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  “Why don't we get out of here?” he said, wanting to change the subject.

  He had so much on his mind, he needed to clear his head. He wasn't going to be able to do that here.

  “I just got off my shift,” she said with a smile. “I’m up for anything.”

  Chapter 15

  Rider drove out of the city and up into the foothills below the mountains. He found a spot looking out over the twinkling lights below. The cities spread out before them in a sea of light and color. The blanket of stars twinkled above. Soft music played on the radio. Darcy's heart beat to the rhythm, pounding in anticipation of what she wanted to tell her mate.

  Rider reached out and took her hand, lifting it to his lips. She took a deep breath as arousal spread down her spine. Their eyes met. His twinkled like the stars. She smiled and bit her lip, looking away.

  “I have something I want to tell you.”

  “What is it?” he asked, reaching up to caress her cheek. He brushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

  “I wanted to tell you that I'm ready to be your mate. Whatever that means, I'm ready.”

  He sucked a breath through his nose and sat back against his chair, looking up into the night sky.

  “What's wrong? I thought you would be happy.”

  “I am very happy.” He turned back to her. His gaze was intense and piercing, but she could tell there was something bothering him.

  “What's wrong?”

  “I haven't been completely honest with you.”

  Darcy scrunched her eyebrows together. This was it. He was finally going to admit he didn't find her attractive. It was all going to come out now. He'd been parading her around the city, and she'd been thinking that he was proud of her. But now she would know the truth. Heat flared in her face and anger spread through her heart. She let go of his hand and looked out the side window.

  “Please don't turn away,” he said. “I shouldn't tell you this. But I have to. You have to know the truth before I can make you my mate. We can't have any more secrets between us. Not if we are going to move forward with our lives.”

  “If you want to move forward with me.” She still didn’t meet his gaze.

  He cupped her face in his hands and turned her back to him.

  “It's what I want more than anything in the world. Our love is the one thing that could make me reveal my secret.”

  Darcy was beginning to think this was a more serious issue than her looks. She suddenly felt foolish for believing it was.

  “You can tell me, David.”

  “You see, my name isn't David. My name is Rider. Rider Hendrix.”

  “Why did you introduce yourself as David?”

  “Because I am a member of a clandestine military operation called the Justice Squad. We’re based in Fate Rock, Colorado, where we pretend to be ordinary civilians. I'm on a mission for the squad now, finding information on the threat of a hyena terrorist attack on the airport.”

  Darcy sat back, stunned into silence. She blinked several times.

  “Will you get in trouble for telling me?”

  “My CO knows about you. But the generals who sent me on this mission don't. I was taking a risk in coming here knowing about you in the first place. But I had to come. I had to complete this mission. And I had to meet you.”

  “Your name is Rider… To be honest, I never thought that David suited you. Now I know why.” She giggled. “I guess we’re even with the secrets. But yours was a good deal more honorable than mine.”

  “I don't want you to ever feel guilty about what you did. I understand. You had horrible things happen to you as a child and it damaged your sense of self. I'm just glad that you finally had the courage to reveal yourself to me. I could tell that Lilia wasn't you all along, and not just because of her scent. She just wasn't the same woman that I'd been texting with. It didn't feel right. You see, I love what's in your heart. Even though you are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, what matters to me is how your soul connects with mine.”

  “Oh, Rider. I'm so glad that we understand each other now, and everything is out in the open.”

  “Now that we know the truth about each other, it would be my greatest honor and privilege to take you as my mate.”

  “How does it work?” She felt a little bit scared.

  “Just like last night. We make love. But at the moment of climax, I will bite your neck. It will feel both painful and pleasurable. A special venom is released into your blood and it marks you as mine forever and always. We will feel and know each other more closely than any other two beings on the planet. We will feel each other's pleasure and pain. We will connect over long distances, and we will always be in each other's hearts.”

  “That sounds beautiful. But I don't know about the bite part.”

  “I've heard that it’s considered extremely erotic.”

  “Well then…” She giggled.

  “Do you think you're ready?” he asked, reaching out to stroke her cheek.

  “I'm definitely ready to be your mate.”

  “Come with me, then.”

  He grabbed a blanket, a lantern, and a picnic basket out of the back seat. The moon was high and full. It illuminated their steps along the path that took them into the warm summer forest. They hiked up the hill, into the wilderness, and came out in a clearing covered in soft, thick grass. Rider spread out the blanket, and they sat together in the warm night air. He poured them both wine and handed her a glass.

  Darcy sipped as they sat together, staring up at the stars. They listened to the night birds sing and creatures of the forest chirping. It was like music to her ears.

  “What is it like to be a shifter? What does it feel like to have an animal inside you?”

  “I don't have anything to compare it to.”

  He fed her a chocolate-covered strawberry. She bit into the sweet fruit and the flavors melted over her tongue. She washed it down with red wine. As the moon glowed down on them, she started to feel warm and comfortable inside. She lay back on the blanket, setting her glass on the ground beside her.

