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

afraid she’d be upset with him for giving her a false name, and what if she discovered who he really was?
    Rolling off the couch, he tugged his sweatpants higher on his hips where they’d slid precariously low as he stood. He noticed her eyes slip over his bare torso, and he subconsciously flexed for her.
    “Here, let me help you,” he said.
    At first, she’d resisted his help. He guessed it was because she was an independent woman, and she wasn’t accustomed to having help. But as the days went on, he was making more and more progress.
    He leaned against her as he reached above her head to retrieve the coffee filters from the cabinet. He could feel the soft plumpness of her bottom pressing against him, and his body responded with a rapid swell in his pants. Hannah squirmed against him, turning her body to face him. Her cheeks were lightly flushed, full mouth a natural rose brown.
    “Andrew… um…”
    A rumble through his chest, reacting to the rapid beat of her heart. Inhaling, he drew the scent of her desire into his lungs. The scent of flustered woman, warm and tousled from bed. Soft in his arms. His. Andrei’s arms tightened as his head dipped, nose burying in her neck, the place right over her collar bone. His fangs itched for release, the way his cock itched for release. Bite her, mark her, make her his. Mornings were hell. Not that his body didn’t always want her anyway, but in the morning the pump was especially... primed.
    “I’m fighting this,” he said into her neck, voice rough. “I'm trying to go slow. This whole situation is like a dream, a moment outside of time. I’m fighting.”
    She stilled, then her chest rose and fell with one breath. “Don’t,” she said. “Don’t fight anymore.”
    Andrei froze. Raising his head, pale eyes clashed with liquid dark. What he saw in her face… their lips collided in an instant. Andrei wasn’t even certain whether he’d initiated the kiss. All he knew was her hands were sliding along the ridges of his biceps, doing little to quell the passion that raged inside him. He gripped the edge of the kitchen counter, willing himself to resist the desperate desire to explore her body. He pressed against her, hard length pulsing against her body.
    Hannah gasped and pulled away from him. She ducked under his arm and dashed into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
    “Damn,” he muttered.
     
    ***
    Okay. That was a bad idea.
    Hannah leaned against her door, trying to catch her breath. She snorted. She felt like the bravest girl in the world. For a moment she’d gone from wanting just a kiss to wanting… the whole shebang. And with a ferocity that had her nail digging into his biceps before her rational mind realized what she was doing.
    She hadn’t meant for the kiss to happen, but as she’d felt the heat of his body pressing against hers, and felt his hot breath on her neck, she’d lost all thoughts of survival. Because that what it was. When he left, he would take her heart with him. Already she found it hard to focus on dance, sometimes hard to even eat, thinking of when he would go. Already she had to clench words behind her teeth, keep from begging him to stay. This couldn't go on forever. What had he called it? A moment outside of time? Maybe they were both fooling themselves. She wished she knew why he was with her. If it was just sex, just a passing amusement… why go to all the trouble?
    She knew he had money. He let things slip in conversation when he wasn’t carefully picking through his words. She knew he was someone important. The way he walked, his careless disregard of money- as if nothing was too expensive. He bought her a bottle of twenty dollar shampoo when he realized what scent she liked. Twenty dollar shampoo, and the conditioner, too.
    Just a few weeks earlier, she’d been on track to have the career of her dreams. She hadn’t needed a man, or even really wanted one. Oh, sure, she’d wondered what it would be like to kiss a