An Alpha's Storm (Water Bear Shifters 1) (10 page)

Just when she thought she couldn’t wait any longer, Brett hoisted himself up above her on the hammock. He slid her into the center of the dip in the fabric, and the hammock swung wildly for a few moments as he steadied himself.

“Ready?” he asked, his eyes nearly glowing.

Aubrey nodded, and closed her eyes again as he lowered himself into her. He moved slowly, gently. He pushed deep into her, filling her completely and putting the most delicious pressure on every part of her inner walls as his large fullness pushed against her wet entrance. He slid forward and backward rhythmically, building the heat and pressure at a slow, steady pace. Every gentle pulse of his body against hers increased the force of the feeling, until Aubrey exploded into a beautiful release. She lay underneath him in the hammock, losing herself in the tremors of her muscles as they clenched around his dick, hugging him tighter and tighter with each tingling, powerful spasm. It didn’t take long for Brett to follow her into the sweet bliss of release. He stiffened and then pulsed into her, letting out a low growl as he gave in to his own desires.

As the intensity of the moment subsided, Brett slid out of her and cuddled up next to her in the hammock, which was still swaying slightly from the movements of their lovemaking. Brett kissed Aubrey’s nose, and then sighed happily. Aubrey felt completely at peace, lying safely in his arms. She knew she had made the right decision in opening her heart up to him.

After a few minutes, Brett sat up. “Wait right here,” he said, climbing carefully off of the hammock. He disappeared into Aubrey’s house and reappeared a few minutes later with the thick comforter from her bed. He eased himself carefully back into the hammock and then tucked the warm blanket around them. Snuggled up against each other, sweaty and satisfied from their reunion, they fell asleep together under the thick branches of the cedar trees. In the distance, the faint lapping of the ocean provided peaceful background noise for their dreams.

Brett stirred as the gray light of dawn started chasing away the darkness of the night. He felt Aubrey stir slightly and snuggle closer to him, and he couldn’t keep a big, silly grin off of his face. He looked over at her freckled face, so beautiful and peaceful as she slept, and wondered how he had gotten so lucky.

He had begun to think she would never change her mind about him, and now he would never take for granted the fact that she had. He would fight to make time for her. He would protect her fiercely, and love her unwaveringly. He would make sure she never again had reason to doubt how deeply his feelings for her ran.

Aubrey stirred again, and this time when Brett looked over, she had cracked her eyes open. She blinked up at him a few times, then smiled.

“Morning,” she said. Her voice, still rough and cracking from sleep, sounded like music to his ears.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Brett said, tilting his head over to give her a soft kiss on the lips. “How did you sleep?”

“Really well, with you next to me,” Aubrey said, then sat up slowly. “I’m ready for some coffee now, though. Want to come inside with me?”

Brett smiled. “I’d love some coffee,” he said.

Aubrey grinned, and slid off of the hammock onto the ground, then padded across her backyard, still naked. Brett followed her, grabbing his clothes from the pile he had left them in on the ground. When he got inside, he slipped back into his jeans and t-shirt, then sat on one of the barstools next to Aubrey’s kitchen island. Aubrey went to put on an oversized t-shirt, and then began busying herself with the coffeepot. After she had filled the pot with water and scooped some coffee into the filter, she came to sit by Brett.

“So, where do we go from here?” Brett asked as the sound of the coffeepot percolating began to fill the room.

“We go to where we should have gone in the first place,” Aubrey said. “A real relationship. No more of this friends with benefits crap.”

Brett smiled, but he couldn’t keep the strain from his voice when he spoke again. “Aubrey, you need to know that it could be very dangerous to be involved with me. I will do everything I can to protect you, but if my enemies find me, they won’t go easy on me. If you’re with me, they might try to harm you to get to me.”

Aubrey paused and looked down at her hands for several moments. Then she looked up at Brett and smiled. “You’ve already saved my life once. I trust you to do whatever it takes to save me again, if necessary. I’d rather live dangerously with you than live safely without you.”

Brett smiled, then leaned over to kiss her. “I love you, Aubrey,” he said. He knew the rules of dating advised against saying you loved someone so soon in a relationship. But Brett had already told her of his love, anyway. And he had never been one to follow the rules.

To his relief, Aubrey beamed back at him. “I love you, too,” she said. “Whatever life throws at us, we’ll handle it together.”

“There’s one more thing,” Brett said, taking a deep breath and forcing himself to look Aubrey in the eye. “As you know, I’m a panda shifter. If we decide to have children together, which I really hope we will, they will carry the panda shifter gene. Any child you have with me will be a shifter as well. Are you still okay with dating me, knowing that?”

