I felt my cheeks heat as I remembered him saying those exact words just last night, his head buried between my legs, his mouth glossy because he’d just eaten me out, drawn an orgasm from me.
A shiver raced up my spine as I remembered the pleasure he brought out in me, how despite everything moving in fast forward, it felt like we were going in slow motion.
I looked down at my left hand. The engagement ring wasn’t anything extravagant, but that’s because that’s what I wanted, because that’s the one I’d picked. It wasn’t even a diamond, but a sapphire, a light blue one that matched Asher’s eyes.
When he proposed just a month after our mating, most people would’ve thought it was insane to jump headfirst into that kind of commitment, but the truth was that entire month before he proposed felt like a lifetime.
I had never said yes to something so fast.
The sound of a hammer banging filled my ears, and I looked to the right to see Asher putting up one of the baseboards in the spare room. Although we were now engaged, we hadn’t officially moved in together. I thought it was kind of complicated seeing as he had his own house and I had mine. But he refused to stay away from me, which had every feminine part of me coming alive.
So, although technically we weren’t living together, he was at my cabin every single day and night, and not just for the renovations. He slept in my bed, had his own toothbrush, held me every night, and told me how much he loved me. A girl could get used to that.
He stopped hammering and stood, a line of sweat dampening the back of his white T-shirt. His muscles were pronounced, perspiration dotting his forehead.
God, seeing him work, how masculine he was, turned me on.
I watched him inhale, his chest rising before he turned his head and looked at me, this low growl leaving him. His bear flashed to the surface, and a second later he was stalking toward me. I dropped the hammer and smiled, no doubt suggestively, right before he scooped me into his arms and lifted me easily.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, the hard outline of his already stiff cock pressing against the sensitive folds of my pussy. He pressed my back to the wall, his mouth on my neck, the prick of his canines already evident.
“Let’s just go to the courthouse and get married right now.” His words were a low rumble against my throat.
I was tempted to cave in and just do that, but I knew my mother and father wanted to see me get married. And I wanted that too.
He pulled back and looked me in the eyes, his canines flashing for just a second as he gave me a sexy grin, his eyes flashing from his bear.
“That sounds pretty incredible, but I want us to have a wedding. I want us to have those memories with our family and friends watching us get married.” I saw his inner animal retreat slightly, his human coming forward, a small smile playing across his lips. And then he nodded, leaning forward and running his nose up the length of my neck.
“Yeah, when you put it like that it makes sense and sounds pretty damn incredible.”
I closed my eyes and rested my head back against the wall, feeling my arousal pump harder and faster through my veins. “But I’m not really into the whole waiting before marriage thing,” I teased and heard him growl.
I squealed in delight when he pulled me away from the wall and headed toward the bedroom.
And I was more than ready for all he had to give me right then and there.
Nothing like having a possessive, growly bear shifter ready to give you exactly what you wanted.
And I knew Asher was most definitely up to the task.
Epilogue Two
Asher
I was the luckiest fucking bear shifter in the world.
As I watched Ainsley sleep peacefully beside me, I kept thinking that over and over again. She was the mother of my son, pregnant with our daughter, and the reason I breathed every day. I moved closer to her and gently pulled the blanket lower so I could see her rounded belly. I placed my hand over her swollen stomach, smiling as I felt our little girl kick. She was due any day now, and I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face.
Before Ainsley and our children had come into my life, there was a moment where I thought I’d never find my mate, never have a family, a real life. I lived every day just surviving, wanting a mate, silently begging for one. But I had also come to realize that might never happen. Not all shifters mated. That was just the way it worked.
“She’s active tonight. Hope that doesn’t mean she’ll be ready to party in the middle of the night,” Ainsley whispered, but I saw the smile on her face, scented the teasing notes coming from her.
“If she’s like Max, then she’ll probably be a night owl.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.” We both chuckled.
She opened her eyes and looked up at me. I still had my hand on her belly and felt the baby kick.