Bearly Taken (Cub Lake Shifters #2)

Chapter 5

five

WREN

My nerves raged something fierce as I climbed out of bed and got dressed for work. I thought I heard a door open down the hall, but figured I had to be imagining it. Reed had no reason to be up, and Parker hadn’t learned how to climb out of his crib yet.

Plus, the little guy slept like a rock.

When I emerged from the room, I paused in the hallway as the smell of something cooking made my forehead crease.

What the hell?

I hurried into the kitchen, stopping again when I saw Reed standing in front of the stove. He was shirtless, and dressed in nothing but a pair of athletic shorts that clung to the perfect bubble of his backside.

“You’re cooking?” The words slipped out before I could stop them.

He looked over his shoulder, and his lips curved upward as they moved over my figure in the jean shorts and collared shirt that made up my uniform.

“Why are you cooking?” I asked, when he didn’t respond. “Why are you even awake?”

“You didn’t eat before you left yesterday. So, I’m cooking for you.”

I blinked.

He turned back to the stove.

“You don’t need to do that,” I said, padding further into the kitchen. “It’s really early, and I don’t usually eat before work.”

“I was planning to wrap it in tin foil.” He looked over his shoulder long enough to wink. “And I know I don’t need to. I want to.”

I just stood there, entirely unsure how I was supposed to respond.

Part of me wanted to throw my arms around him and thank him.

Part of me wanted to run the other way before the bastard made me care about him again—if I’d ever really stopped caring.

I settled on murmuring thank you before I went back into the hallway so I could stop in Parker’s room. He didn’t budge when the door opened, and his little snores were so cute, I could’ve cried.

I didn’t, though.

I just crossed the room and leaned over the crib to run my fingers through his hair slowly. He didn’t flinch or move, sleeping straight through it. I would’ve bent over to kiss him, but the crib was just too deep.

Placing my hand on his chest, I stayed where I was for a solid two minutes, simply feeling him breathe.

He was perfect.

Flawless.

And I still hated knowing I was going to be away from him, even just for a few hours.

A thought occurred to me—one that made my heart skip a beat.

What if Reed left again, and took Parker with him?

What if I couldn’t get him back?

The fear that coursed through me felt like fire.

I couldn’t lose him. I couldn’t. I wouldn’t survive it.

And though I knew Reed well enough to trust him with our son for a few hours, I didn’t trust him to stay.

Closing my eyes, I forced myself to breathe through the fear.

My mind went back to the way he’d sat in the bathroom while I showered, just to make sure I knew he wasn’t going anywhere. To the way he’d woken up to make breakfast for me. To the way he’d gone to work with me the morning before.

I didn’t trust him to stay… but he was obviously trying. And that effort had to count for something, didn’t it?

Even if it didn’t, pushing him away wasn’t a good answer. If I did that, it would only give him a reason to fight harder. Which could lead to me spending less time with my son, as he was split between our two homes.

I finally forced myself to leave Parker’s room. My stomach was twisted with nerves, but I couldn’t show them.

Reed was putting tinfoil over the bowl he’d filled for me when I made it back into the kitchen.

“I was thinking,” he said, glancing back at me. “I want you to be comfortable leaving me with Parker, so what if you take the keys to both of our vehicles when you go? I’ve got two sets of truck keys—if you take them both, it might make you feel better about leaving him with me.”

Surprise lifted my eyebrows. “How did you know I was worried about that?”

“I know you, remember? We spent a lot of time together before I screwed everything up.”

My chest warmed with the blunt way he labeled his leaving me. That made me feel better, too.

“Alright,” I agreed. “I’ll take the keys, and stop by to pick Parker up before I go to the bookstore.”

“I’ll go with you. I’d like to help you out, whether by watching him or working at the store.”

“We’ll see.”

He chuckled, crossing the kitchen to put the warm bowl of food in my hand. A fork was balanced on top. He grabbed two sets of keys off the counter and put them in my other hand, then leaned in and kissed my cheek.

My heart pounded with the gentle brush of his lips on my skin.

He stepped back without pushing for anything more.

Turning, I forced myself to walk to the front door before I could do something ridiculous—like throw myself into his arms or kiss him back.

He followed me there, his hand brushing my lower back as he opened the door before I could.

Following me to my car, he opened that too.

“You don’t have to do this,” I said, as I slipped into the driver’s seat.

