“I once thought I met my mate,” he said. The words dragged from his throat with the weight of a bulldozer.
She raised her brows and leaned back on the pillows. “You thought?”
He sensed the curiosity and concern in her. The bear wanted closer to her, but he pulled back. This wasn’t the time for emotional crap. He needed to let her see why he was the way he was.
“I was young, thought she meant it when she said she loved me.”
She frowned, forming her lips into an O. “I thought you shifters could detect lies?”
He laughed. “We can, but if the person believes they’re telling the truth then it’s the truth.”
She blinked. “Wait a minute. This is like a lie detector. If you believe something then it happened?”
He nodded. “She swore up and down that I was the only man she loved. Wanted to get married and have babies. Hell, she said she wanted to be at home and take care of children. That it was her purpose in life.”
She raised her brows and snorted. “It wasn’t?”
“Not only that, apparently she was running the same story to a few other shifters.”
She gasped. “No way! How did you figure it out?”
He curled his hands into fists. “It was hard at first, because I didn’t see her for weeks at a time due to work. Then, I didn’t see her because of her own schedule. When I finally did see her, I scented something different in her.”
Julie’s eyes turned saucer wide. “Was she pregnant?”
He shook his head. The memory hit him in the gut like a ton of bricks. “She’d mated someone else. The guy’s scent was all over her.”
“Ouch! What did she say?”
He gave a cynical laugh. “She had the nerve to continue trying to feed me the line about still loving me. Love. For a long time I didn’t want to hear the word. It brought me nothing but problems.”
She put her mug down softly. “Is it hard for you to believe when someone tells you they love you?”
This was the part he’d hated admitting. Emotions weren’t his strong suit. He knew he wanted Julie. Hell, he’d been ready to marry and spend the rest of his life with her, but he didn’t know how to deal with the love word. “I prefer to deal with actions.”
She pursed her lips and nodded. “I can understand that. With that kind of experience, I would have a hard time believing anything anyone said too.”
A rush of relief poured through him. Thank goodness she understood. Maybe now they could move past this love issue and focus on mating.
“It’s sad,” she sighed. “Being able to admit your feelings to yourself is so liberating.” She met his gaze and glanced down at his naked chest. Leaning forward, she placed a hand over his heart, her lips tipping down in sadness. “You deserve to feel, Rafe. I know how I feel about you. I’ve never hidden it. I love you. And if the word love is what bothers you, then I’ll put it to you this way: I knew that you and I would be together again, because my life is empty if you’re not in it.”
Sweet happiness curled around his heart. He felt the same. He’d known that she was the only person he’d ever be happy with. The bear inside him knew she was the one for them too. He’d been pushing Rafe to find Julie again and claim her in their primal way, as well as the human way. He wanted her in every way possible.
“Mr. Sinclair,” the pilot spoke over the intercom. “We’ll be landing shortly. Please return to your seats and buckle up. We have some strong winds and would like to make sure we bring you safely to the ground.”
“Plan on telling me where the heck we’re going now?” she asked with a smile.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
EIGHT
Vegas. He’d taken her to Sin City. The smile on Julie’s face grew with every step they took toward the waiting limo. She couldn’t even find it in her to be embarrassed that she wore a man’s dress shirt as an outfit. She had no shame.
The lights and sounds of Las Vegas lit up an internal flame in her. She’d always loved that city. It was one of the places she and Rafe had always talked about visiting together. She stared out the window, her face pressed against the limo glass like a kid in a toy store. One of her favorite things about Vegas was the shows. She wasn’t much of a gambler, but the shows were fun and kept her highly entertained.
“You brought me to Vegas for what?” she finally asked.
Rafe continued to stare at her with a secretive smile that made her wonder what he was up to.
“You look like you need a break.”
“And my job?”
He shrugged. “I spoke to your director. He’s a friend.”
She blinked her eyes wide. “You mean to tell me you asked for time off for me?”
He nodded and grabbed her hand, hauling her onto his lap. “Yeah.”
“What if I hadn’t agreed to go with you?”
Another shrug. He acted like he didn’t have a care in the world, but his eyes spoke differently. His hands, curled around her waist, held her in a cage of tension. “I would have abducted you.”
“Um, that’s kind of what you did.”
He shook his head, his lips tipping up in a gorgeous grin. “Then that answers your question. No matter how you look at it, you were coming here with me.”
“You’re so full of yourself!”
She turned her face away from him. A whisper of a breath blew by her neck. “Look at me, Julie.”
She gulped at the flutters in her belly and faced him. The impact of those deep-blue eyes didn’t go unnoticed. She felt hot and cold at the same time. “Yes?”
“Let’s cut the bullshit.”
She twisted in his grasp, turning to face him at a better angle. “Please, go on. I’m very interested to know what your next words are going to be.”
