Bearllionaire(50)
“That’s ridiculous,” she said as much at her own joyful response to his admission as to his declaration itself.
He moved forward, taking her hand. It nearly disappeared in his huge fingers and made her think of other places she’d felt that warm, comforting touch. “Do I really seem like a flippant man to you? Do I seem like the type that would completely abandon my work to go after just any woman? Do I seem like the type that would make love to her, say I love her, and ask her to spend her life with me, all for a lay?”
She frowned. That was true. But even though she now knew he wasn’t a coward, her heart was still trying to move into untrusting mode. “How do I know you won’t be like your dad?” she asked.
“Because I’ll mate claim you. The mate claim is a serious promise. It means that I die when you die, and it means I never mate with another. And you don’t either.”
“Sort of like marriage for humans?” she asked.
“Yes, but more serious,” he said. “Mate claims are no joke in the bear world. Especially since there have been relatively few cases of it. We’ve known how to do it but haven’t wanted to for many years because we were afraid the race was dying out. But if it’s going to die out anyway, we may as well be happy. Honestly, I didn’t care if the race died out if it was the reason my mom and dad fell apart.”
“Understandable,” she said, feeling a prickle of excitement for what was coming. “So how do you mate claim?”
“It’s a little complicated,” he said. “It’s two part.”
“Okay, what is it?”
He shook his head, kissed her hand, and placed it back on her knee. Then he stood and placed a hand on either side of her on the bed. “I can’t tell you yet. Not until you agree.”
“How can I possibly decide now?” she asked.
“You’ve seen my bear. You know me as a man. And since there’s some bear in you, I suspect you already know inside how you feel about me, even if it feels a little ridiculous.”
She did. She swallowed, embarrassed he could see it. She pulled the covers higher.
His gaze bored into her. “So I’ll tell you again. What I told you the other night, that you seemed to be okay with. I love you, Janna. You’re it for me. I know you think it matters that I’m a billionaire, but it doesn’t. As far as you’re concerned, I’m just a dumb bear who has found the bear for him and will have his heart broken if you say no.”
She looked up at him, her heart welling with love.
“So, Janna, what’s your answer?”
17
Her frozen heart was melting all over the place, and she resisted the urge to reach out to him as love started to overflow. She wanted to hear everything he had to say first. He could be so sweet when he wanted to.
She reached up and touched the dimple in his cheek, rubbed a thumb over the slight cleft in his chin, and smiled at him.
He blushed, right over his cheekbones. “So, Janna, do you love me? Will you take this crazy step and say yes to spending your life with me? You now know I’ll do anything to protect you. I’ll fight anything that threatens you. I’ll always be there for you. The rest are just details. We can make a life together if you just say yes.”
She looked up into his eyes. “But where would we live?”
“Anywhere we want. If you want to live here and stay by your friends, I can work remotely. I kind of like the idea of raising a family here.” When he saw she was about to interrupt, he raised a hand to her lips gently. “Even if that family is just you and me.”
“I can’t make any promises,” she said. “What if one of us changes our minds?”
He drew back and rose to his full height. Commanding, powerful. “I’m never going to change my mind because my bear has never felt like this. And I know from my father that he never will. And the human in me sees even more than the bear does. Knows rationally what the bear can’t explain. You’re smart. You’re beautiful. You’re giving and cautious, but you keep on trying and putting yourself out there. You’re warm and loving and awesome in bed. I love your body. I love everything about you, Janna. Time won’t change that.”
She swallowed, closed her eyes, and listened deep inside herself. She could feel the forest. When he’d said she was part bear, she’d been too stunned by everything else to ask about it. But it made sense. Was that why she’d been so intrigued by the thought of coming out here? If there was bear in her, it was just very slight. But she could still feel that part calling out to him, telling the human part of her to listen. That this was a mate that was one in a million, and she should snap him up and work out the details later.