Betray the Bear (Bear Valley Shifters #4)(23)

“Yes.” For now. She’d probably have a full blown addiction to hooha kisses by morning.

“Good, then come take a shower with me.”

Teasing, she said, “Oh, I see what you did there.”

Clamping his hands on her backside, he slid her down the bed and stood her up. Geez, she felt like the wet noodle he had talked about earlier.

“I like to get what I want, but I’m not above compromising,” he murmured.

Compromise. She’d never known the concept before now. Taking a shower with a man? Another first and she smiled at his strong back as he led her to the bathroom.

He hit the hot tap and pulled her shirt over her head. His fingers trailed down her cheek and traced her collar bone. Wonderment swam in his eyes and made fluttering tendrils expand in her belly. Just the way he touched her, so reverent, so caring, it made her want to kiss him. And not just a kiss that would lead to love making, but the kind they had shared earlier. The ones that were unrushed and didn’t have to lead anywhere.

Seeming to read her thoughts, he lifted her chin with his finger and tasted her lips with slow sips. A rich, heady, salty taste clung to his mouth. Her. She was tasting herself on his lips and the thought sent a trill of satisfaction through her. She’d never felt more comfortable with a man.

“Tomorrow, I’m going to take you on a date,” he whispered against her mouth.

Another first. “What kind of date?”

“I’m going to take you to lunch at a diner in town.”

“With the humans?”

He kissed her forehead and rested his chin on the top of her head. “Yes, with the humans. They aren’t scary. You like Hannah, don’t you?”

“Oh, yes. Hannah is amazing, and Blaine was really nice for giving me a ride.”

“And if it gets overwhelming, I’ll be there.”

Well, why didn’t he just offer that little gem in the first place? She had never felt safer than she did with him. And going out for a meal in town would be fun—a little adventure away from everyone.

“Say yes. Go on a date with me.”

She reached up and stroked the short scruff on his face and searched his questioning eyes. “Okay. Yes.”

****

Anya had nothing to compare it to, but as far as dates went, this one had to rank near the top somewhere. She’d fretted over what to wear, but Chase had knitted his brows and told her to dress comfortably. He said he liked her in a T-shirt and jeans, and if he wasn’t complaining, what was the point of worrying over her desperately simple wardrobe? He had led her up a trail she hadn’t travelled before and strapped her into a black jeep with fat tires. It was one of those off-road vehicles with a soft top, no doors and big ol’ mud flaps covered in layers of grit. It looked terrifying and thrilling all at once.

Chase had strapped her in, promised as long as she was buckled she would not get sucked out the open door, advised her to hold onto the grab bar and hopped behind the wheel. A big grin took his face as he turned the radio dial and Eye of the Tiger blared through the speakers.

Anya was so excited, it was hard to speak or even swallow for fear of some high-pitched sound wrenching from her throat.

Chase was a car singer. She’d always been embarrassed by her voice, or shy with it was maybe a more appropriate word. But watching him belt out the lyrics while he waved to passersby on the dirt road out of Bear Valley, well, her reserve fell right away.

They were both off—key and sometimes she made up the words she didn’t remember, but by the time the song ended, she was laughing so hard, tears streamed the outer corners of her eyes.

And damn, it felt good to laugh like this again.

For a dominant, and frankly intimidating, bear shifter, Chase had several more sides to him that had her enraptured.

A long fence with dozens of no trespassing signs whizzed by, and she waved to a couple of guards who smiled at them as they passed. A few days ago, she wouldn’t dare a direct look at anyone here, much less a wave.

Chase beamed at her, his light brown eyes slanting with the grin. He looked so proud that his gaze caused a burning blush to heat her cheeks. There were a lot of things she’d do to earn smiles like that.

At the intersection to the main road where gravel met smooth pavement, he slid his hand over her thigh and she marveled at how big it was. It covered the entire top of it, and warmth pooled low in her belly as his thumb stroked lazy circles against her skin.

“You ready to face the scary humans?” he teased.

“With you, I am.” It wasn’t flattery. She trusted him.

Entwining his fingers with hers, he brought her knuckles to his mouth and kissed them gently, then pressed the blinker and pulled onto the highway.

As soon as they found speed, her hair flew this way and that, whipping her face and she laughed at how obtuse she had been to leave the house without a hair band. Chase’s booming laugh filled the jeep as she tried to wrangle her tresses to the base of her neck to hold them. He slipped off his baseball cap and put it on her, backwards so the wind didn’t catch it.

It was a little loose but seemed to do the trick. “How do I look?” she asked, feeling silly.

His eyes twinkled but his voice rang with such a serious, honest note. “You look sexy as hell, woman.”

Oh, what that man did to her insides.

Kissing her hand once more, he pulled away from her and hooked his arm over the steering wheel and let the other catch the breeze by the driver’s side mirror. It didn’t feel like a slight, but him growing comfortable enough to slip into his favorite driving position. Relaxing, she leaned into the seat cushion and rested her sneakers on the dash.