Bear Necessities (Bad Boy Alphas): A Post-Apocalyptic Bear Shifter Romance by Selena Kitt

that it had been much protection—and her wrap too, but this dress would serve her well out there in the woods, she thought. “I’ll be fine in this.”
     
    “Ye can’na wear that.” Kirstin wrinkled her brown little nose. She was a brown girl, all over, her arms and legs, even the tops of her feet. She spent time in the sun, Sibyl thought, watching the girl clear their bowls and spoons, putting them onto a wooden tray she’d carried in with her. “I’ll get ye a proper plaid. And ye must have somethin’ t’sleep in. I’ll be righ’back.”
     
    Something to sleep in. That, of course, begged the question—where was she to sleep? Here, in this room? With… him? Sibyl glanced up, meeting his dancing blue eyes, and she could have sworn he was reading her very thoughts. She felt her cheeks redden, her body warming all the way to her toes. There was only one bed in this room, and while it was plenty big enough for two, that was hardly the point. Still, she couldn’t force the man out of his own room. That didn’t seem right either.
     
    “This room is yers, while yer here.” Raife stood, nodding at the mattress Sibyl had woken up on. “I’ll be outside if ye need me.”
     
    “But… isn’t this your room?” She frowned, glancing around at the walls decorated with claymores and crossed swords. She had a feeling they weren’t all for show, like they appeared to be in Alistair’s castle. “I can’t take your room. Please, I don’t need—”
     
    “I will’na hear of it.” Raife held up his hand, shaking his head and smiling as he looked down into her eyes. She felt like she could get lost in them, the way she did on warm, lazy days, watching clouds drift by. “Ye take yerself a bath, Lady Sibyl. Get a good night’s rest. We’ll talk more in the mornin’.”
     
    He turned to go, but she couldn’t let him. Not without saying it. She reached out and touched his wrist, thick and heavily veined under her palm as she clasped it in her hand. Raife glanced down at where she touched him, then his gaze skipped to meet hers. Those eyes turned dark, from blue skies to the deepest part of the ocean.
     
    “Thank you.” She swallowed, sliding her hand down into his, squeezing gently. His hand was so big, it swallowed hers. “I… don’t know how to thank you.”
     
    He didn’t say anything for a moment. He looked down at their hands, locked together, then back into her eyes. She thought she just might lose herself in them, truly. Was she under some sort of spell? Bewitched? Is that how it worked? Her heart hammered. Her breath quickened. Her skin felt too tight, all over, as if she couldn’t quite contain herself.
     
    “Ye were brave, lass.” His voice was low, eyes soft, as he lifted his other hand to touch her cheek. His fingers were rough, calloused, tracing the line of her jaw. “So verra brave… yer father woulda been proud.”
     
    His words brought tears to her eyes. Her lower lip quivered and she swallowed, trying to hold them in, but they wouldn’t stay back. They spilled over, down her cheeks, and Raife moved to cup her face in his hands, gently wiping them away with his thumbs.
     
    “G’nite.” He took a step back, turning toward the door as Kirstin came in, carrying clothes.
     
    “Good night,” Sibyl called. She saw him hesitate, give a brief nod, and then he was gone, closing the door behind him.
     
    She stared after him, remembering what he’d said that had brought her to tears. She had been thinking about her father just before she had freed the she-wolf, saying that very same thing to herself. He would have been proud. And while she believed it was true, the thing she couldn’t quite understand was—how had Raife known that?
     
    How had he known?
     
     

Chapter Five
     
    Sibyl gave all her clothes to Kirstin and, after a long soak in the hot spring—where she nearly fell asleep and might have drowned if the Scotswoman hadn’t come in—she let the girl wash and