Wild Mate: BBW Bear Shifter Romance by Natalie Kristen Page B

his
compliment. “I...thank you,” she stammered, looking
down.
    She looked so pretty when she
blushed. Levi resisted the urge to reach across the table and take
her hand.
    Instead, he said, “Now
it's my turn to watch you eat.”
    She started and blushed even
deeper.
    “ If you won't eat, I'll
feed you,” he threatened, injecting a note of menace into his
voice.
    Rebecca laughed, and it was a
lovely sound. “I think I can feed myself just fine.”
    Levi leaned back, and looked
around the kitchen. When he saw the faint blood stains on the wall,
he felt his hackles and his bear rise. He wanted to rip Phin's black
heart right out of his chest. How dare that piece of shit lay his
hands on Rebecca?
    He turned round and saw that
Rebecca was following his gaze. Her face had paled and she pushed
away her half eaten bowl of pasta.
    Levi cursed under his breath.
He had just reminded her of her past, her pain and horrendous
suffering.
    “ Why did you choose
to...become a stripper?” he asked, pulling her thoughts away
from Phin Lester. He was genuinely curious as well.
    She didn't look too surprised
at his question. Taking the bowls to the sink, she began to talk as
she washed the dishes.
    “ It made good money,
and...I was good at it. Raven Rose was popular, and she could make
quite a bit in one night.” Levi noticed that she talked about
her stripper persona in the third person like she was talking about
someone else, but he didn't interrupt her. “Raven paid the
mortgage, the utilities, the expenses, the expensive clothes and
entertainment, everything. I know, looking at me, you're wondering
what expensive clothes?” She gestured at her own tattered
t-shirt and shorts. “Well, I made the money, and he spent the
money.”
    Levi balled his fists, but
Rebecca just shrugged as she dried her hands on a towel.
    “ Being a stripper is
just a job. Raven is not Rebecca. Rebecca would never strip in
front of a bunch of strangers. But Raven is a working girl. With
Raven, it's all about the money. When I step into Club Mate, I check
my real life at the door. That's how it works. You can't bring the
real you into the club. I wouldn't be able to do what I do
otherwise.”
    She sighed and turned round to
face him. “Raven is a real pro, but Rebecca would trip and
fall from the stage, like what I did tonight,” she said softly.
“When I saw you, I couldn't...I couldn't be Raven anymore.
You...” She closed her eyes. “You're real, Levi.
You're not like the other males at the club. A lot of them are
married, mated, and they're at the club without the knowledge of
their partners. They're there to play, to pretend, to escape. But
you're not like them. I can see it, and I can feel it.” She
put a hand over her heart. “You are real. And with you, I
can't be who I'm not. I'm just Rebecca with you.”
    She looked at him, her eyes
brimming with her conflicting emotions and pain.
    Levi pushed back from the
table and went to her.
    “ Rebecca,” he said
her name softly as he stood before her.
    She stared up at him and took
a step forward so that they were standing toe to toe. Levi held
himself absolutely still. He badly wanted to grab her, hold her
tight and kiss her. He wanted to do a million things with her, but
he didn't want to spook her. She was still very fragile.
    She kept staring at him, a
mixture of wonder, disbelief and desire on her face.
    Levi didn't even dare breathe.
Rebecca was so close that he could feel her hot, shuddering breath
on his chest. She raised her hand and lightly touched his shoulder,
letting her fingers move slowly up to the back of his neck.
    Levi swallowed.
    Her lips were so pink and
full, and he saw the tip of her tongue dart out to wet her lips.
    God, she was so tempting, so
insanely desirable.
    He wanted her, so much. She
couldn't possibly know how much he'd missed her, how much she meant
to him.
    Levi closed his eyes, feeling
his whole body burn up at her maddening scent and nearness.
    He was