Page 18 of A Beary Merry Christmas

Letting the door close behind me, I met her outside. Before she could say a single word, I drew her against me and captured her lips. For thirty-five years I’d waited and wanted her. I’d prayed so damned hard for my true mate, but had given up on finding her. Then I met Lora, and she was everything I wanted, minus being the perfect mate for my bear, too. All along I was drawn to her and couldn’t figure out why. Hell, even my bear liked her. And now I knew why.

She was our true mate, the single person who balanced man and beast, the one that loved and bonded with both, the one both would kill and die for to protect. She was the peacekeeper. She was our reason for existing. She was what would finally unite us after thirty-five years.

I held her tightly, kissed her even harder, emotions welling in my chest, forming a lump in my throat. Everything I felt for her abruptly multiplied as my bear embraced my feelings for her as his own, no longer fighting me. It felt like my world, our world, was spinning on its axis, tilting to put her at the center of it.

Fuck. Thirty five years of dreaming was finally in my arms. My heart split open, tears stinging my eyes. I’d never been so overwhelmed by my damned feelings. I thought it was hard to let her go before, but fuck if I ever wanted to let her go now.

Kissing a trail along her cheek, I inhaled her scent, deeper this time, allowing it to permeate my lungs, every fiber of my being. Looking at her, I knew I wore a massive, goofy grin, but I didn’t care.

Her brows furrowed as she studied me. “Are you okay?” Her voice was soft, just like every inch of her beautiful body. She assessed me the way I assumed she assessed every patient, the lucky bastards.

Holy fuck. Was I giggling? Cutting myself off, I focused on her. “I’m perfect, and you, you are perfect, babe, in every way.”

She flushed, biting back a shy smile. “I feel the same way about you.” Her words were like an arrow, shooting straight through my heart.

Every breath was full of her sweetness, of lavender, vanilla and honey. It had my bear roaring maniacally. It had my heart continuing to beat erratically. It had me abandoning my plans of a proper date. “Babe?” I got lose in her chocolaty depths.

“Yeah?” She swallowed hard, burrowing deeper into my warmth.

I heard her heart pitter-pattering a melodic cadence that could calm the crankiest of beasts. “You’re my true mate.” I knew she would understand. We’d openly talked about my kind and my search for my mate. It took a lot of convincing to open her back up to me, but, in the end, the truth brought us closer together.

And reality had me celebrating for her. I never wanted her to feel like a consolation prize, because she was anything but.

Suddenly her eyes widened, her lips lifting at the edges. “Seriously?”

I nodded my head. “Seriously. I couldn’t smell you before to know.”

Rolling onto her tiptoes, she kissed me hard and fast, the sweetest laugh erupting from her. “You just made me the happiest woman because that means I’ll never have to worry about losing your love.”

My heart cracked, an ache briefly settling inside it. “Oh, beautiful, even if you weren’t my true mate, you wouldn’t have had to worry about that.” Hugging her, I brushed my lips across the top of her head several times.

Leaning back, I took her in. I couldn’t believe she was mine. Instinctively, I must have known to be drawn to her the way I was, to react to her the way I did.

Pressure knotted in my groin. Fuck. I couldn’t wait to strip and lick every inch of her perfection. Shit. Looking at her now, that was all I could think about.

Rotating my shoulders, I sucked in a deep, cleansing breath, trying to control my suddenly raging hormones. Biting my lip, I tried not to picture her writhing beneath me as I thoroughly claimed her, but failed miserably. “Babe?”

She licked her lips, further teasing me. Her presence alone was a damn cock tease. “Yeah?”

“Can I owe you two wonderful, proper dates so I can take you home right now and wonderfully, properly claim your beautiful self?” Nerves knit in my stomach, slithering up to my chest.

“Only if you promise to give me an O.” She pursed her lips, slitting her gaze.

“An O?” I studied her, waiting anxiously to discover if it was something I could give to her. Hell, right about now, I’d swim across the fucking Atlantic Ocean to own her heart, body and soul forever.

Her eyes lit with mischief. “An orgasm.” She smirked.

Relief washed through me. That I could definitely and would happily give her every damn time. “Hell, babe, I’ll give you three.”

Her giggle went straight to my heart. “I’ll be counting.” She spun on her heels.

Fuck. That tiny bit of sass told me this was going to be the best sex I ever had, even if I didn’t come. Merry fucking Christmas to me.

Chapter Fifteen

December 24th

Lora

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