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He was sweet, kind, fiercely protective, an amazing lover… everything she never thought she’d find.
And she thought she just might already be in love with him.
Colton was exhausted but his mind was racing, not allowing him to fall asleep just yet. Being with Katia… he never could have imagined he’d feel everything so intensely. He’d heard it was that way between mates, but he still hadn’t been expecting that.
She was already fast asleep, but he couldn’t resist pressing a kiss to her hair. She sighed, snuggling in closer, and a smile curled his lips up.
He was right earlier. He wasn’t falling for her—he was already there.
There was still so much up in the air, but he had faith it would all work out. It had to. There was no other option. He’d get Justin back, end the men responsible for hurting him and hunting Katia, and then he could be free to settle down with her.
He loved his small ranch in Montana, but he’d willingly give it up for her. Her life was here, her family, her school. He couldn’t ask her to give that up to come to his tiny hometown across the country, but he could damn sure come here to be with her.
He wasn’t sure what he’d do with his life once he was here, though. Ranching was all he knew. But he’d figure it out. As long as he had his mate, he’d be okay.
A noise at the door hit his sensitive shifter ears and he stiffened as he turned to look at the door. Easing Katia off his chest, he stood up and silently made his way over, looking out of the peephole. He didn’t see anyone there, but that didn’t mean there hadn’t been.
Even if one of the bastards could hack, that didn’t mean they’d be able to find her room, since it wasn’t registered in her name. But that didn’t necessarily mean anything—they’d set the last hotel on fire, after all.
Looked like he wasn’t going to get any sleep tonight after all, because he had to be on alert. If anything happened to her…
Shuddering, he turned to walk back to the bed. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what losing her would be like, and he didn’t want to. It made him sick to his stomach. She was his—his mate, his life, his everything. He couldn’t lose her.
Yeah, it was fast, but that was how it happened for shifters, so it didn’t come as much of a surprise to him. She might be a different story. She was human, and they weren’t raised with the knowledge that when they met their mate, their entire world shifted and changed, putting their mate at the very center.
That there wasn’t anyone else in the world as perfect for them. That no one else could mean as much to them.
He walked over to her side of the bed to switch off the lamp. He wasn’t planning on sleeping, but she was, and he could see just as well in the dark as he could in the light, thanks to his shifter sight. Reaching over to switch it off, he bumped into her sketchbook, and it fell to the floor with a soft thud.
Cursing silently, he froze, his gaze shooting to Katia to make sure it didn’t wake her. She didn’t move, staying relaxed on the bed, her breathing even. Blowing out a breath, he bent to pick up the book, stilling when he saw the page it had fallen open on.
Picking it up, he straightened, studying the drawing. She’d sketched him standing with his arms crossed, a tornado in the background, and on the right was an image of a dragon. It was actually very close to how his dragon really looked, and he felt his eyebrows raise in surprise. The whole drawing was amazing. She’d captured him and his animal very well. It could have been a picture instead of a sketch, it was so accurate.
Curiosity flowed through him and he flipped to the page before, finding an image of his hands, and then another sketch of himself. It was at the hotel they stayed at before, and he was asleep, one arm behind his head and the covers pooling at his waist.
She had so much talent, it was mind blowing.
He looked through the rest of the book, finding images of Sergei and his friends, various people he didn’t know, landscapes—she had a little bit of everything in there, and with every picture, he thought they couldn’t get better, but they did.
Awe filled him when he was finished, and he closed the book, putting back on the table. Before turning off the light, he looked at her, drinking her in. After the room was doused in darkness, he made his way back around the bed, wondering if there was any way he could help her achieve the dream she truly wanted.
If there was a way to find it, he would.
The moment he settled back onto the bed, she rolled back into him, snuggling close. Heart nearly bursting with warmth and affection, he wrapped her in his arms, contentment and happiness filling his soul.
This amazing woman was his, and he wouldn’t let a moment go by when he didn’t show or tell her just what she meant to him.
Chapter Eight
“Did you always want to work on the ranch?”
Katia asked the question, her eyes roving around the lobby of the hotel. No one else was in there except herself, Colton, and Sergei, who was sitting across the lobby, pretending to read a newspaper. She’d thought Colton would do something similar, but he refused to be far from her, and he was sitting on the floor behind the desk, out of immediate eyesight.
She’d been equal parts exasperated and mushy when he refused to leave her side, but she was glad he had. She enjoyed talking to him and learning more about him. After the night before, she felt incredibly close to him, and every little tidbit she learned just made her feel more so.
“Sort of.”
Arching an eyebrow, she slanted a look down at him before returning to watch the lobby. No one had come in for at least forty-five minutes, but she couldn’t stop watching. But it wasn’t like being hyper vigilant would hurt. It was probably the smart thing to do.
