Chapter Eighteen
Waking up snuggled into Bear’s chest had easily become my absolute favorite part of the day. For the last week, this had been our established routine, though we constantly fluctuated back and forth between our two rooms, alternating beds every single night.
Personally, I kept fiercely arguing that his mattress was ten times comfier and that I should just sleep in his room permanently. But Bear, being the stubborn bastard he is, shut that down immediately, claiming it was his personal space and he didn’t want me moving all my “girly shit” into it.
I didn’t even want to move my stuff! I literally just wanted to sleep in his bed.
Oh, and by the way, I was entirely, completely in love with him. I wasn’t even going to try and deny it to myself anymore. The feelings were there, heavy and consuming, and I desperately wanted to tell him. But, of course, I am a massive, little bitch and have been chickening out at every single opportunity.
A soft giggle escapes me as Bear’s grip suddenly tightens around my waist, pulling me closer as he buries his face sleepily into the crook of my neck. I ran my fingers lightly down his strong, heavily tattooed arms. Since I always managed to wake up before him every morning, I spent a lot of time just admiring his ink. My absolute favorite was the massive dragon curling down his skin; it looked incredibly cool and possessed a dark, fierce edge that reminded me exactly of him.
Given how solid it was, it must have hurt like hell to get. Meanwhile, I was still a total tattoo virgin.
My fingers lazily trace soft, mindless circles over his forearm as he slept. But my breath hitches, and I instinctively bite my bottom lip when I felt his morning wood press firmly against my thigh. Now, that was a development that had literally never happened between us before. It was a bit surprising, to say the least.
“Bear,” I whisper, shifting slightly.
He didn’t even flinch.
“Bear,” I hiss a little louder, nudging him.
He let out a low, deeply irritated groan. “Fuck off, Daniella.”
Oh, so he was going to play it that way? Two could absolutely play that game.
“Bear,” I murmur teasingly, leaning up to press a line of soft, deliberate kisses along his jaw and neck. My hand slides down, idly toying with the drawstrings of his sweatpants. “I need you,” I breathe directly into his ear.
“Not now,” he grumbles, refusing to open his eyes.
“Fine then. I guess I’ll just have to go call Adrian and get him to come over instead,” I say airily, planting my hands on the mattress to slide out of bed.
I didn’t even make it an inch. I let out a sharp gasp as Bear lunges forward, flipping me onto my back and pinning me beneath his heavy frame. His large hand securely grasps the front of my neck—not hard enough to choke or bruise me, but with a firm, heavy pressure that was pure, unadulterated dominance.
“No other man is ever going to touch you,” he growls down at me, his emerald eyes flashing with dangerous heat. “You are fucking mine.”
“O-okay,” I whisper, my heart hammering against my ribs, entirely turned on by the look on his face.
“Now,” he says, a dark, wicked smirk suddenly breaking through his expression as he intentionally eases his weight off me. “I’m going to go sleep in my own room.”
“No!” I whine, reaching for him.
“You really thought your little stunt was going to work?” he questions, entirely amused as he stands up from the bed. “Have fun getting yourself off.”
With that parting shot, the bastard turns around and storms straight out of my room.
Determined not to let him win, I scramble off the mattress. I didn’t even bother putting on a shirt or a pair of pants, tracking his footsteps down the hallway in nothing but my underwear.
Predictably, he was waiting for me, leaning casually against his bedroom doorframe with his arms crossed over his bare chest. I walk right into his space, snuggling tight against him and wrapping my arms around his waist.
“I swear, I have you completely wrapped around my little finger,” he whispers roughly against my ear.
I just hum in response, completely ignoring the comment as I slide my hands beneath the waistband of his sweatpants, gripping his bare ass. “I want you,” I breathe, leaning up on my toes to press my lips to his.
His hands instantly flew to my face, his fingers tangling in my hair as he deepens the kiss into something hot, heavy, and consuming. Emboldened, I began to trail my hands around to his front, when a loud, sharp cough shatters the silence of the apartment.
“Ahem.”
I gasp, violently ripping myself away from Bear as my eyes dart towards the kitchen.
Standing by the counter was a tall guy, watching us with an incredibly amused expression. Bear’s face instantly darkens into a thunderous scowl. “What the actual fuck are you doing here, Darren?”
Darren. My brain scrambles to connect the dots. This was Bear’s older brother.
And then, the horrifying reality of the situation fully set in. I was standing in the middle of the hallway completely half-naked.
I let out a mortified squeak, bolting straight into Bear’s bedroom, and snatch the first oversized hoodie I could find off his floor. Slipping it over my head, I finally force myself to walk out into the kitchen. Bear was already at the counter, brewing two mugs of coffee, while Darren sat casually on a barstool, taking in the scene.
“So, you must be Danny,” Darren says, turning his head to look at me as I approach. “My wife literally talks non-stop about you.”
“Hopefully only good things,” I joke weakly, sliding onto the stool right next to him.
“Very much so,” Darren smiles.
“I’m going to ask you one more time,” Bear cuts in, his voice pure ice as he slides a steaming mug across the marble toward his brother. “What are you doing here?”
