Page 70 of Bear and Book

After, Leo helped me clear dishes, humming that same little nothing tune. The apartment was quiet except for that sound, and the faint buzz of the city waking outside.

For a long while, I let myself believe this was all there was. Coffee cups clinking, his hip brushing mine as he reached for the dish towel, sunlight striping across the counter.

Then, of course, the weight of reality pressed back in.

I set the last dish in the rack and dried my hands. “Leo.”

He turned immediately, like my voice alone was enough to drag his whole attention to me. “Yeah?”

The knot in my throat was hard and stubborn. But I’d promised myself, after Jason, after last night, that I wasn’t going to keep swallowing things down.

“I’m still worried,” I said finally.

His brows knit, worry flickering. “Of what? Did something happen?”

“No. Just of this.” I gestured vaguely between us. “Of us.”

He frowned, softer this time. “Elias…”

“I keep waiting for it to break,” I admitted, my voice hoarse. “For you to wake up and realize I’m too old, too set in my ways, too damaged. You really could have anyone, Leo.”

His jaw clenched, like my words were physically painful. He took a step closer.

“We’ve had this talk before. I told you not to tear yourself down like that in front of me,” Leo reminded me.

“I’m just being honest.”

“So am I.” Leo touched my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes. “You’re not too old. You’re not broken. You’re not some burden I’m dragging around. You’re…”

Leo blew out a sharp breath, shaking his head. “You’re it for me, Elias. You’re everything. And if you think an extra decade or some scars are gonna scare me off, then you don’t know me at all.”

The ferocity in his voice left me stunned.

Leo pressed on. “And while we’re being honest, I’ve got my own fears. I’m too much and I overwhelm people. Half the time I’m scared you’re gonna tell me to shut up, or calm down, or go away. But you don’t. You let me be me.”

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

I reached for his hand, gripping it tight. “Leo, you’re exactly what I need. You’re more than I ever let myself want. I don’t want quiet or careful. I want you. All of you,” I told him.

His breath hitched, eyes wide and shining.

The words pressed at my lips before I could stop them. “I love you.”

Sure, Leo had heard me tell Jason he didn’t get to insult the man I loved, but I’d never actually said those three words to my mate.

Silence stretched for half a heartbeat, then broke open with Leo’s laugh, the sound half-sob and half-joy.

“Say it again,” Leo demanded.

“I love you,” I repeated, firmer this time. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Leo whispered, and then he kissed me, hard and sweet and all-consuming.

We tumbled back into the living room, mouths still joined, his hands tangled in my shirt. But there was no rush, no desperate edge. Just heat and tenderness, the ache of finally letting go of fear.

When we broke apart, breathless, he leaned his forehead against mine. “You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting to hear that.”

“I was an idiot for waiting this long,” I admitted.