Connie let out a relieved breath. “I was worried we would spend days trying to get Colm to shift back only to find out that this was just a dove.”
“We checked as soon as we caught him,” Joe told his mate. “I had the same thoughts, but Rob was absolutely certain it was him.”
“This is Colm.” The dove looked up at Rob, his small eye trained on him as if trying to communicate. Or perhaps it was Rob’s imagination or wishful thinking. Whatever it was, he hoped when Colm saw Ray, he would remember who he was and shift back to his human form.
Rob stared thoughtfully out of the window until the mountains surrounding Bear Creek came into view. He could see the Bluff in the distance, see the place where Colm had proposed to Ray when they were in Bear Creek on vacation. So many memories. If there was any place where Colm might recall his past life, his human life, this had to be it.
“We’re landing.” Madison’s hand on his jolted Rob out of his daydream. He locked eyes with those of his mate and saw her concern, saw her sympathy, and hoped those emotions would soon be swept away and replaced by happiness.
“Thanks.” He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. “For everything. We wouldn’t be here now if it wasn’t for you.”
She smiled softly. “All I did was nearly get kidnapped. The rest is due to my mom and Joe.”
“Thank you all.” Rob’s voice wavered as he spoke. “Bringing Colm home means everything to Ray and the boys.”
“Well, let’s get him back to them.” Connie’s eyes misted with tears as the plane touched down on the runway.
“Come on, Colm, this is the last part of your journey back to your wife and kids.” Rob stood up as soon as the plane stopped, and they were given the all-clear to disembark. His stomach turned over as he walked down the steps. This might be the last part of Colm’s journey, but it might still be a long part if he didn’t shift back to his human form.
Trying to keep positive, Rob cradled Colm against him as the mountain breeze swept down over the lower slopes and across the flat plains where the private airstrips were situated. The scents and sights of home always stirred something deep inside Rob. This was coming home.
“The car is waiting by the hangar,” Joe said. “We’ll be in Bear Creek in the next half an hour. Connie and I will say hello and then leave you alone with Colm and Ray.”
“Thank you again, Joe. I don’t know if I’d have caught the little dove.” Rob laughed. “I know how much you hate it when I call you that. Ouch.” The little dove bit him hard, digging his beak into the flesh of Rob’s hand.
“That’s gratitude for you,” Madison said, her eyes filled with hope. “Do you think that means he knows you?”
“Maybe he recognizes this place.” Rob’s eyes traveled up to the high mountain peaks. “He used to fly up there with me and Ray. Two bears and a bird, we used to joke.”
“I’d like to see that one day. One day soon,” Madison told him.
“You will.” Rob needed to draw on his reserves when it came to hope. It had all but deserted him. But what else did he have to cling to?
Hope that the mating bond is strong enough to pull Colm back from wherever he is trapped inside the body of his other side. His bear sighed. Despite enjoying running over the mountains with a bird flying above them, even his bear knew it was not healthy to be stuck as either one thing or another. The relationship between both human and animal was fluid, one needing the other.
As they drove toward Bear Creek, Rob toyed with the idea of calling Ray and telling her they were on their way and he had Colm with them. But he held back, not wanting them to expect Colm in his human form, and not wanting to explain over the phone that her mate was stuck as a dove.
So when they arrived at his house, he couldn’t be sure Ray and the children would even be home.
She is, his bear told him. She’s here with the children.
Rob’s heart beat so fast, a mixture of excitement and fear. This would be a shock for Ray, but not as big a shock as when she was told Colm was never coming home.
“Are you ready?” Madison asked as the car drove to a halt outside the house.
“Yes.” They got out of the car, Connie and Joe hanging back as Ray approached his house. “This isn’t exactly how I expected your first trip to Bear Creek to be. I pictured something a little more romantic.”
“I don’t know, reuniting two fated mates is pretty romantic,” Madison told him.
“I guess it is.” Rob took a deep breath and lifted the dove out of his jacket. “This is it, Colm. Please try to remember.”
