He hadn’t talked to Anna yet about whether she wanted kids of her own, but he couldn’t imagine that she didn’t. It was obvious from the way she talked about her students that she loved kids. There would be time for those conversations later, though. There were details to work out between them, but no matter how the details shook out, Joel was hers. He had always been hers, he just hadn’t known until now.
He pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head. “I can’t stay here the whole winter. I have to finish the remodel on my cabin, and there are other things on the mountain I need to take care of. But I’ll fly here to visit as often as I can over the next few months. I’m going to miss you like crazy when I’m not with you, but I’ll grit my teeth and make it through.”
Anna wrapped her arms around him in return. “It won’t be easy for me, either. I’ve missed you in just the few days I’ve been back. But I’ll be busy wrapping things up with my students, and I’ll have to pack and sell off my furniture. We’ll both stay busy until the school year ends, I’m sure of it. The important thing is that at the end of it all, we’ll be together.”
Joel’s heart swelled. Together, he thought, rolling the word around in his mind. He could hardly believe it was true, but he should’ve known all along. He’d known from the moment he saw Anna that she was different. She wasn’t a normal full human. She was special.
She was his lifemate, and his only regret was that he hadn’t come for her sooner. There was no feeling in the world like the feeling of true mate love, and Joel couldn’t wait to show Anna just how great life with a shifter could be. He’d had many adventures on the mountain, but he had a feeling that true mate love was going to be the greatest adventure of all.
Chapter Sixteen
Anna looked around the cabin at the piles of moving boxes and winced.
“Sorry,” she said to Joel. “I tried to pare down the amount of stuff I was bringing. I didn’t think it was that much, but these boxes are taking up half the cabin.”
Joel laughed. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure once everything is put away it won’t look like so much stuff. Besides, the remodel is almost done, and when it is there will be plenty more space for all this stuff. Just make sure you save some space for a cub or two.”
He winked at her, and Anna’s heart did a flip-flop. It didn’t matter that they’d been together for several months now. Her heart still did somersaults when he looked at her that way. She couldn’t get enough of him, and he couldn’t get enough of her. They’d been living apart for five months, but they’d still spent as much time together as possible. Joel had flown out to California as much as he could, and Anna had taken a few weekend trips to Bear Mountain.
She’d also spent spring break here, and she could tell that the locals were starting to accept her. They’d been wary at first, but as they saw that she knew they were shifters and she wasn’t freaking out about it, they slowly started to get to know her. The more Anna learned about the people here, the happier she was. She could tell that she was going to be good friends with many of the villagers. It had been so long since she’d had even one good friend, but now she had several.
Anna watched as Joel tipped the movers who had just finished dropping off her stuff. Then she walked over to the first pile of boxes. “I guess I should start unpacking right away. The sooner I get this done, the sooner we’ll both be more comfortable in here.”
But Joel walked over, grabbed her arm, and pulled her away from the boxes.
“Not so fast. The boxes can wait. I have something to show you.”
Anna raised an eyebrow. Joel had shown her all sorts of things during her visits to the mountain. He’d taken her to the summit again, and had taken her on his favorite hiking trails. He let her ride on his bear’s back to places that would have been difficult to get to for any normal human. Anna was starting to feel like she knew this mountain quite well, so she wondered what Joel could possibly have to show her. But unpacking sounded like a lot less fun than going on an adventure, no matter what it was Joel wanted to show her.
She grinned at him. “Okay. As much as I need to start unpacking, I’ll put it off if you insist.”
He grinned right back. “I insist. Come on.”
He started to strip naked, which told Anna that he was going to shift in a moment. That meant that wherever they were going wasn’t an easy spot to get to in human form. Anna’s heart beat with excitement. Those spots were always the best.
Once he was naked, Joel looked out the front window of the cabin to make sure the movers were gone. Once he was sure there were no full humans still hanging around, he stepped outside and began to shift. Anna watched as his bear form took over. She would never get tired of this sight, and it seemed strange to her that some humans feared shifters.
She knew that there was nothing to fear. Joel and the other shifters on this mountain might be fierce, but they weren’t dangerous. The only thing they were fierce about was protecting the ones they loved, so as long as no one crossed Anna, Joel wasn’t going to harm anyone.
When he was done shifting, Anna climbed onto his back and held tightly to his fur. He gave a slight shake to make sure she was up there securely, and then he started to run. There was no feeling in the world like riding through the forest on a bear. Anna breathed in deeply, her lungs filling with the fresh spring air. The days were slowly growing longer and warmer, heralding the soon-coming arrival of summer. There was still some snow at the top of the mountain, but down here it had all disappeared, giving way to vibrant green grasses, bushes, and leaves. Birds sang in the trees, and the brilliant sunshine warmed Anna’s face. If there was a heaven, she imagined it must feel something like this.
Joel moved swiftly, and before Anna knew it, they were slowing to a stop. Joel gave a little shake to indicate that she should dismount, and she did. She looked around, feeling slightly confused. The forest here was beautiful, but it didn’t look that different from the forest anywhere else on the mountain. She wondered what it was that Joel wanted to show her.
