Page 9 of Bearly in Love
eight
MADISON
I hid in Bo’s bedroom the rest of the evening, channeling my inner chicken instead of leaning on my fox.
My hiding lasted all morning, too. And continued until Bo knocked on my door around noon.
“Madi, you need to eat,” he called out. “If you’re not awake, get up.”
If only I had sprouted feathers and actually become a chicken, maybe I would’ve been able to escape the interaction.
That obviously wasn’t going to happen, though.
So I forced myself to cross the bedroom. I hadn’t been sleeping anyway, despite a serious attempt to do so.
I opened the door.
Bo was leaning against the doorway, his shoulder pressed against the frame and one of his hands resting on the wooden trim above the opening. His other hand was in his pocket.
His hair was wild, and there were dark circles beneath his eyes.
Somehow, I’d forgotten how big he was. The sheer size of him took my breath away, even though he had a shirt on with his jeans for the first time since he rescued me in the forest.
That sent an obvious message.
He knew we were done. Nothing else sexual was going to be happening.
“Did you forget to sleep?” I blurted without thinking it through.
That seemed to be something I did with him. Spoke without thinking. I wasn’t sure I could stop myself, which was incredibly annoying.
He ignored my question. “Food’s ready.”
I folded my arms over my chest. The baggy t-shirt I had on was thin, and my dance studio’s logo was stretched over the front. Both the shirt and the logo were faded with wear and wash. It was one of my favorites.
His eyes lowered to my nipples, and he stayed where he was.
A glance down told me that they were pointed from the slight chill in the air. The outlines were definitely visible, too.
“I looked up information about the snowplows. It’s going to be at least a few more days before they get to us, and it looks like another storm is coming in tomorrow,” he said.
I blinked. “What does that mean?”
“If the storm somehow misses us, you’ll be able to leave in three or four days. If it hits, it’ll be at least another week. Maybe eight or nine days.”
I blinked again.
Eight or nine days?
Holy shit.
What was I going to do? We were intensely attracted to each other. It would be hard enough to ignore that fact for a day or two, which was what I thought I had to manage.
But three to nine days?
I wasn’t a fucking saint.
I wanted him in a way I’d never wanted anything before. Except maybe the freedom of not marrying my alpha. I definitely wanted that more.
Since screwing Bo wouldn’t interfere with that, both desires were equal at the moment.
“You can use my phone if you need to contact anyone. I can tell Artie you’re here too, if you want him to let your skulk know that you’re safe,” Bo said.
I dragged a hand through the top of my hair, messing up the already-wild strands as I moved them out of my eyes. “I’d rather they assume I’m dead. I should call my friends, though. Or text them at least.”
“What friends?”
Looking back at Bo, I found his eyes narrowed.
“I don’t see how that’s any of your business,” I said.
“It’s my phone.”
“You offered to let me use it.”
His nostrils flared.
After a beat of tense silence, he jerked his head. “Fine.”
I watched him for a moment. “Are you jealous ?”
He scowled. “Of course not.”
It was a lie.
I could see the discomfort on his face.
He handed me the phone with a stiff arm, turning and walking away. “Eat before the food gets cold.”
I followed him into the living area. “I’m glad you’re not jealous. It wouldn’t make sense to envy the two female friends I was planning on contacting.”
The tension in his shoulders eased. “They’re women?”
“Yes.”
“Use my phone as long as you want.”
I rolled my eyes, taking the seat in front of the plate he’d put together. His food was at his desk, so our conversation ended as he went back to work, leaving me alone in the kitchen.
While I ate, I logged into my phone’s account so I could find my friends’ numbers. When I had them, I created a new group text with the three of us and sent a message.
Me
Hey, ladies. Update on the runaway situation. My car caught on fire, and I ended up snowed in with my brother’s best friend. He’s a bear shifter. I probably won’t be able to get out for a few more days, but fingers crossed I can still get away before my asshole fiancé finds me
Vera
WTF? CAR FIRE?
Me
I think it was witch magic. I’d call my friendly neighborhood blood witch to take a look, but last I checked, she was living her best life on a tropical island with her sexy phoenix mate
Sage
You checked correctly
And if it’s snowing, I’m not interested ;)
Me
Yeah, the snow is insane
Vera
Insane enough to trap you for multiple days? How did this happen?
Me
Idk
Ask Mother Nature
Vera
I’ll get her on the phone stat
Sage
Is your brother’s friend decent, at least?
Vera
*decent looking
Bo snorted, and my gaze jerked over to him.
