“I doubt that,” I whisper under my breath as I watch her walk to the bathroom. Fucking hell… those hips in those jeans… they’re killing me.
I’ll be dreaming of that ass all night if she leaves me.
I hope she’s not that cruel.
The sun is starting to set by the time the coffee shop closes and they kick us out. Bailey looks radiant in the soft pink light of the setting sun. I stare at her and wonder if I’ve ever seen anything so beautiful in all of my life.
The answer is no.
I take her hand and slide her tiny fingers between mine. Holding her hand feels so natural. It feels so right.
“Are you hungry?” she asks as she looks up at me with an adorable smile. “Should we get some dinner?”
“I’ll do anything if it means that we get to stay together.”
She laughs. “Dinner it is then. There’s a great Italian place up ahead. You interested?”
“You lead the way.”
We talk and laugh as we walk down the street. I’m so absorbed with her that I don’t notice we’re approaching the fire station until it’s too late.
I tense up as I smell the scent of grizzly bears.
“Let’s go back,” I say in a voice that’s part growl. My bear is on full alert, ready to break out to protect our girl.
Bailey lets go of my hand and bounds forward. “Hold up. I want you to meet someone. Enzo!”
She yells out into the open garage and I watch in horror as my worst enemy walks out with a smile. She runs over and leaps into his arms as I watch with a pounding in my ears. Rage is taking over. He’s touching my mate. He’s a dead man.
I grit my teeth and start charging over when she turns around.
“Roman, this is my brother Enzo!”
I stop in my tracks as my stomach drops. My brain fizzles out. Her… brother?
Enzo growls when he spots me standing there. He takes Bailey and shoves her behind his back like he’s protecting my own mate from me.
My bear snarls inside, begging to be released.
“Bailey!” Enzo snaps. “Get in the fire station. Now!”
“Don’t talk to her like that!” I snap back. Adrenaline is surging through me. Every muscle in my body is flexed and ready for violence.
“What is going on?” Bailey asks, looking confused as she yanks her arm out of his grasp and walks between us. “Do you guys know each other?”
Her head keeps whipping from me to Enzo and back again.
“Get in the fire station, Bailey,” Enzo snarls again.
I can’t stand this fucking guy. If his sister wasn’t here, I’d bite his head off.
“What is happening here?” she asks in a panic. Enzo’s face is nothing but cold hard hate. She’s getting nothing from him so she turns to me. “Roman?”
“What are you doing with him?” Enzo snarls.
She turns back to her brother. “He’s my mate.”
Enzo’s face drops. He looks like he’s going to be sick.
Then he looks mad.
Then, murderous.
“Come with me,” I say as I grab Bailey’s arm. Enzo is shaking all over and I can tell his grizzly bear is about to explode out of him.
I throw her over my shoulder and take off running down the street. I hear the ripping sound behind me and then a bloodthirsty roar as Enzo phases into his bear.
I don’t stop to turn around. It’s going to slow me down too much.
My pulse is racing as I pump my legs as fast as they’ll go, slamming my feet into the pavement as I sprint to my pickup truck.
I can hear the grizzly bear’s grunts behind me as he chases us down. There’s no doubt he’s going to try and kill me if he catches up to us. This is no longer a fun bar fight. This is life and death.
I could kill him if I wanted to, but I don’t want to anymore. He’s my mate’s brother and she would never forgive me if I murdered her sibling in front of her.
My truck comes into view and I grab my keys out of my pocket as I run.
Bailey is clinging onto my shirt, too scared to scream. I’m clutching onto the small of her back and even through all of this, I can’t help but realize how close my face is to her pussy.
I reach my truck, yank the door open, toss her in, and leap over the hood. I manage to get behind the wheel just as Enzo’s furious grizzly bear arrives.
“Come on,” I hiss under my breath as I shove the key in and start the engine. I turn the wheel and hit the gas as hard as I can. The grizzly slams into my truck, knocking it onto two wheels for a second before it falls back down.
I floor it out of there and wince when I hear the sound of grinding metal. I glance in my side mirror and see the grizzly’s paw running along the side of my truck, tearing up the metal door with his long black claws.