But the jealousy still seethed in my gut like poison.
Zion got to taste her. Touch her. Make her moan like that.
And I was here. Alone. In a cold shower.
My bear found this situation completely unacceptable. Wanted to shift, run to her cottage, drag her out of there, and claim what was ours.
But I wrestled it back down. Reminded it that I’d had weeks of opportunities with her that I’d been too scared to take.
Because I wasn’t Zion. Or even Boone. And I couldn’t figure out how to talk to her without mucking it up.
Ursa dammit.
I was getting re-dressed in a ribbon shirt and jeans when the bond pinged again.
Zion’s voice in my head: “Incoming.”
I froze, shirt half on.“You’re back at your temporary lodging.”
Unlike Bell, I didn’t pretend our setup in the Outer Limits was anything but a stopgap.
“Yes. It would seem I’ve been cookie-blocked,”Zion answered dryly. “She opted out of making cookies with me this morning because she said she’d already made them. For you. She mentioned something about wanting to have another go at communicating with you.”
I could hear the bemusement in his voice.“Don’t mess it up this time.”
My heart stopped.
Bell was coming here? To my house?
I yanked the shirt on properly and checked my reflection. Ran a hand through my damp hair, which was much longer than it used to be since I’d started growing it out.
I didn’t want to look too uptight, like I didn’t match with Bell when we made our debut as a maul, but it was in an awkward phase. More shag than locks. And I couldn’t have it dripping down my face. I brushed the top half into a hair tie before turning to run a check of the house.
Kitchen: spotless.
Front room: organized.
Everything in its place.
I went to stand by the door, rigid. Waiting.
The knock came exactly twenty-three minutes later.
I opened it. And there she was….
A freshly showered Bell stood on my porch—this time with a plate of cookies covered in foil, not angrily thrown into a freezer bag. She wore one of the outfits I’d gotten her back in May. Black leggings and a tee underneath the leather jacket she’d debuted last night. The gray hair on her shaved sides was already starting to grow out again despite Zion having touched her up a week ago. And more gray had sprouted up at the bottom of her locks. It was so striking against her dark skin.
I couldn’t get over how beautiful she was. Even more so this morning. She was... glowing, her good mood radiating off her like heat.
Because of Zion, I realized.
Him escalating the intimacy between them was part of the plan, an important step forward, but my bear scraped its jealous claws across my chest.
“Hi!” She smiled—actually smiled at me. “I... I made you cookies.” She thrust the plate out at me.
My Adam’s apple bobbed once, twice, before I was able to answer. “Thank you.” I took the gift from her, already making a plan to savor them one by one.
But then she surprised me by asking, “May I come in?”
