What a wonderful day!
As they drove back to The Lookout, Sophie could not remember the last time she’d felt this happy.
She glanced sideways at Nero in the driver’s seat and smiled.
The afternoon with his family had been nothing short of magical.
The way they’d welcomed her, the vineyard tour, and Cassia’s excitement about Sophie creating a guest menu.
It all felt like the beginning of something extraordinary.
“You’re quiet,” she said, studying his profile as the winding road climbed toward the house.
Nero’s hands flexed on the steering wheel. “Just thinking.”
“Good thoughts, I hope?”
“The best,” he replied, glancing at her with a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.
They pulled up to The Lookout just as the evening sun cast golden light across the land. Sophie stepped out and stretched, only to find Nero standing by the hood of the car, his expression unreadable.
“Is everything all right?” she asked, noting the tension in his shoulders.
He hesitated, then took a breath. “Can I show you something?”
The sudden request caught her off guard. “Now?”
“Please,” he said, his voice unusually solemn. “It’s important.”
Sophie studied his face. Whatever this was, it mattered to him. So how could she refuse him?
“All right.”
Nero led her around the side of the house, past the kitchen garden where they’d gathered herbs that morning…
Was it really only that morning? So much had happened since then. It was as if there had been a seismic shift inside her.
And if she had to thank anyone for that shift, it was Nero.
Yet, as they reached the edge of the forest, a sense of unease crept up her spine. Surely, whatever he had to show her would not spoil the day.
He wouldn’t do that to her. Would he?
When Nero stopped in a small clearing beneath the towering trees, she was not so sure. Whatever he wanted to show her was serious.
“Is everything all right?” Sophie asked again. “You’re worrying me.”
“Everything is fine,” he replied. “Better than fine, but there is something I need to tell you...show you.” He took a steadying breath. “About me. About who I really am.”
Sophie wanted to run. The serious tone made her heart lurch. She’d been here before—too many times. Secrets, confessions, hidden truths. But this was Nero. He’d never lied to her, never played games. And she trusted him more than anyone she’d ever known.
“Show me,” she answered, her voice steadier than she felt.
Nero stepped back and gave her one last searching look before the air around Nero seemed to shimmer, like heat rising from sunbaked asphalt. It popped and crackled as if the air was suddenly filled with static electricity.
And then he was gone.
She stepped forward, her arm arcing through the air. “What?”
But then the hairs on her arm stood on end, and her hand touched something solid, furry.
“A bear!” Sophie’s legs gave way beneath her, and she sank to the forest floor, her breath coming in short gasps.
Before her stood the biggest bear she’d ever seen. But she wasn’t afraid. How could she be when she leaned forward and looked into the bear’s eyes?
“You’re...” she whispered, unable to complete the thought.
The air shimmered again, and within seconds, Nero stood before her once more, completely himself except for the anxious expression on his face.
“A bear shifter,” he finished for her.
Sophie stared at him, her mind struggling to reconcile what she’d just witnessed with everything she knew about the world. “That’s not possible,” she said weakly.
“I understand this is a shock,” Nero said, keeping his distance. “But it’s the truth. Bear Creek was founded by shifter families centuries ago to escape persecution.”
“I don’t understand,” Sophie said numbly.
“I’m a shifter,” Nero said. “Still human, but I can take on another form. A bear. We’re like two halves of a whole.”
Sophie pressed her hands against the cool earth beneath her, trying to ground herself in something solid and real. “Why are you showing me this?”
Nero took a cautious step toward her, stopping when she tensed. “Because you deserve to know the truth. Because I don’t want there to be secrets between us. Because...” He hesitated, then continued more softly, “Because you’re my mate, Sophie.”
“Your mate?” she repeated, the word feeling strange on her tongue. But hadn’t she heard that word used before?
Yes, Nero had described it when he first told her about Cassia…
“Shifters have mates. That one person they’re destined to be with,” Nero explained. “I knew before I even saw you at the wedding expo. That’s why I was so flustered, why I dropped to my knees with the ring box. It was that instant shock of recognition when I saw you.”
Sophie’s mind flashed back to that electric current she’d felt when their hands touched, the immediate connection that had defied explanation. “That’s why I felt...”
