Orion handed the bowl of poké to Dom after he pulled away from Aimee. Dom looked down at it, confused.
“Eat up. The beast can be a bit quieter if you drown it in food. I thought you would have known that, being a master cook and all.” Orion threw his other bags in the truck bed and paused, eyes on the part of his truck that had been ruined.
Aimee waited for him to freak out. She knew men could be particular about their trucks, treating them like wives. But the anger never came. Orion only shook his head and yanked open his door. She was grateful he said nothing. The moment slid by, having happened and ended.
Aimee’s otter wanted her to sit in the back with Dom, but she kept her space. Her presence might have helped him defeat his beast for the time, but she didn’t know if that changed anything. She expected him to push her away even more now.
But it wasn’t because he didn’t feel anything for her. She realized now that it was because he felt too much for her. Dom was, in his own way, trying to protect her.
All she had to do was convince him that she didn’t need protecting.
The smell of soy sauce and salmon filled the truck cab. She mourned for the ingredients she hadn’t been able to pick up, but knew she’d gotten something better out of the trip. Her life turned in a new direction. If she could convince Dom that she wouldn’t break, then maybe there was still a chance for them.
“I bought stuff so you could make me lunch for a week. You promised.”
Aimee sighed, but it turned into a laugh. “Did you get food storage? Or do you have a lunchbox that you want me to use?”
Orion grinned. “I have a whole collection of lunchboxes.”
Dom groaned. “He’s not even joking. That’s the worst part.”
Chapter Six
The ingredients Orion had picked out at the grocery store felt like a challenge. It was almost as if he’d grabbed things at random from the shelves. There was a package of rice noodles, which were fine. She’d used them a number of times. It was the jar of pickles and package of chocolate cookies that confused her.
What did Orion expect her to do with any of this?
“What is wrong with your friends? If you think you have issues, then you would be terrified by the inner workings of Orion’s mind.”
Aimee thought she was alone, even if she was pretending to speak with Dom. She never expected a response.
“To be fair, he was changed. That kind of trauma messes with the mind.”
“Morgan,” she greeted her friend’s mate. “What can I do for you this fine morning?”
He grabbed a stool and hopped atop it, dropping his elbows on the counter. Aimee never would have pegged Callie as a sucker for boyish grins, but Morgan’s was disarming. Even she smiled when he looked at her like that.
“I just wanted to come by and see how you were doing. I heard about everything that happened yesterday.” The words hung in the air, an opening for her to get things off her chest.
“Yeah? You heard about Orion being a jackass?” She gestured to the ingredients on the counter to make sure he got the point.
Morgan laughed. “Ah, yeah, actually. He might have mentioned a prank.”
“This is a prank?” She slapped her hand over her heart. For a while, she worried that Orion thought this was the beginning of a meal. To hear that it was a prank relieved her. “Oh, good. Because if this is what Orion eats by himself, then I was going to ask everyone to host an intervention with me. No one should be allowed to eat like this.”
She turned and faced the packages with her hands on her hips. “I should poison him. Not like a deadly poison, but like a laxative. See how he likes being pranked.”
“If you do, and I’m not saying you should, then you should add a laxative to only a couple. Make it a Russian roulette so he doesn’t see it coming.”
Aimee’s eyes widened. “Yes! You’re a genius. Now I see why my best friend lets you hump her.”
“Aimee.” Dom’s voice was caught between warning and amusement. “I don’t think you should be spiking anyone’s food with laxatives. That’s an abuse of power.”
She glanced over her shoulder at the shape leaning against the wall in the shadow of the loft and felt her stomach tighten with need. So close and yet so far. The distance between them stretched like an ocean. So, she cast a line and tried to reel him in.
Aimee shrugged. “You can’t stop me.”
She was faintly aware of the way Morgan backed out of the room and left them alone, but she held Dom’s gaze in an open challenge. In the end, he just laughed.
“You are a force of nature.”
“Like a tsunami,” she added.
“Yes, unnecessarily destructive.” He stepped around her to reach the coffee maker.
She wanted to brush against him. Her otter sang with joy. Dom seemed happier, more at peace today. She didn’t know what happened or why, but she would take it. Without thinking, she reached out and touched his cheek. The beard growing along his jaw was coarse, but soft.
He jerked away from her as if burned. Her hand dropped to her side like her stomach. Aimee wasn’t sure what she’d done wrong, but it hurt. Doing her best to hide the pain that most likely showed on her face, she turned away from him and went back to making kimbap.
Patting the rice onto the dampened seaweed, she layered the omelet and julienned vegetable over it. It was a simple recipe that her grandmother once made as an afternoon snack. The seaweed had been difficult to find in Alaska, so far removed from society. Here, she’d found the wraps and made kimbap for breakfast whenever possible.
With Dom as close as he was, she wanted to turn toward him and take him into her arms. She busied her hands by rolling the kimbap instead. The sticky rice clung to her fingertips, and the smell of salty ocean water filled the air. She could feel Dom’s gaze on her. It prickled along her skin, moving over her knuckles and up her arms.
