He laughs but immediately stops when he realizes I’m serious. “You’re kidding, right?” His voice full of disbelief, his jaw literally hanging open.
I move to cover myself, which doesn’t actually help because that makes the muscles in my arms and shoulders bulge.
“Seriously, Anya. You’re fucking perfect. I love your muscles and that you’re strong enough that I don’t have to worry about hurting you.” He shakes his head while he laughs, saying something under his breath that I don’t catch.
“You’re sure you’re not just saying that?” I ask, still not completely convinced.
He rises to his full height, standing in front of me as I lie awkwardly on the bed, having ruined the moment. He stares at me, then down at his still very hard cock, then back at me, raising one eyebrow.
Planting his hands on his hips, asking, “Does it look like there’s anything about you that I don’t like?”
I can feel the heat rising to my cheeks, “Well, no, but—”
“No.” he shakes his head. “No, buts.”
His fingers tap where his hands are still propped on his hips.
“I think . . .” He seems to be at war with himself over something. “There’s something I need to tell you, but it’s easier if I show you.” Now he’s the one that looks insecure, and that almost worries me more.
15
Kodi
This is absolutely insane, but it’s the only thing I can think of to really get her to understand the gravity of my feelings. Why I mean it when I tell her this is forever. Why I love that she’s strong enough to handle me.
There’s no great time to tell the person you’re dating that you’re a polar bear shifter, and that they’re the one person in the universe fated to be yours by the Moon Goddess.
We’re on our way to the ice rink. No one should be there because they don’t have practice again until tomorrow.
My thoughts are running wild. I can only hope I’m making the right decision by telling her now. I wanted to wait a little while before telling her I can turn into a polar bear, but it’s hard not being able to be bare in front of her without having to explain my knot. Not being able to give myself to her when she thinks I’ve rejected her because she doesn’t understand what us having sex means.
She deserves to know. To be prepared or . . . fuck, I really hope she doesn’t reject me. I don’t know how I’ll be able to take it if she looks at me with fear or disgust. My insides twist and churn at the thought.
The air in the truck is thick with tension. My hand is resting on her thigh but we’re both wound tight, our muscles coiled and ready for flight mode if necessary.
When I pull my truck into a spot in the empty parking lot, she lets me help her from her seat. We walk inside hand in hand, the tingles trickling across my skin from our mate bond.
“Why are we here?” she asks quietly.
Replying honestly, I tell her, “I thought you’d like to be somewhere you’re comfortable, but it's also selfishly a good place for me too.”
I try to offer her a crooked grin, but it doesn’t make her eyes sparkle like usual. She’s as much lost in her thoughts and worries as I am.What does she have to be worried over?
Come on, Kodi. You have to do this.
She leads me into the rink, the scent of the engineered ice filling the space around us. “Is there a way for you to lock the doors?”
She raises a single eyebrow at me, her arms crossed in front of her.
“To make sure we’re not . . . interrupted,” I explain.
She nods, moving to lock each set of doors, her lips thinned and eyebrows creased. She’s doing as I ask, but she’s still incredibly suspicious. I suppose I am acting weird for a human. With the final set of doors locked she returns to where I stand on the ice, eyes cataloguing every detail. “Well?” she prompts me, time giving way to nerves.
Searching my brain for the right words, I find none. “I don’t know how to tell you this . . . I love you. I’m crazy about you. It’s definitely not that I don’t want you. I want you so bad it hurts, but you have to know everything about me first.”
Her eyes widen in panic, and her breath quickens in fear, worry written all over her features, but I force myself to continue.
“Fuck, how do I even say this. There’s no course on telling a human they’re your mate,” I bark under my breath.
