12
LANDON
Four and a Half Years Ago
If my bearbecame any more obnoxious, I was tempted to shift just so I could beat the shit out of him. I needed to do this sweet and gentle, not aggressive and dominant like he wanted.
The scent of lasagna began to take over the condo as it cooked in the oven. Jolyn sat beside me on the sofa, a glass of red wine in her hand. Soft music played in the background, and I’d lit a fire. The weather had turned cool again, windy, over the past week. It wouldn’t last long, with summer just around the corner.
The light from the fire reflected off the curls of her hair, creating their own dancing inferno. She’d always seemed otherworldly to me, even when we were children. Her black blouse was open at the neck, giving a tantalizing view of her freckles where they disappeared in her cleavage.
Claim.My bear’s essence reverberated through my head.It wasn’t like he knew specific words, but that was definitely the point he was making. I felt his desires and emotions in my gut.
But dammit, in this instance I really needed him to shut the hell up. I had to keep chill. I’d already needed to tread carefully because of her position in my company. She’d started as my personal assistant. When she’d agreed to date me, I’d promoted her to HR director. Yeah, there’d been mutters of favoritism, but it would have been worse if I’d been in a relationship with my PA.
Staring at the fire, she tucked a curl behind her ear, and took another sip of her drink. She’d worked for me for two months before I’d asked her out, and it took her a couple weeks before she agreed,afterI’d offered her the HR job if working too closely made it awkward. I’d known she was interested well before that because I could scent her desire.
Every time we’d worked in close quarters, her intoxicating fragrance would flare. On the outside she was calm and professional. But on the inside, she wanted me as much as I wanted her. I would have blamed it on my imagination if it hadn’t happened all the time. My bear reveled in her reactions, and didn’t understand why I never acted on it.
It was her hesitancy that gave me pause. A scent of nervous tension hung around her, almost continuously, one I didn’t remember her having as a kid, but it was there. So even though I scented her desire when we were together, I never rushed things, always following her physical cues, not the fragrance that drove me to the brink.
I didn’t need to scare her away by going all caveman.Or cave-bear, as it were.
But since she’d arrived this evening, I’d been getting cues from her that she wanted to take our relationship to the next level. So did I.Badly.And my bear was already panting, circling, ready to mount her and bite her neck with the least bit of encouragement.
That’s not how this works, buddy.
The guy did not understand the finer points of wining and dining. Good thing I was the one in charge.
Or was I? When Jolyn licked her lips, he practically roared inside me, scratching to get closer. I crossed my legs in the other direction, trying to obscure what those little movements of hers did to me.
Finesse, I told him.We need to use finesse.
It was quite apparent he did not know the meaning of the word.
I cleared my throat, and she startled, like her mind had been a million miles away. “How was your day?” We’d been apart until a half hour ago. She’d said she wanted the day to herself and that was completely fine.
My bear didn’t like those kinds of days. He only liked the ones where he could see her in the office as much as possible, take her to lunch, then dinner after work. He wasn’t too impressed by her transfer to HR. I kind of agreed with him.
Her eyes warmed at my question. “I did a little shopping, a little exploring, nothing fancy.”
“Exploring?”
Her mouth lifted in the corner, and I wanted to lick that smile.Lick. Bite.I curled my nails into my thighs, trying to tame my bear.
“Yeah, I walked through Gastown for a bit—that’s where I bought the cake—ate way too much food at this market I found, but it was nice, even with the weather being what it was.” That lemon layered cake sat in its box on my kitchen island, waiting for the end of dinner.
My bear grumbled. He wanted to go shopping and exploring with her. I was kind of there with him, then I shook my head at myself.Women need space too, my dude. Get a grip.
Her explanation complete, Jolyn gazed toward the fire.
“You seem far away,” I murmured, wondering at the change of her mood since she’d arrived.
“Sorry,” she said, and smiled a little. “Just distracted.” With a huffed breath, she set her glass of wine on the coffee table, and curled into my side, her arms wrapped around me.
My bear and I sighed at the same time. That improved things. She’d been too far away, that was all. Everything felt ten times better already. I breathed a deep breath and sank into the hold, inhaling her vanilla scent. Then, her desire blossomed over top of the nerves.
My bear paced inside me.She wants us. We want her. Claim.
