A Burn To Bear (Fire Bear Shifters Book 3) by Sloane Meyers Read Free Book Online Page B

small and I don’t have much furniture. But it’s home for me,” River said.
    Luke smiled at her. “Nothing wrong with small. You’re just one person living here. No sense in wasting space. I like it. The books everywhere are very appropriate. Although it looks like I might have to build you a second bookshelf. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one person own so many books.”
    “Yeah, it’s an obsession. I’m trying to cut back on buying new ones. I don’t have any room for more books, and I can usually find whatever I want to read at the library, anyway.”
    They stood in the entryway, dripping little puddles onto the floor and looking at each other for several moments. River should have said something…Maybe offer Luke a towel, or try to find him an oversized t-shirt that might fit—although she doubted that even her baggiest t-shirt could stretch over those muscles. But all she did was stare at him with an awkward, lovestruck look. In all fairness to her, he looked back at her with the same expression. His eyes seemed to be almost swirling, and the intense look he always gave her grew fiercer than ever.
    “River,” he said softly. There was no need to say anything else. That one word, her name on his tongue, said everything she needed to know. It held a statement and a question all at once. He wanted her, and he was asking if she wanted him, too. She took a deep breath, and then gave him a coy smile.
    “We’re both soaking wet,” she said. “We should get out of these clothes.”
    She kicked off her shoes, and then reached down to grab the hem of her sweater, pulling it over her head and letting it drop with a splat onto the tile. She reached down to grab the hem of her leggings, pulling them down to her ankles and stepping out of them. She stood in front of Luke in her matching, lacy turquoise bra and underwear. Thank god she always wore nice underwear. She had decided long ago that she deserved pretty bras and panties for herself, even if a man wasn’t going to see them. Now that a man was seeing them, she was thankful she hadn’t succumbed to wearing grungy old underwear. River vaguely realized that the temperature had dropped and she hadn’t turned on the heat in her apartment, but she didn’t feel cold. Her beating heart was sending burning hot blood coursing through her body, warming her at the anticipation of Luke’s touch.
    Luke watched with blazing eyes. He stood unmoving, as if uncertain about what to do next. River almost giggled. Surely, a man with looks like his had plenty of experience in the bedroom. Why did he look so nervous? She stepped forward to help him, reaching up to unbutton his shirt. She stood inches away from him, keeping her eyes locked with his as her hands slowly felt for each button. When the last one was undone, she pushed his shirt back and down across his arms, the wet fabric making a dull splat as it hit the tile.
    River’s eyes widened as she took in Luke’s bare chest. She had known from the way that his muscles always protested against the fabric of his shirts that he was in good shape. But his naked abs were even more chiseled than she had imagined. The man didn’t just have a six pack. He had a freaking eight pack. She took her finger and traced the grooves of his stomach, running across each line of muscle. Luke shuddered and moaned at her touch, leaning his head back slightly and closing his eyes. River let her fingers drift down to the top of his jeans, where she unbuttoned the top button and slowly slid the zipper down.
    Luke moaned, and then reached down to grab her hands.
    “River, wait,” he said, his voice sounding desperate. “I want this so badly. I want you so badly. But I don’t want you to think I only came here to try to mate—I mean, to try to have sex with you. I’m not just in this for a quick bang. I’m looking for something deeper. Don’t think if we sleep together right now that I’m going to just disappear. Please, don’t think