“Want to explore the cabin today?” Emily asked as they finished up yet another morning patrol. “I mean, we’ve been really efficient these past few days, not even stopping for breaks! I think we deserve a bit of a breather before we head back around to do the whole thing over again.”
Adam nodded, noting that the cabin was merely a mile off from where they stood at the tree line next to the mechanic shop. “I don’t see why not,” he agreed. If he was being honest with himself, he was more than a bit curious about how the bears of Forest Haven lived, anyway. He knew a bit more about Lucy and Dan’s living arrangements, since they stayed in a back suite at the shop, but though they’d passed the cabin where Nick and Jo lived and the house where Tom and Savannah lived on every patrol, they’d never been inside.
The sun was high in the sky by the time they reached the cabin, their clothes sticking to their bodies with the beginnings of perspiration as they made it under the scarce shade of the cabin’s porch.
“In hind sight, we maybe should have shifted back into bears before walking back here,” Emily quipped lightly as she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.
“You really think a half ton bear and a full coat of fur would have made you feel better under this sun?” Adam asked with a grin.
His heart skipped a beat when that blush colored her cheeks yet again. “Yeah, I guess that doesn’t make sense.”
Adam laughed. “It might if we stuck to the forest, so don’t worry,” he amended. “Do you remember where the key was supposed to be?”
“Oh, down here,” Emily replied, hopping down the three small steps. “Just under the first step, I’m pretty sure.” She bent down to lift the concrete easily, but Adam had a hard time watching her showcase her strength over… other assets.
Desire washed his body in a warm glow, immediate and intense as he took all of her in, everything about her overwhelming his senses at once until he found it hard to breathe.
She turned around, triumphantly twirling the spare key on her index finger. She saw him struggling to maintain his composure, and concern overtook the victory on her face.
“Are you okay?”
Clearing his throat, Adam tried to smile. “Yeah, of course. Just uh, the heat, I think. I’m feeling a little light headed.”
She gave him a look that he couldn’t quite label, but it didn’t look like she’d believed his reaction was caused by the sun. “We should probably get you inside then.”
Moving passed him, she slid the key easily into the front door, swinging it wide. “Whoa,” he heard her say as she entered the cabin.
Adam stepped inside to see what the hype was all about, and as his eyes adjusted to the dimness of the cabin, he couldn’t help but agree with Emily’s sentiment. The cabin was beautiful.
“And I thought the house we’re staying in looked nice,” he muttered.
The smell of hop coffee met his nose and he closed the door behind him. “You smell that, Em?”
“Yeah,” she said, tilting her nose towards the ceiling. “Do you think Jo always keeps a hot pot of coffee brewed in case we might stop by?” she asked with an amused smile.
Adam shrugged. “But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t grateful that she did today. Can you grab me a mug? I’ll get snacks.”
“Sure,” she replied, grabbing two mugs from the drying rack on Jo’s countertop. Adam couldn’t help but watch her closely as she doctored the coffees to their personal tastes. They’d lived together for so long, but now that Adam was finally seeing Emily, it fascinated him how much she paid attention to detail.
She and Kelly stayed glued to the hip most of the years she’d been living with them, so it was no surprise that Emily knew almost everything about Kelly, but what he hadn’t noticed was how much she’d learned about him as well.
She knew he only used just enough cream to make the coffee slightly lighter than usual, and that he added just a pinch of salt to the mug if he was feeling especially lethargic. She added just a bit for him as he watched, no doubt because of that fabled light-headedness he had admitted to back on the porch.
Her long brown hair fell loosely over her shoulders as she moved on to her own mug, adding enough cream to barely call it coffee anymore, and so many spoonful’s of sugar that Adam could smell the sweetness of it from where he rummaged in the cupboards.
She turned to him, her blue eyes twinkling brightly over a smile as she lifted his mug. “Here you go, just the way you like it.” A bit of confusion dimmed her eyes as she took him in. “You know you’re in the wrong pantry for snacks right?”