Aimee did her best to keep from looking at him. The bitter scent of his coffee curled through the air on a wisp of steam. Her stomach grumbled, but it wasn’t the only hunger gripping her tight. If she turned to the side, if she took one step, she would reach him. Their bodies would press into one another.
The thought brought the memory of the day before to the top of her mind. Aimee knew she should have been more concerned about Dom’s panic and the fight that took place inside him, but all she could think about were the moments where her body was trapped between his and the truck.
It’d been the first time Dom had touched her like that. After days and days of pushing her away, in his moment of need, he’d pulled her in. Her skin tingled where their bodies had touched the day before. It sparked like electricity from her breasts to her core where it waited like a battery ready to be unleashed.
All he needed to do was accept her.
“Should you be squeezing the roll that tight?” Dom reached past her to grab his cup of coffee.
Aimee looked down to find her knuckles had drained of their color. She jerked back, letting go of the roll while she fought back a curse. It was going to be a dense roll, she surmised.
“Do you have enough left to make one for me? It smells delicious.”
Aimee wanted to ask what she got in return but couldn’t find the voice to do it. She knew what she wanted, and she couldn’t just ask for it. They had to work on it. Together. So, she nodded and began work on a second kimbap roll. She had everything for it except for an omelet, which was easy to make.
They sat like that, in silence while she worked, for a while. Dom never retreated to the other side of the counter. He stayed where he was, leaning against the countertop while sipping his coffee and watching her. Aimee loved it. This was what she wanted. Every time she brushed against him, the fountain of electricity in her core swelled and sparked.
Dom didn’t seem to notice, or if he did, he didn’t let on. Aimee could have growled with frustration, but she remembered the day before. She remembered what her presence could do for him and it helped her rel
ax again.
***
Dom knew he should walk away. At the very least, he should have put the counter between them. Where he stood, so close that Aimee kept grazing him as she worked, he felt himself drawn in like a fish on a line. He didn’t fight it. The aura that surrounded her while she worked was intoxicating. Her careful precision and intentional movements put him at ease.
He owed her an apology.
What happened at the grocery store could have been bad for everyone. It could have been the end of everything they knew, but no one acted like they understood. They brushed it off. Ignoring the danger Dom put them in would not end well. He didn’t want to destroy the lives of his family, of shifters everywhere.
His gaze moved out the broad windows at the front of the cabin. Mountains and trees stretched as far as the eye could see. The clouds rested gently between the hills, painted shades of tender pink and soft lavender. Little by little, sunshine yellow burst from behind them and cast heavenly rays into the sky.
It was a sight to see, something not everyone got to experience in their lives. Yet, he knew this was all he would ever see again, and it saddened him. Dom could no longer risk going into town. He would never sit at a restaurant with Aimee, never search the grocery shelves for the right ingredient again. Little by little, the thought bent him to its will. He was ready to crumple beneath it when a small woman looked up at him with blazing eyes.
The slightly sulfuric smell of eggs was masked by the overwhelming smell of the ocean when she presented him with a plate. He was tempted to throw it onto the counter and claim her lips as the meal he truly hungered for. He would disrespect the work she put into the roll, though.
Besides, he should have been putting as much space between them as possible. A decision had been made, not consciously, but he realized that he knew what he had to do. It meant that he couldn’t linger in Aimee’s presence much longer. If he did, if he allowed her to think there was a way they could be together, he would only end up breaking her heart.
Dom said a curt thank you before snatching the plate and ducking out the door. Cold earth and evergreen scented air tried to overpower the smell of the food on his plate. He looked down at the perfect rounds studded with golden yellow eggs and bright vegetables.
He shouldn’t have stayed in that kitchen. His beast tried to drag him back inside, but the creature needed to understand. They were not allowed to hurt her. Of all the people in the world, she was the one he’d already hurt the most.
Before he’d been kidnapped, he’d kept a distance between them. Every time he found himself stepping too close, he reminded her that she very well could be a secret agent working for the Den. It wasn’t fair. It certainly hadn’t been nice. Yet, he’d done it with fear and venom on his tongue if only to keep himself from taking another step forward.
The man he’d become after the battle, when his body refused to heal right, wasn’t the kind of man she should love. It wasn’t even the kind of man he could love. Dom hated himself. Everything in his life had been calculated before now. He’d been the kind of man to weigh the pros and cons of kidney beans versus black beans in a chili recipe. He’d carefully plotted the trajectory of falling trees to keep his family safe.
Now, he was reckless. He barely had time to think before his beast overwhelmed him. He shoved a kimbap roll into his mouth and chewed. He paused.
“Maybe you should have stuck around to hear what I had to say.” Aimee stood with her back to the door and arms crossed over her chest.
Slowly, Dom reached into his mouth and pulled out something slippery.
“That’s plastic wrap. Because you made a beeline for the door, you didn’t hear me tell you that I didn’t take the plastic wrap off yet.” She looked proud of herself, as if it were some elaborate prank.
Or, what he deserved for being an asshole.
He set the plate on his lap, now noticing the plastic sheen around each roll. Aimee sighed and dropped to a crouch beside him. She reached and unraveled the plastic wrap on his food. He watched the way her hair fell over her face and reached to push it behind her ear. She trembled beneath his fingers, but he noticed the rest of her body shaking.
