She wished she had been drunk or could pinch herself into an awakened state. Clearly, she was delusional. She had just had the most fucking amazing sex of her life. The man of her dreams had walked out of nowhere, declaring his love for her, but the perfect dream was an illusion. Some kind of psychosis she had conjured in her loneliness.

Maybe if she held her hand over the frying pan she would wake up. She stood from Kyle’s lap and walked toward the stove.

“What are you doing?” He rushed over, drawing her back from the frying pan.

She looked into his eyes. Those deep pools of blue that mesmerized her.

“I have to wake myself up,” she replied.

“You’re awake. I promise.” He gripped her shoulders.

“I can’t be. You just told me you’re a bear.” She blinked.

“I am a bear.” He placed her palms flat against his chest. She felt the smooth planes, warm under her hands. “I’m real. This is all real.”

“How? How is that possible?”

But she almost didn’t need his answers. The pieces began to fall in place. His strength. The way he could survive when no one else could. The power in his hands. The way he made her feel. It wasn’t just amazing sex, it was actual magic coursing through her.

“Oh,” she whispered.

She wanted to take a step back. She needed to take a breath and process it, but her hands were against his chest and she didn’t want to break the connection they had. She could feel the steady beats of his heart.

All she could think about was for the past month how she felt without him. The emptiness almost swallowed her whole. She cried at night, wondering if was alive. She moaned for him in her sleep. She buried his memory, trying to protect herself.

If she took a step back all that pain would come back. Instead she pressed her palms firmly, revealing in the feel of his flesh. He was here. Alive. Hot. And hers.

It didn’t matter who he was. She didn’t care that there was another side to him. The only thing she knew was that she didn’t want to live without Kyle Brake.

Instead she reached for the zipper on his jeans, sliding the tab down. His eyes shot to hers. She raked her teeth over her lip.

“Take me,” she whispered. She pushed herself on the kitchen island, dragging her T-shirt over her head. She threw it on the floor.

Kyle stood between her legs. His head lowering to her breast. He pinched her nipple between his fingers until she groaned, then he pulled it into his mouth, soothing the pain with his warm tongue.

Her head reeled back as she pushed his head tighter to her chest. He had to know she would give him everything. Her body was his. Her breasts were his to suck. Her nipples hardened under his touch and she cried out when he moved to the other side.

He clamped over the hard peak, sucking forcefully. She felt the rush between her legs. He could make her come like this. The tightening in her core was relentless with each flick of his tongue.

Her hands fisted against the back of his head. He drew a long, slow lick over her nipple, before he reached for her panties.

“Right here?” He dragged them over her hips, then pushed her knees wide, so she was on display for him. He growled, his chest vibrating. He licked his lips.

“Yes, right here. Right now,” she whimpered. “I need this to be real. I want to feel how alive we are together.” It felt right to offer herself to him this way. To show him her body was his. It had been. There was no denying it.

Kyle’s jeans fell to the floor and he stepped out of them, kicking them to the side.

She saw his hardness bulging with want. But there wasn’t anything he wanted her to do other than invite him in. Her hands braced against the counter, her knees spread as he nestled the tip of his rigid cock at her entrance.

“You’re so fucking sexy, Whit,” he groaned as he thrust only a centimeter. “My perfect mate.”

“Ohh, I need more than that,” she whimpered.

It was exquisite torture. He hovered there, the head of his cock barely covered by her. She wanted him to drive deep inside.

His palm landed on her breasts. “I pictured you like this. Your perfect tits. Your hips. How hot and wet you were for me. How tight you were,” he groaned. His fingers dug into her flesh as they traveled lower.

“I can’t wait anymore,” she urged.

His hands landed at her knees, firm against her soft skin. He pushed them slightly, sinking his shaft only another inch. Now the thickest part of his cock stretched her.

“Ohh.” Her tongue traveled over her lips, thirsty for him to give her more.

“See how we fit together?” His teeth pressed on his lower lip. She could tell he was holding back. “You were made for me.”

“Ohh,” she screamed. Her head thrashed to the side. She felt so full, the ache tearing at her to suck him inside her.

Her bud was pulsing, her juices hot, ready to coat his entire shaft, but he wouldn’t give it to her.

His hands slid from her knees along her thighs, until his fingers were sliding between her folds, massaging and rubbing. She tried to thrust forward and draw him inside, but Kyle was strong and held his cock exactly where he wanted it, while his fingers tortured her. The need was consuming her. She was going up in flames.

