“Just tell me why you have it?” she whined.

“Fine, I’ll tell you over dinner.”

“Is it already dinner time?”

“You slept until afternoon. I was out looking for your drowned rat for five hours.”

“Well, you see. I have an excuse for prying. I was going stir crazy in here.”

“Not an excuse,” he growled, still angry that she’d touched his mom’s things.

She sighed and put her hands on her hips, stepping back to look down at his still-firm erection.

“So, what’s for dinner? More gamy meat or fat-fried mushrooms?”

“What do you expect? We’re on top of a mountain in the middle of a snow storm!” This woman was as exasperating as she was sexy. He wasn’t sure he could handle much more of either.

“Don’t be so ornery. I just asked a question.”

“A silly question from a…”

“Silly girl,” she finished for him.

Cyrus’s mouth dropped open. That was exactly what he was about to say.

“Don’t think I don’t know what you think of me, Mountain Bear. And all I have to say is that you don’t look any less silly from where I’m standing.”

She pointedly looked at his nakedness and he turned away.

“I’m not used to guests,” he grumbled, going to pull on the clothes he’d carried in with Fifi.

“You see, you’ve been out here so long, you don’t even know how to act like a person anymore. That’s why you should leave my decorating alone. It will get you in touch with your human side.” Part of him knew she was right and it hit him right in the gut.

“I don’t want to be in touch with my human side. It ruins everything.”

“I’m not commenting on that one,” she said, walking toward the fireplace.

She’d kept the fire burning while he’d been gone and had even polished off the mushrooms he’d fried hours ago.

“If you hate my food so much, why did you eat all the mushrooms?” he asked, pointing at the empty pan.

“I was hungry. I had to eat something. So, you know now that I’m speaking from experience.”

He turned away and walked outside into the cold air. It was still snowing hard outside, piling up against the cabin. He pulled open the door on his cold storage and stepped down into the cellar.

He’d caught three rabbits yesterday morning before Daisy had arrived and would feed her that for dinner. He grabbed a handful of potatoes, onions and garlic squash, from his last harvest and carried it all inside.

He put it on his work bench where he prepared his meals and did his carving. He quickly dressed the rabbits, covering them in salt and deer fat before skewering them on the spit. He placed the rabbits over the fire, sliced the potatoes, onions, and garlic. He dropped it all in a broth he’d made from last night’s leftover roast.

“That smells good,” she said, sitting at the table behind him. “I’m sorry for giving you a hard time. I’m still tired, I guess.”

He looked her in the eye and she smiled. His heart melted.

“It’ll be ready in a minute and then we’ll talk.”

He ladled the rabbit stew into bowls and sat them on either side of the table. When he was done dishing up the food, he grabbed a bottle of moonshine from the shelf above his workbench.

“Have some of this. It’s homemade liquor.”

“Really?” she asked, smelling the cup.

Her nose wrinkled and she shook her head.

“It’ll grow on you,” he said. “Cheers.”

They clinked glasses. Daisy took a sip and made the same disgusted expression. Cyrus laughed and took a long draw himself, feeling the burn slide down his throat. It warmed his stomach and made him smile. Daisy took a drink of water and dipped her spoon into her stew. Cyrus waited for her to take a bite. She blew on the spoonful of stew and took a tentative bite of squash. Her eye widened and she took another.

“This is good,” she said, scooping up a potato.

“Try the rabbit.”

She took a nibble of the lean, dark meat and nodded.

“That’s good too.”

“Glad you like it.”

This little princess was growing on him and his inner grizzly agreed. He looked over at Fifi, lying on the bed. He made a kissing sound and the dog hopped up and ran over to him. He gave her a few small bits of stew too, and the little thing wagged her tiny cropped tail. Even her dog was growing on him.

“You’re so sweet to Fifi,” Daisy said.

“We made friends while we were in the woods.” He smiled down at the tiny creature.

“Oh really? How so?”

“I tracked her down in grizzly form, and then I spoke to her.”

“You spoke to Fifi?”

“During my time in the woods, I’ve been perfecting my animal intuition. It’s much deeper than most shifters realize. I’m on the brink of breaking through while in human form.”

“Animal intuition?”

