Page 22 of Hunny and the Bear (Bearly Yours #1)

Twenty Two

“ I s your friend always so …” Nessa trailed off, sending a curious glance Tank’s way as he stalked around the empty teahouse. He must have been on edge about the meeting with Jason tomorrow. When he’d told her about it last night, she’d been on edge too. She didn’t want Tank anywhere near that wolf.

Tank grumbled loudly, drawing her attention to the surly male. His entire body was stiff, and he kept huffing every few minutes in irritation. It was kind of comical, seeing him so aggravated, after they’d just spent hours fucking in his bed. How Hunny’s male could go from loving and tender in private to sullen and grumpy in public was a mystery, but she enjoyed seeing all sides of him.

Especially when he was naked.

“Nosy?” Hunny supplied with a crooked smile, reaching for her cup of tea. It was decaf, unfortunately. No caffeine for her until her kits were born, although it was a terrible time for it right now, anyway. It was just past six p.m., and the shop had closed roughly an hour ago, giving the two females plenty of privacy to get to know one another while Tank lingered nearby.

Although, Hunny felt like she’d known Nessa for years already. They’d talked almost every day on the phone since they’d met, and although they hadn’t delved into each other’s personal lives, they had a lot in common, and forming a friendship had been easy.

Her attention turned toward the bear shifter. So far, Tank seemed torn between conducting recon for Murphy and eavesdropping on her conversation with her new friend, which was super rude. Just because the male had enhanced hearing, it didn’t mean he had to listen in on every thing.

Nessa’s lips twitched as she watched Tank rummage through a cabinet along the back wall. “I was going to say ‘pissed off,’ but sure. We can go with nosy.”

Hunny let out a small, surprised laugh, loud enough that her bear shifter turned his head toward them, his eyes softening marginally as they settled on her. She blew him a kiss and his gaze darkened, a sensual hunger crossing his features that had her core spasming with need. “He’s actually in a pretty good mood,” she mock-whispered to Nessa, sending her a smug smile.

He better be in the best mood of his life after all the sex they’d had in the last twenty-four hours. For all her confidence about rabbit shifters having endless sexual stamina, Tank was definitely keeping her on her toes.

And it is amazing , she thought blissfully. Tank was an exceptional lover; the best she’d ever had, and it wasn’t like she’d been a virgin when they’d met. She had plenty of experience with males, and to put it simply; no one held a candle to him. Not just regarding sex, either.

“Oh my God, you slept with him.” Nessa leaned forward in her chair dramatically. “I thought you were just friends!” she whispered.

Tank’s head whipped toward them, and Hunny shot him a glare that clearly said ‘mind your business.’ With another huff, he disappeared into a backroom, leaving them alone. Luckily, Nessa had given him permission to roam about when he’d asked, so his leaving to explore more of her shop wasn’t weird or awkward. Well, not too much anyway.

Once he was gone, she eyed Nessa warily. “How do you know we slept together? Is it that obvious?”

“Aha!” Nessa slapped her palm onto the tabletop. “So I am right. Damn, I should have bet money on it. And to answer your question: you’ve got this glow about you that wasn’t there the first time we met.” She grabbed her own cup of tea, taking a delicate sip as she watched Hunny over the rim. “So, did you have a good time? I’m assuming the answer is yes.”

Hunny blushed, answering the question without saying a word.

Nessa laughed. “Oh, so he’s good good .”

“Maybe better than that.” Hunny’s lips twitched.

Nessa whistled. “Makes sense now why you keep giving him the googly eyes every few minutes. You’re in love with the grump.”

“I-I’m not in love,” Hunny sputtered quickly, though as soon as she said it, the truth smacked her in the face like a ton of bricks.

Holy shit. She was in love with Tank.

It was wild to think, to even comprehend. Could it happen so fast? She’d barely known him for any true length of time, but already it felt like they’d gone through so much together. She felt more for him now than she ever had with anyone else; including her true mate.

After Jason had rejected her, she’d felt sad, but she’d also known she would move on from him; that she didn’t really need him. With Tank, it was completely different. He’d wormed his way into her heart so thoroughly, just the idea of being separated from him made her breath stall in her lungs, a swift denial emitting from her very soul. She didn’t know what she’d do without him—as if the very notion was so absurd her brain refused to think about it.

Nessa raised a skeptical brow. “Are you sure you’re not in love?”

Hunny cleared her throat, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. “I … I just hadn’t thought about it before,” she admitted faintly. “This whole situation with Henry, it’s all very new, and it seems a little fast, you know?”

But it also felt right. Everything about him felt right.

Nessa shrugged, leaning back in her chair. “Not necessarily. Sometimes the best kind of love blindsides you. It finds you when you least expect it and takes you for one hell of a rollercoaster ride.”

