Page 6 of Marked By the Possessive Polar Bear (Heat & Ink #4)

CHAPTER FIVE

Adrian

O ur last customer finally leaves around dinner time, smiling at the new angel inked on the back of her shoulder.

My eyes dart to Victoria who’s cleaning up her station. Those gorgeous bright green eyes flicker over to me and she lets out a shy smile that makes my heart ache. She’s so perfect.

Growing up, I always suspected, but I was never sure. I’m sure now. Not one fucking doubt in my mind. This stunning woman is my mate.

As soon as I saw her, I knew.

My inner polar bear did too. He was staring at her in shock and sitting still for once in his furry fucking life.

“A tattoo of an angel by an angel,” I say as she sprays her chair with disinfectant and then wipes it down.

She shakes her head and laughs. “Can I expect cheesy lines like that to be a regular occurrence?”

“Just one of the perks you get when you’re mated to Adrian Cross,” I say as I roam my hungry eyes all over her.

She nibbles her bottom lip and raises a flirtatious eyebrow. “What are some of the other perks?”

“Get your brother to leave and I’ll show you.”

Right after I say it, there’s a crash in the back and Julian curses. He’s counting inventory or something, completely oblivious to the fact that his coworkers are one second away from tearing each other’s clothes off.

“First day on the job and you’re already trying to seduce the owner,” she says, shaking her head, although there’s a sexy grin on her lips. “Not very professional, Mr. Cross.”

It’s not professional at all. Ask me if I fucking care.

I can’t keep my eyes off this girl and as soon as her older third wheel of a brother leaves, I won’t be able to keep my hands off her either.

It’s been painful to keep my distance. I’ve waited my entire goddamn life to find my mate and now that she’s here and I have to play nice nice… Fuck, that’s excruciating.

The things I want to do to her…

Fuck .

I let out an involuntary growl and she raises that eyebrow again.

“You okay over there?”

I’m so fucking far from being okay. I won’t be okay until this beautiful angel is bent over in front of me and my long hard cock is buried deep in her tight wet heat.

“I’m fine,” I lie.

She bends over as she wipes the base of the leather chair, and I don’t know if she’s doing it on purpose to torture me, but it has that effect. My cock goes rock hard as I stare at her jeans stretching tight over her gorgeous ass.

Jesus .

My brain is still fried from that kiss. My lips are still tingling. My bear is practically vibrating under my skin, chanting ‘ mine, mine, mine’ on repeat like a damn lunatic.

It’s taking everything I’ve got not to toss her onto that chair and spread her legs.

“Here’s the order form,” Julian says as he walks out from the back room, waving it around. “If I leave it on the counter will you order everything?”

“First thing tomorrow morning,” Victoria says as she gets up. Her cheeks are flushed red from bending over and somehow it makes her look even sexier. She looks like she just got finished with a toe-curling orgasm.

“Cool,” Julian says as he walks over to me, slapping my hand as he comes in for a half hug. “Thanks for helping us out, Adrian. Are we going to see you tomorrow?”

“Definitely,” I say as I lock eyes on my girl. “I’ll be here as long as I’m wanted.”

“You’re definitely wanted,” Julian says, chuckling.

The shy smile on Victoria’s face is telling me the same thing. I’m definitely wanted.

“Alright,” Julian says, finally heading to the door. “Don’t forget to lock up. I’m out.”

I watch him leave the store and get into his truck. My heart starts hammering in my chest, knowing I’m all alone with my mate. Finally. There’s no one or nothing to stop us from doing every single dirty thing racing through our minds.

When his truck rolls onto the road and speeds away, I finally turn to look at my angel. She’s breathing a little heavier, those gorgeous perky tits moving up and down with each quick breath.

It’s silent in here except for the soft radio playing and the thumping of my pounding heart.

“I think this is the first time I’ve been with you without your big protective brothers hovering around,” I say, eager to discover what that means.

“No,” she says in her soft sweet voice. “There was another time.”

This time I raise my eyebrow.

Her eyes drop for a second, like she’s thinking back to a memory she’s kept tucked away for years. “It was at the lake. The summer Magnus bought that old rusty blue pickup truck.”

“Oh yeah,” I say, smiling at the memory of that piece of shit. I forgot all about that truck. “It didn’t have a front bumper.”

She smiles. “Magnus wouldn’t drive me, so I followed you guys on my bike.

