Blair stopped running, her muscles tensing. Uh-oh. She slowly turned toward the bear, who froze. She twisted—Jesus Christ—only the front half of her body 360 degrees and planted her palms back on the ground. That was when the grizzly bolted.
Materializing beside Tate, Havana laughed as Blair pursued the freaked out grizzly. “Luke, your mate is an absolute treasure.”
He grinned. “Not telling me something I don’t already know.” When said mate finally righted her body and stood, he crossed straight to her and drew her close. She melted into him, her body aligning perfectly to his—a reminder of how every inch of her was tailor-made to “fit” him. “Are you finished terrorizing people?” he asked.
“For now,” replied Blair, linking her fingers at the back of his neck.
Luke brushed his nose against hers. “I’m pretty sure you scarred that grizzly for life, by the way. Never seen one climb a tree before.”
Her lips flattened. “He made my brother bleed. I can do that to Mitch. No one else is allowed that privilege.”
“I’d call you a nut, but I have pretty much the same mindset when it comes to my siblings.” Luke dipped his head and fit his lips to hers. He sank into the moment as he sipped from her mouth, savoring her taste, swallowing her breathy little moan, and breathing her in, feeling “home.”
Breaking the kiss, he slid his fingers into her hair and began a light massage that made her eyes fall closed.
“I really do love your hands,” she said.
His lips curved. “They aim to please.” He pressed another kiss to her mouth. “I say we head back to our apartment.”
“Abandon my family when they’ve come all this way to visit us?” she asked, not opening her eyes.
“Is that a problem?”
“No.”
Seeing that Aspen and Bailey were trying to creep up on his mate from behind, each holding a long branch, he inwardly sighed. Their gazes locking on his, they both put a finger to their mouths. He gave them a quick shake of the head and mouthed “go away.” They paused, their shoulders slumping.
Luke dropped a kiss on the tip of Blair’s nose. “Then let’s go.”
She did a long, languid stretch. “One thing first.”
“What?”
A pop rang through the air as she pulled down one arm at an awkward angle. He cringed. Turning toward the women behind her, she did the same with the other arm, making them both wince. Then she did something with her neck that made even Luke’s gut clench.
Dropping the branch she held, Aspen slapped her hands to her face. “This is so wrong!”
A shuddering Bailey backed up. “And too weird even for me.”
As the two females ran off, Blair turned back to him and said, “Given that Bailey’s capacity for weird is close to bottomless, I’ll take that as a compliment.”
He couldn’t help but smile. His mate was nuts. Utterly and completely. She was also wrapped around his heart so tight it almost hurt. Her name was carved into his soul like a brand, deep and binding, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. “I fucking love you, you know.”
Warmth bled into her expression. “I do know. And I love you right back.”
“Then you’ll slide your joints back into place so my stomach stops rolling and curdling.”
She sighed. “If I must.”
“You really, really must.”
There were pops and a distinct snap as she righted her joints. “There. Happy?”
He felt his face soften. “Of course. There’s no way I could be anything else when I have you, is there?”