Chapter 29
Two months later.
Liam had called once he reached Tekapo, promising to be in Middlemarch by early evening.
“Stop fussing,” Kitto said, watching Sienna rearrange the roses again. “He’s coming here for you, not your flower arrangements. Though, okay, they look beautiful—please don’t throw a cushion at me.”
Sienna smiled despite herself until she noticed the bag slung over Kitto’s shoulder. “Where are you going?”
“Emily and Saber’s. I’m babysitting the twins while they sneak off for a romantic weekend. Very strategic, if you ask me.” His ears twitched with mischief. “Emily said you and Liam might want the house to yourselves.”
“Oh.” Hard to argue, considering everything Emily and Saber had done for them.
“I’m heading to the shop first to frame some prints. See you tomorrow.” Kitto grinned, pausing at the door. “Middlemarch feels like home, but I miss Ma and Pa. Jago and Calan too, even if they are bossy pains.”
“We see their ugly mugs once a week on video.”
“Not the same. I miss the in-person chaos.”
“Mama and Papa are happy in Scotland, and like keeping tabs on Stoneford through Niall. But Jago and Calan might visit.”
“They’re jealous,” Kitto said, smug now. “Especially since I showed them my new commission and shiny red motorcycle.”
After he left, the day dragged. Sienna checked the crockpot three times, rearranged the cushions twice, and paced from kitchen to front window more than she cared to admit. This felt like the beginning of everything she wanted, so naturally, her brain tried to sabotage it.
A knock came two hours earlier than expected.
Her stomach flipped. Her feline senses stretched, and her heart leaped.
“Liam!”
“I didn’t stop for a break, and traffic was light,” he said, gaze sweeping her from head to toe with a heat that made her shiver. “I couldn’t wait.”
His honesty and the blazing love in his expression dissolved her anxiety. She launched herself into his arms, and he caught her, embracing her tightly. Their kiss felt like home and the start of an adventure, and they didn’t come up for air for a long time.
“I’m so glad to see you,” Liam murmured, voice thick with emotion. “The mountains were stunning, but I kept wishing you were there.”
“I missed you too,” she laughed. “Kitto was ready to lock me outside for excessive pacing.”
“Where is he?”
“Babysitting Emily and Saber’s twins.”
“Those two are pint-sized chaos. Saber and I used to barricade ourselves in the office.”
“Kitto handles them like a pro. Emily calls him her secret weapon.” She threaded her fingers through his. “Come inside. I want to hear everything and show you what we’ve done to make this place homey.”
He didn’t follow.
Instead, Liam scooped her into his arms.
“Liam!”
He grinned, boyish and bright. “I like traditions, so I’m carrying you over the threshold.”
“We’ve already been here together.”
“Not like this. The first time as…” He hesitated. “Partners—no, more than that.”
Her heart melted, and she kissed his cheek. “Definitely more. And I love that you wanted to mark the occasion.”
He carried her into the kitchen. Sunshine bathed the space, the rich scent of beef stew wafting from the crock pot and enveloping them.
“Smells amazing,” he said, cupping her face and kissing her slowly. When they parted, both were breathless. “I love you, Sienna.”
“And I am so in love with you. Even when you’re early and mess with my perfectly timed dinner.”
Peace settled over her. This was right.
“Now,” she said, stepping back reluctantly, “tell me about the mountains while I finish dinner.”
Liam leaned against the counter, words tumbling out as he described Cam’s station—the endless views, the braided silver rivers, and the sunrise over snow-dusted peaks.
“Some mornings, I’d shift and run the ridgelines. You can see for miles. Cam wants to meet you. He says any woman who can survive a kidnapping and still land on her feet is welcome at his table.”
“You told him about that?”
“I talked about you all the time. All the men know how incredible you are. How you saved a child from hunters, built a life here, and run a business. You’re a legend.”
Warmth bloomed in her chest. “I’m not the same woman who went to the Scottish gathering.”
“No, you’re stronger. You know who you are now.”
“So do you. You’re not lost anymore.”
He smiled, brushing a thumb across her hand. “I’m exactly where I belong. With you.”
The crock pot chimed, and they laughed softly together.
“Perfect timing,” she said, leaning into him.
