Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 65042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 325(@200wpm)___ 260(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
I blinked, surprised.
“Why not now?”
He drew a deep breath, his voice low and serious.
“Because a Heartmate bond is forever. Once I knot you and seal the bond, it can’t be undone—not by time, not even by death. Your soul will be tied to mine for eternity. You deserve time to decide if that’s what you really want.”
His words hit me low in the belly—not just because they were serious, but because they were kind. Considerate. No man I’d ever been with had stopped to ask if I truly wanted forever. But Shadow was offering me that chance. Not pushing. Just… offering.
I looked down at the spot where his hand curved around my waist. “You really think I might not want that?”
“I hope you do,” he said quietly. “I ache to make the bond. To be with you in the light. To walk beside you in this town you’re beginning to love. But I won’t take your forever unless you’re certain.”
I swallowed hard, emotion catching in my throat.
“You’re a lot more respectful than a monster under the bed should be.”
That earned me a low rumble of laughter.
“And you’re far braver than any human I’ve ever known.”
We lay there like that for a while—quiet, close, tangled up in sheets and soft words. The fire in the hearth had died to embers, casting flickering gold shadows across the walls of the cozy little bedroom. Outside, wind rattled the late autumn leaves and somewhere far off an owl called.
Shadow pressed a kiss to my temple and tucked me tighter against him.
“For tonight,” he murmured, “Just let me hold you.”
I let out a breath and rested my head against his chest, listening to the slow, steady beat of his heart.
“Okay,” I whispered. “Just hold me.”
And so he did.
32
DANNI
I woke the next morning, and for a long moment I wasn’t sure if everything that had happened the night before had been real. I blinked in the soft, golden light streaming through the windows of my bedroom, the warm quilt tucked around me. There was no sign of Shadow beside me in bed. No massive, solid body curled around mine. No lazy tail looping my leg.
And yet…
When I shifted under the covers, a shivery little tingle rippled through me. My thighs were slick and creamy, and I felt a delicious ache throbbing low and deep inside me.
Oh, it had been real, all right. Very, very real.
A flush of warmth spread over my cheeks as the memories came flooding back. The feelings of his tail sliding into me…the way he had murmured those hot, dirty words of praise while stroking my most sensitive places. The heat…the fullness…and the incredibly intense orgasm that followed. Not to mention the way he had tasted me first, eating me like I was a delicious delicacy he wanted to savor.
God, no one had ever touched me like that—not even Craig. I had loved my late husband and had always thought we’d had a decent sex life. But the last two nights had taught me the difference in decent and extraordinary. Being with Shadow had given me a whole new perspective—the monster under my bed was the best lover I’d ever had.
And now I couldn’t stop smiling.
I lay there for another minute, one hand drifting over my belly, the other brushing the sheets where Shadow had been. Tonight, I thought. Tonight, I’m going to let him knot me. I want him real. I want him forever.
That thought settled something inside me—a decision I hadn’t even known I’d been making. My monster wasn’t just some fantasy or figment anymore—he was mine. My protector…my lover. And I wanted to make that permanent.
But I couldn’t spend the day mooning over last night’s magical orgasms—I needed to get moving. I slipped out of bed and padded to the bathroom, stretching as I went. The shower was warm and quick—just enough to rinse the stickiness off my thighs without disturbing the creamy heat Shadow had filled me with. I didn’t want to wash it away, especially if it was helping me get ready for his knot.
Afterward, I towel-dried my hair and pulled on a cozy tunic sweater in pumpkin spice orange, leggings, and my knee-high leather boots. A quick glance in the mirror told me I looked like someone ready for a crisp fall morning in a magical town.
And maybe a croissant.
I had a sudden craving for one of those flaky, buttery pastries from The Lost Lamb Bakery. My stomach growled in agreement.
I went to The Lost Lamb to get a croissant and some hot cocoa and then came back home for the day. It seemed strange to me that the cottage already felt like my permanent residence, but I wasn’t complaining. The house I’d lived in with Craig for the past fifteen years was beginning to seem like a distant memory, but since so many of the memories I had there were sad, that didn’t bother me.