Aimee was shivering, yet she still stood outside with him.
Quickly, he shrugged out of his jacket and passed it to her. She looked up at him, eyes wide. There was a hesitation that he couldn’t read. He knew he should have ushered her back inside. He needed to put walls between them, metaphorically and literally. Instead, he laid the jacket over her shoulders when she didn’t move.
She ducked her head, and he watched her back rise and fall as she breathed deep. His core stirred, tightening as blood rushed south. She’d taken in his scent. It loosened things inside of him that he’d been trying to tamp down for days. He set aside his plate and lifted Aimee from the ground, pulling her into his lap where he could wrap his arms around her.
“This is to keep you warm,” he lied.
It didn’t matter because she laid her head against his chest and snuggled deeper into him. His heart threatened to break, the two parts of him stretching thin as he fought with himself. He could keep her, could give himself to her entirely. He could turn to her every time the beast roared too loud. He could seek her out when the beast thought danger was near.
That would ask too much of her. He didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on her shoulders. Dom did not want their relationship to be a burden. Aimee shouldn’t have the task of keeping him alive and safe while he loved her. It was one sided and unfair.
So, he held her and told himself he would release her soon. His hands splayed across her thigh and shoulder. She felt small and breakable, but the shivering subsided. When she pushed against his chest, pain shot through him.
Aimee didn’t scramble out of his grip like he thought she would. She leaned toward the plate resting beside them and grabbed it. He opened his mouth to ask what she was doing, but she pressed a kimbap roll into it.
He laughed around the seaweed and rice.
“I figured I could feed you if your hands were busy.” Her voice was low, husky just for him.
The air filled with their lust. He could smell her desire, laying beneath the other scents that surrounded them. She wanted him just as bad as he wanted her. Knowing he should have pushed her out of his lap, he tightened his grip on her. The corners of her mouth quirked with joy. The blaze that had been in her eyes while she cooked was now a smolder. It was a spark that ignited his fire.
Chapter Seven
Aimee was ravenous.
She didn’t want food. She wanted Dominic. The hunger had pinched her stomach when he pulled her into his lap unexpectedly. He’d run from her and then pulled her closer. The confusion was drowned by the greedy lust in her gut.
Piece by piece, she fed him the kimbap, her stomach flipping when his lips brushed her fingers. His teeth grazed a finger, and her lips parted from the sensation that rolled through her. She couldn’t control it anymore.
She gripped him by either side of his face and pulled his mouth to hers. He didn’t react at first. Her stomach dropped, thinking she’d read the situation wrong. He didn’t want her this way. He never had. She was a fool.
Then, his lips parted. His hands curled against her, gripping her tight. She felt the possessive growl that slipped up his throat before she heard it. The sound rumbled through her body. She melted into him, at home for the first time.
This was it, she thought. This is what it’s supposed to feel like.
Dom’s tongue pushed past her lips. He tasted of ocean water, a taste she greedily devoured. She twisted in his lap, moving to straddle him. Her breasts pressed against the front of him and soaked up his warmth. Beneath her, she could feel the evidence of his desire. It strained against his jeans, trying to reach for her.
She wanted it. Right then and there. It didn’t matter who could see them.
She wanted all of Dom.
Then he pushed her back. His hands were heavy on her shou
lders. She could see the way his lips were already swollen, the shallow breaths that racked his chest. The sensation echoed inside her.
Why had he stopped?
It was obvious they wanted each other. If he gave in to the want, then things might change. She started to tell him she could help when he shook his head. He carefully lifted her and set her on her own feet. She realized he was going to disappear again.
She wanted to scream. She reached for the first thing she could find. It happened to be the plastic plate she’d served the kimbap on. It soared through the air and rolled down the hill as she let out her frustration.
Several feet away, Dom paused. He watched the plate roll into the woods like a wheel out of hell. She thought he would say something. If he saw how she really felt, then maybe he would make an effort to work things out.
He was her mate, for heaven’s sake.
This was supposed to be easy. They were supposed to fall in love and live in bliss. She knew that the road to that love was often rocky and could be treacherous, but it shouldn’t’ have been this hard.
Dom turned away again, and she couldn’t hold back.
“Yeah, sure. Go on and walk away. That’s the easy thing to do. Isn’t it? Don’t face your problems or even try to make things better.”
Her words fell on deaf ears.
Chapter Eight
Aimee’s words rang through his ears.
They gripped him with shame and guilt. Each step away from her was heavy, leaden with everything he should have said in return. He wouldn’t put a burden on her. He refused. She didn’t need to know how badly he hurt, how he couldn’t control his beast unless he was in her presence.
Soon, his vision was filled with trees, thick and thin. The cabin and his angry otter shifter disappeared behind him. He half expected her to run after him. She was not one to let go of a fight. The woman had shifted and clung to the bottom of a truck to save her best friend.
Dom didn’t know how far she would go for him, but he wasn’t going to let her throw away her life. She had dreams and plans. There would be someone else out there, someone meant for her.
To Tame a Bear Page 5