55. Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Five
Raif
R aif told her he had something special to show her.
They had packed up three boxes and taken them over to their cabin earlier that day.
He let her put her things wherever she wanted.
He wants her to feel at home there, it’s theirs now, not just his.
He moved everything over in the closet. Brought in an empty dresser for her things.
Had extra keys made for her. He wants this so badly.
Wants them to live together, to make a home together.
He’s careful in the way he lays out her picture frames.
Making room on the mantle for them. One of her with her parents, one of her with James on the back of a horse.
He also took one of the pictures sent from the Harvey Group and framed it, the one of him in his bear form and her sitting lovingly in his lap.
It’s precious to him and the only good thing that has come out of the whole Harvey Group fiasco. He’ll treasure that picture always.
Telling her parents that they were moving in together hadn’t been as hard as he had thought it would be.
They were both surprised but took the news well.
When she told them they were engaged, well, it could have gone better.
Her mother ranted and raved. Saying they had just met, and how could Ash possibly know she wanted to marry Raif.
Ash explained it happened quickly, but that she knew she wanted to marry Raif and spend the rest of her life with him.
They had discussed telling her parents he is a bear shifter, but decided against it.
For one, her dad’s heart isn’t that great, and they didn’t want to cause him undue stress.
For another, her mother is a gossip, and Ash thought it would only be a matter of time before she was blabbing it around town.
And with the Harvey Group breathing down their neck, the fewer people who know, the better.
Their first night in the cabin together, Raif had made her favorite dish, and they made love on the rug in front of the fireplace.
Some might say it was cliché, but Raif couldn’t care less, he loves his mate and will make love to her on every surface of their cabin possible.
She blew him in the shower the next morning, and he came so hard he cracked the tile when he threw his head back against it.
They fucked like bunnies in the bed after, and she came three times.
His goal in life is to make her come every day.
When he leads her into the forest, the sun is shining.
There’s a nip in the air that there always is with Montana in the spring, and he offers her his shirt, but she laughs and turns him down.
She has a beautiful, long cream lace dress with a sage green sweater over it.
He didn’t ask her to dress up, but when he saw her come down the stairs, he knew it was perfect.
They hold hands as they walk. She tells him a story about working on the farm when she was younger and falling into the mud.
He can picture it clearly. Ash is never one to really listen to other people, she goes at her own pace, walks to the beat of her own drum, and it’s part of the reason he loves her so much.
He tells her a story about running through the forest shifted with his dad and brothers.
About how he’d try to climb up the highest of trees in his bear form, and one time got stuck for hours before his father had to go up and coax him down.
He tells her everything he can remember about the old stories of bear shifters.
The legends and folktales about bear shifters born of magic and how they must protect the secret at all costs.
Once they arrive at a small clearing, he takes her hand and kisses her fingers. He undoes his shirt and pulls it off, followed by his boots and pants.
“Are you going to shift?”
“Yes, is that okay?”
“Yes. I love it.”
He puts all of his clothes in a bag and instructs her to put the bag in his mouth once he’s shifted.
“When I shift, I want you to climb up on my back.”
“Really?”
He nods, and she smiles wide.
He shifts easily, bones cracking and reforming as he sprouts fur. When he’s shifted and looks at her, there’s only love there. She comes forward easily, wrapping her arms as best she can around his large neck. He nuzzles into her neck and huffs out hot breaths of air till she laughs and pulls away.
She hands him the bag, which he holds in his mouth, and then he lowers his body down. She climbs on easily, seating herself where his neck meets his shoulders. He can feel the warmth of her body above his, and it’s comforting.
He takes them through the forest. It’s silent except for his lumbering steps and the sounds of birds in the trees.
He told his brothers his plan, and Gunner cleared the path of all cameras, finding three hidden amongst the trees.
The trek is long, he hears her yawn above him, and a while later she slides back along his back and lies herself down, arms wrapped around him.
He’d never let her fall and feels confident in his ability to carry her like this. He can hear her breaths turn into ones of slumber, and he lets her sleep as he walks slowly.
When they arrive, he growls lowly, rumbling in his chest till she stirs and sits up.
“Are we here?”
He lowers his body, and she slides off, standing next to him and absentmindedly stroking his fur.
He stands up tall and shifts, letting his body rearrange easily.
She keeps close to him, and he feels happy that she isn’t at all frightened of him shifting.
He picks up the fallen bag with one hand and takes her hand in the other.
“Come on, not too much further.”
He leads her naked through the trees. There is no clear path, and they have to step over fallen logs and under low branches. When they finally arrive, he looks over to take in her face.
It’s a cave, his cave. Every bear shifter has one. It is the place where they take their mate after agreeing to be together. No one else will ever come here, not even his brothers. It’s the most special place he’ll ever have in his life, and it’s theirs now, it’s hers. Her breath hitches.
He had no idea what her reaction would be, whether she would gaze at it and move on. If she would be interested at all in it. She’s human, so it’s not the same for her as it is for him. But she looks at it fondly.
He’s decorated it. Hung sheer white curtains that they can close for privacy. Placed a large wooden bed adorned with white pillows and a comforter.
“What is this place?”
“It’s my cave, our cave now. Every bear shifter has one. No one knows where it is, it’s just for us.”
“It’s lovely, did you do this?”
She walks forward, climbing up the side into the cave.
“I wanted it to be perfect, for you.”
She turns to him after he follows her inside, a wide smile on her face.
“It is Raif, I love it.”
“Ash. I am so happy with you, so extremely happy. I never thought I would have this. I thought I’d be lonely my whole life, and when I saw you that day in the hardware store, I knew you were my mate.
You were gone so quickly, I never thought I’d see you again.
But fate brought me back to you. I love you, Ash.
I love that you’re strong, not just physically but mentally.
You are feisty as fuck, and I love that about you.
You make the world a better place by being in it.
I can’t imagine not having you in my life.
I know we talked about this before, but I wanted to do it properly. ”
He kneels and takes her hand, holding out a ring.
“Ashley Ann Grant, will you please do me the greatest honor by being my wife?”
“Yes!”
She lunges forward, and he catches her easily. Her arms wrap around his neck, and he buries his head in her neck. Citrus and cloves, the best scent in the world, and it’s his, forever.