“There’s one more thing,” he murmured, voice thick with desire. “What happens tonight?”
“Dinner and wine,” she teased, eyes sparkling. “Then I’ll show you what Kitto and I did to the house. And after that…”
“After that,” he whispered, closing the space between them, “I’ll take you to our room and show you how much I missed you.”
Her breath caught. A flush crept over her skin, heat coiling low in her belly. “Sounds perfect.”
“I have long-term plans, sweetheart.”
“Oh?”
“The kind where I mark you, so every shifter in three provinces knows you’re mine. And you do the same to me.”
She trembled, slick heat coiling at his words. “Liam.”
He stepped back with effort. “But first, dinner. I want to do this right. Tonight should be perfect.”
“It already is. We’re together.”
They moved around the kitchen in sync, Liam pouring wine while she served their beef stew and mashed potatoes. It was a domestic rhythm that seemed instantly natural.
“To new beginnings,” Liam said, raising his glass.
“To finding our way home,” Sienna replied.
Later, they washed dishes side by side, hips bumping, laughter soft and warm.
“Ready to see what we’ve done?” she asked.
She showed him the living room with Kitto’s painted Cornish border, framed photos from Cornwall, Scotland, and Middlemarch, and two of her father’s signature blue-and-white pottery pieces.
“It feels like us,” Liam said, running a hand over the mantel. “Like our story.”
“That was the goal. So you’d know you belong here too.”
In the spare room, she showed him Kitto’s desk by the north-facing window.
“He’s finding his place,” Liam said.
“He talks about moving out eventually, but for now we’re family.”
“And families give each other space to grow.”
She stopped at their bedroom door. “Ready to see our room?”
His response was to kiss the spot just below her ear.
She pushed open the door to a softly lit room. Tamsin’s Cornish blue and cream quilt lay on the bed, sheer curtains glowing silver with moonlight. The air held a faint trace of lavender and beeswax, and from outside came the distant rustle of wind through the trees.
“Perfect,” Liam murmured, though his focus had already shifted to her.
“I was nervous,” she admitted. “About living together, about whether we’d—”
He silenced her with a kiss, passionate and consuming. “I was too. But I want this. You. All of it.”
“Then what are we waiting for?”
This time, their kiss held nothing back.
It was deep, hungry, and laced with months of built-up need.
Every letter he’d written, every restless night she’d endured, every fantasy neither had dared say aloud—they all poured into the collision of their mouths and bodies.
His leopard prowled beneath his skin, and hers rose to meet it, their beasts recognizing what their human sides had fought for so long.
Clothes disappeared in a frenzy, fabric tearing under fingers that shifted between human and claw. When her bare skin met his, the contact sent shockwaves through them both.
“God, Sienna,” Liam groaned against her throat, his voice caught between man and beast. “Your scent is driving me wild.”
She arched into him, her leopard purring audibly. “I missed you, and it was even worse once we’d made love. I understood exactly what I was missing.”
He backed her toward the bed, worshipping every curve—cupping her breasts, stroking down her back, and coming to rest on her backside.
His touch left a trail of fire on her skin.
She could see his control fraying in the tremor of his fingers, in the way his eyes flickered between human blue-green and leopard intensity.
“Mine,” he growled, and the word vibrated through her bones.
“Prove it,” she challenged, nipping at his jaw hard enough to leave a mark.
He scooped her up and deposited her on the bed, the quilt cover cool against her overheated back. His mouth found her breast, teeth grazing the peak before soothing with his tongue. The dual sensation made her cry out, her nails—half-shifted to claws—raked down his shoulders.
“Please,” she panted, rolling her hips against him. “I need—”
“I know what you need.” His hand slipped between them, fingers finding her slick and ready. “So wet for me, sweetheart. Your body knows who it belongs to.”
She keened at his touch, her inner muscles clenching around his fingers as he worked her. “Liam, I can’t—I need you inside me now.”
He grabbed a condom, and when he sank into her at last, they both went still. Gazes locked. Breathing ragged. The connection between them snapped taut, binding them beyond the physical. Their leopards recognized their mates, and the recognition sang through their blood.
“Finally,” she breathed.
Then they moved, finding a rhythm that spoke of desperation and a homecoming.
