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He frowned. “We’ll still have fun.”
“Sometimes I forget you take things so literally.” I leaned forward, daring him to kiss me. “I want to see what you come up with.”
“Oh, I have some ideas,” he rumbled, and his lips were so close to mine. “And I can’t wait to try every single one of them.”
“We’re here!” Bibi announced.
Lars groaned softly as he drew away from me. Those worn jeans did nothing to hide what those ideas did to his body.
I was so here for it.
Bjorn had pulled the van into a pocket of the forest. From what I could tell, we’d gone northwest of Sunset Springs. Lars’s mountain was more southwest. The road on the way here had been blissfully free of reporters, fans, and, thankfully, hunters.
When I first got to Sunset Springs, I thought I’d never get sick of being in the public eye. That I’d never be one of those quasi-famous people that got annoyed that people wanted to know every single detail of my life. And I might have never gotten to that point if people weren’t hunting my boyfriend for sport.
We climbed out of the van, and Lars took my hand as we walked down the path.
“You’re purring,” I said. It was more like a rumble, a continuous vibration that was flowing into my body.
“Is that a bad thing?”
“No, but it feels the same as it does when you’re in your natural form.” Which made me wonder what else did, too.
Usually, my first instinct was to turn on my phone and film our approach to an adorable location, showing it off and, OMG, Hannah in the wilderness was a pretty unusual occurrence. But not only would I not be able to post it until later, my phone probably had zero bars. I was totally okay with that. I was more than ready to let myself get lost in Lars.
The camp was more of a glamp, with several yurts set up, and a fire pit surrounded by benches and chairs and string lights. It totally wasn’t my usual aesthetic, but I loved it. I’d spent many a night lying awake in Bibi’s spare boudoir, worried about how I would ever acclimate to living in Lars’s mountain. I’d confessed that fear to Bibi over more than one bleary-eyed cup of coffee, and she’d made this glamp approachable and cottage core. Like she knew I’d be able to picture myself living in a place like this.
Who was I? I didn’t know, but I was looking forward to finding out. I was happy, and it was finally coming from inside myself instead of from chasing something unattainable—which was hilarious, considering it was because this crazy fantasy of spending forever with Lars was starting to feel like it could actually work.
“So here’s the plan.” Bibi turned around, walking backwards in front of us. I had no idea how she was pulling it off in those high-heeled hiking boots. “We’ve brought some things for you to make each other gifts. We want to see what you come up with. But we want the reveal to be a surprise, so I’ll have to ask you to separate.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I’m not sure I like this game.”
Lars took both my hands in his. He rubbed the rough pad of his thumb over my skin. That purr was going into overdrive. “I want to see what you make me, Hannah.”
I swallowed hard. All the sudden, this was real. It was the first time we could be truly together without it being a strange, forbidden thing, or being a spectacle.
Just me and Lars.
I went up on my tiptoes so I could whisper in his ear, “I want to make you go wild.”
twenty-eight
Lars
Hannah gave me a little wave as she followed Bibi behind one of the tents. As usual, Hannah looked fucking incredible. Tonight she was wearing a strappy tank and short, cut-off denim shorts. Her tattoos were on full display, and I meant to study the artwork at some point tonight, I really did. But it wasn’t easy to concentrate on the design when all I could think about was what I wanted to do with this woman.
Bibi had mentioned we were being selfish by taking this date. The colorful palette my date offered did little to erase the thought of my brother from my mind. He’d laughed at me as I left with Hugo, still in disbelief that I’d choose a human over the possibility of bringing Tanyth back. He still couldn’t get it through that thick skull of his why I didn’t want to see her again.
The truth was, I would do anything for one more night with my mate. I took the crystals that had been left for me, the wood and twine, and tied them together in a windchime. It was as colorful and free as Hannah, but I couldn’t help thinking that Tanyth would have loved it, too.
Was I doing the right thing? Tanyth hadn’t been frozen in time. She’d wasted away before my very eyes. Before she left me, she’d been too weak to speak, to even open her eyes.
I’d stayed with her until the very end, holding her hand until she left this dimension. I’d taken care of her. I thought I’d sent my heart to that heavenly plane with her, until I met Hannah.
Something I’d never tell my brother was that I was convinced Tanyth could have reincarnated in Hannah’s body. They were very different women, living in different times, but they shared the same fierce spirit.
“Oh, that is adorable.” Bibi startled me out of my thoughts. “Are you ready to see what Hannah made for you?”
