5.

Law

I took my seat across from her, and I could see as well as sense she was nervous. The waitress came by, and I focused on that for a second, but it was damn hard pulling my attention away from Brittin.

"Good evening." The waitress was a young, pretty woman, but no one compared to my Brittin. She kept eyeing me, and I wanted to tell the waitress there was no fucking similarity to the gorgeousness that was sitting across from me.

The scent of our waitress's interest in me was an instant turn off, and my mood became a little more standoffish.

Brittin ordered a Coke-non-alcoholic, as she didn't drink. I rarely drank myself, so I ordered a glass of water. Once we were alone again, the silence stretched, but I kept my eyes trained right on her.

We were seated in the corner, and I admit I liked the intimate setting.

"This is weird, Law," she finally said, her eyes trained on her lap.

"Hey," I said softly, and waited to continue speaking until she looked at me. "You know me, so there isn't anything to feel weird about." I leaned back in my chair as the waitress brought our drinks. Once our order was placed and we were left alone again, I contemplated eating before bringing up what I had to say.

But getting this out of the way was probably best.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"So did I," she said, but then the silence stretched on again. "It was bound to happen after ... everything, I guess."

I nodded once.

"But I'll let you start this off, because you and I both know I can put my foot in my mouth."

I chuckled after she spoke. She'd always thought that about herself, but the truth was she didn't say things off the rail. She was very articulate and genuine, and when she said something, I knew she meant it.

"Is that really why you want me to go first?"

She didn't speak for a second, but finally, she shook her head. "No. I guess I'm stalling. I also don't know what to say, Law." She pulled at her bottom lip with her teeth, and I was transfixed at the sight. I wanted to be the one to do that, to lick at the slight sting I'd surely cause.

I ran a hand over my hair, knowing I should just say what I was going to, and not prolong this. If she wanted nothing more to do with me, I didn't know how in the hell I was going to deal with that.

"I know I was a fucking idiot back in the day, Brittin." I looked her in the eyes. "But I want to talk about all of that."

She looked a little shocked at first. Had she not thought I'd want to talk about this?

She shook her head for a second, looked down at the table, and then back at me. "We are seriously going here, Law?"

I scented her anger rising.

"I want to talk about this, Brittin."

"After nearly two years of me being away, you just now want to talk about this?" She made this little snort like she was annoyed with me. "You didn't try contacting me before now-"

"You told me to stay away," I growled, trying to stay calm and keep my voice lowered. "I was an asshole, a dumb bastard for thinking I could tell you how to live with me." I shook my head, wanting her to know the truth. "It didn't take me all this time to know how badly I'd fucked up. I knew I did the moment you left me." I scrubbed a hand over my face, saying these words for the first time. I had thought them plenty of times, but actually admitting them to someone else, especially Brittin, was not something I'd ever done.

"Law-"

"Let me get this out, Brittin." I exhaled, wanting to say so much. I knew this wasn't the best place or time to say any of this bullshit, but I needed her to know. "I know with the shit going on with Blaine you don't need this right now, but I haven't stopped thinking about you since you left." I leaned forward, wanting badly to reach out and touch her. "I haven't stopped loving you, Brittin, and I never will."

She still said nothing, but her shock was clear in her expression.

"So many times I drove up to where you were, wanting to see you, to ask you to come back to Stales, but your words played through my head, and I turned around." Fuck, was this even making a dent in her armor? "I haven't been with anyone else since you, Brittin. There isn't anyone else for me but you."

A moment of silence passed.

"And tell me how this would have gone if I hadn't come back to Stales, Law." She was pissed. I could smell it coming from her like smoke from an extinguished fire. "Explain to me how any of this would have worked if Blaine hadn't gone off the deep end?" She had her hands clenched tightly on top of the table. "This isn't how I saw this night going. There is a lot I wanted to say to you, mainly that I'm so thankful you helped Blaine out."

I sat up straighter and narrowed my eyes. "Brittin-"

She shook her head. "But this..." She closed her eyes and breathed out. "I can't deal with this right now. If I hadn't come back, and you didn't have this opportunity to try and say all of this, what then?"

I gripped the table, curled my nails into the cloth-covered wood, and had to force myself not to crush the weak material beneath my hold.

"This was a bad idea," she whispered a second before she got up. She looked at me for a moment, the struggle in her expression real and cutting me deep.

Fuck, this wasn't how I hoped this evening would play out. I didn't want my words to cause this kind of reaction with her.

Well, what in the fuck did you think would happen, asshole?

She turned and started heading out, and I got up, tossed a few twenties on the table, and followed her out. She was mumbling something under her breath, and with my shifter hearing, I could make out she was cursing herself.

Why in the hell was she doing that?

"You're so damn stupid for wanting what you do," she muttered low, and I picked up my pace. She was hauling ass, and the scent of her wanting to escape was strong in the air.

She got to her car, and I reached out, gripped her gently but firmly around the upper arm, and turned her around. I was desperate for her to understand where I was coming from, desperate for her to see I was dead serious.

"Don't, Law," she whispered, but there was no force behind her words.

