Free Gray Back Bad Bear (Gray Back Bears Book 1) by T. S. Joyce

pane illuminated him on one side.
    “What are you doing?” she asked.
    “I always turn the lights off. It’s more…comfortable.”
    “Because of your scars?”
    “I guess.”
    “Turn them back on.”
    The click of the light was loud in the silence of his small room.
    “I’ve seen your scars, and they only make me care about you more. You’re more beautiful because of them.”
    A soft smile flickered across his face and disappeared again. “No one’s ever called me beautiful before.”
    “No one knows you like me.” Her heart sang that it was true. He’d grown too good at hiding, but now he was exposing his soft side for her alone. “I want to see you when you make love to me.”
    “Make love…” He blinked slowly as he approached. Kneeling in front of her again, he kissed her hand, then pulled her palm to a scar over his chest.
    In this moment, Matt was easy to read. He had needs that ran as deep as canyons, but he hadn’t dared to ask anyone before. And right now, he needed her touch to heal him, to show him he was accepted completely by her. Sniffling, she brushed her hand across the length of the slightly raised pink mark, then moved to the one below it. “Someday, you’ll tell me what happened,” she whispered as soft as a breath. “And I won’t run. I’ll care for you more because you let me in. Because I’ll know you better.”
    His eyes didn’t leave hers as she traced the map of his body. By the time she’d made her way to his abs, her breath trembled. She could almost feel the pain of his damaged nerve endings seeping through her touch. A tear fell down her cheek. She wished she could’ve shared this pain so it wouldn’t have been so much on him.
    “Shh.” He wiped her damp cheek. “I’m okay now.”
    Her fingers tingled with every scar she traced, as if she was drawing the heat into her, but she didn’t want to stop. Brushing her lips against a mark that encircled the base of his neck, she pulled at the waist of his swim trunks until they slid down to his knees, then his ankles. Matt stepped out of them, and then pulled her cover-up over her head.
    Now the nerves crept in. She was going to be bare before a man who had seen some of the most beautiful women on earth. What if she didn’t measure up? She hesitated, her hands on the bottom of her tankini top.
    “Come here,” he said in a gentle tone. “I want to do that.”
    “Okay.” She stood, unsteady on wobbly legs that didn’t want to hold her anymore.
    Matt pulled her tight against him, allowing his warmth to seep into her. And suddenly, she wanted to feel his skin against hers more than she’d ever wanted anything. Desire unfurled inside of her, spreading tendrils of aching want.
    She closed her eyes as he pulled her swimsuit top over her head, unsure if she wanted to see his reaction. What if he was disappointed?
    As if he could sense her reservation, he pulled her close again until their skin met. Her breasts pressed against the taut planes of his torso as he rubbed her back in gentle, rhythmic strokes.
    “Your skin is so soft,” he murmured in an awed voice.
    Hugging his waist, she reveled in the feel of his chest against hers. She rubbed the uneven scars on his back, her fingers moving over them like waves. It was in this moment she realized something life altering. She’d never given much thought to love before, because she’d never felt anything so strongly in all her life, but Matt had pulled something from her she hadn’t known she’d been harboring. She loved him. Loved how gentle he was with her. Loved how he let his guard down. Loved that he was sharing his skin—his secret self—with her.
    Her heart pounded with the realization and, feeling brave, she eased back and pulled his hand to her chest. She wanted him to feel how much he affected her.
    There was no hint of disappointment in his eyes as he raked his gaze down her body. With a steadying breath, she pushed down her shorts and swimsuit bottoms.