“And you don’t mind going slow? I mean, you’re kind of my first boyfriend.”
Feral nodded. “Nobody else has been good enough, that’s why you waited for me. And I’ll continue to wait for you until you’re as ready as I am.”
One side of Alison’s mouth turned up into a half smile and he couldn’t help but smile himself.
“What?” she asked.
“I love your smile.”
She smiled again, this time more shyly. “Would you like to come inside for a while?” she asked.
“I’d love nothing more.”
Alison stepped back out of the doorway to allow Feral to enter her home.
“Thank you for giving me a chance,” he said as he moved past her.
“Feral, I’m not giving you a chance. You don’t need a chance. I was just afraid to trust because of my own issues. But after everything you just said, they seem to have all disappeared,” she said as she closed the door and flipped the lock since they were still on high alert.
Feral waited, looking down at her until she turned back to him.
Alison stepped closer to him, placing her hands on his shoulders as she looked up into his eyes.
“I’ll never, ever disappoint you. I’ll probably step on a nerve or two, because I am overprotective, but all you have to do is tell me to back off.”
“You won’t back off even if I do.”
“Probably true,” he said with a grin. “But I’ll follow you silently to watch over you while you do whatever it is that you want to do. You’ll never know I’m there.”
Alison laughed. “I can live with that.”
“I love everything about you, my mate,” Feral said. “Your quiet strength, your courage, your gentleness, your selflessness, your generosity. You’re the part of me that I’ve always been missing.”
“I love you, too. This is the first time in my life I’ve never felt alone.”
Feral kissed her lips chastely. “And you never will be alone again,” he said.
She reached up and kissed him again.
He closed his eyes, savoring her kiss. When he opened his eyes, she was looking up at him with so much emotion in her eyes.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“Mine?” she asked shyly.
“Always yours, only yours,” he answered.
Chapter 29
A couple of days later Maeve was sitting out by Jack and Bonnie’s pool with Bonnie, Brinnley, Draven, Gwen, Griffin, Izzie and Bella, Beau and Beck in the early evening.
“Did you see me, Mom?” Griffin exclaimed as he swung from the top of the climbing rope attached to the side of the splash pad.
“I did! You are so strong and fast!” she exclaimed.
“See me!” Beau and Beck both immediately started calling out to Gwen, little parrots picking up and repeating anything at all they heard spoken.
“I’m watching! I see you both!” Gwen answered. She was reclining on a lounge chair in the shade, clad in a soft over-sized teeshirt and a pair of shorts. She wasn’t a hundred percent yet, but she was close — physically. Emotionally she was still struggling, but so much better than she ever anticipated she would be, and that was all because of Rance. He gave her his strength, he supported her, he stood beside her and allowed her to breakdown, all always at the right time, and he never ever expected a single thing in return. That kind of devotion wasn’t to be taken lightly.
