Page 76 of Alpha's Claim
“And he comes with seven giant bear brothers and a mom who is hibernating?”
I see the twinkle in her eye, and I’m able to exhale. “Exactly.”
“Oh, darn.” Her lips quirk, and she leans forward to kissmy lips. “That sounds perfectly horrible, but I’ll probably adjust.”
I stroke my hand over her hip. “Are you sure, love? I know we just met, and humans normally court for much longer.”
“I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life,” she murmurs, scooting her pillow closer and nestling right up against my chest. “But now I need to hibernate for a minute,” she mumbles sleepily.
My bear rumbles softly, content at last. My mate is here in my arms, exactly where she’s supposed to be. I may have kidnapped Rapunzel from her tower, but now she’s content to stay.
I press a reverent kiss to her forehead. “Sleep, little dove,” I murmur, even though her breath is already deep and even.
Paloma
“Wake up.”
“One thing you should know,” I mumble. “I am not really a morning person.” Years of Thom making me work early and overtime trading hours had me longing to sleep in.
“Good to know.” Darius kisses my shoulder. He cut his hair back to Wall Street standards, which is sexy as hell. Actually, he rocks every length of hair and beard I’ve seen on him.
“Sleep all you want, princess. Just so you know, I’ve gotten word that Teddy and Lana invited us over for a big pancake breakfast.”
My eyes pop open. “Never mind, I’m awake. I love pancakes.”
Darius’ chest rumbles with a laugh. “Wren told them they were your favorite. She and Everest made a Bananas Foster sauce on the side.”
“I’m up, I’m up.” I throw off the covers and dash to the bathroom.
“Take your time. I’ll get you some coffee.”
I exit the bedroom a few minutes later, all dressed in comfy GoddessWear yoga pants and a spaghetti strap top, with one of Darius’ flannel shirts thrown over it for warmth. Darius greets me with a hot mug of coffee and a kiss.
“Mmmm, I could get used to this.” I rub his stubbled chin. He was clean-shaven a minute ago, but now his jaw is covered in wiry golden hairs. “Viking beard kisses are the best.”
“It’s my bear,” Darius mutters. “He’s making his presence known.”
“Hello, bear. Thanks again for saving our skin.”
Darius leans down and lets his head fall. We stand forehead to forehead, communing for a moment. We’ve been through so much the past few days. So much adventure, and we survived. It’s still sinking in that we’re together and safe.
Something whinnies and snorts outside our door. It’s a familiar sound–like a horses’ chuff.
“What’s that?” I crane my head.
“That is my brothers’ welcome gift to you.” He nudges me to the door. “They got some friends of ours to smuggle her out of Lockepoint.”
I set down my coffee on a side table and step outside. Waiting in the clearing in front of the cabin is my horse, Starlight. “Oh, baby, here you are.” I take her halter and kiss her nose. She nickers softly, greeting me.
Darius steps out, and she tosses her head, snorting and shying away.
“Shhhh, it’s okay.” I stroke her sides and let her back away from Darius.
“She smells my bear.” He keeps his distance.
“She’ll get used to you. I didn’t like you at first, either.” I make a face at him, and he grins.
Axel and the triplets stand at the edge of the woods. I lead Starlight over to them. Her ears prick but she lets me walk right up to them.