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“You didn’t push me.” Her voice was soft and raw, and so filled with awe that it broke his heart.
“You’re mine to cherish and protect. If you want to keep your clothes on for now, it’s your choice to make.” He tipped her chin until she looked at him. “You set the pace, Kammie. Just please don’t shut me out completely.”
She blinked, and tears spilled over her cheeks. He brushed them away with his thumb. “What if I never get over my fears?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
Her gaze trailed down to his neck. The wound throbbed, but it was already healing. It wasn’t as if he cared about the pain; he’d take her fangs in his flesh any day.
“Do bears mark?” she asked.
“Not like wolves.”
“Then how did you know what I needed when I wasn’t even sure myself?” She met his gaze.
“Instinct, I guess.”
“What do bears do?”
“The couple go to a sacred den, carved into a hillside. It’s been used for generations. They anoint each other with oil, and they each use one claw to mark the other’s upper arm. It’s a crescent shape, which harkens back to bears’ attachment to the crescent moon.” He stroked the spot on her arm, thinking about how he wouldn’t want to mar her skin further. But he also knew that if he didn’t, she might wonder how serious he was about her. He kissed her gently. “Then they make love on a pile of old furs and keep each other warm all night. In the morning, the sleuth celebrates with a big breakfast.”
A tiny smile curved the corner of her mouth. “That’s cool. I like old traditions.”
“Aside from the biting thing, what do wolves do?”
“When mates come together, at the next full moon the alphas introduce them as a mated pair and recognize their mating, and then everyone hunts.”
He liked the simplicity of it. Kammie’s pack was here, and wolves were social with their own kind. After he made sure that his sister was taken care of, he could take Kammie to meet his mom, mate her in the sacred den, and then come back to Wilde Creek to live. He didn’t care if he had to work by her side for the rest of their lives. It would be a nice change of pace from beating people for sport.
Her stomach growled. “I guess we got distracted from breakfast,” he said.
She blushed, but smiled sweetly. “I can honestly say I’ve never had pizza for breakfast.”
“It’s the breakfast of champions, baby,” he promised as they stood.
“Oh no,” Kammie said. Row turned to see that both cups of coffee had spilled, coating the tray, plate, and bedspread with dark liquid.
She moved to lift the tray and he stopped her, pulling her gently away. “I’ll clean this up.”
“Row,” she protested, but he shook his head.
“I want you to go out to the living room and relax on the couch.”
“Really?” Her brow arched.
He nodded. “Go on, baby.”
She stared at him intently for a long moment and then walked out of the room. He righted the coffee mugs on the tray and lifted it, carrying it into the kitchen. Glancing into the living room, he saw Kammie sitting on the couch like he’d asked and he couldn’t help but grin. Returning to the bedroom, he carefully stripped the bed. The coffee had soaked through the comforter and a blanket underneath, but the sheets were fine, so he left them.
“Okay,” he said as he walked into the living room, “I do need your help to tell me where the laundry room is.”
“I can do the laundry later.”
“I caused the mess by being too caught up in your addictive scent to move the tray from the bed.”
Her head tilted slightly as she regarded him. “You probably thought I wouldn’t want to keep going if you stopped to move the tray.”
He grinned. “Which is why I’m cleaning up.”
