The drive home was quiet. Audrey stared out the passenger window, even though she saw very little of the scenery in the quickly darkening evening. She thought about what her parents had done. There was no way their stunt was random or by chance. It was a calculated move on their part. What they were after, she had no clue, but they wanted something.

“Are you okay?” Forrest reached over and squeezed her hand. “You’ve been really quiet.”

Audrey weakly smiled at him. “I was just thinking about what my parents pulled tonight.”

“Don’t worry about them. You’ve been a good parent to Seth,” said Forrest.

“It’s not what they said that’s bothering me. It’s more of what they didn’t say that I’m worried about. How did they even know we were at the diner?”

Forrest shrugged his shoulders. “Probably just luck.”

Audrey shook her head. “I don’t think so. They would never have stepped into the Blue Plate Diner if they weren’t up to something. They consider all diners and such to be beneath them. If it’s not a five-star luxury restaurant or resort, it’s not good enough for them. They knew we were there, and they were after something. I just don’t know what.”

Forrest stared at the road in front to them. “They also knew about Seth skipping school. Someone had to have told them. The principal maybe?”

“I know it was. All the other stuff they said about Seth was lies.”

“I assumed that,” said Forrest. He turned into her driveway and parked. “Should we go pick up Seth?”

Audrey shook her head. “He’s safe where he’s at. Teddy and his parents are lion shifters. They own the Savannah Preserve a few miles outside of town.”

“The one that rescues the large cats? How do you know they’re lion shifters?”

Audrey nodded. “Ellie, Daniel, and I attended a fundraiser before Seth was born and Misty revealed they were shifters too. Seth and Teddy are probably having fun playing video games. Misty, Teddy’s mom, is going to drop Seth off after lunch tomorrow.” She bit her bottom lip. Her heart beat sped up. “Would you like to come in?” Please say yes! She wasn’t sure if she was doing this right or not. She just didn’t want the evening to end. She wanted to be with Forrest.

Forrest frowned. “I thought you wanted to go home.”

“In a lot of ways I’m very much an introvert. I was extremely embarrassed and angry at the diner. I didn’t want to see the looks of pity. But I don’t want the evening to end.” She smiled at him. “I could make some coffee and we could talk.”

“I would like that.” Forrest was out of the truck and opening her door before she could count to two. He held his hand out.

Audrey slipped her hand into his and let him help her out of the truck. The feel of his body as she slowly slid down it sent ripples of desire shooting through her. She felt the bulge in his jeans pressing into her stomach as her feet touched the ground. Her breath caught in her throat.

Forrest let her slid down the length of his body. “Are you sure? Is this what you want?”

“Yes.” The voice that answered didn’t sound like her.

“Give me your keys.”

The deep growl in his voice sent little sparks of pleasure down her spine. Her heart sped up. She felt her panties grow damper. Audrey looked up into Forrest’s eyes. She saw the love and desire she felt mirrored in them. Heat spread through her body. Never before had she felt this way…never knew it was possible to feel this way for a man. She had wanted what her sister had with her mate, and she had found it with the man standing next to her. She just had to show him how much he meant to her. Audrey pulled her keys out of her pocket and handed them to Forrest.

He sniffed the air as he took the keys. A low rumble exploded from his chest. “Mine!” he growled.

“Yours.” Audrey knew the growl should have frightened her, but it didn’t. She knew Forrest would never do anything to hurt her. He would protect her and love her. “Take me inside.” She heard the low growls and felt the vibrations coming from him as she pressed her body against his.

Forrest unlocked the door and ushered her inside. As she dumped her purse on the table next to the door, he locked the door and tossed the keys next to her purse.

Audrey turned and looked at Forrest. She took a couple steps away from him.

He frowned. “Have you changed your mind?”

She bit her bottom lip as she shook her head.

“Then where are you going?”

“I have to tell you something before we take this to the next level.” She knew it was silly, but she was nervous, almost afraid of telling him she had no experience. She hoped he wouldn’t laugh at her.

“What is it?” He didn’t move. The scent of her fear mixed with the nervousness he saw in her body.

“I’m not afraid of you. I’m afraid you may laugh at me. It’s just that…I know the basics from reading about them but I don’t know what it’s actually like because I’ve never done it before.” The words rushed out of mouth.

Forrest blink. His lips slowly turned up into a grin. “Are you telling me that you’re a…”

“I’ve never had sex. I’ve never met anyone I wanted to share that part of me with. I know it sounds unbelievable and ridiculous especially coming from someone my age, but the thought of sleeping with a man just to be sleeping with him never appealed to me. And then I had Seth to take care of and he became my priority. Maybe I’m silly, but I want to give myself to the man who will be mine forever. I don’t need or want to sleep with anyone else. I want the kind of love my sister had with her mate. I want everything, not just the sex, though that would be good too.” She knew she must sound like a babbling idiot.

