14. Graham
Fourteen
Graham
Okay.
So far I've claimed my mate with my bite in Bear form.
Then I claimed her body out in the open.
Both without explaining she's my fated mate.
Jesus Christ.
I am just batting a thousand here.
If there were an Olympic event for making catastrophic life decisions in the wrong order, I'd be standing on the podium with a gold medal around my neck.
My Bear, naturally, disagrees.
Mate claimed.
Good.
We're fine.
“No,” I mutter under my breath. “We're absolutely not fine.”
We're standing on Clan land.
She has no idea what just happened.
No idea why I lost control.
No idea why every instinct inside me is screaming that she's mine.
And somehow...
She still looks at me like I'm the best part of her day.
The guilt sits heavy in my chest.
I should have told her.
Before lunch.
Before the arboretum.
Before the lake.
Before...
All of this.
Instead, I let my heart get ahead of my head.
Again.
“Um... Graham?”
Her soft voice pulls me back to the present.
I blink and find those beautiful blue eyes studying me with just a hint of uncertainty.
“Yeah?”
She shifts her weight from one foot to the other, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.
“I have to... um...”
The corners of her mouth twitch.
“... use the restroom.”
“Oh!”
Heat floods my face.
“Okay.”
I scrub a hand over the back of my neck.
“Yeah. Sorry.”
I can't help laughing at myself.
“Sorry, you’ll have to go without these. They’ve seen better days.”
She follows my gaze downward to the ruined panties I’m holding in my hand, and a shy smile spreads across her face.
“I suppose they have.”
I clear my throat.
“I'll...”
I carefully gather the torn panties and tuck them into my pocket.
She lets out a tiny, embarrassed laugh before covering her face for half a second.
“Oh my God.”
“What?”
“I can't believe you're carrying those around.”
I grin.
“Honey, these are mine now. Besides, I wasn't exactly going to leave them out here.”
“You’re crazy,” she says and laughs.
I shrug. Because where she’s concerned?
She’s not wrong.
It doesn’t seem to bother her.
Even now she's smiling.
God.
I don't deserve her.
But I pray to every God there is that she’ll let me keep her.
Please.
I help her to her feet, taking my time, making sure she's steady before letting go.
For one lingering moment our hands remain linked.
Neither of us seems in a hurry to break the contact.
My thumb brushes across her knuckles almost absentmindedly.
She smiles up at me.
There's something different in her eyes now.
Something softer.
Warmer.
Like whatever happened between us has settled into her heart the same way it's settled into mine.
I reluctantly release her hand.
She laughs again, shaking her head.
“Well, um, that was...”
“Yeah, it was..”
The breeze stirs the hem of her dress.
The realization that she's bare beneath it sends a fierce pulse of possessiveness through my Bear.
Mine.
Nobody looks.
Nobody touches.
Nobody even thinks about looking.
Easy, I tell myself.
She's safe.
She's with me.
Still...
I'm grateful we're alone.
The thought of anyone else seeing her right now twists something primitive inside me.
I slip my hand into hers again as we start walking.
She doesn't hesitate.
Her fingers weave naturally through mine, and the simple gesture somehow feels every bit as intimate as the kisses we'd shared.
Neither of us speaks for a minute.
We don't have to.
The quiet between us isn't awkward.
It's comfortable.
Filled with stolen glances and little smiles that seem to happen all on their own.
We follow the shoreline until I spot a small building tucked between the trees.
“Here we are.”
I point toward the sign.
“The ladies' room.”
She looks where I'm pointing.
“Okay. Oh, but don’t you have to go?”
I nod.
“The men's room is farther down the path.”
And I hate that.
I wish they were side by side.
“I'm gonna run, then I'll be right back.”
She nods back.
“I'll be right here.”
“You sure?”
She smiles.
“I'm not going anywhere.”
I still don't love having to leave her here.
Away from me.
Not one bit.
“I won't be a minute.”
I catch myself reaching up to brush a stray strand of hair away from her face.
My fingers linger against her cheek just a heartbeat longer than necessary.
“Okay. I’ll be fine. You'll only be a minute,” she says back to me.
“I promise.”
She reaches out and kisses my lips.
“And I'll be here when you get back.”
Yes.
She will be and then I’ll tell her the truth.
All of it.
I lean down and press a quick kiss to her forehead before forcing myself to turn away.
Every instinct tells me not to leave her.
Not even for sixty seconds.
But she's perfectly safe.