Free Bear Essentials by Mary Wine

up to over ninety.
    She wandered down the hallway, raising her eyebrows at the
light tone of the carpet. Impractical. It would show dirt far too easily. But
there wasn’t a single sign of wear anyplace. That made her frown. Sure, a home
should be well kept, but it should also look as if it was lived in. Granger’s
place was almost sterile, like a museum where you needed to be under control,
avoiding too many emotions. It didn’t fit with her memory of last night.
    Tease…
    A smile brightened her face as she realized what she had
that he didn’t—a playful spirit. She was like a pixie that he’d never believed
in before. The idea made her hum as she found the kitchen and began rummaging
about. The sparkling shelves inside the refrigerator only made her shake her
head. A half-gallon of milk, eggs and one pound of butter were the only things
in the large unit. It was far worse than a bachelor apartment. It was a place
where a man laid his head, but didn’t really live. Life was full of the
unexpected. There was frustration along with the jumble of variety, but that
was what made the heart sing. Granger just needed someone to start the band
playing.
    Now there was an idea worth considering.
     
    Coffee.
    Granger opened his eyes the second that rich aroma touched
his nose. Hot java was the way to start his morning. But there were more smells
floating around his bed, making him blink his eyes to clear sleep away. Simple
smells of breakfast made his stomach rumble as he discovered Roslyn balancing a
serving platter of some kind that she’d decided to use as a serving tray.
    No girlfriend had ever cooked for him. Granger felt a silly
grin covering his lips as she smiled and climbed back onto the bed with him.
She set the tray between them as he pushed a few pillows against the headboard
and leaned against them.
    “I would have ordered us something.”
     
    “Why?” Roslyn wrapped her fingers around a hot mug and
selected a toasted English muffin from her tray. Granger was already digging
into the breakfast fare like a starving man. “But you need to go grocery
shopping. Your refrigerator is bare.”
    “My housekeeper insists on putting stuff in there. She must
have bought this, because I never eat here.”
    “Never?” Her suspicions were confirmed as she watched him
look at her sad little plate of toast and eggs as if it were a feast.
    “Don’t cook,” he announced with a shrug.
    “This house is really nice, but you have to use it in order
for it to become a home.” She smiled over the rim of her coffee mug. “My mom
used to say that.”
    A phone began ringing for attention. Roslyn looked at the
modern office sitting right next to the master bed. There was another room that
had a double-wide entrance open between the bedroom and an office. It should
have been a master-bedroom retreat, instead it was a business tycoon’s lair.
Granger groaned.
    “Damn phone has no sense of timing.” He frowned, but
remained in place as he sipped the coffee again. “I’ve spoiled my clients. They
are used to getting me anytime they call.”
    The phone stopped ringing as his voice mail system picked
up.
    “Have dinner with me tonight.”
    His face was etched with determination as he set his coffee aside.
The bed rocked as he plucked the plate of food off the rumpled blanket and set
it next to his mug on the bedside table. A little shriek rose from her lips as
he grabbed her coffee too. When he turned back to face her after setting it on
the bedside table, his face was full of boyish mischief. He wiggled his fingers
as he flopped onto his belly to capture her.
    The bed rocked as they tussled, rolling across the tangled
sheets in a laughing jumble of limbs. Granger rolled her beneath his large
frame, pinning her on her back. His legs pressed her thighs apart as he leaned
down so that his breath brushed her lips.
    “Tell me you’ll have dinner with me tonight.”
    The head of his cock slipped between the folds of her slit.
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