He raised his eyebrows and turned back to his work. After the second cup of coffee, he was back on his game and working through his new project at a good pace. When his stomach started to grumble in the late morning, he stood up and went to the kitchen.
As he passed Willow, she let out a deep sigh and pushed the computer away. She must have finished something.
“Is it working out?” he asked.
“I finally realized how pissed my heroine should be that the hero rejected her. As soon as she started to act honestly, the whole plot fell into place.”
“Why did the hero reject her?” he asked, feeling like this was a little too close to home already.
“He wasn’t ready for love. But when the heroine started acting properly, she made him realize that he needed love. The story just worked after that.”
“Oh,” he said.
Willow made Corey realize he needed love.
“Do you want some breakfast?” he asked.
“Sure. I’m starving.”
He went to the kitchen and started to whip up some scrambled eggs and toast. When he was finished cooking, he put everything on two plates and opened up two TV trays for them to use.
He sat down beside her, offering her a bottle of water from the fridge. She accepted it and took a long swig before setting it down.
“Thank you for fixing my computer,” she said. “And letting me sleep on your couch.”
“It’s not a problem. I wanted to help.”
“You went above and beyond. Considering everything.”
“I haven’t done nearly enough.”
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“Willow, I made a mistake,” he started.
She looked confused and…hopeful. That’s how he felt too.
“What mistake did you make?” Willow said, setting down her water bottle.
“Letting you go,” he said, after chewing his last bite of toast.
She gazed up at him, her fork still in her hand. She dropped it and gulped.
“You changed your mind?” she asked, her brows crinkling up.
“Does that upset you?” he asked.
“I’m not sure how I feel,” she said.
He stood and cleared their plates, needing to clear his head. When he came back, Willow had already put away the TV trays. She was drinking the last of her water, sitting on the couch looking melancholy.
He sat beside her, wanting nothing more than to throw his arms around her curvy little frame and pull her against his body until they both exploded with pleasure. His inner grizzly growled in agreement. But he couldn’t just take her like Charles Shaw had.
He had to earn a second chance.
14
Willow looked up into Corey’s deep brown eyes, waiting for him to say what was on his mind. Her whole body tingled in anticipation.
“For the first time in my life, Willow, I feel like I do know how I feel. It’s so crystal clear, now. It’s like I’ve never been clear on anything before this. I know, unequivocally, that I want to be with you. Now and forever.”
“Why now? What changed?” Part of her was still angry.
“When you were taken, I realized that I’d been letting my past dictate my future. I’m not going to let that happen anymore.”
“What happened that made you turn away from love, Corey? Most shifters want their fated mates more than anything.”
“My parents were fated mates. My father was a cheater and a gambler. He hurt my mother her entire life. Left her alone to care for me and my little sister for years at a time without coming home. But every time he came back around with his empty promises, my mother took him back.
“They were shifters. Fated mates. She couldn’t help loving and forgiving him. But I hated my father for what he did to her. I vowed I’d never do that to my mate. The only way I could avoid it was by never mating.”
She could see the pain in his eyes as he talked about his past. He really had been trying to protect her, in his own wounded way.
She reached up and caressed his cheek. Why hadn’t he told her this before? It would have made it so much easier to understand why he’d wanted to stay away from his fated mate. His father’s behavior had really hurt his family.
“Where is your family now?” she asked.
“My father died. My mother loved him until the end. She died a year later, from an unknown disease. I’d been supporting my mother and sister for a long time, but that didn’t keep her from going back to him. That didn’t keep her from loving him to her own detriment.”
“What about your sister?”
“My sister is a full-blooded shifter. Like me. But she’s a jaguar like my dad. She’s doing her own thing. She’s a lot younger than me and she acts it.”
“I’m an only child. My parents divorced after I graduated high school and they both live in Seattle, where I grew up. It must have been nice having a sibling. You should invite her to Fate Mountain.”
“From what I’ve seen on her social media, I don’t think she’d be interested in coming to a small town like Fate Mountain.”
“You don’t know that.”
“She travels around a lot. Never staying anywhere long.”
Corey supported his mother and his sister, but he lived in this little cabin full of computer equipment. She was beginning to suspect he wasn’t telling her something. “How were you able to support your mother and now your sister?” she asked, looking around.
“Money isn’t a problem for me.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’d rather not talk about it. I don’t want you to like me for my money.”
Her mouth dropped and she stood up, grabbing the computer. She started toward the door. How dare he say that to her after everything he’d put her through?
“I’ll return your computer after I transfer the files to a new one,” she said.
He grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him.
“I’m sorry. I have a problem. I say the wrong things. I didn’t mean it like it came out.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
“How did you mean it?”
“I meant, I want you to like me for me.”
“I already do like you, Corey. I mean, I did,” she said, testing him.
She still liked him. Way too much for her own good. But she needed him to say the words she needed to hear.
