Zara’s eyes were on Finley as her back rested against the headboard. He’d positioned himself at the middle of the bed, using the wall to support his body. He’d set the pizza box between them, then grabbed her legs and draped them over his lap like it was a normal, everyday occurrence for them. She didn’t have to try hard to get a read on him. He looked like the cat that swallowed the canary. He was grinning at her and occasionally throwing her a wink. He was eating his pizza at an alarming rate. He was also talking. He was telling her about his family. His cousins and brothers and their mates sounded great. The way Fin talked, they sounded like they all loved and supported each other.

Zara chewed her pizza, enjoying the garlic cloves that were roasted to perfection. She wanted him to keep talking so she could continue to sort through her emotions.

Finley had flipped her world upside down. Scratch seeing a bear in a restaurant bathroom of the invisible list. Cross off a man telling her that he loves her and wants to be hers forever.

But what Finley had done in that bedroom, on the bed they were still sitting on was not what she was expecting at all. Fin was so sweet, he was thoughtful. He always had a smile on his face. He was quick to grin. It was one of the things that made her trust him the first time they met.

His smile was always genuine.

Except when they were in bed. He didn’t smile then. He looked feral. He was strong, assertive, and aggressive in a way that had made her burn.

And she burned hotter than she had ever experienced before. It was almost like they were meant for each other. She couldn’t shake the feeling of connection with him.

She also couldn’t believe that she’d had sex with him without protection. She was going to be a medical student for fuck’s sake. It just seemed like a good idea at the time. She didn’t want anything between them and she’d never done that with anyone. So, in a way, he was her first.

“You’re just letting me do all the talking?”

“I like hearing about your family. It’s interesting.”

“Oh, they’re interesting all right. Nosy and loving at the same time.”

“Mmm-hmm,” she muttered while still chewing.

“Why are you looking at me like you’ve never seen me before?”

“Because I had never met that guy in the bed before. He was… someone else.”

Finley dropped the slice he was eating and wiped his hands. “Did I scare you?”

Zara paused briefly. “No… ”

“Did I do anything you didn’t like?”

“Making me wait to come forever. Didn’t dig that.”

“Really? You didn’t?”

Zara wanted to lie but the long drawn out sequence of events made her have the most amazing, powerful, and by far the longest orgasm she had ever had. It was something she really wanted to do again, and again.

“At the time, no I didn’t like it. After, yes.”

“Do you want me to change the way I did anything today?”

She took a bite of her pizza so she wouldn’t have to answer right away. Swallowing she said, “No.”

“I think we are both going to be very happy then. So, when do I get to meet your parents?”

“When do I get to meet yours?” She figured turning the tables might buy her some time.

“When do you want to? We can go out there this weekend. Or I can have them come into town. You know maybe we should do that. Have a little introductory dinner. Just my immediate family. Not the whole clan. We’d have to rent a ballroom for that.”

“You’re joking, right?”

“Only a little. If you count my clan, the clans in Canada, plus the cat and wolf packs. We’ve got some intermingling of the species going on so there is some overlap.”

“Yeah, I’m not gonna ask about that.”

“Save it for later when we run out of things to talk about.”

Zara almost choked on her bite. “You really think with your life, we’ll ever run out of things to talk about?”

“What about your life? Every day is going to be an adventure for you. Just the next few years you’re going to be learning so much. Did I tell you I have a cousin that’s a doctor? He’s a little weird, but you’ll like him, everyone does.”

“Is there anything your family doesn’t do?”

Fin pondered for a moment. “We tend to stay away from politics. Too much digging into your personal life. Outside of that, we have the luxury of doing what our hearts truly desire.”

“Must be nice. I don’t think my parents would have been happy unless I was a doctor or a lawyer. Well, that’s not true. If my mother could have married me off at eighteen and already had a couple of grandbabies, she might have been a little bit happier.”

“I want kids. Just not yet. My bear, he wanted cubs yesterday. Me? I can wait.”

“I’m sorry, cubs?”

“Dominant DNA wins out, I’m afraid. We will have cubs.”

“You mean little babies that can turn into bears?”

“You have to meet Jett and Axel. They win everyone over. But we don’t have to worry about that for years.”

Easy for him to say. Zara took a huge bite of pizza and chewed. Bear cubs. That would make sense. She hadn’t really thought about how they grew up and become who they are. That brought up a question.

“Wouldn’t your parents want you to find someone more like you? Another shifter to mate with?”

Finley gave a shrug. “Mating with a shifter makes the secret part of the relationship a non-issue. But the Fates put people in our lives for a reason. There is something about you that I need. Something that completes me. The Fates, the universe if you will, have decided that I’m exactly what you need. Maybe we don’t know what that is right now, but it will become apparent in the future.”

Zara didn’t want to say that maybe the Fates were just matching them up sexually. That was hands down a solid match in her opinion, but she kept that to herself.

“So what do you think about dinner?”

“Dinner? The pizza? It’s great. I love it.”

“Good, but I meant meeting my family? I’ll arrange something private. Just us, they would love to meet you.”

Zara didn’t know how all of this worked. What if they didn’t like her? What if they thought these Fates had screwed up?

“They will love you,” he said as if he could read her mind.

“How do you know?”

“Because you were picked for me, just like their mates were chosen for them. They’ll understand my love for you. They won’t question it or doubt it for a moment.”

Zara wished her parents would trust her judgment like that. Believe that she could find the right person for herself and her future. She really wished they trusted her because she was starting to realize that Finley Rochon was that person.