Aubrey reached over and squeezed his hand. “Yes. You are my life, now. And I will be proud to be the mother of your shifter children, when the day comes. I’m not going into this blindly. I know it will be tough. I know we’ll have unique challenges. But the weeks without you have been the darkest weeks of my life. I’ve felt lost and alone, like I was waiting for the dawn to break but it never would. I’m drawn to you like I’ve never been drawn to anyone before. Whatever the future brings us, I want to face it together.

Brett breathed a sigh of relief as Aubrey squeezed his hand again and then hopped off the barstool to grab them mugs of coffee. Brett wished he could promise Aubrey a safe life, free of attacks by those who hated shifters. But he knew that wasn’t possible. She was rising to the challenge, though. She was a strong woman, and she didn’t cower in the face of danger. He remembered the night he had rescued her from the ocean. She had never panicked. She had kept a calm demeanor, and had remained clearheaded in the face of the storm.

As Aubrey set down two steaming mugs of coffee in front of him, he suddenly had no doubt left in his mind that Aubrey was exactly who he wanted by his side for the rest of his life. He knew without question that she was his lifemate. He felt bonded to her. It hadn’t been a sudden, unmistakable bond like some shifters experienced. It had been the slow burn of friendship, then conflict, then reconciliation. And through it all, they had only ended up closer than before. She had only become more committed to him. And Brett realized that just promising to make time for a relationship wasn’t enough. He had to give her more. She was destined for him, and he had to stop circling around the truth of what he wanted from her.

He pushed his mug of coffee a few inches forward and then turned to face Aubrey.

“Marry me,” he said. He didn’t mince words. He was an alpha, after all. He was proud, and strong, and he knew what he wanted.

Aubrey stopped mid-sip of her coffee and looked at him in surprise. “What did you say?” she asked, her voice sounding confused and incredulous.

Brett didn’t flinch or back down. “Marry me,” he said again. “I know we just agreed to have a relationship, and it seems sudden. But I’ve been friends with you for a while now, and I’ve had a chance to really get to know you. I tip-toed around the truth before, and I’m not going to do it again. I believe we’re destined to be together, and I don’t want to waste time acting like that’s not the case. I want you to be my wife, not just my girlfriend. Marry me.”

Aubrey stared at him for several long, excruciating seconds. Finally, she put her coffee mug down and grinned. “Yes,” she said. “This is absolutely insane, and my head is telling me I’m crazy. But I can’t deny the way my heart feels. And what about this friendship and relationship hasn’t been crazy, anyway? So my answer is yes. Let’s do this, Brett. Let’s do life together, for as long as we’re both lucky enough to be here with air in our lungs.”

Brett leaned over and planted a deep, passionate kiss on Aubrey’s lips.

“I promise you won’t be disappointed. Life together is going to be one great big adventure,” he said.

“I have no doubt about that,” Aubrey said. “It’s felt that way since the moment I met you.”

She winked at him and took a sip of her coffee. Brett grinned at her and held up his coffee mug for a toast. “To life together,” he said. They clinked their mugs and Brett took a long sip from his mug. The future might not be easy, but it would be full of love. What more could he want?

FIRE BEAR SHIFTERS SERIES:

Book One: A Blaze to Bear (Ian’s Story)

Book Two: A Spark to Bear (Hunter’s Story)

Book Three: A Burn to Bear (Luke’s Story)

Book Four: A Flame to Bear (Trevor’s Story)

Book Five: An Ember to Bear (Zach’s Story)

Book Six: Beary and Bright (A Fire Bear Shifter Holiday Novella)

Visit Sloane Meyer’s Amazon Author Page for Even More Books and Series by Sloane:

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There are bears walking among us. Sloane Meyers is devoted to telling their stories.

Sloane thinks we could all use a little escape in our lives. And what better way to shake up the ordinary than to transport yourself to the mysterious world of those who have an animal within them, roaring to be let out. Sloane brings you hot shifter males, and spunky, spirited heroines—with NO cliffhangers! Each book can be read as a standalone.

When she’s not busy crafting bear tales, Sloane enjoys a good glass of wine, preferably shared with good friends. She loves reading, baking, and pretending that she’s actually a music buff. On weekends, she spends a lot of time in the great outdoors, hiking with her own sexy alpha and adorable little cub.

You can connect with Sloane at her website,
www.sloanemeyers.com
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