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I hadn’t even noticed the instruments set up in the corner. She’d been worried about what would happen under the influence of the Hudaknocker while I was missing significant details under the influence of my mate.
I nodded toward them as they started to play. “Was that your idea?”
She nodded. “I wanted to have a normal date with you, and Bibi wanted to keep us out of town because things would have been…bananas with the crowds, you know how it is when we’re filming.” Her voice had gone up an octave. I considered asking her about the Hudaknocker, but I’d let her finish her thought. I was having a good time and didn’t want to ruin it with any talk of that damn relic. “So I told her what I had in mind, and as usual, she made it happen.”
“I like your ideas.” I picked up my wine glass and toasted Bibi. She was in the kitchen with the rest of the ladies and winked at me.
“You got this,” she mouthed.
I pulled the napkin from my lap and rose from the table. Marissa’s eyes followed me, and I held my hand out to her. “Want to dance?”
The band was playing some low-key jazz. It was something I never thought I liked, until tonight. Marissa was a little timid at first, but it was impossible not to melt into the beat.
Or think about the way she’d move between the sheets.
I put my hands on her waist, and hers were on my arms. I was a lot taller than her, and she couldn’t put them around my neck without me lifting her off the floor. And if I did that, I would carry her right out of here to…I’d break Bibi’s rules and take her back to my apartment. It would just be the two of us all night long.
“I like the way you dance,” she said.
“You’re not so bad at it yourself.”
She moved closer. Her body pressed against mine. “Got any ideas, bear?”
ChapterThirteen
Marissa
It wasn’t the Hudaknocker.
I was a little tipsy from the wine and the bear. Bjorn was big, warm, and strong, and I liked the way his hands felt on my lower back. Protective. Possessive. Like he knew exactly what the beat of the song was before it even happened.
His lips curled into a smile, and our gazes locked. Everything else in the mercantile—our friends, the band, the tables—faded away, and it was just him and me. He leaned in, bringing his lips just above mine, his breath warm, and he captured my mouth with his. It was the most natural thing in the world to part my lips and let him inside, so our tongues tangled. I melted into him as his hands caressed the small of my back.
He was everything I ever wanted, and tonight proved it.
But he wasBjorn. He’d ruined my family business, my mother hated him, and there was no telling if we could ever go back to normal after this episode. Did normal even exist anymore if I fell for the bear?
Did I even care right now?
Damn it. Of course, the gorgeous, infuriating, complicated bear had to be an amazing kisser. Instead of fighting it, I decided to find out what would happen if I let myself enjoy it.
He moaned against my lips and pulled away, his eyes burning into mine as if he was trying to see right into my soul.
“Are you really ready to do this?” His voice was husky. “You…Your family thinks I’m the spawn of Satan.”
That image shouldn’t have made him even more attractive, but there were a lot of things that shouldn’t have been happening tonight. I should have told him about the Hudaknocker. But this close to Bjorn, with the taste of his incredible kiss still on my tongue, the relic didn’t matter anymore.
“Maybe I can get them to drop the suit.”
What was I saying? Forget a supernatural spell. I was high on bear fumes. My mother wouldn’t rest until she got revenge against Bjorn. But I could try. Remind her how much she’d loved Bjorn when he came on board atThe Scoopbecause he’d been tireless and relentless in getting the perfect shot. How he’d listen to all our ideas and make them just that much better.
“The suit is bullshit,” he said. “I don’t want to put you in the middle of it. This is between your mother and me. I won’t ask you to walk away from your family. But I don’t plan on walking away from you, either.”
“Why are you so perfect?” What the hell did I just say? No more wine. Ever.
I had no business blaming this on wine.
He quirked a brow. “You think I’m perfect?”
