Chapter 13
Corey parked his truck in front of the lodge and helped a shaken Willow out of the passenger seat of the car. They’d barely spoken on the way home. She was so concerned about her computer that it didn’t seem to leave room for any other discussion.
He wanted to tell her he’d changed his mind about them. He saw it all differently now. When she’d been taken, he realized he couldn’t live without her. But now that she was with him again, all he could feel was shame.
He’d hurt her with his own stupidity in more ways than one. Because he’d been so adamant about not wanting a mate, he’d ignored the danger she was in. He’d broken her heart and caused her to run off in the night. She’d been in a car accident and her car was totaled. How could he feel anything but shame?
Everything that had happened to her was his fault. If there was something wrong with her computer, that would be his fault too. The feeling of guilt was so deep and painful; he couldn’t tell her how he felt about her now. He couldn’t tell her he’d changed his mind.
Maybe it was too late. Maybe he wouldn’t get a second chance. He wouldn’t blame her after what he’d done. All he could do now was try to make sure she got what she needed to resume her life.
He got the keycard for her suite and took her up in the elevator to her floor. When he swiped the card through the reader, she pushed through the door and immediately started searching for her computer.
“Where is it?” she asked, digging through her things.
“It’s right here,” he said, standing beside the dining room table.
The computer hadn’t fared well in the crash. It was dinged pretty badly, and he feared the worst. Willow groaned when she saw it and ran across the room to open it up. The screen was cracked, but she tried to plug it in and turn it on anyway.
Nothing happened.
“Damn it!” she wailed. “It’s all lost. All of it! I was so close to figuring it out. I finally understood my heroine’s motivations. I knew what she needed to do next. Now I’ll have to start all over again!”
She sat down on the bed and started to cry. Corey’s heart ached seeing her like that. He sat beside her and put his arm around her shoulder.
“I can get your data off the hard drive,” he said, pulling her close.
She pulled back and looked at him with hope in her eyes.
“Really?”
“I can take it home and have it for you in the morning,” he said. “You need to rest now.”
“No. I’m coming with you. I need to know my files are okay.”
“All right,” he said hesitantly.
He understood her obsession with her writing, but he also knew she really needed to rest right now. Her health was more important than her work. She needed someone to remind her of that as much as he did sometimes.
They needed each other.
Every second, it became clearer and clearer that they were meant for each other. As he was walking her back to his cabin, he looked up into the blue sky and took a deep breath. He wanted her to the depths of his soul. He knew it was right. Would he ever be worthy of her?
He had to make himself worthy of her. If it took the rest of his life, he had to make up for what he’d done. He needed her to forgive him. He needed to be allowed to love her and to feel her love in return.
As he opened the door to his cabin, the need ached inside him. Whatever it took, he’d do. For Willow. For their future. His past be damned. He had to think of the future and the joy they could share if he just let it happen.
“Why don’t you rest on the couch while I do this,” he said, grabbing a throw blanket out of a closet.
She laid down on the couch and he covered her with the blanket.
“I could use a bit of a rest,” she said, yawning. “Just tell me as soon as you have my files.”
Her voice grew more distant with each word.
He let out a deep sigh at seeing her resting, finally. He took her busted laptop, disassembled it, and pulled out her hard drive. He had the drive hooked up to his mainframe in no time flat.
He planned to transfer her files to a new laptop with the same operating system she’d been using. He would then give it to her so she’d have something to use.
When he’d finished extracting her files and settings from her old hard drive, he started to copy them to the new computer. It would take a while to upload, so he stood up and walked over to the couch.
Willow slept peacefully under the throw blanket. There was no way he would wake her now. He looked at the clock on his phone. It was already late in the day. He needed to get a few hours of sleep himself.
Tomorrow, he was going to tell Willow that he wanted her to be his mate. No matter how hard it might be to battle through his shame. He’d need a clear mind for that. It would take everything in him to ask for a second chance. He went to his room and crawled into bed.
He woke with a start the next morning and opened his eyes to see Willow standing over him with a worried expression on her face. The sun shone brightly behind the window blinds. He blinked the sleep from his eyes and sniffed the air.
He could smell coffee and Willow’s agitation mingled with the scent of her arousal. He focused on the thing he wanted to deal with least. Corey had made a decision to face things head on. Today was the day to start.
“Is everything all right?” he asked, sitting up in bed.
“I asked you to wake me when you retrieved my files,” she scolded.
He swung his feet over the side of the bed and slid his glasses on. He could smell her scent in the air between them.
“I uploaded your files and settings to a new laptop,” he said, walking across the room to pull a pair of jeans off the back of a chair. He slid into his pants. “It takes a long time, so I just let you sleep.”
“Anyway. I made coffee.”
“Great. Thanks,” he said, walking past her and into the kitchen.
