Tobias’s lips turned up in an answering smile as he pulled a pillow from the bed and dropped it onto the pallet he’d made on the floor.
She was snuggled in the bed with the low noise of the television in the background. She’d been itching to watch TV, but when she was around Tobias, he somehow commanded all her attention. “Are you nesting?” she asked, more curious than ever about the nature of bear shifters.
“No, I’m just making a place to sleep.”
“So you don’t normally prefer to sleep on the floor?”
“Nope.”
“I get cold easily, and you have the air conditioner set at arctic temperatures.”
Tobias sighed, hands on his hips. “Say what you want. I’m shit at hints.”
“If you insist on it being thirty-two degrees in here, the least you can do is give me your body heat. Sleep beside me, McBeefcake.”
“That’s a bad idea.”
“It’s definitely not.”
“Vera, you just came off the island, and our situation is really unusual. I don’t want to rush a physical relationship with you.”
She scrunched up her nose. “I’m in heat.”
“I can tell.”
“I have needs.”
“You’ve been rubbing yourself on me like a needy cat all night.”
“Me-ow.”
“Vera.” He narrowed his eyes and gave her a hard look.
She pouted. “Fine, I won’t seduce you. But I’m serious about not being able to sleep when it’s this cold. I need you.”
Tobias’s pupils contracted to pinpoints, and he froze.
“Sorry. I don’t know why I said that last part.” It was true, but she hadn’t meant to admit it out loud. Not yet. Backpedaling from the uncomfortable mistake, she rushed out, “It’s just that we had such a good dinner, and we talked about your family and what hibernation is like for you, and I felt all close. Too close, I get that. It just feels like I’ve known you for a long time and—”
“That’s the bite talking.”
“What?”
“You haven’t been a shifter for long. What, three years? A claiming mark makes things foggy. Confusing. You’re feeling a bond based on instinct, Vera. Our animals have chosen each other, but we need to give our human sides time to catch up, okay?”
Vera pulled the comforter up higher under her chin and nodded. “Okay.”
“Goodnight, Vera.” Tobias clicked off the light and rustled around in the dark, settling onto his make-shift bed.
“G’night.” Vera sighed and stared at the dark ceiling. The town wasn’t a big one, but there was still light pollution and street noise that made everything seem a little overwhelming. Sure, she would get used to it all in time, but this was night one out of the wilderness, and she was feeling a little adrift. And cold. Really cold. She clenched her teeth together so they wouldn’t chatter.
Okay, Tobias had slammed on the breaks. Dinner had been amazing, and he’d even rested his boot against hers under the table as they talked and ate. He’d even let her try everything on his plate without getting territorial. It was one of those dates that made her draw up and think, this could be something. Not just a contract pairing, but something special. Tobias was thoughtful about his responses, quiet, reflective, good at listening. His heavy dominance and the growl in his throat didn’t even bother her so much anymore because underneath his animal, Tobias was good. A little tortured, a little jaded, and careful sharing any information about himself, but good.
What if he was right? What if she was feeling this incredible connection because he bit her? She didn’t believe in magic much—not as a scientist—but perhaps there was more to a bite from a potential mate than she’d realized. God, this was all so confusing. She felt pulled in a hundred directions and dizzy from the whirlwind day, but the more she thought about it, the more she was convinced it wasn’t just the bite that made her feel this way about him.
She’d been in love before and knew what it felt like. It wasn’t love with Tobias yet, because it was much too soon, but she was getting the same flutters in her stomach she’d had with Jonathan. A bite couldn’t do that…could it?
Gritting her teeth at how mortifying this would be, she slipped from bed, pulled the comforter with her, and tiptoed to Tobias’s still form. Her night vision had kicked in, and he was lying on his side, facing away from her. Good. Quietly, she laid down beside him, dragging the comforter over them.
“What are you doing?” he asked in a sleepy voice.
Snuggling against his back, she rested her hand on his waist and said, “I’ve cared for a man before, and this feels the same.”
He let off a long exhale, then pulled her hand around his torso and pressed her palm onto his hard chest. “The man who Turned you?”
Digging her chin into his back muscles so he could feel her answer, she nodded. “I was always interested in molecular genetics and majored in it in college.”