Page 22 of The Rhino's Rose

“Glad I could help,” is what I say. Internally, there’s a celebration going on. Prematurely, maybe, but pebbles are something to build with, even though they’re small.

“Your note said you wanted to talk face-to-face. I have something to say, too.”

So much for hopeful pebbles. The words,I have something to say, are like a rock weighing heavy in my gut. Though, whatever she has to say, I have it coming.

“Ladies first.”

“Not this time,” she says, her mouth curving ever so slightly in a smile.

My mind immediately jumps to making her come last night, and my cock jumps right along with it. Uncouth thing doesn’t give a shit about inappropriate timing. The thick, dark work pants don’t offer much in the way of room to grow, but hopefully the compression will prevent her from noticing that I’m hard.

“You don’t have to stand at the door.” She waves me closer, then sets some eucalyptus sprigs and a pair of shears aside, turning to face me fully when I join her at the worktable.

“All night, all day today, I practiced what I’d say if you gave me the chance, and now that I have it, all the well-thought-out sentences are nowhere to be found.”

“I don’t care if it’s fancy prose or bullet points or interpretive dance. Just be honest.”

“If you’d ever seen a rhino dance, that wouldn’t be an option. Not a pretty sight.” The jab at myself earns me a light laugh and a small smile. “I’m sorry I hurt you. With rejection, lies of omission, and presumptuous jackassery. Holding myself back, and you at arm’s length… I see now how it was controlling, but that was never my intention. I thought by removing myself as an option, I was doing what was best for you, what would make you happiest in your future. But the choice should always have been yours—I had no right to make it for you. I’m sorry I made assumptions and took the decision from you. I will always do whatever I can to take care of you, buthowItake care of you is your choice now. Fate picked you as my mate, but my heart is yours because I love you.”

For several slow, beautiful blue blinks, she’s silent. Then she throws her arms around my neck, pressing her softness tight against me. “That was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard. Thank you.”

Gods, she feels good in my arms. I can’t believe I spent five years trying to prevent it. “I meant every word, Rose.” I press a kiss to her soft hair, then thread my fingers through its silky length. “Maybe it’s too soon for you to hear that I love you, but I don’t want to keep what I feel inside anymore. You deserve to know everything.”

“As much as I dreamed of hearing those words every day for the past five years, I really do believe things happen when it’s the right time for them to happen.”

“If I could go back?—”

“We’d never get to havethismoment,” she says, smiling up at me, running her hands over my neck, my ears, my face, before placing her palms flat on my chest. “And I love this moment.”

“Does that mean you forgive me? If you need more time or space, I’ll wait. Not patiently, not easily, but respectfully.”

“I don’t want another minute of time or space without you right here,” she says, sliding her arms around me again. “And I had already forgiven you, before your beautiful speech. My past reared its big ugly head last night. It really hurt to find out you’d deprived me of the freedom to choose who I spend my life with. The hurtballooned and pushed everything else aside. This morning, when I read your note, I realized I owe you an apology, too. I wasn’t angry solely because you took my choice away. I was also angry because you didn’t do whatIthought was best. If I could have controlled things to get what I wanted, I would have. Just because I didn’t actually do it doesn’t make me less guilty. I’m sorry for blowing up at you.”

“You had every right to.”

“Maybe, but I still wish I hadn’t. Apparently, escaping my mafia father didn’t mean outrunning my hotheaded Sicilian roots.”

“That fiery spirit is why you’re in my arms. I needed it. I love it and every other part of you.”

“And I love you. Every part of you. Including the part I was a bit afraid of last night, but I’m not anymore.” Bright pink floods her beautiful, fair face. “I talked to Dr. Schaefer about it today. She assured me we’ll fit together, and said just to make sure I’m well lubricated and that I’ve been, um, prepped, to make accommodating your size pleasurable.”

“Rose.”It comes out raw and gravelly. Pretty sure my cock is harder than any other time in my entire life. As much as I want to show her exactly how pleasurable I’ll make it when I’m deep inside her, it’s her other words that matter most—she loves me. Gently, I cup her face in my hand, tipping her chin up and angling my head to kiss her. Carefully. Deeply.

Like the first time, her taste hits me hard,igniting the mating bond. Only now that neither of us is holding anything back, it’s fully open. The heat between us is more than physical chemistry, more than the innate need to breed with her. It’s everything. She’s everything.

Breaking the kiss, she pulls back enough that our eyes meet. “Last night, you said part of why you denied what you felt is because you wanted me to have a houseful of human babies. Maybe it’s because I was an only child, motherless, and basically fatherless too, since he had little to do with me, but having kids has never been more than a fuzzy possibility.Grayand fuzzy, I realized this morning. So, I asked Dr. Schaefer about that, too. She said our DNA is compatible, and the female human body is capable of carrying and delivering a human-rhino baby, if that’s something we want one day.”

Just when I thought my heart couldn’t get fuller, Rose makes it feel as if it could burst from my chest. “You asked the doctor about having children with me.”

“I thought we should have all the information, just in case. If you never want kids, I’ll get on birth control before we take the next step.”

“This is one choice that only you should make, and no matter what you decide, I’ll still be the happiest man to walk the earth because I’m walking with you.”

“Then…you’re okay with leaving it up to nature to decide? Dr. Schaefer said that despite biological compatibility, cross-species reproduction isn’t a sure thing. I could get pregnant the first time, or it might never happen, no matter how much we want itto or try.”

Straining against the inside of my pants, my cock proves that it can indeed get harder.

“We can talk later; we should probably get going since you arranged for the plumber.” The glassiness in her eyes and flush of pink high on her cheeks tell a different story than her well-intentioned words.

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