Page 85 of After the Fall

“Not up for celebrating?” A striking Yeti woman caught me as I was halfway up the stairs. With haunting blue eyes, and herlong white hair tied in a fishtail braid, she looked like a real-life version of a character fromFrozen.

I paused with my hand on the thick marble banister. “I didn’t think I would be missed,” I admitted.

She nodded. “Where I come from, humans and Yeti live amongst each other, and have for generations. Maybe one day, you will too.” Her eyes softened. “Forgive me, though. Your attention is needed elsewhere.”

Before she could explain herself, Wyatt appeared at the bottom of the stairway. Dressed in a collared shirt with a clean-shaven face, he looked more like the billionaire businessman I’d fallen in love with – and still loved.

“Can we talk?” His Adam’s apple bobbed as he spoke. He seemed nervous, his hand darting in and out of his pocket. The Yeti woman disappeared back to the festivities.

I nodded, and he followed me up the stairs and down the west wing, past his bedroom, to my favorite room in the mansion, my library. I paused outside, my hand frozen on the doorknob, my brain shouting at me to stop. But my heart, that damn illogical beating machine, propelled me forward.

Wyatt followed me inside, to where the soft glow of the chandelier bathed the room in sparkles. “Harper,” he began, “I—”

I placed my finger to his lips and he moaned lightly against the contact of my skin, his lips parting slightly. “I thought I lost you today,” I whispered.

“I thought I lost myself.” He kissed the tip of my finger then brushed his lips against my knuckles. His breath felt warm on my skin, bringing all my senses alive. “I thought that being a sasquatch was all there was to me – my only purpose, my only identity. But then I met you.” His hand shook as he reached into his pocket. When he pulled it back out, his fingers were curled tight. “You changed me, Harper. For the better. I want to be aman who deserves you, a man who’s worthy of you. I want to spend my lifetime making you happy.”

As he slowly uncurled his fingers, my heart raced wildly, pounding against my rib cage. But instead of the sparkle of a diamond, a chalky white circle appeared. My brow furrowed slightly as I searched his face for answers.

“I want to give you the world,” he continued, “and that includes having a family.”

I frowned at the small white pill. “I don’t understand,” I whispered.

He smiled nervously. “Tim finally perfected it. The gene reversal,” he said, unable to hide the excitement from his voice.

“You mean…” My voice shook as the pieces came together. “You want to become human,” I whispered, afraid to say the words out loud – afraid of what they meant.

He swallowed hard and nodded, closing my hand over his. Underneath our skin, lay the solution to all of our problems.

“Wyatt.” I shook my head forcefully. “You can’t. You said you’d rather die than live as a human.” My lower lip trembled.

“That was before. The decision is mine to make.” He leaned his forehead onto mine. “And I’ve already made it. I chooseyou, Harper. I chooseus.Just like you’ve chosen me, time and time again.”

“No, Wyatt.” I shook my head, harder this time. “I don’t want this.”

He pulled back as if he’d been stabbed, his face falling into a mask of pain. “As you wish.” His voice turned cold as stone. He slid the pill back into his pocket and turned to leave.

I grabbed his bicep to stop him. “No, wait. Please.” Even with his face turned away from me, I could see that my words had hurt him. “I love you. But I don’t want you to be anyone other than yourself. I love you for who you are; for what you are. Andthat’s not being human.” I gave his arm a gentle squeeze. “Wyatt, look at me.”

His face was a heartbreaking blend of confusion and pain. I reached for his cheek to caress it. He leaned into my fingers and closed his eyes, sighing heavily, his breath warming my skin.

“Wyatt,” I whispered. “I realized today that family is the most important thing. You need your sasquatch family, just like I need my parents and Savannah. Family isn’t blood, it’s the people you choose. Like Jax, your chosen brother, who was able to bring you back to us when no one else could. So… I choose you, Wyatt. I chooseus. But as we are.”

“But…” His head hung low. “I can’t give you the one thing you truly desire. I can’t give you a baby. If I was human…”

I let the silence sit heavy between us. “If you were human, you wouldn’t be Wyatt Westwood. And he’s the man I fell in love with; the man I want to grow old with, for as long as we have together. We’ll find other ways to be a family, whether it’s through adoption, or by just being amazing aunts and uncles. I don’t need an ordinary life. I’ve got something far better – you.” Tears of joy streamed down my cheeks. For once, it felt like everything made sense.

Wyatt brushed the tears away, kissing me softly at first, then more urgently, until our hands were everywhere. Without warning, he wrapped my legs around his waist and spun me around, our laughter echoing through the library as the bookshelves spun by in a whirlwind of pages and color.

“You’ve made me the happiest man, Harper. I promise I’ll spend my lifetime, and yours, making it worthwhile. Starting tonight.” His eyes bore into mine with such intensity, I could feel the familiar ache between my thighs begin to grow. As he laid me gently on the rug, his leg pressing into my thighs, forcing them apart, I sighed with pleasure knowing that I had a lifetime of this to look forward to.

FORTY-FOUR

WYATT

I usedto think that running through the woods at top speed, silently hurdling downed logs, and using tree branches like an Olympic gymnast on a high bar, was the best feeling in the world. I was wrong. Waking up with Harper in my bed was the best feeling in the word. I pulled her body close to mine and rested my hand on her belly. Gloria had been feeding Harper well, and while most women would’ve hated losing their washboard abs, Harper’s new softer stomach was sexy as hell. She was solid, feminine, and mine.

Rare November sunlight streamed in through the window. I kissed Harper on the cheek. She murmured and wriggled closer to me, but soon her breath returned to its sleepy rhythm. As tempting as it was to wake her up and take care of my massive erection, I had places to go and people to see.

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