Page 48 of The Bear's Forever Mat
Cooper dropped to one knee and pulled out a ring case, holding it up to her. “Amber Myawayan, I love you too. Will you be my forever, however that looks?”
Oh my goodness. The lights were everywhere overhead, and a slow shimmer seemed to sink into her bones as if the snow were glowing, and all she could see was that love in his eyes. It was true, and it was truth, and it was everything she ever needed.
She leaned in closer. “I will be yours. You will be mine. All of you, by the way. Now and forever.”
He slipped the ring on her finger then pulled her toward him, kissing her firmly. Sealing the deal, as it were.
A terrible, wonderful idea sprang to mind. Amber took a quick glance around. They were on the very edge of the gathering, darkness all around them. Most people were wandering toward the house, where Mason was bringing out lawn chairs for watching the light show.
Amber pulled Cooper to his feet and tugged him in the opposite direction.
“What are we doing?” he asked.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” she said with a tease.
Once they were out of earshot of the gathering, Amber gave him no warning. She leapt into his arms and grabbed hold of both sides of his jacket, unzipping it in one motion then reaching for his belt.
Cooper didn’t need any further explanations.
It was a good thing he was a shifter and used to getting rid of clothing in a hurry.
It was a better thing he was a shifter and his body temperature was well above hers as a human, because by the time she was partially naked, she was wondering if her idea was really such a good one.
Except he pulled her onto the nest he’d made from the discarded clothing. Tucked away from the wind, with his big chest acting as a radiator, she was toasty warm as he used his hands to heat her up in the best way possible.
Cooper nibbled on the spot on her neck that drove her wild. “I love you so much,” he whispered.
She swore she heard a rush of music sweep across the sky with another spectacular burst of dancing lights. Cooper’s hands danced over her skin, lights reflected everywhere, and he drove her quickly to the point of no return. Hesitated, and then slid home.
If anything, the lights only got brighter. There were explosions and swirling fireworks, and all of it was part of nature and all of it was perfect.
Cooper moved them together, bringing them up and then letting them fly.
Magic arrived in a way Amber had never experienced before.
It wasn’t just the physical pleasure. It wasn’t just the love in Cooper’s eyes. The spectacular aurora borealis dancing over their heads and bathing their bodies with shimmering light was part of it, and the fact that they were here, her and Cooper, individuals, a pair, and yet a part of a huge whole called family—
There was magic in that moment, and they both knew it.
Cooper swore, soft and reverent, because something beautiful had just happened.
Amber’s heart was still pounding from the sex, but as she lay cradled in Cooper’s arms, something else was there. A connection that was 100 percent happiness and wonder.
Cooper stared at her in amazement. “Amber? Do you feel that?”
They were one. The sensation was brand-new and in an even more intimate way than the physical joining of sex.
“Does this mean we’re mates for real?” she asked.
He pressed a kiss to her lips. “We are. Forever.”
OceanofPDF.com
20
They stayed in the settlement until the day after Boxing Day.
It was just after lunch when they gathered by the plane, two separate parties preparing to take off in different directions.