“I fucking love you, Julie!”
Her heart thundered hard in her chest, robbing her of the ability to breathe, much less speak. She watching his face tighten with pain.
“I—”
“No. Don’t say anything. Just listen.” He slipped his hands around her head, cradling her face between his palms. “You don’t know how hard it’s been to be without you, knowing that I can’t sleep much less be at peace when you’re far from me. It’s been killing me slowly. Your absence has destroyed every happiness I had for my job and the world. I don’t like you being away from me.” His brows dipped in a ferocious frown. “And I don’t like knowing you are unhappy either.” He glanced down at her lips then back at her eyes, the hot look sending shivers down her spine. “You and I, we belong together. Same species or not. We fucking belong to each other. I don’t give a fuck what the world or society thinks. You are mine.”
He was right. They both knew it. She leaned forward, bringing her lips to his and offering them for his ownership. Sweet joy spread through her, pulling a soft sigh of surrender from her lips. It was time to move on from all the things that she knew held them back, including her expectations. She loved him. She’d happily take him back if he took things slow.
He kissed her softly, not the usual aggressive, desperate bear in need to take her type of kiss. It was a kiss that spoke of all the feelings she’d never heard him say.
The limo stopped, and the door opened. He helped her out of the vehicle. Her legs were still wobbly from the earth-shattering kiss.
She glanced up and was floored by the location. She met his gaze and then looked down at her outfit. She had his shirt on. His shirt! As a dress.
“Tell me this is a joke,” she mumbled. Her brain had stopped working the moment she saw the sign for the “Little Chapel of Love” blinking in front of them.
“It’s not a joke, Julie.” He grabbed her arms and made her face him. “I love you. I’m willing to admit that and do anything I need to for us to have the relationship we want.” He got down on one knee, leaving her completely speechless. “Will you marry me?”
“Right now?” she squeaked. “Wearing your shirt?”
A smile flirt
ed over his lips and a twinkle lit in his eyes. “Yes. Now. I don’t care what you wear. You’re always going to be the most beautiful woman in the world to me. With or without clothes.”
How could she say no to him when he said things like that?
“This is crazy.”
“Say yes, already!” said a group of old women passing them by.
She nodded, the words stuck in the back of her throat. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
Tears clogged her throat, making it nearly impossible to speak. “Yes. I’ll marry you.”
He swooped her up in his arms, twirling her like she weighed next to nothing, and then put her back down on her feet. “I love you.”
She flung her arms around his neck and kissed him. This time, she was the aggressor. She drove her tongue into his mouth. She moaned when he groaned, and sucked on his lips. All sense of propriety gone, she didn’t give a shit who saw them standing in the middle of a busy sidewalk, making out while she wore next to nothing.
He pulled back from the kiss, his breath coming out in short bursts like hers. “Come on, beautiful. I’m never letting you go again.”
The chapel was small and decorated nicely for a small ceremony. She walked in, and a man in a suit stood by the front of the pews.
She glanced up at Rafe with a grin. “What? No Elvis?”
He shook his head. “I said we’d get married. I didn’t say it had to be crazy.”
She giggled. The entire thing was crazy. She had on sexy sandals with a man’s shirt for a dress, her hair all over the place from having sex with Rafe on the jet, and her makeup probably smeared to hell. Did she care? Nope. She felt as nervous and excited as any woman on her wedding day.
An older woman appeared by her side out of nowhere, handing her a bouquet of fake flowers and trying to pass her a veil. She took the flowers but declined the veil. There was no way that was going to help out her outfit.
Music played, and they walked up the aisle hand in hand. This was no traditional wedding. This was them finally having their chance to be happy.
She gasped when he pulled a box out of his pocket when the minister asked for rings. Her eyes filled with tears, and a happy smile covered her face. “You really thought this through, huh?”
He shook his head. “Not even a little. I’ve had these for you since before you left. There was going to be no other woman to take your place in my life. Ever.”
Once they exchanged vows, they kissed, and the world was once again a perfect place.
* * *
NINE
“You’re going to break your back, you silly bear!” She laughed, her head swimming from all the champagne they’d had in the limo. He didn’t bother putting her down, though. Instead, he pressed a kiss to her neck and licked, sending fire down to her belly.
“Open the door, and let’s get you naked.”
She giggled and shook her head. “You are such a romantic, Mr. Sinclair.”
“I might be, but you’re my inspiration, Mrs. Sinclair.”
She had never seem him smiling so openly, like he didn’t have a single care in the world. Her heart felt light. She’d never felt this emotionally connected to Rafe. Not even in the past.
She opened the door to their suite, and once they were inside, he kicked it closed with his foot.
