by Snow, Jenika
He stopped hammering and stood, a line of sweat dampening the back of his white T-shirt. His muscles were pronounced, perspiration dotting his forehead.
God, seeing him work, how masculine he was, turned me on.
I watched him inhale, his chest rising before he turned his head and looked at me, this low growl leaving him. His bear flashed to the surface, and a second later he was stalking toward me. I dropped the hammer and smiled, no doubt suggestively, right before he scooped me into his arms and lifted me easily.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, the hard outline of his already stiff cock pressing against the sensitive folds of my pussy. He pressed my back to the wall, his mouth on my neck, the prick of his canines already evident.
“Let’s just go to the courthouse and get married right now.” His words were a low rumble against my throat.
I was tempted to cave in and just do that, but I knew my mother and father wanted to see me get married. And I wanted that too.
He pulled back and looked me in the eyes, his canines flashing for just a second as he gave me a sexy grin, his eyes flashing from his bear.
“That sounds pretty incredible, but I want us to have a wedding. I want us to have those memories with our family and friends watching us get married.” I saw his inner animal retreat slightly, his human coming forward, a small smile playing across his lips. And then he nodded, leaning forward and running his nose up the length of my neck.
“Yeah, when you put it like that it makes sense and sounds pretty damn incredible.”
I closed my eyes and rested my head back against the wall, feeling my arousal pump harder and faster through my veins. “But I’m not really into the whole waiting before marriage thing,” I teased and heard him growl.
I squealed in delight when he pulled me away from the wall and headed toward the bedroom.
And I was more than ready for all he had to give me right then and there.
Nothing like having a possessive, growly bear shifter ready to give you exactly what you wanted.
And I knew Asher was most definitely up to the task.
Epilogue Two
Asher
I was the luckiest fucking bear shifter in the world.
As I watched Ainsley sleep peacefully beside me, I kept thinking that over and over again. She was the mother of my son, pregnant with our daughter, and the reason I breathed every day. I moved closer to her and gently pulled the blanket lower so I could see her rounded belly. I placed my hand over her swollen stomach, smiling as I felt our little girl kick. She was due any day now, and I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face.
Before Ainsley and our children had come into my life, there was a moment where I thought I’d never find my mate, never have a family, a real life. I lived every day just surviving, wanting a mate, silently begging for one. But I had also come to realize that might never happen. Not all shifters mated. That was just the way it worked.
“She’s active tonight. Hope that doesn’t mean she’ll be ready to party in the middle of the night,” Ainsley whispered, but I saw the smile on her face, scented the teasing notes coming from her.
“If she’s like Max, then she’ll probably be a night owl.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” We both chuckled.
She opened her eyes and looked up at me. I still had my hand on her belly and felt the baby kick.
Ainsley placed her hand over mine, and for long seconds we just lay there in silence, basking in the fact that things were good. Really good.
I rubbed my hand over her belly for several long seconds, and then I answered, “I better start cleaning my shotgun for when boys come knocking for dates with her.”
Ainsley snorted. “That’s a ways off, and by then you’ll be too old to care.”
I grumbled out, “Never. I’ll be ninety, and in a wheelchair, and still expecting she’s a virgin and guys are smart enough to stay away.”
Ainsley laughed and snuggled in closer to me.
“One thing for certain is you’ll be the fiercest dad around.”
“Damn right,” I affirmed.
I kept my hand on my mate’s belly, felt our daughter kick again, and knew I’d protect what was mine at all costs.
Every day I loved her more. She was my mate, my wife, the very reason I breathed. I’d die for her if it meant she and our children were safe and happy.
“Do I make you happy?” I asked softly. It had been years since we’d mated, but even still I needed to hear her say it.
After a second she pushed herself up and braced her upper body on her elbow, staring at me. “Every day I’m happier than the last,” she whispered and leaned down to kiss me soundly. “You make me happy,” she said against my mouth. “You’re such a good husband, a wonderful father, and an incredible mate.” She pulled back and looked down at me. “I love you, Asher.”
“And I love you,” I growled out. I cupped the back of her head and pulled her an inch closer. For long seconds I just kissed her, pleased when she melted against me. “You and our children are my life. I’d do anything for you.”
I slid my hand down the back of her head and to her nape. Then I moved my palm to the side of her throat and ran my thumb along the mark on her neck. It would stay with her forever, a reminder, a warning to all others that she was taken. I pulled her closer and just held her. She was mine and nothing would take that away. It had been years since we’d mated, and things had changed for us so much in that time. But it had all been for the best. All of it.
“Momma.”
The sound of Max’s little voice had Ainsley stirring and then sitting up. Max stood by the doorway rubbing his eyes, his tiger-striped pajamas disarrayed because he’d probably been tossing and turning, something he’d been doing since he started shifting. It was normal, natural, and in time he’d come to understand he didn’t have to fight with his bear.
Parenting was hard, the hardest thing I’d ever done in my life if I were being honest, but damn, was it rewarding.
“Come here, baby.” She held her arms out to him and he ran to her, climbing up on the bed and snuggling in closer. Max was definitely a momma’s boy, bear shifter or not.
Our three-year-old rambunctious little bear shifter was the spitting image of me. Even right down to when he shifted into his bear. I admitted that made me proud, happy, and I felt like I was on the top of the fucking world. To look into the eyes of your child and see yourself was … well, it was pretty damn incredible.
I wrapped my arm around Ainsley when she rested back on the bed, and moved my fingers through Max’s dark blond hair. He was already falling asleep.
I had a beautiful family, a healthy son, a daughter on the way, and my mate was healthy, content, and cared for. That’s all I could ask for, hope for.
These two, soon to be three, people were my world, and nothing and no one would ever change that.
I was content, my bear was whole, and I knew as time passed my love for Ainsley and our children would grow exponentially. I felt it increase every day, so much so I didn’t even know how I could contain it all.
I held Ainsley, Max curled up beside her, and felt myself start to drift off to sleep. I kept my hand on her belly, rubbing it slowly, smiling softly.
This was what it meant to find your mate and finally be complete, finally have purpose.
I had that and I was never letting it go.
The End
About the Author
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