Page 18 of Bear for the Holidays

Nik nodded thoughtfully, popping a piece of sausage into his mouth. His teeth were white and sharp, she noticed with a delighted shiver, but another siren-like wail from the bedroom reminded her that she probably shouldn’t dwell on that as much as she wanted to.

“I’ve been planning to move back to the area for a few reasons. I’m at the point in my career where I can start calling the shots on where I work and when. Doesn’t mean that I won’t still need to travel out of state sometimes, and they can take a month or so, depending. Does that work for you?”

Something in Deanna settled and warmed at his matter-of-fact words. She couldn’t speak to mystic connections or fated mates, but logistics, she couldhandlelogistics, and she grinned, delighted and just slightly awed. This was a real thing, and this man was real. They were talking kids and homes, and with every part of her, she knew he meant all of it.

I hope that when we have kids, they’re all as earnest as he is.

“I like the area, my family’s here, and I would like to stay, but there’s a lot of us. I won’t feel like I’m abandoning anyone if I leave for a month–”

Talking with Nik was easy. They talked through the cheese platter, a great deal of wailing from Your Highness in the bedroom and the apple he sliced up for them to share after, and Deanna shook her head.

“Okay, usually, by this point, I’m too much,” she said with a slight laugh.

“Too much?”

“Yeah. Too loud, too fast, too bossy. Too much. And you don’t seem to think so.”

For the first time, Nik looked upset, a crease between his dark brows as he leaned in. He was unbelievably gentle as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

“You’re not too much,” he said, his words clear as if he needed to make her understand. “You could never be too much for me, ever.”

“You say that now, but wait until I steal some guy’s dog and run into your house to hide.”

Nik blinked.

“That sounds like a story.”

“He was hitting the poor thing. He didn’t respond to me yelling at him to stop or telling him I was going to call the police, so I grabbed the dog and ran.”

“And then what happened?”

“Well, Pearl does animal rescue, and she got the dog’s injuries on record, the guy got nabbed by the cops, and Pearl got Barky Barnes–”

“What the heck?”

“I know. Pearl got Barky Barnes adopted by some nice folks out of town. I’m not sorry I did that, but... you know. It could have been better considered.”

Nik thought for a moment, and then nodded.

“I can bench four hundred pounds when I’m lifting. I can help.”

“The next time I need to steal someone’s dog?”

Nik’s expression was stern.

“Not steal. Rescue. We can do that.”

“And… it’s not too much?” she asked, her voice small.

“Never,” he said firmly. “I want you, and I want everything that means. All of it.”

For some reason, his sincerity made her throat and the bridge of her nose ache.

“I believe you,” she whispered, and she was about to say something she hadn’t been planning on saying when two things happened at once.

There was a particularly loud siren-call from the cat in the bedroom, and there was a terrible crash from the kitchen followed by a whoosh of cold air.

They both sprang apart as if they had been caught doing something that they shouldn’t be, and almost as if they’d planned it, Deanna raced to the bedroom while Nik went for the kitchen.

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