he holds it, handle first, out to Finley, who immediately puts the hand-smoothed wood into his mouth. He starts to chew tearfully.
The man pats his back and resumes pacing, murmuring softly to the baby. “It hurts, doesn’t it? I know. I know.”
Teething. I didn’t think of that. I sit down on the front step, shuddering in relief that someone else knows something about babies.
“I don’t know your name,” I whisper, as he passes.
“Balen.”
“Thank you, Balen. I’m so sorry for all this trouble.”
Balen shakes his head and keeps pacing. I sink back against the door, my cloak wrapped tightly around me. It’s cold, but the silence is heaven and I find my eyes fluttering closed and I doze in fits and starts.
I open my eyes some time later and see Balen holding Finley up and examining him in the moonlight. Balen’s back is to me. Finley’s eyes and pale skin are silvered and bright. Even brighter than the snow. I can hear Balen talking to himself, something deep and urgent. I open my mouth to call out and ask if there’s anything wrong, but Balen tucks the baby inside his cloak again and resumes pacing.
I must sleep some more, because the next thing I know, I feel myself lifted up in strong arms and held against a warm body.
Balen holds me so tightly I start to wonder if something really is wrong. He moves with me in his arms, his muscles rippling against me.
“Where have you been?” he asks in an urgent whisper.
I mumble sleepily that I haven’t been anywhere. I’ve been sitting right there, on his front step.
Balen lays me down on the bed. My eyes open and meet his, and he’s breathing hard like he’s been running. I look past him and see Finley asleep in the cradle a few feet away.
“What brought you to me? How did you know?” His voice is more growl than words.
“Know what?” I stare at him in silence for several minutes. His fingers clench on the sheets on either side of my body. Tension crackles between us. “What’s wrong? Did the wolves come back?”
“You don’t need to worry about the wolfskins. I’m not letting them have you.”
His lips graze my forehead in the darkness.
Wolfskins. I’ve never heard that word before. I wonder about this strange man living all alone. In all the fairy stories I was told, only monsters live in the woods.
Balen kisses down my temple to my cheek. I can barely see him in the darkness, but I can feel him. Warm and strong and inviting. His lips sear across my jaw. My mouth parts with a gasp as heat ripples up my body.
“You’re mine, kochanie. I’ve found you at last.”
Chapter Four
Balen
Carys arches against me and moans, as if she loves to hear me say mine. The white-hot fire that has erupted in my chest burns even hotter.
My mate.
My life.
The bear roars in triumph within me. He was right all along. My mouth crashes over hers and takes the kiss that I crave. Her lips open beneath mine, and my tongue plunges into her mouth, tasting the sweetness that calls out to my blood.
Her dress laces down the front, and I unthread it. I spread the fabric wide, exposing her breasts, full and heavy, the dusky tips reddened and sensitive. I kiss and nuzzle them gently, and then scoop them together with my hands, so I can run my tongue over them. Carys moans beneath me, her thighs squeezing one of my own.
The straining of my cock in my pants is painful. I reach down and unbuckle my belt as Carys’ hands smooth up my chest, testing my muscles with her fingers. I grasp my shirt and pull it over my head. Her eyes grow wide as she looks at me. She touches the dark hair at the center of my chest and trails her fingers over the muscles of my stomach. They close around my shaft through my pants as I pull her skirts up to her hips. She gasps in shock as she explores my girth. I spread her open and reach to unbutton my pants. Her pussy is sweet and inviting in the dim light, and her heavenly scent overwhelms the last of my sanity.
I have to be inside her. Fill her with my seed. Claim my mate.
“Wait. Stop. I don’t understand what’s happening.” She sits up, her blonde hair tumbling around her. She pulls her dress closed over her breasts and down her legs. Her lips are