With Boone settled on the bed beside her, Willa relaxed against the cool hospital sheets. Even though she still had her clothes on, the air-conditioning in the hospital was as relaxing as she could hope for. The heat from the concrete outside of Cage’s home had almost baked her to a crisp, but Boone’s presence did more to calm her than all the cool air in the hospital.

She looked up into his concerned gaze and smiled. “You’re so beautiful.”

Even with the bare-bones lighting from the wall behind her she saw him blush.

“I’m a guy, Willa.”

“So?” She laid her palm on his knee and sighed as his muscles tensed under her touch. “I see you and I think that you’re a beautiful man, Boone. What you do for others? How you treat the people around you. You may be mind-blowingly sexy on the outside, but you are a beautiful soul and the thought that you love me, of all the other women in the world? I am so blessed.”

“Baby, I-”

She gave his knee a squeeze and heard a deep growl roll from his throat. “My turn.”

Boone took in a few breaths before he nodded, his heat rolling over her as she laid in the bed.

“I loved my job at the diner. I love caring for others and the kind words and gestures from my customers made every day a joy. But Charlie wasn’t a part of that. I hoped that as time went by, he’d see me as more than just a short-order cook. We were supposed to be a couple, but we’d just settled into a routine. I did the work and he planned ahead. I just didn’t realize how much those plans had nothing to do with me.

“When I met you, my world changed.” Her eyes filled with tears and Boone leaned forward and used his thumbs to smooth away the tears that rolled onto her cheeks. She smiled her thanks. “You were warm and gentle, so sexy I thought I’d melt. And when you looked at me, I felt like you saw me… the real me… and you wanted that. And yet,” she drew in a breath, shaking ever so slightly, “I didn’t trust it. I couldn’t. I felt like it was… lightning in a bottle. A vacation fling, not just for you, but both of us, so I came here to Sylvan City to find out. And it’s been a dream come true-”

“Until you ended up in the Emergency Room.”

She gave his leg a reassuring pat. “Even then.” Willa’s soft sigh worked its way through her body. “Meeting Brendan. Trying to help him, even when I fell flat on my face, I understood so much more about you. Those boys… they made me smile from the first moment I met them and maybe this is silly to say, and I’m sure that most people would say I’m certifiable for even thinking it.

“I still don’t understand everything about being your mate, but I want to. I want you, Boone. And I meant it when I said, ‘I love you.’ I feel it deep down inside of me and I have no idea how or when it found its way in past all the walls that I’ve been building up inside, but it is there. It says you’re the one for me.

“My knife skills have always been better than my emotional ones, but I’m hoping I have a quick learning curve because you and the boys deserve nothing better than my best.” She swallowed hard and blew out a hesitant breath as she turned her hand over on his knee and bared her palm to him. “So, if you haven’t changed your mind. If the offer is still open,” she blinked back the misty tears in her eyes and looked straight into his gaze, “take me home… to our home, and show me what it’s like to be truly yours.”

She felt him shudder through his touch on the back of her hand, watched his throat work through a tight swallow, his Adam’s apple bobbing ever so slightly. She felt a heat crawl over her body from his and saw his eyes shift from his human gaze to the inky black intensity of his bear.

To say it was surreal to feel both souls sitting beside her, their combined heartbeats echoing in her ears as clearly as the monitor beside her, was absolutely true, but she didn’t try to explain it away or wait for it to fade.

She knew exactly how she felt and she just had to wait to hear from him.

And yet, he still hadn’t said a word.

He covered her hand with his, threaded his fingers through hers, warmed her all over with a simple touch.

“I just have one question for you.”

Swallowing, she managed to nod when her voice failed her.

“Do they have anything connected to you?” She blinked at him, confused. “Leads? A cuff of some kind?”

She looked down at her body to refresh her memory and then shook her head. “The doctor was just waiting for you to come to release me.”

A slow, delicious smile tugged at his lips as he leaned closer. “That’s exactly what I was hoping for.”

Letting go of her hand for a moment, he took hold of the top edge of her blanket, and left it in a pile at the foot of the hospital bed.

Moving back to her side he leaned over and slid one hand under her knees and the other one under her back. “We, my love, are going home.” He picked her up with ease, drawing her against his chest to press a kiss on her forehead. “I hope you don’t mind if we turn tonight into pizza night?”

