyes because she leans down and softly kisses me on the lips. I moan as I taste her sweet essence.
Her lips are so soft. I want to ravage her and claim her mouth, but this soft gentle kiss is a nice first one. For now.
Her cheeks are blushing an adorable pink and she’s got a shy smile on her face as she pulls away. “Let’s take it one step at a time,” she whispers as she stares into my eyes. “Just know that it’s going to be just as hard for me to be away from you.”
“I doubt that,” I whisper under my breath as I watch her walk to the bathroom. Fucking hell… those hips in those jeans… they’re killing me.
I’ll be dreaming of that ass all night if she leaves me.
I hope she’s not that cruel.
The sun is starting to set by the time the coffee shop closes and they kick us out. Bailey looks radiant in the soft pink light of the setting sun. I stare at her and wonder if I’ve ever seen anything so beautiful in all of my life.
The answer is no.
I take her hand and slide her tiny fingers between mine. Holding her hand feels so natural. It feels so right.
“Are you hungry?” she asks as she looks up at me with an adorable smile. “Should we get some dinner?”
“I’ll do anything if it means that we get to stay together.”
She laughs. “Dinner it is then. There’s a great Italian place up ahead. You interested?”
“You lead the way.”
We talk and laugh as we walk down the street. I’m so absorbed with her that I don’t notice we’re approaching the fire station until it’s too late.
I tense up as I smell the scent of grizzly bears.
“Let’s go back,” I say in a voice that’s part growl. My bear is on full alert, ready to break out to protect our girl.
Bailey lets go of my hand and bounds forward. “Hold up. I want you to meet someone. Enzo!”
She yells out into the open garage and I watch in horror
