“You’re absolutely right,” I sighed. “The thing is, I don’t know if you’re going to like the answer. It’s a little…creepy.”
Shelly leaned back so he could see my face, that silly brow quirked up again.
“The thing is,” I scratched my head, “Bear kind of, um, imprinted on you.”
Shelly’s eyes widened. “Like a duckling?”
I snorted a laugh. “Not exactly,” I said through a chuckle. “He definitely doesn’t think you’re his mom. It’s more like, he wants you for a mate,” I explained. “When we were spending time together and touching all the time, it was okay but once you were avoiding me, he got a little…touchy.”
“For a mate?” Shelly repeated, sounding confused. “But I’m human.”
I shrugged. “He doesn’t care.”
“Oh.” Instead of creeped out, Shelly seemed sad. “That has to be uncomfortable for you.”
I shook my head. “Why?”
“For him to want someone you don’t,” Shelly explained. “I can’t imagine that’s much fun. Is that why you don’t date often?”
“Shelly, baby, the beast and I are two halves of the same creature. Bear may have imprinted on you, but I’ve been in love with you from the moment it happened.Thatis why I don’t date. That’s why the bear didn’t care about that female following him during the full moon. All we want is you.”
Shelly slowly lifted his face, his jaw slack with shock. “I..what?”
ChapterTwenty-Three
Mitchel
I was still drunk. I had to be. That was the only explanation for how the Alpha I’d been head over heels in love with for years -and convinced myself I wouldn’t ever have- was holding me in his arms and telling me that he loved me. That hehadloved me as long as I’d loved him, if not longer.
“I don’t date because I already found the perfect mate,” Dane repeated patiently.
I shook my head. “That doesn’t sound right,” I argued, unconsciously patting his chest. “You never said anything that even remotely suggested that you see me as more than a friend.”
“You never got that idea?” Dane asked, amused. “I guess that makes sense with the number of myfriendsI make love with during their heat cycles.”
“I thought you were just a really good friend,” I said sulkily. “I mean, you never said anything.
Dane laid his hand over mine, pressing it against his chest, over his heart. “I didn’t,” he agreed. “You’re just learning what life is about and I’ve already been married and divorced, raised kids, the whole bit.” He pressed a light kiss to my temple. “Not to mention my leg. It’s not like I’ll ever be whole again. You could easily do better.”
“So which is it?” I huffed. “Am I too young or are you too decrepit?”
Dane nearly choked on his laugh. “Both?”
I wasn’t amused. “Fine.” I used the hand he was holding to his chest to try and shove myself off his lap.
“Where are you going?” Dane gently held me in place.
“I don’t need to sit here while you mock me,” I snapped. “Let me up.”
“Baby, I swear I’m not mocking you,” Dane disputed. “I’m serious. You’re amazing so it never occurred to me that you would want me as more than a friends-with-benefits situation.”
“What changed?”
“Last night I realized I’d hurt you,” Dane said softly. “I would never want that to happen. When you said I gave you away, my heart sank. If you were mine, I’d never let you go.” There was a rumble in his chest and Dane smiled. “Sorry,we’dnever let you go,” he corrected. “Damn pushy beast.”
“Don’t listen to him, Bear,” I murmured in his ear, my heart warming when the rumbling increased. “I love you, too, no matter what he says about you.”
“You’re going to give him a bigger head than he already has,” Dane grumbled good-naturedly.