She flushed, her cheeks full of embarrassed heat. “Not a problem for me. I won’t be able to cook for a few days-”

“Hey, hey,” he gently shushed her, “you were attacked today, and even if you weren’t, you’re not a servant, you’re family. We’ll all take turns at things because that’s what we do.” Shouldering through the curtain he stepped out into the main area of the ER and Willa found herself the center of attention as a clutch of nurses turned to sigh and ‘aww’ over the sweet scene.

The doctor gave her the release paperwork and her prescription from the hospital pharmacy for her pain pills. “I’d tell you to take it easy, but it looks like your man here has that under control.” Then, the doctor gave her a gentle pat on her shoulder. “You stay well, Willa. Don’t go running into any more knives or fences, hmm?”

“I’ll do my best.”

Cage was waiting outside and gave Willa a half-a-smile. “Glad you’re okay.”

She smiled. “Thanks.”

“Because if you weren’t, Boone would have killed me, and I’ve got stuff to live for-” he began to growl as one corner of his upper lip curled back to reveal a fang. “Damn it. What’s wrong with me?”

He shuddered, and she tried not to laugh. Cage seemed honestly upset about his circumstances. Boone didn’t seem to care and chuckled at his friend’s dilemma earning him a growl from the jaguar.

“I should just walk away, but I promised your platoon of testosterone producers that I’d let you know they went home, by way of some kind of pizza joint.”

Willa felt worry clutch at her heart. “What about Brendan?”

Cage pounded his fist over his heart. “I swear it feels like indigestion, all of these emotions.” He gave Willa a dire look. “It’s your fault. You saved the boy, now all of Boone’s other castoffs have taken him in.”

Relieved that Brendan hadn’t left, she narrowed her eyes at Cage. “Cage Gamble, you may be so rough around the edges that you’d scare most other people, but I’ve seen the heart behind the growl, so while I like you… don’t you ever call my boys castoffs ever again.”

One brow raised over a saturnine eye. “Well, hell… look at you, mama bear.” He gave her a wink and walked away.

Boone hugged her closer and pressed a kiss to the crown of her head. “I love you, woman.”

She smoothed her hand over his chest and felt the heavy thump of his heart against her cheek. “Not as much as I love you, Boone Wayland. Take me home.”

His words growled from his throat. “Yes, Ma’am.”

* * *

The boys were so well behaved when they got home that Willa was almost sure they were planning something, but all it took to distract her was a plate full of pizza and a cool glass of iced tea.

Brendan found a seat beside her on the sectional sofa and enjoyed a couple glasses of soda. The boy fit right in and after a call from Boone to Brendan’s group home, they agreed to let him stay over until an appointment could be made with the Sylvan City Child Protective Services to make the move permanent.

If Willa was worried that the other boys wouldn’t take to Brendan, that was all put to rest when they seamlessly folded him into their ranks and when dinner was over, the boys announced that they were going camping and had provided Brendan with his own sleeping bag, blanket, and pillow so he could join them in the larger group tents that two of the older boys were packing out.

One by one, the boys came by the couch and leaned over the back to brush a kiss on Willa’s cheek and say their ‘good nights.’

Moments later it was near silent in the house. The sudden change drew Willa’s attention to the man seated beside her. “Why do I feel like this is all a dream and they’re about to run back in here and pile up for a movie?”

Boone smoothed her hair back from her forehead. “I think they wanted to give us a little privacy.”

Her face paled, the blood draining away from the surface of her skin. “You think they knew that I… that we…”

He leaned closer and his lips brushed against the shell of her ear. “I think anyone with eyes knew that we needed some time to ourselves. The boys are just trying to help out as well as they can. They’re happy that you and I found each other.”

He brushed his closely cropped beard against the sensitive skin behind her ear and she melted against him even more. “I’m pretty happy we found each other too.” She turned slightly, and reached her hands out toward him.

“Hey,” he pulled away slightly, “rest that arm of yours.” His grin was towering above her. “Just let me take care of you, Willa.”

She lowered her bandaged arm and gave him a sweet smile. “Then take me upstairs to our room, my love. Make me your-”

Before she finished her sentence, Boone had her in his arms. But unlike their departure from the hospital earlier, he held her against him, her legs wrapped around his waist, his hands holding tight to her backside and his mouth dancing along the line of her shoulder as she clung to him with her good arm around his neck.

