The taste of her lips lingered on his, sweet and intoxicating as wildflower honey, but Alfie knew he couldn’t delay any longer. Tonight was the night Marion would learn the truth.
“There’s something I need to tell you,” he said, as his desire was replaced by anxiety.
Marion’s eyes widened, and Alfie watched as the happiness in them was swiftly replaced by fear. A change so sudden it made his heart ache. Her body tensed beneath his hands, already preparing for disappointment.
Say something, his bear urged frantically. She thinks you’re rejecting her.
“It’s nothing bad,” Alfie blurted out, his arms still wrapped around her waist. “At least, I hope you don’t think it’s bad.”
Marion let out a long breath, her shoulders relaxing slightly. “Okay.”
That single word, spoken with such cautious hope, told Alfie everything he needed to know about her past. Marion had been let down so often she had been expecting bad things to happen.
Alfie hoped with all his heart that what he was about to share with her would be a good thing . The beginning of something extraordinary.
He cupped her face in his hand, and she leaned into his touch, her eyes fluttering closed for a moment. The trust in that simple gesture nearly broke his resolve.
Now, his bear demanded.
I know. Alfie stroked her cheek with his thumb, then leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers once more…softly, reverently. A promise sealed with a kiss.
Then he took her hand and led her through the house to the back door.
“Where are we going?” she asked, glancing toward the stairs where Charlie slept soundly.
“What I have to show you is best...outside,” he said in a hushed whisper. “For reasons that will come clear.”
She nodded and followed him out into the backyard, moonlight bathing everything in silver. Alfie could tell she was fighting an internal battle, but thankfully, the part that trusted him won.
“Alfie,” she began, and her voice trailed off, uncertainty creeping back in.
“It’s okay,” he assured her, hoping his words would prove true. “I just need you to trust me a little while longer.”
Marion nodded, her eyes never leaving his. “I do.”
And that meant more to him than she could possibly know. He raised her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, inhaling her scent, then let it go and stepped away.
He turned to look at her, smiling reassuringly, before he took a deep breath and let go of the world. The air around him popped and cracked with static electricity, and then he was gone.
A split second later, his bear stood in his place, in front of their mate.
He waited for her reaction, his bear gripped with fear that she might reject him, but also hope that she might understand. That she might accept all of him.
Marion stepped back in shock. With a sharp gasp, she covered her mouth with her hand. But the bear stood steadfast and true, watching her with Alfie’s same gentle eyes.
It was as if she was frozen in place for what felt like an eternity. Then, slowly, she took a tentative step forward, and then another. She dropped her hand to her sides and reached out to him, fingers trembling in the moonlight.
Alfie’s bear leaned forward, reaching for her, eager for the first touch of their mate. When her fingers finally made contact with his fur, a jolt of recognition passed between them. A connection as ancient as the mountains surrounding Bear Creek.
“This is better than bugs,” Marion whispered as she threaded her fingers through his thick fur, a breathless laugh escaping her.
Alfie’s bear nuzzled her hand, rumbling with pleasure at the contact, feeling the connection between fated mates solidify and strengthen. Marion stroked him, her touch growing more confident as she explored his face, his massive shoulders, and the powerful muscles beneath his fur.
“This is amazing,” she whispered, wonder replacing fear in her eyes. “You’re amazing.”
Alfie’s bear was ecstatic, preening under her admiration. It is amazing, he said, wishing he could tell her how long he’d waited for this moment.
Marion ran her hands through his fur, scratching behind his ears in a way that made his bear practically purr with contentment. She talked to him softly, asking questions he could not answer, marveling at the impossibility of what she was witnessing.
“I can see now,” Marion said finally, her hand resting on his massive head. “The bear and the man are one and the same, aren’t they?”
The bear nodded, his intelligent eyes holding hers.
“But what does it mean?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “For us?”
Alfie’s bear stepped away, looking at her for one last lingering moment before he let go of the world. The air crackled and popped once more as the bear disappeared and then Alfie returned in his human form, standing before her.
“It means,” he said hoarsely, reaching for her hands, “that I’ve been waiting my entire life for you.”
Was that too dramatic? Alfie asked his bear.
How can it be when it’s the truth? his bear answered.
