Boarlander Boss Bear (Boarlander Bears #1)(27)

Audrey made her way to the bed and untied the linens. “Yeah, well, I can see the potential. I feel like I’m coming in right on the cusp of huge changes. It’s exciting that I’ll be here to see what you do with this park. With your people.”

“You feel like my people, too,” Harrison said low, eyes on the sheets as he helped her to cover the mattress.

Dragons flapped around in her belly at his admission, and she had to bite back her grin because he looked so serious and lost in thought right now. She snuck glances at him as they made the bed. His powerful arms flexed against his thin white T-shirt, and she could make out the definition of his muscular chest. His thick neck led up to a two-day sexy scruff on his jaw, and his eyes were that dark evening blue that she’d fallen in love with. There was a cut on his forearm, but it was already healed and the thin line of blood dried, and his hair was all mussed, likely from the hardhat he wore on his shift. Bed made, she jumped up and landed starfish-style on the plush mattress. For an old trailer, the Ashe Crew and Gray Backs hadn’t skimped on furnishings. This bed would be like sleeping on a cloud.

“I make a nest every night,” she admitted.

“Like a bird?” Harrison asked, amusement in his tone as he lay down beside her.

“No, like a badass tiger. I pile pillows all around me. That’s what makes me feel safe enough to sleep. I’m a light sleeper because I hear everything. Did you know my hearing is even better than yours? I researched it.”

Harrison chuckled and pulled her in close. “That sucks.”

“What I’m saying is, maybe you don’t have to bear all the burden of making sure this place is safe at night.”

Harrison frowned at her and plucked absently at a wayward strand of hair that had fallen against her cheek. “What do you mean?”

Audrey rested her chin against his chest so she could see his face better. “I mean, I can help you patrol the territory if you want. Then you can sleep more.”

He smiled sadly down at her, stroking her hair. “I don’t think it works like that.”

“Harrison, I won’t let anyone hurt you,” she whispered. “You’re mine to protect, too.”

His heart thumped faster against her chin as he searched her eyes. Then slowly, he pulled her hand under the hem of his T-shirt and up, up until her fingertips brushed four raised claw-mark scars. “I was ten when I got this.”

“Oh, Harrison,” she murmured, heart aching. “Why did he do it?”

“Because he drank, and booze made him angry and bitter. It made him blame his problems on anything but himself, and I was an easy mark. I was asleep…f*ck.” Harrison jerked his gaze to the window and shook his head over and over again. “I’ve never talked about this stuff.”

She would not cry. She wouldn’t. He was being strong, and so would she. Audrey pushed his shirt up and over his head, then kissed the long scars one by one.

Harrison swallowed hard and murmured, “I was asleep, and I woke up with my dad’s raging grizzly over me. I couldn’t Change fast enough, and even when I did, I was half his size. I fought, but I was hurt and scared, trying to just get out of the house. I wanted to get out into the woods where I had a chance at getting away.”

“And did you?”

“Yeah, but I was injured, and it was winter. I was so cold. I spent the night out there thinking I wouldn’t heal fast enough. That I was going to bleed out alone, and I remember staring at the sky and cursing my mom for leaving. For dying. I was so angry at everything. I made a rule that night to protect myself. If I lived, I would never let my dad in again. I would tolerate him, but harden myself until I was old enough to leave and find a crew. I would fight back. That night was the first time I’d ever defended myself, and in order to save my bear from being broken, I had to let him fight instead of just lying there, waiting for my dad to get tired of hurting me. And I did. Those were the last permanent scars he ever left on me.”

But Harrison was wrong. His dad had done something worse than scar his skin. He’d scarred his insides so that Harrison couldn’t sleep like he should. So that Harrison couldn’t feel safe. He’d battered his naturally protective instincts until they were barely manageable. His dad had made it to where even after all these years, he was still a hindrance in Harrison’s ability to function normally.

A low growl reverberated through her as she rested her cheek against the claw mark. She hated his father for what he’d done. She ran the flat of her tongue down the length of the mark, then froze as her gaze locked onto his. “I’m sorry,” she rushed out, lurching away from him. “I don’t know why I did that.”

His face cracked into a slow grin. “You smell like fur.”

Mortified, she sat up and clamped her arms around her stomach. “My animal thinks if she licks stuff, it fixes the problem, but my human side knows that’s stupid because your scar is already healed,” she rambled. “You taste good. I’m sorry for doing that. I should go.”

“Stop, stop, stop,” he murmured, his eyes glinting with a sexy wickedness. He pulled her head gently toward his chest. “Do it again. I like feeling your tongue on me.”

She hesitated an instant, then stuck out the tip of her tongue and licked his scar again.

“Like you mean it, kitty.”