He was shirtless and rubbed his hand up his chest as he poured himself a cup of coffee. The clock on the stove said it was still early.
“How are you feeling this morning,” he asked her, bringing the cup to his lips.
“I’m fine. I’m just anxious about my files,” she said.
He hurried into the living room and flicked his finger over the new laptop he’d prepared for her. The file transfer was complete and everything was ready to go.
“Here it is,” he said, unplugging it for her. “Try it out.”
“Thanks,” she said, taking the machine.
She sat down on the couch in the pile of blankets she’d slept in. She picked up her coffee cup from the side table and took a sip before diving into the computer to find whatever it was she needed to find.
“Thank God, it’s all here,” she said.
Her fingers started to move over the keyboard before he had a chance to say another word. Was she already working? He opened his mouth but then closed it. He couldn’t bother her now.
He turned to his computer and started to type code into his latest project. His fingers moved slowly as he tried to keep his mind focused. Every few minutes, he turned around to check on Willow. She was still typing furiously, her brow furrowed in concentration.
He raised his eyebrows and turned back to his work. After the second cup of coffee, he was back on his game and working through his new project at a good pace. When his stomach started to grumble in the late morning, he stood up and went to the kitchen.
As he passed Willow, she let out a deep sigh and pushed the computer away. She must have finished something.
“Is it working out?” he asked.
“I finally realized how pissed my heroine should be that the hero rejected her. As soon as she started to act honestly, the whole plot fell into place.”
“Why did the hero reject her?” he asked, feeling like this was a little too close to home already.
“He wasn’t ready for love. But when the heroine started acting properly, she made him realize that he n
eeded love. The story just worked after that.”
“Oh,” he said.
Willow made Corey realize he needed love.
“Do you want some breakfast?” he asked.
“Sure. I’m starving.”
He went to the kitchen and started to whip up some scrambled eggs and toast. When he was finished cooking, he put everything on two plates and opened up two TV trays for them to use.
He sat down beside her, offering her a bottle of water from the fridge. She accepted it and took a long swig before setting it down.
“Thank you for fixing my computer,” she said. “And letting me sleep on your couch.”
“It’s not a problem. I wanted to help.”
“You went above and beyond. Considering everything.”
“I haven’t done nearly enough.”
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“Willow, I made a mistake,” he started.
She looked confused and…hopeful. That’s how he felt too.
“What mistake did you make?” Willow said, setting down her water bottle.
“Letting you go,” he said, after chewing his last bite of toast.
She gazed up at him, her fork still in her hand. She dropped it and gulped.
“You changed your mind?” she asked, her brows crinkling up.
“Does that upset you?” he asked.
“I’m not sure how I feel,” she said.
He stood and cleared their plates, needing to clear his head. When he came back, Willow had already put away the TV trays. She was drinking the last of her water, sitting on the couch looking melancholy.
He sat beside her, wanting nothing more than to throw his arms around her curvy little frame and pull her against his body until they both exploded with pleasure. His inner grizzly growled in agreement. But he couldn’t just take her like Charles Shaw had.
He had to earn a second chance.
Chapter 14
Willow looked up into Corey’s deep brown eyes, waiting for him to say what was on his mind. Her whole body tingled in anticipation.
“For the first time in my life, Willow, I feel like I do know how I feel. It’s so crystal clear, now. It’s like I’ve never been clear on anything before this. I know, unequivocally, that I want to be with you. Now and forever.”
“Why now? What changed?” Part of her was still angry.
“When you were taken, I realized that I’d been letting my past dictate my future. I’m not going to let that happen anymore.”
“What happened that made you turn away from love, Corey? Most shifters want their fated mates more than anything.”
“My parents were fated mates. My father was a cheater and a gambler. He hurt my mother her entire life. Left her alone to care for me and my little sister for years at a time without coming home. But every time he came back around with his empty promises, my mother took him back.
“They were shifters. Fated mates. She couldn’t help loving and forgiving him. But I hated my father for what he did to her. I vowed I’d never do that to my mate. The only way I could avoid it was by never mating.”
She could see the pain in his eyes as he talked about his past. He really had been trying to protect her, in his own wounded way.
She reached up and caressed his cheek. Why hadn’t he told her this before? It would have made it so much easier to understand why he’d wanted to stay away from his fated mate. His father’s behavior had really hurt his family.
“Where is your family now?” she asked.
“My father died. My mother loved him until the end. She died a year later, from an unknown disease. I’d been supporting my mother and sister for a long time, but that didn’t keep her from going back to him. That didn’t keep her from loving him to her own detriment.”
“What about your sister?”
“My sister is a full-blooded shifter. Like me. But she’s a jaguar like my dad. She’s doing her own thing. She’s a lot younger than me and she acts it.”
