I held her gaze. “I do,” I whispered around her fingers.
“I love you, Sylvik.There is a knowing.”
This time, I jerked hard enough to almost spill her off my lap, and I had to tighten my hold on her. “What?” I managed to rasp.
Her grin grew. “There is a knowing. That’s what Sami and Riven told me. When you find your Mate,there is a knowing.”
My heart slammed against my ribcage as myKteerhowled in hope. My whispered “Mate?” was strangled.
“Mate,” she repeated. Her fingers moved across my jaw. “You called me that, before. You called me your good Mate.”
My eyes fluttered shut. Gods below, Ihadsaid that out loud, hadn’t I? “That’s because…” I swallowed and tried again, although my rasp wasn’t any easier to understand. “That’s because you’re my Mate.”
“And you’re mine.”
Slowly, hardly daring to hope, I opened my eyes to stare down at her.
Brooke’s smile was soft. Hopeful. Her fingertips traced my lower lip. “I love you, Sylvik. Iknowyou. I don’t knowhow you could love someone like me, someone who seems unable to get her shit together or who thrives on chaos, but?—”
I grabbed her hand and pulled her palm to my lips to press a kiss against it, shutting her up. “Those aren’t your words,dkaar. They’re from your past.” From that asshole of an ex. “Just because I like spreadsheets doesn’t mean I can’t see how remarkableyourway of looking at the world is. You make my life better—you make everyone’s lives better—with your creativity and energy.”
“Really?” she breathed.
And I smiled against her palm, scraping my tusks over her skin. “Really, love. Just think about Riven and Abydos’s wedding. It’s beenyourvision that’s going to make the whole thing beautiful, isn’t it? I’m just here to make sure shit gets delivered on time.”
“And to help with the orc traditions.”
Between our bodies, beneath the towels, I could feel my cock still throbbing with need, and I knew there was one very important orc tradition she hadn’t experienced.
“You’re my Mate, Brooke. If you want to go back to California and live your dream, I won’t stand in your way. But I’m going to spend the rest of my life waiting for you.”
In my lap, she struggled to turn around, until she could hold my cheeks with both hands. “I have a new dream, Mate,” she whispered.
And my heart soared as myKteerhowled with glee.Mate.
Brooke
I could feelhis cock throbbing against my hip, and I knew Sylvik must be frustrated. He’d made me come so many times I think I’d lost count, and that one cinnamon-flavored explosion must not have been enough for him. Besides, even after all that, I felt as if…I were missing something.
And so I squirmed around, not caring that the towel fell down around my waist or the fact that my hair—which had been piled on top of my head to keep it dry—now flopped over one ear with wet tendrils. I just knew I needed to be able to face him.
My legs got caught in the towel, but he helped free me, and I managed to straddle his thighs. I cupped his cheeks in both hands and leaned in close. “I have a new dream.Mate.”
The way his smile bloomed? I vowed to never forget that; I wanted to remember this moment, Sylvik’s reaction, for the rest of my life. I wanted to tell my children about that; kids I’d one day have with Sylvik.
Yeah, one day we’d decorate a Christmas tree with our children, and I’d teach them how to roll out sugar cookies and how to frost the snowmen in interesting designs, and I’d make sure thatnoneof our decorations smelled like cinnamon.
That scent was all for me.
And we wouldn’t play that stupidWhammagedongame, because as far as I was concerned, the best Christmas gift I ever received started with hearing that song.
My cheeks hurt from how hard I was smiling. “I’m not going back to California, and I’m not going to go back to work with Ethan.”
“Fuck Ethan,” Sylvik growled, and I had to giggle.
“Never again.” I brushed a kiss on his nose. “I’m not going back, because I have a new dream.” One that involved a forever for Sylvik and me and our family. One where I started an event planning business here on Eastshore, one where the two of us balanced each other perfectly. “Where’d I leave my phone?”
He blinked and straightened, glancing toward the living room. “Uh. With the food? I’ll grab it.”