"I fucked up-"

"It's too late. Too much time has passed." She glanced down, and I smelled the emotion and sadness in her eyes. "I can't have a life where I can't be myself. I can't be with someone that wants only one thing from me." She looked at me again. "We lead different lives now, Law."

I shook my head before she was finished speaking.

"You're the Sheriff of Stales, and I'm the girl who ran from this relationship, but had to come back because of my broken brother." She closed her eyes, and I saw a lone tear slip free. I couldn't help myself. I reached out and ran my finger along her cheek, brushing that droplet of her sadness away.

She made this small sound, one of need and of surprise. We stared into each other's eyes for long seconds, and before I could stop myself, because I could even tell myself I should give her space, that maybe I was pushing her, I leaned in and kissed her.

I expected her to push me away, hell, even slap me, but I surprised when she leaned in and kissed me back. My bear broke free, pushing for dominance. I cupped the back of Brittin's head, pulled her impossibly closer, and kissed her like I was dying and she was what kept me alive.

She had her hands on my shoulders, her nails digging into my flesh. I groaned against her mouth, and when she gasped, her lips parting, I dipped my tongue inside. God, this felt good. I hadn't been with anyone else since her, not even a kiss. This was pure fucking heaven, and I never wanted it to end.

But as her moans increased and my cock got harder, I sensed the subtle change in her. She pushed away slightly, and as fucking hard as it was, I did move back a step.

"We should stop or..." She didn't finish her sentence. I looked into her eyes, scented truth coming from her.

She wanted this, but was trying to be strong about it.

Brittin still had her hands on my shoulders despite the fact I'd moved back, and when I saw her pupils dilate, I stepped closer. I dipped my head and scraped my teeth along her skin, then ran my tongue over the sting I knew I'd created. I didn't hold in my groan of pleasure when I smelled her blossoming arousal.

"We shouldn't stop, because this feels right," I said gruffly, honestly. "Tell me this doesn't fucking feel good, Brittin." I looked into her eyes for a second. "Tell me you don't want this, baby."

She closed her eyes and exhaled softly. "I won't lie and say it doesn't feel good." She opened her eyes then. "But this will complicate things, Law."

I shook my head. "No, it won't. It doesn't have to." I smoothed my finger along her cheek. "Let me show you how much you mean to me." I took a step closer. "Let me show you how much I want to make amends."

6.

Brittin

I should have said stop, or told him we were past this ... that this night was supposed to be about talking things out.

But nope, I wasn't going to say anything like that. In fact, I was following Law to his house, and I was too aroused to deny myself. It had been too long, and Law had me too inflamed to use the common sense to realize that this could end badly.

I'd worry about the aftermath of all of this later.

I checked my phone and saw the text from Mary, a girl Blaine and I had grown up around, who lived next door. She'd been a presence in our life when we were younger, but then she'd gone to school, and I think that had an effect on Blaine. He'd never admitted he liked Mary, but I always thought I saw interest in his eyes.

But now she was back, had been living in Stales for the last year, and she'd agreed to keep Blaine company while I went out to dinner with Law. I trusted my brother ... to a point. He was weak right now, though, and I didn't want him alone. Besides, he'd seemed really happy to have Mary coming and spending some time with him, and I saw the excitement in her eyes when I'd asked, as well.

Mary: We're doing fine. Don't worry about anything and enjoy yourself. We're on a horror movie binge right now, so take your time. I don't think I'll be leaving anytime soon LOL I smiled at her text and tucked my phone back in my purse. I should have felt guilty for going home with Law, but hell, I loved him.

I just kept telling myself this was for me as much as it was for him. This was inevitable, and I wasn't going to deny myself.

Why should I?

Law My bear wanted out, wanted to claim our mate right now. But I told myself I needed to go slow. After all the shit we'd been through over the years, and the fact I'd let her walk away from my own arrogant, demanding attitude, I had to make things right. I had to show her that I knew I'd fucked up and wanted to make this right.

I had to show her even a bear could make love, could admit he was wrong.

But I liked the rough kind of sex, the kind that had my female submitting to me. And Brittin had been such a perfect submissive. I wasn't into the whole BDSM scene, but the occasional spank, the random restraining ... yeah, that got me off.

But only with Brittin.

I only wanted to do that with her. Only her.

"Tell me you want this," I growled against the side of her throat. I just stood there with her pressed against the wall, my body pinning her, making her submit to me. "Tell me, Brittin." I ground my cock against her belly, wanting her to tell me, wanting her to feel how hard I was for her.

"God, Law."

"Tell me you're mine, baby."

"You just think things can be patched up?" She breathed the words out.

She was mine. Only mine.

I wouldn't let her go.

"No, I don't think things can just be erased, but I want to show you what we used to have. I want to show you how good it was."

She closed her eyes and moaned.

"I know how good it was, Law."

I growled again, loving hearing her say that.

"I want this," she breathed out.

I ground my dick into her harder. "Say my name, baby. I want you to tell me how much you want this. I want you to tell me that it was a mistake we stayed apart." It was my fault just as much as it was hers; I'd stayed away. "Things can be different now, Brittin. I can be a better male to you." I pulled back and looked at her. She looked drugged right now.