Forrest closed the small gap between them and pulled her into his arms. He crushed her against his body as his lips descended upon hers. The kiss was hard and demanding.

The ferocity of it startled Audrey, but in seconds, she melted against him and kissed him back with the same need and intensity. When he finally ended the kiss, she gasped for air as she leaned her forehead against his chest.

“Look at me.” Forrest’s voice was barely human.

Audrey slowly lifted her head. Forrest’s eyes were darker…more like those of a predator, but she saw desire in them too.

“I am honored you are giving me such a beautiful gift. My bear and I want you and only you. We want to make you happy and protect you.” He put his hand on her belly. “And if we are blessed, I want to watch you grow large with our cub.” His hand slid up to cup one of her breasts. “And then have the pleasure of watching him or her suckle at your breast. The same breasts I plan to get to know very intimately. Will you let me show you the pleasure of love and how your body was made just for me?”

Audrey throbbed with need. “Yes,” she whispered.

Forrest picked her up. “Bedroom?”

“Down the hall. Last door on the left.” Audrey wrapped her arms around his neck as he took off in the direction she had told him. She was glad she had put away all of her clothes and put clean sheets on the bed that morning.

Forrest pushed the partially opened bedroom door with his foot. Once inside the bedroom, he used his foot to push the door completely closed.

“You realize we are alone in the house,” said Audrey.

“Maybe for now, but that won’t always be the case with a teenager in the house and possibly cubs later. We might as well get used to closing it so that we have some privacy.”

“I wasn’t thinking about that.” She liked the idea of cubs running around the house.

Forrest gently put her back on her feet. He put his hands on the sides of her face and gently turned it up. He captured her lips again.

Audrey melted against him as she lost herself in the sensations he was causing. She felt his hands caressing her sides. She moaned. His lips moved from her mouth. He trailed kisses down her neck, pausing at the juncture where her shoulder and neck met. He licked and kissed the skin.

“Here I will mark you so that all shifters know you belong to me.” He picked up her left hand and brought it to his lips. “And here I will put a ring on your hand so that everyone else knows you belong to me.”

Audrey felt as if she was on fire. His caresses and kisses drove her crazy with desire. Her arms wrapped around his waist and pulled him closer. She felt the huge bulge pressing against her stomach. She reached between them and unbuttoned his shirt. When she reached his waist, she tugged at the hem that was tucked into his jeans. Realizing the shirt wasn’t coming out, she moved her hands to his belt and slowly unbuckled it.

“For someone with no experience, you know exactly what to do,” chuckled Forrest.

She looked up. “I read romance novels…a lot of romance novels and I have a drawer of toys I use to take care of myself.” She unbuttoned his jeans and grasped the zipper. “Though I may need a little help here so that I don’t damage something that I might want to play with later.”

He moved her hands from the zipper and pulled the shirt out of his pants. Two seconds later it landed on the floor behind him. “Is this what you wanted?”

Audrey’s hands glided over his abs. His muscles rippled under her hands. “Yes and more.” She pressed her lips to his stomach and trailed soft kisses across his abs. His muscles tightened her under her lips and hands. A low moan escaped from him. Audrey smiled. He was just as affected as she was.

“You have too many clothes on. Take them off before I rip them off of you,” growled Forrest.

Audrey felt a ripple of excitement surge through her body and straight to her core. The thought of Forrest ripping off her clothes excited her. A naughty thought raced through her brain causing her to smile. She took a couple of steps back. Instantly, she missed the feel of his body. She unbuttoned her blouse and let it slide off her shoulders and fall to the floor at her feet. She quickly toed off her boots.

“Black lace. Nice.” Forrest stared at her. “Do your panties match?”

“You’ll just have to wait to find out.” She reached behind her and unhooked the bra. One at a time she slid each strap off her shoulders. Audrey bit her bottom lip. She let the bra drop to the ground as she closed her eyes.

“Beautiful,” growled Forrest. “Look at me. There is the chance you could become pregnant to night.”

Audrey opened her eyes and stared nervously at her mate. Even though she felt bold and daring with him, she was also a little frightened. She wasn’t exactly a small female. She had an abundance of curves. “I know and I leave it to fate. If our family increases tonight, so be it. I’ve always wanted children so I won’t be upset if they happen to come sooner than later. Will you?”

“No, it won’t upset me. I just wanted to make sure you were okay with it.” Forrest stared at her. “I want to see the rest of you.”

She suddenly found herself laying in the middle of the bed with Forrest standing over her, but she wasn’t frightened. She was turned on.

