Page 100 of Dream Weaver

Mine! My mate!my grizzly declared.

My human side was ready to echo that. How could she be anything but?

My eyes slid open a little before Abby’s, and what a sight. Her chin was up, her face a mask of concentration. Her hair was a mess, with a few strands caught on the corner of her lip.

Gorgeous, in other words. Just gorgeous.

Mine. My mate…I nearly whispered out loud.

What would she say if I did? Would she bolt, or would she echo the words?

I strained for her answer, though I knew she couldn’t have heard.

Or maybe she had, because when she opened her eyes, they were aglow, like a shifter’s, and pulsing.Mine. My mate.

I prayed it wasn’t wishful thinking. Did witches even know about mates? Was half-dragon heritage enough for her to understand the depth of that kind of bond?

I swallowed hard, hoping.

“You are so beautiful,” I whispered in awe.

She hunched, then slowly relaxed, lying down over me. “Wow. Sex so good, you’re delirious. I’m a mess.”

“A beautiful mess,” I insisted.

Incredible,my bear agreed.Will you be mine? Please?

She grazed a kiss over my lips, then settled down with a happy sigh.

I held her close, only to grumble and roll away to dispose of the condom. Then I snuggled up again.

Someday, I vowed, we would be doing this skin-to-skin.

Someday, I would convince her she was the beauty I knew her to be.

Someday, I would work up the courage to love her out loud, and she would echo my words back to me.I love you, my mate.

But for now…

I kissed her, closed my eyes, and let myself dream.

* * *

We had a candlelight dinner on the porch at sunset. Pasta.

We made love afterward. In bed, missionary-style, though we made enough noise to make a missionary blush.

That was followed by another shower, with just a dribble of warm water running over my back while Abby dropped to her knees and brought me to heaven.

And what we got up to next… Well, that would have made a missionary frantically flip through his Bible.

But, hey. We were making up for very long dry spells — both of us. Plus, I was a bear shifter, and I’d found my destined mate. It was my job to love her, and love her well. Or, as Abby put it…

“Harder… Faster…”

Only Abby could order a man around while belly-down in bed. In fact, when I’d paused to check that she was on board with where things were headed…

“Have I ever made it anything but abundantly clear when Idon’twant something?” she’d chided.