Heart of the Bear (Hells Canyon Shifters Book 5) by T. S. Joyce Page A

I talk to you, and you are such a strong woman that I change my mind and think I’ve finally met my match.”
    “We’re on quite the roller coaster right now, aren’t we?”
    “You have no idea,” he muttered. “Come here. You deserve a reward for taming my bear.” He pulled her onto his lap and straddled her legs around his hips.
    “Rae the Bear Tamer.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and said, “I like the sound of that.”
    He chuckled and lifted the hem of her shirt. In the same motion, he slid his hand into the front of her tights and pressed his finger inside of her.
    Rae gasped and rocked her hips against his palm. Self-conscious, she looked around to make sure they were alone.
    “Don’t worry, princess. I’ll hear if anyone is coming.”
    His plunging finger already had her straining for release. And when he pulled out and added another finger, she was nearly gone. “Oh,” she moaned, tossing her head back. She maneuvered closer to his hips as he started rocking against the rhythm she was setting. When she lowered her eyes back to him, he was watching her with such focus, she let him see what he was doing to her. Panting, she gripped his hair and shattered around his fingers. She hunched against him in an attempt to keep quiet, whispering his name over and over as the aftershocks pounded through her. Clenching his shirt, she tasted the skin at the base of his neck and grazed her teeth against his tripping pulse.
    And when she finally relaxed her legs and eased back, Jesse wore the most satisfied grin she’d ever seen.

Chapter Nine
    “Here you go,” Jesse said, handing Rae an oversized sweater.
    The evening had become colder than he’d anticipated, and though she hadn’t asked him for a jacket, he had to do something to stop her shivering.
    Stretching up on her tiptoes, she kissed him, then pulled his sweater over her head. The thing swallowed her and hung down to her knees, but he thought she was the cutest damned thing in it. She didn’t know it yet, but that hoodie was officially hers.
    As he sat in the lawn chair behind her, she sniffed the fabric subtly and allowed him to pull her into his lap. What did it smell like to her? For a human, she sure seemed to use that nose of hers a lot.
    Dinner had been pot-luck picnic leftovers and hot dogs cooked over the open bonfire. Now that it was full-dark, most of the Hells Canyon shifters had gone back down to their homes in Joseph. Some of the Seven Devils clan had gone back to camp as well, but Jesse’s closest friends still lingered.
    Jesse pulled Rae closer against him, his bear instinctively wanting to keep her warm and safe. At first, he’d thought the bond was the worst thing in the world that could’ve happened to him and Rae, but now, he couldn’t imagine life without it—without her. He was already spoiled with the connection to her, depending on her, and letting her into his life, little by little.
    Bron gripped his shoulder as Rae was talking animatedly about a road trip she’d taken with her mom to Boston in the fall, and he had to consciously pry his attention away from her. He wanted to know everything about her. Every detail including how happy her childhood had been.
    “I still can’t believe Jesse Hayes has bonded.” Bron squatted down next to his chair and handed him a cold bear. He clinked his bottle against Jesse’s and grinned. “And with a human, no less.”
    Bron, out of everyone, would understand the strain that came with that. He and Samantha had been separated for years because of being from two different worlds. Bron nodded, and his bright eyes grew serious. “I’m happy for you. You did right by not pushing her away like I did with Sam. You saved both of you a lot of years of heartache by seeing your connection to her for what it is.”
    Rae had gone quiet and leaned back against Jesse’s shoulder, listening.
    “So, you don’t mind that I’m not a bear?” she asked.
    “No, not me,” Bron said.