Rob opened the door and went inside, Madison hesitated on the threshold. “I’ll wait here, this should be between you and your sister.”
“No, you are family now, and it’s because of you and your mom and Joe that Colm is here. You should come on in.” Rob beckoned to her, wanting his mate by his side at this difficult time.
Madison followed, and her nearness helped calm his nerves. If this went wrong, if Colm didn’t shift back into his human form, Ray would be devastated. He pushed the door open and went inside, his heart hammering in his chest as he listened for the sound of the children playing. They were upstairs. Good.
Ray is in the kitchen, his bear told him.
Using his shifter senses, he located his sister and led Madison toward the kitchen. “Ray.”
“Rob!” Ray sounded shocked as she came to the kitchen door, wiping her tears away with the back of her hand.
“Sorry to startle you.” Rob stood in the hallway with Madison behind him.
Ray placed her hand on her heart. “I had this sense that Colm was close.” She gave a short, humorless laugh. “I wondered if he was a ghost come to haunt me.”
“Ray, I have someone I want you to meet.” He stepped closer to his sister and Madison came beside him. “This is Madison. My mate.”
“Hello, Madison.” Ray rushed forward and hugged his mate, before she turned an accusing look on her brother. “You didn’t say you were coming.”
“I was worried you might be upset,” Rob confessed.
“Upset about meeting your mate?” Ray asked, taking Madison’s hand and leading her toward the kitchen. “Don’t be silly. This is the best news.”
“Not quite the best news.” Rob followed Madison and Ray into the kitchen and shut the door. He didn’t want Colm to take off and fly around the house. Not that he’d shown any intention of flying since Joe had caught him.
“You have news about Colm?” Ray’s voice shook, and her hand covered her mouth.
“I do.” He kept his tone even, not wanting Ray to overreact or get her hopes up too much. “It’s good news. But also…not so good news.”
“Rob isn’t explaining this too clearly,” Madison said, giving Rob one of those looks as she pulled out a chair and helped Ray sit down.
“What do you mean good news and not so good news? Goods news would be knowing there’s a chance he’s alive.” Ray’s eyes bored into Rob as she searched his face for an answer.
“He is alive,” Rob confirmed.
Ray’s eyes widened and her face paled. “You are absolutely sure?”
“Absolutely.”
“Why did they think he was dead?” Ray asked. “I was told he was dead.”
“When they studied the footage of the explosion, they missed the white dove that flew away.” Rob sat down across the table from Ray and reached for her hand. “They weren’t looking for a shifter.”
Ray shook as the air left her lungs. She inhaled sharply as she tried to keep herself together. “Of course. He managed to shift.” She wiped away the tears rolling down her cheeks. “But where has he been, why didn’t he find a way of getting in touch with us?”
“When he escaped as a shifter, he…” Rob searched for the right words to explain what had happened. But there were no right words. “He got stuck.”
“Oh.” Ray sniffed loudly. “But he is alive.”
“He’s alive…” Rob reached inside his ja
cket and took out the white bird. “And he’s here.”
“Colm.” Ray held out her hands for her mate and the white bird struggled to get back to her. Rob let the dove go and it nestled in Ray’s arms, cooing gently.
“We hoped he’d shift when he came back to you. If not, then we’ll get him all the help we can. I’m certain Colm isn’t the first shifter to get himself stuck.” Rob felt less than useless. He should have been able to reach Colm and pull him back from wherever he was stuck.
“It’s okay.” Ray was amazingly calm as she stroked the feathers of her mate. “We’ll cope. As long as he’s alive, that’s all that matters.”
“I’m sorry, Ray.” Rob’s shoulders slumped forward.
“Don’t you dare be sorry for bringing Colm back to me,” she told her brother. “He’s alive, that’s all that matters.” As she spoke, the bird ruffled his feathers and then took off into the air to land on the countertop. “Colm.”
“Easy.” Rob stood up and moved toward the bird. If Colm couldn’t remember who he was and couldn’t remember Ray, he might fly away. “I’m not sure he knows who we are.”
