"I've never done this before," she said quietly. "Not like this. Not with someone who... matters."
"Neither have I."
Her eyebrows lifted. "You've never?—"
"I've had sex. But not with my mate. Not with someone I love." The word slipped out before he could stop it, and he watched her face carefully for her reaction.
She didn't flinch. Didn't pull away. Instead, something warm and wondering came across her face.
"You love me?"
"Since before I knew what you were to me." He crouched in front of her, taking her hands in his. "I watched you in Freya's garden that first week, the way you talked to the plants like they could hear you. The way you smiled when you thought no one was looking. I was already falling before my bear recognized you."
Her fingers tightened around his. "I thought you barely noticed me."
"I noticed everything." He brought her hands to his lips, pressing a kiss to each knuckle. "The way you bite your lip when you're thinking. The way you hum when you work. The way you smell like green growing things and sunshine even in the dead of winter."
"Corin..."
"You don't have to say it back. I'm not asking for anything except what you're willing to give."
She leaned forward and kissed him, soft and sweet. "I'm willing to give you tonight. And tomorrow. And however many days it takes for me to stop being afraid of how much I feel for you."
That was enough. That was more than enough.
He rose and kissed her deeper, one hand cupping her jaw, the other sliding into her hair. She melted against him, her body softening, her lips parting to let him in. He tasted her slowly, thoroughly, learning the shape of her mouth, the sounds she made when he did something she liked.
Her hands found the buttons of his flannel, fumbling slightly as she worked them open. He helped her, shrugging the shirt off his shoulders, then pulling the thermal over his head. The cool air hit his skin, but he barely noticed. All his attention was on her face, on the way her eyes darkened as she took in the expanse of his bare chest.
"You're..." She swallowed. "You're very large."
A laugh rumbled in his chest. "Bear shifter."
"I noticed." Her hands pressed flat against his pectorals, tracing the contours of muscle, the scatter of dark hair. Her touch was tentative at first, exploratory, growing bolder when he made a low sound of appreciation. "Is this okay?"
"Everything you do is okay." He caught her wrist and pressed her palm over his heart. "Feel that? That's what you do to me."
His heart was pounding, hard and fast, betraying exactly how affected he was. She smiled, a real smile, the kind that crinkled the corners of her eyes.
"I like knowing I do that to you."
"You do more than that." He pulled her to her feet and turned her gently, his fingers finding the zipper at the back of her dress. "May I?"
"Yes."
The zipper whispered down, revealing the pale curve of her spine, the clasp of a simple cotton bra. He pushed the dress off her shoulders and let it pool at her feet, then just looked at her.
Soft curves. Freckled shoulders. A body made for comfort and warmth, for holding and being held. She shivered under his gaze, goosebumps rising on her skin.
"You're staring."
"I'm appreciating." He turned her back to face him, his hands settling on her waist. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."
"You don't have to?—"
"I'm not flattering you. I'm telling you the truth." He kissed her mouth, her cheek, the soft spot beneath her ear. "Every inch of you is perfect to me."
She shuddered, her hands gripping his arms for balance. "Corin. Please."