  “I've heard that it makes you feel strong and confident. That you're able to sense things about people. That you have a wild energy inside you. I think that I would like to be like that.”

  “You want to be a shifter?” he asked, softly kissing her shoulder.

  “I want to be strong and confident like you. Could you change me?”

  “I could, if that's what you really want.”

  “My early years left a vulnerable spot inside me, and I want to fill it up with something powerful and strong.”

  “I think you would make an amazing shifter.”

  Rider cupped her face in his hands and tilted her lips up to meet his. A flood of anticipation and desire pooled in her belly, and she relented to the heat of their attraction. Excitement and anxiety rolled through her as his tongue flicked between her lips.

  She wanted to be his mate more than she'd ever wanted anything. Now that there were no more secrets between them, they were free to be themselves; to be open and honest with each other, and to experience the deepest intimacy two people could share.

  She was ready for this. She was ready to be his. She was ready to be made new in the power of his embrace. Their kisses grew deeper, harder, more insistent. Rider’s hand slipped down her waist and gripped her thigh.

  An owl hooted in the night. Darcy was lost in the wild ecstasy of the moment. Soon they were both naked in the darkness, under the blue glow of the moon. Rider’s skin glowed with the cool light. He was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

  He kissed her harder and deeper and prowled over her naked body. She had never felt so open, so ready to surrender to the moment. It was perfect, ripe, and complete. She had Rider to thank for showing her what it meant to be loved. He held her close as he slid down her body, his tongue leaving a trail of fire over her skin, over her breasts, down her belly, and between her thighs. She gasped and arched her back as his tongue flicke
d between her legs, arousing the hidden depths of her longing. Never had she felt so free, open, natural, so ready for what lay ahead.

  His tongue wagged over her budding desire, drawing long, heavy moans from her throat. She felt a sense of perfection in his arms that she never could have imagined before she’d met him. As his mouth worshiped her body, she let go completely, allowing herself to be devoured by him, to be consumed and made new by the power of his love.

  The intensity of her orgasm throbbed like a newborn star. The howl that ripped from her lips echoed through the forest. The night birds called in reply as Rider stalked up her body, kissing her flesh with his open, wet mouth. She tasted her tang on his tongue as he kissed her. He pressed his manhood against her quivering core and slipped inside without a word, sinking deep to the base of him. As his thick, throbbing member brushed over her inner desire, she came again, trembling and moaning with the relentless pleasure that overtook her.

  “My beautiful, beautiful beloved,” he whispered. “I need to make you mine.”

  “Make me yours, Rider. Make me like you.”

  “Your wish is my command,” he growled in her ear as his hips pulled back and thrust into the depths of her softness.

  It was unimaginably erotic and unimaginably intense. And she could barely comprehend the enormity of the pleasure and power of their connection. He nibbled and sucked on her neck as his body commanded her to the heights of ecstasy. She rode on the waves of his love as his sharp fangs descended and brushed over her skin. She knew that this was what she'd been waiting for all her life.

  “You're mine now, forever, and always.” His teeth bit down on her neck.

  The sharp pain sliced through her like a razor blade, and her scream was cut short by the grip of his teeth. Pleasure and pain mingled in a moment of exquisite eroticism. As the mating bite snapped their connection into focus, she felt the entirety of Rider enter her consciousness. His bravery, his intensity, his loyalty to his family and crew.

  She felt his sense of duty and his sense of fun. And more than anything, she felt his love for her. The awareness of it crashed into her like a tidal wave. The depth of his love was unfathomable, and she was lost in the magnitude of their connection.

  She saw herself dance across the universe with Rider by her side. Their love grew deeper and stronger by the moment and as she gazed at him through the sea of eternity, she felt something new inside her, growing from the core of her soul.

  At first, she didn't quite understand what it was. Then it came to her in the soft childlike grunts and growls of a grizzly cub. It was the beast growing inside her, awakening from its slumber.

  Rider was there in his grizzly form, standing before her as the star-spangled universe spread out around them.

  “The beast is inside you now,” he said inside her mind. “It is young and unsure, but it will grow. She is you, but as a deeper expression of your beauty, my love.”

  And then she was looking up at the sky in the Colorado forest. Rider’s teeth retracted from her neck and she could breathe again. What had felt like an eternity had only been a moment. She gasped as the air entered her lungs again. He held her close and licked her neck where his fangs had been, closing the wound and healing it instantly.

  A whole new awareness had come into her being, and Darcy knew that she would be forever changed by it. She felt Rider to his very core, and she knew that he felt her too. Even though the bear cub inside her was still young and unsure, she felt a sense of her true self that had always been just at the periphery of her consciousness.

  It was as if she was now the woman she had always wanted to be, no longer afraid of her own shadow. Darcy felt a wave of confidence and strength wash over her. When she had asked Rider to make her his, and to make her like him, she had believed the strength would come from him. But now she knew the strength had been inside her all along.

  She was a strong and capable woman who had worked hard all her life to take care of herself and others. She realized in that moment that she hadn't needed anyone to tell her how beautiful she was. She didn't need a grizzly inside her. She had just needed to realize the strength and beauty that had always been there. She didn’t need Rider’s strength to be who she was, but being with him allowed her to be more of who she was through the love they shared.