He unfastened her jeans. “Black lacy panties. I like. Next time you can give me more of a show.” Grabbing the waistband of her jeans and panties, he stripped them off her.

The urge to hide herself suddenly overwhelmed her and her hands moved to cover herself.

“Don’t ever hide yourself from me. You are beautiful. You were made just for me,” he said as he stripped off the rest of his clothes, giving Audrey her first look at his whole naked body.

Her hands fell to her sides. She stared. He was absolutely gorgeous, and she realized he was all hers.

Forrest grinned. He moved toward her as if he were stalking his prey. In a sense, she was. He climbed onto the bed on his hands and knees. “Open your legs for me.”

The request sounded more like a command to Audrey. A command she couldn’t ignore even if she wanted to. Slowly she spread her legs.

“So beautiful.” He maneuvered his body until he was positioned between her legs. Gently he caressed each leg and brushed his hands over her mound, teasing her with his touch. He bent down and positioned his shoulders under her knees, spreading them even further apart, and giving him access to the sweet honey he had been smelling all evening.

He caressed her mound and teased the lips. He slipped his thumb between her damp folds and gently teased the small bundle of nerves hidden there, causing her to moan with pleasure. He applied more pressure and slipped a finger deep inside her. Her muscles tightened around him as her pleasure built. Forrest pulled his finger out and tasted the raw honey. He growled. Using his tongue, he teased and tasted his mate.

Audrey gasped and moaned as the intensity of her pleasure grew. Suddenly a wave of molten hot pleasure crashed over her. Audrey’s body arched up and bucked against him. His deep growl vibrating against her most intimate parts sent her muscles into spasms as she called out his name. Audrey gasped for air. She trembled as her body slowly recovered.

Forrest slowly kissed his way up her body. As he reached her breasts she tried touching him, but he took her hands and pinned them over her head.

Audrey whimpered a protest.

Forrest nipped her bottom lip. “You will get your chance to touch and explore, but not tonight. Tonight is all about you.” He turned his attention back to the beautiful mounds that would one day nourish his cubs. He suckled one and then the other. Lavishing both with the attention they deserved.

Audrey gasped as she felt another wave of pleasure slowly building inside her. “I can’t.”

“Yes you can,” he said as he captured her lips again. He let her hands go and moved the broad head of his cock to rest at her opening. “Do you accept me as your mate?”

Audrey opened her eyes and stared into Forrest’s face. “Yes. I accept you as my mate, my friend, my lover, and the father of our cubs. Now and forever.” She never wanted anything more in her life than the man in front of her.

“Now and forever. You are my mate, my friend, my lover, and the mother of our cubs. You are mine!” Forrest slowly pushed into her warm depths.

Her muscles tightened around the unfamiliar invasion. She felt him pause, giving her body a chance to become accustomed to his body’s intrusion into hers. The pleasure filled pain was almost unbearable. Instinctively she knew she needed more…wanted more. She needed him to move inside her.

Forrest felt her wrap her legs around him as she tried pulling him deeper, and he knew she was ready. He pulled back and slowly pushed deeper inside her. He continued until he was completely inside her.

Audrey moaned as her muscles stretched and tightened around him. She felt full and complete for the first time, but her body seemed to know there was more. She arched her hips against him.

Feeling her move, Forrest knew she was ready. Gently he withdrew and pushed back, causing Audrey to sigh with pleasure. Spurred on by her pleasure filled mewling, he thrusted deep into her body and pulled almost out only to repeat the process over and over.

Pleasure bloomed in Audrey, building until she screamed Forrest’s name as another orgasm crashed over her like a tidal wave. Feeling her shatter around him, Forrest’s fangs descended as his bear pushed forward to claim its mate. He bit deep into her shoulder.

Audrey gasped at the stinging pain, but it quickly gave way to another intense wave of pleasure that rippled through her body. As her pleasure slowly waned, Forrest found his release. She didn’t know how it was possible but more ripples of pleasure caused her womb to spasm as she felt the warmth of his release inside her.

As they clung to each other, Forrest licked the wound he had created on her shoulder. After the wound closed, he kissed her. “That was…”

“…beautiful,” she finished and kissed him back.

Forrest gently got up.

“The bathroom is over there.” Audrey tried to hide a yawn.

Smiling, Forrest disappeared into the bathroom. He returned with a warm wet cloth only to find Audrey already asleep. Gently he cleaned her and took the washcloth back to the bathroom. After making sure the house was secure, Forrest climbed into bed with his mate and tucked her against him. His bear yawned and chuffed. For the first time in a long time, both man and bear were at ease with each other, and it was because they finally had their mate next to them.