He caught her hand when she started toward the stairs, and she looked over her shoulder at him. “You know she means nothing to me, right, my mate? You’re the only one for me, always.”
She smiled her sweet smile before kissing his knuckles. “I know, my mate. Now come upstairs and eat my pussy like you promised.”
CHAPTER 40
“You don’t have to come with me, my mate.” Briggs squeezed her hand as they made their way through the trees toward the river, the snow crunching under their feet.
“I want to.” Cece smiled at him. “It’s not too cold today, and it feeds my polar bear appreciation to watch you swim.”
He laughed. “Waking up this morning to a polar bear wasn’t enough?”
The same rush of excitement from this morning washed over her. “Can I just say that was the coolest thing ever? How many people can say they woke up to a polar bear sleeping next to them?”
“Not many humans, that’s for sure,” Briggs said.
She grinned at him. “Does that happen a lot? You shifting in your sleep?”
“Not really,” he said. “I think it depends on the shifter. Dad says that Mom shifts nearly every night while she sleeps.”
“I guess I know why you have custom-made, heavy-duty beds now,” she said.
He laughed again. “Better to pay extra for a custom-made one than to keep breaking normal beds.”
“Good point,” she said.
They were at the river now, and Briggs scanned the river before saying, “I thought Dad might be here swimming. He usually swims around this time, but I guess he swam earlier.”
He boosted her onto the large, flat rock that overlooked the river. She sat there whenever she watched him swim, and she reminded herself, for about the third time, to bring a blanket next time to sit on. Briggs cut his swimming time a bit shorter when she accompanied him, but her ass was still frozen by the time he was finished. Before he could step back, she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him in close, pressing soft kisses against his mouth. “Enjoy your swim, honey.”
“Thanks, baby.” He stepped away and stripped off his clothes.
Cece was bundled up in a winter jacket, thick sweatpants, and a knitted hat and mittens, but anticipating his swim, Briggs had walked to the river in just his winter boots, a t-shirt, and sweatpants.
She admired his naked ass as he walked to the river’s edge and watched with eager anticipation as he shifted to his polar bear. She smiled when he returned to her, rubbing his big head against her legs, and she scratched around his ears and under his chin before kissing his wide forehead.
He chuffed to her and returned to the river, wading to the middle before diving under the water. Polar bears could hold their breath for nearly three minutes underwater, but she didn’t fully relax until he popped back up nearly twenty feet away, thanks to the swift current. He dove back under the water, and when he reappeared, he was close to her rock again. A tree growing at the water’s edge had a nest of branches that had grown until they were submerged in the water, and when he dove under the water next to them, she grinned. After watching him do that every time he went for a swim, she’d asked him why. He’d explained that his bear loved using the branches underwater to scratch his back.
As Briggs swam, Cece checked her text messages, replying to both Kinsley and Maisie before scrolling to her contacts and studying her grandfather’s name. She wanted to reach out to him, but right now… right now she was enjoying what felt like a perfect bubble of happiness. Being here in Alaska with Briggs, meeting his family, and the community he loved so much, was exactly what she needed. She would contact her grandfather once she was home.
Briggs’s parents’ anniversary party was in two days, and the day after that, she and Briggs would return home. She felt no excitement over returning to Ashdale, which was a little worrisome, but what could she do about it? Sure, it was weird that after only a week and a half, Briggs’s home here in Wellington felt more like home to her than her own house ever had, but it couldn’t be helped.
She loved it here, and maybe that was because of how obvious her mate’s love for it was, or because Alaska was more beautiful than she could ever have imagined, or because it was easier to feel connected to her magic and to Mother Earth.
Whatever it was, this place, this community, had made her feel whole again, and she would forever be grateful.
And, she smiled to herself, she was confident Briggs would be more than happy to bring her back here any chance they got.
She closed her eyes, listening to the soft call of the trees around her. It no longer frightened her. Despite how sweet the sound was, she wasn’t worried she would disappear into the woods and never return. The trees’ call and their promise of bliss were not enough to convince her to leave her mate.
The pine trees rising behind the rock sighed and whispered, their branches slowly reaching toward her until they brushed her back with light caresses. She smiled and waved her hand, the green light glowing from her fingertips, and the branches retreated.
Fifteen minutes later, Briggs finished his swim and emerged from the water. He shifted to his human form and walked toward her. Lust rocketed through her body as she studied his nakedness. Water dripped and slid its way down his wide chest and flat stomach, some catching on his abs, others sliding past to his treasure trail. She stared greedily at his thick cock, her magic humming to life in her veins.
Briggs made a soft growl, his cock hardening under his gaze until it jutted out proudly from his body. When he reached her spot on the rock, she tugged off her hat and her mittens before she reached out and pulled him close. She wrapped her legs around his hips again, not caring how wet and cold he was, only that she needed his touch. Needed her mate.
As his cock pressed against her pussy, she realized that the rock was the perfect height for Briggs to fuck her. She traced her fingers down his wet back as Briggs smiled at her. “I’m getting you wet, my mate.”
“Yes,” she said. “You are.”
