"It gets better, dear, you'll see." Adelaide kissed her cheek and picked up the empty plate. Byron kissed her forehead and followed his mate as she headed towards the kitchen.

"Shall we?" Aiden asked offering her his arm. She smiled at him. She could get used to this treatment. It was a damn sight better than being locked in a trunk.

*****

"What do you mean you're sleeping in here too?" Meryn demanded. She should have known he was being too nice.

"This is my room for when I stay here."

"Fine, take me to a guest room." Meryn fumed.

"We don't have guest rooms." Aiden muttered under his breath. Even Meryn knew that was a lie, this house had to have close to a hundred rooms.

"I call bullshit! Fine, I can sleep on the couch!"

"No way in hell. I'm not letting you out of my sight." He crossed his formidable arms over an even more formidable chest. A girl could really get in trouble with those muscles.

"Fine, but there are rules."

"Rules?"

"Yes, rules. Rule number one: stay on your side of the bed. Rule number two: don't touch me, breathe on me or do anything weird to me in my sleep. Rule number three: don't cross the Great Wall." She counted off each rule on her fingers.

"Great Wall?" He looked puzzled.

She walked over and pulled the bedding down. She then proceeded to pile every extra pillow in the room down the center of the bed. She pointed to one side, then the other.

"My side, your side. Capiche?"

"Fine, let's just get some rest. I didn't get any sleep last night and we did drills today, I'm exhausted. You want the shower first?" He asked. She shook her head. He shrugged.

"Suit yourself." He walked into the bathroom and shut the door. She flung herself on the bed. Oh Meryn girl, what are you doing? Breaking and entering, getting kidnapped, assaulting your abductor with a toilet lid and then sexually assaulting said abductor. What sane person does this? She rolled over and stared at the ceiling. Funny thing was that this was the first time she had felt calm in months.

She had moved to the nearby town two weeks ago. The sudden desire to live somewhere new had driven her crazy. Finally, she had thrown a dart at a map and ended up here. That's when the strange dreams started. At first they had been pleasant, her Prince Charming would find her in a clearing and they would laugh and chat. Some nights turned down right steamy, she enjoyed those dreams. But then they started getting scary. Someone was moving in the shadows in the woods and every night for the past week she was murdered. She couldn't help but notice how much Aiden resembled her Prince Charming, though he was nicer in the dream.

She smiled. Even if he was, evidently, a bear shifter, she felt safe with him. She liked the feeling. She would ride this out and see where it took her. She was still grinning up at the ceiling when Aiden walked out with a towel slung low on his hips.

"Did the ceiling say something funny?" He asked, towel drying his hair. She was too busy trying not to swallow her tongue to respond. She rolled onto her stomach.

"You okay?" He asked. She nodded, still staring.

"Shower's free."

She nodded again.

"You getting in?" He asked, looking amused. She nodded then shook her head as if to clear it.

"Yup, be right back." She hopped off the bed and as she passed him she couldn't help herself. The devil made her do it. She grabbed the edge of the towel and yanked. He gave a yelp and covered his groin with his hands. Laughing, she flung his towel at him.

"You have a great ass too." Giggling she ran into the bathroom. Once inside she leaned against the door. She took a deep breath, she was in trouble, because that man really did have the most perfect ass.

*****

Meryn stared at the ceiling. She could practically feel his body heat radiating from his side of the bed. Was he awake? She turned over on her right. The image of his naked body teased her. Why did she think she was being clever when she yanked that towel off? She was paying the price now. She turned over to her left.

"Can't sleep?" Aiden sounded amused.

She returned to her back. "No. You?"

"No, it's the first night with my mate, I find that sleep is last thing on my mind." He teased.

Meryn didn't want to think about what he implied, she might jump him. To get her mind off of her wanton thoughts she changed the subject.

"What was it like growing up here?"

"Fun, they're lots of ways for a little boy to get into trouble, especially a little boy trying to emulate his brothers and father."

"Like what?" Meryn was intrigued.

"One night Colton and I snuck out to watch the unit warriors patrol the perimeter, but got caught. I actually had to hide behind my father to stay out of reach from my mother for that one." Aiden chuckled. "What about you? I know you had to have gotten into trouble as a youngster."

"Not really. I stayed to myself mostly. I was raised by my grandmother and didn't want to make her mad." Meryn sat up in bed and peered over her wall.

"Hey Aiden."

He turned to her. "Yeah?"

"Can you shift for me? I've never seen a bear up close before."

He sat up. "Sure, but you'll have to cover your eyes, I have to be naked to shift."

Meryn shook her head. "Not on your life."

Aiden hesitated for only a moment then shrugged. He slipped from the bed and stood. He dropped his pajama bottoms and deliberately turned to face her. Her mouth went dry as she stared at his perfect body. It took every ounce of self discipline not to tackle the man to the floor. It took her three tries to clear her throat.