Page 96 of Pretty Little Scars

“Bear,” Tucker says. “She was staring Darby down.”

“Sorry if that woke you,” I add.

“No, she’s not,” Tucker says, and kisses my head. “Go back to bed, Z.”

Zack shakes his head and goes back inside, and Tucker leads me into the house.

“Well, Iwastired,” I tell him. “And now I need a drink.”

“How was work?” he asks as he takes down two glasses and pours us each a finger of whiskey.

“Everything ended up okay.” I accept the drink and swig it down all at once, enjoying the way it burns on the way to my stomach. “Then I came home tothat. At least she wasn’t a grizzly.”

“Either way, mama bears are not to be fucked with,” he says.

“I didn’t see her. She was in the dark. I heard her, and then I froze and looked around, spotted her. She was warning me. Did I upset you with my hall-pass comment earlier?”

He blinks at the quick change of subject, and then he lets out a laugh and shakes his head.

“Everyone has something to say when it comes to Zack,” he replies with a shrug. “The girls all love him. I’m used to it.”

“No, I amnotthose girls. I was taken by surprise, that’s all. You’re way hotter than Zack.”

Tucker smirks and reaches out to tuck my hair behind my ear. “I know.”

He doesn’t look mad or hurt. He genuinely looks like he thinks it’s funny.

“I want to apologize if I made you feel any kind of way.”

“You didn’t.” He grabs my hand and tugs me to him, wraps his arms around me and kisses me thoroughly, making my knees weak. “But there are no fucking hall passes for either of us, ever.”

“That’s a deal I can live with.” I nibble on his lips and then let out a soft sigh.

“Are you okay, baby?”

“Yeah. I need to be more aware out here. Maybe I should carry bear spray.”

“It’s rare to have bear on the property, but not unheard of,” he confirms. “I’ll have the guys look around tomorrow and make sure she’s moved on.”

I nod and lean into him, lift my lips to his. “Let’s go to bed and get naked.”

“Best idea you’ve had all fucking day.”

“No.”I’m shaking my head, backing away from Tucker, just like I did the bear last night. “I don’t have time for this. I have to go have lunch with my sisters.”

“Not for two hours,” he reminds me. He and Zack have already been to the hospital this morning, and he got homeabout thirty minutes ago. “We have time for a quick ride. It’s finally warm enough to take the bike out of the garage.”

I eye the motorcycle and continue shaking my head. I know that Tucker loves to ride, but these things scare the shit out of me. “Maybe there are some hobbies that we just have for ourselves, and we don’t have to share them.”

“Hey, come here.”

I shake my head again, and Tucker narrows his eyes.

“Now, Duchess.”

With a sigh, I cross to him, but rather than pull me closer to the bike, he frames my face and kisses my forehead.

“Talk to me, beautiful girl. Why does this scare you?”