Page 68 of Bear With Me

Bjorn made a show of sniffing his armpit and grimaced, then kicked off his own shoes. “Definitely showers. You want to go first?”

Before Dennis could answer, Gran popped into the room, smiling brightly and fiddling with a purse. “Hello, boys! How was volunteering?”

They exchanged glances, unsure how to describe the experience. “It was…interesting,” Dennis finally said neutrally.

“I think maybe my Papa was softening up by the end,” Bjorn offered thoughtfully. “He wasn’t being quite as nasty.”

Dennis snorted. “That’s a low bar. But yeah, you might be right. I think your mom is a lost cause, though.”

Gran sniffed haughtily. “That woman,” she said with a long-suffering sigh, “has never met a person she can’t dislike. Well, I hope you didn’t suffer too much helping them. I’m glad you got home now, though – I was about to leave you a note. I’m off for the evening.”

Off? His sick grandmother? “Off where, Gran?” he demanded, images of her lost in the woods and having a relapse of her pneumonia running through his head.

Smiling, she patted his shoulder soothingly. “Don’t get your fur up. I’m just going to Fi’s for dinner and some cards.”

Bjorn groaned before he could stop himself. “Gran, what have I told you about gambling? Your poker nights get crazy!”

She grinned. “I know, isn’t it great? We’ve got a few new marks coming, and we’re going to relieve them of all their cash.” She looked at Dennis, her smile widening, and informed him, “I’m very good at cards.”

“Somehow, I’m not surprised,” Dennis said dryly. “I hope you have fun. Call us if you need us to come walk you home, okay?”

Gran pinched his cheek approvingly. “Such a good boy, Dennis. I’m so glad Bjorn has you.”

“Gran -” Bjorn started, shooting a glare at his mate for enabling Gran’s bad habit, but she cut him off before he could get any farther.

“I’m off!” Gran sang, shouldering her purse, which was big enough to fit a small child. “Don’t wait up, boys.”

“But Gran!” he tried again.

Dennis took his hand and squeezed. “Let her go, Bjorn. She’ll be with the healer, anyway.”

The contact made Bjorn melt a little, and he sighed and nodded. “Just…be careful, Gran. Make good choices.” She used to say that to him when he was a teenager, running wild in the woods. Occasionally, it had even actually influenced the choices he made.

“Love you both.” Gran blew them a kiss and darted out of the house before Bjorn could get out any more protests. Huh, she could move fast when she wanted to.

When the door slammed behind her, Dennis turned back to Bjorn, still holding his hand. “So, we were talking about showering.”

“Oh, right. Did you want to go first so you can be sure to have enough hot water?”

Dennis smirked. “I was thinking we could…conserve water.”

Bjorn didn’t want his mate rushing through his shower just to accommodate him. “Oh, no,” he said, “you can definitely -”

“We could share,” Dennis said in a rush, cutting him off.

Bjorn’s mouth snapped shut audibly and he stared at his mate. “Share…a shower? Together?”

Dennis nodded and gave him very elaborate elevator eyes, then winked.

Who the fuck was this and what had they done with his grouchy, resistant mate? “Uh.”

“I mean,” Dennis went on, ignoring his stunned expression, “we have the house to ourselves. No worries about propriety or making too much noise.”

“Noise?” Bjorn echoed weakly, feeling like he’d totally lost the plot. Was Dennis actually hinting that they’d…do things in the shower? Together? With each other?

Not that Bjorn was against that. In any way. Not in the slightest. He was just…shocked that he might be allowed to touch and pleasure his mate again.

He cleared his throat, trying to gather his wits. “Uh, I’m not sure if we’ll both fit in the shower.”