Free His to Protect by Elena Aitken

definitely the oddest. Her confusion must have shown on her face because Axel quickly modified, “I meant, your voice. You’re very loud, you know. Easy to find in the woods.”
    “Well, that’s a good thing, right?” She crossed her arms over her chest. Mostly to keep them from shaking at his closeness, but if it made her look tough, that was an added bonus. “Being loud, I mean,” she continued. “You know, to keep the animals away. It obviously worked.”
    He grinned again, and Harper could see the flash of desire in his eyes. “Almost,” he said.
    “Almost?”
    “You kept them all away but one.”
    Heat rushed through her and settled in a pool of moisture between her legs. Her body screamed at her to forget all the confusion from earlier and just go with her original plan of having fun with him. But she couldn’t. “Why did you take off like that?”
    Axel recoiled as if she’d slapped him. He didn’t even pretend not to know what she was talking about. “I needed some space.”
    “From me?”
    “From everything.”
    “You were mad at me,” she said. “At what I said to your brothers.”
    He nodded.
    “That’s not fair. I didn’t say anything wrong.”
    “Yes, you did.” His voice was deep, each word almost a growl. “You made light of what happened between us.” His brown eyes darkened with intensity. “And there was nothing light about what happened.”
    Harper didn’t know whether it was his choice of words or the way he looked at her with so much want and…possessiveness…but her body came alive under his scrutiny. He was absolutely right; there was nothing light about what went down between them. She’d been trying to ignore it, but with him right there, the way he stared at her…she couldn’t.
    And when he got up, crossed the distance between them and lifted her from her seat, being careful to hold her so she wouldn’t put weight on her foot, she was instantly lost in him.
    With one arm wrapped around her, supporting her body against his, Axel’s other hand cradled her face. “I know you feel it, too,” he said, his voice a rough whisper.
    All she could do was nod in response. She didn’t know what she was feeling, but it was definitely something.
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    “ S ay it .”
    “Say what?”
    In answer, his mouth covered hers; his tongue plunged into her mouth, tasting the sweetness he’d craved since letting her out of his bed that morning. He never should have let her leave. Never should have let her go into the Den and make out like what they’d shared had been anything less than a perfect union of mates. She didn’t know it yet, but she was his. Utterly, undeniably his. Every nerve in his body felt it.
    He pulled away from her, sucking on her lower lip and leaving it swollen and sexy as hell when she looked up at him with shuttered eyes so heavy with passion she could barely think straight. “Say what you’re feeling,” he commanded.
    Harper shook her head from side to side. “But I don’t…I can’t…”
    “You can.” He held her chin in one hand, holding her still, forcing her to look at him. “I know you feel it. I can sense it with my body.” Her eyes flashed with something. A spark of acknowledgment, maybe. But still, Harper was confused. Of course she was. Hell, he was, too. But the more he thought of it, the more he knew it was true. But Harper had no idea what was happening to her, what Axel suspected she was. If she was his mate, the way he knew she was, then Harper had to have some bear in her bloodline. It was probably such a small part of who she was that she likely had no idea. Which was why she couldn’t explain or understand the feelings she had toward him. The undeniable pull toward him.
    “Axel. I don’t know what you want me to say. I…being with you…” Her voice was small, confused, almost scared. He couldn’t stand seeing his strong mate so conflicted. “Well, it’s been fun being with you. But that’s all it is.” Her words hit him