Page 74 of Bewitched By the Werewolf
“Uh-huh.” She nods her head but continues to scan the handbook.
“Well, I believe you might be a descendent of a shifter and are my mate.” There, I said it. Plain and simple, direct and to the point. No beating around the bush. I’ve already waited long enough to confirm it.
Finally, she stops reading and drops the book to her stomach. Her head twisting to look up and back at me.
“What?”
“You heard me, Red. I know you’re hearing is just as good as mine.”
She gives me ano duh dipshitlook.
“Yes, Iheardyou but am I understanding you?” she clarifies.
“I think you are.”
She shifts in my hold, turning sideways to get a better look at me, dropping the handbook to the floor next to the couch. She’s only wearing soft lounge pants and a loose t-shirt, and it pulls tight around her body as she maneuvers into a more comfortable position.
I know in human customs the couple would dress up and go somewhere fancy, set a whole scene for a proposal. Shifters do it differently. We don’t need all the pomp and circumstance and formality. Our world operates on instinct and my instinct tells me she’s my mate, so that’s all I need.
“You think we’re like Hunter and Lottie?”
“Similar, yes.”
Tess nibbles on her bottom lip and I want to kiss it and suck on it, soothing her anxiety. She’s still my tough, sassy huntress, but I’m starting to learn—like myself—there’s a softer more sensitive center under the hard exterior. I can’t wait to discover every part of Tess and have her uncover every suppressed and undiscovered part of me.
“What are you saying? Specifically,” she clarifies with a look of don’t sass her right now. I have no intention of sassing her or being unclear in my wants.
“I’m saying, when you’re ready, I want to bond with you. I want you to be my mate, to connect with me on a biological level. To live as long as I do. To run through the forest with me every lunar eclipse and maybe eventually even have kids with me. I want to love you for the rest of our long lives and argue with you over who gets to choose the movie on movie night. That is, if you’ll have me.”
A glossy shine reflects in Tess’s beautiful emerald eyes. I’ve never seen her cry before. I had hoped to never see her cry. Ihope like hell these are happy tears. When she doesn’t respond, I tighten my hold on her.
“Say something, Red. You’ve got me worried over here.”
“Yes.” The word is barely a whisper on her lips, but I would hear it no matter how quietly she spoke it. My heart leaps in my chest and I peer down at her in wonder and amazement.
“Yes?”
“You heard me, Officer. I know you’re hearing is as good as mine,” she parodies my words from moments before, right back at me.
“Yes, I did hear you. I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating.”
“You’re not hallucinating,” she confirms.
In one swift motion Tess spins and straddles my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck and pressing a hard desperate kiss to my lips.
“This means you’re staying? Permanently?” I ask.
“I already was. Now it’ll just be for longer. You can’t get rid of me now,” she snarks into my lips as she kisses me again.
“I had no intention of getting rid of you, ever.”
Our kisses turn heated and frantic. In a matter of moments, we’re both naked and panting on the couch. Tess straddling my hips and taking my already hard length into her tight body. We make love the couch for the first of many times to come in our future. A future that looks a hell of a lot brighter than it did a month ago. Because now I have my Tess, my Red, my mate. My other half and perfect match, and whatever god is out there handing out mates couldn’t have gotten it any more right.
Chapter 40: Ryder
Ryder:Have you figure out who it was that sent Tess those coordinates yet? Thought you would have figured it out by now. You’re slacking sis.
Ginger:Fuck off. And yes, I did find out who it was.