“A connection,” Nero finished for her. “Yes. But being mates doesn’t mean you don’t have a choice, Sophie. I would never pressure you or rush you. I just couldn’t keep hiding this from you, not when you’re staying in my home, not when we’re growing closer.”
Sophie leaned against the tree, needing its support as she processed everything.
Shifters. Mates. Destinies. It was overwhelming, impossible…
and yet, somehow, and yet, strangely, it made sense.
The way she’d trusted him instantly. The way he’d welcomed her into his home.
The way his family had embraced her as if she were one of their own.
She should be terrified, or in denial, or running as fast as she could back to the city.
Instead, she found herself taking a step toward Nero, then another, until she stood directly in front of him. Slowly, deliberately, she reached out and placed her hand against his chest, feeling his heartbeat—strong, steady, human, yet also something more.
“Thank you,” she whispered. “For trusting me.”
“Thank you for staying.” His hand covered hers. “I know this is overwhelming. If you want to leave Bear Creek, I’ll understand. I’ll help you pack your things and drive you wherever you want to go.”
The sorrow in his eyes cut her deep. This man, this bear shifter, was willing to let her go if that was what she needed, despite whatever powerful connection he felt toward her.
“I don’t want to leave,” she said, surprising herself with the certainty in her voice.
Relief washed over Nero’s features. “You’re staying?”
“I’m staying,” Sophie confirmed. “I don’t understand any of this yet, and I’m not making any promises about...us. But I’m not running away, either.”
Nero let out a long breath. “That’s more than I dared hope for.”
After everything with Tito, this was the most honest anyone had ever been with her.
She looked up. “Can I ask something?”
“Anything.”
“Can you do that again?”
His brow furrowed. “Shift?”
She nodded. “I want to see.”
“Sure.” He looked a little bemused and maybe confused as he stepped away from her. Once more, the air cracked and popped, and then he was gone.
She held her breath, but then an instant later, the bear appeared. Nero’s bear.
“You’re beautiful,” she murmured.
She stroked his shoulders, ran her hands along his face, feeling the muscles shift beneath his coat. It was intimate, wild, and utterly Nero. When she scratched behind his ears, his eyes half-closed in pleasure.
“I can see you in there,” she whispered. “It’s still you.”
On impulse, she leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his forehead. The bear went very still, as if holding his breath. Sophie pulled back slightly, her hands still buried in his fur, and their eyes met in silent communication.
The air shimmered again, and suddenly she was holding Nero’s face between her palms, his human skin warm beneath her touch. The transformation had happened so quickly that she found herself still leaning in, mere inches from his face.
“Sophie,” he said, voice rough.
Without hesitation, she slid her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his.
Nero looked down at her, a question in his eyes—one last chance, to be sure. Sophie answered by rising on her tiptoes and capturing his mouth in a kiss that left no room for doubt.
She was his as surely as he was hers.
A groan rumbled through Nero’s chest as his arms encircled her waist, pulling her even closer. His hands roamed her body, tracing the curve of her spine, the flare of her hips, as if committing every inch to memory.
The kiss deepened, her hunger for him deepening. Sophie felt lightheaded with desire, her body responding to his touch with an intensity that startled her. This was nothing like the calculated passion she’d experienced with Tito.
This was primal, elemental, a recognition on the most basic level.
“I want you,” she whispered against his lips, the words escaping before she could consider them.
His eyes darkened. “Are you sure?”
In answer, Sophie took his hand and led him to a patch of soft grass bathed in the golden light of sunset.
With her eyes locked on his, she reached for the thin straps of her summer dress and slowly slid them off her shoulders.
The fabric whispered down her body, pooling at her feet in a puddle of floral cotton.
Nero’s gaze traveled over her, reverent and hungry all at once. “You’re exquisite,” he murmured, stepping closer.
His hands skimmed her sides, then moved to cup her breasts through the delicate lace of her bra. Sophie arched into his touch, a soft sound escaping her throat. With gentle fingers, he traced the edge of the lace, then pulled one cup down, exposing her breast to the cool evening air.
“Beautiful,” he whispered, before lowering his head to capture her nipple between his lips.
