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She lifted her free hand and set it on the back of his, suffusing his skin with her own warmth. “You’re just too sweet.”

  No, he wanted to tell her, there was nothing sweet about him. Not when it was taking every bit of strength he had to keep himself from sweeping her up in his arms and taking her upstairs and-

  “Aaron?” He barely heard her soft whispered tones, full of concern. “Are you feeling all right? Your skin is burning hot.”

  He looked down and saw her brushing her fingers over the back of his hand in soothing sweeps.

  “If you’re not feeling well, you should go and lie down. I’ll get you a wet cloth and some medicine.”

  If she only knew how much he’d be happy to lie down. With her.

  He shook his head as she continued to talk, telling him that all the rooms were empty. She seemed completely oblivious to the strain she was putting on his control.

  It didn’t help that his bear was adding his own steady stream of comments and quite a few decidedly delicious images in his head.

  All of that only served to heat his skin even more.

  At this rate he was going to need to find a massive refrigerator to sit in for a while if he wanted to keep a level head and focus his thoughts on the conversation he wanted to have with Celeste. “I’m okay. Really. I just think you’re being too hard on yourself. I don’t know what I need to do to get you to relax.”

  Her smile was a little self-effacing. “Relax? A single mother with two kids doesn’t get to relax.” A moment later, her exhausted smile faltered and she was fighting tears again. “I can’t let them see me like this.”

  She didn’t have to explain any more than that.

  Standing up, he pulled her from her chair and into his arms.

  Celeste wrapped her arms around him. She was a tall woman for a human, but felt petite and precious in his embrace. Leaning his face down into the wavy perfection of her hair, he could smell the shampoo that she’d used and it was good enough to eat.

  But, beyond that, it was Celeste.

  It was all Celeste.

  Smoothing his hand over the back of her head and combing his fingers through the silken fall he had to resist the urge to fist his hand in her hair and gently pull it back until he could press a kiss to her lips.

  He wanted to claim her.

  He needed to claim her, body and soul. It wasn’t just his bear making the demands either. He’d held back too long.

  Celeste Olwin filled his thoughts with the myriad of colors that lit the night in the northern circle. She inspired him and tempted him. She was a nurturing mother nature and he was a creature of the wild. He craved her touch and hungered for her taste.

  That would have to wait, because his needs were secondary. They would always be. She needed his comfort and his strength and that’s what he would give her.

  “Cel?” The S hissed softly between his lips as he smoothed her hair back from her face. “Cel? They’re almost ready. I can hear them in the kitchen.”

  Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it into her hand. “Here, Cel, dry your tears. I’ll hold you together. Let me help you.”

  She looked up and her thick chocolate waves fell back from her face until her blue eyes met his.

  “You’ve always been there for us, Aaron. You’ve always been my rock. I just wish I could return the favor sometime.”

  The urge to kiss her lips and show her exactly what he wanted from her was almost too strong, and if it hadn’t been for the hesitant footsteps of her grown children moving toward the door, he might have crossed that line too soon.

  “Dry your tears, Cel. Give them your smiles, you can cry all you like after.”

  Nodding, she lifted the handkerchief to her eyes and quickly dashed away her tears.

  “Hey, mom! We need to get going!”

  The twins walked back into the room with their own eyes rimmed with red and Aaron felt the shift inside of Celeste as she set aside her pain and worry and became the maternal force of nature he’d seen time and time again.

  Celeste might not be a shifter but the spirit in her body was a bear; strength to spare and fiercely protective of her cubs.

  “All right, you two!” Her face shone with joy and pure love. “You better get on the road so you have enough time for stops and to stretch your legs.”

  “Aww, mom!” Jason sighed and slipped his arm around Celeste’s shoulders and pulled her close enough to press a kiss on the top of her head. “We’ll drive safe.”

  Julia mirrored her brother on her mother’s other side. “And we’ll watch our speed.”

  “And keep our eyes on the road.”

  “And we’ll call when we get there to let you know.”

  They stepped onto the porch and Aaron followed after them, committing the sight to memory.

  The three people dearest to him in the whole world, stepping out into the sun. The sunlight of the morning warmed them as they made their way down the front walkway to the arbor and gate that marked the edge of the yard.

  First Julia and then Jason enveloped their mother in a big, grasping hug. Trading off to wrap their arms around him as well in a hug that had never been more welcome as it was in that moment.

  The energy moving through the space in and around the four of them felt like a tactile object, bringing them closer together with its energy.

  Jason was the first one to step back and open the driver’s door. “You’ll be okay, mom. And so will we.”

  “Aaron will make sure you’re okay,” Julia added. “Right?”

  She looked up at him and Aaron felt his bear rumble up near the surface.

  Cub.

  Yes, he agreed with the bear within, she’s our cub. Both of them are.

  Proud.

  Yes, he smiled, they had every reason to be proud of their cubs.

  Jason and Julia may not have been created from his body, but they had carried his heart with theirs since he’d met them years ago.

  And now, as his bear turned his head toward their mate, he heard Celeste tell her children not to, “burden Aaron. He has a life of his own.”