When I arrived, Magnus and Julian were swimming in the lake, but you were hanging out in the back of the truck sketching something.

You didn’t say anything to me. Just nodded when I climbed into the flatbed to sit across from you. ”

“I do remember that,” I say as the image of an adorable young Vic climbing onto the truck in her ripped-up dirty blue jeans comes drifting back into my mind.

“We sat there for maybe twenty minutes,” she says in a low voice. “You drew the whole time, but I kept stealing glances at your face all focused as you worked. I also watched your hands. I’ve always loved your hands. Shit. Too much info?”

I smile and shake my head.

“I could have sat there with you all night,” she says. “You looked so focused. So calm. You had a smudge of dirt on your arm and I remember thinking you looked… solid. Like nothing could ever shake you.”

I watch her closely, heart thumping, seeing this moment through her eyes now.

“I was too nervous to ask what you were drawing, but when the boys came back, you stood up, tore off the paper, and handed me the drawing like it was no big deal.”

“What was it?”

“A polar bear roaring. I kept that drawing on my wall for years,” she whispers, looking at the floor. “I looked at it every night. I still have it.”

I stare at her, the air going still all around us. My pulse roars in my ears.

“You kept it?” I ask, my voice coming out rougher than I meant for it to be.

She nods without looking at me. “Of course I did. It was a piece of you. I couldn’t bear to throw it away.”

I can’t believe she was here all along. My mate was in front of me and I was too clueless to realize it.

I move to her slowly, like I don’t want to startle her. My bear is pushing just beneath my skin, hungry to close the gap, to be near her and taste her again.

When I reach her, she finally looks up. Her jade green eyes are wide and shy and burning with something that looks a hell of a lot like need. Her cheeks are flushed, her breath shallow. She’s breathtaking. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.

I raise my hand to her face and brush my thumb along her cheek, just the lightest touch, but she leans into it, shivering as my skin connects with hers.

“I feel like an idiot for wasting all this time,” I say, my chest aching at the realization that we’ll never get those years back.

“We’re both here now…”

“We are,” I whisper. “And I’m not going to waste anymore precious seconds with my mate.”

I gently tilt her chin up and kiss her. It’s soft and slow and romantic at first, but it’s not long before she leans into me with a lustful moan. My hands slide down and grip her hips, pulling her into me. She whimpers when she feels how hard I am, how much I need her.

“ Adrian ,” she moans as she slides her hands into my hair, pulling and fisting it as we kiss each other like we’ve been starved for years.

Her body fits so snuggly against mine. Of course it does. We’re made for one another.

I slide my hands back up to her cheeks, brushing along the sides of her breasts as I go.

This girl is incredible. I want to strip her naked and admire every inch of her sweet succulent body, but this is not the place to do it—surrounded by ink and her brothers’ workstations.

She deserves better than to lose her virginity on her fucking work chair. I owe my mate more than that.

But to even think of stopping… Fuck , it’s pure torture.

“Hold on,” she says as she leans back, staring at me with those lustful green eyes. I groan as I watch the sexy sight of her pulling her ponytail out. She shakes her head and her gorgeous black hair tumbles down, wild and free. This girl can make a stunning show out of anything.

“You are ravishing, Vic,” I say as I stare at her in awe.

Our mouths crash together again, deeper and hotter, the air thickening around us, our bears rumbling just beneath the surface, wild and ready to take over.

Maybe I won’t take her virginity here, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have some fun…

She gasps as I suddenly scoop her up into my big arms. I kiss her soft mouth as I hold her against my chest, cradling her like the precious angel she is.

“I’m taking you out tonight,” I say as I lay her down on the long leather chair.

“Okay,” she whispers as her hand slides up my flexed arm.

We kiss again and she arches her back, pressing her breasts against my chest. She’s clinging to me like she needs more than kisses. She’s looking at me like she needs a heavier kind of release. If I don’t do this, my beautiful girl might combust.

I put my hand on her inner thigh and she lets out a heavy moan. Her legs open just a little. An invitation…

An invitation I can’t pass up.

I drop to my knees beside the chair, running my palms slowly up her thighs, savoring the way her breath hitches, the way her fingers grip the edge of the leather, the way she’s looking at me like I’m everything.

This is my girl. My fated mate. The one the universe made specifically for me. The only one I’ll ever want.

After all these years, she’s finally here. Laying in front of me, ready to give me everything I ask for. Everything I demand.