Page 19 of Beared at Christmas
“Well…” He stretched out the word until it was almost painful. “What if I don’t want you to leave?”
I spun around to face him, my heart racing as I held my breath, trying not to hope for something more. “What do you mean?”
“I thought about it.” He shrugged then crossed his arms in front of himself. “Thought about leaving. Something kept me here.”
My sudden hope deflated. “Because you have every right to be here. I told you, I would leave.”
He shook his head. “And I told you, I don’t want you to leave. I want you to stay here. With me.”
“Why?” He’d made it clear I had wronged him and that he didn’t want to be with a shifter.
Holding up his phone, he shook it. “I did some research before you arrived. About shifters.”
My stomach churned. “Okay.” We kept information about our kind off the internet, with only outlandish conspiracy theories and fictional romance tales available for human consumption. The less they knew about us, the better.
“Turns out, you really do feel a strong connection to your fated mates. And that most of you do mate for life.”
I took a deep breath, having no idea how to respond. While that information was true, it had likely come from a romance story.
“And, while I was all set to leave and never see you again, I couldn’t. I packed my stuff, headed for the door, but couldn’t walk away. Something kept me from leaving. So, unless you cancreate some force field meant to contain me, I understand the draw of wanting to be with one’s fated mate.”
I shook my head. “I can’t create force fields. Wouldn’t even know how.”
“That’s what I thought.” He set his phone on the nightstand and left the bed, walking toward me.
“I don’t understand this at all.” He took my hand and guided me over to the couch where we both sat. “But the idea of leaving you made me sick to my stomach and my heart ached so bad.”
With the lump in my throat, I couldn’t say a word. Instead, I nodded and hoped he would continue.
“I remember you saying earlier in the week, that you thought Fate had brought us together.” He rested his hand on my shoulder and moved closer to me. “I think I believe it, too.”
I nodded again, trying not to say a word for fear my bear would take over and scare Brody away.
“I have wanted to be in a committed relationship for a long time, but I was always too much for everyone I was ever with. I’d almost given up on that idea. I never expected to jump into this kind of bond so quickly. I mean, we only just met.” He paused and took a breath. “I have no idea how this would work between us. We’re from different parts of the country.”
I ran my finger over my lip while putting my other hand on my leg to keep it from bouncing, as I contemplated what to tell him. “We could simply stay where we are and visit each other when we get the chance. I don’t want to force anything more on you. It’s whatever you want.”
He shrugged and leaned closer, resting his head on my shoulder.
I couldn’t help my contented sigh, both from myself and my bear.
“Well, since my job is mostly remote, it would only make sense for me to move closer to you. I could travel back to LAwhen I have a meeting, stay a couple of nights there, and then head back to Iowa.”
“Close to me?” If he was going to agree to be my mate, I wanted him with me. Holding in my thoughts, I refused to force the issue. I’d already found out what happened when I lost control of myself.
“Well…” He ran his hand over my thigh, stirring another part of me I found hard to control. “I would be willing to move in with you since we are ‘mated,’ but I don’t want to make that assumption. Plus, I know you were still grieving your past mate when we first met.”
After a deep breath, I took Brody’s hand and intertwined my fingers with his so we would stay on topic for the moment. “I want you with me. When you’re ready. You’re my mate, so you could move in tomorrow when we check out of here. No matter what I want, it must be your decision.”
“Deal.” He kissed the top of my hand before kissing my cheek. “Give me time to pack up my stuff. Probably a week. I’ll lease out my condo, and I can have someone else arrange it all for me.”
I wrapped my arm around his shoulder and kissed the top of his head. “I’ll make the arrangements to get your belongings moved. Please let me drive you home tomorrow, so I know where to go when I come back to get you.”
He nuzzled into my side. “I would like that.”
“What’s your family going to say?” The sudden worry left me fearing he would change his mind.
“I really don’t care.” He walked his fingers up my chest with a playful grin. “Any excuse to get farther away from them works for me. They don’t accept me as being gay, so they’d likely blow a gasket if they found out I was moving in with another man. What about your family?”
