The Polar Bear's Baby (Honeypot Babies Book 1) by Sophie Stern Read Free Book Online

the only night. If Aidan really likes me, is interested in being with me, then there will be plenty of nights together. There will be plenty of chances to touch him, lick him, play with him.
    Tonight I want to be teased a little bit, but I have a feeling that will come later. Aidan pulls his shirt off and throws it onto the dirt ground. Even though it’s dark and I can’t see that well, I can see his abs.
    “You work out a lot,” I murmur.
    “Not as much as humans, but yeah.”
    “Genetic advantage?” I ask. “Is that why all shifters are fit?”
    “Not all shifters are fit,” he says with a smile. “If you think that, you haven’t met Rufus Brown yet.”
    “That’s true.”
    “I do work out a lot, but I also run in my shifter form almost every day.”
    “What kind of…I mean…what are you?” I whisper. I think he’s a polar bear, judging by the décor at his shop, but he’s never actually said it. I’m going to feel silly if he shifts into something else, like a hawk or an owl or a snake or something. There’s a part of me that hopes he really is a big, beautiful bear. There’s a part of me who wants to see the beast.
    Is this rude? Is it rude to just straight-up ask someone what kind of shifter animal they are? I feel like it’s rude, but I don’t really know. Maybe it’s acceptable if you know someone well enough.
    This is one of those things Richard didn’t tell me. I’m realizing there’s a lot my brother didn’t tell me, but I can’t really blame him. He went off to college when I wasn’t old enough to really understand how his life was changing or how he was growing up. Then I went to college and he was busy setting up his practice. He was busy becoming this awesome shrink and changing the world while I was still worried about changing my hairstyle. Even though I always felt like we were close, maybe we weren’t.
    Maybe there’s a lot I don’t know about my brother.
    “It’s okay,” Aidan gently touches my cheek. I lean into his touch and close my eyes, trying to focus completely on how his skin feels against mine. I don’t want this moment to end. Even though it’s just his hand touching me, even though this isn’t a sexual touch in any way, my blood is boiling with anticipation. It’s all I can do to keep from just pushing him down on the ground and riding him.
    “Touch me more,” I whisper.
    “Like this?” He strokes my arms with his hands, pressing his chest against me. Once again, I’m pinned between him and the tree. I can feel his hardness pressing against me and I just can’t stop thinking about what comes next.
    What’s he going to do to me next?
    “Yeah, just like that.”
    “There are a lot of different types of shifters, Mia,” Aidan says. He bites my ear as his hands continue to stroke up and down my arms.
    “I know.”
    “Shifters aren’t like normal animals. That’s a myth.”
    “What do you mean?” I manage to make words, manage to form the question, but my mind is getting hazy with lust, with excitement, with anticipation.
    “Shifters aren’t locked in to one geographical location the way many animals are. So you aren’t only going to find tigers in one area or bears in one area. There might be some similarities, but the idea that you’re going to find lions in hot areas and polar bears in cold ones is a myth.”
    “Is it? I thought Richard said most polar bear live in Alaska.”
    “I didn’t say they don’t like the cold. I just said they don’t have to live there.”
    “What about the dragons? Don’t they all live in the same place?”
    “Not at all. You’re talking about Dragon Isle?”
    “Yeah.”
    “A lot of dragons like to live together, but they aren’t all on Dragon Isle. There are different dragon clans just like there are shifter towns. It’s hard to be a shifter. It’s even harder to be a huge shifter, and dragons get pretty big. A lot of them live together for emotional support.”
    “And sex?”
    “What are you