“You can say that again,” Hunny agreed adamantly. When Nessa sent her a questioning look, she sighed. “I just got out of a bad relationship a couple of weeks ago. I met Henry right after, and I didn’t expect to feel so much for him so soon.”

“Really? The way you two act together, I just assumed you’d known him for a few years.”

“Nope.” Hunny bit her lower lip, worry swirling through her mind before she continued, “I didn’t think I wanted to be in a relationship or anything like that, not for a while, but Henry’s kind of impossible to resist. And you’re right, by the way. A-about what you said.”

Nessa beamed at her. “I’m thrilled for you, Hunny. Real love’s hard to find.” Some of her smile dimmed, and she looked away. “A few years ago, I’d have given anything to find something like that; love, marriage, kids . But some things just aren’t meant to happen.”

At the mention of kids, Hunny absent-mindedly touched her stomach. Nessa followed the movement, brows raising in surprise.

“You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

Hunny blushed. “Yeah. Triplets, actually.”

Nessa’s eyes widened, shooting up to Hunny’s face and then back to her stomach. “Shut up. Seriously?” She lowered her voice. “You’ve got to be several weeks into a pregnancy to know you’ve got triplets, right? Does Tank know?”

Hunny tilted her head, completely forgetting for a moment that humans couldn’t smell the same way shifters could. What Tank had known upon first meeting her, Nessa wouldn’t know unless she was told or until Hunny began showing. “Oh, yeah, he knows everything about my ex, including that I’m carrying his children. Henry’s actually building onto his cabin to make room for us all. It’s a bit complicated but we’re figuring it out.”

Nessa gaped at her. “You’re telling me that grumpy bastard”—she pointed toward the backroom Tank had disappeared to—“is giving you great sex, building you a cabin—”

“Building onto an existing cabin—”

“—and is completely cool with you having another man’s kids?” Nessa whistled again. “You are lucky, Hunny Russo. Lucky .”

“Yeah,” Hunny agreed with a warm, satisfied smile. “I really am.”

“I know we haven’t known each other long either,” Nessa added, “but please take my advice; you need to lock that man down ASAP. Do you know how many women would snatch up the opportunity to get with a guy like that?”

Hunny stilled. “You think so?” She hadn’t met any of the females in his clan besides his mother, but she’d never considered them as competition before. Should she?

Nessa rolled her eyes. “Girl, yes . Men like that don’t grow on trees, and some women will do anything to take what someone else has.”

The thought made Hunny nauseous and territorial. Tank was hers , dammit. She didn’t start a relationship with him just for someone else to come sniffing around. And Nessa was definitely right; Tank was a catch. She was lucky no other females had noticed it before. What if they did now and Tank was still unclaimed?

It didn’t make them a permanent thing just because they were sleeping together. Only a mating mark would make him off limits.

Suddenly, Hunny’s canines began to ache, the need to sink her fangs into him and claim him as hers so strong she nearly knocked back her chair to go hunt him down. Instead, she gripped her ceramic cup hard, surprised she didn’t crack it as she shook her head, trying to grasp onto reason before she lost her mind. “Henry’s not like that, though. He wouldn’t leave me for another woman.” She knew that with absolute certainty, but it didn’t dampen the urge she had to claim him.

“Even more reason to lock him down,” Nessa insisted. “The man can barely keep his eyes off you, and if he’s happy to raise another man’s kids with you, I can’t imagine he’d have a problem committing to you.” She shook her head a moment later. “I’m sorry. I don’t know if I overstepped, Hunny. I don’t want to sound like I’m pressuring you into anything, and I don’t want to worry you.”

“You didn’t and I’m not,” Hunny assured her, adding with a playful wink, “Besides, Henry did say he wanted everything I was willing to give him, so I don’t think he’d mind if we took things further.”

“Oh, my God!” Nessa fanned herself. “Did I call him a grump? What I meant was, he’s perfect.”

Hunny smiled widely. “That’s what I tell him, but I don’t think he believes me.”

“Perfect and oblivious to it? Yeah, he’s a keeper. And one of a kind, I’m sure,” Nessa uttered wistfully.

“He has brothers, you know.” Though she wasn’t sure if they’d be interested in dating a human.

Nessa grimaced. “Yeah, I spoke with one of them over the phone this morning. Murphy? He called to reserve my shop for some kind of event tomorrow. He seems like a dick, but he offered me a lot of money, so obviously I accepted.”

Hunny wrinkled her nose. “Yeah, he has that effect on people.” He’d been stern with her, too, during their first and only meeting, but she had the distinct impression that there was more to him than that. Behind his hard edges was someone who genuinely cared about his family, and by extension, her.

“Is it a family trait?” Nessa asked. “They act like jerks but have hearts of gold or something?”