“Thought I’d come check in on my baby brother,” Darren replies smoothly, taking a slow sip. “Is that a crime?”
“You could have fucking called,” Bear scowls.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” Darren murmurs, a teasing smirk playing on his lips. “Didn’t realize I was going to walk in on a live show.”
My cheeks instantly erupt into a fierce, bright crimson blush, and I quickly avert my eyes to stare at the counter.
“Shut your damn trap, asshole,” Bear hisses at his brother.
Trying to desperately steer the conversation into safer waters, Darren turns back to me. “So, what is it you do, Danny?”
“I study at Cornell,” I answer, clearing my throat.
“Oh, nice. What are you majoring in?”
“Marketing,” I reply.
“Good choice,” Darren nods. “You should honestly ask Jay for some business advice if you ever need it. That guy secretly owns thirteen other beauty parlors across America.”
My jaw drops slightly. “Wow. Honestly, I thought he only had the one salon here.”
“Nah, this specific one is just family-based,” Darren explains. “He cuts the hair; I do the tattoos—”
“Wait, did you do Bear’s tattoos?” I interrupt, my curiosity instantly piqued.
“Every single one of them,” Darren confirms with a proud nod.
“I am completely obsessed with the dragon on his arm,” I gush.
“Yeah, well, the psycho made me sit there and finish the entire piece in one single day,” Darren states, shaking his head. “Your boyfriend is a literal freak.”
Darren suddenly hisses out a curse as Bear solidly punches him in the shoulder while walking past our stools. “I’m taking a shower,” Bear grumbles. He pauses briefly, leaning down to press a quick, rough kiss to my flushed cheek before disappearing down the hallway.
“He is just fantastic company, isn’t he?” I giggle, watching him go.
“Oh, he absolutely loves me,” Darren chuckles. “He just hates showing it.”
“Yeah... I hear you on that one,” I mutter softly, staring down at my hands.
Darren tilts his head, studying my expression. “What do you mean by that?”
“He’s just... incredibly hard to read sometimes,” I murmur, thinking of how tightly Bear guarded his emotions.
“You just have to learn to read the specific things he does,” Darren claims, his tone softening. “Mitchell will do this massive, life-altering thing for you, and then he’ll act like it’s not a big deal at all.”
“Well, I mean... he did surprise me with brand new furniture for my room the exact day I moved in,” I recall, counting on my fingers. “And then he had that guy beaten up for me—the one who completely ditched me on our date, and—”
“Wait a minute,” Darren interrupts, his brow furrowing. “The Adrian kid?”
I nod. “Yeah.”
“Danny... that was me,” Darren states flatly.
“What?!” I gasp, staring at him in total shock.
“I owed Mitchell a massive favor, and he called me the exact night of your date,” Darren explains, leaning his elbows on the counter. “He told me I needed to track this kid down and scare the absolute shit out of him.”
“What could you possibly owe him a favor for that would warrant that?” I question, completely baffled.
Darren’s easy smile instantly fades, a heavy, somber shadow falling over his face. He frowns, looking at me intently. “You... you don’t actually know?”
“No,” I say slowly, a cold knot of dread forming in my stomach. “Know what?”
Darren swallows hard, his voice dropping into a quiet, painful whisper. “Mitchell went to jail for me, Danny.”
My jaw completely drops. I couldn’t even process the words. “How? Why would he do that?”
“Years ago, I was desperately trying to support Mac while she was pregnant,” Darren confesses, staring blankly into his coffee mug. “I got caught up in some really bad shit—stealing cars and selling them for fast cash. When the cops finally started building a case and getting on my tail, Mitchell stepped right in. He went to the station and told them it was entirely him. I begged him not to do it, I tried to stop him, but he just looked at me and said there was absolutely no way in hell he was going to let me miss the birth of my first child.”
“Oh my god,” I whisper. The tears hit my eyes instantly, spilling over my eyelashes before I could even try to stop them.
“When he actually went away... the guilt completely tore me apart,” Darren murmurs, his throat tight. “And then he finally came out of there, and he couldn’t even stand the feeling of people touching his skin. It just made me feel a thousand times worse.”
“Darren, you shouldn’t carry that guilt around,” I say softly, wiping my face and gently placing a comforting hand on his knee. “Bear is a lot of things, but he isn’t stupid. He wouldn’t have taken the fall for you if he didn’t truly believe he could handle it. He did it because he loves you.”
Darren let out a breath, giving me a grateful, watery smile. “Thanks, Danny.”
“Does... does Mac know about this?” I ask.
Darren let out a grim scoff. “Of course she does. I physically can’t keep a single shit from that woman.”
“Okay, good,” I breathe. “What about Jay?”
“God, no. Jay has absolutely no idea because the man literally cannot keep a secret to save his life,” Darren laughs, the heavy tension finally breaking.
“Yeah, Bear always calls him a big mouth,” I smile through my lingering tears.
As the sound of the running shower echoes from down the hall, I look toward the bathroom door, my heart swelling up so much it actually ached.
It was official. I didn’t just have a crush, and I wasn’t just falling. I officially, deeply loved Bear.
He was, without a shadow of a doubt, the greatest man I had ever known.