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Emmett frowned. “Oh?”
I took a deep breath and launched in. “Chief Anders instructed me to investigate your family. He believed the fires were arson and wanted me to find out more, but I knew almost immediately that you weren’t involved because I saw how passionate you were about the people in Silverpaw Hollow, how much you loved your family and–”
“I know.”
“–the land. You’d never do anything to…” I trailed off as Emmett’s words penetrated. “Wait, what? You knew?”
“I knew when you turned down my offer of a drink that first day and then changed your mind.” He shrugged. “It was only logical that Chief Anders would want to exclude suspects, although why he’d think my family had anything to do with this, I don’t know. Maybe because he’s only been here for a few years and doesn’t know that the Furbanes are a part of this land as much as the land is a part of us. It would be like us harming one of our own.”
I bit my lip. “You’re not mad. That I was investigating you?”
Emmett moved to sit on the edge of the bed, linking our fingers. “No, Wildflower, I’m not mad. You’d only just met me and were only doing your job. Your professionalism and tenacity”—he smiled wryly—” are two of the things I love about you. You know everything now. This is who I am and what I do. The power is in your hands. You can expose me, expose my family.”
I shook my head. “I would never do that, Emmett. Never. Your family means too much to me. You mean too much to me. But if we're going to do this, be together, I need to know all of you. Man and bear.”
Emmett's eyes crinkled at the corners as he smiled, relief shining in their hazel depths. “Deal.”
I cleared my throat. “There is, um, one other thing.”
Emmett groaned. “Don’t tell me, you’re allergic to bear fur.”
“I think it’s safe to say I’m not allergic. Quite the opposite.” I smiled despite the seriousness of what I was about to say. “No, this is about something odd that happened when I was trapped earlier. It’s happened a few times at previous fires, but I put it down to adrenaline. It was this weird tingling in my hands and stomach, like a ball of energy that needed to be expelled. Then another heavy branch fell, and I knew it was going to crush my head, but I threw out my hand, and I swear to God, the damned thing veered away from me. Am I going insane?”
Emmett shook his head. “No. I saw you shaking out your hands and clutching your stomach the other day. Thought maybe you were sick.”
“What do you think it is? Could it be the mating bond affecting me somehow?”
“I don’t know,” Emmett replied, his brow creasing in thought. “But if anyone does, it’ll be Aunt Thea.”
I frowned, recalling her words from the family dinner last night. “She said something strange to me last night. That when I was ready to know more about the strange sensations I’d been experiencing during the fires, she would be waiting.”
“Sounds like Aunt Thea,” Emmett said with a wry grin. “Whatever it is, we’ll get to the bottom of it. Together.”
He lifted my hand and pressed a kiss to my knuckles, and a swell of emotions rose in my chest. Fear, yes. Uncertainty, absolutely. But overshadowing it all was an enormous sense of rightness.
Like despite all the craziness, all the impossibilities, this was exactly where I was meant to be—in the arms of my very own bear shifter, who'd saved my life and stolen my heart. He made me feel cherished, protected, and alive in ways I never had before.
There were still a million questions swirling in my head, a thousand things I needed to know. But for now, I was content to let Emmett pull me into his embrace, to soak in his strength and his warmth.
The rest could wait.
Chapter 13
Emmett
Icouldn't keep my eyes off Amber as she explored my cabin, her delicate fingers trailing over the rough-hewn wooden beams and rustic furnishings. Fuck, she looked good in my t-shirt, which fell to the middle of her strong thighs.
She was a vision, and I had to resist the urge to pull her into my arms right then and there.
As if sensing my gaze, she turned to me with those captivating green eyes, a shy smile playing on her lips. “This place is amazing, Emmett. It's like a cozy little sanctuary in the middle of nowhere.”
Unable to resist any longer, I closed the distance between us and pulled her flush against me, reveling in the way her slender body molded perfectly to mine.
“It's not always so peaceful, with my family dropping by unannounced all the time. But I have a feeling that's about to change now that you're here.”
Her blush deepened, but she didn't pull away. Instead, her fingers came up to toy with the hair at the nape of my neck, sending delicious shivers down my spine. “Oh? And why's that?”
“I now have an even stronger motivation to chase away any interruptions,” I whispered seductively before pressing my lips against hers.
