Bear The Burn (Firebear Brides 1) Read Online Free PDF

 

CHAPTER FIVE
    Tiana
     
    Tiana, the hell did you get yourself into!?
    It was easy to chide herself with a big glass of wine in front of her face, even if she was barely paying it any attention and spending all her powers of concentration on tracing the yummy contours of Royce’s body. Being around him was unfair. He wasn’t just a good-looking guy, but he was smart, and funny, and a bit of a cocky bastard—all things Tiana loved or loved to hate.
    And the more she looked at him, the more easily she could imagine that thick, divine cock of his and the things it could do to her. She bit her lower lip, grinning to herself. Oh yes, she bet it would be all kinds of fun getting to know that side of Royce Hamilton. Trying to drown the beginnings of a blush again, she took a sip of the wine and kicked back in the high-backed wooden chair in the kitchen, watching him cook.
    Oh, and he cooked . How’s that for unfair? The only time she didn’t have to do something in the kitchen was when she went all the way to Idaho on a lark and found herself getting way too infatuated way too fast.
    “So, why are you doing this?”
    “I like my protein rare and my veggies crisp. I know you Texas girls know your meat, but I can’t trust you with vegetables,” Royce quipped, looking over his shoulder and winking.
    She wanted to simultaneously bash his head in with a frying pan and climb him like a jungle gym.
    “No, I mean why are you taking this whole Idaho thing on? You used to be a firefighter, right?”
    “You don’t stop being a firefighter. But yes, I quit my job in Boston and am now in the process of moving out here for good.”
    He slid two thick steaks onto simple white porcelain plates that looked like they’d been in use for at least a few generations, and added a side of veggies and salad. Picking both plates up, he walked to the dinner table and Tiana’s stomach growled in approval. She was so hungry she could eat a horse, so a slab of beef would be no problem whatsoever.
    “Seems like a very sudden lifestyle change,” she coaxed, digging into her meal.
    “You’re the one to talk, Miss I-Just-Need-A-Break,” Royce shot back with a chuckle. “All right, I will admit, it does not sound entirely sane, but I feel I might be in the right kind of company to divulge this. This is my ancestral home. I grew up here, or at least I spent my first few years here. Guess I’d tried to forget all about it for some reason, because I was sure I’d never been here. But the moment I stepped on the grounds, I knew.”
    “Knew what?” she asked, taking a mouthful of the wine to mask her dry throat from sitting so close to Royce.
    The heat emanating off of his body was so lusciously inviting that she briefly considered getting off her chair and curling up in his lap instead. It certainly looked like there would be plenty of room for her there. She was no small woman, with wide hips and a figure that fit the hourglass bill, but the glances Royce kept throwing at her ass and other assets spoke of a mutual appreciation. Somehow, that made her feel very good.
    “That this was my home. That I couldn’t leave even if I wanted to,” he said, shrugging his shoulders. “But enough about me. Tell me, Miss Rossum, what are you running from?”
    “Do I have to be running from something? Can’t I be running toward something?”
    “The only thing you could be running toward right now is me, in this scenario. And as much as I wouldn’t mind that one bit, I get the feeling that this is not the only reason you’re here.”
    Tiana rolled her eyes playfully, trying and failing to hide her pleasure from the conversation. He was a sharp guy, not just a dumb pile of meat. It was unfair that he kept getting better by the minute and she felt like she was making a bigger fool out of herself just as quickly.
    The sun was slowly setting over the patch of forest and the towering mountains in the distance, filling the kitchen with an orange glow. It