Oh. “To be honest, I have no idea where to even begin looking,” Adam admitted. “I just know that Jo has a fondness for snacks. They have to be around here somewhere.”
“Yeah,” Emily confirmed. “Over here in the pantry next to the fridge?” She opened the top pantry to find it stocked full of pre-packaged cakes and cookies. She began to reach for the top shelf.
“I’ll get it,” Adam said, jumping into action. “Before you dump an entire tub of cookies on your head.” She shot him a glare. “Not because you need my protection or anything,” he amended. “Just because you’re short.” He cracked a grin as her glare only deepened.
Reaching up with ease, Adam snagged the package of assorted cakes form the top shelf of the pantry. He held them out to her. “Is this what you’re after?”
She reached out to take the package, but he pulled it just out of reach. She shot him another glower as she snatched the package away from him before he could think of doing it a second time.
“Yes, you jerk, it was,” she replied with a laugh before walking to the dining room table. “Hope you didn’t want any.” She threw him a look over her shoulder, one eyebrow lifted as she smirked back at him. “You don’t deserve these sweets.”
Adam’s mouth went dry before he could even think to come up with a response. Electric zaps of excitement tingled his fingertips as he watched her sit, cracking open the first cake to take a huge bite out of the powdery sugared pastry.
She indulged in another bite before glancing at him. “Your coffee’s getting cold, and after all the love I put into it,” she mock lamented. “And it’s a shame you can’t have any of these cakes. They’re the good kind.” She took another bite, her lips coming away with a bit of powdered sugar on them.
In a moment of completely reckless resolve, Adam snatched up his mug of coffee and made his way to the dining table. He pulled out the chair closest to Emily, sitting down near enough so that their knees touched if either once of them shifted. “Let me have one then,” he said, quietly.
It took a moment for Emily to recover from his closeness, but then she rolled her eyes and turned her nose up at him. “Nope. People that tease short people don’t deserve the good cakes.” Despite her quip, he could see the beginnings of pink creeping across her cheeks.
“Come on. Just a bit of yours then,” he negotiated, leaning in just a little closer.
“Fine,” she relented, holding out the half eaten cake in her hand. “But only a little. These are my favorite.”
His hand bypassed the proffered cake, catching her chin in his fingers before brushing the sugar off her lips with his thumb. He heard her gasp in shock slightly, and maybe a bit of something else, as he pulled his hand away.
Adam took his time licking the powdered sugar from his thumb, making sure not to take his eyes off her as he did so. Her cheeks were a delicious shade of scarlet as she fought to keep a straight face, but he read nothing like repulsion or anger on her face, as she kept her gaze dutifully averted.
“They’re my favorite now, too,” he murmured softly before taking a sip of his coffee. It was perfectly made, just like he’d assumed it would be.
He drank his coffee in silence for a while before Emily finally found the willpower to take a sip of her own again. She didn’t speak at first, but as he neared the end of his mug, she began to chew the inside of her cheek.
“I…” she began, be
fore clearing her through and trying again. “Is something wrong Adam?”
What? “Wrong? Of all the words you could think of in that bout of silence, wrong is the one you settled for?” he asked incredulously.
Emily shook her head. “I mean… you aren’t like that with me,” she tried to explain. “You’ve always treated me like you were my older brother.”
“So you’re saying you want me to treat you the same way I treat Kelly?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Heavens, no!” she replied too quickly before she could catch herself. “I mean—”
“What do you want me to treat you like, then, Emily?” Adam asked softly, before finishing off the last of his coffee.
She sat in silence, staring deeply into her mug before saying, “I’m not sure. I mean, definitely not like a sister, but…”
“Definitely not a friend either?” Adam finished for her.
“Definitely not,” she confirmed.
Something satisfactory curled happily in Adam’s stomach as he placed the now empty mug back on the table. “It’s nice to know we’re on the same page, then,” he spoke, almost to himself.