The difference in their embrace made all the difference. Her skirt lifted up to her midthigh, and the worn denim of his jeans lightly brushed against the backs of her calves. The tracing touches of his beard against the sensitive skin along her collarbone had her moaning into his ear.

“Faster, Boone, I don’t want to wait.”

How could he tell her no?

He would thank his bear later on, but for the moment, he tapped into their combined strength and speed to get her up into their room. When Boone set her down on her feet, they were blissfully alone.

Her bare feet on the rug, her toes bumping against his as his hands touched her shoulders and then slipped down her arms until he had her close enough that he could breathe her into his lungs.

There was no mistaking the scent of her arousal mingled with his. His hunger was matched only by his need to make her happy… and making her happy was going to be his pleasure.

He looked down into her beautiful upturned face and took her face into his warm hands. “Tell me, love… what brings you pleasure?” She blinked back at him. “Where do you like to be touched?”

Boone watched an odd shadow pass over her features. “No one’s ever asked me before.” She drew in a long breath. “I don’t think they ever cared.”

“This is us, Willa. I’m always going to care about you.” He leaned down and brushed his lips over hers. “I want to feel you come apart in my arms. I want you breathless and quivering against me. And I want your body so spent that all you can do is smile and let me love you over and over again.”

Tears coursed down her face as a quivering smile played over her lips. “Just hearing how much you care… makes me ache for you, Boone. Don’t make me wait.” She stepped forward and pressed every possible inch of her body against his. “Touch me,” she rubbed her cheek against his chest, “taste me,” she turned and used her teeth to nip at his shirt and the heated flesh beneath before she sagged against him, melting into his embrace, “take your pleasure and give me the joy of feeling you inside me.”

“I thought I couldn’t love you more, Willa… but I do. Imagine what it will feel like tomorrow? Or the day after?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but he couldn’t let her, he couldn’t wait. He kissed her over and over, stripping her bare before him with gentle but insistent hands.

His palms smoothed over her lush curves, cradling her breasts in his hands before brushing his thumbs over her nipples. They shared a groan as her flesh tightened and pebbled under his gentle exploration.

Boone looked up hoping to see her eyes and the emotion behind them, but her eyes were closed, her mouth gently opened on a sigh.

“You’re beautiful, love,” he got down on his knees and wrapped his lips around one nipple, laving his tongue over her tightened flesh. She leaned into him as he suckled against the generous swell of her breast. Just the slightest hint of his teeth against her skin sent sensations through both of their bodies. He could smell the liquid need painting the aching flesh between her legs and he felt the answering twitch of his cock pushing against the zipper of his jeans.

He moved his mouth into the valley of her breasts and placed a kiss over her heart and the rapid pulse of her heartbeat travel deep within his chest and pounded out a perfect counterpoint to his own.

When he drew her other nipple into the heat of his mouth, her knees started to give, but he wasn’t going to let her fall. Not like this.

His hands on her hips, he held her in place while he tasted and loved her breast, his tongue paying homage to the beauty of her naked flesh.

She touched the side of his face with her hand, her fingers scrubbing through his short-cropped hair, her nails sending shivers through his body.

“Boone,” her breathless plea stilled his movements.

He looked up at her and saw her face peering down into his. From that angle and the lengthening shadows in the room her eyes nearly looked like the same inky darkness of his own when his bear was ready to burst free.

And the beast wanted to see her beneath them, wild with their loving.

“Tell me, Willa. What do you want?”

“I need you inside me, Boone… please don’t make me wait any longer.”

Like he could refuse her anything.

Making sure she could stand on her own, he got to his feet and took a step back, loving the way her eyes followed his every movement as if she was the predator now… and he was the prey.

It only made him harder. It made him need her even more.

His hands made quick work of his clothes, stripping them from his body and dropping them carelessly at his feet. He didn’t need to see what he was doing, he needed to see her eyes on him. And what a show it was.

She wanted him, this amazing woman’s body spoke volumes.

Her eyes ate him up. Her breath quickened and panted between her lips. The tight press of her thighs loosened, and he smelled the rush of arousal painting the lush canvas of her inner thighs.

