Growling For Mine(9)

“I am one.”

With his words, his arms tighten around me, but I don’t understand why.

“You are one? You’re a shifter?” I try to lean back to get a better look at him, like I might have missed something, but he holds me closer.

“I will not let you leave, Lola. You are mine. We are mated.” His words come out in a half growl. Looking at him, I feel completely confused. So I just shake my head.

“Bleu. Stop. I’m not going anywhere. Are you serious?”

“Yes.”

I bite my lip, not wanting to offend him but really needing to know more.

“What kind are you?” I whisper it like someone might hear us, even though I know we’re alone.

My eyes run up and down his big body, and I wonder if there are Bigfoot shifters. He’s flipping huge.

“A brown bear.”

I smack myself on the forehead and let out a laugh. Duh, Lola. Of course he’s a bear.

“I can’t believe you’re real.” Reaching out, I touch his face and look him over like I’ve never fully seen him before. As if I’m trying to look for the magic.

He pulls me closer and suddenly he’s standing up in the tub and carrying me with him again. We leave a trail of water behind us as we enter the bedroom. He stands me up in front of the fireplace and dries me off with a towel I didn’t see him grab.

“You are not leaving,” he says, and I can’t help but roll my eyes.

“Bleu, I have nothing out there waiting for me but a busted car and deadbeat mom. Meeting you has been the single greatest thing of my life. Why would I leave this?” He looks at me, but still I see a hint of doubt there. “Even if I had a family that wanted me, or somewhere else I needed to be, I would never leave you. You said it, we’re mated now. You just need to tell me what a mated shifter wife does so I can be the best damn shifter wife there ever was.”

“Wife?” he asks, smiling and raising an eyebrow.

Oh, shit. I hadn’t realized I let that just slip out.

“Or whatever. I mean, mate.” I stumble over my words, but he picks me up and pulls me to him, carrying me to the bed.

“You are mine. In every way.”

“Do I get to see you as a bear?”

I blurt the question out, and I feel so silly for asking it. He just smiles and puts me on the bed, climbing on top of me and snuggling into my neck.

“Yes, he would very much like to meet you.”

“Is he the same as you, or will he try to hurt me?”

He sits up fast, and a serious look takes the place of the smile that was there just a second ago. It makes me sad that I took the smile away, and I want to put it back on his face.

“He would never hurt you. We are one, my bear and I. We both want you, we are both mated to you, and we both love you.”

“Love?”

How is this possible? This is some insane crazy shit. We met, like, thirty seconds ago. How are we in love?

“Yes. It is the way. I know you are my fated, true mate. I live out here away from the big clan of Grayslake. We have runs once a month and sometimes I go to them to check in with Ty. He’s our leader. I drop some things off and pick up any supplies I might need.”

“So is he my leader now, too?”

“In a way, yes. But with how I live, it will be as if it is just you and me.”

“I like the sound of that.” Wrapping my arms around his neck, the smile I was missing comes back.

“I make furniture out in my workshop. I sell it to one of the dealers in town, but otherwise, I like to stay here.” His hand comes up, cupping my face. “Now I will want to stay here even more with my mate to take care of.”

Suddenly, something hits me, and I worry that we’ve made a mistake. “Bleu, what about pregnancy? We didn’t use anything.”

I’m not on any kind of birth control, and he sure as heck didn’t pull out. It never even occurred to me until just now. Then a wave of sadness flows over me. What if humans and shifters can’t breed? Will I never have a baby with my mate?

“Why would I use anything to stop a cub from growing in your belly? We should be lucky to have one. Maybe we will be blessed and have many.”

“We can have babies?” I hear the hope in my voice, and as crazy as this sounds, I want it to be real. I want it to be true. If there is one thing I’ve always wanted, it’s a family. A real one. Not like the one I had growing up.

“Yes. You are human, but you will carry our cubs. They will be able to shift like me.”

I feel the grin on my face growing bigger as I think about our little babies running around the cabin. I picture our lives together and what our future could hold.

“I like the look in your eyes.” His gold-rimmed eyes scan me with such tenderness.

“I like the life I see here with you.”

“Good. Then I don’t have to chase you in the woods.”

I feel him bury his face in my neck, and I let out a giggle as he growls. “Maybe you can pretend to chase me. That sounds kind of fun.”

The hard ridge of his cock rubs against my *, and my laugh turns into a deep moan. I feel tingly all through my body, as if my nerve endings are on high alert. I rub against Bleu’s big body, feeling the hair on his chest against my hard nipples.

His mouth moves down my neck to my aching breasts, and his hot mouth latches on. I raise my hips, welcoming him into me as the pleasure starts to race through my veins. When his cock is lined up perfectly, he’s hesitant to thrust in.