4. Bear

4

BEAR

How can a two-hour plane ride seem twice as long? She thinks it's going to be hard to act like I like her when I'm doing my best to contain myself sitting next to her this whole damn time.

And the whole entire time, I held myself back, stopping myself from reaching for her hand, her arm, or even her thigh. I want my hands on her. God help me, when she was talking, I could barely pay attention to what she was saying, because the only thing that I was focused on was her lips. Fuck, they’re so kissable.

We're walking off the plane, down the hallway, and I’m letting her walk in front of me. She has an independent streak a mile long, and I'm trying not to infringe on that, so I've been walking behind her and just watching her hips sway back and forth.

She stops suddenly and turns, frowning at me. She takes the few steps back to me and grabs my hand, threading our fingers together. I look down at our intertwined hands and have to remind myself to breathe.

She leans in, and her voice is soft as she whispers in my ear, “We’re supposed to appear as a happily married couple, Bear. Right now you look as if you’re going to kill someone.”

I pull back to look at her, and there’s a man over her shoulder. He’s been beside us since we got off the plane and hasn’t been able to keep his eyes off Samantha since. It's driving me crazy, and it doesn't take much, but I'm already to my breaking point. I look at the guy and tell him, “Look, buddy, I suggest you stop staring at my wife and move on.”

The man notices me for the first time, which is hard to believe because I'm easily noticeable for how much bigger I am compared to others. His eyes widen, and he takes off in the opposite direction. I feel a little better, but not much. I have a feeling this won’t be the first time I have to run someone off on this mission.

Samantha gasps next to me, but I don't care. I'm not going to stand by and let someone stare her like that. I don't want anybody's eyes on her but me. I know that makes me territorial, and she probably doesn't fucking appreciate that, but I just can’t do it. I’m seething and about to cause a scene when she pulls me to her. Her tight body is pressed against mine, and I swear I’ve forgotten my name, not to mention what it is I’m mad about. She pats me on the chest. Her hand is warm right over my heart, and I know that she can feel it thundering underneath her palm.

I'm surprised when I look at her face because she's not mad. If anything, she's smiling from ear to ear. “Better. I mean, you don’t have to scare people off, but well played.”

She pulls my hand to lead me to the exit of the airport, and I follow behind her like a lovestruck little puppy.

She thought I was joking. She thought that it was all for show, that I ran that guy off to be convincing or whatever. Fuck, that's the furthest thing from the truth. I felt that insane, territorial jealous feeling coursing all the way through my body. I wasn't joking in the least. I won't stand by and let some man look at her the way that asshole was. This is probably going to be one of the hardest missions I've ever been on in my life. I'm going to have to form a whole new level of self-control.