Sophie gasped, her hands threading through his hair as heat surged through her body. His tongue teased the sensitive peak while his hand cupped her other breast, and he rubbed his thumb over her nipple. Every sensation seemed amplified, her body hypersensitive to his touch.
Gently, Nero guided her down onto the soft grass, his body following hers. He took his time removing the rest of her clothing, his touch reverent as he explored every newly revealed inch of skin. When she lay completely naked before him, he paused to drink in the sight.
“You are the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” he said, his voice thick with emotion.
Sophie reached for him, tugging at his shirt. “Your turn.”
He smiled and obliged, quickly stripping off his clothing until he was as naked as she was. Sophie’s breath caught at the sight of him, all lean muscle and golden skin, powerful and undeniably aroused.
Nero lowered himself beside her, his hands resuming their exploration of her body.
He kissed her deeply, then began a slow journey downward—lips trailing across her jaw, her throat, the valley between her breasts.
Each kiss was deliberate, worshipful, as if he were mapping territory he intended to claim forever.
And she wanted to be claimed. To be his for eternity.
When he reached her stomach, his hands gently parted her thighs. Sophie trembled with anticipation, her body already aching for him.
The first touch of his mouth against her most intimate place drew a cry from her lips.
He was gentle at first, learning her body’s responses, then increasingly bold as he discovered what made her gasp and arch beneath him.
His hands steadied her hips as he worked, his tongue and lips bringing her to heights of pleasure she’d never experienced.
“Nero,” she moaned, her fingers tangled in his hair, her inner walls tightening as her orgasm raced toward her.
He responded by intensifying his efforts, one hand sliding up to caress her breast while his mouth continued its exquisite torment. The dual sensation was overwhelming, and Sophie felt herself spiraling upward, every muscle tensing as pleasure built to an impossible peak.
When it broke, she cried out his name, her body shuddering with waves of ecstasy that seemed to go on forever. Nero did not relent. Not until she lay breathless and spent beneath him.
Before she could recover, he was moving up her body, his expression a mixture of tenderness and barely restrained desire. Sophie reached for him, needing him closer, needing to feel him inside her.
“I need you,” she whispered, wrapping her legs around his hips.
Nero positioned himself at her entrance, his eyes locked on hers. “You’re my mate,” he said softly. “My everything.”
Then he thrust inside her, filling her completely, and Sophie gasped at the perfect rightness of it.
It was as if they were those first primal people to settle these mountains. Making love under the stars as they built a home, a sanctuary, together.
His hands were everywhere, stroking her face, caressing her breasts, gripping her hips to pull her closer with each thrust.
Sophie matched his movements, her hands exploring the strong planes of his back, the powerful muscles of his shoulders. She felt claimed and cherished all at once, her body thrumming with pleasure that built again with every movement.
“Sophie,” Nero groaned, his rhythm faltering as his control slipped.
She wanted him to let go. To feel his essence inside her as her own release approached once more.
His movements became more urgent, more primal, and Sophie’s inner muscles clenched around him as her second orgasm took her. She dug her nails into his back as she cried out his name.
With a final powerful thrust, Nero followed her over the edge, his body shuddering as he filled her with his seed.
The sensation of his release triggered another wave of pleasure through Sophie’s body, leaving them both gasping and clinging to each other in the aftermath.
She rested her head against his chest and listened to the steady beat of his heart.
“Are you okay?” he asked finally, raising himself slightly to look into her eyes.
Sophie smiled, feeling a profound peace settle over her. “More than okay.”
Nero carefully rolled to his side, bringing her with him so they remained connected. His hand stroked her hair back from her face. His expression was one of wonder and intense devotion.
“I never thought,” he began, then shook his head. “I hoped, but I never truly believed you would accept me. All of me. So completely.”
Sophie touched his face, tracing the strong line of his jaw. “I think I’ve been yours since the moment you fell at my feet with that ring box,” she admitted. “I just didn’t understand it until now.”
A smile spread across Nero’s face, lighting his eyes with joy. “My clumsy proposal turned out to be the best accident of my life.”
“It wasn’t an accident,” Sophie said with sudden certainty. “It was fate.”