Bearly Holding On by Danielle Foxton Read Free Book Online Page B

her. Then he swiped a pillow from the bed and dropped it onto the floor, searching in a trunk by the door for another blanket.
    Awen stopped him. “If you promise not to change,” she said shyly, “you can sleep up here with me.”
    He nodded his head once and she scooted over to give him room, resting her head on his chest once he was settled.
    “About those men...” Mati said quietly as he closed his eyes “I don’t regret it...but I wouldn’t have killed them if I had a choice.”
    “Somehow,” she said, rubbing her head on his chest, “I can live with that.”

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    Awen opened her eyes to a bright morning. The birds chirped cheerfully, and she could hear movement outside the cabin. She sat up as Mati came in a few moments later with a small bag and a cup of coffee.
    “How's the head?” he asked, handing her the cup and bag.
    “Much better.” She peered inside the bag. It contained various convenience store snacks and something that looked vaguely like a breakfast sandwich. “You went to the gas station?”
    “Yeah. Figured you’d be hungry, and I don’t have much in the way of breakfast food out here. Oh, and I got your prescriptions filled.” He tossed the pharmacy bag and she caught in easily.
    “You're a godsend.” She popped a pill in her mouth, swallowing it easily without any liquid.
    Mati eyed her, amused. “You know, I brought coffee too. Figured you might need something to wash those down with...didn’t realize you’d be a champion pill-popper.”
    Awen shrugged. “I solve murders for a living. Swallowing a little pill is hardly a tall order.” She glanced over at the bedside table to see her gun and holster.
    “You wore it to bed. Even disregarding the fact that bringing a gun into the bedroom is generally a faux-pas, it was digging into my side. You were out cold so I took it off for you.”
    “Thanks,” she said, selecting the breakfast sandwich out of the bag and beginning to unwrap it.
    “I also charged your phone in the car.” He pulled her cellphone out of the back of his pants pocket, holding it out to her. “It was ringing off the hook while I was driving. I think someone might be trying to get a hold of you.”
    “Oh shit!” Awen scrambled out of bed and over to Mati, snatching her phone from his hand. “I have to call my boss!” She unlocked her phone and groaned—it had no signal.
    “You won’t get anything out here,” he said apologetically. He grabbed an apple from a bowl on his dining room table and took a bite out of it.
    Awen was determined. She pulled the door open carefully, minding the broken hinges, and raced outside. Waving her phone about in the air, she cursed to herself.
    “I find it ironic that you had no problem believing I was a shifter, but you won’t trust me when I say there’s no signal for miles,” Mati teased from behind her.
    She turned to face him, a sour expression on her face. He was leaning against the doorframe. He took another mischievous bite of his apple while she glared at him, grinning as he chewed.
    “Thanks,” she muttered, slipping the phone into her pocket.
    Mati swaggered towards her, tossing the apple core over his shoulder. Once he had closed the distance he pulled her against him, bending just enough to bury his nose in her hair.
    Awen’s frustration evaporated. She rubbed her hands against his chest, then rose them to lock behind his neck. He claimed her lips in a deep kiss, raking his hands through her hair as his tongue delved into her mouth. He moved his hands to just below her butt and lifted her, wrapping her legs around his torso.
    Awen giggled. “Don’t drop me!”
    “Never,” he murmured into her mouth. He walked over to the porch railing and set her on top of it. When Awen pressed further against him, clenching him with her thighs, Mati felt his bear begin to surface from the excitement. He took a step back.
    “What’s the matter?”
    It took everything in Mati not to turn his eyes