Free Tamed by the Bear (Bear Creek Clan 3) by Harmony Raines

lighter.
    He was feeling like his old self until he opened the door and saw her standing there. She hadn’t dressed in a provocative manner, which relieved him, but he found her incredibly sexy all the same. She wore a loose summer dress with a wrap, which he was sure he had seen Kayleigh wearing before, around her shoulders. The evening carried a slight chill in the air and she would need the wrap when she went home later. If she went home later.
    “Come in.” He stepped back so she could walk past him, and he couldn’t resist breathing in her scent as she passed by.
    “Something smells good,” she said.
    It most definitely does, he thought. Closing the door, he followed her into the kitchen, noting the way she kept fiddling with her purse and then her hair. She was nervous. Possibly more nervous than him, but he doubted it. So much hung in the balance. This was more than a first date; this was possibly the first night of the rest of his life with his mate.
    “I hope you like chicken. It seemed the safest thing to cook. Do you want me to take your wrap?”
    “Chicken is good.” She removed the wrap and handed it to him. He couldn’t resist letting their fingers touch. He craved to feel her skin against his, the more the better as far as he was concerned. As they touched, her eyes flew up to his and he knew she felt the same way. It was like pins and needles. Starting at the point where their fingers touched, it built into a buzz that spread throughout his entire body.
    He should have simply taken the wrap and let her go, but he didn’t—he maintained the contact between them. Stroking her hand with his index finger, he waited for her to pull away, but she didn’t. Instead, she seemed to be as curious as he was. Her hand turned over, so that he could circle his fingertip around the inside of her palm. She swayed slightly, her body leaning into his. He slipped his big hand around hers, swamping it. Then he lifted it to his mouth and kissed the place where his fingers had ignited her desire.
    Dinner was all but forgotten. He was glad he had removed it from the oven and set it to cool, or else it would have spoiled. Now they fed a different hunger that was desperate to be sated.
     

Chapter Eighteen – Antonia
    From the moment he opened the door, she had been consumed by a need she couldn’t fathom.
    “Do you want to skip dinner?” His words were blunt and cut straight to the point.
    Did she want to sit with him, talk to him and get to know him? Or go straight upstairs? Maybe he was thinking of taking her here, in the kitchen. Perhaps over the kitchen table.
    Her stomach lurched, her nerves getting the better of her. She didn’t want to appear too easy. Was she being too easy? After waiting all her life to have an intimate relationship with any man, she was simply going to give herself to him. A man she had just met.
    They hadn’t even been on a date. She was making herself look like a cheap slut.
    “I’m not sure,” she answered.
    “If you're not sure, then perhaps we should slow down and eat first.” He kissed her cheek; his fingers entwined with hers as he led her to the table and pulled out a chair for her. She placed her purse on the table and sat down. He fetched a bottle of wine and opened it. Then he poured her a glass and passed it to her.
    It was cold, waking her up from the daze she had been in since she had left Kayleigh’s house. She had known as she had dressed how the evening was going to end, if she let it. So she had taken ages deciding what to wear. Then her sister had come in and checked that she was alright.
    It was such an awkward moment because Kayleigh was quite aware of the outcome, too. She had been supportive and even fetched a wrap that set her outfit off.
    “There, that looks lovely, Antonia,” she had said, and then hugged her. “I hope it all goes well for you. Just give him a chance; he might mess up because this means so much to him, but he has a big heart that wants to