“He can’t have forgotten me,” Ray insisted. “Come, Colm. I know you are in there. Come back to me.”
The air around Colm shimmered, and for a moment the bird faded from this world. Rob held his breath and Ray grabbed hold of his hand in excitement, but their expectations were dashed when the shimmering disappeared, and the dove was still sat on the countertop.
“That’s a good sign, isn’t it?” Madison asked.
“Yes. At least he’s trying,” Rob replied.
“Well, he needs to try a little harder.” Ray knelt down in front of the bird and looked it straight in the eye, or as straight as you can look a dove in the eye. “We need you, Colm. We need both sides of you. The boys have missed you. I’ve missed you. So get yourself well. Whatever it takes, however long it takes.”
There was a moment when nothing happened and then the air crackled with static electricity as Colm once more tried to shift back to his human form.
“Come on, Colm. You can do it. Remember what it’s like to walk on two legs and hold your mate in your arms.” Rob watched and willed his brother-in-law to come back to them.
“Please, Colm.” Ray stood up and took a step back as the dove finally disappeared from this world. “Please, Colm.”
“He’s doing it!” Rob let go of Ray’s hand and moved backward to stand with Madison. “He’s doing it.”
Madison rested her head on Rob’s shoulder, and he slid his arm around her, holding her close as Colm finally came home complete. “Maybe we should all leave them in peace,” Madison suggested.
“Good idea.” They left the room and went outside to where Joe and Connie were waiting.
“What happened?” Connie asked as she stepped forward to meet them.
“He’s back.” Madison’s voice filled with emotion as she looked over her shoulder. “His mate brought him back.”
“True love. True mates. Nothing can break the bond between mates. Nothing can keep them apart.” Rob turned to Madison and cupped her face in his hands. “We’re all witnesses to what happened here. We all know how blessed we are to know this kind of love.”
“Which was why I was wondering if we should have a joint wedding,” Madison suggested. “That is something that would set the media on fire. Mother and daughter Singer marrying their bodyguards.”
Connie smiled a secret smile. “I have spent my whole life trying to keep a low profile. Maybe it’s time I showed the world another side of me. A spontaneous side.”
“So that’s a yes then?” Joe asked hopefully.
Connie nodded. “It’s a yes from me.”
“And a yes from me,” Rob said. “If anyone cares about my opinion.”
Madison kissed his lips. “I didn’t ask, because I know that’s what you want. I love you and you love me.”
“Are you taking me for granted?” Rob asked in a wounded voice.
“Not you. The mating bond. That’s what I’m taking for granted.”
“Trust in it, Madison. It’s real. I don’t know if I believed it was possible to love a person so completely and utterly so fast. But now that I’ve met you, I know it’s real. You complete me.” He lowered his head and kissed her lips, not caring that Ambassador Singer was there.
However, when their kiss broke, Madison’s mom and Joe had gone. He sent his senses outward and located them some way up the trail leading into the mountains from his house. Finally, three shifter couples were right where they were supposed to be.
Together. Forever.
Epilogue
“I can’t believe we’re married.” Madison lay down on the bed and admired the gold band adorning her finger.
“Believe it.” Rob flopped down on the bed next to her as the gentle sea breeze lifted the curtains hanging from the bedposts. Maurice had offered them the use of his private island so they could have privacy on their special day. With vibrant green vegetation and luscious blooms bordering the trails down to pristine sandy beaches it truly was paradise.
“You might have to pinch me, so I know it’s real.” Madison turned onto her side, her wedding dress wrapping itself around her ankles. Wriggling, she untangled herself and then slid her hands over the silk fabric. Holly and Jones had it designed especially for her, both as a wedding gift and to launch a new range of wedding dresses for the woman with a fuller figure. She loved it. She loved the way it emphasized her waist, and her breasts, without making her feel uncomfortable or as if she were about to fall out of it.
