Page 16 of Beared at Christmas
He chuckled and brushed some hair from my forehead. “Yes, I think we are.”
A few minutes later, he was able to pull out. We washed up, and he insisted on putting the after-care lotion on my neck where he had somehow left four large puncture holes rather than the teeth marks I expected to see.
It was all very strange. Even so, I couldn’t deny the pull he had on me, one that seemed so much stronger after we’d had sex. And as I lay in bed with him that night, naked and tucked into his side, I wondered if there could be more for us once we left the resort.
Chapter Thirteen
Ulrik
My nose woke me up. It sniffed something new, yet somehow familiar. With Brody still tucked into me, I listened for anyone else. There was no one. I smelled the air again and realized the scent came from right beside me. My mate. Brody. I’d claimed him. Fuck.
In my longing to find comfort with someone again, I’d gone too far. I had bound myself to the first person I’d had sex with after Raine. And a human at that. What had I been thinking?
That was the problem. I hadn’t been thinking. I’d simply let my body react to the desires I had for another man. And I’d let my bear take the lead.
I tried not to wake Brody, even as my heart raced with panic. My lack of control the night before had left me with a mate who probably didn’t even know shifters existed, and I had no idea if he wanted a committed relationship. He’d never once mentioned having a partner of any kind, even when I’d talked about my husband.
As I took a few deep breaths to calm myself, I figured I had two choices. I could tell him I was a polar bear shifter and that he was now my mate, or I could let him go and never see him again. Losing a mate to death had been hard enough. It had nearly broken me and my bear. Pushing the human away because I was afraid to tell him the truth would leave me even more empty with no chance to move on. I couldn’t let that happen. Yet, what would I do if he rejected me? I dreaded that possibility the most.
Leaning toward him, I kissed his forehead then moved to examine his mate marks. He didn’t seem turned off by the fact that I’d bit him during sex. I don’t remember doing it, but I must have found time to apply the blue-tinted after-care lotionmy sister had included onto the wounds based on the hint of color on his shoulder. The only part that stood out for me was the intense pleasure and fulfillment that I never expected to feel again. Especially with someone else. It had to have been pure instinct that I’d sunk my teeth into his skin. Now, I had to deal with the consequences of that impulse. I could tell Brody the truth all I wanted. That didn’t mean he longed to be with me after the end of our week. Especially since I’d seen the panic in his eyes when I’d mentioned that I believed Fate had brought us together.
I sighed, hoping he would wake up soon so I could get the confession out of the way. We’d planned to go snowshoeing sometime during the day, and if I could find a spot to take him away from others, it would be the perfect time and place to share my truth. I hoped he wouldn’t hate me for it.
I stroked the side of Brody’s face, surprisingly content with whom I’d picked to be my new mate. It wasn’t as if I’d chosen some random guy in a club, a place I normally didn’t go. I’d met Raine on a job site. He was a friend of one of my past clients.
Being forced to share a small cabin with Brody over the holidays had given me time to get to know him. More so since his accident while tube sliding. That was assuming he had been telling me the truth about himself and his family.
Brody’s eyes fluttered open, and he smiled softly. “Morning.”
“Morning.” I fought the urge to touch him, to feel the delicate skin of my mate under my fingertips. I couldn’t deny the contentment of my bear, even while the rest of me worried about what I’d done. “I like waking up to you beside me.”
His smile widened, and his cheeks flushed. “I like it, too. And I really enjoyed last night.”
So, I hadn’t scared him. Hopefully, I wouldn’t with the rest I still had to tell him. “Are you still up for snowshoeing?”
He nodded. “I want to eat first before we go anywhere. And we don’t have to rush since that’s all we had planned for today.”
“Okay. We can head up to the lodge when you’re ready. I think they should still have breakfast. If not, we can head into town.” Whatever made him happy. I just needed him to agree to be mine the way I was already his.
He leaned closer and kissed me before leaving the bed and walking naked to the bathroom, my bear anxious to fuck him again. To make babies with him. I had no idea how that worked with humans. They weren’t created the same way we were. I would have to talk to the shaman about that, figure out if I would ever be able to give my fathers a grandchild or two.
For the rest of the morning, I remained lost in my mind, completely worried about the confession I had to make to Brody. He smiled more than ever before, constantly finding ways to touch me and sneak in a quick kiss. Maybe I fretted too much, and he would accept being my mate. If he did, we would have to figure out the logistics of our relationship, since we both lived so far apart.
Midafternoon, we trekked across a bright snowy field between the back of the resort and the base of the mountains. With our winter gear on and aluminum-and-nylon snowshoes strapped to our boots, we made our way amongst the coniferous trees. The snowshoes weren’t the traditional hardwood and rawhide style I was used to. Still, they kept us from sinking into the snow as I searched for the right spot to confess to Brody.
Finally, we reached a clearing where only trees and the side of the mountain were visible. I stopped and waited for him to notice.
“What’s wrong?” he called over to me from twenty feet ahead. “Are you worn out already? You did fuck me hard last night.”
My bear became as anxious. He wanted to drag Brody back to the cabin and have sex with him again. I wished that was all I had to worry about.
“Um, about that. We need to talk.”
I watched Brody’s shoulders slump, and he shuffled over to me, staring at the ground. “You don’t have to say it. I understand. This thing between us is only for now. Maybe only for last night. Don’t worry about me. I won’t be a problem.”
With a step toward him, I rubbed my gloved hand down the sleeve of his jacket. “That’s not it at all. Actually, the opposite.”
He glanced up at me, eyes wide and glassy. “What do you mean? You want us to last beyond this place?” His bottom lip trembled. “I’ve been told I’m not relationship material.”