She leaned her head down to catch his gaze. A smile played lightly on her visage, but he could see the nerves that pulled at the edges of her lips and kept her from smiling. “I think… we have a lot to discuss.”
Adam nodded. “All in due time, though.” They had the rest of their lives to figure out how to move forward. He didn’t want to move too quickly, and too many people were depending on them for them to stop and entertain their love life. “Right now, we have a job to do.”
Emily nodded her understanding. “All in due time, then.”
That warm feeling settled comfortably in Adam’s chest, and he knew that this was somehow right. This was how things should have always been between the two of them, from that moment that he saw her crying at his doorstep five years ago. He may be starting late, but he was excited to see where they would take things next, once all this turf war business was finished.
His bear snuffed heavily from within, as if to say It’s about time.
Chapter Eight
”Nothing to report?” Nick prompted.
Emily shook her head, reaching for a second slice of pie. Though, after the dinner Savannah and Tom had just served the entire troop after the final patrol, she knew she didn’t really need it. “Not a thing.”
“All’s clear, as per usual,” Adam added.
Nick’s face showed visible relief, as he finally sat at the table to help himself to his own dessert. “Good to hear.”
Emily and Adam exchanged a look, Adam shooting her a quick smile before turning his attention to Tom, who’d just tapped him on the shoulder.
Just when Emily was about to dig into her pie, Savannah beckoned her to the side. “Everything okay?” she asked expectantly.
Emily nodded with a smile. “Yeah, everything’s perfect. First the cabin, and now I know you have a beautiful house, too.”
Savannah smiled, eyes roving about the dining area. “You have Lucy to thank for that. Thank goodness she has a knack for decoration, or this place would be woefully barren.” Hearing her name, Lucy turned around and shot a quick smile at Savannah form across the room before turning back to Jo. “This is the first time we’ve had more than just me and Tom here for dinner.”
Emily grinned. “That kitchen is huge, I’m happy you got to put some mileage on it.”
Savannah nodded in understanding before leaning in closer. “What about with you and Adam?” she asked quietly with a raised eyebrow. “I can tell something’s changed between you two.”
“Really?” Emily sighed, not daring to look back at Adam for fear of him noticing their subject matter.
“Really,” Savannah confirmed. “And if I noticed, there’s only a matter of time before the other’s start noticing as well.”
Keeping her eyes low and her voice even lower, Emily recounted a rough recollection of the events that had transpired between her and Adam earlier in the day. Just saying them out loud, she could feel the tingling that his thumb had left behind and the lust that tied knots in her stomach all over again.
“Okay!” Savannah replied enthusiastically. “So now what? Are you guys waiting for a special moment to tell David?”
Emily snorted. “Hardly. We’re waiting until after this war to decide if what we have is even anything worth pursuing. Or, we’re trying to, anyway.”
“Hmm,” Savannah pondered. “Was the waiting thing your idea?” she asked.
Emily shook her head. “Not really, but when Adam brought it up, I could see his point.”
“Nonsense,” Savannah replied, tossing her hair lightly over her shoulder. “It doesn’t take a negotiation session to figure out if you’re meant to be.”
“Then what does it take?” Emily asked, voice despondent.
She felt like she was making all the wrong moves. She’d waited five years in a state of unrequited love for Adam, hoping that with the help of some greater power, he’d one day return her feelings. Now he finally did, or was at least starting to do so, she found herself eagerly agreeing to more waiting – what the hell was wrong with her?
She was tired of the delaying. If there was another option, she was all too ready to hear it.
“It’s simple,” Savannah replied. “Just kiss him.”
Emily’s eyes widened in shock. “I cannot do that.”
Savannah waved the statement away. “Of course you can. I’m sure you’ve thought about doing it at least once in all the…”
“Years.”
“…Years you’ve been in love with him.” Savannah finished.
