A few seconds tick by, heavy and loaded.
Then he flicks a furtive glance at me, and there’s vulnerability there he can’t quite hide fast enough. “Do you regret hearing it?”
My chest clenches.
Abandoning my apple, I crawl into his lap. He makes room for me, but he still tries to avoid my eyes. I cup his face in both hands, force him to look at me.
“Do you think that not having any family, being alone in the world, makes me lesser?” I whisper.
“The fuck are you talking about?” he grumbles, voice rough. “Of course it doesn’t. You’re—” He breaks off, looks away for a second, then pierces me with a ferocious look, like he’s drilling his next words into me. “You’re perfect.”
A lump wedges in my throat. “I’m not, but thank you.”
He looks like he’s about to argue, but I brush my thumb over his wide, soft mouth. “I know it was difficult, telling me what you did yesterday. But just like my past and lack of family doesn’t define who I am today, neither did where you came from or who sired you. It... it took me a long time to understand that.”
A rumble rises from his chest, deep and dangerous. I know exactly what triggered it—the faintest reference to Brandon.
I caress his jaw until the growl eases. His grip on my hips loosens—not all the way, never all the way—but just enough to remind me he’s listening.
My Bear.
The thought swells inside me, warm and startling.
It shouldn’t feel so good to take ownership of a man I’ve known mere weeks. But just as he can’t seem to help his body’s reaction to me, I can’t help the way my heart leaps when I think of him as mine.
Maybe I don’t need to leave.
Yet.
The thought roots quietly inside me, surprising and stubborn.
I shake my head, focus on finishing what I need to say. “We’re not who the world dictates we should be, Bear. We decidethat. You decide that. And the people who betrayed you... that’s on them. Not you.”
His eyes narrow, troubled.
“But shutting yourself away,” I continue gently. “Isn’t that letting them win?”
For a second, I think I’ve reached him.
But then his mouth crashes down on mine, hard, hungry, silencing the question with heat.
I melt into it, the debate burning away under the fire of his kiss.
He lays me back on the grass, his big body covering mine, pinning me deliciously. His hand fists in my hair as his mouth devours mine. My thighs fall open, welcoming the weight of him pressing hard against me.
He denied me...us... last night, and I’m insanely ravenous for him.
“Bear—” I gasp.
“I need you, Lily,” he croaks, his voice barely coherent as his fingers find me wet and wanting.
“Yes!” I pull my T-shirt off, and he falls on my heaving tits, licking and biting until my cries fill the trees. Until I’m a sopping mess beneath his fingers. I watch, as fascinated today as I was the first time, as he wraps his massive mitt around his cock, using my juices to stroke himself, ensuring he’s well-lubricated enough before he notches himself at my entrance.
Then he looks into my eyes. Imploring. Desperate.
“Need you to take another inch,” he rasps against my lips. “Give me another inch, petal. Be my good girl.”
I whimper, clutching his shoulders, bracing myself. “Yes, Bear.”
