“You think?” I teased.
He was keeping things light and playful. I’d always loved this side of him, but I also had to wonder why. I had the feeling this grown-up Baine was far more serious.
He followed me into the kitchen without putting any clothes on. I had at least grabbed my robe, more out of habit with Macie around.
As I pulled out some sausage and eggs from the fridge, his phone rang.
“Baine here.” There was a pause. He shook his head as he walked over to the window and flipped the bird. “You’re a creep. Stop being a peeping Tom. The humans would have you arrested for this shit. Yeah, you’re damn lucky to get a glimpse of all this.” He turned around and smacked his ass as he danced around in front of the window. I couldn’t help but laugh. He was absurd. “If my girl wasn’t decent… yeah, that’s right. Big bombs and don’t forget it. We’re just having some breakfast and then going out for a run.” He winked at me and grinned. “Yup, corrupting her already. She took the day off so tell Silas not to get his panties in a bunch. I need this.” He kissed me and then disappeared returning with boxers on. “Asshole has eyes everywhere,” he whispered. “Yeah, I’m talking about you, so what? Hey, what’s the pot up to? I’m not telling but put me down for $50. What? Why can’t I bet against myself? Whatever.” He pushed end without even saying goodbye.
“Everything okay?”
“Oh, yeah. That was just Tarron giving me shit.”
“What were you trying to bet on?”
“They have a pool going over how long I’ll last before claiming you.”
I had just taken a sip of orange juice and started to choke. “Why would they bet on something like that?”
He grinned. “Because I always start a pool the second a new one falls. Never expected it to be me, but I can hardly fault them for keeping up with my tradition. Assholes won’t let me throw in though.”
I shook my head. Maybe this grown-up Baine wasn’t quite as serious as I thought. “Wouldn’t that be cheating? You do have quite a bit of control over that one.”
“Nah, they’re forgetting the wild card.”
“What’s that?”
“You.” He kissed me. “I’m not marking you mine until I know for absolute certain it’s what you want. Might even make you beg me for it.”
I rolled my eyes. This was the life I had dreamed up and wished for so many times. My cheeks were going to hurt from smiling so much. I couldn’t be happier having him back in my life. Maybe I should have been upset and hurt over everything that happened, but it was a long time ago. I’d been so lonely. Being a single mom wasn’t easy. I didn’t feel so alone with Baine here.
Breakfast was nice. It was so easy to be with him. Sometimes it felt as though he never even left. I knew that was just because of the happy bubble we had secluded ourselves in for this brief moment in time. Reality would soon come crashing back on the both of us. I had responsibilities and so did he. I was going to make sure we made the most of it and enjoyed every second alone though.
“Okay, ready?”
“Do I need to get dressed? Where are we going?”
“Nope. Just to the back porch.”
He growled. I tilted my head and watched him trying to discern what he was irritated about.
“Sorry. Tarron’s watching the full perimeter. I know it shouldn’t be a big deal.”
“You just don’t want anyone else to see these stretch marks,” I teased.
He frowned and pulled me to him. “Those are Macie marks, right?”
I quietly nodded wondering what he was thinking.
“I’d have been there, O. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t. Baine you didn’t know. You couldn’t have known. It’s not like we’d planned her or anything. Maybe if I’d told you sooner it would have all ended differently, but I can’t live in the maybes. I can’t beat myself up rehashing what I could have done when I can’t control that now and neither can you. Eyes forward, okay?”
He gave me a sad smile and nodded as he lowered his head to kiss me. I was shocked by how much I wanted him again. I groaned and pushed him back.
“Run or back to bed?”
“You’re giving me a choice?”
I gave him the mom stare that always made Macie squirm and reconsider things.
“Fine, run first, then I’m taking you back to bed.”
“Is that a promise?”
He grinned. “Definitely.”
At the door he halted and looked around. I could sense his bear close to the surface and both of them were on edge.
“I can shift in here if it will make you feel better.”
The relief on his face told me it was the right thing to do. I made a show of removing my robe, but then shifted into my bear quickly. There was no sense in needlessly stressing him out.
“Your bear is gorgeous,” he said. He ran his hand through my fur and it was the oddest sensation I’d ever experienced. No one had ever petted me before. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it.
As I walked outside, he stripped out of his boxers and tossed them inside, then shut the door. His shift was fast. One second he was standing there in all his naked glory and next the largest and most magnificent bear I’d ever seen was standing in his place.
He walked over and sniffed around me and then rubbed up against me. The affection pleased my bear. I forced us to turn and walk towards the woods. There was a big open field a short walk from the house that we were safe to run in. It was a beautiful day so it was possible we wouldn’t be the only ones out there.
I took my sweet time strolling through the woods. He seemed perfectly content to walk beside me. I appreciated that. I had a strong independent streak that came with being a single mom. I didn’t know how I would handle things if he tried to assert too much dominance over me.
When we got to the edge of the woods, I swung my head towards the field and he nodded. I took off running into the field. My bear never tolerated running for long. She preferred to stretch her legs at a slower pace, but it felt wonderful to have the wind through my coat for even a short period.
I could hear the thudding of Baine’s powerful paws across the ground just behind me. When I tried to look back at him, I tripped and tumbled over. He ran to my side to check on me, but I playfully swiped him with my paw. He looked momentarily stunned but recovered quickly as he dove towards me.
We rolled across the ground batting at each other. From a distance it might have looked like we were fighting, but there was no malice behind it. Both of our bears had mischievous natures. It made for a fun adventure.
Suddenly, Baine stilled and turned, rising to his full height on two legs and roared in warning.
I scrambled to my feet and looked around. My bear was on full alert. Nearby two unmated males watched us curiously. I recognized them both and knew they were no threat, but Baine’s bear didn’t seem to feel that way.
High aggression continued to rise as he zeroed in on our audience and started walking towards them. They weren’t stupid, I saw their eyes widen in surprise as they turned and scrambled off. Baine continued to grunt until they were out of the area.
I approached him cautiously, even knowing there was no way he would ever purposefully hurt me. I rubbed against him and he dropped back to all fours before rubbing all over me. I knew he was scenting me.