Page 16 of Cowboy Bear’s Hope (Motley Crewd Shifters #3)

“ S leepy, Mama,” Rosie murmured as Dante carried her to the bed.

I smiled and walked behind them, cooing to her softly.

“I know, Baby Girl. Sleep now,” I said in a hushed tone as he lay her down gently.

He was such a sweet man.

The way he handled my daughter—so tender and careful—was enough to make me swoon.

And I meant really swoon, like a heroine in one of those romance novels I was constantly reading. The kind who clutched her chest and fanned herself whenever the hero was in sight.

He was just so, so everything .

Dante Bianco, the enigma of a man, was surprisingly paternal for someone who’d never had a family of his own.

A single man who’d never even dated a woman, at least as far as I knew.

Well, I mean, he’d been a virgin before we slept together, so I was pretty confident he hadn’t gone out with a lot of women, specifically single moms.

The thought of that—of how he’d saved himself, even unintentionally—brought a flush to my cheeks.

It didn’t help that my mind immediately strayed to the things we’d done together, the kind of things that could set a room on fire.

Experienced or not, Dante was one hell of a lover. The kind that left you breathless, craving more, and wondering how you’d gotten so lucky.

But this moment, right now, was a different kind of intimacy.

Actually, the entire night had been like that.

Just doing the normal things with him, making dinner, eating, then watching TV after. Seeing him crouched on the living room floor, folding pillows and arranging blankets into a whimsical little fort for Rosie, was like a scene straight out of a rom-com.

You know, the kind of scene designed to make ovaries everywhere go off like firecrackers.

Rosie had never giggled so much. Dante had peeked into the fort, his dark hair falling into his eyes, his deep voice morphing into something playful and cartoonish as he pretended to not know he couldn’t fit inside.

It was hilarious. He even had me forgetting my fight with Penny.

Dante was utterly devoted to making her laugh, his serious demeanor melting into a soft warmth I’d never seen before.

The sight hit me square in the chest.

He wasn’t just playing with my daughter. He was there for her in a way that made my heart ache.

Every carefully tucked blanket, every exaggerated roar as he pretended to be the bumbling monster from the movie spoke volumes about the kind of man he was.

And I couldn’t help but marvel at it.

Who would’ve thought Dante Bianco, the hulking, quietly intense man who walked around trying not to be noticed, would also be the kind of guy to build a pillow fort and make silly faces to delight a little girl?

It was enough to make me fall in love with him. Well, if I hadn’t already given him my heart. But I had. It was done.

And I was so fucked.

What if Penny was right, and I was no good for him?

I pushed that fear away as I leaned against the doorway, watching Dante tuck her in.

He lifted his gaze to mine and the look in his eyes— soft, full of unspoken promises —made my knees feel like jelly.

Yeah, he was a sweet man.

One of the sweetest I’d ever known. And every minute we spent together, I seemed to find more reasons to love him.

“Night, Danny,” Rosie whispered, clinging to Dante for one last nuzzle.

“Sleep tight, Rosie Posie,” he whispered and pressed his lips to her hair before tucking her in.

I went in for the last goodnight kiss, and we both stood there until her breathing evened out.

“She’s always been a good sleeper,” I said, feeling a little nervous now because I knew what was coming.

It was time for our talk.

Dante held the door for me, and I walked through it, leading the way down the hall to the primary bedroom. Dante closed the door behind us and walked to the bed with my hand in his.

He sat down first, his back against the headboard, and I didn’t hesitate. I just crawled into his lap and sighed as his big arms encircled me.

“I got you,” he whispered, kissing my head.

His woodsy scent was so warm and comforting, I breathed it in and just let him hold me. It felt so good to have someone to lean on. Someone who I could simply be with.

No one had ever treated me like that.

I mean, I understood. I got it. I wasn’t exactly easy to get along with. Not that I blamed myself, I mean, I was young when I had Rosie. And I spent a lot of my life having to defend that choice.

My attitude reflected that. I could be rude and loudmouthed but being quiet about what made me upset just wasn’t me. Still, I never thought I would have to defend myself to Penny. And it hurt.

I knew it wouldn’t last long. I mean, usually, when we argued I just sucked it up and went back. This felt different.

But maybe I didn’t have to go through it alone.

“Today was hard,” I said, taking a chance and opening up.

He hummed a sound of understanding, and I snuggled deeper into the comfort of his warm body. Dante’s big hands stroked along my back, lighting fires of awareness as they went.

“Penny and I argued. It was bad,” I whispered.

“What was it about?”

“You,” I confessed.

“Me? What happened?”

“Sh-she said I didn’t know what I was getting into. Mating you. That I wasn’t right for it. That I would hurt you,” I said, and God, but it broke something in me to admit that.

