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My cheeks heated. “Can I take it back?”
He grinned, and damn if it didn’t make my core turn to fire. “No.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re gonna hold this against me.”
“No, but I do plan to use it in my favor.”
“How?”
He kissed me again and managed to make my knees even weaker the second time around. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since Wendy and Gabe’s ceremony. It’s been driving me fucking crazy because even though my bear says you’re my mate, he seems to conveniently forget the part where you hate my guts.”
“Just your guts?” I tried to play it cool, but on the inside, I was freaking out.
Mate?
Every episode, I thought this moment was totally swoon-worthy when this happened to the other couples. And I could guarantee it for Hannah’s episode, too, when it finally happened.
But forever? Bjorn? And me?
OMG.
This was not supposed to be my life.
But there was no denying how much I wanted it to be my life. Working with Bjorn, coming home to Bjorn, cooking with him, waking up in his arms. I wanted to have dinner and dance and be silly in our living room. I wasn’t accustomed to thinking about anything long-term, and I had to admit, I was getting annoyed when Bibi kept asking me about it. But I wanted a future with this bear.
The reality of it was unexpectedly terrifying. Just a few weeks ago, I could hardly look at him without becoming enraged. To be all in…I didn’t have an emotion for this.
Relieved, a voice inside me said.You’ve finally found the place you belong.
“I guess the rest of you is alright,” I finally said because the silence was getting thick, and I was scared of what would happen next.
“Just alright?” He pretended to be offended. Adorable.
I shrugged. “I might need to see the rest of it to refresh my memory.”
He let go of me, stepped back, and unbuttoned his shirt. My gaze was glued to those fingers moving over the buttons. The little sliver of tanned skin got bigger as he revealed even more. He pulled the shirt out of his pants with an intensity that made my mouth water and let the whole thing fall to the floor.
Well, damn.
He was every bit as ripped and gorgeous as I remembered from that frenzied night at the mating ceremony. Solid muscle. I couldn’t even count how many packs. Broad shoulders. Narrow waist. A little line of hair that started at his belly button and disappeared into his pants. I knew all too well where it led. I’d hoped the image of his body left in my mind after that night had been nothing more than a rage memory. Something my brain had manufactured to make me feel better about sleeping with him.
But he was every bit as magnificent as I remember.
Ah, hell.
He stepped forward, placing his hands on my shoulders. Holding me in place. Just like he’d done that night, too. He leaned down and brushed his lips against mine, but he didn’t kiss me. He brought his hand to my face and cupped my chin, moving my head to the side so that his lips trailed along my jawline to my neck.
“I showed you mine.” His voice was rumbly against my ear. “I’d ask you to show me yours, but I remember, Marissa. I remember every delectable curve of your body. What your skin felt like under my touch. What it felt like to be inside you.”
This bear had no right being so sexy.
His blazing green eyes met mine. “What do you want to do about it?”
I could barely breathe. The easiest thing to do was tell him. Tell him everything.
“I want you,” I finally managed. “But I’m terrified about what happens next.”
ChapterFourteen