She met him thrust for thrust, her body welcoming him deeper with each roll of her hips.
The air grew thick with sweat and breathy moans, with the sound of skin against skin and whispered endearments that turned filthy and sweet by turns.
He changed angles, hitting a spot that made her see stars. “There,” she gasped, her legs tightening around him. “Right there, don’t stop.”
“Never stopping,” he promised, his control fraying. “I intend to fill you up, mark you inside and out. Everyone will know you’re mine.”
The possessive words sent her higher. Her climax built like a storm in her bones. His mouth found her throat, tongue tracing where her pulse hammered.
“Do it,” she whispered. “I want to wear your mark where everyone can see.”
He froze above her, his blue-green eyes glowing with gold tinges. “Sienna, sweetheart. It’ll hurt.”
“Good,” she said, clenching around him and watching his control shatter. “I want the pain. The proof. I need you to claim me.”
His breath caught, then he growled—a guttural sound that resonated in her core. He pressed her wrists to the bed, pinning her beneath him, and licked the spot he planned to bite. The gesture was pure leopard, and it made her inner cat purr.
“Together,” he said, voice gravel. “We claim each other.”
“Together,” she echoed, baring her neck even as she prepared to mark him in return.
Their bites came at the same time—his canines piercing her skin as hers sank into the corded muscle where his neck met his shoulder.
The pain was white-hot, catapulting them both over the edge.
Sienna screamed her release, her body seizing around him as waves of pleasure crashed through her.
He pulsed inside her, his climax triggered by hers, filling her with heat as he shuddered above her.
They clung to each other, gasping and trembling as pain blurred into ecstasy. Sex and satisfaction saturated the air, the coppery tang of blood coated their tongues, and the musk of a successful mating swirled around them.
He licked the mark he’d left, soothing the sting. The gesture sent aftershocks through her, making her whimper and clutch at him.
“Mine,” he whispered, voice wrecked.
“Yours,” she said, lips brushing the mark she’d given him. “And you’re mine. Forever.”
They weren’t done. Their leopards demanded more, and their human sides were greedy. He was already hardening inside her again, and she rolled them over, straddling him with a wicked smile.
“My turn,” she purred, and began to move.
Later—much later—Sienna lay curled against his chest, her body satiated and tingling. She traced the fresh mark on Liam’s neck—warm, swollen, and pulsing with their bond. The moment her fingertips brushed the bite, a ragged breath escaped him, his body responding to her touch.
“Careful,” he warned, voice rough. “Keep that up, and we won’t sleep at all tonight.”
“Promise?” she teased, but let her hand fall to his chest.
She traced patterns on his skin, marveling that he was here and was hers. When she touched her own mark, sharp pain mixed with an echo of pleasure made her breath catch. The bond between them thrummed, connecting them in ways she’d never imagined.
“How do you feel?” she asked into the darkness.
His arms tightened around her. “Complete. Like everything before this was waiting for you.”
She smiled, eyes closing, until he kissed her temple.
“Sienna? Will you marry me?”
“Are you asking because we’re mated now?”
“No.” His hand smoothed over her ribs. “Because I want the universe to know you chose me. Human law, shifter law, every law that exists. I’ve had the ring in my bag since before I left.
I bought it in Tekapo after you wrote me that letter about the break-in, when you said you impressed yourself with your own strength. ”
Her throat tightened. “That long?”
“That’s when I knew. You weren’t merely surviving anymore. You were thriving and ready for the next step. We were both ready.”
Emotion clawed up her throat, sharp and hot. “Yes! Yes, I’ll marry you.”
His grin was everything—joyful and disbelieving and stunned. “Good. Because I had no backup plan if you said no.”
She laughed. “The ring can wait until tomorrow. I’m not letting you out of this bed.”
“We have forever,” he said, pulling her closer beneath the quilt. “And I plan to spend every minute showing you how much you mean to me.”
As they drifted toward sleep, wrapped in love and moonlight and the scent of each other, Sienna knew whatever came next—weddings, land, building their life together—they’d face it side by side.
They had found their way home to each other. And they weren’t going anywhere.
Their leopards purred in agreement, at peace. Sienna pressed closer, breathing Liam in, and smiled against his chest as his arms tightened around her one last time before sleep claimed them both.