“What did you say?”

“I said what she thought didn’t matter because you thought I was good for you, and that was all I needed.”

“And is that how you feel?” he asked.

I sat up, dragging my gaze to meet his. His brows were furrowed, but he didn’t look mad or upset. His dark velvet eyes were locked on mine, and inside them I saw truth and honor, and so much depth.

Maybe Penny was right? Maybe he was too good for me. But I didn’t care. At that moment, Dante was all I ever wanted. So, I nodded my head.

“Yours is the only opinion that matters in this, Dante. If you want me. If you think I can be a good mate to you, then this is where I want to be.”

“You mean it? No one’s opinion matters to you but mine?”

“About us? Yes, I mean it.”

The air around us seems heavy with Dante’s pause, then he’s pushing me off his lap and standing, and I just sat there, wondering why.

“What are you doing?” I stopped talking the second his hands went to the fastening on his pants.

“Take your clothes off, Honey,” he said, more bark than I was used to.

I didn’t hate it, though.

In fact, I kind of liked it when Dante got all bossy with me.

“Avery. Get naked. Now,” he said, and resumed taking off his pants and shirt.

I swallowed audibly. Then I got moving.

Every inch revealed of his bronzed skin sent shivers of attraction swirling through me. Desire had my clit throbbing and my panties soaked.

Fuck.

Why was I still in my panties?

The need to rush filled me and I stood on the bed, whipping off my shirt and bra, and shoving my pants down my legs. I started to tip sideways, but Dante was there, catching me before I could fall.

“You always this clumsy?”

He grinned, and boom, there went my heart.

“Clumsy? Me? I’m a goddamn sex symbol,” I snapped.

“Damn straight you are,” he growled and tossed me on the bed.

“Now let me see that pretty pink pussy of mine,” he rumbled, finishing the job of taking off my clothes.

Dante’s eyes turned black with his bear as he ran them over my body. I wasn’t perfect. I knew that. But the way he looked at me sure made me feel like it.

“So pretty, Honey. Fuck, I want you so bad.”

I dropped my eyes to his beautiful cock fisted in one giant hand, and the perfect pearl of precum glistening there had me whimpering.

“Dante,” I moaned his name, spreading my legs and willing him to me.

“Look how wet you are for me. Fucking soaked,” he grunted and fell face first into my sex.

I gasped, my mouth open as he ravaged me with his talented tongue and flexible lips.

I could feel him moving through me, his essence weaving into mine, as if we were two halves of a whole finally colliding. It was more than physical—deeper, rawer.

Like a rainstorm falling on water, each drop dissolving instantly, becoming part of something larger, something infinite.

Every touch, every breath, sent ripples through me, merging our souls in ways I couldn’t begin to explain.

He wasn’t just touching me. He was inside me.

Not just our bodies, but our hearts.

Our souls.

Our very beings.

The boundaries between us blurred, my edges softening, his strength flowing into every hollow space I didn’t know existed until he filled them.

It was a storm, gentle yet unyielding, drenching me in him, in us.

“Dante,” I moaned as my first orgasm rippled through me.

He slowed his pace until he was just peppering me with soft kisses and nuzzles. I pulled at him, wanting more, needing a deeper connection.

“Need you too, mate,” he said and crawled on top of me.

I spread my legs wider, making room for his deliciously big body.

Then I felt him there, his big dick pressing into me. My mouth opened and our eyes locked. Dante’s chest rumbled, and I knew his Bear was with us too.

Everything but us faded into the background.

In this sacred place, nothing else mattered. Nothing but Dante and me.

Mine. Mate.

His voice rumbled inside my mind’s eye, and I welcomed it, opened myself up to the connection I was starting to feel inside my heart.

“Stay with me, Avery. Right here with me,” he said.

“I only want you. Just you,” I replied and meant every word.

I wasn’t a fortuneteller. I didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. But I understand this one very simple truth.

Rosie and I were better with Dante in our lives. Trust came hard for me, but hope was something I’d nourished secretly my entire adult life.

But I finally knew why now.

I understood why I clung to the dream of having something of my own someday.

Because Dante was right. He was my fate.

“This is right where I’m supposed to be,” I moaned, hugging him to me.

“Goddamn right it is. You’re my destiny, Avery. Mine. My own. I love you so much, mate,” he said, pumping his hips and bringing me to heights I’d never experienced before.

“Show me, Dante.”

“I’ll show you. I’ll show you every fucking day. Come for me, Honey. Come on my cock,” he commanded, and just like that, my body obeyed.

I flew apart, secure in the knowledge Dante would catch me. And he did. He caught me. And he held me tight.

All night long.