Page 38 of Just Right
I know.
Because I’m his mate. Just like I’m Rowan’s, and Colt’s, too.
And as their mate?
I can do whatever the fuck I want.
Except keep them—or can I?
Claimingto be a little sore and a whole lot of tired, knowing that the three bears would each blame themselves for my teeny-tiny fib, I take the opportunity to sleep by myself for the first time in days. I nap straight through to the afternoon, then ask the first Brown brother I see if he’d be a gem and fill up the tub for me.
Part of me is glad that it’s Finn. After that charged moment between Rowan and I the last time he dunked me in the tub, I’m not sure if I would have been able to hold him off the way I planned. Thankfully, Finn is so eager to just see a smile on my face, he fills the tub, brings me shampoo and soap, and leaves me alone so that I can bathe without him ogling me, hoping for a quickie.
That’s important to me. If I do what I’m about to do… and, who am I kidding? I know I’m gonna… but if I make the next move, I want it to be about more than sex. I mean, sex is great. It’s definitely a factor in my decision, but that can’t beallthere is.
Last night, after Finn fell asleep while I suckled him, I stayed awake a little longer, thinking about what it is I want. For so long, it’s been about what everyone else wants. My bosses. My job. My neighbors.
Charlotte…
What about me? I’m thirty-two, stuck in the same level without any hope of a promotion on the horizon. No relationship. No family. No real friends since Charlotte disappeared… what do I have to go back to? And what would I give up if I left?
Now, I’m not saying that I’ve made up my mind one way or another. But if thereisa chance that staying with my bears might be the right ‘happily-ever-after’ for me, I have to make sure that it’s on the table.
And that’s what I’m worried about.
Rowan would order me to stay.
Colt would make a sly comment that he wouldn’t let me go.
Finn would beg me not to leave him.
But together? Would the Brown brothers want to keep me as theirs forever? Because that’s what I need. No fling. Nothing short-term. If I sign on to ‘happily-ever-after’, I want thatever.
And that means I need to know that theyallaccept me as their mate. Until I have three bites, three marks claiming me in their shifter culture, I can’t be sure that they do.
After I’m as clean as I’m going to get, I do the best I can with my curls, then grab a thin robe from Rowan’s closet. Ever since it dawned on me that he got all of those clothes for his mate—forme—I don’t even question why they all seem to fit meso perfectly. It’s like he somehow knew that he was waiting for me, and with the magic everywhere in Blackmoor, I wouldn’t be surprised to know that was the case.
Still, there’s one thing that Blackmoor’s magic can’t account for, and that’s a human’s free will. I make my own decisions. They’re not predictable. Half the time they don’t even make sense. But when I make them, I stand by them.
After all, that’s how I ended up in the small German village in the first place. And that’s how I ended up walking into the living room, wearing a slip and an enigmatic smile long after I told the three bears that I was going to sleep.
Whoops. I fibbed again. I went upstairs after dinner to give myself one last chance to change my mind, but like I said, I made up my mind.
It’s time to go through with it.
Now that I’ve seen Rowan as a bear, for the first time since I’ve arrived at the cabin, he’s joined the twins on the floor in front of the fire in his fur. The two smaller bears are clearly Finn and Colt. They’re smacking each other with their paws, each trying to get the best spot next to the flames, while Rowan stretches out on his belly, watching them with clear and honest affection.
He’s the first one to sense me walking into the room. His head swivels, those adorable round ears of his twitching. He rumbles softly, a greeting from the bear, as he slowly pulls himself up into a seated position.
My smile widens just a little as Colt follows Rowan’s lead, discovering I’m watching the three of them with affection of my own. He bops his twin, Finn rubbing the back of his head with his paw, both of them chuffing when they see me.
Welp. Here goes nothing.
With a seductive shake of my shoulders, I slip the robe off. I’m not wearing anything beneath it, and though there’s onething Iwon’tdo—fuck my bears while they are bears—I figure, if they will be naked when they shift back to their skin, I might as well get a start on it by undressing first myself.
I cup my breasts, showing them off, then ask, “So, which of you is my mate?”
It’s a trick question. I know the answer, and I only hope that they do, too.
