room.
Karen, dressed in a form-fitting red silk dress with a long row of knot buttons fitted into loops, marking little crosses along her body. Karen, looking at him with wide, dancing eyes that might have been as big as his felt just then. Her hair was done up in a bun, and her arms were crossed, as if she was as unsure where to begin as he was.
“Karen,” he murmured.
“Tanner,” she whispered back.
Just hearing his voice on her tongue made the best kind of shiver run down his back. He stepped forward, brushing a lantern with his head.
Karen,
he almost said again because suddenly, his mind was blank. Blissfully, innocently blank, like it had been the first time he’d ever laid eyes on her.
Mate,
his bear breathed.
Mate.
Her lips moved, but no sound came out, and all he could think of was her kiss. The testing little kiss she’d given him the first time they’d met and the heated ones that grew out of that in the blink of an eye. He thought of the hungry kisses of their first night and the desperately confused kiss from a few hours ago. All of them blended together and came roaring at him like a blaze, and just like that, his body was on fire again.
Without realizing it, he erased the distance between them and reached for her, and the look on her face said she would respond with a kiss and not the slap he’d originally feared. But just as his lips brushed over hers — just as their bodies started to mesh — a bang sounded behind him. He whirled, protecting Karen with his body.
A toothless old lady cackled and started lighting the candles set around the room. Candles, like the room needed any more atmosphere or any more heat.
“Eat, eat,” the old lady croaked, beckoning them toward the table.
Oh, he’d like to eat, all right. But dumplings and chow mein were not exactly what he had in mind.
“You must be starving,” Karen murmured, and his head whipped around. Was she serious or teasing? With her, he never could tell.
Her eyes sparkled and danced, but her body was stiff and erect. About as erect as part of him was just from coming so close to her seconds ago.
God, maybe she was a witch. Maybe she was hexing him.
And then it hit him.
Grandma Mae said love is magic, didn’t she?
There was good magic and bad magic in the world, just like there were good bears and bad. Maybe he ought to give her a chance.
You definitely need to give her a chance,
his bear said.
Give us a chance.
He took a deep breath, pulled out a chair for Karen, and hid as much of his faded jeans behind it as he could. There she was, done up like a million bucks, while he looked like some guy off the street.
Her eyes roved over him briefly, and the funny thing was, he could have sworn she didn’t mind one bit.
When she stepped past him to take her seat, her scent brushed his body like a blanket begging him to huddle closer and warm up. It took everything he had to push her chair in instead of tilting it backward and kissing her skin. He circled to the chair across from hers at the tiny table, parking a thousand fantasies in the back of his mind for later — vehemently hoping there would be a later. Fantasies of kissing, sucking, licking the creamy skin just under her ear. Of undoing the bun, threading his fingers through her hair, and pulling her closer. Of touching, sniffing…
He clenched his hands into fists as the old woman banged a tray on the table and poured him a cup of green tea.
“So what will it be?” Karen asked him.
Her nostrils flared, and he wondered if she meant food or something else. And damn did his bear vote for the latter. But he hadn’t come to get carried away all over again. He’d come to…to…um…
“You choose,” he managed, and his voice was husky.
When she licked her lips and looked at him, he almost lost control. One little swipe of the hand and he could knock the table out of the way and pull Karen into his lap, ready to consume.
She caught her lower lip with her teeth and took a
Karen, dressed in a form-fitting red silk dress with a long row of knot buttons fitted into loops, marking little crosses along her body. Karen, looking at him with wide, dancing eyes that might have been as big as his felt just then. Her hair was done up in a bun, and her arms were crossed, as if she was as unsure where to begin as he was.
“Karen,” he murmured.
“Tanner,” she whispered back.
Just hearing his voice on her tongue made the best kind of shiver run down his back. He stepped forward, brushing a lantern with his head.
Karen,
he almost said again because suddenly, his mind was blank. Blissfully, innocently blank, like it had been the first time he’d ever laid eyes on her.
Mate,
his bear breathed.
Mate.
Her lips moved, but no sound came out, and all he could think of was her kiss. The testing little kiss she’d given him the first time they’d met and the heated ones that grew out of that in the blink of an eye. He thought of the hungry kisses of their first night and the desperately confused kiss from a few hours ago. All of them blended together and came roaring at him like a blaze, and just like that, his body was on fire again.
Without realizing it, he erased the distance between them and reached for her, and the look on her face said she would respond with a kiss and not the slap he’d originally feared. But just as his lips brushed over hers — just as their bodies started to mesh — a bang sounded behind him. He whirled, protecting Karen with his body.
A toothless old lady cackled and started lighting the candles set around the room. Candles, like the room needed any more atmosphere or any more heat.
“Eat, eat,” the old lady croaked, beckoning them toward the table.
Oh, he’d like to eat, all right. But dumplings and chow mein were not exactly what he had in mind.
“You must be starving,” Karen murmured, and his head whipped around. Was she serious or teasing? With her, he never could tell.
Her eyes sparkled and danced, but her body was stiff and erect. About as erect as part of him was just from coming so close to her seconds ago.
God, maybe she was a witch. Maybe she was hexing him.
And then it hit him.
Grandma Mae said love is magic, didn’t she?
There was good magic and bad magic in the world, just like there were good bears and bad. Maybe he ought to give her a chance.
You definitely need to give her a chance,
his bear said.
Give us a chance.
He took a deep breath, pulled out a chair for Karen, and hid as much of his faded jeans behind it as he could. There she was, done up like a million bucks, while he looked like some guy off the street.
Her eyes roved over him briefly, and the funny thing was, he could have sworn she didn’t mind one bit.
When she stepped past him to take her seat, her scent brushed his body like a blanket begging him to huddle closer and warm up. It took everything he had to push her chair in instead of tilting it backward and kissing her skin. He circled to the chair across from hers at the tiny table, parking a thousand fantasies in the back of his mind for later — vehemently hoping there would be a later. Fantasies of kissing, sucking, licking the creamy skin just under her ear. Of undoing the bun, threading his fingers through her hair, and pulling her closer. Of touching, sniffing…
He clenched his hands into fists as the old woman banged a tray on the table and poured him a cup of green tea.
“So what will it be?” Karen asked him.
Her nostrils flared, and he wondered if she meant food or something else. And damn did his bear vote for the latter. But he hadn’t come to get carried away all over again. He’d come to…to…um…
“You choose,” he managed, and his voice was husky.
When she licked her lips and looked at him, he almost lost control. One little swipe of the hand and he could knock the table out of the way and pull Karen into his lap, ready to consume.
She caught her lower lip with her teeth and took a
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