Total pages in book: 120
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112917 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 565(@200wpm)___ 452(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Zane settled back on my chest with a hmph. “You don’t feel guilty about the king’s death, do you?”
“Not really. Not enough to consider going back. I was ready for a change. And now, here I am, naked in bed with the world’s hottest rock star. So I can honestly say, no regrets. Ten out of ten, would do again.”
He huffed out a laugh, his breath warm on my skin. After a few minutes of comfortable silence, Zane spoke again. “I don’t want our time in Norway to end.”
I kissed the top of his head. “Same.”
He looked up at me with wide, warm eyes. “Tell me things won’t change when we leave here, Bear.”
My stomach tightened with anxiety. We both knew I couldn’t make that false promise, so instead of speaking, I kissed him.
And tried to make real promises without saying a word.
NINETEEN
ZANE
Bears are masters of picking up on danger and know when they’re being hunted. With their incredible sense of smell, they can detect humans—or predators—from miles away. When a bear gets even a hint that something’s off, it moves with remarkable speed and strategy, ready to defend its life or its den. It’s a foolish creature indeed that gets between a bear and his home… or his honey.
—Bear Facts for Insomniacs, Episode 19
By the time we left Norway, I’d almost forgotten about the Stamper threat. There hadn’t been any new emails, and Violet’s team had spent two solid weeks ensuring there was increased security at each event.
The first two cities went by in a blur. All extra VIP fan access had been curtailed to viewing me from more than arm’s length away, and backstage access had been severely limited to only essential crew who’d passed stringent background checks. They were also required to wear double-sided ID badges at all times that tracked access in various areas so Bear’s crew had a record of who was where and when.
The final verse to “Broken Fairytale” had come to me the morning after Bear and I made love for the first time—a sweetly perfect and poignant coda that gave the whole song new meaning and inspired me to change the name entirely—and I’d found time to practice it and my other new song with the band before possibly debuting them at one of the shows.
And every night, we went back to a hotel suite, where Bear made a point of messing up the bed in his bedroom before sneaking into mine. Several nights, I’d been too tired to do more than cuddle, so Bear had frog-marched me into the shower, hand scrubbed me while I swayed on my feet, and then poured me between crisp sheets before curling around me protectively.
I’d even slept like a baby, too deep for dreams good or bad, which was enough to convince me that regardless of my romantic future with Bear, I’d need to hire him as a bedmate for the rest of my life.
All in all, things were going well. Really well.
So well that as Bear and I sat across from one another in the limo as we made our way to the venue in Amsterdam, I had the sudden fear they were about to go terribly wrong.
Fairy tales happen, I reminded myself. Be brave enough to believe it.
“Zane? Are you listening?”
I snapped my eyes open and found Bear watching me closely. “Sorry. What was that?”
“I said, no touching anyone. If someone gets close, press the button on your watch. It will record a time stamp and buzz me.”
His face was serious, and I could tell he was in full-on grizzly mode. If I made light of his warning right now, I would not be rewarded with a smile. I would be growled at, and he’d only start the lecture again.
“Aren’t you going to be with me?” I asked.
“I’ll be in the room, but Lou is taking point so I can make sure the royal family and their security people have everything they need. I won’t be beside you the whole time. That’s why I need you to listen to me right now, okay?”
“Yeah, fine. I’m f—”
Bear’s eyes darkened at the word, so I quickly corrected myself. “I mean, yes. I understand. This is the same protocol we’ve been doing all week.”
“But this is the first VIP event where people will be interacting with you,” he said in a way that made me think he’d said it already while I’d been lost in thought. “People will want to shake your hand. They will forget the no-touching rule and do it out of habit.”
“Right.” I nodded. “Okay.”
“You need to keep your hands in your pocket and shrug. Give them that cute, innocent look and say you’re not allowed to shake hands as part of your health protocol, to stop the spread of germs and keep you healthy for the tour. That’s the excuse we’re using. All of the VIPs have been briefed about it, but like I said, they’ll forget.” Bear rubbed at the back of his neck, a sure sign that he was more agitated than he let on. “Lou is more permissive than I am.”