She was supported in all the right places. And not just with her dress. Her mom and dad had put their differences aside and despite this being a double wedding, her dad had given her away. It didn’t make up for all the times they weren’t there for her, but it was a start to the healing process that she hoped would continue.
Then there was Joe, who had been her friend and often confidante during her teenage years. She welcomed him back into her life and couldn’t be more thrilled to have him as her stepfather. Life was perfect.
It might only last for a snapshot in time, but at this moment, lying here next to Rob, life was good. Great even.
She sighed in contentment. “This is the best day of my life.”
“So far.” Rob stroked her hair back from her face and leaned forward to kiss her lips. “This is just the beginning.”
“I know.” She lifted her head and rested it on her hand. “Thank you.”
“Thank me?” he asked. “Thank you.”
“You are the one who came into my life.” She arched an eyebrow. “And you’re going to say you are the one who needed me.”
He chuckled. “You didn’t need me to sort out your attempted kidnapper, but you did need me to bring love into your life. Just as you brought love into my life.”
“Fate.” She stroked his face. “I do love you.”
“I know.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
“Are you taking me for granted?” she asked, a smile playing on her lips.
“Most definitely.” Rob kissed the smile off her lips, as his hands slid up her body and cupped her breasts. “As much as I love you in this dress, I love you more when you are naked.”
“I thought your love was unconditional.” She stroked his cheek, then trailed her lips down his neck. He shivered in response, his lips claiming hers in a kiss that made her stomach flip with excitement.
“It is unconditional,” he murmured. “But don’t you want to be skin against skin?”
“Well. If you put it that way.” She sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed with her back facing him. “I need you to unbutton me.”
“With pleasure.” Rob moved closer, his touch light as he undid the buttons one at a time. Where her flesh was exposed, he kissed her skin with light butterfly kisses. He took his time, teasing her, tempting her as he opened her dress until she wanted to tear the fabric from her body.<
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At last, the final button was opened, and he pushed the dress off her shoulders. Madison stood up and carefully wriggled out of the dress to stand before him in her lacy bra and panties, and stockings.
“Oh, my.” Rob sighed with contentment as he watched her bend down and roll the stockings off her legs. “I could use my teeth.”
“You could.” She removed the stocking from her right leg and then lifted her left leg onto the bed. Rob took hold of her ankle with one hand and then stroked her upper thigh with his other hand, while he gripped the silky stocking in his teeth and pulled it down over her thigh.
His fingers pressed into the soft flesh of her upper thigh, moving higher, much higher until he pulled the fabric of her panties aside and slid his thick finger inside her. Her inner muscles clenched, leaving her aching for him. She wanted to feel him inside her. She wanted to make love to her husband and consummate their marriage.
Unclasping her bra, she fought to keep her brain functioning as waves of pleasure swept over her. Rob lifted her foot off the bed and pulled the stocking off, before running his fingertip along the inside of her foot. She groaned, hanging on to the last thread of her control as Rob pushed another finger inside her. Her knees went weak and she reached out her arm and supported herself on the wall.
Rob lowered her foot back onto the bed and then inched closer to her. With his fingers deep inside her, scraping along her inner walls, he grazed his teeth over her mound. Sparks of light like a thousand tiny stars filled her vision as he flicked his tongue over the fabric of her panties, teasing the small bundle of nerves beneath.
She was wet and so very ready for him to be inside of her. “Make love to me, husband.”
Rob lifted his head and looked up at her, his eyes filled with a hunger that made her gasp. Then he moved swiftly, picking her up and laying her down on the bed. With a flick of his wrist, her panties were gone, and he moved between her thighs, guiding himself into her.
He took her, claiming her as his own as he slowly thrust into her. Madison wrapped her thighs around him and urged him on as her own arousal grew. Kissing his chest, she curled her tongue around his nipple and grazed her teeth over the taut bud until the breath hissed through his teeth. Pulling back, he thrust his hips forward, lunging into her with a powerful stroke, only to repeat the same action again and again.
Savior Bear (Bear Creek Protectors Book 5) Page 17
