Her Christmas Bear by Marie Mason Read Free Book Online Page B

arousal. That was something else Patsy had shared about shifters—a little too late.
    “Okay, then.” He turned and walked back toward the kitchen.
    For a moment, she felt a little insulted. Maybe she’d thought he would sweep her up in his arms and ravage her on the spot. She wouldn’t have protested. But the longer she stood there, the more she understood what he’d done. Given her space. Let her know there was more to this than just physical satisfaction. He’d given her one last chance to change her mind. She snorted. As if.
    She’d found her a bear and she planned on keeping him.

CHAPTER FIVE
     
     
    FOLLOWING MARCUS INTO the kitchen area, Hope watched as he pulled a fresh pizza from the refrigerator already on a pan. “Did you make that yourself?” She admired a man who could take care of himself.
    “Will it change your opinion of me if I say I didn’t?” His little boy look was as endearing as his sexier than thou physique was sizzling.
    “No. But I should warn you, I’m not much of a cook either.”
    He placed the pan in the oven. “Maybe we could learn to cook together.”
    She didn’t have a witty comeback to that. Those words implied long-term commitment because what was more important to a bear shifter than eating?
    Sex. Again that deep rumble of sound floated through her head. Mate. Cubs.
    Okay, that was something she was going to have to ask Patsy about the next time she saw the woman.
    “Drink?” It took her a moment to realize he was holding out a bottle of water and a plastic bottle of soda. She pointed to the soda. Filling a glass with ice from the refrigerator door, he sat it in front of her before opening the bottle and placing it next to the glass. She tried to ignore him as she poured out the frizzy beverage.
    Marcus leaned against the counter, crossing his arms and legs, concentrating on the snow outside, the smell of the pizza cooking in the oven. Anything to keep his mind off Hope. His bear was eager to claim their mate. The day spent outside in the snow and the cold had cemented the bond as far as the animal was concerned. She’d been interested and inquisitive. And so damn beautiful with her red cheeks and rosy nose. His bear had wanted the man to shift and carry her off to the den he had set up high up in the mountains. After the Christmas rush, Marcus’s responsibilities and obligations slowed to a crawl and he usually spent some time up there to unwind and get back in touch with his bear.
    “It smells good.”
    “I got it from a restaurant in town.”
    She tossed her hair behind her shoulder and Marcus noticed she’d tried to tame the silken locks. Even though she’d worn a knitted cap, the wind had whipped her cinnamon colored hair into a tangled mess around her head. He was pretty sure it would look the same way after a night in bed. His bed. “So what do you think of Riverton so far?”
    “It’s wonderful. It reminds me of something out of a movie set.”
    “Not your childhood?”
    “No.” She traced the condensation forming on the side of her glass, refusing to look at him. He could tell immediately that her childhood had not been a happy one and his heart ached for her.
    She took a sip of her drink. “What about you? Sisters, brothers?”
    Marcus grew silent as he thought about his family. A family that was long gone. A fire had taken the lives of his mother and father and he’d been an only cub. They hadn’t been part of a clan, so he’d had no one to lean on after their deaths. Learn from. He’d almost turned rogue like Dirk, hurting from his loss and withdrawing from society. Of course, he hadn’t carried the weight of regret that Dirk had carried. Dirk’s family had been brutally murdered by a pack of rabid-like wolves.
    Bears were not necessarily the most social of shifters. They were usually feared because of their size and strength. Most bears who mated formed a tightly knit family unit and managed to be part of a clan. Mostly for protection in