Remem-Bear Me by Terry Bolryder Read Free Book Online

they expected him to get to the bottom of whether their mother could be trusted.
    For him, the answer would always be clear. She was his mate. He had to trust her.
    For them, he didn’t know if she’d ever earn their forgiveness. But did it matter? They were happy with their mates, and Sam didn’t begrudge them that. In fact, he’d set it all up for them as a way of making it up to each of his sons for not being able to be there for them as a dad as much as he should have.
    He was too busy grieving for what he’d lost.
    And now that was all here, back in his arms for the first time in forever, and he didn’t know how to go back and let reality mess it all up. In truth, there would be no pretty answer to the reason he and Jo had been separated so long. No clean-cut way to absolve everyone involved. There had been pain, and nothing would change that.
    But he still couldn’t let her out of his arms. He felt like a part of him would die if he did.
    Scott was right. He couldn’t do this a second time. He held her close and hoped she didn’t notice the subtle increase of his heart rate just from thinking about it.
    But she did. She’d always been thoughtful and observant. She rolled over to look at him, beautiful, generous breasts pressing on his chest as she gazed into his eyes.
    “What’s wrong?” she asked. “What are you thinking?”
    He shook his head. “You don’t want to know.”
    She went silent, pressing her lips into a firm, flat line as she considered it. He loved her curly eyelashes that blinked rapidly when she thought hard about something. “Maybe I don’t. But tell me anyway.”
    “I was thinking it would destroy me if you left.”
    “I wouldn’t leave,” she said. “This is the happiest I’ve been.”
    He frowned but then tried to look happy and nodded. He tucked her back down against his side, loving the feel of her body protected by his. He would protect her forever. He would even protect her from knowing she walked away from him once before. Because the woman now didn’t seem to even understand how that was possible.
    He did, but only because he understood the animal inside her. The one that had burned to be free and hated being tied down, even if it had always come back after leaving. It was clear this Jo didn’t even know that part of her existed. And when he’d said the word mate, she’d fainted. Somehow, everything was tied into her being a shifter, but he wasn’t ready to trigger all of the pain.
    He wanted to just enjoy having her back with him first. After all, what if remembering her bear made her remember she’d wanted to leave? What if it not only triggered fainting and painful headaches, but also brought her back to the time when she’d wanted to run from him?
    He knew he needed to tell her again soon. Not just about being his mate, but about being a bear. He needed to wake the shifter inside her, because she deserved to be whole.
    But right now, he was just too afraid of losing her. Half of something felt better than all of nothing. So he told himself he’d tell her eventually. When it was the right time, when she seemed ready.
    He just hoped he would know when the right moment came.
    “I wouldn’t leave you,” she said with certainty, kissing his chest and spreading her hand over his stomach. “I couldn’t.”
    He closed his eyes and hoped that was true.
----
    T he next few days went by perfectly. They spent much of their time on the boat, catching up and talking about their lives, docking to get food or walk on the beach, and making love at night, slowly and languidly sometimes, heated and fierce at other times.
    Jo didn’t think she could be any happier. It was like living in a dream, but one where you were able to taste and feel and touch. Each caress of Sam’s body felt amazing. Every time he went inside her, she felt at home.
    She dreaded the thought of facing reality. In truth, she had a life back home, rent to pay, a job to go to, unless staying here meant