by C. D. Gorri
“You’re okay now,” he said as the reality of everything that had happened sunk in and threatened to break her.
“Oh God, Daniel, what happened to Tim? Are you okay?”
“You’ll never hear from him again,” he said, and his eyes went hard for a moment.
“I’m so sorry, Daniel.”
“Hey now, easy. You have nothing to be sorry for,” he slid in next to her and cradled her in his arms as she wrapped hers around his neck. They were in his cabin still, she noted. Pleased that he brought her there. it felt right. Felt like theirs.
“I’d never forgive myself if something happened to you,” she murmured against his neck. There was no stopping the tears now. He was here, and she was safe, in his arms.
“I’m fine, baby. This is just a scratch.”
“Oh God,” she sobbed.
“I’m a Bear, I’ll be good as new in a day, I swear it. But why didn’t you wake me, baby?”
“He had his rifle trained on you. I saw the red light on your forehead,” she shrugged. Too many emotions were crowding in on her and she felt overwhelmed.
“I got you, love,” he said and held her/ he rubbed her back in smooth slow circles, “Thought I lost you, Lacey. Couldn’t live without you.”
“Oh Daniel,” she slid up his body, careful of his wound and wrapped herself around him, sobbing into his neck. His arms, like steel bands, circled her waist and squeezed.
“Alright you two, that’s enough of that now,” said Clary as she bustled into the room with a folding table. Nate followed holding a tray with two bowls of chicken soup.
“Clary! Nate!”
“Well, of course, I’m here! Now, I’m gonna make sure you’re back on your feet in no time, here’s some good chicken soup for you both,” the woman announced, while Nate opened the table and set the tray down on it.
“Hey Lacey, Daniel,” he nodded but didn’t look at either of them. Smart Bear. She elbowed Daniel when his Bear started to rumble at his presence.
“Well,” Clary said looking at Daniel expectantly, “Get up and feed your mate! Haven’t I taught you anything?”
“She can eat after Luisa has a look at her,” Krissy, Taylor’s mate, said from the doorway.
“Luisa’s here?” Nate asked, but was largely ignored by the room. Daniel grunted and Lacey bit her lip nervously.
“Don’t worry, baby, I’m not leaving. Luisa is Krissy’s sister, she’s a doctor,” he held her hand and sat up, making sure she was covered by the blanket just as a serious faced woman with short blonde hair entered the room.
“Lacey, this is my sister, Dr. Sposa,” Krissy grinned as she said it and the younger woman rolled her eyes.
“Hi Lacey, how are you feeling?” Luisa looked at everyone in the room, eyebrows raised, “You all mind clearing out and leaving me with my patient?”
No one moved until Daniel let out a little roar. Lacey just grinned. He was so protective of her! She loved it, though she realized she’d need to keep a lid on that. Didn’t want him getting all cocky now, did she?
After chatting with doctor, Lacey allowed her to take some vitals and blood samples. She tried to ignore the tension between Nate and the pretty young doctor, but it was difficult. She wondered if maybe there wasn’t something more going on there than meets the eye.
“Want anything else, baby,” Daniel asked as he and Lacey ate the reheated soup Clary had made them.
“No, this is good,” she smiled. And it was. Sure she wanted to talk with him, but she was so tired.
“Christmas Eve is coming soon, should we get a tree?”
Lacey was surprised by the normalcy of the question.
“Will I be here then?”
Daniel stopped in his tracks and looked at her, his blue eyes glowing with his bear.
“Mine,” he growled possessively, and she felt heat flood her belly. But was she really his?
It was time for some answers.
Chapter 11
“Lacey, we need to talk,” he began after he’d returned from the kitchen and his Neanderthal display.
“Is everyone still here?”
“No, uh, they took off. Marcus and Leya called after you though. They are coming home tomorrow and want to stop by if you are up for it.”
