Page 17 of Bearly Mated

If I wasn’t already flushed, I would’ve reddened with his words.

But I was.

And it was blissful.

He laid me down on my bed and made sweet, slow love to me until the sun started to rise. Even though I knew it wasn’tpossible, I silently hoped that we could live in those moments forever.

six

HUDSON

I staredat the woman sleeping on my chest, wondering how any bear shifters had ever walked away from their mates.

It was supposed to be natural—the fear of commitment. The itch to leave.

I’d been taught that freedom was a need for bears. Mating was unnatural, but was a requirement considering the way our population continued to shrink.

Part of me had expected the need to be close to her to fade after the anticipation was gone.

After Callie was truly mine.

After… something.

But she was sleeping. My cock had long-since softened. I’d bred her, though that hadn’t even been a factor in my mind when I made love to her until seven in the morning.

Yet, I wanted tostay.

My arms tightened at the thought of walking away while she was sleeping, and leaving her to wake up alone.

Fuck everything I’d been taught about bears.

What we had together was right. It was everything.

Callie was finally mine—and I wasn’t leaving.

Not even if my life depended on it.

seven

CALLIE

I smelledbacon cooking when I woke up at 10 AM. The scent made my stomach rumble, and I forced my eyes open.

The blankets were rumpled, and the bed was warm.

Hudson had stayed all night.

I didn’t want to get hopeful about that, but with his scent on my sheets and the stickiness of his release dried all over my thighs and core, it was hard not to.

He’d said I was his.

I slipped quietly out of bed and into the bathroom across the hall, staring at myself in the mirror.

My long, honey-colored hair was a tangled wreck.

My face was red.

My eyes were a bit dazed.

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