He raised a dark brow. “We?”
She gave him a weak smile. “Of course. We’re a package deal now, you and me.” She got on her tip toes and kissed him. When she tried to pull away, he held her in place. Petros deepened the kiss, his tongue pushing against her lips to open them.
She moaned, and his hands moved down under her knees. He bent and lifted her up, wrapping her legs around his waist.
He walked them back to her bedroom, his lips never leaving hers. When her back hit the bed, his kisses became urgent and his fingers fumbled at her clothes. He pulled back when she was finally naked, and his gazed raked over her.
“You are exquisite,” he said, his eyes boldly devouring every inch of her.
She looked up at him. “And yours.”
A soft growl escaped his lips, and he made quick work of his clothes. He stood in front of her, naked and bared, his cock already hard. Fuck, he was so freaking hot. Kate could stare at his chiseled body all day.
He covered her, spreading her thighs to settle between them. “Kate,” he said in an urgent voice as the tip of his cock pressed against her entrance. “Finally mine.”
She gasped when he pushed inside her with one stroke. “Petros!” she cried as he began to move within her. “Petros, I love you.” She heard him suck in a breath, but he didn’t break his rhythm.
Kate closed her eyes as a warm feeling began to settle over her. It was like a ribbon, wrapping around them from head to toe and tightening to pull them together until they melded as one. Happiness, excitement, peace, contentment, and all kinds of emotions were crashing around them like waves on the shore. It scared her at first, as she’d never felt anything like it, but deep inside she knew what it was.
“Yes!” she cried out as he moved faster. Her body tightened like a spring, threatening to break. He didn’t relent. Instead he moved harder, hitting all the right spots, until she screamed her pleasure. Petros rode the wave with her, urging her forward and pushing her off the edge until her breath came in small pants. Only when her body shuddered in a second, smaller orgasm did he let go, grunting and moaning his own pleasure as he came, his cock pulsing deep into her and filling her with his cum.
They lay there for a few seconds, and when he tried to pull away, she tightened her legs around him. “No. Stay.”
Petros relaxed against her. “You’re truly my mate now.” He kissed her forehead. “The mating bond. I felt it.”
“It feels fucking incredible.” Her body, her soul, her very being felt tied to him. Yes, she belonged to him, and she didn’t feel trapped at all. He was hers, too. Now and forever.
Epilogue
Two weeks later…
Petros walked into The Den, glancing around in search of his mate. While he did not make a habit of being late or being away from her if he could help it, he had a good excuse tonight. Well, two good excuses.
First was Milos. Since they caught him, Petros had been by to visit his friend every day. Even though Milos refused to acknowledge his presence, he did not miss a day in the past two weeks. When they first caught him, they detained him in one of the Blackstone Police Department’s jail cells. But when he began to swing between catatonic states and raging madness, keeping him there would not be feasible in the long run, and they knew they had to find another permanent solution.
He had gone to visit Milos again today, this time in his new home. They didn’t want to send him back to Lykos for fear that the sea or some of his former teammates might trigger one of his episodes. So Matthew Lennox offered one of their unused properties deep in the Blackstone Mountains, an old abandoned Ranger station. They outfitted it to contain Milos and make it livable while they were trying to figure out what happened to him and how to best help him. The drive back was long, but it was worth it. He would visit Milos as much as he could until he eventually came back to his true self.
And his second excuse? He had something very important to take care of, and he couldn’t wait to see Kate’s face when she saw what it was.
Speaking of which, he had to find his mate. He was thirty minutes late but had sent her a message about the delay, so surely she would not have left without him.
“The nerve of that dickweed!”
Petros followed the sound of Kate’s voice and found his mate standing around a table with her usual band of female friends. Sybil, Amelia, and Dutchy listened intently as Kate relayed her story.
“Apologies for the delay,” he said as he came up behind her.
Kate’s eyes lit up. “Hey, babe!” She kissed him on the cheek. “How’s everything?” A look of concern flashed across her face. “How is he?”
“The same.”
She slipped an arm around his waist. “Don’t worry. He’ll get better. I know it.”
The look of absolute faith on his mate’s face made the heaviness in his chest disappear. Indeed, whenever he found himself feeling bothered or burdened, her mere presence soothed him. He knew Milos’ recovery would be a long one, but knowing Kate would be by his side would make the process much easier on him and his wolf. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, enjoying the soothing balm of her kiss.
He didn’t want it to end, but when someone cleared their throat, he pulled away and turned to the other women. The three girls were giving them knowing but joyful looks.
“Apologies for interrupting ladies,” he said. “Please continue.”
“Kate was just telling us about how she lost that eBay auction,” Amelia Walker said.