She snorted. “Jasper, that’s Henry’s youngest brother, is very much a joker. And a dipshit, but mostly just to Henry. I’ve noticed that Murphy’s more serious. He has a lot of responsibilities with his job, though, and I think they weigh on him.” She frowned. “Henry’s got two more brothers, but I haven’t met them yet. Or their dad.”

Actually, now that she was thinking about it, she knew nothing about the other members of his family. Tabitha was alive and well, meaning her mate must still be in the picture. So where was he? She’d have to ask Tank about it.

“Sounds like a family reunion is in order.” Nessa waggled her eyebrows teasingly.

“I’ll invite you so you can have your pick of his brothers,” Hunny joked.

Nessa laughed, shaking her head. “I’ve had my fair share of dickhead boyfriends, so I’ll pass. But thank you.”

Hunny winced. “That bad, huh?”

Nessa bit her lower lip, a somber expression crossing her features. Running a hand through her turquoise-colored hair, she said, “I mean, there’s a reason I moved to the middle of nowhere, Montana. No offense if this was your dream destination,” she added hastily. “But this wasn’t my first choice. Just the safest.”

“Safest?” That didn’t sound good at all. “Are you alright, Nessa?”

Nessa’s eyes flickered, several emotions crossing over them at once. “I’m fine now. Honestly, I’ve put the past behind me, and it’s nothing I really want to talk about, if that’s okay?”

Hunny nodded slowly. “Yeah, of course.” Lowering her voice to a soothing tone, she added, “But if you ever decide you want to vent, I’m here for you. Alright?”

“I appreciate that. Seriously.” Nessa released a shuddering breath. “Moving away from everything I knew was hard, but opening my shop, having my own freedom … it’s worth everything I went through before, you know?”

“Yeah,” Hunny answered firmly. “I know how you feel. My parents died when I was seventeen and I left everything I knew behind to start over. Freedom is scary, but it’s empowering, too.”

“It really is.” Nessa stretched her arms over her head, suddenly letting out a small yawn.

Hunny looked over at the clock on the wall, her eyes widening in surprise. “Oh wow, we’ve been talking for almost three hours! I should probably head home.”

“We need to do this again soon,” Nessa said, standing when Hunny did. “I had a lot of fun. Oh, that reminds me.” She leaned down, grabbing her purse off the floor and pulling out a small black bag from inside it. She handed it over to Hunny. “I got those trimmers and stuff you asked for. Going to give the grizzly a shave, eh?”

Hunny, startled, nearly dropped the bag. “G-grizzly?”

How did Nessa know he was a bear shifter?!

Nessa sent her an odd look. “Yeah. Tank’s like a big grizzly bear. Hairy, tall, growly … You never got that impression?”

“Oh!” Hunny laughed a little too loudly, the sound high-pitched and wrong. “I thought you meant— nevermind .”

Tank prowled out of the backroom, a worried look on his face. “Everything alright, darlin’? It sounded almost like a witch was cackling out here.”

Nessa coughed into her hand, smothering her own laugh as Hunny’s face heated.

“Yes! Everything is great,” Hunny told him quickly, clutching the bag tightly as she moved over to him. She gave Nessa a smile. “I’ll text you.”

As Tank led Hunny from the shop, he looked down at the bag in her hand. “What’s that?”

She blushed. “Well, I kind of have a favor to ask you, Henry.”

“Okay,” he drawled slowly, eyes moving from the bag to her face in confusion. That look only made her cheeks heat further.

“I want you to give me some of your hair!” she exclaimed in a rush like an absolute weirdo. She waved the bag around like a weapon, the heavy tools clanking around inside. “Just a trim, really. You won’t even notice I’ve cut anything off.”

His head snapped back in surprise. “What? Why do you want my hair?”

“For a nest. I keep thinking about it, and the other day when I shifted, I couldn’t build it properly. It just felt really wrong, and I realized it’s because …” She trailed off, embarrassed to even be asking him this question. Somehow, it seemed even more personal than him asking her to sit on his face.

“Because you need my hair?” he finished, keeping his lips in a straight line even though the laughter was unmistakable in his voice.

She narrowed her eyes threateningly, stopping beside the passenger side of his truck. “Are you laughing at me, Henry Sinclair?”

“Not at all, little rabbit. I just find you adorable.”

Some of her ire eased at that, and when he gripped the back of her neck, pulling her in for a drugging kiss, she moaned, forgetting entirely why she’d grown irritated with him to begin with.

“Come on, darlin’,” Tank murmured against her lips. “Let’s get you home so you can build your nest.” Her heart fluttered, and then he narrowed his eyes. “You don’t want my pubic hair, do you?”

“ What? ” She sent him a horrified look. “No!”

Although —NO!

Laughing huskily, Tank opened the truck door, helping her inside.