“It’s something like the psychic bond that mates share. But it’s a bond with the entire world. It’s like shifter senses on hyper drive until it’s extrasensory. I was able to have a kind of extrasensory communication with Fifi. I let her know I was there to help her. That there were things in the woods who would not be her friends, but that I was. Finally, she stopped barking and relented. She let me carry her all the way home in human form.”

“I’m so glad you guys made friends,” Daisy said, gazing down her little dog. “That means a lot to me. Now, will you tell me why you have your mother’s things?” she said, palms open.

He let out a long sigh. She was his fated mate, no matter how wrong they seemed to be for each other. He had to tell her. They’d made a deal.

“My mom died a long time ago. When I was ten. My brother Jessie was eight. There was a pretty bad accident. It took Jessie a long time to get over it. When we all got back from serving in the war, the ranch was a mess. My dad was in bad shape, fallen into gambling debt. Everyone was fighting. That’s when I decided to take to the woods. But I wanted to take some of my mother’s family heirlooms. I didn’t want my stepdad to pawn them.”

“What about the fabric and dress?” she asked. “Those aren’t heirlooms, are they?”

“Not really. They just reminded me of her. She kept the family together. Dad had to raise us alone after she died, and he was a hard man. Not used to giving his heart to his children. But we got what we needed in the end. He never recovered from her death. It hit him worse than anyone, even Jessie.”

“That’s so sad,” Daisy said, a tear forming in her eye. “I guess that’s something we have in common. I lost my mom when I was a kid too, about the same age as you. My stepdad, you know what he’s like. But I don’t think he suffered a single day from my mom’s death.”

“That must have been really hard on you,” he said, sympathetically.

He didn’t realize she’d lost her mom so young. It made him feel connected to her in a whole new way.

“It was, but my stepdad let me lose myself in my pastimes. Shopping, horseback riding, hanging out with my friends. He didn’t make a big deal of her death to me and kind of just expected me to get over it. I don’t know if I have yet, but I’m much stronger now than I was when I was twelve.”

“You are a strong woman, Daisy,” Cyrus said, truly seeing it for the first time.

The more he thought about it, the more he began to believe that maybe he could make her happy. He was committed to his work on the mountain, but Daisy made him believe that maybe there could be another way.

“I’ve never had anyone call me strong before,” she said with a giggle, taking another swig of liquor from her cup.

“Well, you are.”

“Thanks. Same to you,” she said, winking and standing in the velvet dress.

She swished around in the skirt, twirling to make it fan out around her. He’d never seen such a lovely sight. It made his cock stiffen and his inner grizzly rear on his hind legs.

Cyrus stood from his chair and crossed the room to Daisy. Gathered her in his arms and pulled her to him. She looked up at him, her eyes wide, her mouth open.

"Cyrus," she said softly.

Cyrus’s inner grizzly growled, filled with burning need. He couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so hot. Daisy was bringing this side out of him.

“Daisy," he growled. "I need you."

"Cyrus," she breathed. "I never."

He pulled her tighter, feeling his hands slide over the velvet of her dress.

"It's been a long time for me," he purred.

His cock was rock hard and pressed against her soft round stomach. He threaded his fingers through the hair at the back of her head and tilted her face up to him, cupping her cheek in his hand.

"I'm going to kiss you now, Daisy," he said, his grizzly burning through his eyes.

"Yes," she said in a small whisper.

He cut her off before the last letter, pressing his lips against hers. He'd never wanted anything so badly. His work in the woods, his time away from civilization, all these things seemed small compared to the gaping need he felt for Daisy.

She was a powerful woman under the trappings of a spoiled rich girl. Daisy was unlike any woman he'd ever met. Sassy, sweet and determined enough to act when she needed to. She had taken a chance by fleeing her stepfather, a choice she’d never be able to take back.

As he kissed her more deeply, thoughts of her stepfather bled from his mind. All he wanted was to possess her, to know her, and to taste her sweet kiss forever. He would do anything to keep her with him, to put a cub in her belly.

His tongue slid through her lips, tasting her mouth. She was so innocent. Daisy took a deep breath through her nose and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He knew that she wanted him as much he wanted her.

He wrapped one arm around her waist and grasped her hand as he stepped with her into an impromptu dance.

“We don’t have any music,” she giggled as she stepped with him across the wooden floor of the cabin with the firelight glowing in her eyes.

“All we need is the rhythm of our hearts.”