Now that the bear shifter was in the process of moving back to Blackstone, Petros had seen more of his mate’s friend, and Kate’s joy was almost palpable. He found he liked the even-tempered and practical Amelia a lot, and she was a good balance to the trio she, Sybil, and Kate made.
“I did not lose! That twaffletwat seller! I swear I could wring his neck!” Kate raised a fist. “I had the highest bid, but he withdrew the auction last night. I emailed him for an explanation, and all he said was he got a better offer for the Chevelle.”
“Kate’s been tearing up a storm,” Dutchy said, taking a sip of her wine. “Says she’s going to hack the guy’s email to find out who the buyer was.”
“I wouldn’t want to get on Kate’s bad side,” Sybil said.
“Revenge is her game,” Amelia added with a laugh. “As we know.”
“Wait, what happened?” Dutchy asked, catching the look that passed between the three friends. “What did Kate do?”
Sybil’s face fell. “It’s nothing! I mean, we shouldn’t—”
“It’s fine,” Kate said. “We can talk about Tommy.”
Petros’ spine went rigid, but when Kate gave him a reassuring squeeze, he relaxed. If his mate was all right talking about her ex-boyfriend, then he could be, too.
“After we finally broke up,” Kate said, “he went around spreading rumors about me. That I was easy and cheated on him with a ton of other guys.”
Petros couldn’t help the growl that escaped his throat at what that bastard did to her. Perhaps he wouldn’t be okay with it right now, but he would learn. It was all in the past after all.
“So I did what I had to do.” Kate had a smug smile on her face. “I hacked into his computer. And by hacked I mean, I guessed his password was ‘poopchute123’ for his laptop and just about all his online accounts. I found this video of him on his hard drive.” Her mouth curled up into an evil smile. “It was of him doing a cover of this super cheesy love song. It was horrible, not just because of his voice, but because he was really into it. He was even dressed up like a ‘90s boy band member.”
“It was a full music video and had all these corny hearts and flower effects,” Sybil added.
“It was hilarious,” Amelia said, doubling over and clutching her stomach as she laughed. “At one point, I believe he was singing to his favorite stuffed rabbit.”
“Mr. Sprinkles!” Sybil remembered with a snap of her fingers.
“And I posted it on all of his social media
accounts,” Kate said proudly.
“Don’t forget the jumbotron at the football field during homecoming,” Sybil added.
“And the TV screens all over school,” Amelia said. “It took them days to find the source of the feed.”
Sybil put her arm around Amelia and nodded. “And my love is ooooonly for youuuuu ….” They crooned in unison before bursting into a fit of giggles.
“Oh yeah!” Kate wiped the tears from her eyes. “Well, after that, his reputation as a bad boy pretty much was torn to shreds. He didn’t come back the next year.”
“Remind me never to get on your bad side,” Petros said. Hopefully, Kate would only be a bit mad at him for what he had done. Which reminded him … “I hate to pull you away from your friends, but I haven’t had my supper,” he said. “Perhaps we could head to the diner?”
“Oh, sorry, babe, didn’t realize you hadn’t eaten yet.” She grabbed her purse. “I’ll see you guys around.” With a final wave, they set off toward the exit.
Petros held the door open and let Kate out first. As he let the door close behind him, he nearly bumped into his mate, who stood frozen in her spot. “Is anything the matter?”
“Hey man, what’s up?” Mason Grimes greeted as the storm door shut behind him.
“Mason, nice to see you again,” Petros greeted. He truly was grateful for the man who had saved his mate, even if Kate was still furious.
Kate grimaced. “I thought I smelled something rotten in here.”
“Look, Kate,” Mason said. “I’m not here to cause trouble, okay? I’m in Blackstone to sort a couple of things out.”
“Oh yeah? How’s your wife?”
It was Mason’s turn to grimace. “Ex-wife,” he corrected. “I’ve been divorced for over a year.”
“Well congratu-fucking-lations,” Kate spat back. “You guys lasted longer than I thought.”
Mason let out a deep sigh. “Some things never change. Well, you seem like a nice guy,” he said to Petros, “so maybe I’ll see you around town.” The polar bear shifter turned and lumbered into the bar, his shoulders hunched over and his hands in his pockets.
Petros looked at his mate with deep concern. “He was married? I thought you said he was Amelia’s ex-boyfriend?” Perhaps Mason wasn’t the man he thought he was.
“He wasn’t married when they met,” Kate huffed. “Its complicated.”
“But his presence still upsets you? Even after he saved your life?”
