Page 13 of Caught Bear Handed

Beau slid a chair beside me, putting his hand on my shoulder.“Hey.I’m sorry if I scared you, but when Gigi started barking like that, I thought something had happened to you.And I”—he bowed his head and gave it a slight shake—“no one will hurt you on my watch.”

That should’ve comforted me, and it did, but it only made me cry harder.

He sat with me—warm and strong, that protectiveness back in spades as he murmured comforting things to me.Gigi nestled her head in my lap.

I put my hand on her head, shocked how much her presence comforted me.

“I’m so embarrassed,” I said when all the emotion had passed.“I have no idea what came over me.”

“Don’t apologize,” he said.

I shook my head and managed a chuckle.“I’m not.I just thought that?—”

“Kayla.”His voice was firm, and it demanded that I meet his gaze.“Someone abducted you, and you had to shift and escape a moving car.Not to mention you got ripped off by an international crime syndicate who tried to extort you for more money.And had a stalker.Now you’ve been torn away from everything you know and stuck in this cabin with me and Gigi.It’s pretty amazing that you haven’t lost your shit before now.”

I laughed as I wiped tears away from my cheeks.“Guess I’m not as good of an actress as I thought.”

He tipped his head, and was that a twinkle in his eye?“You’re a great actress.”

“You watch the show?”He didn’t seem like the type.The assumption had been a relief, because I didn’t feel like I had to be Regina or even my Kayla public persona around him.That person was a character too, crafted to make the public fall in love with her.I’d seen actresses get put through the wringer for saying or even wearing the wrong thing.The last thing I wanted was to be canceled, but now here I was, out of commission for moon knew how long.

A blush crept up his cheeks, above his beard.“It’s my favorite show.I used to watch it with my mom.Pretty sure I’ve seen every episode.You’re…” The blush intensified.“Never mind.”

“Oh no, you say that and then tell me to never mind.”I teased.“I’m what?”

He took a deep, slow breath.“You’re my celebrity crush.”

My lips parted.So those feelings that had resonated between us when he was wearing nothing but a towel had been mutual.And when he thought someone might have broken in here, it wasn’t just a job for him.So many emotions were swirling through me…and it took everything I had to not lean in and kiss him.“I’m flattered.Thank you.”

“I hope I didn’t just make things weird.”He pushed his shoulders back, and the blush faded.His gaze shifted to the table.“You like puzzles?”

Sweet moon, he was adorable.It didn’t make the urge to find out what the bear tasted like fade.“I haven’t done a puzzle since I was a kid.I didn’t remember them being this hard.”I picked up one of the pieces and snapped it into its neighbor.“And things were bound to get weird when we’re together in this cabin twenty-four-seven for who knows how long.”

He looked up from the puzzle, and his eyes were telling a very different story now.One that made the muscles between my legs pulse.

You should really lean over and kiss him…my wolf suggested.

No!Absolutely not.Even if my wolf was right, I had to be professional.

Do you really?He just said?—

Ugh.Yes.Even if it was exactly what I wanted to hear.

“Why did you think something was wrong when you came back?”I asked, changing the subject before my wolf made me do something that would make everything a hundred times more complicated.

“I could feel your fear the minute I opened the door.Gigi too, obviously,” he said.“Didn’t mean to scare the shit out of you, but I had to be prepared for every scenario.”

“Don’t apologize for doing your job.”I snapped another piece into place.“I must have come out of my bedroom right after you left, because you were gone for a while, and I was worried those guys found you.”

“They’d be sorry if they did,” he rumbled.“What can we do to make you feel safer?”

That was a damn good question.I’d had a lot of feelings about the whole situation—anger, humiliation, and sadness, to name a few.I hated that these assholes took so much from me.

“I know I’m not supposed to leave the house, but…”

He nodded.“I get it.It’s hard to clear your head when you get stuck in one place.Want to come out with us next time I take Gigi for a walk?”

“That would be great.Wait, do you leash her?”