Page 59 of His Determined Bear

I turned and looked away from the house. The only thing I could do was wait for him to arrive back home. As I stood there, the minutes slowly ticked by, and that’s when I saw it. I stepped back closer to the door as a brown bear approached the front of the house, just staring at me like it was ready to devour me. I swallowed the lump in my throat as it stepped closer to me. Then when it moved even closer, calm settled over me. It wasn’t just a bear. It was Graham.

I hurried off the porch and moved closer to him, and then the bear ran towards me and stopped right in front of me. I laughed when my face was suddenly being licked by an eager bear. This was the reunion I longed for us to have. Okay, maybe not quite, but this was pretty good too.

The licking finally stopped, and I got a sniff followed by a satisfying growl. The next thing I knew, I was face to face with my mate’s oh-so-perfect human form. Graham wore a wide grin that I didn’t get to look at long because I was lifted into his arms and held tight in a loving embrace. He pulled back and brought his lips to mine. It wasn’t the type of kiss that made me want to drag him to bed, but the kind the mended the heart after a separation. The kind of kiss that told me I was the love of his life without him ever having to say it aloud. As our tongues sweetly swept over one another, my heart settled into my place. My home. My Graham.

He breathlessly pulled back from me. “I don’t understand. What are you doing here? I thought there were no flights. I was going to drive to California,” he nodded to the garage. “my car is already packed.”

“The weather took pity on me, and I got the first flight out before it changed its mind,” I said, staring into his eyes, my arms around his neck. “I couldn’t stay away. I missed you so much and the thought of missing Christmas, our first together….” I shook my head, “I couldn’t.”

“I guess great minds think alike. I couldn’t imagine not seeing you. The holidays would have been incomplete without you,” Graham sighed. We grinned at each other, and then we both laughed. And then he was kissing me again until we were both breathless.

I felt a kick, and Graham pulled back, “Was that?” he asked.

I nodded.

Graham set me down gently then unzipped my jacket. His eyes softened and then heated as he looked at my stomach. He reached out slowly to touch it, then looked into my eyes. The love and tenderness there stole my breath.

“I missed you two,” he sighed, rubbing my stomach, “And just as I thought, you look beautiful, baby.”

I threw my arms around his neck again, and Graham lifted me into his arms. I was so happy to see him. And I just knew we were going to have the best Christmas.

The first of many, a voice whispered.

“My bear has been so restless being so far away from you two,” he whispered against my neck. “I missed you so much, baby.”

I sighed. Yeah, this right here. Him. He was my home. I needed to come home.

Chapter 25

Graham

Now that I had gotten over the initial shock from Cooper showing up on my doorstep, I couldn’t wait to show my mate off to my family. Christmas seemed like the perfect time to make that happen. My family always had a Christmas Eve dinner at my parent’s house, and luckily I was able to get Cooper his very own Hallbjorn Christmas sweater.

As we approached my parent’s house, Cooper stopped. I looked down at him and squeezed his hand in mine, “Everything okay, babe?”

“I’m nervous,” Cooper admitted.

I squeezed his hand clasped in mine. “You have nothing to be worried about. My family will love and adore you—almost as much as I do. Besides, your mom and Aaron will be there. So, you’ll have them there for your moral support, not that I think you’ll need it.”

“You’re right.” He nodded, “Yeah, everything will be fine.” I squeezed his hand, and he looked up at me. I leaned in and kissed him. Cooper looked over at the house, “Are we the last ones here?” He looked into the open window, “That seems like a lot of people.”

“All of those people in there are going to love you and are waiting to meet you. You’ll see.”

We climbed up the stairs, and I kept my hand supporting him. Before I could even knock, the door opened, and Rhys was standing there, grinning with an excited look on his face.

“Come in! We are so excited to meet you, Cooper. Come in!”

“Looks like I’ve become invisible,” I said teasingly.

Cooper smiled nervously at me as we walked into the house. When they saw that we had arrived, everyone came rushing up to meet the new omega in the family. I didn’t have to say very much as I watched on not even slightly surprised as Cooper was devoured with the love I’d known he would receive.

“We want to learn all about you,” Kian said pulling Cooper to the side. I grinned because happiness washed over me, seeing my mate here with the rest of my family.

“Where’s my niece?” I asked Gabe, before spotting her playing on the floor. I went into the living room and joined her to play with some blocks. “Look at this,” I said, putting a block on the top of a tower and watching it as it fell off.

She giggled clapping, “Gain. Gain.” I now spoke baby so I did it again as she asked.

I worked to keep her entertained for a few minutes while Cooper was being bombarded with questions. I wasn’t worried about leaving him alone with my family because I knew he would be okay. More than okay they’d be dying to meet him. This was his time to get to know my family and I allowed him that time. One thing I’d learned was Cooper and Kelly had only had each other for a long time. No extended family, just the two of them. And I wanted him to feel that, and have no doubt about how loved he was.

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