Page 14 of Bearly Mine
Lily
The door to the guest bedroom closed behind me. I fought back the urge to throw myself on the bed and burst into tears. The irony of realizing I was in love with someone just as they changed their mind about me had near hysterical laughter bubbling up. How could one day change my life so completely?
I tugged the clothes Dean loaned me off, raising the shirt to my nose and inhaling his scent. I wished I could take it with me and wear it to bed every night. Never washing it, until the smell of him faded. Maybe by then I would be over him.
Pulling on the outfit I wore the day before, I tried to smooth the wrinkles, but like the hurt I experienced when Dean pulled away, they were too deep. I grabbed my purse and slid my phone into the outer pocket. I wished I had left it behind that day. It was after I got the message about the job that Dean’s attitude changed. It must have been what made him realize I wasn’t his mate. Maybe thinking of me leaving didn’t bother him the way it would if I were actually the one for him.
Or…could it be something else? A flutter of hope rose in my belly that I almost refused to entertain. What if he thought I wanted to take the job and leave him? Had I given him reason to think otherwise? I was so angry with him for arranging a job here for me. He could believe I was still opposed to teaching at the shifter school.
I needed to know the truth. If he didn’t want me, I would leave. Accept the out-of-state job and try to forget him. But if I really was his mate, he didn’t get to back away from me. Isquared my shoulders and took in a deep breath, preparing to fight for what was hopefully my man.
Stopping at the top of the stairs, I met his gaze, his eyes first shuttered, showing me nothing about how he was feeling. Then they filled with a determination that rivaled my own. His strides were long as he crossed the room. He took the stairs two at a time, stopping a few steps below me, so I could look him in the eye without craning my neck.
“Let me go with you.” His words cut off any thoughts I had about what to say. “Give me a chance to convince you we’re meant to be together. We can date. You’ll have to teach me how that works, because it’s not a thing with bear shifters. But I’ll learn. I can be whatever you need me to be.”
“Dean-” I was in awe that this man was willing to walk away from his life, his family, his home, for me.
“I know the whole mate thing is new to you. I can wait for you to feel the same. What I can’t do is lose you completely. Please tell me I still have a chance.”
“You don’t need to go anywhere with me.” I stilled his protest by laying my fingers against his lips. “And you don’t have to change. Or do anything special. I just want you.”
He looked at me, his eyes questioning, but filled with hope.
“I interviewed for the shifter school job. They want me, and I’d like to accept. But I wasn’t sure you still wanted me.”
“I’ll always want you.” He brushed his mouth against mine. “I’m sorry for pulling away. I thought I had to let you go so you could follow your dreams. And I tried, but I can’t imagine life without you.”
“I don’t want to imagine life without you.” I threw my arms around his neck, hugging him close. “I love you.”
His chest rumbled, that wonderful purring sound vibrating through my body where we touched. “I love you, too.”
He peppered kisses along my cheek before taking my lips with his. My mouth opened on a gasp as his hands slid down my sides, brushing the sides of my breasts, coming to rest on the back of my thighs as he lifted me into his arms. My legs wrapped around his waist and he carried me down the hall to his bedroom. Once inside, he lowered me to my feet and cupped my face in his hands, kissing me again, his tongue slipping inside to stroke against my own.
I broke away, stepping back from him. A flash of disappointment crossed his face, but his gaze heated quickly when I removed my clothes and stood in front of him, naked. His eyes raked over me, taking in every inch of my skin, which flushed beneath his intense stare. He had seen me without clothes before, but somehow this was different. More momentous. I was offering him all of me and hoping I didn’t disappoint.
TEN
Dean
My breath caught in my throat as Lily stood in front of me, naked. The first time we came together, the passion had swept us along, driving us into each other’s arms. But now, she was offering herself to me in a conscious move. As if to show me she knew what it meant.
I wanted to stare at her forever, taking in the beauty of her form, but the hint of vulnerability in her eyes had me reaching out to cup her face. Brushing the pad of my thumb over her cheek, I stepped closer, until only a whisper of space was between us. “I want to mark you.”
“What’s that?” Her tongue wet her lower lip, her eyes half-closed.
“It’s when a shifter bites their mate. It completes the bond and shows that they belong to each other. Forever.” I searched her face for any hint of fear, but there was none. Just curiosity. “I want everyone to know you’re mine.”
“It sounds serious. A big step.” Those green eyes focused on me.
“The biggest. It’s more permanent than a human marriage.” I didn’t want her to agree without understanding what it meant to me. I needed to know she accepted the commitment. Chose it.
“Does that mean we won’t have a wedding?” She tilted her head and looked at me through her lashes, her hand coming up to rest on my chest.
My heart raced. “We can have a wedding, too. Anything you want.”
A smile bloomed on her face. “I’ll have to wear a dress that shows your mark.”
My bear growled in pleasure at the thought of her showing off my mark. I dropped a kiss on her neck. “I’ll put it right here. For everyone to see. Just say the word.”
