Page 34 of Wolf's Midlife Baby

“Yes, for both you and the baby. I don’t want to be a part-time father. I just want to be with you if you’ll have me.” He brought up his other hand and held them both against hers, his heart pounding through his shirt.

Her heart picked up the beat and echoed its rhythm. It was so easy to imagine the two of them together back home, and she knew they could be happy that way. “I will. I definitely will.” She leaned in and kissed him, feeling the softness of his lips and the heat of his mouth. Her soul surged toward him, finally happy now that everything would truly be all right.

“There’s something else I wanted to ask you about,” he said when they parted. “I mentioned it briefly before, but it’s my pack’s tradition to mark our mates.”

Holly had heard of the custom. She knew about the ceremonial bite, but she’d never known anyone who’d actually experienced it. “Yeah, I remember.”

“I know it’s old-fashioned, but it’s something that brings mates that much closer together. That’s actually what I was asking Joan about last night.” He looked at their entwined hands and then bent his head to kiss the back of her fingers.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t know how it’ll work,” he explained. “We know what it’s like when a wolf marks another wolf, and that connection deepens. When a wolf bites a human, it makes her become like him. You’re a shifter, but you’re not a wolf.”

“I see.” She sat back a little while she thought about this. Holly had seen him in his wolf form. He was strong and handsome, and his teeth looked incredibly sharp. It wouldn’t take much for them to sink straight through her flesh. She already had a beast that lived inside her, though. “Do you think it’d be any danger to the baby?”

“I don’t know for sure,” he admitted. “The child already has half my blood, though.”

“That’s true.” A warm sensation moved through her, knowing she was creating a life that was a part of each of them, concrete evidence of their bond.

Pierce reached up and swept a strand of her hair away from her face. “Like I said, this is what I was asking Joan about. The message about following my heart had to do with you, but also with this.”

They had very little information to go on. Her instincts were trying to guide her. She’d been resisting them ever since Pierce had come into her life, telling herself they could never change themselves enough to be together. Maybe it was time to start listening to her heart and inner bear. It knew what it wanted, even if it sounded scary. “I suppose no one will ever know for sure until it happens.”

The tip of his tongue escaped his lips as he ran it across his teeth. “We could always wait until after the baby is born.”

“No.” The word came not from her lips or tongue but from her very spirit. “I don’t want to wait. I’ve already waited a long time to find you, and then I almost left town without any guarantee that I’d see you again. I love you, Pierce, and anything we can do to be together has got to be right.”

“I love you, too, Holly.” He pulled her in close and kissed her again, his lips raking across hers and his arms closing around her. Pierce’s strong hands scooped around her and brought her easily up onto his lap, and she melted against his body.

Her lips parted and their tongues entwined, and Holly knew everything about this was right. She’d always loved him, and they wouldn’t let anything else stand in their way. There was no time for wondering and worrying when everything they needed was right there between them.

Pierce’s lips wandered down the side of her neck. His hand rose up her back until his fingers found the collar of her shirt, and he gently pulled it aside. Holly leaned her head away, opening herself up to what was to come. They had no idea how it would turn out, but it was an adventure they’d have together. Excitement surged through her body as Pierce pressed kisses to the curve of her neck and slowly moved to just the right spot. Already, she could feel his wolf teeth grazing her, and she closed her eyes and relaxed.

His left hand held her against him, his thumb rubbing small circles against her lower back. A warm breath of air moved over her shoulder as he opened his mouth.

She gasped as his teeth sank in, air catching in her throat at the sudden shock of pain after such sweetness. Holly gripped his shoulders, hanging on as the pain erupted. It intensified as he increased the pressure of his bite to ensure the mark took.

Pierce lifted his teeth from her flesh and kissed her wounded skin. “I’m sorry,” he whispered as he tended to her injury with his mouth. “I know that had to hurt.”

“It’s okay.” She laid her forehead against his shoulder and pressed her face into the curve of his neck, inhaling the scent of his cologne and soaking in the warmth and strength of his body. “I knew it would, but I wanted it. And do you know what else I want?”

His hands roved over her back, pressing on either side of her spine, rubbing in wide circles near her shoulder blades, and moving down to massage her behind. “Hm?”

It was strange to admit. She hadn’t imagined she’d feel this way, not when she’d just agreed to a purposeful injury, but the very act of the mark itself had already brought her closer to her mate. “You.”

16

With her blood fresh on his lips and her words in his ears, Pierce felt his wolf rallying hard inside him. It’d already been simmering just under his skin, intoxicated by the act of marking his mate. He’d felt the pain inside her as he’d bitten into her flesh. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her, but he knew this wasn’t like any other injury. It was a symbol of her trust in him and her promise to be with him forever.

There was just one part of the ritual left.

Pierce scooped her up and stood, not once letting her feet touch the ground as he carried her to the bedroom. He took his time, knowing now that they weren’t working on a deadline. Holly would still be packing up her things and leaving Eugene behind, but she’d be bringing him with her.

He nuzzled her neck as he reached her bed and slowly let go, letting her body slide down against his until she was on her knees on the mattress. He swept her hair back from her shoulders and ran his hands through it. He would get to enjoy those silky locks for the rest of his life. It was hard to imagine, but only because she made him feel so young and vibrant. It might have taken half his life to find her, but being with her was like getting to start life all over again.

He kissed her forehead, his fingers stroking the angle of her jaw and the smoothness of her throat. “I can’t believe I almost let you go.”

“You’re not the only one.” She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest, holding him tightly. “I guess our stubborn natures were the first thing we had in common.”

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