Page 37 of Bear and Book

When he was balls deep in me, it was like slipping into something that had always been meant to fit.

I’d been with people before, enough to know the difference between something physical and something more. This was more.

Every touch felt amplified, every breath we shared grounding me even as it made me feel weightless.

Leo moved with an unhurried confidence, guiding me through each shift, each kiss, each deep, steady push. My hands clung to him, anything to keep him close.

I could feel his heartbeat where our chests met, fast and strong, matching my own.

When I whispered his name, it came out like a confession. Leo rode me faster and harder when I begged.

I could feel the pressure steadily building inside me as sweat coated our bodies and I became lost in him.

We lost ourselves in each other, until the world narrowed to heat and breath and the undeniable truth of the bond between us.

I gripped his shoulders and whispered, “I’m close.”

Leo changed the angle of his thrusts, finding my prostate. I gasped as he aimed for it again and again until the world narrowed its scope. My room faded away and I came, coating his abs with my seed.

He wasn’t far behind. Several thrusts later, Leo climaxed. He placed a kiss on my mouth, before pulling away. Leo grabbed a washcloth from the bathroom, cleaned us both before rejoining me in bed.

Then he stayed pressed close, his arms wrapped securely around me as though letting go wasn’t an option.

I didn’t mind. In fact, the longer Leo held me, the more my fox settled, the tension in my body easing little by little. I was quiet for a long time, head resting against his chest.

His skin was warm under my cheek, his heartbeat a steady rhythm. I focused on that, letting it anchor me, because if I thought too much about what we’d just done, about what it meant, I might panic.

My gaze drifted toward the dresser. Tucked in the very back of the first drawer, under a spare scarf, was Jason’s ring. I’d taken it off earlier that evening.

It had been a small, deliberate motion, almost casual in its execution, but it hadn’t been casual at all. I’d worn it for so long that not having it on had felt strange, like I’d left the house without my keys.

But I hadn’t wanted it between me and tonight. It was a step I’d never thought I’d take. Not after Jason. Not after the way things ended.

Doubt curled at the edges of my mind, quiet but insistent. I wasn’t naïve enough to think that one night, no matter how right it felt, erased everything that had come before.

What if I was making a mistake? What if Leo woke up one morning and decided I was too much trouble?

But then his arms tightened around me, just slightly, like his body knew I needed the reassurance even if I hadn’t asked for it.

The doubts didn’t vanish entirely and I didn’t think they ever would, but they softened under his touch. For the first time since Jason walked out, I felt at home.

Not just in the apartment, not just in the bed, but in my own skin. The fox inside me was calm, content, certain in a way I hadn’t been in years.

I let out a slow breath, closing my eyes and leaning into the warmth of him. I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. But tonight, I belonged here, with Leo.

* * *

The first thing I noticed when I woke was Leo’s body pressed against mine. I wasn’t used to it and I hadn’t been for a long time. For a few seconds, I just lay still, letting the weight of it sink in.

Leo’s arm was draped over my waist, his big hand resting on my stomach. His chest rose and fell against my back, slow and even, his breath ghosting warm over the curve of my neck.

He smelled faintly of my soap and faintly of himself, something deep and steady that had already etched itself into my senses.

I should have gotten up. I had a shop to open, things to do. But I didn’t move. I didn’t want to. Instead, I shifted slightly so I could see his face.

The early light from the window caught in his hair, turning it gold, and softened the lines of his face. His lips were parted just enough to let out a quiet exhale every few breaths.

I’d never admit it out loud, but Leo asleep was devastatingly gorgeous. My chest tightened before I could stop it. I didn’t know how we’d gotten here so fast.