“Yes,” he said firmly. “Don’t argue with me on this, Cece. You won’t win.”
She gave him a gentle poke. “Will you always be this bossy?”
“Probably,” he admitted. He kissed her again. “My money is your money, baby.”
“I don’t expect you to pay for everything,” she said.
“I know you don’t,” he said. “But right now, I’m in a position where I can help you, and it won’t even make a dent in my bank account. So, I’m paying for any costs associated with the Alaska trip.”
She brushed her mouth against his in a slow caress, pressing her tongue against the seam of his lips. He opened and let her in, and they kissed deeply, their tongues tangling together as Briggs cupped her breast and ran his thumb over her nipple.
He growled to her, that soft sound that was for her and her alone, and she smiled at him. “Take me to bed, Briggs.”
“Yes, my mate.”
CHAPTER 38
“Don’t be nervous.” Briggs glanced at her before returning his gaze to the road.
“That’s an impossible request,” Cece said. “I’m about to meet your family. What if they hate me?”
“They’ll love you.” He reached across and squeezed her thigh comfortingly. “They will, my mate, I promise.”
“You don’t know that for sure.” Cece opened the glove box and poked around.
“What are you looking for?” Briggs asked.
“A barf bag. I was sure I read somewhere that rental vehicles come with barf bags.”
Briggs laughed, and even with how truly anxious Cece was, his laughter warmed her from the inside out. “I love your laugh.”
“I love you,” Briggs said, “and I promise you have nothing to worry about.”
Cece took his hand, the zing of magic through her veins helping to calm her nerves a little. She stared out her window for a bit before smiling at him. “Alaska is beautiful.”
“It is,” Briggs said. “I’m happy to be home again.”
“You must miss Wellington a lot.”
He shrugged, but she could see how much happier he was. There was a subtle relaxation of his shoulders, and joy had infused his face when they’d stepped out of the airport in Fairbanks.
“Is your bear happy?”
“Even more so,” Briggs said with a grin. “He’s already pushing me to shift as soon as we’re home so he can go for a swim in the river.”
“It’s freezing out,” Cece said.
“Not for me.” He winked at her, and she laughed before squeezing his hand and staring out the window again.
An hour later, when they passed the big ‘Welcome to Wellington’ sign, she’d almost convinced herself that everything would be fine and she wouldn’t make a fool of herself in front of Briggs’s family.
Almost.
“This is the town’s main street,” Briggs said as he drove down a street lined with businesses. He pointed out the health clinic, the library, and one of their two grocery stores before turning right and heading toward the river.
“My parents have some land close to the river,” Briggs said. “They built their house when I was four, and Brooke was two.”
“You said Brooke lived near your parents?”