He took a few steps back and shifted into human form. Once he was a man again, he reached out and took her hand. “Come on. You’re going to love this.”
She followed him around a large, rocky area of the forest, and then gasped in delight when he showed her a tunnel going into the rocks. The tunnel wasn’t visible unless someone looked very closely, because it was well-hidden behind a bunch of ordinary looking bushes and trees.
“A cave!” Anna exclaimed.
“Yep, but not just any cave. You’re going to love what’s at the end of this tunnel.”
As Joel tugged her along into the cave, the air grew warmer and warmer. Finally, they came to a spot where the tunnel widened and opened into a large, steaming room. There were cracks in the rocks above that let sunlight in, and by that sunlight Anna could see shimmering, steaming water. She looked at Joe in wonder.
“Is this a hot spring?”
He beamed at her, and put his arm around her shoulders as they looked at the water together.
“Sure is. I found this place when I was just a boy. No one else on the mountain knows about it, not even Scott.”
Anna’s eyes widened as she looked at him. Over the last few months, she’d realized that Joel and Scott were about as close as two humans could be. They’d been best friends since practically the moment they were born, and as far as she could tell, they kept no secrets from each other.
“How is it possible that you knew about this but didn’t tell Scott?”
Joel looked down and smiled at her, then dropped his arm from her shoulders and started walking toward the steaming pool. “When I found this place, I decided that I wasn’t going to tell anyone except my lifemate. I wanted it to be a special place between me and her, whoever she might be.”
Joel stepped into the water, then turned around and wiggled his eyebrows at Anna. “What are you waiting for? Get your clothes off and get in here.”
A
nna smiled, and started taking off her clothes. “I’m impressed. I didn’t think it was possible for you to keep anything from Scott.”
Joel laughed. “It wasn’t easy, but I wanted this place to be special between me and my lifemate. I’ve been waiting for the right moment to show it to you. Every time you came to visit, I considered it. But I decided I wanted to wait until you were here permanently. I wanted this to be your welcome home gift, if that makes sense. This is the most special place on the mountain to me, and it’s even more special now that I can share it with you.”
Anna smiled at Joel’s words, then eased into the hot water. The temperature was perfect: hot enough to feel absolutely heavenly, but not hot enough to feel like it was scalding her skin. The steam rose around her face as she walked forward through the water toward Joel. When she got to him, the water came up to her shoulders, and up to his chest.
“Well, if this is my welcome home gift, it’s quite a gift. This place is amazing.”
“It is,” Joel agreed. “Which is why I wanted to share it with someone amazing. There is no one in the world more amazing than you, and I can’t believe I’m lucky enough to get to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Anna could feel her cheeks heating up with pleasure, and that heat had nothing to do with the steam rising around her. It had everything to do with the fact that Joel, her handsome bear of a man, was standing right in front of her—completely naked and completely in love with her. He reached up and traced the lines on the side of her face with his finger.
“Welcome home, baby. I’ve been waiting my whole life for you.”
She smiled. “And I’ve been waiting my whole life for you. I can’t imagine a better home than this.”
And then, he leaned forward and kissed her. As his tongue pushed past her lips and into her mouth, Anna felt the heat within her rising. There was no better feeling than this.
She trembled as Joel’s hands reached behind her head, and his fingers entangled themselves with her hair. His tongue danced with hers, and electricity shot through her veins. This feeling would never get old. Every kiss, every touch, every moment with him was pure ecstasy.
As Joel’s tongue reached deeper into her mouth, Anna could feel his erection rising. His thick, rock-hard shaft was soon poking at her stomach, and she trembled with the anticipation of what was to come.
But Joel was not in any hurry. He always took things slowly with her, stoking the fire within her until it burned like an inferno. Now, he ran his fingers from her hair down to her back, and then down to her ass. He squeezed tightly and used that leverage to pull her toward him, pressing her body against his as he continued to kiss her. Already, Anna could feel the pressure within her growing. Her body came alive under Joel’s touch, and she could feel a wetness between her legs that had nothing to do with the hot spring water. Joel’s touch and kiss turned her on like nothing ever had.
Joel dipped his head and switched from kissing her lips to kissing her breasts. He took each hard nipple in his mouth in turn. First, he teased the nubs with his tongue, and then he used his teeth to ramp up the tingling sensation that his mouth set off within her.
Anna moaned as the heat within her burned ever hotter. Her hair had grown damp from the steam, and it clung to the skin of her shoulders and face. But the heat from the steam paled in comparison to the heat from Joel’s touch.
Just when Anna thought the pressure within her could not grow any greater, Joel slipped his fingers between her legs and deep inside of her. Anna trembled as he teased her most sensitive spots, sending a fresh rush of heat and desire radiating through her body. She arched her back against the wonderful, unbearable pressure, but Joel did not let her get away. His fingers reached deeper into her, and his mouth held to her nipples.
Anna could hold back no longer. With another loud moan, she gave in. The waves of her release washed over her, sending tingling tremors from her core to her fingertips and all the way to the soles of her feet. She squeezed her eyes shut and rode the sweet spasms, drinking in all the pleasure Joel could give her.
