Bear Treble (Highland Brothers 4) by Meredith Clarke, Ally Summers

stream. There was no forgiveness for what he had done. He had let his bear consume him with lust and primal need. He had let go of the chains. He knew when he did it. He knew when she looked at him that he didn’t want to hold on any longer. He dropped them like the responsibility of controlling his animal was too much to bear. It was the one thing he had separating him from being a beast and he had lost it.
    He didn’t want his bear holding him back. He wanted to fuck her, like he wanted to breathe. And he did. He hung his head, the water sliding down his back.
    Now she was his in every way. He clamped his eyes together. She was his.
    God he loved it. He loved every second of it. He groaned, the taste of her still lingering on his tongue.
    But when he sent her away, the pain in her eyes was unbearable. She thought he was angry with her, but that wasn’t it. He was angry at himself.
    He had taken her without telling her what she was signing on for. What if she was pregnant? He slapped the shower wall. How could he fuck up like this?
    He stayed under the stream until the water turned cold. He cut the faucet and toweled off. He wanted Layla Love to walk out of here with six solid songs for her album. That was it. Now because he couldn’t control his bear, they were life mates, and she might be carrying his cubs.
    He leaned against the counter, daring to look at his reflection. What kind of man was he? He knew the answer—he was only half a man—the other half dominated by his bear.
    He closed his eyes remembering how she felt in his hands. How she sounded when he made her come. The moment their bodies collided, he’d never felt such intense power surging through him. It wasn’t all bear. There was emotion and connection with Layla he’d never had with another woman. She was everything he could want in a mate. She was soft and gorgeous. He loved her voice and her body. He loved how she wanted him. He loved how she gave over her body and took his in return. It was exactly how it should have been, until he fucked it up.
    His eyes opened. His chest seized in a violent shudder. He knew looking in the mirror his bear was locked up. This wasn’t his bear talking. It was him.
    He tried to imagine Layla sliding on her leather boots and walking out of the house with her bags. He pictured the car picking her up and driving her back to Seattle. It was like a knife puncturing the space between his ribs. She was his mate. His to protect and love.
    What the hell had he just done? Did he really just ruin the precious moment after he claimed her? Bear or not, he knew in his soul that he was in love with Layla and he had to find a way to make things right.

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    H e threw on a pair of clean jeans and threaded a T-shirt over his head. How could he be an idiot man and bear? He didn’t know how long he had been in the music study or his room. But he headed in the direction of the guestroom Layla had chosen. It was time to tell her the truth.
    He wanted to tell her everything. She had to know about his bear. She needed to know that he would protect her the rest of her life. It would be complicated, but they would figure it out together.
    He knocked on the door. “Layla, you there?”
    His ear twitched, but it was quiet on the other side of the door. “Layla?” He cracked the door, but it was empty. Her suitcases were gone.
    The panic ripped through him. How long had he left her alone? She said she was going to call Hal, but he hadn’t stopped long enough to check the time. It could have been hours ago since they were on the piano. He raced down the stairs, calling her name. But the house was silent.
    He searched every room, but they were all dark.
    “Layla!” he called as he darted on the front porch.
    He looked down at one of the wooden rockers. The stack of music they had worked on was there. He picked up the sheet music. There were five songs. On top was a sticky note.

    Send number six by tomorrow.
    -L
    That was all it said. He