Chapter 24 Tolin #2
“I don’t know.” She looks at me with wet eyes. “I’ve never... no one has ever...” She takes a shaky breath. “Thank you, Tolin. For all of it.”
“You don’t have to thank me.” I lean in and kiss her softly. “This is what mates do. We take care of each other.”
“I know.” She cups my face in her hands. “But thank you anyway.”
“One more stop,” I say, steering her away from the truck.
“Tolin, we just bought enough furniture to fill three cabins. I don’t need—“
“This isn’t furniture.”
I lead her across the parking lot to the electronics store on the corner. She doesn’t understand until we’re inside and I’m walking straight to the phone display.
“Pick one,” I say.
She stares at me. “What?”
“A phone. Pick whichever one you want.” I cross my arms, jaw set. “I crushed yours. I’m replacing it.”
“Tolin, that’s in the past. It’s not a big deal—“
“I know. I’ve seen it. I step closer, my voice dropping. “I destroyed something that was yours because I was an asshole who couldn’t handle my own feelings. Let me fix it.”
There’s something in my expression that makes her throat work. This isn’t about the phone. It’s about me proving, over and over, that I’m not that man anymore.
“Fine.” She turns to the display, scanning the options. “But I’m picking the most expensive one.”
“Good.”
She doesn’t actually pick the most expensive one. She picks a good one, practical, with a great camera because she wants to take pictures of our life together. Our cabin. Our clan. Our baby when he comes.
I pay without blinking and hand her the bag.
“Thank you,” she says softly.
“Don’t thank me,” I say, brushing my thumb across her cheekbone. “I owe you a lot more than a phone.”
“You don’t owe me anything.”
“I owe you everything.” I kiss her forehead. “And I’m going to spend the rest of my life paying it back.”
We drive back to the cabin as the sun starts to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. The boxes are still stacked in the living room from yesterday, waiting to be unpacked, but neither of us moves toward them when we get inside.
Instead, Imani turns to me with something hungry in her eyes.
“Tolin.”
Just my name. That’s all it takes.
I cross the room and pull her into my arms, kissing her deep and thorough. She melts into me, her hands fisting in my shirt, her body pressing against mine.
“Bedroom,” she gasps against my lips.
I don’t need to be told twice.
I lift her easily, carrying her down the hall to our room. Our bed. The one we’ll replace soon with the cherry wood set she picked out today, but for now it’s perfect because she’s in it.
I lay her down and cover her body with mine, kissing her neck, her collarbone, the mark I left there that tells the world she’s mine.
“I need you,” she whispers, tugging at my shirt. “Please, Tolin. I need you.”
I strip her slowly, savoring every inch of skin I reveal. The curve of her breasts, the softness of her belly, the thickness of her thighs. She’s gorgeous, and she’s mine, and I’ll never get tired of looking at her.
“You’re staring,” she says, but she’s smiling.
“I’m admiring.” I pull my own shirt over my head and toss it aside. “There’s a difference.”
She laughs, but it turns into a moan when I lower my mouth to her breast, sucking her nipple until it peaks against my tongue. Her back arches off the bed, her nails raking across my scalp.
“More,” she demands. “I need more.”
I give her more.
I kiss my way down her body, pausing to worship her belly, her hips, the inside of her thighs. She’s already wet for me, glistening and ready, and the scent of her arousal drives my bear wild.
“Tolin.” My name is a plea on her lips. “Please.”
I bury my face between her thighs and feast on her like a starving man.
She cries out, her hips bucking against my mouth, her fingers gripping my shoulders.
I lick and suck and tease until she’s trembling, until she’s begging, until she shatters against my tongue with a scream that echoes off the walls.
Before she can come down, I’m positioning myself at her entrance.
“Look at me,” I tell her.
She opens her eyes, those beautiful eyes that saw me when no one else did.
“I love you,” I say as I push inside her.
She gasps, her body stretching to accommodate me, her walls gripping me so tight my vision blurs.
“I love you too,” she breathes. “God, Tolin, I love you so much.”
I start to move, slow and deep, savoring the way she feels around me. Every stroke is a promise. Every thrust is a vow. I’m going to spend the rest of my life making this woman happy, and it’s never going to be enough.
“Harder,” she begs, wrapping her legs around my waist. “Please, harder.”
I give her what she wants. I always will.
