Page 19

I was going to make this weekend special. Magical.

After our almost disastrous first date—the crying, the running, the bear transformation—Ella had still agreed to go away with me.

For a weekend. Not far, just to another part of the Rim where we didn’t know anybody.

No family. No friends. No history walking around in human form, giving us sad or hopeful looks. Just us.

A lot was still left unsaid between us. She hadn’t told me she loved me or promised me a future.

She still looked at me sometimes like she was waiting for the next disaster to drop from the sky.

Not that I blamed her. I knew I had hurt her deeply, and that it would take time for her to heal.

But I was here for it. I would do whatever necessary to make her trust me again, to make her love me again.

The fact that she came, that she packed a bag and got in my truck, that alone was more than I deserved.

We were driving through winding roads now, my hands gripping the wheel tighter than necessary, mostly so I wouldn’t reach over and touch her every five minutes like some love-sick idiot.

She was staring out the window, looking devastatingly beautiful with her loose hair and a slight smile playing around her luscious lips.

Her hand, which I knew was stronger than it looked, rested on the armrest between us, like an invitation.

Touch her, Thorne murmured. She came with us. That means something.

She needs space.

She needs us.

I tuned him out. Barely.

I was doing my best not to screw this up.

Which, historically, was not my strong suit.

So instead of giving in to the bear pacing inside my chest, I focused on the cabin up ahead.

A place I’d picked out specifically—secluded, tucked in the trees, overlooking a lake that turned silver at dusk.

It had a wraparound porch, a fireplace, and one of those massive clawfoot tubs I'd seen her look at when we were at the wholesaler warehouse.

I even bought bubble bath. I didn’t know if we’d use it, but I had my hopes up. Whatever she wanted to do, whatever she needed, I was game.

We pulled up the long gravel driveway. As the tires crunched over the rocks, I snuck a glance at her. She was still quiet, but her lips parted just slightly when she saw the cabin. Her eyes softened.

“I didn’t expect this,” she said.

“No bears in sight,” I offered with a dry smile. “Unless I get really excited about breakfast.”

That earned me the smallest laugh. Just a breath. But I caught it and clutched it in my ribs like a trophy. I parked and came around to open her door before she could stop me.

“This place is…” she trailed off, stepping up onto the porch. “It’s beautiful.”

“You haven’t seen the inside yet,” I said, unlocking the door.

She looked at me then—really looked. “You did all this for me?”

“No,” I said. “I did it for us. ”

Another smile tugged at the corners of her lips, raising my hopes that after ten years, we might finally have another shot at us.

I let her go inside first, while I grabbed our bags and the grocery items. I hadn’t expected her to cook, but she had smiled and asked me what would be the sense in dating a chef if I didn't take advantage of it.

She also wanted to test more recipes for Smoke I ignored him.

"No, but I want to." She looked up at me with those deep blue eyes of hers, and I lost myself.

Carefully, I put my arm around her waist and pulled her closer.

Then I brought my face towards her, watching intently for any sign she might change her mind.

But she didn't. Her eyes closed, and then my lips brushed hers.

It was the softest, most barely there touch, but it still hit me like a shockwave, straight through my chest. Every cell inside me came alive.

Her lips moved against mine, slow and tentative, as if she was savoring the moment as much as I.

I knew it in every nerve ending, every thrum of blood under my skin, every ache that had lived in my chest since the moment I let her go ten years ago.

Kissing her wasn’t just familiar—it was right .

Her mouth was soft, a little hesitant at first, but then I felt her hands slide up my chest, curling into my shirt, and that hesitation melted like sugar on the tongue.

She wanted this.

God, I wanted this .

The kiss deepened, not rushed, but no longer unsure.

I tilted my head, letting myself sink into it, into her .

My arm curled tighter around her waist, and she pressed into me, breath catching in the back of her throat in that way it used to when she was trying not to moan.

My entire body tightened. Thorne rumbled in my chest like a purr of approval. Mate. Finally. Let me in.

You’re in enough , I told him, but I didn’t push him back. For once, we were aligned.

I felt her nails dig lightly into my shoulders.

I didn’t think she even realized she was doing it.

She tasted like peppermint and wine and something warm—something that made me feel nineteen again and still scared shitless I’d mess this up.

I pulled back slightly, breathing hard, leaving our foreheads touching.

Her eyes fluttered open, dazed. Pink bloomed across her cheeks, down her neck.

“You okay?” I asked, brushing my knuckles against her jaw.

She nodded, then laughed—breathy and beautiful. “I think my brain rebooted somewhere in the middle of that.”

“Should I be worried it short-circuited?”

“Maybe.” She leaned in, head resting briefly against my chest. “Definitely. Yeah.”

I wrapped my arms around her. Just held her. Felt her heartbeat against mine. She didn’t pull away. After a long, quiet moment, she murmured, “I don’t know where this is going, Patrick.”

“I don’t either,” I admitted. “But I know where I want it to go.”

She didn’t reply, but I felt the way she exhaled against my collarbone—in a slow surrender.

“I’m still mad at you,” she whispered.

“I’m still sorry.”

She leaned back and looked up at me, brushing a lock of hair behind her ear. “Good. Just so we’re clear.”

And then— God help me —she smiled. Neither guarded nor polite, just Ella. Real and present and warm.

“Let’s cook,” she said, slipping out of my arms and heading toward the kitchen. “I have a new recipe to test, and if you’re lucky, I won’t throw a spoon at you.”

Thorne rumbled with laughter. She kissed us. She forgave us. And now she’s feeding us. She’s ours.

Easy , I warned him, and followed after her with a stupid, lovestruck, idiotic grin on my face that made me shake my head at myself when I passed a mirror. Yeah, I had it bad.