Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 21243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 106(@200wpm)___ 85(@250wpm)___ 71(@300wpm)
She smiles as she sits up and puts her head on my shoulder. “Maybe things have changed now. Maybe he just needed to find his girl to take the edge off.”
“Things have changed alright,” I say as I look at her. “Nothing will ever be the same for me again.”
She smiles shyly. “For me either.”
I try to kiss her on the lips but she gives me her cheek. “Not until I’ve tasted toothpaste,” she says with a laugh.
It’s the same thing every morning. When will she understand that she could never taste bad to me?
“Do you think you’re ready?” she asks as she opens my hand and rubs little circles on my palm with her fingertip. “To let him out?”
I sigh as I turn to the window. “It is a beautiful day.” The sun is already up and it looks like one of those warm fall days that you’d be crazy not to take advantage of before the long winter comes. “I guess we could try.”
“I’ll be with you the entire time.”
“That’s what I’m worried about. I don’t want you anywhere near him.”
“I’m not afraid. I know he won’t hurt me.”
I raise my eyebrow as I look at her. “And how do you know that?”
She shrugs those sexy shoulders. “I just know.”
“That’s not good enough when it comes to your safety.”
“I’ve met him before, ya know. Twice. And both times I could sense it. I could see it in his eyes. There’s no way he would hurt me.”
I stare at her, still not convinced.
“You’re not the only one with a crush on me,” she says with a grin. “It’s going to be fine.”
I take a deep breath as she kisses my shoulder and bounds out of bed. She’s wearing a pair of gray underwear that I can’t take my eyes off of.
“Let’s have breakfast and we’ll talk about it after.”
“I have a better idea,” I say as I grab her wrist and pull her back onto the bed.
* * *
“And here I thought this was going to be a nice relaxing Saturday,” Julian says with a nervous look on his face as us four Bowen brothers stand in the valley on the ranch. Courtney is here too, although I begged her not to be.
“It will be,” Logan says in his deep raspy voice. “Things are different now that he’s mated.”
“Stop being a pussy,” Cameron snaps at Julian. “There’s three of us.”
“Have you met his bear?!” Julian says with a look of indignation. “And it’s easy for you to say. Your bear is almost as big as his!”
“He’s pretty calm now,” I tell them as I feel him moving around. He’s no longer pacing around angrily and trying to claw his way out like he used to do. I’m not sure if it’s a trick to fool me and let him out or if he’s just really this mellow. I guess there’s only one way to find out.
“If he starts getting aggressive,” Courtney says, “I’ll protect you guys.”
“You?” Cameron says, trying not to laugh.
“Fine,” she says with a shrug. “You can deal with him all yourselves.”
“No, no!” he quickly says as she turns to walk back to the car. “You can stay.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” she says with a grin as she turns back. “He won’t be aggressive near me.”
“You’re sure about that?” Julian asks. “I once saw him snarling at a rainbow in the sky.”
“I’m sure,” Courtney says with a confident nod. “I’m his mate.”
“All right,” I say as we all stand in a wide circle.
“It’s going to be okay,” Logan says as he walks toward me and gives me a hug. “Whatever happens, we’ll get through this. It might be a process, even a long process, but we’ll get you and your bear where you need to be.”
“Thank you,” I say as I hug him back. “We’ll find you your girl too.”
He smiles sadly as he steps back. I know it must not be easy for him to see all three of his brothers mated. Being surrounded by all that love must be harder than he’s letting on.
I hope he finds his mate soon.
“Please don’t eat me,” Julian says as he hugs me next. “I really like being alive.”
“I’ll try my best.”
“Thanks, brother,” he says as he lightly slaps my cheek. “I’ve missed having you around.”
Cameron comes in next and swallows me in his big arms. For a big tough guy, he can be a real softy sometimes.
“Thanks for not giving up on me,” I whisper to him.
He squeezes me even tighter. “It’s good to have you back.”
I take a deep breath when he releases me and backs up.
“All right,” Julian says with a roll of his shoulders. “If this circle jerk is finished, let’s get this over with.”
The four of us start taking our clothes off and I glance at Courtney to make sure she’s not looking at any of the hard bodies. She’s looking up at the sky with her hands clasped together in front of her. Good girl.