Chapter Twenty-Two #3
He pushed away from the post he’d been leaning against and prowled toward her, his big body moving with the grace of a predator. She tilted her chin up, refusing to be intimidated. Her pulse quickened and her mouth went dry.
“Now it’s your turn to listen.” He rubbed his thumb over her bottom lip, back and forth in a mesmerizing rhythm. “You leave and I’ll track you down. Whether we stay here or live somewhere else, we belong together.”
Rather than being appalled, his arrogance was oddly reassuring. “I figured you changed your mind. You’ve kept your distance the past couple of days.”
He growled and rolled his eyes. “You needed to heal. I was giving you the space I thought you needed to deal with the trauma. I didn’t want to crowd you or pressure you to make any decisions until you were ready. You have any idea how difficult it was to leave you alone?”
Warmth spread throughout her chest, driving out the chill. “I’m rested and mostly healed.”
His eyes flashed a warning before he scooped her off her feet and headed away from the house.
“Where are we going?” she asked. A sense of contentment filling her, she looped her arms around his neck and rested her cheek against his shoulder.
“Somewhere we can talk without any interruptions.”
“Zach and Adam have gone into town.”
“I don’t care. The sheriff could decide to turn up. Then I’d have to kill him. We wouldn’t want that.”
“No, we wouldn’t want that.” With Cyrus, it was hard to tell if he was joking or not. “Are you sure you’re up to carrying me?” When he shot her a dark glare, she bit back a smile. Her cranky, alpha wolf was back. Utterly unconcerned about their destination, she relaxed and enjoyed the ride.
They didn’t go far, but it was like entering another world. “This is amazing.” The meadow wasn’t large, but it was straight out of a storybook. Wildflowers perfumed the air, their colors a rainbow covering the ground. Butterflies danced on the breeze. She half expected to see a fairy flutter by.
He grunted and sat beneath a large maple tree with her perched on his lap. The silence closed around them like a cozy blanket. Peace sank into her bones.
“I’m not an easy man to live with,” he began. “I’m stubborn and single-minded and used to being in charge.”
She bit the inside of her mouth to keep from smiling.
“I can attest to that.” He gave a rumbling growl and playfully nipped at her neck.
“I, too,” she continued, “have been accused of being stubborn and single-minded.” She’d been called a ballbuster and a whole lot of unflattering names, but she kept that to herself.
“We’re bound to clash.”
She swung around so she straddled his lap facing him. “You trying to convince me to go or stay?”
“Stay.” He buried his face in the curve of her neck, his arms banded tight around her.
“I want to wake with you in the morning and go to bed with you at night. I want to raise our son together. I want you to boss around my brothers.” He pulled back and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I want you to mate with me.”
Her heart hammered in her chest. He had to hear it. “You want me to marry you?”
“We can do that, too. Mating is more. It’s a connection that’s forever.”
As much as she wanted to grab it, the original problems hadn’t changed. “I’m human and you’re not. I’ll age and you won’t, at least not as fast. It doesn’t matter so much now, but what about in thirty or forty years?”
“You’ll always be beautiful to me.” He took her hand and pressed it against his heart. “This belongs to you whether you go or stay. My wolf knew who you were all those years ago. I fought it and cheated us out of sixteen years. You deserve better, but no man will ever love you more.”
Her heart stuttered, skipping a beat. “You love me?” The rush of blood pumping through her veins almost deafened her.
He wanted her—he’d made no secret of that.
Their sexual attraction was undeniable. They shared a child together.
But this was more than she’d ever hoped for, and that was selling them both short.
If the confrontation with Wilkes had taught her anything, it was that nothing in life was guaranteed and time was precious.
He gently cupped her face in his big hands. “My life was nothing but dull, lifeless duty until I found you again.” His thumbs caressed her cheeks. “I don’t know how to explain it other than to say you brought color back to my life. You’re the joy.”
“You’re the joy.” Those three simple words meant as much as his telling her he loved her. Cyrus was a hard, proud man putting himself in a vulnerable position, opening himself up to possible rejection.
All her doubts bled away. If he was willing to take the risk, so could she. “I’m unemployed, currently homeless, and come with a teenage son.”
He brushed his lips over hers. “I have more than enough money but will support you if you decide you want to work. Your home is with me, whether that’s here or somewhere else you’d rather be. And you’ve given me the gift of a son.”
His sincerity brought tears to her eyes. She tried to sniff them back, but one rolled down her cheek. He caught it on his tongue before kissing the spot. “Oh, Cyrus.”
“Take a chance on me, on us.” Tension radiated from him. “Don’t make me spend the rest of my life alone.” The bleakness in his eyes cut her to the bone. “Say you’ll be mine.”
Life was a gamble. She’d taken a chance on him all those years ago, and it had changed the trajectory of her life, given her a son.
Now he was offering her an entirely new challenge.
The path ahead was unfamiliar and downright scary, but she’d lived with enough regrets.
They could have both died. It was time to take a chance and trust, to jump in with both feet.
“Yes.” She wrapped her hands around his thick wrists. “Yes, I’ll be yours.”