NATASHA

The next two days go by so quickly. Petra and I catch up. Our kids play. We share several meals with the family. Other times, we're alone at the house while the others are in town. I learn the names of the new staff. The kids explore the estate's massive grounds.

Siobhan visits with her girls and another time with Hunter. I cry a lot during the second visit. I've missed my friends so much. Hunter is also upset to learn I lived so close and suffered so much without reaching out to her.

"I didn't know how to keep the babies and come home."

Despite Hunter nodding as if she understands, her feelings remain hurt. After all, I trusted Siobhan, and we both kept her in the dark for two years.

Like with my family, I can't simply wave away what's happened. Only time and patience will rebuild what was destroyed when Ollie died and I fled my life.

However, I'm already feeling more like my old self after less than a week back in Banta City. I might be trapped at the estate, but my injuries have improved. I sleep better. I'm less shell-shocked over Andrew's death and returning home. Life makes sense.

I've soon created a routine with the kids. They practice speaking in Czech with my mother at mealtimes. Everyone gets a kick out of how Jacinda still grabs hold of Leon's finger whenever he's standing nearby. Roman and Maks don't ignore the children as much as when I first returned. Everyone seems to be moving past the earlier awkwardness.

Two days after Bear showed up with his demands, I bring Hector and Jacinda to his home. With security at the wheel, I sit in the back seat of the SUV and talk to the kids about how to be sweet to cats.

"They don't like to be picked up," I stress. "You have to be gentle or they'll run away."

The kids nod as they stare wide-eyed out the windows. They're very excited to meet the cats. Even after visiting the horses and meeting my mother's prized greyhounds, they can't stop talking about Bear's cats.

His house is located in the same picturesque neighborhood as Siobhan's. I'm so excited at the prospect of living close to my best friend. If we can get Hunter hooked up, she might move from her swanky new downtown condo to this neighborhood.

Bear's massive rustic house is situated on a large lot behind black security fencing. I'm startled by the sheer size of the property. The line of SUVs pulls through the front gate and parks in the wide driveway.

"Bear," Jacinda says as soon as her little feet reach the ground. "Grr..."

"Yep, that's me," Bear says, strolling over and sounding annoyed. "Just a big fuzzy animal."

"This is Abby Cadabby," she says, lifting her doll for him. "She's my friend. She's a Muppet. I am Muppet, too."

"You're a Muppet?"

Hector hurries to stand with his sister and lifts his Kermit. "We Grover."

Bear looks at me before his gaze flashes around, taking in the sight of my security detail. I didn't need so many armed men back when I ran around town with Siobhan and Hunter. One or two were enough, but things have changed. Likely because I'm still considered a flight risk. Or maybe there's more going on in Banta City than I'm privy to.

When Bear's gaze focuses on me, he searches for something. The biker refuses to offer me a clue to what he's thinking, so I explain what doesn't need explaining.

"Their old last name was Grover. They think they're part of the Muppet family."

Bear frowns like my words are stupid. I instantly feel scolded and insecure. I'd been so excited about seeing him. We're getting married. I'm so desperate to love Bear O'Malley. He can be mine.

Yet, as he frowns at the Muppets explanation, I feel myself pulling away and hardening my heart. I hear Ollie's voice in my head. He loved me. I promised to protect him. We were friends in a way I wasn't with anyone else.

Tears fill my eyes as I remember how this sexy beast in front of me was the one to pull the trigger and end my friend.

Bear squats in front of the kids, still wearing that scowl. He points at the dolls and then at the kids' happy faces.

"You can't be Muppets. You're going to be O'Malleys. We live here, not Sesame Street."

The kids don't understand. They look at the house and then at me.

"You can be Muppets anyway," I say, holding a grudge again.

Bear grunts at my words and stands up before telling the kids, "Let's go inside so I don't have to look at your mom's muscle."

I take their hands and glance back at my security detail. They stare forward. Their eyes are hidden by black glasses. I miss the days when the guy following me around was an "uncle." These icy-faced robots make me nervous.

