Ella lifted her hips to match his thrusts. Their speed increased as did the frenzy of their kissing.
He finally broke the contact and dragged his lips to the soft spot between her neck and shoulder blade. Ella had only briefly been told what to expect when two people mated, but it wasn’t anything like the elation she was experiencing. Good thing no thought was required on her part. The magical connection between them guided her lips to the same spot on his body. Tanner cupped her face and then stroked a knuckle down her cheek. It was almost as if he was trying to let her know that the moment was near. When Tanner hammered into her once more, her universe exploded. She bit down on him at the exact moment he sunk his teeth into her tender skin. Ella expected a wave of pain, but instead, a glorious bliss surrounded her as an orgasm overtook her body.
While she couldn’t be certain, it sure felt that the moment he came, part of his soul entered her. Light, power, and love filled her. She hugged him hard, wanting to never let go. Tanner McCarson was hers—all hers—and nothing or no one could change that.
Something gentle nudged Tanner’s shoulder. When he opened his eyes, sunlight was streaming in the window, and his beautiful mate was smiling down at him. It took a moment for him to realize they’d spent the night snuggled against each other—as mates.
“Good morning,” he said as he pulled her closer to kiss her.
“We should get back to my parents’ house before they suspect something.”
“Ugh. They’ll see us come in,” he said.
“I’ll tell them we went out for an early morning walk. Or an early morning run. At least I would run. I’m not sure if you can yet.”
“We’ll have to see. I don’t want to make a bad impression already. Let’s go.”
They quickly cleaned up and dressed. Once they checked out, Tanner flew them back to her house. Since Ella had an overnight bag with her, she shifted, raced to her car to place it inside before returning. Wow. He’d never seen her in her leopard form. She was the most beautiful animal he’d ever seen. Her chest was white while the rest was cream colored with brown spots that were occasionally highlighted in black. Since all he could see at the moment was the swishing of her tail, he couldn’t check out the color of her eyes.
A moment later, Ella returned, but she was in her human form. “All set. Ready?”
“Totally.” Tanner still couldn’t believe the joy and thrill still racing through his body. It was as if today was the first day he was really alive.
When they entered the house, they were met with the delicious aroma of breakfast.
“This has to be a first. We never eat breakfast together,” she said. Ella looked over at him. “Do you think they’ll be able to tell what we did last night?”
“You mean make me the happiest man in the world?”
She giggled. “Yes.”
“Do you care if they know?”
Ella grinned. “Not in the least. Oh, and after breakfast, I want to do something special.”
“What would that be?”
“It’s a surprise.”
When they stepped into the dining room, her sisters and Ella’s mom were at the table, but her dad was missing.
As far as he could tell, no one had started eating, which implied they were waiting for them. Tanner and Ella sat next to each other at the table, and he probably failed to look as casual as he wanted.
“Did you both sleep well?” her mother asked.
“Yes. The bed was so comfortable. It was hard to get out of it.” It had been comfortable for the first few minutes he was in it.
“Where’s Dad?” Ella asked.
“He is speaking with the Blackwoods.”
While Tanner had no sympathy for the family, it would be hard on Ella’s dad to tell the family that liars would not be tolerated.
Her mother sipped on her coffee. “How long will you two be staying?” she asked.
Tanner couldn’t tell if she couldn’t wait to get rid of them, or if she wanted to spend more time with her daughter.
Ella answered. “I’m going to take Tanner to the slopes today. After that, we’ll head home.”
That was news to him, but he thought it best to smile and go along with her. Spending time with Ella was always wonderful.
When they finished with breakfast, she hugged her sisters and then escorted him outside. Out of earshot of the family, Tanner asked her what was going on. “I did mention that I don’t ski, right?”
“Not to worry. I thought this would be the perfect place to see about shifting into our other animals.”
Amid the worry of trying to find Ella, and then making love with her, Tanner hadn’t considered what it would be like to be able to shift into a snow leopard. “That sounds amazing.”
“I’m not ready to try shifting into a dragon in the driveway, so how about you fly us to a place on the mountains where we’ll have some privacy?”
“Once I’m in the air, you can tell me where to head,” he telepathed, hoping they were able to communicate this way.
The moment her eyes widened and her mouth slightly parted, he smiled. Clearly, they were officially mated, as her mother would say.
“I guess I’m supposed to mentally say something, and you can understand me?”
It was quite remarkable and perhaps daunting to know someone else was in his head. “Yes.”
She grinned. “Then let’s go.”
The fact that Ella was excited about being able to communicate telepathically and shift into a different animal, thrilled him even more. Tanner shifted, picked her up, and headed to another peak in the mountain range—different from where they had stayed last night.
In less than three minutes, Ella told him to set down on the other side of a copse of trees. He landed and was mesmerized by the
