“Y-you wanted to give me time?”
“Yes,” he said. “To fall in love with me the way I fell in love with you.”
Her jaw dropped. It looked like she wanted to say something, but she sucked in a breath instead.
“Sarah? Are you all—”
“I love you,” she blurted out as her cheeks reddened. “Oh God. Daniel. I love you.”
“Sarah …” His arms encircled her as he pulled her to him, bending his head to kiss her.
Daniel always thought that the first time he kissed his fated mate, he’d hear trumpets blaring in the background, fireworks blasting, or a choir of angels sing. But he’d already kissed her several times, and there had been no such music in his ears.
But this kiss … well, it would certainly give all the angels in heaven a run for their money. Music filled his ears, like the sweetest symphony on earth. It spread through him, warming him from the top of his head to the tips of his toes as he felt something tighten around his chest, but in a good way. He pulled away from her in surprise. “Sarah … I think …”
“Did we bond?” she asked.
He nodded. “I can feel you.” Taking her hand, he placed it on his chest. “Right here.”
“Me too,” she whispered.
“I love you, Sarah.” He kissed her knuckles. “My mate. Will you stay with me? Here in Blackstone? Or I can move to Las Vegas. I don’t care where we live, as long as we’re together.”
She shook her head. “No, I can’t ask you to do that,” she said. “I can do my work from anywhere, but you can’t. I’ll move here.”
“Really?” He whooped in joy and lifted her up, spinning her around. “You won’t regret it.” He kissed her hard. “You’ll love living here. So will Adam. Lucas Lennox High has a great computer science program. He’ll get into MIT for sure and—”
“Wait, what?” Her eyebrows knitted together. “Adam? Here? In Blackstone?”
He nodded vigorously. “Of course. I’ve thought this through. He’ll live with us. Your sister, too. Blackstone’s a shifter town. Darcey’ll fit right in. And you can open your store here.”
“I …” A choked cry escaped her mouth as her eyes filled with tears.
“Baby doll, don’t cry.” He wiped at her cheeks with his thumbs.
“These are tears of happiness, silly” she said with a laugh. “I can’t believe that you’d want them with us.”
“Of course.” His grizzly chuffed with indignation at the thought that Adam and Darcey would live anywhere else but within their den. “You’re mine, Sarah. And that means they belong to me too. Mine to protect and watch over.”
“I … I don’t know what to say. Th-thank you.”
“No need for that,” he said. “Just say you’ll be with me, forever.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Forever.”
Chapter Fourteen
Sarah couldn’t wait to get out of the mountains, and she knew Daniel felt the same way, thanks to their bond. Though Jason wanted them to come down to The Agency headquarters for a round of interviews and debriefing, Daniel quickly vetoed that idea explaining that he and Sarah were both mentally and physically exhausted from their ordeal, plus Adam was all alone back at Rosie’s. It was a good thing Jason understood, plus, Thoralf had promised to stay and finish the cleanup and debrief in their stead.
They picked up Adam back in town. The relief on the teen’s face was obvious as they entered Rosie’s, though he later claimed that it was allergies that made his eyes water, and he certainly was not crying.
“God, I can’t wait to get in bed,” she sighed as they neared the house.
“Me neither,” Daniel said, but wiggled his eyebrows at her.
“Eww,” Adam groaned. “Gross. I think I’m going to hurl some mango tango peach pie all over your upholstery. Please keep it down tonight, I don’t want to hear what my sister sounds like when she’s banging.”
“Language!” Sarah warned.
Daniel laughed. “We’ll try to keep it—oh, fuck me.”
Adam snorted. “Nice mouth you got there, Rogers. Careful your mate doesn’t wash it out with soap.”
“Daniel?” Her head cocked to the side as he muttered something unintelligible. “What’s wrong?” she asked as they pulled in front of the house. The car stopped, and he cut the engine. “Why aren’t you going into the driveway? Adam needs—oh.” There was another vehicle parked in their usual spot. Actually, it was the same kind of minivan they were using, only in blue. “Are you expecting guests?”
“Not really.” His hands flexed and un-flexed around the wheel, then he let out a sigh. “C’mon, I’ll introduce you guys.”
“Introduce us?” But Daniel had already slipped out of the driver’s seat.
“What’s going on?” Adam asked from the back seat.
“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “Are you okay back there? Need my help?”
“Nah, I can get out on my own. You go ahead and see what’s happening.”
Sarah got out and jogged over to where Daniel stood next to the other minivan. The driver’s side door opened, and a tall man stepped out, snakeskin cowboy boots landing on the asphalt, his face obscured by a Stetson hat. When he lifted his head, she found herself staring into a pair of silver-blue eyes. “Hello there, pretty lady,” he drawled. “Or should I call you, daughter-in-law?”
“Hey, Pops,” Daniel greeted. “This is a surprise.”
Pops? Sarah looked from their unexpected visitor to Daniel, then back again. Except for the weathered skin and thick white mustache, the older man held a close resemblance to Daniel.
White bushy eyebrows drew together. “Not as surprised as we were when we heard the news.” His words held a touch of reproach, reminding her of the tone she used on Adam when he was a kid and had done something naughty. “I know it’s our choice to live off the grid and avoid the damned news like