“Sure. Did your dad leave too? He didn’t have much to say,” she remarked thinking it odd that the gray-haired man smiled and kissed her on the head before leaving though he hadn’t said a word to her.
“Yeah,” Daniel ducked his head.
“Look, I want you to know, I had a talk with him. Told him about where you stand with me,” he flushed as he spoke and Lacey bit her lip. This sounded serious.
“And where do I stand?”
“Lacey,” he looked at her with a confused expression, “you’re my mate. I claimed you.”
“I know, I was there, but I still don’t know what it all means exactly,” she shrugged, not yet fully clear about what any of it meant to him.
“I forget you’re a normal sometimes,” his raspy voice sounded good to her ears. He settled next to her in bed, his face hovering above hers as he traced her ear with his finger. He moved on to her eyebrows and her nose, lips next, and throat, down to the mark he’d left on her skin.
Shivers pulsated through her body, little flashes of lightning at his touch. Lacey licked her lips. She was antsy and nervous. She hadn’t been allowed to leave the bed all day except to bathe.
Every Bear in the house had been overprotective. Bringing her things and keeping her company when Daniel was forced to leave to check the safeties and the perimeter of the Barvale Clan land.
It was troubling that the Wolf Shifter had been able to sneak up on them and he never wanted to be caught like that again. She’d understood really. And she put up with everybody’s pampering. It was actually quite lovely, even if she didn’t want to admit it.
“Lacey,” his voice brought her back to the present, “Claiming you with my bite is the way I show the entre Shifter world that you belong to me. Now, I know you’re a normal, and it sounds boorish, but I swear to you it is a good thing.”
“I never said that, but it’s like you think you own me or something now?”
“No. Not at all. Let me finish, baby. It’s not ownership, it’s just an announcement. Like normal wear wedding bands to announce they belong to each other.”
“So, you belong to me too? Even though I didn’t bite you?”
“Well, to be truthful now, I recall some biting and scratching on your end, baby,” he growled and nipped her earlobe. Lacey flushed. Yes, she did do that, didn’t she?
“So, are we like engaged?”
“More than that. We’re together, good as married in the Shifter world.”
“Oh,” she said and tried not to frown. All her dreams of wedding bells and a long white dress crumbled with his words. She loved him and she was happy. But every little girl dreams of having a big white wedding someday.
“Now, it’s true that I was engaged once. I’d rushed into something with someone who was utterly wrong for me. It was a mistake, and I never thought I would say this, but I thank God she left me. She wasn’t the one.”
“She wasn’t?”
“How can you ask that of all people?” he tucked her hair behind her ear and nuzzled her nose with his. God, she loved it when he did that.
“Daniel?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“Clary told me a little about mates and fated mates, and I was wondering-” She paused and swallowed. Certain she was about to make a fool of herself.
“Wondering what?”
“Is it, that is, are we?”
“Lacey,” he growled and kissed her lips, “don’t you feel it too? This bond between us, my God, don’t you know why I woke up like that and raced outside to you? Because I felt it in here,” he tapped her chest over her heart, “I felt you saying goodbye and I couldn’t stand it,” his voice cracked, and she stared wide eyed as he went on.
“I tore out of my bed, out the front door, and saw him hit you and turn his gun on you and I lost it. For the first time in my life I was so fucking happy my Bear was so fucking untamed. It was all I could do to stop myself from ripping him to shreds,” he growled.
“You killed him?” Her eyes went wide.
“Almost. I sure as fuck wanted to,” he growled, but cut it off as he looked at her.
“My brothers stopped me. He’s in custody now, shipped off to the High Alpha. He’s like the boss of the bosses of Wolf Shifter society.”
“Oh. I guess that’s good then. Look, Daniel, I’m so sorry I put you through that. I just wanted to save you,” tears snaked down her face, but she made no move to hide them.
“No, I am the one who is sorry. I should have done a better job protecting you, little one.”
