Page 14 of Hunny and the Bear (Bearly Yours #1)

Fourteen

H unny’s trembling eased as Tank carried her into his cabin, his hot, naked body warming her despite how chilled she felt. His grip on her didn’t let up, even after he shut the door behind him, or carried her upstairs to his bedroom. He only let her go when he placed her on the edge of his bed, his fingers trailing over her cheek before he walked over to his dresser, giving her a perfect view of his ass.

And damn … Tank had a nice ass.

She’d seen him shirtless plenty of times since they’d met, but she’d never seen him naked . Not until he’d shifted right in front of her out in the woods, his expression gutted until he realized she was alright. And then the relief in his eyes had mirrored her own, and she hadn’t been able to see past that. Hadn’t been able to think about anything other than Tank holding her protectively in his arms.

But now that she was safely tucked away in Tank’s home, with his scent permeating the air and relaxing her, she kind of hated that she hadn’t thought to sneak a peek at his bare body before he’d walked away. She might be shaken up, but she was still a woman with interests , specifically where her big, burly bear was concerned.

And if the back of him looked this nice, she could only imagine what the rest of him looked like.

“Did the wolf see you?” Tank asked gruffly, sifting quickly through a drawer and pulling out some clothes. She watched him like a hawk, the teeniest bit grateful that he was facing away from her, too preoccupied to notice that she was blatantly checking him out. If he caught her lusting over him like a cat in heat, he’d probably be mortified.

Rightfully so.

Seriously, what had gotten into her? One sighting of his sculpted cheeks and she’d morphed into a horny bitch? Okay, she’d been horny for days, but she’d just been terrified. She didn’t need to be thinking about how well-defined Tank’s legs were, or that his ass was honestly a work of art.

And yet here she was, multitasking like a champion.

“No,” Hunny answered, swallowing thickly as he slid a pair of sweats up his legs, covering his backside. “As soon as I knew another shifter was nearby, I hid.” Now that some of Tank’s tantalizing skin was covered, she felt less distracted and more confused by what she’d seen outside. “What was a wolf even doing here? Is there one in your clan?” She assumed the answer was no, but it didn’t hurt to check.

A deep growl rumbled in his chest as he said, “No, and I don’t care why it was here, darlin’. It’ll be dead if I find it anywhere near you again.” His grip tightened on the drawer handle, his back tensing in agitation. “I thought that—” His gravelly voice broke slightly, and he took a deep, shuddering breath. “I thought I’d found you dead in the woods.”

Hunny’s face softened as she stared at his sinewy back, her fingers itching to touch him. To soothe him. “I’m okay, Henry.”

Tank turned around then, a sinister expression on his face. Despite how furious he looked, he calmly made his way over to her, gently lifting her arms into the air and sliding a giant T-shirt over her head that smelled deliciously like him. Pulling it down until she was adequately covered, he lifted her back into his arms, turned, and then sat down on the bed, cradling her against his chest.

He took another ragged breath, and her hands slid up the expanse of his chest, her lips pressing against the quickly beating pulse in his neck as she laid her head on his shoulder. “I know you wouldn’t let anything happen to me,” she murmured against his skin.

His hands wandered to her bare thighs, holding her more firmly against him. “I almost did.” His fingers dug into her skin. “It took me too long to find you.”

“I was only gone for a few minutes, Henry. And as soon as I felt threatened, I shifted. I knew I’d stand a better chance in my human form until you got to me. I promise I’m okay,” she reiterated, placing a light kiss on his frantic pulse, needing to reassure him she was alright. She heard his heart skip a beat, and he seemed to hold his breath. And then he wrapped his arms around her waist, dropping his head into the crook of her shoulder.

She wanted to sink into him, to comfort him and never let him go. She’d gotten used to this level of closeness between them, and she loved it when he held her, just like this. It was so natural. But unlike the other times, this felt so much more intimate . The energy in the room was charged, filled with a tension she couldn’t ignore.