A sudden anger lit her eyes. “And thus the only reason he’s still breathing. What he did—oh crap!” She turned around, facing the door back into The Den. “Amelia! Oh shit. She’s in there, and she’s gonna see him! I have to go—”
Petros gently wrapped a hand around her arm. “Kate-mine,” he said in a soothing voice. “Amelia is a grown woman and a mature and level-headed person. She doesn’t need you to fight her battles for her.” When Kate frowned at him, he kissed the wrinkle between her brows. “But I know you would do it because she is your friend. Still, when it comes to matters of the heart, perhaps it’s best to leave her be. It’s the one thing she must figure out herself.”
Kate looked like she wanted to protest, but then sighed in defeat. “You’re right,” she said. “But Amelia’s going to be furious at me when she finds I out I knew about him moving here and didn’t tell her.”
“Maybe for a while,” he said. “But she will forgive you. Now,” he gave her another kiss, “can we go?” He hoped the surprise he had been planning would make her forget about her worries.
Kate nodded. “All right.”
He led her out into the parking lot, down to the very last row. Anticipation pumped through his veins, not just because of the surprise he had planned, but the very important thing that would come after.
“Where’s your pickup truck?” she said, looking around.
“I didn’t drive it today. I had to go pick something up.”
“Is that so?” she asked. “What?”
He stopped and then cocked his head to the left. “That.”
“I don’t—What. The. Fuck.” Kate’s jaw dropped, and her eyes went wide. “Petros! What is this?”
The electric blue Chevelle was parked in the last spot, looking shiny and new. He had paid the seller extra to have it delivered today, and then brought it to J.D.’s garage for a once-over, as well as a quick wax and shine. The mechanic was only happy to drive it to The Den after finding out who it was for.
She slapped him on the shoulder. “It was you! You were the buyer!”
He nodded. “Will you forgive me, Kate-mine? For being sneaky and not telling you?”
“But why?” she asked, her eyes still glossing over the car, her expression full of disbelief.
“Because it was a surprise,” he said. His heart began to pound in his chest. “And knowing your aversion to gifts, I thought this would be a better way to ask you to marry me than with a ring.”
“You—what?”
“Kate-mine,” he got down on one knee, “will you marry me?”
“I—wait. You got me an engagement car?”
“Of course,” he said. “I asked your father for his blessing the other day and that gave me the idea.”
“You talked to my dad? I haven’t even introduced you guys yet.”
Petros didn’t want to wait any longer than he had to, so he asked Jason Lennox to make the introduction over video call. Clark and Martha Caldwell were both stunned but ultimately happy at the news.
“That’s the proper way, is it not?” he asked. “But will you kindly answer my question? Before I start growing fungus down here?”
Kate chuckled. “And they said you didn’t have a funny bone in your body.” She leaned down and kissed him. “And yes, I will marry you.”
He got up and took her into his arms. Warmth, comforting and serene, flowed through him as his mate relaxed against his body. The bond was growing stronger every day, a fact that pleased him.
“Hmm,” she sighed. “You’re happy.”
“Very much so.”
“I can feel it,” she said. “Since we bonded, it’s like I can feel everything you feel. And even when you’re not around, it’s like you’re here,” she said, placing a hand over her heart. She looked up at him. “Does it feel the same for you?”
“Yes,” he said with a nod. “And something else.”
“What?”
He smiled down at her. “It feels like home.”
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Dear Reader,
Hope that was a satisfying HEA
The girls’ stories have only begun.
Guess who’s next?
Amelia Walker.
She’s moving back home to Blackstone.
But so’s her ex.
Sparks will fly.
Hearts will race.
What is Mason Grimes doing in Blackstone?
And will Amelia stay
When she finds out?
You’ll know all the answers
In The Blackstone She-Bear.
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All the best,
Alicia
Other Books by Alicia Montgomery
Paranormal Series:
The True Mates Series
Fated Mates
Blood Moon
Romancing the Alpha
Witch’s Mate
Taming the Beast
Tempted by the Wolf
The Lone Wolf Defenders Series:
Killian’s Secret
Loving Quinn
All for Connor
Contemporary Series:
The
Billionaire Heirs
Seducing the Billionaire’s Daughter
Surrendering to the Billionaire’s Son
The Combustion Series
Take Me There
Hearts on Fire
All of Me
Their Game
Let the Games Begin
The Game is On
End Game
About the Author
Alicia Montgomery has always dreamed of becoming a romance novel writer. She started writing down her stories in now long-forgotten diaries and notebooks, never thinking that her dream would come true. After taking the well-worn path to a stable career, she is now plunging into the world of self-publishing.
The Blackstone She-Wolf: Blackstone Mountain 6 Page 14