Badgering the Bear: A Paranormal Shifter Romance (Mate in a Minute Speed Mating Agency Book 1) by Flora Dare Read Free Book Online Page B

grubby she was. Her pants and shoes were smeared with dirt. Her hands were still muddy from the digging she’d done and sweat soaked down her back and through her bra. She broke his gaze and looked down at her hands. Her nails were brown crescents and she balled them in fists to hide them from his sight.
    She scooted to the side of the bed and dangled her feet off the edge. She didn’t want to get away from him, but she was so self-conscious. He walked— stalked —across the room and dropped to his knees in front of her. His touch was gentle as he unfurled her balled hands.
    She tried to pull away, muttering, “I’m dirty.”
    “You were working.” He covered her hands with his and looked up at her. “Do you realize that I think you are so fucking hot that I can barely breathe? I can’t not think about you. My bear is screaming to claim you so completely we don’t know where one of us begins and the other ends.”
    Her heart beat a little faster.
    He lifted her hand to his cheek and pressed it to his skin. “I know I messed up with you. I saw how important working was to you. And I didn’t want you to think I was some rich bro who fluttered around. I didn’t want you to think badly of me for not working. I’m restoring cars, because I love it.”
    “Wait, you worried about me thinking less of you, for being rich?”
    “I wanted you to like me for who I am. And ever since my divorce, I’ve hidden who I was, because I was scared of getting taken for a ride again.”
    “You thought I was a gold digger?” Did he think so poorly of me? She tried to pull her hand away from him.
    Gabe held strong and pressed his lips against her wrist. “No! Not at all. When you met someone you think you like, and then they learn about you…they get a certain look. And the thought of seeing that look in your eyes, I couldn’t bare the idea of it. So I took the easy way. Can you forgive me? Can you let me show you over and over again that you can trust me?”
    His clear blue eyes were so sincere, so vulnerable to her. She couldn’t resist his beseeching gaze and smiled at him. “I understand. I forgive you.”
    The edges of his mouth twitched upward. And he pulled her into another kiss.
    Jolie was lost in his embrace until she realized her feet were back on the bed. “My shoes! The bed.”
    “Fuck the bed. It’s all washable.” She blushed hard as he slid down her body and back to the floor. “However, I want you to be comfortable.” He unlaced her shoes and slipped them off, tossing them over his shoulder.
    Then he stood and plucked her off the bed. She squealed as he threw her over his shoulder. Jolie delighted in how easily he could pick her up, how he made her feel so delicate. He strode into the bathroom, setting her down in front of the massive glass in shower.
    “The benefit to being rich is I have an amazing shower for two.”
    Desire, no, lust shot through her as his fingers found her waist band and popped the top button. Her breath caught as his fingers eased the zipper down and a shudder ran through her body.
    He was taking his time, enjoying her every sigh. He flicked the top button of her shirt open and softly stroked the line of her neck into her collarbone. Then along the edge of her shirt until he reached the center and another button, pausing only to pop it.
    Jolie was shaking by the time he exposed the lush curves of her breasts. She wanted to cover up the plain bra, until his fingers slipped under the edge and traced the soft skin. The next stroke followed the underside of her bra. She looked up at him with glazed eyes and moaned when he stroked the sweet curve of her stomach.
    Gabe leaned down and pressed his lips against the sensitive spot behind her ear. Dampness swelled between her legs when his teeth nibbled their way down her neck. He fisted her hair in his hand, tugging it slightly, creating a frisson of excitement that threatened to knock her off her feet.
    He growled in her ear, “I can feel