Page 26 of Cowboy Bear's Hope

To her credit, she thought I was one of the people helping Max to keep her best friend hostage.

To my credit, I didn’t cry. Much.

Seriously, though, getting hit in the head with a bat fucking hurts.

Despite that less-than-perfect start, my Bear knew right then she was it. My one true mate.

Of course, Avery wasn’t the demure mate I’d had in mind.

She was feisty, stubborn, and had a knack for turning my perfectly laid plans into chaos.

But damn, if she didn’t make my life better for it.

And now here we were, sitting in the living room of the cabin I’d poured my heart and soul into.

The fire crackled in the background, casting a warm glow over everything, snow falling outside blanketing the whole area in white, but I barely noticed any of it.

How could I? Avery—this beautiful, infuriating, incredible woman—was in my lap, kissing me like it was an Olympic sport and she was going for gold.

Honestly, I was trying to keep up, but it was hard to think when her hands were tangled in my hair and her lips were doing things that short-circuited my brain.

This wasn’t just a kiss. This was the culmination of every fantasy I’d ever had.

She pulled back just enough to catch her breath, and I blinked at her like a dazed idiot.

“You okay there, cowboy?” she teased, a wicked little grin tugging at her lips.

“Yeah,” I managed, my voice a little hoarse. “Just trying to remember how to breathe.”

She laughed, the sound bubbling out of her like sunshine, and in that moment, I knew one thing for certain.

Life with Avery was going to be a lot of things, but boring sure as hell wasn’t one of them.

Holy. Fuck.

She was so damn sexy. So warm and sweet. The soft curves of her body melded to mine, and I’d never been so hard in all my life. I was seconds from embarrassing myself.

“Are you sure this is okay? I mean, you turned me down those other times, and I don’t want you to be uncomfortable?—”

“Whoa, slow down, Honey. I don’t know what I did to make you think I would ever turn you down, but I swear to every god in the universe, I want you more than anything,” I growled, my Bear making my voice rough.

“But I’m a single mom and you said at Emmet’s wedding I had too many responsibilities for you to want to get involved,” she whispered, and ducked her head.

But I wasn’t having any of that. I cupped her cheek and waited for her to lift those gorgeous eyes to mine.

“Avery, I wasn’t saying I didn’t want you because of that. I was doubting myself. See, I didn’t think I was worthy of you and Rosie.”

“Why on earth would you think that?”

“What do you know about Penny and Max?” I asked.

My Bear snarled. He wanted me to shut the fuck up and just claim her. My whole body was on fire, burning with the need to mark this woman as my own.

But despite being a Shifter, I wasn’t an animal. Avery deserved the truth. And she deserved the opportunity to say no. Even if it killed me.

“What? Oh, um, well they are mates. Max bit Penny, um, during sex and she’s like him now,” she said.

“Do you know what I am?”

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