“I’m an only child. My parents divorced after I graduated high school and they both live in Seattle, where I grew up. It must have been nice having a sibling. You should invite her to Fate Mountain.”
“From what I’ve seen on her social media, I don’t think she’d be interested in coming to a small town like Fate Mountain.”
“You don’t know that.”
“She travels around a lot. Never staying anywhere long.”
Corey supported his mother and his sister, but he lived in this little cabin full of computer equipment. She was beginning to suspect he wasn’t telling her something. “How were you able to support your mother and now your sister?” she asked, looking around.
“Money isn’t a problem for me.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’d rather not talk about it. I don’t want you to like me for my money.”
Her mouth dropped and she stood up, grabbing the computer. She started toward the door. How dare he say that to her after everything he’d put her through?
“I’ll return your computer after I transfer the files to a new one,” she said.
He grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him.
“I’m sorry. I have a problem. I say the wrong things. I didn’t mean it like it came out.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
“How did you mean it?”
“I meant, I want you to like me for me.”
“I already do like you, Corey. I mean, I did,” she said, testing him.
She still liked him. Way too much for her own good. But she needed him to say the words she needed to hear.
“Willow. We’re meant to be together. Call it fate or instinct or compatibility. Whatever it is, I know in my gut, in my soul, that I have to be with you. I don’t want anything to get in the way of that pure, clear connection that we share. Not money, not work, not my bear’s growling. Nothing. I just want you and me. Together. And unbreakable.”
She loosened her grip on her computer and let it fall away from her chest to hang at her side.
“How do I know you aren’t just ‘confused’ again. Like the day on the beach?”
“I want us to be together, Willow. I want to claim you as my mate. Mark you as my own. I need you, Willow. Forever.”
He reached out and took her empty hand, pulling her toward him. She let him envelop her in his embrace. She sighed and relaxed into his chest. She’d been waiting to hear him say those words all along, even if she didn’t realize it until that very moment. His strong hand took the computer and set it down so that he could hold her closer.
He rubbed her back, and she could feel him harden against her. The sensation sent a shock of desire up her spine, tightening her nipples and arousing her core.
“What now?” she whispered.
“I’m going to take you to the bathroom and wash us both because I smell,” he said, laughing. “Then I’m going to take you to the bedroom and lick you until you scream for my cock. After I make you come over and over again, I’ll sink my teeth deep in your neck until the universe quakes with the awareness of our bond.”
“Oh!” she gasped.
No man had ever said anything like that to her before. She hadn’t expected it. Now that he’d said it, she turned into a pool of jelly, ready to be formed by his hands.
“Tell me you want this,” he breathed into her ear.
“I want it,” she murmured. “So much.”
He picked her up and carried her to his bathroom. He turned on the shower and began to peel her out of her dirty clothes. She reached out to open the button on his jeans and looked up into his dark eyes as he watched her do it.
He pulled off his clothes with a growl and helped her into the shower. He climbed in behind her as she stood under the spray. He lathered body wash in his hands and ran them over her round stomach. He cupped her breasts in his hands, rolling her dark nipples between his fingers.
Willow gasped and leaned her curly head back against his chest. He was ha
rd as steel behind her, and her body begged for him already. One of his slick hands ran between her legs and the other held her breast. He rubbed her sex, driving her wild as he washed her clean.
He turned her around and angled himself under the faucet, washing away the dirt and sweat from the night before. They kissed under the spray, tasting each other as if for the first time.
Corey really wanted to be with her. He wanted to claim her as his mate. Willow knew what that meant. They would be bound and bonded forever. The connection they felt now would be multiplied many times over. They would sense and feel each other in ways that she couldn’t even comprehend now.
She was ready to surrender to the feelings inside her. Her character had found a way to her happily ever after by giving in to her emotions. And Willow had to believe that fate would hold her hand and give her a happily ever after with Corey.
She wanted it more than she could express in words. It was bigger than even her vocabulary. That’s how she knew it was real and worth the risk. It was worthy of her and would make her even better, if she could just let it happen.
Corey helped her out of the shower and took her to his room. The warm summer air wafted through the window as they lay across the bed in the midday light. They laid together naked in the bed under a cool sheet, kissing languidly in the heat of their embrace.
“This feels so right,” Corey whispered into her ear.
“It feels right to me too,” Willow said.
He slid his hand between her legs as he kissed her. Slowly, he found her desire until he was teasing out her arousal to the breaking point. His fingertips worked her swollen bud as he kissed her mouth, neck and breasts.
“Corey,” she groaned.
He moved down her body, licked her aching core. She groaned and arched her back. He was driving her mad with desire. She’d never been so ready to come. When he moved his fingers inside her and circled his tongue, she exploded against him.
She growled through clenched teeth, the orgasm taking over her entire body. Corey drew his mouth away, holding on to her sex with his big hand. He moved over her and held himself between her legs.