Page 10 of Hunny and the Bear (Bearly Yours #1)

Ten

H unny was still unsure of what to make of her entire situation as Tank escorted her from his cabin to the large detached garage on the other side of his home. She’d had several curveballs thrown her way just this morning, each one more surprising than the last.

On the top of the list?

Finding out she was likely pregnant with multiple kits. She still wasn’t sure if she’d freak out again if she thought about it too much, so she pushed it to the back of her mind.

For now.

Next: Tank telling her he was going to add extra rooms to his house just for her.

That was insane. Who did something so major for a relative stranger? They hardly knew one another, yet he was going to build onto his home for her?

It was incredibly sweet. It was also too much. Hunny didn’t feel she was worth the trouble, and frankly, she should have found his idea off-putting—she didn’t. She’d learned a lot since her parents died five years ago, and most of it revolved around males. Ninety percent of them didn’t do something out of the kindness of their hearts; there was almost always an ulterior motive.

Hadn’t she learned that lesson with Jason just a few days ago? Her very own true mate had used and discarded her like trash. In her one moment of weakness, she had let down her guard, and he’d taken what he’d wanted and sent her on her way. That should have been a lifelong lesson in trusting men; even the ones designed by fate to love you only hurt you in the end.

Honestly, after everything she’d gone through, Hunny should have been shifting and taking off into the woods, never to return.

But she didn’t want to leave. Her internal alarms weren’t warning her there was something off with Tank, not like they had with Jason. Even when she believed Jason would mate with her, she’d still questioned, at least to herself, why he only visited at night. Or why he never wanted to introduce her to his pack. Why he kept her a secret.

It had all felt wrong. In hindsight, she should have listened to her instincts, trusted the warning signs, and gotten the hell out of there.

Hunny bit her lower lip, barely registering the cool breeze on her face as Tank unlocked the garage door, silently ushering her inside.

If she’d been blinded by Jason before, she definitely felt alert and wary of any potential dangers now. So what were her instincts telling her this time?

That Tank was safe. That Tank was a good, compassionate male. That he’d never hurt her. She just wished she could understand why she felt that way so completely. And that she could stop worrying that it was all going to end too soon.

“You’re quiet,” Tank commented as he closed the door behind him, his gravelly voice causing a pleasant shiver to work down her spine.

“Today’s been a lot,” Hunny admitted. “I’m just trying to process it all.”

“My family has that effect on people.”

Hunny burst out laughing, shaking her head as she looked around the large garage. A couple of four-wheelers, a riding lawn mower, and a large pickup truck sat in the garage, taking up most of the interior, along with several tools hung along the walls.

“Your mom is awesome, and Jasper is kind of funny,” Hunny informed him.

“Good. I worried they overwhelmed you.”

Did he mean his mom? She shook her head. “Not at all. Your mom actually offered to do a checkup for me, and I think that’s a great idea.”

Besides that, meeting Tank’s family was eye-opening. They were all so different from one another. Murphy seemed every bit the strict, stoic Alpha, while Tabitha was a sweet, affectionate mother. Jasper was clearly a clown who enjoyed teasing his family for a few laughs. And Tank … he didn’t seem to know what to do with it all.

He’d been snarly with everyone.

Except me , Hunny thought cheerfully, her lips curving up into a small smile as Tank escorted her to the passenger side of the pickup truck. It looked far newer than the four-wheelers. Opening the door, he helped her inside, and her smile spread into a full-blown grin.

“You carry me everywhere and now you’re opening doors, too, Henry? Quite the gentleman,” she teased.

His eyes shot to hers, and his face heated beneath his unruly beard. He grumbled a noncommital response and then closed the door gently between them, moving around the front of the vehicle and to the driver’s side door. His blush made her wonder; was he embarrassed to be helping her, or just embarrassed by the praise?

Hunny would bet her life on the latter, and it made her want to compliment him as much as possible, just to rile him up. Okay, maybe she just wanted to compliment him because he was a sweetheart and deserved to hear it as often as possible.

