Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
“You’re more upset about this than I am. I promise I’m—”
Bear lurched forward and crushed his mouth against mine, stopping the dreaded word before it could pass my lips.
I must have made an embarrassing sound, had a humiliatingly shocked look on my face, but I didn’t care.
Because it seemed to me I’d angered my bodyguard into kissing the hell out of me.
And if I said I was fine with that… this time, I’d really mean it.
TEN
RYAN
Bears can be intense when it comes to things they love. They’ll travel miles, risk danger, and even chase off rivals to claim what’s theirs, whether it’s a favorite fishing spot, a berry patch, or a honey tree. But sometimes, that passion gets the best of them, and they’ll go further than they should, driven by pure instinct. When a bear loves something, they go all in, even if it means losing a bit of control.
—Bear Facts for Insomniacs, Episode 51
Being around Zane without kissing him had been hard enough, but watching him try to be brave when facing the loss of yet another person he should have been able to count on—someone who was stupid enough to throw away their relationship with the world’s kindest man—was too much.
Zane needed to know he was loved. He needed to know there were people in this world who wanted him.
Desperately.
And if I heard him lie to me and say he was fine one more time…
As soon as my lips touched his, I knew I’d made a terrible mistake. Not only was I putting my job in jeopardy—which I only cared about because I could lose access to Zane—but I’d also opened up a Pandora’s box by learning just how soft and pliable his lips were. Just how incredible he tasted. How sweet the sounds he made were.
How much I needed more.
Instead of pulling away like my brain was begging me to do, I stepped even closer. My hands drifted up to cup his jaw, to hold him in place while I discovered what it was like to worship him with kisses.
Zane’s fingers twisted in my shirtfront and pulled me even closer while he straightened up to kiss me more deeply.
His skin was cold from the nip in the air. The soft prickle of his short whiskers against my palms contrasted with the silky touch of several loose strands of hair caught between my fingers. The hushed sound of the trees around us made me feel like I was in a surreal time-out of time.
A time in which it was possible to kiss this man without dire consequences.
Zane tilted his head and tangled his tongue with mine. He moved a hand up to sneak his fingers into the front of my collar like he was trying to get a tighter grip. The touch of his cold fingertips on my hot skin made me suck in a breath. I moved my arms around him to keep him from pulling away.
The feel of Zane Hendley in my arms was indescribable. My head swam with a heady mixture of disbelief, pleasure, relief… and maybe a little fear. Fear of being fired. Fear of offending him. Fear of being rejected by the one person who had the ability to crush me.
Little details of that moment came back to me later. The short, staccato sound of his shallow breaths. The feel of his tongue twisting around mine. The soft and shy caress of his fingertip in the dip of my throat. The sharp sweetness of Scots pine mingling with Zane’s familiar scent. The fleeting brush of his erection against my thigh.
“Ryan, you need help? You two haven’t moved in a while. Everything okay?”
It took a beat before I processed Lou’s voice in my ear. I jumped back as reality came crashing in, and I scrambled to press the button on my radio’s earpiece. “Uh, yeah. All good.”
Holy fuck. Holy fuck, what had I just done?
I could barely meet Zane’s shocked eyes. “I’m sorry.” It was a lame apology because I didn’t mean a single bit of it. Or maybe I did because I was sorry I’d put pressure on him, that I’d backed him against a tree and basically forced my attentions on him.
When he didn’t respond, I forced myself to meet his eyes. Angry eyes. Eyes filled with an annoyance Zane rarely showed.
“Are you?” he challenged.
I firmed my jaw and decided to do the right thing.
To protect him.
“Yes. I’m very sorry I crossed a line. It won’t happen again.”
Should I have offered him my resignation on the spot? Yes. Absolutely. Was I man enough to do it? Absolutely not.
Zane’s gaze searched mine. Whatever he did or didn’t find there seemed to give him some relief I’d meant what I’d said. He dropped his shoulders and blew out a breath. “I believe you. We should probably head back to the house.”