“Some mornings, I’d shift and run the ridgelines.You can see for miles.Cam wants to meet you.He says any woman who can survive a kidnapping and still land on her feet is welcome at his table.”
“You told him about that?”
“I talked about you all the time.All the men know how incredible you are.How you saved a child from hunters, built a life here, and run a business.You’re a legend.”
Warmth bloomed in her chest.“I’m not the same woman who went to the Scottish gathering.”
“No, you’re stronger.You know who you are now.”
“So do you.You’re not lost anymore.”
He smiled, brushing a thumb across her hand.“I’m exactly where I belong.With you.”
The crock pot chimed, and they laughed softly together.
“Perfect timing,” she said, leaning into him.
“There’s one more thing,” he murmured, voice thick with desire.“What happens tonight?”
“Dinner and wine,” she teased, eyes sparkling.“Then I’ll show you what Kitto and I did to the house.And after that…”
“After that,” he whispered, closing the space between them, “I’ll take you to our room and show you how much I missed you.”
Her breath caught.A flush crept over her skin, heat coiling low in her belly.“Sounds perfect.”
“I have long-term plans, sweetheart.”
“Oh?”
“The kind where I mark you, so every shifter in three provinces knows you’re mine.And you do the same to me.”
She trembled, slick heat coiling at his words.“Liam.”
He stepped back with effort.“But first, dinner.I want to do this right.Tonight should be perfect.”
“It already is.We’re together.”
They moved around the kitchen in sync, Liam pouring wine while she served their beef stew and mashed potatoes.It was a domestic rhythm that seemed instantly natural.
“To new beginnings,” Liam said, raising his glass.
“To finding our way home,” Sienna replied.
Later, they washed dishes side by side, hips bumping, laughter soft and warm.
“Ready to see what we’ve done?”she asked.
She showed him the living room with Kitto’s painted Cornish border, framed photos from Cornwall, Scotland, and Middlemarch, and two of her father’s signature blue-and-white pottery pieces.
“It feels like us,” Liam said, running a hand over the mantel.“Like our story.”
“That was the goal.So you’d know you belong here too.”
In the spare room, she showed him Kitto’s desk by the north-facing window.
“He’s finding his place,” Liam said.
“He talks about moving out eventually, but for now we’re family.”