She had a feeling Tank didn’t spend his time with many people, not outside his family, at least. That meant it was up to her to let him know he was awesome.

Tank shuffled into the driver’s seat, closing his door before starting the truck. The engine roared to life, filling the silence of the small cab.

“How far away is town?” Hunny asked, watching as he pressed a button on his rearview mirror. The large garage door opened a second later.

“About an hour.”

She bit her lower lip, putting on her seatbelt before turning to face him. “What are the odds we run into someone from Jason’s pack?”

“Slim. His territory is about thirty miles from this place.”

Oh. So was the cabin he’d kept her in even technically on his territory? Probably not, the douchebag.

“Do you think there will be any job openings?”

Tank’s brow furrowed as they pulled out of the garage and onto the driveway. Once they were clear of it, he took off down a dirt road. “Why?”

Hunny rolled her eyes. “So that I can make money to support myself? I can’t live off of your generosity forever.” Or for even more than a few weeks. She’d been independent for so long, it would drive her crazy to be reliant on anyone else for even the most mundane things.

She needed some fail-safe savings, at the very least.

You had one , she thought bitterly. Hidden under the front seat of your truck .

Too bad that was likely long gone.

Tank’s grip tightened on the steering wheel, his lips turning down into a frown. “I told you I’d take care of you, darlin’.”

“Which is very sweet of you, Henry. But I need to support myself, eventually. What if you get sick of me? Or fall in love with someone? You won’t want me around then, mooching off you.”

Suddenly, Hunny felt a brief stab of jealousy, quickly followed by a flash of fury that some unnamed, hypothetical beotch would catch Tank’s attention. Then he wouldn’t carry Hunny, or hold her in his arms when she felt sad, or let her use his hair as fur for a nest.

Okay, that last one hadn’t happened— yet —but it never would if he fell in love with some skanky bitch.

Just as suddenly as those thoughts formed, they fled, leaving Hunny feeling confused, horrified with herself, and furious about this hypothetical situation.

What had gotten into her?

Huffing in exasperation, she crossed her arms in front of her chest, looking away from Tank before she said or did something stupid. She felt like an idiot for being so pissed off. It had to be pregnancy hormones, right? She might only be a few weeks along, at the most, but compared to humans, that would put her at around six weeks.

Was this when the overwhelming emotions set in? She’d already cried a lot, had a panic attack, and now she was pissed off over nothing . It had to be.

“We’ll see about finding you work within the clan. Murphy needs a receptionist,” Tank suggested.

Yeah, if he lets me stay here , she thought grumpily.

“Fine,” she snipped. That was just as good, anyway. Most people were completely oblivious to the supernatural world, and she didn’t want to bring any unwanted attention to this bear clan by working among humans. Or to herself, for that matter.

“What’s wrong?” Tank asked immediately, moving one hand from the wheel and placing it on her thigh. It was warm, and heat spread through her jeans and to her skin, the simple touch calming her down until she only felt embarrassment for her wayward feelings.

If this was how her entire pregnancy would progress, she was doomed. And poor Tank, he’d probably swear off women and babies forever after putting up with her through it all.

Tank squeezed her thigh, waiting for her answer.

“Nothing is wrong.”

“Hunny—”

Hunny ran a hand down her face to hide it momentarily. “It’s nothing I want to talk about right now because I’m being stupid and emotional, and if I bring up why I feel like this, I’ll either laugh at how stupid I am or cry because you’ll think I’m a lunatic.”

Ugh, she even sounded crazy!

She sent Tank a look out of the corner of her eye, waiting to see if he’d comment.

All he did was grunt in acknowledgement, keeping his eyes firmly on the road and his hand on her leg as he drove.

She looked at his side profile in surprise. “That’s it? You’re not going to pry me for details?”

He squeezed her thigh again. “Not if it’ll make you cry.”

Her eyes narrowed threateningly. “Are you implying that if I tell you what upset me, you will think I’m a lunatic?”

“I walked right into that,” Tank muttered under his breath, sending her an apologetic look a second later.

