Free Bared for Her Bear by Jenika Snow Page B

picture of their baby, and his expression couldn’t be
    called anything but awe-filled and expectant. Could it really be so easy for him to accept all of this? “I
    know there are probably doubts in your head on whether the baby is yours, and I’ll understand and
    won’t take offense if you want a test once the baby is born, but—”
    Before she could finish her sentence he had his mouth on hers and was kissing her breath away.
    He broke the kiss far too soon and leaned back. His hand was on her cheek, and she was so stunned by
    the play of events that she was speechless.
    “I thought it would go a lot differently.”
    He shook his head and smiled.
    “So, you’re not upset or think I’m lying?” There were a lot of males out there that would not be
    having this kind of reaction to a bomb like this being dropped.
    “February.” Just hearing him say her full name was an auditory orgasm. She shouldn’t be
    thinking about sex right now, but here she was, inhaling his scent, and being surrounded by all his
    masculinity that it made it impossible not to. “Kitten, I asked you to come out here because I wanted
    to talk to you about starting a relationship. I want you, and the fact you carry my child, only solidifies
    the fact that you are mine .” She curled her toes in at the declaration of his words. The heavy feel of his
    hand on her belly shocked her to the point she had to grip the armrest of her chair to steady herself. He
    moved back to his seat a moment later, and she was left feeling utterly confused, but happy. He
    certainly wasn’t the type of male many talked about. He might have this hard, devil-may-care attitude,
    be overly large and intimidating, and have this aura about him that made everyone move out of his
    way, but she had just seen the soft side of Charlie Wylde.
    “Can I keep this?” He held the picture loosely between his fingers, and her heart palpated at
    that small request. She had another of the same image at home. She nodded. The smile he gave her
    was filled with so much pleasure, so much happiness, that one would think she had just given him the
    world.
    “I’m just…” She looked back at the patrons in the corner. They were an older human couple,
    with graying hair and bright smiles. Could it actually be possible that Charlie wanted a life-long
    commitment with her?
    “Thinking too hard.” Smiling over at him, she nodded. “Listen, nothing in life that is worth
    anything should be wasted on the ‘what-ifs’, and Ary, you are one of those important things in life.
    Hell, I can’t explain why out of every female in the world my bear and my human want you like our
    next breath, but I know it feels damn good and I am not going to let that go.” Could he sense what his
    words were doing to her? “Since the moment we came into each other’s lives it has been a whirlwind
    of emotion and action. I know you feel the same way, felt it when I touched you, saw it when you
    trembled, and smelt it as the delicious aroma of everything that is you.”
    He was going to make her cry with his gently poetic words. Here was this monster of a male,
    able to crush anyone that stood in his path like a toothpick, and yet he spoke to her as if she were a
    delicate flower needing to be watered and placed in the sun. Everything he said was right and had that
    ball of dread in her belly dissipating until there was only pleasurable warmth that filled every empty
    spot in her. It had only taken a few hours under him, a couple of weeks of worry and angst, and now an
    hour spent in his presence and listening to his sweet words for her to want to give every part of herself
    to this shifter.
    “I have no doubts that the child you carry is mine. I can smell my scent permeating from you,
    as if your body knows that it is in the presence of its mate.” He spoke fiercely, like he had known this
    would be the outcome. Male shifters were known to be territorial, possessive, and all around alpha in
    everything