  “How do you feel, my love?” he whispered in her ear.

  “Can’t you feel it?” She giggled.

  “I can. And I know that you are happier than you expected to be. And I know that you now see the truth of who you are. Not only are you beautiful, but you are strong, and kind, and brave. And you always were. And now that we are together, we are both stronger than we were apart.”

  “That's exactly how I feel,” she said, breathing into his neck. “I love you more than words can express, more than I ever imagined I could love anyone.”

  “And I love you, my darling, darling lady.”

  “How do I shift? How do I bring out my inner grizzly?”

  “When you are ready, she will emerge. But she might need time to gain strength and become sure of herself. But when she does, I know she will be as strong and as beautiful as you are.”

  “You helped me to see myself with your love, Rider. It is the greatest gift that anyone could ever give.”

  “All I've done is help you see what you were all along.”

  “I know. But I don't think that I ever would have seen it without your help.”

  “That's what mates are for. To show each other what we really are. You've done the same thing for me, Darcy. Without you I never would have known how much I want to love and be loved in return. I never would have known that I’m capable of loving so much. My CO thinks I’m always risking my life and limb for a thrill and some adventure. But with you in my life, I have something to live for. Something to care about. It’s the biggest thrill a guy can have.”

  She sank into his warm embrace. The two of them lay together naked in the wilderness, fully tapped in to the moment and each other. As the night birds sang and the coyotes howled in the darkness, Darcy knew that she had been truly made over. She’d been made complete by the power of true love, and the power of her own self-awareness.

  Chapter 16

  Rider held Darcy in his arms until the soft rays of morning opened his eyes. He kissed her cheek and gazed at her beautiful face in the golden light of dawn.

  “Good morning,” he said as her eyes slid open. “How did you sleep?”

  “Amazingly well.” She sat up and stretched under the wool blanket.

  “I should get you home.” He kissed her cheek and forehead.

  “I can't believe we slept in the forest last night.” She giggled, looking around. “That is not something I would have done in my old life. But now it feels like the most natural thing in the world.”

  “Can you feel your bear inside you?”

  He knew she’d need help through the transition. It could be disorienting for new shifters. The awakening was known to be a difficult process.

  “I can feel it at the back of my mind. It’s subtle and kind of strange. Like nothing I've ever experienced. I can hear her growling, but I don't think she's ready to come out yet.”

  “That's fine. When she's ready to emerge, she’ll let you know. I'll be by your side every step of the way.”

  They dressed and made their way down the trail, holding hands all the way. Rider drove Darcy back to her apartment and she asked him inside.

  “You need to meet my cat, Mr. Whiskers. He's going to love you.”

  She opened the door and a fluffy orange cat ran up to her, meowing and purring. The cat hesitated for a moment, as if sensing something had changed with his mistress, but then seemed more excited to see her than before.

  “Can you smell the shifter inside me?” She picked up her cat. “You need to meet my mate, Mr. Whiskers. This is Rider. He's my hero. He helped me learn who I really am.”

  She leaned over and kissed him while holding the cat. Rider felt t
he warmth of her love flow through him.

  “I need a shower. I might have an animal inside me, but sleeping in the woods has really done a number on my hair.”

  “I'll get us some coffee and pastries. I saw a shop around the corner.”

  “That sounds fantastic.”

  Darcy went off to wash and dress while Rider started out toward the bakery. Inside, it smelled of coffee and freshly baked bread. It made his mouth water in anticipation. He couldn’t wait to bring the treats back to Darcy. He got to the front of the line and ordered them both large coffees and half a dozen pastries in a variety of flavors. He was partial to bear claws himself, but had a feeling Darcy liked blueberry muffins.

  As he was picking up his order, he glanced out the front window of the shop. Rebecca Gilman, the shifter flight attendant, rushed past with a worried expression on her face. Rider grabbed his order and hurried out of the shop.

  She was walking so fast he could barely keep up with pastries and coffees in his hands. She ducked around the corner and was greeted by two other men. He peeked around the corner, trying to stay out of sight.

  Unlike with her, Rider could make out the scent of the newcomers. They were both hyenas. He recognized one of them from his first flight in Denver. He strained to hear their conversation, but they were too far away to make anything out. One of them grabbed Rebecca’s arm. She tried to pull it away, but the hyena held tight, not letting her go.

  Even at a distance, Rider could see the fear in her eyes. His concern spiked and he considered ditching breakfast to rescue her, but the man finally let her go after speaking sharp words in her ear. When she turned to walk back in the direction she’d come, Rider ducked into a dark alley and hid from view.

  After Rebecca passed, he hurried back to Darcy's apartment and found her dressed in a bathrobe, drying her hair. She was the cutest thing he'd ever seen. He kissed her cheek and set down the coffee and pastries, glad he hadn’t ditched them.

  “Have I told you that you're my hero,” she said, picking up her coffee.