Was it because he thought, however briefly, that she’d gotten killed? Or because they were in his room together, a place she’d avoided like the plague unless it was to use the connecting bathroom?

She didn’t sleep in here; a point Tank had grown irritated with over the last few days, arguing that, until her room was built, he could sleep on the couch while she took the bed. But Tank was literally, well, a tank , and the couch was too small for him to sleep on comfortably, so she refused to steal his bed.

Not that her decision mattered. In the end, they’d both taken to sleeping on the couch nightly, usually because they’d fall asleep watching trashy shows on TV, covered by a mountain of warm blankets and cuddled into each other. Hunny didn’t mind sharing the couch with him, mostly because she loved feeling his body pressed against hers.

Tank was snuggly, warm, and safe, even while he made her insides melt with desire. Still, she’d never felt this same level of sexual tension between them until now.

Another thought intruded, and she distinctly remembered earlier, when they’d left Murphy’s office. Tank had acted jealous over nothing, so she’d teased him about being her favorite bear shifter, just to get him out of his snit.

As soon as she’d done it, it was like a switch had flipped between them. Tank had invaded her space, his scent powerful and addictive as he’d leaned in close. For the briefest moment, she could have sworn she’d seen a carnal hunger shining in his eyes. Her body had reacted immediately, and as he’d leaned in even closer, she’d felt confident he would kiss her.

And she’d been so disappointed when he hadn’t.

What did that whole encounter even mean? Did he like her? No. She didn’t believe that. Sure, he did nice things for her. Like, cook her delicious meals, let her boss him around, indulge her love of puzzles and reality TV, cuddle with her all the time—

As the list piled up, Hunny felt like a damned idiot, and suddenly Jasper’s playful jabs at Tank, Tabitha’s sly smile, and Murphy’s comments earlier today all made sense.

Tank was a dick to everyone but Hunny. Hunny, who he went out of his way to accommodate. Hunny, who he loved to listen to all day long, even though he claimed to despise chatterboxes. Hunny, who he’d asked to stay when she’d thought about leaving. That’s why he’d looked at her so hungrily earlier.

Because he wanted her.

No … He can’t want me, not like that, she thought ruefully. Wouldn’t she have scented his desire if that were the case? But she hadn’t. Not once in the last week. Even so, she couldn’t help but wonder, What could he possibly see in me? Probably nothing more than a female to protect.

So consumed with her thoughts, Tank startled her when he grabbed her hips and squeezed. “Were you listening, darlin’?”

Hunny blushed, her lips brushing his neck again as she asked, “Repeat it for me?”

“I need to go back out there,” Tank rasped. “I don’t like that a wolf was on bear territory, and it feels like it left that dead animal there as a warning.”

“You think it’s one of Jason’s people?” Hunny shook her head in denial. “That wasn’t Natasha.”

“Doesn’t mean it wasn’t another one of his pack members.”

“Why would Jason send one of his wolves here?” She shook her head again, leaning back to stare at him. He lifted his head as well, his gaze meeting hers, his eyes dark and broody. “Natasha having it out for me makes sense; she’s pissed I’m pregnant. But how would another wolf even know about me at all? I doubt she’d reveal Jason’s true mate to anyone, and Jason kept me locked away like a dirty secret. He hated me for being a submissive, so why would he tell anyone about me after his rejection?”

Tank huffed, reaching up and pulling a few leaves from her messy hair. “Maybe it’s not someone from his pack, but I’m betting it is. Either way, they aren’t meant to be here. If I can hunt down that wolf, I’ll get some answers.”

Hunny nodded reluctantly, but she wasn’t sure she agreed with Tank’s assumption. Jason was finished with her, and after the incident with Natasha, that bitch hadn’t shown back up here to mess with her. She guessed she didn’t have the guts to attack her on bear turf.

So what would be the point now?

“Are you taking Jasper with you?” she eventually asked.