  Since he was slightly behind her, he waved them off toward the car and Jason gave him a wink as he backed up toward the carefully packed vehicle. Julia mirrored her brother and got into the passenger seat before pulling her phone into her hands.

  “They’re not even out of the driveway,” Celeste chuckled. “What could she be doing?”

  A moment later as the engine turned over in a familiar tumble of sound, Aaron’s phone pinged in his back pocket. Reaching back, his brows furrowed. There were a handful of people in the world who had his number and three of them were within twenty feet of him.

  Looking at the screen, he swiped his finger over the messenger icon and the app opened up.

  JULIA: Don’t chicken out. Tell her! Luv- us

  Aaron looked up as Julia waggled her fingers at him through the windshield.

  He lifted up his free hand and waved, nodding to himself.

  The car pulled out of the driveway and headed out on the road, quickly disappearing behind trees along the way.

  Celeste stood beside him waving at them, seemingly stuck in place. Her face was alight with love, her eyes shining with tears. And as she slowly lowered her arm she turned and looked up into his eyes.

  “You know…” her voice was barely a whisper, “if we jump in your car we can catch them before they reach town.”

  Before he could process the words she’d said, she broke into a nervous laugh.

  “I’m only kind of joking. Hardly serious. I just didn’t know it would be this hard.”

  He didn’t say a word to her. To the love of his life.

  He reached out and pulled her into his embrace and held on as she began to sob.

  Aaron wanted to kiss away her tears and hold her for the rest of time, but there were things that had to be said first.

  Questions that needed answers.

  And while she cried,
he swept her up in his arms and walked over to the giant oak tree in the center of the front yard.

  Years ago, he’d built a swing on one of the branches and made it big enough for several people to sit on it at once. Big enough for the twins to sit on it. Or that was the reason he gave to Celeste for the giant swing he’d built.

  But that had only been one reason for his work.

  Now, sitting down on the swing with Celeste gently cradled in his arms, he felt his heart soar at the sensation.

  His bear eased within him, satisfied for the moment.

  Celeste dabbed at her eyes with his handkerchief and he felt his chest swell with pride. He knew his duty, ached to fulfill it. Care for her, love her, make her happy, and ease her sorrows.

  “I’m sorry,” she snuffled, peering up at him with his handkerchief muting some of her voice. “I’m crying all over you.”

  His bear lifted its head in interest. He wanted her all over them for any reason.

  Aaron shoved a wave of displeasure at the grumpy bear.

  Behave.

  No, it shoved back, no more waiting.

  “Aaron?”

  He heard the worry in her tone and that alone was enough to make the bear give up. Neither of them wanted to upset her.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “Not when I have you in my arms.”

  He hadn’t planned the words. Hadn’t even known he was going to say them, but when he saw the pretty blush coloring her cheeks, he relaxed a little.

  “That’s so sweet, but I’m probably crushing your legs.”

  She started to lower a leg to the ground, but his free hand caught it and held it gently against her other leg.

  “No, no.” His breath was caught in his throat. “You’re good where you are.”

  And heaven help him, she was more than good. The full curve of her ass was heavy against his cock and the last thing he was going to do was make her move.

  “I’m not a child who needs a distraction.”

  Aaron chuckled and wondered if it sounded as nervous as he felt.

  “I know you’re not a child, Celeste. Far from it.”

  Using the heels of his well-worn boots, he pushed against the ground and started to rock the swing ever so gently.

  “You’re a woman so beautiful and loving that you make me ache.”

  He felt her stir against him, but he couldn’t look down, not yet.

  If he did and he saw pity or rejection in her eyes, he wasn’t sure he could stand the pain.

  “I came today, partly because the kids asked me to, but also because I’m ready to tell you something I’ve never told you before… something I’ve never told anyone before.”

  He felt her fingers fiddle with a button on his shirt, and a moment later he felt her fingertip slip against his skin.

  She was warm against him. Her touch tantalizing in the way she drew the path of her exploration through the silver hairs on his chest.

  Celeste stirred his blood with her gentle movements against him, and she awoke the bear within with her languid sigh of contentment.

  “Well, tell me your secret, Aaron… I’ve been wanting to tell you something too.”

  Two

  Being this close to Aaron was the best kind of delicious torture.

  Being alone with him only made the temptation stronger. More potent.

  When the kids were there, and they always had been, it was easy to look her fill, breathe him in, let her mind wander. The kids were her buffer and also the reason she’d met Aaron in the first place.

  Alone with him, seated on his lap, it was only too easy to feel the latent power in his muscular legs. Lean into his hard chest with all of its delicious warmth.

  And yes, breathe him in.

  One deep, hungry breath of his scent. And another. Before she realized what she was doing, her nose bumped into his neck.

  Startled she leaned back and peered nervously up into his eyes. “Uh, sorry.”

  There was a smile on his face, but the eyes that looked down at her were dark and glittering like the night sky.

  “Aaron?”

  He drew in a breath of his own and his chest swelled against her shoulder, but his eyes remained on her face, slowly shifting under her fascinated gaze.