Lips twitching, and no longer in a shitty mood, Hunny asked, “Do you go into town often?”

Tank grimaced. “No. I hate engaging with people.”

“Humans specifically?”

“Anyone.”

“Why?”

“They all talk too much.”

Hunny snorted, patting the hand on her thigh sympathetically. “Oh, you’re in for a rude awakening with me then. Contrary to the last few days, I love to talk.”

Tank released a low laugh, the sound causing heat to pool low in her belly. “Oh, I’ve noticed.”

She scoffed at him in mock outrage. “ Rude . And there’s no way you’ve noticed, Henry. The first day I was a rabbit, and then we watched TV and slept.”

She blushed, remembering just how nice she’d felt waking up in his arms. How warm and protected she’d felt cuddling up to her very own grizzly bear.

He sent her a cocky look. “You’re a talker, darlin’. Got an air about you, even when you can’t form words.”

“‘An air’ about me?” She wrinkled her nose. “What does that even mean?”

“You’re a yapper. Even as a rabbit, your little body just vibrates when you’ve got something to say. You squeak almost constantly.”

He cleared his throat with a grimace. Shit, she’d completely forgotten he didn’t talk a lot because it hurt him, and here she was, yapping away.

She leaned over, shoving at his shoulder playfully. “I can’t believe you just called me a yapper .”

Tank smirked, sending her a heated look.

Her breath froze in her lungs, a lightning bolt of desire slamming right between her thighs. Slick pooled from her core, drenching her panties instantly, and her mind went blank as his gaze shifted back to the road, completely oblivious to the fact that he’d just reduced her to a molten pool of need in less than two seconds flat.

Holy. Shit .

What the hell was wrong with her? It felt like he’d just ripped her clothes off and demanded she spread her legs for him without even saying a word. At the thought, a naughty image of doing just that formed in her head, and her desire skyrocketed, more of her own arousal spilling between her thighs. Suddenly, she could almost feel his hand moving up her thigh and pushing between her legs, his fingers wandering—

Nope. No! Stop thinking like that! He’ll scent that you’re horny, bitch. Think about anything else!

But Hunny couldn’t think of anything that didn’t revolve around Tank, and unfortunately, the only true thought that came to mind was Jasper joking about how much Tank loved honey.

Even more unfortunately, all she could envision was Tank licking honey from his fingers. Only it wasn’t honey . It was her slick drenching his fingers as he sucked them into his mouth with a delicious groan of need rumbling from his throat—

“Nothing wrong with having a yapper around.” Tank’s deep voice startled her from her thoughts. She almost shoved his hand away from her, his touch only turning her on more.

“Hm? Oh, oh! Yep. That’s me. Certified yapper,” Hunny replied hoarsely, reaching toward the vents on the dashboard. “Is it hot in here? Some A/C would be phenomenal.”

It would also dilute the scent of her arousal. God, what if he already smelled it in the truck? She’d never be able to look at him again! Before he could answer, Hunny turned the air conditioner on full blast. Cold air smacked her in the face, blowing back her hair and making it difficult to keep her eyes open.

“So much better,” she told him, even as she shivered from the icy air, the temperature at war with the rest of her body.

He frowned. “You’re cold.”

“Me? Oh, no. Totally fine. I love being cold, actually. Just … Ah—”

Hunny was so mortified with herself that she didn’t even realize they’d pulled into town, not until Tank drove into a parking lot in front of a large department store. He parked the truck, turning off the engine.

“Oh, thank God!” Hunny exclaimed, ripping off her seatbelt and jumping from the truck as if the devil were chasing after her. She shut her door and raced to his side, prying his door open. “Come on.” She hurriedly gestured for him to get the fuck out of the vehicle. “We don’t want to be here around all these icky people any longer than necessary,” she joked forcefully.

Sending her a perplexed look, Tank hopped from the truck.

She was so caught up with her own dilemma, she didn’t even notice the large bulge in Tank’s jeans as he followed after her.