As we enter the house, I'm again startled by how large it is. Siobhan showed me pictures, but I wasn't prepared for the enormous size of this single man's home.

"Why is your house so big?" I ask Bear after he shuts and locks the door.

"What's wrong with it?"

"You live here alone?"

"No, I have the cats."

"Meow," Hector says and his sister replies in kind.

"The boys are in the living room, enjoying the sunlight," Bear tells the kids after shooting me a dark frown.

The kids creep behind him. Bear stops to frown at their weird walking.

"I told them to be careful with the cats," I explain.

"Good. They don't know anything about kids."

Bear's hostility leaves me planted in my spot. He isn't acting like I expected. I was ready for anger when he visited the mansion, but he was highly pushy about us getting married. Now, with me expecting him to be warm, he acts cold and put out.

The kids don't pick up on Bear's aggression. His bad attitude is low-key next to Andrew's outbursts.

Despite the kids creeping and whispering, the cats see small humans and flip out by running to hide under a massive leather couch.

"They ran away," Jacinda tells Bear.

"I don't know what to tell you, kid. They get spooked about things."

"Maybe you can get on the ground and wait for them to get used to you," I suggest when Bear's words only confuse the kids.

Hector and Jacinda nod, plop on their butts, and watch where the cats peek out at them.

Once Bear moves to the kitchen, I see a chance to fix the negative mood between us. I stroke the kids' heads and join him near the massive island.

"Your house is beautiful."

"But?"

"I'm just giving you a compliment."

"You're different today," he says and frowns. "Fake."

"I'm not fake," I reply, struggling to hold my tongue. "Why are you acting different today? You wanted me to come here. Now I am, but you seem to want me to leave."

"No, you're not going anywhere. We're sticking to the deal."

Exhaling unsteadily, I don't want to argue. The kids are overwhelmed with the size of the house and the cats peeking out from under the couch. I should just focus on them. Except I need Bear to understand how I'm not running.

"We're getting married in a month."

"I know."

"You act like you don't trust that will happen."

"You have run before."

Bear narrows his eyes as he watches me struggle not to let Ollie's name fly from my lips. Regaining control of myself, I shrug.

"If I married you then, I wouldn't have them now," I say and gesture at the kids who rest on their stomachs and talk to the cats. "I wouldn't give them up for anything."

"That's why you took that guy's shit, right? Or did you love him?"

"I've only loved one boyfriend before, and he's dead," I reply, gritting my teeth as Bear's words poke at me.

"He was never your real boyfriend."

"You don't know me, Bear. If you keep acting this way, you never will."

"Maybe I don't want to know the real you. The woman I like is hot and fun. The real you is probably annoying."

I glue my lips together to keep from snapping at him. Bear leans closer, sneering at me in his aggressive biker way.

"Spit it out, princess."

"No, I promised my family to make this marriage work. I won't let you goad me into derailing our plans."

"Oh, you're not walking away. I'll marry you even if I have to tie you up and drag you down the aisle."

"It's all ego, isn't it?" I ask, crossing my arms and shaking my head. "It's not about me. Why would it be? I had to throw a fit to get you to spend a night with me. I've always been more invested in the gooey romantic stuff between us than you have."

Thinking back to our time together feeds my temper and keeps me talking.

"But you want to be a hot shot in your club, and I messed that up for you when I ran off. Now, you're forcing yourself to marry me out of ego. Well, you're sticking to the plan," I say and poke him in his hard, unmovable chest.

"You're full of shit."

"Shit," Jacinda whispers to Hector.

Replying in a hushed voice, her brother insists, "You're shit."

I frown at Bear who shrugs and mumbles, "Cussing won't hurt them."

Rolling my eyes, I turn away from him. Bear instantly changes positions. Back in front of me, he blocks my view and swallows the air around us.

"I've always wanted you more," Bear mutters in his rumbly voice. "You're not the victim here."

"You never once showed any interest in me until I flirted with you."

"Yeah, because you were Viktor Kovak's uptight daughter. Why would I think you'd want me inside you?"