  When the eyes that were looking at her was once again Aaron, she let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding.

  “Aaron,” the sound of his name was a breathy plea that she’d never uttered to him before, only in the almost dark of her bedroom.

  He smiled at her as if he could hear her thoughts.

  And maybe he could, because the set of his features was more intense, expectant.

  And while she didn’t know what he expected, she wanted to find out.

  “You said you wanted… you wanted…” Her hand was on his chest, and the deep rise and fall of each breath was hypnotic and as her finger traced the front edge of his shirt she swore that the heat of his body licked at her skin.

  A moment later her heart was beating wildly as if it was desperately trying to break free.

  Celeste pushed back and away, almost falling off of his lap.

  The only sound she made at first was a startled cough of laughter as his hands caught her and set her down beside him on the swing.

  “Wow,” she covered her heart with her hands and laughed again, nearly mortified at her actions. “I’m… I’m so sorry!” Her face felt flushed and her hands were shaking.

  And what she couldn’t even admit to herself was that her thighs shook and between her legs she was aching. It wasn’t an unfamiliar thing when it came to Aaron, but it certainly hadn’t happened when she was sitting on his lap before.

  “Aaron, I’m-”

  “Don’t apologize, Celeste. You’ve done nothing to apologize for.”

  Oh, how his voice rumbled. The icy-blue tint of his eyes had darkened like stormy clouds.

  He sat beside her, calm and still, but she felt a wildness inside of him. Like a river behind a dam, waiting to spill over. Just a crack would be all that it needed to come crashing through.

  And heaven help her.

  There was something inside of her that wanted to find that crack and feel what it was like to be overwhelmed by this man. To be touched by him when he was in a heated rush. To hear private and desperate words on his tongue.

  To feel his body around her, over her, inside-

  “What are you thinking about, Celeste?”

  Startled, she shook herself free of her daydreams and met his eyes for a moment before she looked away. “You don’t… You don’t want to know, Aaron. I’m just being silly. It’s all of this upheaval in my life and the kids moving away. I’m just… silly, it’s just-”

  “I dream of you.”

  His words ground her own to a halt.

  Fixing her eyes on this face, she struggled to understand. “I’m sorry, what?”

  His mouth curved into a smile and she found herself fascinated by his mouth. A troubling habit that she’d developed years ago. “I said… I dream of you.”

  Her heart leapt in her chest, but her mind remained a hopeless jumble of thoughts.

  “I dream of sleeping with you in my arms. I dream of kissing you in the moonlight and waking you with breakfast in bed.”

  It felt like a dream… or maybe a hallucination.

  This man. This strong and gentle man wanted her.

  “I have dreamed of being with you day after day, having you at my side.” He held onto the rope on his side of the swing and used his other hand to wrap around her own and lowered it to the swing between them. “Now that you’re going to sell the Bed and Breakfast, Celeste, what are your dreams? I’d like to help you make them happen, if you’ll give me a chance.”

  “A chance?” her mind was still struggling to understand what he was saying. “A chance… with me?”

  His hand tightened around hers, tighter and tighter, but it wasn’t painful. It just felt like he never wanted to let her go. �
�Yes, with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Celeste Olwin.”

  “But why now?” Shocked at herself, she covered her mouth with her free hand and mumbled behind it. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” he lifted their joined hands and pressed a kiss to the tip of one exposed finger, “It’s a fair question. I’ve been holding myself back. I should have said something years ago, but I couldn’t. I didn’t think you’d understand.”

  “Understand?” She shook herself. Confused. And there was something almost primal turning over inside of her. “Why wouldn’t I? Or maybe you thought I didn’t feel the same way?”

  All those years. So many years alone at night. Staring across the dinner table at the empty chair when he wasn’t able to come to the house for a meal.

  Those hesitating good-byes at the front door.

  The frustrated tossing and turning at night.

  The dreams of him that she held in her heart and soul.

  “Don’t you know, Aaron?” Her heart was breaking like her own voice. “Don’t you know that I’ve wanted to be with you for years? You always stepped back when things felt like they were going to change between us. You held my shoulders and stepped back. You can’t tell me that it’s different now. Not when I’ve finally decided I’m going to make a change.”

  She saw the tight set of his features. Saw the tick of a muscle in his jaw. He was upset, but he wasn’t angry with her. She couldn’t see it or know it by words, she could feel it as if it was inside of her chest. He was upset… at himself.

  “What change?”

  She heard the growl in his voice and tried not to smile at him. She loved that growl.

  “Selling this place.” She didn’t look back at the old gingerbread trimmed Victorian house. “I was planning to keep it going for as long as I could, but my two kids went and found themselves scholarships and now I don’t have to work all the time. I wanted to find a small house somewhere. Have a little garden. Watch the butterflies dance in the spring and wait for a day, not too soon mind you, when my kids make me a grandmother. I know it sounds a little silly, but it’s what I’ve been thinking about. What I want. Just to do for myself and be happy.”

  When she finished, she heard Aaron’s silence, it was deafening in her ears.