“No,” Tank said firmly, absent-mindedly combing her hair with his fingers. “He’s going to stay outside to monitor you and the cabin while I’m gone.”

Hunny cupped his face then, his beard tickling her palm as she sent him a worried look. “I don’t want you going after that wolf alone. What if there’s more than just one?”

He was a massive grizzly bear, but several wolves could overpower him. Not only that, he’d told her the Moon Rose pack was full of crazy bastards; she didn’t want Tank anywhere near them, especially alone. She still needed to ask him more about that, to learn just how depraved Jason was, but part of her didn’t want to know.

She carried his offspring—what if there was something genuinely wrong with Jason and that got passed along to her children? She’d be distraught. Not that going in blind was a smart decision, either, but couldn’t she live with the wool over her eyes for a little while longer?

“I talked to Murphy on the way back home.” Tank tapped the side of his head, indicating the telepathic connection an Alpha shared with its subordinates. “He and a few others will come with me to hunt.”

Hunny sagged against him in relief, but she still didn’t like it. He was putting himself in danger for her. “I can’t believe it’s day one of being allowed to stay in bear territory and you already have to track someone down because you think they’re a threat to me.”

Murphy was probably ready to throw her out on her ass.

“It’s my privilege to care for and protect you, Hunny.” Tank leaned into her palm as it cradled his cheek, his eyes softening before he pressed his forehead against hers. “I’m glad you’re okay, darlin’.”

Her heart squeezed in her chest at his admission, and her eyes burned from the sudden sting of tears.

“I’ll always be okay when I’m with you, Henry,” she murmured, breathing him in.

And she meant every word.

Tank stood then, cradling her close as he walked into the bathroom. “Come on. I want you to take a nice bath and relax.” Setting her on her feet, he moved to the bathroom cabinet, opening a door under the sink. “You haven’t tried that bubble bath shit since we got it the other day.”

Hunny’s lips twitched as she watched him bend over at the waist, opening several plastic bags inside the cabinet to rustle through each one. “They’re bath bombs, Henry.”

He paused. “No bubbles?”

“No, but they smell good and make the water look pretty.” And then, with his touch still warm on her body, Hunny decided to test her new theory, just to see if she was being crazy. “They also make my skin feel really smooth, too.”

The rustling noises stopped and his shoulders stiffened. “Oh?”

“Mmhm. Sometimes, after a nice long bath, I just can’t help but touch myself. If you want, when you come back, I’ll let you touch—”

Tank stood so quickly, his head slammed into the edge of the bathroom counter with a loud thunk. He bit out a sharp curse, spinning around and wincing.

“Holy shit, are you alright?!” Hunny exclaimed, forgetting all about her theory as she rushed forward and grabbed the sides of his face. Worried, she jerked his head down, inadvertently burying his face against her boobs so she could look at the top of his head. Sliding her fingers through his unruly hair, she sighed in relief—no sign of a lump or a cut. “I don’t see any blood.”

“What were you saying?” Tank asked, his voice muffled by her shirt. His breath was warm, seeping through the material. Her nipples hardened in response, and her core heated as desire flared to life.

“You’re not bleeding,” she murmured, fighting every urge she had to rub herself against him.

“No, before that.”

Her brow furrowed, and then her eyes widened in realization, her heart kicking into overdrive as it pounded against her sternum. Grabbing a handful of Tank’s hair, she pulled his head back to look at him. “I said that when you come back, you can touch my arms, if you want to see how soft they feel.”

His eyes flashed with an indecipherable emotion, and then he stood to his full height. “Oh. Right. Your arms.” He cleared his throat, taking a step back. And then she smelled it in the air; the barest trace of Tank’s musk, dark spices, and arousal .

Oh.

My.

God .

“I’ll be back soon,” Tank promised gutturally, rushing from the bathroom before she could say anything.

He left her standing there; bewildered by the knowledge that he was attracted to her and wondering just what she planned to do about it.