Free Guardian Bears: Karl by Leslie Chase Page A

back his hand. No sense pushing her, he told himself, though his bear wanted to tear the sheets out of her hands and hold her to him. But that would be too much, too fast.
    She stared at the floor, focusing on the pattern of the cheap carpet rather than him and chewing on her lower lip. “Karl I, I didn’t mean to come here,” she told him, and he nodded, encouraging her. That seemed to frustrate her, though.
    “I don’t do this kind of thing!” her voice was still quiet, nearly a whisper, but the intensity of her words was palpable.
    “I’ll admit I was surprised,” he said. “But there’s something between us, you know it and I know it. There’s no point in denying it, Allison. You feel it whenever we touch, don’t you? Just like I do.”
    She nodded, firmer this time, and he gently took her by the chin, raising her face up to look at him. “Then trust yourself, trust the fate that brought us together, and enjoy it.”
    Her eyes, so intense, looked into his, and he could see the conflict in her. The drive to be good in the way society expected pitted against the desire she felt and the pull of fate. The pull that he felt too, drawing the two of them together.

10
    A llison gasped at his touch , looking up into his steely gray eyes. There was something about them that tugged at her memory, something she couldn’t quite name. As though she’d seen those eyes in a dream.
    What am I doing? She couldn’t bring herself to pull away, to break the connection. Her body felt weak in his presence, and his touch sent a shiver through her, a spark of lightning up her spine.
    She lifted a hand to his chest, intending to push him away. But feeling the warm, firm muscles under her palm, she couldn’t bring herself to. The trouble was that she did want this. It might have started as a misunderstanding, but it felt as right as everything else about her day had felt wrong.
    Every part of her felt pulled towards him. And looking up at him, she could see he wanted her just as badly. Maybe he was right, maybe it was fate that had brought them together like this. Biting her lip, feeling her heart race, she relaxed her arm and trailed her hand downward. She could feel his heart beating as her fingers traced across his ribs, a strong and steady rhythm that was almost hypnotic.
    Karl smiled down at her, lifting his hand to hers and holding it against him. The water dripping from him was ice-cold, she realized, a welcome and refreshing feeling in the heat of the night. His hand, though, was warm and his touch made her squirm as she leaned in towards him, her lips parting. He bent to meet her.
    His lips met hers in a kiss that drove all rational thought from her mind. It was overpowering, sending sparks flying through her and kindling feelings she couldn’t name. His touch was firm, his tongue pressing against hers eagerly, and he slid a hand behind her head, holding her to him. She never wanted him to let go, never wanted that moment to end.
    Eventually he pulled back. Allison didn’t know how long the kiss had lasted, time seemed to stop once their lips met. All she knew was that it hadn’t been long enough, and she let out a moan of disappointment at its end. Karl chuckled.
    “Don’t worry. There will be plenty of time for more kisses,” he said, stroking a strong hand through her hair. His free hand took hold of the sheet she still held up between them.
    His eyes locked with hers, and she gave the tiniest nod. Karl’s grin widened, and he pulled the sheet from her grip, throwing it aside. Allison had to fight the urge to cover herself, to hide her body. But she didn’t want to hide, not from this man.
    Still, she was afraid of his judgment as he looked her over. Stepping back, he made no effort to hide the thoroughness of his examination, his eyes tracing down across her body and back up again. Allison couldn’t help worrying. He didn’t see me properly before, what if he doesn’t like me now?
    She knew that she