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Slowly, the bear inside him calmed and backed down enough that he could take control. He let go of the table, felt pieces of wood fall from his hands, and lifted his eyes to Ford and Bram. They stood several feet away, both having the same stunned look on their faces.
“Holy fuck, Charlie. That was the most intense fucking thing I have ever seen.” Ford picked up the Crown off the table and drank right from the bottle. He started chuckling and handed the bottle to Bram, who drank it in the same fashion. “I thought for sure you’d lose it and tear out our throats.”
“I’ve only ever seen something that intense at Slater’s, and only when other shifters wanted blood on their hands as sport. I mean, damn, Charlie, she really is your mate, huh?” Bram took another drink and handed the bottle to Ford again. They did this back and forth until there was nothing left.
Charlie ran a hand over his face, felt the sweat that had accumulated along his brow from his near shift, and breathed out. “I am so fucking sorry. Shit, I have no damn clue what in the hell is happening. I feel like I’m losing myself to my bear. It wants out so damn bad, and every passing day, it is getting harder to control him. We should be one entity. I feel like my human is trying to control an animal intent on taking over.” Was this how Bram felt? His youngest brother was more bear than human, had been for as long as he could remember.
Did Bram always feel this wild and untamed? If so, Charlie could see why he did bare-knuckle fighting so often. A glass of water was placed in front of him, and he thanked Bram.
“And to make matters worse, ever since Ary told me about the pregnancy, I’ve been feeling so damn territorial and possessive.”
“Charlie, why are you even trying to fight it?” Ford asked. His brother sat in the spot across from him and set a brand-new bottle of whiskey on the table. “What do you think will happen if you shift? You think you’ll hurt your girl? Not likely. Damn, dude, your bear wants to claim her. I say go for it, let him mark her, and then you can go on being one person again instead of feeling pulled in two different directions.”
“Well, damn, Ford. When the hell did you get all philosophical and shit?” Bram chuckled and cracked open the alcohol. “I think we are all in need of some more liquor.” Charlie didn’t bother agreeing with Bram on both accounts. Ford was right, which left the burning question of why was he trying to hold himself back?
If his bear wanted to mark her as theirs, then so be it.
14
One week later
The sound of Charlie’s Harley pulling into her driveway was a loud rumble she seemed to feel all the way to her bones. It had been seven long days since she had seen him, although they talked on the phone several times a day.
He ended up having to leave with his brothers to Denver concerning some big contract. Everything was still so surreal, right down to the fact that Charlie wanted so much more with her.
Even their conversations over the phone had her feeling so much closer to him. The connection was frighteningly strong, so much so that her ocelot wanted to rub up on him and purr in approval.
He couldn’t see her watching him through her living room blinds, and she took that moment to appreciate the view. It had only been seven days since she had seen him, but it felt like far longer than that.
He knocked on the door, and she grabbed her purse and gripped the handle to pull it open. She only had a moment to take in his appearance: distressed jeans and white button-up shirt. But that was short-lived as he was charging in the house, using his upper body to press her against the wall.
A gasp left her at the feral intensity of the action, but he clamped his mouth down and swallowed the noise.
Their tongues tangled together, and the flavor of everything that was Charlie bathed her taste buds in spicy maleness. Their plans had been to ride up to the mountains to take a relaxing hike along a path that followed a small creek.
She had been there before, loved being out in the wilderness, as did all shifters, and wanted to show Charlie a hidden alcove that overlooked Sweet Water Lake.
Apparently, this bear had different plans for them. The hiking shorts she wore were modest, and that was clearly something Charlie didn’t appreciate, since he muttered against her mouth something about too many clothes before undoing the button and pulling the zipper down.
In one frantic motion, he had her shorts and her panties down her thighs and thrown to the side.
