BEAR

My body feels different this morning, after enjoying another taste of the only woman to make it hum. Natasha's scent remains on my sheets long after she's stolen away by her security team. I wake up to the sensation of having her with me.

After feeding the cats, I ride to a club-owned diner called Farmer's Table. Like most Sundays, the place is closed to the public. I enter to find the diner nearly full with local members. I also spot a few guys from the Hills Chapter at several tables.

Tack stands up from the table he shares with Sync, Golden, and Indigo. My friend begins to applaud me. Rather than curtsy like Sync's girls, I just flip off Tack and then the entire room when they begin clapping with him.

I sit in my seat and ignore their amusement. After ordering black coffee, a Denver omelet, and a T-bone steak, I wait for the teasing.

"I can't believe you risked the life of Viktor Kovak's second-favorite daughter," Golden mutters and rubs his head. "If she had fallen off and gotten her face ripped off by the asphalt, do you think he'd still let you marry her?"

"Most definitely," Sick Ricky says from a nearby table. "Who else would want to marry a chick with no face? So, yeah, the Syndicate would keep Bear to his word to ensure they could marry off a faceless Natasha."

"Stop talking about her getting hurt," I growl, standing up to threaten Sick Ricky because the older man is easier to intimidate than my brothers who just laugh at me.

"Settle down," Noble says, strolling over with a grumpy Zoot. "That wasn't your brightest moment."

Settling back in my seat, I grumble, "I'm not scared of Sick Ricky."

"I meant last night with Natasha. If she got hurt, we'd be dealing with a pissed Kovak family."

"What would they do?" Thump asks and smiles at his fellow Hills Chapter members. "Have one of her pretty brothers stare at you and say nothing?"

"They stare at you to keep you focused forward while another one of them comes from behind to sever your spine," Zoot snarls at Thump. "Why are you even here? Get out of the city and go back to your shithole."

"Caveman said we could come," Thump mumbles, acting like a scolded kid, but I know he's full of shit. No way are any Hills Chapter members scared of Zoot when they have to put up with Aunt Fred's brothers on a regular basis. "Besides, I like eggs."

Zoot glares at the man while Noble rubs his tired eyes. "One of the cops from last night got his police car shot up. It's all over the news. Press is playing it as the war-on-cops shit."

"Why should I care?" I ask as my coffee arrives.

"Because that doesn't happen unless Viktor is pissed."

"Wait, you think he had the Syndicate shoot up a car? Seems tame."

Noble glances at Zoot who stops scowling long enough to smirk. "No, Bear, the Syndicate had the pigs shoot up their fellow porker's car while he was inside. It was an act of submission and alliance to the king."

Shrugging, I sip my hot coffee and point out, "Well, they were starting shit with the daughters of powerful people last night. I assumed they wanted trouble."

"Siobhan swears up and down that she was on her best behavior," Zoot says of his niece. "Normally, she's full of shit, but I actually believed her this time."

"Siobhan wouldn't ruin Natasha's bachelorette party just to throw down with dumb bitches," Sync replies as he digs into his pancakes. "Carys, though, would start trouble if her hormones were out of whack."

"Don't talk shit about my woman!" Pork Chop yells from another table. "She's cooking my baby girl. I ought to kick your ass, motherfucker."

Everyone chuckles because Pork Chop doesn't even stop spreading butter on his waffle during his tirade. Full of shit as usual, he just says the words to hear them said.

"Natasha got home safe, yes?" Noble asks as Elvis enters the room and high-fives his club brothers before stopping to measure dicks with Caveman sitting in the corner.

"When her security took her home," I answer as my food arrives, "she was healthy and satisfied."

Tack starts applauding again, just to fuck with me. Golden would join in if he weren't so hungover.

"Stop making noise," the dumb blond whines from under his hair.

Noble pats the younger man's head and leaves me to eat my breakfast.

Aunt Fred doesn't join us for these breakfasts. Instead, she leads catered brunches with her daughters, sister, the club's old ladies, and their kids at the farm.

Not long after I finish breakfast and start riding around town, I get a text from Natasha. She asks to drop by the house for the afternoon so the kids can see their home again.

I reach my house with a few minutes to spare before the line of black SUVs arrives. Exiting the middle one, Natasha glows when I head in her direction. She's wearing faded blue jeans and a red tank top. Her hair is especially wavy today, and I immediately reach out to touch the soft strands.

Behind Natasha, a young woman helps the kids exit the SUV. They look hilarious in matching khaki pants, pale green shirts with roaring T-Rexes on the fronts, sandals, and purple tutus.

The kids hurry over to me and pretend to be bears. Once I growl back, Hector lifts his arms, so I'll pick him up. Meanwhile, Jacinda dances around my legs and meows.

As Hector runs his finger over my vest's seam, Natasha and the young woman join us.

The chick is pretty but plain like an unfinished drawing. She keeps her gaze on the ground as Natasha flashes a big smile at me. I sense I'm about to hear something I won't like.

"This is Natasha," announces my Natasha. "We refer to her as Nat to keep things simpler. To pay off her family's debt to my family, she's agreed to work for us for five years. She has been the night nanny since Petra moved back home. Now, she'll be moving with me and the kids to your lovely house."

"No," I grumble, and Hector shakes his head at his mom.