But would Marion see it as the truth, know it as the truth…
“Your whole life?” Marion repeated, her voice barely audible in the moonlit garden.
Alfie nodded, his eyes never leaving hers. “Yes. You are my fated mate, Marion. The one person in the world meant for me.”
Her lips parted in surprise, and he watched as emotions flickered across her face, wonder, disbelief, and then something that looked painfully like sorrow.
“Then fate has played a cruel trick on you,” she whispered, her eyes misting with tears.
“I don’t think so,” Alfie said, reaching to brush a tear from her cheek. “No, I know so,” he added more firmly.
“Alfie, you’re so sweet and kind and considerate, but...” she began, shaking her head.
“No buts,” Alfie said firmly. “Fate isn’t wrong. It brought us together for a reason.”
Marion gave a short laugh that sounded almost pained. “You’ve been wonderful for Charlie, and for me...”
“But you don’t think you’ve been wonderful for me?” He tilted his head, studying her expression. How could she think so little of herself?
“I have so much baggage,” Marion admitted, wrapping her arms around herself as if suddenly cold.
Alfie stepped closer, his hands settling on her shoulders. “I have strong arms to help you carry it,” he replied simply.
She laughed then—a real laugh this time—and wiped another tear from her cheek. The sound warmed him more than he could ever put into words.
He took her hand in his, feeling the connection between them pulse like a living thing. “Don’t you want this?”
Marion met his gaze and he could see the vulnerability there. “I’m not sure what ‘this’ is.”
“This is forever,” Alfie said without hesitation. “You and me, side by side, through thick and thin.”
Marion’s breath shuddered through her body. “You don’t know what you’re getting into.”
“Then tell me,” he urged.
Marion half-turned and looked up toward the window, where Charlie slept soundly.
“My sister…Charlie’s mom has always had terrible taste in me.
But she always tried to do her best by Charlie.
But then she met this guy. He calls himself Razor.
I mean, what kind of man chooses a name like that?
” She sucked in a breath. “Heather was smitten with him. So smitten she couldn’t see the damage she was doing to her son. ”
“Are you on the run?” Alfie asked the question that had nagged at him since he’d seen the haunted look in her eyes.
“No,” she blurted, turning to face him. “Heather and Razor are in prison awaiting trial. I was handed guardianship of Charlie by the courts.”
Alfie let out a long breath, feeling a weight lift from his shoulders. “And you’re doing an amazing job.”
She cocked her head at him. “Did you really think we were on the run?”
Alfie shrugged, feeling a little overdramatic. “It had crossed my mind.”
“And if we were?” she murmured, watching him closely.
“Then I would have protected you, or run with you,” Alfie admitted without hesitation.
“What about your life here?” she asked.
“Marion, from the moment I first sensed you, you and Charlie are my life,” he said, needing her to understand that simple truth.
Something shifted in her expression then, as if he’d finally broken through her barriers. She closed the distance between them and slid her hands up his chest, her touch igniting a fire that had been smoldering since they met.
Alfie lowered his head and captured her lips in a searing kiss.
As the kiss deepened, she pressed her body against his, moving against his hardness in a way that made him groan with need.
He slipped his hand beneath her sweater and discovered she wasn’t wearing a bra.
As he caressed her smooth skin, his thumb grazed her nipple, feeling it stiffen in response.
“I want you,” she murmured breathlessly against his mouth. “Here.”
Alfie fought for control at her words, his body trembling with need. He wanted nothing more than to claim his mate, to worship every inch of her body, to make her his in every way.
In one fluid motion, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her into the kitchen. There he sat her on the edge of the table, his body nestled between her thighs as he lowered his head and captured her lips in a searing kiss that spoke of longing and promises made.
As the kiss deepened, she pressed her body against his, driving him insane.
Marion reached for the hem of his shirt, tugging it upward. He helped her pull it over his head, and it fell forgotten to the floor beside them.
Her eyes widened appreciatively as she took in his bare chest. “So that’s what you’ve been hiding under all those dreadful puns,” she teased, her voice husky with desire.
“Like what you see?” he asked, a smile playing on his lips.
“Oh, yes,” she purred, running her hands over his toned chest, exploring the planes and contours of his body.
Alfie closed his eyes as she tweaked his nipple between her finger and thumb, his arousal growing painfully hard against the confines of his jeans.