Page 37 of Salvation

“His mate. Does he find her?”

She’d expected him to laugh, but Todd fell silent. Gravely silent. He didn’t answer for a long time.

“I’m not sure.” His voice was a whisper.

She listened to the crickets chirp for a minute, wondering why he sounded so sad.

“How does he know it’s his mate?” she ventured. Was that part of the myth, too?

Todd took a deep breath. “He knows the second he sees her. That’s the easy part.”

Huh. “So what’s the hard part?” It seemed easy to her. Boy bear sees girl bear. Grunts. Growls. They get together, make adorable cubs, and—

“Making sure he’s worthy of her.”

She sighed. Yeah, she would definitely like to be a bear.

“I bet he is,” she said, because Todd sounded a little unsure. “Look at him.”

“Yeah, look at him.” His voice was a little bitter, so she caught his hand and massaged it a little bit. Were they still talking about bears?

“Hey,” she whispered, rolling on her side.

He looked up at the stars, not meeting her eyes.

“If the boy bear recognizes his mate the second he sees her, she’s bound to recognize him, too.”

His chest went up and down with a deep breath. “I’m not sure.”

She snorted and leaned closer. “Before I get mad at you for implying that females are too stupid to recognize what males see right away—”

His hands flew up in protest, but she continued before he could speak.

“—let me prove to you they’re not.”

And she kissed him.

She had no idea what had come over her. Maybe she’d blame it on the stars and their cheery, hopeful light. Maybe it was Todd with all that talk of mates. Or maybe it was that insistent voice in the back of her mind.

Get this man.Make him yours before you miss your chance.

Whatever it was, she couldn’t hold back any more. She needed that kiss.

She kissed him lightly, rolling her lips as if to stir the taste out of him. And damn, did he taste good. All male, all musky. His lips were rough around the edges but soft in the middle, and they danced slowly over hers.

She rolled closer, cupping his face and kissing deeper. Soon, not only were their lips touching but their bodies, too. Her chest squeezed against his, her legs found the perfect angle to nestle close to his, and her hips…

Her hips followed their own agenda, sneaking closer and closer to him.

“Anna,” he whispered.

She went from kissing to nuzzling him with her chin, her cheek, her nose.

“You don’t want this?”

She managed to sound confident because his body all but screamed to hers, which meant he wanted this, too. His hands cupped her waist, his legs shifted to make space for hers, and his chest rose and fell heavily.

“I want this. But—”

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