“Oh hush, you’ve done nothing but protect me.”
“I can’t help it, baby, the Bear is possessive, protective. Wants you so bad. All the damn time.”
“Daniel,” she gasped as happiness surged through her. She felt his love pulsing through the matebond they shared and reciprocated the feeling tenfold.
“I love you,” she sighed.
“I love you too. I know I claimed you, but I want to marry you as well, Lacey, will you?” he growled and snagged her close in a tight hug.
“Will you marry me?” He repeated the question and she realized she’d yet to answer.
“Yes! Yes, I will.”
“You’re finally mine, my sweet Lacey, and I’m yours.”
“Yes. You’re mine,” she agreed, liking the feel of the possessive word on her lips. She may not be a Bear, but she loved just as hard as one. She crushed her lips against his.
“Are you sure about this,” he asked as he slowly tugged away her clothing.
“I’ve never wanted anything more,” she moaned, loving the feel of his mouth on hers.
They’d had fast and passionate, but with all that had happened between them, tonight they both wanted something different. She needed something else from him. Reassurance maybe. That he was there, unharmed.
A slow intensity grew between them as Daniel nestled between her thighs. Wanting to feel him everywhere, she ran her legs up and down the back of his calves and his thick muscled thighs. Her feet brushed his, as her hands travelled down to grip his powerfully built ass and hips.
Lacey bit back a moan at the immense pressure she felt as he pushed, slowly into her heat.
“Okay?” he asked, hissing a breath as he seated himself to the hilt inside of her.
“Yeah,” she nodded capturing her lips with his.
“Love you,” he moaned and began moving. Slow, long, languorous strokes that she felt all the way to her toes.
Pleasure and heat blossomed, their matebond making it all the more poignant. He whispered encouragingly as he licked her neck and kissed her flesh, tasting her, marking her. She knew now that the more their scents mingled, the happier his Bear was.
She was more than fine with that. Lacey moaned his name as he increased the pressure. Hips jerking, she rose up to meet his thrusts, marveling at the slow roll of his hips. Damn, he was incredible.
“Baby, gonna roll you on your side,” he moaned and positioned her so that they faced each other. One leg wrapped around his waist as he gripped the other with one hand.
Slowly, carefully, he pumped. Lacey cried out, nails raking his back as he plunged in and out of her slick, wet sex with increasing urgency. Joy filled her as Daniel worked her body into a frenzy.
“Love you, baby,” he said as he pushed her from one peak to another until she thought she’d die of it.
“Daniel,” she moaned, her back arching, breath gasping.
“Now, baby,” he ground her against him, nipping her neck in the same spot where he’d claimed her the night before.
White hot sparks exploded behind her eyelids as she cried his name. On and on it went, a rising tide of ecstasy that throbbed and tore at her heart. She felt his love fill her, soothe her and she knew he was right. They were fated mates.
Mine. Forever.
Epilogue
Parker Fiore snapped his camera and looked briefly at the huge man standing behind his shoulder. He supposed he could forgive him for being protective of his new wife.
Esme Alain, or Lacey, as she insisted on being called, was probably the most beautiful model he’d ever worked with. She’d called him up after some accident had left her with a slight scar along her hairline, explaining that she wouldn’t be able to fulfill their contract.
He’d insisted on seeing her immediately and when he did, he could’ve kissed her! Not that he tried it. Not with that huge Bear of a man grumbling behind her.
The scar gave her depth. It was so slight, but the knowledge of it, he’d explained, made her real. And here he was seven months later, doing a full pregnancy shoot starring the newly married supermodel, Esme!
“Yes, darling, now if you could turn to the left. That’s it,” Parker instructed as he snapped off some more shots.
He’d wanted her nude for the shoot, but her husband was rather convincing when he’d suggested she wear a bolt of green silk to bring out her eyes. Damn the man for being right. The material was fabulous against her ivory skin. Strategically placed to hide her assets, he was still able to showcase her perfectly round belly.