“I’m a bear, Whitney,” he growled, his eyes glowing with lust. The blue lighting with sapphire embers.

She nodded. “I know,” she moaned.

“Say it,” he commanded her. His fingers began to pry against her, rubbing her wetness against his steel rod.

“You’re a bear,” she moaned.

He flicked over her nub and she clenched at him, grasping for him to fill her, bury himself inside her.

“What do you want from me?”

“I want your bear,” she cried.

“What else?” His fingers pried wider and she knew she was dripping wet. The ache was so sweet and desperate. He had taken her so far, but there was somewhere else they could go. A place where their two bodies became one.

“I want your bear to take me.” It was sudden instinct taking hold. She knew it was what he needed to hear. She needed to say the words out loud. It sealed their bodies. Their commitment. She wasn’t going to send him away. She never would. She was his.

His sigh filled the kitchen as he plunged deep in her, pulling her ass to the edge of the counter with his strong hands.

“Oh fuck, Whit,” he roared sliding over her slit before his shaft thrust into her again.

She screamed his name, unable to control the shuddering that immediately gripped her body. He pumped against her, wrapping her legs around his waist. Her hands searched for something to cling to, but they flattened against the counter, arching her breasts toward the ceiling.

He pinched and squeezed her nipples, while she rocked into him, trying to ride the fullness of him. She loved how he touched her, forcing shocks of pleasure straight to her core. Nothing had felt like this. Her body was made for his. She knew it. His bear. The man. The Ranger.

He was possessive and powerful, taking what he wanted. She surrendered to him, knowing he was giving her his body too. He slid in and out of her, the friction heating as their sweat mingled.

Kyle began to pulse and vibrate deep inside her, giving her his magical essence in powerful jolts. “Come, Whit, come.” His mouth crushed hers as their bodies hummed and quivered. She clawed at his back, riding the pleasure as high as it would take her.

“Oh, baby,” he grunted, collapsing on top of her breasts. He nuzzled against her pink flesh, kissing her gently. “I love making you come.”

She sighed. She could feel the warmth washing through her body. His magic was like lava hot and tingly.

“I love it too.” She kissed the top of his head.

His skin was damp against hers. He rose, his hardness sliding from her. She frowned at him.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I wish you had told me sooner.” She sat forward on the counter, but Kyle stood between her legs. His hands playing with her hair.

He chuckled. “When was there time?”

She shook her head. “I don’t mean when you got back. I mean before you left.”

He cupped her face, brushing his lips against her mouth. “My bear wanted you to know. But if I didn’t come back it would have ruined your life. I couldn’t do that to you.”

She hooked her heels against his back, drawing him to her center. “I love that you wanted to protect me, but you should have told me, Kyle. I had a right to know.”

“You make it sound simple. It wasn’t an easy decision.” His eyes were dark. And she realized the pain he must have gone through leaving her behind. It was the same pain she felt without him.

“How does this work now? Are you leaving again?”

“No. I’m here.” His hand traced the curves of her neck.

“Here-here? As in, you’re staying for good?”

“Mmmhmm.” He kissed behind her ear.

“And this is where you want to stay?” Her body was tired and her muscles limp with exhaustion, but each kiss he planted lit a fire against her skin.

“The kitchen?” He waggled his eyebrows. Oh God, he couldn’t possibly think she could do that again.

“No.” She shook her head. “I meant longer than that. Oregon? The house?”

His tongue rolled over her collarbone, sliding along her breast. She looked down at him in disbelief when her nipple perked against his hot breath.

“I couldn’t think of a better place for our cubs.” He pulled it into his mouth.

“Cubs?” He had mentioned it before, but she was caught up in the moment. The moment was starting to sink in. She would be pregnant in no time at the rate they were going.

His tongue lashed against her, and she groped at his head pulling him to her. How could he have her on fire again? She was spent. Too many orgasms to count. Yet here she was craving him again. He was unreal.

He pulled away from her and grinned. “Yes, cubs. Our cubs. Our family.”

“Oh.” She looked into his eyes.

“And now that I’ve claimed you, it means I only have one mission,” he growled scooping her in his arms.

He carried her to the stairs. “What’s that?” she squealed, pretending to kick her legs in protest.

His eyes blazed with desire. “I’m taking you upstairs to show you.”