Page 60 of Hero Mine

She had to laugh at that, the tension breaking like ice on a spring lake. “I doubt it.”

He raised an eyebrow, his lips quirking into a dangerous half smile. “Still have any of that lingerie maybe I can catch a glimpse of sometime?”

The question hung in the air between them, playful on the surface but weighted with possibility underneath. What would he say if she told him her lingerie collection had only grown from there? That her eighteenth birthday had marked the time when she’d started to realize that feminine, beautiful things weren’t as stupid as she’d always assumed they were.

That being beautiful and feminine was what she wanted to be. At least for Bear.

It had led directly to what she had formulated in her mind for Velvet Mornings. Because, yes, her whole life, she’d always been wild and athletic and fierce.

But there was a different part of her too: feminine, soft, tender. She didn’t show that side of herself often, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there.

“Yeah, I think I have some things you would like,” she said softly, watching his eyes darken at her words.

His grin lit up his face, transforming it from handsome to breathtaking. “We can leave to go home right now if you want.”

She laughed, the sound rich and full in the quiet cabin. “I’m pretty sure it’ll all still be there when we get home. You’ll just have to tell me what your favorite color is.”

He let out a heartfelt groan that brought an even bigger grin to her face. This was the sort of reaction she’d been hoping for all these years, the validation that this part of herself wasn’t silly or unwanted.

But then her smile faded as reality intruded. She was going to have to clean up her house—literally and figuratively—if she wanted to be able to take these steps forward with Bear. And she did. There was nothing she wanted more than to continue what they’d started here in this cabin, this sanctuary he’d built with his own hands.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He brushed his hand over her hip, his touch warm through the blanket.

She shrugged, trying to play it off. “Nothing, really. I just need to get my shit together. I can’t keep falling apart all the time.”

“Hey.” His voice softened. “Have a little patience with yourself.”

A sigh escaped her before she could stop it, carrying the weight of her frustration. “Sometimes I think all I’ve done is be patient with myself.”

He shifted, propping himself up on one elbow again, his brown eyes flickering with something unreadable. The firelight cast half his face in shadow, highlighting the strong line of his jaw, the slight furrow between his brows.

“What?” she asked, tilting her head against the pillow.

“I’ve got something to show you.”

Curiosity bloomed in her chest, pushing aside her melancholy. “Oh?”

He sat up fully, running a hand through his already-mussed hair. The blanket pooled around his waist, revealing the sculpted planes of his chest. “Come on. Before you fall asleep on me. We’ve got to go outside to see it.”

Joy groaned in protest, burrowing deeper into the blankets like a stubborn child. “It’s freezing outside. The only place I want to go is nowhere.”

He winked at her, the gesture so boyish and charming that it made her heart skip. “Trust me, you’ll want to see this.”

That was all it took. Those two words—trust me—from Bear Bollinger had always been enough to get her to follow him anywhere.

She sighed dramatically but sat up, reaching for her sweater that had been discarded on the floor hours earlier. “This better be good.”

He only grinned before pulling on his own clothes, tossing her one of his hoodies before leading her toward the door. The too-large garment enveloped her in his scent, making her feel both tiny and protected all at once.

The second she stepped outside, the cold hit her like a slap, shocking after the warmth of the cabin. “Jesus, why?—”

“Almost there,” Bear said, taking her hand and tugging her along a narrow wooden path she hadn’t noticed earlier. His fingers were warm around hers, his stride purposeful.

“Already?”

“Yep.”

And then she saw it.