Ignoring my pissed tone, Natasha keeps her smile. "There's a bedroom near the back of the house, away from the others. It's near the kitchen and has its own bathroom. I think it'll be perfect for our live-in nanny," she explains and gestures toward the woman.

The kids look at me and smile. I want so badly to lose my shit, but I also really want these kids to like me in the way Sync's girls like him and Pork Chop's boys like him. That's the kind of father I'm looking to be, so I swallow my irritation and hold my tongue.

Carrying Hector, I follow Natasha and Jacinda who show Nat to the unfurnished room near the pool area. I think it was supposed to be a spot to stick guests or a mother-in-law. Whatever its purpose, Natasha seems set on moving a stranger into the room.

As they speak in Czech, the woman nods at everything Natasha asks. She's very submissive, keeping her gaze down, seeming afraid. I guess that makes sense. Owing the Kovak family can't be a good thing.

"Can I speak with you for a moment?" I ask, trying to sound reasonable.

I must fail because Hector pats my face. "Don't cry. I will protect you."

Instantly worried about me, Jacinda takes my hand and squeezes.

Meanwhile, Natasha smiles at their reactions and gives them a bullshit reason for my bad mood. "Bear missed us."

"I miss Bear," Jacinda says before ditching my hand and walking away. "Kitty, kitty, kitty."

Hector suddenly remembers the cats exist and wants down. Natasha glances at Nat who seems uncertain on what to do. After speaking to her in Czech, the woman follows the kids.

"Does she speak English?" I ask, sounding as annoyed as I feel.

"Um, define what you mean by ‘speak,'" Natasha says and tugs me out of the spare room.

We cross through the kitchen and past the family room where the kids look under couches for the cats. Once we end up in my bedroom, Natasha shuts the door and smiles at me.

"This is what my family wants."

"Well, whoop-dee-fucking-do, Natasha, because I'm saying no."

Despite smirking, she pretends to be upset. "How can you be so cruel?"

"Your family will survive."

"I mean to Nat. She needs to serve my family for five years. Being a nanny is a cushy job, especially since I'm a hands-on mother and, you know, not a psycho. Plus, you have professional cleaners for the house, so she'll barely need to tidy up. It's a great job for her. At the end of the five years, Nat gets to stay in the country under the umbrella of the Kovak Syndicate. It's a lovely opportunity."

"Yeah, great, but I'm still not letting a stranger live in my house."

"What about me?" Natasha demands, still pretending to be offended, even as her eyes glow with affection. "We barely know each other."

"I've seen you naked and begging for more," I reply and smirk at the memory of what we did not so long ago in this very room. "We know each other plenty."

"And that right there is another reason you're selfish," Natasha says and jumps on my bed. "You'll be my husband soon. What if I need to be sexually ravished by your fine body, but the kids are still up? Am I supposed to go handle that myself in the bathroom? Unacceptable," she says, laughing at her bullshit. "I won't waste my orgasms on my hand when I have you around. No, we need a nanny to allow us to sneak off and have lots of sex."

As if her words didn't hold enough sway, Natasha sweetens the deal by tugging up her shirt and flashing her tits hidden by a thin, white bra.

"With Nat here, we could theoretically fuck right now."

"Define what you mean by the word ‘theoretically,'" I insist as I erase the space from the closed door to her on my bed. "Are you saying I get a taste or I get to come?"

"If you submit like a trained circus bear, I will allow you to come in one of two approved holes. I'm saving the third spot for our first anniversary."

I chuckle at how she bounces on her knees. She's so damn excited today. I mean her goofy behavior makes sense. That was me earlier today. I was just riding around town, smiling like a fool.

Natasha stops bouncing and tugs her phone out of her purse. She texts for a really long time before moving her bag and phone to the side table. Her shoes drop to the floor as she wiggles out of her jeans.

"I told her how to keep the kids busy," Natasha explains while sliding out of her panties. "I also reminded her to be careful not to let the cats out if she takes the kids to play in the backyard."

Her words are a punch to the gut. Not the part where we get to fuck. Just that she considered my cats' safety.

I kick off my boots and drag down my jeans. Half undressed, I climb over her and kiss her lips. Natasha meets my passion with her own.

"I love you," she whispers against my jaw as she kisses my throat. "In two weeks, you'll be my husband. No backsies."

I grin at how she thinks I'd ever be the one to walk away. My kisses promise I'll never leave her, yet I can't say the words. Exposing my heart was easier in the dark. Now, in the light of day, I can only express how much I love her through my body's desire.

Natasha twists herself into a knot to claim my cock between her sweet lips. Drawing me deeper, she sucks me steadily while her hands cup my balls.

I walked into this room irritated and with an anti-boner. Within minutes, she's got me rock hard and emptying my balls in the back of her throat.

"Happy?" I ask when she rests on her back and wears a proud grin.

"I wanted to suck you off after you fucked me. I did not plan today correctly."

"But you'll be in this bed every night soon, right?" I ask and tug her bra free so I can admire Natasha's gorgeous tits. "No reason to worry over the various orders of things when we'll have plenty of time to explore."

Natasha rewards my words with a sweet, hopeful smile. I'm choosing to trust in this woman's love.

After I gave Aunt Fred the benefit of the doubt, my life was never the same. Now, I hand the same power to Natasha Kovak.