“Are you reading my texts?” I demanded.
“Sorry. They sync with my computer.” He didn’t look sorry.
“Un-sync them, then.”
He lifted his hands in surrender. A moment later, a message came through the phone, telling me it had been disconnected from his computer.
“You’re good,” he said.
“Thanks.”
I looked back at the screen and typed out a quick answer.
Me
Ridiculously decent
And obnoxious
But mostly, decent
Vera
Ooooh. Has there been sex?
Me
Technically, no
Sage
Technically?
Vera
OOOOH.
Send a picture
Me
I’m not sending a picture
Vera
I’m stalking your brother on social media as we speak. Artie, right?
Sage
Artie the Asshat, if I remember correctly
Me
That is the title he deserves to go by, yes
Vera
Looks like his BFF is Bo Stevenson
YUMMM
She sent a photo into the chat. It was an old picture of Bo. He was bigger now. And sexier. But I wasn’t going to say that.
Me
That’s him
Sage
Are all bear shifters that big?
Me
Yup
Vera
Damn
I hope my soulmate looks like that
If I hadn’t known what she meant, I would’ve been jealous. Because I was, the comment didn’t push any of my possessive buttons.
Vera was a kelpie, and engaged to the man who may have been the only other living kelpie alive. She had never seen or met him, but her dad sold her to him to stop him from killing any of the wolf shifters in their family’s pack.
She was currently trying to find her soulmate before she ended up stuck marrying the monster in a few months, but it wasn’t going well.
Me
Want me to ask him to meet you to see if you’re mates?
Vera
No
I’m sure you’ll have had technical sex by the time I could, if you’re snowed in together
Or I hope so for your sake, at least
I bit my cheek to stop myself from grinning.
Me
I don’t know
I’m trying to put space between us
It would be easy to catch feelings, and he doesn’t like me like that
Sage
Do you like him like that?
Me
Jury’s still out, but maybe I could
I’ve been engaged to the ultimate asshole my whole life. The possibility of mating with someone I actually kind of like is pretty seductive. Hard to say if I’d even really like being with him, or if I just like the idea of being mated to someone not quite as awful
Vera
I understand completely
If anyone did, it was her.
My chest squeezed.
Vera
It wouldn’t hurt to screw him until you have to leave
As long as you run fast enough to get away from your alpha, you could come back for the bear later if you ever wanted to make it official
Getting to know him while you hide might make it easier to figure out if you’ve found the right person later on
Sage
That’s a good point. It’ll be easier to choose a mate here at the resort if you have a better idea of what you do and don’t want in a man
Vera
And in bed ;)
Me
I’ll think about it
Vera
Stop thinking about it and just live, Madi
Worst case scenario, you’re about to end up trapped with the ultimate asshole for your whole life. Would that be any worse if you were also silently longing for a bear shifter who had part of your heart?
Me
Idk
Maybe?
Vera
The answer is no
Just screw him already, for our sakes
Sage
Hey, speak for yourself
Vera
*for MY sake
Sage already has enough hot sex in her life
Sage
I’m pretty sure you’re screwing a bunch of guys in an attempt to find your own mate too, right?
Vera
Yes
But that bear is something else
Me
I’ll keep thinking about it
How are things at the resort?
My subject change would ensure entertainment for at least a while, because there was always something interesting going on at the resort.
After we heard all the drama from Sage, we’d get the latest news on Vera’s soulmate search, which would take another half an hour.
By the time our conversation finally ended, I put my phone down and looked over at Bo. He was focused on his work. There was a crease on his forehead, and a couple of wild curls had completely concealed his left eye.
He was gorgeous.
And ultimately, we were trapped in his cabin. If my fiancé could catch up to me before I could safely make a run for it, I was going to end up marrying him. There was no alternative. Every bastard in the skulk would help him kill me if I refused in person.
Three or more days with Bo might be all I had left of my freedom.
And if they were…
Well, then I might as well enjoy them.
Though I’d made up my mind, I silently weighed the pros and cons of doing what I was considering while I washed the dishes and cleaned the rest of the kitchen too.
Screwing Bo would change everything. We could never go back to what things were like before.
But things had been shitty before.
So why would a permanent change matter?
I was sure of my decision by the time the kitchen was spotless.
Though my stomach was tight with both nerves and excitement, I dropped my dirty hand towel in the laundry room before walking over to Bo’s desk.
Bo looked up just as I reached him. “Everything good with your friends?”
“Yeah. You busy?”
“Not with anything that needs to be done right now. Why?”