table. “I’m not uncomfortable. Of course we’ll be friends.” Her heart raced. He had no idea how he made her feel. If he did, she’d be embarrassed out of her mind.
He lowered his voice to a low whisper. “I look forward to seeing what you paint while you’re here.”
She swirled the ice in her soda, watching the cubes spin and trying to ignore the lust he stirred in her. “Not today. Besides, I haven’t painted any yet. Right now I’ve got to get home and put the food up—”
“The food will be okay while we eat.” From the tone of his voice, she suspected he didn’t take his eyes off her.
“Yeah, okay.” Amy scanned the café, refusing to meet his gaze. It held maybe ten tables and booths—probably enough for half the town to eat at once—but only one other booth was occupied. Such a difference from metro Atlanta where you could go your whole life without seeing the same person in a restaurant twice.
Whether that was a good thing or not remained to be seen. One really great thing about the small town...the park ranger was one sexy guy with a heart of gold. She hadn’t found that in the big city.
“I mean it. I still want to see your artwork.” His tone changed to teasing. “Do you do any nudes? Self-portraits?”
She whipped her gaze to look at him, feeling the color drain from her face. “You sure are persistent.”
He smiled. “Always.”
Chapter Seven
Griff took a bite of his burger, savoring the juices that rolled over his tongue. Nothing like hot food to make him happy, and the burger was his first since waking up.
He’d snacked on chips and power bars between naps and drives into the park to check things and had finally woken up enough to head into town for real food. His first real meals after hibernation always tasted like the best food in the world. Sharing a meal with his mate was the right topping to it all.
Mate . He still couldn’t believe it. And she was human. Beautiful, too. He shook his head. How he’d ended up so lucky, he had no clue. He wasn’t exactly sure how to handle keeping his bear from acting out around her.
He set his burger down. No mistake, he could smell her even over the aroma of the delicious food. All female and meant for him. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to end up ignoring his duty to the den. As much as Elijah wanted grandkids, this wasn’t the time to even consider being with a mate.
What the hell was he thinking? Clearly, she was messing with his mind. His buddies who had mates had said it was like this when they met theirs, but he hadn’t believed all the hype. They’d become all discombobulated, especially when their mates had rejected them. The way his feelings intertwined in his head, he understood what the guys meant now.
The bears needed him to be focused and ready to do his part in the upcoming war with the Sen Pal, not be following behind his beloved like a lovesick cub. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing someone else he loved. His heart couldn’t take it.
His mate called to him.
The golden-haired beauty had woven some kind of spell over his psyche without even trying. She hadn’t meant to—that much was clear. She wanted to be alone and had allowed him to join her out of courtesy, not lust. Probably not even out of much like, either. Being human, she wouldn’t sense that they were mates, would she? He’d have to ask Elijah. One thing was for sure, she made him feel things he hadn’t felt since his family was alive.
The need to protect her overwhelmed him at times, like a waterfall over his better judgment. He’d think of ways to keep her safe, even at the risk of the den.
He sipped his water and pretended not to watch her, though he stole glances as they ate in silence. Then, she looked up at the same time and his heart felt like it swelled to ten times the size. If someone were animating the scene, he’d have rainbow sparkles floating around his head.
Amy was a slave to her manners. Though she was a
He lowered his voice to a low whisper. “I look forward to seeing what you paint while you’re here.”
She swirled the ice in her soda, watching the cubes spin and trying to ignore the lust he stirred in her. “Not today. Besides, I haven’t painted any yet. Right now I’ve got to get home and put the food up—”
“The food will be okay while we eat.” From the tone of his voice, she suspected he didn’t take his eyes off her.
“Yeah, okay.” Amy scanned the café, refusing to meet his gaze. It held maybe ten tables and booths—probably enough for half the town to eat at once—but only one other booth was occupied. Such a difference from metro Atlanta where you could go your whole life without seeing the same person in a restaurant twice.
Whether that was a good thing or not remained to be seen. One really great thing about the small town...the park ranger was one sexy guy with a heart of gold. She hadn’t found that in the big city.
“I mean it. I still want to see your artwork.” His tone changed to teasing. “Do you do any nudes? Self-portraits?”
She whipped her gaze to look at him, feeling the color drain from her face. “You sure are persistent.”
He smiled. “Always.”
Chapter Seven
Griff took a bite of his burger, savoring the juices that rolled over his tongue. Nothing like hot food to make him happy, and the burger was his first since waking up.
He’d snacked on chips and power bars between naps and drives into the park to check things and had finally woken up enough to head into town for real food. His first real meals after hibernation always tasted like the best food in the world. Sharing a meal with his mate was the right topping to it all.
Mate . He still couldn’t believe it. And she was human. Beautiful, too. He shook his head. How he’d ended up so lucky, he had no clue. He wasn’t exactly sure how to handle keeping his bear from acting out around her.
He set his burger down. No mistake, he could smell her even over the aroma of the delicious food. All female and meant for him. If he wasn’t careful, he was going to end up ignoring his duty to the den. As much as Elijah wanted grandkids, this wasn’t the time to even consider being with a mate.
What the hell was he thinking? Clearly, she was messing with his mind. His buddies who had mates had said it was like this when they met theirs, but he hadn’t believed all the hype. They’d become all discombobulated, especially when their mates had rejected them. The way his feelings intertwined in his head, he understood what the guys meant now.
The bears needed him to be focused and ready to do his part in the upcoming war with the Sen Pal, not be following behind his beloved like a lovesick cub. He couldn’t bear the thought of losing someone else he loved. His heart couldn’t take it.
His mate called to him.
The golden-haired beauty had woven some kind of spell over his psyche without even trying. She hadn’t meant to—that much was clear. She wanted to be alone and had allowed him to join her out of courtesy, not lust. Probably not even out of much like, either. Being human, she wouldn’t sense that they were mates, would she? He’d have to ask Elijah. One thing was for sure, she made him feel things he hadn’t felt since his family was alive.
The need to protect her overwhelmed him at times, like a waterfall over his better judgment. He’d think of ways to keep her safe, even at the risk of the den.
He sipped his water and pretended not to watch her, though he stole glances as they ate in silence. Then, she looked up at the same time and his heart felt like it swelled to ten times the size. If someone were animating the scene, he’d have rainbow sparkles floating around his head.
Amy was a slave to her manners. Though she was a
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