I lean back in until our lips touch and our breaths are one. “You are mine, sweet Rose,” I breathed into her mouth. “Say it.”
“I am yours,” she whispers against my lips.
Our first kiss was one of pure joy. I will do everything in my power to make sure every kiss from here on out is the same. I can't wait to spend the rest of my days with Rose by my side.
Little did I know how soon she would be taken from me.
Chapter Fourteen
Rose
A week has passed since I turned twenty-five. After we left Bear's mothers home we came back to his cabin. I haven't left since. Not that I'm complaining. It's beautiful and peaceful here. Bear goes to the clubhouse for hours a day to do what he calls 'club business', but he always has someone stay here with me while he's gone. I have yet expressed the desire to return there.
He has yet to ask.
He also hasn’t kissed me since that first time. My first kiss. It was as perfect as I always dared imagine.
The past couple of days something has changed. Bear comes home, showers, tucks me into bed and goes to sleep in his room. He's quiet, and when he does speak to me it's just a couple words. Yet, every morning I wake up wrapped in his arms practically shoved under his body. I still have nightmares, but they aren’t as frequent.
I'm now sitting in the kitchen drinking a glass of milk and watching the storm out the window. I’m wearing a beautiful light pink sleep gown that Bear bought me. As another birthday gift, he had bags full of clothes waiting for me when we came back to his cabin. I’ve never felt so cared for.
“How long have you been up?” I jump when I hear his voice. Turning, I see him leaning on the fridge wearing nothing but sleep pants.
“About an hour,” I turn and look back out the window. The wind is blowing hard enough to cause the trees to sway drastically. “The storm is very angry tonight.”
“Give me your eyes, baby.” I take a second longer to admire the strength of the storm before turning and giving him what he's asked. It's much easier to look him in the eyes than it was when I first came here. It's only been a week, but it feels more like home than father's house ever was.
“I need to tell you something.” Bear kneels in front of me, wraps one hand around the back of my neck, and places the other on my hip. I can tell whatever he has to say is serious.
“Two days ago, there was a break-in at your house. The place was trashed. Looked like whoever it was, was searching for something.” I can tell there's something else, but Bear remains silent.
“What aren't you telling me, Bear?”
He scoots closer until the only thing I see is his eyes. He's holding my gaze and refusing to let go.
“Your father was killed, baby. Whoever it was that was in your home shot him while he slept.”
Killed? My father is dead? In my house?
“Not my home.”
“What?”
“Father's house is not my home.”
Bear searches my face as if he's looking for an answer only I can give him.
“Rose, did you hear what I said?” he asks.
“Yes, you said father was dead. That he was killed.”
Bear leans back and all I can do is focus on his eyes. His beautiful, warm, blue eyes.
“Sweetheart, tell me what's happening in here,” he says tapping my temple.
“I think I'm a bad person, Bear.”
Bear lifts me out of the chair, sits and places me sideways on his lap.
“You are as far from bad as a person can get. What's in that mind of yours that's making you come up with such a crazy thought?”
I'm afraid to say out loud how I'm really feeling, but I know Bear won't stop until I do.
“I don't feel anything.” I stare down at my hands too afraid to see the disgust on his face. “You tell me my father is dead, and I feel nothing. I'm not relieved, I'm not angry or sad. I just feel...nothing.”
Bear wraps his arms around me and holds me tight against his body. His arms are the safest place I've ever been. But, even now, I feel nothing.
“That's a perfectly normal reaction for someone who went through what you did at his hands,” Bear says against my temple.
My only thought is how his long beard tickles my shoulder when he talks. It feels like every part of who I am went silent, and I can only focus on my shoulder. I reach up and comb my fingers through his beard.
“It's strangely soft,” I whisper. “I thought it would feel rough.”
“Oh, my sweet Rose. You're in shock. We're going to bed, and we'll discuss this more tomorrow if you’re up to it.”
“Is this why you’ve been acting differently for the past couple of days? I know I don’t really know you, but I can tell something has been bothering you.” Bear looks confused for a few seconds before his eyes grow warm with understanding.
He presses his forehead against mine. “You have no idea how much you mean to me,” he whispers. He’s holding my gaze and squeezing my hips tighter against his body. “If you could read my thoughts you would run in the opposite direction. I’m crazy about you, baby. I knew from the moment I met you that you were it for me.”
“Really?” I ask. To say I’m shocked is an understatement.
“Really. I’m yours, Rose. I would have had a ring on that finger the night we met if I didn’t fear it would run you off. And, as soon as you’re ready, I’m putting my baby in your belly.”
What? A baby? A ring? “Don’t you think it’s too soon for that type of conversation?” I ask him.
“Like I said, opposite direction.”
It didn’t get by me that he avoided my question. “Why have you been acting so different?”
He takes a deep breath and lets it out while pulling back to look at my face. “I’m sorry, baby. I’m trying to make you safe. There are some things you don’t know, and I’d like to keep it that way unless I think you need to know for safety reasons.”
“Things involving my father?” Just the mention of my father has my eyes lowering to my lap. “If that’s the case, Bear, he’s dead. You can tell me.”
Bear gently grabs my chin and forces my head up. “You mentioned that your father had business with Roman Hernández?”
I let out a single humorless laugh. “If by business you mean selling me to him, then yes. Why?”
“I told you before that the club has been looking into Hernández,” I nod my head not sure I’m liking where this is going. “The FBI has been trying to build a case against him for years. He’s smart. Never gets his hands dirty. Leave’s the illegal work to his lackey’s. But the thing is, baby, he made two fatal errors.”
I look up into Bears eyes and notice they’re very dark. Not just in color, but in anger.
“What errors?” I ask. Even though I can see the darkness fighting its way out, I’m not afraid. I let his darkness, his anger, surround me like a shield. Keeping everyone out and keeping me safe.
Bear’s looking over my shoulder not really focusing on anything. The storm in his eyes is much stronger than the one outside. “He hired a piss pore lackey. My boys caught him and rung out every bit of information he had. Including a small shipment of women he plans to sell in four days.”