“Want me to help?” Anna Claire asked. Hewanted to have her in his kitchen helping with a meal, but thatwasn’t his nature. “Have a seat and relax. You’ve been through alot today.”
“And you haven’t?”
“We’ve both healed, but I’d feel better ifyou took it easy,” he suggested. He wanted to be gentle with her,and he wanted to spoil her, but he was quickly learning Anna Clairedidn’t like to sit still for long.
“I’m feeling fine, Gunnar,” she whispered.“I wish you’d let me help you prep.”
He sat the knife aside and dropped his chinto stare down at the beautiful, blonde female. “You can cut up thecarrots.”
Sucker!
Gunnar couldn’t deny that female anything.He was trying his hardest not to be too overbearing. He was a largemale, and with Anna Claire being so tiny, he was worried he’d hurtor frighten her in a way that would set her back.
She washed her hands and took the knife heoffered her. She stood in front of the cutting board and pressedher hips into the counter as she began cutting the carrots intopieces for the roasted chicken dish.
Gunnar tried not to watch her, but he foundhimself mesmerized by the way she handled the knife, cutting thepieces to expert precision. “Where did you learn to cut likethat?”
“Online videos,” she said with a shrug, thenfrowned. Gunnar wanted to ask her where her mind had just gone, butshe swallowed hard and continued. “After my mother died, I was incharge of the duties at home. I didn’t know how to cook, and heallowed me to look up recipes online to learn.”
“How old were you?” he asked as he carefullypicked up the knife to resume working on the ingredients for hismeal. The mention of her father sent a fiery rage through his body,and if he didn’t control his anger, he’d use the knife to stab thedamn chicken he was planning to cook for dinner.
“Twelve,” she replied sadly. He could seethe shame and hurt in the way her body folded in on itself.
“Well, you don’t ever have to cook again ifyou don’t want to,” he offered.
“That’s not it,” she replied, finallylifting her gaze. There were unshed tears in her eyes, and Gunnarfelt his beast push at his skin to comfort her. “I want to care formy mate someday, and even though the reason why I learned to cookis a bad memory, I want to use it for good. Like taking careof…you, Gunnar.”
“I am honored you want to care for me,” hesaid after a long pause. “But first, we need to work through a lotof things to get to that point.”
“I know,” she sighed and dropped her ownknife, turning around to lean her perfectly rounded ass against thecountertop. “We need to talk about us.”
“We do,” he agreed with a nod. “But onlywhen you’re ready.”
“It’s mating season, Gunnar,” she remindedhim, folding her arms across her chest. “We are going to befighting the call to mate more and more as we get farther into theseason.”
“I can wait for you,” he promised as hemoved from his spot by the stove. He stopped only inches from thefemale, inhaling her unique mating scent. It was a scent only madefor him, and it was one he would know anywhere.
“I don’t want you to wait,” she whispered asshe stood tall. “I’ve come to a realization that what was done tome was done so by some very bad men. It shouldn’t define who I am.It’s been almost a year, Gunnar. It’s time I move on with mylife.”
Gunnar was four years her senior, but hefelt younger than her. She was smarter than anyone even realized.At twenty-two, she should be out partying with her girlfriends andnot recovering from the brutality brought on by her father and themen who worked for him.
“If you’d like to talk more, we can do so inour quarters after dinner,” he offered. With the humans shooting atthem, he would’ve suggested they take a walk in the woods aftertheir meal, but he didn’t want to put her in danger again. Theycould say what they needed to say to each other in the privacy oftheir room.
“I’d like that,” she replied. Just as sheturned away, he saw a dusting of pink across the tops of hercheeks.
They worked together for the next fifteenminutes, and Gunnar found himself smiling more than he had in avery long time. Anna Claire was perfect in every way. He wasn’tjust saying that because she was his mate. She really waseverything he’d ever hoped he could find in a female.
“We have forty-five minutes,” he stated,wiping his hands on a towel he kept in his back pocket. “Would youlike to retire to our quarters until dinner is ready?”
“I’d like that.” She nodded and finishedcleaning off her cutting board and knife. He waited until she hadput the items away before holding out his hand in a silent gesturefor her to go ahead of him.
As they entered the living space, he saw hisbed on the left where they’d pushed it against the wall. His couchand chair were closer to the television that hung on the wall bythe entry door.
Anna Claire took a seat at his small tablejust to the left of the door after grabbing a water from thefridge. The female crossed her legs and took a drink, but henoticed she was thinking hard about something. One thing he’dlearned about Anna Claire, once she’d healed from the physicalinjuries she’d sustained last spring, was the female wasn’t afraidto speak what was on her mind.
“Gunnar,” she began. “I want you to knowthat I’m ready for you to touch me.”
Okay, she had said it. She had told the maleshe was ready to find out if they were truly mates.
Anna Claire fisted her hands to keep themfrom shaking at the words that had fallen from her mouth. Gunnarwas huge…like really, really huge. She was only threeinches over five feet and he towered over her. The thought of theirmating sent a thrill and worry through her bones.
The elder females had said the first matingwas rough…intense. Would she be able to handle him?
“I know you
