Bearllionaire(52)

That he’d been vulnerable to her.

So she made herself vulnerable to him, opening completely and accepting him in. And when she did, he groaned in pleasure and murmured words of uninhibited love in her ear, which she answered without reservation.

Just two people in love, against the odds, a woman and her bear, tangled up in the sheets in the ecstasy of passion. And then it was over and they held each other close, both wondering how anyone could ever be so lucky.

“I love you, Janna,” Ryder said, stroking her hair as she lay against his chest. “I’ll always love you. You know that, right?”

“Yes,” she said.

“And?”

She laughed and swatted his chest, which was still sheened with sweat from their lovemaking. “Yes, I love you too, silly man. You’d think a billionaire would have more confidence.”

“No man has that much confidence when it comes to the one woman who means more than anything. No man feels deserving enough.”

“I find that hard to believe,” she said, her voice still husky and breathless from calling out his name in the throes of passion.

He chuckled and stroked her hair. “Maybe so. But even a billionaire wants to know he’s closed the deal.”

“Oh, you closed it. It’s final. No going back now,” she said, stroking his skin and enjoying the way his breath caught when she did.

“Good,” he said, getting a look in his eyes that said he was about ready to close that deal again. “I don’t ever want to go back.”

She smiled at that and snuggled against him, pressing her breasts into his side, hoping for a little more from him.

But instead, she was disappointed when he stood and got out of bed. She sighed and pushed herself up to sit against the headboard. Her body was still limp from pleasure, and she felt sated and happy.

“Come back here,” she said. “Where are you going?”

“Just one last thing to do,” he said, rummaging in his bag.

“What?” she asked, unable to fight the curiosity rising in her. “What’s going on?” When he didn’t answer, she gave him a stern glare. “You know things didn’t exactly go that well last time you left me right after lovemaking.”

“True,” he said. Then he made a little noise of approval and stood with something in his hand. “My parents may not have been mated, but they were married.”

“Oh?” Her heart gave a double thump as he walked forward, a small box in his hand. It couldn’t be…

He got on his knee. “Will you marry me, Janna?” He took the ring out of the box and held it out. It was an enormous marquis diamond in a platinum mounting with diamonds at the side. “It’s my mother’s ring, given to me as the oldest child. It would mean everything if you’d wear it until I can claim you for real.”

She stared at it for a moment, and he squirmed uncomfortably.

“It’s not exactly comfortable on the ground here, Janna,” he muttered.

“Oh, I’m sorry! Yes!” She took the ring and threw her arms around him, joining him on the ground. “Of course!” She slid it on her finger, loving the feel of it.

“Thank you,” he said, kissing her cheek and smoothing her hair. “Thank you.”

“So when do we do this mate claiming thing?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I have to talk to my brothers, see if they know any more than I do about any rules regarding it.”

“Well,” she said, looking down at the sparkling ring on her finger. “Just let me know. I feel like I could do it tomorrow.”

He picked her up and sat down on the bed with her curvaceous body over him. “I’m glad. But I want to make sure it’s done right. And when the mate claim is done, then we can get married. Until then, you have my ring and my promise.”

“Do you want to be engaged?” she asked. “Do bears need to?”

“Bear shifter,” he said. “I’m still a man, too. And I want my ring on your finger. I want to keep both bears and humans away.”

“Aw, come on,” she said, teasing him and tickling his chin. “Who would dare mess with Ryder Hart’s woman?”

He growled in response. “Hopefully no one.”

“After all, it’s probably not smart to piss of a bearllionaire,” she said, biting her lip to try and not break out into laughter at his look of disgust.

“You didn’t…” he said. “You did not just turn me into a pun!” He groaned.

“I did,” she said gleefully.

“How long have you been thinking it?” he asked with a long sigh.