The room was gorgeous: all glass that overlooked the strip. She knew there was no better view in the entire hotel. He’d made sure to get it for them. Her interest wasn’t the view. It was the smile of joy on Rafe’s face.
“I can’t believe we did it.”
He carried her all the way to the bedroom and placed her gently on the bed. Before she got chance to scoot back, he tugged the high heels off her feet and started to undress.
“I believe it,” he said, hunkering down on the bed and pushing her legs open to stare at her bare sex. “You’ve been walking around without any panties?”
She laughed. “What did you expect? You broke mine!”
He dropped down to his knees and pressed his face between her legs, rubbing his cheek on her inner thigh. “I fucking love your scent. A combo of you and me. That’s how it’s always going to be.”
She unbuttoned the shirt, letting it fall off her shoulders and holding herself up on her elbows. “Lick my pussy, Rafe.”
He swept his tongue over her pussy lips, spreading them open and then gliding down to her entrance. “Ahh. You taste even better now than before. I can taste myself on you. Fucking delicious.”
Her belly clenched hard, and her pussy grasped at the nothingness of being unfulfilled. She needed him so bad. He licked up and down her folds, sucking and groaning on her flesh. Her muscles tightened with amazing speed. If she weren’t so turned on, she’d wonder how the hell he got her this close to orgasm so quickly.
He flicked his tongue around her clit in circles. Her breaths came in short, harsh bursts. It got harder and harder to breathe. She clutched at the sheets, her body unraveling. Pleasure washed over her in satisfying waves. She felt her body loosen as her orgasm rocked through her.
Before she got a chance to catch her breath, he flipped her on her stomach, straddling her legs. She lay flat, wondering why he didn’t raise her ass into a doggy-style position. Her question was answered when he pushed her legs open and pressed his cock into her. He then leaned over her, his chest grazing her back, and moved her hands to either side of her.
“Hold on,” he whispered by her ear.
She fisted the sheet and waited. The heat of his body enveloped them. Passion rose with her temperature, turning her skin hot and slick with sweat. She wiggled under him only to have him grab her by the neck and pin her down, pushing his cock in and out of her hard and fast.
“Rafe,” she moaned.
“I told you to hold on,” he groaned.
She hadn’t realized this position would have the impact it did. She couldn’t touch him, and he took her over and over again without allowing her to move. Every second he drove deep and pulled back, pressing her into the mattress with the weight of his hips. He licked the back of her shoulder, biting his way up to her earlobe.
“Fuck! You’re so damn tight. I can’t believe how much I missed being inside you.”
She tried to look over her shoulder, but his hand on her neck kept her in place.
“I missed you inside me too,” she choked out.
He fucked her fast and deep. The strength of his strokes left her barely able to breathe, much less speak. She squeezed the sheets in her grasp, wishing it were his body she touched.
“I’m never letting you go.”
The possessive tone lit desperation in her chest. Her love for him expanded at the thought of his words.
“I don’t want to be let go. Hold on to me, Rafe.”
“You’re mine,” he grunted. “Fucking mine. My wife. My mate. There’s no other woman I’d give my last breath for.”
With every word he spoke, he fucked her harder, until he was driving deep and pulling back to do it again.
“I love you,” she moaned, her body ready to explode from the impending climax.
“Jesus,” he breathed, biting her neck. “I can’t get enough of you.”
That was it. The looming edge rushed toward her, and her body broke as pleasure swelled and took her over.
“Oh, god!” she screamed, her body going stiff for a second before loosening up.
He pounded her hard. Harder. Deeper. And stopped suddenly, his body shaking at her back and his cock pulsing inside her, filling her with his cum.
“That’s it, baby. Take my fucking cum. I love how your pussy squeezes hard,” he said. “Suck my dick with your pussy, sweetheart. Let my seed grow inside you. You’re mine. I’m never letting you go.”
He slid off her body and lay next to her, rearranging her so that she lay with her leg draped over his and her body cushioned on his side.
It took a long moment of hard breathing before the world settled and she could speak.
/> She glanced up at his face. “You really mean that?”
“I’m never letting you go. I love you.”
She smiled, her heart bursting with joy. “I know. That’s not what I meant though.”
He caressed a hand over her lips, a ghost of a smile curving over his. “Yes. I want you pregnant with my child. You’re the only woman I have ever said that to. I’m not an emotional talker, but for you, I’ll try. I will try my damnedest for you. At everything.”
She couldn’t ask for more. A fresh start with her bear was exactly what they needed.
THE END
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Penelope Medina has stage fright the size of Texas. So when her boss signs her and her friends up for a bachelorette auction for their non-profit, this curvy girl is ready to quit. Except, she loves her job. Good thing she can arrange it so that her assistant will buy her. Easy peasy... or not.
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