Emily shook her head. “I mean, of course I have, but the very thought of moving too fast makes my stomach cramp,” she admitted. “He’s only admitted to a few mild feelings. What if I try and kiss him and he steps back?”
Savannah glanced quickly over Emily’s shoulder at Adam before raising her brow once more. “What if he doesn’t?”
******
The conversation Savannah and Emily had shared played over and over in her head as she walked back into town with the rest of her pack. Kelly was complaining to her father about getting paint in her hair while decorating with Lucy, leaving Emily and Adam to walk in silence behind them.
Emily chuckled, figuring she’d had enough of being alone with her thoughts for a while. “Sounds like Kelly’s still upset about being left out of the fight,” she mumbled softly, so that Kelly wouldn’t overhear. She hates it when people talk about her like she’s not there.
Adam cleared his throat, but in the way that promised that something uncomfortable was coming next. “Funny you should mention that,” he began, an uncharacteristically nervous voice falling from his lips.
“Why would that be funny?” Emily asked, tension already beginning to form in her shoulders.
Adam rubbed the back of his neck fretfully, as if he already regretted what he hadn’t already said, but eventually he pressed on. “I might have asked Tom if there was any way to take you out of the attack formation.”
A sizzle of shock shivered over Emily’s skin, but it had nothing to do with desire. “I don’t think that’s for you to decide, Adam,” she replied in a low voice, trying to keep her voice calm.
“See, that’s what Tom said, and I get it. It’s just that…” Adam struggled to find the right words. “These feelings are a new to me. I just don’t want to lose you before I have a chance to explore what they could mean.”
Emily shook her head at the explanation. “You should have asked for my opinion, Adam. Going behind my back was not the way.”
“I know that, now. I’m sorry,” Adam said. “I just didn’t want anyone else to say anything to you about my request before I got the chance to. I just… I don’t like it.”
Emily felt the beginnings of hurt bubbling in her chest. “I thought you said I was strong.”
“You are,” Adam agreed, voice growing slightly l
ouder. “I need for you to be careful. Bigger bears than us have died because of one small misstep.”
“Nick wouldn’t have put me where he did if he didn’t think I could handle the job,” Emily retorted, irritated. “From now on, I’ll do what he thinks is best. He has more combat experience than the both of us combined.” She snorted. “I can’t understand how he believes in me more than you do.”
“I believe you have what it takes,” Adam replied. “I just don’t want to take the risk in case I’m wrong. In case Nick is wrong.”
“You’re not my boss, Adam, and I’m not your responsibility,” she responded firmly. “I’ll fight if I want to, and if I get hurt—if I die—that’s on me!” She glowered angrily at him before turning to face forward. “If David knows he’s can’t keep me out of this fight, then I don’t see how you thought you’d be able to do any better.”
Emily couldn’t even glance at him to see if he felt an ounce of remorse for his actions. She was much too furious, and it took extra willpower to keep from shifting right then and there to roar her frustrations to the moon and back. In what world did he think that would be a good idea?
She heard him take a deep breath, almost feeling his tension, and she waited patiently for what she hoped would be an apology.
A light tap on her arm alerted her that Adam was standing way closer than she thought he was. Turning to face him, she was shocked to find his face mere inches from hers. Her heard did a backflip as she watched the moonlight glimmer in his green eyes.
“Emily, I—”
“Does anyone want some midnight snacks from the Chinese takeout place?” Kelly asked, skipping backward. A small look of confusion flitted across her face. “Am I interrupting something?”
“Not at all!” Emily stepped back quickly, turning away from Adam without a second thought. “But you can’t possibly be hungry. We just ate dinner!”
Kelly grinned. “I know, but they have killer spring rolls there. You know how crazy I get over a good spring roll.” Her grin slipped a bit as she glanced at Adam. “You sure you guys are okay? He looks like you just kicked his puppy.”
Crush on the Alpha Bear (Alpha Bears Book 4) Page 6