"I'm not uptight. I'm just not slutty," I mumble, feeling self-conscious now. "And you're spoiled. Women literally launch themselves at you and stuff their panties down your jeans."

"No, they don't," Bear says, backing off and waving away my accusation. "That hasn't happened in years."

"You were a man-slut, sticking your thing in every willing woman. Meanwhile, you were my first."

"No, I wasn't."

"Well, my first good lay, anyway."

Grinning, Bear leans down to poke me in the chest. "I made you come apart. I did that. You barely helped."

"I was drunk," I mumble and then add more strongly, "And I helped plenty."

"Nope. You had terrible skills. I had to show you where my dick was."

"Dick," Jacinda whispers to Hector, and I noticed they've slithered closer to the wary cats.

"My dick was," Hector whispers back.

Bear frowns at them. "How do they know which ones are the bad words?"

"They hear how your tone changes when you punctuate the bad words. They're not stupid."

"Are you saying I am?"

"Well, you did just claim I needed help finding your dick. Seems like that was more of a self-burn on your size rather than a dig at my skills."

Bear frowns, takes nearly a minute to catch on, and then rolls his eyes. "My dick is plenty big."

"Yes, it is. You're very impressive. So good in bed," I mock and wave my arms around in the way Siobhan does when she's taunting someone in a backhanded way. "What a stunning fella. Is your ego fed enough, you big brute?"

"Boot," Jacinda whispers to Hector.

"Shoe," Hector whispers back as they slither closer to the scared cats.

I notice how King Crab shoves himself further under the couch. Meanwhile, Lobster Mac gets brave enough to inch toward the curious kids.

When my gaze returns to Bear, I find him watching me like he does rude bastards about to get kicked out of the clubhouse.

"Maybe we shouldn't get married," Bear mumbles and shoves his hands in his pockets like a big baby.

"No way, bucko," I say, on the move immediately and erasing the space between us. "You came to my house and demanded the deal. People know this is happening. If you renege, that bullshit splashes on my family. You're sticking to the deal."

"So did good-girl Natasha only agree as a way to make nice with her scary mom and pop?"

I stare into his dark blue eyes and sense the real man hiding behind this rough mask. Without a doubt, I've hurt Bear O'Malley's feelings.

Ha! Good!I'm happy he's suffering. Stupid brute killed Ollie and ruined everything! I ought to rub those facts right in his big, dumb, handsome face!

Instead, I say, "I don't want to marry Joey Del Vecchio. Or any other stranger. I want it to be you. I didn't think it could be you, though. Then, you came to the house and demanded it be you. Now, you're saying you don't want it to be you."

"Do you even want me or are you just looking to stay in Banta City?"

"You feckless, little whiner," I sneer, going from sympathetic to enraged too quickly to pull the emergency brakes. "I flirted with you. I got the ball rolling. I did all the fucking work to get us in bed," I say and poke his hard chest.

Though Bear tries to respond, I'm quick to interrupt. "Then, the next time around, you had the audacity to ignore me. Only after I got upset did you throw me a sympathy fuck."

Bear frowns like I'm in need of a lecture. Before he can say anything, I finish up with, "So, let's not pretend you're the injured victim here. I've long been very obviously attracted to you. You're the cold bitch, not me. You could have enjoyed my body way more than you did if you hadn't been a slutty whore with too many options to settle on little old me."

Cocking an eyebrow, Bear grumbles, "Are you done?"

Thinking about everything I've said, I'm fairly sure I covered all my pertinent points. "Yes actually."

Bear wraps his large hand around the back of my neck and tugs me closer. His lips cover mine, taking what he wants.

I'm tempted to deprive him. He jerked me around back when I'd wanted only him. His sloppiness led to the death of my friend. He's been pushy and entitled since he saw me at the mansion. I really ought to shove him away and make him suffer.

Instead, I lean into the kiss and press my body against his. My fingers skim his chest, enjoying the hard muscles hiding underneath.

I can't think straight when it comes to Bear O'Malley. He's owned a part of me, even before we shared our first taste.

Now, despite how frustrating he's behaving, I can only hold on and hope to never let go.