Page 73 of Midnight Mate
“Bought it?” I repeated, dumbfounded.
“I had a little bit left in savings to cover a down payment. And I just took a new job with the Midnight Falls ski patrol, so I’ve got the mortgage payments covered.”
“Oh.” Emotions churned through me. “Why?”
He stepped closer. “Why what?”
“Why all of it? Why buy this place? Why take a job with the ski patrol?”
“My mom’s been through a lot. I don’t want to burden her by moving in.” He paused, closing the distance between us until he was staring down at me from only inches away. “Besides. I thought you and I needed some privacy.”
“East.” My words stalled as a new thought occurred. “We’re still on pack land.”
“I guess it’s a good thing we both decided to join the pack then.”
“Oh.” My legs wobbled as his words registered.
“I’ve knocked you off balance, haven’t I?”
“Literally,” I agreed.
He laughed.
“Here, I’ve got you.” East reached out and scooped me up.
Ignoring my protests, he carried me past the couch and up the stairs into the bedroom. A large mattress draped in quilts took up the entire back half of the room. On each side, windows overlooked a backyard that sprawled until it hit the tree line.
East didn’t stop until we reached the bed, and he lowered me onto it.
“What are you—”
“Come live with me, Cat.” His eyes were steadier than I’d seen since he’d come back into my life. Not a shred of uncertainty shone in his expression, and for some reason, that made it hard to breathe.
“I can’t just move in with you. This is so fast. And . . . you live in Breckenridge. You have a life there.”
“I already broke my lease there. My furniture’s being shipped.” He lifted a hand and smoothed back my hair. His touch was so gentle now. So certain.
My heart fluttered.
“Why would you do that?” I asked. “Your leg’s healed.”
“It’s not about the leg. It never was.”
“I saw your scans, East. It was definitely about the leg.” Why was I arguing this? Wasn’t it exactly what I wanted?
“I mean the healing. It wasn’t about the injury itself. It was about getting me back here. To you. My pain healed the moment I decided to admit I was in love with you.”
My brows lifted. “I thought it had something to do with me choosing to become a wolf for you.”
He grinned. “So you did do this so you could sleep with me.”
My lips twitched. “It’s definitely a perk.”
He leaned in, his mouth brushing mine as he said, “Let’s sleep together forever.”
My breathing turned shallow. The small kernel of hope inside me bloomed into something larger than I could shove away. “This is fast.”
“It doesn’t feel fast to me.” His lips twitched. “In fact, after ten years in the making, I feel kind of thickheaded. Like it’s taken me way too long to get my shit together.”
