Free Bear The Fire (Firebear Brides 4) by Anya Nowlan

couldn’t even wrap his head around it. He must have been squeezing Kali really hard because she gasped as his fingers dug into her side, making him relax his grip immediately.
    “Sorry,” he said, kissing her on the forehead. “The thought of a loss like that… fuck. Kali, I can’t promise a lot of things, but I’ll promise you this: I’ll never run again. I’ll be by your side, no matter what the hell we manage to get ourselves into. I… I love you.”
    The words came out almost as a whisper. They were so alien to him that his tongue barely twisted to say them, but when they were out, it was the best thing in the world. He loved her. He fucking loved her.
    “I love you too,” she said, smiling a private smile like she’d been expecting to say this for one too many years.
    “That settles that, then,” Rhodes said with a grin, his hand moving down to her ass and pressing her harder against him.
    “We shouldn’t,” Kali said, biting her lip again in that absolutely sanity-destroying way of hers.
    “We really shouldn’t,” he agreed, crushing his lips against her and stealing the breath from her lungs.
    He was done playing it safe. His heart was on his sleeve all the way from now on. It was either that or burning up in his private form of hellfire and he’d seen that too many times. Fuck that. This was his happiness and he was going to go for it, full speed ahead.
 

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    Kali
     
    To say that she was nervous was an understatement.
    Austin’s Texas was buzzing with excitement as she fussed around on the small stage, getting herself settled in. It was silly, really. She’d done this a million times. Set up for a show, sat down or stood up, sung her little heart out, and then disappeared to be swiftly forgotten despite her lovely voice and the soul she put into it.
    But today felt different
    She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but something was in the air. Her fingers strummed her acoustic guitar a few times, silencing the crowd though she was only making sure it was tuned correctly. As if she hadn’t checked it a million times before. She smiled apologetically at the gathered Shifter Grove locals, beers in hand and waiting for the first real live show in Shifter Grove.
    Her heart was beating out of her chest and her ears were ringing.
    How the hell am I supposed to be able to go through with this if I can’t even hear my own voice? she wondered feverishly, glancing around as if some exit would suddenly reveal itself to her.
    There was shuffling in the front row as Rhodes fought his way through to her. He gave her a questioning look and Kali stood up, walking over to him at the edge of the stage.
    “What’s wrong, baby? Nerves getting to you?” he asked, taking a sip from his beer.
    “Give me that,” she snorted, snatching the glass from his hands and taking a deep gulp.
    The humming in her ears lessened a little. Good.
    “Take a breath, Kali. You can do this. I know you haven’t sung your own material in forever, but you’ve got this. You dragged me out of fire, I’m pretty damn sure you can sing a song,” Rhodes said, grinning widely.
    She smiled, letting her shoulders relax. Rhodes was right. In his infuriating way, he always tended to be right, and she loved and hated it in equal measure. Well, currently she definitely loved it more. She stepped back and took her seat again, correcting the microphone for the right level. Clearing her throat, she took another breath and went for it. There was no other choice than to jump right in. If being with Rhodes had taught her anything, then it was that victory was meant for the brave.
    “Good evening, everybody,” she spoke, liking the way her voice sounded. “My name is Kali Jameson and I’ll be singing a few songs for you tonight.”
    She got a round of applause and not a single face in the crowd looked anything other than happy to be there. Despite her nerves, she grinned. Austin dimmed the lights so only a small spotlight