“I want to.” The honesty in his voice was undeniable, and it made my face warm.

“Thanks for breakfast. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

He nodded, and closed the door for me.

I let out a slow breath as I turned the car on while he stepped back and waited.

If he kept up with that, resisting him would quickly grow impossible.

Reed texted me pictures of Parker throughout my shift, as soon as the little guy was up. Whatever lingering fear I had faded away with every message.

When I met them back at Reed’s house—our house—he had the diaper bag already packed to go. When I learned that he’d texted my mom to ask her what I usually brought for Parker, it made my face warm.

While we were at the bookstore, Reed spent the morning in the kids’ area with Parker. During the little guy’s nap, he asked me to teach him how to work the cash register and show him what else I did to keep the place running. Though I was hesitant, he genuinely seemed interested, so I did.

When Parker woke up, Reed told me he’d watch the register until something he couldn’t figure out came up, and waved me into the kids’ room.

My emotions welled in my throat as I spent an hour playing with my son, without worrying about the store. I felt bad letting Callie, Sylvie, or my mom take over like that, so I rarely let them watch the register for me.

The way he could tell I wanted to, and insisted on it, meant the world to me.

When we got home, I found the dinner Reed had left in the crockpot.

It was another one of my favorite meals.

We went through Parker’s evening routine, like usual. The little guy was angrier than he had been the day before, but by some miracle, the yelling and tears didn’t send Reed running.

After we put him in his crib, Reed sat in the bathroom doorway with his back to me while I showered, just like he had the night before.

Despite the worry I’d started the day with, he had done everything he possibly could to ease my fears.

And it worked.

That routine lasted an entire month.

We played house.

Reed stayed.

Parker started calling him “dada,” though he usually yelled it in a battle cry of “DADADADA”.

We ran the bookstore together, though I was still working mornings.

He handled groceries, and paid for them too.

And though he kissed me on the cheek or forehead every morning and evening, he never pushed for anything more than that.

I didn’t, either.

But I wanted to.

I was just terrified of what would happen if I changed the dynamics.

But early into our second month, I parked behind the diner, and didn’t get out of the car.

I’d been up half the night before, thinking about Reed.

My vibrator had disappeared during the move, so I couldn’t do a damn thing about my horniness. I’d never managed to get myself off with my fingers alone, and there hadn’t been time to go to the store for another vibrator.

We hadn’t talked about anything remotely sexual since I moved in, so I was nervous about asking him if he’d seen it.

Which meant I didn’t ask.

Anyway, I was exhausted after being up all night. And horny. And just sort of… done.

I stared at the diner, remembering my conversation with Reed.

He thought I should quit.

I thought so too.

I’d been too nervous to let go of the financial anchor back then, but after a month with Reed, I wasn’t afraid anymore.

And, as he’d pointed out, there was a simple way to create a new anchor for myself.

Filling out the breeding paperwork with the shifter clan.

I’d been worried he would take our son away, but I knew now that wasn’t going to happen. He defaulted to me for everything, until I told him he didn’t need to. He’d made it clear in every aspect of Parker’s life that I was in charge, unless I brought him into the decision-making.

So, I wasn’t worried anymore.

But I was tired of working at the diner every morning. Of not being there when Parker woke up, too.

And there was a simple answer to that problem.

Letting out a long breath, I slipped out of my car with the breakfast Reed had made me, and headed inside for my last day of work.

I wasn’t sure how to tell Reed that I’d quit, so I didn’t say anything about it during the day. Or at dinnertime. Or while we were putting Parker to bed.

When I was in the shower, his back to me, I knew I couldn’t put off the news any longer.

“I quit today,” I said, and Reed’s back straightened.

“You did?”

“Yeah,” I admitted. “I’m going to fill out the breeding paperwork in the morning, so I won’t need the money anymore. Lennie was really cool about it, and told me I don’t need to worry about staying for two weeks while he finds a replacement.”

“Good. You’ve been working too hard.”

“You’re still not planning on leaving, right?” I asked him, unable to stop myself.

“Not a fucking chance.”

The words eased my worries.

“What else did Lennie say?” he asked.

I told him how the conversation had gone down while I finished washing up and stepped out of the shower, wrapping myself in my towel. After I was dressed, he left me with a kiss to my cheek, the way he always did.