“Willow. We’re meant to be together. Call it fate or instinct or compatibility. Whatever it is, I know in my gut, in my soul, that I have to be with you. I don’t want anything to get in the way of that pure, clear connection that we share. Not money, not work, not my bear’s growling. Nothing. I just want you and me. Together. And unbreakable.”
She loosened her grip on her computer and let it fall away from her chest to hang at her side.
“How do I know you aren’t just ‘confused’ again. Like the day on the beach?”
“I want us to be together, Willow. I want to claim you as my mate. Mark you as my own. I need you, Willow. Forever.”
He reached out and took her empty hand, pulling her toward him. She let him envelop her in his embrace. She sighed and relaxed into his chest. She’d been waiting to hear him say those words all along, even if she didn’t realize it until that very moment. His strong hand took the computer and set it down so that he could hold her closer.
He rubbed her back, and she could feel him harden against her. The sensation sent a shock of desire up her spine, tightening her nipples and arousing her core.
“What now?” she whispered.
“I’m going to take you to the bathroom and wash us both because I smell,” he said, laughing. “Then I’m going to take you to the bedroom and lick you until you scream for my cock. After I make you come over and over again, I’ll sink my teeth deep in your neck until the universe quakes with the awareness of our bond.”
“Oh!” she gasped.
No man had ever said anything like that to her before. She hadn’t expected
it. Now that he’d said it, she turned into a pool of jelly, ready to be formed by his hands.
“Tell me you want this,” he breathed into her ear.
“I want it,” she murmured. “So much.”
He picked her up and carried her to his bathroom. He turned on the shower and began to peel her out of her dirty clothes. She reached out to open the button on his jeans and looked up into his dark eyes as he watched her do it.
He pulled off his clothes with a growl and helped her into the shower. He climbed in behind her as she stood under the spray. He lathered body wash in his hands and ran them over her round stomach. He cupped her breasts in his hands, rolling her dark nipples between his fingers.
Willow gasped and leaned her curly head back against his chest. He was hard as steel behind her, and her body begged for him already. One of his slick hands ran between her legs and the other held her breast. He rubbed her sex, driving her wild as he washed her clean.
He turned her around and angled himself under the faucet, washing away the dirt and sweat from the night before. They kissed under the spray, tasting each other as if for the first time.
Corey really wanted to be with her. He wanted to claim her as his mate. Willow knew what that meant. They would be bound and bonded forever. The connection they felt now would be multiplied many times over. They would sense and feel each other in ways that she couldn’t even comprehend now.
She was ready to surrender to the feelings inside her. Her character had found a way to her happily ever after by giving in to her emotions. And Willow had to believe that fate would hold her hand and give her a happily ever after with Corey.
She wanted it more than she could express in words. It was bigger than even her vocabulary. That’s how she knew it was real and worth the risk. It was worthy of her and would make her even better, if she could just let it happen.
Corey helped her out of the shower and took her to his room. The warm summer air wafted through the window as they lay across the bed in the midday light. They laid together naked in the bed under a cool sheet, kissing languidly in the heat of their embrace.
“This feels so right,” Corey whispered into her ear.
“It feels right to me too,” Willow said.
He slid his hand between her legs as he kissed her. Slowly, he found her desire until he was teasing out her arousal to the breaking point. His fingertips worked her swollen bud as he kissed her mouth, neck and breasts.
“Corey,” she groaned.
He moved down her body, licked her aching core. She groaned and arched her back. He was driving her mad with desire. She’d never been so ready to come. When he moved his fingers inside her and circled his tongue, she exploded against him.
She growled through clenched teeth, the orgasm taking over her entire body. Corey drew his mouth away, holding on to her sex with his big hand. He moved over her and held himself between her legs.
Willow opened to him, consuming his mouth, yearning for more. He slipped a condom over his swollen cock. Corey was doing everything he could to keep her safe. That just made her love him more. She pulled him toward her, his hardness pressing against her opening. She yielded to him.
The sensation of his body filling her sent her mind into orbit. She moaned and ran her fingers through his hair, kissing his cheeks and mouth and neck, over and over again.
He withdrew and thrust again, showing her the raw power in his hips, in his body, in his mind. She ran her hands up and down his back, wanting to pull him closer. She wanted him so close there was no space between them. She wanted to be so mixed up in his brilliance that she didn’t know who was who anymore.
“I love you, Corey,” she breathed.
“I love you, my sweet mate,” he said as he rained kisses down on her face and mouth.
The dam of desire burst inside her. She came with the force of a supernova, exploding under Corey’s hot, sexy body. He held her close and angled his mouth against her neck. She groaned as the tips of his teeth pressed against her jugular.
“Yes,” she breathed.
His teeth broke the surface and sank into her flesh. She gasped, her words cut off. Her eyes snapped open wide as she stared at the ceiling above.
She saw their future. Their children. Their joy in the life they would share. It was so glorious.
