“You know,” he said conversationally, working a knot from her shoulder muscle, “you’re going to need to work on your stamina.”
Her laugh echoed off the bathroom tiles. “Excuse me?”
“You were breathing hard before I even caught you. A few more weeks of training, and you might actually give me a challenge.”
“I gave you a challenge.” She twisted to look at him, mock-offense in her grey eyes. “I lasted longer than you expected. You said so yourself.”
“I said you made it harder than I expected.” His lips twitched. “Not that you made it difficult.”
“You—” She splashed water at him, which he dodged easily. “Insufferable beast.”
“Your insufferable beast.” He caught her hand and pressed a kiss to her palm. “Forever.”
Her expression softened, the playful indignation melting into something warm and luminous. “Forever.”
He helped her from the bath eventually, wrapping her in towels so soft they felt like clouds, carrying her to the massive bed that dominated the suite’s bedroom. The sheets were cool against their skin as they settled together, her body curled against his, his arms wrapped protectively around her.
“Thank you,” he said quietly. “For this. For all of it.”
“You don’t have to thank me.” Her fingers traced idle patterns on his chest. “I wanted to see you happy. You’ve been so tense in the city, so careful all the time. I wanted to give you somewhere to breathe.”
“You gave me more than that.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “You gave me a home.”
She was quiet for a moment, her hand stilling over his heart. Then she shifted, lifting her head to meet his eyes.
“I love you,” she said simply. “I don’t say it enough, but I do. More than I ever thought I could love anyone.”
His chest ached at the words. He’d heard them before, but each time felt like the first. Each time felt like a gift he didn’t deserve and would spend the rest of his life trying to earn.
“I love you too.” His voice was rough. “My mate. My heart. My everything.”
She smiled and pulled him down into a kiss—slow and sweet and full of promise. When they finally broke apart, she settled back against his chest with a contented sigh.
“We will have to go back to the city eventually,” she murmured. “There are meetings. Obligations.”
“Eventually.”
“Eventually,” she agreed.
Outside, the sun was beginning its descent towards the horizon, painting the sky in shades of rose and gold. Through the window, he could see the forest stretching towards the distant hills—wild and free and full of possibility.
He’d spent years alone in his mountain territory, convinced that isolation was the price of survival. He’d told himself that he didn’t need a pack, didn’t need a mate, didn’t need anything beyond the simple rhythm of hunting and sleeping and enduring one more day.
He’d been wrong.
This small female—this fierce, brilliant, impossibly brave female who had crashed into his life like a falling star—had shown him what he’d been missing. Not just love, though that would have been enough. Not just passion, though that burned between them like a living flame.
She’d given him purpose. Partnership. A reason to be more than he’d been.
He’d given up his pack once, walked away from everything he’d known rather than tear his people apart with a leadership challenge. But this—this female in his arms, this bond between them, this future stretching out before them like an unwritten story—he would never give this up
Her breathing had evened out into the steady rhythm of sleep. He watched her for a long time, memorizing the curve of hercheek, the sweep of her lashes, the small smile that played at the corners of her mouth even in dreams.
Mine,his beast rumbled contentedly.Ours. Forever.
He closed his eyes and let the peace wash over him—a peace he’d never expected to find, given freely by a female who saw the monster in him and loved him anyway.
For the first time in many, many years, Rykan was utterly content.
