Mate Fur Hire (Bears Fur Hire #3)(17)

“Not you. Your bear did, and you said it yourself—it was confusing, and you had no guidance.”

“I wanted to blame my dad, so I called him when I woke up that next spring and lit into him. Yelling, cussing, telling him I hated him, and I did. I think I still do. He didn’t even defend himself. He was just like, ‘Lesson learned, boy. Grizzlies don’t get along. Do your brothers a favor and move on from them.’ And I did because I thought he must be right. This was the way it was supposed to be for grizzly shifters. No relationships, no mates, just a solitary existence so we don’t hurt other people.”

“Do you still feel like that?”

“I don’t know,” he said on a sigh. “Ian got married to Elyse, and I thought he was so stupid. I went to that wedding because Elyse begged me, but then I saw it. They really love each other, and they’re making it work. And then a couple days ago, I dropped off a woman from Silver Summit Outfitters—a photographer. Dalton Dawson left me a message saying Jenner’s after her as a mate and that I need to intervene. I won’t, though, because I get it. If Jenner wants the woman and he’s ready to claim someone, it’s his choice. Being with a mate wasn’t like I thought. It wasn’t like how dad said. And now tonight…Vera, he’s just as cold and remorseless as he was when I was a kid, and I don’t think I can live my life thinking I have to be empty like him. He's been manipulating me and my brothers this whole time.” Tobias pulled her down onto his chest and brushed her hair away from her face. “I don’t want to be like him.”

“Then don’t. You don’t have to live alone, Tobias. You have me now, and you have your brothers, and Elyse, and the photographer—”

“Lena.”

“Right. Lena,” she said through an accidental smile.

Tobias looked down at her in the dark with a slight frown. “Why does your voice sound like that—all hopeful?”

“Don’t laugh, but now I have a chance at making friends with Elyse and Lena. Your family is growing. I mean, our family, kind of. I can’t be around my parents or brother until I get my animal under control, but if Lena and Elyse are tough enough to manage grizzly shifters, maybe they’ll be able to handle me, too.”

“It was really lonely out on Perl, wasn’t it?”

Vera rested her hand on his stomach just to feel it flex with each breath he took. “After Eustice died, it was the loneliest place in the world. Tobias, I’m really sorry about your dad and that you had to find out that bad stuff from me. I didn’t know.”

“He won’t hurt you ever again.” Tobias’s voice was filled with promise. “Vera, you don’t have to worry anymore. I won’t let anything happen to you.” He hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her gaze to his. “Okay?”

She offered him an emotional smile and whispered, “Okay.”

His eyes dipped to her lips, and her breath caught as he leaned in. Her hand was on his chest, right over his heart, and the second his lips touched hers, his heart began pounding hard. Likely, it matched hers, because as his lips moved with hers, her heart raced, too. Closing her eyes, she gave into the moment. Sure, she’d imagined what it would be like to be with Tobias, but that was before she’d met him. She’d been in heat for a few days already and was hungry to be with a man, but this wasn’t about her needs. Here in the dark, with his admissions warm on his lips, being with Tobias was about her wants. He soothed something in her, and with every soft kiss, she melted more completely against him. Men weren’t to be trusted. Jonathan and then Clayton, all of the misfits…men were brutal, stepping on softer beings to get where they wanted—but not Tobias. She didn’t know how she knew, but Tobias was one of the good ones. He was trustworthy.

Gently, he cupped her neck, rubbing the pad of his thumb across her cheek as he pulled her more tightly to him with his other arm. And then she felt it. Just the brush of his tongue on the closed seam of her lips, and she was his. Vera parted for him and let off a satisfied sound as he dipped his tongue against hers.

He eased back with a sexy smack and grinned. “Did you just growl at me?”

“No,” she rushed out, the tips of her ears flushing with heat.

“Yeah, you did, and now I know what you are.”

“Are you disappointed?”

Tobias massaged the back of her neck and chuckled. “Of course not. I can’t wait to see her.”

“Yeah well, that feeling is not mutual. She’s a little beast. I dread her.”

Tobias rolled Vera on top of him and gripped the tops of her thighs as she straddled him. “You shouldn’t.”

“Tobias, Clayton put me on that island for a reason.”

“Are you wearing a muumuu?”

“No! It’s a nightgown and the sexiest one I own. I wore it just for you.”

He pulled the billowing fabric in for closer inspection. “Are those cartoon llamas?”

She swatted his hand. “I’m sexy. Don’t judge my nightwear.”

“Mmm,” he rumbled. “Take it off.”

Vera lifted her chin and gave him a challenging look. “You take it off.”

In the dim lighting that filtered through the blinds, Tobias’s pupils contracted to pinpoints in the moment before he leaned up in one smooth motion, pushing the hem of her nightgown upward and over her head. His lips were on hers the instant she was free of the fabric, more urgent than his first kiss.