I fuck her hard and deep, the headboard slamming against the wall, the bed creaking beneath us. She’s moaning my name, clawing at my back, meeting every thrust with her own desperate movements.
“That’s it,” I groan. “Take it. Take all of me.”
“Yes.” She’s sobbing with pleasure. “Yes, Tolin, yes.”
I can feel her getting close, can feel her walls starting to flutter around me. My hand moves to her clit, rubbing it in quick circles.
“Come for me,” I demand. “Come on my dick, Imani.”
She explodes.
Her whole body convulses, her pussy clamping down on me so hard I can barely move. She screams my name, tears streaming down her face, and I fuck her through it, drawing out every wave of pleasure.
I’m close too, so close, ready to come.
And then something shifts.
Imani’s eyes flash, something primal and wild moving behind them. Her hands grip my shoulders, pulling me down, and before I understand what’s happening, her mouth is on my neck.
She bites.
Hard.
Her teeth break through my skin, and I roar as she drinks from me. The pain is sharp but distant, overwhelmed by the pleasure crashing through me as I come harder than I’ve ever come in my life. I spill inside her, filling her up, claiming her even as she claims me.
Her tongue drags across the wound, sealing it, and I feel the final piece lock home.
Complete. Whole. Two halves finally joined.
She pulls back, her lips stained with my blood, her eyes hazy and satisfied.
“Tolin,” she whispers. “I can feel... everything. I can feel you.”
“I know, baby.” I kiss her softly, tasting myself on her lips. “The bond is complete. We’re fully mated now.”
“It’s so much.” Her eyes are already drooping, exhaustion pulling at her. “It’s so intense. I feel like I’m...”
“Sleep,” I tell her, rolling onto my back and gathering her against me. “Let your body adjust. I’ve got you.”
“Don’t let go,” she mumbles, already half asleep.
“Never.” I press a kiss to her hair. “I’ve got you, Imani. I’ve got you forever.”
She’s asleep within seconds, her body going limp against mine, her breathing evening out into soft, steady rhythms. Something has shifted. I feel not just her emotions but her presence, her soul intertwined with mine.
And then I feel it. The pull that’s been building for weeks, the one my bear has been fighting since before the storm ended. Hibernation.
She’s safe now, my bear rumbles, finally satisfied. She’s home. She’s ours completely.
The heaviness weighs on me, undeniable now. My bear is going under, retreating into that deep winter sleep that all bears need. I won’t be able to shift while he sleeps. My senses will dull, my strength diminish. I’ll be more human than I’ve been since I first shifted as a cub.
Vulnerable. For the first time in my adult life, truly vulnerable.
But I’m not afraid. Because she’s here. Because the bond is complete. Because I know, with absolute certainty, that my mate will protect me while I’m weak, just as I’ll protect her when I’m strong.
“Tolin?” Imani murmurs against my shoulder, her voice sleepy. “Something feels different. Your bear... he’s quieter.”
“Hibernation,” I murmur against her hair. “He’s finally letting go. He wouldn’t sleep until you were safe. Until the bond was complete.”
She props herself up on her elbow, her eyes searching my face. “What does that mean? For you?”
“It means I’ll be weaker for a while. Can’t shift. Senses aren’t as sharp.” I rest my forehead against hers. “It means I’ll need you to take care of me for once.”
Her expression softens into something fierce and tender. “I can do that.”
“I know you can.” I draw her back down against me. “That’s why he finally let go. He trusts you. We both do.”
She’s quiet for a moment, her hand resting over my heart. “How long will you be like this? Just a month?”
“Few weeks, maybe a month. It varies.” I’m already feeling the heaviness pulling at me, my bear sinking deeper. “I’ll still be here. Still be me. Just... slower. Sleepier.”
“Like a real bear in winter.”
“Something like that.”
She presses a kiss to my chest, right over my heart. “Then sleep, grumpy bear. I’ve got you.”
The words echo back to me, the same ones I said to her moments ago. I’ve got you.
My eyes drift closed. It’s just regular sleep pulling at me now, exhaustion from the claiming and the emotion of the day. But underneath it, I feel my bear settling into something deeper. His long winter rest, finally begun.
Tomorrow I’ll wake up weaker. More human. I’ll need her in ways I’ve never needed anyone.
But tonight, with my mate’s heartbeat steady against my side and her claiming mark fresh on my neck, I let myself rest.
She’s got me.
And I’ve never felt safer in my life.