Lifting one hand, he wrapped his fingers around the base of his erection and slowly drew his fist up to the head of his cock. He passed his thumb over the tip and felt the liquid swipe of his precum coat the head.

When Willa licked her plush lips, he couldn’t wait a moment longer.

He wasn’t a cat, so he couldn’t pounce, but his bear was more than nimble enough to lift her from the floor as he turned and sat down on the bottom edge of their bed.

She straddled her legs over his lap and he saw the slight frown that passed over her gorgeous features.

“What’s the matter, love?”

“I want to touch you,” she licked her lips, “I want to feel you in my hand.” She raised herself up on her knees and reached for his cock.

His hand wrapped around her wrist. “Not this time, Willa. If you touch me now, I’ll cum all over you like it’s my first time, and while I’d be happy to do that later, I want inside you too.”

She withdrew her hand, but before she could lower herself back down to his thighs he stopped her with a hand on her hip.

The frustration on her features made him smile.

“Trust me, Willa.”

She took in a long breath and nodded her head, her flaxen waves bobbing around her face. When she stopped and looked into his eyes he touched her and made her tremble.

Boone trailed his thick fingers through the liquid heat between her legs, the callused skin brushing through her curls and into the wet folds of her body.

“Oh,” was all that she could manage until he rubbed the tip of one finger against her clit, and then she found her voice, “inside me. Please, Boone, I need you inside me-”

He worked his fingers against her folds, inside her folds, cupping her heated sex in his palm. “I am inside you, Willa.” He watched her skin flush with arousal and he couldn’t believe his amazing luck. She was so damn beautiful every moment of the day, but on the verge of an orgasm?

She was a goddess and she owned him completely.

“No, Boone.” Her eyes opened and met his gaze with a desperate fire. “I want your cock inside me. I want to feel myself stretch around you and feel your release.”

This was a different Willa. The woman he’d fallen in love with had so many sides. The gentle heart, the giver, the lover, but being pinned under her heated gaze he knew she was a huntress, and a force of nature.

He loved her to the marrow of his bones.

Boone took hold of her hips, growling deep inside his chest as he lifted her high onto his thighs. The tip of his erection slipped between her thighs, felt the liquid heat of her arousal sweep over his aching flesh. “Yes, Willa. I need to get inside of you so badly.”

She canted her hips and tore an oath from his lips.

“Take me in your hand, my love. Guide me home.”

He felt her hand wrap around his length, her fingers not quite stretching around his girth. She fit the thick head of his erection against the folds that protected the most private part of her body, and her body welcomed him with an eager stretch of her flesh.

His petite mate with her full curves didn’t need any more prompting. She sank down over him as his hips rose up to meet her.

Together, their lips melded together in a kiss as they joined their bodies until he felt the soft caress of her curls against the scratch of his. They drank each other’s sighs, and fed each other the gentle invasion of their tongues. They melded together every inch of their bodies that they could manage and chased their mutual hunger, the tightened tips of her breasts rubbing against his chest with every stroke of his body inside of hers.

She rose and fell against him, over him, pulling him into her body, demanding his love and he gave her everything he had.

He felt the way her body grasped at his, felt the push of her need through their connection both in flesh and spirit, and he gave it back to her. His glorious mate rode her passion and his body as if they’d been loving each other for a lifetime.

A hitch in her breathless sighs had him tensing under her.

“Boone?”

“Yes, my love?”

“I’m so close!”

Oh, he knew, but hearing it on her lips made him harder than stone and that much more determined to bind her to him.

“Let me give you my life, Willa. Take my love, let me have yours, too.”

She cried out, her back arching on the upstroke of his sex, descending one last time with a groan that tore through both of their bodies.

Just as she reached the bottom, she came apart in his arms, her hands desperate for his heat, her tight channel convulsing around his thick length. He fit his lips over the trembling pulse in her neck and felt Willa turn her head to the side and shiver in anticipation.

He smoothed his tongue over her delicate flesh and as he rode the rush of his own bone-shaking orgasm, he sank his teeth into her flesh.

“Oh, yes,” Willa shook against him, her body milking every little bit of his cum into her tight channel, “amazing.”

And he couldn’t agree more. She was amazing. And she was his.