But when those spasms finally subsided, she knew Joel was far from finished with her. He slipped his fingers out of her, and he pulled his head away from her breasts to look into her eyes.
“Mine,” he growled.
“Yours,” Anna replied. She loved it when he got possessive. There was nothing like being claimed by her bear, and she knew he was about to claim her now. He bent his head to meet her lips again, and as he slipped his tongue into her mouth, he slipped his thick, rock-hard dick into her body.
Anna gasped with delight. No matter how many times they made love, this moment would never get old. She loved the way he filled her, pushing against her inner walls to make room for himself. As Joel began to move his hips back and forth, thrusting deep into her, Anna once again felt like her body was on fire.
How was it possible for a man to make her feel this good?
He’s not just a man, her heart answered. He’s a bear of a man.
Anna was never more aware of this fact than when Joel was inside of her. He was huge, and the feeling of his shaft against her sensitive inner skin was more than she could take. As he filled her, she felt powerless to resist. All she could do was close her eyes and give in to the tingling pressure he sent shooting through every part of her.
As he moved back and forth, faster and faster, she found herself panting out his name. When the pressure once again became too much to bear, she threw back her head and cried out. Once again, her release took over in a series of electric spasms. Anna trembled as those spasms passed over her. She clung tightly to Joel, letting his body anchor her as passion and pleasure consumed her.
Joel held her just as tightly. He let out another low growl to show his approval. Anna knew nothing made him happier than when he pleased her, and that knowledge made her wonder how she had ever gotten so lucky. Not only had she crossed paths with a bear, but that bear wanted nothing more than to bring her pleasure.
The pleasure he brought her overwhelmed her. It filled her with tingling heat that only grew greater as she felt him getting close to joining her in finding his release. He held her tighter, then stiffened and threw his head back to roar as he came into her. Anna felt his shaft pulsing within her, and she let her head fall against his chest as they experienced the moment together.
He stayed inside of her long after the tremors in their bodies had slowed and faded to a stop. For a delicious eternity, they stood there together in the steaming water, their arms wrapped around each other and their bodies connected. Anna had never felt so at peace before. She knew that there would be challenges ahead. Life was never perfect, and life on the mountain could be tough.
But Anna was ready for whatever adventures awaited her here. She knew that there was no challenge she could not overcome with her bear by her side.
She was ready for life on the mountain.
Chapter Seventeen
* * * Epilogue – Three months later * * *
Anna stood on the porch of the cabin and watched as Scott and Joel put the finishing touches on the cabin’s latest extension. Joel hadn’t had much time to work on it, since his busy season down in Pine Springs had been busier than ever this year. But slowly and steadily, by working in the evening or stealing a few hours on the weekend to finish things up, Joel had managed to complete the project. Of course, he couldn’t have done it so quickly without Scott’s help. Joel’s best friend let out a whoop of excitement as Joel nodded his head and pronounced the cabin finished.
Anna smiled at their excitement. She could hardly believe that the remodel was finally done. At times, it had felt like it would never be finished. There always seemed to be a few more things to do. But now, the checklist was complete.
“Time to celebrate,” Joel said, giving Scott a playful punch in the arm. “Let’s go grab some beers.”
“I won’t argue with you about that,” Scott said. “But I will argue with you that this cabin is now far
too big for just two people. You better be adding some cubs sooner rather than later.”
Joel looked up and met Anna’s eyes. She saw the question in his eyes and nodded, giving him the go-ahead he was looking for. It was time to share their good news with their friends.
“Yeah, well, about that…” Joel said. “We’ll be putting one of those bedrooms to good use in about six months.”
It took a few beats for Scott to process what Joel had just said. Scott looked from Joel to Anna, and then back again.
“Wait a minute. Are you serious?” Scott asked with wide eyes.
Joel grinned and nodded. “Anna’s due in February.”
Anna placed a hand over her stomach and smiled. She wasn’t showing just yet, although she was sure it wouldn’t be much longer. According to the village doctor she was seeing, Anna was exactly three months pregnant today. She’d had a relatively easy pregnancy thus far, which was good since life had been so busy this summer. She’d spent most of her time with new friends on Bear Mountain, showing them that just because she herself wasn’t a shifter, that didn’t mean that she couldn’t contribute to life on the mountain. Bear Mountain Village put on several community events over the summer, and Anna had volunteered to help out at every single one. She was loving being part of a true community.
She’d also agreed to help teach at the local school, although she’d have to take some time off when the baby was born. Everyone would understand, though. In fact, Anna was pretty sure everyone would be just as ecstatic as Scott was right now.
Scott was letting out a series of whoops, and when he was done with that, he tackled Joel with a hug so exuberant that Joel nearly fell over. Anna laughed as she watched them. She’d never seen two guys with a friendship as strong as Joel’s and Scott’s. Those two would quite literally take a bullet for each other, and Anna had known that Scott would be just as happy about the baby news as Joel himself had been.
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