He closed my bedroom door as he left, and I stared at it for a long moment before I finally padded to my bed and slipped beneath the blankets.

I managed to get a little sleep before the memories came back.

Reed’s tongue on my clit as he fucked me with his fingers, growling, “Come for me, Beautiful.”

His hands on my ass as he bent me over the kitchen countertop, fucking me hard.

His tongue licking over the claiming mark he’d given me as he made me climax again and again.

I let out a frustrated huff and finally slipped my hand into my panties, barely stifling a groan at the first brush of my fingers over my clit.

Wow, that felt good.

I touched myself until I was desperate for release, but couldn’t manage to make it happen. Frustration had my abdomen in knots as I grabbed my phone off my nightstand with my free hand, and pulled up my texts with Reed before I could let myself rethink it.

Me

Have you seen my vibrator? It went missing during the move

His phone immediately told me he’d read the message, and he didn’t make me wait for an answer.

Reed

Maybe

Me

Maybe? How is that a maybe?

Reed

I might know where it is. And I might be willing to trade it for something.

I huffed.

Me

What do you want?

Reed

I want to taste you. It’s been too long.

I stared down at the message, my heart pounding in my chest and my hand pausing over my clit.

He had always loved going down on me. It drove him crazy. Back when we were together, he’d mouth-fucked me in my car, in his truck, on every surface in his house… he loved having sex, but he was obsessed with having his mouth on me.

And he was really, really good at it.

Another text came through when I didn’t answer right away.

Reed

Don’t leave me in suspense for too long

I bit my lip. Though I knew I should leave things platonic between us, I was too horny to think straight. I sent the answer before I could rethink it.

Me

Fine, bring it to my room

His phone didn’t say he’d read the message, but a heartbeat later, my bedroom door was opening and a gorgeous, shirtless shifter was striding inside. He wore nothing but a pair of boxer-briefs, and carried my bright pink vibrator in his hand.

His cock strained against the fabric, hiding absolutely nothing about how much he wanted me.

“Thief,” I said, breathing a little fast.

“I had to weasel my way back into your bed somehow.”

He shut the door behind himself, and crossed the room in a few large steps. Those gorgeous eyes burned into me as he ripped the blankets off my legs, his face twisting in a snarl when he found my hand in my panties.

“You know better than to touch yourself when I’m here,” he growled, kneeling between my thighs and hooking his finger in the crotch of my panties.

My lower body clenched as he ripped them down my legs.

That had always been our rule, before he bit me—neither of us were allowed to touch ourselves while he was in town. We got off together, or not at all.

“I’m sure you’ve been jerking off,” I breathed.

“No, I haven’t.” He bent my knees so he could tug the panties off my ankles, then lifted them to his nose. With a savage groan, he dragged his tongue over the damp front of them. “Can’t prevent the wet dreams, though.”

“You’ve been dreaming about me?”

“Ever since I walked away.” He pushed my legs open wide, exposing my hot, swollen core as he lowered himself to his abdomen on the bed. “I’m going to lose it while I eat you out, Beautiful,” he said, before dragging his tongue over my clit.

I gasped out a curse, my hips arching as the release finally tore through me.

He didn’t back off as I came, devouring me just as fiercely as he always had before.

My body was his instrument.

He played me like a damn fiddle.

And I loved every minute of it.

Reed’s fingers filled me as he worked me with his tongue until I lost it again, and again after that. When I finally pulled on his hair, he knew what I wanted.

What I needed.

Our chests met before his mouth captured mine, and he kissed me just as brutally as he’d licked me. The taste of my pleasure was on his tongue, but I didn’t care.

I started reaching for his shorts, but he slowed the kiss before ending it entirely. His forehead rested against mine, and I breathed deeply, my breath slowing as I recovered from the pleasure.

His lips brushed my ear as he murmured, “I’ll leave the vibrator in your dresser, but if I hear you using it without me, I’ll come in here and take over again. I’m the only one who gets to give you pleasure.”

He kissed my neck, sucked lightly, then slipped out of my bed. After a stop at my dresser, he strode out of the room without looking back.

Suddenly, my bed felt very cold.

And very empty.

But fixing that would require asking him to come back. If I did that, it would change the dynamics between us.

Permanently.

And I wasn’t sure I was ready for that.

So, I just curled up with a pillow while my heartbeat finally slowed and my body relaxed, until sleep claimed me.