RANCHER BEAR’S BABY(28)

CHAPTER 12: Leila




When I woke up, Matt was knocked out beside me. I grinned up at him and slowly edged my way out from under his grip. I’d barely made it out of the bed when he grabbed my arm and hauled me back into it, on top of him.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

I giggled and tried to stand up again. “Bathroom.”

He kissed me, long and hard, before releasing me. “Hurry back.”

I peed and then brushed my teeth. When I made it back to bed, Matt was sitting with his back against the headboard and the sheets pulled up to his waist. I slid under the covers and cuddled into his side. “It’s freezing in here.”

“Yeah, we might’ve left the front door open in our haste last night. I just shut it.”

I looked over at the closed door and frowned. “So much for privacy.”

“Just be glad it didn’t happen on the side of the road. I barely got us back here.”

I tossed my leg over his and straddled him. Our naked bodies rubbed together as I settled in. “Hi.”

He looked like he wanted to stay stoic but then he laughed. The sound sent a jolt of energy straight to my core and the transformation of his face made him look even sexier. I rested my hands on his shoulders and kissed him.

“I have to tell you something that might piss you off.”

I grimaced. “I guess it’s only fair. I’ve been trying to piss you off for days.”

He ran his fingers down my neck, causing an erotic chill to arch down my body. “I might have claimed you in the moment last night.”

I ran my fingers over the spot he’d been touching and felt the slightly raised mark. It’d already healed and was now just a raised scar-like thing. “Okay.”

“You’re not mad?”

I shook my head. “No way,” I grinned. “This makes me feel safer. Now, you’re stuck with me. Even though we’re mates, I was afraid you’d still try to get rid of me.”

He cupped my ass in his big hands and pulled me farther against him. “I’m still struggling with ‘broken bear’, but I’ll never try to get rid of you. That I can promise.”

I lifted my hips and then reached between us to grip him and line our bodies up. “I don’t think you’re as broken as you say, but I’ve got better things to do right now than argue with you.”

*

After a morning spent rolling in the sheets, I got dressed and went to town to buy more food. Matt stayed in bed. It’d been quite the visual. He was still naked, the state of dress he was most comfortable in, and lounging with the blanket thrown across his middle.

I’d barely been able to resist staying and staring at him. The man was so sexy that I was almost willing to adapt to his reclusive lifestyle. Almost. I’d only recently gotten freedom back and I wasn’t willing to stay in all the time. I’d had plenty of that with Steven.

Matt told me about a larger grocery store in the next town over, so I headed that way. I drove with the windows down and listened to an old country station. It was better than nice to be able to get out and go. Steven had been a controlling asshole and hadn’t let me go anywhere after I knew about their secret. Even before that, though, I’d been regulated to only leaving home when he could come along.

I’d seen the concern flash through Matt’s eyes when he thought about me going by myself, but he hadn’t even vocalized it. He understood what being able to come and go as I pleased meant to me. He just kissed me and told me to hurry back. He seemed to know instinctually that it was exactly what I needed.

I found myself shopping faster than I normally would, in my excitement to get back to Matt. I made my way up and down the aisles, tossing items in my buggy as I thought of things I could make for him to impress him with my ninja cooking skills.

For the first time since I’d run from Steven, I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. Suddenly, my buggy was grabbed and yanked with a force that stopped it in its path. I gasped and looked up, into eyes that were similar to Matt’s, but different.





CHAPTER 13: Leila


.

“Who are you?” a gruff voice asked. The man was almost as big as Matt, and his face bore a confused look.

I stepped away and frowned. I didn’t feel safe. Not at all like I had that first day with Matt. I was trembling, but tried to appear tough. “What does it matter to you?”

Elizabeth, the woman who’d given me a ride the first day, stepped out from behind him with a baby in her arms. “Jesus, Alex. Get out of her face.”

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw her and then damn near cried when I spotted the baby. I loved babies and for a while, it seemed like the dream that I might ever have one of my own was dead. Now, well, I realized that it could be a reality with Matt. I couldn’t help the big smile that accompanied that thought. “Elizabeth, hi! Look at this beautiful baby! Is he yours?”