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M oving Arliss into my cabin, into my life, was easier than breathing. Days pass quickly, and I have to admit I’m so damn happy I’m smiling all the time.

Like an idiot.

But so what?

She’s just amazing. And the way she communicates?

Sublimely honest and open.

No tension.

No arguments.

Just her scent filling my home, her laugh echoing off the walls, her things tucked next to mine like they’d always belonged there.

We get along so well.

Even have the same taste in TV shows and music.

Hell, the woman is a vegetarian. Can you believe that?

She makes a mean tofu and jalapeno stir fry, and she even enjoyed my frozen yogurt parfaits.

Who says peanut butter doesn’t belong in yogurt?

Losers. That’s who.

It’s only been a week, but fuck if I’m not already completely gone for her.

More now than the first time I laid eyes on her at the rodeo. Back then she was flushed and fuming, with her curves poured into jeans that made my brain shut off.

Now I get all of her.

The sleepy version who pads barefoot through my kitchen in one of my flannels.

The focused version who organizes Penny’s bakery like a military operation.

The wild, passionate goddess who lets me love her until we’re both hoarse and wrecked and ruined in the best fucking way.

She’s mine.

And I’m hers.

But that doesn’t mean the shadow of the Rut isn’t still hanging over me like some goddamn axe waiting to fall.

It is.

Lurking behind every perfect moment, every laugh, every soft press of her lips to my shoulder.

But Arliss?

She chose me.

She knows what might happen, and she’s still here.

So I made myself a promise.

If this woman is brave enough to take a chance on me, then I’m going to spend every second showing her how much that means.

Gods willing, I get enough seconds to matter.

Having her around is weirdly natural.

Like my cabin was always meant to hold her presence.

She fits in so perfectly it makes me ache.

Her humming while she folds laundry. And blushing like crazy when I help and preen as I get to touch her panties.

Mine.

The way she restocks the coffee like it’s a sacred ritual.

How she drops a kiss on my cheek when I pass by like it’s nothing, when really, it’s fucking everything.

And now that she’s not working at Bob’s Bar anymore, thank every deity for that , she’s been helping out over at the Devil’s Food Bakery for Penny, handling scheduling and invoices like the badass she is.

She told me she feels a little restless.

That she doesn’t know what’s next for her, career-wise.

And gods, do I get that.

She’s had it rough.

Losing her mom young. Taking care of her Gramps. Sacrificing everything for the people she loves.

Arliss is a giver. A caretaker. A warrior in a pink lip gloss and ponytail.

But with me?

I want to be the one who gives.

Gives her peace.

Gives her pleasure.

Gives her every goddamn thing she’s never dared to want for herself.

So I do what I can.

I leave notes in her books.

Make her favorite tea before she even asks.

And when the sun goes down and we’re alone?

I worship her.

Because the way she submits to me? To us?

It’s not just sex.

It’s reverent.

Deep. Binding.

She listens to my body.

She heeds the Bull when he growls for her.

And fuck, she gives everything to me.

Her trust.

Her body.

Her heart.

And me? I take it all.

I mark her over and over, with my scent, my cum, my kiss, and my bite, because it never feels like enough.

Not until her body is trembling under mine.

Not until I’ve taken her completely.

She’s always ready. Always hot and tight and clenching me like she was built to hold me.

Like the gods carved her body with only mine in mind.

Fuck.

I shift the bundle in my arms and hiss under my breath, because my dick is harder than rebar and I am definitely in full view of Dante, who’s moving the dairy cows to pasture with a knowing smirk.

Great.

Nothing like a public display of boner to say hey there, Crew! Don’t mind me, just a Bull hopelessly in love and dangerously close to coming in my jeans .

“Yo, Kian,” Dante bellows.

I close my eyes, praying for patience and something to make my hard on disappear before I answer.

Good thing goats are such unpredictable animals. A headbutt to my ass has me thinking less about fucking Arliss and more about maybe not being a vegetarian anymore.

“Dammit, Jed! Get Dolly Mae out of here!” I grunt and adjust the tarp over the truck bed, silently begging my hormones to get it together.

“Lord, I’m sorry there, Kian. But, just so you know, that’s Dolly Sue,” Jed mumbles, and grabs the bright pink lead he has attached to a neon green collar around the goat’s neck.

“Whatever,” I grumble, and feel bad almost immediately because I know how much his girls mean to him.

Mental note: Bring treats to the goat barn later.

“When do you have time to work with me for the rodeo next week?” Dante asks, and I frown.

I hadn’t thought about that.

“How about tomorrow afternoon?”

He nods and I walk around to the driver’s side of my truck.

Last rodeo, I admit I was distracted. After all, I’d literally run into my mate. It made my Bull all out of sorts.

This time, though, Arliss is mine. And my Bull is feeling calm and confident.

But I have no time to go over anything with him right now. See, I’m a man on a mission.

Because today?

Today I have a surprise for my mate.

Something with potential.

Something I hope she sees as thoughtful.

Something that says this isn’t just about sex and fated bonds and surviving the next full moon.

It’s about building a life.

A life with her.

And if I’m lucky?

Maybe she’ll let me keep her forever.