Bear Prince: Shifter Paranormal Romance (Royal Bears Book 1) by Emma Alisyn, Danae Ashe Read Free Book Online

the questions she could have asked- why are you still here? Why do I let you stay here? What are we doing?- but, no, she’d asked him about his staring.
    Blue eyes blinked, a slow nearly alien or at least inhuman motion. Sometimes the way he moved, the tilt of his head, the set of his shoulders. The fluidity of hips as he walked... she danced. She noticed movements. And she couldn’t quite pin down what was so unique about his.
    “Why wouldn’t I stare at you? I’m a... man. You’re a lovely woman.”
    Her eyes narrowed. It was an evasion. She huffed, shaking curls out of her face and began hunting for a tie. “ That’s not the reason you stare.”
    She glanced over at him. He smiled. “Well, there’s no television. So you’re the second best thing to watch.”
    Hannah frowned at him, pulling her hair out of her face. She knew he was teasing- she could hear it in his otherwise grave voice.
    “You know what I think?” he said.
    “You always tell me what you think.” She could tease, too. Though her teasing was delivered in maybe a drier tone.
    He regarded her, then rose. She looked up from her cross legged position on the floor. Whenever he stood over her, face impassive as if he were hiding dark thoughts, bright eyes staring at her with the unblinking intensity of a gladiator.
    Andrew’s smile widened and for a moment he was overshadowed by... Hannah jerked back, startled. He held out a hand, head tilted.
    “Let’s go grab something quick and take it to the lakefront,” he said. “Pizza? Cupcakes?”
    She placed her hand in his, allowing him to draw her to her feet. She didn’t need the help, of course. “I can’t have cupcakes. The showcase-”
    He glared. “You need calories. You’ll waste away to nothing.”
    Hannah snorted. “You’re funny.”
    He caught her around the waist, yanking her against his body in an uncharacteristically aggressive movement. She clutched his shoulders.
    “Andrew!”
    “You’re beautiful,” he said, kissing her nose. “Eat whatever you want.” His fingers branded her, the touch searing the skin at her waist, and then he pushed her away. “Come on. The chef wants an evening off.”
     
    ***
    Andrei struggled with himself. Watching her warm to him reminded him of the wildflowers in the forests behind his castle. Enough sunlight and they would bloom- but slowly, and quick to furl back in with the least amount of shade. He worked hard to earn her trust, to not just… push her onto her bed and prove she was his. That would be wrong. He closed his eyes, containing a shudder. Bear wanted her. Bear railed at him to claim their mate. He was certain now, as certain as he could be. In tune with her moods, aware of every shift and sigh of her body. Drawn inexplicably to her…
    He swore. His mother would never allow it. If he were smart he would leave now, cut the embryonic bond. Hannah didn’t understand what was happening between them, but he now did. Sometimes the matebonds formed instantly, sometimes they took time. With the Sahakian line, the bonds nearly always took time. Their Bears were not trusting. But once recognized, there would be no going back.
    And with Hannah, things were different. He could be himself. He felt like he belonged somewhere for the first time in his life- not because of his bloodline or nationality. But because of himself.
    One morning Andrei was lying awake on Hannah’s couch thinking about just these very things, brooding over the amount of time that had passed since he’d gone... AWOL. He heard her bedroom door open, watching through slitted eyes as she stumbled into the kitchen and began making coffee. She was humming softly, and he felt something stir inside him. Such a simple, domestic act, and yet Andrei yearned for this.
    “Good morning,” he said.
    She turned toward him and smiled, saying, “Good morning, Andrew.”
    Andrei cringed inwardly. He hated hearing her call him by that name. He might tell her his real name, but he was