He collapsed on top of her and nuzzled her. She wrapped her arms around him and waited for her heart rate to return to normal.
“Are you okay?” he whispered when he raised his head. “I don’t usually do that. You just sort of drove me crazy,” he admitted.
She bit her lip. “You didn’t hurt or scare me at all.”
Relief swept through him, and he nuzzled her neck. She’d been everything he’d hoped and more. And if she still thought this was just going to be a one-night stand, she had another thing coming.
He’d understood that she was scared, and he’d kept his distance. Part of it was frustration. Just seeing her was enough to push him over the edge. But he didn’t understand why she was scared. Usually, when a shifter found a mate, it was easy and seamless. But she’d literally run in the opposite direction.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked quietly.
“I’m just trying to wrap my head around it, that’s all. I’ve been here for less than a week. Ending up in the landlord’s bed wasn’t exactly the plan.”
He laughed. “If it makes you feel any better, you’re the first tenant I’ve ever slept with.” He raised his head to study her. “You’re the first woman I’ve ever slept with in this town. You feel this connection, right?”
She stilled under him, and suddenly he realized the problem. She knew she was his mate, and it terrified her. “Can we just take this one step at a time,” she said hesitantly.
“It doesn’t work that way, Sage. It’s meant to be intense. It’s meant to bind a couple instantly and forever. Why does that scare you?”
She pushed at him, and he rolled off. She gathered the sheets up under her armpits and sat up. “First off, why wouldn’t that scare someone? I don’t know you. I’m human. I don’t share my body with another soul, so when I feel something like this, it’s intense and overwhelming. You grow up knowing that you’ll find your mate. I’m told I’m someone’s mate, and it takes me two years to realize that it’s not true.”
He felt a streak of anger inside him. “Your ex told you that you were his mate?” he asked in a dangerous voice. It was bad enough that sleeping with a shifter was the new trend, but to have a shifter lie about the emotional bond that connected a shifter and a mate? That was sacrilegious.”
She laughed shortly. “I know it sounds ridiculous. It’s so different than what I feel with you. I should have known right away, but he was handsome and charming. He wouldn’t leave me alone, and then he was controlling and manipulative. It wasn’t until I found out he was cheating that I knew for certain he’d been lying this whole time.”
She turned to him. “Davis, that was less than a month ago. So yes, what I feel, right now, scares me.”
“But you do feel it,” he said as he sat up and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m not trying to force it on you, Sage. I want you to come to the decision on your own. You feel it. I’m not telling you that you feel it.”
“Yes,” she whispered as she relaxed against him. “I felt it the moment I saw you.”
He smiled and kissed the top of her forehead. “You were so mean to me.”
She laughed. “You started it.”
“I felt it too. I thought for certain that I was wrong. I always thought I’d be paired with some docile little thing. You’re enough to scare the lion inside me. You always tame him, though. No one has ever done that.”
“What am I supposed to do?” she said quietly.
“You don’t have to do anything. Just let me love you. Let me know when you are ready. Then marry me and spend the rest of your life with me.”
She laughed, and he smiled. He’d spend the rest of his life making her laugh. “Oh sure. I just have to marry you. Nothing big.”
He settled back down in the bed and cradled her as she rested her head on his chest. This felt so right. Being inside her felt right. Having her in his arms felt right. “What do you want to do? I want to do this right so you don’t pack up your stuff and leave me.”
“I don’t think I could leave you even if I tried,” she whispered. She pressed her lips to his chest, and he felt himself stirring. After all that, he was still ready for her. “I’m nervous, but it has nothing to do with you. I’m not second-guessing you. I feel safe in your arms, but what if I mess this up? What if I’m just some shifter groupie, and your misreading all the signs?”
He stroked her hair. “There is no misreading you. And if you give me the chance, I’ll prove it to you.”
After a few moment of silence, she spoke again. “I’m still scared, but I want to hear you say it.”
He smiled. “I love you, Sage West. You’re meant to be with me. You’re my mate. You’re my happily ever after.”
She smiled and slung a leg around his. “I thought I would freak out, but I liked hearing it.” She propped herself up and stared at him.
“And how do you feel about me?”
“I love you, Davis Weathers. You’re meant to be mine. You’re my soul mate. You’re my happily ever after.”
Hearing those words made him growl and lift his head to claim her kiss. After a moment, she broke apart. Breathless. “So this is it?”
“This is it,” he murmured. His sex twitched against her leg, and her eyes widened.
“Already?”
“ It’s your own fault. You’re just so damn sexy.”
She licked her lips hungrily, and he laughed. “Clearly you have no issues with that.”
“Mine,” she said possessively as she straddled him. “Forever.”
“Forever,” he agreed, and soon she was riding him back to heaven.
They were married within a month, and her store opened with great success. She knew without a doubt that every part of her life had led up to this. Had she never spent so much time with Connor, she never would have run so far away. She would have never run into the arms of her true mate.
Sage Weathers. She was loved and protected. She loved and protected. And she was happy.
THE END