My jaw clenched. “You’re not exactly original.”
“Ouch.” He placed a hand over his chest. “You wound me, Grumpy Bear.”
I didn’t respond. I was too busy trying to stop my heart from doing that stupid jump thing every time he called me that.
He didn’t push it, which was weirdly...worse. I expected him to keep teasing, but he just let the quiet settle between us.
We drove past the river bend and the little farmer’s market stand, and something in the calm made it harder to hold onto my irritation. That pissed me off even more.
“How long are you going to pretend I haven’t grown on you?” he said after a beat.
“Until I die,” I muttered.
He laughed again, full-bodied and warm, like sunshine in a bottle. I hated how good it sounded. Hated how it made something in me soften.
“Fine. Denial it is,” he said, pulling into the back lot behind Bear and Bun.
He parked and looked over at me, smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
James continued, “But I think underneath all that grump, there’s a guy who doesn’t actually mind me.”
I opened the door. “Thanks for the ride.”
“Anytime, Grumpy Bear.”
I paused, hand on the door, and glared at him. He winked. I slammed the door shut behind me.
Inside, my bear was practically wagging its tail like an idiot. I told it to shut up.
This wasn’t going to end well.
Not with a guy like James.
Chapter 2
James
I didn’t driveoff right away after dropping Rafael at Bear and Bun. The sensible thing to do would’ve been to pull away from the curb, head back to Wolf and Whisk.
Then pretend the ten-minute car ride with Sugarpaw Springs’ crankiest bear hadn’t short-circuited my entire brain. But I didn’t move.
I sat there, fingers resting on the steering wheel, staring at the empty passenger seat like it had answers. Gosh, but he smelled good.
Not just good. Dangerous. Warm, woodsy, something like cedar and cinnamon and a whisper of thunder. That scent still clung to my hoodie.
My wolf stirred beneath my skin, tail twitching in curiosity and want. Rafael was like one of those puzzles you couldn’t solve even if you stared at it for hours, and believe me, I had.
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the seat. What would it be like, kissing him? My grumpy bear.
Would he kiss like he talked? Short, abrupt, and with the lingering edge of a growl? Or would the glacier under all that attitude melt if someone got close enough?
If I got close enough? I imagined Rafael pinning me against that ridiculous rust-bucket delivery van of his, my breath hitching before he sealed his mouth over mine.
Then I snorted. Yeah. Right. Rafael barely looked at me without glaring, let alone inviting me to get handsy in the daylight. There was something about me he didn’t like.
I didn’t know what, exactly. It’s not like I’d ever done anything to him. At least... not that I knew of.
A sharp knock on the window yanked me out of my spiral. My wolf bristled, and I nearly threw the van into gear from sheer instinct. But it was just Sean.
