Page 31 of Her Embarrassed Bear Mate

From the random meeting in the bar to the weird situation with their parents to now this. It certainly felt like some other power was determined to get them together. If that wasn't fate...

Alix returned to the bedroom where she foundVeronica sitting up in the bed, looking a bit dazed and confused. Her hair was no longer up in a nice bun but cascading messily down onto her shoulders. It was reassuring to know that all her elegance and class required effort and wasn't some innate difference that somehow separated them.

In the early morning, they were just the same.

Veronica yawned. "What time is it?"

"Not sure, I didn't check my phone. I was a little preoccupied with, umm, checking my body instead." She hesitated, unsure how best to break the news. Should she dance around it for a little while or just plonk her leg up on the bed and get it over with?

Since subtlety wasn't exactly her strong suit, Alix decided on the latter. That was how she would want to be told something this life changing. She turned around, exposing her backside and the pink marking on her thigh. It was a good thing she was already comfortable being naked around Veronica, or this could've been awkward.

The stunned silence behind her made her nervous.

"I would really appreciate it if you said something," Alix prompted, nerves tingling through her body now she was on display. Maybe she'd gotten it wrong and it wasn't Veronica's mark after all.

The bed creaked and moments later, Veronica pressed her soft warm body against her. Her arms wrapped around Alix and soft kisses were peppered in her neck, retracing the love bites from last night.

Alix felt herself relax. This had to be a good sign. No shifter would embrace someone with someone else's mating mark like that. She turned around and found her final answer in the adoring glint in Veronica's eyes.

"So... looks like I'm your mate," Alix said, although it came out more as a declaration.

Veronica chuckled softly. "Yes, it looks that way. Wow, that's kind of unexpected."

"Bad unexpected?"

"No! Good unexpected. I just, well, didn't expect this."

Alix grinned. "That's kind of the definition of unexpected."

"I'm just taken aback. Two months ago, we were total strangers. And now, you're my fated mate? Although I suppose you already were my fated mate then, we just didn't know." Veronica gestured at the space between their naked bodies, not that there was much of it. "Guess that explainsthis."

"It does," Alix agreed, leaning in to kiss the other woman. She didn't know if it was thefamiliarity, the moment, or the knowledge that they were fated mates, but the kiss somehow tasted sweeter.

"So... should I make some grand declarations now? You want that proposal now?" Veronica asked. Despite her teasing tone, her question seemed rather serious.

Alix rolled her eyes at the thought. "Please don't."

"What about a tiny promise instead, then?"

"What kind of tiny promise?" Alix asked curiously.

"A promise to take things slow and savour the journey and do things right. Even if we're fated, there's still a lot we don't know about each other yet. It's too soon to start talking about things like love, but I do want you to know I'm in it for the long haul."

"That doesn't sound like a tiny promise at all," Alix pointed out, a smile lifting her lips. Even if it wasn't a grand declaration, her stomach felt light with butterflies. "But okay, I'm in too."

The smile on Veronica was bright like the sun and drove away the chill of winter. "Yay! So... that's it then? We're a couple now?"

"Yeah, I think so." Alix laughed at their unease. "Maybe this is why people do grand declarations because it's just so anti-climatic without one."

Veronica pulled her onto the bed with her. "I'm sure it gets awkward after grand declarations too."

"It doesn't in the films," Alix said with a laugh. The butterflies in her stomach were threatening to escape and it was the most delightful exhilarating feeling in the world. It was no wonder everyone was so desperate for love.

"This isn't a film." Veronica pointed out as she leaned down for a kiss. "But if it was, we'd get a really fun montage of sexy and romantic clips now."

Instead, there was a sharp knock on the door. "Alix? Are you awake? I need to talk to you!"

Alix's head dropped down onto Veronica's collarbone. Of all the people to interrupt, why was her mother on the other side of the door?

---