“Finished yet, Fiore?” Daniel Devlin grumbled.
“One more minute, please,” Parker found he could be gracious to the man. Especially since he’d bought the gallery that housed his work and was funding this little exhibit.
“Now. My wife needs to rest,” the large man moved right into the shoot and wrapped his wife in the silk material before lifting her up in his arms.
Certain no one was looking, he snapped off a few images of the gorgeous couple. Later, he’d label the pictures a study in love certain that he had never seen and never would a more in love couple in his entire career.
Later that evening…
“Daniel! The baby!” Lacey grinned as her husband came bolting into the room.
“What is it time? It’s too early!” He yelled as he dropped the platter of fruit, he’d been making her to snack on, on the smooth wood floor.
The AC was blasting, as was the enormous flat-screen television he’d gotten her for their first Christmas after learning she liked to have one in the bedroom. Not that it got much use. So many better things to do in this room, she thought with a smile.
Still, despite all the noise, she had no problem hearing her Bear roar. He was so damned cute when he came running in with an apron thrown around his waist.
He took his roles as mate, husband, and expectant father very seriously. She loved him fiercely for it. Especially when he was being overprotective like he was now.
“No, not that,” she laughed and grabbed his hand placing it on the huge swell of their child, “Feel that? He’s kicking!”
Daniel smiled. His eyes wide as he felt the proof of his love for his mate. Pure joy pulsed between the two of them as their love filled the room.
“Isn’t it wonderful?” She said, a small tear escaping her emerald eyes.
“You’re wonderful,” he answered, and the truth of his statement shone in his blue eyes.
“I’m also kinda hungry,” she began with her bottom lip between her teeth. The little Bear growing inside of her was a bottomless pit.
“Well, I dropped the fruit, unfortunately, but Clary did drop off a special batch of stollen,” Daniel began and smiled widely at Lacey’s wide eyes.
“She did? But she only makes it for Christmas!”
“Not when she’s got a new mama to feed,” Daniel grinned and kissed her on the lips, rubbing her stomach in tiny, gentle circles with his large, capable hands.
“I love you, Daniel. So much. Thank you for giving me this, for giving me you, a home, a family,” she sighed into his arms as he embraced her gently.
“I should be thanking you, baby. You’ve giv
en me everything I’ve ever wanted and so much more. I love you.”
Her stomach grumbled and the couple laughed.
“Yes, baby, I’m gonna feed your mama. Give her everything she needs.”
“I just need you,” Lacey opened her arms and kissed her mate. Reveling in the way they fit perfectly together. Mine. Ours.
The end.
Bearly Mated
Bearly Mated
A Bear Claw Tale #4
by C.D. Gorri
To the dreamers…don’t stop.
del mare alla stella, C.D. Gorri
Edited by Tammy Payne of Book Nook Nuts
Bearly Mated Copyright
Copyright 2019 C.D. Gorri
Tagline
"He’s an artist, she’s a doctor, can their worlds mix long enough for them to be mated?"
About Bearly Mated
Nate Cordoza is just discovering his family of half-brothers and his absentee father when he runs across the one being he never thought he’d find, his mate.
Luisa Sposa has no time for men! The young doctor is too busy with her new job at the Barvale Urgent Care Clinic to worry about a relationship.
Fate steps in when the two of them are thrown together as part of a destination wedding party. A little bit of magic and a whole lot of tequila later, the two Shifters wake up mated!
Will Luisa open her heart to Nate, or will she end up barely mated?
A Message from Daniel, one of The Devlin Brothers…
Hello Clan members,
You know me as the head Clan Enforcer, but my name is Daniel Devlin.
First, on behalf of my brother and his new mate and wife, Krissy, we’d like to thank all of you for your well wishes for the newlyweds. We also wanted to say thanks for the two dozen of you who managed to fly down to Cozumel for their destination wedding.