In Love With the Leshy: A Monster Bride Romance by Danielle Sibarium

Author:Danielle Sibarium [Sibarium, Danielle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-03-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

“What?” I ask, uncomfortable with the intensity of Em’s relentless stare. After slipping out of my soaked panties and drying off, I pull on the dress Masha left for me. Em stands statue still, watching me. “Did the water turn my hair green or something?”

His only response is deep, rumbly laughter. At least he’s motionless with a smile on his face. It feels like hours pass before he speaks.

“I’d like to introduce you to a friend.”

“Masha?” I ask, confused.

“You already met Masha.” He bends down and picks up a gray and white rabbit, rubbing it behind the ears. “I want to introduce you to Lola.”

“Lola?”

I look around but don’t see anyone. It takes me half a second to realize Lola is the rabbit.

“Is that . . .I mean, she’s not afraid of you at all.”

“Why would she be?”

I shrug. “It’s natural for bunnies to be frightened of something larger than themselves. It’s instinct.” And Em is much larger.

“She knows I will never harm her. Now, come say hello.” He smiles ear to ear as he sweeps his hand along Lola’s side. Aside from her twitching nose, she’s still and looks perfectly content.

Watching Em cradle the rabbit in his arms, I’m once again reminded and surprised by how gentle and caring his touch is, despite his large size. Images of him holding a newborn infant flood my mind. For the first time in my life, I yearn for a baby. To share a life with a man that could be tough and tender. A man like Em.

“May I touch her?”

“What do you think, girl?” Em steps closer so that there’s no distance between us. While still in his arms, Lola squiggles in my direction. “Extend your arms halfway while holding them close together. Don’t reach for her. She’ll come to you.”

I do as I’m told, and Lola raises herself on her haunches and pushes off into my arms. My heart swells. “I always wanted a pet bunny,” I confess, looking into her large brown eyes, although I’m not sure who I’m telling it to. Lola or Em.

“Lola came to tell me that Masha left you.”

“Thank you, girl,” I say, petting her the way Em did when she rested in his arms. Lola makes a sound like a cat purring, only with a higher pitch, as she nestles in my arms.

“She likes that,” he says. “She likes you.”

His earlier words make their way through my thick skull. “She told you that Masha left me? Can you understand her?”

“Of course. I speak with all the animals.”

I think back to the interactions between the bears yesterday. I still can’t wrap my head around the idea that this man who ignites me like an inferno was a bear—is a bear. And a tree. And countless other things. All my life, I heard rumors about vampires, werewolves, and Native American shapeshifters. But that is all make-believe, isn’t it?

“That’s why you first appeared as a bear. You wanted to make sure he understood you?”

“I can communicate with them in my human form as well, but my senses are heightened when I’m in animal form.

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