The pain and pleasure built inside her, making her peak again. Corey growled against her neck and released deep inside her. Their bodies throbbed in unison as their connection solidified into an unbreakable bond. As his teeth retracted, Willow was filled with a whole new level of emotion.
She could feel Corey’s heart and mind. She knew his thoughts, knew his intentions and beliefs. She could feel his love for her radiating like sunshine from his heart into hers. He pulled her to his chest as he laid on the bed. She rested against him, listening to his heart beating. Their hearts beat in rhythm. The sensation was so vitalizing that it made Willow weep tears of joy.
Corey kissed her head, knowing that she was happy rather than sad.
“My beloved,” he said, kissing away her tears.
“Corey,” she whispered, holding his face in her hands. “This is better than I could have ever imagined.”
The next morning, they went over to Willow’s room at the lodge and got ready for the day. She could feel Corey as close as her heartbeat.
They went through the process of showering and dressing in wordless synchronicity. When they kissed at the door on the way down to breakfast, he took her in his arms and whispered in her ear.
“This is really real.”
He kissed her cheek, and they walked downstairs. They ate breakfast on the patio under an umbrella. The lake was crystal blue and shimmering in the morning sunlight. They sat close to each other, chatting over melons, croissants, and coffee.
She leaned her head on his shoulder, looking out at the view. His warm scent filled her lungs, and she knew she was home. This was exactly what she needed to finish her book.
After breakfast, Willow and Corey walked down to the beach near the lodge. They took off their shoes and walked along the sandy shore, holding hands. Willow twirled away, throwing out her arms. She was alive and overflowing with passion and joy.
The beauty of the day, the glimmer of light on the water, the feeling of warm summer sand between her toes, the look of love in Corey’s eyes. It all added up into something beyond bliss.
He caught up with her and held her close, pressing his lips to hers in a passionate kiss. She knew this was the beginning of forever.
15
Corey waited nervously on the doorstep of Ski Bear’s house. Zach and Maisie had lived there for months now, and he knew they’d done it up nice. Zach wasn’t as lackadaisical as the crew sometimes joked that he could be. He’d saved up his money and bought a home for him and his mate. And they were expecting a cub now.
Corey couldn’t help but remember the night in his cabin when he’d told everyone off. Now he had Willow by his side, looking as sweet and hot as Fate Mountain secret sauce. He put his arm around her waist and the door opened.
Zach stood smiling broadly in the doorway, his blue eyes twinkling with good humor. Corey offered up the bowl of potato salad he and Willow had made.
The crew had been so great, coming to the rescue when he needed them. Even though he’d been a jerk about them bringing Willow to Fate Mountain. He regretted it now.
Shane had been right all along. He had to get over the past so that he could have a future. He still hadn’t told Willow exactly how much money he had or what he wanted to do with it. Or if he wanted to do anything with it at all.
Zach took the potato salad with a pleasant thank you and invited them inside. Corey and Willow followed Zach into the big front room of his home. Corey had been living in a one-bedroom cabin for three years. This place was a perfect home compared to his tiny place.
“I can’t get over how great this place is. You did a good job on it,” Corey said.
“You have a lo
vely home,” Willow said to Maisie, who’d come up to weave her arm around Zach’s waist.
“Bienvenu. Welcome,” Maisie said. “The party’s in the back.”
They all went through the sliding glass doors onto the back patio. It was covered for rain and weather and great for shade. Drew and Angus were playing catch out on the big expanse of green grass. Juliet and Quinn had their new babies on blankets on the grass. Quinn’s baby Max was already crawling like a champ. Juliet’s daughter Sunshine was sitting up and giggling as she rattled a toy.
Corey held Willow close, seeing his friends looking so happy. Zach’s mate Maisie was already showing her baby bump under her chic summer dress. It made him think about his own life and family.
Corey hadn’t been smart like Zach. He hadn’t prepared for his mate by buying a house. Shane lived in the only two-bedroom cabin at the lodge. Corey’s place was too small for a family. They couldn’t have a baby in his little space.
Corey watched Zach walk back over to the barbecue. He had to respect his crew mate. Zach had great instincts. It was something Corey lacked sometimes, especially when it came to finding his mate. He’d screwed up a lot, and he wanted to make up for it. He wanted to be able to relive it all again and do it better the second time around.
But he couldn’t do that. He could only look to the future. What would he do? He had to think about it.
Willow went to sit down on the grass with the moms and babies. Shane was lying beside Lily as she sat near Juliet, watching her son Theo run around after Angus and Drew and their ball game. Theo jumped in the air and caught a low ball. He ran off with it toward the edge of the forest. Levi cut Theo off, still holding his bottle of Fate Mountain Lager.
Drew sat beside Lily. Poppy and Maisie and her mom Kelly sat at a long table that was set for a barbecue with the whole clan.
“The meat is done,” Zach called out over the yard. Everyone started to gather around the buffet tables, dishing up the food they’d all put together for the day. It was a great assortment of treats.